She started at the Academy next term, no place in the Hyuuga for her failure.

The cheery faces of her classmates surrounded her. The guiding words of her teachers spoken softly but sternly, each trying to motivate and inspire. Even a visit from the Third, the old man who was the most important ninja in the village, to tell them what it meant to be shinobi.

But this was not enough. She stuttered and shrank into the shadows, melting into the background. Unwilling to draw attention to herself, unable to face another failure, hoping she would go completely unnoticed. Hoping no one would remember she was there, forgotten. Hoping they would pass her by and never look back.

If she didn't draw attention to herself, no one would expect anything of her. And this way she wouldn't have to show her shortcomings, her failure. If she never raised her eyes, she couldn't see the disappointment looking back. If she never raised her eyes maybe she could forget about the world that passed her by, the world that left her behind. If she never raised her eyes then maybe she could forget about the way the others always seemed to be just beyond her grasp.

And yet...

Despite it all, she couldn't help but watch him.

He was loud and bright, seemingly larger than life. Always yelling his opinion at the top of his lungs to everyone, always laughing at everything and nothing. It was hard not to see him.

But he wasn't very good at anything, not like the genius in their class. He couldn't hit the bulls-eye of the shuriken target, or perform a proper henge of the Hokage. He always got yelled at by sensei, or laughed at by their classmates. And soon enough the others would stop watching him.

But she never did.

She watched as he practiced. Failing over and over again until she wondered why he continued to try. Why he kept getting back up only to fall again. Why? The question repeated in her mind.

She knew the hopelessness of failing over and over, she knew the frustration and tears. She knew the dread that would sink into her when that last kunai would clatter to the ground instead of it's target. She knew the way her hands weren't fast enough, her feet too quick. Her strikes hesitant, and her sight- oh her sight- she couldn't see. Her eyes, the pride of her family betrayed her.

She knew there was nothing she could do.

And then one lazy summer afternoon, the golden sun brushing against the treetops, he hit it. After so many tries, after so many failures he finally did it. In spite of failing again and again, he did it.

She remembered how he blinked in surprise and then cheered, doing a victory dance through the clearing. She remembered how her own heart had lightened, a smile brought to her face. He could do it, she marveled. After so many tries he succeeded, and the why that had burned itself into her mind had been answered so simply.

And if he could, then maybe... just maybe so could she. Maybe she could improve. Maybe there was something she could do. Maybe she'd be able to get back up instead of giving up. Maybe she wouldn't have to be a failure forever. Maybe someday...

And maybe if she tried too, she blushed, she could catch up to him.

***

She had nearly given up.

Nearly given in to her cousin's words and forfeited. Tears had welled up, her heart beating so unbelievably fast, her hands shaking. Fear had seized her, breaths coming out more like gasps. Her cousin's white eyes bored into her, through her, able to see so much.

Everything she had done until now was useless.

She would always be a failure, always unable to improve herself, always unable to change. Her goals were unreachable, her dreams only fantasies. That was her fate.

And it hurt so much she wanted to die.

But then, he yelled. You can! He was watching her now. His eyes were on her.

He had done it, cast aside the label failure. He had never gone back on his word, and now her teammate was beaten. He was one step closer to his dream, the one everyone had scoffed at. And she knew she couldn't give up now- go back on her dream, go back on her goal, go back on everything that mattered, everything that she wanted to change, everything she worked so hard for.

The hesitation disappeared, the shaking gone, chakra flowed to her eyes veins bulging on either side of her head, her arms and legs moved into stance gracefully. Looking up at her cousin with determination.

She could.

Strength filled her, her strikes moving swiftly. Strength and something else, she wondered if this was courage, wondered if this is what it felt like to be worth something. His gaze enough to make her feel like she could accomplish anything if she tried. When he looked at her...

She fell. Her cousin's strikes too much.

Don't stop the match!

But only for a moment, one more failure she had to get up and overcome. One more time she pushed herself up, one more time she wiped the blood away. As long as she got back up, as long as she didn't go back on her word. As long as he was watching her.

And then she could finally see. See the way her cousin was trapped, see the way he suffered, see the way he was lost. See how it was not her after all.

And as her eyes shut, she saw him looking at her again. The black faded her vision, the gentle pull on her thoughts. She wondered if she had changed in his eyes.

***

She made her decision.

The dust swirled over the ruins of the village, sweat and grime covered her, her skin and hair windswept and slightly red from the sun. And far away, yet so achingly close, in the crater he was pinned down with blades and about to be taken away. Taken away from her, never to be seen again. Terror griped her heart, but not for herself. Like a vice around her chest, squeezing tighter and tighter.

And she went to him.

She couldn't let it happen. She couldn't just stand by and let him be taken away. She couldn't let him disappear now, in front of her eyes. Right in front of her, not when he was so close...

And purpose propelled her feet, determination her wings. A single thought on her mind, to protect him. A single objective to allow no harm to come to him. And she stood straight and proud in the face of the enemy, no hesitation or second thoughts or regrets, her mind made up. Her heart set.

She knew she was no match. It didn't matter. She wanted to be there, needed to be there.

It was because of him.

A smile graced her features, it was him who showed her the right way to follow when she could do nothing more than give up and cry in frustration and failure. It was him who showed her what determination could do, how every failure was just one more hurdle to overcome. It was him who made her feel like she was worth something, made her feel she could accomplish her dream of catching up to him- to walk with him side by side wherever he was.

He had changed her. Saved her. And for all this she would protect him, even if it meant her life.

Because she loved him.

It was him who was watching her back with wide eyes now, and for half a moment she wondered if this time he would have to catch up to her. If this time he couldn't take his eyes off of her, if this time she could show him how much she had changed.

And with a yell, she ran forward, her Byakugan vision focusing. Her jyuuken strikes swift and strong, her feet precise. Not enough. She feed chakra to her hands, the warm tingling running down her arms to her fingertips and then out further. A vision of two beasts in each palm.

Crushing.

The weight sudden and too much to bear, she collapsed to the rocky hard ground, her body listless. She could feel the coppery taste of blood on her tongue, the leaden feeling in her limbs. Her eyes were barely open, her gaze blurring. Then a sharp pain.

No!

The world around her exploded. Waves of horrible chakra passed over her, swirling and red and hating. It wasn't really him, the red-black that filled her sight. She wanted him to be safe, wanted him to live. But he was gone, fighting far away.

And even as she lay there, not quite seeing, not quite hearing anymore. Only he passed through her thoughts until she finally closed her eyes.

***

He held out his hand to her.

They had lived, through pain and hurt, blood and tears. There was still so much to rebuild, so many goals still to accomplish, so much still left...

But that would come later. Right now she stared at his hand, strong and solid. Her eyes widened and her breath hitched, and he smiled at her. A ridiculously happy grin that made her own lips curl up in response. A blush of her own and she took his hand.

Hand in hand and stride in stride they walked together towards the setting sun.

Disclaimer: Not mine...

A/N: Just a quick oneshot to outlet my NaruHina joy. Um, yeah...