Hinata loves me?
One minute I'm watching Pain approach. The next, she's there in front of me. I could use the back-up. I'm pinned to the ground and completely outmatched. The problem is, that means she is too. So my first thought is to panic. Get out of here! You're no match for him! But of course she doesn't leave. For someone so timid, she's always been surprisingly relentless. Of all the times to try to be brave, this is the stupidest choice. He'll kill you!
I'm not afraid to die.
That's what she said, and for a moment panic gave way to pure frustration. I don't care if you're afraid or not, idiot. I'm afraid. He's after me. He wants me. I'm the one with the jinchuuriki. I'm the one who has to fight him. I'm the one who can fight him. You think I want you pointlessly getting yourself killed? You think that's gonna make anyone happy?
I'm here because I want to be. This time I'm going to save you Naruto-kun. I was always crying and running away before even trying. I made the wrong turns so many times. But you helped me find my way and take the correct path, Naruto-kun. I always chased after you. I wanted to catch up to you. I wanted to walk beside you all the time. I wanted to be at your side always. Your smile is what saved me. That's why I'm not afraid to die if it means I can protect you.
Because … I love you.
My mind is suddenly blank. I can't see her face, the way I'm pinned down. She had her back to me the whole time, keeping her eyes on Pain in case of attack. I don't even think about why he's letting us have this conversation. If you could even call it that.
She loves me?
It's the first time anyone's ever said that to me. I'm not someone people fall in love with. I was never the child parents doted on, or fawned over, or even smiled tiredly at. I'm not someone people loved. I'm not even someone people liked. That's not self-pity. That's just a fact. But she loves me?
Instead of charging Pain, she turns and breaks one of the staffs holding me down. I start to feel some of my chakra return. But before she can break the rest, he comes after her. She powers up, in a move I haven't seen before. In a weird way, I feel like I've never really seen her at all before this moment. She's not timid or quiet. She's fierce and determined. And I can't even comprehend that this is happening.
It's over in seconds. She's a white flame of energy and power, and then she's on the ground. He throws her down so hard she's lying in a crater. And she's so still. He walks up to her and I think he's saying something to me. He stabs her. And she's still just lying there. So still. In a crater of broken earth and slowly pooling blood. The blood is expanding. And she's so still.
Hinata loves me?
I can't move. She's not moving. I can't breathe. She's not breathing. All I can see is red. Her blood. And fire. She loves me. My lungs are on fire. She loves me. My eyes are on fire. She loved me. My heart is on fire.
I'll kill him.
I'll burn him.
I'll set the world on fire.