Chapter Eight

"Uncertain Feelings"

A fresh cold wind swayed the branches of trees and made their leaves flew away to different directions. A single leaf flew towards the sky taken by the wind in no direction. A dashed shadow made it stumbled on the ground.

The shadow settled on the top of the mountains soon revealed to be a man wearing a grin on his mouth. He stood up waiting for the sun to show up. Slowly, the sun shines upon the village. He put his right hand in front of his face covering it from the dazzling effects of the sunrise. He tried to watch the sunrise with his bare eyes so he removed his hand and soon he realized it was beautiful. He believed that every sunrise was a hope for a dreamer like him.

"I'll have my face carved on this mountain, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted at the top of the mountains as soon as the sun completely settled in the heavens. He jumped off the mountains screaming "I'm gonna be Hokage!"

Naruto was completely bored. He was walking down the village streets with his hands at the back of his head. He just returned from a mission with Team 8 and his day off. He had heard it was Team 8's day off too. He was heading to the Ichiraku Ramen when he saw a familiar face outside the store.

"Hinata!" He called. Hinata turned in his direction. He rushed to her.

"Na-Naruto?" Hinata muttered.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I bought some stuff." Hinata showed him the things she had bought from the store.

"Are you knitting again?" He asked.

She nodded. "It's winter soon I got to make some scarves." She replied. Naruto rubbed his nose out of discomfort.

"The scarf you made for me, I kept it in my drawer. Gonna wear it when winter comes." He told her. Hinata was surprised and got her cheeks blushed.

"I see." She said not looking at him.

"Where are you heading?" She asked him.

"Ahh. Actually, I wanted to go to the Ichiraku to grab some ramen. Wanna come with me?" He invited her.

"Hmm. Sure, I'm not in a hurry though." She replied.

The both of them headed to the Ichiraku. Naruto ordered two extra-large misu bowls. While waiting, he told Hinata some silly stuff that made her laugh. Naruto was enjoying talking to her so was Hinata. Clearly, they were enjoying each other's company.

Upon the serving of hot ramen, they immediately savored the goodness of their favorite meal. Hinata was actually known to be the Legendary Queen of Gluttony finishing up 46 bowls of ramen beating Naruto who claims that half of his body was made up of ramen.

Naruto suddenly reminisced that moment when they first eat at the exact same place back in their first date. He was so happy, no they were so happy. He smiled at the thought of it which made Hinata confused.

"Are you okay Naruto?" She asked.

"Huh? What? Ye-Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled awkwardly at her. Hinata smiled at him and resumed eating.

She might notice me smiling all of a sudden. He thought.

He was secretly glancing at her while she eats. He was mesmerized by her beauty for some time.

I never noticed Hinata was this beautiful. No wonder why Toneri wanted to marry her. I know Toneri noticed such beauty too. He thought.

But Naruto knew that it wasn't her beauty that captures his heart, it was her pure love for him that he failed to realize before. She reminded him of his mom that he only met once. He remembered her say to find a woman like her.

I think I've finally found her, mom. He thought again. He then turned his gaze to the ramen he was eating. They accidentally looked at each other and laughed.

"Sakura! Ino!" Naruto shouted upon seeing the two coming out from the hospital.

"Naruto! Hinata!" Sakura shouted back. They approached each other.

"Eh? You two must be dating? I'm jealous." Ino muttered.

"Ahh. Hmm. You can say that." Naruto replied while blushing.

"You should ask Sai to take you out sometimes." Sakura interrupted.

"Wha-What? He must be doing that as a man." Ino said while blushing so hard. The rest of them laughed at her.

"Anyways, where have you been?" Sakura asked.

"We've been from the Ichiraku's," Hinata replied. Naruto nodded as a sign of agreement.

"I see," Sakura replied.

"Naruto seems to enjoy Hinata's company." Ino teased him.

"Ah um.. Hinata is actually fun to talk to..." Naruto replied while rubbing his nose. Hinata laughed at his statement.

"Eh? Hinata, what's wrong?" Naruto asked wearing a confused face.

"Nothing. You are fun too." She said.

"Wait, they are..." Sakura said interrupting them.

"Shikamaru, Choji!" Ino called for them. Temari and Karui were with them too.

"Is it Valentine's day?" Sakura randomly asked. Ino laughed at her statement.

"You must be jealous Sakura you don't have anyone today." Ino teased her.

"Shut up. You don't have anyone today too." Sakura replied with a mad face.

The two pairs approached them.

"Yo!" Shikamaru greeted them. Choji was munching on his chips.

"Shikamaru! Choji! Ahh. Temari and Karui are here too." Naruto muttered.

"Are you all out for a date?" Ino asked.

"No, not like that." Shikamaru refused.

"We're here for the Chunin Exams meeting," Temari said.

"Karui is the Cloud's Ambassador for the exam," Choji said still munching on his chips.

"I see." Ino replied.

"It so happened that we bumped into each other today and Choji invited us all for a barbecue snack." Shikamaru said.

"Barbecue with friends is fun," Naruto muttered. "You're exactly right Naruto." Choji agreed.

"Hinata let's go with them." Naruto invited her and she had soon agreed.

"Let's go to Sakura," Ino told her. Sakura was a bit hesitant. She felt out of place.

"I think I should pass. I have a lot of work to do." She declined.

"Sakura what are you saying? I know you already finished your remaining works." Ino whispered in her ear. Sakura's face saddened. Ino already knew what Sakura was feeling. She was jealous. She had no one at the moment. Sasuke was not around. He was not with her. She would just look pathetic and out of place. All of her friends were happily talking with their partners while she was still hoping for love from afar.

"Come on! I'm with you so don't worry, okay? Soon you and Sasuke will be going out on a romantic date." Ino said and winked at her. Sakura smiled and somehow felt relieved. They all went to the barbecue restaurant.

"More barbecue!" Choji shouted.

"Oi, Choji! Eat moderately." Shikamaru scolded him.

They all laughed at him. All the pairs were talking to each other. Hinata laughing at Naruto's silly jokes, Shikamaru got intimidated by Temari's looks at him. Karui was scolding Choji with his non-stop eating habit. Ino sipped on her tea. Sakura felt uneasy looking at her friends enjoying. She felt sick. So sick of the fact that she's longing for someone. Wishing he was with her too. She looked down and wore a sad face. Ino noticed her sudden change of mood. She felt sad for her. She tried to ignore Sakura and talked with their friends. Ino truly knew Sakura's feelings, she knew everything about her. They were friends since they were kids and she also knew when to confront her and talk nasty things about her and her relationship with Sasuke.

Sakura thought of going home because she couldn't take the loneliness she was feeling at the moment but, she did not want to be rude to her friends. She was thinking of an excuse to get out of that place but she couldn't think of anything.

"Hey, I'm going out for a while," Naruto muttered. Everyone looked at him.

"Where are you going Naruto?" Hinata curiously asked him.

"I'm gonna buy some cup noodles, I've heard the store will close early today." He answered.

"Half of your body is made up of noodles for sure." Shikamaru teased him. They all laugh.

"Hinata, I'll be fast. Stay here okay? I'll be back." He told her. Hinata nodded as a response to him. He immediately leaves the restaurant and rushed to the store.

"Sakura, you've been quiet the whole time. Are you okay?" Temari asked her. Ino gazed at her with a worried face.

"A-ah, umm. Yeah! I-I'm fine. I'm sorry I was preoccupied. I was actually thinking about the hospital. He-he-he." She was lying. Ino knew it.

"Quit it for a while. You're overdoing it." Shikamaru said.

"Shikamaru's right Sakura. Have some fun tonight." Hinata added.

Sakura gave them an awkward smile. She wasn't having fun for real. Ino gave her a slice of barbecue. She accepted it and stared at it for seconds. She couldn't bear her feelings anymore so she stood up and told them she's leaving because she felt sick. Ino attempted to stop her but, she failed. She immediately leaves the restaurant and walked home.

It was already dark. Only those streetlights and stores showering light to the streets. She was crying. She could not hold her tears anymore.

"Sasuke, where are you now? Do you even think of me?" She said in between her sobs.

"Sakura?" Naruto muttered. He was in front of her. She immediately wiped her tears so Naruto would not notice it.

"Na-Naruto!" She said. He moved closer to her.

"Where are you going? Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Ah. Ye-Yeah, of course." She said while stuttering.

Naruto stared at her for seconds, she felt uneasy. She thought Naruto might know she was crying.

"You're sad." He said. Sakura was shocked. Like what she had thought was right. Naruto already knew it.

"No, I was just thinking of some things. I'm fine Naruto." She tried to cheer up her face.

"I know you Sakura, I could say you're lying to me." He said. Sakura was shocked at his statement. Upon hearing his words, her tears slowly dropped out of her eyes. She couldn't hold it anymore.

She unconsciously hugged Naruto and cried on his chest. She was sobbing. Naruto felt sad as well.

"I miss him so much. I was thinking if Sasuke even cares about me. Does he even think about me?" She said in between her sobs.

***

Hinata stopped walking upon seeing Naruto and Sakura at the moment. They were hugging each other. Ino was surprised too. Both Ino and Hinata followed Sakura and tried to walk her home. Ino mentioned to Hinata that Sakura's feeling bad. Both of them were worried about her and thought of helping her feel better.

"Can we talk for a while?" Ino spoke to Hinata. Hinata looked at her and nodded.

They walked in a different direction, they did not even know where they were going.

"Have you ever heard of Naruto having a crush on Sakura before?" Ino asked. Hinata was surprised and shook her head.

"No." She replied.

"But Sakura loved Sasuke ever since." Ino continued. Hinata kept on listening to her.

"Naruto crushing on Sakura for years but, Sakura kept on choosing Sasuke. I know somehow Sakura had a change of heart and tried to look at Naruto. I don't know if those feelings still live in her heart. She was sad about the fact that she's longing for Sasuke who was traveling to places that no one knows. She is afraid Sasuke would bump into some girls and fall for one of them." Ino said.

"I see," Hinata muttered.

"I know you and Naruto were hanging out together. I think he had finally moved on from Sakura and realized he loved you instead." Ino said. Hinata looked at her. They looked at each other. Hinata looked away.

"Feelings do change, right?" Hinata unconsciously asked. Ino stopped for a moment.

"Hmm. They do. Just like how my feelings changed for Sasuke." Ino said.

"I realized I need to stop chasing after him not that I have given up on him but, it's the right thing to do. There's no point in loving someone you know will never love you back, it's like wasting your time. I know I am worthy of someone else. Sasuke deserves Sakura more than I do." Ino added.

"Uncertain feelings exist," Hinata muttered.

"What do you mean?" Ino confusedly asked.

"Feelings can change anytime. You think you love that person now and love someone else tomorrow." Hinata said.

"There are also feelings that cannot be changed. There are only two things that are for sure, feelings can change or feelings cannot be changed. It depends on the person." Ino said. Hinata nodded.

Naruto's feelings for me might change one day, what I'm sure about is mine wouldn't until I die. If that thing may happen in the future, I should start preparing myself so it won't hurt that much.

The constant thing in this world is change as well as uncertainty.

And the only thing that cannot be changed is my love for him...