Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
She found him a short distance from the camp.
"N-Naruto-kun?" she called out tentatively. She timidly stepped out into the clearing, bringing Naruto fully into sight.
She saw Naruto sitting on the ground, his head pointing downwards. He didn't respond to her, but simply continued staring sadly at the ground, his hair drooping down to cover most of his face.
Mustering some additional courage, she called out his name again, slightly louder this time.
He looked up, surprised. "A-ah... hello, Hinata..." he mumbled, almost inaudibly.
More confident now, she edged closer to Naruto. "Um... I was a bit worried when you left like that, Naruto-kun," she said, then, somewhat quieter, she added, "and you seemed upset."
Naruto's face turned sad again, and he looked back to the ground. "Well, I-I'm just thinking about something that's been worrying me," looking up and seeing the concern on Hinata's face, Naruto continued, "about what Kabuto said, I mean. How I don't know... who I really am."
"But that's not true!" Hinata exclaimed, surprising herself with her own courage. "How can he say he knows anything about you? He was just talking about himself!"
"Isn't he just like me, with Orochimaru living on inside him?" Naruto sighed sadly and averted his eyes, "I don't think I'm really all that different from him. I've lost control of the Kyuubi before, and it's because I was too weak to try and resist it. I've... hurt my friends because of it."
"But I think what really matters is that you did it because you wanted to help your friends. Even if you regret it now, I know that you're a good person. I don't think you meant to do anything bad. You're different from him, because... you don't want to hurt people. The truth is that I really admire you," realizing that she was dangerously close to revealing something potentially embarrassing, Hinata ended her little speech by adding, "for that, I mean."
There were a few moments of silence.
"Um... thanks." Naruto looked off to the side, and (to Hinata's surprise) even blushed a little bit. "I, uh, didn't mean to unload all of my problems onto you like that. S-sorry."
"U-um... that's okay. I don't mind."
Naruto's usual smile slowly began to return. "This might sound a little strange, but did we do something like this, back a few years ago?"
"M-maybe." They had, just before Naruto had gone to compete in the third trial of the Chuunin exams, and Hinata knew it. Strangely enough, she sensed that Naruto also knew. Is he trying to remind me of that time? "Um, I think I remember talking like this with you once."
"Yeah." Naruto nodded.
There was another silence.
"I guess we should probably get back to the camp now," Naruto said, "thanks for coming to find me like this, Hinata. And for talking with me, too." He stood up and made for the path back to camp, but he stopped when he felt a tug at his sleeve and turned around to see a red-faced Hinata.
"W-wait." She paused for a moment, gathering up all her courage. She had to say it. Nothing could stop her now. "Naruto-kun, th-there's something I've been meaning to say to you for a long time."
A/N: The ending was meant to be open ended. What was more important to me here was the interactions leading up to the ending. Sorry for any confusion!