A/N – We find out what exactly Hinata's deal is.

It's a little. Concerning.

Hinata did a quick check of her packed bags, taking a few moments to panic about it (it was so stressful, how many pairs of underwear would she need? There was no end date on this. Should she take all of her uniforms, or go with civilian clothing?). After that was done, she shrugged on a light jacket over her nightgown (just so she was not walking around Konoha at night in her nightgown).

Once that was taken care of, all that was left to do was say her goodbyes. A round of stoic (yet still heartfelt) goodbyes later, she and Kakashi left for, presumably, his apartment.

Hinata wondered if she should say something, but couldn't bring herself to. Her mind was moving a mile a minute, trying to internalise her new life (at least, for the foreseeable future).

A failed heiress in need of guarding was not how she had wanted him to see her, but there was nothing to be done about it now.

The looming shadow of the Hokage Rock off in the distance reminded her of her former crush on Naruto. It used to be painful, years ago, but looking back on it now she could remember it with fondness, as something that helped her while it existed.

She had confessed to Naruto during Pein's attack, not expecting anything to come from it. It had been more about dying without regrets, than anything else. She had assumed (had been sure, in fact) that Naruto would reject her, she would gracefully accept his feelings for Sakura, and they would move on with their lives.

That was not what had happened.

The first few weeks, everyone was too busy for her to even think about her confession. The Village was devastated, and they were preparing for war. It was just not the time.

A couple of months after that, she began to think about it again, but Naruto was so involved in the Village's rebuilding and all that it entailed, it was clear that he didn't have time to address her feelings, and she was willing to wait (she had waited for so long already, she could wait a little while more).

But then the months kept passing by, the Village rebuilt itself, and life went back to normal, without so much as a word from him.

He was still around, of course, and it was not as if he was avoiding her, but... it was as if her confession had never happened.

Then she had seen him at Ichiraku's, with Sakura.

It should have been of no consequence. Naruto dragged everyone to Ichiraku's for lunch, it did not have to be a date.

And yet, something in Hinata's heart had cracked.

It might have been how animated he was being, more so than usual, given the maturity he had gained since he had returned from his training trip. It might have been the way Sakura let him talk without hitting him to shut him up.

It might have been the way Ayame had caught her eye and given her a look full of pity she did not want to see.

Hinata had quickly made her way back home before they could see her, locking herself in her room. It seemed it was finally time to mourn her old crush.

She did not begrudge Sakura Naruto's affections (she could not, when Sakura had suffered in her love for Sasuke as long as Hinata had known her). It was entirely understandable that she would turn her attention to the bright boy who had always loved her (Hinata herself had thought her a fool for holding onto Sasuke for so long).

Still... excising those feelings from her heart hurt.

Hinata had taken a couple of weeks to get over that painful heartbreak, making herself scarce around the Village.

Then Sakura had asked to see her.

Hinata pasted a smile onto her face and agreed to see Sakura, not wanting to ruin a friendship over this. Both Naruto and Sakura were her friends first, and if they found happiness with each other, she would support them, regardless of her own feelings.

Hinata entered the sitting room, and was surprised to see Sakura looking downcast.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-chan." She greeted her, wondering what could have happened that had her looking like this (and why she decided to see Hinata about it).

It had only been, what, two weeks? Two and a half? Surely things couldn't have soured that soon?

"Hi, Hinata-chan." Sakura grinned at her weakly as Hinata took a seat, her hands clenched on her thighs. She sounded like she was going to cry! "I... I wanted to apologize."

"Whatever for?" Hinata asked, then immediately jumped in concern when tears flooded Sakura's eyes. "Sakura-chan!"

"I'm so sorry, Hinata-chan!" Sakura spoke through hitched breaths, angrily wiping away tears. "I knew about your feelings for Naruto, and I still... I don't even have an excuse! I have been such a terrible friend to you, and – and I wanted to apologize and let you know that if you want me to, to move aside I will, I – "

"Sakura-chan! Please – "

"I'll tell Naruto I changed my mind! That things just weren't working out, or – or that I still like Sasuke-kun! He'll, he'll understand – "

Hinata gaped in shock, pitching forward to hold her hands within hers. "Please, Sakura-chan, do not do that! I am not upset with you."

"Hinata! Don't lie to me like this!" Sakura spat in a tone full of vitriol, making Hinata rear back. "I stole the man you've loved all this time, and you're not upset!?"

"Sakura-chan, I am not lying." Hinata rubbed Sakura's palms to offer comfort, her own eyes stinging. "You did not steal him from me, because he was never mine to begin with."

An anguished whine left Sakura's throat, and Hinata felt like she was going to start sobbing as well.

Clearly she was not as over this as she had thought.

"I did not confess to him because I expected him to reciprocate, Sakura-chan." Hinata explained, bringing her in closer for a hug, more for her own benefit than Sakura's, to be quite honest. Sakura's arms tightened around her, hands fisting into her yukata. "I always expected him to reject my feelings. I just did not want to die with any regrets. You understand that, yes?"

She felt Sakura's head move under her chin in a nod, and looked up when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye.

Hanabi was peeking around the doorway. Upon realising that she had been caught, she frowned, flicking her eyes towards Sakura. Hinata shook her head.

Neji popped up behind Hanabi, glaring at Sakura. Hinata gave him a warning look, and gestured for both of them to make themselves scarce.

"I don't begrudge you his feelings." Hinata spoke through a heavy throat, then decided to offer some honesty. "I suppose... I suppose I just wished that he would have told me."

"You know that knucklehead, Hinata-chan." Sakura sniffled, some amusement in her voice. "He would forget to put on his clothes if he had enough on his mind."

Hinata huffed a silent laugh when Sakura's arms tightened further around her, almost hurting her ribs. It was a welcome hurt though, so she didn't say anything about it.

Suddenly, Sakura shot back up, wiping her eyes again.

"Hinata-chan, if you ever get a crush on someone, you just let me know!" She demanded, a determined look on her face. "I'll drag him to you kicking and screaming, no questions asked! And I'll punch every other girl out of the way, I promise you that!"

Hinata laughed, even though a hidden, petty part of her wanted to ask if that declaration would hold true even for Sasuke.

She didn't ask. There was no point in bringing him up. She had no interest in him, anyway.

"There's no need for that, Sakura-chan." Hinata smiled at her, feeling a lot lighter than she had in the previous days. "But I appreciate the offer nonetheless."

It was after that conversation that Hinata had truly let go of Naruto, and it was also when she had learned an important lesson.

She could not stay on the sidelines. She was too shy, too withdrawn, to catch someone's attention and keep it that way. She would have to be more proactive.

If she wanted to keep someone, she would have to draw them in, and make them want to keep her. She would have to become the fixation of a one-track mind. It would be too easy to be discarded, otherwise.

It was so much easier said than done, which was why she was stuck with a crush she had done nothing about.

"We're here, Hinata-chan."

Hinata shook herself out of her musings, finding herself at Kakashi's apartment building.

Did she just walk all the way silently without a word? How awkward!

'That is one way to catch his attention, Hinata!' She thought self-deprecatingly. 'A silent ghost floating at his side without a single word!'

"Ah, thank you, Kakashi-san." Hinata smiled at him as she entered, a little flustered. "I am afraid I am not good company tonight."

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan." Kakashi smiled back at her. He did not seem upset or irritated with this whole venture, which was a relief. "I was out cold when they brought me in, I'm not at my best either."

His words were punctuated by a yawn, making Hinata giggle.

He led her up the stairs to his apartment, unlocking the door and holding it open for her to enter.

Hinata surreptitiously looked around, taking the place in. It was quite neat, with the slightly impersonal air of a bachelor pad. There were only two picture frames on the coffee table, one of Team 7 and one of, what must be, his former team.

Uchiha Obito, presumed dead in the Third Shinobi War, was part of the Akatsuki, actually died in the Fourth Ninja War. Nohara Rin, had the Sanbi sealed inside of her, died shortly after. Namikaze Minato, Yondaime Hokage of Konoha, died during the Kyūbi attack.

(Why she knew most of that was no one's business but her own).

"It's too late to go over everything right now." Kakashi declared, leading her to a door to the right. "You can take the bedroom, I'll take the couch."

"K-Kakashi-san, I couldn't, I – " Hinata stuttered, breath coming a little faster. He wanted her to sleep on his bed!? Where he slept every night? And she was expected to be normal about that!? "I will take the couch, i-it's fine – "

"Nonsense!" Kakashi waved her protests off. "I couldn't make a lady sleep on the couch. Bathroom's right there, we'll talk more in the morning. Good night, Hinata-chan."

Kakashi closed the door behind him before Hinata could get a word in edgewise, and she was left standing there. In his room.

She released her bag onto the floor with a thump.

Kakashi's room was much like the rest of his house. A bed, with a stiff mattress, and white sheets. A closet to the side, with a desk pressed right up against it. Not much else in terms of decoration.

Hinata sat on his bed, running her hands over the sheets (unmade, he had been sleeping here – ). She shuffled onto it, swallowing when a crisp masculine scent hit her. Her hands flew up to her face, and she held back a scream.

'This is going to be so, so difficult!'

A/N – Hinata, known simp: How could Sakura like Sasuke for so long when he's not giving her anything? I just don't understand.

Our girl Hinata, learning all the wrong lessons from her heartbreak. Bestie, your previous crush was oblivious to a fault and had rarely experienced a positive emotion directed towards himself, and the new one was an ANBU in his teens who one-by-one lost everyone close to him! Those do not compare!

Also, Sakura's reaction may seem extreme until you remember that she canonically lost her friendship with Ino over Sasuke, and they only reconciled after the Chūnin Exams. She realised she might lose Hinata's friendship as well, and wasn't sure that they could get past this (mostly because she knows that she wouldn't have forgiven Hinata if the roles were reversed).