"Did you hear about the loser's latest stupidity, Ayaka?" asked her cousin, while wearing the anbu vest, as Sasuke would act as the Hokage's bodyguard with Naruto for a diplomatic trip to Kumo.
Of course she knew; the whole village was talking about it. There seemed to be no other topic than the rejection of the war hero by the heiress of the Hyuuga clan.
Ayaka knew that the young man hadn't done any of this on purpose, Naruto wasn't the type of person to hurt others out of spite, despite everything he had faced and all the difficulties he had overcome he was still very innocent, and especially when it came to girls — except Sakura — or romantic feelings.
He had always been oblivious to Hinata's feelings, seeing her as a good friend that he should protect. And even after her statement, when she risked her own life against Pain to protect him, that thought hadn't changed.
The girl just thought that this had gone on too long, and in the interest of a response, her friend didn't move forward. And now she had an answer, not the one she wanted, of course, but an answer nonetheless.
She loved Naruto since she was a child — and it would be very difficult for Hinata to get rid of that feeling so quickly, but Ayaka always trusted her friend and knew that she would eventually overcome it. She was always that kind of person; her friend was now recognized by her clan and seemed closer to her father.
And Hinata was happy despite everything, even more so after her father decided to end the Hyuuga clan's Caste System, abolishing once and for all that seal that turned her relatives into captives of their own family — cattle to slaughter.
Thinking about it, her mind immediately went to the boy she had liked since she was twelve. She had heard her name many times from Hinata's mouth when she met the shy girl in her class - and, later, she became friends with her, something that shocked others.
A Hyuuga and Uchiha being friends?
Too shocking, however, Ayaka had never cared about the silent rivalry that existed between her clans, despite her pride in being who she was and the clan to which she was born.
He had intrigued her ever since she laid eyes on him, in that stoic, arrogant way that reminded her of her own cousin, but in some ways the opposite of Sasuke.
In the Forest of Death he saved her, making her interest only increase, but when he almost killed Hinata - and she knew the reason behind her hatred for her cousin, even if Hinata was not to blame for being kidnapped, she was just a child; she sympathized with Neji's story, as it was expected given his gentle nature, but that didn't stop her from slapping him across the face, and she knew that it was from this moment that his interest in her began.
During the war when he was hit by the thorns of the ten-tailed beast to protect his cousin and Naruto, she cried tears of blood when she thought she would lose him forever, but she had arrived in time to prevent him from suffering worse damage, even though he was injured in the process—it mattered little to her as long as Neji survived.
And it was only after these events that she understood her grandmother's words about the love of an Uchiha. No other clan values love as much as we do, Aya-chan. Being with Neji was all she wanted. Her cheeks turned red when she remembered their almost kiss at the hospital, but Tenten's sudden appearance disturbed them.
"Why are you blushing?"
She blinked when she heard her cousin's voice, forcing herself to shake off her embarrassment. "It's nothing.", she smiled kindly at the older man, who rolled his eyes.
It was obvious to him that such a reaction could only mean one thing: his cousin was thinking about the Hyuuga boy.
"I'll see Hinata-chan later." she said, getting up from her cousin's futon. "It's likely that Ino-chan will throw a private party for us to distract her."
"Naruto really is a dobe."
The girl followed him everywhere - and used to watch him during Team Seven's training, not to mention that she looked redder than a tomato when he was present and, as if that weren't enough, Hinata even started to fainting when he got too close, but Naruto was never good at acting. Sasuke thought it was necessary to draw for him to understand this kind of thing.
"Changing the subject, Ayaka. Mom came to talk to me about our engagement." he grimaced, still upset about this particular topic.
An engagement between the two was almost certain since they were children, but both never said anything about it until they grew up. The cousin was a beautiful girl and since her time at the Academy, boys seemed enchanted by her and that hasn't changed to this day. That dog boy seemed to be in love with her, but Ayaka was always interested in the Hyuuga genius — and he in her.
And he was never interested in any girl, since he was determined to make his father proud of him, that was his only ambition throughout his life and he finally gained his father's recognition after the fourth ninja war. He finally stopped being a shadow of his perfect older brother, but out of nowhere Mikoto brought this engagement thing up to his annoyance.
"This will be said at the next clan meeting." she said, approaching the taller one. She pulled his chin, giving him a peck on the cheek. The only girl he let invade his personal space at will. "See you when you get back from Kumo... and don't go easy on Naruto, he deserves a beating for breaking my best friend's heart."
He laughed evilly. "Of course, I'm always ready to beat the dobe."
She laughed, very used to the relationship between those two.