A/N: In the future of Naruto. Naruto and Hinata are about 17/18. It's kinda dark, kinda not… I guess you can decide for yourselves then. Tiny spoilers…:P
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and/or its characters.
Fallen From Grace
His battle scared angel. She lay there. Eyes closed and lifeless. He felt tears come to his eyes.
He traced the knife marks around her eye where they tried to remove her Byakugan, the blood still flowing freely like tears. He heard her screams as they tried to carve them out while she was still living, but could not reach her in time.
He traced the wounds she received during her last struggle, his hands becoming drenched in her life source. He held her hands; the ones that bled from the chakra she forced out in desperation. Finally his hands found their way to the kunai in her chest. The one that she took when he reached her. He thought he had made it in time. He thought he could save her. And then… she fell to the ground, smiling.
She had achieved her objective. She wanted to see him once more before she died. She held out just for that moment.
She confessed her feelings for him night before all of this. He said he couldn't love her back. She smiled at him and told him that it was okay. She was just happy with telling him after so many years of keeping her feelings bottled up inside. He told her he was already in love with Sakura and even if it was hopeless, he couldn't see himself with anyone else. She accepted his feelings and left to prepare for her mission.
They ambushed her on first mission out as a Jounin.
He pressed his lips against her cold forehead. The mark of a branch member faded long ago… long before he had reached her. The ugly light green caged bird symbol that marred her pale skin. The bangs she grew to cover it swept over her closed eyes.
He didn't know it would hurt so much to lose her. He didn't notice how much he cared for her because he took her silent presence for granted. He never realized he was in love with her until now.
He looked at the carnage around the room. None of them survived his wrath. Dismembered, mutilated bodies spread around them.
"Ne Hinata-chan. I told you I'd come for you." He smiled at the girl wearily. His eyes were empty, tears staining his marked cheeks.
He took the kunai out of her chest gently, even if she couldn't feel anymore pain. He didn't think he could go on without her. She had always watched him, but when he went on his training mission with Jiraiya, he felt what it was like to be without her presence. The loneliness, the silence, the emptiness. That was when he became a bit jaded. The blood that dripped off of the sharp object, the same blood he swore on many years ago when they were children dared him to make a choice.
He flung the object aside. He knew what she would want… no matter how painful it would be for him. He smiled at her softly, his eyes showing some spark of emotion.
"You save me again, ne Hinata-chan?"
He picked up her limp, light frame and carried her through the threshold, out of the compound and back to Konoha. No matter how tired he became, he didn't stop walking, he never put her down. He almost didn't hand her over to the family she tried so hard to impress. He wanted to hold her… just a little longer, he told them, but he really meant forever. He didn't want to let go. For if he did, he would have to believe she was really gone. He never wanted to admit that. Even now, 50 years after her death.
For her, he became Hokage. He protected their village. He changed her clan. He never married and never had children. He swore he would live for the both of them and so he did.
Happy Belated Birthday hyuga-san! n-n; erm… yeah… Bai bai
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