Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto! I do not get any profit from this fiction. I only write for fun and to improve my creativity.

Chapter one

And you're not what I asked for

If I'm honest,

I know I would give it all back

For a chance to start over,

And rewrite an ending or two

For the girl that I knew

Sara Bareilles

...

She knew what she wanted to do, but it seemed harder than what she'd thought it would be. For months, she had been thinking about it, weighing the pros and cons of her decision. She had been considering leaving the village for a while now. Yet, attachments and responsibilities were hard to break. But now there was nothing in the village left for her. Nothing worth staying for.

She had tried everything, she trained for years to become stronger, for her, for the clan, for him... But it wasn't enough. The clan's council didn't believe she was fit to be the heiress of the clan. Her father believed she was weak. The man she had blindly admired and loved for years didn't reciprocate her feelings. And the only person to ever believe in her had died, and what is worse, he died sacrificing himself to save her. Because she was useless and weak; she couldn't do anything right. She had hoped that maybe, after giving her life for Naruto and confessing her love for him, things would've being different; but they weren't. Although, he had never been mean about it, he never gave her a definite answer. Even worse, it was as if he never heard of her confession or saw her sacrifice. He just never mentioned it.

She had hoped he would at least address it after the war. She had dreamed he would tell her he felt the same way about her, or at least that he appreciated everything she had done for him. Yet, he didn't, and that's what pained her. Perhaps, if he would've acknowledged her feelings and rejected her, she would've move on knowing that she did everything she could. She could take that. That was bearable. She wouldn't be the first nor the last woman to be rejected by a man; she would be okay with it. Perhaps not in the beginning, but she would get over it. That she knew. But she couldn't live with how things were now, with Naruto pretending he never heard her confession. She couldn't live with the pitiful looks other gave her because they knew Naruto was avoiding the subject of her confession like the plague.

No, Hyūga Hinata could not bear it. It hurt.

(Flashback):

"What can I help you with, Hinata-chan?"

"H-hokage-sama, I w-would like to request a m-mission."

"A mission?"

"Yes."

She was looking down to her feet, fidgeting and poking her two index fingers together. Hinata had been nervous to come to the Hokage asking for a mission. Although, she is an excellent kunoichi, and a skillful jounin, she knows it is highly difficult the Sixth Hokage would agree giving her a mission of this rank, but she had to try. After all, it is her only hope; her only salvation.

"What kind of mission?"

"Any m-mission that w-would k-keep me away for some t-time."

"Hm… The only missions I have that could take some time away are A rank missions. Who will you be going with? Kiba and Shino?"

"Um… a-about t-that, I…" She could feel her hands sweating. Taking a deep breath she requested what she had wanted to. "I was h-hoping to go on a s-solo mission."

The Sixth Hokaga frowned, as she had expected.

"A solo mission?" He asked slowly waiting for her to confirm. She simply nodded. "I see." Hatake Kakashi took a few minute before addressing the matter. Really looking at the young girl before him. She was noticeably nervous and embarrassed. He noticed that her hands were sweaty and a small blush appeared on her cheeks. Yet, that's not what really caught his observant eyes, the girl seemed broken. Almost desperate to escape, as if she wanted to run away from something… or someone. "May I know why you want a solo mission, Hinata-chan?"

"I…I...I" She shut her eyes in concentration, looking for the courage that was quickly leaving her. She couldn't bear to live here anymore. She needed to escape, even if for a while.

"Yes?" The Hokage pressed.

"I…I always w-wanted to do a s-solo mission."

"Ah, I see Hinata-chan." He took a moment before he addressed her again. "I'm afraid I cannot grant you a solo mission." To this declaration, Hinata looked up for the first time since she started talking, eyes full of despair. It pained him to have to do this to the girl, but an A rank mission was much too dangerous for her to complete alone. He was not about to lose an excellent kunoichi and the heiress of the Hyūga clan. "You see, being a Hyūga puts you in a much higher risk. I send you alone, you would become an easy target. I know you are an exceptional kunoichi, but I cannot risk a member of the main house." He stopped for a moment allowing her to absorb the information. "Beside, I don't think Hiashi would be happy if I sent the heiress of the Hyūga clan on a solo mission."

(End of Flashback):

Hinata may not be a hundred percent certain of her decision, but she knew one thing was certain, she couldn't stay in Konoha. She continued walking toward the gates, she was only a few minutes away when she felt a very familiar chakra signal. Her heart skipped a beat, she knew the owner of the chakra well, it belong to no other than the object of her affection.

"Hinata-chan!" Called a loud voice.

"N-naruto-kun." She managed to say blushing a delicate pink.

"Where were you going?"

"I…I…I" She didn't know what to say. Everyone knew she was a horrible liar and it was very likely he would see through it. "I a-am on m-my way to a m-mission." That wasn't a lie, at least not entirely.

"A mission? Where is Kiba and Shino?" He asked looking around for them.

"Ano… T-they are not coming w-with me this time."

"A solo mission?"

"Y-yes. It's only a D-rank m-mission." She was becoming exasperated with his interrogation.

"I m-must go now N-naruto-kun." She said dismissively.

"Right! Sorry Hinata-chan." He said smiling sheepishly. "Oi! Is it okay if I walk with you to the gates? There is something I'd like to ask you."

Her heart fluttered with hope, excitement, and expectation. Was Naruto going to say what she hoped he would? Would he finally reciprocate her feelings? Would he confess his love for her? She nodded shyly not able to contain the blush in her cheeks.

"Thanks Hinata-chan!"

Hinata waited expectantly for him to speak.

"Hinata-chan, I know I should have asked you years ago, but I didn't have time before. You know, Kakashi is keeping me busy with a lot of Hokage duties."

"Y-yes" She was blushing profusely now.

"But you are one of my best friends, and I want to know this…" He said now looking at her. She lowered her eyes to the ground, unable to hold his gaze. This was it, if he said those words she didn't know if she could take it. She would certainly faint. Her heart was beating hard against her chest, making it painful to breathe. "Do you think…" He paused for a second too long and she thought her heart would burst out of her chest. "Do you think I did the right thing by allowing Sasuke-teme to leave Konoha again? I mean he was just admitted back to the village. People still don't trust him. How is he supposed to gain their trust if he never lives in Konoha?"

For a moment she thought she had heard him wrong. She was so hopeful, so sure he would ask her to be with him. She was sure that he would confess his love for her and reciprocate her feelings. She was so ready to give up leaving the village for him, and then... and then… he ruined it. Her heart sank painfully, and for a moment she thought she would faint, but not from excitement.

At least now she was a hundred percent certain of her decision.

"Hinata-chan. Are you okay?" He was holding her by the shoulder, and she felt the urge to slap his hand way; but she didn't. She couldn't. No matter what he said or didn't say, this was the man she loved. No matter what happened, she could never deny him anything. At least not while she still loved him.

"Y-yes N-naruto-kun." She looked at him with a forced smile.

"For a moment there I thought you were going to pass out." He said scratching his head with his free hand. "So, what is your answer?"

"I t-think that you did the r-right thing Naruto-kun." She said uncertain of her answer. She did not know Uchiha Sasuke one bit, and neither did she care to know him. Hinata knew little to nothing of the extent of their strange friendship. She didn't care about those things, for that had nothing to do with her. All she cared about was to get out of there before she began crying in front of him. She could feel the sting of the tears forming in her eyes. "I b-better g-go now." She said hurrying to the gates.

"O-okay Hinata-chan! Have a safe mission!" He said waving at her.

She only waved a small goodbye, too afraid that if she spoke to him again she would give in to the tears.

Upon arriving to the gates, she noticed the two ANBU at the entrance. She bowed respectfully and they nodded a greeting.

"D-rank mission." She said waiting expectantly for them to allow her to pass.

"Where is your team?" One of the ANBU asked.

"I-it's a solo m-mission."

"Scroll."

"Hai!" She said looking through her belongings in her backpack. "Here." She said handing the ANBU the scroll once she found it. He looked for the Hokage's stamp and after locating it he gave her the scroll back and allowed her to pass. "T-thank you." She bowed again. She had been lucky that the Hokage had agreed on giving her a D-rank solo mission. Although, she was supposed to come back in three days, she knew she wouldn't. Hinata would complete her mission and leave to another village, away from Konoha and away from Naruto.

Once the gates of Konoha were closed behind her, she felt the painful stab of guilt. She had betrayed her clan, her family, her father, her little sister, and her village.

Hanabi, Otou-san, please forgive me.

And... What would Kurenai-sensei, Kiba-kun and Shino-kun think of her? She was betraying them too.

Once away from the gates, she sat under a tree and wept. She wept for her earlier disappointment, for her clan, her father and sister, her friends, her sensei, her Neji-niisan, and her Konoha. She knew they would never forgive her for this, but there wasn't anything she could do about it. She had made her decision. It was time to let go of her past and start anew.

Author's Note:

Hey guys! I hope you guys liked the first chapter to this fic. Just a few announcements; 1) I will do my best to update every week on Monday. 2) If by any chance I cannot update my story one week, I will make it up to you the next week by uploading two chapters. 3) My chapters tend to be short, and I do this to prevent writers block.

Thank you so much for taking your time to read my story.