Section 9: Love Hurts
Naruto walked around the dirt path in the forest, kicking the rocks into the lake nearby. "This sucks... I don't know what to do with myself." He looked out to the lake, which took him back to his first date. He didn't know what it was really though, the moment he had with Sakura. He just rubbed his head in discontent, and tried to forget it, for he would just get upset again. Just when he was beginning to forget about his time with Sakura, he saw her sprinting hysterically towards him. He looked at her with distress.
"Sakura-chan...?"
She was running with her eyes closed, and tears flowing through them. She continued running, until she stepped onto a stone unorthodoxly, right in front of Naruto, who she intended to run past. Slipping, she fell into Naruto's arms, which caught her instinctively without noticing. He looked down blankly, and then realized who fell into his arms.
Recoiling in horror, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan! Please don't hi..."
"No Naruto... I won't." He looked down at her a little surprised by her response. "Just..." Sakura clinched onto Naruto's outfit, and released her tears. "...don't let me go. Please..."
"...Sakura-chan..." He wrapped his arms around her, comforting her as she sobbed in his arms. Both him, and Sakura fell slowly to the ground in a kneeling position. "She must be lonely again. I want to help her." He held her tightly.
Off in the distance, was a short figure peering around a tree. Hinata watched the entire moment from afar, with her mouth slightly opened. "Na...Naruto-kun..." She looked down to the ground, with her lips quivering. "I'm so happy for him... but at the same time... my chest hurts like it never has before..." Her grey eyes filled up with tears, and her eyes narrowed. "He's happier with her..." Her eyes closed, and she turned away running off. "...and without me..."
As she ran off sobbing, a small piece of folded paper fell from her pocket. It floated to the ground, and folded open gracefully. Written inside was a short message, with a small image of heart next to it. The message read...
"Naruto-kun... I've always watched you wherever you went, and I saw what kind of person you were. I liked the person that I saw, and you were the only person I've ever felt this way about. You always made me feel good about myself. You taught me to always love the person I am. I can't really lie anymore, to you or to myself. The truth is... I've always loved you, Naruto..."
Running father away from Naruto and Sakura with tears running across her cheeks, one line from her letter rang through her head. "I've always loved you..."