When will it stop raining, Naruto?
The rain fell in soft, bitter drops onto the Hyuuga Heiress, wetting her thick, violet hair down until it clung weakly around her dampened face. The rain previously had already soaked right through her clothes, sending her a chill that she knew all too well around this place she used to call home.
She hadn't noticed it for a while, but when her vision began to blur, she knew she had been crying for some time. The young kunoichi just hadn't noticed in the rain because the rain was her tranquilizer-her drug-if you will, especially where she stood now.
Her hand reached out limply to touch the smooth surface, feeling the same name over and over again until she had memorized its engravings. But hell, she had already memorized its engravings two and a half years ago. They were magical in its own way; reminding her once again that he was there and not here with her, where he should be.
A loud sob was strangled out from Hinata's throat, pounding a small and tender fist onto the elderly stone.
It wasn't fair, it was never fair. How could life could be so damn cruel in taking away someone so special to her without even giving her the chance for her dreams to come true; his dreams to come true.
He was the one that had wanted to get married. But she had waited.
He was the one that wanted to have two kids; a son for Sasuke's son to be best friends with when they grew older, just like him and the Uchiha were and a daughter for Sakura's daughter to be best friends, just like Hinata and the pink-haired kunoichi were now.
But she had waited. She had made that painful decision in waiting for the right time. But what right time was there? They lived in a bitter and brutal world; the shinobi world, as it was most often called. There was no waiting. There could be no waiting.
Fate had been so cruel in deciding that his time was up, snatching him away from her forever. The only trace she had left of him was the unforgettable memories they had shared plenty of times together and his never-ending love for her that was still deep inside her small, withering heart. Yes, they had pictures. But pictures, in Hinata's opinion, were almost a lie; deceitfulness. They never brought out the true happiness and love in that specific moment. Not the true joy or compassion that that moment in time had provided. No, pictures were a waste of space. Why not keep someone's memory in your heart, where it will be with you forever and always?
Hinata couldn't stop the sobs at this point. It was always the same thing every time it rained. Tears; reminders of what had come to pass and the memories, oh the beautiful memories.
The rain was Hinata's undoing. And she loved it. Needed it, even.
A firm hand on her shoulder had surprised the petite woman, seizing her from deep within the reveries of her mind. She hadn't even noticed the sly ninja creeping up behind her. But her guess was as good as others; he had a reason to be here too.
"Kakashi-sama," Hinata breathed, turning slightly in his hold to show the respect of at least acknowledging him. She didn't need to hide the tears now, it wasn't necessary. The rain was falling too hard for anyone to notice.
"You shouldn't be out here, Hinata-chan." The taller shinobi almost whispered, letting his arm fall back into his pocket. "You might catch a cold."
Hinata remained silent, stepping out of his reach and one step closer to her lifeline. Before the killings, she hadn't much cared for this solid rock. Though now, as experience of shinobi life taught her "well", she now understood the importance of such a pristine thing.
People like her needed it. Had to have it.
"Want to know something Naruto said to me once?" Kakashi asked, his eye creased in a less than fake small as he stepped up beside her, their arms barely brushing.
The tears poured out just a tad faster, but this girl could handle it. She could handle anything, right? She was a ninja; a toughly built kunoichi. Ninja were supposed to be able to take on the world and not fail.
"What would that be?" Hinata all but murmured, turning back towards the memorial stone as she let Kakashi's strong voice take her away to someplace where there wasn't pain nor hurt.
"I remember the day like it was yesterday…"
"Let's go, baka! Quit complaining like a child and get up." Sasuke sneered, leaping back a foot as the blonde-haired ninja shot up from the ground, sweat pouring from both the best friend's faces.
"Shut up, teme! I'm not letting you win this time, Sasuke-bastard!" Naruto fired back, performing his legendary jutsu: Kage Bunshin.
"Ha, like Sasuke's gonna fall for that, idiot." Sakura muttered from her seat under the cool shade that the green canopy from the Konoha forest provided, relaxing her tense muscles as she gave Kakashi one of her best massages from medical training that she could perform. "It never works, Naruto."
"Oi! Sakura-chan! Of course it will-"
Naruto hadn't realized what hit him until his back hit the dirty ground hard and Sasuke loomed over him, once again with a keen smile etched onto his masculine features. It was almost annoying how the infamous Uchiha Sasuke was so fast for being so incredibly dull sometimes.
"Never turn away from the enemy, dumb ass."
"I'm not a dumb ass, you smart ass!"
"Whatever," Sasuke smirked, holding a calloused hand out for the fallen ninja to take. "This got boring quick."
Naruto growled, snatching Sasuke's strong hand anyways as he was lifted from the dry land, dirt and grass littering his back. "I'll just get you next time, teme."
"You said that last time, Naruto." Sasuke smirked.
There was that incredible smirk again; one that could make young girls fall head over heels for without a second thought. There was a time long, long ago where that same smile had once melted Sakura's heart to a big blob of goo. And it still did at times, but now it seemed, with the three best friend's older and wiser, stronger and tougher, were their hearts and minds. It didn't nearly affect Sakura as much as it had when she was twelve. But she held a soft spot for him, always.
"Kakashi-sensei, am I done yet?" Sakura whined, resting her head on the infamous Copy Nin's firm shoulder, draping her slim arms around his waist to hug him tightly in the front. "My fingers hurt."
Kakashi sighed, already missing the incredible comfort that Sakura's back massages tend to give him, calming his stiff muscles and allowing his soul to feel more at ease.
"Why don't you let them beat each other up a bit more, Sakura-Chan?" Kakashi tried, gripping the eighteen year old's arms that tried to snake away, replacing them back onto his wanting shoulders.
"Ah, Kakashi. I'm hungry," Sasuke frowned, turning to face the contented pair on the ground. Nobody had noticed, or at least paid attention to the fact that Sasuke dropped the respectful suffix whenever he was interacting with Kakashi. He'd stop that sign (of respect, was it?) after he had left to take care of things with Itachi and Orochimaru. The team was used to it by now. But Naruto and Sakura tended to wonder if it ever bothered the old pervert? Sasuke obviously didn't care.
"Yeah, me too!" Sakura chirped, glad for Sasuke's genius interruption as the young kunoichi unleashed herself from her former sensei's arms, struggling to get up with the previous workout still fresh in her muscle's, causing them serious soreness.
"Catch up with ya later, Hatake?" Sasuke waved as Sakura ran up to the tall, raven haired man, linking her arms with his muscular ones as they stalked away from the training ground. "Naruto, you coming, baka? It's ramen night!" Sasuke called over his shoulder.
"I'll catch up with you guys later!" Naruto hollered back, waving a large hand in the air. "Don't start without me!"
"Yo, Naruto." The steady voice of Hatake Kakashi sounded, causing Naruto to spin around. "You wanted to see me after practice?"
Naruto's face remained impassive, his eyes blinking for a few seconds until he remembered what had been nagging at him for about a whole week now.
Sapphire eyes lit up, hands twisting into the hem of his signature orange and black jacket as his feet dug craters into the ground, Naruto bowed his head down low as he spoke the words every man had to go through at one point of his life.
"Sensei? I was wondering…"
"…'Have you ever liked a girl so much, she's the only thing that's ever on your mind?'" Kakashi spoke, his eye crinkling in a comforting sort of way. "'And no matter how hard you try, she won't stop plaguing your thoughts until you do something about it?'"
The edges of Hinata's lips turned up into a somewhat smile that didn't feel natural on her beautifully shaped face because so much of the time when she had needed to smile, it had been forced and out of habit.
"Sounds something like he would say," Hinata whispered, the words fragile on her tongue as if this moment might break.
"Yeah, definitely him, alright." Kakashi laughed, scratching the back of his neck as his eye creased once more, giving Hinata that laid back feeling once more.
"W-who's the lady?" Hinata stammered, the words tying in her mouth as more tears rolled down her pale face and down the slope of her chin to her neck where they kept cascading until they were long forgotten on the material of her Jonin vest.
"Who's the lucky lady, Naruto?" Kakashi laughed, walking slowly back to the trail that led them back into the confines of The Hidden Leaf Village.
"She's this really special girl who doesn't know I like her," Naruto smiled, scratching the back of his head in a sheepish way as his face turned a deep shade of pink. "But every time I see her…"
"Kakashi-sama, please, I-I know what you're trying to do." Hinata whispered, her voice quivering no matter how hard she tried to control it. It was suddenly really hard to see through the rain to look the Copy Ninja in the eye anymore…
"Hinata-"
Hinata couldn't stop the waterfall of tears pouring out as she suddenly turned away from the silver-haired ninja, her petite shoulders shaking with every sob that tore from her tender throat.
Maybe Kakashi was trying to help ease her pain in his own special way; attempting to give a share of a once treasured memory of his from so long ago. Hinata didn't want to be cruel or hateful, or even disrespect the elder shinobi, but Hinata didn't want a piece of that memory. Her heart was still sore two and a half years later and it seemed that it would never heal, no matter how much time surpassed from then to now.
Looking up miserably to let the rain wash away her fallen tears, Hinata jumped with surprise and fear at the sight of seeing Kakashi Hatake's strong build directly in front of her, giving each other about an inch of space between them. Hinata's eyes bulged as she looked up into the mysterious face of said man and saw his infamously intimidating Sharingan spinning wildly, red mixing with black for a split second before she felt herself loosing consciousness…
"…I just wanna-I just wanna-"
"Oi! Naruto! You're in love?" The copy ninja drawled, pretend shock evident in his voice as he reached out to ruffle the young ninja's hair like he always did with his subordinates. "Is it Sakura? Cause, uh, I don't know how to say this, but-"
"Nai! Kakashi-sensei! It's not Sakura!" Naruto about shouted, slamming a fisted palm into his other hand. "She's got something goin' on with Sasuke-bastard."
Kakashi looked taken aback for a second, his visible eye widening for just a second before his signature eye crinkle replaced the distinct shock. "That's new…"
It took a while for Hinata Hyuuga to understand what was happening or where she was as her eyes grew used to the bright lights around her, blinking rapidly until they did so. The bright light started to dissipate, her eyes attempting to explore her new surroundings. But as she heard the resounding, loveable voice of her lover, she knew it was no dream; that this wasn't fake or what she wanted or hoped it to be. She realized that was swimming in the depths of a certain silver-haired ninja's mind, floating through past memories in which Hinata wished could go on forever.
"Who would want to go out with that teme anyways? What do all the girls see in him, hm? He's so annoying," Naruto mumbled softly to himself, unaware of the menacing stare he was giving off as he turned his gaze to the ground.
The first time in a long time, Hinata smiled. Actually smiled! Uzamaki Naruto, her lover and best friend, was standing less than a couple of feet away from her. She wanted to run to him and touch him, kiss him while he held her tenderly in his strong and forgiving arms.
But as Hinata tried to move, tried to run, she felt something keeping her there planted at the spot, disallowing her to return to her dearest Naruto.
W-Why can't I move? Hinata thought desperately, thrashing around madly as she tried to run to him.
"It's just…How do you tell someone you love them, Kaka-sensei?" Naruto asked with true sincerness in his voice. "It seems like it's so hard, but really all you have to say is three little words…"
Kakashi seemed to think for a moment, putting a finger up to his masked chin as he pretended to be in deep thought. "Well, if you like a girl, and if you like her a lot, you should probably tell her as soon as you can and not wait until the last second before it's too late," Kakashi sighed, pausing for a moment before he decided to continue. "And if she's all you can think about, everyday-all day, then its all the more reason to tell her, Naruto."
Nobody knew that in that precise moment, Kakashi wasn't being utterly annoying for being incredibly smart about his choice of words or answers to Naruto's problems, as he most often was. Rather, he was speaking from a real, true standpoint that he had once encountered when he was about Naruto's age, except quite a few years younger.
"Tell her, Naruto. Do yourself and whoever this mysterious girl is a favor, really."
Something of great force and weight started to tug at Hinata's heart as she felt an unimaginable amount of compassion and love for the scene before her very eyes. It wasn't every day were you saw the Kyuubi Holder having a milestone talk with a sensei who found entertainment in porn novels who had shocking silver hair at only age thirty-two.
Something inside the Hyuuga Heiress snapped, seeing this scene unfold in front of her very eyes. Realizing that she wouldn't be able to intervene by just standing there, her body fought whatever was holding her back insanely, using any strength she had to break free.
"Sensei, I think I'm going to tell her. I think I'm gonna tell her, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto roared, a boyish grin strewn on his childish face as his face held a new excitement Hinata had never seen in her lifetime.
"NARUTO!!!" Hinata cried, twisting and fighting the imaginary force but to no avail. Hinata knew her companion could not hear her but she tried anyway.
Hinata's vision started to blur once again as the lights around her started to turn into bright lights as a familiar feeling crept over the little kunoichi's body.
And before she knew it she was back in the regular world, wrapped in Kakashi's strong, safe arms.
"Naruto!" Hinata sobbed, fighting her way through Kakashi's grip until he slackened and let the distraught girl go. Expecting the woman to run away from this moment forever, she collapsed onto the ground, knees first as she buried her tear-stained face into her hands.
"W-Why? Why did y-you show me that? D-Don't you know it h-hurts? IT HURTS!" Hinata whimpered, her body rocking back and forth in a sadness she couldn't put a finger on at the moment.
Kakashi remained impassive, staring down at the young girl with saddened eyes.
"I'm sorry, Hinata-Chan."
And as the Copy Nin walked away with a deeper slouch to his shoulders, he would never know that even though it had been painful and hard to see a love past and gone forever, it was the one thing Hinata needed to carry on in this world.
What else did she have?
"Naruto," Hinata whispered, the sobs drawing to a close as the rain stopped to pour in hard pelts.
Looking up into the once blackened sky, the sun started to peak through Konoha's training ground trees, warming her dampened body. It took her a while at first, but as soon as she saw the sun smiling down at her, she knew someone was watching her; giving her strength to move on.
"I love you, Naruto-kun."