Chapter 12: At This Moment

She looks at him, a soft and tender look as he caresses her cheek with his thumb. Her hand lifts to touch his, a passionate gesture in which he desires. He knows that he shouldn't be this close, but his aching wants had yet to be pacified as he drew closer. He was testing the boundaries that lay between them, an action he didn't know was right or wrong.

Without much thought, his fingers slipped under her hair and behind her ear, a daring motion that induced a slight tremble in her lips. His eyes couldn't help, but remain on her slightly parted lips as he lessened their distance. They both feel the warmth of each other's skin and the gentle wind of each other's breath and finally he's had enough.

All consequences ceased to exist in an instant as his left hand seized her hip, pulling her to him. Her lips were soft and warm against his own as they stood there unmoving. He was uncertain of what her reaction would be to his sudden avid impulse, but when her eyes closed and a light blush filled her cheeks, he determined it was something that she might want as well.

Naruto began to move his lips with hers, a gesture so surreal for two friends that had been nothing more than platonic. Hinata gasped in between the movement of their lips, but he continued to caress them with his own. He didn't want to stop. To carry on into this unknown territory between them was enticing, but it was also selfish.

He was the black stain in her perfect life, a lasting truth that could never be forgotten, but at this moment -with her lips on his- the chance for a future without darkness and solitude was within reach.

He pulls away reluctantly, the warmth of her still tingling on his lips. She looks at him with half-lidded eyes and is breathing fast. "Hinata." He says, also breathing fast.

She looks down, and he realizes his jacket is still in her hand between them. "Here." She says still looking at his jacket. "Thank you for letting me use it last night."

"Er, no problem." Naruto says as he picks up the jacket from her arms, swinging it over his shoulders and zipping it up.

Naruto and Hinata stand there in a difficult silence as they both reflect on what they had just done. He wonders if she is regretting the fervent kiss they shared and hopes that she isn't thinking about Tamaki. He doesn't understand why the thought of her with him or any man for that matter gave him a heavy heart. He had told himself that her happiness was enough for him, but now, he wasn't sure if it was.

"Naruto." She spoke looking up at him with passionate eyes that captivated his own. "I-I—"

"Hinata!"

They both turned to see Sakura running towards them. "How are you feeling?" she says as she places a hand on Hinata's forehead.

"I'm completely better, thanks to you Sakura!" Hinata says with a sincere smile.

Sakura gave a sigh of relief as her hand lowered from Hinata's forehead. "You gave us such a scare back there! Especially, Naruto here." Her head nodded in his direction. "He wouldn't leave your side for even a second." It seemed Sakura was getting back at him for all the times he bugged her about Hinata.

Hinata's head lowered and her eyes fell. "I'm so sorry." She whispers as she bites her lip.

Sakura seems to realize Hinata's sudden woe and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You don't need to be sorry." She paused and began to chuckle. "But who knew you could be such a badass?'

Naruto smirked. Hinata was anything, but weak. She was as much a strong kunoichi as she was a gentle woman. He knew all too well, she wasn't to be taken lightly.

"Ah, you're awake." Sasuke says walking from behind the trees. "I've located the town where Hinata got her information. Naruto, see that she gets home, then rendezvous with Sakura and I.

Naruto nodded and turned to Hinata. She was still looking down with a frown on her face. "Errr, is it okay if I carry you? I don't know if you should be run-."

"Im fine!" She says with a red face. She was glaring at him now with wide eyes.

She's stubborn, he thought to himself. He knew that with the damage she sustained, she shouldn't have been able to walk for three days, but it had only been one. Either Sakura had somehow performed a miracle on her or Hinata was rejecting her body's pain. He didn't know, but he would keep a close eye on her to be safe. Sakura gave Naruto a hesitating look, and somehow he knew she was thinking the same thing.

Sasuke and Sakura say their farewells and take off into the depths of the forest, leaving Naruto and Hinata in an awkward silence once more. Naruto watches as Hinata takes a deep breath before shooting him an unexpected playful look.

"You know, I feel just fine. You don't need to worry." Hinata says confidently, but he couldn't help but give a look of skepticism. "Lets go." And with that she ran ahead of him.

He shakes his head and runs after her.

They ran together like this for five hours before he notices that she is slowing down and is breathing hard. He doesn't know why she is pushing herself as hard as she is, but he needed to put a stop to it. He maneuvers himself in front of her and catches her while she's in the air.

"Naruto!"

He lands gently on the ground and lets her go.

"I told you I was fi—"

"No, you're not!" he shouts. "We are going to rest here for an hour and after that I will be carrying you the rest of the way."

"I can handle myself, Naruto!"

"Why do you insist on being so stubborn?" His hand was on his head now, rubbing his temple. She was being difficult. She had a scowl on her face and her arms were crossed against her chest. This was the first time he'd seen her pout and if he wasn't so damn frustrated with her, he'd have to admit that she looked cute.

"Well, why do you insist on making me wait forever!" she says, answering his question with another question. "How long will it be till I see you again this time, huh? Another four years, perhaps?" Her voice was course and her eyes were wide with regret as she covered her mouth, mortified.

"I see. So is that what this is really about?" Naruto says enlightened. Her words had stung, but it was to be expected. She wanted to stay, to fight along side him, an idea that he was not opposed to so long as he gets to be near her, but he quickly pushed those thoughts away because he knew he was just being selfish again. "Where I go, Hinata, there lies nothing but darkness and ruin. Even a well-lit place can hide salvation."

"But…why?" Hinata whispers softly. "You, Sasuke, Sakura, why do you endure this?" Her eyes were looking into his, searching for an answer that would somehow make it all better.

Naruto gives a heartfelt smile and says, "Because, we must. Because, we will face the odds against us and run into the fear we run from." He paused. "Because, It's the only way we know how," He finishes.

"How to what?" She asks with a curious expression.

"...How to change the world."

Her lips curve upwards as she places a hand on his cheek. It had only been four hours since he had felt the delicate touch of her fingertips, but it was four hours too long. It was a tact he would never grow tired of and subtlety he would forever revere.

"You can carry me if you want." She murmurs softly.

"I'm glad we've finally settled that." He joked, a smirk playing from his lips.

His eyes wander down to her pink lips and for a moment he remembers how nice they felt on his. He couldn't deny that he wanted to experience the sensation he felt again and without much thought, his fingers were secured at her hip pulling her closer. It was wrong of him, he knew, to crave the warmth of her skin and the moistness of her lips, but if what he felt was wrong, he didn't want to be right; at least, that's what he tried to tell himself.

Am I the darkness you should hide?

Lips graze, shivers surge, and breaths collide, but before anything else could happen, she breaks eye contact and turns away. "M-Maybe we should get going," she says, her eyes avoiding his.

He releases her hips and takes a step backward. Unsure of what to say, he simply nods and agrees. Perhaps, it's time Naruto realizes that his self-serving wishes are uninvited.

Whilst battling within the bounds of himself, Naruto carries her, jumping from tree to tree with the agile and deftness of a master shinobi: her extra weight, barely a strain on him as he dodged the forests obstacles. Despite her weight posing no struggle physically, it was another struggle that was brewing emotionally.

Naruto had seemed to awaken something inside him, a burning desire that grew until it consumed his essence with need. A need that would cultivate when their gazes met or when they touched. A need that would infringe on the deep bond they shared. A need for her. And if he really thinks about it, maybe she was really fine like she says she is, but a crude thought slipped into the shallow corners of his mind. Maybe, he just wanted to hold her, to feel the curves of her shape in the deepness of his arms. Such a childish motive, yet it sustained a truth that Naruto could not deny.

He travels like this, deep into the dead of night as the stars colonize in the atmospheres above. This is a good time to rest, he thinks as he stops beside a large creek. Hinata jumps out of his arms and kneels on the bank, splashing her face with the crystal-blue water. She looks back at him with a red face.

"Um, I need to-to…" she trailed off while looking back at the running water.

"Huh?"

Hinata begins to tug at the jumble of twigs and mud that had been embedded in her long hair ,"…I would like to freshen-up a bit," she says exacerbated.

"Ah." He feels his cheeks turn hot. "Well, I'll just be…over there" He points to a spot within eye distance in the shadow of the forest.

She nods and thanks him before turning around and Naruto knows that this is his queue to leave. He leans against a tall tree and waits for her. A creeping image arises as he's standing there listening to the splash of the water as it hits her bare skin. Hinata was stripped, raw, and barren. His heart beats faster as his thoughts submit to a hunger that had been evolving rapidly within himself. A possessive hunger that manifested the night he saw her with Tamaki. During that time, his view of her had shifted from the shy girl he knew in the past to the bold and beautiful woman Hinata had become now. But things only got more intense as he imagines that same woman that night in the short, silky robe with half-lidded eyes and a well-kissed mouth.

Naruto imagines the carnal moans she must have given to Tamaki and can't help, but envision himself coaxing the same moans from Hinata obtainable only by pleasure. "Pleasure" a term so unfamiliar and never prevalent, but suddenly so relevant. He wanted it. He wanted the heightened feeling of lips embracing his own. He wanted to experience the friction caused by two bodies joined together. He wanted to hear the sensual whispers and collective moans. Naruto wanted it all, but to be more specific, he wanted Hinata.

"Naruto?"

Naruto lifted his head to see Hinata. She had scrubbed all the mud from her clothes and her face, arms and legs were clear of all blemishes. Her long, black hair was wet and lay disheveled but alluring as it swept across her face and flowed behind her back.

"I'm sorry I took so long."

Naruto let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "No problem." He says.

Hinata gives one of her wholehearted smiles and raised her eyebrows, "So, what did you want to do now? Continue forward?"

I can think of a few things we could do.

"…Yeah, sure."

"Really?" She has a suspicious look with pursed lips, "You look tired. Maybe you should rest."

"I'll be fine, Hinata."

She smirked, "No, you're not. We are going to rest here for an hour and after that I will be carrying you the rest of the way." She had said it in a mocking tone. "Sound familiar?"

The words he had said to her hours ago played in his mind. "Okay, okay! Maybe I was a bit harsh back there. But hey, don't act like you didn't enjoy your little free ride in the arms of this guy," he said while pointing to himself with a lop-sided grin.

"Oh please." She says with a giggle. "But seriously, you are not carrying me this time!"

"Thank the heavens!" Naruto jokes as she swats his arm, playfully.

While running together, Naruto realizes that although he may want Hinata, he is no good for her. A bond like theirs was special, too special to tarnish with his own self-serving desires. To delve too deep into his wants could ultimately destroy their relationship past the point of no return and it was a risk that he would never be willing to take. Of all the chains he's had to break free from in the past, he has let but one remain, Hinata. She was his link to humanity and a light that stayed bright when all other lights failed to stay lit. Besides, she probably would never feel that way for someone like him anyway. He was a demon after all.

It was all too soon before the scenery around them became familiar. They were close now, just seventy more kilometers and Hinata would be home. Naruto was relieved to know that she would be safe again, but something was lingering over his consciousness. Something foreboding that he should pay heed to. And that something was Tamaki. He didn't want Hinata alone with him and not only for his own personal reasons, but for a more significant reason. He didn't trust him, but he had little to no evidence that would give Hinata any reason to distrust Tamaki. He wished he had more time to investigate the asshole, however, time was limited in his world. Even so, he would be back to check on her and hopefully she will have ditched the bastard. But he could only hope.

They arrive at her small house during sunset, when the trees were casting a brooding shadow that slowly fades as the skies mixtures of blues grow dimmer with each passing minute.

Naruto looks down, the pang of guilt he feels now is harrowing. He didn't want to leave her again.

Hinata looks at him carefully before speaking. "When will I see you again?"

"I...don't know."

She winced and bit her lip and Naruto couldn't help, but suppress the urge to close the distance between them and embrace her.

"...It's hurts to feel you this far." she says quietly. Her eyes remain on his, placid and unyielding.

"Hinata, I will come back. I promise." And he means it with every fiber of his being. He will come back for her.

She gives a light sigh, "I believe you, Naruto. And I promise, I will wait for you. Because-"

Naruto watches as she laughs softly before finishing. "Well, I guess what I'm trying to say is...I love you, Naruto."

He stood there, motionless. Did she just say...love? His heart was beating faster and faster as her words pierced through his every defense. He had been trying to escape an imminent reality it seems. She loved him. He didn't know why, but she did and it was the surreal truth. A truth that could never be left unrequited. Because if he is completely honest with himself, Naruto knows he has loved Hinata for years.

Author's Note: Inspired from the lyrics by Starset.