Chapter 4, it might be slightly depressing. This is my first time that I am writing mainly from Hinata's point of view, I hope its ok. I thought she deserved her own opinion and an explanation for her actions.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto

"Magnificent Hero of the Wondrous Inferno?!" Itachi was beside himself with rage. His controlled face had a shadow of emotion on it and as Kisame well knew, this meant death was sure to follow. "Well we kind of…let Tobi loose on making the posters..."
"Posters!?"
"Yeah well, we umm….thought that we might get some of the villagers on your side and…." Kisame just shut up when he saw the look on Itachi's face. The posters were funny at the time but seeing as retribution was at hand the shark ninja beat a hasty retreat with a nervous shout of "Get well soon!"The door slammed, leaving an uncomfortable silence behind. "Call me that and die" Itachi stated in a calm voice. Dangerously calm.
"So, what was the jutsu then, I didn't know you were capable of something so destructive, un" the voice of the blond artist spoke up. "Hn, if you really want to know here is the basic workings: Amaterasu was just not spreading fast enough to deal with the forces against us, so I improvised and spread it using wind. Now obviously I am not a natural Wind Release user so alone what I did would have been impossible, but I can control Fire and Water and with the help of the Byakugan of the Hyuga I was able to merge Fire and Water techniques to form a Wind technique, which coupled with the Amaterasu managed to make a tornado of fire, an inferno of flames. In short, it was only possible with the help of Hinata-san; the true recognition for this jutsu should go to her." Hinata immediately paled and then went crimson at his remark. Hinata-san again! Her feelings of joy were soon crowded with despair as every pair of eyes in the room turned to her yet the pair that made her most uncomfortable was surprisingly not Naruto's but Itachi's. His gaze drilled through her and reminded her of the moment when they were together. Hinata did not yet know whether that made her happy or sad but what she did know was that it made her extremely uncomfortable. "Hey! Well done Hinata, yo!" shouted Naruto, as always over-excited.
"N-no Narut-to. It's n-not like t-t-that!" She whispered, barely audibly. Everyone's attention was making her stutter more than usual. She made her exit quickly and half-ran out of the room.

Hinata ran through the busy streets of Konoha. The day itself seemed to be intent on making her feel uncomfortable as the blazing sun beat down upon her and her grey and violet jumper. She moved from one place of shade to another, desperately trying to get out of the view of the sun….and the whole world. She was confused. Only a few months ago moments like these would be filled with thoughts of Naruto. He had been her one emotional pillar. The pivotal point upon which all her positive feelings circled, the gravitational pull that her thoughts always orbited. All that had changed that one night.

Naruto sat there with Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji and Hinata. Kiba and Naruto were trying to outdo each other in a sake drinking contest, Neji was drinking orange juice as his alcohol tolerance was similar to Lee's except for the fact that it sent him to sleep rather than made him hyperactive and Shikamaru was nursing a single small cup of sake, being sensible as always. Hinata was there feeling left out but happy to be near Naruto. "Soooo Naruto…you still like that Sakura?" Kiba slurred.
"Yup! She is one great girl, yo!" Hinata felt small daggers piercing her heart. Of course, she knew that Naruto liked Sakura but still, the words hurt her though she used all her strength not to show it. "Ahahaha, figures. You know what I've been hearing? A certain Hyuga Hinata has feelings for you baka!" Hinata's cheeks burned. Slowly Naruto's face turned in her direction…and burst out laughing. "Good one Kiba! Keep them coming, yo!" Naruto's face beamed and Hinata's thoughts were on a runaway train. He does not like me….he thinks me liking him is a joke! B-but I do like him, he is my one dream from ever since I can remember! … He is right…this is a joke, I am a joke. I do not deserve him.
"No no no Naruto! She does like you! Ask her" Kiba was still arguing his point. Promptly Naruto turned back in Hinata's direction but she was nowhere to be seen.

"N-Neji-san!" a startled Hinata exclaimed as her cousin came around the corner to find her with her forehead against the wall, hugging herself and tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hinata, what is it? What did they say?!" Neji looked genuinely worried. "I-I am no g-good! E-Even Naruto thinks I ….. I a-am a joke! I am u-unworthy of-f him!" This was bad, really bad. Neji knew Hinata to be depressed before but never to this extent. She had always protected Naruto whenever anyone said anything bad about him but she had no shield against Naruto himself. He bypassed all her emotional defences, almost like he had a back door key to her fort which protected her heart and mind with its walls of stone. Normally strong against anything the one weak point was Naruto and it seems that he was now, accidentally, exploiting it and using it against her. Unknown to Naruto he had just sent Hinata into possibly weeks of agony. Neji had to deal with this and fast. He's had enough of Naruto's every action controlling Hinata's feelings and moods. There had to be a stop somewhere. "Hinata, forget him. He didn't even try to understand you, can't you see that. He chases after that Sakura yet he fails to notice the obvious feelings you have for him. He is not good for you and acting like this he will destroy you from the inside. Come to your senses, you haven't been able to focus during missions for months now because of him. You aren't destined to be with him and you know it. If you were you would have been together long ago but it's obvious that he has no interest in you. Keep him as a friend but no more, or else you will lose yourself." Neji felt bad for such harsh words but what had to be done had to be done. Hinata slowly stopped crying; only letting the occasional sob out. She understood what he meant and was resolved to at least try to forget Naruto. Anyway now that he knew there were hardly any chances of him mirroring her emotions, not that the probability was ever high in the first place. Still sobbing, she let Neji embrace her, for once fulfilling his promise of protection to Hizashi.

Yes, after that it was never the same anymore. Clearly her emotions for him hadn't died out overnight but slowly they deteriorated, leaving behind only a dark vacuum with nothing to fill it. The little time she spent around him has been riddled with moments of awkwardness. Whenever she approached him he always seemed to busy himself with something else and seeing it was a good method of getting rid of her he mostly busied himself with Sakura. This was cruel, he knew and he wasn't ever doing anything with Sakura anyway yet Naruto was forced into a situation he had no idea how to deal with. A girl liking HIM and not the other way around was a completely new experience and one he still couldn't get his head around. Ironically, while he was still trying to work out a way to make it work with Hinata he had been slowly but surely losing her. She was poking more and more holes in his personality, finding flaws that she couldn't see before and mistakes where before only perfection was. In Neji's eyes this seemed to be like a dream come true, Hinata was smiling again and everything seemed to be taking a more stable route. Unknown to him, Hinata now had a gaping void in her inner self; the place that was before filled with Naruto was now empty. She was trying to cope with it and plastered a smile on whenever she was around anyone. Yet increasingly she had found it harder and harder to make the smiles sincere and the anguish that washed over her whenever she was alone was becoming more powerful every day. She had found a little solace in music, listening to songs that seemed to mend her, yet every day left her a little more broken and beyond repair of even her favourite tunes. That was until she started visiting the Uchiha compound. The run down place produced even more sadness in her, especially with its history but she had taken great pleasure in restoring it. It became her personal mission, a way of proving to herself that she still mattered. That still, in some small way she still had influence over the world and she wasn't insignificant, that she was still there. Every day she would go over and increase the beauty of the place, with every plant, every pebble bringing her closer to her goal. It seemed impossible to her, but in this one thing she was stubborn. Her happiness hung on this one great task and she stood no hope…until Itachi showed up. He was there now, helping her with his power, his greatness. His shadow enveloping her and making her dream possible. She welcomed the help, it was not the kind of thing she could have ever done on her own. Itachi was there, repelling the darkness of the void around and inside her, almost like her own guardian angel.

Hinata reached Kurenai-sensei's house and was attempting to slip in unnoticed when she heard a voice behind her. "What exactly are you doing, young lady?" inquired Kurenai. Kurenai's home was now Hinata's permanent place of residence so the question should have had an obvious answer yet Hinata knew her sensei did not mean that. "I-I just w-wanted….because N-N-Naruto and U-Uchiha-sama and the rest…and th-they think th-that I…" Hinata stuttered with difficulty. Kurenai frowned. Even Hinata didn't stutter this much, something must be having an effect on her and if that something was linked with Naruto and the Uchiha then that meant bad news, really bad news. Obviously this problem couldn't be resolved by merely asking Hinata what happened, she needed to forget about it and quickly too. "You are not hiding at home, again Hinata. Have you forgotten it's the official team get together today? You should be spending time with Kiba and Shino; they are probably worrying about you right now. Also, I have a…meeting with a certain...person so I cannot stay at home with you and at times like these you must not be alone." This said Kurenai locked the door and ushered the Hyuga on. "I-is it Asuma-sama you're m-meeting?" asked Hinata shyly. Kurenai's crystal laugh filled the air around them. "As a matter of fact it is" smiled the sensei. Hinata nodded, so that's why her teacher was in such a good but nervous mood. "Now go along and meet with the rest of the team and if I hear from any of them that you haven't attended, well, I'll leave that to your imagination" Saying that, Kurenai went off, leaving Hinata to stand there looking awkward for a few minutes before finally deciding that a few hours spent with Kiba and Shino wouldn't hurt. She then rushed off as well as she had only five minutes to reach their agreed rendezvous. Shino was already there and Kiba was seen after another fifteen minutes, characteristically late. Kiba then barged into the restaurant while Shino muttered something suspiciously similar to "Ladies first". With that, both Hinata and Shino followed their comrade inside. The interior of the place was well furbished, showing off good taste and giving an air of luxury. While Kiba didn't really ever make a fuss where they ate, Shino was very particular about this and enjoyed the quiet and collected atmosphere of the upper end restaurants. Hinata was all for this as she liked the privacy it gave them. Kiba immediately started ordering masses of nigiri and as soon as the food was brought he started eating at a pace that could only be matched by Naruto. Hinata herself ordered some soup and Shino some strange dish neither of the other two could recognise. "So Hinata, how's Naruto doing?" asked the as of yet unaware and socially tact-less Kiba. "Umm...w-well…h-h-he seems to b-be in good h-health" managed Hinata.
"Kiba, I suggest we do not go down that path of conversation today. Why you ask? Because as you haven't yet noticed Naruto is a bit of a sore point for your teammate and it is best if you don't mention him" stated Shino in his usual calm voice.
"Oh...sorry Hinata" Kiba was quick to apologise but the damage was done, Hinata had gone deathly pale and was now staring at a place above Shino's head, lost inside herself. The table was now filled with an awkward silence. Hinata sipped her soup, hoping for salvation to descend upon her and save her from the next few hours of awkwardness. Thus destiny chose to ironically grant her wish as a deep, stoic, controlled voice which had the perfect melody and ideal intonation uttered: "May I borrow Hinata-san for a moment?"

What do you think? Again, this is short but maybe the next one will be longer.