The night sky was an ugly, clotted red.
Tilting her head up. Hinata contemplated the cover of clouds. Perhaps it was due to her mood, but the vast sky she usually loved to stare at seemed cold and suffocating today.
Today was the one hundredth day.
One hundred days ago, she had poured her heart out to Naruto, confessing her love for him and had prepared to die for him. She said it firmly, without the usual stutter. Hinata knew he had heard her clearly, but right at that moment she didn't have enough time to be embarrassed; she knew her life would end in the next few minutes, and all she felt was relief that she had finally told him. It would have been pathetic to pass on before she had the chance to reveal her secret.
Only, instead of dying tragically and heroically, she survived.
And Naruto acted like nothing had happened. He smiled at her, encouraged her, but never tried to get closer to her. It was as if he had never heard her confession.
Before, Hinata had always harboured the secret thought: What if Naruto knew I liked him? And what if… he liked me back? There was always a possibility, no matter how small it seemed at times, and the knowledge of this kept Hinata going. But now, her hope was shattered. Naruto was obviously trying to avoid her. trying to pretend like everything was the same, that nothing had changed. Hinata knew that he was trying to save her feelings, but he had no clue that being ignored was even worse than an outright refusal.
For weeks after the incident, she had hoped that he would come up to her in a moment of spare time, and quietly admit that he liked her as well. She kept coming up with excuses for why he never seemed to show up. Naruto was a training fanatic, after all, and maybe he simply had no free time at all. But as the days passed, Hinata was forced to admit that Naruto probably had no intention of talking to her. She'd see him sometimes, but whenever his eyes met hers, they would dart away quickly, and Naruto would grin sheepishly, rub the back of his head and make up some lame excuse to go away.
"Oh! I just forgot- sorry, but I have to go do something!"
"Shit! I just remembered. Left the refrigerator open. Gotta run!"
"I think I hear Obaa-chan yelling for me. I'd better go before she blows a fuse!"
He never seemed to realize how much these little excuses hurt her. Hinata sighed, her breath misting in the crisp winter air. Sitting on the frigid ground would give her a cold, no doubt, but the empty silence in the deserted training ground was strangely comforting. She glanced at her scuffed sandals, and absentmindedly remarked that she needed to replace them. They had scratches all over and one strap was a hanging on by a thread. Speaking of her feel, her toes were numb, and Hinata stood up slowly, intending to go home to the complex and warm herself up.
Crack. Hinata whipped her head around and stared at the direction she heard the noise from. It was past midnight, and normal people would be in their cozy beds instead of lurking around outside. She silently activated her Byakugan, and almost immediately deactivated it. The figure walking towards her was easily recognizable; most days she would have been ecstatic to see him, but as he approached on this cold night, all she could feel was dread.
Naruto stepped into the clearing, and even in the absence of moonlight his eyes seemed to glow. It was unnatural, but Naruto's eyes had always been like that to her. No-one else ever noticed, but Hinata saw, and she had to admit it made him even more attractive. Even on a night like tonight when a dull red light illuminated the world.
"Na-Naruto-kun?"
She hated her stutter, but there was no helping it. Whenever Naruto came within five metres of herself, her heart rate would speed up and normal speaking became impossible.
"Hey, Hinata. I have something to ask you."
Could it be? Her eyes widened. It was the first time he spoke directly to her since the battle, and she couldn't help but feel her hopes rise…
"It's about Shino." He grinned apologetically. "You see, there's this mission to Rain country next week and..."
…only to come crashing down around her. Involuntary tears leapt to her eyes and Hinata moved her head down so her bangs could cover her face.
Naruto was still rambling, oblivious to her discomfort. "…we need another member, so I suggested Shino and-"
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I-I can't help y-you."
Turning around rapidly, Hinata sprinted off into the night, bringing her sleeve to her face to dry her tears and muffle a sob. The darkness soon swallowed her figure and it became impossible to see which direction she ran. A stunned Naruto stood facing the wooden post, alone on a chilly night.
"What did I say?" He wondered aloud, and not even the stars were there to answer his question.