Chapter 23 The Dark Angel

When Hinata saw the surrounding whiteness, her first thought was Ino might have done her mind share jutsu without her knowing it. It had the exact same look and feel to it. But she looked around as saw she was all alone. No Ino, no Sakura, just her. And a weird black spot in front of her that almost looked like a black light lantern.

"What's that?" She asked herself, hesitant to go up to it, yet at the same time she was certain that whatever she was supposed to do here, that it involved this manifestation of darkness.

"Well well well..." A voice sat mockingly, and the darkness shifted form into a silhouette of a person. The silhouette took on more detail, and soon enough there was another Hinata, one with red pupil and black sclera. Given that her eyes were a key part of her appearance, Hinata thought seeing a version of her lacking a byakugan was somewhat offputting. Not only that, but her attire was somewhat different. Mostly her jacket was open, showing off her mesh shirt, but this one showed off her midriff and cleavage. That combined with shorts showing off her thighs made it clear this version of Hinata was comfortable with her body's sex appeal.

"Dark Hinata I presume?" Hinata greeted, not knowing what else to say.

Dark Hinata started off with a smile, but not a friendly one. To Hinata, it reminded her of the kind she saw Neji used to give when he expected her to suffer. Then it diminished until she looked disappointed in her, another expression she had seen in her own father years ago too.

Hinata was about to speak some more, when all of a sudden Dark Hinata rushed at her and unceremoniously shoved her to the ground. It wasn't even a taijutsu move, no it was more like what you'd expect a kid on a playground to do. Caught by surprise, Hinata fell on her rear and looked up in shock.

"What was that for?"

"You don't deserve to be the surface personality." Dark Hinata hissed.

"What?" Hinata gasped, having to roll and get up when her dark side made another attack at her.

"You don't deserve to be the one in control! You have so many chances to step up and be there for Naruto-kun but you never did!"

"That's not true." Hinata objected, blocking a strike at her shoulder with her arm and on reflex returning with an attack of her own.

"Do you really think a smile and few nice words once in a while means anything? You spent all your time watching him from the shadows but never doing anything! You knew he was lonely but you didn't approach! You just stayed away and watched from behind a corner!"

"I was shy!" Hinata defended, blocking another jab.

"No, you were afraid that he'd tell you that you weren't good enough for him! You were afraid that he'd say he'd rather be lonely then be friends with you!"

Dark Hinata managed to land a hit in Hinata's chest, similar to when Neji did in the prelims, and Hinata fell on her back.

'Wait, that didn't feel right.' Hinata thought, feeling sore and shocked but no real pain.

Dark Hinata stood over her, stilling her hands for a moment. "Every time, I wanted to go up and talk to him. Hug him. Tell him that he didn't have to be alone. Nothing was stopping us except you."

"Now that's where you're wrong." Hinata objected, sitting up. "I admit I was too shy for my own good, I accept that. But there was more to it and you know it. Koh had a problem with Naruto-kun and he wasn't the only one in the clan that did. You remember what he did when I tried to thank Naruto-kun? How much worse would it have been if more of them got it in their head to keep us apart? I was just a kid, what could I do to stop them other than exactly what I did do?"

Dark Hinata clenched a fist and punched her back down, the impact harsh, yet again Hinata felt no pain.

'Why didn't that hurt?'

"You should have done something! Anything! If I were the one in charge I would have made sure Naruto-kun knew I was there for him! I would have made him feel loved and made the other Hyuuga afraid to piss me off! I'd use the seal if that's what it took to prove my point! And while I'm at it, I would have made sure Sakura and Ino knew to keep away from him!"

Frowning, Hinata got up to her feet and stood firm before her doppelganger. "Look, I hate myself for not doing more, but I was in a no-win scenario. Any help I gave him would have only motivated my clan to drive us apart. I had every reason to believe that at the time. You know that."

Dark Hinata threw another punch, this time Hinata did not try to block it but she did make sure she wouldn't fall over. To Dark Hinata's surprise, Hinata just smiled.

"You can't hurt me. You're just my thoughts, you can insult and degrade me all you want, but you can't actually hurt me unless I let you. And I won't let you hurt me."

Hinata took the opportunity to hit her double in the chest and make her fall over. Dark Hinata reacted in pain this time, getting to her knees like she was kneeling.

"But it looks like I can hurt you."

"You won't hurt me. You don't have what it takes."

"I will if you keep acting this way." Hinata warned. "You think you'd be a better Hinata than me? You're selfish, you act like you deserve Naruto-kun because you 'called dibs' on him or something. Naruto-kun isn't a possession. I want him to be happy, even if that means he doesn't choose me."

Dark Hinata glared. "Oh don't give me that. If you truly believed that then you would have given up on him years ago. You want him to choose you."

"Of course I want him to choose me! I want that as much now as I did when I first realized I loved him! But that doesn't mean I'm owed him! I want Naruto-kun to be with me because he loves me too, not just because I'm his only option. And I'd rather share him than not have him at all."

Dark Hinata scoffed and got back on her feet. "And what if that's not enough?"

"What do you mean?"

"C'mon don't be naive. We've got competition now. At least before you had time to grow a spine and get him to notice you, now you've got to make him want to keep you. After all, even if you do agree to share him with two other girls, what if Naruto-kun decides he wants them more than you?"

Hinata looked into the eyes of her other side, and a realization came to her. "We're both afraid of the same thing."

"What?"

"We're both afraid that Naruto-kun will reject us. I'm afraid that he'll only see me as a friend, you're afraid that you'll give him everything and still lose him to another girl. It's like Otou-san said, we never pursued him because as long as we held onto a fantasy, the real Naruto-kun could never reject us."

Dark Hinata looked down, a tear dropping to the ground. Then to her surprise, Hinata pulled her into a hug.

"Huh? What are you doing?"

"We're not that different, we want the same thing and we're afraid of the same result. We should work together to get what we want, not fight over which one of us deserves to be the one true Hinata more."

Dark Hinata wiped her eyes. "But how can we do that? You repressed me, and as you put, for a reason."

"Maybe you're right about me, I was too shy and too afraid to take a chance. But your approach would have been to not care about the risks. Because of me, Naruto-kun had to suffer, but if we had done things your way, we wouldn't have been the kind of girl he'd like in the first place. He probably would have been afraid of us and seen us the same way Sasuke saw his fangirls. Maybe we need a balance, some of me and some of you, to become the kind of girl that Naruto-kun both likes and can rely on. How can we come together?"

"We have to resolve what's keeping us apart in the first place. Which is your hesitation to take action." Dark Hinata remarked, pulling out of the hug.

Hinata tilted her head slightly in confusion. "...No, that's not it."

Dark Hinata blinked. "What?"

"I have taken action. Several times. Sure, there were a lot of times I should have but didn't, but there were a lot of times I did. Before the Chuunin Exam finals, searching for the bikochu beetle, the land of vegetables mission, just to name a few. And what about kissing him and confessing to him in his apartment? Don't tell me that meant nothing to you."

Dark Hinata softly smiled at that. "I have to admit I didn't think you had it in you to strip for him like that. If it were me I would have thrown him on the carpet and rode him like a horse."

Hinata blushed heavily. "E-even with Sakura and Ino there watching?"

"Hey, if we have to share our man, we have a right to watch what they do with him." Dark Hinata commented, then licked her lips a little. "I have to admit that the idea of being in a harem is still odd, but the idea of watching others or being watched is kind of kinky."

Hinata just stood there wondering if she could get a nosebleed inside her own mind.

"I also like the idea of switching up the role of dom and sub." Dark Hinata continued, talking mostly to herself in a perverted way. "One night, I'll let my man pin me down and make me scream his name until I'm hoarse and my pussy's on fire. Then the next night I'll have him strapped down to his bed and begging me to let him cum."

Hinata eeped in shock and covered her mouth, regaining her dark counterpart's attention.

"Hey, don't judge. These are all your thoughts remember? I'm just the part of you that wants to act on them."

"Wh-what about... m-more than... one person?" Hinata made herself ask.

Dark Hinata grinned. "Naruto-kun uses clones, remember? Of course you thought about having orgies with him. And Naruto-kun can become a girl, so of course you thought about doing it with another girl. The only problem is you only ever thought about doing that kind of stuff with Naruto-kun, never with someone else."

"So... you don't have an opinion on being in an open relationship that includes Sakura and Ino?" Hinata asked, not expecting that.

"I'm made of your repressed thoughts, not your unchosen ones. You never thought about being with someone else before, not in any way you'd take seriously at least, and since this whole issue came up you've been asking yourself what you want. I can't have an opinion because you haven't decided what you believe. What I do know is that in the past you had no intention of sharing him because you thought no one would ever want him like you."

Hinata thought it over, realizing this was accurate. Naruto had never been popular so her big advantage to getting him was mostly in how for the longest time she had no competition. That was why she hadn't been in a hurry to pressure him into choosing her. But now girls were starting to realize that Naruto had appeal and that meant Hinata had to do something. Which she was, but was she really willing to share him?

"I'm not the only one who's grown over the years." Hinata commented.

"But you sure grew up the most." Dark Hinata interjected, grabbing her breasts. Hinata eeped and stepped back, covering herself. "Oh don't be such a prude. They're technically mine too you know."

"My point is Sakura and Ino have matured just like I have. After all, years ago they never would have considered sharing a boy, and if anyone would have it would have been them. Naruto-kun must be special to them, like he is to me. Wouldn't it be selfish to keep him only to myself?"

"That's the problem, you're afraid to be even a little selfish." Dark Hinata pointed out. "You're not shy, you're afraid to want something that comes at someone else's expense. You want what I want, but you've got it in your mind that pursuing it is wrong. You wouldn't go up to him because you were afraid it was selfish to ask Naruto-kun to prioritize your happiness. That's why you waited, if he came to you first then it wasn't selfish to love him back. Your problem isn't shyness, it's that you're too kind. Too much of a good thing."

Hinata blinked. "I... I never thought of..."

"You did, you just didn't want to admit you did." Dark Hinata finished for her. "It's okay to be selfish in the right circumstances Hinata. It's okay to want Naruto-kun to prioritize you. It's okay to want Otou-san to respect you. It's okay to want to be first in something. So if you're going to share Naruto-kun, do it because you're okay with it, not just because you're afraid to say no. Do you get what I'm saying?"

Hinata closed her eyes briefly and nodded. "Yes, I do. And you're right, I do want to be a little selfish. But not too selfish. There's a difference between 'Naruto-kun I want to be your girlfriend' and 'Naruto-kun from now on we are dating because I say so'."

"Frankly, I think you just did that when you kissed him topless. Which by the way, respect girl." Dark Hinata joked, high-fiving her lighter side.

"Think about how much nicer it will be after we merge. We've have your ambition and sexual friskiness along with my reservation and patience, this time in moderation rather than extremes. We can still be the 'nice, weird girl' that Naruto-kun likes, while also becoming the woman that the man in him needs."

"But what do you think we're missing? If not just your shyness, what do we need to resolve?" Dark Hinata asked.

"Your anger." Hinata said, surprising the other. "You're not just the part of me that wanted to be selfish, you're the part of me that's resentful. You're angry that Otou-san held us to high standards, you're angry that Neji got away with hating us for so long, and I think a part of you is angry that Naruto-kun had to be told we love him. If we merge, that means I'm going to be dealing with anger I've been ignoring, and no idea what to do about it now that it's out on the surface."

"Well what do you want me to do? Stop being angry? These are your emotions, you just made me deal with them so you didn't have to." Dark Hinata remarked.

"Just tell me, is there anything that you can't forgive? Anything that makes you so angry that no amount of restraint or understanding is going to keep you from acting on it?"

Dark Hinata looked away for a moment, then turned back. "If I can watch Sakura french my man without punching her in the face, I think you've got nothing to worry about. But I could be wrong. You're just going to have to take that chance."

"I'm willing."

The two looked at each other and nodded, feeling better. Then they began to glow pink until that was the only color they could see.

When Hinata could see again, she found herself back in the woods where she had been before. With Sakura and Ino there too, also coming to.

"Did it work?" Sakura asked, looking to the platinum blonde and white-eyed girl.

Hinata stretched, feeling a need to move her body. While doing so, she eyed Sakura to get a gauge on the pinkette.

"Hinata? You okay?" Sakura asked, sounding worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, you're looking at me like I just insulted your mom or something."

Hinata blinked and looked away, thinking it would be best to not actually look at the other girl right now. "My dark side had some anger issues, which I guess apply to you a little."

Sakura slowly nodded with a sigh. "Can't say I'm surprised. For years I hurt and demeaned the boy you loved, of course some part of you hated me for it."

"I wouldn't say hate, but yes I'm angry. I don't feel like you deserve to be with Naruto-kun." Hinata corrected, a bitter tone rising in her voice.

Sakura silently gasped.

Hinata then sighed. "And I don't deserve to be with Naruto-kun either. None of us do."

Hinata curled up into a seated fetal position, tears running down her cheeks. Sakura moved to sit behind the Hyuuga heiress and hug her. She considered it a good sign that Hinata did not reject her.

"I'm sorry, I hate how immature I was back then. I never want to hurt Naruto-kun again and I'm willing to spend the rest of my life proving it if that's what it takes. I know you can't just forgive me, but I want you to be happy too Hinata."

Hinata listened, but her focus was more on Sakura's hands, which came together in front of her stomach but were slowly creeping upwards. Almost like she wasn't aware of it. "If you're going to touch my boobs, you better be as good a kisser as Naruto-kun is."

Sakura blushed and realized what she was doing, but then a coy grin grew on her as she leaned in closer to Hinata's ear. "Ino seems to think so. Want to find out?"

Hinata hummed as she thought it over, with Sakura moving to face her. "You've got me curious, and I don't want to wonder forever."

Taking initiative given their history, Sakura took ahold of Hinata's shoulder and planted her lips on the other girl's lips. Hinata returned the kiss, trying to treat it the same way she had with Naruto. But the spark she had felt before wasn't there. Sakura felt the same way, and tried to make things better by groping Hinata's breasts. Hinata moaned and tried to rub Sakura's back in response.

After a bit the two separated and looked at each other, catching their breaths.

"That was..." Sakura said, not sure how to finish.

"Honestly, not as good as Naruto-kun." Hinata stated.

Sakura softly nodded. "Yeah, and no offense, but I like kissing Ino better. I mean, kissing you wasn't terrible, but it felt a little awkward. Maybe it will get better?"

"Well, I'd rather it not get worse." Hinata replied, then looked down at her chest. "You can let go of me now."

Sakura released her companion's bosom and the two girls parted a bit. "Hinata, I'm sorry for anything I've done to hurt you in the past, directly or indirectly. We were never really friends before, honestly before this whole harem thing I don't think we ever interacted without being legally required to. But I love Naruto-kun and I know he loves you too. I can't give him up anymore than you can, and I don't think I could keep him to myself knowing how much it would hurt you to lose him."

"How could you possibly know that?" Hinata remarked, sounding somewhat offended.

"Because I know how much it would break my heart for me to lose him to you. I'd be happy for the two of you and give you my blessings, but I also know I'd never find someone I'd love just as much again. You feel the same way about losing him to me, don't you?"

Hinata slowly nodded, still looking away. Sakura then moved to make her look at her.

"So how about instead of competing or worrying over who deserves love more, we both go for our goal and get our man together. I'm perfectly fine with there being two Mrs. Uzumaki in the future. Hell, I'd love it if there were three of us, right Ino?"

There was no response.

"Ino?" Sakura called out, looking around the Hyuuga heiress to see her friend, while Hinata turned to try the same.

Ino wasn't there anymore. She was gone.