: beginning :
: the start of (something)
"Naruto-kun, that was a meteor" Hinata said.
"What?!" Naruto asked, surprised.
"Hinata!!! Naruto!!!"
The two turned, Kiba and Akamaru looked at them in a panicked state.
"We saw" Naruto said, not knowing how to react to the rock from outer space.
Kiba shook his head and said "Other than that, Hanabi is missing! The Hyūga compound was attacked!"
"What?!"
Hinata's attempted kidnapping. Toneri. The meteor. Hanabi. The strange men.
"Hinata," Kiba continued, "Your father, along with all the other Hyūgas with him, have been declared dead"
Each and every news. It was attacking Hinata directly.
Her world was falling apart.
Why?
Why?
Why?
With a click of her tongue, she turned sharply, only to weakly drop, still weak from lack of chakra.
Naruto quickly caught her and set her to her feet, then grabbing her shoulders, "Where the hell do you think you're going?!"
"To the Hokage" Hinata quickly answered, "I'm saving Hanabi right now!"
"Are you crazy?!" The blonde asked, shaking her lightly, "Hinata, you're completely drained off of chakra! You can't even walk properly on your own!"
"I can make it" She stubbornly said, trying to escape his grip, "No, you can't!"
"I might as well just die trying!"
The two men looked at her in shock.
"Naruto-kun, if what they said is true, then Hanabi is the last person I have in my family" Hinata said, her hands clenching tightly, "I have to save her, even if it's the last thing I do. I can't handle losing another one... 'Cause if you think I'm finally over losing Neji-nii-san, then you're wrong"
She had the same look she had from when her cousin-
"But, just like then, I won't stop to mourn, because there is still someone alive that I can save" She claimed, "So please, just let me go"
She shoved away from his grip, taking big steps away, to the direction of the mansion, but a hand grabbed hers, making her stop.
"You're not going" Naruto said, "Not without me"
"Naruto-kun, that would be wonderful," She said, completely understanding that he wanted to help, "But who knows if that meteor is the last. In the case of one of those approaches the village, I know you can stop it"
"The only way you can make me stay here is if you don't leave" He firmly said, not budging, "I'm not leaving without you anymore"
The two glared into each other's eyes, not as if to challenge the other, but to beg for the other to agree with them.
Kiba sighed and decided that he should help, "Listen..."
The two flinched, remembering that they weren't alone.
The brunette crossed his arms and said "As much as I hate to admit, but I ain't as strong as Naruto. But... He isn't the only one capable of protecting Konoha... We've got numbers"
The two stared at him in shock, the blonde then smiling thankfully, "Thanks, Kiba"
Hinata looked up at Naruto, uncertain, "A-Are you sure?"
"To help you?" He answered, "I'll be ready for anything"
Kakashi's eyes stared at the group of elites that have gathered.
When the other four Kages demanded Uzumaki Naruto to be part of the search team to find the one manipulating the moon last night, Kakashi immediately denied, saying that he was already on a mission.
"Naruto, you can't deny this one" He said sternly.
Naruto stared him back, a face of a true shinobi, "Not on this one, sensei"
The Hatake recognized a similar look, and it came from the woman beside the blonde.
As soon as she heard all of the news about her family, she was the first to march in his office about it.
"A man attempted to kidnap you, and you think that he's the same one who took your sister?"
"I will find him, Hokage-sama"
"I will form a group for a search, but you have to stay and lead your clan with your father gone"
"That was not a request, Hokage-sama"
Kakashi nodded at the group, "The lives of all of us are in your hands"
"Naruto influenced you too much"
"His influence made me better. I will save my sister, and I will find my father"
"One at a time, Hinata. Your father's body would be re-"
"He's out there, he'll come back"
"Hinata..." Sakura said as she gripped the slings of her bag, "I'm... I'm sorry about the news... I'm sorry about your loss"
Hinata faced her and smiled, shaking her head "Don't be, Sakura-san"
"I know that you volunteered because of personal reasons, so, any time, I can lend you an ear" The pinkette offered, making the bluenette simply shake her head again and say "Thank you, but during a mission is not the time"
"Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto proudly said, "Hinata's a professional with rescue missions! It's like the other missions! She won't waste time to find anyone!"
"If only that was the case" Shikamaru inwardly thought, "This mission... It's too troublesome to be compared to the rest"
The four stood on the rooftop of the Hokage's mansion, waiting for one last person.
They all turned when the last member arrived, "Sorry for the wait, I had to make sure I had enough ink"
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Hinata, all trained to be the next in the Hokage's court. Sakura, the strongest active medical ninja. And Sai, a former ANBU.
Surely, this mission was above the rest with this line up.
"We're going diamond" Shikamaru said, "Sai, you lead the way, Sakura and I are-"
"No, we're going wedge" Naruto argued.
"We can't expose Hinata," The Nara pointed out, "She's still a target"
"She's with me" The Uzumaki insisted, "She's not alone"
"Hinata?"
Hinata looked just as surprised as them, so she looked up at Naruto to see if he was serious, only to sigh and say "I'm with Naruto-kun"
"Diamond" Shikamaru finalized, "Sai, you lead the way. Naruto, Hinata, you two are on the left. I'm on the right, Sakura far back"
Normally, Hinata wouldn't be so distracted.
Almost everything about this mission was personally attacking her.
The kidnapping of her sister, her kidnapper, her village- her partner's choice of clothing.
It was really distracting.
Right in front of her was the scarf, green with white stripes.
Who gave it to him?
"Hinata?"
"Huh?"
She looked up and saw that he turned his head to her, "Should we go lower? So that we could find tracks?"
"Oh, no" She shook her head, "I can see more from up here"
"What about your chakra?" He asked, worried, she smiled at him reassuringly and said "I meditated long, I should have enough to last me a week without a major fight"
"If you say so"
They went a little higher.
Naruto squinted his eyes hard, trying to see at least bent branches from the height.
"Is this high enough?" He asked.
No answer.
He turned back around and saw that Hinata was staring again, "What is it?"
"Huh? It's nothing" She said, quickly brushing it off, "A little bit more to the left so I could cover as much as I can"
He simply obliged, knowing that her jutsu time is limited, so might as well take advantage of her coveredge.
As soon as she activated her Byakūgan, she quickly spotted a clue.
"See something?" Naruto asked, and she quickly pointed to a far direction, "Over there!"
Naruto's eyes shone when a small pink toy peaked out of the snow as Hinata dug through it, "It's that ninja egg guy!"
"This is Hanabi's kunai" Hinata said, recognizing fully well the uniquely designed kunai.
"Ah, that makes sense" He chuckled.
"There's no blood, so she didn't fight back" She deducted, "She probably left it here so that we know her general direction"
Naruto immediately noticed a bright red material in her bag as she opened it, recognizing it from the night before, "Eh? You brought that scarf with you?"
"Um... Uh-huh"
"Why aren't you using it?" He asked, looking at her, "Aren't you cold out here?"
"W-Well, it's ripped, so I can't really use it" She excused, he sighed heavily and said "As important as this is, you're my priority, dattebayo. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold, so I'll lend you-"
"N-No, I'm fine, thank you" She quickly interjected, putting the kunai in her bag and slinging it back on, "Anyway, we better let Shikamaru and the others know what we found"
"Yeah, I guess you're right" Naruto agreed, throwing a green smoke bomb in the sky to signal the others.
Hinata squealed in surprise when Naruto clipped her bag for her and gently pulled her hair free.
"Th-Thank you" She said, embarassed, of which he only responded with a bright smile.
"This was twenty kilometers away, huh?" Naruto thought, "I didn't know she could see that far"
He once asked Neji how far he could see before, and he proudly answered around eight kilometers.
They were in a strangely bright cave, light reflecting off of every stone.
"It was down here" Hinata said as she walked over a slightly steep drop.
Naruto quickly went ahead of her and guided her down, then signaling the team that it was safe.
She quickly lead them into a small passage, then turning the corner to find that there was indeed a glowing spring.
Sai quickly pointed out the details in the structure, saying that the entire place isn't completely natural.
"Algae?" Shikamaru asked, but after inspection, Hinata shook her head and said "My Byakūgan is being disrupted"
"Something is disrupting the Byakūgan?" The Nara asked, making the Hyūga nod and say "But from what I can see without activating it, there is no bottom, but another passage. I could also sense multiple compressed chakra inside"
"We just have to go and see then" Naruto said "If this isn't related to Hanabi, we still have to inspect this"
"You're right" Shikamaru said.
Sai tilted his head and said "It doesn't seem like algae. It's the water itself that is glowing"
"Alright, let's go then" Sakura said, but Naruto quickly flinched and said "Oh, wait! Can't get this wet"
She turned and saw that he was removing his scarf.
"What's the big deal?" She asked, annoyed of the fact that he's still babying the scarf that wasn't from Hinata, "Why does it matter if the scarf gets wet?"
"It is a big deal!" He rebutted, "This scarf means a lot to me!"
She huffed, then looked at Hinata. She looked more discouraged than before.
"You don't have to take it off" Sai said, finally done with his own investigation, "If you touch this water, you don't get wet"
"How does that make any sense?" Sakura asked.
Shikamaru simply shrugged and jumped in, all the others following after him.
As soon as they passed through the spring, they suddenly felt weightless.
They were in shock at how light they felt, as if the space they entered had no gravity.
Hinata has never seen something so strange.
"Get up, Hinata"
She groggily opened her eyes, feeling weak and beat up.
"I said get up, Hinata!"
She felt fear strike through her, and she immediately tried to push herself up, not wanting to disappoint her father.
Hinata got up and shakily slipped back into a fighting stance.
"Terrible form!"
Suddenly, Hiashi struck her stomach and knocked her back down, her tiny form shaking uncontrollably on the dojo floor, not even realizing for herself that she already coughed out blood, only seeing it as she face planted straight to it.
"Stand up, Hinata!"
She looked around in fear, seeing Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, all beat up into bloody pulps by their enemy. Even the tiny puppy stared at her.
"Stand up! Run!!" Kiba kept screaming as the man turned his attention to her.
She froze, knowing she can't win against the guy, but-
"I have to buy time for Kurenai-sensei!"
She quickly ran ahead, facing the enemy head on, trying to land a single strike as she kept evading his blows.
But she wasn't fast enough, and she got kicked away.
She harshly tumbled away, but quickly got up, to attack, only to get hit away.
"More time!"
She took out a kunai, now fully deciding that shutting down chakra points isn't enough.
She went in, with the full intent to kill, to buy more time.
Why did she keep standing up? Knowing she'll die?
Even Kiba and Shino looked away, not wanting to see it happen.
All that was happening was her getting punched and kicked away.
Why?!
Why?!
"Because-"
"Get up, Hinata!!!"
She felt courage, determination.
She stood back up and glared straight at Neji.
"He believes in me!"
She went straight back in to fighting Neji.
Why?
Why keep fighting?
"Knowing you could die?"
Staring straight into those blue eyes, she knows fully well why.
"I don't go back on my word, because that's my nindo, my ninja way"
"Ehh?" Naruto asked, "But that's my nindo!"
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't-" "Ah, it's fine! We could always share nindos! That's awesome!!"
"Thank you, Naruto-kun!"
"Thanks, Hinata! Earlier, I was feeling uncharacteristically depressed, but... Now I feel great! You know, about you... I thought that you were a plain looking, dark weirdo... But... A person like you... I really like!!"
"N-Naruto-kun" She said, with the same confidence she felt from the Chunin Exams years ago, "I-I'm not sure what you are feeling, b-but I can tell you, that the same weird feelings I've felt for you from years ago? I-It's still here, o-only... Only stronger..."
She closed her eyes as she pressed her free hand to her chest, "You don't have to be afraid to lose me, Naruto-kun... I-I can assure you that the only time I'll leave you i-is if you don't feel comfortable anymore around me... Or if it's to save you and the ones that I love"
That's right...
All this pain... Everything she went through... It was all for the ones she loves.
"Stand up, Hinata!"
Stand up.
"Stand up!!"
What?
"It's a Genjutsu!"
"Hinata!"
Hinata opened her eyes and saw Sakura trying to break the Genjutsu.
"S-Sakura-san?"
"Oh thank goodness you're finally awake" Sakura said, "We were all caught in a Genjutsu. Do you think you could help me break them out?"
"I-I can, but-" Hinata scratched her cheek, "It would really, really hurt..."
"It doesn't matter, who knows if this Genjutsu is deadly" The pinkette insisted, but the bluenette shook her head and said "And they might also need their chakra for the next twenty four hours"
"Oh"
Sakura finally caught on to what Hinata was trying to say, then quickly got to work with Shikamaru.
"By the way," She said, "You and Naruto were literally inches from smooching in your sleep!"
"E-EH?!"
The Genjutsu she was under...
She only saw blood and kunais until Naruto came.
Was that really all she's been seeing before the light?
They jumped their way out of the strange passage.
"Another spring..." Sai said, all of them looking straight ahead at the water in front them, Shikamaru sighed and asked "Hinata, can you see anything now?"
"No, my vision is still distorted" Hinata answered.
What's going on?
"Alright, then be ready to fight!"
"Roger!"
Hinata snapped out of her space, the sound of loud splashes calling her out.
"It doesn't matter what happened before" She thought, preparing to jump in, "Because everything is better now... Especially after I save Hanabi!"
She stopped in her tracks when she noticed that even Naruto himself was lost in thought, which made her worried, "He must have seen his past too"
"What's the matter?" She asked, making him look at her and hesitantly answer "W-Well... You see, in the genjutsu dreams before..."
"What is it?"
Should he tell her?
Naruto contimplated, before deciding not to tell, "Oh, never mind, it was nothing"
"O-Okay?"
He looked ahead and jumped in to the spring, "Not now... I can't just bring it up out of the blue"
Would she hate him for learning her feelings in such a surprising way?
Of course not... She's Hinata after all...
He tried to sneak a quick glance at the beauty from the corner of his eyes, but when he realized that she was nowhere in the spring, he immediately knew something was wrong.
"Dammit!"
He quickly turned back around and swam to her direction.
As soon as he was near the surface, he felt anger bubble inside him, recognizing the very same person he swore on his blacklist.
He jumped out of the water and got in front of Hinata, blocking Toneri from her, "Hinata!"
"Naruto-kun!" She gasped, guarded, but didn't drop her stance, prepared to help.
Naruto growled at the taller man, "You stay away from her!"
"You again, huh?" Toneri tisked, "What a nuisance you are. Move..!"
Naruto hissed and ran to punch him, "Where is Hanabi?!"
He knows it. He took Hinata's sister!
He hissed when the man easily dodged, "He's fast"
Toneri quickly flickered away, Naruto hastily looked around, "Dammit! Where?!"
"Up there!" Hinata pointed, "He's running!"
Naruto found Toneri and jumped to punch him down, but he simply leaned from side to side and dodged, then countering the blonde with a kick, tossing him down.
Hinata watched carefully, seeing if she could jump in. Toneri wasn't using any special Taijutsu, she could easily counter, but they're moving too fast, and he was giving Naruto zero space for her to assist.
Naruto kept trying to look for openings, all of his punches and kicks were being easily blocked and dodged.
From the corner of his eyes, he saw Hinata signal an opening, Toneri's head.
And, just as she suspected, Naruto easily got Toneri when he kicked him in the head, sending the stranger flying to a different platform.
Naruto quickly followed as Hinata moved to block Toneri's escapes.
Toneri hissed, staying put in place as he tries to decide his next move, only for Naruto to gather chakra into his hands and going around the pillar, successfully confusing the enemy.
Toneri saw a punch coming, raising both his arms to block his head, only for Naruto to knee his sides and then quickly follow up with a killer punch.
"What the-?" He looked at his prosthetic, "Is something wrong with this?"
Putting the thought aside for a while, Naruto glared ahead at Toneri who was weakly pulling himself out of the hole in the wall.
Hinata came in, knowing the fight was over.
The two of them watched as the man limped his way to them.
"Naruto-kun" Hinata said, "That's not the real him"
"No wonder he felt different" Naruto hissed, clenching his fist, then it processed to him, "You're... Just a puppet?"
"This..." The puppet confirmed, "Is not my real body"
Naruto felt rage at the news, "Dammit!"
The puppet looked up, smiling at Hinata.
Naruto quickly held an arm out, blocking Hinata from the enemy.
"Hinata... Next time, the real me would come for you..." Toneri said, half of his face broken, "And when that time comes... Tell me your answer"
"Shut up!" The blonde threw a punch straight to the face, but the puppet quickly dropped, as if losing all of its string.
Toneri's voice came out of the unmoving puppet, laughing, "Your fists will never touch me"
Naruto saw nothing but red. Come for Hinata? "Damn you!!!"
He started kicking and stomping on the puppet, "You're not getting anywhere near Hinata! You here me, you bastard?!"
"Naruto-kun!"
"You're not getting anywhere near her!!" He kept screaming, showing no mercy against the defenseless puppet, seeing nothing but red.
"Naruto-kun, stop!"
He quickly stopped when he felt her cling on his arm. He looked at her in shock, but she gave him a pleading look, "Please... That's enough..."
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath in and out, calming himself out.
Hinata looked down at the unrecognizable pile of wood and cloth, slowly letting go of Naruto's arms.
Why now?
Why her?
Her eyes slowly started to darken, staring straight back into the fake eyeballs.
"Why?"
She gasped when suddenly, her hand was grabbed.
She looked up as Naruto lead her to the spring, "You're staying with me, no matter what"
Hinata could only stare at his back in shock as he pulled her through the spring.
Naruto was protecting her.
She felt safe.
As soon as they got to the other side of the spring, they both were greeted with a strange stench that they both haven't smelled before.
"Oh, goodness!" Hinata gasped as she quickly raised both her hands up to cover her mouth and nose from the smell, slipping from Naruto's grip.
Before he could complain, he quickly got distracted by what looked like a giant broken crab, "Holy shit!"
From the dust in the middle of the rubble, Sakura emerged with an annoyed look, "You're welcome and also late!"
"Hinata got caught up in a weird show, and I had to clean it up for her, but wow, Sakura-chan!" Naruto cheered as Hinata rushed to the pinkette's aid, helping her get all of the foul smelling dust off, "Your punch really did all of this?!"
"We'll talk about all the details later when we set camp" Shikamaru said as he lead the team out, "We need to get out of here just in case there's more"
"Hell yeah it did!" Sakura proudly claimed as she smirked, before glaring at the blonde walking beside him, "And if you leave Hinata behind and expose her to danger again, I'll punch you too!"
"Yeah yeah" Naruto rolled his eyes, "As if you don't do it everyday"
"I'm limiting it to when you're extra stupid!"
He was about to argue back, but the sound of Hinata's giggle made Naruto turn his attention to her, "Hinata, I swear, I'll never let you-"
When she turned to look at him, an amused smile on her face, he suddenly felt a lump in his throat, and his heart started to beat faster.
It wasn't unusual for him to feel this way- In fact, usually, he'd just suddenly stop and stupidly forget the problem at hand and ogle instead.
But, strangely, this time... He felt shy.
He quickly looked away and said, a little airy as he struggled to find his voice, "... I'll never let you out of my sight again..."
"Naruto-kun?"
Sakura gasped when she saw the look on Naruto's face. The look.
Does he finally-?!
She smirked and teased "You'll what? You're already looking away, dumbass! Time for some punchin'!"
"What?! What do you mean?! I'm not looking away!" Naruto quickly argued back, before facing Hinata again, "In fact, look! I'm staring! I'm not even gonna blink, dattebayo!"
Hinata suddenly blushed and raised a hand to hold her laugh back, looking back straight into his eyes, fully amused.
Naruto felt nervous and hot, his lips pursed and shaking, then involuntarily looked away. "Why is she so cute?"
"Aha! You liar! You looked away!"
"You're making it weird, Sakura-chan!"
"Naruto, stifle it, will'ya?" Shikamaru groaned, "You might alert the enemy with your god-damned voice"
"What the hell, Shikamaru?!" Naruto yelled, "She was the one who started it"
"Or even worse, cause this cave to collapse on us" Sai added, making the blonde glare at him and say "Fuck you, Sai"
Hinata couldn't help but try not to laugh at their antics, letting out only small giggles.
As the team reached the exit, they all squinted their eyes, trying to adjust to brightness.
Hinata quickly gasped when her eyes adjusted, confused.
The others couldn't help but gasp as well as theirs adjusted following hers.
"Where in the world..." Shikamaru was the first to be able to talk, "Is this place?"
It was warped.
The ocean followed along the strangely curved and non-existent horizon line, the clouds were all circling around the cave, and most noticably-
"Is that island floating?" Naruto finally asked, "Or is it just me?"
"No, it seems that the surface of the ocean is warped" Shikamaru said, looking up at the sky, "Strange..."
"How come there's light underground?" Sakura asked, "I was pretty sure that we swam down"
"Must be man made" Shikamaru deducted, "This whole place is"
The team all crossed the ocean on birds.
Not even Sai could have imagined such a strange glitch in space.
Not even the ocean roared with waves.
They flew across the warped forest, feeling as if that was where they were supposed to go.
They were flying for hours, and the sun already changed colors to much a setting sun's.
"Any signs of the enemy?!"
"No! It looks clear!"
"If the enemies are aware we're here, why aren't they attacking us?!"
"Yeah, that worries me... It's too quiet..."
Hinata continued to scan kilometers ahead, through the canopies and underground. Nothing. She calmly reported everything.
She sounded calm, but Naruto knows that she was uneasy, judging by the tight grip she had on the back of his clothes.
This mission was freaking her out.
"That's it for my Byakūgan today!" Hinata called out to Shikamaru, "I'm saving chakra to last us a week at least!"
"Point us to the nearest safe spot! We're setting camp!"
They found no fishes, reptiles, nor mammals. Only insects.
Not even Hinata could recognize a single specie of insect.
Naruto, who volunteered to be first watch, laid on a tree branch.
"Where are we?" He thought, "Who are we fighting? Why do they want Hinata?!"
Clearly, this was no ordinary mission.
One that they could not fail, no matter what.
"We haven't seen a single meteor either" He thought, "Didn't Kakashi-sensei say thay there will surely be plenty?"
Strange.
He only needs to stay up for an hour and thirty minutes, but he's planning on staying up for three hours, since he's planning on not waking up Hinata for her shift and skip to Sai instead.
Besides, he needs to be awake, just in case an enemy arrives or a meteor drops on them.
His train of thought suddenly got cut off when he heard light foot steps.
"Hinata?"
He watched her as she walked off on her own.
Deciding that he should follow, he did.
He followed her to a small clearing, far enough where he knows she couldn't sense him.
Then his heart started beating faster, feeling butterflies go wild in his stomach.
The red scarf.
She was knitting it back to perfection.
He saw in his Genjutsu dream that she made it herself...
"Did she really knit that for me?"
He felt his cheeks go warm, and a smile started to form on his face uncontrollably.
But then it dropped when he realized that he was wearing a different scarf.
Suddenly, it's almost as if it didn't matter how special the green scarf one was to him. He took it off and folded it, jumping up on a tree and watched over her from afar, the scarf safely on his lap instead of around his neck.
And clearly, Hinata took notice of it.
The next day, Naruto immediately noticed that she was looking at him in shock, as if she was looking for something.
He only smiled at her warmly.
They found a large village, buildings made out of stone, a hundred kilometers away.
The team decided to search the abandoned village for hints of where they are, a symbol or a history book perhaps, on foot, instead of relying on Hinata's limited chakra.
"Seriously?" Naruto asked as he knocked on the walls, "Nothing's made from wood?"
"It seems like it" Hinata said as she ran a hand across the dusty wall, "And... It also seems that this place, or most of the buildings, was carved out of a stone mountain or two..."
Naruto and Hinata were a pair, while the rest were on their own.
The structures reminded them of the buildings from the very early eras that they've seen in the books.
No doors, no window panes or bars, and no electricit wires.
Naruto entered one house, and he immediately noticed broken shards of weaponry, dried up blood.
Even the street outside seemed like it showed signs of a fight.
"Whoa... Everyone fought everywhere" Naruto said, "Was there a war here or something?"
Where was the people who lived here?
Suddenly, Hinata's scream reached him.
"Hinata! What's wrong?!" Naruto yelled as he quickly made his way to her.
Suddenly, he couldn't stop the burst of awe that he felt when he saw her cutely sitting down as she fixed her hair, "Just a spider web"
He couldn't help but smile and laugh a little, squatting beside her and removing the web for her, "You could see tiny details from far away, but you walk straight into a spider web? You're so spacy"
Her hair was as soft and silky as it looked.
After removing all of the web, he stood up and held a hand out, "Come on, let's look around some more"
She smiled and nodded, accepting his hand, and he pulled her up to her feet.
Together, they walked out of the building and continued their investigation.
"... Ya cut your hair"
"Y-Yeah, I'm surprised you noticed"
"Yeah?"
"I cut my hair a little yesterday, and I was sure nobody would notice..."
Her hair wasn't as long as it was during the war. It's still long, but it's as short as her father and their tradition allows it to be.
"Your father is still strict with the hair rules, huh?" Naruto asked, she sighed and said "Yeah..."
"You know," He said, trying to reassure her, "Your clan is changing it up, right? Maybe they'd let you cut your hair soon"
"Naruto-kun, it's a symbol not only to my clan, but to hundreds of other clans, too" She giggled, "Don't worry, I'm not crazy about wanting to cut my hair"
"Well, if you were in my clan," Naruto proudly claimed, "I'd let you look however the hell you want, dattebayo!"
Hinata blushed deep red, "Y-Your clan?"
Naruto's eyes widen, realizing what he have just said, blushing as hard as her.
"I mean..." He silently said, scratching the back of his head bashfully, "What's wrong with that?"
She only giggled and shook her head, assuming that he didn't know what he was saying.
Naruto mentally slapped himself, "What the hell?! I almost slipped! What am I saying?!"
He wasn't against the idea of that. But- "When did I start talking like this?"
Was he saying those kind of stuff before? Or is it just now since the genjutsu?
"Oh, wow... N-Naruto-kun, that sounds really beautiful..! I-I wanna live in a place like that..."
"Right?! I promise you this, Hinata! Now that I'm the Hokage's little apprentice and the future Hokage; I'll keep pushing for that beautiful future I painted for you! You're gonna live in the future you want, I'll make sure of it!"
"R-Really?"
"Really! A big and beautiful and bright and beautiful Konoha for you to live in!"
What the hell?! How come he haven't noticed?!
"Um... Naruto-kun"
Naruto almost jumped and fell down the stairs that they were climbing, but quickly regained composure and asked "What is it?"
"What happened to your scarf?" She asked, worried that he might feel cold. They were climbing to higher altitudes, and they were gonna go higher soon.
"Oh, um" He nervously laughed, "I took it off for you" "Well, it became so warm underground that I took it off"
She raised a brow at him. They were in a cave and by the ocean, then in a moist forest during the night, and then up in high altitudes.
"Um... Okay?" She started, then she smiled and said "Funny, I feel a little bit cold here"
"I'll bet you do!" Naruto said, "Dressed like that"
"Wh-what?" Hinata blushed hard, "Th-This is just my mission gear!"
He blushed and quickly defended "N-No, no! I didn't mean it in a bad way! You look really nice!"
"U-Um, thank you" She said, shyly looking down.
"Especially when you're not looking down"
She immediately blushed harder.
Naruto's eyes widen and slapped a hand in his mouth, "G-Gah! I don't know what's wrong with me today, dattebayo! I-It's the altitude!"
"W-We are up pretty high, yes" She played along, "You should wrap up, you have a scarf"
"N-No!"
"Eh?!" Hinata gasped, "Naruto-kun, you might catch a cold"
"Well-" "I wanna wear the scarf you're making for me" "-This place is weird, like, how are we so high up and it's still warm"
"Because it isn't warm..?" She said.
"It is" Naruto insisted, then, the sound of water reached his ears, "In fact, I'm thirsty"
He lead them to a flowing drinking fountain, crystal clear water coming out of a hole in the wall.
"Perfect, I can use a drink" He said, trying to convince her that he didn't need to wear his scarf.
He was about to dip his hands in, but Hinata quickly interjected "W-Wait! What if the water's dangerous?"
"What? It's as clear as water can get" Naruto said, "Looks clean to me"
"But... We're so high up, and there's no one around" She said "How can water come up?"
"Ah, of course, of course" He cockily said, putting both hands on his waist, "You didn't grow up as a poor province kid! Don't worry, I know how this contraption works"
"Naruto-kun" She giggled "You live in Konoha, both of us do"
"I know" He laughed along, before shrugging his shoulders and say "But I saw one of these in an abandoned village when I was training with Jiraiya. He said that it's just a pump, a well or something, pushing free water up for the people"
"I see..." She hummed, "So it's fresh water?"
"Yup!" Naruto confidently said, dipping his hands in and cupping them to gather water, he raised it to his mouth and drank, then smiled at her "Yeah! Definitely fresh water!"
"That's amazing" She giggled.
He cupped some more and offered it to her, "Here, you should have some too!"
"Thank you" She said, completely trusting him.
She couldn't help but smile brightly too when she drank, "It really is fresh water!"
"See?" He laughed.
They continued on hiking up the abandoned village, and from afar, they could see a significantly larger building than the others, the inside not being reached by light.
"Let's check that out" Naruto said, "Looks like it can be hiding some stuff"
"Sure" She said.
As soon as they reached the entrance, she activated her Byakūgan to look through the dark, "It's surely bigger than the other buildings, but it's as empty as them... But there is a broken bridge a couple of miles away connecting this to a bigger one"
Naruto couldn't help but look at her in awe, "Wow, you're amazing"
"O-Oh, um..." She shyly hid away.
He looked away and scratched the back of his head shyly, "I, uh... Didn't know you could see that far. That's really cool"
"Th-Thank you" She stuttered out, "A-Anyway, I think the next building is a kitchen, a-and it still has some equipment, maybe we can take a break"
"Yeah"
They both silently walked through the dark, Naruto following closely behind Hinata.
"Come to think of it," Naruto said, "I don't think I have went on a mission to track people with you before. Team 8 always does those stuff, right?"
"Y-Yes" She nodded, then he asked "What's the hardest you've gone on with them so far?"
"Probably when we had to go up a snowy mountain when we weren't prepared" She answered, "Luckily, it went fast"
"Snowy mountain wearing that?!"
"Y-Yeah" She shyly admitted.
"No wonder you're not bothered by this temperature. Well, not that it's cold" He said, making her laugh, "But if you can take it, then I can handle a little cold like this, too"
"Yes, only a little" She confirmed, playing along.
"Holy shit!" Naruto screamed as he looked down from the pillar, "You didn't tell me that we were this far up!"
"I-I thought you could tell from the temperature" She defended, but he quickly insisted "It's not cold"
"It is" She laughed, and he playfully rolled his eyes.
"Anyway, let's go!" Naruto excitedly cheered "To the kitchen! Let's cook up some ramen!"
"Ramen to perhaps... Warm you up?" She teased, and he dramatically gasped and said "Hinata, ramen always warms my heart"
"Of course" She giggled.
He was about to jump, but she stopped him, "W-Wait!"
"Huh?"
Hinata hesitantly looked ahead and said "I-I don't think I can jump that..."
"Oh" He suddenly remembered that she was limiting her chakra, then he smiled at her and said "Don't worry, I think you can make it! Here, I'll jump with no chakra too! Let's both save!"
"Real gentlemanly. Since when did you save chakra?"
"And Kurama's an asshole" Naruto quickly added, making Hinata laugh.
He took a couple of steps back and jumped to the next pillar.
Hinata took a deep breath and took more steps back for a bigger run in, and successfully got to the first pillar.
"Yeah! Way to go!" Naruto cheered, "Alright, five more, and we'll be eating ramen in no time!"
He jumped to the next one and waited for her again.
Unfortunately, this time, she barely got it, but slipped off.
Quickly, Naruto grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her up, and in his panicked state, he over exerted and he too fell on his butt.
"Ah, that was scary" Hinata moaned, Naruto smiled at her reassuringly and said "Don't worry, I got'ya!"
She smiled at him to thank him, and they both paused for a moment.
Hinata was the first to snap out of the daze, realizing that he was still holding her hand.
Naruto immediately caught on and let go of her hand, "Ah, sorry"
"I-I don't mind..." She barely whispered ouf shyly.
They both got up and walked to the edge again.
Naruto watched as Hinata took deep breaths in and out, psyching herself up.
Not wanting to risk her getting hurt on the next attempt, Naruto quickly bent down and scooped her into his arms, crossing the broken bridge with her.
She could only gasp and cling on him tightly.
As they safely reached the other end, Naruto looked down at Hinata, who was hiding her face in his chest, and smiled softly.
"She's too cute" He thought to himself, he chuckled and said "We're here"
She squealed in surprise, then sighed in relief, "Oh thank goodness. I wasn't looking forward on falling"
"But I already fell for you"
"I'm just glad you're good" Naruto said as he helped her down, "So... Ramen? We never got around to that"
"Sure, Naruto-kun" She giggled as she lead him inside, "I think I saw a gas lamp and an old stove in there, too"
He crossed his arms behind his head and walked beside her as they headed to the next building.
And then he sneezed, making Hinata laugh.
He looked at her playfully and ask "What?"
"Nothing" She giggled to herself, but he pressed more and said "Come on, tell me"
"No..!" "Alright then, don't tell me" He playfully said as he rolled his eyes, only to gasp dramatically when she said "Fine then, I won't"
As they walked in the building, she quickly said "You were cold" "Am not!"
The two settled on the pavement floor, sat next to each other as they waited for the ramen to cook up.
Naruto felt happy.
Usually, waiting for cup ramens make him extra impatient. But, sitting next to Hinata... He just felt happy.
Not to say that he wasn't happy before! It's just that... This kind of happiness... It's special.
It's not like the feeling of accomplishing a mission, talking with friends, or eating ramen... This happiness... It's unique, and it's only with her... He yearns for that happiness.
He turned his head to look at her. She was calm, relaxed, and poised. She was meditating.
His eyes softened, and he could only stare in awe of her face profile.
His fingers tingled to trace every detail, study her beauty.
He knows that she looked pretty decent. But now, he doesn't know what changed, but he recognized her overflowing beauty.
He then realized that this was the first time they were truly alone during a mission. Quiet and tranquil.
Is it what he thinks it is?
"Believe me, please, when I tell you, that, yes, I treat some serious matters as a game sometimes- most of the time. B-But you, n-never did I consider you a game, I always take you seriously, I-I.. I... I wanna be careful so that I won't lose you..."
He remembers revealing it to her...
"Because there's something in here that I don't understand. But I don't want to lose it either... And I only feel it when I'm with you"
That feeling that he feels for her...
"Is it love?" He thought.
Just the sound of it made him squirm, the pounding of his heart got louder and more uncontrollable. He felt... Strange.
And he felt right.
He knows it now.
He smiled in pure awe as her eyes slowly opened.
And when he heard her voice, he was absolutely sure that he was right.
"Ah, the ramen should be ready" Hinata said, but when she got no response, she looked beside her, and her heart fluttered when she was greeted by him smiling so endearingly, "Wh... What is it?"
Naruto let out an airy laugh and shook his head.
He loves her.
Hinata watched in curiosity as Naruto finally looked away, smiling ever so brightly. Did she miss something?
She went to stand up and grab their food, but he stood up first and said "Let me"
The blonde got up and took both cups of ramen, placing miso in front of her and kept the soy for him.
He even grabbed a cup for her and poured out some water from his own thermos, sliding it to her before sitting back down beside her, slightly facing her just so he could see her from the corner of his eyes.
Hinata started to wonder if she was 'in the zone' too good that she missed something.
She couldn't stop the smile that was forming on her face. "Naruto-kun's so sweet"
"Itadakimasu!"
Before she could remove the cover, Hinata noticed that she had the miso and he had shoyu, "Ah, Naruto-kun, we can switch if you want. They're yours, anyway"
He smiled at her and shook his head, "Nah, it's yours"
"Oh, um... Thank you, that's really kind of you" She said, blushing, and he chuckled and said "Don't mind it, I'll give you anything"
Strangely enough, she knew it was true.
"I told him that you wanted a flower inside a volcano, he immediately asked where to find it"
Naruto was amazing. He would do anything for his friends.
"N-No! You don't have to do that. Y-You used up all your money for it, we could refund it! I-I don't-"
"It's not much, but maybe you could keep it in here until we find the box"
"W-We? O-Okay... Thank you, Naruto-kun"
"Great! I'll come find you tomorrow and we can head to the Hokage's mansion! But if it's not there, then I guess I'll have to stick with you to look for it! Who knows where you've dropped it, so I guess we'll have to join in the festival to look around for it, dattebayo!"
He even does so in the cutest of ways.
She looked completely amused. Naruto was proud of himself, he made that smile appear on her face.
The two indulged in the ramen while they waited for the next batch's water to boil.
They ate silently, not exchanging words, only stealing glances of each other.
It wasn't like any other time that they had ramen at Ichiraku. This was quiet. And they let it be that way, since they're more stuck admiring each other than telling endless stories.
In that moment, they forgot all of their worries, and they just enjoyed the warmth of the other's company, basking in the sweet feeling in their hearts.
Hinata finally finished hers and hummed in satisfaction, Naruto noticed and set down his up of ramen, digging into his bag "Oh, hey, I think I brought a can of chocolate balls from the Hidden Mist. You want some?"
"Why do you have that with you on a mission?" She asked, but he simply shrugged and said "I guess I misplaced it, my apartment's sorta filled with random stuff lately"
"S-Sure" She accepted as he handed her the can of sweets, she opened it and said "I don't usually eat chocolates, Kiba-kun is pretty strict with it around Akamaru"
"Eh? Why?" Naruto asked, picking back up his ramen, and Hinata suddenly said "They're deadly to dogs"
"BUWAGH- What?!" "A-Ah, I'm sorry! I should've warned you..!"
The two went back to eating, and Hinata hummed in delight, "Naruto-kun, this tastes really good"
"Really?" Naruto asked, his mouth still full of ramen.
"Yeah..." "It's all yours then" "E-Eh?! N-Naruto-kun, that's too much"
He looked up from his ramen and looked at her, and she immediately knew he was serious.
She puffed her cheeks and said "I-I'll... I'll leave most of it for you"
He only laughed and shook his head before going back to his ramen, knowing that he'd end up having it all back if he kept insisting, all the while Hinata looked at the chocolates intensely, her mind locked in on the thought of only eating a little less than a half.
He finished his ramen with one big slurp and a breath of satisfaction, the broth flowing right through him, "Hah! So good!"
He stood up and dusted his pants, turning to walk out, Hinata looked at him and asked "Where are you going?"
"Nature calls" He answered in the most decent way he knows.
She quickly stared back at the sweets, raising one hand to take one out, "Only a little... Don't reach half"
Before she can take another chocolate ball, Naruto's scream suddenly echoed, and she turned to him and saw that he was- dancing?
Naruto suddenly fell down the stares from his panic, landing straight on his back.
Hinata set down the can and stood up, still confused, "Naruto-kun?"
When she followed him down, he grabbed the spider web off of his face and said "Another fuckin' spider web"
She knelt down beside him, finally realizing what happened.
When he sat up, he suddenly felt a sharp pain on his back, and she gasped in worry and asked "Are you okay?"
"I hurt my back a little when I fell down the stairs" He said, "Kurama! Shouldn't this be gone by now? It wasn't that harsh of a fall"
"Because I'm an asshole"
"Kurama!"
"I-I'll get my bag, I have something for that" Hinata said as she stood back up and walked up the stairs, Naruto watched her and said "No, it's fine, I-"
"You're hurt, Naruto-kun..! I've got an ointment for your back, so please remove your top, please"
"M-M-My what?!"
Naruto blushed at the thought, "Should I be shirtless in front of Hinata?!"
When Hinata rushed down the stairs with her bag, she looked at him sternly, seeing that he was still yet to move, and he quickly unzipped his jacket and removed it.
"Thank Kami, I remembered to wear a shirt" He sighed in relief, not wanting to be too self-conscious in front of Hinata.
She knelt back down in front of him and gave him a container from her bag, "Here"
Naruto's eyes quickly shone in recognition, "Thanks!"
He opened it, and the smell of the ointment, though a little different, was very recognizable. He dipped his fingers in and reached for his back, "You gave me one of these back then from the Chūnin Exam"
She looked at him in surprise, "I can't believe you still remember that"
"I just remembered" He vaguely responded, "A little while back, at least"
"A little while back?" She thought, "Not just now?"
While lost in thought, she didn't notice that Naruto was struggling to reach his back, only when he rolled back did she realize.
"H-Here, let me help you"
She put the ointment on his back for him.
"Thanks a bunch" He said as he looked back to smile at her, and she silently returned it.
She reached out to put the ointment back in her bag while he watched her.
"Should I tell her now?" He thought, not wanting to wait, "I'll tell her now"
Just as he was about to open his mouth, she accidentally knocked her bag over, and Hanabi's kunai fell out of it, loudly catching stealing attention.
It was a reality call. They were on a mission. Hanabi is in danger. The world might be ending.
He saw Hinata recover her kunoichi face, and he sighed and said "We better pack up, we have to go and rescue Hanabi"
And it seemed like she had something to say, too, "Naruto-kun... About Toneri's puppet..."
Naruto's eyes squinted, hating the sound of the man's name, "What is it?"
"He told me-" "Hinata!"
The two looked up and saw Sai perched on a window, "There you two are! Shikamaru found something, he wants you to check it out, Hinata"
And with that, the two quickly packed up their belongings and followed Sai out and onto a bird.
Sakura waved the three down, waiting outside a temple.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out.
"I don't know where Shikamaru went, but he went further in right when Sai left" Sakura said "But look at this"
She pointed at the broken statue of a Buddha-like idol.
Naruto immediately jumped up it and investigated, "This seems like it was carved from the same mountain"
"Mountain?" Sai asked, making the blonde nod and say "If we're right, this entire place was carved out of a couple of mountains"
"That must've taken years" Sakura said as she ran her hand on a bell-like statue, "These are highly detailed"
"I found him, he's that way" Hinata said as she pointed in after briefly activating her Byakūgan.
They met up with Shikamaru, and before them was a strange spherical statue, engraved with strange patterns, one that they could imagine being an eye.
"Do you recognize this?" Shikamaru asked, but Hinata shook her head and said "No, I do not"
"Why would she recognize something like that?" Sakura asked, making the Nara sigh and said "I dunno, I just had a feeling that maybe she knows... Because doesn't this remind you of an eye?"
The team fell silent as they looked at the statue.
"Yeah, yeah, Shikamaru" Naruto rolled his eyes "Just because she has a dojutsu doesn't mean she can recognize each and every one out there"
"Well, excuse me"
"Look" Sai said as he pointed at what seemed like poetry, "Something is written"
"Ancient script..." Shikamaru muttered, "I've seen this kind of writing before... I don't know where... It's very old writing..."
"Can you read it?" Sakura asked, Naruto followed up "What does it say?"
"Ancient oa-" "Hold up! Wait wait wait!" Naruto suddenly cut off, the entire team faced him, he stomped his foot and pointed at Shikamaru and yelled "Don't you dare read that out loud! What if it's some sort of curse where the dead will come to life to finish their unfinished busi-"
"Shut up" Sakura groaned as she slapped him at the back of his head.
"Ancient oath... Crossing the path of humanity... Justice above all else..." Shikamaru read slowly, ignoring Naruto, then he looked up at the statue in surprise, "Eye? The reincarnation eye will..."
"Will what?" Sai asked.
But the other didn't answer.
Shikamaru looked at the team and finished "The reincarnation eye will destroy man kind"
All of them looked at each other in shock.
"Byakūgan Princess"
"What?!" Hinata flinched and looked around. Did she... Hear someone?
"So that means that the moon and Hanabi's abduction truly are connected somehow" Sakura said, making Shikamaru sigh and say "Well, Kakashi's hunches are on point... Unfortunately so, this time"
Just as the team realized that it was a threat written, the ground started to shake, and a piece of floor tile moved, revealing a passageway down.
Naruto immediately noticed Hinata's distraught. She was freaked out.
Setting aside his own fear, Naruto huffed and walked down the stairs first. Something about this mission was directly targetting Hinata.
The rest of the team followed him down, unsure of what to expect.
They were now further down underground.
The smell of the room smelled even older than the other buildings above.
Hinata gasped, immediately seeing what the place was.
Shikamaru hissed and took steps forward, lighting up the structures in front of them with the gas lamp that he held.
It was an old fashioned grave... No... Those were old fashioned graves.
"Is this..." He muttered, "A crypt?"
"Someone's here!" Hinata quickly warned.
Just as he looked up, he saw a shadow of a man walking up to them, ever so slowly.
His eyes widen, and he quickly retreated to the group.
What was this man doing in this place? Was he alone?
"The Byakūgan..." The man said, "Yes... I can sense... The Byakūgan..!"
Naruto immediately felt fire in his body, "Another one after Hinata?!"
He felt anger as the stranger inched closer and closer by the second, "Yes... It is... Byakūgan Princess..!"
"Stay away from Hinata!" Naruto growled as he stepped in front of her, prepared to beat up the old man the same way he did with the puppets.
Instead of explaining himself, the man stopped.
He opened his eyes, and Naruto was taken aback on what he saw, "Empty?!"
The team tried to anticipate anything. But the man suddenly started coughing.
Sakura was about to step in for some medical analysis, but the man started choking out a glowing orb.
"It's a bomb!" Shikamaru yelled, but Hinata quickly yelled back "Wait!"
The team froze in their spot. Hinata didn't feel threatened.
The orb escaped from the man's mouth, and it glowed brighter, and brighter, and suddenly stopped after one big flash.
Naruto gasped when Hinata suddenly lost her conciousness, "Hinata!"
Before she could hit the floor, he quickly caught her.
He glared at the man in rage. He can't beat him up now, he has to know what he did to her!
"What did you do to her?!" He growled, but the man only stood still eerily.
Suddenly, the orb started moving to the man again, directly into his chest, and he choked out "The Tenseigan has been... Revived!"
All of their eyes widen in shock as the man suddenly dropped, as if he had no muscle left.
And before the man fully died, he tried to warn them, "It has to be stopped... Or Otsutsuki will..."
They all stood in shock. What?
But, without wasting another second, Naruto quickly picked up Hinata and ran up the stairs, "Sakura-chan! Help!"
It was a strange afternoon. Both Sakura and Hinata claimed that nothing was wrong.
Shikamaru contemplated over the fact that there was someone the man was mentioning.
"Is Toneri..." He thought, rubbing his forehead in stress, "An Otsutsuki?"
Beside him, Sai looked at him in worry. They feared that the man had something to do with Kaguya.
Inside the building they camped in, Naruto rounded the structure, searching for one person only.
He stopped when he finally found her. Hinata was sitting in front of a lamp, knitting the scarf back together.
"Still knitting, huh?" He thought, "I didn't know making something like that takes such a long time..."
Taking a deep breath in and out, he smiled and casually walk in, "Hey, Hinata!"
She didn't seem to thrilled to hear him there, and he flinched, but he continued to walk in, digging both his hands into his pockets in nervousness.
"So, uh... What did you wanna talk to me about?" He quickly covered, "Something about what Toneri's puppet said?"
She didn't talk for a while, she kept knitting.
His heart broke when he realized that she was back to avoiding him, distant, like the past couple of months.
She smiled, one so fake, and tilted her head to him a little, not looking him at his eyes and said "Oh... That... It's nothing"
Then he became worried, "What? I don't understand... What do you mean 'nothing'?"
She took her time to answer again, retreating to knitting, and she calmly said "I'm sorry, but... I would like to be alone right now, please"
She never told him to leave so directly before, and this took him by shock.
"Alright... Then..." He hesitantly said.
He started walking away, hurting inside.
What happened? They were fine just earlier...
He sat against the wall right outside the room Hinata was in, not leaving.
There was where he slept.
The following day, they left the first island and flew to the next one.
Hinata was yet to talk.
She wasn't even the one who told them about the up coming village. But no one brought up her strange behavior.
Just like yesterday, they split up, Naruto and Hinata being the only pair.
The village was strangely similar in terms of structure. It was carved out as well.
Naruto felt a little heart broken, Hinata refused to respond to him.
She kept her distance from him, even when they were walking.
He was unsure of what to do.
But, what hurt him the most wasn't the fact that she was ignoring him. No. It was the fact that she looked sad, distraught, troubled.
The sun was already setting, and they were yet to get a signal when someone finds something strange.
Hinata stood by the balcony of one of the highest building, empty-mindedly watching the light over the village change colors to a sunset.
Naruto walked up, she didn't even flinch.
He sat on the quarter wall and watched with her until the sun turned almost dim.
"If Hanabi was here, she isn't now..." He thought out loud, knowing that she won't respond anyway.
The wind blew from her to him, and he immediately felt captivated by her distinctive scent. The smell of the fragrance she uses barely present, but this up close, he could smell it.
He looked at Hinata. And there, he was stuck admiring her again.
She was too beautiful.
His mouth dropped open, but he quickly closed it, only for it to open again. He was in awe.
He yearned to trace the details of her face with his fingers. He yearned to make her smile.
And when he saw that she looked sad, he snapped back to reality.
Then, he thought "I have to get Hanabi back as soon as possible"
He turned and jumped off, calling her over as he lead the way, "Come on, we should head back and rejoin the others"
He walked, deflated. He couldn't do anything yet.
"Okay"
His head immediately perked up at the sound of her voice. Like little bells.
It was the first word she spoke that day.
He didn't even bother to conceal his presence this time.
They were a little farther away from the camp that they set in the forest, and Hinata was back to knitting.
He didn't want to let her feel like she's alone.
He didn't hide his presence or conceal his chakra. He was fully letting her know that he was with her.
He leaned against the closest tree, intently listening to the sound of the knitting sticks colliding each other.
Beautiful yet strange insects flew around, like little butterflies glowing with golden light.
Suddenly, the sound of sticks stopped.
Did she pause? Was she so sad that she was now lost in her mind?
He decided that he should at least distract her from her sorrow.
It was the least he could do for now.
He stood up straight and walked up to her, "Hinata?"
He was shocked when she immediately talked, "My sister is in danger... And here I am knitting..."
She was tying up the last strands with her bare hands. Her eyes were stuck on the scarf, but they were filled with uncertainty and sadness, "I'm a terrible big sister, aren't I?"
"Nee-sama!" She could almost hear Hanabi calling out to her. It broke her, tore her apart.
Naruto quickly tried to cheer her up and said "No! That's not true at all! I-I... I mean, the only reason you're here is to save her!"
"If only I stayed home that night then-!" She choked up a sob, fighting back her tears, "I should've been the one taken! I could've stopped them!"
"Don't worry, I'm going to rescue Hanabi!" Naruto reassured as he took steps forward, determined, honesty in his words, "Even if it's the last thing I do before the world ends, dattebayo! You're not gonna be alone"
And that's when she made her decision. She knows what she has to do.
She smiled up at him, so bittersweetly, finally meeting eyes with him. And from the very bottom of her heart, she said "Thank you, Naruto-kun. You've always been so kind to me"
He felt flustered, he weakly laughed as he shyly scratched the back of his head, "Aw, shucks, Hinata. I'm not being kind just because I'm in love with you or anything! I truly am worried of Hanabi, too!"
Hinata gasped in shock. What?
"What did you say?" She asked as she stood up in shock, her mind running wild.
Confused, he slowly looked down, afraid that he might've upset her, "Wh-What?"
"What did you just say" She firmly said, knowing what she heard, wondering if she truly heard him right.
"I-I said I was..." He nervously recalled "... Worried about Hanabi"
"N-No..."
Did he not mean it?
"I-I meant before that..." Hinata said, barely above a whisper, losing confidence.
Of course he didn't... Why would he?
Naruto suddenly recalled what he said. And his eyes widen.
Did he seriously give himself away just like that?! He could've at least been a little smooth with it!
He was freaking out. Was she upset because of it?!
Then, he decided that- "It's now or never"
Swallowing up his pride, he looked straight at her, "This time, I'm not leaving without telling you how I feel"
"Hinata" He called her attention, and she looked up.
Blue eyes met lavender.
She looked at him in shock. Was he truly gonna say it?
From the very bottom of his heart, he meant everything that he was gonna say.
Naruto looked straight into Hinata's eyes, and finally confessed "I said I love you, Hinata"