Invasion

Author: Lonely Writer

Summary: Pein has invaded Konoha.

Disclaimer: No owning the Naruto.

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The darkness was all around her. She thought she might be drowning but there was a buzzing sound in her ear. When she tried to turn away pain came at her from every angle and she tried to gasp. Only her mouth would not open and her eyes would not focus. The drifting sensation continued and she realized what had happened.

Oh, she thought. I must be dead.

That thought did not settle well with her and she tried to get her bearings. The darkness threatened to overwhelm her and panic started to set in. She tried to remember what had brought her to this point. Her brain reacted sluggishly and finally images of what happened came to her.

Naruto fighting with the man from Akatsuki. Her desperate wish that Neji were here with her. Then she had done something stupid. She had jumped in front of Naruto as Akatsuki man tried to kill him. Her jumbled confession to Naruto that was supposed to come out more about how her crush on him had helped her mature than the love confession it was.

How will Neji react? She let that thought drift around in her head. Maybe Naruto won't remember what I said. And if he does, hopefully he continues ignoring me. It wasn't a love confession. It was a confession of admiration.

She wanted to bite her lip as her brain created more and more horrible scenarios to what she had done. Her father and Hanabi were off in the capitol with a specialized doctor who was fighting to save Hanabi's life. They weren't here to see her stupidity. Neither was Neji. For this she was grateful.

After a while a buzzing started in her ear again and suddenly there was an extreme pain in her chest. She tried to raise her arms to ward off the attack but they were immobilized at her sides. Her mouth opened in a wordless scream. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore the pain stopped and she fell back to earth.

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Brightness assaulted her eyes. She blinked and then realized that she could. The happiness because of this was cut off however when the pain came back even stronger. She gasped and a face appeared in her line of vision.

"Hinata, are you okay? Where does it hurt?" Sakura's face was floating in and out as Hinata blinked.

The pain was everywhere and nowhere. She tried to open her mouth to tell Sakura what was going on but her throat hurt to much to make more than a few squeaking noises. Sakura pressed her hand to Hinata's forehead before nodding. ''You'll be okay. You just need rest. I'm going to give you some medicine that will make you sleepy.

Hinata tried to tell Sakura that she didn't want to go back to sleep but Sakura had already forced the needle into her arm and Hinata's eyes dropped.

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When she woke the next time all that was left was a dull pain in her side and the feeling of being scraped up off the ground. She experimentally wiggled fingers and toes, gauging the pain of moving.

"How do you feel?" His voice was soft and from above her but she knew it was he.

Hinata considered his question for several long minutes before finally opening her mouth. "Like I was turned into a human pancake."

Neji appeared in her field of vision and she noted that he looked perfectly fine; no bandages to be found on his body and she was grateful. He reached out a hand and gently stroked her cheek. "I won't ask what you were thinking."

Hinata winced. "Neji, I…"

His fingers stopped stroking her cheek and the sudden loss of contact made her feel like she had been set adrift.

"It wasn't a love confession," she said softly. "I was trying to tell him that I admire him and that I love him for the fact he has never given up or surrendered despite everything he has gone through and I love him for always believing in me even when no one else did."

Neji tilted his head before gently squeezing her hand. "I know. When Kō told me about what happened I knew that your admiration was on your heart and you did not want to lose the man who had always believed in you, unlike me."

"Neji," Hinata reprimanded. "You have always been someone that I admire as well. And that admiration grew into love."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Hinata. If you want to confess your love to Naruto then do so. I will not stop you."

Hinata glared at him. "Stop being such an oaf. You are the one I want to marry, Neji. Not Naruto, not Kiba or Shino, you. You don't have to pull out your martyr complex every time that I screw up. You are such an idiot sometimes, you know? I love you Neji. I want to be with you. I'm sorry if you are hurt by my feelings for Naruto but they will never be like the feelings I have for you. I love you."

Neji nodded. "I know, Hinata but I also know you would feel terrible if you did not speak to me in the way you just did. You need closure as much as I do. Now that it is over with we can move on. You need to heal and I need to help clean up the village." His fingers had gone back to stroking her cheek and she sighed in pleasure. "Rest now and when you feel better we can have another frank discussion about Naruto and your feelings but always remember that I love you. I always will. Until the end of time." His last words were whispered against her forehead as he gently pressed his lips to the unmarked skin.

Hinata could feel the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Neji had understood her reasoning for saving Naruto and was not upset with her. The weight that had been on her chest since Pein had invaded the village was now gone. She took her first real breath since the invasion started.

Her relationship with Neji would never be perfect but right now they would be okay and that was all she ever wanted.