Welp, I'm happy to announce that as of three days ago, Trip Down a Hill has been finished! I will be releasing a chapter on Wednesday and then the Wednesday after that? Or I won't? Idk I haven't much decided.

Honestly I've basically just been enjoying my time off from writing, playing Mass Effect Legendary Edition in my spare time (if you haven't played those games, do yourself a favor and pick them up, with ME4 on the distant horizon, there's never been a better time to get into the series!).

Without further ado, enjoy this chapter, I suppose! I officially kill a fairly popular ship this chapter (though, well, if you've been paying attention, you'd have known that it's been dead an awful long while) but I hope you all enjoy it regardless!

Chapter 95: Confessions, Admittance, and One Last Hug

A knock on his door had Sasuke waking up near the start of his shift, or, well, as he stared at the clock on the wall above him, that's what its hands told him, at least. He groaned painfully as he rolled over, trying to get a few more minutes of sleep before he was charged with marching out into the Zetsu's hoards once more.

A second round of knocking, and he felt like crying as he got up, slung on something presentable, and moved through his home. As he trended towards the door, he thought about just who might be there, and whether or not it would be socially acceptable to kill them for this.

Itachi would make sense, and boy, was his brain still having a bit of trouble comprehending that particular thought. But, at the same time, he'd given the man a key, and told him (rather explicitly) not to awaken him while he was asleep by bothering to knock, but merely to enter in and get rest himself.

He'd stayed behind at the front much longer than Sasuke himself had, which he'd felt was more due to the fact that he was a far more experienced ninja than him (one of the strongest of his generation, arguably the strongest), but at the same time, they were, technically, the same rank.

He'd protested the first day or two, stayed behind with Itachi. But… well, once the exhaustion had begun to truly set in…

He'd been one of the first to leave the frontlines.

He could have time to feel guilty about that once this was all over.

There were a few more that entered into his lexicon; Naruto, Sakura, or Kakashi perhaps, but no, these knocks felt a bit… underwhelming. He identified a fairly likely set of culprits as he unlatched the lock, and his theory was proven correct as he pulled it open and looked down upon the set of three who had come to visit him.

"H-Hey, Sasuke Sensei." Moegi spoke, smiling up at him a bit hesitantly, as did Udon, though Konohamaru glared his way. "Uh… how are you?"

"What do you three want?" He asked suspiciously, turning his head on a swivel as he looked at each of them individually. "Why are you here?"

"Uhm… we uh…" Udon murmured.

"What's going on!?" Konohamaru put his hands on his hips. "The Leaf Village is… it's under attack, isn't it? Iruka kept us in the school all day yesterday, and some of the other kids said their moms and dads told them that there was a war being fought outside the gates or something, and that's why they were keeping us around, and–"

"Slow. Down." He practically ordered, shaking his head as he tried to fight some of the grogginess still hanging about him. "What are you… yes, there's fighting going on. If you don't mind, I'm trying to sleep to recover my energy for said fighting. I'm in the next group up, which means I'll be off to fight in around 35 minutes. I would appreciate it if you would leave so that I could sleep for the majority of that time."

Perhaps that was rude, but Sasuke was far too tired be worried about niceties.

"Er… well…" Konohamaru scratched the back of his neck, now seeming like the awkward one. "Alright, we're sorry, ok?"

"That's good." He said, trying to close the door, only for Konohamaru to get in the way of it with his foot. "What do you want!?" He spoke a bit angrily.

"Well… Tell us what's going on!" The child growled petulantly. "Everyone's keeping us in the dark just because we're kids, and… and that's really annoying!"

He glared. "You're really annoying."

And was that the nicest thing he'd ever said? Probably not, but he'd meant it. In that moment, he'd honestly, wholeheartedly meant it.

"Just tell us." Konohamaru glared at him, his voice flat. "We're not going away until you do."

He really debated the ethics of casting Amaterasu on a child and decided that Tsunade would likely describe his actions as 'brash' or 'murder'.

"Fine." He spoke like the words themselves were sandpaper running along his esophagus. "Come in."

Konohamaru took a victorious pose as he turned back towards his friends, who had, like the smart children he knew they were, not taken their eyes off the obvious threat. In that moment, watching Konohamaru flaunt, Sasuke decided he would be punishing the child for that. Maybe not now, and maybe not even soon, but…

One day.

He sat them down at his table as he prepared something for them to drink. It was a simple set of tea that he enjoyed, and that he was fairly confident three children would not enjoy. Unfortunately for him, the only one of them who actually did enjoy his little concoction was Konohamaru himself.

"This tastes just like what Grandpa used to make." He'd smiled softly.

Ah, right, the Third Hokage.

He swore under his breath as he began recounting the events of the last few weeks. He told them of the happenings at the Waterfall, the capture of the numerous Jinchuuriki who'd been taken by the Akatsuki, of Sakura's kidnapping, and of their mission to rescue them.

He talked of their roaming the halls of the Akatsuki base and summarized a lot of the events that'd taken place there. They had no real reason to learn of his brother's decision, or of Haku's final duel with Kisame. They didn't need to know about anything, though he made the mistake of mentioning Orochimaru, and watched as Konohamaru's face lit up.

"Orochimaru… So, he really is alive…"

"Indeed." Sasuke confirmed, leaning forward as he balanced on his elbow. "And? Why should that matter?"

"Why?" Konohamaru scoffed. "Because I'm going to take my revenge on him, obviously! I'm going to get stronger and avenge my grandfather!"

He hummed as he nodded, sighing somewhat as he looked at the clock, and saw that he had only around twenty minutes now.

"Let me ask you a question, Konohamaru. If you had to choose between getting revenge on Orochimaru or keeping your friends, which would you choose?"

Konohamaru scoffed.

"That's not a thing that would happen!" He complained, and realistically, Sasuke could see what he meant by that. It wasn't a realistic scenario.

He'd provide him with one, then.

"Then let me rephrase the question. There's a very real chance that by choosing to spend your days beside your friends instead of training, you'll never reach the strength that you'd need to take down Orochimaru in combat. If it came down to it, if you had to choose between Udon and Moegi, or killing Orochimaru, which would you choose?" He questioned the child, leaning forward. "Would you leave them behind for it? For revenge?"

And this time, the expression on Konohamaru's face was far more serious. He looked beside him, at the two children who sat on opposite sides of him, saw the looks on their faces, and swallowed hard.

"I… No." Konohamaru shook his head after a moment. "I wouldn't."

And for some reason, he was laughing at that.

"Hah… That's good, then." He said as he leaned backwards and took a small sip of his tea. "Hold yourself to that. Don't give up on that, no matter what you face."

Konohamaru nodded.

Without any real fanfare, the lock at the door at the back of the room turned, and in stepped a beleaguered looking Itachi, who regarded him with some surprise.

"Ah, Sasuke, you're awake. I hadn't expected…" He tilted his head somewhat. "Who are… these people?"

Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi all regarded his brother strangely. The leader of Team 9 turned back and forth, staring at each of them as he contemplated something.

"I thought your older brother was evil?"

He refused to laugh at the child's statement, not after everything he'd put him through by waking him up, and annoying the ever-living shit out of him, and–

He snorted.

Damnit.

"He had a change of heart, let's say." He decided that was probably easier to explain. "Er… Itachi, these are my students. The Genin Team assigned to me."

His brother's eyes widened slightly, and he took in the figures sitting before him a lot more carefully now, seeming far more interested than he had just moments prior.

"That's… Hah." Itachi shook his head, smiling. "How quaint."

Konohamaru leaned over towards Moegi. "What does quaint mean?"

He refused to laugh at–

He snorted again.

Damnit!

/-/

Relieved of her position for what would likely be several days, at least, Hinata found herself breathing heavily just walking back towards her home in the dead of night.

Her chakra was almost entirely spent, and though she perhaps should've been walking back with Fu… well…

She'd been avoiding the girl since the evening.

She felt terrible even referring to it that way, but it was true, unarguably. She'd run from the girl's words, run from her question, run from…

Run from the fact that she had no idea what she was supposed to say to someone who was relying entirely upon her, when what she really needed to do was tell her of her own feelings.

She crossed by a few homes and heard the sound of someone silently crying. She followed the echo of it, concern eating away at her even past the pain in her legs, and saw an older gentleman, wiping at his eyes, and holding a brilliant bouquet, stepping away from…

The Yamanaka Flower Shop.

Without much reason to be doing so (it was three or four in the morning, give or take an hour or two either way), she trended towards the shop. She walked to the door and pushed it open.

"We're closed, sorry–" Ino looked up, a horrid tiredness and negativity hanging about here face, which she quickly tried to hide as she saw her. "Oh, Hinata, how are you?"

"Oh, I'm… I'm fine."

Ino stared for another moment, before sighing.

"Might as well rename this the Yamanaka Advice Shop…" She shook her head as she stepped out from around the counter and reached out for Hinata's arm.

"H-Hey!"

Ino ignored her as she pulled her along, walking towards the back of the shop.

"Just follow me." Ino told her. "Sooner you tell me what's wrong, sooner you can sleep."

"H-How do you know something's…"

Ino shot her a look.

"R-Right, sorry."

They ended up in the back of the shop some two minutes later, her sat at a table there that looked to have been setup for employees to take their breaks at. Ino fetched her a snack from a bin somewhere (likely also probably for employees, but Hinata wouldn't tell on her friend) and sat herself down at the opposite end.

"Right, so," She spoke, sitting forward in her chair. "You. Problem. What?"

She heavily debated whether she actually wanted to be talking about this, but in the end, decided it was probably better off said than not.

She told Ino of her conversation with Fu, of how she'd pledged to stand beside her through thick and thin, and how Fu had, likely misinterpreting that, invited her to stay back in the Waterfall with her once this had all blown over.

All of this interspersed between taking small bites of the dried squid she was snacking upon, which she enjoyed more than she'd thought she would.

Still, it seemed Ino did not miss the insinuation in her words.

"I see… so, you still haven't told her how you feel, then?"

"I…" She felt shame fill her breast as she stared at the ground, and a bit of an… other emotion as well. "No…"

"And I'm guessing you also don't think you should?"

"No, I… I think I should, I just…"

"You don't know what telling her would do to her?"

Hinata nodded, glad, at least, that it seemed she'd fully gathered what it was Hinata was concerned with. Or, well, she assumed the girl understood. Ino seemed like the type to have figured her out by now.

"So… let me get things straight… you're afraid that by being honest with Fu, you'd only hurt her at a time where she's already so bereft of positives in her life. And so, you've chosen to lie, and to devote yourself to making her happy, I'm guessing out of some sort of obligation to her, since she latched onto you at basically every turn?"

She nodded.

"Alright, well… do you want my honest advice."

"Yes…" She admitted. "Well… partially yes, and partially no, but… yes."

Ino hummed as she leaned back in her chair, looking up at the ceiling above her, seemingly trying to remember back to something or another as she parted her lips.

"Y'know, back when Haku lost Zabuza… I think I felt almost exactly the same way as you do now." She turned to look at her, the look in her eyes not judgmental, as she'd feared it might be, but understanding. "He'd latched onto me, and whether or not that was just a playground crush or not, I thought it mattered to him, someone who'd never been allowed to really live his life. And so… I tied him to me. I gave him everything I thought he'd want, and surely, I thought that was the right thing to do, somewhere inside me. He could rely on me. He could trust me. He could be with me, because no one else would be there for him like I could be."

She nodded, remembering back to that time, to when Ino had broken away her other bonds, to when she and Sakura had been so… cold.

"But y'know what? In that same vein, I'd never been more selfish in all my life by closing Haku off to the opportunities others could've given him. I was making a mistake by not telling him the truth, that I alone couldn't help him. And because of that, any chance we could've had at a relationship, at a happy life, was ruined before it could really begin."

She… she could see that.

"Can you see the similarities?" Ino asked her, balancing on her elbow as she looked right at her. "You and Fu… her reliance on you, and your willingness to give it, despite what you should really do…"

She shook her head, having problems with that.

"It's not the same for Fu, I–"

"Of course, it's not." Ino cut her off before she could say anything else. "They're rather different people, Fu and Haku. Fu was given that happy childhood that Haku wasn't, but in that same vein, I get the feeling she also didn't really have an entirely fruitful time making friends, or meeting people. Her insistence to do both nowadays speaks volumes on its own, does it not?"

She hummed in affirmation as Ino continued.

"And whereas Haku lost the home he'd made in the form of his closest people… Fu lost her literal home. The Village that raised her, destroyed in a few days. Her loved ones scattered, and herself kidnapped. Even now, even not knowing what's happening, she can't go back yet. She can't know what's happening to the people of the Waterfall. And because of that, she's more terrified than she's ever been in her entire life. What if they're all dead, what if the Village can't rebuild, what if, what if." Ino shook her head, before staring up in her direction. "But… her one saving grace… is you."

Hinata bit down on the inside of her cheek.

"Her knight in shining armor, well, proverbially, of course. It's you. Ever since you saved her back in the Sand, right? Kiba told me about it. About how you were too nice to tell her the truth, that you can't share her feelings."

She felt shame fill her breast as she lowered her gaze toward the floor.

"That's… I… Uhm…"

"I know that feeling, like I said. Having someone who lost everything latch onto you and you alone… it's hard. Terribly hard. Even though I took advantage of it, undeniably, Haku took advantage of me, too. The same thing is what's happening to you now, as well. And even though you aren't taking advantage of Fu in that same way… you're leading her along in a way that's far from fair to her."

"…I know."

"Then do something about it."

"But then… if I do then Fu will…"

"Fu will what?" Ino asked her, tilting her head, and sighing after a moment of silence. "Fu will do something, surely, but you seem to assume she'll simply explode. Who knows how Fu might react? She might be the type to accept the truth with grace, or, as you fear, she may cry and cry for days. But right now, you're making yourself the sole object of Fu's affections. Which is fair to neither of you. Take it from someone who already made your mistake…"

She met Ino's gaze; felt it only fair given how much she'd listened to her already.

"You alone are not responsible for Fu's happiness. I need you to understand that above all else. You can choose to be. You can make the choice to bear that burden on your own… but I think that would be a rather selfish thing to do. Let people like Naruto help you out, as he understands what it's like to be a Jinchuuriki. Or Haku himself, as he understands her pain. And understand that none of that means you can't still be around, either. Help her, but… Don't think you're helping her by lying to her, even if it is dyed white."

Hinata sat there for a good thirty seconds before she so much as opened her mouth, and when she did, it was only to let out a rasping, hesitant breath.

"Hey… it'll be alright, Hinata." Ino reassured her, reaching across the table, and taking her hand. "You'll be–"

"And what would you say if… if I said that I was thinking that…" She swallowed, trying to think of how to properly word this. "…If I was thinking that I might be able to answer Fu's feelings after all?"

Ino stared at her for a moment, seemingly trying to decipher that, before her eyes widened, and she regarded Hinata quite differently.

"Oh… Ooooooh." Ino let out, sitting forward. "I… huh. So… that's why you were so conflicted. You… had already kind of figured out everything else I said, hadn't you?"

"Well… no. Most of it was very helpful, but… I… had other things I was worrying about."

Ino nodded.

"I… back in the Sand, I don't think I'd ever had to confront that part of myself before. So… when Kiba asked me if I felt that way, I of course just said I didn't think that I felt that way. But… the more I've thought about it, the more I've confronted it… I…"

"…Yeah."

"I find myself not… not disliking the idea. It… has butterflies fluttering my stomach, and Fu… she's such a nice girl. I always love being around her. It's… wonderful, all the time, but…"

She bites down on her bottom lip, trying to steady herself.

"But I've only very recently earned back my position in my families eyes. Only just regained the respect of the Hyuga clan… of my father. To do something like… like that with her… I can already tell that to them, such a thing would be…"

"…Oh."

She smiled at the raw honesty in Ino's tone, despite everything else bugging her.

"I feel… helpless, Ino. I'm trapped between my family, and a girl who means the world to me. One who needs me more than anyone. It's… just hard."

"I…"

She could tell Ino just wanted to help, could tell the girl was searching for anything she could say that would solve the problem Hinata was facing, but…

But she could also tell that her friend had nothing left.

"Thank you for talking with me, Ino." Hinata smiled Ino's way, trying to show with her smile that she didn't blame the girl her shortcomings in this particular instance at all as she stood up, and turned towards the door back out to the outside. "But… I think I'm going to head home. I'm exhausted, and… and I need to talk with Fu, like you said."

"What… will you say to her?"

She inclined her head back towards Ino with a sad expression set upon her face.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course, it matters!" Ino stressed, standing as well. "Lying to yourself, lying to her, out of fear that you won't be accepted is…"

"Thank you, Ino. Really." She turned away. "But I need to be going. The sun will be coming up in an hour or so. I shouldn't keep you."

"Hinata–!"

She was gone before the girl could say anything else, rushing out of the Yamanaka Flower Shop and…

And straight into someone else.

She toppled them both to the ground, and immediately went to apologize before she saw just who it was she ran into.

"Hinata?" Naruto spoke, rubbing his back with a small wince as he stood, and offered a hand out to her. "You uh… were looking for flowers or something?"

"No, I…" She swallowed, deciding she'd rather not say anything. "Just speaking with Ino. What are you doing here this late at night?"

"Well, technically it's morning," He smirked, before seeing her more desolate expression. "And, uh, I owed Ino a thank you for telling it to me straight earlier. Her advice was rather helpful."

Hinata swallowed on some spittle at that, trying to ignore how it mirrored her own situation.

"So… what have you been up to?"

"N-Nothing." She answered. "What about you?"

"Well, I was just at Tenten's place." Naruto explained, smiling a bit at the memory. "We had a nice time. I really enjoy hanging out with her, though, well, everyone keeps hinting that something's up with that… I'm concerned they know something I don't…"

Hinata felt a horrid ball of jealousy and envy, mixed with a heartbroken sadness pour through her at that, but she buried it quickly. Well… she did her best to bury it.

It was rather difficult; with someone she'd loved most of her life right in front of her, talking about a girl she was pretty sure, even without realizing it, he…

"Hey, Hinata, you… don't look so hot." Naruto leaned forward, getting right up in her face. "Do you need to talk?"

"I…" She shook her head. "It's… it's five in the morning or so, isn't it? You likely only have a few hours to rest at this point, if that, don't you?"

"Actually, technically, I have no hours to rest at this point." Naruto smiled a bit annoyedly. "I accidentally fell asleep on Tenten's couch, and, well, suffice it to say I slept for my allotted time period. For now, I'm just biding my time until around seven or eight when I'm supposed to head back to the front."

She nodded.

"But… It's… what, five in the morning?" Naruto pointed at something with his thumb behind him. "I know a place that isn't technically open… but would probably seat us for a while, if you'd like to talk."

She didn't want to. Not at all. She… she just…

"Hinata, please." Naruto stressed, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You look like you're about to cry. I can't leave you like this."

She ran her hand up her cheek and realized that tears were beginning to gather behind her eyes. She sniffled somewhat as she wiped them away and looked up at Naruto's earnest expression.

"…Okay. Lead the way."

/-/

Somehow, she was not at all surprised that it was Ichiraku Ramen of all places that they ended up at.

It was a rather nice, quaint location, so she had no complaints, but she really wasn't sure why she had, even for a moment, thought it might be anywhere else.

"Here you are, Naruto," The guy manning the shop sat two filled-to-the-brim bowls of ramen before them, steaming hot and appetizing as anything she'd ever seen. "Two of your usual."

"Thanks, old man!"

"Oi! You don't get to call me old man when I open my shop an hour early to seat you!"

"Er… sorry." Naruto bowed his head. "Thanks for doing that."

"Hah, good to hear you have some manners at least. Make sure you treat your lady friend there nicely."

Naruto gave an awkward laugh. "I… yeah. I will."

Hinata felt like, a few years back, such a scenario would've had her entire face glowing red like a tomato. Now… now she just felt sick, and lost, and…

As the man stepped away, attending to fixing up the back of the shop to get it ready to open, Naruto took a few bites of ramen, before turning to her with an inquisitive expression.

"So… If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me what's going on with you?"

And so… she did.

She told him of her correspondence with Fu via beetle, her thinking about the girl after she'd been kidnapped, she told him of her realization about herself, and about the problems she was currently facing; namely, whether or not she would be excised from her family over something like this.

Well… She was pretty sure she would be.

While telling her tale, she found herself flashing back to when she'd first met Fu in the Sand, when Kiba had been talking to her afterwards, and the words he'd said in response to some of her own.

"Am I a bad person?" She'd asked.

"No, you're an exceedingly good person. Unfortunately, in this case, there's no real difference. You'll have to say something eventually, unless you're planning on falling for her."

Hinata almost laughed at the memory.

Well, Kiba… I ended up doing one of those.

After she finished, she took to taking the first few bites of her ramen, marveling at the taste as she tried to forget about her troubles for just a moment.

"Wow, that's… heavy." Naruto admitted after a moment spent in silence, taking a sip from the broth as he thought for a while. "So… you and Fu, huh?"

She nodded sluggishly as she took another bite.

"Huh, I can't say I expected that, really. But, at the same time… yeah, I guess I can see it." He smiled. "She's fun, and sweet, and just a joy to be around. I… actually," For just a moment, Hinata felt a twinge of fear that Naruto was about to admit he had a crush on Fu, but his next words steadied her. "I find myself thinking of her as a little sister sometimes, someone I want the best for, and want to watch over." He laughed. "I think if I was ever going to 'give her away' to someone… I'd want them to be someone like you, Hinata."

She blushed, trying to not think too hard on those words as she looked away.

"But… the problem really boils down to whether or not you want your family to disown you again over this, right?"

She nodded. "They're a heavily traditional bunch. I don't hate them or anything, or even really blame them, but… but I know that if I told them the truth, they wouldn't hesitate to cut me off once more." She found tears running down her face at the thought, ones she barely wiped away in time before they fell to the table beneath. "And that's scary. I… I just earned back my family. I really don't want to lose them again."

Naruto nodded, perhaps not understanding her plight so to speak, lacking any real family as he did, but at the very least empathizing with her.

"Well… yeah, I can see why that's got you so bothered."

"And… My hesitation isn't fair to Fu. She's such a sweet girl. Whether from someone else, or from… from m-me, she deserves the world and then some. I… she doesn't deserve me floundering about my feelings for weeks and weeks instead of coming to her with a real answer."

"You also need to be fair with yourself, Hinata," Naruto spoke as he pointed his chopsticks at her. "Sure, maybe you think of it as rude, but I imagine if you explained yourself to her, Fu wouldn't even be upset, would she?"

"She… probably wouldn't be, no."

"Then I think first of all, no matter what you decide, you should be honest with her first and foremost." Naruto laughed a bit pitifully as he turned himself around in his chair, and staired at the gates of the Leaf Village which hung ominously in the distance. "What with everything going on right now… I don't think anyone could blame you for wanting to wait until it's finished to work something like relationship troubles out. I think, if I were you, and I had feelings like that, I'd say "After this is all over, let's go get dinner and talk" or something like…"

Naruto trailed off, and Hinata looked at him for a moment as he looked down at his feet.

"Hey, hold on a second… did Tenten… is she…" Naruto went quiet for a moment as an annoyed expression took over his face. "What do you mean 'it's about time'! You mangy fox! How was I supposed to figure that out!?" He paused again, seemingly having a back-and-forth conversation with the beast in his stomach. "What do you mean it was 'obvious as all hell'!?"

Hinata smiled, even as she placed a hand over her heart, trying to calm the pain Naruto's words were putting her through. Even if her feelings had somewhat shifted now… her love for Naruto hadn't just disappeared. To know he would never look at her like she did him was…

It hurt. By the gods did it hurt.

"W-Well, anyways, I can, uh…" He blushed. "I can think about that later as well. But… a piece of advice, Hinata, I don't think you need to always be entirely truthful in everything you say."

"What do you mean?"

"I just… You seem to think the only options you have are to tell your family what's going on, or to cut things off with Fu. Well… why not just… tell your family you're going to go to the Waterfall to help with the rebuilding process for a bit, and you come back and visit with Fu. Let them get used to her over time, and then, when you feel you have them, then you can tell them the truth."

Hinata shot the boy sitting next to her an odd look as she gave a quiet, almost surprised giggle.

"That's awfully underhanded of you, Naruto."

"Ah, well, I was the class prankster, lying was kind of the only defense I had, even if I was never very good at it." He laughed, seeming caught in old memories again. "Sasuke made me a lot better once he joined me. Hah… thinking about that brings me back."

She found herself doing the same, remembering back to when she'd been so pathetic, so… weak. She'd relied on her friends, on Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino, and on Naruto to move forward.

She wanted to say something about that, wanted to… to come clean of the thing that'd been burdening her… no, not burdening her, but the things that'd fueled her for years and years. At this point, now, it was something that needed to be cast away. Something only weighing her down, and she knew that…

And so, she did.

"Y'know… I had a massive crush on you for years."

Naruto whipped around rather suddenly; his expression shocked. "R-Really!?"

"Haha… you really didn't notice?"

"…Can't say I did. I guess I just… huh. Y'know now that I think about it, that kind of makes sense. With the ointment that one time, and then you giving me credit for helping you when I didn't do that much, and then… Hey, shut up you damned fox! I am not slow!"

She giggled, finding humor in the fact that Naruto was likely arguing with the Nine-Tails of all things. It was… odd, picturing a massive beast teasing him for his lack of knowledge in romance, but…

It was in some ways also oddly adorable.

"I… thank you so much for helping me, Naruto." Hinata said as she turned to him, watching as he snapped out of his mental argument and paid attention to her. "I… I've been contemplating my options for quite a while now, but… your idea of waiting until this is all over to really confront her, at least, I think I'll use."

He nodded, and she smiled as she found further words coming upon her tongue.

"I wanted to tell you about my feelings because… well, I can tell you don't share them, right?"

He nodded a bit awkwardly, and she found herself laughing. "Don't worry about it. I'm… not strong, but I have someone else I care about now. As, I think," She smiled knowingly. "Do you."

Naruto blushed, but didn't argue with that.

Hinata shook her head as she stood and placed down a few notes as payment for the ramen.

"I find the only thing I'm every saying to you is 'thank you'." She laughed. "It's always you helping me out. But… once again, thank you, Naruto. For being there for me, for… being an ideal I always tried to strive towards my entire life. Even now… even when I've moved past my feelings… you still manage to shine like the sun."

Naruto gave a customary sunny smile, even if it was dampened by the general weariness of the time.

And without any notice, Naruto reached across and hugged her, wrapping his arms around her back in a reassuring way.

"You've got this, Hinata…" He pulled away, smiling honestly. "Love you."

Hinata giggled, and, seeing the absolute seriousness of his expression, could read what he meant by that, and laughed as she returned the gesture, hugging him against her as well.

"Love you too."

There was no misconception there. They truly loved one another, but… it was a platonic thing. No romantic interest remained. They had, Naruto perhaps more so than her, moved on from that sort of thought process. The love they shared now… It was as friends who'd spent years together, working alongside one another, bleeding and training and crying alongside the others.

They'd forged that friendship in the fires of adversity. It would survive something as petulant as this.

"I… really need to talk with Fu." She said as she smiled. "So…

"Same here." Naruto nodded, before his eyebrows drew down. "Well, not with Fu, but…"

She giggled. "I knew who you meant. Trust me."

"Alright, well… I hope I helped."

"You did."

"Hah… good to hear." Naruto smiled as he waved, and began walking away, shooting her one last smile. "See you later, Hinata, and good luck!"

"To you as well!" She called back, before turning away as well…

Towards the Hyuga Manor.

And… was there a small note of sadness hanging about her heart still? A small piece of her that would never quite get over the boy she'd fallen in love with all those years ago? A tiny bit of her soul that still quaked in fear, wanted to run away?

Perhaps.

But that was all the more reason for her to go and talk with Fu.

The girl always had a way to make her smile when she was feeling down.

Hinata walked for perhaps a half hour, finally arriving at the Hyuga Manor just as the sun began to rise in the distance. She trekked through the quiet halls, and pulled open the door to her room as silently as she could (everyone else, besides the house servants, would still be asleep for another hour or two). When she arrived, she found a figure already gazing her way.

Fu was still awake.

"H-Hey." The Jinchuuriki said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

"What are you doing up?" She asked as she sat down in front of her, crossing her legs beneath her. "It's terribly late."

"I was just… well, I wanted to wait until you got back to sleep." Fu explained, before bowing her head. "I wanted to apologize for earlier. I've been thinking about how pushy I can be recently, and uhm, I really shouldn't have pressured you into anyth–"

"No, Fu." Hinata shook her head, cutting the girl off before she could continue. "You're fine. There's…"

She sighed as she worked up the courage, and, finally, after expelling a breath, spoke.

"There's something I need to tell you."

/-/

"Lady Hokage!"

Tsunade turned to see one of her communications experts standing before her, panting drastically.

"What is it?"

"It's… it's as we feared." The man spoke. "The Cloud is reporting that Black Zetsu got to the Eight-Tails as well!"

Her blood ran cold.

"Then…"

"Yes…"

"They possess a piece of all nine Tailed Beasts."

/-/

The devices attached to his arms, those that channeled his chakra into the Pain's around him, hummed with energy as he waited patiently, breathing evenly to try and keep his chakra under control.

Beside him, Konan stood silently. The two of them were waiting for their signal, not acting…

Not yet.

Suddenly, from out of the ground before them, a White Zetsu sprouted up. He knew not if this was the White Zetsu who'd been a member of their organization once, or some other.

He didn't particularly care.

"Black Zetsu has succeeded in his capture of the Eight-Tails' chakra. Soon… we will make our move."

He nodded, otherwise ignoring the man's next words as he stared out of the fake trunk of the paper 'tree' they'd set up to disguise themselves…

And looked at the walls of the Leaf Village hanging in the distance.

"Once he arrives…"

"Yes…" The being spoke.

"We summon the Gedo Statue, and then move on the Village ourselves."

End Chapter 95

Welp, RIP NaruHina.

Obviously, this story has been leaning away from them getting together for... well, since forever, but I felt it would be good to give it a proper send-off, and to lean towards the plot that'll be upcoming. Now, we're in the home stretch folks, I hope you enjoy what's to come!

See you all in... three days, I guess? Maybe a week? Still not sure how I want to do this to be honest...

Anyways, we'll see!