If anyone's reading Broken Pieces, blame this for my not having updated it. Sorry!! Anyway, this is a continuation/sequel of Power Greater than a Demon. It references the events in it enough anyway. I hadn't intended to continue it, but why argue with the bunnies (and it helps with Naruto's budding feelings here...I hope...)? It's about Naruto, away and training, realizing he had fallen in love at some point with Hinata and Hinata mulling over her own, but I got stuck. Recently, something happened (don't know what, my brain's like that a lot) and this took off like a rocket!

Speaking of rockets…rocketing to the story!

Title: Silent. Delay. Reveal.
Genre: Angst
Timeline: AU (The Team 8 and 7's mission to rescue Sasuke was successful)
Summary: Semi-sequel to Power Greater than a Demon. Naruto realizes he loves Hinata, but stays quiet about his feelings while Hinata ponders why she delays telling Naruto hers and in the end, after the battles are over, everything is revealed.
Pairings: NaruHina
Rating: G
Disclaimer: I own nothing!! Otherwise I wouldn't be as depressed as I am now! Everything belongs to Kishimoto.

Silent

Naruto could not sleep.

His mind was not on a particular subject, or rather, he could not pin down his actual thoughts. The same thing replayed itself over and over in his mind and despite how he tried to rationalize it, the same aching feeling constantly stabbed at his heart. Nothing seemed right in his head and he could not understand any of it.

Sighing, he rose up from his small pallet. He looked around the small and sparse room he currently occupied. In one corner next to the door sat a pile of letters from his friends, most of them detailing the condition of the village. Sakura's letters were the most in depth, explaining everything from the elders' fury over his leaving the village without their consent (apparently, Old Lady Tsunade's permission was not good enough anymore) to Sasuke's status and recovery.

He smiled slightly, the aching feeling lessening a little at the thought of Team 7 back together (at least on the same side once again, since Naruto was currently out of the village training again). Tsunade had told him before he left not to worry about Sasuke's possible punishment and Sakura wrote in her letters that the general mood over his betrayal had dampened a bit.

"Tsunade-shishou assures me that whatever sentence Sasuke-kun receives," wrote Sakura in her last letter, "it won't interfere with our becoming a team again. It's likely a good thing it won't because I don't think Sasuke-kun would be very happy if he could not be a ninja again."

A grin on his face, he looked over to the other corner where sat his pack and supplies. Pretty much the essentials: clothes, a bit of ramen (Myouboku Mountain had food, but no ramen!). The Frog who held the key to his seal leaned again the wall sound sleep. And in front of the Frog…

The aching in his heart returned full force as he caught sight of the other pallet on the far side of the room. Hinata lay there, asleep as could be, moonlight catching her in its grip, causing her skin to appear milky white and hair dark blue. He could not understand why he was feeling like this; why the scene of a limp Hinata continued to eat away at his every conscious thought.

It had been nearly a month since the incident with the Akatsuki Pein and his partner Konan. Nearly a month since he had lost control again and Hinata had risked her life to bring him out of the Four Tail state. The incident had nearly killed her, but he had healed her by using the Fox's chakra combined with some of his own. However, it was the nearly dying part that took up his mind; how he could not protect her and something else he could not at all explain.

Sighing, he walked out of the room, hoping the fresh air would help him get rid of these thoughts so he could sleep. The protecting her part particularly baffled him. Protecting his precious people was very important to him and it tore him apart when he could not, but for some reason, with Hinata… protecting her was on a whole other level than protecting someone else. He felt as if he should protect her from everything and anything that come her way, even if that meant preventing her from fighting, which, of course, he knew was wrong. Yet he could not help but feel that way. He certainly did not feel that way toward any of his other friends.

Naruto sighed and shook his head. His walk had led him to the clearing where he and Hinata did most of his training to finally learn how to control the Fox's chakra. They had come to Myouboku because it was out of the way so no member of the Akatsuki would find him here, and if he did lose control innocent people would not get hurt. He had asked Hinata to come along since she could suppress the demon chakra by increasing his own, whereas Yamato-taicho just repressed it.

But since the incident with the Akatsuki, Naruto had felt very strange towards Hinata, more than just a simple urge (if it could be called simple) to protect her. She did not appear to notice (or so he thought), but every time he looked at her, his heart throbbed, images of her battle with Konan and her lying on the ground with burn marks assaulted him. He thought back to how she used to be, how he cheered her on during her match with Neji, her words at the training field about where his true strength lay, how he was a proud failure. For some reason, those memories made his heart ache even more.

"What's wrong with me?" he asked himself. He clutched his chest where his heart was. "Why do I feel like this whenever I think of her?"

"Boy!" Naruto turned around and saw the tiny form of Ma, one of the Toad Sennin, jump up on a rock next to him. "What're you doin' up? Shouldn't you be sleeping? You've got trainin' tomorrow, you know?"

He sighed and poked the ground with the edge of his sandal. "I've just…got a lot on my mind…"

Ma stared at him, turning her small head to the side. "Anything you want to talk about, Naruto-chan?"

Naruto shook his head. This was not really something he wanted to talk about, especially with Ma. Besides, how could he talk about something he could not figure out in the first place?

"Okay, then." It grew silent; Naruto staring up at the stars while Ma tapped her webbed foot. After awhile, the silence became uncomfortable and he wished she would leave, but his hope went unanswered as she said, "Ya know, you don't have to explain everything. Just mention something."

Naruto turned away, annoyed. That was not what he wanted, but… He tilted his head to the side. Perhaps if he just mentioned one thing, then maybe she would be happy and leave. "Well…" he started, searching his mind for something. He thought about one feeling he had been having; the desire to protect Hinata, but it was such a different feeling, different from his desire to protect others. Very different. "Have you ever wanted something, but it's different from something else you also want?"

"You're going to have to be a bit more specific, boy."

Naruto frowned, really wishing he had not started this. "There's… someone I want to protect, but it's different from the way I want to protect everyone else."

Ma nodded and folded her arms. "How's it different?"

"I want to make sure this person's never hurt, never, but… I think… to the point where they don't fight at all." Naruto tightened his fists, the desire overwhelming him. "But this feeling… I know it's not right. I can't force someone to stop fighting especially if they're capable fighter on their own."

As his emotions and thoughts bubbled confusingly around in his mind, Ma turned her head toward the field, gazing at it fondly as if thinking of something pleasant. "Naruto-chan, you're not the only one to feel that way. Nope, not the only one."

Naruto raised his head in surprise. This feeling was normal? Is everything I'm feeling normal? he thought. Heh, if this is normal, I would hate to feel what's not normal. "Eh, Ma?" he started, kicking the ground a bit nervously. "Could you explain that? How is forcing someone not to fight normal?"

"I said the feeling's normal; tryin' to stop someone from fighting, well, that's not right and ya already know that." The tiny frog sat down on the rock, still staring down at the field. "I felt the same way toward Pa whenever we entered battle. And I'm sure he felt the same way toward me. It's a natural feeling, you know, toward those you love, 'specially toward people you fall in love with."

She glanced back up to him, a knowing smile on her face as he stared at her, eyes wide in shock. Fall… in love? He was in love with Hinata? He quickly shook his head, not quite believing it. His mind went to Sakura, how much he liked her (before he retrieved Old Lady Tsunade with Ero-sennin). He still liked Sakura, sometimes still hoping he had a chance with her, but accepted that she would be his teammate, his precious teammate, but this… this feeling Ma said was love for Hinata… it was too much. Too much at once for him to properly understand and really nothing like his feelings for Sakura.

"Eh, you're still young, Naruto-chan," said Ma, breaking the silence between them. She turned back to the field. "True love's often outta your grasp, but if ya want to protect this girl the way you say you do, then I 'spect that's real love for you."

Naruto shifted to one foot to another, growing increasingly uncomfortable in Ma's presence. "It's just… I…" He bit his lip, trying to find the right words, unnerved that he could not readily come up with what he wanted to say at once, like he normally did. "I… I don't… don't think…" Finally, he closed his eyes, sighed and resigned to say it, spat out quickly, "I don't think I know what love is."

With his eyes closed, he could not see Ma scrutinizing him. "Think ya mentioned you lived alone all your life?" Naruto nodded. "I say that's understandable then, not knowin' what's love. It's a hard feelin' to describe even for those who know."

Slowly, he opened his eyes, but kept his gaze at his feet. He thought about Haku's words about precious people and how many of those he had. Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi-sensei. Iruka-sensei, Old Lady Tsunade, Jiraiya. Shizune, the rest of his friends of the Rookie 9 and Team Gai. He cared about them, all of them. He likely held a few closer than most (mainly Team 7 and Iruka), but when it came down to it, was it love? Somehow, he knew the type of love Ma talked about was not the type of love he associated with his precious people. "What's it like then?" he asked, softly. "Love?"

"Ah…well, Naruto-chan, this love feels different, 'specially in the beginnin.' Sometimes you feel overtaken by strange feelings and all toward this one person. When the person's not around, ya feel empty, but with 'em, ya feel complete."

However, Naruto shook his head. "But that sounds like me when I'm with Team 7, I feel complete when I'm with them, I'll do anything for them. I feel happy with them and in the beginning; it was strange, but happy." Again, he shifted under the elder frog's gaze, but also gripped his chest where his heart lay. "What's the difference?"

Ma sighed and nodded. "It's same, but different. Love's like a bunch of rivers, comes from the same source, but branches off into different directions and not one has less water than the other. Do ya feel complete with her? Hmm? You say you feel complete with your team, but do ya feel complete with her?"

Complete. The word he often associated with his team. Actually, more like incomplete and with Sasuke, they would be complete. That moment came and now, Team 7 was complete. It seemed simple enough, but yet he knew the way he felt toward Hinata was not like he felt toward his team or his other friends. It was the same intensity, for sure, but not the same.

Suddenly, he drew a deep breath, a revelation coming to him. The same intensity… the feeling he felt toward Hinata was on the same level he felt toward his team. If he had a scale and could weigh his feelings, they would be balanced, equal, parallel. Different feelings, but the same intensity. "It's… like a puzzle?" he questioned. "A never-ending puzzle." He looked down at Ma, finding her grinning up at him proudly. "I thought it was complete, but there's another piece, isn't there? And the piece…" He squeezed the place where his heart was. "It's connected with my heart."

"There ya go, Naruto-chan! I think ya got it." She laughed. "Ah, Bunta-chan was right when he said it takes awhile for ya to get something." She continued to laugh when Naruto's face quickly melted from a satisfied expression to an offended glare! "But no matter, ya worked it out in the end. That's what matters."

He crossed his arms, still somewhat offended by the remark. The mention of the frog boss brought up a lot of memories, the month during the chuunin exam particularly, but that led to Jiraiya, his slain teacher, his two and half years training and the mission to find Old Lady Tsunade. As those memories filtered through his mind, the scowl became a sad smile, but then became a worried frown.

"Umm?" Ma stared up at him with a concerned face. "Something the matter, Boy?"

"I was just thinking…" He knelt down and picked up a rock; let it roll around in his hand, feeling how smooth it was as his thoughts once again became chaotic. "When I was with Ero-sennin trying to get Old Lady Tsunade to come back with us to be Hokage, Shizune-neechan told me a story. She said Old Lady Tsunade used to love someone, but she lost him in one of the ninja wars." He opened his hand, gazing at the rock with an extremely miserable look on his face. "It was that incident that caused her to leave the village."

"Yes, that happens sometimes," said Ma, her tone weary as if memories were weighing her down. "It's the cost of war, unfortunately."

"If I start a relationship with Hinata now, what if the same thing happens?" He tightened his fist, gripping the rock inside his hand. "What if the Akatsuki actually do win and kill me? And that cripples Hinata the same way it did Old Lady Tsunade?"

"Now, now, Naruto-chan!" Ma glared at him, disbelief etched all over her face. "You can't be thinkin' of not talkin' this out with the girl? You're thinkin' of possibilities that might not happen. I'm a sure ya told me and Pa that you wouldn't die until ya become Hokage. Why focus on the negative now, of all times?"

Naruto realized what Ma was saying. Focusing on the negative was something he hardly did, his friends knew all too well how often he would go around spouting off how he would do this, do that, regardless of how impossible it seemed (going from dead last to village Hokage being one of them). And while he had sometimes been negative and depressed over being incapable of protecting Gaara and saving Sasuke, everything had turned out all right in the end (Gaara still alive, finally saving Sasuke and bringing him back to the village).

However, he could not get the image Shizune painted of a grief-stricken Tsunade and it shifting into a grief-stricken Hinata. Protecting her from enemies was one thing, but protecting her from sadness was another. I don't want to see Hinata cry, I don't want her to be sad.

Naruto dropped the rock and fell back to sit down, holding his knees. "I know, I don't intend to die until I do, but this… I don't want to see her cry. And if I'm wrong, if I do end up being killed by the Akatsuki, she'll be sad."

"But she'll be sad no matter if ya tell her you're in love with her or not," scolded Ma, waving her small green finger at him. "Now I've only known her for a month, but I can tell she's a kind hearted soul. If you die, she'll be sad, no matter what."

He shook his head, the idea eating away at him, the urge to keep her from all forms of sorrow increasing. "I know! But maybe…maybe she won't be as sad, if we're not together. I don't want her to be sad and if this helps, even just a little bit, then okay."

Ma opened her mouth, but then closed it. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it. Instead, she shook her head. "This be a bad idea, Naruto-chan. Even if ya don't want her to be sad, you can't just not tell her. She deserves the right to know whatcha' doing. Would ya do this to your teammates? Not tell them somethin' in order to protect them even if they deserved to know?"

Would I? he thought. Would he not tell Sasuke and Sakura something in order to protect them? Trust and teamwork was everything in a team, Kakashi-sensei pounded that lesson into him years ago. And yet…to protect…

He bit his lip as he stood up, his eyes closed. "To protect my precious people, yeah, I'll remain silent if I have to." His hands trembled, his eyes opening to mere slits. He could almost hear Hinata crying, the sound wrenching his heart, his very soul. "If it means keeping Hinata from crying, even just a little bit, I'll stay silent. I'm sorry, Ma."

The elder frog sighed. "Stubborn, Naruto-chan," she said in a sad voice. "I tell you, this be a bad idea, but if I can't convince you otherwise, I suppose I shouldn't try. Just promise me and Hinata that you'll stay alive."

Naruto smiled, a small smile, though. "Of course, I don't plan on dying. Not until I become Hokage."

Ma continued to stare at him with narrowed eyes. It was clear she still did not approval of his actions. He felt bad for keeping his feelings hidden from Hinata, of course, but the desire to protect her from grief and all the pain that came with it superseded his wish to take her, swing her around and explain how he felt towards her.

"Well then, I be off." Ma jumped off the rock and started toward the mountain where she and Pa lived. "Train hard now, boy, I don't wanna hear 'bout ya dying after we had this talk now."

Naruto nodded. "I won't, I promise you." She still did not look convinced, but carried on hopping back home.

He made his way back toward the small cave he shared with Hinata and the Frog Key. Soon he found himself sitting on his pallet, staring at Hinata sleeping peacefully, the moonlight still shining down on her through the door of the cave. Now that Ma had explained things to him, he saw her in a completely different light. He always knew she was a brave and strong person, kind and caring, but somehow now it seemed to increase tenfold. He did not think he really thought about her looks, but now, she was the most beautiful person he had laid eyes on, her long flowing hair, the pale white-lavender eyes resembling moons.

Even her personality was stunning, with the way she softly spoke (now that he thought about it, she had not been stuttering much since they came here), how helpful she was, her caring, her kindness. His memories of her took on a different meaning now; him treasuring each and every one of them. The chuunin written exam and the medicine she gave him. He felt proud when she stood up, bloodied and seemingly beaten (through it upset him to think of her hurt) to face Neji. But the training field felt very special, he had actually told her something he had never told anyone before. And she had cheered him up, told him she admired him of all people, which likely helped him face and beat Neji.

He would likely have to ask Ma about this, but despite everything he saw wonderful in Hinata, he could also see her flaws; she worried a lot, more than normal, but for Naruto, who had rarely had someone worry about him growing up, he found it a bit more endearing than a flaw. She could be withdrawn and, while Hinata had become more open over the month, she was still reserved and quiet. It was an odd mixture.

She had mostly solved her confidence problem, through not completely. She had not been sure about being able to create a new jutsu during their training, but a little encouragement from him and she had slowly begun the process of creating one.

"So…this is love, huh?" he said, his voice barely a whisper, but not loud enough to wake anyone. "I feel like the moments I've had with Hinata have a completely different meaning to them now." He smiled. "I wonder if others experience that?"

On impulse, Naruto reached out, intent on softly brushing a lock of Hinata's hair, but then quickly drew back upon realizing what he was doing. Sighing, he resigned himself to keeping his feelings at bay. He would have to, if he was going to keep her from knowing how much he cared about her now.

"Good night, Hinata…" he said and crawled into his pallet, attempting to go back to sleep when his mind was filled with thoughts about Hinata, his feelings for her and how much he wanted to tell her so.

Would you believe that Gamakichi was originally in Ma's place? I think that's what got me stuck in the first place. Ma is what made it take off again. It's like she jumped up in plot bunny form and threatened to stuff my ears with carrots if I didn't include her. Scared my plot bunnies to death (never seen a talking bunny before). Now I wonder if Naruto's taking the best approach here?

Now, to work on the ending...and Broken Pieces.

Thanks for reading! - NessaMoon