EPILOUGE

It was the middle of the night. The moonlight was unusually bright, and the stars twinkled audaciously. All in all, it was a well-lit night. Two young ninjas were out and about, despite the late hour. Being in each other's company was better than all the coffee in the world at that time. They raced each other through the forest, meandered deliberately through the town, and gazed at the stars in a lonely meadow.

The girl was in the boy's arms, her long black hair spread out underneath her head. The boy enjoyed the scent of it, savoring the tickling feeling against his cheek. He tucked his chin in, so his head was resting on the girl's. So far, the girl had been having so much silent, guilt-inducing fun, slinking through the town in the middle of the night, full of candor. The adrenaline had made her forget to be shy and awkward. It was as if the adrenaline-hyped Hinata was a completely different person, and had replaced the normal Hinata.

The adrenaline rush was slowly fading out of her body, neutralizing, and stabilizing, and Hinata missed it desperately. She nestled closer into the boy's body. She didn't want to lose the boldness that had gotten her so close to Naruto so many times in one night. The best part was she had been able to experience them all, with a bright, quick, if not slightly ADHD-characteristic mind. She had been awake and alert during every moment! She had felt so alive and free.

"Naruto?" she asked, barely a whisper.

"Eh?" Naruto said, encouraging her to continue.

"Do you gaze at the sky ever? Like now?" she asked.

"No, I don't," Naruto answered immediately. "I'm sure it would be too boring, unless you were there."

Hinata felt her mind immerse itself in the praise. "I don't remember the last time I did this," Hinata whispered. "I'm sure it wasn't like now."

There was silence. Hinata took that time to breath in Naruto's scent, and feel the warmth of Naruto's body against hers.

"Hinata? You like me, don't you?"

Hinata felt her heart freeze after hearing the question. This was it, wasn't it? The moment she had been waiting for? All the years she had been hoping and dreaming and in a few seconds it could become reality.

"O-o-of course, Naruto-kun…"

"And ever since that mission, we've been spending an awful lot of time together."

"A-awful?" Hinata stuttered. Was Naruto unhappy in her company? Was she too boring for his eccentric tastes?

"Not awful at all!" Naruto said urgently, sounding worried. "I meant a lot. I like spending time with you…"

The praise should have warmed Hinata to the core. Now it just kept her on edge. She was impatient to see the outcome of the conversation.

"Well, I'm not really sure how to do this…" Naruto adjusted his weight, and Hinata felt him tense up beside her. What was wrong? What was he thinking?

"N-Naruto, what are you trying to say?" Hinata whispered.

"This is awkward…"

"Awkward? Really?" Hinata asked. "Nothing you do could be awkward! You're really cool, Naruto."

Hinata turned and looked into Naruto's deep blue eyes. She noted a hint of surprise in them. "Me? Cool? Well, yeah, of course, but I never thought that you would have noticed."

"I never thought you would have noticed me." Hinata said sadly. "I think the first time you actually noticed me was on the mission. You were forced to after all. I was your only team mate. I fooled myself that you had noticed me before but I know that you didn't."

"Geez, Hinata, you've actually cared about me a lot longer than I have about you… no offense…Sorry."

"It's okay," Hinata said. She didn't want him to feel bad. "You were preoccupied with other things…"

"But I shouldn't have been…When Sakura was obsessed Sasuke why was I wasting my time? And look where that turned out—Sakura doesn't even like Sasuke that much anymore!"

"People's interests change," Hinata said. She didn't want to speak bad about her friend, even if she did steal all of Naruto's attention before.

"But yours didn't," Naruto whispered softly.

Hinata was surprised at Naruto's sudden change of tone. She didn't know what to reply to Naruto.

"What made you like me so much?" Naruto asked. "I sure wasn't returning the favor…"

Hinata looked up at Naruto. "You have such passion, Naruto. You have a fire inside of you that not many people have. Even if they have a fire, it's a small spark. Yours blazes brightly for all to see."

Naruto didn't reply for a moment. Hinata hoped that she hadn't said too much, or sounded too cheesy.

"Wow, Hinata." Naruto said. "That was…really poetic. I sure couldn't say something like that to anyone!"

"Why don't you say something now," Hinata said.

"Eh?" Naruto asked with a spark of surprise.

"I gave you a compliment." Hinata said, dangling the carrot, so to speak.

"Eh…I'm not good at this, you know," Naruto said, trailing off.

"Neither am I," Hinata whispered reassuringly. Naruto looked at her a little unconvinced.

"You're … like an onion."

Hinata widened her eyes in humiliation. Onion? What? Does my breath smell bad? Am I sour to be around? "E-e-excuse me, Naruto-kun?"

"There's a lot of layers to you," Naruto said. "You can't just make an assumption on the first day. Which is basically what I did for so many years."

Hinata still wasn't convinced. How is that a compliment? Am I bipolar? Difficult to figure out? Confusing? "What do you mean?"

"You are quiet and shy," Naruto said, to which Hinata felt her spirits sink. Yes, always back to that. The q-word and the s-word. "You can be really brave, though." Hinata looked up in interest. Yes, she was a ninja…but ninjas weren't always brave. They slunk around at night, trying not to be seen. That should have been very easy for Hinata, right?

"Thanks," Hinata whispered. She looked back down. Naruto's answer had seemed really general, and forced. Of course he couldn't like her like she liked him. That might not be possible for anyone. If only Naruto could know the depths of my love, Hinata thought.

"Hinata," Naruto said, tilting her chin up with his fingers. Hinata was forced to pull her pale gaze to meet Naruto's dark one. "I may not be as poetic as you, but if what you said about my fire is true, then don't you feel the warmth?"

Hinata felt herself choke up. Warmth? Naruto? Was he saying…

"I may not be the ninja that everyone goes to for concentration or perception," Naruto said, "but all ninjas possess those skills to a degree, right? I think I know what you want. And I'm asking you for that same thing."

Hinata felt her eyes watering and hoped that tears wouldn't fall down. "N-N…."

"Hinata, do you like me as more than a comrade?"

Hinata tried to nod. She hoped Naruto could see her reply.

"Thanks," Naruto said, smiling. He leaned in close. Before Hinata could react, the furious blush rushed back up to her face. She started shaking and would have stuttered incoherently if she had been speaking. Hinata closed her eyes. She felt the air fading from her lungs. Oh, no. What was happening? No, no, no, this is the moment I have been waiting for! I can't go back to sleep! Stay awake, stay awake, stay awake. The last thing Hinata felt before falling into darkness was the soft brush of lips against hers.