One time, in college, Hinata's favorite and most admired instructor, Professor Yuhi, quoted Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to her.

"Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least."

Naruto matters.

Everything else is...everything else.

Hinata's pretty sure that's not exactly the message Professor Yuhi was trying to convey...but it's the one that stuck.


Hinata doesn't even make it through half of the meeting before she excuses herself and goes back to her office to try Naruto's cell phone.

He doesn't answer.

She frowns, pacing her office floor.

She tries again.

And again.

Between call number four and five (or six...she's not counting) her phone rings.

It's Naruto's doctor.

She has questions.

Hinata doesn't have any answers.

None at all.

She hangs up.

Tries Naruto again.


Eventually, she gives up all pretense of being productive and leaves work.

She contemplates driving to Sasuke's, but she doesn't.

There's a tiny voice in the back of her head that calls her a coward.

That's probably true.

She hasn't seen Sasuke in years, and she can go the rest of her life without seeing him and be just fine with it.

She doesn't blame him entirely for what happened, but she knows his role in it all.

She hates the idea of Naruto with him, but there are things she can control and things she can't. Naruto's misplaced loyalty where Sasuke is concerned is firmly in the latter category.

With no real idea of what to do or where to go, she heads home to wait for Naruto.