Distant Echoes

43 - Inner evolutions

- I think you know everything - said Sakura.

Hinata passed without answering.

- No need to ignore me - Sakura raised his voice. - I told the truth. -

Hinata closed her jaw and kept going.

Ino looked at the scene, feeling the tension in the air, he had tried to stop Sakura in every way, when she had passed by her shop. Her friend thought she did the right thing, but she had to hear the two bells before she judged. She herself had seen how Sasuke looked at Hinata, and how Hinata looked at Sasuke. He had never seen either the former heir Hyuuga with such an expression, nor the last glacial Uchiha who had practically spent his life rejecting any relationship, whether sentimental or friendly. 

Naruto himself had taken years to be accepted by Sasuke as a brother. For Ino, Naruto had not been so successful, they were too different, what should people say in the opposite way? From what he knew their dialogues were based only on rivalry was Naruto to chase Sasuke, seemingly almost ridiculous. But with Hinata, Sasuke seemed calmer, after all the characters were more similar and if people understood each other, it didn't take much to really establish a bond. Sasuke also took Hinata to her flower shop, and all the women in the village who were crazy about Sasuke knew how much they didn't care about flowers and everything. Hinata seemed happy with him, and Ino never seemed ambiguous, especially after all that time of silence after Neji Hyuuga's death.

If Hinata didn't care about that death, she could be selfish, but she was always so dark, so sad, so isolated from the world. Ino thought someone so traumatized couldn't be as bad as Sakura thought.

- Were you right about the way you approached Sasuke? - Sakura kept saying. - You deceived him only for your own ends. –

For his own purposes?

Sakura said he used Sasuke? Hinata stopped her step without looking back. For days she had accumulated anger, resentment, her poor nerves were falling apart. How could he say such cruel words to her? Her unrequited fixation made Sakura lose her rationality to that point? How could he turn on her like that? Who was Sakura to Sasuke besides his teammate? A friend maybe, but Sakura didn't just want friendship from him, so what else was he to Sasuke besides that? Nothing at the level of love and of this Hinata was sure.

- Sakura - said Sai, intervening. - You do not know many things and draw hasty conclusions, Hinata never pretended to be mute, had problems. -

- But she was in love with Naruto, she never wanted Sasuke - said Sakura. - She didn't even know him. -

Hinata jumped like lightning behind her. - How long has it been since you see me running after Naruto? - she hissed with a cold voice.

At that moment, Sakura felt a shiver in her arms. She turned immediately.

Hinata was so fast. She looked at her head to toe, her long hair moving in the wind, her impassive face, she was completely dressed in black, no expression on her face. You look at her with those cold, clear eyes. Her throat was dry, Hinata looked like Sasuke.

- How did you forget, Naruto? - she could not help but ask.

- I've grown up, Sakura, it's been 20 years now - sighed Hinata. - If I have to analyze who I was before, I can say that I had such admiration for Naruto, but I couldn't talk to him, I didn't even know him, and I was just a child who had never been with anyone. Then I really fell in love - she had considered sincere. - Sasuke and I were together for over a year, I didn't deceive him, he knows all about me for better or for worse. -

- Your clan does not accept it and we can already see the consequences - said Sakura.

- I did not have time to talk to them, someone else thought to draw conclusions about our history - said Hinata, thinning her eyes. - Now how do you want me to feel knowing that Sasuke is out there alone again, after all he's been through in his life? -