He knew she was trying to be happy. He could see it in the way that she forced herself out of bed each morning, and in the way she would force a smile onto her face every day.

When he first saw just how much pain she felt, he would often puzzle over why she seemed to take it so much harder than everyone else. Sure, they had been something akin to friends, but never had he ever thought they were particularly close. In fact, he could fairly say that they really barely new each other, despite the experiences they had shared.

Over time, he had come to learn things about her that he had never realized before. The most important being, that she had loved – no, still loved – him. From this point of view, it had become unbearably obvious, and he wondered how he could have been so oblivious to that fact before.

It was too late now, he knew, but that didn't change the nagging guilt he felt whenever he thought about it. When he thought about how stupid he had been not to notice, when he thought of how much pain she was going through because of him...

It was amongst those thoughts that he had, incidentally, come to return her feelings. He knew that it was stupid for him to have fallen in love at this point in his existence, but there was nothing that could be done about it now. At least, he had the comfort in knowing that his feelings were returned – she, however, would never know.

And for him, that hurt the most of all.

So, here he was, finding himself watching her as she tried to be happy – forcing herself out of bed each morning, and plastering on a fake smile to please the ones that she cared for, that were still with her.

He knew that sooner or later, the mask she had created for herself would shatter. He knew all too well just how alone she truly felt now – those feelings showed in everything she did, and everything she said.

He only wished that Hinata knew that she wasn't alone, and never would be.

Naruto would always be by her side.