NaruHina travels back in time

In the past: the Fourth Shinobi War

Hinata felt relief that his brother was now saved and retrieved to a hidden spot to see the fight unravel. Suddenly, events started to change. The fight was still on, but somehow her teammates Shino, Kiba and Sakura had gotten close to where War Hinata was and had started to fight alongside her. That particular scenario wasn't as she remembered, but Hinata thought nothing would significantly change.

However, she was wrong. Tobi kept sending targeted attacks, one more vicious than the other. In a blink of an eye, War Hinata was unable to stop one of the attacks and a huge thorn went right through Kiba's body, drilling every muscle and organs located in his abdomen. His comrades shouted out in despair.

Hinata, from afar, suffocated a scream. That had not happened before. Events were changing terribly and she was responsible. She saw Kiba's body slowly dying. Sakura was there, just trying to easy the pain as she was unable to heal him due to the wounds being so deep and cumbersome; even if she'd put all his healing power on to him, it still wouldn't be enough... Hinata started crying as her war self started doing it too, just as all her comrades and Akamaru, who was howling his pain, did. The speech Tobi gave when Neji had died was the one she was hearing now... After Kiba breathed his last breath, War Naruto broke down; he started spiraling in an ocean of thoughts as to why he had let his comrade die, but War Hinata was far from to get him out of it. Sakura reached out; leaned down towards War Naruto, hugged him and told him some words (not comprehensible to Hinata) that brought him back. War Naruto stood up and yelled: "Thank you, Sakura-chan", then resuming the fight.

Hinata saw all the scene. Her heart felt uneasy and unhappy... Although War Hinata was genuinely happy that Naruto had stopped spiraling out of control and thankful to Sakura for helping him, Hinata knew what that moment had meant for both of them, and now, she was not the one standing next to Naruto; she was also a different person from War Hinata, she was in love and loved by her husband, and couldn't bring herself to reconcile that they might not end up together. But, even with those ideas crossing her mind, she was trying to calm herself down thinking that those were all the changes in the timeline and that events had resume their original course, since she didn't want to think that it was possible for more of her comrades to die.

While in the middle of those thoughts, a voice behind her said to her:

–I will find my way to you. Trust me. I know you're feeling so much right now, I am too... timeline is changing because of us... but, still, right now I need to reassure you that I will find my way to you. I didn't even know then, but even then, my heart was already yours. The gentle and yet firm touch of your hand back then gave me the resilience I was needing. I'm so dense... But you can see Sakura-chan is like a sister to me, although my past self can't see it yet. I've only, and always, hold your hand.

Hinata heard all that without turning, since thick tears were rolling down her eyes. She was feeling so much in that moment... Not just, and not mainly, because her future with Naruto was jeopardized, but because saving Neji had cause the death of Kiba, his teammate and dearest friend. Suddenly, she felt Naruto hugging her from behind, while saying:

–I'm sorry. We shouldn't have changed the events.... Jiraiya-sensei is alive, but when I was teleported here I saw Tsunade-baachan dying... Orochimaru didn't come to recue her and she bled out as I was unable to do anything... And now... you saved Neji and, in exchange, Kiba is dead... I'm so sorry.

The news of Lady Tsunade, the hokage, dying were like cold water being poured down her face. Back in the day, she wasn't close to her, but since her marriage with Naruto, they had grown closer to each other, specially because Lady Tsunade knew Hinata would always have bottles of sake for her to drink and that Hinata would let her sleep over when she was way too wasted. Hinata treated, and felt, Lady Tsunade as an older sister, so the news of her dying just broke her almost completely.

–It is both our faults... we got cocky and ended up paying a higher price. We got cocky... –Hinata mumbled, repeating those last words over and over while she turned around to hug her husband– I don't know why, though, why our memories aren't changing. I still have no recollection the new events... and no recollection of Kiba's death in mi memories.... Or Neji being alive... Or even Jiraiya-sensei...

–Me too... I don't know... But for now, we should leave. There's nothing we can do now to change what has happened. If we intervene more, things could get even worse.

Nonetheless, their trip to the past had yet another awful surprise. Just as they were preparing to leave, a huge scream made them turn back. In front of them, they saw War Naruto leaning towards two dead bodies: screaming and shouting, and crying dismally.... Everyone around him was also crying and trying to cope with the loss. Hinata and Naruto looked carefully and finally saw whose bodies those were: Jiraiya-sensei and Neji.

–No... No... No... That's not possible... Why.... What is this... –Naruto said, and started crying, wanting to run towards them. But he stopped himself, he'd caused so much damage already. However, he felt a huge whole, an enormous, deep wound, opening in his chest. Due to his recklessness, he had lost Tsunade-baachan and Jiraiya-sensei in a matter of hours; and also Neji and Kiba. He was starting to panic, but managed to control himself, seeing Hinata so affected by the situation.

Hinata was crying uncontrollably, silent and without moving, as if she was in shock... she also couldn't believe she had lost so many important people to her in a matter of minutes, just because she thought she could change the past... They had made so many mistakes and the consequences were visible.