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Description
Darkness was all she could see. She could feel the wind against her face. Her eyes hurt from being clenched so tightly. She opened them, hoping that her situation was better than before.
It wasn’t.
All that Hinata saw was a wall of jagged rock rushing past her. She tilted her head back and saw the rapidly approaching bottom. The air howled past her body, fanning out her hair as she plummeted to the bottom of the crevice. She was terrified; she couldn’t even let out a scream. She closed her eyes again, hoping that it would all go away, but knowing that it would not. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she felt something tighten around her chest, squeezing the life out of her. Hinata’s mind was overloaded with fear, emotion, and anticipation of her imminent death. She braced herself for the impact, until she finally collided with the bottom.
It was soft. It absorbed her the fall, leaving her mostly undamaged. ‘It was just a genjutsu,’ she thought to herself. Her heart pounded against her chest; it felt as if it was going to explode. Hinata opened her eyes, expecting to see the sunny field she was standing on only moments ago, filled with sunshine, grass, and fresh breezes.
Instead, she saw the same rock walls she had seen before. This time, however, they was not distorted as they were while rushing past her field of vision. ‘If I’m still in here,’ she thought, confused, ‘then why is the ground soft? Surely he didn’t plan for that to happen…’ Her questions were quickly answered when an exasperated cry of pain sounded from beneath her, and she felt warm droplets of blood land on her cheek. Her eyes widened as she slowly turned to see the source of the blood. When she saw what it was, she let out a gasp.
Sprawled out below her was a young ninja, wearing a bright orange and black jacket. His blonde hair was long and unruly, and there were three whisker marks on either side of his face. Directly on top of him was Hinata. She quickly removed herself from his body, tears beginning to blur her sight. There was blood coming out of his mouth, trickling down his chin before running down his neck. His eyes were shut tightly, his teeth bared as he tried to cope with the pain. His arms lay useless at his sides, and she could see that his shoulder was out of place. Finally, it became too unbearable. Hinata’s eyes ran freely as she heard an animalistic roar of pain escape from his throat, spattering more blood around his already battered face. He continued to cry out, his body convulsing as he writhed involuntarily. Hinata was in such a state of shock that she couldn’t do anything. She fell to the ground, tears gushing out of her eyes like waterfalls, holding herself as she tried to escape the torments of the image of a dying Naruto that was already carved into her subconscious. She opened her eyes again to find herself staring at her ceiling. The sunshine was in her eyes, refracting through her tears to form visible beams. She slowly got up and rubbed her eyes, pulling her sheets back into place. Heading into the bathroom, she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “It was only a dream,’ she thought to her self. ‘It was so real, the falling, the blood, the…’ Hinata shuddered at the vividness of her dream, before showering, putting on her training outfit, and heading out to her team’s training area.
She arrived in the forest where she, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino meet, only to find herself alone. ‘Why is nobody here?’ She looked up at where the sun was. ‘It’s about 10:00, where are Kiba and Shino?’ She shrugged and started walking to the nearby lake. Setting her pack down, she removed her jacket before walking out to the center of the lake. Although her clothes hindered her movements while practicing, she had learned the hard way the consequences of practicing without them. She was lucky that Naruto had lost his balance, but it could have very easily become an awkward situation for both of them. Shaking her head of these thoughts, she closed her eyes and began to practice.

The doors to the Konoha Hospital opened as two teenage shinobi walked out. “I’m still surprised that you even visited him. You’ve never visited anybody in the hospital before. Not even me…”
“For one to perform such a selfless act for one he considers only a friend,” the other ninja said, hiding behind his hood and dark sunglasses, “that is the type of act that deserves recognition.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t come visit me in the hospital,” Kiba muttered. As they walked out into the street, they saw their final teammate approaching. “Hey! Hinata! Where were you?”
Hinata approached Kiba and Shino and asked, “I- I thought we were training today.”
Shino turned towards Hinata, his sunglasses reflecting the sun’s rays. “Do you not remember anything from yesterday?” he asked calmly.
Hinata was surprised at this question, but when she thought about it, she couldn’t remember anything from the previous day. “Uhh… I guess not… I’m sorry, what were we supposed to do?”
“You mean you don’t remember anything at all?” Kiba exclaimed. “We had a mission yesterday!”
“I-I’m sorry, Kiba-kun. I don’t remember any… mission…”
“I believe that she doesn’t remember because she faced a lot of trauma,” Shino said flatly to his teammate. Turning back to Hinata, he asked, “What do you remember?”
“W-Well, I... I don’t know… All I remember is waking up from a bad dream this morning, and going out to our training spot.”
“What was this dream you had?”
“Wh- Why do you ask?”
“Did it involve Naruto?”
“I- I don’t think that’s-”
“Did it involve falling?”
“How did you-”
“Did it involve Naruto getting severely injured?”
Hinata mind was filled with questions. “How… How did you know all of those things? It was a dream… my dream… right?” She looked up questioningly at Kiba and Shino. The two looked at each other briefly, before turning back. She noticed a sad look in Kiba’s face. He took a breath, and was about to speak, when Hinata beat him to it. “It… It wasn’t a dream, was it?” She didn’t even need a response. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, tear forming in her eyes. “H-H-How… How could… could this have…ha-happened?” she cried. She didn’t want to believe it. Her heart, though, knew this to be true. “I-I-Is… h-he alr-right?” she managed to ask some minutes later.
Shino spoke up in his monotonous tone that always seemed to have a soothing effect. “Naruto will be fine, Hinata. He is currently under the care of the Hokage. There is nothing to fear.” At hearing this, Hinata’s tear ducts began to let up.
“S-so… h-he’s ok?”
“Of course he is!” Kiba said brightly, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere. “He may be bed-ridden for a while, but he’ll make it, you just watch.”
Hinata smiled and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. “Th-Thank you Kiba-kun, Shino-kun.” She hugged her friends before walking inside the hospital. Once inside, she looked at the labeled hallways before leading herself to the urgent care room. She sat down on the familiar white benches outside, and waited. Kiba and Shino walked away, Hinata’s reaction still heavy on their minds. “I wish I had as much confidence in my words as she did,” Kiba heard Shino say to himself.

The hours flew by; team after team of exhausted medic-nins came out of the doors, replaced by fresh ones. Each time the doors opened, she snapped her eyes up, hoping to see Tsunade walk out. Each time, however, she was disappointed. She made the best of it and tried to catch a glimpse of Naruto, but all she saw was a faint green glow emanating from the room. More time passed, and she began to worry. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw a young kunoichi with pink hair. “Hey Hinata. You waiting for Naruto?”
“H-Hai…” she replied. Sakura removed her hand from Hinata’s shoulder and sat down. “H-How long is he… is he going to be…”
“I wish I knew. When he came in, he was in pretty bad shape…” Sakura noticed the changed expression on Hinata’s face, and quickly added, “But I’m sure Tsunade and everyone else is working their hardest to ensure a speedy recovery.”
“How… How long… has he…?”
Sakura leaned back on the wall and tilted her head up. “Oh, boy. He’s been here since you guys came back from your mission yesterday. Tsunade’s been working really hard on him.” Turning to Hinata, she asked, “What did that idiot do to himself this time? I haven’t been given the full details.”
Hinata felt a small pang of anger towards Sakura for calling Naruto an idiot. She let out a small sigh and explained their situation. Sakura’s eyes widened in disbelief as Hinata described what had ensued. When Hinata got to the part about Naruto’s injuries, she put her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh my… god… I had heard he was in bad shape, but I didn’t know it was that bad…” She watched as Hinata merely sat in silence with her eyes turned towards the door. Sakura smiled slightly and added, “He must really like you.”
Hinata felt warmth growing in her cheeks and turned her attention back to Sakura. “Wh-What makes you s-say that?”
“Well, probably just the fact that he risked his own life to save you,” Sakura said, sarcasm dripping from her every word. “How many people do you know that would do that?”
“We-Well, I-I don’t know…”
“Hinata, this is your chance to tell him how you feel.”
Hinata stared wide eyed at her friend, a blush covering her whole face. “I-I don’t know what yo-“
“Hinata, we all know how you feel for him.” Hinata’s face became even redder at this comment, and she turned away. “Come on, every time you get near him, your face becomes red, you can’t get out coherent sentences, or you faint. You should just tell him how you feel. Chances are, he feels the same way.”
Hinata turned back. “H-How do you know he will?”
“Hinata, I’ve been his teammate for a long time. I know that he normally would have used a shadow clone to save someone in a situation like that.”
Sakura’s words dawned upon Hinata. ‘Why didn’t he use a shadow clone? He could have saved himself so much pain…’
“He must have been really worried about you to rush after you himself,” Sakura continued. “You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!”
Hinata was still a bit nervous. “I-I don’t know… Wh-What if I…”
“Hinata, you’ll be fine. I’m sure that you can work up the courage if you just believe in yourself. You’re a great person, Hinata; talented, kind, caring, and beautiful.” Hinata smiled and turned her eyes away, feeling another blush appearing. “Those are the qualities that men look for, and I’m sure that Naruto realizes that.”
“O-Ok… I’ll… I’ll do it.” She finally agreed. ‘How am I going to be able to get close enough to Naruto without fainting, let alone ask him how he feels about me…’
Sakura smiled, then sat up, extending a hand to Hinata. “I’m happy for you. Come on, let’s go home. It’s pretty late, and Naruto will probably not be allowed to have visitors for a long time.” Hinata took the extended hand, pulled herself up, and followed Sakura outside before saying goodbye and leaving to go back to her house.

Darkness.
Everywhere.
‘Dammit, again? What’d I do now?’
Light.
In the distance.
Approaching.
‘Damn. Forgot to bring popcorn.’
The light slowly changed into a memory. Soon, it enveloped his whole conscience.
‘Ok, let’s see what happened this time.’
The first memory showed up on the mental screen.
“That is your mission. You will leave tomorrow morning. Dismissed!”
“Hai, Tsunade-sama!” the four man team responded in unison before walking back out the door.
“Man, how lame is that? We’re on a stupid bandit mission. Those guys never put up a fight.”
“We are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. As such, it is our duty to-”
“Yea, yea, I get it, I get it. We gotta do the mission because we’re supposed to. I’m just sayin’ that I wouldn’t mind a harder one.”
“Yo, Naruto. I feel ya, man. I don’t like these easy missions either. Let’s just get it done quickly so we don’t have to worry about it.”
“You’re right, Kiba. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“S-See you to-tomorrow, N-Naruto-kun.”
‘Man, Hinata sure stutters a lot. I wonder why.’ The scene faded to a vision of Naruto and the other three ninjas arriving at their destination.
“Ahh, you must be the Konoha Ninja that our lord had requested,” a servant greeted them as the team approached the front door. “Please, follow me.”
The four ninja bowed politely to the patron, a wealthy feudal lord, before sitting down on the mats. “I am not one for pleasantries; I prefer to get right down to business,” the feudal lord said to them as they entered. “A group of bandits have recently stolen an assortment of valuables from my coffers. The bandits’ camp is located in the mountains to the North-East. I believe that they have approximately 50 henchmen, although many of them are trained in only the most basic of fighting skills. Surely, this will not prove problematic for you?”
Naruto was about to stand up and obnoxiously complain about the ease of the mission when Shino placed his arm in front of Naruto’s body. “We will have your possessions back by this evening.” With that, Shino stood up and walked out of the door. The remaining members of the team silently did the same. They met outside and quickly formed a strategy before heading off towards the bandit encampment.
‘Jeez, if I ended up like this because of some stupid bandits, I’m gonna be pissed.’
After a relatively easy battle between the experienced shinobi and the untrained mercenaries, the team found the stolen items and returned to the feudal lord. After a few words of thanks from their client, they began their trip back home.
‘Meh, another easy mission done. I can’t believe that was rank B…”
“Hey, Naruto, look at it this way; easy mission, easy money. And this one wasn’t that bad of pay, either.”
“I-It’s nice to g-get out of the vi-village once in a while.”
“Yes. It is important for us shinobi to see the world around us, so that we are not kept in the dark.”
“I still like Kiba’s reason,” Naruto said, bumping fists with his friend.
‘Yea, when I wake up, I’m gonna be loaded! As long as they don’t make me pay for my hospital bills again. Dammit, I hate it when they do that…”

“Everyone be prepared. Someone is following us.”
“Ya, Akamaru and I can smell him. He smells like the bandits. I’m pretty sure we got all of them before…”
“We did, but there was one important person missing from the action: the bandit lord.”
“All right! I was lookin’ for a good fight!”
“Not if I get him first!”
“Is that a bet, Naruto?”
“Hell yea it is!”
“Everyone, we will stop in the field up ahead and confront him. Remember, he is probably very skilled. We must all work as a team.” Shino turned to Naruto and added, “That means you.”
“Yea, yea…”
The four teens landed in the middle of the field and turned around. Sure enough, there was a man following behind them. “I see you have noticed me,” the bandit lord called out to them. “I’m sure you kids don’t want any trouble. So just return my things to me and I will be on my way.”
“In your dreams! You stole from an honest man, there’s no way we’re giving anything back to you!”
“My, my. You sure are one with a… rock-hard resolve.” At this, the enemy placed his hands together and formed some hand signs.
“Move!” Shino and the others jumped away just in time to avoid the rock spikes that had formed where they stood moments ago. They landed and took battle stances. “Naruto, team up with Kiba and Akamaru,” Shino said quietly to his team. "Hinata, stay back, and attack when you see an opening. I will provide defense for when you need it.”
“Right! Let’s go, Akamaru!” Akamaru let out a low-pitched bark before charging at the enemy.
“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Naruto formed about 20 shadow clones and rushed at his opponent. The bandit lord merely formed a few more hand signs, causing the ground to be upturned under the ninja’s feet. Rock spikes were flying everywhere, impaling Naruto’s clones before making them disappear in a puff of smoke. Kiba and Akamaru managed to get in a hit, sending the earth jutsu user flying. Shino lunged at him in midair and threw a punch, but he missed. The enemy landed and took a defensive position.
“Hinata, get ready,” Shino said quietly. Unbeknownst to the others, he was smirking underneath his jacket. Even though his punch had missed, he still accomplished his objective. The set his chakra insects flying towards the enemy’s body, where Shino had planted a female. The bandit could not attack; his jutsu were not suited for combating small opponents such as bugs. Instead, he began to meld his body into the ground below them. Hinata activated her Byakugan and began to search the area. Suddenly, she threw a juuken strike at the ground next to her. The bandit materialized out of the ground grabbing his left arm. He looked at Hinata with anger written all over his face. She quickly backed off, but not because she was afraid of him.
“Rasengan!” The bandit lord turned to see Naruto in the air with a blue sphere of chakra in his hand. Before he could move, Naruto smashed the ball into the enemy’s chest, shooting him across the ground and leaving a rut in his path.
‘Yea, I totally beat his ass!’

“Well, it seems I may not be able to defeat you,” their opponent said.
“That is correct, and we will detain you and bring you back to Konoha so that you may be punished for your crimes.”
“I don’t remember that part. I believe you have to catch me first.”
“It’s over, old man. No matter what you do, we will defeat you!”
A smirk came over his face. “Oh? Well, in that case…” His hands flew quickly as they made a series of seals. “In that case, think fast!” He threw his open palm onto the ground.
“AGGHHHH!!!”
“HINATA!” Kiba, Shino, and Naruto turned to see a rift open in the ground and swallow Hinata. She screamed as she began to fall towards the bottom.
Before Naruto knew what he was doing, he bolted towards where Hinata had fallen. “YOU GUYS, GET HIM!” Kiba and Shino nodded and ran after the retreating bandit. Kiba looked back at Naruto and saw him running on all fours at an incredible speed, making him appear to be an orange blur. Naruto jumped into the air and formed a shadow clone. The clone grabbed Naruto by the legs and swung him around. When the timing was right, the clone let go, and Naruto flew into the crevice below him rapidly accelerating to catch up with Hinata. The wind rushed past his face so fast that his eyes watered. The twin bands of his headband flapped behind him as he formed his body into a streamline shape. In the darkness, he saw Hinata’s form. She didn’t appear to be moving. Suddenly, he saw the floor approach her figure. When he finally caught up with her, he threw his arms around her torso and rolled them so that he was on the bottom. As the bottom grew nearer, he began to tense up, awaiting the impact. His body smashed into the ground with a sickening ‘Thud’, followed by Hinata’s body falling on top of his. He could feel the jagged floor cutting into his back. He could feel the pain in his spine. But, worst of all, he could feel his shoulder blade shatter, each shard piercing through his muscle in a different direction. He clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Hinata slowly stirred and unknowingly thrust her elbow into his chest. Naruto’s body jolted at the pain and he coughed up blood. He watched as three droplets flew towards Hinata before landing on her cheek. A surprised look suddenly appeared on her face. ‘Did she not know I was here?’ His question was answered when she turned look at him. She gasped and quickly removed herself from his torso. Even though her weight was now off of his body, the pain was still unbearable. Finally, he couldn’t withhold it any longer. He let out a cry of pain from the back of his throat. The sound was raspy and feral, much like the Kyuubi. His outcry echoed throughout the rift, and he felt blood leaving his mouth as a fine mist before resting on his face. He continued to scream as the pain surged through his body, traveling from every extremity up his sore and probably broken spine before registering in his brain, which was already overloaded. After what seemed like an eternity, he could feel himself being picked up. His back arched, causing his damaged vertebrae to glide against themselves, sending renewed pain throughout his body. As he felt his carrier travel with him, Naruto finally succumbed to his current unconscious state.
‘Damn… I’ve really done it this time, haven’t I?’ Naruto’s mind had finished playing the flashback, and the memories receded, leaving him in darkness yet again. ‘Well, at least I saved Hinata. Hmm… wonder how’s she’s doing.’ Naruto’s conscious began thinking about the pale-eyed kunoichi. ‘I really hope she’s doing ok…’
“You truly are a dense one…”
“Hey, who asked for your opinion, Kyuubi?”
“You are the reason she is in so much pain right now.”
“Yea? And why the hell should I believe you?”
“Watch yourself, boy…”
“I think you need to watch yourself. I’m tired of listening to you.”
“Very well. Return to your life. Continue to hurt others. You are weak, boy, when you do not have me to help you.”
“If being weak means protecting my friends, I would give up all of my strength. I’m done talking to you.” With that, Naruto shut off communications with the demon and continued to think in silence; surrounded by darkness, waiting to wake up.

Description
Darkness was all she could see. She could feel the wind against her face. Her eyes hurt from being clenched so tightly. She opened them, hoping that her situation was better than before.
It wasn’t.
All that Hinata saw was a wall of jagged rock rushing past her. She tilted her head back and saw the rapidly approaching bottom. The air howled past her body, fanning out her hair as she plummeted to the bottom of the crevice. She was terrified; she couldn’t even let out a scream. She closed her eyes again, hoping that it would all go away, but knowing that it would not. As if that wasn’t bad enough, she felt something tighten around her chest, squeezing the life out of her. Hinata’s mind was overloaded with fear, emotion, and anticipation of her imminent death. She braced herself for the impact, until she finally collided with the bottom.
It was soft. It absorbed her the fall, leaving her mostly undamaged. ‘It was just a genjutsu,’ she thought to herself. Her heart pounded against her chest; it felt as if it was going to explode. Hinata opened her eyes, expecting to see the sunny field she was standing on only moments ago, filled with sunshine, grass, and fresh breezes.
Instead, she saw the same rock walls she had seen before. This time, however, they was not distorted as they were while rushing past her field of vision. ‘If I’m still in here,’ she thought, confused, ‘then why is the ground soft? Surely he didn’t plan for that to happen…’ Her questions were quickly answered when an exasperated cry of pain sounded from beneath her, and she felt warm droplets of blood land on her cheek. Her eyes widened as she slowly turned to see the source of the blood. When she saw what it was, she let out a gasp.
Sprawled out below her was a young ninja, wearing a bright orange and black jacket. His blonde hair was long and unruly, and there were three whisker marks on either side of his face. Directly on top of him was Hinata. She quickly removed herself from his body, tears beginning to blur her sight. There was blood coming out of his mouth, trickling down his chin before running down his neck. His eyes were shut tightly, his teeth bared as he tried to cope with the pain. His arms lay useless at his sides, and she could see that his shoulder was out of place. Finally, it became too unbearable. Hinata’s eyes ran freely as she heard an animalistic roar of pain escape from his throat, spattering more blood around his already battered face. He continued to cry out, his body convulsing as he writhed involuntarily. Hinata was in such a state of shock that she couldn’t do anything. She fell to the ground, tears gushing out of her eyes like waterfalls, holding herself as she tried to escape the torments of the image of a dying Naruto that was already carved into her subconscious. She opened her eyes again to find herself staring at her ceiling. The sunshine was in her eyes, refracting through her tears to form visible beams. She slowly got up and rubbed her eyes, pulling her sheets back into place. Heading into the bathroom, she wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “It was only a dream,’ she thought to her self. ‘It was so real, the falling, the blood, the…’ Hinata shuddered at the vividness of her dream, before showering, putting on her training outfit, and heading out to her team’s training area.
She arrived in the forest where she, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino meet, only to find herself alone. ‘Why is nobody here?’ She looked up at where the sun was. ‘It’s about 10:00, where are Kiba and Shino?’ She shrugged and started walking to the nearby lake. Setting her pack down, she removed her jacket before walking out to the center of the lake. Although her clothes hindered her movements while practicing, she had learned the hard way the consequences of practicing without them. She was lucky that Naruto had lost his balance, but it could have very easily become an awkward situation for both of them. Shaking her head of these thoughts, she closed her eyes and began to practice.

The doors to the Konoha Hospital opened as two teenage shinobi walked out. “I’m still surprised that you even visited him. You’ve never visited anybody in the hospital before. Not even me…”
“For one to perform such a selfless act for one he considers only a friend,” the other ninja said, hiding behind his hood and dark sunglasses, “that is the type of act that deserves recognition.”
“That still doesn’t explain why you didn’t come visit me in the hospital,” Kiba muttered. As they walked out into the street, they saw their final teammate approaching. “Hey! Hinata! Where were you?”
Hinata approached Kiba and Shino and asked, “I- I thought we were training today.”
Shino turned towards Hinata, his sunglasses reflecting the sun’s rays. “Do you not remember anything from yesterday?” he asked calmly.
Hinata was surprised at this question, but when she thought about it, she couldn’t remember anything from the previous day. “Uhh… I guess not… I’m sorry, what were we supposed to do?”
“You mean you don’t remember anything at all?” Kiba exclaimed. “We had a mission yesterday!”
“I-I’m sorry, Kiba-kun. I don’t remember any… mission…”
“I believe that she doesn’t remember because she faced a lot of trauma,” Shino said flatly to his teammate. Turning back to Hinata, he asked, “What do you remember?”
“W-Well, I... I don’t know… All I remember is waking up from a bad dream this morning, and going out to our training spot.”
“What was this dream you had?”
“Wh- Why do you ask?”
“Did it involve Naruto?”
“I- I don’t think that’s-”
“Did it involve falling?”
“How did you-”
“Did it involve Naruto getting severely injured?”
Hinata mind was filled with questions. “How… How did you know all of those things? It was a dream… my dream… right?” She looked up questioningly at Kiba and Shino. The two looked at each other briefly, before turning back. She noticed a sad look in Kiba’s face. He took a breath, and was about to speak, when Hinata beat him to it. “It… It wasn’t a dream, was it?” She didn’t even need a response. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed to the ground, tear forming in her eyes. “H-H-How… How could… could this have…ha-happened?” she cried. She didn’t want to believe it. Her heart, though, knew this to be true. “I-I-Is… h-he alr-right?” she managed to ask some minutes later.
Shino spoke up in his monotonous tone that always seemed to have a soothing effect. “Naruto will be fine, Hinata. He is currently under the care of the Hokage. There is nothing to fear.” At hearing this, Hinata’s tear ducts began to let up.
“S-so… h-he’s ok?”
“Of course he is!” Kiba said brightly, trying to lighten the tense atmosphere. “He may be bed-ridden for a while, but he’ll make it, you just watch.”
Hinata smiled and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her jacket. “Th-Thank you Kiba-kun, Shino-kun.” She hugged her friends before walking inside the hospital. Once inside, she looked at the labeled hallways before leading herself to the urgent care room. She sat down on the familiar white benches outside, and waited. Kiba and Shino walked away, Hinata’s reaction still heavy on their minds. “I wish I had as much confidence in my words as she did,” Kiba heard Shino say to himself.

The hours flew by; team after team of exhausted medic-nins came out of the doors, replaced by fresh ones. Each time the doors opened, she snapped her eyes up, hoping to see Tsunade walk out. Each time, however, she was disappointed. She made the best of it and tried to catch a glimpse of Naruto, but all she saw was a faint green glow emanating from the room. More time passed, and she began to worry. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw a young kunoichi with pink hair. “Hey Hinata. You waiting for Naruto?”
“H-Hai…” she replied. Sakura removed her hand from Hinata’s shoulder and sat down. “H-How long is he… is he going to be…”
“I wish I knew. When he came in, he was in pretty bad shape…” Sakura noticed the changed expression on Hinata’s face, and quickly added, “But I’m sure Tsunade and everyone else is working their hardest to ensure a speedy recovery.”
“How… How long… has he…?”
Sakura leaned back on the wall and tilted her head up. “Oh, boy. He’s been here since you guys came back from your mission yesterday. Tsunade’s been working really hard on him.” Turning to Hinata, she asked, “What did that idiot do to himself this time? I haven’t been given the full details.”
Hinata felt a small pang of anger towards Sakura for calling Naruto an idiot. She let out a small sigh and explained their situation. Sakura’s eyes widened in disbelief as Hinata described what had ensued. When Hinata got to the part about Naruto’s injuries, she put her hand over her mouth and gasped. “Oh my… god… I had heard he was in bad shape, but I didn’t know it was that bad…” She watched as Hinata merely sat in silence with her eyes turned towards the door. Sakura smiled slightly and added, “He must really like you.”
Hinata felt warmth growing in her cheeks and turned her attention back to Sakura. “Wh-What makes you s-say that?”
“Well, probably just the fact that he risked his own life to save you,” Sakura said, sarcasm dripping from her every word. “How many people do you know that would do that?”
“We-Well, I-I don’t know…”
“Hinata, this is your chance to tell him how you feel.”
Hinata stared wide eyed at her friend, a blush covering her whole face. “I-I don’t know what yo-“
“Hinata, we all know how you feel for him.” Hinata’s face became even redder at this comment, and she turned away. “Come on, every time you get near him, your face becomes red, you can’t get out coherent sentences, or you faint. You should just tell him how you feel. Chances are, he feels the same way.”
Hinata turned back. “H-How do you know he will?”
“Hinata, I’ve been his teammate for a long time. I know that he normally would have used a shadow clone to save someone in a situation like that.”
Sakura’s words dawned upon Hinata. ‘Why didn’t he use a shadow clone? He could have saved himself so much pain…’
“He must have been really worried about you to rush after you himself,” Sakura continued. “You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!”
Hinata was still a bit nervous. “I-I don’t know… Wh-What if I…”
“Hinata, you’ll be fine. I’m sure that you can work up the courage if you just believe in yourself. You’re a great person, Hinata; talented, kind, caring, and beautiful.” Hinata smiled and turned her eyes away, feeling another blush appearing. “Those are the qualities that men look for, and I’m sure that Naruto realizes that.”
“O-Ok… I’ll… I’ll do it.” She finally agreed. ‘How am I going to be able to get close enough to Naruto without fainting, let alone ask him how he feels about me…’
Sakura smiled, then sat up, extending a hand to Hinata. “I’m happy for you. Come on, let’s go home. It’s pretty late, and Naruto will probably not be allowed to have visitors for a long time.” Hinata took the extended hand, pulled herself up, and followed Sakura outside before saying goodbye and leaving to go back to her house.

Darkness.
Everywhere.
‘Dammit, again? What’d I do now?’
Light.
In the distance.
Approaching.
‘Damn. Forgot to bring popcorn.’
The light slowly changed into a memory. Soon, it enveloped his whole conscience.
‘Ok, let’s see what happened this time.’
The first memory showed up on the mental screen.
“That is your mission. You will leave tomorrow morning. Dismissed!”
“Hai, Tsunade-sama!” the four man team responded in unison before walking back out the door.
“Man, how lame is that? We’re on a stupid bandit mission. Those guys never put up a fight.”
“We are shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village. As such, it is our duty to-”
“Yea, yea, I get it, I get it. We gotta do the mission because we’re supposed to. I’m just sayin’ that I wouldn’t mind a harder one.”
“Yo, Naruto. I feel ya, man. I don’t like these easy missions either. Let’s just get it done quickly so we don’t have to worry about it.”
“You’re right, Kiba. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”
“S-See you to-tomorrow, N-Naruto-kun.”
‘Man, Hinata sure stutters a lot. I wonder why.’ The scene faded to a vision of Naruto and the other three ninjas arriving at their destination.
“Ahh, you must be the Konoha Ninja that our lord had requested,” a servant greeted them as the team approached the front door. “Please, follow me.”
The four ninja bowed politely to the patron, a wealthy feudal lord, before sitting down on the mats. “I am not one for pleasantries; I prefer to get right down to business,” the feudal lord said to them as they entered. “A group of bandits have recently stolen an assortment of valuables from my coffers. The bandits’ camp is located in the mountains to the North-East. I believe that they have approximately 50 henchmen, although many of them are trained in only the most basic of fighting skills. Surely, this will not prove problematic for you?”
Naruto was about to stand up and obnoxiously complain about the ease of the mission when Shino placed his arm in front of Naruto’s body. “We will have your possessions back by this evening.” With that, Shino stood up and walked out of the door. The remaining members of the team silently did the same. They met outside and quickly formed a strategy before heading off towards the bandit encampment.
‘Jeez, if I ended up like this because of some stupid bandits, I’m gonna be pissed.’
After a relatively easy battle between the experienced shinobi and the untrained mercenaries, the team found the stolen items and returned to the feudal lord. After a few words of thanks from their client, they began their trip back home.
‘Meh, another easy mission done. I can’t believe that was rank B…”
“Hey, Naruto, look at it this way; easy mission, easy money. And this one wasn’t that bad of pay, either.”
“I-It’s nice to g-get out of the vi-village once in a while.”
“Yes. It is important for us shinobi to see the world around us, so that we are not kept in the dark.”
“I still like Kiba’s reason,” Naruto said, bumping fists with his friend.
‘Yea, when I wake up, I’m gonna be loaded! As long as they don’t make me pay for my hospital bills again. Dammit, I hate it when they do that…”

“Everyone be prepared. Someone is following us.”
“Ya, Akamaru and I can smell him. He smells like the bandits. I’m pretty sure we got all of them before…”
“We did, but there was one important person missing from the action: the bandit lord.”
“All right! I was lookin’ for a good fight!”
“Not if I get him first!”
“Is that a bet, Naruto?”
“Hell yea it is!”
“Everyone, we will stop in the field up ahead and confront him. Remember, he is probably very skilled. We must all work as a team.” Shino turned to Naruto and added, “That means you.”
“Yea, yea…”
The four teens landed in the middle of the field and turned around. Sure enough, there was a man following behind them. “I see you have noticed me,” the bandit lord called out to them. “I’m sure you kids don’t want any trouble. So just return my things to me and I will be on my way.”
“In your dreams! You stole from an honest man, there’s no way we’re giving anything back to you!”
“My, my. You sure are one with a… rock-hard resolve.” At this, the enemy placed his hands together and formed some hand signs.
“Move!” Shino and the others jumped away just in time to avoid the rock spikes that had formed where they stood moments ago. They landed and took battle stances. “Naruto, team up with Kiba and Akamaru,” Shino said quietly to his team. "Hinata, stay back, and attack when you see an opening. I will provide defense for when you need it.”
“Right! Let’s go, Akamaru!” Akamaru let out a low-pitched bark before charging at the enemy.
“Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” Naruto formed about 20 shadow clones and rushed at his opponent. The bandit lord merely formed a few more hand signs, causing the ground to be upturned under the ninja’s feet. Rock spikes were flying everywhere, impaling Naruto’s clones before making them disappear in a puff of smoke. Kiba and Akamaru managed to get in a hit, sending the earth jutsu user flying. Shino lunged at him in midair and threw a punch, but he missed. The enemy landed and took a defensive position.
“Hinata, get ready,” Shino said quietly. Unbeknownst to the others, he was smirking underneath his jacket. Even though his punch had missed, he still accomplished his objective. The set his chakra insects flying towards the enemy’s body, where Shino had planted a female. The bandit could not attack; his jutsu were not suited for combating small opponents such as bugs. Instead, he began to meld his body into the ground below them. Hinata activated her Byakugan and began to search the area. Suddenly, she threw a juuken strike at the ground next to her. The bandit materialized out of the ground grabbing his left arm. He looked at Hinata with anger written all over his face. She quickly backed off, but not because she was afraid of him.
“Rasengan!” The bandit lord turned to see Naruto in the air with a blue sphere of chakra in his hand. Before he could move, Naruto smashed the ball into the enemy’s chest, shooting him across the ground and leaving a rut in his path.
‘Yea, I totally beat his ass!’

“Well, it seems I may not be able to defeat you,” their opponent said.
“That is correct, and we will detain you and bring you back to Konoha so that you may be punished for your crimes.”
“I don’t remember that part. I believe you have to catch me first.”
“It’s over, old man. No matter what you do, we will defeat you!”
A smirk came over his face. “Oh? Well, in that case…” His hands flew quickly as they made a series of seals. “In that case, think fast!” He threw his open palm onto the ground.
“AGGHHHH!!!”
“HINATA!” Kiba, Shino, and Naruto turned to see a rift open in the ground and swallow Hinata. She screamed as she began to fall towards the bottom.
Before Naruto knew what he was doing, he bolted towards where Hinata had fallen. “YOU GUYS, GET HIM!” Kiba and Shino nodded and ran after the retreating bandit. Kiba looked back at Naruto and saw him running on all fours at an incredible speed, making him appear to be an orange blur. Naruto jumped into the air and formed a shadow clone. The clone grabbed Naruto by the legs and swung him around. When the timing was right, the clone let go, and Naruto flew into the crevice below him rapidly accelerating to catch up with Hinata. The wind rushed past his face so fast that his eyes watered. The twin bands of his headband flapped behind him as he formed his body into a streamline shape. In the darkness, he saw Hinata’s form. She didn’t appear to be moving. Suddenly, he saw the floor approach her figure. When he finally caught up with her, he threw his arms around her torso and rolled them so that he was on the bottom. As the bottom grew nearer, he began to tense up, awaiting the impact. His body smashed into the ground with a sickening ‘Thud’, followed by Hinata’s body falling on top of his. He could feel the jagged floor cutting into his back. He could feel the pain in his spine. But, worst of all, he could feel his shoulder blade shatter, each shard piercing through his muscle in a different direction. He clenched his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. Hinata slowly stirred and unknowingly thrust her elbow into his chest. Naruto’s body jolted at the pain and he coughed up blood. He watched as three droplets flew towards Hinata before landing on her cheek. A surprised look suddenly appeared on her face. ‘Did she not know I was here?’ His question was answered when she turned look at him. She gasped and quickly removed herself from his torso. Even though her weight was now off of his body, the pain was still unbearable. Finally, he couldn’t withhold it any longer. He let out a cry of pain from the back of his throat. The sound was raspy and feral, much like the Kyuubi. His outcry echoed throughout the rift, and he felt blood leaving his mouth as a fine mist before resting on his face. He continued to scream as the pain surged through his body, traveling from every extremity up his sore and probably broken spine before registering in his brain, which was already overloaded. After what seemed like an eternity, he could feel himself being picked up. His back arched, causing his damaged vertebrae to glide against themselves, sending renewed pain throughout his body. As he felt his carrier travel with him, Naruto finally succumbed to his current unconscious state.
‘Damn… I’ve really done it this time, haven’t I?’ Naruto’s mind had finished playing the flashback, and the memories receded, leaving him in darkness yet again. ‘Well, at least I saved Hinata. Hmm… wonder how’s she’s doing.’ Naruto’s conscious began thinking about the pale-eyed kunoichi. ‘I really hope she’s doing ok…’
“You truly are a dense one…”
“Hey, who asked for your opinion, Kyuubi?”
“You are the reason she is in so much pain right now.”
“Yea? And why the hell should I believe you?”
“Watch yourself, boy…”
“I think you need to watch yourself. I’m tired of listening to you.”
“Very well. Return to your life. Continue to hurt others. You are weak, boy, when you do not have me to help you.”
“If being weak means protecting my friends, I would give up all of my strength. I’m done talking to you.” With that, Naruto shut off communications with the demon and continued to think in silence; surrounded by darkness, waiting to wake up.