Chapter 1: This is Me
Hinata stood on a bridge over looking a small river, the sakura blossoms that had fallen floated on the surface of the water as it floated by. She gave a sigh, she had wanted to tell Naruto how she felt today, but lost her nerve and ran here. She jumped when she felt a hand land on her shoulder, she turned to find herself face to face with her roommate, Sakura Haruno, her pink hair floated in the slight breeze.
"Hinata-chan, are you okay?" Sakura asked, Hinata stared back down at the water.
"Sakura-chan, how did you feel when you finally told Sasuke-kun, how you felt?" Hinata asked in her quiet tone.
"So this is about the dobe, Naruto?" Sakura asked, with a sympathetic tone to her voice. Hinata gave a short nod. "Well, when I told Sasuke, it was terrifying, because when I told him, it was when he left the village, and I didn't know if I'd ever see him again."
"But he came back," Hinata said. "Just like Naruto-kun came back, after his training with Jiraiya-sama,"
"You really love him don't you?"
"More than you know," Hinata said, she could feel her eyes watering, as she realized how weak she was, she couldn't even tell the man she loved she was in love with him. Since Naruto left three years ago, Hinata had changed a lot appearance wise. Her hair had grown to her waist, and her curves were more defined. She'd also become a lot stronger, she still wasn't equal to Neji, but at least she was better.
"Hey I know, how about you come with Sasuke, Naruto and myself to the karaoke bar, and you can sing," Sakura suggested, and Hinata's eyes widened.
"N-No, I can't sing," Hinata said, blushing faintly.
"Yes you can, I've heard you when you think no one's listening," Sakura said, giving Hinata a one armed hug.
"But, I don't have anything to wear." Hinata said, avoiding eye contact with Sakura.
"Let's get back to the apartment, and I'll find you something, I'm sure you'll fit something." Sakura said, and lead Hinata to their apartment.
--
Hinata sat on Sakura's bed, while Sakura herself rummaged through her closet trying to find something that would look good on Hinata.
"Ah! I found the perfect outfit," Sakura came out of her closet, and stood in front of Hinata, who grew nervous. Sakura handed her the outfit, and Hinata's face erupted into crimson.
"S-Sakura-chan, I can't wear this!" Hinata said embarrassed beyond belief.
"Do you want Naruto to notice you or not?" Sakura asked, a hand on her hip, an eyebrow raised.
"Of course, but…." Sakura wouldn't take no for an answer, and ended up pushing Hinata towards the bathroom.
"Don't come back out until that outfit is on, am I clear?" Sakura asked, Hinata nodded.
--
Hinata came out, her arms wrapped self consciously around her waist.
"You look great Hinata-chan," Sakura said, Hinata looked at her best friend, and gave a small smile. Sakura wore a soft pink scoop neck shirt, and form fitting hip huggers, with black ballet flats.
"You look good too Sakura-chan," Hinata said with a smile. Sakura looked at Hinata, and was somewhat envious, of Hinata's figure. The navy tank top hugged Hinata's curves, and the mid thigh black skirt accented Hinata's pale legs.
"But not as good as you," Sakura complimented. "Now let's do your makeup,"
--
Sakura and Hinata stood outside the bar, waiting for the two boys that were going to join them. Hinata had insisted on wearing her bulky jacket to the club, and wouldn't take if off until they were inside.
"Are you ready?" Sakura asked.
"Not really….no," Hinata replied, her voice shaky.
--
"Dobe, don't mess this up," Sasuke said, with a slight scowl.
"Sure teme," Naruto said with a playful grin. "Just tell me when you want to be alone with Sakura-chan,"
"Shut up dobe," Sasuke said, a light pink staining his cheeks. "And don't embarrass Hinata and make her faint."
"She does that even if I don't embarrass her, why does she do that every time she sees me? That or she runs away," Naruto said, with his trademark clueless look on his face.
"You're really clueless aren't you," Sasuke said, shaking his head. "We're almost there," when they came around the corner, the girls came into view. Once they were close enough, Sakura walked over to Sasuke and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You look good tonight, Sasuke," she said with a blush. "You look good too, Naruto,"
"Thanks Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a grin. "You do too,"
"H-Hello Naruto-kun." Hinata said shyly.
"Hey Hinata-chan," Naruto said with his fox-like grin in place. "Should we head in,"
"Let's go," Sakura said, looping her arm around Sasuke's.
--
Sakura and Hinata were alone at their table, and Sakura was trying to urge Hinata to take off the coat.
"But…..then he'll…."
"He'll see how great you look," Sakura said, as she once again reached for the zipper. "Now please take it off,"
"Fine," Hinata said, and took the jacket off.
"I signed you up to sing in fifteen minutes," Sakura said. "You can pick the song up at there."
"But….what if I faint?" Hinata asked, worried.
"Just close your eyes and pretend everyone isn't there," Sakura said, Hinata gulped and nodded, just as the boys came back with the drinks. "I'll be right back, I'm up now," Sakura said, and the three nodded.
Naruto's eyes fell on Hinata the moment he returned, and she looked……beautiful.
"Wow," he muttered under his breath.
"Sorry, did you say something Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, looking at him, he blushed.
"N-no sorry, just talking to myself," he said, with a stutter, but shut up, when Sasuke quieted them.
"Hi I'm Sakura Haruno." Sakura said, as she stepped in front of the karaoke machine. She nodded her head at the guy at the controls, and the music started.
V1: But I can't spell it out for you, Chorus: V2: But I can't spell it out for you, Chorus: V3: Chorus: If you just
realize what I just realized Oh Missed out on each
other now Realize
Take
time to realize,
That your warmth is. Crashing down on in.
Take
time to realize,
That I am on your side
Didn't I, Didn't I tell
you.
No it's never gonna
be that simple
No I cant spell it out for you
If
you just realize what I just realized,
Then we'd be perfect for
each other
And will never find another
Just realize what I just
realized
We'd never have to wonder if
We missed out on each
other now.
Take time to realize
Oh-oh I'm on your
side
Didn't I, didn't I tell you.
Take time to realize
This
all can pass you by
No
its never gonna be that simple
No I can't spell it out for
you.
If you just realize what I just
realized
Then we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never
find another
Just realize what I just realized
We'd never have
to wonder if
We missed out on each other but.
It's
not the same
No it's never the same
If you don't feel it to.
If
you meet me half way
If you would meet me half way.
It could be
the same for you.
If you just realize what I just
realized
Then we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never
find another
Just realize what I just realized
We'd never have
to wonder
Just realize what I just realized
Missed out on each other now
Realize
Realize
Sakura returned to her seat, blushing, as the crowd cheered for her.
"You sounded great," Sasuke said, and Sakura smiled.
"Thanks. "
--
"Hey Hinata are you gonna sing," Naruto asked, turning to her.
"Oh….I…um….yes," she said, flustered. "A-Are you?"
"Yeah, I'm up soon," he said with a smile. "Do you think I'll be any good?"
"I think you will do really well," Hinata said blushing.
"Well I'm up," he stood up and walked over to the machine. "Hey everyone Naruto Uzumaki here," the music started.
Tell me what's
wrong with society Diet pills, surgery Is everybody going crazy? I
guess things are not how they used to be No one cares, no one's there Is everybody going crazy? Is everybody going crazy? Tell me what's wrong with society No one cares Is everybody going crazy? Is everybody going crazy?
When everywhere I look, I see
Young girls
dying to be on TV
They won't stop till they've reached their
dreams
Photoshopped pictures in
magazines
Telling them how they should be
It doesn't make sense
to me
Is anybody gonna save
me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going
on?
If you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong
There's no more normal
families
Parents act like enemies
Making kids feel like it's
World War III
I guess we're
all just too damn busy
And money's our first priority
It
doesn't make sense to me
Is
anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell
me what's going on?
If you open your eyes
You'll see that
something is wrong
Is everybody
going crazy?
When
everywhere I look I see
Rich guys driving big SUVs
While kids
are starving in the streets
No one likes to
share
I guess life's unfair
Is
anybody gonna save me?
Can anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell
me what's going on?
If you open your eyes
You'll see that
something, something is wrong
Can
anybody tell me what's going on?
Tell me what's going on?
If
you open your eyes
You'll see that something is wrong
Naruto returned to his seat as everyone cheered him.
"You sounded really good dobe," Sasuke said smirking.
"I know," Naruto replied cockily. "What did you think Hinata-chan?"
"I think, it was really good," she replied, staring at her fingers. "I have to go now," she stood and walked up to the machine. "M-My name is Hinata Hyuga," she said nervously. She paused as the man behind her said something, and she nodded. She looked out at the crowd. "Um….would someone come sing with me, my song needs a male singer," she said shyly. Naruto felt his heart jump, and he stood up.
"I'll sing with you," he said, he noticed her blush as she nodded. When he was next to her, she handed him a mic, and her hand brushed his, then the music started. Hinata started off softly, then with an encouraging look from Naruto she sang stronger.
I've always been
the kind of girl This is real, this is me Do you know what it's like This
is real, this is me
that hid my face
So afraid to tell the world
what I've got to say
But I have this dream
bright inside
of me
I'm gonna let it show, it's time
To let you know, to
let you know...
I'm exactly
where I'm supposed to be now
Gonna let the light shine on me
Now
I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more
hiding who I wanna be
This is me
to feel so in the dark
To dream about a life
where you're
the shining star
Even though it seems,
like it's too far
away
I have to believe in myself,
it's the only way...
I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be
now
Gonna let the light shine on me
Now I've found, who I
am
There's no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I wanna
be
This is me
After a short instrumental Naruto sang his part.
You're
the voice I hear inside my head
The reason that I'm singin'
I
need to find you
I gotta find you
You're the missing piece I
need
The song inside of me
I need to find you
I
gotta find you
Then Hinata sang
again, and Naruto joined her until the end. This is real,
this is me This is me Now I've found, who I am
Gonna let the light shine on me
Now
I've found, who I am
There's no way to hold it in
No more
hiding who I wanna be
This is me,
Yeah
(You're the voice I hear inside my head, the reason
that I'm singing)
There's
no way to hold it in
No more hiding who I wanna be
This is me
The crowd burst into applause, and Hinata blushed when she realized how close she was to Naruto. She hurried off to her seat, but half way there, she felt a hand grab her wrist. She turned and saw Naruto.
"Hinata, c-could we talk a minute…..outside," he asked, she could tell he was nervous, but she didn't trust herself to speak, so she only nodded. They walked outside, leaving a confused Sasuke and giggling Sakura at the table.
"What's with you?" Sasuke asked, turning to the pink haired kunoichi.
"Oh, nothing," she replied.
"Women," Sasuke muttered.
--
"What is it Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, looking at her feet.
"I need to tell you something," he said, she blushed when she felt him take her hand. "Ever since I got back, two weeks ago, I've noticed something,"
"What's that?" She asked quietly, as she looked up and into his cerulean eyes.
"That you're one of the most beautiful women I've ever met," he said, her eyes widened a bit. "Hinata, I think I've fallen in love with you,"
"Y-You have?" She asked, her breath leaving her.
"I think so, because when I was with ero-sennin, I couldn't stop thinking about you," he admitted. "And I could never figure out why,"
"N-Naruto……I…." she was silenced as she felt his lips on hers. Her eyes instinctively closed, as her arms wrapped around his neck. When they broke apart, they rested their foreheads together. "I love you too," she said, her eyes still closed.