NARUHINA ONESHOTS

☪ | realization

' realization '

naruhina oneshot 05.

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Naruto wanted to save Hanabi. He really did.

It was a fairly large mission, but nothing really new to him. Depart with minimal information, proceed as complications increase, and eventually complete it after Shikamaru or Sakura-chan figured out the origin and Naruto threw a couple of punches.

After the war, no quest really intimidated him.

So, yeah, he really wanted to save Hanabi. It was their objective.

But then why did these distracting, foreign feelings keep getting in the way?

He wanted to finish searching the abandoned town. . .but for Hinata. He wanted to find Hanabi. . .for Hinata. Most of all, he wanted to get this over with so he could figure out why his heart was being this way.

With Hinata.

"Split up," Shikamaru had said. "Cover as much ground as you can. Naruto, you're with Hinata. Don't let her out of your sight."

Naruto had given the Nara a determined salute along with an enthusiastic "Osu!", promising to keep Hinata safe. This was his mission. 

They started in the abandoned buildings, pushing aside cobwebs and stepping over what looked suspiciously like old bones. He'd failed for a single moment when Hinata squeaked from another room, having let her out of his sight.

But she'd only gotten some spiderwebs tangled in her hair. Naruto watched her struggle to remove them for a bit before he stepped in. He took extra care to be gentle (Sakura had scolded him many times for being careless with a woman), as if pulling even one hair from her beautiful locks would be the death of him. It might've been, too. Luckily Hinata was very patient and remained still for him, accepting the help gracefully.

They continued the search, finding nothing of interest or help on their quest. Most of the time the air was quiet between them, but small talk would pop up every once in a while. Naruto decided this was the most he'd heard her talk since they were genin together. He reflected on why she wasn't always so willing to hold conversation with him. There was something about the way she spoke that calmed him, like he'd suddenly lost the ability to talk a million miles an hour (as he often did with others) and the words coming from her lips were the most important things he'd ever hear.

Naruto found himself comparing her to a delicate flower, despite how strong he knew she was. 

They'd stopped for a drink, and without a second thought, Naruto offered some water from the fountain for her. (He'd never done that for Sakura. She'd probably rip his head off anyways.) Hinata, once again, accepted politely. Her hair fell over her shoulder when she leaned down, like a curtain. It was pretty.

His bathroom break later in the evening resulted in him injuring his back. Though to a small degree, it was bothersome, and Hinata came through with a small jar of ointment. The dream from that morning washed through his mind--it was the same stuff she'd given him way back during the Chunin Exams. Whereas anyone from Team 7 would have tossed it in his face and ordered him to do it himself, knowing he would be unable to reach, Hinata awkwardly watched him struggle before taking it from his hands and applying the cool cream for him. 

He didn't even have to ask.

Naruto, for the millionth time, felt absolutely, utterly, and completely confused.

They ran into some weird ghost man after that hurt Hinata. Naruto wasn't sure how, but she'd lost consciousness to a glowing ball thing. It was a reminder that this mission wasn't for him to work out his feelings. It wasn't a feelings mission. It was a rescue one.

Hinata seemed to grow more distant after the encounter, though. It worried Naruto (mostly because he noticed, and he didn't usually notice things like that), but again he recalled what their objective was. It was only due to that genjutsu that his mind was so mixed up.

There was a moment when they were standing on a balcony when Naruto looked at Hinata. Her hair was dancing with the wind and her expression was rather somber.  He couldn't put it into words, but it felt like he was truly seeing her for the first time.

Maybe it was because this time, he was the one looking at her. 

For once, she wasn't gazing back.

Suddenly, the longing in his heart grew stronger. 

And it wasn't much longer before it clicked.

I. . .love her?

She left him after that. He had done his best to come to terms with his feelings and decided that he would finally be able to return them to her. 

But she turned her back and left with a small 'sayonara.'

Naruto fought for her, but she was gone.

It was a different type of pain. It wasn't like the simple rejection when Sakura turned away from him and leaned towards Sasuke. Everything about this girl was different.

It hurt. A lot.

"When a girl truly falls in love, her feelings don't change that easily. They can't change."

Sakura gave him hope again. Hinata was in trouble, and Naruto had to save her.

Because he loved her.

And when he did, when he had her in his arms again, the feeling in his heart was overwhelming. Naruto was indescribably happy and without a second thought, he kissed her.

Hinata wasn't like any other girl he met. 

Naruto intended to spend the rest of his life with her.

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꒰ 🌓 ꒱ؘ ࿐ ࿔*:･ﾟa / n

yes, i still update this. 

hopefully you couldn't tell that i ran dry at the end there, heh heh :')

also this has been in my notes forever so i'm going to share it even if no one's reading:

"They fell in love, and all it took was for me to get kidnapped!"

- Hanabi, probably, one time

aaaaanyways, thanks for reading! please cry with me over hinata calling iruka 'father' in the wedding eps of shippuden because 😭😭😭

sayonara! <3

- grace