Rivals For The Hokage's Love

The Hokage's Secret

Naruto wasn't feeling well the next morning, but he didn't want to worry the others. So when they all had an early breakfast, he joined them, and they set off, with nothing wrong.

Hinata stayed close to Naruto. After Anko had openly kissed Naruto, right in front of everyone, she realized how much she hated it, that the blonde was getting hit on just like that. He was far too kind to push them away, but everyone had seen that he didn't respond either. She really liked him, even if he didn't like her back, and Anko was clearly simply messing with him.

What nobody knew, was that Anko knew the answer. She knew who Naruto was in love with. She also was aware that the person he loved, was in love with him as well. She had kissed him like that in order to provoke someone else, yet it was the Hyuga girl who responded fiercely.

They stopped after a few hours to relax. Hinata moved away from the group. She wanted to be alone, to think in peace. Why had she acted out like that? What Anko had done was wrong, but why did she have to go and repeat that same, awkward, embarrassing situation?

Naruto had always been kind to her, and she didn't like that others took advantage of him. In the end, though, she had ended up doing the same thing. Without thinking about what she was doing, without considering his feelings, she had simply out and kissed him on the lips.

He was sure to hate her now. She had become someone else, someone he didn't recognize.

"Hinata?" She jumped up and turned around, gasping as her love stood in front of her, smiling.

"N-Naruto-kun?!" Why was he here? What did he want with someone who did that to him?

"Hey, I know you're nervous about it," he said calmly. "But I'm not angry about yesterday, okay? You're one of my very good friends, and I can understand that you got angry about seeing Anko kiss me like that. But then, Anko is just like that. I know she doesn't love me, and she doesn't feel that she's deluding me so, either. I'm only going to tell you this, though, so bear with me."

Hinata's heart leapt. He was trusting her with a secret? After what she had done to him? Really?

"Anko found out who I was in love with. I asked her to keep it a secret, and she swore to it. I'm very sorry, Hinata...I know you've loved me for a very long time. Since we were in the Academy. I really wish I could return those feelings. But I'm not capable of that..." Naruto inhaled deeply. "Please don't hate me for this. I'm not...attracted to girls. I'm sorry, Hinata, really."

Instead of feeling upset, Hinata's heart soared right through the sky, and she hugged Naruto.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun." She smiled up at her love. "Because now I know ... I'll never lose to a girl, so it's fine. I'll always be your friend, and I hope whoever it is loves you back too."

"I want you to move on too, Hinata," Naruto smiled gently. "There are people who like you too, and they could be closer than you think. Anyway, we should go to the others now."

Little did they know, Shikamaru had been listening in on the entire conversation. Still, he was surprised at how calmly, yet efficiently, Naruto had handled the situation. Hinata too. She seemed truly happy at his confession, and he knew Sakura was the one of the girls left in the list. He got up, deciding to tell her before she went along to her own destruction.

"Sakura, can I have a word with you?" Puzzled, the pinkette followed the lazy raven away.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru?" she asked, eyeing Hinata and Naruto, who were a few feet away.

"Is there someone who you're in love with?" Shikamaru asked openly. He was frank, after all.

"You know, Shikamaru. All those years, I ran after Sasuke-kun. I thought he was the only one I could ever love. But when he left me, I put the burden on Naruto. I knew he couldn't do it. Yet I believed in him, for some reason. When he left, I felt empty. Worse than when Sasuke had left. If I hadn't been training with Tsunade-sama, I don't know what I would have done. When Sasuke came back, I thought I still loved him. But my eyes followed Naruto. Without thinking, I started listening for his voice. My heart was at peace when I saw him safe. But even that was nothing more than a sisterly affection. Yes, I do love someone. Someone who doesn't even know what love is. Someone I haven't known for as long as I knew them. Sasuke is just a good friend to me now, and Naruto is like my little brother. But I love this man, the one who is calm yet can hold a storm inside. I'm in love with Sai, but I'll always have a special place for Naruto."

Shikamaru nodded, looking approvingly at the kunoichi in front of him. Sakura sure had grown, almost as much as Naruto had. She had gotten over two impossible loves, and now she had found the one she truly would do anything for. Which also meant, he only had to check on Tenten now. That would mean all of the girls were out of this contest.

He smiled. It was true that Naruto had a queer relationship with Hinata. It was a very calm one, no high waves or sharp tides in that ocean. They understood each other at a fundamental level, which was probably why he trusted her with things as personal as this. He could rely on her to keep it confidential, and also not to judge him. They had been friends since the earliest years in the Academy, or, he suspected, much longer before that. She was probably his first friend.

He looked down at the scroll in his hand. Kiba had been striked off, as Naruto had personally rejected him. Ino was also cut across. Now he drew a line over Hinata's name. Sad, that had been #3 on his list. Without thinking further, he blocked out #1, Sakura, and Tenten, who had been left without a rank. After all, he knew Naruto would be rejecting her if she confessed.

So then, if it was a guy, then this game he had made up for himself just got interesting. Who was Naruto in love with? He hadn't even considered that Naruto might actually be gay. He glanced at the ever growing list in his hand and sighed, adding Itachi's name on a whim.