Almost is never enough - A NaruHina story

Cold hard ground.

Time skip to 10 months –

No POV -

"Hina! I don't understand this sum at all! Numbers and alphabets everywhere! Math is a mess!" screamed Naruto with hand in his hair. Hinata saw his poor state and giggled. He needed her help. They had grown closer to each other since their meeting and Naruto depended on Hinata for even the smallest decision and Hinata loved it. He was the football captain a year after Neji left the school and she was the topper and his bestfriend. Everything was going so well between the two of them.

Hinata had a crush on Naruto since day 1, Naruto had a crush on Hinata since day 1. They both didn't have the courage to tell each other as they didn't want to ruin their friendship. Every time a guy tried getting close to Hinata, Naruto felt a small ping in his heart, he was jealous. Especially Kiba who got a bit touchier with Hinata around Naruto. Naruto's emotions were all over the place. Hinata on the other hand was not doing so hot either, she got jealous over how touchy some fangirls' were around Naruto. Everyone else in the gang saw the way they looked at each other and they knew it was something more than friendship. They were just playing the waiting game.

It was a cold December evening, barely any leaves visible on the trees. Naruto was wearing a red scarf Hinata had gifted him for his birthday. Naruto was never seen without that scarf. He felt complete with it, like a part of Hinata was always with him. It made the cold winter warmer. Of course, he never told this to Hinata. He even endured the teasing from his friends, just to feel closer to Hinata through the scarf. It was almost winter break and everyone had gone home early for the winter except him. His parents were kind of a big deal in the business world and he  go to see them once a week in a month. He missed them, especially around the holidays.

A phone call distracted his walk to the café. When he saw the caller ID he couldn't help but smile. It was his Godfather. Although Naruto would never accept it to his Godfather's face, Naruto loved him, he loved him more than anyone. Jiraiya was an adult fiction writer, who was kind of famous among his profession. Even some of his school teachers were a fan of pervy sage's books, and Naruto found that absolutely disgusting given that his teachers read them at school surrounded by children. And Jiraiya being Jiraiya would make a scene wherever he was recognized and used to get into all kinds of troubles. Thinking about those times, it brought a wide grin on Naruto's face.

Naruto POV –

"Hey pervy sage! What kind of trouble are you in now?" cheekily asked Naruto on the phone.

"Hey Naruto... " he said with a pregnant pause. "Hurry up and speak up will you old man! My phone is about to die!" Naruto yelled. 

"Please sit down for this would you... What I'm about to tell you.... has deeply affected my soul and I wish it weren't real... I'm on my way to pick you up from campus..." Jiraiya spoke on the other line. 

Naruto stopped walking and listened. He heard the news about his parents' accident during one of their trips. A car crash. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Unspeakable amount of pain passed through his body. He literally fell to the ground as his body couldn't accept the fact that his parents had died. As he laid there on the snow-covered ground, shivering due to the cold and the shocking news he just heard, Jiraiya's voice continued on the phone.

"Remember I'm always here for you kid..." was the last thing Naruto heard as he slowly lost conscious.

No POV – After winter break.

Everyone casually sitting around the cafeteria table discussing about their winter break adventures. Sasuke and Naruto were the only ones missing from the table.

"Where is Naruto? Have you guys seen or heard from him?" enquired Hinata to her friends as soon as they were back from their breaks. Slowly the chatter quiet down and everyone looked confused as no one had heard from the blond during the break. 

"He must be with his Godfather, that guy lives on a mountain so it's definitely hard to connect to internet. Don't worry that idiot always comes back. We still have to put up with that ugly grin for 4 more years." Shikamaru said plainly. It made Hinata giggle and put her mind to bit of an ease knowing he is safe. 

But still some kind of worry engulfed her, she could not point to what it was exactly. "Sasuke is missing too you know..." Sakura pointed and everyone just made ooh and ahh sounds to her as they teased her relentlessly. Hinata's mind was distracted thanks to her friends.

'It's been a week since Naruto went missing from school, I just hope you are safe Naruto...' Hinata thought to herself. After three days, Sasuke had been back to school and he seemed quieter than usual. Sasuke avoided most of his friends, but Hinata especially. Hinata didn't seem to notice it at first, but after a week it was clearly evident that Sasuke was avoiding her. Hinata marched on to the football field where he had practice and confronted Sasuke. He was sitting on the ground, stretching and doing some warm up exercise, and was somehow not shocked by Hinata's presence. It was almost as if he expected this to happen.

Sasuke POV –

'I knew she would come here eventually, it's a bit early than expected, but she's here.' He thought sitting there. "Where is Naruto-kun? And why have you been avoiding me ever since you came back after the break. Did something happen to him? Is he alright?" sobbed Hinata as tears fell down her cheeks like river.

He could no longer avoid her and hide the truth from her. He had to tell her the truth.

'I have to tell her everything' he thought to himself.

"Naruto... he.... He will not be coming to school anymore...". Was all that he could get out of his mouth.

Hinata just stood there, bewildered. Not knowing what to say or feel. She asked "Why?"

Sasuke went on to explain about his parents' death and how he's now living with Godfather, who is now moving away from this town along with Naruto. He also went on to explain how Itachi is investigating this accident as the head of police. Sasuke was devastated when he heard the news. He reached out to Naruto multiple time to just talk to his bestfriend, but Naruto seems to have cut all his past ties with everyone, including Hinata, to move on.

Hinata POV –

'I don't know how to feel, why would he push me away? why didn't he want to tell me about such a significant thing? Was I not his bestfriend? I need to know if he's okay. I need to comfort him. I want to see him. I'm so sorry Naruto...' Hinata struggled to keep up with her thoughts, as her mind was running at 1000kmph. She had stopped crying and just looked at Sasuke. He knew what she felt. They both just sat there on the cold hard ground with pin drop silence, neither of them wanting to break the silence.

"I want to see him" Hinata finally spoke.

"Believe me, I tried" Sasuke answered.

'Is this it? Was that the last time they'll ever see each other? Be in each other's presence...' Hinata had gathered up the courage during the holidays to confess her feelings to Naruto. She cursed herself for waiting to long. She knew what type of pian Naruto was going through, as she lost her mother too at a young age. She wanted to be there for him. She wanted to comfort him. She wanted to hug him tell him that everything was going to be alright. She missed him. And now he'll never know, or she thought so.

Hinata and Sasuke sat there the whole night unable to get out words, helpless and heartbroken.