Chapter 26

Love (Un)requited

AN: Ok, you may shoot me now if you wish but hear me out first. I'm getting accepted into colleges right now so stuff is pretty hectic at the moment. Also, if anyone's going to Rutgers maybe I'll see you there.

Be easy on me with the grammar. I don't really feel like editing because, truthfully, I suck at it.

"These dreams." The blond abruptly looked up, unsure of what he just heard.

"Switching positions… It's the first time I've had this kind." Hinata mused sadly as she sat down, eying Naruto with an air of disinterest.

"I don't understand." Naruto stated, withering from the intensity Hinata's stare.

Hinata sighed sadly before answering. "Obviously we're in a dream."

"Dream? Will you still act this way to me in real life if I-" Naruto suddenly stopped in distress, unable to continue on with that train of thought, but his fear was misplaced.

"What? Don't be silly." Hinata exclaimed, looking at Naruto with confusion as well as amusement. For a dream, this Naruto was acting pretty realistic. "It's just that it's usually me confessing. Now do you see why this dream is unusually cruel now? Humph, switching positions and all that…"

"S-so you're saying-" The blond suddenly looked up with a newfound hope in his eyes. For some reason, Hinata still blushed even though she knew it was just a dream.

"D-do I really need to say it?" She asked, unable to keep the stutter from her voice. Even confessing in a dream was hard.

"And that time from before. You were actually going to say…" Naruto stopped, waiting for Hinata to finish his thought. He needed to be sure.

"I-I really do have to say it don't I?" Hinata asked, and at Naruto's enthusiastic nod, she couldn't help but cover her flushed face with her hands.

"I-I was going to say back then that I love you." She said her voice muffled. Taking a deep shaky breath, she continued, "I love you more than anything in the world… More than the flower that blankets the grounds, more than the sun that shines upon us. More than anything I have ever loved before." Naruto's eyes widened in alarm as he saw tears sliding down from beneath Hinata's hands.

"But this is just a dream…"

Hinata suddenly gasped as she felt two strong arms embrace her in a hug. Looking up, she was surprised to find Naruto's tear stained eyes staring back at her. Dream or not, she couldn't help but feel something for the person before her.

"I'm so sorry Hinata!" Naruto cried, hugging the frail girl tighter to his chest. "Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'm such and idiot! I should've known!"

It was useless trying to contain her emotions anymore. Without thinking, Hinata buried her head into Naruto's jacket, returning the hug with equal passion.

"You're an idiot Naruto! In this world, the anime world, and the real world! You're all idiots!" She sobbed, not bothering to restrain herself.

"Real world? Hinata?!" Naruto balked looking down at the girl he held in his arms, and for the first time he noticed the striking similarities of the Hinata of this world, and the Hinata of his world.

"N-No way…" And with those choice words, Naruto's brain suddenly overloaded and he collapsed on the ground, taking Hinata down with him.

The sun was just peaking over the horizon when Naruto woke up. Moaning slightly, the blond picked himself up from the ground.

"Naruto! I've have breakfast!" The drowsy boy opened one bleary eye to witness Hinata rushing towards him with some rice balls in her hands. Without thinking, Naruto suddenly swept Hinata up in his arms, accidentally knocking the food out of her hands.

"N-Naruto?"

"I thought I lost you." Naruto murmured, not releasing Hinata from his grasps.

"W-what has g-gotten into you?!" Hinata cried in distress as she pushed herself out of Naruto's grasps. Blushing when Naruto merely looked at her in confusion.

No way…It couldn't have been all a dream!

"Hinata!" Naruto suddenly barked, snapping the girl from her embarrassment. "Did you have a dream about me recently?" From the way the color left Hinata's face, Naruto heaved a sigh of relief.

"H-How did you know about that?" She asked in a hushed tone, not daring to look into Naruto's eyes for the answers they might convey.

"Hinata. That was no dream." Naruto said seriously, gripping Hinata tightly by the shoulder so she wouldn't fall onto the ground in a dead faint.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata. I love you." Naruto said seriously, and at this statement, Hinata suddenly felt all the feelings in her legs leave her and found herself leaning onto Naruto's chest for support.

"Y-you have no idea how long I have waited for those words." Hinata clutching Naruto's jacket tightly as if afraid he would disappear. Instinctively, Naruto started rubbing Hinata's back comfortingly. "I thought I was always going to be the one confessing first…"

"In a way, you were." Naruto said softly. His eyes suddenly narrowed in confusion at the way Hinata suddenly stiffened.

"Hinata?" He asked as the girl suddenly pulled away from him, staring gravely into his eyes.

"Naruto? Is that really you?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" He asked, one of his eyebrows arching in amusement. For a moment, Hinata looked like she was in deep thought. Then her features cleared as if she had reached a conclusion.

"Are you trapped here like me?" She asked with a guarded expression on her face, waiting to see Naruto's reaction. She wasn't disappointed.

"Hinata!" He exclaimed in pleasure before grabbing the petite girl and whirling her around in circles. Hinata laughed along with Naruto, too caught up in her own joy to feel embarrassed. Without thinking, Naruto arched forward and pecked Hinata on the cheek. For a second the two looked at each other in surprise. Then Hinata suddenly tackled Naruto to the ground.

"I'm not alone anymore." She murmured softly, a small blush spreading across her cheeks as she bent down and kissed Naruto on the forehead. It was a small gesture of affection, but nevertheless, the blonde's eyes welled up with tears of gratitude.

"Hinata." Naruto said softly, blinking the tears from his eyes. Although Hinata was one with her younger self, she knew that the boy was referring to her older self now. "Do you love me?"

Without pause Hinata replied, "The question is, do you?"

For a moment Naruto blanked out as he asked himself this question. Did he actually love Hinata from the real world? In an instant his feelings became clear as he remembered that Hinata was the only person in school that actually treated him with any decency. There is no one else for me. Naruto realized, and with that, his features softened.

"I always have, but I never had the courage to acknowledge it…" He said, for the first time truly understanding how true his statement was.

AN: Ah, my first confession scene. Next updates should come faster considering I salvaged my story from my hard drive failure. I also separated them into different chapters so I can tell you that there are 7 chapters left to this story. I had no idea until I separated them. Ugh, updating sucks mostly because of the editing.