Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Hello Loves! Here's the next chapter for this short fic, I say short but honestly this one has gotten away from me a bit, oops. It's nearing 7k and still going. Even with shorter chapters, updates might take a bit for awhile, apologies ahead of time. Life and health have gotten a bit crazy lately. That being said, I've enjoyed exploring an alternating POV in each chapter. Hope it hasn't been too jarring for you all to read. As always, thanks for reading and sticking with me, I love reading any comments you feel like leaving! I hope you enjoy!

All my love,

~Luna

Hinata will admit to a tiny bit of cowardice, just a bit, a trifle really. Having Sakura deliver the food and medicines was accidental, not planned but Hinata can't deny a bit of relief that she won't have to face Naruto again so soon. It's not that she is uncomfortable, well not really, just that she's now confused. After their strange interaction the day before she isn't sure where she stands with Naruto. The ease with which he let her direct him, seems to go against what she thought their first true interaction would be like after the battle. She knows that Naruto checked on her in the hospital, Kiba and Shino told her. She's heard about Naruto's reaction to her supposed 'death' after Pein stabbed her. Hinata herself had been minimally conscious when Naruto's chakra had exploded, she had been at ground zero, felt the pressure of his rage. The moment his control slipped. She shivers as she shuffles papers on the desk, the students are busy working on another assignment. She's teaching an older group today, in a few minutes they will head out to work on techniques. The quiet rustle of paper and scratch of pencils, whispered words and conversations between the students are all background.

Hinata is aware that some of her compatriots think that it was her that triggered Naruto's reaction, and in a way she's sure they are right but it was more a final straw rather than the main reason. Naruto returned to his village destroyed, his sensei dead or near dead and so many others gone. There's no way he wasn't primed to lose control, even with how hard he had fought for years to gain that control. Watching anyone who is trying to defend you essentially be murdered and not being able to intervene no matter how much you want to would drive anyone over the edge. Hinata is sure that her confession means nothing in the grand scheme of his reaction.

Even though they have both been terribly busy, there have been down times. Short, harried, exasperatingly short times where they could have sought each other out. If Naruto wanted to respond, if he had feelings that matched her own then he would have found a way. His silence is an answer of its own and she doesn't resent it. In fact it's better this way. There's still so much that needs to be done. Naruto is still focused on Sasuke, and there are going to be more battles. Now is not the time to be thinking of confessions and responses. When the dust fully settles, when there is time, she hopes that her confession will be a distant memory they can both set aside in favor of a slide back into a quiet friendship. They have never been overly close, and her feelings have had years to build to where they are now. An infatuation that she is happy to let slowly fade.

xxx

Naruto has finished his food, and is reading the instructions for the medicines in the basket after a thorough shower. Sakura left shortly after giving him a few rough smacks on his back to help him dislodge the food in his throat and strict instructions between gales of laughter to get himself clean. Her laughter lingered after the close of the door. Naruto is still a bit annoyed that she set him up like that but not enough to hold it against her.

He feels so much better after the shower, finally clean and his shoulder is healed so it's not twinging every time he moves anymore. The list of medicines is short and the instructions to the point. The writing is neat and easy to read, the paper crisp and only folded once in the middle. The medicines are in tidy jars and bottles, clean on the outside and labeled with sticky tabs that show the same neat writing as the instructions. Naruto steadfastly ignores how fast his heart is beating, and the flush on his cheeks. He reaches out and picks up the bottle of pills, sets down the paper and after opening the bottle shakes a single pill out. The cap is replaced and he's downing the pill with a glass of water when the shock of several dissipations hits him.

The clones that held on all this time have hit their limits. It nearly puts him to his knees and the exhaustion he had only just begun to address causes an implosion in his head, chest and gut. He feels ill, retches and then desperately tries to keep the pill he'd just swallowed down by sheer will. There are several items that need his attention, but he's got black dots and sparkles chasing each other across the backs of his eyelids. His hands are gripping the edge of the table so hard he hears the cheap wood groan. It's followed by one of his own and he lets himself sink down to sit and then lay back on the floor. Well, at least he knows now not to let the clones try to hold out that long. Lesson learned, in the worst way. Naruto brings him arms up to rest over his face, takes deep breaths and pulls on the chakra his body began to replenish. He can't make any more clones right now, too unfocused and exhausted but he tests himself. Nope, he'll need a bit more time. The clones were primarily from the west side of the village where they are rebuilding some of the boundary walls; there are no emergencies. There are several clones from other areas of the village as well, their memories are all jumbling together and he's so tired. It's hard to sort things out but he holds on to the knowledge that there are no urgent situations. He can stay still for a bit longer, continue just breathing. His stomach is slowly settling, the pill will hopefully kick in soon which should also bring some relief. Naruto doesn't question for even a second that the medicine will help, Hinata sent it after all. He trusts her completely, and she would never give him something if she didn't think it would do him good.

Minutes pass in a syrupy slowness, his mind sifting through memories and knowledge that is his and isn't. The clones were busy, all of them exhausted. His ability to use his clones is unmatched and he hopes he only continues to get better, that doesn't make sorting this much information easy. He's used to using clones in battle, processing essentially the same information from various perspectives all focused on the same goal. Now his clones are spread over such a large area, doing a wide variety of activities and each has a slightly different focus. His mind feels pulled in too many different directions and a migraine is building behind his eyes. With another groan he rolls to his side and pushes himself up to his knees, fights another retch and keeps his eyes closed. The clones have been a constant draw, but they've mostly dissipated at controlled intervals, usually no more than ten at a time and never like this. There's a curl of sarcastic humor deep in his mind, he ignores it.

Some time later and with more effort than he wants to admit to, Naruto gets back to his feet and pulls the medicines close. There's one that Hinata's instructions said would help with tension and headaches. He squints against the light from his window and reads the labels. Finding the one he wants he unscrews the cap, dips his fingers in and begins to rub it carefully into his temples, the hinge of his jaw behind his ear and the base of his neck. The relief isn't instantaneous but it comes quicker than he expected.

xxx

Hinata is tired, bruised and has a shallow cut on her left wrist. Teaching isn't for the faint of heart, especially when you're working with weapons and hyperactive children. Hinata loves it all the same. She's always enjoyed being with the children, some of whom are more affected by the war than others. Hinata makes sure they know they can come to her whenever they need, and is happy when they do. She's scheduled at the hospital for a short shift after this and then tomorrow she'll be back here for the morning classes. It's a challenge but one that keeps her mind busy and allows her to feel like she's contributing to the recovery. She's waving goodbye to her students as they run from the yard of the school when she feels the chakra. The clone, at least she thinks it's a clone, comes into view across the rooftops, a bit away and moving quickly on some errand. She watches as he passes, focused and moving fast.

Hinata turns purposefully back to the doorway and goes in to clean up the classroom before heading to the hospital. The room is messy but not overly so. The students spent most of the class time outside today, working on practical skills with few mishaps, which Hinata is grateful for. The windows are open still and the air currents that swirl in the room carry the smell of chalk and chakra. Hinata thinks dreamily of the old school, the tree and the swing. She can remember seeing Naruto there, small body hunched, staring at nothing most days. On others, there was fire there, deep in the blue depths and what Hinata now recognizes as resentment. Something that could have become hatred, if Naruto was anyone else, if there hadn't been people who had stepped in at just the right time. As she closes the door to her classroom and begins the trek to the hospital, she thinks of all the years of watching, as seeing the pain in Naruto and not being able to do anything for him. Her painful shyness, lack of confidence and fear of her father held her back from befriending a boy she had so badly wanted to know. Her feelings had started then, young and silly, butterflies in her stomach, warmth in her chest. An admiration for his resilience, his strength and courage. Now that she's older she can recognize the differences in her feelings now from what they were then. They are still young, though perhaps old in shinobi years with all they have been through. Young lives lived in fast forward and death approaching faster than any of them acknowledge. Hinata shakes the dark thoughts loose as she crosses the threshold of the hospital, smiles a small smile at the nurse sitting at the folding table inside the door and steps up to receive her instructions for her shift.

xxx

The headache is getting better, slowly by degrees, Naruto can tolerate small movements but still needs to keep his eyes closed. The pill and ointment Hinata gave him are working, even with his accelerated healing, Naruto can feel the difference. Or at least he tells himself that, placebo effect or not, he doesn't care. The thought that she cared enough to send the food and medicine is a medicine in itself. It settles him and heals his concerns for the fact that he hasn't answered her yet.

He knows he should have. There's no excuse for letting this drag on as he has done. If he can make clones to take care of every issue in the village and then run himself ragged physically as well, then he could have spared her the time to respond to something so serious. And it is serious to him, he has spent his whole life trying to make connections and form bonds with others. There may be a war, and he still needs to retrieve his best friend, but Naruto is still sixteen. Even shinobi recognize adolescent crushes and young loves. Maybe more so than the civilian population, maybe not. Naruto isn't really sure, and it doesn't really matter. He knows how important it must be to Hinata, for her to feel she needed to tell him before she died. So he knows it's important for them both. This doesn't make it any easier to sort out his own feelings. He's been sure for most of his childhood and now into his teens that he likes Sakura. Not love maybe, but definitely a crush. Or he would have said that a few months ago, until he saw the look in Hinata's eyes, heard the truth of feeling in her words and got a glimpse at what love is. In the last few months he's come to the conclusion that he doesn't love Sakura, probably doesn't like her as he used to. She's a cherished friend, a teammate, and perhaps family if he's brave enough to claim that type of bond with her. He doesn't think she'd reject it, but there's no romantic love between them. He can see the same look in Sakura's eyes and hear the same depth of feeling in her words when she speaks of Sasuke that he saw that day in Hinata. Sakura loves Sasuke deeply and likely has for a long time.

So as the memories of his clones settle into the right places in his head he lets his mind drift through his memories of Hinata. Not actively seeking an answer, just remembering, anything that might let him see his feelings for what they could be. There are many, from before they started in the academy, all the way up to the day before when she'd placed her hand on his shoulder. In many she's flustered and stuttering. Or her voice is so soft he can't remember the words, because he couldn't hear her the first time. In several, she faints as soon as he gets close. There are missions where they work together, where her shyness settles. Times in the village with their friends where she's quiet but still present, though those times are fewer and far between. He's surprised by the number of memories he has of her. The quality of them is sharper than he thought they would be. There are some where he remembers noticing her around the village, watching her as she went about her duties or spent time with her sister or team. Okay, so he can accept and acknowledge that he noticed her more than he thought he did. He does feel a strong protectiveness towards her but he's not sure it's that much different from his protectiveness towards his other friends. She is his friend, that he knows. Is she more? He can admit he finds her pretty, very pretty. The more he considers her looks he might say she's beautiful, especially her eyes and dark hair. He feels a flush start in his cheeks, a blush, and shies away from further thoughts about her physically. So she's his friend, who he finds physically attractive and who he feels strongly protective of. Does he love her? He's not sure, but she deserves an answer.

Author's Note: I don't usually put notes at the end, but I think this chapter warrants it. In writing this I wanted to give Naruto time to realistically figure out his feelings. I hope it isn't too cumbersome to read.