Team Harmony

CE37: Another Lifetime

Hinata was awake before the sun rose and got ready for her outing with Naruto. She kindly asked the cooks in the kitchen to make an extra breakfast and then gathered a few things so she and Naruto could sit comfortably.

"'Nata?" She turned to see Hanabi rubbing the sleep our of her eyes while holding back a yawn. "What are you doing? Do you have a mission?"

Hinata ruffled her sister's hair affectionately. "No, but I'm meeting Naruto to hang out a bit before we separate for training."

"Do you think...you'll have time to watch me train today?" her voice was so meek that Hinata felt her heart squeeze.

"I'll make time, don't worry. I have studying to do at the library, training with Kushina-sensei, and then I have to spend time in my greenhouse. How about we do some training together just before dinner?"

Hanabi's face lit up. "Yeah! I can't wait!" She wrapped her arms around her sister and squeezed tightly. "Have a good day, big sister!"

Hinata rubbed her back and watched as her sister walked back to her room, no doubt about to get some more sleep. Her sister had progressed rapidly and she felt proud but also worried. If she caught up to Hinata at such a young age, the Elders would be insisting Hanabi was a better fit for as Clan Head. She thought her younger sister would make an excellent leader, but it was clear to her that Hanabi enjoyed the freedom she had now. She didn't want to be the Clan Head.

"Hinata-sama, Naruto-sama is here for you," Mitsuki said.

Hinata gathered everything quickly and thanked her maid before rushing out the front door. She nearly ran into Naruto, who caught her by the shoulders and steadied her.

"Whoa, what's the rush?" Naruto laughed.

"I just didn't want to keep you waiting," she said. "I brought breakfast for us so we can get our strength up before training."

"My mom said you came to talk to her. I'm guessing she said yes to training you?" Hinata nodded. "That's good. Mom's real strong."

When Naruto sighed a little too heavily as they walked to the training grounds, Hinata lifted a brow. "Are you okay?" She asked gently.

Naruto shrugged. "It's just...we'll probably have to face each other."

Hinata's eyes went to the ground and her expression turned sad. "I've never wanted to fight against my comrades," she said quietly. "Especially not my best friends."

Swinging an arm around her shoulder, he pulled her close against his side. "We'll be fine, you know!" He assured her, though he felt the same way. They continued on in silence, the village slowly waking up the further they walked, until they reached the training grounds and set up a small area where they could sit comfortably.

"It's nice out here, isn't it?" Hinata observed.

"Yeah! This sunrise's gonna be awesome," he said excitedly. They took a seat and Hinata handed him a lunchbox so they could eat while they waited. "This smells amazing!"

It wasn't much longer before the sun began peeking over the horizon. Pink and purple littered across the sky and they both watched in awe as a hint of yellow merged and flowed perfectly with the contrasting colors.

Naruto turned to look at Hinata and his breath caught as the colors shined across her face, lighting it up with warm colors. He almost wanted to cry at the emotions he was feeling, the love and anger and sadness. Part of him felt like he would've had a chance to win her heart if she hadn't already been promised to another, and that's what made his heart clench the most. The what-ifs. They got dangerously close to driving him insane sometimes.