This time, this is just before Naruto briefly returns to Konoha after Sasuke was beaten up by Itachi.
Once again, here's were I take the time to thank my proof-reader; the lovely TimeShifter16!
She was standing in an open field, with nobody around to bother her. It was another hot day; even the insects were basking in the heat. Breathing steadily, and with her eyes closed, she raised her hands to her chest and formed a seal.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she shouted. Instantly, smoke and dust flew up around her. Panting slightly, she slowly opened her eyes. She was greeted by two clones that were smiling at her. She smiled and then let herself fall backwards, landing on the dry grass, which softened her fall as she hit the earth. As she gasped for air, the clones were dispelled in a cloud of smoke; she was unable to keep the clones active due to her exhaustion.
"Finally....two clones..." she said, sighing contently as she recovered from the hours of training she had spent trying to improve the technique she had been taught by the boy she loved; Uzumaki Naruto. It had taken her a whole month to be able to create even one shadow clone; she hadn't expected it to be so difficult. "No...wonder it's... a forbidden technique." She looked up at the deep blue sky, her thoughts turning to him, the person she was working so hard for. She smiled to herself, "Naruto-kun.....I hope you're safe." She giggled as she imagined his grinning face in the sky. "Come back soon!" She sighed, still smiling.The days continued to pass. Hinata was dealing with Naruto's absence better than she expected to. She had decided that if she kept herself busy, it would keep her mind occupied, and prevent her thoughts straying to him. She was currently relaxing at the village's fountain, recovering from the day's training. The combination of the cool breeze and the soothing humidity created by the water made the perfect spot to revitalize. This peacefulness was soon shattered by a girl running frantically down the street, the pink hair immediately identifying her. Before Sakura even got to Hinata she was already screaming.
"Hinata! Have you seen Sasuke-kun?" Sakura had finally reached Hinata. Struggling for air, she continued. "He left...the hos..hospital." She paused again to regain her composure, and then finally finished her sentence. "I think he's probably gone after Naruto!" The volume of Sakura's voice made Hinata edge backwards, trying to create room between them.
"I...I haven't seen him!" she replied. Hearing this, Sakura immediately ran off. Hinata just watched her leave, wondering what it was Naruto saw in her. "I wonder if Naruto-kun is OK..." She pondered this as she walked towards the village's main gate. When she arrived, she sat on a nearby bench on the outside of the Konoha perimeter, gazing down the road at the sunset. Sakura just mentioning Naruto's name earlier had brought him to the front of her mind, and the more she thought about it, the more painful it felt. She was slumped on the bench, praying for Naruto to return. Through tear-filled eyes she looked up, and saw two figures approaching. She dismissed them as other ninja returning from a successful mission. However, she wiped the tears that had built up away, and focused on them. She gasped, bringing her hand to her mouth. Even though they were so far away, her Byakugan allowed her perfect sight of them; it was Naruto! He was traveling with some strange, white-haired man, who was carrying Sasuke. She stood up from the bench, slowly walking towards them. She saw Naruto running in her direction, then heard a cry of,
"Hinata-chan!" She stopped and smiled as he reached her.
"Naruto-kun...you've come back already?" she asked.
"Ahh...not exactly," he replied, looking over his shoulder at the white-haired person who was walking towards them. She looked at Sasuke, who appeared to be unconscious. Naruto looked back at her. "Sasuke got injured...we had to bring him back." The white haired man looked at her and proceeded to walk straight past them. "That guy's Jiraiya...he's been training me; that's why I had to leave the village."
"Training?" She smiled. "So what has he taught you?" Hearing this, Naruto sighed.
"Absolutely nothing...except that he's a complete pervert!" Naruto said laughing, causing her to giggle.
"I was training with the shadow clone technique while you were gone," she told him. "I wanted to be a lot better by the time you got back....but you returned soon than I expected." She giggled again. This had an effect on Naruto, causing him to smile. He liked the way Hinata was behaving.
"Show me?" he asked Hinata, causing her to blush.
"Umm...I'm not really all that good yet." she responded, and started fumbling with her hands.
"Come on, show me how many clones you can make!" he said trying to encourage her. She positioned her hands to form the seal for the technique, and tried to control her breathing, even though she was embarrassed.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" she called out, creating smoke that engulfed her and Naruto. As it cleared, Naruto could see that Hinata was dismayed. He looked around to see another Hinata looking at him, both looked tearful.
"I...was able to...make two a couple ....of days ago," she said as her lips trembled. Naruto assumed that she must have been working hard everyday, and was disappointed after only managing to produce one clone. The duplicate Hinata disappeared; Hinata looked at Naruto, and with sad eyes, sighed. "Sorry." Naruto walked closer to her.
"Hinata...it doesn't matter, you don't have to prove yourself to me," he told her, putting his hands on her shoulders, to which she responded by looking away, blushing. "Hinata-chan...I had some time to think while I was gone...I saw that old guy constantly chasing women like a pervert...I thought about all the time I spent chasing Sakura-chan, just because she's pretty..." He paused; Hinata unhappily sighed a little, noticing this. Naruto raised his head, staring into space. "I finally understand....it's not love I feel for Sakura-chan...I think Jiraiya said its something called lust.... but the way I felt around her is nothing compared..." he looked back down at Hinata, who was now gazing up at him intently. This made Naruto blush, and now he looked away, taking a deep breath. to the way I feel around you.....Hinata...I..."
"Naruto....kun?" she asked, desperately wanting to hear what he had to say. Naruto looked deep into her eyes.
"I......" Naruto continued to stutter. He closed his eyes, trying to force himself to get the words out; however, this created a long silence. Finally he opened his eyes. "I..love you....Hinata-chan....I'm certain of it." He broke away from Hinata and turned his back to her as he breathed heavily. Hinata was stunned; only in her dreams had he told her those words. "This must be another dream," she thought to herself. The aching and joy in her heart, on the other hand, convinced her that this was reality. As she was trying to gather her thoughts, Naruto was becoming increasingly paranoid. He saw this silence as rejection from Hinata; from his experience, when people didn't like what he said, they became quiet.
"Naruto!" a booming voice said from behind the two. Turning around, they saw it was the white-haired pervert Naruto was traveling with. "Naruto, we have to get going. Sasuke's safe at the hospital; we're done here." He once again walked straight past them.
"Yeah..." Naruto quietly responded. Naruto started following him; however, he stopped as Hinata placed her hand on his shoulder. But despite her deep desire to tell him how she felt, her mouth would just not move. Naruto had had enough of this silence; he pulled away from her hand and ran after Jiraiya. This left Hinata alone, and all she could do was watch as the person she cared for so much walked away with pain in his heart; and despite all this, she could still not bring herself to run after him, or even call out the words she so desperately wanted to. All she could do was be the one left behind as tears streamed from her eyes, as she repeated the words she wanted to say over and over in her mind.
"Naruto-kun....I love you too!"