Not yet.

Enjoy!

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Naruto sat on the floor against his bed. He wasn't paying attention to much of anything as he waited for the other two to settle.

Hinata had taken a shower. Maybe she had come out by now, he wasn't sure. Sasuke had camped out in the kitchen. Naruto didn't know if that was because Sasuke no longer felt comfortable around him or if the Uchiha just needed time to think.

So with this vacant time, Naruto took the opportunity to be shocked and reflect on everything he learned tonight.

He had no idea her father was dead. It was a childish thought, but Naruto had never really expected Hiashi Hyuuga to die. The man was incredibly intimidating and powerful, so the thought of him dying had never truly crossed Naruto's mind. Even when Naruto himself started to show signs of aging, he expected Hiashi to be around for many years to come.

And back when Naruto was still dating Hinata, Naruto had always thought of the many ways he would get the man to warm up to him once Hinata was comfortable with being exclusive. It was funny, now that he thought about it, how much he had wanted Hiashi's approval. Naruto had been able to win over even people who wanted to see his blond head on a spike, but Hiashi had always been an intimidating hill to climb. Winning over a father who wanted the best for his daughter was daunting compared to winning over any opponent he faced. Now that wasn't possible anymore . . .

Naruto wondered if there was something he could have done to prevent this. He knew very well that Hiashi's death had nothing to do with himself, but Naruto had been here. He used to have a skill for coming into contact with people at the lowest point in their lives. Hiashi had been a strict man, but Naruto could see how much the man loved his daughters. He should have known Hiashi would have been impacted harder than anyone else. How could a man who raised his daughters since their infancy not be devastated by the loss of one of them?

Naruto ran the back of his hand across his damp eyes. His entire being felt weighted and his mood had crashed drastically. He would be sure to check on everyone he knew starting tomorrow.

But this almost immediately drew his mind to Kiba.

Naruto may not have talked to Kiba much after Hinata left, but he did see the Inuzuka quite often. Naruto was never under the impression that Kiba was angry enough to want to hurt Hinata if he ever got the chance. Naruto never knew Kiba harbored any anger towards Hinata at all, and he had seen Kiba earlier in the week!

And then Hinata's description of the attack was playing out vividly in his head. She realized it was Akamaru who hit her out of the air only after she realized who was attacking her, but all Naruto could picture was Kiba not only trailing, spotting, and focusing on Hinata, but giving Akamaru the command to ram into her with brutal force. Hinata glossed over the many times she was slammed into walls, but Naruto could see her skin scraping against the brick buildings. He could hear her screaming in pain, and he could picture the look of confusion and fear as she was attacked by someone she once trusted and risked her own life for.

Naruto audibly exhaled. His hands were trembling and clenched, and along with his damp eyes, his body was irritatingly hot.

Naruto roughed Sasuke up the first time the Uchiha left, and wouldn't mind doing the same this time around, but that was justified. There was no reason for Kiba to use as much force on Hinata as he did. If all he did was yell at her, then that was fine. Naruto wouldn't expect anybody to be calm when faced with a teammate who ran away the way Hinata did, but it was immensely hard for him to believe that anybody would actually want to attack Hinata. What exactly had she done to him to warrant the level of violence he inflicted? How could he look at her and even go through with the level of violence he inflicted?

She was frail.

She didn't mean to hurt anybody.

She was . . . not the Hinata he kept trying to protect in his mind.

Naruto sighed, leaning his head back against his bed.

The hallway door opened and Sasuke walked in and looked at Naruto. It was odd, the Uchiha looked as aloof and unconcerned as ever, and Naruto felt as though he was about to receive an undeserved insult. The impression Naruto got was that things were just like the old days, and that unsettled him. Was Sasuke ever this good at hiding his emotions?

"We're leaving tomorrow," Sasuke said.

It stung just the same.

"For how long?" Naruto asked lamely.

Sasuke smirked and looked away briefly. "We've done everything we needed to. Caused more trouble than we wanted . . . " He shrugged. "Usually means our time is up."

Naruto was quiet. His mind slowly sorted through what this all meant, but his emotions didn't want to keep up anymore. Eventually, they would all come crashing into him like they usually did, but for now they stayed a low simmer. He should probably take advantage of that.

"So, this is goodbye for real," Naruto said.

"Knowing you? I doubt we could go the rest of our lives with running into you again."

"You two could always just stay. I've seen you guys. Sakura's seen you guys. Kiba, Shino, Neji has seen Hinata."

Sasuke shook his head. "We can't stay. You, of all people, wouldn't want us to stay."

"Not true."

Sasuke laughed. "Not both of us."

Naruto didn't reply. He let a couple seconds pass before asking, "How is she?"

Sasuke didn't say anything. He stared at the floor, a slight crease between his brows, and moved to sit on Naruto's bed. Naruto looked at him, but Sasuke didn't meet his gaze.

"She's resting now. Laying down." The crease between Sasuke's brows became more noticeable. "You can check on her, if you want."

Naruto wasn't sure how to respond, and he was only vaguely aware that he was feeling both guilt and giddiness. He resisted looking at the door to the hallway and instead kept his eyes on Sasuke, struggling to uncover the Uchiha's motives.

"Are you sure?" Naruto finally asked.

Sasuke shrugged. "It's only fair." Sasuke looked up, troubled. "Well . . ."

Without another word, Sasuke stood and walked out of the apartment.

Naruto stared, his heart pounding and his head spinning. He didn't know what to make of this, and he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. It took him minutes to build up the strength to get to his feet and a couple more to open the door leading to the hallway.

The futon was laid out, but Hinata was not there.

Anxious, Naruto looked across the hallway to the door leading to the kitchen. It was ajar. He could hear no noise beyond it. His fingers were restless at his sides, his senses too alert and failing to assist him. He walked quietly forward until he reached the door, one hand pressed against the wood to push it open but halted. All at once, her presence was engulfing him, flowing from the space between the door as though to drown his senses with her. It was a pathetic surrender, his eyes watering and his chest tightening.

He took a moment to compose himself before opening the door.

Sakura sat on the roof of her apartment complex in her pajamas, her hair damp from her shower, and stared at the night sky. There were clouds here and there, and she noted that she was actually at peace. The village was quiet and dark, as it usually was at this time of night, and it was moment's like these where she could easily pretend she was not a ninja. She closed her eyes, breathed in the air deeply, and exhaled until her chest hurt. She could pretend she was just a civilian. She and Keita would both have regular jobs and start a regular family where her parents did not constantly worry whether or not she would come home alive every time she left the village.

Normal . . . though a bit boring. She didn't regret Keita, but she would regret the day she retired from this life.

Sakura laughed on the inside and opened her eyes.

"You think it was a good idea leaving them alone?" she asked.

Sasuke was a distance from her, lying on his back with his hands behind his head. His eyes were closed, and he appeared as unbothered as Sakura had always known him. She looked at him for a moment, waiting for him to answer, and she was surprised that she felt nothing for this man.

Nothing romantic.

Nothing chaotic.

If anything, she felt relieved and sad for herself. She had spent years yearning, craving, wishing for Sasuke Uchiha, and as she sat with him in this moment, there were at least a handful of other things she would rather be doing. She was curious as to why he was here, but it wouldn't be enough to keep her here all night.

"He won't do anything," Sasuke said, his tone flat. "But Hinata might."

Sakura bristled. "You're unbelievable. I know Hinata had a role to play in all of this, but how can you even say something like that?"

Sasuke shifted. "Sasuke."

Sakura waited for him to explain but it didn't seem as though he planned to. "So, what? You think she just hops from one guy to the next?"

"No."

"Well, good. She stayed with you for this long, so I'd like to say that means something. And she didn't just leave you behind once getting here, so she must care for you."

"Mm."

Sakura tried to let it go, but it was difficult. "Has she talked about leaving you or something?"

"No."

"Then she's been talking about Naruto a lot?"

"No."

"Then what? There must be a reason you said you think she'd try something. I mean, she's happy with you, isn't she?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know? You've been together for all these years and you don't know? Hell, Sasuke, I think if Hinata wasn't happy, you'd know by now."

"You don't know that," he said in a low voice. "Someone like her isn't meant to live this way."

Sakura jumped to her feet, her fists balled at her sides. Sasuke eyed her but otherwise stayed in his position.

"You . . . Stop."

"What?"

"Just . . . Who are you? Have you always been this way?"

"What-"

"Depressing! Moody! You used to be so cool, but now you're so . . . so . . . lame."

Sasuke stared at Sakura a moment before pulling himself into a sit. He brought one knee up and rested his arm on it, his eyes glinting with interest. "Why are you upset?"

"Because! It's like you're trying to ruin my image of you by being this way. Since when did you ever have to worry about getting a girl? You could have had anyone."

"That's news to me."

"Bullshit. Girls were throwing themselves at you since you were a kid."

Sasuke huffed, amused, and looked over the rooftops. "We didn't talk much, you know—you and me. Not real conversations." He looked at her. "You realize that, don't you?"

Sakura stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"I don't think I'm ruining your image of me. You're just really seeing me for who I am right now."

Sakura flushed, her anger rising. "You think I'm that shallow?"

"You were that shallow. You have more . . . modest tastes now."

"What does that mean?"

"I never thought you'd go for an Inuzuka."

Sakura frowned. "I'm not dating Kiba."

Sasuke smirked. "What's your boyfriend's last name?"

Sakura froze. Sasuke stared back at her, and she wondered why his discovery scared her so much. He was not the type to gossip. After a while, Sakura sat back down and stared over the rooftops.

"It's not that." She looked at him. "Was that a guess?"

Sasuke shrugged. "They look similar.

She laughed. "You're the first one to think so. Or say something. I dunno." She glanced at him. "Shut up about it."

They were silent for a moment, staring at nothing. Warm air blew gently, swirling the scents of nature and village living. For both of them, it was the first time in a long time that they had smelled home.

"You're bad at comforting," Sasuke said.

"I've been told that." She shrugged. "Surprisingly hasn't been a huge problem."

"Hm."

More silence.

"You know it sucked when you left, but it's been . . . rough with Hinata gone. All the teams pretty much disbanded. Everyone kinda drifted apart. Naruto . . . Well, what you've seen of him is the most of himself that he's been. And you're different." She frowned at the realization. "Why . . . her?" She looked at him. "You had to know she and Naruto were together."

"Not at first," he said matter-of-factly before falling silent. "For a while I didn't care."

This shocked her. She had always imagined Sasuke with a harem of women around him wherever he went, but she supposed he never gave her much reason to suspect he would enjoy that sort of life. Sasuke hated hormone driven attention, and though he could have easily had women at his beck and call, he preferred to be alone. So perhaps it was because of the very ease at which women flocked to him that it was not in her reasoning to think he would chase after anyone.

Let alone someone else's girlfriend.

Sakura shook her head. "Unbelievable." Out of anyone he could have had, he chased after Naruto's girlfriend. "You're terrible."

"Yeah."

More silence.

"So, why do you think Hinata will try something?"

"She won't."

Sakura frowned at him. "Then Naruto?"

"He won't mean to."

"First it was her, now it's him." Sakura shook her head. "So why leave them together?"

Sasuke was quiet for a long time. "I want to be sure."

They had probably been staring at each other for a few seconds, five tops. Hinata had been sitting at the table, staring out the window, when Naruto had entered. She looked at him passively, no hint of sadness showing except maybe in her eyes. She looked exhausted, burdened, hollow. It amazed him how much of Hinata he realized he never knew.

"Hi," Hinata said, her voice thick with sleep.

"Hey," Naruto said. "Uh . . . Sasuke left."

"Oh." She seemed slightly surprised. "Where to?"

"He didn't say."

"Hn." She closed her eyes as she ran her hand through her hair. She exhaled on a sigh and tilted her head back. "We should talk."

Naruto didn't move; he wasn't sure if she were really speaking to him. After a moment, he walked to the table and took a seat across from her. He decided to wait until she spoke.

When Hinata finally looked at him, her eyes were red and wet. He didn't know she had been holding back tears. Her eyes searched his face slowly, then frantically, until tears began to spill.

Naruto's hand twitched as if to reach out to her, but he fought back the urge. "Talk to me," he said softly, worried. "What is it?"

She bowed her head, shaking it. "I've had some time to think. I should have been thinking before, but I . . . I just . . . had no idea," she said choppily. "My team hates me. I ruined my f-family. I never thought . . . any of this would be possible, and . . ." She suppressed a sob. "I could've really lost you."

Naruto's ears rung. He stared at her, wondering if he heard right. Hinata cried a few minutes more, bringing her hands to her head, and all the while Naruto wasn't sure how to respond.

When she finally calmed down, she sighed shakily and looked up at Naruto. "I guess I always thought . . . I could reconnect with them some day. I always thought it'd be difficult to get on Kiba's good side again, but I always thought I could. I thought . . . I thought my father . . .w-would-" She took in an uneven breath and exhaled. "I thought he would come around eventually, you know? He'd be mad and suspicious but impressed by me. That's what I thought . . ."

She paused for a long time, staring at the table, her eyes welling again.

"But . . . none of that seems to be possible, and . . ." She looked at Naruto tentatively. "I'd hate to think you could've . . . died, too."

Naruto's brows raised without him realizing. "Like . . . killed myself?"

"Maybe that's a bit conceited of me," she said quickly. "But I'm finding I didn't know people as well as I thought I did. Everything that's happened with them . . . I never even thought it would be possible."

"Yeah, but it's because you disappeared. The grief of that. No one killed themselves, so why would I?"

She pressed her lips together, tears spilling over. "Naruto, I . . . cheated on you."

The words cut him raw. It shattered any illusion he had. He always knew it to be true, but it was different hearing her confirm it. The tears wouldn't come because he had cried enough, but he felt hollow.

He leaned back in his chair, exhaling, and accepted he couldn't run from it anymore. "Why?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I was . . . upset over something you said."

He hesitated, not understanding. "What did I say?"

"You were . . ." She looked away, as if she were debating on dropping the topic all together. "We had been drinking. That night you introduced me to Jiraiya. We stopped by Sasuke's place, and . . . you said me and him . . . You said you liked the thought of me and him . . . together."

Naruto's eyes widened.

Hinata continued quickly, "I knew it was dumb to get mad over. I knew it wasn't true. It just . . ." She laughed. "I always thought my insecurities would disappear if you ever asked me to be with you, but I never thought you really would. Then you did. And you put in so much effort to get to know me and you actually seemed to care and . . . it seemed too good to be true." Her voice cracked, and she wiped her eyes. "I guess in a lot of ways I couldn't handle actually having you. Or I was scared by how I seemed to be getting everything I wanted—the way I wanted it—and . . . That's never happened before."

She tilted her head back, staring at the ceiling, eyes wide.

"I think I was just waiting for something to go wrong. I don't know why I couldn't accept that you and me together was actually okay, but . . . then you made that comment and all my insecurities took over. I thought maybe that was your way of telling me you didn't want to be with me, but the problem was me. I . . ."

"How come," Naruto said slowly, "you didn't tell me all of this back then? I don't remember saying that, but when I asked you what was wrong, you never told me anything. You . . ." His chest deflated, realization hitting him. "You turned to him."

"I thought he could help me."

"Better than I could?"

She made to speak then stopped for a few seconds. "I was afraid to look insecure in front of you. I thought I had improved on that and then suddenly I didn't know how to act."

Naruto shook his head. "Why do you make it seem like I wanted you to be perfect? Hinata, I knew you had issues with your self-esteem. If I didn't want to deal with that, I wouldn't have asked you to be my girlfriend."

"I know that now." Her voice rose feverishly, and she had to stop again to gather herself. "I know . . . I should have handled it all differently."

They were quiet for a while.

"Naruto," Hinata said, looking at her fingers as she fiddled with them, "I never . . . I don't think I ever understood how much you cared for me back then. I still don't understand it, I mean . . ." She forced herself to look at him, hesitating to even do that much. "Even now, you still . . . I mean, do you still . . . ?"

Naruto waited, his fingers drumming soundlessly against the table. He watched Hinata carefully, his leg bouncing. When she wouldn't say anymore, Naruto bit his lip and willed his throat to relax. "Do I what?"

Hinata reddened, uncomfortable, guilty. "I . . . It's been five years. Have you tried to date?"

Naruto's lips parted, his tongue pressing against his canines. "Is that really what you want to talk about?"

"I'm just trying to—"

"Can we not do this?" Naruto ran a hand through his hair. He leaned forward on the table and looked at her uneasily. "No, I didn't date."

Hinata forced herself to keep contact with him. "Why?" she asked in a small voice.

He hesitated. The answer did not appear obvious once she asked. He thought he knew why, but maybe that was just a flowery excuse. It would be heartbreaking yet romantic to say he abstained from dating because he loved her so much. It would sympathetic and endearing to say he could not see himself with anyone else but her.

But did his actions not say otherwise?

Did they not say that he was afraid of being hurt again? Did his actions not say unless he got proper closure, he could not force himself to put himself out there like that again? Was he not really showing that he could not trust his emotions to people if someone like Hinata—the nicest, sweetest person who could ever claim to love him—could leave him behind so carelessly?

When all the fluff was taken away, wasn't he just afraid?

"I think," Naruto said with a smile, wiping a tear away, "I'm a little broken."

Hinata looked away, her eyes stinging painfully. It dawned on her a few times while she was gone that she was running away from a lot of her problems. She ran from responsibilities and stress, and she ran from the consequences of whatever those close to her must have felt. She always knew people would be hurt, but she would have sworn five years was enough to take much of the edge off. She had hoped to come back to the same order she had left everyone in when she left.

How could she allow herself to believe such an illusion?

She and Sasuke were running from detection this whole time, so how was she still able to convince herself that everyone would be okay?

Why wasn't everything okay?

When both Naruto and Sasuke disappeared in their own respects, life seemed back to normal within a year, two tops. But she also was not aware of how the people closest to them were taking it. She didn't know how exactly Sakura ached over it or how Kakashi prayed they would both be okay. She didn't know what went through Tsunade's mind when hearing of Sasuke's part in Orochimaru's scheme or knowing Jiraiya was the sole caretaker of Naruto. She didn't know any of that and she hadn't asked. She merely looked at the masks people wore when they were out and about and never once wondered how they were coping when no one else was looking.

Her part in everyone's grief . . . She never wanted to see it.

"Answer me this."

Hinata looked up. Naruto's eyes were very red, but he was staring off to the side, his cheek resting in his hand.

"Where does this leave me in your life?" Naruto asked.

Hinata breathed in deeply, her heart pounding. She straightened her posture. "Naruto . . ."

He laughed, closing his eyes as they began to burn again. "I want to say I'm not trying to come between you guys, but that feels a little absurd."

"Naruto," she said quickly, "I—I do still care for you. Many days I've wanted to see you again, but . . . but it would be in a different sense."

"So . . . it's all gone then? Your feelings for me, I mean."

Hinata pressed her lips together briefly. "If you're asking if I still love you, I do. But . . ."

"But . . . you love Sasuke more." Naruto laughed, looking to the side again. "Hell of a guy, that one."

A silence enveloped them once again, foreign and heavy. Both felt a bit better that a few facts could be confirmed, but speaking these facts aloud only solidified the end that happened five years ago. They were never going back.

"Where do we go from here?" Naruto asked quietly.

Hinata looked at him a moment. She leaned forward slightly. "I don't want to say goodbye forever, but would you honestly be comfortable with the way things are?"

Naruto didn't respond.

"We both miss you. Honestly."

He looked at her.

"I know it doesn't mean much," Hinata said, "and I know we've caused a lot of hurt, but do you think some day . . . we could all work on being in each other's lives again?"

Sasuke returned the apartment hours later. Naruto was asleep in his bed and the door to the hallway was closed. He crept to the door and opened it, but the futon was empty. He looked at the door leading to the kitchen and ventured to it. When he opened the door, he was relieved to find Hinata by the sink, staring out the window.

Hinata turned and immediately went to him upon seeing him standing there. They hugged tightly, both holding the other as if it would be their last.

"How do you feel?" Sasuke asked at the same time Hinata asked, "Where did you go?"

"I'm sorry," Sasuke said. "He deserved to speak with you."

"I wish you would have warned me," she laughed, wiping her wet face on his shirt. "I wasn't prepared, considering everything going on."

"I know. I'm sorry." Sasuke pulled her away to look at her. "How do you feel?"

She shrugged and shook her head as she tried to think of something appropriate to say. "Better. Uneasy." She tried to smile lightly. "I don't know how you don't fall apart knowing people hate you."

"It was never a concern." But Sasuke felt her shaking. "What do you want to do?"

"I just want to sleep." She huffed and wiped her face. "I need to . . . not think."

"I mean what do you want to do from here on out? Do you want to stay?"

Hinata pulled away. "Why would you ask me that?"

Sasuke raised his hands entreatingly. "I understand if you're having doubts. If you want to take some time—"

"Stop."

Sasuke did and waited.

"We've been through a lot, haven't we? Why are you trying to change things now?"

"I'm not, but there's a lot for you to consider."

Hinata laughed humorlessly. "It's a little late to stop and consider anything, wouldn't you agree?"

"Is this really the lifestyle you want?"

"You're what I want."

Sasuke walked to Hinata and cupped her face in his hands. His eyes were alert and clear, searching hers. Hinata almost didn't recognize him.

"Tell me honestly," Sasuke said, his voice low and steady, "are you happy?"

For a few seconds, they stood staring at each other in that way. Hinata removed Sasuke's hands from her face and lowered them, still holding them. She stared at their hands for a few minutes.

"I am . . . a little tired of running," Hinata said. "I'm tired of not . . . having steady friends or any place to call my own. I wish you weren't always on the run from something." Hinata looked at him, her eyes firm and resolute. "But I've already come to terms with all this because I want you."

"But that alone can't be enough for you."

"For now it is. If you're telling me we can never settle down, then . . . I don't know. I guess we'd really have to have a talk, but you seemed to want to settle down some day."

"Yes, but I can't guarantee it'll be like the life you've had here."

"I'm not asking you to be like—"

.

"Why do you make it seem like I wanted you to be perfect?"

.

Hinata inhaled sharply.

Sasuke stared at her, looking her over. She was staring at his chest, her hold on his hands slack. She slowly embraced him, sighing harshly.

"I get it now," she said softly.

"Get what?"

She looked up at Sasuke, taking him in. "Always communicate with me."

"What?"

"Promise me."

Sasuke stared at her a moment. "I promise."

Hinata rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. "We're leaving in the morning, right?"

Sasuke paused to let her reply settle with him. "Yeah."

"Good." She closed her eyes. "I think we're done here