As the day pulled to a close, it brought thick, dark clouds with it. Thunder rumbled in the distance, and lightning lit up the sky. Not many people were out on the street, but the ones that were, were trying to hurry home as quickly as possible before the storm hit. There was one girl that was an exception to that, however. She was walking by herself, looking around her as though she were searching for someone. She was striking to say the least, with long sleek black hair and white pupilless eyes. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she searched the area around her.
"Naruto… where are you?" She murmured to herself, her voice full of worry. Earlier that day, she had overheard Sakura and Shikamaru talking about the death of Lord Jiraiya. Hinata could only listen in horror, her thoughts immediately going to Naruto.
How was he handling the death of his master? She knew he was sad, because if she lost Kurenai-sensei, she knew she would feel the same way. But she had to believe he was strong enough to pull through, right? Naruto was strong, but she had an even stronger feeling that something was very wrong. There was a feeling, hiding deep in her heart, that he wasn't handling it as well as he had handled everything else that had been thrown at him. It hurt her to feel this way; to feel like her faith in her friend was fading, if only slightly.
No, she thought to herself. My faith isn't fading. I just know he needs someone right now. Still, despite her fear she kept on searching, even going so far as to activate her Byakugan. Even still, almost walking around the entire village, she found no signs of him. She had checked his apartment, Ichiraku Ramen, and had even went to Sakura's home to see if he had sought her out for comfort. No one could tell her anything, because they too had no idea where Naruto could have gone. He was the number one, unpredictable, knucklehead ninja after all.
Hinata sighed and stopped walking, staring up at the sky. She winced when lightning flashed, wondering for a moment if she should halt her searching for the time being and continue when the storm had passed. Surely Naruto would think about his well being and not be out in the storm, and with this reassuring thought, she turned on her heel to begin her trek back home.
"Naruto!" She gasped. Naruto looked up at her with dead eyes, effectively making her heart ache. He was sitting on the bench just ten paces away from her, staring down at the ground as though it wasn't really there. She walked slowly over to him and sat beside him, wondering just what kind of words she could offer to her friend.
It was true Hinata didn't know exactly what he was going through, but she felt like she wanted to help him. She couldn't just let him suffer like he obviously was. It hurt her to see him the way he was. This wasn't like him, and though she knew it was selfish of her, she wanted the old Naruto back. She wanted to see his bright, toothy grin, and she wanted to hear him shout his Ninja Way with pride. That was her Naruto; not the broken down shell of a man before her.
"Naruto…" she whispered, reaching for his hand. He didn't move. "I—I heard about what happened to—to Lord Jiraiya." He shuddered, closing his eyes for a brief second, as though reliving the moment he had been told that horrible news.
He turned his head and glanced at her. She saw the tears rising, but knew he was fighting hard to push them back. Despite everything he was going through, he still didn't want to cry in front of a girl. Hinata grabbed his hand, surprised at just how cold he was.
"Are you here to make things better? You're late." He muttered, looking back down at the ground. "Iruka-sensei already beat you to it." He then looked up to watch the sky, looking as though he were waiting for the rain. The sadness in his eyes was profound, and deep inside, he truly wanted to cry. He wanted to lay his heart out to the world and watch what they did. He wanted to see just how much of him could break before it become impossible to break anymore.
Things could only shatter so many times before the pieces began to get so small they couldn't be seen anymore. Naruto Uzumaki just wanted to hide from the world for a moment, to hide and scream and cry until he was content. He knew Master Jiraiya would not be happy about Naruto crying over him, but he couldn't help it. The Pervy Sage had been the closest thing to a father he had had in a long time.
"Let me hear…" he trailed off, leaning back against the bench, closing his eyes. "Let me hear how his death hadn't been in vain. Tell me how he died for the sake of the village and that we're safer now because of it. Make me believe that, Hinata, because right now, I've yet to be convinced."
"I'm not here to tell you those things." She whispered, staring down at her hand that was holding his. Slowly, being encompassed in hers, his hand had begun to warm up. It had been awfully cold just moments ago, and somehow, it made her a little happier.
"What?" He asked, a little bit of life in his voice. Hinata looked up at him and gave him her signature shy smile and blush.
"N-Naruto…" she murmured. "I'm just here so you're not alone. I can't tell you it's going to be okay, because I've never lost anyone particularly close to me. I… well, I just wanted… I think that… that you'll be okay." He stared at her, his blue eyes wide with shock.
Hinata blushed again and tried to look away, but he grabbed her chin and turned her back around to face him. She took deep breaths, trying to calm herself down so she didn't pass out. This was not the moment to pass out. She needed to be here for her friend no matter what. But he's so close I… I don't know what to do.
"Hinata…" he whispered. He removed his hand from her chin and placed both of his hands on her shoulders. The expression in his eyes changed then, so suddenly she hadn't been able to register the change until he pushed her away. "Don't lie to me!"
She cried out in surprise and caught herself before she could hit the ground. She stared at Naruto, wondering exactly why he had pushed her. His face was buried in the palms of his hands and his shoulders were shaking. It was then that it began to rain. Sheets of water pelted them, and she couldn't help but think that the sky was crying with Naruto. Hinata got off the bench and knelt in front of him, grabbing his wrists and pulling his hands away from his face.
"No!" He snapped, trying to pull away from her. "Stop it!"
"Naruto, look at me." She ordered, feeling suddenly brave. He reluctantly looked into her eyes, the tears still flowing freely from his own. "I'm not lying to you."
Her nerves were gone, and she had no fear. Hinata knew exactly what she wanted to do next, and knew that this would be her only chance. She released Naruto's wrists and reached up to grab the sides of his face, pulling him down so he was facing her at eye level. This was all new to her, but if it meant she could prove to Naruto her feelings, then it would be worth it. All of the stammering, the fainting, the blushing, the running, the hiding, the failing… she could show him that somewhere in her heart, he had made her strong enough to fight herself. She leaned closer to him, close enough that their lips just barely touched.
"You helped me so much. I was always warring with myself, not knowing if I was good enough to do anything good, but you gave me the courage to find out for myself. I fought myself because you gave me the courage to, and now it's my turn to tell you that, even if I can't completely understand you now like you understood me then, you can fight this too."
His eyes widened just as Hinata closed the space between them and kissed him. Her heart was racing away in her chest, and she feared that it would burst from her if she wasn't careful. At first, Naruto didn't respond. He was in too much shock to be able to do anything but stare down at her; but then it hit him. Slowly, his arms went around her waist, pulling her up from the ground and onto his lap. They were completely soaked and the chill that came with it reached their bones. Hinata was shaking from the cold, but she didn't care. All she knew was that at that moment, she was giving Naruto the courage to try again.
Naruto's fingers were beginning to go numb, but he didn't care because all he knew at that moment was the fact that he felt very alive; a large contrast when compared to ten minutes ago. Every nerve ending in his body was a live wire, and despite the cold, he felt wonderfully warm. When they leaned back to catch their breath, Hinata noticed that the tears had stopped and the ghost of a smile had appeared on his face. She gave him her shy smile and reached up to cup his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into her hand.
Hinata wanted to know what was going through his mind then, but she figured she could save that question for another day. Naruto tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer.
"Thank you…" he whispered, burying his face into her neck. His shoulders were shaking again, but when he spoke, he didn't sound sad at all. "Thank you."