Prompt: "You know, it's okay to cry."
Pairing: NaruHina
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Note: It's been such a long time since I've written anything Naruto, so I might be a little rusty. To be honest I'm super scared, and I'm afraid that I might write something wrong, but I'll try to do my best. I hope you will enjoy it!
Story is set a little after the Fourth Great Ninja War.
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Naruto flicked away the bugs that were crawling over the tombstone. Hyuuga Neji, it read. It had been almost a month now since they've lost him. He still blamed himself for the older boy's death. If only he had not lost his willpower that one second during the war, maybe Neji would still be alive with everyone.
His knuckles whitened as he squeezed his hands shut. Naruto was so angry, not at anyone, but himself. All his friends told him it wasn't his fault, but he couldn't help continue thinking that it was. He had so much regrets.
And to think Hinata almost died too, because of him. He wouldn't have known what to do if she had also been a victim. She and Neji had literally put themselves before him, and protected him when he needed it the most and he couldn't even save one of them. Naruto exhaled harshly, he never felt so guilty before.
He didn't know why he felt the need to say sorry every time he came around to visit Neji's gravestone. Maybe it really wasn't for Neji himself, but maybe it was for Hinata.
He figured she must have felt despair knowing that she will never get to see her cousin ever again. The cousin whom she loved most, her mentor, her protector. Just the thought of her made Naruto more guilty than he already was. She didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to see her cousin died before her very own eyes, but he let that happened.
Naruto threw a punch to the ground, his body shaking as the memories all came crawling back to him. His body only did stop when he felt a touch on his shoulder. It was a gentle touch that caight his attention. He slowly turned his head to look up at the culprit and saw the only person he couldn't face for so long.
She kneeled down beside him, her eyes looking at the tombstone now. She had a small smile on her lip, but he knew it was genuine. And for some odd reason, he couldn't keep his eyes away from her, afraid she would disappear if he did.
"Neji-niisan would have been a great leader to the Hyuuga Clan," she softly spoke. He watched her touch his name on the tombstone, moving her hands back and forth on the letters delicately as she smiled. He shut his mouth (not realizing that it had been opened this whole time) when she turned her head to look at him.
When did she had this much impact on me, he thought.
"Naruto-kun," she started, and he just looked at her as if he didn't know how to speak anymore. Hinata turned towards the tombstone again. She let out a small sigh, "Thank you for always coming here to visit him and help clean his spot. Not only do you show your gratitude towards him for coming here everyday, but to all of the Hyuugas also." She raised a hand to wipe the little tears that had formed at the ends of her eyes and inhaled sharply.
"I've watched you come here every day. No matter what time it is, you were here, sitting on this same spot. You've kept him company." She looked up at him now, her teary eyes shining bright up at him. "I've also seen you struggle. You come here, not with happy intentions but because you feel guilty, correct? But I want you to know that what had happened during the war was not because of you. We are ninjas and we must do whatever we can to save the world, just like how you did everything you can to save all of us."
"Hinata-"
"So I just want you to know that you don't always have to be so tough on yourself. If you are feeling sad, then be sad. If you feel like you don't want to talk to anyone, then let yourself rest. And - and you feel like you need to cry, just let it out. I just want you to know, that it's okay to cry."
Hinata didn't need to repeat herself twice as Naruto's tears began streaming down his face. He wiped one side of his cheeks then the other but somehow the tears kept coming. Naruto didn't understand. All the other times he had come visit Neji, never once did he cried but today, after just hearing Hinata's words, he was crying as if he had been holding them in.
And maybe he had been holding in his threatening tears all those times he visited. He didn't think he deserve to cry in front of Neji, nor that he shouldn't. It was no wonder he felt so angry all the time, maybe because all he needed was to cry it out. All he ever needed was for someone to tell him that it was okay for him to feel sad, that he didn't need to act tough and take the blame all to himself.
Hinata watched the male cry, she'd seen him cry a few times, much more than a few but this one was different. She could feel the genuine remorse in his cry, all those pain that he kept in spilling out in front of her. Naruto was just as human as anybody else in Konoha.
Unknowingly she reached out to him, circled her arms around the boy and pulled him in for a gentle hug. He needed it, she thought as she cradled him softly between her arms.
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Ahhh, sorry if it was so rusty. It's been a while since I wrote anything Naruto. I hope you all enjoyed it just a little. LOL.
