A/N: Hi everyone!
Well as you know, I have finished all my work, which means… I'm more free now! Yay! I can now update as much as I used to, so I'll try my best not to keep you guys waiting anymore! Thanks for being so patient ^^
By the way, please don't hate Kiba!
I know you guys think that he's stopping Naruhina from happening, but he's just trying to be a good friend, and win her over at the same time! He just cares for Hinata too, though he is a little selfish! And if you guys have seen chapter 558 and 559 of Naruto shippuden, you'd know that… Oh goodness, you'd know that Masashi should really try harder when it comes to romance! Haha!
My impressions of...
Naruto: He's really kind and forgiving, the ideal boyfriend, but gets extremely jealous. Though, he does know how to be a good boyfriend.
Hinata: She's unsure of many things, but if there's one thing she knows, it's that she loves Naruto. At first, she was unsure, because she found herself to be attracted to Kiba, but later realized that that meant nothing. She realizes how much she misses Naruto when he's gone.
Sakura: Well, typically I don't like Sakura.
Kiba: I actually love Kiba. He's hot! But in this fanfic, he actually tries to help Hinata out while trying to win her as well, so it's quite confusing!
TAKCH1: Yes! Exactly what I mean!
Kibble Kin Slider: Thanks a lot! Hehe he's not my favourite either, but I think he's really handsome! Like Naruto! XD
Chapter 25, You still love him, don't you?
It had been a couple of weeks since that incident, but for them, it was like a million years had passed. The 4th of April it was, and winter was arriving in the peaceful village of Konoha. The cold winds hit the village that night, the villagers all closing the shutters.
He lay down on his bed, watching the empty white ceiling above him.
The air-con was on, even on a cold day such as this, and it was at full blast. The room was almost dead, not lively at all. That wonderful presence that he once felt by his side was no longer there.
When she left, she took a big part of him too.
She stole his heart away.
He sighed.
It was the beauty of her smile, her face, and her eyes… Every part of her.
She was a beauty.
He imagined her warm touch against his face, brushing his cheek with that tiny hand of hers… Her beautiful milky skin that was flawless, and the pale orbs that put him in her amazing trance. Her wonderful smooth hair that danced in the wind whenever it blew…
It was not only her outer-beauty.
She was a rose on the inside as well. Hinata was the kindest person he had ever met. With a heart of love and care, she was to him, a fallen angel.
He stretched his arms, and reached out his fingers, and clasped the empty space.
Shouldn't Hinata be beside him right now, lying and sleeping peacefully on his shoulder? In his chest?
Was she doing the same with Kiba…?
The thought of that made Naruto bite his lips in sadness. The thought of Hinata lying on Kiba, clutching his shirt, giving him goodnight kisses, made him want to puke right on the spot.
Yes, Naruto was a wreck without his lover.
"Why… Why did you have to come into my life, Hinata?" Naruto asked himself sarcastically.
He imagined her beautiful self and smiled sadly, "Why did I have to fall for you…?"
Well, he had to admit, he was warned.
Ero-senin did tell him that love was painful, yet wonderful at the same time. The feeling 'love', the powerful emotion, was not something that was easy to understand. It was complex, and dangerous.
The jinjuriki missed her dearly.
He craved for her.
He needed her by his side.
He needed to hold her hand, and know that everything would be alright. No one on the earth could provide him the love and comfort that she did.
She was a hell of a special girl.
That was when a sudden memory popped into his mind.
-Flashback of 2 months before-
"So, you sure she's the one? Not just another one of those troublesome women?" The shadow ninja asked, taking a sip of tea.
"Oh come on Shikamaru, I doubt she's that type of person! I mean she seems nice and all!" The 'chubby' teen replied, tearing the beef apart.
Naruto glared at Shikamaru, but then leaned back down on his seat, smiling in total bliss, "Nahhh…"
He placed his hands behind his head and grinned, "She's the most not troublesome, amazing, cute girl in the world… I love everything about her… She's just… so… wow…"
Chouji leans his head in out of curiosity, "Wow…?"
Naruto grins, "Yes, my friend. Wow…"
Shikamaru sighs before speaking, "Well you know, let me tell you one thing… Relationships aren't easy to persue… but… If there's one thing I've learnt with Temari, it's that…"
He smirked, "Whenever she tells you that she doesn't care, she cares. She will try her best no to show it, but as the man, there's no way I'm going to let her forget all the things we've been through, even if she is a total pain in the neck…"
"That's something I never thought you'd ever say, Shikamaru!" Chouji and Naruto yelled in unison, looking at the Nara with shock.
"Yeah shika! Thanks a lot! Love you!" An unknown voice rang, causing Shikamaru to shudder. -Flashback end-
"Holy cow…" He muttered.
Meanwhile with Hinata
Out at the usual training ground, she lay on the ground, continuously smashing her chakra-filled palms into the thick log perched vertically in the ground, practically smashing bits and pieces of wood out of it with each hit.
Just before she delivered her last fatal blow, she paused, and panted.
She smiled.
She thought of Naruto.
'Maybe…' She straightened her posture, 'I should've heard him out…'
Hinata walked towards the log and leaned against it, sliding down to the ground.
Why hadn't she let Naruto explain himself…? After all, he did love her, now didn't he? And she loved him, didn't she…?
His face flashed into her mind.
Could one explanation really hurt?
As lovers, shouldn't they be open to each other…?
She was truthful to him, and he was to her, so what else had to be said or done…?
Naruto had always been nice to her, treating her as if she was his entire world, and how did she repay him? With this?
If something bad were to happen to her, he would be there for her, like he had always been… If it was just a misunderstanding, then, who was to blame…?
"Me…" She sighed, "For not letting you explain…"
As the winds blew, the girl stood up and zipped up her jacket and clutched herself tightly, moving her hands continuously up and down her arms, making a desperate attempt to keep herself warm. She set her destination, and fought the crazy weather.
She needed to apologize…
"Please, don't give up on me, Naruto-kun…" She whispered and chattered her teeth, as the temperature dropped, and the winds only seemed to get stronger.
With Naruto
I thought about it- What Shikamaru had said.
Yes, he had never expected a man like him to say something like that. It was rather unlike him, as if he was a whole different man, a man that had been changed… Because of Temari he supposed?
Staring blankly out of the window, loud taps against it were heard, echoing throughout the apartment, as the sky let down its heavy tears.
It was darker than ever, and extremely cloudy to a matter of fact. Rain poured down from the heavens. Not a single soul out on the streets.
The rain flooded the roads as they overflowed, the plants submerged in this unusual rain. Who would dare to walk out there? Not him, for one.
Hinata had changed ever since then.
He still loved her dearly, as much as he did before, but he had to admit, that ever since that incident, she wasn't the same anymore. Even though Hinata had told him that she loved him, it always seemed as if they weren't fully committed yet. He knew he was, but what about Hinata? Did she bear any feelings for Kiba?
'Oh goodness,' he thought while rubbing his temples, 'What I'd do to go back to the way we used to be…'
Then, a sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts.
It was unlikely, yes? Who would appear at his doorstep at this time of the day? Not that anyone usually came anyway, unless it was for a mission.
'Not another mission… I'm in no mood…'
He squeezed his eyes and blinked heavily, feeling his eyelids start to drop. Pulling the door open, he gasped at the person before him- Standing and shivering, water dripping from every end of her clothing and hair.
It was none other than…
"H-Hinata-chan…?" His voice got softer as he stayed rooted to his position, sweaty palms gripping the shiny doorknob.
The Hyuga heiress looked up to the boy and brushed her hair aside, "N-Naruto…?"
Regaining himself again, his gentlemen 'genes' immediately switched on as he took her hand and pulled her gently into his tiny house, away from the cold outdoors. Her hand was cold and wet.
'His hand's so warm…' She thought, feeling his rough hand surrounding hers.
He brought her to his couch and sat her down, digging out a few towels before passing them to her.
"Here, you need to dry off…" He spoke, watching as she slowly dried her clothing and face. She wrapped a towel around her neck as it absorbed the water dripping down from her hair.
Once again, he decided to go make himself useful, so he headed to the kitchen and called out to her, "Is hot chocolate alright for you?"
She nodded and replied, "Y-yes… It's fine…"
After some time, the blonde came back out of the kitchen with a nice 'I love Konoha' mug in his hands. He set it down on the counter and pushed it towards Hinata, "Drink it, you'll feel warmer…"
She smiled slightly, before taking the warm drink in her hands, only to take a few sips.
'He's such a gentleman…'
After some time of awkward silence, Naruto decided to speak up, despite the hurt he was feeling, "So, what on earth are you doing walking around in the middle of the night? Not to mention that it's raining cats and dogs out there! It's a little crazy, don't you think so?"
Hinata gulped and sighed, dropping her head low.
She picked up her spoon and slowly stirred her hot chocolate, watching as the small bits of chocolate that was stuck to the sides of the mug slowly slipped off, turning before dissolving.
"I wanted… to come talk to you…" She mumbled, having Naruto bend in nearer to her.
His head perked up, "You wanted to talk to me?"
She nodded.
"Why?" He asked in a serious tone, not taking his eyes off her for one second.
"Because… I was… I was wrong… Naruto…" She mumbled, turning away from him, "I was wrong… B-Because I never let you ex-explain to me… w-what r-really happened… I w-was rushing things, and didn't e-even bother to let you, s-someone whom I trust so m–much, explain to me…"
Naruto stared at her, his mouth gaping.
"You're always s-so… kind, and c-caring… And… I've been n-nothing been… mean and uncaring to you… You're s-someone important to m-me, and I let that slip, a-all because of something small…"
"So… p-please explain, will you?" She asked.
Naruto couldn't believe his ears. He was more than eager to finally get the chance to explain things to her, and it was just bursting out of him like a rocket.
After a long explanation, he finally finished, Hinata not interrupting him one single time.
"So, I really hope that, you'll trust me… Hinata-chan…" He said, biting his lips.
Would she listen to him? What if she thought that his 'excuse' wasn't 'real enough'? Not that he was lying.
There was another moment of silence, until he felt a pair of arms around his waist. Hinata, was hugging him.
She spoke, "I trust you…"
Naruto smiled, feeling a few tears roll down his cheeks as he combed her hair with his fingers, "Thank you…"
"I'm sorry," he said.
"No… nothing was your fault… It was mine…"
"What type of girlfriend have I b-been? I d-didn't trust you N-naruto-kun… And a r-relationship is all about trust… I g-guess I wasn't giving m-my side of the s-share… And I went off with K-Kiba, even when y-you tried so h-hard to get this to m-me… I didn't listen to you… It was all my fault… I b-blamed you for something you didn't d-do…"
She got off of him, and pushed herself all the way to the other side of the couch, "I'm just a m-monster… And I think t-to myself… Why haven't you gone t-to some o-other girl by now…?"
Naruto stared sadly at her.
"I don't deserve you…" She cried.
Hinata sobbed and sobbed, and this time, she really felt so bad, so guilty, so sorry… What had she done? She had ruined their wonderful relationship, and not only that, she hurt Naruto as well…
The pain seemed to grow in her chest as she started to curse herself more and more for the wrong she had done, unaware of the moving matter moving towards her.
In a swift, he hugged her, and nuzzled his cheek into her head, causing her to jump in shock.
'H-he's… hugging me?' She thought.
"Why… W-why don't you just give up on me…? Don't let youself s-suffer because of me a-anymore…" She whispered into his chest, pushing him slightly, but he only held onto her tighter.
He grinned, "Because… everyone makes mistakes, Hinata-chan…"
Her head poked up from between his hands and she looked into those beautiful blue eyes of his. She saw love, and kindness.
"W-what…?" She replied.
"All the good times we've had together… All the wonderful things you've done for me, makes up for any mistake you've made, or will ever make…"
She couldn't believe her ears.
"I'll always forgive you, Hinata-chan, and I'll always love you… It just hurt me when… I thought that you had finally found someone better than me… When you confessed your love to me for the first time last year, I promised myself to never give up on you. I would always find a way, and we'd make it through together..." He pulled her into his chest tightly, and continued, "I'll admit one thing- it's that... Well, I was disappointed that you had so little trust in me all this time, Hinata-chan..."
She frowned.
"But...I just didn't want you to go off with Kiba…"
Hinata gasped and tensed up, but then loosened up and relaxed, not pushing him back anymore. She returned the hug, and squeezed him tightly, as if she hadn't seen him in years, "No… I won't leave you…No way…"
"I'm sorry... I'm not worthy of your love... But... I do love you, Naruto, really..."
It was true. During the time they had spent together, she had grown extremely fond of him. She loved everything about him-his face, his eyes, his charm, his kindness, how gentlemen-like he was, the list went on. He was the most amazing person she had met, and she found herself falling more and more in love with him each time.
He helped her to regain her memory, sometimes bringing her over to his place to flip through photo albums to help her remember, and she did. Slowly she regained her memory, and now, it was almost back to full capacity. Of course, he wasn't the only one who helped her, but he probably did the most work.
He smiled, rubbing her back, "That's good to know…"
"But can't you see, that he likes you?" Naruto asked, puzzled.
Hinata shook her head, "N-not really…"
Naruto chuckled, "And I thought you weren't the blur type…"
The konoichi giggled and smiled, "Thanks, and you're the one who t-took how m-many years to figure out that I liked you as a child?"
Naruto frowned playfully, "Hey! I was just… I was… I was just…"
She cut him off, "Yes, I know… It w-wasn't that obvious anyway…"
"So you promise that from on now, you'll be totally honest with me?"
"Y-yep"
"And you won't hide anything from me?"
"Yes a-as well."
"And you don't love anyone other than me cause I'm too charmingly handsome?"
"Yes and not r-really." She laughed.