Do you want him as a friend or a lover?

It doesn't matter, I just want him in my life.

He is the sun on my sky. ~Thea Phala

It's pretty easy to slip into the role of Naruto's friend.

She's always liked him.

She knows he still wants more...she does too...but she doesn't want it to be like it was before.

Maybe if they hadn't started right in the deep end and had actually waded into being a couple things wouldn't have been so turbulent. Traumatic experience probably wasn't the best foundation to build their romance on, now that she thinks about it. Shared trauma can help forge strong bonds, she knows, but jumping into a committed relationship immediately after almost dying? She probably should have given him some space back then, but she'd been so happy to have him (finally) that she'd just gone with it.

And it hadn't been all bad. Far from it.

Naruto was warm and charismatic and generous with his affection and for HInata...who had spent most of her life starved for it...well, that was irresistible. And she returned it. She never let a day go by without touching him, smiling at him, letting him know how much she loved him.

There were some very, very, good memories.

But there were some bad ones too.

Fights.

Too much drinking.

Manic episodes.

Depressive episodes.

The time he went missing for three days.

And instead of being his partner, she started to manage him.

Because it was easier for her to disconnect and make it orderly than it was to get messy and vulnerable.

Vulnerable meant hurt.

So she shut down.

Didn't communicate what she was feeling-what she needed.

Just focused on his needs.

If she could keep him happy, he wouldn't leave. If she loved him hard enough, it would all be ok.

Didn't matter if she was smothering beneath the weight she placed on herself.

She was as much to blame for their failure as he was.

There was too much history between them to ever truly have a clean slate-plus she didn't want to forget everything they'd shared and endured. What she wanted was to find balance between them. For them to support one another.

Which was how she ended up at this crowded arena with a bunch of screaming fight fans, waiting for Naruto's match. It's more crowded than she expected it to be, considering the venue, but apparently this "Pain" fighter was pretty renowned. It made her all the more nervous for Naruto.

She shifts nervously, scanning over the faces in the crowd, her fingers wringing together.

"Well, looky here. If it isn't the warden herself."

Hinata tenses up, her entire body going rigid as she recognizes the voice to her left. Slow, she turns and finds Sasuke Uchiha's dark, bloodshot eyes, regarding her with cynical amusement. He's flanked by his usual group of ne'er-do-wells, all looking like they hit the bar and a few lines before they arrived.

Sasuke rocks back on his heels, his lips twisting into a mocking smile."Heard you two split up. You do know that stalking is illegal, right?" He sneers the words at her-a not too subtle jab at the way she used to follow Naruto around. Always in the background, her affection obvious for everyone but the blond.

Sasuke has never liked Hinata.

She's never understood why, but that's fine. The feeling is more than mutual.

"Fuck yourself, Uchiha." Suddenly there is another blond between them. An amazonian queen with her head high and her eyes sharply critical. If there was anyone that disliked Sasuke as much as Hinata, it was Ino. Of course, part of that stemmed from the fact that they dated (briefly, Ino makes sure to remind anyone that brings it up) but no matter the case, there were few people that shut him up quite as effectively.

"Didn't you used to do that for me at one point, Yamanaka?" Sasuke leers at her, his gaze lingering over Ino's tight black top.

"Everyone experiments in college," Ino sniffs with haughty disdain. "I've since moved on to men."

The posse around Sasuke makes a series of "oooohs" and Sasuke's eyes narrow. Before he can say anything else, Hinata grabs Ino's arm, tugging her away. "Come on," she urges. "I want to get closer."

Ino grudgingly complies but not before flipping up her perfectly manicured middle finger directly into Sasuke's smug face.

Together they start to weave through the crowd, closer to the ring. As they approach Hinata sees a few people that she recognizes from Eight Gates, and they in turn recognize her. A couple even call out her name and wave.

Ino slants her a questioning look, but Hinata shrugs. Ino knows she goes to the gym, she's just not aware it's a fighting gym. She probably thinks Hinata is doing pilates and cycling, not coil strikes and circle walking.

They make there way nearly ringside when the announcer starts in. Hinata can't see anything for a moment, and then she spots Naruto beside some man with long grey hair (must be Jiraiya) making his way to the ring in bright orange shorts.

He looks trim-sleek and more corded than she's probably ever seen him. Ino nudges her in the side. "Your boy looks good. Like a hunky slip-n-slide."

Hinata pokes her just above her hip. "Ino!"

Their laughter doesn't last too long though, because Naruto is walking to the center of the ring to meet his opponent. Yahiko, aka Pain, is just as tall as Naruto is. Built similarly, too, but there's something a bit harsher about him. Maybe it's his auburn hair and cold, unblinking eyes. Whatever the case, he gives HInata the creeps. Her fingers curl around Ino's forearm.

Ino seems to be measuring Pain up as well. She leans down towards Hinata's ear. "You sure that five hundred was a good bet?"

Hinata's reply is stolen by the bell and then her attention is gone. Riveted to the two men in the ring. Most fighters circle one another-get a feel for their opponent-but Naruto just plows straight in.

She winces with each hit he takes, and she is sure her nails aren't doing Ino's skin any favors.

By the time the first round is over Hinata kind of wants to pass out from holding her breath.

"You doing okay?" Ino asks.

Hinata nods. "Yeah, but would it kill him to evade? Like, just once?"

The second round has her so tense she's honestly surprised her bones don't start popping. Naruto's getting hammered. She watches the fight, watches him stagger a bit. "Left!" she shouts. Sure enough Yahiko hits Naruto with a left to his side.

Ino glances at her again, but Hinata's gaze is still on the ring. Yahiko, for all of his skill, projects his attack with his stances. Hinata's watched enough spars at Eight Gates to recognize that much. Sensei and Lee are masters of speed and agility, so they are impossible to predict, but fighters that get into routine-into grooves-they start to become predictable.

At the end of the round Naruto is in his corner, pacing, with blood on his skin and a maniacal smile on his face. When he gives his opponent a little wave, Hinata actually laughs.

Round three has both men staggering a bit, but Naruto is by far the sloppier of the two. Hinata's tense as she watches him take a hit to the face, then several more. She wants to close her eyes, but she doesn't.

Yahiko steps back to kick, but Naruto steps forward.

What happens next steals her breath. She's only ever seen speed like that from Lee.

Naruto lands a right hook, then a left liver punch. He kicks the right lower leg. He lands a left high on Yahiko's temple. Right knee into the hip and an elbow to his chin. He jabs as he steps back.

Round house.

Hinata cheers so loud her voice breaks-goes hoarse.

It's over.

She knows it before Pain's knees give out and he topples.

"Holy shit!" Ino exclaims.

Hinata throws her arms around Ino and hugs. "He did it!"

They jump up and down in a circle, ignoring the way the people next to them give them annoyed looks.

He did it.