Peppermint Stone {Peppermint Book 2}

-24-

Japanese Support Base - One Week Later

Naruto

"Are you telling me you still haven't been able to find anything?!" I looked at the packet, my hands shaking with complete anger that I figured out I possessed this past week. "I thought your dog was the best fucken tracker this entire earth had to offer?!"

I chucked the giant packet of papers at Kiba who stood with his head hung, ashamed with yet another failed effort. I ran my fingers through my blonde hair and across my entire face, wincing a bit at the facial hair that was growing due to the stress along with lack of sleep I've gotten lately.

It's been an entire one hundred and sixty-eight hours since I last saw Hinata alive. Even that sight was one I didn't want to remember since it was her back jumping out a window right after wounding Nagato. I was only lucky to have worn a bulletproof vest underneath my uniform and was just knocked out a bit from the impact of the gun. Hinata was also wearing a vest but I'm glad she never had to really use it. 

I couldn't even say anything when she grabbed the child and jumped out the window without even looking back.

"I'm sorry," I sighed. 

Kiba shook his head, "We all are. If only we arrived a few minutes earlier..."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," I replied, giving him a weak smile. "I'll go out and look for them again in a few minutes. How is her team holding up?"

"Surprisingly," the canine expert sighed. "Who am I kidding? They try to keep a strong front but I'm pretty sure they all hate us at the moment for not being able to protect Hinata."

"At me for not being able to protect her," I scolded myself for being so careless. The way her face looked with the words I said to her. I can't come up with any reasons or excuses to say why I said those things at all.

In the end... I couldn't protect the one person I love the most in the world. 

I dismissed Kiba from my office and went back to sulking for a good half an hour. Reminiscing every single happy moment, every single kiss that left both of us breathless only made me want her back more and more.

I messed up. 

I messed up big time and I might as well have lost her for good.

"I don't like that face, captain," the door suddenly swung open. I rubbed my temples once more then looked at the doctor.

"Hisao-san," I said. "What do you need?"

The doctor smacked a file against his palm once and made his way over to me, "I was just checking up on you."

"You must hate me," I ran my finger through my hair once more. "I lost someone that was dear to you and your team."

"You're right, I should hate you," Hisao sat at the edge of my table. "But for some reason, I'm not. I should hate you for so many damn reasons but I just can't."

Hate me for losing Hinata, I understand. But what else?

"I don't understand what you mean."

Hisao sighed, "I know."

"Know?"

"I know that you were the guy that broke Hina's heart back in college," he continued. 

I blinked twice, then scoffed, "Pfft, that wasn't me."

"I saw the way she looked at you the day you picked us up from the airport," Hisao continued, bluntly. "And the way you responded didn't help your case at all."