A Change of Heart
Author's notes: THANK YOU SO MUCH to all the people who supported this fanfic, those who reviewed, alerted, and included this work of mine in their 'favorites' list, especially heartbrokenhinata, who had reviewed me the most.
Thank you for all the guys who didn't make me feel abandoned last chapter: Lex07Gaa, La Mariposa3795, saru-invasion, keke1010, Estheriana, SunsetRainbow, Vannah-chan, admcc93, Rose Tiger, madteen66, kohana412, Viperak. I hope this final chapter you send me once more your love. :D
Yes, final. I'm sorry if I told you guys before that this chapter will last up to chapter 15, but seems like fate has its own plans. : ) Hope you guys support my other and up-coming stories, as I will support yours.
As the final chapter, I made it extra long. It would be quite sometime before I start on another fanfic :3 (blame my teachers and our independent film!!!)
Dedicated to all everyone who read and loved A Change of Heart.
Recap:
Naruto, on the other hand, was filled with anger and fury. He had trusted his girlfriend to his friend! What the hell was Sasuke doing, leaning close to Hinata like that?! HE is the boy friend; HE had the right over Hinata. Whatever clouded Sasuke's mind, it was surely a hell load of crap.
Sasuke and Naruto both made hand jutsus. It was like the final blow; their strongest technique in the strongest clash.
Hinata ran towards them. Taking off the eels she was wearing so that she could run faster, she ran towards them. Towards them, who were casting jutsus. To them, who were both enraged with fury and hate towards each other. Towards them, consumed in oblivion, blinded by wrath and hatred, as they both gave their last, fatal shot.
Hinata, who desperately longed for them to stop, realized the danger that she was running to. Towards them. Towards death.
"Hinata, NO!" Both of them shouted as Hinata was caught in between their two, powerful jutsus.
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"What the hell are you standing there for?! Get out of the room, now!" Tsunade screamed to the medical ninjas that were loitering inside the emergency room. In front of her, pale as ever, stretched on a clean, white-clo9thed cot, was Hinata, breaths slowly declining. Tsunade took her wrist to check a pulse: faint and weak. She looked once again at Hinata, covered in crimson gore from head to foot. Her chest barely moved – a sign that her breaths were getting shallower and more torpid. On her left shoulder down to her chest is a big gash, wide open, mockingly pouring out more blood from Hinata. Aside from that, she also had a burn on her right leg. It was so horrifying that several nurses gave up on healing her, and single-mindedly told Shizune and the others that there was no remaining hope for her. Hinata's eyes were closed. Sometimes they would slightly flicker open, whether either because of pain or the will to live. She's lost lots of blood, and heartbeat is unstable. This is bad…she might not make it!
She, however, despite of the hopeless state of her patient, had not wasted a single second; ordering tools need to bind the long incision, and adjuring for someone to treat the burns. Fitting her gloves and making sure her hair is correctly fastened behind her, she began checking Hinata's mucles. When she had slightly glanced on Hinata's bosom to check her heart, she found something dreadful –a ghastly picture of a slashed aorta!
"T-tsunade-sama? What's wrong? Why do you look so grim?" Shizune's tense voice did not reach Tsunade still in her nightmare. Seeing that the Godaime would in no way respond, she immediately peered over and saw the injury, and realized the brevity of Hinata's life.
"No way…" she whispered, and knowing full well that there could be in no way that they can repair that heart and the laceration on her shoulder without her body collapsing forever.
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"Look what you've done." Naruto whispered, hurt and worried. He and Sasuke were sitting just outside the emergency room, waiting for developments. They were previously soaked with their own blood from fighting each other, but now were drenched in Hinata's blood.
"What did you say?! How dare you—"Sasuke suddenly jerked upward, facing Naruto.
"No, how dare you steal Hinata from me!" Naruto interrupted, his fists suddenly curling into a ball. Though they both seemed fired up, they knew that neither of them could fight anymore. Both their worry surpasses their tiredness.
Sasuke was about to retort when suddenly they heard footsteps behind them. Naruto was the first to react.
"Tsunade-sama! How is Hina-ch—"
"We need a heart donor. Now."
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"What do you mean 'surgery'?!" Neji's raised voice echoed through the hospitals halls. He was beside Naruto, and behind him were Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, and his dog, Akamaru, Hinata's teammates.
"Her heart had been gashed. It would be alright if her heart was only scratched, seeing the heart that was given to her is incredibly strong and will recover for a few days. But the laceration was set deep to her aorta and pulmonary artery that there is no way that we can sew it perfectly. Even if we did, there would be a high possibility of hemorrhage inside her heart— causing death. Tsunade-sama decided to have a transplant instead. But even with that… the laceration on her shoulder is just too deep and too long that it affected her muscles, and paralyzation on her whole arm will take place. And she'll have a mighty scar for her burn inflicted on her right leg. It's really a dreadful state— it's just a big comfort that we had a volunteer to give a heart for her. A normal heart won't do any good, so someone had to give her his chakra just to support the donated heart."
"Then… who are they?" Neji asked. The nurse hesitantly answered.
"Uchiha Sasuke… and Uzumaki Naruto."
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Hinata laid the flower she was holding on the tombstone. She bit her lip to stop the tears from coming out as she read the inscription on the plated marble: Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto. She still could not believe it was Sasuke's heart and Naruto's chakra that was given to her. And this time, it took two people—the most she cherished and loved.
Flashback…
Hinata slowly flicked her eyes open. The sudden flooding of brightness caused her to close them, but only to open them again, this time, her eyes used to the brilliance of the white-washed room. She weakly turned her head and saw Neji staring worriedly at her, calling her name. She whispered her cousin's name, which caused him to smile and take her hand. Gazing around the room she also saw Tenten. Sitting on the couch were Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, their faces obviously illustrating glints of their happiness. And by the door stood Tsunade, with Shizune by her side, and Kurenai, standing by the door.
Although she felt happy that everyone she loves was there, she suddenly felt sad and confused when she noticed that the people so dear to her are not present at that moment. Even if she knew it would hurt him, she cocked her head and asked, "W-where are S-sasuke and Naruto-k-kun?"
"We're… going out for a minute." Kiba suddenly interrupted, remorseful and a bit worried, while all the others joined in, going out and leaving Hinata and Neji alone. With this Hinata grew instantly worried. Why would they suddenly go out at once? What's going on? Is Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun alright?
"Hinata…" Neji started, choosing carefully his words, "They are…"
"I-is what, Neji-nii… what h-happened?"
And when Neji explained everything to her, she couldn't help but cry in his arms.
End of flashback…
"It's okay…" Tenten knelt by her side. She touched Hinata's right shoulder, as the latter was now crying and pouring the contents of her heart. "It's… it's for your own good, you know… Sasuke-kun giving his heart…and Naruto-kun providing the chakra… I don't know why he… he had to die, though… If only the nine-tailed fox wasn't enclosed in him. Hina-chan…?"
Tenten shook Hinata as blandly as she could. The latter, with tears still flowing, smiled and asked if Tenten could perhaps leave her alone for a moment. Tenten understood and nodded, bid a haste goodbye to the late Sasuke and Naruto, and quietly made her way out of Hinata's sight.
And at that moment, Hinata had wished she never lived.
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"Dear Hinata…" A soft, womanly voice soothed the sobbing figure beside her, slowly and kindly ran the lady's fingers on the lithe figure's hair. She planted a small kiss on the figure's head, and once again called the crying girl's name.
"Mother…" Hinata responded, finally stopped herself from crying. She looked at her mother's white, porcelain-like face and looked for just even a simple explanation, all the while moving closer to her.
"It will be as it is if you lived." Was the lady's only answer, waving her hand in the air as the fake, crying Hinata, beside the two graves, displayed in front of them, disappeared.
HInata nodded, finally understanding. "So… if Sakura-chan had died and her heart was given to me, all these things will happen, right, mother? The appearance of Sasuke, the two years filled with lovely dreams…the bet, the date, their fight, and their death… If… if I had not died, then these two will…"
"Exactly right." Hinata's mother smiled. "The reason why I let the angel of death take your life is because of the scene you just watched."
Hinata nodded again, like a small child in her mother's arms. Quickly her mother was called by an angel and went away, leaving Hinata alone. It's really a good thing that I died instead of Sakura-chan. I don't want her and Naruto-kun dead…
And as she was thinking, mighty arms grabbed her waist and she was held tightly. Turning her head, she gasped in delight as Sasuke stole a kiss from her.
"Besides," Sasuke said, just after their kiss, "If you hadn't died that day, I wouldn't die protecting Sakura and that pineapple head and you I and wouldn't be here together, looking down on earth and watching the happily married Sakura and Naruto."
HInata giggled in response. Sasuke grinned, grabbed her closer to him, and gave Hinata the best, longest, and most breath-taking kiss he had ever given to her.
THE END.
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Author's notes: Sorry, the last part is quite confusing. To clear matters up: In short, Hinata did not AT ALL had a change of heart. She died the day her heart collapsed, the same day that Sasuke died protecting Sakura and Shikamaru from blah blah blah. So the scenes beginning from the first chapter were just played by Hinata's mother to show her little girl why she had to die. And Sasuke and HInata still lived happily ever after. :]
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Crimson~