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Are You Real?

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"Kaa-chan…five more minutes, please," he mumbled groggily, shifting his back fully against the hard plane of the wall. Sunlight slipped in between the crack of the door, casting orange shadows on his eyelids. His mind slowly unfurled open, like rolling a tightly wound carpet over a floor. He blinked. Once. Twice. One more time.

"I'm still alive," he said, beginning the first step to his daily routine. He stretched his neck from side to side and tentatively pushed open the closet door. The hinges stiffly pivoted, groaning out a shrill creak.

"Kaa-chan…Tou-chan…good morning," he greeted, voice a husky rasp.

A broom and dustpan faced him. He didn't have many options last night, but he thought the broom and dustpan combination sufficed well enough. The broom had a red handle–not as striking as his mother's vivacious red hair, but still red nonetheless–and the dustpan, well, his father's calm nature could always collect his mother's messes.

"Good morning, Naruto," he replied to himself, shoving down the instinctive pressure that built up behind his eyes. It was only the beginning of the day and much too early for that.

He stood up and shouldered his backpack, absently noting that it grew lighter by the day, and stepped out of the closet. He took one last look at his parents for the previous night.

"I'm off!" He announced in hollow cheer, saluting them before turning to leave.

Some may have called him crazy, borderline insane.

If they were alive.

He would have agreed.

He liked days like today, where the sun beat down on him and pelted the back of his neck with an almost taunting hatred. It reminded him that he could feel things–that he himself–was still real. Black, ripped plastic bags scattered across the ground, and he squatted down to see if he could find anything of use within them.

Rotting apples, discarded scraps of paper, and swarms of bugs littered over the trash like a festering wound. The stale scent of spoiled waste wafted through the streets. Nope, no luck. If anything useful had existed, they had already picked it apart.

Naruto moved forward. Cars lined the roads, some with their doors swung wide open, others with their front hoods smashed into towers of rubble. A few stores here and there still had their names lit up in bright neon lights; the "Open" sign flickering on and off like an eerie invitation. Toppled debris and trash cluttered just about everywhere, occasionally flipping and tumbling over if the wind buffeted them hard enough. Naruto's keen eyes examined them for anything worth salvaging, but it seemed like his backpack would stay light.

The city was once filled with bustling activity, noise, and life. Now…not so much.

The thought wasn't new, but nevertheless rammed into his chest, like a knife carving a hole into him and gutting out his internal organs. His fingers clumsily unzipped his backpack and he extracted a worn radio. The device had been next to him when he awoke in the hospital, and for some inexplicable reason, it seemed like it had been placed there purposefully for him to take.

Continuing on with the second step of his daily routine, he fiddled with the radio until fizzling static interrupted the deafening silence. Ah, that's better. The static screeched and crackled like crumpling paper, irritating his ears like a harsh sting, but he hardly cared.

Better than nothing, literally.

He lost track of how many hours he wandered around the deserted town (did it really matter?), and found himself on the edge of the pier when the sun began its slow descent. His legs dangled over murky brown water and nose inhaled the salty sea breeze, relishing this peace for just a moment longer. Once the innocent pinks and oranges blended across the clouds faded to a dark blue, it would mark the beginning of another night. And with the beginning of another night, came the third step to his daily routine. Familiar panic swelled up like a hot air balloon.

He forced himself to stumble up, and rake the empty houses for a suitable hiding place. Once in a while, he wondered why he even bothered attempting to run, attempting to hide, and considered ending it all. Give up. Stand in the epicenter of the city and provide them a free meal. But whenever such thoughts surfaced, something deeper thrummed within him that urged him to take another step, breathe another breath.

Some may have called him crazy, borderline insane.

He would have agreed.

Only someone crazy and borderline insane would still cling onto hope.

As the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Naruto managed to wedge himself into a tight closet and shutter the doors in front of him. Tonight, he was rather pleased with his parents. The lamp may have had a broken bulb, and the fruit basket may have been fake plastic, but they provided pleasant memories of his father, Minato, as the Yellow Flash, and his mother, Kushina, as the Red Hot Habanero. He didn't have anything in the present or the future, but the past engulfed him with tingling warmth. (A warmth that admittedly grew dimmer and dimmer with each passing day.)

Blue eyes fluttered close, and he tried to quell his rapid heartbeat and slow his breathing as footsteps crashed outside and wails echoed through the night. Go to sleep, Naruto, go to sleep, he repeated to himself, replacing the images of decaying flesh and mutilated bodies with simple, innocuous, sheep. Go to sleep, one, two, three, go to sleep, four, five, six, go to sleep…


x-x-x-x-x-x

Pounding thundered outside, followed by the cracking shatter of wood. The door slammed into the floor with a bang as small, sharp fragments of wood ricocheted off the walls and skidded across the ground. Naruto awoke in a jolt, barely able to contain his choked gasp. Shuffling feet entered the room, accompanied by low, croaky moaning. The putrid scent of moldy death snaked through the crevices of his closet.

Was today the day? The day of his end? Primal fear ran cold through his blood. Strangely enough, however, so did a heavy dose of relief. He tried…he really did try to live. So it's not like he ran away or took the easy way out, because he really did try. (With his physique he could probably fight for his life, and maybe manage to scrape a win, but was it worth it? Was this life really worth fighting for?)

Would he turn into one of them too? Or would he die on the spot? (His dead body decomposing on the floor of an unnamed house sounded rather lonely, even to him). He honestly couldn't say, since he only knew of this world since waking up in an empty hospital dazed, confused, and very, very alone. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut. He had lived a nice life, he supposed. Prior to…the end of the world, he had a very loving mother and father. He had some good memories too– a rambunctious childhood (he scratched out the bullies), a few noteworthy accomplishments (if winning ramen-eating contests counted as accomplishments), and a positive, upbeat personality (a façade really, now that there was no reason nor anyone to feign optimism to).

Make it quick, please, he silently begged, as the strangled moaning and groaning grew louder in intensity.

The noises, their noises, crescendoed in tune to the sound of the blood pounding in Naruto's head, and he found himself counting down the seconds he had left. Just when he imagined them reaching the climax–where their ugly heads would invade his closet-haven and sink crooked teeth into his neck– the incoherent growls abruptly ceased. Slashes sliced cleanly through flesh, and he heard the sickening splatter of juices amidst a pop of bone. But after that, nothing but silence. Thick, deafening, silence.

A terse minute passed and then a voice ordered, "Reveal yourself."

Naruto's jaw plunged open, his breath hitching tightly. This was a dream? Did he already die in his sleep?

When he didn't answer, the voice ventured another word, "Hanabi-chan…?" The decidedly female voice asked, one so gentle and filled with hope and heartbreak that it jerked Naruto to reclaim his senses.

"N-No," he rasped out, barely above a whisper. With shaking hands, he unlatched the closet door and pushed it open enough to see into the dim room.

Before him, stood a girl approximately his age; dressed in completely black attire with hair shining blue-black under the moon's glow. Her eyes were startling pale, nearly white, and upon seeing him widened like an innocent schoolgirl's. It lasted for only a fraction of a second, however, before promptly hardening into harsh coldness.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

It was then that Naruto noticed the sword she brandished, angled slightly towards him. Fresh blood glistened off the silver blade and trickled onto the hilt, staining her hands. She flexed her fingers threateningly the longer he remained quiet.

"U-Uzumaki Naruto," he stammered out, mesmerized by her icy gaze.

Maybe he imagined it, but again, her expression faltered to an oddly suiting softness. Though in a blink of an eye, it was erased, and replaced by an unyielding formality.

"Who else is with you?"

"No one…it's just…me," he answered faster this time, and she lowered her sword half an inch.

"How long have you been by yourself?" She interrogated.

Naruto gulped. "A while…about a month, maybe a little more or a little less. I-I don't really know…I woke up in a hospital and then the world was like…this."

She scrutinized him, eyes openly staring at his face and tracing his ragged clothing. "Come with me," she finally offered, making no move towards him.

Naruto stood up shakily, placing his hands against the wall to steady his buckling knees. His eyes enlarged as he noticed severed corpses strewn about the room, a crushed head beneath the heel of the mysterious woman's foot.

She raised an eyebrow as she observed him. "It's a wonder how you survived so long without killing one."

"They were…once human too, right?"

Her lips pressed into a hard, wry, line. She took half a step forward. "Depends on what you mean by human. If you use my definition, then we both were before."

Before Naruto could process her words, she swiveled on her heel and in the process, grotesquely smashed the head beneath her feet. "We must leave before more come, there's still a stretch of time before the sun rises."

"Wait!" Naruto lurched forward but managed to stop himself from colliding into her. The woman tilted her head to the side, eyeing him intently.

"Are…are you real? This isn't still a dream, is it?" He asked in a voice that sounded horribly desperate even to his ears, he could only imagine the vulnerability shimmering in his eyes.

She turned around, and in one slow, fluid motion, laced their hands together.

"Yes, I am real," she affirmed.

He peered up hesitantly at her.

"My name is Hyūga Hinata, and I am real," she stated, more confidently this time and with a finality that stirred the thrumming in where his heart ought to be.

Even though her hands were frigid and rough, crusted with dry dirt and caked blood, they were the warmest things he had ever held in his entire life.


x-x-x-x-x-x

"Nara Shikamaru," Hinata tossed her head in the direction of a boy with spiky black hair. "He does all the strategic planning. Oh, and he's our elected leader." She nodded towards the three others hovering around him. "Yamanaka Ino, our intelligence division. Akimichi Chouji, takes care of food preparations. Sai, manages transportation– he can hot-wire or design just about anything."

She pulled him forward and tugged him towards the other side. "Uchiha Sasuke, weapons and combat expert. Haruno Sakura, team medic."

Hinata made a 90-degree turn. "Inuzuka Kiba, tracking specialist. Aburame Shino, in charge of constant surveillance. Together, we are the tracking team," she pointed to herself before adding, "The three of us are also childhood friends."

Naruto's head reeled. Too many names, he was never a particularly fast learner. He only knew that he would never forget hers.

"Hinata!" Kiba exclaimed, bounding up to her and Naruto. "I'm so relieved you're safe." A huge grin split his face. His nose twitched, and then wrinkled in distaste at the newcomer. "Dude, you reek. Who are you, anyway?"

Naruto twisted his lips into a frown. "Uzumaki Naruto," he replied, still adjusting to his voice after so many weeks of disuse.

"Uh huh," Kiba sized him up, his eyes lingering on Naruto and Hinata's linked hands. "Are you two…?" His gaze drifted up to Hinata and then shifted to look at Naruto suspiciously.

Hinata smoothly slid her hand out of his. "No," she answered.

An inexplicable disappointment fluttered in Naruto's stomach before settling like a lead weight.

The rest of the group soon wrapped up their individual activities and formed a circle around Hinata and the newcomer.

"So…welcome!" A heavy-set boy–Chouji? greeted brightly, patting Naruto on the back.

"Welcome," a pink-haired girl mimicked, "it's good to find more of us."

The dark-haired boy behind her nodded perfunctorily, but stared at Naruto with a disquieting intensity.

The others all exchanged a few words with him, and Naruto dug for the key to unlock the box that explained how he handled social situations. A class clown, a prankster, the life of the party. Using all sorts of self-deprecating humor as long as it amused people around him. His lips were awkwardly twitching to a smile when the spiky, black-haired boy approached Hinata.

"You shouldn't have done that," he intoned.

"Shouldn't have done what, Shikamaru-kun?" Hinata inquired innocently.

Shikamaru scowled. "You're smart enough to figure it out."

Pale eyes narrowed, the muscles in her bicep imperceptibly flexing. "It turned out for the best didn't it? I retrieved someone."

"Yes but," Shikamaru's dark eyes flickered to Naruto, "it could have gone very badly. You can't keep going out at night like that, especially without back-up."

Hinata lifted her head to match his eyes with her own. "I have one goal to fulfill, and one goal only. You're smart enough to figure it out," she quipped back. With that, she whipped around, and with uncanny grace, stomped away from Shikamaru.

Naruto watched her retreating back, the desire to chase after her bubbling within him. A long sigh caught his attention, and he twisted around to see Shikamaru rubbing his temples.

"I am doomed to be forever surrounded by troublesome women…" Shikamaru switched his attention to Naruto. "Look, I'm glad you made it here, really. It's just…never mind, welcome aboard," he decided now wasn't the time for an explanation, and instead extended his hand out for a handshake. Naruto raised his hand and took hold of it, vaguely noting that even though Shikamaru's hand radiated warmth and wasn't smeared with blood, it couldn't compare to Hinata's.


x-x-x-x-x-x

The biscuit bounced against his chest, and he scrambled to juggle it between his hands. With unknown dexterity, he narrowly grabbed it before it plummeted to the floor.

"Why'd you throw this at me?" He blurted out, craning his neck towards Hinata. She sat on a rounded rock and stared straight ahead, hands primly clutching her knees as if she didn't just fling a biscuit at him.

"It is for you," she plainly answered.

Naruto scrunched up his brow. "But I already had my ration for the day, it wouldn't be fair to take yours."

"It's an extra," Hinata claimed, refusing to look at him.

Naruto held up the bread towards her. "Then you should have it."

"No," Hinata shook her head. "You are malnourished. You look like you've been surviving on crumbs of trash."

"…That's 'cause I was."

"Then that settles it, you eat it," she said in a command rather than an offer.

"O-Oh okay, thank you," he stuttered out, too flustered to keep on countering her. His teeth grazed against the hard shell of the biscuit and bit down through the dry crust.

Silence settled between them, but he didn't mind, occupying his mind by observing the others gathering water, plants, and firewood. No one had instructed him to do anything, and it seemed that Hinata had taken it upon herself to look after him a while longer. It was the perfect opportunity for him to ask the question nipping at his mind.

"Who is Hanabi-chan?"

Hinata's regal posture stiffened. She didn't answer.

"When you rescued me, you said her name first," he recalled for her, as if she could have forgotten, "is she someone you're looking for?"

She exhaled through her nose. "Yes. Hanabi-chan is my sister, and I will stop at nothing to retrieve her."

"Oh." Naruto nibbled on his biscuit, the resulting silence now uncomfortable compared to the first.

"We can find people by tracking radio frequencies, among other methods. There was one that flared near you yesterday, so I went out to search," she elaborated suddenly.

"Really?" Naruto asked in genuine awe. He fished out the radio from his backpack and showed it to her; her eyes finally flitted down to look at it. "Good thing I decided to hold onto this thing then."

Without saying a word, Hinata reached for the radio and brought it to her lap for examination.

"Anyways I…" his hands moved to massage his neck. "I can help you look for your sister. It's the least I could do after you saved my life."

"No," she immediately refused.

Naruto blinked. "Why not?"

"You are not suited for combat."

"I can train," he persisted, "I know I'm not the smartest or the fastest but I can and will work hard."

She affixed him with a solemn stare. "Perhaps. However," she prodded the left side of his chest with the radio, right at the center of his heart. "Your heart is not hardened. It should stay that way." The radio fell to his lap.

Protests and rebuttals surged within him, but they died at his lips as she got up and sauntered away.

Hinata didn't speak a word to him for the rest of the day.

When the sky began to darken to corduroy blue, the tell tale sign of another night, for the first time in what felt like forever, Naruto was unafraid.

The group settled in a spacious cavern– scavenged bran cereal and forest fruits for dinner. Hinata sat in a far corner, flanked by both Ino and Sakura at her side. While the two girls chattered animatedly, Hinata nodded at all the right times, the same, distant, cold sadness ever present in her eyes.

"Oi, lover-boy, don't tell me you fell for her already," a gruff voice teased, its owner coming to plop down besides him. He had scruffy brown hair, bright red triangles on his face, and a lopsided grin. Another stoic boy, face half hidden in his tall collar followed suit.

"H-How can I? I only met Hinata yesterday…" Naruto mumbled.

His answer sent the brunette into a fit of chuckles. "Wow, you are definitely in way over your head. I didn't even mention her name."

A faint blush reddened his cheeks and he wrung his hands nervously.

"Don't be so embarrassed, rookie. Hinata's a great girl, both of us would lay our lives down for her," he gestured towards himself, and the quiet taller boy. "Inuzuka Kiba, by the way," he introduced again.

"Aburame Shino," the other one muttered in a low, yet clear, monotone.

"You two…are her childhood friends, right?" Naruto recalled.

"You got that right," Kiba puffed up his chest. "But when the outbreak first happened, and the Infected started cropping up, me and Shino weren't with her."

Blue eyes widened. "You mean she was alone?"

Shino shook his head from side to side, and Kiba sighed. "She didn't start off alone," he evasively answered.

"But Hinata survived by herself for at least five months before we found her last month. She didn't provide us with many details of how she lived alone but…she's become very different because of it. That's because she needed to," Shino explained, admiration and respect saturating his tone.

Naruto's jaw dropped. "The end of the world has been going on for six months?!"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Where have you been?"

"In a hospital. I woke up a few weeks, maybe a month ago, and had no idea what was going on."

Kiba hummed, not expecting a legitimate answer to his sarcasm. "Bet you thought the world went crazy, huh."

"Something like that," Naruto responded. More questions and curiosities bombarded his mind. He wanted to know more, he wanted to know everything. His eyes unconsciously returned back towards Hinata, drinking in the way her long hair cascaded over one shoulder and how her pale skin glowed against the dim cave.

"You know, she wasn't always like that," Kiba supplied, as if reading his thoughts. His sharp eyes easily followed Naruto's line of vision.

Shino nodded in agreement.

"Really? What did she used to be like?" Naruto asked, trying to keep his voice neutral in a flimsy attempt to conceal his eager interest.

Kiba laughed. "Well for one, shy as a mouse. She never could speak her mind."

"Shy?!"

"Yeah, shy. She was incredibly insecure and didn't think she was worth anything," Kiba paused, "which is completely untrue, as you already know."

"Hinata had the gentlest, kindest heart out of all of us. Because of that we gravitated towards her. She never ridiculed me for my fondness for insects," Shino chimed in.

"Yeah, and the funniest thing was that she had the hugest crush on this loudmouth blond brat, and by huge I mean for like, half her life. In fact he kind of looks like–" Kiba cut himself off, narrowing his eyes before widening them again. He exchanged a glance with Shino, who's own eyebrows rose towards his hairline.

"Did she…?" A hollow ache pulsed in his stomach as he thought about "past-Hinata" and her no doubt, cute relationships. "Past-Naruto" would have really liked to meet her (and that mysterious crush of hers as well). More than that, he wanted to befriend her, wanted her to see what an amazing person she was, shy side or not. Maybe...even take her on a date as an ordinary school girl and ordinary school boy.

A firm poke to his arm dispelled his fantasies. "Oi, Naruto, are you always that spacey?"

"N-No…I was just thinking about um," his eyes darted towards the dinner long forgotten on his lap. "If…there's any extra rations tonight."

"Huh?" Kiba and Shino said simultaneously. "There are never any extra rations. Chouji's a stickler about making sure we can survive as long as possible," Kiba explained.

Naruto gaped, furrowing his brow. "What?"

They both nodded in response.

She sat as far away as possible from me for dinner so I wouldn't realize how hungry she was. The information pounded into him like a sledgehammer. He sunk lower into his seat. Her friends were wrong about one thing. Even when the world ended, he was certain that Hinata still held the kindest heart.


x-x-x-x-x-x

He didn't know how to sleep like this. He lay sprawled out flat on his back, a thin blanket wrapped over him. Sleeping like this was weird, completely foreign from curling into the corner of a closet and huddling into his knees. A soft voice whimpered, and if Naruto strained his ears hard enough, could also make out rapid breathing. He turned over to his side and squinted in the darkness. The whimpering grew louder, the rapid breathing becoming strangled gasps.

Hinata. He bolted upright, blankets slipping off his body and flopping to the floor. Naruto crept onto his feet, making sure to keep his footfalls light as he hopped through his sleeping companions and listened for her.

Laying on her side, she had coiled herself into a tight ball, hands clenched into fists and twitching sporadically. Her dark hair fanned out behind her like a pool of ink.

"Neji-nii…run, please. I beg of you, don't stay," she implored in a small, quivering whisper.

It didn't take long for Naruto to scoop her up and place her head lightly onto her lap. Slick sweat pooled on her forehead, dampening her bangs and dripping down her temples.

"Hinata…" he called soothingly, running his fingers through her long hair. It felt as silky soft as it looked.

She stirred, but her fingers remained fiercely tucked into her palms, nails digging into her skin. Naruto gently pried them open, and glided his fingers between the spaces. He vaguely registered the uncomfortably hot, clamminess of her skin, but he remained far more interested in how the creases in her brow relaxed. The calm lasted for only a split second, however, as another memory wracked her nightmare.

"Neji-nii! Please reconsider, come with me, we can live, the both of us." Her breathing escalated into desperate pants and Naruto considered shaking her awake.

"No…no, no no, stop…. This can't be happening. Let me in, let me distract them, please, let me be able to do something." Tears leaked out of the corner of her closed eyes, trickling sideways down her face.

He had waited long enough. Grabbing both of her arms, Naruto rocked her back and forth. "Hinata, wake up, it's all just a dream," he said urgently.

Her eyes flew open and she gulped a huge breath of air, as if she had been submerged under water and just broke out of the surface. Fear dilated her eyes, and he didn't even know that she could make such a scared, vulnerable expression in the two days that he had known her. (Had it only been two days? It felt like he had known her for much, much longer.)

Without much deliberation, he pulled her into a sitting position and cradled her into his chest. "It's okay, it's all over now, it's okay," he repeated.

She didn't push him away, and even more surprisingly, clutched onto the back of his jacket. "What are you doing?" She asked evenly, the warble undetectable to an average person. But she should have guessed by now that, Naruto was no average person.

"Comforting you, of course," he replied automatically.

Needless to say, Hinata didn't like that answer. She lithely wriggled out of his hold and straightened up, the composed formality re-entering her eyes (so so strong, as always).

"That is not necessary. I am not a child."

"Oh," Naruto dropped his arms to his side, feeling uncharacteristically bashful. "Well uh, do you want to talk about it? I would love to listen to you. You could tell me stories about painting houses and clipping your nails and I'd still want to listen. Honest." He peered up at her through his lashes, and even though he didn't know what to expect, it wasn't the oddly suiting softness that glazed her eyes again.

"No, it isn't your burden to bear," she eventually declared, and settled back into her sleeping mat, turning away from him.

Their hands remained laced together, and Naruto found that he really didn't mind sleeping upright.


x-x-x-x-x-x

A warm breath tickled his skin, the soft vapor caressing his neck and spilling onto his collarbone. Sometime during the night, Naruto's body had slumped onto the floor, and Hinata had settled into the crook of his neck. It was oddly…familiar. And quite comfortable to be honest, despite her weight pressing onto his arm and effectively cutting off his circulation. Three days ago, he never would have imagined this reality. In fact, he found himself still questioning if any of this was even…real? He didn't know how long he stayed like this–half conscious and not particularly inclined to leave Hinata's side– but parted himself when the blonde woman, Ino, and strange dark-haired boy, Sai, snickered openly at his expense. Hinata, thankfully, continued to slumber on peacefully.

He grew accustomed to how the days typically ran–the group called themselves Konoha's Shinobi– and they had two goals in mind. One, to pick up more survivors. Two, to find a lab that could accommodate Sakura's research on the Infected and causative organisms. Mornings started early, consisting of gathering supplies and rummaging through cities for people or resources. More often than not, the results were meager. Then, the group filed back into a hidden cavern, safe from the rumbling sounds of the Infected and their voracious appetites. A week passed in this manner, but it had felt like an entire life to Naruto.

But like turning the page in a book, it all changed in one innocuous evening.

Dinner had already digested in their stomachs, and the sun had set hours ago, when a low static peppered out of a homemade contraption. Shino examined it meticulously, widened his eyes, and then passed it to Kiba.

"This is…" he began, then let the rest of his words fall away.

"Let me see," Hinata ordered, and extended her hand out for Kiba to pass the machine to her. He hesitated, but relented with the tiniest seed of regret flecking his eyes.

"This is…" Her lips parted open and eyes glimmered with unabashed determination. "This is at the Hyūga compound. I must go. Now," she stated, adjusting the belt fastened to her sword and collecting her weapons pouch.

"No," Shikamaru materialized before her.

"Why not?" She parried back.

"Many reasons. One, obviously that it is nighttime. Outside is infested with the Infected right now. Two, the Hyūga compound is surrounded by dense forestry, you know very well that the population of Infected is incredibly high over there. The chance of you surviving is slim to none, Hinata. It's a simple risk-benefit analysis, and the benefit is miniscule compared to the overwhelming risk," Shikamaru broke down.

"I don't care," Hinata retorted flippantly. "I have one goal and one goal only." She moved to sidestep him but Shikamaru continued to block her.

"I forbid it. I'm not allowing you to undertake this suicide mission," he commanded. "We'll go inspect the Hyūga compound first thing in the morning. It'd be a mere matter of hours."

"A mere matter of hours is too long!" Hinata hissed, she angled her chin towards Naruto. "He would be dead if I hadn't found him when I did."

"You got lucky," Shikamaru asserted just as firmly, "Believe me I don't want to do this either, I never wanted to accept this troublesome role as leader. I may be a lazy guy, but I'm responsible for all of your lives. Hinata listen to me, please."

"No I cannot," she exhaled loudly. "You don't understand. None of you do."

Their leader sighed, "You're probably right. How could we? But Hinata, I need you to understand that your life is not only yours."

"You're right, my life belongs to my sister." With that, Hinata shoved Shikamaru to the side and stalked towards the exit.

"Kiba, Shino, secure her," Shikamaru droned, tired eyes and wrinkles betraying his true youth.

Hinata stopped in her tracks and glanced back at her friends.

"Hinata, come on, don't do this," Kiba pleaded, "Hanabi may not even be there."

"Please heed Shikamaru's orders, because we really do not wish to have to resort to restraining you," Shino contributed, urge seeping into his monotone.

Hinata didn't respond, but as Kiba and Shino crept towards her in slow, hesitant steps, she snapped.

"I can take care of myself. How can you two not trust me? I lived by myself for five months," Hinata's voice raised, a dangerous indication of how angry she was.

Ino answered for them, "Hinata it's not that we don't know you're strong. We're just really, really worried for you and your safety."

"Yes Hinata, please. We cannot allow you to leave with such a low mission success rate," Sai added.

A frustrated breath escaped from Hinata's lips. "No! Why don't you understand that I don't care about my life." Her eyes narrowed and voice dropped an octave lower. "I know all of us have suffered some loss. But have any of you seen your cousin, one of two people in your family, in your entire clan left, become–" She abruptly clamped her mouth shut, and started again, in an even lower, hauntingly soft tone. "It happens in a snap of the fingers, the shattering of your innocence."

"Hinata," a stern, baritone called. The boy who hovered by Sakura had called her name. "Don't be a fool. Neji didn't die only for you to throw your life away."

Clenching her hand around the hilt of her sword, Hinata threw back, "Out of everyone, I thought that you could relate, Sasuke. I gave Neji my word to find Hanabi again. What if Itachi left you his will? Wouldn't you do everything in your power to complete it?"

Sasuke's lips pressed into a hard line. "What makes you think that I do not? There's a difference between dedicating your life and throwing it away." In one swift motion, he threw a kunai at Hinata's hilt and knocked the sword cleanly out of her hand. "We'll spend tonight training some more, and then go on an immediate search an hour before morning."

"An hour? That's too–"

"An hour before," Sasuke offered again.

She glared at him icily, posture rigidly straight. "I cannot accept." Bending over, she retrieved her sword and gripped it tightly between her fingers.

Equally frigid eyes returned her glare. "Then you leave me no choice but–"

"Wait."

Hinata turned her body in a semi-circle.

Naruto walked out from the outer-fringes of the group and stood directly in front of her.

"What do you want?" She snapped impatiently, though somehow retained an air of nobility even when livid.

Naruto remained unfazed, stating his next words clearly, "I will go with you."

"I refuse," she rejected instantly.

"That's not an option," Naruto countered, "I will protect you with my life."

A thin eyebrow raised. "Why would you make such a bold statement? You hardly know me."

"I know enough to know that I will protect you with my life."

"Hm," Hinata clicked her tongue. "You're still a rookie, you would be nothing more than a distraction."

"I know some hand-to-hand combat. And the teme over there," Naruto gestured towards Sasuke, "has been teaching me how to use weapons every night."

"A week of training doesn't make you less of a rookie."

"I don't care," he jabbed a thumb to his chest. "I never go back on my word, if I say I will protect you with my life then you better believe I will."

Something resembling a nostalgic smile lifted her lips. She rotated in a full circle, noting that everyone held the same worried, scared faces. Something else Naruto couldn't quite pinpoint wavered in her expression.

"Fine, I won't go. Not now. I'm not in the mood to see any dead rookies." She turned her back to him. "I'm going to sleep, all of you tire me out." Her sword clattered to the dirt floor with a metallic clang.

No one exchanged a word as they watched her back disappear into the darkness.


x-x-x-x-x-x

Not a sound echoed in the large space of the cavern, even the water on the cave ceiling ceased its leaking. But Naruto couldn't find it in himself to sleep. Partially because of the foreign, flat-back sleeping position, partially because of the coldness seeping through his mat and freezing him through his threadbare clothing, but mostly, because he knew that if he slept…he would deeply regret it.

He flipped onto his stomach and settled his chin on the hard floor. Maybe he was wrong, overestimating her. Maybe she had come to terms with Sasuke's deal and slept soundly, while he anxiously fretted over nothing. Maybe she understood the danger involved and scrapped the idea altogether.

There were many reasons why he could have been wrong. But when he remembered the determination, fearlessness, and anger in her eyes…he knew he was right.

Half an hour later, his eyelids betrayed him with their drooping. He clapped his hands against his whiskered cheeks.

An hour later, and Naruto swore he heard a nearly inaudible shift. Holding his breath, he stayed still as a rock. When the small movements stopped, Naruto still held his breath as his eyes darted through the dark surroundings. Nothing. The dark blob of her sleeping form remained in place.

Another fifteen minutes passed. This time, when he checked up on her sleeping mat…it was wrong. The lumps too angled to be her body. The length of the figure too small, even for her petite frame. He shot up in an instant. She couldn't have gotten far. Damn it, he should have been more vigilant.

Light footsteps flew to the storage room where Sasuke kept his weapons and Naruto skipped pass the swords, selecting the jagged weapon he had been practicing with all week. It was a large circular disc with a hole in the middle, spanning almost his entire arm and doubling also as a shield. He thought about waking everyone else up, at the risk of her hating him forever, but couldn't afford to lose the time. (Deep, deep down in his heart, he couldn't blame her. If he gave his word, nothing could make him take it back either.)


x-x-x-x-x-x

His ears rang with the sound of his thudding footsteps and thumping heartbeat, the only sounds to fill the unnerving silence with. Distractions really, from the hot sweat pooling in his palms and soaking the back of the neck. Be brave, be brave, be brave, he chanted to himself, reminding his heart to stand firm in its decision while his eyes constantly scanned his surroundings.

Muffled groans could be heard a distance away, and he instinctively took a step back. Bushes rustled behind him, and his heart leapt to his throat. He whipped around. Already? Was he about to meet death in the face?

Swallowing the remnants of saliva in his dry mouth, he readied his weapon, trembling fingers clutching the cold steel.

"I strongly suggest you return home."

Never before had Naruto whirled around so quickly.

"Hinata!" He exclaimed excitedly.

"Voice down," Hinata instructed, before folding her arms beneath her chest. "I thought I told you I wasn't in the mood for seeing any dead rookies." She took a step towards him, hardening her eyes. "Are you attempting to convince me to return home?"

"No," Naruto answered, "Like I said, I'm going with you."

Hinata huffed. "Don't be so stubborn. You are scared. I can see it in your eyes. There is no need for you to put yourself through this."

Naruto faltered, and denials and protests to her statements jumped to his lips. But looking into her solemn and strangely understanding gaze made all his lies fizzle away.

"I am," he admitted, lowering his arms. "I can't help but be scared, because I think I might die tonight. And…I want to live. There's a reason for me to live now." His eyes flickered to meet hers, and he managed to catch her blinking in confusion. It was enough encouragement for him to continue. "Even though I know that I might die, it's better than staying back and not knowing if I coulda protected you."

"I do not need your protection," she scoffed. Hinata opened her mouth to continue, but promptly shut it, lips pressing together tightly. One hand grabbed Naruto's wrist and thrust him behind her, while the other unsheathed her sword.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked, keeping his voice hushed as his eyes darted from dark tree to dark tree.

"Stay back," Hinata instructed in a whisper.

Before he could unleash more questions, the bushes rustled, accompanied with the loud crackle of twigs.

Shit. Naruto held his breath as a figure emerged from the shadows– grisly skin peeled off like shearing bark off a dead tree, dark hair clumped in a patch of stringy, thin strands, and vapid eyes reflected nothing more than a grey slate.

"I believe there's only one, I'll dispose of it quickly," Hinata stated, bending into an offensive position.

Naruto looked down at his hands, hands that refused to stop quivering like a leaf, and frowned. If he kept this up, he really was going to end up becoming a distraction. Forcing his breathing to even out and clenching his fists until his fingers stilled, he proclaimed, "Let me do it. I'll prove myself to you."

"This is no time to indulge your masculine instincts," Hinata retorted.

"Hinata, I've got to do this. Like it or not, I'm not going home and we're in this together now, you've gotta learn to trust me if we're gonna make it out alive."

"I didn't ask for your help," she curtly countered.

"I know you didn't, and I know you're strong and capable and don't need it anyways. But whatever you say, I'm not leaving you out here alone!"

She inclined her head slightly towards him, the side of her mouth curling into a wry smirk. "I'm better off alone, believe me." Despite her words, she lowered her sword.

"Aim for the head to kill, legs to slow down. I will intervene if the situation escalates. Scratch marks are okay, but whatever you do, do not get bitten," Hinata commanded in a rush of words, eyes never leaving the lumbering Infected.

"Got it," Naruto affirmed, twirling the circular weapon in his hand.

"The Rasenshuriken? Not a sword?" Hinata remarked off-handedly.

"Not after I accidentally sliced through Sasuke's poncho," he admitted. Suddenly, he reached into his pocket, and with uncanny precision, flung a kunai directly at its foot. The Infected howled, lurching his upper body forward as its right side became immobilized. Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto sprinted forward and somersaulted beside the Infected, slicing it right above the knees. As its body crumpled, Naruto laid his Rasenshuriken horizontally flat, and slammed the Infected's back with a powerful blow.

"Not bad," Hinata commented. She paused, as if waiting for something.

"See? I can do this," Naruto claimed. (That wasn't a tremble in his voice, no. And in the tiny chance that there was, it was undetectable to an average person.)

Briefly, Hinata's eyes flitted to the intact head of the Infected. She pursed her lips, but said nothing.

He should have guessed by now that, Hinata was no average person.


x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hyūga compound," she announced, giving the creaking, iron doors a push and motioning for him to follow her.

"Hyūga compound…" he repeated, feet automatically tailing behind her while his eyes marveled at the huge mansion before them. "So you…used to live here?"

"Yes," she replied, voice devoid of emotion. Before he could probe further, she continued, "The signal was last coming from inside the manor. It is preferable to not engage with the Infected. Voice down, quiet steps, and also…" She knit her eyebrows together. "Also, they respond to certain…emotions. So keep yourself in check."

"Certain emotions? You mean like, they can smell fear?"

"In a way, but at the same time, not quite. Because if it was fear they were after, I wouldn't have lasted for six months," Hinata confessed.

Naruto blinked, trying to wrap his mind around the image of a lonely, helpless Hinata. He immediately decided he hated what his mind conjured up, and shoved it out of his mind. Their footsteps echoed hollowly as they climbed the steps, perhaps once a pristine white, but now a melancholic grey splattered with black splotches. Hinata cracked open the door, and peered inside.

"This is not good," she hissed, "they're everywhere."

"Let me see," Naruto said, stepping behind Hinata and looking over her head. (Was she always this small and short? She seemed so much taller from afar.) The hallways inside the manor teemed with Infected; they aimlessly shuffled, their feet scratching up the wooden plank floors. Moans reverberated inside the mansion, vibrating into Naruto's chest. He gulped, turning away from the gap. His gaze landed on Hinata's arm– skin taut, muscles tight, and hands…shaking uncontrollably.

"Hey," Naruto called gently, slipping his hand in hers. "You're okay. We're okay." He turned her around to face him and lifted her hand to his heart. The ice of her fingers thawed a bit in his hands. "See? I'm alive. I'm real."

"Of course…I know that." Hinata dipped her head, but allowed her fingers to stay in his grasp.

"Hey," Naruto said again, lightly tipping her chin up towards his face. "We'll find your sister together. I'm with you."

Hinata sighed. "With this many here, we're going to have to fight them. I'm telling you again to return home. This is not your burden to bear."

"And I'm telling you again, I'm not leaving you alone," he asserted back, not bothering to hold back his frustration this time.

A primal impulse surged through him, and he burst through the door and into the dark, decrepit hallway.

Hinata instantly came to, "What are you–" She stopped mid-sentence to whip out her sword and impale an Infected barreling towards Naruto. Cold, black blood splashed onto her arm and droplets flecked onto the back of Naruto's jacket.

"Are you crazy?!" She snapped impatiently.

"I am, maybe borderline insane," he agreed, "but I can't have you keep thinkin' that I'm gonna slow you down."

"Yes, because boldly jumping into the fray is the best strategy," Hinata sarcastically drawled.

"It is now! You said it yourself, there's no other way," Naruto declared, charging at an Infected and nimbly dodging its lunge before he crouched down and slashed its stomach. "Lead the way Hinata! Every second counts!"

Hinata exhaled shortly, but begrudgingly admitted he had a point. Instead of leading the way, however, Hinata stuck by Naruto's side and made certain that he wouldn't be targeting more than one at a time. Three Infected trudged towards her, the one in the middle decidedly bulkier and therefore posed a larger threat. When they neared a scant meter away, Hinata sprung towards the middle Infected and plunged her sword through where its heart once existed. In the next second, Hinata extracted her sword and coldly decapitated her victim. The two Infected on her sides had stumbled, and Hinata took advantage of the open window to sweep one under a low-kick, elbow the other in the back, and chop off their heads in one clean motion. Her eyes flickered to Naruto, who managed to hold his own in one-on-one combat.

The Infected thrashed its arms about and reached for Naruto, who raised his Rasenshuriken as a shield. Hinata stepped forward, prepared to intervene. Naruto noticed, turning towards her with a confident nod, before shoving the Infected off of him and thrusting his fist into its bony stomach.

He hesitated then, despite already knowing what he needed to do next.

"Save your energy," Hinata's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Let's move on."

Hinata pivoted on her heel and took three steps towards another room, still carefully watching him in her periphery. Naruto glanced at the Infected, beginning to crawl towards him and bare its crooked teeth. The opening was still there…but he couldn't…he cast two kunai to immobilize its feet and then trailed after Hinata.


x-x-x-x-x-x

After clearing practically half the manor– worn, weary, and stained with too-many-to-identify patches of blood– they entered a room that was for once, empty. Hinata closed the door behind them, placing a wooden plank horizontally above the door handle. Naruto's muscles ached, and at this point his adrenaline rush had lost its fervor; it dawned on him how tired and sleep-deprived he really was.

"Morning will be soon, right?" He said hopefully, taking a quick peek at the window. Though the blanket of night quietly stared back at him, Naruto could see the tiniest hints of blue lightening the sky.

Hinata didn't respond, standing as rigidly as a tree, eyes glued to something on the floor.

"Hinata?" Naruto tried again, moving towards her and following her line of vision.

His heart stopped, and he could only imagine how Hinata's fared.

"This is…"

Hinata bent down, quaking fingers picking up the item on the ground. Once a radio, now a crushed heap of rusted metal and scrawny wires, laid in her palm.

"It m-might not belong to…you know," Naruto suggested.

Hinata shook her head minutely, her eyes joining the rest of her body in uncontrollably quivering. Her other hand reached for the second object, and she brought it up a few inches from her face.

"I…gave this to her," she finally spoke in a hollow, hoarse whisper. She turned the object, a kunai, over in her hand, fingers ghosting over the doll key-chain attached to the handle.

"Don't worry, she might have just left it behind!" Naruto encouraged, stooping down to rub her back.

"No, she is not the type to. I am…too late again. In the end, all I do is fail. Fail and disappoint everyone. I had one job to do, one purpose. And now, that is gone," Hinata finished softly, eyes glazing over as she clutched the kunai so tightly in her hands that her knuckles turned white.

"Hinata! Snap out of it!" Naruto took her by the shoulders and shook her gently. "Come on that's not true, you don't know for sure what happened to Hanabi, you've gotta keep fighting!"

Banging on the door interrupted them; booming, and with an urgency that pulsed stronger with each slow, solid thump against the door.

Shit, shit, shit, Naruto cursed in his head. Why were they suddenly coming? The shuffling of feet increased in volume, and Naruto wondered just how many coagulated outside that door.

"Come on Hinata, you've got to get up. We have to fight again," Naruto pleaded. He twisted around to hoist her up, but an ominous circle of black specks intercepted him.

"What…the hell?" Naruto barely choked out.

"Naruto-kun."

It was the first time she said his name, yet sounded as if it was the last. It was also then that, the mob of Infected exploded through the door, flooding in as a wave of ghastly noises and rotting flesh. Naruto instantly shifted into a defensive position. He had to protect Hinata at all costs.

Hinata didn't bat an eyelash. "I am sorry that you had become a part of this. Allow them to take me. While I die, find a suitable hiding place until the sun rises."

"Like hell I'll let that happen!" Naruto hotly rejected. "What you saying Hinata? C'mon we're gonna make it. We're gonna stay alive."

Hinata kept her back turned to the battle behind her, absently flitting her eyes upwards to the shuddering floorboards. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"I am so, so tired," Hinata confessed quietly. The black dust that had been circling her picked up speed, encasing her in a cyclone that extended from where she sat to a spiral past her head.

"Hinata!" Naruto shouted, panic lighting up his face. Distracted, Naruto didn't notice the Infected that lunged at his side, slashing his arm with a huge, vertical gash. "Gah!" Naruto dropped to one knee, but managed to stab the Infected with his Rasenshuriken before doing so. One eye fell shut, the other eye noticing that the floorboards above them shook like an earthquake. A fissure cracked its way above Hinata in horrifying jagged lines.

"Hinata you've got to move! The floor above you is about to fall!"

She didn't respond, and didn't seem to hear him as more of those horrible, horrible black specks swirled around her like a silent cocoon.

"HINATA!" He screamed again. His feet moved–practically flew– with an unknown strength he didn't even know humans could possess. One second, all he could feel was her soft flesh protectively under his fingers, and the next, all he could feel was the searing pain shooting up his legs.

"Naruto!" Two times now, she said his name. The dust encompassing her lost velocity, some even fizzling away. She jumped to her feet. "Why did you do that?"

Isn't it obvious? He wanted to say, but his breath had been knocked out of his lungs. Ugly sounds hovered above him, and he slowly craned his neck back, barely able to make out the accompanying ugly faces through the blood dripping down his eyelashes.

In a flash, the three in front of him became newly decapitated.

"Hinata…just leave me," Naruto rasped, lifting his chin towards the debris stacked on his back. "At least one of us should stay alive."

"You are correct," Hinata replied, sounding more like her usual self. "And that one is you."

Naruto snorted, croaking out a laugh. "I can't even move anymore. It's okay, I said that I would protect you with my life and I was able to do it. I'm satisfied if I die now."

"I will hold them off until morning arises, I'll make sure of it," She directed her gaze at the light-blue hue starting to creep over the horizon. "The others will be arriving by then and someone will find you," Hinata explained, blatantly ignoring Naruto.

A row of Infected charged towards her, she ducked and dodged the first three, but the fourth swiped her face and the fifth one dug its sharp, knobby fingers a few inches into her skin. She released a strangled scream, prying out its fingers and snapping its wrist.

"Hinata!" Naruto cried, lips parting in a gasp. "Stop, please. You know you don't have enough strength to fend them all off," Naruto begged, his sleep-deprived, injured, and exhausted eyes fading in and out of being able to see...anything.

"I know that. But I also know that I'm not afraid to die protecting you." She got up to her feet, and with a bit of renewed vigor, sliced an Infected in half.

"Do you remember Naruto-kun, how we met?" She asked suddenly.

Naruto blinked slowly. "Now's not the time to think about stuff like that, Hinata you've gotta run."

"Just humor me," Hinata commanded.

"In a closet. You saved me."

"I figured you didn't remember," Hinata intoned, almost haughtily to herself. "I had short hair back then, and was quite different, so it's expected that you'd forget."

"What do you mean?" Curiosity momentarily overtook him.

"It was snowing that day, and I clearly remember your feet crunching in the snow as you ran over to protect me from some bullies."

"Snow? Bullies? That was– Wait, that was you?!" Naruto's eyes widened to the size of saucer plates, his vision shifting into focus to gawk incredulously at Hinata.

"Yes," Hinata stated, "we even attended the same school for a brief amount of time. Though, you barely showed up to classes and soon left to seek private tutelage."

"Wow! We could have been friends," his voice lifted happily at the prospect, however ridiculously in the past it was.

A wry smile slipped onto Hinata's lips as she kicked down an Infected and impaled her sword into its stomach. "I would have liked that, I strongly admired you, you know."

"You? Me? That's impossible, you're too cool to admire me. Besides, everyone hated me," Naruto confessed.

A dry laugh escaped out of her lips. "Not so impossible as us meeting again at the end of the world. Imagine my surprise when I saw you hiding in that closet."

"Why didn't I say anything?" Hinata continued, as if reading his thoughts, "Simple. I had one goal and one goal only, I couldn't allow any distractions."

The Infected constantly swarmed her, and her movements gradually began to slow. As she moved to sever an Infected's head, her blade caught halfway in its neck. Hinata gasped, pulling back her sword and instead flinging a kunai to fracture its head.

Panic welled up inside his foggy mind, and he honestly didn't know how much more blood loss he could handle before falling unconscious. (A small part of him had believed that Hinata was invincible. That there was a sliver of hope that the both of them could return home safely).

"Hinata…I'm begging you please. Run," he implored desperately, tears building up in the corner of his eyes.

Another mob of Infected limped towards her. They never stopped coming, and he noticed that Hinata only pushed them back, unable to kill them anymore. She succeeded for a few minutes, but one managed to grab onto her sword, and Hinata no longer had the strength to wring it out of its cold hands.

"I think that I may be…reaching my limit," she conceded between pants, collapsing onto the floor.

No. nonono. Naruto wanted to scream, but he couldn't seem to find his voice.

Hinata looked up at the Infected creeping towards her, eyes crinkling into a mix of fear, regret, and lastly…acceptance.

"Naruto-kun, there are two things I request of you," she straightened up, prepared to die proudly. "One, find out what happened to my sister, Hanabi. And two," she turned around to meet his blue eyes, "when I become one, make sure to kill me."

"Hinata, no, I…" The words weren't reaching his lips, and he could feel the faint edges of sunlight filtering into the room. Time slowed to a crawl, all thoughts of the future and possibilities zipped like a train through his mind...before disappearing like a blip in a line, a song tapering to its last notes. (They were so, so close. Did you really have to keep taking everything from him?)

"Maybe in another life, our lines will intersect again. In this life, however, I seem to have reached the end of my path."

Her eyes shuttered closed and she curled herself into a tight ball. She waited and waited for the bite that would seal her fate, sink into her flesh and tear out the snippets of human left in her.

But…nothing came.

"Hinata, chop it off, quick," a voice gritted out, followed by his scream piercing the air.

Hinata's eyes flew open and she fumbled to stand. "Sas…uke?!" The Uchiha had his arms spread wide, shielding her from the Infected's mouth…at the cost of allowing its teeth to dig into his arm.

"Hurry up," he demanded.

She didn't need to be told again–Hinata reached for the sword dangling within Sasuke's grasp, and swiftly slashed her comrade's arm off from the middle of his bicep.

"Augh!" He shouted, dropping to his knees in anguish.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura's voice blared, and she halted in removing the debris off of Naruto to whip towards Sasuke. She scrambled to her feet, scooting to his side and creating a makeshift tourniquet out of her jacket to stem the blood flow. Sasuke's severed arm lay on the floor, the bite-mark on the arm a glaring, bright red.

The Infected filed out of the room, unable to survive in the sun's basking light.

Hinata silently crawled towards Naruto, shakily removing the rubble from his legs and lower half of his back. When Naruto regained the ability to move his upper-body, he immediately wrapped his arms around her. Tears flowed down his cheeks like a trickling stream, staining her tattered clothing with dark spots.

Wordlessly, Hinata returned the embrace, doing her share of damage in staining in his clothing with tear streaks as well.

Neither of them said a word.

There was no need to.


x-x-x-x-x-x

"Why didn't you run away when I told you to?!"

"Why didn't you return home when I told you to?"

"I told you that I wouldn't leave you alone!"

"And I told you that I wasn't in the mood for any dead rookies."

"Would the two of you shut the fuck up?" A dark growl interjected. Sasuke glared at them as Sakura tended to his wounds, his back propped up against the cave wall. "I'm the one who lost my fucking arm. I'm the one who is now our biggest liability."

Naruto and Hinata instantly shut up, guilt replacing the irritation on their faces.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura soothingly cooed. "One arm or no arms, you will never be a liability." She pressed her forehead against his and smiled. "As long as you're here and alive, that's all that matters. I'm blessed to be able to still be with you."

He muttered something under his breath, turning away from her as a blush surfaced to his cheeks.

"Sasuke-kun, I want to deeply apologize to you," Hinata said, on her knees, and bowing down to the floor. "I'm so sorry that you lost your arm for my sake."

"For our sake," Naruto corrected, following Hinata's lead and bowing down on his knees as well. It wasn't easy, considering how his splints didn't offer his mangled legs much mobility.

"There's no need for that," Sasuke shook his head.

"I must also thank you for your sacrifice. I am forever in your debt."

"I'm also thankful as well. We are in your debt," Naruto amended again.

Sasuke sighed, a little more than flustered. "It's fine…just…no more of your inane arguing."

Shikamaru entered the scene, deciding that the drama had died down enough. "So…did you find anything, Hinata?"

Hinata stilled momentarily, but soon recovered and procured the radio and kunai out of her weapons pouch.

Shikamaru frowned, analyzing the pieces of evidence. "Oh, I…" He hesitated, sincerely at a loss of what to say.

"It's fine," Hinata finished, "Shikamaru-kun I actually…need to apologize to you as well. I endangered my comrades with my brash decision, and allowed my emotions to cloud my judgment."

His eyes widened fractionally, and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I-It's alright. We're lucky that everyone managed to come back alive."

"Perhaps we may not continue to be so lucky. Perhaps it is time that I…" she trailed off, clutching her sister's kunai to her chest and pressing it against her heart.

"Hinata, you remember what Shikamaru said earlier right? Your life is not only yours." Naruto gripped her hand in his, and stated his next words with confident finality, "Because your life is part of mine. As mine is yours."

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata raised her eyebrows, staring at him with those oddly suiting soft eyes.

"I'm serious! I'm going to devote my life to finding your sister too. So what if we found an old weapon? She's still out there–she's somewhere I know it! And we're going to find her, it's a promise of a lifetime!" Naruto grinned easily, thrusting her a thumbs up.

Hinata's lips quirked into a real smile, a movement so unfamiliar and unused for so long. The pressure behind her eyes must have been her imagination, just like how the tears dripping out of the corner of her eyes were too.

(He may still be crazy, borderline insane, but she was real and he was real and she had made him believe that holding onto that tiny sliver of hope perhaps wasn't so crazy.)


x-x-x-x-x-x

x-x-x

Author's Note: I really wanted to explore a different "flavor" of Hinata and this is the first time I've purposefully written a character a bit out-of-character. Let me know what you think..about everything! Despite how nice and sweet she is, I feel that even in canon, Hinata has a subtle coldness that's actually quite fascinating. (Spoilers for The Last) During the Chuunin exams, Team 8 killed their enemies with giant leeches no problem (it's been a while since I've watched that episode but I think that's what happened), Hinata somewhat coldly yet politely told the love-of-her-life Naruto that she wanted to be alone, sneakily maneuvered around Toneri's castle, and didn't bat an eyelash about plucking out Toneri's eyes. In case anyone thought about it, why no guns? 1. I had a cool image of Hinata with a sword, 2. Guns need re-loading and bullets.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and left suggestions, I'll try to write some in the future! Though at the moment, I am...strangely leaning towards a light-hearted A-Little-Bit-Stereotypical-But-Not-Really...High School AU. (I know, I know)