So... NaruHina Month's Day 30 "Never Let Go" is actually the prompt I was mostly looking forward to write. I had this wonderful idea for a fanfic and I just couldn't "let go" of it (pun intended). So I decided to go ahead and write it now 29 days in advance because well... Even though I am supposed to post it on the 30th of January on Tumblr, no such restrictions exist on FanFiction Net.

What's that idea you may ask?

In the Boruto Movie we find out that Hinata got injured trying to get Naruto back from the hands of the movie's villains. We never get to find out how it happened. We just know that it somehow happened.

I believe that Hinata deserved something much more than that, so I decided to write the fanfic of how she got injured myself. AND I decided to tie it up to "The Last" Naruto movie. How? Read more and find out!

Chronologically, this fanfic takes place right after Naruto blocks an enormous attack by the movie's villains, right after Boruto falls unconscious, and right before he wakes up.

Flashbacks

Present

''Thoughts'

"Dialogue"

"I love you Hinata…"

Those four words reverberate inside you like a siren. It feels as if a bomb has exploded inside your heart. You can't help but gape your mouth open in disbelief.

Has he really said those words?

You look at his face for any signs of dishonesty, any signs of doubt. You see none. He really means what he has just said.

Is this a dream? Is this reality? Is this really happening?

You have waited your entire life for him to say those words. You have spent so many lonely winters craving the warmth of his embrace. Dreaming of him reciprocating your feelings. Of your lips touching his. Of passionate nights under his bed covers.

Why did he have to say those words NOW?

You had already made your decision. You were knitting that scarf to finally give it to him and to let your feelings known to him. To let him know that you love him more than just a friend, that you love him as a man and that you had always wanted to be his woman. And then you would tell him your final goodbye and move on to face your fate on the moon, allowing him to live happily with the one he had chosen.

You never expected this…

You never expected him to love you back…

You never expected him to profess his love to you…

Your mind is a jumbled mess of thoughts and emotions. You don't know what you are supposed to do and how you are supposed to react to this.

'Maybe I don't have to do this.' you tell yourself. 'Maybe I should tell him of the burden I have received so that we can complete this mission together.'

You want to put your arms around him. To tell him that you love him. To finally give yourself to him.

And then you hear a noise in the distance. You feel the water rippling as that man descends and you know that it's too late. That you now have to go face your fate and fulfill your destiny.

You can't tell him that you love him, no matter how much you want it.

You have to break his heart.

You have to let go of him.

There was a loud explosion.

Hinata instinctively covered Himawari trying to protect her from the incoming shockwave and the flying debris that was coming their way. She felt a sharp pain as a huge gust of dust slammed onto her back. But it wasn't something she couldn't handle. The wave passed them by without incurring any vital damage on any of them.

'We should have been dead.' she thinks. That ball of energy that she saw in the sky was enough to completely destroy not only the stadium but everything within a 20km radius. Konoha should have been completely annihilated.

This could only mean one thing: Naruto must have shielded everyone from the explosion, probably by absorbing a huge brunt of it.

It was the sort of thing he would do. The kind of man he was.

She had to find him! To make sure that he and her son were all right!

She activated her byakugan and surveyed the area around her. She saw a familiar figure in the distance.

"Konohamaru-san! Konohamaru-san!"

"Is that you Hinata-sama?"

"Yes it's me! Have you seen my husband or my son?"

Konohamaru wiped the dust from his face and approached them. He was practically white from all the debris that had accumulated on his uniform.

"Your husband and your son are still towards the center of the stadium fighting those two guys that showed up. It's too dangerous to stay here! You have to immediately evacuate the area!"

"I won't leave my husband and my son alone!"

"Don't be unreasonable, Hinata-sama! You will only make things worse if you interfere!"

Hinata looked at him with a stern expression on her face. Konohamaru was frozen solid. It was the first time he had seen Hinata like this.

"My husband has always believed in my strength. I won't let him down."

Hinata deactivated her byakugan, bent down and faced her daughter.

"Himawari. Mommy is going to go look for daddy and your brother. You stay with uncle Konohamaru and listen to him until I return, OK?"

Himawari let out a weak smile and tried to be brave.

"OK mommy. Please be careful…"

"I promise sweetie."

She activated her byakugan once more and faced the centre of the stadium walking slowly away from Konohamaru and Himawari. She knew that Konohamaru was a good shinobi and that Himawari would be safe with him, but a part of her was worrying if things were really going to going to be OK like this.

She heard a small exchange when she was a few meters away.

"So… uhm… Do you have any idea where we are supposed to go? I can hardly see anything with this dust flying all around the place!"

"My byakugan shows that there is a place full of people to the right of us. I think we should go there."

"You have a byakugan!?"

"I also see some people nearby who seem lost, maybe we should go pick them up too."

"YOU HAVE A BYAKUGAN!?"

Hinata couldn't help but smile. Himawari was small, yes, but she was extremely reliable. She would be fine with Konohamaru. She didn't need to worry.

She started dashing towards the centre of the stadium. She needed to find her son and her husband. To make sure they were all right!

'Naruto-kun! Boruto! Please be safe!'

It wasn't long before she eventually tracked them. But what she saw filled her heart with fear: Boruto was lying down unconscious with little Sarada. Sasuke was knocked out of commision too and lied powerless beside them.

A couple of figures were standing above them. The first one was a huge hulk of a man with a red chakra axe in his hand. The second one was an albeit smaller figure, with somewhat effeminate features and horns on his face.

The smaller horned figure was currently holding Naruto by the throat and smiling. Naruto was struggling to move and fight back but even from that distance Hinata could see that his chakra was completely drained, that he was gravely wounded and that Kurama's chakra inside him was severely compromised. He was about as helpless as a kitten.

"The Jinchuriki of the Kyubi is finally ours."

"Momoshiki-sama, what should I do with those people down there?"

"Kill them all, for all I care. We got what we wanted."

"N… No!" whimpered Naruto "Boruto!"

The giant raised his axe and got ready to plunge it downwards towards the blond teenage boy.

"Stay away from my son!"

It was then he received a big chakra-enhanced punch to the face.

It was enough to push him backwards, but it didn't seem to phase him. He looked at the one who just hit him. Her eyes got his attention.

"What is this? Another byakugan user? Does everyone in this burg have a doujutsu of some kind?"

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw his wife stand between his son and the hulk with the axe.

"Please, Hinata… Don't fight them! Take Boruto and Sarada and leave quickly!"

"I won't let them take you!"

"Please! Hinata! Go! They are too powerful!"

The horned man could only scoff at this.

"We don't have time for this emotional sappy crap. Kinshiki, kill her quickly. Then we can finally get out of this filthy dump."

"As you command Momoshiki-sama."

He took a swing with his axe, aiming to take her head off. Hinata could barely avoid it. Despite his big size the man she now came to know as Kinshiki was extremely agile.

She jumped back and took a fighting stance as she got ready to take the offence. Her fists glowed blue with lion-shaped chakra.

"Gentle Step! Eight Trigrams! 64-Lion Fists!"

She charged at the hulk with the speed and agility that only the Hyuga were known for. With every ounce of her strength she unleashed a flurry of chakra-draining punches at him. It was the strongest move in her arsenal, one that she had managed to develop during the 4th Shinobi War, when she was trying to protect Naruto from a series of giant human shaped Juubi clones. It was a move that managed to topple even those giants, absolutely destroying them with only a few series of punches…

...And it still wasn't enough to affect the man in front of her. He had somehow managed to block every single one of her strikes using his axe and his fist. Her "Twin-Lion Fists" were more of a mild nuisance to him rather than a serious threat.

Eventually he deactivated his chakra-axe and used his right hand to catch her hand while it was still in the middle of a strike, bringing her barrage to an abrupt stop.

Hinata could only barely brace herself for the incoming punch.

She felt her ribs crack as his fist connected with her chest. She gracelessly tumbled across the arena ground like a rag doll. The hit was so powerful that it felt as if a building was dropped on top of her.

She struggled to get up and face her opponent but her body just wouldn't listen to her. Her chakra was almost completely used up and every movement she made was met with pangs of extreme pain. It hurt to even breathe.

"Hmph! Weak!" said Kinshiki "Hardly worthy of my time."

Momoshiki started summoning a portal as he held Naruto on his back.

"Now then, I guess it's time for us to go."

Hinata could only weep in pain.

"No... Give him back… Give Naruto back!"

"Give Hinata back!"

You can hear the desperation in his voice.

You can see the pain of your betrayal in his eyes.

It makes your heart bleed.

"Give her back?" that man gloats at him "Hinata came to me of her own free will."

"Is this true?" you hear him cry "Please Hinata! Tell me this isn't true!"

You want to scream that it's not true. That you still love him with all your heart. You want to push that man aside and jump into his arms.

But you can't. If you do, everything will be for nothing.

You can't bring yourself to face him again. You feel your resolve wavering and you know that if you look into his eyes again, you will fall completely apart. You won't be able to deny him.

You won't be able to let go of him.

You can't face him, and you can't talk to him. As things stand, you can only look away and hide inside that man's embrace.

Like a coward.

That's when the reality hits him. That you are leaving him for the man that is standing beside you. That you belong to someone else now. That you are not coming back to him.

You can practically feel his heart break into a million pieces. And even though you can't see it, you know that he is crying. Mourning for the love he lost. The love he finally realized that he had for you.

What sort of "love" did you have for him, that allowed you to abandon him so easily?

You "loved him", and yet you hurt him more than any of his enemies ever could. What sort of person are you?

'A person with a mission.' you tell yourself, trying to make some of the pain go away 'A mission to stop the world from ending.'

No matter how much it hurts you have to move forward. You have to complete your task, or everything, including the man you love, will be laid to waste. You can't let your emotions get the best of you.

"YOU BASTARD!" you hear him cry as he jumps and unleashes one final attack on the man that is currently holding you. His facial expression is one of anger mixed with despair. Of pure heartbreak and murdered dreams.

You did this to him. Nobody else.

The hand of the man holding you glows green and unleashes a green orb. You see it hit the man you love, completely absorbing his chakra and rendering him completely powerless.

There is a loud explosion. It engulfs him and consumes him. The scarf you knitted for him is now burning, turning into dust. Like his broken heart.

"What are you doing?" you ask the man. You didn't mean for this to happen. You didn't want him to get hurt so badly.

"I don't want to get into pointless fights and risk you getting hurt."

A green orb glows in front of you and you can feel yourself drifting to sleep. No matter how much you want to change things, it's too late for that now.

Just before you lose consciousness, you catch one final glimpse of the man whose heart you irrevocably destroyed.

You see him falling into the void. His normally lively eyes are now completely devoid of any spark, of any hope, of any will to live.

You did this to him.

You were the one who denied him.

You were the one who abandoned him.

You were the one who broke his heart.

You were the one who took away his will to live.

You were the one who ultimately got him killed.

You were the one who let go of him.

And it will haunt you for the rest of your life.

"Never again!"

Like an oath, like a mantra, those words kept echoing inside of her.

"No! I will never let this happen again!"

Chakra started flowing inside her. She could fill her ribs mending and her aching joints healing. What sort of power was this?

"Never again!" she cried out in desperation. "I will never let go! Never Again!"

She felt her head pulsing and a sharp pain shot through her eyes. It felt as if she was being stabbed in the eye-sockets with a million sharp needles.

She cried out in pain as the aching became unbearable. What was happening to her?

A million images flashed before her in a matter of seconds. Of her childhood watching over Naruto. Of her teenage years when she fought alongside him. Eventually the memories focused on a single moment during the 4th Shinobi War.

"I can see it in your eyes. You are strong." he told her back then.

His words reverberated inside her, filling her with strength and determination.

"I can see it in your eyes…"

"In your eyes…"

"Your eyes!"

"You are strong."

"Are strong."

"Are strong!"

She felt one last strong pulse of pain as Naruto's phrase became something else entirely.

"Your eyes are strong!"

The pain was gone now. She opened up her eyes once more.

She could see everything clearly. It was as if her byakugan's vision had its blind spot removed and its range was doubled.

There were no veins bulging on her head and there was no chakra loss from using them. This was another type of eye entirely.

She took a look at herself. She was surrounded by Greenish Chakra.

But this couldn't be! Her chakra was normally blue, and Hamura's chakra was normally purple. The only time she saw anybody use this sort of chakra was on the moon, when Naruto fought Toneri with his fully maturated…

...Tenseigan…

...Oh…

She had heard of stories of the Uchiha clan awakening various phases of their Sharingan eyes through extreme emotional or physical pain. She recalled Himawari awakening her own byakugan through mere anger after having her beloved panda doll destroyed. Maybe the pain and desperation she felt combined with Hamura's chakra allowed her to awaken her own version of the Tenseigan?

Whatever the cause of this was, she didn't have time to sit down and contemplate it. The portal was almost completely formed and those two powerful beings were getting ready to leave with her husband. What mattered was that she now had a fighting chance against them.

She rushed at them at supersonic speed. She couldn't let them take him. She wouldn't let them take him.

They didn't even see her coming.

She started hitting the both of them in all directions. Momoshiki and Kinshiki could barely block her hits. This wasn't a normal Hyuga they were fighting. This was something else entirely. The destructive power and speed suggested that…

"It can't be! Is she an Otsutsuki too?"

"Looks like it. A descendant of Hamura to be exact."

"I never thought I'd ever see the Tenseigan in action again."

Hinata could feel the power flowing inside her. On one hand it felt incredible, on the other hand she had to be extremely careful. The last time she saw the Tenseigan in action, the moon was split in half. If she overused that power she risked getting Naruto, Boruto, Sasuke and Sarada seriously hurt. To say nothing of the innocent civilians that would get injured as collateral.

So no explosions and no truth-seeking orbs. She would have to fight them up close.

She dashed towards Kinshiki and unleashed another flurry of punches at him. She smiled as she saw that it was effective this time. The giant could no longer block her and he kept getting hit by her barrage. He began to falter.

She could win this! She could beat them and save both her son and her husband!

Her punch took the form of a giant green lion as she swooped in to land the finishing blow on the giant...

...And then she stopped...

...Her entire body was completely immobilized...

...What was wrong?

She looked downwards and saw that her shadow was connected to Momoshiki's.

"I knew that I was right to save that shadow-bind jutsu I got from that man earlier. Now is your chance to hit her Kinshiki!"

Momoshiki's shadow was retracted just before Kinshiki's punch connected with her.

She slammed onto the ground falling right beside her son. The force of the punch was enough to make all of her power go away and her Tenseigan revert back into a Byakugan.

She briefly recalled Naruto's fight with Toneri. It took Naruto one punch to take him down back then too, didn't it? If her situation wasn't so dire she would laugh at the fact that she got defeated in a similar way to the man who had tried to claim her heart many years ago.

'That's the Tenseigan for you.' she contemplated 'Extremely powerful and destructive but ultimately unreliable.'

Momoshiki grinned evilly as he saw the Byakugan Princess fall down powerless to the ground, stripped of her power.

"I think I might want to save some of that shadow-bind jutsu for later. It's very convenient."

"Momoshiki-sama, the portal is about to start closing, we should get moving."

Just before they entered the portal Kinshiki turned toward Hinata's direction.

"You know, it's not everyday when I get to meet a direct descendant of Hamura. We are practically family. It's almost a waste killing you."

He raised his hand and released a black orb of energy that slowly headed towards her.

"Almost."

She tried to move out of the way of the orb, but all her powers had abandoned her. She could only move herself closer to her son. To stand next to him in their final moment.

Naruto could only watch in terror as the orb slithered closer to his son and his wife.

This couldn't be happening! The woman he loved, the one who gave him her love unconditionally. The woman who held his hand and brought him back from the darkness. The woman who soothed his pain with her voice and her body. Who healed his heart. Who gave birth to his children.

The baby he held is his arms! The kid he watched take its first steps into the world. The sweet child who threw snowballs at him in the winter. The bratty teenager who craved for his father's attention.

His wife, his son, his family! All about to be gone in an instant! He had to move! He had to protect them! What was the point of being the Hokage if he couldn't protect the people who were the most important to him?

He tried moving, he tried shaking, but alas his body was completely limp. He was completely immobilized. At this point, he could only scream.

"SASUKE! WAKE UP! YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD PROTECT EVERYONE! SO FOR KAMI'S SAKE WAKE UP! PROTECT THEM!"

The orb was now only a few meters away. Hinata held her son's hand tightly and braced herself for the end.

Darkness enveloped her.

Darkness envelops you.

And you know that you have failed.

In the end, it was all for nothing. All your efforts, all your heartbreak, all your sacrifices. Everything… for nothing...

You did your best, you were so close to destroying the superweapon that was moving the moon towards the earth. But that man recovered and caught you red-handed, before you even had a chance to land a hit on it.

You tried pleading with him, telling him that it was wrong to destroy an entire world because of his ancestor's misguided teachings.

Your words fell on deaf ears. He said that he would make sure you would never betray him again.

You feel the accursed chakra of the orb he shoved inside of you spread throughout your body, slowly turning you into a puppet. His puppet. Your body now fully belongs to him.

Your only solace is that you probably won't be conscious when his plan comes into fruition and the entire world you fought for, the people you love, all disappear in a hail of destructive meteoric rain…

...That you probably won't be conscious when he makes you his wife.

Will he have the decency to at least wake you up when he straddles you on the wedding bed? For some reason you doubt it. This is a man that didn't have any moral misgivings about taking out your teenage sister's eyes and using them for his own purposes.

But then again, he might want to wake you up, just to see you suffer. To have your spirit broken as you see everything you cared about turned to waste and then having his way with you.

The mere thought of that man kissing you and having any sort of intimate contact with you is enough to make you nauseous. You'd throw up if you still had control of your bodily functions. But right now, you are nothing more than his bride. His puppet. You can only stand and obey as that jutsu fully takes control of your body.

You can't help but scold yourself. Going off on your own like this. Whatever made you think that this would be a good idea? You should have told him of your burden. You should have at least informed your commanding officer. Surely he could come up with a much better plan than this?

It's too late for that now. What's done is done and you can't do anything about it.

You feel the orb's chakra reach your neck. It won't be long until the jutsu fully takes control of you.

A single tear escapes your eye.

Your final thoughts right before you relinquish the last of your free will are about him.

The man you loved.

The man you denied.

The man whose heart you irrevocably destroyed.

The man that you let go.

You wonder if he is still alive… And if he will ever find it in his heart to forgive you.

'Naruto-Kun …'

"Naruto-Kun..."

Hinata opened her eyes to see Sakura standing over her infusing chakra inside her in an effort to keep her alive.

"Ssshh!" the medic told her "Keep your strength. You need to fully rest to heal."

"What happened?"

"Sasuke woke up just in time to cover everyone with his Kamui. The attack just passed through and exploded without affecting anybody."

"Is my son all right?"

"He is currently lying unconscious in a nearby bed. He is not physically hurt. He will be fine."

"I am glad. What about my husband?"

Sakura's face turned solemn as she got ready to deliver the bad news.

"He was taken. Sasuke couldn't get at him in time."

Tears flowed down Hinata's cheeks as she realised that her husband was taken to another dimension, probably never to return. The man she loved was now gone.

"I have failed him Sakura. I couldn't get him back. I let go of him!"

Sakura bought her face close to her and looked her in the eye. Her face was stern and serious. She was struggling to keep herself from crying.

"You didn't fail anyone! You didn't let go of your husband! You fought tooth and nail for him! And it's because you intervened that my husband and my daughter are still alive!"

Sakura could no longer stop the tears. She put her face on Hinata's chest and started crying.

"Thank you Hinata! From the bottom of my heart… Thank you!"

"Your husband is still alive."

Sakura and Hinata turned their face to look at Sasuke who had just entered the room.

"I can still sense his chakra. This means that wherever he is, he is alive. And because you fought those two guys and stalled their departure, I know in which dimension they are now located."

"You hear this Hinata?" cried Sakura as she wiped the tears off her face and smiled warmly at her patient. "Your husband is alive, and we are going to get him back!"

"I am glad." said Hinata as she drifted back into unconsciousness "I am happy!"

Sasuke looked at the woman whose intervention saved him a few hours back. She seemed extremely small and weak as she was sleeping. He couldn't believe that such a petite body could withstand so much.

But then again the same thing could be said about the woman that was currently healing her.

He smiled at his wife who softly smiled back.

"That dumbass has married a truly extra-ordinary woman, huh, Sakura?"

"You have no idea how extra-ordinary."

"Well then, I am going to go meet the kages in order to come up with a plan to bring back that 'Usuratonkachi'."

Sakura caressed Hinata's forehead and took a handkerchief in order to wipe the tears off Hinata's face.

"You didn't let go of him, you hear? You didn't let go. You hear me Hinata?"

"Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"Back in the academy, when they asked us who we would like to spend our final day on earth with, I couldn't write anything down. I didn't know my parents and I didn't have any friends. But now I know who I would choose... There's no doubt whatsoever. It' s you! I want to stay with you. For ever and ever, until I die. I want to be with you, Hinata."

You can't help the tears that start flowing down your face. You never believed he would ever forgive you. You never believed that his love for you would stay strong after all the pain you caused him.

But he has forgiven you. He told you he understood why you did what you had to do. He told you that he was the one who should apologize to you. For making you wait so long, for not realizing what you felt about him sooner. He held your burned scarf in his hands and told you that he would forever cherish it. Your feelings have finally reached him. You have managed to complete your mission together and now you are heading back to start your life together.

As you jump down the portal that connects the moon and the earth you see visions of him and you as teenagers, then as kids. You see those visions holding hands and running together, smiling, laughing. You have loved him for so long, longed for him for so long. And now you finally find out that he loves you back. That he has always loved you back. And that you can finally be with him.

The last boulder that you jumped on collapses and he starts carrying you in his arms. Happiness and joy fill your heart. You feel as if, even if your life where to end here, even if that portal collapsed before you managed to return to earth you would be happy. Because you would be with him, resting inside his warm embrace.

But he has other plans. He brings you even closer to him.

"What are you doing?"

"Ready? Hold on tight."

You place your arms around him and put you face on his chest. You hear the sound of his beating heart. It's the most beautiful thing you have ever heard.

"Now don't let go, all right?"

You close your eyes and smile. As images of yourselves start floating around you, you make this oath to yourself.

'I will never let go.'

His technique thrusts you both out of the portal and into the night sky. As both of you are floating in the air, right before you begin descending back to earth, he reaches out for you and takes your hand once more.

You look at each other's eyes. For a brief moment time stops, gravity stops.

As he brings his face closer to yours and you melt into his arms, you repeat that oath once more inside your head... and inside your heart...

'I will never abandon you. I will never deny you. I will never leave you alone. I will never let go…'

You seal that oath with your first kiss and add...

'...Never again.'