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Love's Misconstruities	By : Idleflame Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1431 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
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Love�s Misconstruities

Chapter 21

�� The evening breeze was
beginning to turn into the colder chill of night, but Hinata did not feel
it.� She could barely even taste her
dinner as she sat at Ichiraku picking at her noodle dish, completely lost in
thought.�

�� I knew that this
might happen, after all�� And even if he
didn�t throw me out�even if he did agree to my marrying Gaara�I would have left
anyway, so�why should this bother me?� I�ve
never wanted to be his successor�� I
just�� I just�wanted him to�to�accept
me�to be proud of me�� she admitted to herself, biting her lip in effort
not to start crying.� It had taken long
enough to stop the last time and she refused to start again, especially now
that she was in public.� �But that was
a lofty goal, wasn�t it?�

�� Hey,
if it isn�t Hinata!�

�� I could never be the
daughter that he wanted��

�� ...Oy, Hinata��

�� I�m weak and pathetic
and-�

�� Hinata?�� So startled was she at the hand suddenly
touching her shoulder that she fell from her stool with a shriek, taking her
bowl of ramen with her.� �Hinata!� �ehh�� Are you okay?�

�� N-N-Naruto-kun!� she
acknowledged to the concerned boy kneeling beside her.

�� Are you okay?� he
repeated.� �You�re not burnt, are you?�
asked the boy, gesturing to Hinata�s ramen-covered jacket and pants with his
left hand.� His right, Hinata noticed,
was heavily bandaged and in a sling.

�� Oh, Naruto-kun,
you�re injured!�

�� Oh,
eh, this?� Ha!� This is nothing.� You should�ve seen the other guy,� Naruto
snickered.� �So you�re okay then?� No burns or anything?� he repeated, turning
the attention back to her.�

�� Eh? �Uh�n-no��
It was�already getting cold�� she explained half-heartedly as she sat up
and began to pick off the stringy noodles from her attire.� �Great�now I have to go back home and get
some clean-�� She paused mid-motion as
she realized that such an option was no longer open to her.� Her gaze dropped as she sat helpless on the
floor.� She didn�t notice the shopkeeper
and the blonde exchanging looks of concern and whispering a few words to each
other�her mind was locked away in self-pity.�
The only thing that brought her attention back to the here-and-now was
Naruto taking her hand in his.� The young
girl abruptly looked up, shocked at the physical contact, but strangely enough,
a blush didn�t even grace her cheeks.�
Naruto grinned at her as he stood and gently tugged at her arm, urging
her to do the same.� She did so, but
dropped her gaze once again.�

�� Uh�if you�d like,
I�ll buy you another bowl,� the boy offered.�

�� Hinata forced a weak
smile, but declined the offer.� �It�s
okay�I�m not hungry.� I�� I have to go somewhere anyway��

�� What, right now?� Where?�

�� To, uh�get changed,�
she lied, her voice trembling as she turned to leave.� �Thank you for the offer, Naruto-kun.� You�re...really...too kind.� Now, if you�ll excuse me,� she said, bowing
and beginning to walk past him.� Feeling
that she was losing her battle against her tears, she lowered her head, but not
quickly enough to hide it.�

�� Wait, Hinata,�� But she didn�t.� Instead, she quickened her pace, maneuvering
aimlessly through the thinning crowds of the village until, at last, she found
herself alone in a darkened dead-end ally where she finally allowed herself to
collapse against a brick wall as she wept once again.�

�� �Why�� Why can�t I be stronger?� Why can�t I stop these outbursts?� I even made a fool of myself in front of
Naruto-kun��

�� Um�.you know�� came a voice from above her.� Hinata jumped once again as she looked up
through blurred vision at the blonde boy who stood sideways on the building
above her.� �I know it�s none of my
business and all, but�if whatever�s bothering you is bad enough that you�d
forget to pay for your ramen, then�maybe you should talk to someone about
it.��

�� Oh,
no!� I have to-�

�� It�s
okay, it�s okay.� I took care of it.� But you owe me a bowl next time, okay?�

�� Hinata wiped the tears
from her face before slowly nodding.�
�Arigatou gozaimasu, Naruto-kun��
I�m sorry to have inconvenienced you.�

�� Naruto jumped from the
wall and landed crouched before his kunoichi comrade, staring at her intently
as if trying to figure out what to make of her.�
Hinata shied away from his gaze, finally resorting to burying her head
against her knees which she had pulled up to her chest.� �Hm�you�ve always been weird, Hinata�but not
like this.� What�s wrong?� Has someone been bullying you?� No, that can�t be�� Heh, you�d kick their ass.� Hm�then�did you get in a fight with your
teammates?� Did that creepy Shino guy say
something bad to you?�� She shook her
head slowly, sniffling.� �Did Kiba do
something?�� Again, she shook her
head.� ��hm�Neji,
then?��

�� No, Neji-nii-san has
nothing to do with this.�

�� Ah, then it�s
romantic problems, huh?� he guessed, finally earning him a startled gaze.� �Bingo.�
Wanna talk about it?�

�� It wouldn�t change
anything,� the girl despaired.

�� No, but�� Eh�well, who is this guy, anyway?�

�� It doesn�t matter.�

�� What doesn�t matter?�
Naruto said, slowly trying to coax the truth out of her.

�� It�s
okay, nothing happened between us.�

�� So then why are you
upset?� Isn�t it because of him?�

�� It�s not his fault.�

�� Whose?�

�� Gaar-� Hinata
abruptly stopped mid-word as she realized she�d fallen into his trap.

�� Gaar�?� Naruto
repeated, urging her to continue.� Hinata
only looked away.� �Gaar�something, huh?�
he said once again.� ��Ru?�� Ri?��
�Gaa-ri?��
No?� �Ra?�� Gaa-ra-something,� then?� Wait��Gaara�� EHH?!�
Gaara?!� Sunagakure�s Kazekage?�
That
Gaara?!�� When Hinata didn�t
dispute it, Naruto laughed heartily.� �Really?!� Ha ha, that�s
great!!� He never told me that!...� Eh, then again,
he doesn�t really say a whole lot to anyone��
He�s like you when it comes to that.��
Hinata had tried to shrink as far into the wall as was humanly
possible.� Her former crush was the last
person that she�d imagined discussing these kinds of problems with.� �So, what�s up?� If he�s not the problem, then��

�� Naruto-kun�it�s okay,
really,� she reassured, wiping at her drying tears.

�� Alright, alright, I
understand,� he relinquished, finally standing and giving her some space.� Offering her his hand once more he said,
�Well, why don�t you go home and get changed then.� It won�t do you any good to be wearing wet
clothes all night.�� Hinata, who had
begun to reach for his hand, halted mid-motion at his statement.� Her eyes once again glossed over as her lip
twitched.� �Eh?� What?�
Did I say something wrong?�

�� Gomen�� Gomen, Naruto-kun��

�� Don�t apologize.� Just tell me what I said wrong so I can fix
it.�

�� It�s nothing you can
fix,� she sobbed.

�� At this, Naruto was
stumped.� He felt uncomfortable as hell
standing above the distraught girl, feeling as helpless as she.� But it would be wrong to leave her here like
this and he knew it.� Deciding to make
himself more comfortable, he took a seat beside the girl and waited since it
was the only thing he could do.

�� I�I can�t go home��
came the smallest of whispers after several long silent minutes.

�� Huh?�

�� I told my father of
my intentions to marry Gaara and he disowned me.�

�� M-marry?!� Whoa�so it�s that serious, huh?� Oh, eh, but...shouldn�t your father be happy
for you?� I mean, you�re his daughter,
right?�

�� He had planned on me
wedding someone else - within the clan�not from another village.�

�� Huh?� Oh�yeah, you Hyuugas are weird like that, aren�t
you,� Naruto recalled.� �So�you don�t
have another change of clothes?� Or a
place to sleep tonight?� he asked, focusing on the problems which he at least
had a chance of helping with.� The young
girl shook her head.� �Then come on.� You can stay at my place tonight.� You can wash your clothes there.� I�ve got some extra ones you can wear until
yours are dry, okay?�

�� Eh?!� N-Naruto-kun, no, I...I couldn�t-�

�� It�s
okay, it�s okay!� I promise,
nothing funny!� I�d never dishonor
Gaara�s future wife!� You�re my friend,
and Gaara is too so it�s my duty to help.�
Now come on, you�ll catch a cold if you stay out here any longer,� he
finished, grabbing her hand and pulling her along.�

* * *

�� It had been a long
night, and by the time they�d gotten Hinata changed, washed her clothes, and
hung them out to dry, they were both quite ready for
sleep.� But before they did, Hinata just
had to get something off her chest.

�� If I don�t say
this now, I never will�and he deserves to know.�
I don�t know if I�ll ever have the courage to tell him again,� she
resolved.� �Naruto-kun�� For tonight, I give you my thanks,� she
declared, bowing.

�� Oh, eh�really, it�s
no problem.� No need to be so formal,
Hinata.� We�re friends, after all.�

�� To this, Hinata
managed a small smile.� �You�ve always
done so much for me, Naruto-kun��

�� Eh?� Naruto
questioned as he finished making up his bed and threw a few spare blankets on
the floor next to it.� �Oy, everything is
a pain with only one good arm,� he muttered under his breath.

�� You may not know
this, but I used to look up to you a lot��
I still do, I suppose.�� Naruto
turned to face his guest, a confused expression coating his face.� He watched as she fidgeted with her hands and
seemed to refuse to look anywhere near him, but still, she pressed on.� �You were always so strong�so adamant about
following your way of the ninja.� You
have a goal that you are pursuing and you won�t let anyone stand in your way or
tell you that you can�t do it.��

�� Hinata,-�

�� I, on the other hand,
was always told that my fate had been decided from the moment I was
conceived.� I tried to go along with it
but it wasn�t what I wanted.� It still
isn�t.�� Hinata paused as a sad grin
lifted the corners of her lips.� �Even if
I did want it, I could never become the person that my family needs me to
be.� But I did try�� I tried so hard for all of these years to
become stronger, to not let my family, my team, or Konoha down�� I was able to do that partly because of you,
Naruto-kun,� she explained, tears beginning to fall down her pale cheeks.� �Seeing you rise from being worst in our
class to what you are today�seeing your determination and strength�it gave me
hope.� I really admire you, Naruto-kun.�

�� Hinata�?�

�� And, so, I just wanted
to thank you.� I�m sorry,
I�ve just�wanted to say those things to you for so long�� I�m sorry to have troubled you.�

�� The blonde watched the
shorter girl before him, utterly baffled.�
She wiped at her eyes using the cuffs of his old jacket which she wore.� He�d given it to her for modesty�s sake.� His spare pants had fit her well enough,
though they were too long and a bit tight in the hips.� The shirt, which fit him just fine, had
definitely not been designed with a woman�s bust in mind.� When he�d first seen her after she�d changed,
he�d caught himself staring at the shapely woman she�d become.� But Naruto, determined not to wind up as
perverted as his teachers, had dug through his closet until he found his old
and tattered orange jacket.� Though it wasn�t
much, Hinata took it and thanked him, tenderly putting it on as if this worn
relic from his past were the most precious of garments she had ever worn.

�� I know it sounds
strange, but if you hadn�t gotten drunk a few years ago and created all your clones
that terrorized the village�I never would have gotten to know Gaara.� So, I should thank you for that as well.�

�� Uh�yeah��

�� Hinata finally worked
up the courage to look at him and almost chuckled at what she saw, but she
managed to confine her laughter into a small grin.� �The way you�re looking at me�� You must think that I�m crazy.�

�� Well�� I always thought you were a strange one,
Hinata,� he admitted, a smile growing on his own lips as well.� �But people like you don�t deserve to be so
sad.� I guess I�m glad if I was able to
help you become stronger, and even meet Gaara�though I wouldn�t go as far as thanking
me for trashing the village�� he added in a quieter voice before speaking up
again.� �But, you know?� That just proves what a great guy Gaara
is!� Did you know that he paid back all
the tabs that my clones ran up that night?�
Whew!� When I got the bill from Oba-san
I almost passed out!� He really saved me
there!� he chuckled.� �You know, I�m
really glad that he was able to wind up with someone as nice as you.� He had such a crappy life before�he really
deserves some happiness.� It�s really
awesome.� Everything�s finally coming
together for him.� I�m really glad,�
Naruto admitted as he knelt down to straighten the blankets some more.� Though Hinata could hear the sincerity in his
voice, she also recognized the faint tinge of envy.�

�� And someday, the same
will happen for you,� she declared with confidence, earning her Naruto�s
attention again.� �I know it�s your dream
to become Hokage�and if you keep going down this path that you�re on, I just
know that it�ll come true eventually, Naruto-kun.� And�as for Sakura-chan�� she added, noticing
that Naruto�s eyes widened at the mention of the medic�s name.� �I can only hope that she�ll realize that while
you both chase after Sasuke-san, it�s you that is by her side�that it�s you who
is always, and always has been, there for her.�
She�s a lucky girl to be loved by you.�
I think that someday she�ll understand that.��

�� Hinata�� I, um�� Naruto began, fiddling again with the
blankets.� ��Thanks.��

�� The rest of the night
had been uneventful.� After Hinata had volunteered
to help the struggling boy straighten the make-shift futon, he had insisted
that she sleep in his bed for the night while he took to the floor.� After some pointless arguing, Naruto finally
convinced her that it was okay and he didn�t mind.� Soon after, the two fell fast asleep.� The next morning Hinata�s clothes were still
a bit damp, but it was tolerable and she changed back into them, thanking
Naruto once again before taking her leave.�
Naruto then decided to write a short letter and took it to be sent
before carrying on with his day.�

* * *
��
�� Yes, Hinata, what is
it?� Tsunade asked upon the girl�s entrance into her office.�

�� I, uh�I wanted to
request�um�� the girl stumbled, trying to figure out how to say what she
wanted.

�� Does this have
something to do with the talk we had about a week ago?� the impatient Hokage
asked.

�� Uh�hai.�

�� Are you trying to
request permission to leave Konoha and go to Sunagakure?�

�� Hai��

�� Permission denied!�

�� Eh?� But, Hokage-sama-�

�� There are some
important matters currently going on and I can�t afford to lose a shinobi with
your abilities right now.� �When this is over and things calm down we can discuss this
further, but right now the answer is no.�

�� Hinata nodded, taking
in her leader�s words.� �Hai!� �What are these
new-�

�� It�s classified�but
soon enough, I think it�ll be time to let Team 8 in on the action.� For now, rest up while you
can.� You are dismissed.�

�� H-hai,� the younger
girl said, starting to rush off.

�� Hinata,� called the
older woman, causing Hinata to halt and turn back around.� In an instant, her reflexes worked their
magic and she caught the odd projectile which was hurled toward her.� Opening her fist, she found a small silver
key.

�� Hinata raised an
eyebrow.� �How did you-�

�� I�m the Hokage,� was
her explanation, and Hinata just nodded in acceptance.

�� Arigatou,� came her response as she bowed before going to check out her
new living quarters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Translations/Term Definitions...in no
particular order:

- ...Just an author�s note, really, I suppose...� In Japanese, as opposed to English, instead
of having 26 letters of the alphabet, they have many different kana characters (or
combinations of kana characters) which make out a single syllable.� So, when Naruto is trying to guess the name
of Hinata�s mystery-man, it�s really not that hard since he heard the first
part of the syllable, �r.�� Naturally
then, there would only be 8 possibilities in the Japanese language to complete
this syllable: �ra,� �ri,� �ru,� �re,� and �ro,� �rya,� �ryu,� and �ryo.�� Anyway, just thought that I
would make this point clear in case it seemed unrealistic that Naruto would
guess �ra� so quickly and realize that the name was just �Gaara� and relate
that to the one and only �Gaara� that he knows.� :p� I
have a lot of trouble writing the spastic blonde so I stress about the realism
of his character, or just the story in general...if you couldn�t already tell
by this note.�
- 21
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Love's Misconstruities