Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't tease fans about pairings.

Hyuga Hinata was worried. No, worried wasn't a strong enough word. She was afraid, scared out of her mind, more so than even when a Cloud Nin had kidnapped her when she was 3 years old. Naruto was in the hospital and he was still in intensive care. Her heart felt like it was going to burst from beating so hard and it wasn't even for the first time that day.

She had, of course, heard about the Retrieval mission the day before, but was shocked to hear that almost every member was brought back in need of medical care, without Sasuke and Sakura. It had been bad enough to learn about Kiba's stab wound and Neji coming back with a hole in his chest, but at least they were okay and Kiba had his family by his side while Lee and Tenten waited for the medic-nins to finish up with Neji, but Naruto-kun was in intensive care... with a chidori through his stomach.

At the moment, she was pacing in front of the door of his room. If she was thinking clearly, she'd realized this was good as that meant they fixed up his wound, but she was too busy worrying. She could hear Tsunade-sama saying something, but she couldn't figure out what it was. She had to close her eyes to keep tears from rolling down her cheek. How could Sasuke do this to her own teammate? How cold Sakura follow him? Naruto-kun loved her despite her disdain for him. Naruto-kun was warm, kind, and brave but Sasuke was the exact opposite: cold and arrogant. Did Sakura stand by and watch as Sasuke shot his arm through Naruto-kun? Did she even care?

Normally, she would scold herself for being unkind to Sakura, but she didn't care. Naruto was betrayed by his two teammates and she didn't know if he'd survive! She was so deep within her thoughts, that she didn't even notice another person standing waiting near the door.

"You care for him, don't you?"Gaara asked quietly, showing no emotion as he studied the Hyuga heiress. Hinata herself squeaked and looked over at him, barely managing to restrain a gulp. She had seen him only a few times, but she did hear about Naruto-kun's battle with him and see him transform partway during the Chunin Exams. Nonetheless, she stood her ground and nodded.

"N-Naruto-kun has been through so much, but he never gave up, not even once. He just smiled and got back up no matter how unhappy he must have felt inside," she told him honestly. She smiled a little, speaking louder as if to convince herself as well as the Sand Nin before her, "He has to make it through this! He has to!"

Gaara regarded her stoically causing Hinata to flush a little in embarrassment but she kept the determined expression on her face. She didn't care what he told her, she wasn't going to leave this spot until the medic-nin opened t the door and told her Naruto-kun was alright.

Gaara smiled a little, taking the young Hyuga by surprise, "I see that Uzumaki Naruto is in good hands."

He paused for a moment. Socializing with people beyond intimidation and killing was still new to him. What would Naruto do in this situation? He frowned. Probably say something loud and stupid. At last, he continued.

"He would like it very much if you told him how much you cared for him," he told her softly, "Those like he and I receive little affection. It would do him good to know he has somebody."

Hinata flushed a little, surprised by how concerned he sounded and embarrassed that her feelings were so obvious right now. Before she could reply, however, the door was slammed open, revealing a very serious-looking Tsunade.

"Naruto is dying," she announced with a frown. Hinata gasped. She felt as though someone had crushed her heart. More tears were already falling down her cheeks. Even Gaara's normally stoic face revealed shock.

"B-but you're Tsunade-sama!" Hinata yelled, ignoring her tears, "The teachers at the Academy said that you can heal someone even if they were dead for a whole minute! You can't... Y-you have to save Naruto-kun!"

Normally, Hinata wouldn't dare speak more than three words tot he village's Hokage, but she didn't care if she was being rude. She didn't care if she was shouting. Naruto-kun had to live! If he died, she didn't know what she'd do.

Tsunade wore a somber expression. The Hyuga's words cut deeper than she could have possibly known. This was the third precious person to be dying on her. The third one she entrusted her necklace with and with it, the dream of becoming Hokage. Hearing heartbreak in Hinata's voice didn't help matters.

"His wounds weren't fatal. Sasuke's chidori didn't hit anything vital and the lightning cauterized the wound," Tsunade told her, not allowing any emotion to leak into her voice, "It's his chakra system. It's attacking itself and nothing we can do can stop it, only slow it down. He won't wake up either, no matter what stimulants we inject him with. It's... like he's lost the will to live. Even with his unusual healing rate, Naruto will die if this continues."

"But this is Naruto-kun! He never gives up! That's his nindo!" Hinata argued. This had to be a bad dream. It just had to be. If she would just wake up, she promised Kami-sama that she'd tell Naruto how she felt. She gulped for air, trying to get control of herself.

"He was betrayed by those closest to him. One of them he thought he loved and the other one, the one he considered his brother, shoved a chidori through his chest. Even Naruto has his limits," Tsunade told her, lowering her gaze sadly.

"No..." the Hyuga heiress whispered, "No... He can't die!"

She ran into the room, ignoring the shouts from the nurses and the medic-nin, and launched herself onto Naruto's body. She grew cold at the sight of Naruto's expression. It looked so hopeless, so unlike the one she was familiar with. Her tears crowded her eyes.

"Naruto-kun! You can't die! I love you! Please, don't go!" she cried.

Nartuo showed no reaction as he laid down, feeling as though he were floating in the air. Darkness surrounded him, but he didn't really care. To be honest, he was just happy that it wasn't the sewer he usually found himself in when he lost consciousness. Instead, he simply relaxed as he felt himself being pulled downwards into nothingness. He felt cold and a part of him wanted to shiver, but, oddly he chose not to. What was the point? He smiled a little. So, this was death? It wasn't as bad as he expected. It was actually kind of peaceful.

'Did I really matter so little to them?' he asked himself. Images of Sakura came to mind unbidden. Unlike the teme, there was no vengeance compelling her to desert Konoha for Orochimaru, yet she did so anyway just to be with Sasuke. Is that what love is? Naruto thought he loved her. He had thought so ever since he saw her pink hair in the academy. Sure, she treated him like crap, but that was what everyone else did. He was used to it.

Regardless how he felt for her, however, she betrayed him too and it hurt. It wasn't that old nagging jealousy that ate at him when she ignored him in favor of Sasuke's cold indifference. No, he was used to that. What hurt him was how she could easily throw away their friendship just to help Sasuke sell himself to some snake-bastard that only wanted him for his body. What hurt him was what this meant...

He really was alone. He sighed and closed his eyes.

Naruto frowned as he heard a familiar voice, though muffled, as though it was coming faraway. No. He wasn't alone. Here was the reason why he was tormented. Here was the reason for those cold glares and worse, the lack of acknowledgment by everyone but Iruka-sensei and the Sandaime. Here was the Kyubi no Kitsune.

"Even with my chakra, you couldn't defeat that whelp of an Uchiha," the Fox rumbled in anger, "What a poor excuse of a runt I was imprisoned in. You could have killed him, but instead, you broke his meaningless headband."

"I didn't want to kill Sasuke!" Naruto argued keeping his eyes closed, , "I wanted to save him!"

"He certainly tried to kill you, kit. If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead. You should be grateful," the Kyubi mocked.

"If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be despised by everyone in the village! Don't you dare talk about gratitude, you damn Fox!" Naruto shouted back angrily. He scowled. He really wished the fox would leave him alone.

"Insolent brat. If it were not for that infernal seal, I'd have devour your soul a long time ago," the Fox growled angrily, "You're lucky my existence depends upon your worthless life. Now stop what you're doing right now!"

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked in surprise. Really, he wasn't doing anything. He scowled. Like that ever stopped people from yelling at him.

"Do you not recognize where you are, kit? You're at the threshold of death and if you die, unfortunately, I die," the demon informed him, sounding angrier than usual and something else too, Fear.

"So, that's it, huh?" Naruto asked, chuckling a little. Really, he couldn't help but find the whole situation hilarious, "Th big bad Kyubi no Kitsune is afraid of dying?"

"Damn you, kit! Stop laughing!" the Kyubi roared, "Don't you fear death?"

"Now that it comes down to it, no. It isn't like I'd be missed," Naruto replied with a smirk. Really, who would be sad with him gone? The village would probably celebrate the death of the "demon brat". Sure, Iruka-sensei would be upset, but he had tons of students to look after. Oba-chan would probably appreciate the the quiet and ero-sannin would just drink and peak at women a little more. As for Kakashi-sensei... Well, he cared more for Sasuke anyway. His death would probably barely be a blip on his radar.

Naruto nodded to himself, satisfied.

"Naruto-kun! Please don't die!"

Naruto blinked. What was that? It sounded familiar, like he heard it before.

"You said you'd never give up! That's your nindo!"

Naruto felt his descent slow as he now looked around. It was a girl's voice, he was sure of it. It sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

"Please don't leave me, Naruto-kun!"

He frowned. This girl, she sounded as though she was about break down. Who cared about him so much? He couldn't think of anyone who would be this upset over him.

"It sounds like someone would miss you, kit. I can't imagine why," the Kyubi growled.

"Just wake up, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto gulped and, at last, opened his eyes. He stared down at the pit he was falling into and shivered. Was he really going to let himself die?

"Naruto-kun!"

He could see a light, just at the edge of his vision. Without thinking, he made for it, swimming through the darkness like a fish in water. He needed to see who was calling his name. He couldn't let her down. She sounded so sad. He didn't want to cause her anymore pain.

"I'm coming!" he cried, at last reaching the light as it enveloped him.

Naruto blinked as he woke up. Judging by the bright lights and the medic-nins hanging around him, he was in the hospital. What caught his attention, however, was the weight of something on his chest. Turning his gaze towards his chest, he saw a familiar figure clinging to it.

"Hinata?" he asked softly.

For her part, Hinata stiffened in surprise, not quite believing her ears. She lifted her head and saw Naruto staring at her, amazement written all over his face. For once, she didn't think before she acted. She lunged at him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Naruto-kun!" she gasped, "I-I was so worried!"

For once, Naruto didn't know what to say. He was taken aback by how Hinata, sweet but kind of weird Hinata, was hugging him and sobbing into his shoulder because he almost died. He wasn't even her teammate!

"Why?" he asked softly, finding the energy to hug her back.

"I thought you were going to die!" she told him. For the first time, he noticed there were tears falling from her eyes, eyes that were so different, even from other Hyugas. He never noticed it before. They were lavender-colored, not blank-white like Neji's or the other Hyugas he'd seen occasionally.

"Why do you care?" he asked her, again in a soft voice, "Sakura-chan and Sasuke didn't."

Hinata felt her heart clench in her chest. She had never heard Naruto-kun sound so hopeless. He was always the first to bounce back and laugh his injuries off. Inwardly, she was furious at his teammates. They did this to him and it broke her heart to see it.

"I love you," she whispered quietly, just loud enough for him to hear her, "I've been watching you since the Academy. I used to always cry and give up... I made many wrong turns... But you helped me find the right path, Naruto-kun... I always chased after you... I wanted to catch up to you... I want to walk beside you all the time... I just wanted to be with you... You changed me! Your smile is what saved me! But I was too scared. I didn't know how you'd react. And now, I almost lost you forever."

Naruto blinked. She loved him all this time? Him, the village outcast? He felt something warm in him and he smiled a real smile, not those wide ones he wore to hide his pain, but a real, happy smile.

"Hinata... I'm sorry. Thank you," he told her. He tightened his grip around her and, just then, he didn't feel so cold.

A/N. You didn't think I was going to let Naruto die, did you? As promised, here's the NaruHina. For those of you who asked about Sasuke and Sakura, I'm sorry I haven't written about them yet. Don't worry, I will reveal why Sasuke took her with him and what they're doing now. Right here seems like a good place to end the chapter, though. Please review and tell me what you think.