The Hidden Leaf

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Hinata Hyuga. Oh yeah. She was that girl with short blue hair and large light lavender eyes. She's nice, and she's the only one in the Academy who's nice to him. Although, he thinks it's weird that every time she sees him, her face suddenly turns red.

During the first test in the Chunin exams, she was seated next to him. It was a written exam, a very hard one. He doesn't know how to answer even a single question. Hinata offered to let him cheat to her, but he refused. He refused because they might get caught, and they might fail the whole exam. Aside from that, he refused because he was too proud to admit he was struggling in the exam.

Then there were the individual battles. Kiba Inuzuka was his opponent. He won the match against him and his dog Akamaru. After that, Hinata offered her some medicinal ointment for his injuries. She also encouraged him when he thought he would never defeat Neji Hyuga. She said he can win their match because he always had the strength to overcome his own failures. She said he inspired her when he cheered for her during her match. It gave him the courage to face Neji and eventually beat him.

Hinata knows that he really wants to find Sasuke and take him back to Konoha, so she insisted that they will be allowed by Tsunade to find the Bikochu beetle. They failed, but it doesn't matter because what matters is she tried her best to help him with his mission. She was even held hostage by the members of the Kamizuru clan. Thankfully she was able to get away because as kind and gentle as she is, she is also very strong.

Yes, she was strong. She strived and tried to be stronger. And through all those time, he was her inspiration. He was her driving force. She said his smiling face saved her. And she tried to save him, too. From Pain, even though it meant risking her own life. But she didn't back down. And that's because she loves him.

Why did he never see the clues? It was all too obvious. She was the only one who's very kind to him. She was always very nice to him. Even thought he seems to be on the wrong page, she would always agree with him. And when she disagrees, she would say it politely. He would never argue with him.

Maybe he was just really dumb? He was just really stupid. That he thought she was just really being nice. That's she's like that to other people, too. Very kind. Very considerate. Very polite.

But she said it to him herself. She said it when she was about to fight for him. She said it when she tried to defend him from Pain.

Because I love you. I always will.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, she fought with him. She fought for him again. She was the one who woke him up when he was about to give up and brought him back to his senses. If not because of her, he would have succumbed to downfall. She reminded him of all the people that have risked their lives to protect him, who believed that he could be someone as great as he is right now. And as he held her hand that time, he found a new strength to fight those who were on the verge of destroying the whole humanity.

She had always been there for him. She had always watched him from the sidelines. She had always believed in him. And he has been a fool.

How could he been so blind? How could he not see the first person who believed he could be someone more than the bratty kid that he was? How could he not notice that one little girl who watched him from afar and believed he could be a Hokage?

But it doesn't matter. Past is past, and what's important is the present. Whatever idiocy he has had before has now ended. He finally realized his mistake, and it's not yet too late to make her feel that he loves her, too.

Yes, he realized that he loves her. Not because he knows she loves him, but because that's how he feels. He now realized that Hinata was the person he had always wanted to protect. Looking back, he had always wanted to make sure she's okay, that she's not hurt. Maybe it's because she was nice to him and he felt he should reciprocate. But whatever the reason is, he had always wanted to keep her safe.