AnimeCrasherz: I LOVE YOU GUYS! Thanks for the reviews :D

I'm sorry it's so short! But chapter 10 is the longest chapter so far... and more SasukexHinata... so be patient and keep reading please!

Chapter 9, Random Acts of Misplaced Emotions

"That... that..." I continued to mumble to myself as I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand. "... that damn Sakura..."

Just the tiniest bit deep into the forest, I ventured to the big, smooth boulder that I had found when gathering firewood earlier, and sat. Gladly, I could still see the fire, so I could walk back whenever I felt better. Turning my back to the camping place, I brought my knees to my chest, wrapping my arms around them and laying my chin down on my knees.

Someone up THERE must hate me right now... I thought bitterly to myself, and almost had to supress the urge to laugh at my pitiful being.

Letting out a shaky breath, I wondered what exactly I was supposed to do. My life was going down the drain...

CRACK!

The sound of twigs snapping carried faintly through the light fog.

"I- I should be getting back right about now..." I whispered to nobody. As the crackling noises got louder, I walked faster and faster until I broke into a run. My eyes were focused on the red and orange light emanating from the fire. I felt my toes hit something hard. I had tripped on a raised root, and as I fell I heard the footsteps right behind me...

Glancing behind me, I saw a dark hand reach out for my arm. I looked back down and received...

A mouthful of dirt.

"Ah!" The person knelt down beside me.

Coughing and sputtering and spitting out dirt, I sat up. Naruto sat before me. My face turned crimson out of embarrassment.

"What do you want now, Naruto?" I questioned in a flat voice that was laced with exhaustion.

"Well..." he was finding the right words to use, pausing every once in a while. "I wanted to apologize... for Sakura..."

I cocked my head to the side and replied with a sad tone, "What could you possibly say to me that she can't say herself?"

"Well... it might sound kind of like an excuse but..." he sighed."Sakura's been really depressed lately. There's a lot of things going on with her, and without me or Sasuke she's felt desperately alone..." he paused, and looked at me with those blue eyes that I used to love.

"Go on, then..."

"When I actually talked to her, really talked for the first time in ages, she seemed... tired. She had this look in her eyes... that was like... old. You know what I mean?"

I nodded, just wanting for him to go on.

"That look... I know you don't wanna hear it, but it broke my heart. She's my teammate and, I wanted to help her, so..."

"So you slept with her?"

"No, I... well..."

"Well? You slept with her."

"But before that, we started going out, as friends only. Until it slowly began to get more serious... first it was just hugs, then, slowly, kisses... then..."

I cringed at his words. The words that he didn't know were scarring my heart.

"I tried to stop it, Hinata! Really I did! But.. it's like... I fell in lov-"

I cut him off by standing off and wiping the dirt off the seat of my pants."Please, Naruto, I would like it if we could end this conversation now. Things will never be the same."

"I know but..."

"But?"

"But even if I loved Sakura... I still loved you too..." he made a really genuinely pouty face, not one of the fake child pouts he used to use on me while we were dating.

"Listen to yourself, Naruto. What are you saying?" Leaning against the tree that was right next to clearing, I could see Sakura sleeping in the sleeping bags and Sasuke still eating his little noodle dinner by the fire...

"I really shouldn't have left you like that." came Naruto's voice through the darkness of the forest. "I... regret it. So much."

"Well, what's done is done. You can't do anything about it now, can you?" I retorted frankly, the blunt truth putting a knife through both of our hearts.

Before I took three steps back towards the camp, he grabbed me by my arm, spun me around to face him, and kissed me.

AnimeCrasherz: Hinata's explosive anger is out of character, I guess... but you'd be angry too, or so one would hope.

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