Disclaimer: Naruto and its characters are not owned by me...or else it would've been VERY different.

Breathing slowly, she concentrated on her body, her proprioception vital to her fighting style. She could feel her muscles beginning to burn from being in the same position for several minutes. When her legs and arms began to tremble, ready to collapse, she slowly, inch by inch, moved into the next position. Her limbs were fluid in their movements, graceful yet full of strength. She kept a constant layer of chakra covering her body as well as a collection of it in both of her hands. She was not sparing anyone at the moment, just working meticulously on her technique, so there was no point in wasting any more chakra.

Opening up her senses, she felt around the small vacant clearing for any chakra signatures. Though her eyes were closed and her Byakugan dormant, she was still very much on guard, a sign of a seasoned shinobi. But she was alone, only her thoughts to occupy her. Behind her eyes, the usual picture of a blond man, except this time he was not smiling happily at her. His head was resting on his hands, looking down at the ground. Everything about his posture, the tenseness of his muscles, revealed the depression he was feeling. The war had changed her, there was no way she could just stand there and watch him suffer without going to help, to support him.

"Naruto-kun?" she had called to him hesitantly, unsure if he would welcome her presence. He didn't look up at her right away, so wrapped up in the chaotic thoughts storming through his mind. But when he did, he was able to summon enough strength to produce a small yet sad smile for her.

"Hey Hinata-chan." He said in a dejected voice, making her heart pound with sympathy towards him. She walked closer and sat down next to him on the bench, hoping he would not turn her away. She didn't ask him what was wrong, she could guess; try as they might, it was common knowledge that Naruto and Sakura were having problems. But she didn't want to force him to talk to her, so she just sat silently next to him. She knew from experience that sometimes, one just needed the comfort of having a loved one nearby. He already knew that she supported him; there was no need to voice it again.

Naruto breathed a silent and relieved sigh; he didn't really want to talk to anyone at the moment. It was difficult enough to sort through all the emotions he was feeling let alone trying to explain them all to another person. But he supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised that she didn't ask him any questions. Her support for him had consistently been quiet, subtle, and calming. She never really asked anything of him or held any expectations, she had invariably just accepted and supported. He had always liked that about her, despite the fact that, to this day, she was still an enigma to him. He never really knew what she was thinking, what the driving force was behind her decisions, but he knew without a doubt that she would be a good friend to him.

"I bought an engagement ring last month." He found himself saying softly. Hinata's heart squeezed painfully in her chest, finding it difficult to breathe, at his admission. She had no idea that he had done such a thing. Shock rendered her speechless and panic set her mind in a whirl; she didn't know what to think.

"I've been waiting for the right time to ask her, ya know." Naruto continued, his hands clenching into fists. "Do you know what she said to me today?...'Naruto, I think we should take a break from each other.'"

The panic slowly started to ebb away as the rest of his words started to permeate her mind. Despite their official relationship status, things did not look as different as they were beforehand. Naruto's feelings for Sakura were stronger than Sakura's feelings for Naruto. Hinata wasn't quite sure how to feel about this information. On the one hand, Sakura was inadvertently giving her a chance to grow closer to Naruto. But on the other, Naruto was obviously still very much in love with Sakura. Additionally, she cared deeply for both Naruto and Sakura, not wanting either of them to suffer or endure pain.

"Do you think she regrets going out with me?" Naruto asked aloud, his voice void of emotion. "Because I'm not Sasuke?"

"Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered his name, lifting her arm and laying it on his shoulder. She didn't know what to say to him, she had no idea what the purpose was behind Sakura's decision. She wished that she could tell him that that wasn't the reason why Sakura wanted a break, but she didn't know if she would be lying to him…and that would be the worst thing possible for her to do. She felt his shoulder begin to tremble as tears slowly fell down his face, sprinkling the ground. Hinata bit her lip to stop herself from crying as well, she hated seeing him like this.

Standing she moved to face him and without a word, she trailed her fingers in his messy blond hair before gently and slowly pulling his head towards her stomach. He heaved a sob before lifting his arms up and wrapping them around her waist, pressing his face into her. She closed her eyes, one hand rubbing his back while the other clutched him to her. Though his sobs were silent, they shook his entire frame with their force.

A presence tickled her senses lightly in her mind. Opening her eyes, Hinata gazed over to her left and there in the distance, standing alone was Neji. His pale gaze was intense, indiscernible but it set her heart racing. Regret and shame washed over her, yet she knew that there was nothing wrong with comforting a friend in pain. She didn't have any ulterior motives; she genuinely just wanted to be here for him, to be the one he leaned his head against while he cried. She would have, and has, done the same for Neji when he came back from a rough mission. Her gaze was unwavering as she continued to stare back at her cousin, willing him to understand.

"Hinata?" a surprised feminine voice exclaimed. Hinata whipped her head around to come face to face with the one who broke the heart of the man she was comforting at the moment.

"Sakura." Hinata whispered, immediately pulling herself away from Naruto's arms. He looked up at her confused, tears still coming down his cheeks, though they had been slowing down.

"Sakura? What…"

"I came to see if you were…ok." She replied softly, wrapping her arms around herself and looking away, feeling bad. Hinata nibbled her lip, unsure of what do to or say. Should she leave without saying anything? Should she stay to support him? Would he welcome her presence or want their privacy? Twisting her fingers together in the ensuing silence, Hinata watched Naruto stare at Sakura, wiping the tears from his face. Sighing deeply, Hinata gently touched his shoulder, once again gaining his attention. She smiled at him as she squeezed his shoulder.

"Naruto." She said his name softly, before looking up at the pink haired woman. "Sakura."

She turned to her left, to where Neji had stood gazing at the two of them, her path now empty. She wondered what else Naruto and Sakura were going to talk about. Would he tell her of the ring he had bought for her? Would she tell him that she changed her mind and wanted him back? Would they end their relationship? Would they decide to try and work things out? Hinata could feel her heart slowly fall apart, crumbling into pieces. She couldn't go back home, she wouldn't seek him out. With tears falling from her eyes she suddenly sprinted to her favorite abandoned training site. Rushing straight towards a wooden dummy she immediately started to blindly punch and kick it, anger making her moves sloppy yet fierce. Anger at Sakura for hurting Naruto, anger at Naruto for never once giving her a chance, but she knew that the core of her anger was towards herself.

How could you!? She screamed at herself, feeling the wood beginning to splinter under her fists. She had never been so selfish before, but he encouraged it. Every caress whispered for her to indulge, every kiss told her that it was ok to be close to him this way, every gasp bespoke of how much she wanted this. Hinata lifted her leg to kick and found herself falling over, exhaustion making her limbs heavy. She didn't know how long she sat on the ground crying, it felt like hours, but when she started to calm down and finally look around herself there was still light in the sky. Wiping the tears from her face, she slowly stood and closed her eyes, moving her body into the first position for Juken. She might as well try to get some decent training if she was going to stay out here for a while, calming down.

Breathing slowly, she concentrated on her body, her proprioception vital to her fighting style. Opening up her senses, she felt around the small vacant clearing for any chakra signatures. With difficulty, no thanks to the furious beating she had unleashed on the wooden dummy, she finished the first series of positions. She was contemplating on moving on to the next form when she heard someone land softly behind her. Her Byakugan immediately activated, chakra gathered in her hands, as she whirled around to attack. She gasped when her hand was blocked and redirected and in a flash she found her back pinned to the wooden dummy.

"Neji." She breathed, deactivating her Byakugan instantly.

"Trying to kill me now?" Neji asked, his voice hard but amused. She looked at him with shock, as her face flamed from embarrassment.

"N-no!" she exclaimed, looking at his face, devoid and stoic. He still had one hand pinning hers off to the side and the other still pressing her against her shoulder. Leaning forward, he brought his body close, feeling the warmth of hers without touching. Lowering his head, he lightly grazed her ear with his lips.

"Am I no longer any use to you now that Naruto and Sakura are separating?" He whispered, letting go of her shoulder only to slowly unzip her jacket. His question was cruel; he knew how much their sexual relationship tore at her. But after seeing her in Naruto's arms, realizing that he could actually lose her this time, that there was a real possibility that she would not come back to him like she had the other times…it made him angry. Why was she fighting this? Couldn't she see, didn't she realize that she was already half in love with him?

"N-no…Neji…you know I…" She whimpered, unsure of what to say and now that his warm hand was brushing her stomach under her shirt, he was making it difficult for her to think.

"You what?" He whispered, as his hand found her breast. Her breath hitched and her body trembled when his thumb stroked her. "You would leave me for him?"

"N-no…don't…understand." She breathed, her eyes closing from the pleasure of his touch. Her free arm wrapped around his shoulder, her hand burying itself in his long hair, as her legs moved restlessly against his own.

"Make me understand Hinata." He said, trailing his lips down her neck, his breath hot on her skin. He kissed her neck gently, fighting against the angry desire within him. But she could feel it, the air around him burned and his body slightly shook.

"Na-Naruto…he…I was…ahhh…" she was rendered speechless, he had let go of her pinned arm only to grab one of her legs to hook it around his waist, pressing down against her hips. His hardness pressed against her throbbing center; desire shot through her, her body knew and anticipated the pleasure he always gave her.

"Naruto what?" he growled harshly, hating his name upon her lips when her voice dripped with sexual lust. But he needed to remind himself; theirs was supposed to be a purely sexual release. He needed to remind himself that he knew what he was getting into when he kissed her for the first time, that he was playing with fire when he had brought her to her first climax. He forced her to think of the blond as Neji brought her physical pleasure, to breathlessly call out Naruto's name this time.

"N-n…Neji." Hinata whispered his name, she was hot all over. She suddenly hated the clothes that separated them, she needed him in her. She moved her hands to undo his shirt but he swatted her hands away. Undeterred, she went straight for his pants; it would not be their first time with most of their clothes on. He had tried to capture her hands again, but she had quickly dipped her hands, grasping him gently. He clenched his teeth, trying not to gasp at her touch; the feelings were always the same when she touched him. He was having difficulty remembering the point in all of this. He pulled away from her, loosening his pants and lowering them while she did the same. She only had only leg out before he came back to her, plunging himself into her without preamble. She moaned against him, trembling.

"Think of him Hinata." He snarled as he pumped into her. "Think of his blond hair, blue eyes, and whiskered face." He ordered, thrust after angry thrust. Hinata could only hold onto him, he was being so rough, so fast. She couldn't understand what he was saying, blond hair? She could only think of the long chocolate locks that her hands were buried in at the moment. Blue eyes? She could only see ivory eyes right now, filled with desire, anger, and pain. Whiskered face? The only markings on the face she thought of were of a green cursed seal. She could only see him, think of him, feel him.

"N-neji…I…I'm gonna…" she panted, lifting a trembling hand to his face. She kept her shaking hand against his cheek as she struggled to look at him. Her breath hitched and she whispered his name as she used all her strength to keep her eyes open, gazing at him as she was sent over the edge. It was so overwhelmingly difficult, but for some reason she had to see his eyes watching her as he brought her body to absolute pleasure.

Her actions and words confused him and yet angered him more. She thought she was always thinking with her heart, but she was actually only thinking with her head. This time, it was Neji whose eye sight was clear and unclouded. She loved him. Not as a cousin, not as a friend, not as a comrade, and not just because he was still the only man to sexually pleasure her. But she purposefully blinded herself to it, refusing to acknowledge it. He had a bigger claim on her heart than she realized.

"He was in pain Neji." Hinata panted, trying to catch her breath, forcing herself to concentrate despite the climax she had just experienced. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close. "I don't like to see my friends in pain."

Neji closed his eyes and buried his face in her neck, gripping tighter to her legs as his thrusts started to stagger nearly at his limit. He could feel guilt starting to nibble at his consciousness but the heat of her, the friction they created, and the small kisses she was placing on his neck and cheek replaced all thought. He wanted her so much, he never got enough of her. She was so beautiful, her soul even more so.

"Neji, Neji, Neji…" she chanted his name into the air, her whispered voice once again driving him over the edge. He crushed her body against the wood dummy at her back, his mind shattering to pieces as his body poured his essence into her. He found himself collapsing into her, spent emotionally and physically. Her hands continued to stroke his hair as her lips still caressed his face with kisses. Why couldn't she see how much she really loved him?

AN: Sorry for the long wait, for those of you who reviewed :( And for the short chapters, but I hope you enjoy this one. I wasn't able to go as in depth into Hinata thinking or reasons, but that will have to come later. Sorry for any typos, I reread it to try and catch them, but alas, tis what happens without a beta. Reviews please? They are fuel for the fire of writing.