I did a NaruHina! I didn't think it was possible! It's probs not original; it's probs not light-hearted, but it is what it is.

Enjoy!

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He acknowledged he must have been going through some kind of phase, because he was seeing her in a new light lately. It wasn't any form of affection or budding effects of it, so, maybe, he was just a little regretful.

Or...he had a nagging sense of nostalgia, even though he was not part of the event that caused it.

"Good job," Hinata said as they entered through the village gates.

He nodded, giving a small smile. "Yeah. You too." He paused. "Hinata?" She looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "Ah... Never mind." He laughed weakly. "It's nothing."

She gave a half smile and then walked away, and Naruto took a moment to reflect on this change. There wasn't a change he could validly say he noticed, but, if he looked back on their younger days, maybe he could see signs then that weren't present now.

"Hinata's kind of...cool."

"A little...mysterious, don't you think?"

"But she's still the same."

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten watched from a distance as Team 8 went over plans for their next mission. From here, it was obvious Hinata was the leader this time around; Kiba and Shino listened intently as she went over strategies and back-up plans, and a sense of amazement struck each of them as they realized this air of duty and authority that engulfed her. Vaguely, the girls wondered if she was on par with Neji now.

"Sakuraaaaaa!"

The three looked over, seeing Naruto waving and rushing their way.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura answered, a bit reluctant to look away from the scene.

"About next week's mission, Sasuke can't go."

"What? Why?"

"ANBU training with Neji or something."

"Well, I guess we don't really need him..." Her eyes trailed back to Team 8. "How about Hinata?" She looked at Naruto, taking in his confused stare. "She could replace Sasuke, no problem."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah...but I was hoping this would be a perfect chance for us to be alone."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. She probably has her own S-ranked missions to worry about anyway."

"She does-"

"Tenten!" Hinata called running her way. "Do you have a second?"

"Hm?" The brunette blinked, looking at the people with her as if Hinata had called the wrong name. "Yeah, sure."

"Thank you." Hinata smiled a greeting at everyone before the two walked away.

"Wow..." Ino mumbled. "It's a little weird, huh?"

"I know what you mean," Sakura agreed.

"Eh? What's weird?" Naruto looked between the two. "I don't get it."

Sakura looked at him, sighing. "Well, you wouldn't have ever noticed, but it's odd for us to not see that shine in Hinata's eyes anymore."

"What, is she sad?"

"No," Ino groaned. "Geez, Naruto, she doesn't like you anymore, so that...that...childlike wonder is gone, and it's just weird. She's like... She's like a Hyuuga now."

Naruto crossed his arms, joining the girls in watching Hinata talk with Tenten.

He guessed...he really wouldn't have noticed.

"Hinata!"

Hinata turned, stopping so Naruto could catch up with her. "Yes? What is it?"

Naruto doubled over, catching his breath. "I...I need your help," he wheezed. "K-Konoha Library... Too many books..."

She laughed, holding half her bangs back. "My Byakugan?"

He grinned at her. "Please?"

o0o0o

"It's over there," Hinata pointed, her Byakugan glaring. "On the bottom shelf of the third bookcase."

Naruto ran over and dropped to the ground, retrieving the book. He sprung to his feet with it raised over his head victoriously. "Thank you!" he knelt in front of her valiantly, clutching the book. "You don't know how important this is to me!"

She laughed, taking a step back. "Not really." There was a pause, seeing if he was going to say anything else. "Well, I'll be going now. I hope your studies on," she glanced at the book, "Konoha...history...goes well. Hm."

He barely had time to vocalize his goodbyes before her figure was walking away. When she rounded the corner, he slumped against the bookcase, sliding until he sat down. With Hinata gone, he would be the only one in the gigantic building, and he felt a nostalgic kind of loneliness creep up on him.

Sighing, he opened his book and began to read.

o0o0o

Thirty minutes later, Naruto stood, stretching. History was too boring of a subject, even if his knowledge on the matter would greatly aid him in the long run, so he put the book back on the shelf and walked into the aisle.

He contemplated on what to do now. He found himself venturing around the village for no reason lately, but even that was starting to bum him out. Ichiraku was a place he seldom visited because ramen lost that pinch of excitement he craved. Really, nothing felt complete anymore, and it was taking all he had to resist the fact that things were changing somehow.

When he walked into the vast area filled with tables and chairs, he was surprised to see Hinata sitting at one of them on the other side. He stared for a moment, wondering if she had been waiting for him this whole time, and made his way over to her. The closer he got, he saw she had been reading a book of her own.

"You're still here," he said when he reached her.

Her head shot up, but she calmed when she saw it was him. "Oh, hi," she smiled, laughing bashfully. "I seem to have gotten distracted."

"Whatcha reading?"

She lifted the cover to him.

"How to Communicate Effectively..." His eyebrows scrunched. "You're reading...on how to speak?"

"Yes, well..." She closed the book, sighing dejectedly. "Like I said, I got distracted. It looked interesting at the time."

"Well, I thought you've gotten better at speaking."

She smiled at him half-heartedly. "To people and in group situations, yes, but... Mm..." She frowned, her cheeks tinting. "I still...lack...in certain aspects."

"Like what?"

She worried her bottom lip, her cheeks becoming more and more pink. "It would...be a little awkward to talk to you about..."

At this, Naruto found his nerves jumping. He thought he saw something he hadn't before, and he couldn't force himself to leave it alone. "Awkward?" He leaned his hand on the table, tilting his head. "Talking to me is awkward?"

"Not...exactly..."

"Then is it something you can't talk to me about that's awkward?"

"I... I wouldn't say I can't talk to you about it. It's just, um... It wouldn't be something to tell...you."

"Hm? Why not? Did you kill someone?"

She looked at him, slightly alarmed. "No, of course not."

"Are you trying to surprise someone?"

"Well... Well, no..."

"Then," he looked at his hand, appearing coy, "do you like someone?"

Hinata jumped, and, when he looked at her again, he found her face to be flushed. "Th-th-that, um... I-I don't know...if I would say that."

That was it.

The way she was looking right now, that was something he never noticed before. The way her cheeks changed to a healthy dose of pink or red was something he always took as her being overly emotional, but now he understands that was never the case. She had only gotten this way when she was embarrassed, and most of the time she had been embarrassed in front of him—because of him.

"Oh, I see," he said in that same oblivious tone he would have used years ago. "You're trying to talk to this guy that you like. Do I know him?"

Hinata looked away, exhaling a shaky breath, and stood. "I should have gone home." She grabbed her book, but Naruto grabbed her hand, giving one of his comforting smiles.

"You can tell me, Hinata. I won't laugh or anything."

She debated with herself, looking around the building, then stepped closer to him and whispered in his ear.

And everything snapped into place.

He realized now he couldn't accept Hinata's feelings with as much strength as she had presented them. He couldn't ignore how he felt either, because sometimes he felt like he was getting somewhere with Sakura, but there had always been something stopping him from enjoying that feeling: Hinata.

After he found out how she felt, and after he told her he didn't feel the same, he realized he wished he had noticed her. He wished he had seen her blushes and stutterings for what they were. He wished he had differentiated her kindness towards him from her kindness towards everyone else. He wished that, just once, he could have noticed what she had been trying to convey for all those years not because she noticed him—not because he would have known acceptance sooner—not because he felt like it would have led somewhere—but because he would have been able to see someone direct affection towards him.

And that's why, even now, even though he still didn't feel the same, he had hoped to catch a glimpse of that love he had never decoded. He hoped he would catch Hinata glancing his way or decipher her stutters into some form of affection, but he realized her feelings for him wasn't something that happened twice.

And this was all made clear when she whispered a name that wasn't his.

Hinata pulled away, looking at him with that hesitant, bashful demeanor he had longed to see just once, but it wasn't for him. It wasn't because of him.

He felt selfish for having part of him crumble at the realization.

"Huh." He forced a smile. "I never would have expected him."

"Oh!" She brought her hands to her face. "Promise you won't tell."

"Sure, sure!" he assured. "But what are you going to do?"

She looked at him. "Do? I don't exactly...have the best composure for situations like this." She sighed, becoming crestfallen. "To be honest, I'm not expecting this to be any different from any other time."

"You must really like him, huh?"

Hinata tried her best not to smile, her eyes sparkling. "It's hard to say."

She must have looked like that, at one point. Years ago, if someone had asked her that question as it related to him, she must have held an expression similar to this.

He...really wished she could direct it all at him just one more time.

"Okay." Naruto sat down. "Talk to me."

She looked at him, confused. "Why?"

"Pretend I'm him. If you have a practice conversation, then maybe you'll feel prepared for the real thing."

She frowned, not convinced. "But it's because it's you that this won't work. I don't feel self-conscious talking to you."

"How about a transformation or genjutsu?"

"No!" She sat down, red faced. "No... That would be almost as nerve-wrecking as doing it for real."

He grinned. "Then let's hope your imagination is good enough."

She nodded, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Naruto watched as she calmed down, and allowed himself to indulge in the next fifteen minutes.

Because, surely, at one point, the expressions she made now were all for him.