Her Nameless Thief |NaruHina| Remastered

Chapter 19

The world felt hazy and muted when Sara's eyes fluttered open, the sterile white of the Konoha hospital ceiling blurring into focus. Her body felt heavy, weighed down by bandages and a lingering ache that radiated from every limb. She winced, turning her head slightly, and saw her mother seated by her bedside, worry etched deeply into her gentle features. On the other side of the room sat Hinata, her pale lavender eyes hollow, staring at nothing in particular as if the world around her had ceased to exist.

"Mom...?" Sara's voice came out as a weak whisper, barely recognizable even to herself.

Her mother's gaze snapped to her, relief flooding her eyes as she took Sara's hand gently, holding it between her own. "Sara... thank goodness. You're awake. We've been waiting..." she choked on the last word, her hand trembling slightly.

A faint movement on her other side drew Sara's attention to Hinata. Even in her dazed state, she could see something in her friend's face that sent a chill through her—a hollowness, an emptiness she hadn't seen before. The way Hinata sat there, unmoving, her expression vacant as if she were somewhere far away—it was as though something essential had been stripped away from her.

Sara tried to sit up, but a dull pain forced her to lie back. She looked at her mother, then at Hinata, fear starting to twist in her stomach. "Hinata..." Sara said softly, hoping to draw her back, to ground her in the present. "What... what happened?"

Hinata's gaze shifted slowly, her empty eyes finally meeting Sara's. She looked as though she had something to say, something that was tearing her apart from the inside, but she hesitated, the words trapped in her throat. Finally, after a long silence, she spoke, her voice a mere whisper.

"Sara... Naruto... he..."

But before she could say more, her words trailed off, her face crumbling as her shoulders shook. It was as though whatever she had to say was too painful, too final. Sara reached out, instinctively trying to comfort her, but Hinata only shook her head, retreating further into herself.

In the silence, a palpable weight hung over them, one Sara couldn't understand yet. But something in her heart told her that the news was far worse than she could imagine.

And then, her mind shifted to her last memory—her battle with Naruto, her determination to bring him back, the pain of his blows as he dismantled her without hesitation. She could still feel the rain pounding against her skin, his cold eyes fixed on her, unyielding. The memory was raw, like a fresh wound that hadn't yet begun to heal.

But he's still out there, she reminded herself, a flicker of hope igniting within her. He hadn't killed her. He had let her live, hadn't he?

Yet as Hinata's expression drifted further into that hollow space, that hope wavered. Something had happened since she'd been unconscious, something that had shattered the bright, hopeful girl she'd always known. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest.

Just as Hinata opened her mouth to try again, her voice trembling, the scene shifted—

~

Naruto moved through the dense, rain-soaked forest, his body a shadow blending with the mist, his mind focused on the path ahead. He was alone once again, just as he had been when he first entered the depths of these lands. But this time, the silence felt heavier, a haunting echo of what he had left behind.

His thoughts drifted back to the path he'd walked with Hinata, the quiet moments between battles, and the warmth that her presence had brought despite the danger. Now, retracing his steps alone, he could feel the emptiness gnawing at him, the bitter reality of the choices he'd made, the sacrifices that had led him here.