Chasing You

1. Forgetting you

Two years have passed since the war ended. And three years since the confession. At the beginning of the year, she told herself that she wouldn't torture herself like this anymore. Just as she had the previous years... it was the same thing every year with her, and honestly, she thought of it as repetitive. It's getting annoying. Her feelings for him felt like a burden to her. A heavyweight on her chest that won't let her breathe. She told herself year after year that she needed to move on, drop it, and just let it go.

Yet she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. He was her light, a beam of sunshine that faded away from the darkness in her life. He was the motivation that kept her going. His words of encouragement, the boisterous laughs that could be heard from a mile away, the eternal promise of becoming Hokage. Naruto Uzumaki was everything that screamed "Naruto" and she loved every inch of him.

How could she not love him? How could she, Hinata Hyuga, ever try to forget him?

How could she not love those cerulean blue eyes that radiate such intensity and reflect mischief? His golden blonde hair was cut short now, in a way where it made him look more mature. The baby fat in his face was gone but maybe not so much in the cheeks, and his jawline had a nice sharp edge to it. His trademark whiskers lined each cheek. The way his broad shoulders complemented his strong physique, and Kami, his sun-kissed muscles were so nice from endless training throughout the years that included his bandage-wrapped prosthetic. The new mission gear also added a little flavor to his look, at least in her opinion.

He was just so perfect. The type of perfect to have no type of flaws whatsoever. She once told him that he was perfect when they were having lunch together at Ichiraku's one summer afternoon. Together they sat at the countertop, eating their freshly served pork miso Ramen while Naruto was telling her about his recent mission.

" Yeah, and then I accidentally spilled tea into Temari's lap! And then she bitch-slapped me...but get this-Gaara laughed! It wasn't a big laugh but like one of those low chuckles that Neji used to do, y'know?"

She loved how comfortable they were with each other to the point that when Neji's name was brought up, the air around them would still be the same and full of warmth. She loved his verbal tic, the phrase that's embedded into his vocabulary for as long as she could remember. Before she could stop herself, the words slipped from her tongue.

" You're amazing, Naruto-Kun."

Naruto stopped talking and just stared at her.

And then she realized what she said. Her face paled, and horror-struck her eyes as she quickly turned her face so he wouldn't see her turn red from embarrassment. He mumbled a quick, although confused "thanks" and continued with his story as if nothing ever happened. Hinata was thankful that he was humble enough to pay no mind to her complement. She'd be too embarrassed to explain herself if he would've asked what she meant by that, but what did she expect to happen? It's not like he would ask her to elaborate, simply because he is Naruto. He wouldn't think anything of it, because he only sees her as a friend . A slip-up of words with an underlying meaning would simply fly over his head, because he has never seen her in that way, and unfortunately, will never.

Of course, she knew this already, he would never see her in that way. She's certain of it. There were times that she had been hopeful, but they were disregarded completely. She contemplated if he knew what love was. If all of those years of him being alone altered his true definition of love.

Did he know the difference between loving ramen and loving a person?

At least that's what Sakura questioned, but deep down she had a feeling that he did know the difference; his infatuation with Sakura could pertain to that alone. This made the Hyuga envy her, and she hated feeling this way towards such a close comrade.