It is known well throughout the Elemental Nations that Uzumaki Naruto is impulsive and a loudmouth. He never quite thinks things through, nor does he stop himself from stating his opinions and thoughts.
But it is now, where he stands in the rain, in black, in front of a slab of granite with an imprinted name, that he wishes that he never opened his stupid, big, fat, mouth.
No one ever takes him seriously (save for the super extreme situations that only he can get through), so why does the only person who ever cared about him, listened to him, loved him, took him seriously, is the one who dies?
Because he never gave her the same respect.
Because he went to Sakura.
When he first heard Hinata's confession back at Pein's invasion, he felt a myriad of emotions. Happiness, shock, confusion, embarrassment, but, most of all, doubtful. He had a good reason, too: no one ever loved him. Sure, some tolerated, talked to him, laughed with him, and were even friends with him, but it wasn't love- never was that "l" word ever mentioned until now.
Despite not knowing what love is like, he went out with her. Maybe it was because she looked really cute at the time, maybe he was curious about love, or about the authenticity of her love. In the end, he asked her out, and she accepted.
And he was happy- as happy as getting free ramen at Ichiraku. She was fun, cool, cute, strong, nice, and really great to talk to once you get past the fainting and the stuttering (which took a really long time, the latter even more so).
But he blew it, and now he's alone and she's dead- all because of Sakura.
He really did like her- still does, in fact, but it's wearing down quickly. First off, how did this all start? Simple: Uchiha Sasuke.
It took a lot of effort to bring him back, and a hell of a lot more to get him accepted in Konoha. But he was back and the first thing Sakura did was ask him out- surprisingly (and to every fangirls' misfortune), he gave the greenlight.
Then it all went downhill.
Tension arose, and fights broke out constantly- him being aloof, cool-headed, but arrogant, and her being stubborn and hot-headed. Luckily, he never had that problem with Hinata (Kami, what was he on when he blew it?). The fights escalated to the point where Sakura came to him in tears. He wanted to help her out as much as possible- she is his teammate and his friend, after all- and asked her if she needed anything. With that she forcibly grabbed him by the jacket collar (damn, did all that training with Tsunade pay off) and kissed him.
He struggled mentally, thinking 'This is WRONG!' and 'What about Hinata, your girlfriend?' However, a smaller part of his mind- the winning part- reminded him that this was his first love, and he should damn well take advantage of the situation. And so he did.
Hinata saw it all.
He was so caught up in the moment that he said such hurtful things that drove her to tears and her knees buckled as if she was going to fall. She didn't, though- she ran away, sobbing.
It was then did Naruto see his mistake, and desperately tried to call her back, ignoring the pouting, annoyed Sakura. But it was too late- the damage has been done.
Her funereal is held now, with everyone and the sky crying, mourning her. Naruto is the only one who stayed afterwards, crying, pleading, begging for his lover to come back.
To the one who drove her away.
Hehe... Sean Connery...
Ahem, anyway, this is it: the very much new and improved version of "His Reply." Comment!
- Failure-chan