As she walked down the stone-paved road, she bit her lip, her head hanging low as she wandered through the streets of Konoha. Even though it was late and most of the village was fast asleep, she still forced her tears back, her frustration increasing with each tear that found its way out of her eye and down her face. She didn't want to take any chances in case someone saw her out there, meandering and crying in the middle of the night.

The last thing she needed was for someone to ask her "what's wrong?" or "are you alright?" She was never one who was very good at staying composed in emotional situations, but that would just about guarantee her hysterical state to hold strong.

Pulling her jacket tighter around her she gripped the inside of her sleeves, willing the warmth of the thin fabric to spread through her. It was her own fault for not grabbing a heavier coat before leaving the compound. But the weather outside had been the last thing on her mind when she'd stormed out of her house and onto the streets.

"It isn't right, father!" She'd cried desperately. "He gave his life for me. For Naruto! It's the least we could do."

Hiashi had only shaken his head slowly as she pleaded with him. "There's nothing I can do. The council is very set in their rules."

"Those rules are outdated and the council is wrong," she spoke, a glare etched into her normally soft features.

"It would be smart to watch your words, Hinata," Hiashi has retorted shooting back a stern look of his own. "One day the council will be making this decision for all of us."

"Neji doesn't deserve this," she insisted, still holding strong with her words. "The phrase 'branch family' shouldn't stop him from getting a proper farewell."

"The politics of our clan are very particular—"

"Well, the politics of the Hyuuga are awful and need to change!"

Closing her eyes tightly Hinata attempted to swallow the lump in her throat and instead ended up choking on a sob. Thinking about Neji caused her chest to throb and her head to ache. The war hadn't even ended a month ago and the pain of his death was still fresh in her heart and in her mind.

As she walked she contemplated going to one of her teammate's house but the fact that it was almost four in the morning made her a bit hesitant. She didn't want to wake either Kiba or Shino; Kiba was a heavy sleeper and Shino needed the sleep anyways.

Ino was on a mission, Sakura had been taking the late shift at the hospital and wouldn't be home, and Tenten was probably staying at Lee's still. The two were still working to cope with Neji's death; neither had been able to fully come to terms with it yet (although admittedly Lee was doing much better with each passing day).

She didn't have many options about where to go, and she really, really didn't want to go back to the compound. No, she couldn't go back tonight. It was out of the question. She was too… too angry. Too upset. If she came back now and if her father noticed that she was there in the morning he'd probably assume that their disagreement hadn't been a big deal and then continue on with his business as usual.

No, she wouldn't go back. She needed for her father to realize that she was serious; that this was a big deal.

As she trudged through the streets she contemplated what she'd do for the night, all while wishing she had something a little warmer on.

"Hinata? Is that you?"

Stumbling slightly at the sound of his voice she moved quickly, using the end of her sleeves to wipe any trace of tears off of her face. Turning toward him she watched as he approached her, still squinting his eyes at her. "What are you doing walking around this late?"

Forcing a smile onto her face she cleared her throat, "You know, just uh, going for a walk."

He shot her a slightly skeptical look, "Really?" To her relief he shrugged, "Well, it's a little late for that. But I'm not really one to talk," grinning, he held up a plastic bag for her to see, "I did a little bit of late-night shopping at the 24-hour mart on the edge of town."

Hinata looked at the bag and couldn't fight the smile that grew on her face, "Let me guess, ramen?"

Naruto laughed in reply, "That predictable, huh?"

"Just a lucky guess." She giggled quietly, secretly thankful for the darkness around them; she was sure her cheeks were bright red.

Since the end of the war a few weeks ago she hadn't seen Naruto much at all. She couldn't blame him though, between dealing with the aftermath of the war and handling Sasuke's return he was bound to be busy.

"I haven't seen you in a while," Naruto said, voicing her very thoughts back at her, "how're you?" The way he looked at her—eyes soft, smile gentle—made her heartbeat accelerate. This was the first time they'd actually had the time to stop and talk to one another since the war ended. The last time they'd spoken had been directly after the end of the war.

Among the celebration Naruto had found her and enveloped her in a tight hug, spinning her and laughing and crying over and over again "it's over, it's over, we did it, it's over!" in her ear.

That embrace turned from ecstatic to melancholy in record timing. Before he released her their celebratory laughter had abruptly turned into tears. No more spinning, no more smiles. They'd simply collapsed to the dirty ground in each other's arms, together mourning the man who gave his life for them.

It hadn't just been their interactions that came to a blunt halt, but the celebrations of all the shinobi ended soon after it had started. There were injured comrades to find and heal, and dead ninja littering the very ground they'd just danced on.

Staring back at Naruto's curious expression, Hinata tried hard to rid those thoughts from her mind. She forced a smile onto her face for him, "I'm doing alright," she spoke cheerily in her poor attempt at fibbing.

Naruto's reaction was automatic, "Are you sure you're alright?" Stepping closer toward her he studied her face, his expression turning from curious to concerned.

"I—" she hesitated, not wanting to lie again but also not wanting to tell him the full truth. She was sure he was dealing with enough on his own, she didn't need to add her anguish to the list of thing he was concerning himself with. "It's just been a long day," she admitted softly.

"Yeah," Naruto smiled, his expression softening considerably at her acknowledgement, "that's understandable." As he kept his eyes fixated on her he offered her another small smile. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Just as he spoke his words a bright light flashed through the sky. Not even two seconds later a sharp crack of thunder erupted, the loud noise catching both of them off guard and assaulting their senses.

Before either of them could speak another word the sky opened up above them, dropping copious amounts of cold rain onto their heads.

Reacting quicker than she could think, Naruto grabbed her hand and began pulling her after him. He released her once they were under the cover of an awning from a closed shop nearby.

Suddenly, he started laughing. "That was unexpected." Hinata watched as he shook out his hair, water droplets flying from his head, some even bouncing off of her face. "Sorry," he apologized, grinning widely down at her as she wiped the excess water from her face with the sleeves of her jacket.

"It's alright," she smiled up at him, tucking a few wet, heavy strands of hair behind her ear.

"The Hyuuga compound is pretty far from here, isn't it?" He asked, staring up into the sky and watching as the sky flashed again, more thunder following suit.

As Hinata stared out into the pouring rain she frowned. This had been the last thing she needed to happen.

"You should stay at my place tonight."

Those words froze her already freezing-cold body in its tracks. Removing her gaze from the rain she slowly turned her head up to meet Naruto's eyes, only to find a genuine look of concern on his face.

"I'm serious," he said in reply to her dubious look, "I live right over there," he threw a thumb over his shoulder and Hinata's eyes followed, ultimately landing on his large apartment complex which she could clearly see from where they stood. "It's too cold to be walking home in this kind of weather anyways."

"That's true," she whispered to herself, fighting the urge to shiver. The cold was the last thing on her mind though; she'd never even been inside Naruto's apartment before, and now here he was inviting her to stay the night.

"You don't have to, of course," he spoke quickly, perhaps sensing her hesitation, "I just figured since it's so cold out and you're so far from home that maybe—"

"I'll stay," she spoke quickly, feeling borderline guilty that he thought even for a moment that she'd turn down his offer, "thank you." As soon as the words left her mouth her anxiety dropped considerably. She'd found a place to stay for the night which means that now she didn't have to return home against her will.

Naruto's reaction was immediate, "Awesome," he beamed down at her before reaching down and grabbing her hand within his. "Man, you must be freezing," he noted, squeezing her hand in his, "your hands are like ice!"

Hinata managed a half-smile, "I'm a little cold," she admitted.

"Well, come on then!" With one last wide smile he pulled her after him and back out into the rain. Following his lead she ran by his side as they sprinted toward his apartment. Jumping from roof to roof she squinted her eyes into the rain so she'd be able to see in front of her, and before she knew it they were already there.

"Phew!" As they made it to the hallway outside his apartment he shook his head wildly, letting more of the rain to fly around him in his poor attempt at drying his hair. "Oh, shoot, I'm sorry!"

Hinata could only laugh in reply, lifting her damp sleeve to wipe the excess rainwater off her cheek again. "It's alright. Akamaru and Kiba do that all the time. I'm used to it."

Smiling sheepishly at her he squeezed her hand again and continued to pull her after him. It wasn't long before they were in his apartment and he'd released her hand to retrieve some towels.

"Sorry it's a little messy in here," he said nervously as he handed her a towel, "I've been sort of busy so I haven't, you know, been able to worry about cleaning up."

"No, it's okay," she assured him. It really wasn't as cluttered as she'd expected it would be. Sure there were a few half-eaten cups of ramen by the sink and she could see a couple of laundry piles beginning to form in some corners, but other than that the place was surprisingly tidy.

"So are you tired? 'Cause you can go to sleep now if you want. I'll probably stay up later anyways but don't mind me."

"Um, a little bit." Truthfully, she was exhausted. After her long day at the compound, and then after wandering around the village for a few hours, she was just about dead on her feet.

"Come on," he beckoned her to follow him with a quick wave of his hand, and before she knew it she was standing in his bedroom, watching as he dug through a couple of his drawers. "You can take my bed," he spoke as he searched for something, "and don't try talking me out of it, 'cause my mind is made up!"

Hinata bit back her reply and couldn't fight the smile that was threatening to take over her face. She had been ready to deny his offer but he was already a couple of steps ahead of her.

"Here," before she was expecting it, he'd shoved a couple of articles of clothing into her hands, "they might be a little big—well, a bit big—but it's better than sleeping in wet clothes."

It was then when Hinata lifted the clothes up so she could get a better look at them; a simple navy blue t-shirt and black shorts. Her heart must've skipped a beat as she thought about how he was offering his own clothes for her to sleep in, and the thought of actually sleeping in something that was his made her chest tighten.

"The bathroom is just around the corner," Naruto spoke, pointing out the door and seemingly unaware of her flustered state, "and I'll just be out there eating probably. So feel free to let me know if you need anything else. Uh, I think that's it?"

Before she could stop herself she'd taken a few determined steps toward him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Biting her lip she tried hard to fight back her tears but of course lost the battle as a few slipped out and fell down her cheeks. This, being with Naruto after such a miserable day, was what she'd needed so desperately.

To his credit he responded to her embrace promptly by returning the hug, pulling her even closer to him, until her face was being firmly pressed against his chest.

"Hey," he said softly, pulling her back from him slightly, "are you alright, Hinata? What's the matter?"

Sniffling, Hinata quickly wiped the tears from her face, chastising herself for her moment of weakness. "I'm okay," she spoke in a shaky voice, "it's just—it's been a really long day." Inhaling deeply she let out a low breath of air as she calmed herself. "I'm just really, really tired."

With a frown spread across his features he didn't look entirely convinced, but he nodded anyways, releasing his hold on her and stepping backward.

"If you need anything though," he emphasized, his stare a lot more intense, "just let me know, okay?"

"Okay," she nodded, forcing a smile onto her face in an attempt to ebb his concern. "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Alright, goodnight Hinata," and with one final look he'd left the room, closing the door behind him.

Exhaling deeply, Hinata again reexamined the clothing in her hands as she fought back more tears. She'd have to find a way to properly thank him in the morning for what he was doing for her. To him, it may be nothing, but to her, she was eternally grateful for him allowing her to stay the night.

Changing into the fresh clothes Hinata cautiously climbed into his bed, slightly nervous at the thought of sleeping where he had so many, many times before. As she laid her head down on his pillow she inhaled deeply. The fabric smelt just like the clothes—a scent that was entirely comforting and distinctly Naruto's.

She fell asleep that night quickly, dreaming of the times when everyone laughed and smiled together. Back before the war had perverted the world around them. Back before the nightmares stole the smiles of her friends.

Back when Neji was still alive.