If you haven't already figured it out, this NaruHina one-shot was requested by Phoenix2197. Yes, I do take one-shot requests if they are about characters from Naruto, Death Note, or Harry Potter. So if you are interested, feel free to send me a message :)
It's been two years since Hinata Hyuuga died from a disease that not even Tsunade could cure. Two long, painful, empty years without the dark blue haired Hyuuga. Everyone knew her for her excellent medical ninja skills and her shy yet sweet personality. To many, she was a fellow teammate, medical ninja, and friend. But to Naruto Uzumaki, she was his lover.
Naruto's fight against Pein was where Hinata confessed her feelings for the blonde which sparked their relationship. Like yin and yang, day and night, water and fire, they were complete opposites of one another but they somehow made the perfect match. The Hyuuga's calm and collected persona matched the stubborn and outgoing personality of the Uzumaki. The blonde was always there to put a smile on her face (along with a blush of course) while the blue haired girl endured his non-stop talking. The couple was head over heels in love and couldn't have been happier.
At least, that's how it was two years ago.
Hinata did not realize the seriousness of her illness. She thought it of the flu or the common cold and brushed it off. But the pain that surged throughout her body grew stronger, not weaker. Not wishing to worry her lover, Hinata kept it a secret, knowing that Naruto was close to reaching his goal of becoming the fifth Hokage. How well he did on a certain A-rank mission determined if he would take Tsunade's place when she dies. His mission required him to leave Hinata behind for a month. As much as he didn't like the idea of not seeing her for such a long period of time, she insisted he went. But she knew that when he left, she would go as well. It broke her heart that she would leave him suddenly without giving him a warning, but she thought it was best. She couldn't bring herself to tell him that she was dying. She didn't want him to worry over her when he had every right to be happy even if it wasn't with her.
When Naruto returned from his completed mission filled with happiness and eagerness to see his love, he found their shared apartment empty. He spent the whole day looking for her around Konoha, wondering where she could be. Coincidentally, he didn't happen to stumble upon any of his friends that knew she passed the night he left. Although he was worried, Naruto was sure that she was probably out of town on a mission and would back soon.
Minutes turned into hours and hours turned into days. Naruto was worried sick and demanded that a search party was formed in order to find her. Nobody wanted to tell him that she died over a month ago. Seeing him act like this reminded them how he acted when Sasuke left the village to join Orochimaru. Hearing the news that his beloved Hyuuga died the night he left for his mission changed the Uzumaki. At first, he was shocked and believed it to be a lie. He thought they were playing a sick joke on him. But he knew deep inside his gut that it was the truth. His shock turned into anger, feeling deceived that Hinata lied to him about her condition and convinced him to go on the mission.
He changed into a person no one knew, he wasn't Naruto Uzumaki. Ever since he found out about Hinata's death, he shut everyone and everything out. He stopped training, hanging out with friends, and living. Locking himself up in his apartment, he never went outside. He looked like a zombie. He even stopped eating ramen, his tastebuds not recognizing its delicious taste. He was rude to everyone he saw and spoke to. His friends tried helping him get back to his life, but their efforts were useless. Being a total jerk to everyone around him was how he dealt with Hinata's death.
On Hinata's second death anniversary, Naruto woke up at dawn which was surprising since he would usually sleep the whole day away. But not today. Although he wish he didn't, he knew what day it was. He sat up, looking around his trashed apartment. Dirty clothes, empty bottles of sake, and other useless items littered his apartment. Groaning, he sat up in his bed and covered his eyes. He didn't wish to relive the memory of him hearing the news about her death. He knew that if he did, he would become angry and go on a rampage throughout the village.
He scoffed at the consequences of him doing such a thing which were none. People already knew to stay out of his way at all times unless they wanted a death wish. He smiled in amusement at how people treated him. They probably thought he was a crazy loner that belonged in a mental hospital. But he didn't care. He didn't care about anyone or anything. Hours passed by of him staring at the wall. He refused to remember every memory he had of her in order to numb the pain in his heart. He growled and shook his head in frustration. "Snap out of it, Uzumaki. She didn't care about you. If she did, she would have told you she was sick. She wouldn't have died without telling you," the blonde scoffed to himself.
Angered, he stood up from his bed and walked into his bathroom. He looked at his scowl before turning on the faucet and splashing cold water on his face. After hearing his stomach grumble, he quickly changed into jeans and a black t-shirt and walked out the door in order to stock up groceries. Shielding his eyes from the sun's rays, he guessed it to be around noon. Hastily, he bought food from a local store, hoping it would last him for two weeks. As he was walking home, he saw a girl with pink hair in the distance. He closed his eyes, pretending to not see or hear the girl as she started to run towards him.
"Naruto! You're actually outside!" Sakura exclaimed as she gave him a hug. Naruto didn't return the hug for two reasons. The first being that he was holding his groceries in both hands and the second being that he didn't want to hug her. She obviously thought the former as the only reason as she said, "Oh, you bought groceries. Here, let me help you." She grabbed one of the bags from his hands and started to walk besides him, chattering away. The blonde continued to ignore the girl as he continued his walk home. Once they arrived at his apartment, Sakura was done talking. She walked into the apartment with the groceries still in hand as she said, "Jeez, Naruto. What a pigsty! You really need to clean up around here. You know Hin-"
Sakura immediately closed her mouth, regretting she dared to say Hinata's name. A dark shadow appeared over Naruto's eyes as he looked down at the floor while clenching both of his fists. "Get out," he warned as he stepped to side, revealing the door. Sakura didn't make any movement towards the door. Instead, she cocked her hip to the side, folded her arms across her chest, and replied back, "No." The blonde's head snapped up and he walked up to the pink girl, their faces inches apart. "Get. Out." He said again. Sakura shook her head and kept eye contact with the blonde.
"You need to accept that she's gone, Naruto. You can't hole yourself up in this apartment, denying the fact that she's dead. I know you miss her. Everyone misses her. But we're all doing okay. She wouldn't want you to live your life like this. Do you think she didn't want to tell you she was sick? She didn't want to tell you because you would rather take care of her than go on the mission that determined if you were to take Tsunade's place as Hokage. She loved you, Naruto! She loved you enough to let you pursue your dream even if it meant she had to die. She wanted you to reach your goal that you've had since we were in school. Hinata wouldn't approve of how you are living your life. She would be disgusted that she died and found that you let yourself go. She-" Naruto's hand interrupted Sakura has he slapped her hard across the face, a loud clap echoing throughout the apartment as her head turned to the side.
Sakura slowly faced Naruto, her cheek bright red as her shirt while blood started to ooze out of the fresh cut. Her eyes were full of surprise before it was replaced with anger. Naruto noticed this change and his eyes widen as the kuniochi's fist collided with his face, causing him to fly out the open doorway of his apartment and fall on the hard ground outside. Naruto was never the type to hit women unless necessary in battle. Although Sakura's face showed anger, she was hurt that Naruto had slapped her. Feeling his body rise up into the air, Naruto saw tears form around Sakura's eyes.
"Sakura, put him down," a voice said. The blonde and pinkette turned their heads towards the direction of the voice to see Neji Hyuuga. Sakura released her grip on Naruto's collar and walked away without another word. Naruto couldn't bring himself to look up at the brown haired Hyuuga because of the resemblance he had with his deceased blue haired cousin and his left eye was starting to swell up from Sakura's punch. Neji, having witnessed everything from afar, grabbed Naruto's hand and dragged him to a flower shop where he bought two white roses. Naruto didn't protest the whole way, not knowing or caring where they were going. Neji pulled the blonde to the outskirts of Konoha where there was a hill with a grave sitting at the top.
The grave belonged to Hinata Hyuuga. The headstone read, "Here lies Hinata Hyuuga. Gone but never forgotten."
The brown haired man let go of the blonde, forcing him to look at the grave. "Naruto, I know you're angry and hurt about Hinata's death. But Sakura's right, you can't live like this anymore," Neji said calmly as he looked up at the sky and saw dark clouds approaching. Naruto gritted his teeth as he stood up from the ground and faced the Hyuuga.
"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, Hyuuga." The Uzumaki turned around and began his walk back home.
"She didn't tell you she was sick because she wanted you to reach your dream of becoming Hokage. She died, thinking that although she would be gone, you would still be happy. And that was all she wanted, Naruto, for you to be happy. Even if she wasn't there with you. But she died in vain." Neji said, examing the two white roses he held in his hands. Naruto stopped walking after hearing Neji's words.
"I was there the night she died," he continued. "She told me that she wanted the best for you and that she didn't regret having to die at such a young age because she spent her life with people like you. You gave her hope. She made me promise her that I'd help you if you had a tough time getting over her death. She didn't want you to spend your time being sad since you already suffered enough from being an orphan. She wanted to thank you for being there for her, being able to make her smile. She told me she loves you and that she always will even in the next life."
Naruto's back was facing Neji, his feet unable to move. Neji's speech about Hinata's last words made silent tears run down his cheeks. The blonde finally turned around and embraced the male Hyuuga. Surprised as he was, Neji returned the hug as he felt Naruto's tears seeped through his shirt, the blonde's body shaking from his sobs. Neji slowly walked the blonde back to the grave and sat down, bringing Naruto with him. Still holding the two white roses, he places one in front of Hinata's grave and gives one to Naruto. The blonde took the flower and stared at it, his vision still blurry. Neji softly released Naruto and stood up from the ground and walked a few steps backwards in order to let the blonde to be alone.
Naruto wiped the water from his face as his nose sniffled. "I'm sorry, Hinata. I'm really truly sorry. I should've known that you were sick, I should've stayed behind to see you at your last moments. I'm sorry that I've been a complete jerk since you've left. You have really made an impact on my life, you know? I hope you are in a better place while watching over everyone, away from all the pain. I promise I'll live a happy life like you wanted even though it'll be hard without you. I'll never forget you, Hinata. You're forever a part of my heart," the blonde whispered as tears made their way down his face again. He continued to cry for a few more minutes before placing the white rose next to Neji's. Standing up from his spot, he raised his right hand, kissing his fingertips, and touching the headstone.
As the blonde did this, raindrops started to fall from the sky. Naruto made his way over to Neji who was still waiting for him underneath a tree, protecting himself from the rain. The two men started their walk back to Konoha as water fell from both the heavens and their eyes, crying for their beloved Hinata.
D': So sad! I realized that I wrote a lot for this one-shot. Or at least was very descriptive halfway through it. LOL. Anyways, I hope Phoenix2197 enjoyed her oneshot! Sorry, Ayana, if Naruto's "bad boy" persona wasn't what you quite expected. Anyways, thanks for reading! And if you want to request a one-shot, send me a message :D