Slowly, a young woman walked silently. Her indigo-blue hair, that reached her upper back, blew slightly in the wind. Shivering slightly, she looked down. There was a rush of humiliation and fear running through her. A man with spiked brown hair and crimson marks on his cheeks led her, before stopping, and turning to her. A faint smile was on his face.

"Say what you've been wanting to say for seven years. Say it now to him, or you'll regret it later..." he mumbled slightly. A dog barked a short distance away. It's barks were loud, and complaining from lonliness. The man's smile was still painted on his face, as he turned around and walked towards the barking of the canine.

"W-what to say? Or... h-how to s-say it anyways..." the woman whispered lightly, as the image of a young man appeared in her head. His blonde hair was spiked every-which-way, appearing rather messy, and he had lines on his cheeks.

The man's mouth moved, the words childish as ever, "hey! What's up?" he looked concerned, but still managed to have a kid look to him.

"W-well..." the woman murmered, looking away towards a monument with several heads, seeing the same childish face in it as the one she had been looking at.

It was so cute, like a forever preserved image of a childish hero. Somebody who made a difference and everyone loved him for it. But he wasn't a child, either. No. Neither was she. Seven years, she had been watching the same man as a boy. Always a distance away. Always so scared to tell him how she felt. He was always there. Always cheerful. Always... alone... She had seen him get older, and that boy hadn't been so alone.

No, he had trained so hard, with her always keeping three feet behind him, keeping hidden in the shadows. Just so that she wouldn't embarrass herself. Everyone hated him. Everyone made fun of him. Everyone... but her. She watched him, and adored him. But she could never tell. No. She had always been too shy. Too shy to be his friend. Too shy to tell people to stop teasing him. Too shy to make a difference. After all these years, they stopped making fun of him. They didn't really hate him either. They did begin to accept him. They accepted him for who he was. Never knowing his secrets. Never knowing the problem deep down. He was always so cheerful, they never knew the demon he was fighting inside. Then, he stopped being a misfit. He managed to help, and people liked him for that.

"..N-Naruto..." the woman started, her eyes still facing down, a flower was gripped tightly in her hands.

The worse part is that she felt like yelling at herself. She could have stopped people from hating him! She could have stopped them from teasing him. She could have stopped them from everything! She could have walked up to him, talked to him, became his good friend. She didn't. She made him suffer the feeling of being alone. It was her fault. Why? Why did she feel so horrible? It was all her fault. She could have helped. Help him feel less alone. Help him be happier. Help him... forever.

She wanted to help him now. She couldn't. It wasn't a time she could help. He was fine now. Happy now. Happy without her. Without her there. Without her watching. Just... happy with her away from him.

The stupid boy. He had been so oblivious to what she had wanted to say to him. So oblivious to the clues. The hints. He never noticed! How could he not notice her always watching him? Watching him train. Watching him eat. Watching him talk. Just... to see his face. She had kept away from him for so long. Especially after seeing his face last time. So upset. So dissapointed. Dissapointed at her. Disapointed with her. It was her fault. Nothing could change it. He saw his dream come to life, then happiness shatter to bits.

When she had told him Kiba had proposed to her, his face seemed to drop. Only for a second, but she noticed it. She never told him what her answer had been. She didn't love Kiba enough, and couldn't go through with it, even though she knew she could be marrying somebody she could be with forever. She needed to be with somebody she couldn't live without. Naruto.

The only person she couldn't go on without. The only person she thought of every minute of every waking hour. Then dreamt of him in her sleep. Everything she did she wanted to do was to be done with him. With the boy she'd always loved so much she couldn't handle it. With the one that she missed even if she only hadn't seen him for a day. Who she had to see now. She wanted to see him now. But.. she couldn't. How could she look at him now? The look that had been on his face that day. The mouth that parted, only to say nothing. No congrats. No asking what her reply was. No telling him that she wasn't really going to marry the dog boy.

How was she going to talk to him? Tell him everything she wanted all wrapped up? To say it quickly. Briefly. Easily. She knew a few simple words. Something to say sorry. To say how much she cared. To say every thought on her mind all wrapped into a little bundle and handed to him.

"N-Naruto... I..." she began again. Her grip became so tight on the flowers that it broke in half, and shortly after a warm crimson colored liquid was felt tainting the green stem. Tainting all her thoughts. Her hopes. Her wishes and dreams. Naruto... Naruto...

"...I-I..." she tried to continue, but couldn't find the words.

She had been up all night. Her sleep had been lacking. Words would never come out easily. When she wanted to say them last year, they never came. Was it too late now? Too late to tell him? Would he hear what she had to say? Her thoughts had been on the fox-boy all night long. All night she had been thinking about last year, two days ago. How she had been taking him to a park to celebrate his birthday two days early, so that he'd be able to be free on his birthday to be with his friends. Nobody would have thought that he wouldn't celebrate it as they had hoped. She had hoped to tell him when she took him out. But she never gained the courage. She had enough to get a picture with him, which she had stared at every night this week. All she could think about was that she wanted to visit him every year on this day, but how she couldn't last year. How he had been far too busy to even day anything but her name once before dissapearing. She could be with him this year, but she wouldn't celebrate the boy's birthday.

"N-Naruto...I-I... L..." she cut off. Her milky white eyes began to fill with tears. He'd ask her why she was crying. To cry for no reason. He was a hero! He saved the entire village from the demon fox that tried to destroy it! He was just as great as the fourth hokage! Even better! They even put his face on the monument. He was a hokage! The seventh! Who could ask for more?

She could. She could ask for him to be with her. Ask for him to never leave her side, and hold her tightly never letting go. To protect her from everything, and forgive anything she said. For never speaking up sooner. For... everything... just... everything...

"Come on Hinata! I want to get you home before it's too late! You're house is a short distance, but I have to get home and feed Akamaru, and that's further away! Hurry!" the voice shouted, a dog's bellowing bark following shortly after.

The woman nodded slightly, not shifting her eyes from the ground.

"N-Naruto... I...I l-love... y-y... you..." she murmered softly, dropping the flower and turning away. A year ago, the kyuubi broke loose, and she had to help Naruto. She had helped him as much as she could, but never got to say those words. It felt better to get it off her chest, but her heart was heavy, since she'd never figure out his responce. No, she wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it. Would he embrace her? Or would he frown and tell her that she had just made a fool of herself?

As left with the man she refused, she took a glance back at the old tree where Naruto hugged her goodbye two days before his birthday. Where he had laid when he fell back at Kyuubi's force, and where he managed to beat Kyuubi shortly after with a new jutsu. Where he and Hinata had last seen each other. Where a large cross stood, with the flower in front of it, with the words:

'Naruto. The one who entered my heart. The great hokage who finally defeated Kyuubi. The one who broke my heart, while fighting Kyuubi to the end. Finally, after all these years, he'sbecome accepted, and respected.'