Muffled noises reached her ears. It was a mixture of voices and a bunch of other things she couldn't distinguish from one another. A bright light on the ceiling blinded her, when she slowly tried to open her eyes. She squinted them before making another attempt in finding out where she was.

She slowly regained her senses. The noises became more distinct and her blurry vision cleared gradually. Hinata blinked a few times when she realized that she must be in the emergency room. The typical hospital smell of the disinfect confirmed her assumption.

Yellow colored curtains hung at the sides and isolated her from the others. She turned her head to inspect her surroundings in more detail and noticed someone laying his head on her bed.
Her back ached terribly when she sat up in reflex, the pain rushing along her spine and forcing a wailing moan from her mouth. Slowly the girl laid down again. Suddenly she was overwhelmed with pain, not just in her back but also her hips and rips. An awfully buzzing headache made her frown.

As if the rush of unpleasantness helped her remember the incident that had brought her here, she looked at the figure on her bed, who she had already identified as a sleeping Naruto.

He had had a big baseball game and the whole school had celebrated when his team won. They lifted him and cheered loudly. Hinata, who had watched the game anxiously became even more uneasy when she saw them hovering around him on their way back inside the school.
She had achieved a habit of being extremely careful whenever she saw Naruto doing something even remotely dangerous. Everything seemed to be a threat to his life.

Being so protective of him made her forget her own safety sometimes. It had been a huge chaos of too many people when they arrived at the back gates of the school. While Hinata had tried to make advances to Naruto she fell down the flight of stairs in front of the school's entrance.
Everything had happened too fast for her to register but she could still remember the people calling her when she rolled down. Apparently she had become unconscious as she couldn't remember anything after that.

Naruto smacking his lips regained her attention and she smiled softly seeing the calm expression on his sleeping face. Why was he here? Because he was worried for her? The sole thought of that made her heart jump and her cheeks flare. Her eyes lighted up when she wondered how he could sleep so soundly in a place like this and she observed him more closely.

He had his head rested on his crossed arms and snored lightly, a trace of drool running down the corner of his mouth.
His cheeks were a little bloated and Hinata had to fight the urge to poke them, repressing that these kind of impulsions were very unusual for her.

Now that his wild hair didn't cover his forehead anymore, she recognized that his eyebrows were thinker than she had thought and got surprised at the length of his eyelashes.
She had never had the chance to observe him this way, and even if he didn't know that she was watching him like this, she could feel them warmth of embarrassment in her face.

His blond strands invited her to run through them and she rose a hand to do so, slowly approaching him with her shy fingers to pat him.
But when she already felt the his hair-ends, an unpleasant thought hit her. It was random but shocked her to the cores.

What if it was her closeness that made him experience all these things? She realized that all these bad things only happened to him when she was around.
Never had something happened on weekends or after school. Only when she was there, as if she should have to witness the brutality.

Her hand had stopped its approach. Her chest tightened when she continued her black thoughts. What if she was the reason he died over and over again?
Suddenly the past accidents made sense. She held her hand to her chest. The woe in it was far worse than in her back. It was a piercing pain that took a hold of her whole body.

Her eyes still fixated him but her mind was a mess. How much she would like to be unconscious again. Away from the worries and the fear that she might be the reason that someone lived through an unmeasurable amount of again and yet again.

Her brain was so busy that she couldn't even react properly when Naruto's eyes popped open and his head jumped up. His gaze widened when he realized that she was awake. His cheek had a imprint from the way he had slept and a twine of drool still graced his mouth.

"Hinata, you're awake!" Even though they were in a hospital, he didn't restrain his voice, what gained him a few judging glances from passerby.
Naruto cocked his eyebrows when her facial features didn't move as he wanted them to. Her lips were pressed to a thin line and her eyes mirrored upset.

"What's wrong? Are you still in pain?" His hands moved to touch her but then halted, confused if he was even allowed to lay a finger on her.

Hinata couldn't dismiss her new enlightenments. Seeing his usual and awake self made her feel even more guilty than she had been before. How could someone hurt a person who was as kind and cheerful as Naruto?
She couldn't even answer his questions.

"When did you wake up? I'm sorry I fell asleep." He had tried his best not to but he didn't sleep before he had important games in the fear of being too drowsy in the morning and be a complete klutz in the game.

Her not answering or even opening her mouth increased his worries of her. She had her forehead in wrinkles and eyed him in a way, that he couldn't describe or understand.

Kiba and Shino hadn't left Hinata's side since her little trip down the stairs. Telling them that they didn't have to was useless.
The girl appreciated their concern and for some odd reason it made her feel good when they arranged the seat to make her feel comfortable. She didn't want to trouble them but the feeling of being cared for was pleasant nevertheless.

After several days of resting, Hinata had returned to school. She had been surprised about the amount of questions she had received about her wellbeing. It appeared that her fame had failed to decrease yet.

She had decided to avoid Naruto until she was able to organize her thought. It had been much easier when she laid in her bed at home but now that she was in school again this task strained her more than it was good for her.

She was confused of the current situation and hopeless of what to do. Just the sheer thought of it made her head ache.
When ever she saw blond that resembled Naruto's shock of hair in the slightest, she went inkognito.

"You're Hinata's friends right? Have you seen her?" Naruto had approached Kiba and Shino, who had been startled by his ambush. The blond looked around while he waited for an answer.

Shino glanced at Hinata, who had hid behind the next corner. She shook her head vigorously in his direction, pleading with her eyes to not expose her current position.

"No we haven't," he answered cooly, without any indications of his lie. Naruto thanked them and hurried away, his eyes scanning the busy hallway in his passing.

The boys looked after him before they joined Hinata in her hideout.

"Dad, why was Naruto here?" With the help of her father, Hinata had been able to sit up in her bed. She had watched him going through the bag he had packed for her short stay in the hospital.
The question surprised him as she had refused to utter any word after greeting him halfheartedly.

She blinked at him in an awaiting manner.

Hiashi Hyuuga was usually a very strict man. A stern gaze constantly piercing through his eye and a strong posture, moving gracefully but indestructible on its way. There weren't many things that made him waver, but one of them was the health of his daughters being at risk.

"You mean that sleeping kid? You have to tell me." Hiashi put the bag at the foot of the bed and turned towards her, folding his hands on his lap.

"Kiba and Shino left when I got here, and that boy was already drooling all over the bed when I arrived at your side." It wasn't a very pleasant memory.

"Is that so," she said weakly and lowered her gaze. Her father frowned.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Kiba leaned against the wall and gave his friend a questioning glance. Hinata shook her head again, looking at the ground and avoiding any eye contact.

Kiba put a hand on her head, which made her face him. He looked outside the window across from them.
"Just know, we are here to talk if you need to." The sun reflected on Shino's dark glasses as he shifted to likewise lay his hand on her head.

The words had silenced her. They were short but heartwarming.

There were so many secrets she would like to tell them. Sometimes her heart craved for comfort and consolation that it was hard for her mouth to remain still.
She wished for someone to talk to, to share at least a small part of her concerns, in which she felt like drowning any coming day.
She didn't want to feel lonely with her difficulties anymore.

But for the time being she would say nothing.
"Thank you."

Much to her father's discontent, Hinata had decided to take a walk around the neighborhood. Her back still ached a little when she walked too much but a change of scenery helped her with her troubles.
In the past weeks it had become a habit, that she wasn't ready to give up on yet, despite being injured now.

The sun was setting, shading the sky in orange and purple and showering Konoha with its brightness.
Her region had never been a very busy one. It was usually quiet, without many people crossing the ways. The streets were clean and free from the loud cars from the main street.
On this evening as well it didn't lose its calm as Hinata was able to enjoy the stillness as good as she could.

Her long skirt moved lightly in a wind breeze. It had gotten chillier and Hinata wrapped her cardigan tighter around her body. It was probably the time to go home again. Worrying her already uneasy father was not something she desired.
She had already lost track of the time when she tried to walk her worries away and was sure that her absence took to long for her father's taste.

Right when she passed the neighborhoods playground and pondered that she seldom saw children playing there, she noticed a familiar face on the other side. It was hard to believe her eyes that the figure was Naruto, staring at her the same surprised way she did.

What were the odds of meeting him like this, after she had tried her best to avoid him. She was sure that destiny was fooling with her.
Wondering if he lived in the neighborhood, she watched him taking his hands out of his pants pockets and approaching her. First gradually, then quicker.

Hinata on the other side was paralyzed. It was not like she could just run away now that he was already walking up to her. Maybe she could go back in time to avoid this meeting. The idea was appealing but she didn't want to, surprising even herself with her twisted wants.

"Hey." Naruto stopped not far away from her.

"Hey." She barely managed to look him in the eyes, nervously playing with her fingers on the side.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as soon as she had greeted him, as if he was dying to hear the answer from her.

It was the first time he saw her wearing something else but her school uniform. He also had never seen her outside of school grounds before, maybe on the way to or away from the building but that didn't count.

"I'm fine." She was able to curve her lips reassuringly.

"You should still sit down though." His eyes roamed around the playground, already looking for a right place. "Come." He lead her towards the swings, which seemed to be the most suitable and nearest possibility for her to rest.

But Hinata wavered in following him. There was no need for them to sit down. They could just small talk before each of them went their own way. If he wanted her to sit, it meant that there was something he wanted to tell her and she was unsure if she wanted to hear whatever it was.

The metal chains of the swings resounded when they took their seats. Oddly the atmosphere was different than all the previous times they had talked but it was hard to tell what kind of mood lingered in the air.

"I looked for you today but couldn't find you." He played with the sand under the tip of his shoe, the swing slightly moving and the chains rattling because of his movements.

"Yes, Kiba and Shino told me about it," she lied. She hadn't really been a good liar before but since her time traveling had brought these consequences, she had become far more skilled. She saved deciding which was better for another time.

"I was worried that you didn't feel good but I'm relieved now that I saw you." He smiled, banishing the serious expression he had carried.

Hinata already regretted looking up at him. His smile was like a bright light and she was a little mosquito mesmerized by it, without being able to restrain. She looked away.

Silence returned, in what a single car passed the playground.

"Hinata," Naruto stopped moving around and halted completely still. "I like you."

When Hinata quickly turned her head to face him, Naruto's smile was gone, instead his lips were firmly pressed together and his eyes had a spark in them she had never seen before.
Big lavender eyes under creased brows stared at him in disbelief. She hadn't expected that.

Her features softened when she looked away at the ground again. Her hands clenched the metal of the swings chains, hurting her bones with its hardness.

"Why?"

"Huh?" Her question drove away the seriousness of his face and replaced it with stunner.

"Why do you like me?" Her voice was dispirited and resembled a whisper. "Because I saved you from that car?"

"No!" He had reacted too quickly again. When she faced him he realized that he had been too loud too. He relaxed his narrowed brows and collected himself with a deep breath. The right dealing with words didn't count as one of his strengths but he needed to affirm Hinata of his feelings.

"I like you because you play with your fingers when you're nervous."

"Eh?" She inevitable glanced at her fingers, still grasping the metal chain, before looking back at him.

"Also because I think you look cute when you blush." He could feel how his own ears reddened when he spoke. "You constantly make me feel fuzzy inside."

Hinata's gaze was widened, her breath heavier and her mouth agape.

"When you fell down that stairs I was really scared. I don't know how I managed to fall asleep in that situation but I was really worried that you'd be badly injured." Naruto sounded distressed all of sudden. "It happened right in front of my eyes and I blamed myself because I was so close to you but couldn't help you at all."

His words didn't move her just because she felt his sincere concern for her behind them but also because it was the description of the way she felt whenever something happened to him. She would be scared and worried too, also blaming herself. It expressed her emotions so perfectly that she was unsure if Naruto was really the one describing or if she was just imagining things.

Naruto stood up, the swing seesawed back and forth because of his rapid action. The pair of her eyes traced him stopping right in front of her. When she looked up at him, he glowed even more than usual because of the sun setting behind him, lighting him up in the color he liked so much. The rays were blended her a little bit but she wouldn't dare to look away.

"I really like you."
He put one of his hands on hers around the chain. With the other he approached her face. First brushing her cheek lightly with his fingertips, before cupping her more firmly.
Then he kissed her. Shy and timid at the beginning, bewaring that she wouldn't be shocked by his doing.

The feeling inside her was amazing, enabling Hinata to forget everything else that had pestered her mind. She closed her eyes, trying to take in as much of the kiss as possible. The roughness of his lips, the tingling of her skin under his fingers and his new scent she just discovered.

She sat up to reach him better, silently promising that she would save him whenever he was in danger.