A/N: I want to thank everyone who has been reviewing. The last chapter put me over the 500 mark, which is pretty cool. I really don't keep that close a look on the counter, so it was a pleasant surprise when I opened my account the other day and saw that the counter had went over the 500 mark.
Disclaimer: Obligatory 'I do not own Naruto' statement here.
"Kanpai!"
About the same time Naruto is being slapped in a faraway village, Team Kurenai is celebrating the success of their recent mission. Yuhi Kurenai looks over at the three shinobi sitting before her, and thinks back to the time they had celebrated the success of their first mission together in this very restaurant. "I just cannot say enough, how proud I am of each and every one of you tonight. We completed that mission in near record time."
Kiba pumps his fist into the air victoriously. "There was no way those guys stood a chance against a perfectly meshed team like ours. Stealing stuff from your boss's warehouse and then selling it on the black market is a pretty stupid way to try and make money."
Hinata nods in agreement. "Yes, and once Shino planted female beetles inside some of the boxes it was so easy to find where those men were taking the stuff they were stealing."
Shino nods in acceptance to Hinata. "Yes, but it was you that made our attack an easy task. Once we reached the building where the boxes were being hidden, you were easily able to discern exactly how many people were inside the building, and its exact layout. Without you and your byakugan the attack would have been much more difficult." Shino holds up his cup in salute to Hinata, who blushes at the praise.
"I tell you the best part for me was watching those guys scatter like rabbits after Akumaru and I busted down the front door and rushed into the place. That flimsy door was no match for our Fang-Over-Fang attack, right Akumaru." The large ninkin gives out a loud, happy bark.
Kiba drains the last of his tea and then slams the empty cup loudly on the table before he starts laughing. "Man, the looks on those guys' faces after they tried to rush out the back and actually thought they could take out Hinata was priceless. People will be picking up pieces of teeth out of the dirt around that building for years to come."
"W-W-Well, Kurenai-sensei was the one who took out their leader." Hinata covers her mouth to unsuccessfully stifle a giggle. "He climbed on top of those crates, pulled up that tarp and curled up like he actually thought he was going to bed." She curls up her fists under her chin, opens her mouth a little, and closes her eyes as if she has fallen asleep. Her tiny snores sounds so much like a kitten's purr that Akumara lets out a loud bark, which causes a loud round of laughter from everyone.
Kurenai holds up her cup in a salute to Hinata. "I do believe that is the first joke you have ever told to us, Hinata." She laughs as the young woman blushes brightly. "It suits you very well, you should cut lose like that more often." The guilty smile on Hinata's face leaves no doubt that they are not the first people to see the playful side that Hinata has kept hidden all these years. 'Naruto, you truly are a miracle worker sometimes, I don't know how you do it, but I owe you one.'
The whole team shares more laughter and more praise for each of their teammates till their meal is nearly complete. Just as the dessert is being served Kurenai stands up and bows to her students. "It has been my great pleasure to have been your sensei all of these years, even when I was out of action during my pregnancy I never stopped keeping tabs on your progress with the Hokage. You have all done so very well." They all raise their teacups in another toast.
"Kanpai!"
"Sadly, that was our last official mission together as Team Kurenai." Kurenai waits as the shock of her announcement goes through her soon to be former team, and she holds back her own tears to try and bolster her now former students. Her heart feels like it is going to break as Akumaru rubs his head up consolingly against Hinata, who presses her face sadly against the large dog's furry neck.
"Each of you proved yourselves during the war, as well as the years that have followed. Now it is time for you little pups to leave the den and begin the next stage of your lives, like I did when my first team was disbanded." She smiles at Shino as he nods at her with his silent strength, and then at Kiba whose nose is sniffing just a little. Her biggest smile is for Hinata, who is doing her best to be strong when the look in her eyes says that all she wants right now is a big reassuring hug. 'Too bad Naruto is still away on that mission, she could really use his presence tonight to help bolster her confidence. For a while we were more of a family to her than her own clan, especially after Hiashi announced that he was no longer going to waste his time training her anymore. Thankfully things at home did improve, due in some part to a certain knucklehead, and Hiashi came to see that his initial judgment of Hinata was premature.'
Kurenai sits back down so that she can tell the others what her own future holds. "I am going to be taking a teaching position at the academy. The Fifth Hokage has decided that we need to try and help those students who show exceptional skills in certain areas, while they are still in the academy. This way everyone will not just be getting the same generic education and relying on their clans for special training, because not every academy student comes from a large established clan. Also, those that would be bored by a standard lesson in let's say genjutsu, could get some more advance training before graduation. In the end, graduating students will be more prepared for a life as a shinobi of the Leaf Village than any graduating before."
They all nod in agreement at the wisdom of allowing academy students more of a chance to excel in their own gifted areas, and not just in their clans special abilities. "This will also allow me to be at home for my daughter as she grows up." Kurenai smiles brightly at the thought of her daughter Mirai, and now being able to be there for her at every milestone as she grows up.
As they see Kurenai's face light up as she mentions her daughter, none of them can really begrudge their sensei's decision to retire from active field duty and take up a job that will allow her to work inside the village.
"That leads me to my next topic." Kurenai reaches into her pouch and pulls out three scrolls. "When the Hokage offered me the teaching position she also mentioned what she has planned for each of you, and asked me for my input before finalizing her plans."
She reaches the first scroll to Shino. "You passed the jōnin exam at the end of last year, and I am proud to tell you that the Hokage has decided to assign you a group of genin from this year's graduating class. The group will be primarily a reconnaissance type team, built around stealth and the ability to gather information with minimal contact with the enemy. That does not mean your team should not be combat capable just in case one or more of you are discovered during a mission and combat is unavoidable, your teams combat skills will be primarily medium and long range types."
Shino nods his head in acceptance of his promotion and the team assignment. "I will do my best sensei."
Kurenai hands the second scroll over to Kiba. "You have also been assigned a team of genin since you also passed the jōnin exam. The team the Hokage has put together for you to lead is a light assault group. Your team's primary role will be to close in on a target quickly and attack them before the enemy can form a proper defense. Secondarily, your team's other role will be a pursuit squad based on closing in on a fleeing enemy and harass them till they have no choice but to stop running and face your squad. That harassment will allow other, slower pursuing squads a chance to catch up with the enemy and help you quickly bring them down if needed."
Kiba puffs out his chest confidently. "We'll chase them down and take them out like they are nothing but a bunch of rabbits, right Akumaru." The enormous dog gives out a loud bark in agreement.
When Kurenai turns her gaze towards her remaining student, Hinata begins to nervously touch her fingers together while looking slightly downwards at the table guiltily. She had not taken the jōnin exam near the end of the year, even though Kurenai as well as the rest of her team had tried their best to get her to at least try. Hinata had used the excuse that she was too busy working with her father, learning what her duties will be when she becomes the next head of the Hyuga clan, to not take the exam. In truth she was scared, scared that she would not be good enough to be a proper sensei to a group of genin. It was tough enough being responsible for the lives of her teammates when they are on missions, but the added responsibility of being responsible for a group of young lives frightened Hinata so very much. Just like having to be responsible for the well-being and lives for her entire clan one day causes her to have many sleepless nights lately.
Kurenai has to smile as she sees the young woman falling back on her old habits. "As for you Hinata, the Hokage has assigned you to a very prestigious position. One that I think will challenge you, but in time I believe that you will find that you are highly suited for this position." She holds out the final scroll to Hinata, and after it is taken from her hand Kurenai lifts up her cup. "Let's hear it for the newest member of the diplomatic division of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."
As Hinata sits there looking completely shocked, the others lift their cups to her in salute before taking a drink.
"Wow that is such great news, Hinata." Kiba reaches over and puts an arm around her shoulder to give her a friendly hug.
Shino nods in agreement. "That is such a great honor, Hinata. The only group harder to be assigned to is the ANBU Black Ops."
Hinata finally shakes out of her shock and looks from one face to the next and sees that each one of them is genuinely happy for her about the assignment. "B-B-But, I have trouble speaking to people I don't know, a-a-and most times I just sit in the background quietly hoping that nobody will notice that I am around. I-I-I really don't see how I am suited to be a diplomat for the village." Hinata almost laughs out loud at the irony of receiving a promotion to such a crucial post after working so hard to avoid the stressful job of being a jōnin. 'A diplomat has a hundred times the responsibility of being a sensei. If I do poorly I could cause a major incident, maybe even cause a war and put countless lives at risk. I think… I think I am going to be sick.'
"One key element to successful diplomacy is being able to sit quietly and observe the people you are dealing with, instead of always being the one doing the talking." Everyone's eyes, including Akumaru's, drift towards Kiba.
Kiba gives an indignant sniff as he sits up straight. "Everyone knows exactly where I stand on an issue and I am fine with that. If they don't like it they can kiss my…" He pauses and looks over at Hinata for a moment. "…butt."
Kurenai laughs at Kiba's antics as she turns her attention back to Hinata. "Actually Hinata, your father was the person that recommended you to the Hokage for the open position in the diplomatic division." Kurenai nods as Hinata's eyes go wide in surprise. "He said that in light of recent events that the diplomatic division would be a perfect place for you to continue working for the good of the Leaf Village."
Hinata's head feels like it is spinning at hearing that her father had suggested her for the position. 'I know he has changed his mind and I am next in line again to lead the Hyuga clan, but I never expected him to want me to become a member of the diplomatic division. Some other members of our clan are part of this division; otou-sama is even the head of the diplomatic division, and it has been a point of pride for our clan that a Hyuga has been a part of every major treaty signed by the Leaf Village since almost the founding of the village. The downside of the position is that diplomats often spend months and sometimes years away from the village working out deals.' A sudden chill goes through her body as an ulterior motive for his generous suggestion crosses her mind. 'He said in light of recent events. Could otou-sama want me promoted to the diplomatic division for a selfish reason after catching me and Naruto… embracing each other on the practice field?' Hinata feels a twisting pain in her stomach and has to fight to keep from vomiting up her recent meal as the worst possible scenario now dominates her thoughts. "Could otou-sama… be trying to get me sent away… away from Naruto-kun?'
Hinata blinks and realizes that everyone is looking at her expectantly. "Thank you very much for congratulating me, I really don't know what to say." She bows her head to hide her face as her heart screams out, 'Please otou-sama, please don't have me sent away from him now that I nearly have everything I have ever wanted. I'll do anything else you ask of me, just don't send me away on one of those extended diplomatic missions.' She takes a cleansing breath before raising her head back up with the sincerest fake smile she can muster on her face. "I promise to do my best in the diplomatic division, I will make you proud sensei."
It didn't take Akumaru's concerned whine for everyone to know that something about her new assignment was upsetting Hinata. Kurenai gives the two boys a look that lets them know to be quiet, and that she will get to the bottom of Hinata's strange reaction.
Kiba decides that it is time to kick this celebration up a notch to try and quell the sudden dark mood trying to interrupt their celebration. He looks over at the waitress and signals her for a bottle of good sake. "That's enough of toasting with tea for tonight, I don't care even if the tea is the expensive stuff from the Land of Whatever." He waves his hand about dismissively. "We are celebrating our recent success, and toasting to our future achievements. That requires a toast with some of the really good stuff."
After the waitress brings over a tray with four cups and a bottle he fills each cup and reaches one over to a silently staring Hinata. "Take it, I won't take no for an answer tonight, you got me Hinata. So join us in at least one toast, okay."
Hinata just stares down at the warm liquid, remembering how strong the liquid was when she drank for the first time at her birthday party. She also remembers the stories of Naruto after he left the village, drinking excessively to try and drown his pain. Fortunately, maybe, she never saw Naruto when he was drunk, but she had overheard Tenten talking to Ino once when they thought she wasn't around and heard a few bits of his reckless behavior during that time. Would she have been able to help him then, or would the sight of seeing him so hurt and drowning himself in sake and misery been too much for her the bear. 'I would have tried to help. I would have given him anything he needed to take away his pain. Instead, he tried to find what he thought he wanted in the bottom of a bottle of sake, or in the arms of one of his fangirls. Girls that never really cared what he wanted or really needed to make him happy.'
She blinks her eyes to push away those thoughts and watches as two tears drop down into her sake. A tear of regret for the time lost while Naruto was gone, feeling lost and alone. Another is a tear of fear that soon it may be her, far away from the one she loves, feeling lost and alone.
She looks up at the others with a smile filled with the irony of the moment on her face. 'Somehow it almost seems fitting that I am toasting to my future with my own tears.'
Later, after the celebration is over and Kurenai had walked her home, Hinata is pacing about her room looking over at the flowers Naruto had ordered to be delivered when her team returned from their mission. The bouquet of spring flowers has filled the entire room with their delicate aroma. Ino had delivered the flowers herself this morning, and the two of them had happily chatted for a little while about their recent missions and their boyfriends, before she had to return to her family's flower shop.
As Hinata looks at the flowers she wonders where Naruto is now and if his mission is going well. Will he be home soon, or will there be problems like his last mission that requires him to delay his return. 'I hope not, Naruto-kun I really could use you here tonight. You always seem to be able help me find the best of any situation. Even if you don't say anything, just your presence seems to help me focus on what I need to do to get what I really want.'
Deciding to try and go to bed early, hoping that Kurenai is correct and things may not seem as bleak in the morning light, Hinata starts laying out her bedclothes. A soft knocking at the door interrupts her thoughts on how best to broach the subject of her new assignment with her father in the morning. "Yes?"
The voice on the other side of the door sounds hesitant as it speaks. "Hyuga-sama, there is someone at the main gate asking to have an audience with you this evening."
"Really, who would want to speak with me this time of night?" Hinata thinks for a moment and comes to the only logical conclusion. 'It has to be Naruto-kun, he has gotten back from his mission and has come to see me as soon as he could.' She rushes over to her mirror to make sure that she looks presentable for her boyfriend. 'I don't want to look like I have been crying and make him worried. I'll talk with Naruto-kun about my new assignment in the morning over breakfast, and I am sure that I can come up with the best way to talk with otou-sama and learn the truth about my new assignment.' She literally skips over and leans down to smell the flowers in the vase and happily inhales their aroma. 'I am so glad you are home Naruto-kun. I have missed you so much.'
The servant pauses as if hesitant to answer her question. "The woman at the gate says her name is Haruno Sakura, and she says that she would like to discuss an important matter with you tonight. She seemed quite insistent on speaking with you, Hyuga-sama."
Hinata can only stand there dumbfounded at hearing that name spoken out loud. 'What? Oh no, I didn't think my day could possible get any worse, but it just did.'
A little while later Hinata is sitting in her father's seat in the Hyuga Clan's reception hall waiting for the guards to bring in the petitioner. She feels that given whom the petitioner is, that dealing with her would be best done from a position of authority. Actually, she had originally thought to deny Sakura's request for an audience. 'I really am not in the right emotional state to be talking with her tonight. I have enough on my mind wondering what otou-sama might be trying to do with this promotion he has recommended me for, but this confrontation has been coming for some time and it will have to be dealt with eventually.' Hinata sighs wearily at the whole mess. 'Now that she has finally come to my home, it is best that I just get this over with before Sakura decides to come calling sometime when Naruto-kun is actually visiting. It would be embarrassing to have something happen between her and Naruto-kun right there in front of Hanabi-chan and otou-sama, especially if Sakura was to bring Sasuke along. Otou-sama has made it clear his feelings about the Hokage letting the 'Uchiha traitor', as he says, back inside the village.'
A knock at the door brings Hinata out of her thoughts and she quickly brushes her hands down her robes and puts on her best impassive Hyuga face. "Yes?"
Kira partially slides open the shoji and bows his head deeply in greetings. "Hyuga-sama, one Haruno Sakura has come and asked to have an audience with you this evening, do you wish to speak with her tonight, or shall I turn her away?" It was all formality really since Hinata has already agreed to meet with the petitioner, but the Hyuga Clan has always been a stickler for tradition right down to the last detail.
Putting all her etiquette training to use Hinata pushes aside her desire to tell the guard, 'Just throw her out and tell her not to return.' Instead she uses the annoyance that Sakura would dare come into her home to purge the usual tentativeness from her voice and to project an authoritative tone. "I will grant her an audience, tonight." The last word was said with just enough inflection to make it clear that this would the last time she will be granting Sakura an audience in her home.
The guard bows again and opens the shoji further to reveal the kneeling form of Haruno Sakura. Naruto's former teammate has both palms on the floor and her head bowed till her forehead is nearly touching the polished wooden floor; Sakura's bright pink hair is spilling down and covering any view of her face. When Sakura speaks her voice is hesitant and lacking its usual confident, vibrant strength. "Thank you for seeing me tonight, Hinata-san."
"In my home you will address me as Hyuga-sama, unless I ask you to do otherwise." Hinata watches as the girl's pink hair twitches for a moment in reaction to her declaration. "You may enter Haruno-san."
Sakura stands, but keeps her head bowed as she enters the room and kneels on the mat in front of the dais that Hinata is sitting upon. 'This is it, you have tried to accidently bump into Naruto, and even gone as far as waiting outside the gate of the Hyuga compound hoping to catch him leaving, but he always seems to be able to avoid me somehow. Hinata is nearly my last hope without getting Lady Tsunade involved in the whole mess. I tried to be friendly and wave when I saw Hinata recently, trying to show that I was not holding a grudge for how she blocked me from talking to Naruto at the New Year's Festival. Unfortunately, she was so distracted I don't think she really even recognized that it was me who was waving.'
'So, I came here tonight to give it another try, especially since Ino told me that Kiba and the others had gotten back from their mission yesterday and that they were all in great spirits. I was hoping after an evening of celebration, and the bouquet Ino had delivered from Naruto earlier, that Hinata's mood was going to be more accommodating tonight. Maybe Kiba got drunk at the celebration and ruined the whole night by doing something stupid again. If he has screwed things up for me, I swear dating my best friend or not, I'm going to…'
Hinata, feeling anxious to have this encounter over with, suppresses the nervous clinching in her stomach and breaks the uneasy silence that has descended on the room. "Why have you come here to my home Haruno?" She intentionally left off the honorific to further show that she really does not want to talk with Sakura. "What sort of request have you come to ask of me tonight?" Hinata herself is taken by surprise at the cold detachment she hears in her own voice. 'I sound so much like otou-sama just now. It's almost like it is him speaking though me at this moment. It makes me wonder what he was like before he became the head of the clan. Was he always so serious, or was he nosey like Hanabi-chan, or maybe even a little timid like I am?'
Sakura physically reacts to the cold tone of Hinata's voice, and seems to almost shrink as Hinata speaks. 'I was really hoping that this was going to be easy, but I guess I don't really deserve easy now do I.' This encounter was not starting off as well as she was hoping. After her previous interactions with Hinata, Sakura has noticed that Hinata has been at least cordial, even if it was coldly distant, when Naruto was not present. So at least Hinata is willing to speak with her, and not be overly protective, when he is not around. 'I was stupid to try and publically push things as far as I did at the festival, and in the end I only upset Hinata further. I should have come to her before the festival and asked for help. If I had, then maybe things might have turned out as I had hoped.'
If she could at least get Hinata to listen to her side of what happened between her and Naruto that night, then maybe Hinata would at least grant her one small favor. So yes, she is finally going to tell someone what happened that night and bear her soul. If anyone deserves to be the first and know the truth, it should be Hinata. Hinata is the person who has pulled him back from the brink and by all accounts brought back the person he was before, maybe even better than the boy they knew at the end of the war. 'It is like the old saying; that it takes the love for a woman to get a stubborn man to do something he doesn't really want to do. So here I am, sucking up my pride and asking for help from the girl who basically threatened me at the festival.'
Sakura takes an uneasy breath and lets it out slowly. "I have come to ask a favor from you, Hyuga-sama."
Hinata is sure what kind if favor Sakura has come to ask, but she is not going to make this easy for her to ask. "Really, what sort of favor could I possibly be able to grant the Hokage's prized student?"
Sakura looks up at Hinata, her large green eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "Naruto." She says the name with such a delicate and quavering voice that it nearly brings tears to Hinata's eyes to hear someone say his name so reverently. The tone of Sakura's voice reminds Hinata of her own voice whispering his name so many times in longing. All those times she had watched him when he was unaware, and all she had wanted was for him to notice her and acknowledge her presence. All that time he had been gone away from the village and she wondered how he was doing and would say a prayer for his safety as she fell asleep each night.
'How dare Sakura say his name like that in my presence, after what happened?' Hinata can feel her muscles tightening, preparing to stand up and confront the pink-haired kunoichi that had dared to say his name with such… affection. Hinata has to take a moment and look away from Sakura to regain control of her emotions before she can speak again.
"And just exactly what do you want with Uzumaki-san?" She had to use his formal name because she could never utter the name 'Naruto' with the detached formalness that this moment requires. Plus, she wants to hint to Sakura that she should not speak so informally when talking to her about Uzumaki Naruto.
"I… I want to… no I need to talk with him, Hyuga-sama. If just for a few moments, so that I can try to apologize for what I did… for what I said to him." Sakura's facial expression becomes desperate and tears start to trickle their way down her cheeks. "I… I know… I know that I hurt him…"
Hinata could not hold back her anger any longer. She leans forward and slams the palms of her hands on the floor in front of where she is seated on a cushion. She glares at Sakura with an intensity that she did not know she could ever possess. "You did not hurt him, you broke him, Haruno! You broke what no other person has ever been able break, not even the death of Jiraiya had hurt him more than what you did to him that night."
Sakura is shocked that the person, who everyone knows is the gentlest person in the entire village, could look at her with such raw anger. 'Before she was acting very protective, but this is far more intense.' She bows her head till her long pink hair falls around her face like a curtain. Even with Sakura's hair hiding her face, Hinata can tell Sakura is crying by the tears falling upon the polished wood floor. "So… he has… he has really told you what happened? Please Hyuga-sama, just let me tell you my side of the story." Sakura raises her clasped hands above her head in a pleading motion. "Just let me explain before you make your final decision."
Hinata resumes her seated position and glares for a moment, daring Sakura to look up at her again. "You don't need to explain anything to me about that night Haruno, I was there!" She realizes that she had spoken louder than she had intended, and takes a moment to slow the beating of her heart and bring her emotions more under control. 'I need to calm down or the guards will come running into the room in my defense.'
Sakura is embarrassed that not only does Hinata know the truth, but of all people to have witnessed what had happened, it had to be her. 'Of course she was there, Hinata was never far away from Naruto whenever we were home from a mission, but he was just too dense to notice. Now the reason Hinata has been so cold to me for so long makes complete sense.' Sakura had come planning to tell Hinata her side of the story and hopefully her friend, former friend now, would help to heal the rift she has caused between herself and Naruto. But that chance is gone and she can feel any hope of repairing the damage she had done, all but disappear. She begins to feel herself curl from the bowing position into a kneeling fetal-like position as a sense of hopelessness begins to fill her soul.
Hinata looks down at Sakura and can feel part of her wanting to rush down from the dais and give comfort to the young woman that she had been friends with not really that long ago. That desire was held in check as memories of that night come unbidden to her mind. "I was there when the ANBU took him away. I could see in Kakashi's eyes the fear and sadness that he might have to harm or even attempt to kill his student, his sensei's only child, and I believe it was love that stayed his hand. I am not sure why the fighting abruptly stopped, because Shino had blocked my view while Kiba wrapped his arms around me and held me while I cried." Hinata stands up and the two kunoichi look at each other with tears now flowing down both their cheeks. "I swore at that moment that if he died that night, that you, and then I, would soon follow him into the next life."
Sakura could see in the girl's eyes the conviction of her words, and in reality if Hinata had not killed her she might have taken her own life anyways, if things had gone as badly as they seemed that night.
Hinata lets the weight of her words sink in as she retakes her seat. "So please tell me how helping you to talk with him is in his, or even my best interest. I see only your selfish need to ease your guilty conscience. He is happy now, we… are happy now." Hinata activates her byakugan and watches Sakura intently. "I want to know the truth Haruno."
"I…I…I miss him, Hyuga-sama. I miss his voice, I miss his big goofy smile and how his eyes seem to sparkle when he laughs." Sakura brushes a tear soaked strand of hair from her eyes. "I miss how he always smells like ramen and how that smell used to irritate me so badly sometimes. It's like he bathed in the stuff you know, or maybe he just didn't bother bathing enough. I don't know.' Sakura smiles for a moment and then begins to sob, and she keeps talking between each sniff.
"I miss feeling his presence when he is nearby. I have always felt that as long as I could sense his presence that everything would turn out okay." Sakura places one hand over her heart and squeezes tightly. "Lately, it feels like there are storm clouds out, obscuring the sun and making things look so… bleak. I miss the feeling of that sunlight, Hyuga-sama."
SNIFF
"I miss listening to him fight with Lady Tsunade. I want to hear him complain again about how lame the mission he was just assigned is going to be. I want to hear him brag again about some new jutsu he has developed."
SNIFF
"I need to hear him say how he is going to be the Hokage one day." Sakura covers her face with her hands and doesn't even try to hold back her tears. "I want to see him walking around in that stupid looking Hokage hat and bragging how he finally made his dream come true."
Hinata watches and listens to Sakura, trying to not let the girl's words reach her heart as she is reminded that she thought nearly those same words when he was away on missions trying to stay away from the village. Sakura's heartfelt words bring one question to Hinata's mind. "Do… do you love him?"
Sakura pulls down her hands and places one hand on top of the other, over her heart. "Yes. Yes, Hyuga-sama, I love Uzumaki Naruto." She looks up at Hinata with fresh tears running down her cheeks, her eyes filled with so much heartache. "I love him so very much."
The look of loneliness in Sakura's eyes mirrors how Hinata has felt many times when she was trying to find the courage to tell Naruto about what was in her heart. She had failed so many times before Pain attacked the village, and then failed to find the courage to confront Naruto in the time that followed her confession. She would spend countless amounts of time in front of her mirror pouring out her soul trying to relieve the ache, just like she was witnessing now. It is this similarity of pain in Sakura's eyes that hits Hinata in the very core of her being. For a brief moment she feels the need to step down and confess her own similar heartaches and fears, while wrapping her arms around Sakura till they are both empty of sorrow and tears.
A voice stops her cold. It is the same voice that has been giving her the courage to be bold and take a risk where Naruto is concerned. That confident voice, which strengthened her resolve to not hold back anymore and finally taste those wonderful lips on their first date. A benchmark in her life, maybe both of their lives, that has opened a floodgate of passion she thought was only possible in cheesy novels. It is the same voice that drove her to confront the blonde kunoichi, and let the girl know that flirting with Naruto will no longer be tolerated. That same voice is now whispering a warning about who just spoke of love for Naruto, and the dangers her presence in his life might cause them both. Hinata is pulled out of her consideration of voice's warning, as Sakura continues speaking.
"Yes, I love him, but not in the way you love him or how I love Sasuke-kun. I did not grow up with siblings, so to me Naruto is like a brother. Sometimes he was like an older brother who is there to support and protect me, and at other times he was like a younger brother who needed extra attention and a firm hand to make him focus on what he needed to be doing." Sakura looks up and gives Hinata an understanding look. "I have seen the pain in your eyes when Neji is mentioned, and I think that is similar to what I am feeling with Naruto no longer in my life." Sakura reaches up and tries to dry the tears on her cheeks with the back of her hand. "Please Hyuga-sama, help me get my brother back." Sakura sinks to her knees and looks up pleadingly at Hinata. "I'll do whatever you ask of me in return. I'll stay away afterwards if that is what you want. I just can't stand the thought that he hates me, Hinata."
Hinata feels a sharp pain in her chest at the mention of Neji's name, whose death has left an empty place in her heart that has yet to heal, and the pain of his loss may never fully go away. She takes a breath and pushes those painful memories to the side, so that she can focus on the problem at hand. "If I was to help you, could you assure me that you will not hurt him ever again?" Hinata raises an eyebrow and stares incredulously at Sakura for a moment before she continues. "You will just have to forgive me for being selfish when it comes to my Naruto. With you finally out of his life, I now have him fully in mine." Hinata hides her empathy for the girl she once thought of as a friend behind a fake shell of Hyuga indifference. "I am just not willing to risk the happiness that I now have to help ease your guilty conscience. He is just too precious to me to ever risk losing again."
With a surge of desperation Sakura stands and screams back at Hinata. "I saved his life dammit. If not for me, then he would have died on that battlefield and you would have been left with nothing but regrets." The words 'you owe me' are not said, but it is obvious that is the intent of her statement.
Hinata nods in disappointment, as if she had been waiting for those words, and in fact she had practiced her reply many times if this moment ever came to pass. "True, but if you had not then most likely we would all be dead, including your precious Sasuke. Or worse, we would all be caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi." She let her words sink in before continuing. "Twice you have held his heart in your hands, once literally and the other figuratively. One of those times you kept his heart beating, and the other time you crushed what he so innocently offered."
Hinata stands and steps down from the dais to look Sakura directly in the eyes. "You have not convinced me how granting your request does anything but imperil his own happiness and mine. The only things that I heard coming from your mouth was what you need and what you want. It seems to me that you are here only for yourself, and your visit really had nothing to do with what is best for Uzumaki Naruto." She points towards the back of the room. "I believe that it is time for you to leave." Hinata gives Sakura a smile knowing that for the first time in her life that she truly has the upper hand where Naruto is concerned. "Also, stop skulking about outside my home like some creepy stalker. Don't act surprised, the guards informed me when you started lurking outside our gates. So I have been taking my dear Naruto-kun to secondary exits, on the pretense of showing him something new on my family's estate."
Sakura, when she sees that smile, curls her fist instinctively in a desire to knock that smug look off Hinata's face. 'I never imagined that she would hold so much animosity towards me for hurting Naruto, or to allow it to nearly blind her of any other options but what she wants. I guess the other half of that old saying is true. That the love for a man can make a woman blind to everything else but her own selfish desires.' Sakura does not miss the irony of that saying, and how it applies to her own situation with Sasuke over the years.
Sakura feels the desperation and frustration of it all finally boil over as her desperate gamble has gone up in flames. 'Fine, if she wants to act like a little bitch over this, then I can play too. I have had plenty of practice the last couple of years when people would talk about me and Sasuke-kun behind my back. They knew I could hear what they were saying about us, and I will remember every face and every word. The look of fear on their face when they come to hospital needing medical attention, and I walk into the hospital's exam room giving them a cold stare feels so good.'
Sakura gives Hinata a venomous smile. "What's the matter, Hinata? Still afraid that you are not good enough for Naruto-kun, and that to him you will always be his concession prize?" Sakura throws back her hair in victory at seeing the pain her words have caused Hinata. "It was me who was by his side in the final battle, while all you could do was become uselessly trapped. You have been nothing but a timid weakling your whole life and was ignored by him because you were not worthy of being noticed." Sakura turns and walks towards the exit with all the sensual grace that her lithe body can muster. She wants to rub it into Hinata's face how men, and one young man in particular, finds her slender body to be very attractive.
Sakura looks at Hinata with eyes narrowed dangerously and a smile that holds no warmth. "Let me ask you one question Hinata? Has Naruto said he loves you, yet?" Sakura laughs as Hinata instinctively reaches up and covers her mouth to stifle the sob that is trying force its way out. "Does that surprise you Hinata?" Sakura snorts derisively. "It really shouldn't." Sakura should feel totally ashamed for using knowledge gained by Ino's boyfriend in an overheard conversation between Kurenai and Hinata, but right now that ammo was just too precious to waste after how Hinata had coldly denied her request.
As she slides the shoji back, Sakura turns and smirks evilly at Hinata. "Just remember, he cannot avoid me forever. He just might become the Hokage one day, and then I will have all the time I need to come back into his life. I'll be the head of the medical division one day, and as the Hokage he will be required to meet with me often to discuss the health of not just the Leaf Village shinobi, but all of the village's citizens." Seeing the beginnings of fear creep its way across Hinata's face, spurs Sakura to twist the kunai just a bit more.
"He has always been the type to forgive people, so why not me when I come into his office. My eyes will be full of tears, as I beg him with all my heart for him to forgive his Sakura-chan." Seeing the look of panic in Hinata's eyes tells Sakura that Naruto has not mentioned to Hinata about their encounter the night of the New Year's Festival and how he walked away from her as she begged him stay. 'Good, if she knew, then my threat would have fallen flat.'
Watching Hinata's resolve crumble after the way she acted so arrogantly, is as sweet for Sakura to see as the finest dessert could taste. "I don't see Sasuke-kun proposing anytime soon. So once I am inevitably forgiven, and still available, I could just string Naruto along for a little while just to watch you suffer. Also, it will be my pleasure to tell Naruto how I came to you in tears, begging for your help, and was coldly rebuffed." Sakura places a hand over her heart in mock pain. "He and I could have resumed our friendship so much sooner, if only you would have helped." Her face morphs into a sneer and her hand clinches into a fist. "I wonder how disappointed in you Naruto will be when I tell him, and if this news was to come just at the wrong time. Would he reconsider, oh let's just say, a ring purchase. Just think about that Hinata when you are all alone and miserable."
Sakura pauses and lets the silence of the room become palatable. "Funny, we could have helped each other, so that we both could have gotten the happiness we want. Instead, after the way you just treated me today I'll just focus on my own happiness, and seeing you end up miserable and alone will make me very happy." She turns and walks away, not bothering to shut the shoji so that Hinata can watch her walk away, her head held high.
Kira, who was patiently waiting outside, waits for a signal from Hinata on whether to drag Sakura back into the room, escort her to the gate, or just kill the young women. Once Hinata gestures slightly he quickly closes the shoji and falls in step behind Sakura as she makes her way towards the main gate, ready to physically intervene if the pink-haired kunoichi tries to go back and confront the Hyuga heiress again.
Hinata watches the pink-haired girl leave, fearing that everything she had said was true. Is she truly only Naruto's second choice, and would it always be that way no matter how long they are together? 'If something was to ever happen to Sasuke, would Naruto-kun run to Sakura's side, or would Sakura just seek Naruto out for comfort and selfishly take him away for her own needs? He can be so sweet and forgiving at times, and Sakura could use something like that to get her revenge against me for not being willing to help mend their broken bond.'
Hinata leans against a nearby column to help steady herself, because she does not trust her legs at this moment to hold her up any longer. She wraps her arms around herself as a sudden chill courses through her body. 'Have I destroyed my future happiness in my selfish desire to protect what I have now? Did I go too far in trying to protect him from something that is inevitable?'
With all the strength she can muster, Hinata holds back her tears and heads out of the reception hall, making her way to a hopefully more private area of her family estate so that she can think about what she can and should do next. 'Not only is it possible that I could be sent for a long term away from the village, but Sakura will also be here waiting patiently for her chance at reconciliation and revenge while I am far away. I need to think. I need to come up with a plan of some sort to deal with all of these problems before things get completely out of hand.' She stands up and heads to the family gardens; it is the one place where as a child when things seemed their bleakest that she could find some peace to soothe her soul. "Naruto-kun, where are you? I need you tonight more than I can express. Please come home soon."
A/N: Looks like things are heating up everywhere.
I know that many of you are waiting anxiously for me to reveal what occurred between Naruto and Sakura. So that I don't get another batch of reviews asking me when I am going to finally get to the point, I will let you all know that chapter 32 will most likely be that chapter. It is going to be the longest chapter I have written so far for this story, so it will be late May at the earliest before it comes out.