"What has this war wrought?" She thought to herself. "Would things have been different if this had never happened…if the Sound had never attacked? Would I become who I was shaped to be? Would all of this happen? Would I have…would I have him? Would I have won the heart of the man I truly love?" The questions poured into her brain as she sat on the ruined hulk of a burned-out vehicle watching the crimson sun set upon the clouds in the horizon. The company had stopped within the abandoned town for the night to rest. With the perimeter secured by two other companies, she was given the liberty of sitting and reflecting upon all the events that led up to this moment. With her M1 Carbine in hand, she stroked the wooden stock and felt the weight of the bullets in her rifle. This weapon…this weapon upon which she was given to exact vengeance upon the aggressor, it felt strange in her hands. If she had it her way, she wouldn't have been a soldier. She would've been a nurse, or a teacher, or a beautiful and loving wife to a caring man. Fate had a strange way of tugging at the strings of certain individuals, and she felt she was no difference. She pondered to herself, what provoked her to risk life and limb to barely carry such a man out of harm's way? What caused her to suddenly develop such courage only hours before suffering from a near mental breakdown? While such things would normally keep her guessing, she was fortunate to know what kept her going.
Love. It was love that inspired her to do such things. She felt selfish at times and even acknowledged it was the love for him that caused her to be so reckless, but in the end there wasn't a moment of regret. Her sergeant could've punished her or the lieutenant could've relieved her of whatever position she might have had even as a private, but she knew she did the right thing. She remembered the words coming from his lips as he lay there bloodied from the explosion at Kumogakure.
"Hmmmm…am I dead? Are you…are you an angel?" He said. "An angel…" She sighed in adoration. "An an-angel…he thought I w-was an angel."
She felt a warm hand upon her shoulder. Naturally she jerked while in her state of daydreaming.
"Hey…it's ok." That voice, that warm and familiar voice. It brought a comfort to her heart. "You're still jumpy from me I see."
"Oh…no it's…it's ok. I w-w-was just…"
"Daydreaming again huh?" He smiled as he took his hands to massage her scalp, satisfyingly running his hands through her long streaks of hair. His hands were dirty, her hair frazzled and worn, but nevertheless he still treated it like the hair of a princess.
"Yeah…um…yeah s-silly isn't it?"
"No…it's ok. I know what you were dreaming of. It's nice to feel appreciated for a change."
She smiled even more as she felt his arms around her now. "It's ok.
"I cannot believe that I took this long to realize you all this time. Can you forgive me?"
She snickered softly. "Of c-course I w-will. It's ok. Af-after all…I love you…Naruto."
"Hinata…"
"Where did it all begin…Hinata? Where did it all start for you? What made you fall for such a knucklehead like me?"
"I…I cannot p-pinpoint where exactly. I guess…s-since we were kids."
"Kids?"
"Yeah. I guess you just n-never saw it Naruto."
"Yeah…I guess I was. Too busy hangin' around Shikamaru and the rest huh?" She hummed in agreement but she bore no offense to it. "All those years ago…"
"I know."
"It felt like an eternity Hinata."
"The months…they…they feel like an eternity Naruto."
"Sad but true."
"We were on the p-p-playgrounds. I would um, sit there…I would…see you. Sometimes you w-w-were with Shikamaru and Choji. I'd watch you p-play and smile. I'd smile too. S-s-sometimes I'd see yo-you by yourself looking f-f-f-for a friend. I sat alone too…af-f-fraid to come up to you and b-be that friend."
The words made Naruto raise an eyebrow. "Hinata…"
She smiled and nuzzled up to him. "It's ok, N-Naruto. It was never y-your fault."
He felt slightly nervous. "Then…then you'd have to forgive me?"
"Forgive you?" She was puzzled. "For…for what?"
"Ignoring you, Hinata. It wasn't malicious ignorance by no means. I guess I was just so…wrapped up in the moment since I was a child and being saved from a more miserable life."
"Naruto." She whispered out. She knew what he was talking about. Life for him was hard as an orphan. Coming from a rich family like hers, Hinata lived the sheltered life. There were people to care for her and she had everything a little girl could want. Of course, the biggest things lacking were recognition and love.
"But hey, you had the same rough patch in life. It's funny don't ya think? A big-shot city girl like you and a slum orphan like me…both in the same boat."
She gripped his hands and then crawled them up his sleeves. She could feel the grit between her fingers and the dried blood and sweat on his skin, but she didn't care. He felt a slight tickle but smiled from it. "Naruto, you c-c-could have b-been my ne-, my next door neighbor or the orph-, the orphan you were…b-but it wouldn't have mattered to m-me."
"Ya know…even though you did confess to me how you felt in all this, I still couldn't help but wondered even at such a young age how you were so into me and I was too blind to see it?"
"Oh…well um…" She paused for a second letting Naruto tighten his hold on her but with a surreal tenderness not expected of him.
"Nah ya know what? Forget it…we don't need to dwell on the past…do we?"
She paused. That pause which was meant to last just a second or two extended itself into minutes, yet there was no awkwardness, just the two of them taking in the sun setting and setting the clouds ablaze with orange hues.
She took a deep breath. "Confidence."
He snapped out of his trance. "Huh…wha?"
"It was con-confidence, Naruto." She took another deep breath, trying to fight her chronic stutter. "It's what, what you had and I always…wanted Naruto. Confidence. We had r-r-r-rough lives and," she cleared her throat in frustration, once again trying to fight her stutter, "yet, we reacted s-s-so differently." Again she tried to cut herself off from stammering. Ever since she was a child and her fellow comrades Sakura, Ino, Tenten, Shikamaru, Kiba, and other have noticed, she always had a stutter and a rather debilitating one at that. There were very few times that she could recall losing it, mostly because she never noticed it being too strung up on something else. The most vivid moment though…was her epiphany with Shikamaru and Choji as witnesses.
"Hinata…I…"
"Naruto, it was your confidence in everything, no…ahem…no matter the situation, good or bad, happy or depressing, that could bring you down. You were always so…determined. Life was…so hard for you as an orphan."
He chuckled. "Hinata…please don't feel sorry for me. It wasn't that bad for me."
"No Naruto. I know it was. I had everything. You had little. I wanted what you had…determination, confidence, a soul. I was always meek and tim…tim…timid."
"Not true Hinata." She was caught slightly off-guard. "You weren't always that. Don't say that. I've seen you in moments as a child."
She closed her eyes and remembered herself at age ten. History class was the subject for today. She remembered the teacher walking through and everyone staring with attentive minds…save for Shikamaru who was typically napping.
"Good morning children."
"Good morning Mrs. Matsuda!"
"All right…for today's history class…we'll be learning about," she wrote the next lesson in big white letters, "The Great War!"
Some of the boys were rather excited while others like Ino were less than enthused. Hinata looked over three desks to the left and saw the great smile of Naruto Uzumaki. She sighed in adoration.
"The Great War was a terrible time fifteen years ago. Historians debate how it actually started, but the spark was the assassination of one of the closest family members of the Raikage. Soon afterwards they sought an alliance with the Sound Nation and several others. The Water Nation, Earth Nation, and Sand Nation formed their own alliance, Konoha doing its best to stay neutral and not drag itself into conflict. Choji, how about you read the next excerpt for us?"
"Ok." He flipped through the pages. "The Great War was primarily fought in the system of trench warfare. Rows upon rows of dug trenches littered battlefields with very little ground being taken. Many armies would attempt to rush the lines only to find themselves in the targets of a terrible invention, the machine gun."
"It was a dark and terrible time class. Many of the adults you see today were veterans of the Great War." Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. He and several others including Choji had fathers who served. They never heard the stories from their mouths but they got the idea that it was nothing to relish.
The teacher prattled on about the actual history of the war while the children flipped through their pages. It spoke of the Sound provocations upon Konoha's ships and borders and how eventually they were called to war and for a brutal year and a half defeated the Sound and their allies. Naruto was brimming with excitement reading about the action, but like a typical ten-year-old, completely ignorant to the pain and misery it wrought.
"Ok, who wants to read the next vignette?" Naruto raised his hand as high as it could. "Let's see…ah! Mr. Uzumaki, would you care to read it for the class?"
"Sure!" He pressed his index finger on the small inset with a photo. "Lieutenant Minato…Namikaze…was assigned to the 2nd Konona Infantry Battalion of the 4th Infantry Division. While assaulting a Sound-occupied position, he and his platoon encountered heavy enemy fire. His company already suffering losses, he bravely withstood enemy fire and flanked the machine gun positions with one squad and himself. When it was all clear, Lieutenant Namikaze ordered his platoon to hold the line against two vicious Sound counterattacks, both repelled with machine guns and grenades. The fighting lasted over ten hours but when the smoke cleared, his platoon had held off nearly an entire company of Sound soldiers, almost four times his unit's size. Namikaze had sustained three wounds and lost only six of the forty soldiers under his command. He was awarded the Konoha Distinguished Service Cross and was a true inspiration to the Leaf Army during the war."
Many of the children ooooohed and aahhhhhed in amazement. Naruto himself closed the book and stood up on his chair, startling a few including Hinata. "That's what I'm going to be…a bonafide hero! If the Sound ever attacked again, I'd be out there on the front lines! I'm gonna be a war hero like Lieutenant Namikaze and get the Medal of Honor! Believe it!"
Most of the students just laughed at him and his stupidity. Shikamaru just scoffed and put his head down to get some sleep while Sakura just shook her head at him in disapproval. Hinata though…she smiled. She wished she could be as optimistic and ambitious as him.
She then pictured herself at recess, looking down at her feet. She looked at both her arms, small and somewhat frail, and then looked up to see a throng of children running around in play. The squeals and shouts merged into harmony as she sat there on one of the blacktop curbs. The sun was out and a slight wind kept everyone cool from the lack of shade. As the sun beat down on her short purplish hair and her light skin, she sighed watching the majority of the kids play kickball, while others like Ino and Sakura were playing jump rope and hand slap games.
She had been sitting there for around twenty minutes, just musing on her loneliness and watching the kids play kickball. One in particular was the object of her attention, a feisty and loud blond kid with a grin as wide as his face but clothes filthy and somewhat worn. He had just nailed the rubber ball and proceeded to run the bases. Choji had given him a pat on the back in celebration. She sighed with a slight smile on her face…that is until he noticed her.
"Eeeep!" She shied her head away from him.
"Hinata? Hey Hinata…" she could hear his footsteps approaching, "whaddaya doin' sittin' here by yourself?"
"N-N-N-N-Na-Na…" She was so petrified. "Nnnnnnnna-na…"
He chuckled. "Yes, Naruto…that's my name. Wow you are shy." She blushed. "Anyway, we're playin' kickball and we just lost one on my team…you want in?"
She was speechless. "Y-y-you want mmm…mmmm…mmme?"
"C'mon Naruto…burnin' daylight here! Why are you askin' the Queen o' Shy? She probably couldn't kick the ball even if it was standing still." Kiba's comment was met by laughter making Hinata shy away even more.
"Ah put a sock in it!" He yelled back. "C'mon Hinata…I'll show you."
"B-but…" Before she could come up with an excuse Naruto yanked her up and guided her by the hand. She turned beet red when he felt his touch. "He's…he's holding my hand!" The two of them were met with glares from half the players including Tenten and Kiba. Shikamaru just stood there apathetically but Hinata saw Choji's welcoming smile and felt slightly better.
"Here I'll show ya. You stand right here behind home plate," he instructed pointing to a chalk drawing of home plate, "and when the right moment comes you nail it as hard as possible with your foot ok? Simple right?"
"Y-y-yeah…ssssssimple." She was shaking all over.
"First base is the cone right there, second base is the milk crate, and third base is the box. When you hit it…run as fast as you can! It's all about timing!"
"You're wastin' yer time Naruto." One of the kids whined.
"Ah shaddup…everyone's good at something if they keep at it! You can do it Hinata. Believe it!"
Choji stepped up. "All right let's pay another round before recess is over. Hinata, how about you go first?"
"Umm…"
"Sure!" Naruto gave her a light pat on the back. "Let's see you nail it!"
Kiba laughed again. "This should be good." He sent one barreling down the line as the rest of his team got into formation. Hinata yelped in panic and turned allowing the first strike. The opposing team all laughed.
"It's ok Hinata!" Naruto kept clapping. "Try it again! Kiba stop being a jerk!"
Kiba bowled it again and Hinata tried to wind up…but the chuckles from everyone around her made her freeze in her tracks, strike two.
"Oh man…great addition to your team Naruto!" Tenten mocked.
"Shut up! She's trying to kick!" He hissed back. "You can do it Hinata!"
"I c-c-can d-do it. I can d-d-dddd-do it…" She whispered to herself. Kiba sighed and rolled her a slow one. She wound up and swung at it with all her might. However…she missed. It was strike three. Again the opposing team members were holding their sides.
"What a joke!"
"This game's in the bag with players like her!"
"Some skill there Hinata…you should go back to sitting alone watching people play instead of humiliating yourself."
"Hey shut up!" Naruto again screamed as Hinata shed a couple tears and tried to walk off before he stopped her, totally humiliated by her performance. He turned to her and wiped a tear off. "Don't cry, don't give them what they want. Hinata…you did ok. You're just…rusty. Yeah that's it…rusty! Just keep trying Hinata! That's what I always do."
She sniffled. "N-N-Naruto…"
"C'mon you have more chances. Let's keep playing."
For eight more rounds Naruto's team including Hinata played on. Sadly, every time Hinata would come up to the plate she'd either strike out or ground out. The other team continued their jeering and tried to drive her to the brink of tears again, but Naruto wouldn't grant them that satisfaction. He'd cheer and he'd encourage her as best as he humanly could for a ten-year-old. Because of him, because of his compassion and determination, she wouldn't cry. The situation was tense. Kiba's team was ahead by a run and there was Naruto on second with two outs. The last person up who could possibly score for the team was…Hinata.
"Yeah Hinata! Bring me home!" Naruto yelled in enthusiasm.
"Oh great…another automatic out." Kiba chortled. "C'mon fellas bring it in. She can't do a thing."
"Don't listen to them Hinata."
"HINAAAAATAAAAA…HINAAAATAAAAAA…HINAAAAAATAAAAAA!" The whole infield and outfield chanted this to get into her head. Kiba rolled it and she missed for strike one.
"Keep the chant going team! She has no chance!"
"It's ok Hinata…drown it out!" Naruto screamed above the chanting.
"N-Naruto." She muttered. She swung her leg at the ball but clipped it for a foul. Strike two.
"This is it…game over people!" Kiba arrogantly declared. "So…ready to go back to the curb and mope?"
"Do it Hinata! I have confidence in you Hinata!" Naruto said with all the pride he could muster. While the other teammates looked forlorn, he kept that smile on his face, the same smile that warmed Hinata's heart.
"C-c-c-co-confidence…in m-m-me?" Hinata looked at him as he nodded back. She turned her nervous look into a fierce glare towards Kiba. She wouldn't let herself be a failure, even if it was a simple game of kickball.
"Strike three comin' at ya!" Kiba sent it flying down the line, but Hinata wouldn't let it pass.
With a fierce scream and a mighty swing, she nailed the ball right on the sweet spot. It went flying over the fielders who went in. Shikamaru stood with mouth agape on the sidelines as did his best bud Choji. Naruto watched it fly over the head of Tenten and bounce near the chain-link fence. As he turned to Hinata he whispered one word.
"Run."
And run she did. As Naruto crossed home plate she was already at second, pumping her little legs as fast as she could with her heart going a mile a minute. She didn't bother to check the ball in flight towards Kiba. She could only fix her gaze on the boy waiting for her at home plate. She rounded third and was halfway to home. Kiba had the ball primed and launched it.
Naruto watched it fly to her. "Hinata…look out!"
However, she just kept moving on. By luck or by the grace of God, the ball almost grazed her shoe as it slammed into the pavement and bounced off. She made it…she was home safe. She won the game.
Naruto rushed up to her as she nearly fell over from exhaustion, the boy grabbing her before she fell. "HINATA! Hinata that was amazing! You got me home! You won the game for us!"
"I…I did?" She turned to see several others including Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji all cheering for her.
"You did all right! I told you Hinata…you attack anything with confidence and you'll win! I told you you'd get it in no time!"
She smiled while trying to catch her breath. "Naruto…"
The bell rang which meant recess was over. With a collective groan the students filed back inside to return to their scholastic duties.
"Well I gotta run Hinata. Good job though…you can be on my team any day. Believe it!" He patted her shoulder and ran off to the door where he was trying to get in between Ino and Sakura, most likely to talk to her.
She just stood there, overcome with joy and new feelings as he faded into the hallway. She clutched her chest and no longer felt the urge to cry or anything. She felt something rare in her…pride, pride thanks to that boy. "Naruto…thank you."
"See?" Naruto convinced her with that same grin she remembered from that far back. "You always had it in ya."
"Hnn…" She muttered out. She wondered how she could forget such moments while he could. "You had such confidence Naruto."
"Honestly I think it was just all about timing. You can't look at me and say it hasn't happened. And besides, I remember when you've bailed me out of jams too."
"Wha?"
"Yeah. Of course I apologize wholeheartedly when I considered it more a gesture of kindness than how you really felt. You know how I am."
She laughed weakly. "Yeah…that I do. You did so much more for me though…"
Again she remembered herself at boot camp. She remembered sloshing through the mud and her lungs burning with fatigue. It was her second month there and she had failed to win anyone's approval so far. They were running drills with their practice Garand rifles in the obstacle course and the clouds looked like they were promising rain.
"Faster, privates!" The drill sergeant screamed at the top of his lungs. Standing astride from him was a rather fit looking woman no older than thirty with the same fiery look on her face. "God damn it hold that rifle the correct way you bumpkin sum'bitch!"
"Those Soundies are gonna have fun chewing you to pieces if this is what passes for Leaf soldiers! I don't care…I'm doin' my job…you're all not." The female joined in garnering a laugh from the first drill sergeant.
Hinata could barely keep her hemlet on as she struggled to keep up with the likes of Sakura and Kiba. Hell the only one having trouble like her was Choji but he was slimming down at an alarming rate. Shikamaru kept a normal pace seeing how effort was troublesome for him. Naruto meanwhile led the pack as determined as ever to win the favor of the drill sergeants and on a more selfish note Sakura. Sakura had been seen cavorting with a corporal from another training company but he paid no heed to it.
"That's some fancy footwork there Private Uzumaki. I like what I see!"
The female drill sergeant took her attention out on the women respectively. "Ain't in the fuckin' cheerleadin' squad anymore huh Yamanaka? Get your ass moving before I rearrange your face! And you! Hyuga…God damn it did the Lord destine you to be a failure? You will be six feet under by the time you pass this if you even pass it at all!"
"S-s-s-sorry d-dri…"
"T-t-t-today Hyuga!" She mockingly hissed back. "The fuck is it with that stutter? It's been months and you still can't stop being a little baby! Get over that barrier!" Hinata struggled to run but she managed to climb over the railing…barely. "Pick up the pace!"
The lot of them had reached four low trenches with barbed wire underneath. To the side there were .30 caliber gunners blazing away as to simulate battle.
In between pauses the bigger drill sergeant spoke up. "Get low, move fast, and you stay alive privates! This is a fundamental in war! The Soundies are good at what they do. We intend to be better. For us to be better, you have to fucking listen and not get yourself shot!"
Naruto sped through the trench along with Kiba and Shino waiting for the rest of the group. Hinata snagged herself on a piece of barbed wire but pulled free before the instructors took notice.
The next and final obstacle was the rope swing. In front of them lay a thick pool of mud just waiting for clumsy privates to fall right into. Most of them had swung onto the dry ground with relative ease.
"You're not beating me Kiba!" Naruto panted.
"Yeah…the hell I ain't! I'm the fastest fucker here!"
As the two of them raced towards the end, Naruto couldn't help but notice a shriek followed by a small splash. Hinata had made it but her lower half had slipped completely into the mud, her rifle lay on the ground next to her as she struggled to get up. No one else had seemed to notice except him. Choji hadn't even seen it. Shikamaru didn't care that much and Kiba was too focused on winning.
"Get up Hyuga! Get up!" Hinata struggled and wheezed. The drill sergeant lightly kicked her arm. "I said g-g-g-get the fuck out of that mud you stuttering reject!" With all her might Hinata gripped on the grass and pulled herself, but she was too tired, her muscles burning in agony. "Sweet baby Jesus Private Hyuga you are a human train wreck! It is some cosmic mystery that you were not ABORTED in your mother's womb. If you cannot get yourself out of that mud then you cannot get yourself out of the failure you have created for yourself."
Hinata couldn't bear it…she started to break down.
"Oh what the fuck is this…are we going to cr-cr-cr-cr-cry now Hyuga? Fucking cry then! Know that you are nothing but a pathetic excuse of a human being wasting what precious time the Lord gave me on this planet!"
Naruto stopped. His heart pounded not just from the exhaustion but the infuriation caused by seeing this poor girl abused so viciously. "Fuck this race…" He sped backwards to Hinata.
"Uzumaki! The finish line is that way you idiot!" The other drill sergeant yelled.
"You giving up Naruto?!?" Kiba was shocked to see him just turn and run the other way, completely ignoring the competition.
Hinata had her face in the mud, feeling the tears and her hair mix with the dirt, the incoming raindrops spattering her in the back. She couldn't bear to see the drill sergeant yelling at her. However, she heard a faint voice calling her name. Before she knew it she felt two strong hands gripping her at the elbow.
"C'mon Hinata. I'm getting you outta here. You're finishing this, with me."
"Let her go private." The drill sergeant sternly said. "Don't waste your time on the weak."
"She's not weak, drill sergeant. She's strong. She's just tired."
"You're a soldier, not a fucking comedian. Don't make me laugh."
He got close to Hinata's ear. "Don't let this woman have the satisfaction of being right when she's clearly wrong. I'm getting you out of this mud. Now hold on to my arms."
She gripped them as tenaciously as she could. "Naruto…"
"Now I want you to use as much strength as you can. On three…one…two…THREE!" With a sucking noise Naruto had pulled her out and she was back on solid ground. "There ya go…ya just got in a sticky situation. The same thing would've happened if I were down there."
She closed her eyes and didn't say anything. She just let the rain wash her tears away on her face. The drill sergeant just stood there, not knowing really what to do since it was likely she had never seen such dedication to someone she considered a weakling.
"Here. Grab it. It's yours." She opened her eyes as she felt the wooden stock of her rifle back in her hands. Naruto had picked it up from the ground.
"N-Naruto…" Her soulful grayish eyes were still glossy.
The drill sergeant snapped out of her trance. "HEY! No fucking Kodak moment here! Get to the finish line now!"
"Let's go then Hinata." Naruto grabbed her by the arm and sped along. She could barely keep up but waiting for her was the rest of the training platoon. She could feel their inner laughter or disgust, but that face, that one determined and happy face…it was that which kept her from breaking down again. Meanwhile he smiled to the group and tried to get Sakura's attention. He got nothing.
"Finally!" The big sergeant spoke up. "You privates aren't as slow and retarded as I thought…at least most of you. Now double-time it back to the barracks. Weapons inspections afterwards am I understood?"
"Yes drill sergeant!" They all yelled before running back.
The rain fell pretty hard around them but there they stood in formation, rifles held up and faces like stone. The rain had also conveniently washed the mud off of Hinata, but like the others they were still sopping wet.
"Platoon…attention!" In uniform they snapped. "Right shoulder…arms!" Again with precision they adjusted the Garand rifles to their shoulder. Though the entire line the drill sergeants walked through. Hinata stood there in rank…right behind Naruto. She reflected on how he was the only one to help her.
"Port…arms!" The formation opened up the bolts of their rifles letting the sergeants inspect them. When the command was given they snapped them back, yet Naruto's wouldn't snap but the powers that be hadn't noticed. He felt he'd rather fix the problem inside.
"That wasn't bad for a bunch of rookie privates still wet behind the ears and cherries unpopped!" The big drill sergeant yelled through the sound of falling rain. Uncouth as it was, it didn't phase his lady companion one bit. "Weapons maintenance after this formation followed by inspection. I expect everything to be to standard. Fall out."
Everyone rushed back inside where they just plopped on their foot lockers, still in uniform until the inspection was over.
"Oh man…my dogs are barkin'." Kiba moaned as he reclined while disassembling his rifle.
"Preachin' to the choir dog boy." Sakura muttered soon afterwards.
Naruto quickly disassembled the rifle and tried to get it back together…but the bolt was still stuck. "What the hell…? What the hell is wrong with this damn rifle?" He inspected it and his eyes widened like a scared pup. "Oh fuck…oh fuck…"
"What's up Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.
"My operating rod. Where the fuck is it?" He searched all around, above and below his bunk, around his foot locker, on the halls. Nothing. "Oh God…it's not outside is it? Please don't tell me it's outside."
"Nnnnaruto…" Hinata softly stuttered but wasn't heard by him as he was panicking. With quick thinking, she shuffled her rifle around.
"All right! Inspection time!" The drill sergeant swung through the door. "Get those things assembled pronto!"
"Oh fuck…oh fuck…"
"Naruto…" She finally got his attention as she held out a dull object. "Take it."
"Hinata?"
"Take it…p-p-p-please."
"No…I can't. That's your piece. You'll get in even more trouble."
"N-n-n-no…please t-take it. I d-don't wwwwwan't to see you in t-t-tr-trouble. You helped me…"
"Hurry up privates!"
"Please…"
"Hinata…" He reluctantly grabbed the operating rod from her and within twenty seconds had his Garand back in full assembly. Meanwhile Hinata stood there with a satisfied smile, knowing full well the hell she would be put into but she wanted to reciprocate what he did for her.
Meanwhile the sergeants inspected the rifles with surprising approval. "Uzumaki, your rifle." He snapped to and gave it to them. Inspecting it carefully, they simply nodded and walked to Hinata who made it known she had a problem.
"Hyuga…what the fuck is this? Where is your operating rod?"
"I…I don't kn-know drill ser…"
"What the fuck do you mean you don't know? Are you weak and stupid Hyuga?"
"I-I'm sorry. It mmmmust've dropped ou-outside the b-b-barracks."
"Private," the woman approached her, "you get your ass out there right now and you find it or you will feel the wrath of what seems like fucking Lucifer himself! GET OUT…NOW!"
"Drill sergeant…" Naruto tried to speak up.
"What? What is it private? Actually…since you felt the need to help that piece of crap out, how about you go out and help her find it? If you don't, both your asses are mine!"
He simply nodded as he handed his rifle off to Shino. There he saw Hinata on her knees, searching for the operating rod of Naruto's Garand.
"Hinata…why did you do that?" He slowly went down the steps and squatted next to her. She was silent and kept to her duties, the rain soaking her once more. "Hinata I asked you something. Why did you do that?"
"Because…I owed you. You helped me from failing." She didn't stutter. That threw Naruto way off.
"Hinata, an obstacle course and a fucking rifle part are two different things. You cannot equate." She again said nothing except for a grunt when the cold sent a shiver up her spine. "But…thank you. That took serious guts Hinata and you got me out of a pickle. But we're both screwed you know that right?"
"But…we can still try. You never stop-pp-ped trying r-right?" The words were fired right back at Naruto. He paused for a moment and saw a girl who took his words to heart.
He smiled. "You're right Hinata. Let's at least look for it."
She nodded and for the next fifteen minutes they searched far and wide, but alas there was nothing. His heart raced knowing he'd be definitely punished hard for losing an integral piece to his rifle.
The door swung wide open. "You found that fuckin' piece yet privates?"
"No…no drill sergeant." Naruto said disappointingly.
"Front-leaning rest…now." She just stood there as the both of them did pushups in the pouring rain with no one watching. "You're already on my shit list Hyuga…and you Uzumaki, your stupidity is slowly getting yourself there too! If you don't find that I will make you both rue the day you were born. Keep fucking pushing."
Naruto growled which was grossly misinterpreted as disrespect to the drill sergeant. Her eyes lit up and in one swift motion Naruto received a nice kick to the stomach. He gurgled a bit as he fell to the wet ground. Hinata just stayed put…wide-eyed and shaking.
"You sass me again boy and I'll cut your fucking tongue off! Get back to finding it…the both of you!" She stormed off and soon afterwards her companion did the same, saying nothing as he glared at the two of them.
Naruto was still wheezing a bit.
"Naruto!"
"No…it's ok Hinata. I'm ok. Wind got knocked outta me…that's all. C'mon…let's continue."
Hinata retracted her hand from Naruto's back and nodded in agreement. Another thirty minutes passed and still…nothing.
"Shit…this is hopeless. I'm screwed Hinata. I'm really screwed. I'm so sorry." It concerned Hinata greatly that he became so despondent even if he hadn't completely given up searching.
"N-nothing is hopeless Naruto…y-y-you told mmm-mme that."
"But with this Hinata…I don't know…"
Another fifteen minutes…still…nothing.
"Damn it. It's getting dark. If the drill sergeants come and we've got nothing we're both in for it. Oh man…I've gotta tell them you gave that to me."
"No Naruto. D-don't do that. I w-w-wanted to help you."
"But I don't want someone like you, someone as innocent as you, to suffer any more. I don't want you to feel worthless and I'll be damned if you get treated even worse on my account." Those words struck a chord with Hinata, but she remained steadfast in her decision.
"No Naruto…I ssssstand by mmmmy action."
"Hinata…"
"PSSSST!" A voice emerged out of nowhere followed by a whistle.
"Who's there?" Naruto said out loud. Out of the shadows emerged a man who simply stuck his open palm out. In his hand lay a Garand operating rod…the exact piece they couldn't find.
"It's…it's a…"
"Got it from the armory. There's literally a pile of them. Take it…Naruto, and you tell no one about this you got that? The last thing I want is for you and this sweet girl to fall so late in the game." The man said sternly. "Not a soul…you got that? And thank that girl. I heard what she said and what she did…she bailed you out of a jam big time. In theatre, she might just do the same thing again."
"Y-y-yes sir." He nervously took the piece but smiled, as if he knew this man. Hinata was clueless but felt relief knowing someone, like a guardian angel, came down and helped them.
"Good. Take care Naruto…Private Hyuga." And with that he walked back into the shadow and around the buildings.
"N-Naruto…whhhho was th-that?"
Naruto just smiled as the rain trickled down his face. "A man I know…a good man, one who looks out for me."
"Oh…"
"C'mon. Let's get back inside. I don't want you to get sick now."
"Yes…of c-course."
"Hey Hinata," he paused as he stopped to place a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you. You're cooler than I had thought. You're someone I could really like one day."
She blushed wildly. "He said…really like…"
Inside they were met by curious looks save for Shikamaru and Shino who just stuck with their duties. The sight of Naruto with the operating rod in his hand created a sigh of relief amongst them.
"Oh thank God…I thought Hinata was gonna get us all killed." One of the privates said.
"Hey." Naruto stopped him. "It wasn't her fault all right?"
"Then whose was it?"
"Don't worry about it. She didn't do a thing."
The drills sergeants came back and were shocked to see Hinata with her operating rod. They didn't know how she found it, but she did. Alas it didn't spare her from the dreaded task of all sorts of stereotypical army chores as punishment along with a revoking of weekend pass, but she took it in stride. She knew that she had spared a man she cared about from the same fate.
The weekend off had come but she was confined to the barracks. She in fact was the only one. The solitude was a little unsettling but oddly at the same time she felt calm. There were no eyes glaring at her. There was no feeling of failure or rejection. She just lay in her bed and enjoyed the extra sleep, reflecting on what had transpired before and what he said to her after that whole mess. She still wondered who that man was that bailed the both of them out. Judging by Naruto's reaction, it was someone very close to him. She arose from her bed and noticed two large buckets, one completely empty and the other filled with none other than potatoes…the classic Leaf Army punishment. A note was attached with the basic "do it or else" statement from the drill sergeants. Before she went to the buckets she noticed Naruto's bed a complete wreck She walked over.
"Hmmm…maybe h-he'll notice." With the utmost attention to detail, she spent a good fifteen minutes dismantling his bunk and meticulously folded and tucked in every single piece of linen on the bunk. She had it so tight
With a long sigh she picked up the knife and buckets and went outside.
Sitting there alone and peeling, she remembered doing this when she would cook. She prided herself on her culinary skill and loathed what the service passed for food. She would make the most of her chore though, slowly stripping the skins away and plunking the spuds in a bucket.
"Naruto." She whispered to herself. "I hope y-you're enjoying y-your p-p-pass. It isn't sssso b-bad for me here. I c-can think off all th-the nnn-nn-nice things you've done f-for me. But…y-you're prob-b-bably out trying to g-get Sakura…" She sighed again. She knew Naruto was pining for the pink-haired wonder girl. Hell she knew that since they were kids. It struck her as odd considering how Sakura seemed not only uninterested in Naruto in that manner, but also because she was already in a relationship with a fellow soldier, Sasuke Uchiha. Maybe that blind determination and/or the stubbornness she had seen in Naruto for at least a decade was the driving factor behind him.
"Th-then again…a l-lot of the guys w-want Sakura…except for m-maybe Sh…maybe Sh-Shikamaru. He never cares." She chuckled a bit as she tossed another potato in the bucket, the metallic plunk again reminding her she was nowhere near done. "He's…so strong…an-an-and brave. Everythhhhhing I'm not."
For a whole hour she just sat there with not a soul around her…peeling away. Her hands were getting tired but she still kept at it, daydreaming about Naruto while lamenting the reality that he was totally oblivious. She had gotten through a third of the potatoes, yet so many remained. She was calm but that didn't mean she was happy.
"If onl…if on…if only I c-could tell him…"
"Tell me what?" A familiar voice came from behind and scared the daylights out of her. Standing there was Naruto.
She yelped in terror. "N-N-N-Naru…" She had panicked so hard she collapsed on the steps.
"Hinata? Hinata you ok?" Concerned, he propped her up while standing but her head tilted straight back. She was out like a light. "Oh jeez…I didn't mean that Hinata. Shit I gotta get you to your bunk." He carried her in his arms and tried to get up the stairs. He couldn't help but laugh a little bit as he turned his head to her. "Shit I'm so sorry Hinata. Didn't mean to scare ya like that."
"All right let's get you on the bed and…there we go. He rested her head on the pillow. "Wow…this girl just fainted upon my arrival. A little weird but whatever…" A strange feeling rushed through him though as he saw her lay there so peacefully, her face and body revealing some sort of beauty he hadn't seen before. "Wow…she's kinda cute, but what is this I'm feelin'?" For whatever reason he didn't know, but something possessed him to reach out and stroke her hair. "Smooth…as smooth as silk." He then stroked her chin with his fingers. His heart skipped a beat as to how surreally soft she was. "No…stop this…" He stood back up breathing a little heavier than usual.
He craned his neck back to the door and then back to Hinata. "Shit…those drill sergeants are gonna kill her if she doesn't finish that. Sorry to fuck your work up Hinata…I'll take care of this. After all…I owe ya."
When she came to she was alarmed to find herself on the bed…yet…she was alone. "Naruto?" She looked around but found not a single person, no commotion outside, no bags returned to their foot lockers, nothing.
"Naruto…y-you there?" She got up and walked around, noticing a small piece of paper tied to the doorway. She rushed over and right at her feet was the entire bucket of potatoes, peeled and stacked. She also just happened to notice how clean the hall was as the mop stood in its holder drying, the bunks were clean and everything completely organized. "D-d-did he…?"
She unfolded the note and read it:
"Hinata,
Sorry about scaring the crap outta you and making you faint. Really…I didn't mean it. Guess I'm still a bit of a screw-up huh? Anyway, I still wanna thank you for bailing me out of that mess with the rifle. You knew you were going to get in trouble yet you saved me from it anyway. I'm heading back out to town with Choji, Shino, Sakura, and the others. I know there wasn't much I could do to repay the favor so I just did your chores instead. You're a good person Hinata…I like you. Anyway I'm off. See you soon.
Naruto"
"He…he l-l-l-likes me?" She was astounded. Sure the note probably meant as a friend but she became flushed with red in the face all over again. With utter care she folded the note and placed it in her foot locker where only she could see it and it'd be protected from anything else. "He…likes me."
"Naruto, here…" She took out a crumpled piece of paper and handed it to him.
"What's this?" He opened it and with astonishment jerked a little. "It's…"
"The s-same note from boot camp. I kept it all th-that time…even when I was r-really hurt. It stayed intact."
"Wow…fancy that…" He studied it up and down. The writing was a little blurred and the paper worn but still it held. "I gotta be honest, when I carried you back in and you just laid there. For a brief moment…I felt…I felt like I was looking at a true beauty. I'm sorry that I was never up front with you on it."
"Naruto…" Her hand rubbed his cheek. "It's all right. You still were there."
"I just…I just felt like I wanted to assist you."
"You helped me all right, Naruto. You helped me survive that. They all h-hated me…b-but not you."
"Oh come on…it wasn't that bad. What about Shikamaru…or Choji? I mean…Shikamaru just didn't care. That's how he rolls. He always found women to be a bother…yet go figure…in comes Temari of the Sand Nation."
She snickered. "Yeah…iro-ironic huh?"
"Good use of the word, Hinata." He kissed her on the middle of her scalp, letting the still soft hairs tickle his lips and nose.
"They were g-good people. Sh-Shikamaru especially."
"Yeah…I know. Honestly every time I think about those guys and us…it keeps bringing me back…to Kumo."
That name made Hinata's heart jump a little bit. There in Kumogakure, there she nearly came face to face with death not only for her but for her love. She recalled the time the mortars struck the church and how she couldn't move. Her cousin, Neji, berated her previously and had continued to do so because of her fear. Kiba and Shino couldn't move her one inch. It took him, the man who at the time was blatantly obvious in his liking to Sakura, to get her out of that funk. It was his voice, that strong and staunch voice, the same one who cheered her name playing kickball and the same one who cried out her name when he pulled her out of the mud.
"HINATA!" He screamed. "Hinata...come on Hinata you have to get up and fight!"
"N-Naruto? Is, is that you?"
"Yes it's me," he replied grasping her shoulder, "listen I know things are scary right now and you've never been through this, but we have to fight. You have a job to do and you have to be a strong woman right now. I know you can do that. I believe in you. You don't want these bastards to get you do you?" She wiped the tears from her face. Nodding, she slowly got up with his assistance. "Naruto…thank you."
He just smiled at her as she quickly scurried to her squad, already finding there were wounded to attend to. Meanwhile he turned back to his own squad.
The battle had been raging up to the point where the Sound had brought in their StuG assault guns. Things were getting dire as a good chunk of the anti-armor soldiers were dead or wounded, Tenten being one of the few left.
Naruto, in an effort to impress Sakura with reckless bravery, had grabbed one of the last remaining satchel charges.
"Come on Naruto, come on! You're almost there." He thought to himself, clutching his satchel charge feverishly. "They're all countin' on you so you gotta do this!"
Naruto ran behind the stone wall in front of a cafe, stopping to catch his breath, rethinking how to go about his assault. A Sound soldier quickly rushed in and caught him off guard. Naruto tackled him down to the ground, knocking his B.A.R. out of his hand, the soldier losing his rifle as well. The two wrestled around in mortal combat, the Sound soldier desperately trying to kill Naruto with his knife, Naruto holding the knife back with every ounce of strength he had. Inch by inch the knife got closer, the situation getting worse. Fumbling around, he searched for something to grab, finding a piece of broken stone. With all the effort he could muster, he smashed the soldier's head with the rock, knocking him off. Stumbling to his feet, he screamed with rage as he grabbed his trench blade and dug it deep in the enemy's chest. The Sound soldier convulsed wildly for a few seconds, then lay still. Naruto struggled to catch his breath, staring at the dead man, fresh crimson blood running down his cheeks, before he ran off. What was going to happen to his friends depended on him and him alone.
Few seemed to actually notice the small Leaf soldier scrambling toward the vehicle, which was ironic considering the noise he makes amongst his own comrades.
"One-hundred fifty yards, gotta keep goin'. One-hundred thirty…one-hundred twenty. Keep pushing Naruto keep pushing!"
"There's one of them!" A Sound rifleman announced! "Kill him now!" Two more came to his aid, raining submachine gun fire on him as he dove to the side. "We're gonna get you Leaf boy! Give up now!"
"No chance!" Naruto retorted as he swung around and fired a few shots off, felling one of his pursuers. Immediately the Sound soldiers doubled their numbers, pouring fire on the young soldier. Then a crack roared as one of them flew back five feet and about five seconds later another Soundie crumpled to the ground. Naruto turned to catch a faint glimpse of Shikamaru and the others lending a hand, despite their own troubles trying to survive the onslaught. "Thanks guys…" he whispered. Taking the opportunity given by the pause from the other two soldiers, he quickly took aim and dropped them as well. Confident his friends had his back. "I'm almost there, fifty yards…forty…thirty. Twenty!" He had just gotten in range when the StuG finally noticed him, turning its gun slowly, Naruto winding up for the throw, recalling what Sakura had said about the explosives. Ten seconds was all he needed as he primed the charge.
"Open up an' say 'Ah!' you Sound bastards!" He roared as he threw the charge as best he could to the underbelly of the monster, the seconds counting down but feeling like minutes. "Boom!" He whispered to himself while desperately running for cover, then a force of unimaginable power swept through him, and everything went black.
"The fuck was that?!?" Kiba screamed amidst the din of battle. The shockwave had knocked many off their feet and left some of the Leaf soldiers in confusion.
"Uzumaki…where's Uzumaki?" Sergeant Mitarashi looked around furiously. "Where'd that punk go?"
Choji spotted the site of the blast. "Naruto…he got the StuG…but he's down!"
"The stupid kid flew right into a wall!" Sergeant Sarutobi added.
"Naruto…no…" Hinata ran to the plumes of smoke from the ruined Sound gun. There she saw what gave her a near heart attack. Naruto lay on the ground, completely still. Her eyes were as wide as her fists. "N-No…NO! NARUTO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs and charged off into the chaos. Her eyes were solely fixed on him, not her comrades behind her, not the Soundies shooting around her, but only on Naruto.
"HYUGA! Get your ass back here! Do you want to die?!?" Sasuke, Hinata's squad leader, bellowed out, but she simply ignored it.
"Naruto…no…please don't die…please don't…" She panted out running to him. "I don't want to lose you…"
"Hinata!" She heard someone approach. It was Shikamaru.
"Sh-Sh-Shikam-maru!"
"Hinata! Hinata get to Naruto. Sasuke, Sakura, and I will cover you!"
"Right." She ran to him where he lay prostrate on the cobblestone. A Sound soldier tried to get the drop on her though. "NO!" She screamed as she fired her Carbine from the him. The man crumpled over and she just stood there for a second. It was a kill…her first confirmed kill. She was dazed for another second until Shikamaru bopped her on the shoulder.
"Hinata! I said get to Naruto!"
She just nodded as she bolted again to Naruto, crawling low from nearby machine gun fire. She ran her hand to his neck and waited while Shikamaru popped another round off, most likely killing another Soundie. She panicked when there was nothing. "No…please God…no."
Then…a slight bump…and then another. She found his pulse. She was elated. "He's alive! Th-thank God! He's alive!"
"Then we need to get him to safety before we're all gonna need rescuing!"
"Cover me Shikamaru. Oh and one other thing..."
"What's that?"
"Thank you. You're the only one who willingly ran off to help me."
"When this is all said and done I'm gonna kill the both of you!" Sasuke growled as he approached.
"Cool it babe, we're in some rough shit and these Soundies are gonna have us dead to rights if we don't pull back now!" Sakura said, calming her boyfriend down just a notch.
"Oh shit, they've spotted us! We gotta move...NOW!" Sasuke barked as we covered for Hinata. She struggled for a second trying to get a hold of Naruto.
"Hinata let me help you." Shikamaru stepped forward with a hand outstretched.
"No…Shikamaru…let me do this."
"But Hinata…he's too heavy for…"
"Please. I w-want to do this. I'm a medic. Th-this is my d-duty."
Shikamaru just shied away taking cover behind one of the pieces of ruin. He had never really known Hinata too well aside from how much she liked Naruto so he respectfully understood.
"You have to let me do this." She insisted, and with all her might, might I've never seen before, she managed to rest him on her shoulder, his arm slung around her neck. "It's...it's ok Naruto." She gasped under the stress of his weight. "I've got you and I won't...I won't let you die. Not...not o-on my watch!" Step by step she struggled, but somehow, someway she kept going, the other three keeping her safe from harm. She could feel his weight bearing down on him inch by punishing inch, but it was for him, for Naruto.
"Grrrk…nggahhhhh…" She grunted and groaned trying to carry him. "Naruto…don't die for me please. I…I love you."
Hinata shared a small section of blasted-out wall with Naruto, still unconscious, and held him tight to her. "If only Naruto was awake..." I thought to myself. A loud boom emanated from in front as Tenten must've landed a direct hit on the left halftrack, disabling the vehicle, but not stopping some of the soldiers to get out. We fired back to keep them at bay.
"Uh-uhnnnnn...who are you?" a stunned Naruto slurred to Hinata. "Hmmm...Am I dead? Are you... are you an angel?" He must've been delirious from the shock. Blood was running over his face, but he wasn't shot thank God. Hinata looked at him for a second, and held him closer. If they were to die here, at least they'd die together, even if Naruto didn't know.
"Don't worry Naruto...I'll take care of you." She replied, knowing full well that he didn't know who she was. He smiled weakly then blacked out again.
Hinata felt the warmth of the unconscious Naruto on her, yet things were getting dire. Sakura and Sasuke had screamed that a halftrack was coming their way, but in the nick of time, help arrived. A rocket roared and plopped the halftrack on its side while overwhelming fire forces the Sound back from their assault. Shikamaru would later point out that it was the Sand Resistance who bailed them out.
Sakura was ecstatic. "Holy shit…they're bugging out! We did it!"
Hinata held Naruto close to her smiling the whole time, the strength fading from her rapidly before she was down for the count. "We won Naruto…we won…we…won."