CHAPTER 2;
This time the story takes place about a month and a half later after the death of the Hokage, and before Naruto leaves with the perverted hermit.
Update: now TimeShifter16 has proofread the fic, and now it's mistake free . A BIG thank you to her again!
The mood of almost the entire village was one of mourning. They had lost their leader, and everyone was uncertain of what the future would hold. Already, two weeks had passed since the 3rd Hokage's death. Normally, she'd be just as upset as everyone else, but ever since Naruto had been helping her, she couldn't smile but have a slight smile on her face whenever it was their
time. The sun beat down on the people of Konoha, in an attempt to brighten up the mood of the village. Looking up at the sky, she felt as happy as if her soul was flying with the birds up amongst the clouds. Currently, she was aimlessly walking along the empty streets of the village, enjoying the weather and thinking of him, without anyone else around to disturb her.
She heard a loud cry of exclamation from a voice that could only belong to him; there was only one person who would shout out that loud. She smiled and gently jogged in the direction of the voice. Now the voice was only around the corner; she leaned up against the wall blushing, and slowly peered around it, but only enough so that she could see him without being seen herself. He was still speaking loudly to someone; she looked further to see Sakura, the girl she envied more than anyone else due to the attention and affection she received from Naruto. Listening in, she hoped no one would notice her....
"....and it'll be for a while, I don't know how long," Naruto said. Hinata wondered what they were talking about.
"Well why are you telling me? It's not like I care or something." Sakura replied, folding her arms, pouting as she looked away from Naruto. He sighed.
"I just wanted you to know." Naruto looked at the floor and started pacing back and forth a little; Hinata could see his cheeks had turned slightly red; she wondered what he was thinking. "Umm...Sakura-chan...would you....miss me?" Sakura, still with her head turned away from Naruto, looked at him through the corner of her eye.
"Why would I miss you? Ever since we teamed up as genins, all you've done is get between me and Sasuke-kun." Naruto was stunned; he'd dealt with rejection all his life, but he didn't know how to respond to it this time. It became obvious to Naruto that Sasuke hadn't told her how hard he'd fought against Gaara to save her....he probably took all the credit himself. Naruto's sadness turned into anger as his thoughts turned to Sasuke. Sakura took a couple of steps forward and stopped. "Whatever Naruto; go on your little adventure, I really couldn't care if you never returned. See ya!" She then walked off into the distance as Naruto stood there, mortified.
Hinata hid back behind the corner, out of sight of Naruto, and leaned up against the wall. She brought her hand to her mouth.
"Little adventure?" she thought to herself. "Does that mean Naruto-kun is going away? Why didn't he tell me?" These thoughts bringing tears to her eyes, she cried out without realizing. She suddenly heard footsteps from around the corner; they were getting closer. Hinata turned and fled, not wanting anyone to see her like this. Naruto walked around the corner to see Hinata's back getting further away.
"Hinata-chan?" he said inquisitively.She was back at the training area, leaning up against the tree, looking at the stumps that she had trained so hard with under the guidance of the boy she loved. Why didn't he even bother to tell her he was going away? Did he really think that little of her? So many questions she wanted to ask him, but lacked the confidence to do so. Naruto was supposed to be here one hour ago, "but he'd probably gone after Sakura", she thought to herself. She could take on the world with him around, but without him here, all she could do was sit and weep silently.
But wait, she heard the rustling of leaves; she looked around and saw that to her right, some birds had taken flight from a nearby bush. Hinata smiled slightly as she observed the birds flying around, engaging in a dance with each other. She suddenly froze when a hand appeared on her left shoulder; she dared not look around.
"Hinata-chan." a voice said; it was his voice! She looked around and then up to see his face, as he smiled down at her. "I had a feeling you'd be here. I'm sorry I didn't come to help you today...umm...something's kinda come up." Hinata shook her head.
"No...it's OK" she replied quietly, lowering her head as she did. Naruto sighed
"It's not!" he shouted, although his voice suddenly sounded dismayed. "I wish I could have told you this earlier, but I only found out myself today." Hinata looked up at him again.
"You're going away?" she asked, to which Naruto responded with a quiet "Un". Hinata paused for a moment. "I heard earlier."
"It's not like I'll be gone forever, I will come back, OK?" Naruto was grinning at her, with his thumb sticking up . Hinata jumped slightly from this sudden change in volume of Naruto's voice, but then smiled, and as usual, she blushed, looking down at the floor
"Umm....I hope you'll come back soon," she said. Naruto looked surprised. "I'll...miss......you...." she now looked up at him, "Naruto-kun." He suddenly started working things out; he noticed that Hinata would miss him in the same way he thought he would miss Sakura...did she really feel that way! He was suddenly taken aback, because that would mean....she...loved ...him! He'd never thought about it this way before. But should he say something? If he didn't, she may just get angry at him like Sakura always did. He started blushing himself, and an awkward silence feel between them. He knew he better say something, as even Naruto realized that Hinata would not be the one to do it.
"Hinata-chan," Naruto's voice was trembling slightly; this was something Hinata had never heard; normally he was so self-confident. "I never really thought about it....but I guess I just realized...I'm going to miss you too." Upon hearing this, Hinata's eyes widened in shock. "This time we've spent together recently.....you're so kind to me Hinata-chan.....everyone else seems to be glad to see the back of me..." Now something Hinata never would have dreamed of happened...Naruto's eyes began to well up with tears, and although he tried to hide them by looking away and hiding his eyes with his arm, she knew they were there. "Iruka-sensei...was the only one who saw me as Naruto....everyone else...is so distant." Hinata wondered what he meant by "saw him as Naruto", afterall, what else could he be? Now Naruto's tears were flowing down his cheeks; not even his arm was enough to cover it up now. Hinata had no clue what was wrong, and despite her timid nature, she pulled herself closer to Naruto, wrapping herself around his waist with her arms. This achieved the effect she desired; his tears ceased to fall. He was too surprised to cry right now, he had no clue what Hinata was up to, but he felt warm where she was clinging to him, he'd never been so close to someone else before to experience this. It wasn't just a simple hug like before; this felt like....pure love.
"Naruto-kun....I think...I think..." he could tell she was terrified of her actions from the shaking of her voice. She took a big breath and continued. "I don't think you should cry...I believe there are many people who will wait for you to return...and if no one else cares...then I'll care for you on their behalf." She hadn't planned to say so much, but the emotion of the moment had taken over. She now cringed and buried her face into the material of his jacket, forgetting that his chest was just behind it.
So she did feel that way about him. He'd never even felt the love of a parent, how was he expected to recognize love when he saw it? He'd been so obsessed with Sakura, he never considered that anyone could fall in love with..him. He smiled and wrapped his arm around Hinata, causing her to shiver.
"Hinata-chan...I never really thought about you...I guess I never expected someone to feel like this for me," Naruto explained to her, looking at the sun to judge the time. "I wish there was more time for us to talk...but I've got to get going...sorry." Hinata looked up from her place in his chest and although blushing, she was smiling; a smile that look a lot happier than any she had shown before.
"It's OK...I'll wait for you," she replied. "However long you're gone....I'll be waiting." She placed her cheek on Naruto's arm now, holding it there with her hands; Naruto stood up, and due to the way Hinata had latched onto him, she was brought up too. Naruto noticed she wasn't looking at him, he guessed she just wanted to savor these few moments, and decided he owed her something for her kindness. Blushing he brought his face towards her. Hinata with her eyes closed didn't notice this advancement, until she felt something warm pressed against her beet red cheek. Opening her eyes she quickly pulled away due to shock. Naruto had no clue what to do and already doubted that he should have done that. He was breathing quickly; even faster than Hinata.
"Hinata! I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that!" He pleaded with her, but Hinata's expression remained unchanged and she stood there speechless. "I...I...I'm sorry!!! I..I better go!" Before a word could escape her mouth, Naruto had already fled the scene, leaving behind many unanswered questions in Hinata's mind. But the only one she desperately desired an answer for was; "Does this mean Naruto-kun feels the same way?"
Alone amongst the trees, the silence was suddenly broken by the chirping of birds. Hinata finally moved as she peered over at them. It was the ones she had noticed earlier, sitting next to each other; one on a branch, the other in a nest, keeping their eggs warm. She brought her hand to the cheek that Naruto had kissed, silently watching as the birds flew into the sky once again, dancing in flight. She made a wish...that she and Naruto would be together...as close as those birds.