The next day, Naruto had gone to Sasuke's home early in the morning again. This time, the Uchiha had gotten his beauty sleep so Naruto was able to get him to agree to do some training. They headed to the nearest training field together.

When they arrived, they started off by sparring with taijutsu for a few minutes. They focused on the spar, not saying a word to each other. They never needed to speak when they were like this. After they had been fighting for some time, Sasuke's eyes met the blonde's and it was mutually understood that they both wanted to move on to something else. Naruto jumped back and started using ninjutsu that the raven would respond to with equal power, creating a balanced clash that didn't force either combatant to move out of the way.

After a few of these exchanges, Sasuke made a gesture towards Naruto signifying that he wanted him to stop. When Naruto lowered his hands, Sasuke walked up to him. Naruto watched him with a questioning expression.

"Dobe. I heard something yesterday while I was walking around. Are you really getting married?" Sasuke asked.

"I don't know, Teme. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my life anymore," Naruto answered, looking away from Sasuke.

Sasuke fixed the blonde with a piercing stare.

"What the hell is going on, Dobe? Sakura was acting really strange as well. What happened while I was away?"

"I'm sure she still likes you, Teme... She's just going through some stuff right now... Give her some time."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"That doesn't concern me. What does concern me is that it seems like both of you are walking on eggshells around me and now you're suddenly getting married. To the Hyuga girl? You've never even mentioned her before."

"There was no reason to mention her... I don't know what to tell you, Sasuke."

"Hn. I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. When I return, the two of you had better be back to normal. I'm tired of this."

Sasuke looked at Naruto meaningfully before jumping back and signaling him to resume. Naruto nodded. Both young ninjas flashed through hand signs.

/

Sakura was doing her shift at the hospital. While attending to a patient, she thought about what had happened with Naruto yesterday. She didn't know what to do now that he was marrying Hinata. She had expected to have much more time to repair her relationship with him. The prospect of him marrying Hinata scared her because it would mean that things between her and Naruto would never go back to the way they were. She wanted him to show her affection again. The pinkette sorely missed the days when she was Naruto's most precious person.

I'm sure he understood why I got so angry... He never could see how I felt towards him. He always thought that my feelings were only for Sasuke-kun. He was so wrong... He never learned how important he was to me, and now everything has changed... I don't like it at all, Sakura thought.

I thought I would have more time... It's not like I can stop him from marrying Hinata if that's what he wants to do... I thought they weren't that close... I thought he didn't love her... Was I wrong?

No... I'm not going to give up. This is too important. I need to be completely honest with Naruto and find out exactly how he feels. If he really loves Hinata, I'll accept that and try to move on. But if I don't do anything and he marries her, I would regret that forever... Well, I'm going to be regretting my decisions forever in any case if he marries her. Why did things have to go this way?

I don't think I could live with losing Naruto for good and knowing that I was the one who made him give up on me... It would be so painful seeing him with Hinata. I feel like the two of us had always been perfect for each other. Why was I so blinded by Sasuke-kun's pretty face? Damn it!

Sakura finished up with the patient and smiled at them. They nodded in reply. She moved on to the next room.

/

That night, Naruto went to the Hyuga estate. Earlier in the week, he had made plans to go out to dinner with Hinata. She was standing outside looking more nervous than usual. He walked up to her with a casual smile on his face. When she saw him, she didn't return the smile as she usually did.

"Hey, Hinata... How are you?" Naruto asked.

"Good... Listen, Naruto-kun... Let's not go on a date tonight. Can you just come inside and talk to me for a little bit?" Hinata asked with a serious expression on her face.

"Sure... What's wrong, Hinata?"

"I'm fine, Naruto-kun... Just follow me, OK?"

Naruto followed Hinata inside the estate. They went to the main house Hyuga building where the dinner had been held the other day. She walked Naruto to her room and shut the door. She turned around and looked into his eyes. The bluenette seemed very concerned about something.

"Naruto-kun... I'm sorry that news about the marriage is all over the village. I didn't know that my father would do that... Please forgive me," Hinata stated apologetically.

"It's OK... I should have expected it... The marriage of the Hyuga heiress is a big deal... And I'm kind of famous too... Haha," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head and laughing nervously.

"Still, I'm sorry about that, Naruto-kun... And I need to tell you something."

"What is it, Hinata?"

Her eyes shifted down and to one side.

"I didn't agree to marry you because I love you... I agreed because I wanted to see what you would do."

"What I would do...?"

"I do love you Naruto-kun... Very much. But I don't get the sense that you want to move our relationship forward. I don't know what it is... Maybe you don't feel that way about me, or you still love Sakura-san... But either way, your answer would help me understand what you wanted."

Naruto's eyes widened. He had wanted to figure out the situation with Sakura to be fair to her, but Hinata had already been a step ahead of him.

"Hinata, I'm sorry... Recently, I've felt more unsure and conflicted than ever about what I want to do with my life... You're great and I really like you... Please don't think that you did anything wrong..."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun... Just know that I want you to do what makes you happy. Only marry me if you're sure about it... I refuse to trap you, Naruto-kun. I will be the one to back out if it seems like that's the case. I love you too much to force you to be with me if it's not what you really want..."

"Hinata... I-" Naruto started to say before being interrupted.

"You need to decide. If you're still in love with Sakura-san or you don't really feel that way about me... I'll be hurt, but I'll survive. But what I cannot live with is being married to you and having to watch you be unhappy... I won't do it, Naruto-kun."

"Wow... I'm so sorry, Hinata. This isn't fair to you at all..."

"Like I said, I'll survive, Naruto-kun... So don't worry about me."

Hinata smiled weakly at Naruto. He looked at her with pain in his eyes.

"OK, Hinata... I'll try to figure things out as soon as I can. But I really don't want to hurt you..."

She gazed at Naruto with a determined expression.

"If you have to hurt me, then just do it... Don't drag it out. I'm stronger than you think, Naruto-kun."

"I know you're strong... I've seen it a few times before. I guess I should go... Again, I'm really sorry..."

Naruto moved to open the door and exit. He glanced at Hinata and smiled sadly. She gave him the best smile she could muster up in return.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto-kun... No matter how painful it is, I want to see you smiling in the end... Bye, Naruto-kun..."

She waved at him gently. Naruto waved back before shutting the door and making his way back out of the Hyuga estate.

Hinata just wants the best for me... She's such a kind person. I don't deserve this kind of devotion at all... Naruto thought.

And Sakura-chan said she always liked me... Why did I push her away like that back then? How could I have done that to her...? I abandoned her... That must have been so awful for her.

Then she had to hear from everyone that I was going to marry Hinata... I abandoned her again... I didn't want Sakura-chan to think I had completely given up on her like this. I just wanted her to be completely sure about how she felt so that neither of us would be hurt. But now, both of them are probably suffering over this... Why the hell did I listen to Hiashi?

He traveled over the rooftops to get to his apartment and went inside.

Why am I so bad at this...?