Chapter 8: A Change Of Heart

With her mission completed and ready to head back to the Leaf, Nia sighed in relief yet made sure to keep her travel coat hood on.

"Oh god, he's for sure never going without a condom again," She walked down a dirt pathway with trees to each side. "That was way too close; I thought for sure I was preggo. I can't believe the test read negative. That was a miracle..."

By this time, it was pouring outside and Nia needed to get to the village before nightfall. She had been traveling since early morning and was close to arriving where she needed to be.

"Atchoo!" She sneezed before sniffling.

Damn this rain... it's making my nose all sensitive and I'm getting even more sick than I was before.

Not too far behind her, Kiba along with Akamaru, was in the process of looking for Sasuke, whom his team and Naruto's had seen some hours beforehand. However, they had reach a stumbling point and it would be determined by Kakashi that everyone would go on a full-out search despite the slim chance their old friend was possible still in the area.

"Akamaru, you seeing what I'm seeing, boy? That looks like that could be Nia ahead of us?" The Inuzuka pointed as Akamaru barked. "Man, what the heck is she doing out here by herself? I'm gonna say something... HEY! YO, NIA!"

"Hm?" This startled the girl as she looked over her shoulder. "What the? Kiba? Is that really you?"

"Of course it's me, silly," Akamaru jumped and landed beside the kunoichi as Kiba looked down at her. "What other guy you know rides atop their dog? The real question is: What the heck are you doing outside the village? You know how Naruto is with you... he'll kill you for being out here all alone."

"Well he gonna have to direct that anger at the hokage cause she the one who sent me on a mission alone. I'm just obeying orders..."

"I see..."

"Yeah, but never mind all that. What're you guys doing? Had any luck finding that Sasuke guy?"

Kiba replied, "For a while, my nose had been picking up his scent some time ago and one of Naruto's clones even saw him heading the opposite direction as him. Soon after that it was almost as though... the guy had vanished into thin air. It's been about an hour since Kakashi-sensei ordered for us to scout the area. As you can see though, Akamaru and I aren't having much luck finding him."

"Wow..." Nia lowered her eyes and grabbed her arm. "Naruto must be distraught right now... He was so amped up on getting the chance to possibly reason Sasuke to come back with him."

"Poor guy looked like he was about ready to break into tears. Can't forget about Sakura either. Unlike Naruto, she hasn't seen Sasuke since before that time we all thought he was dead. I'm sure she still has feelings for him too... that much is obvious..."

Suddenly, the two became startled when the rest of the group landed around them as they all decided to regroup.

"Kiba, the search is over... There's no sign of him being anywhere," Kakashi alerted the teen as he then was caught off guard with Nia's presence.

"Nia..." Yamato spoke first. "What're you doing over here? You're supposed to be in the village, aren't you?"

"Yeah, well, you see... what had happened was-"

"Nia! What the hell are you doing out here?!" Naruto pushed his way through everyone and lightly grasped the girl's shoulders. "I told you to stay in the village! Why didn't you listen?!"

"Naruto, the hokage sent me out on a mission by myself. I just finished it this morning and was getting back to Konoha when Kiba spotted me."

"GRANNY SENT YOU BY YOURSELF?!"

Nia nodded. "Yeah..."

"Why does she keep sending you on missions without me?! What if you get hurt and no ones there to protect you?!"

"I... die?"

"EXACTLY!"

"But Naruto... I can handle myself fairly well. I don't always need you around to defend me though I do appreciate your concern for me."

"Keh! Just come on," He gripped her wrist and began storming forward. "We're getting you to safety immediately. Those Akatsuki guys were just lurking around here! You're one of the ones they wanna kill so let's get you home quick, ya know!"

"Uh... okay..." Nia just obeyed as the two were creating a distance between everyone else and themselves.

"So we're heading back to the village, huh?" Sakura lowered her eyes as Kakashi rested his hand on her shoulder. "Yeah... and Sakura, don't worry too much about Sasuke... I'm sure he'll be just fine and I'm sure you'll be able to see him again."

"Yes, Sensei... I know," The kunoichi then gazed ahead of her as her teammate was dragging Nia further and further away from the group. "I just... I feel for Naruto too I mean... you know how he is with Sasuke... You can tell he's hurting terribly inside."

Meanwhile, Nia's fingers were now intertwined with the blonde's as they were strolling down the path, their sandals squishing the puddles of mud and making a splashing sound as it did so. Naruto's face was grim and despondent. He was fingertips away from having the chance to speak with his best friend, yet once more failed in doing so.

Nia studied as the rain fell onto his hair and slid down his face. It was so heavy that she couldn't tell if the boy was crying silently to himself or if the rain was just creating the illusion that he was.

"Honey..." She squeezed his hand gently to get his attention. "If you don't mind... I'd like for you to put your hood over you head, please. It'd be terrible if you were to catch a nasty cold..."

"..." The genin didn't respond as he was deep in his thoughts. All he could think about was Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke.

"Naruto." The girl spoke more sternly as the young man finally snapped out of his thoughts.

"Oh uh," He chuckled awkwardly. "Don't worry about me, Nia. I mean, I hardly get sick at all! Just make sure to keep yours on cause you're more vulnerable to that sort of thing and you're super sensitive about your hair getting drenched."

Though he was smiling, Nia could tell that it was a forced one. She knew he had a tendency of faking one even if he were broken inside for whatever reason.

"Atchoo!" She once more sneezed in her elbow as this made the blonde glance at her.

"And there it is," He commented. "You always get sick from the rain..."

"Ugh, I know," The girl sniffled as her nose became red. "This crap is horrible."

"And it sounds like you're losing your voice too," Naruto then rested his hand on her forehead. "It doesn't feel like you got a fever or anything so that's good."

"I'll be fine, don't worry abou- Atchoo!"

"You sure about that? Maybe we should stop at the nearest village and get you some medicine or something? How long have you been out here?"

"Since morning."

"MORNING?! It's no wonder you're sick! It's night already and you were out here since it started pouring a few hours ago, ya know."

"Naruto, you don't gotta make it into a big deal or anything... it's just a cold, honey. I'm not gonna die or anything. Thanks for caring though. I'm sorry to make you worry over me."

"Don't apologize," He replied, once more getting lost in his thoughts as Nia quickly took notice of this.

"Listen, Naruto... Kiba... informed me of all that happened... I know what went down with Sasuke..."

"Do you, huh?"

"Yeah..." She nodded. "I just want you to know that I-"

"I'm pathetic, huh?" The genin interjected. "I told myself... over and over... that this time would be different. That this time I'd finally be able to reach him, yet..."

He halted then squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his fist right underneath his chin. "I... failed... again. Even with all the training I've done this last half year, Sasuke still... I couldn't-"

Gently, Nia rested her hands atop the young man's quivering closed fist and faced him, gazing him in the eyes as she did so.

"I... don't blame you for reacting the way you are right now. You really did train very hard only to have gotten this encounter to not have gone as planned, but Naruto, the thing is... at least you know for sure that your friend is doing just fine even after all that went down in that weird ice castle all those months ago when he got separated from us. The important thing... is that you've made progress — That you've gotten one step closer to that guy. Try not to be disheartened cause of what went down. I'm sure your determination, passion, and drive will get that guy to return someday... just keep on training, doing what you're doing, and I'm sure everything will turn out just fine."

The young man's face softened. "You really believe I can do it, Nia?"

"Of course," The girl reassured him with a smile. "After all, you don't go back on your word, right? That means... if you say you're going to bring Sasuke back... it's written in stone practically, correct?"

"That's right," The blonde felt his spirits soar back up again and nodded. "That's my nindo, ya know? I will bring Sasuke back no matter how slim or grim everything gets or seems to be! I'm a man of my word and will continue to get stronger and better till eventually I show him that I've surpassed even him."

"That's what I like to hear," Nia playfully punched his upper arm. "Stay putting in that work, 'kay?"

"Yeah," Naruto pecked her on the cheek then embraced her. "Man, I feel a thousand times better; I really needed to hear that. Thanks, Nia... I can always count on you to be there for me in times like these..."

"Y-You're welcome," The girl was flustered to be hugged once more. "You can tell me anything and everything. Don't be afraid or hesitant to tell me something or anything that's bothering you — I'm here for you, all right? I got you."

"Well, if you two don't mind, we'd like to get through you. You're sorta in the way of everyone," Kakashi's voice resonated through their ears as the couple pulled away from one another and apologized.

"Kakashi-sensei, what's the plan? We're heading back to the Leaf, right?" Naruto inquired as the jonin nodded.

"That seems like our only plausible option, so yes... we'll be going back to report in to Lady Hokage about the events that took pla-"

"ATCHOO!" Nia incidentally startled everyone when she again sneezed into her arm.

"Err... you holding up okay, Nia?" Yamato asked as the girl felt slightly embarrassed.

"Man, that was one nasty sneeze," Kiba commented. "Sounded like a man sneeze."

"Hold up," Nia started laughing. "You got me messed up."

"Don't worry, he's definitely exaggerating," Sakura spoke up as she, just like Naruto had done earlier, rested her hand atop the girl's forehead. "That's good... you don't seem to have a fever. Do you think you can make it to Konoha all right?"

"Yeah, I should be fine. My immune system is usually pretty weak against the rain when it's this heavy, but I always recover just okay. I don't wanna hold any of you back either, so let's continue moving. No need to worry about me."

"Actually, I feel it'd be wise to stop at the nearest village," Shino spoke up as everyone glanced over at him. "This rain doesn't look like it'll light up anytime soon and I'm sure we'll all end up like Nia if we stay out here any longer... In addition to that, my bugs are not taking too kindly of the drop of temperature right now."

"Yeah, and poor Akamaru over here needs to dry up also," Kiba agreed.

"All right, I guess it's settled then," Kakashi made a decision. "We'll rest in the nearest small village and adventure back out in the morning."

With that announcement made, the jonin looked over his shoulder. "Hinata, do you mind using your byakugan to assist us on the closest village from here?"

He received no reply as the girl seemed to be spaced out and eyeing the ground, deep in thought.

'Naruto...' She whimpered. 'Why is it that I can't get you to acknowledge my feelings, yet... Nia has been able to receive all of your attention? Why is it that you've allowed her to stand by your side... and not me? I've... always wanted to walk by your side. However... all I've managed to do for all these years... was stay behind you... watching your back as you've continually improved yourself and fought to be accepted. What can I do... to get you to break things off with Nia... and have you give me the chance to be with you?'

"Hinata," The girl was brought out of her thoughts as she made eye contact with Kakashi.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry," She apologized profusely. "I... was deep in thought. What is it, Kakashi-sensei?"

"We were wondering if you can pinpoint the nearest village with your byakugan," He repeated for her.

"Y-Yes," She obeyed as she activated her technique and immediately was able to spot a village not too far from them. "Some miles down from here, there's one north of here."

"You heard her, everyone. Move out!" The order was given as everyone began to head in that direction.

What seemed like a lifetime later, when the group had arrived at the small village and entered into an inn, everyone tiredly fell to the floor and took a breather as they had finally been able to rest.

"Good thing these people serve pretty decent food for a cheap price cause I'm not sure how I would've been able to manage sleeping with an empty stomach," Yamato stretched his arms as the smell of his meal risen to his nose and put him in a temporal moment of bliss.

"No kidding," Sakura agreed. "And not to mention, we can finally take a proper bath."

On the other side of the room, Naruto was jumping and moving around the place as he was catching grapes in his mouth that was being thrown to him by Nia who was standing at the opposite side of the room from him.

"Hold up, something ain't right," She laughed as she watched the blonde time himself perfectly to the movement of the fruit. "How are you getting every single grape? You must've practiced before hand."

Standing up straight as he chewed, the genin replied, "Hey, don't be mad cause you don't got my skills. Come back and face me once you've improved and actually stand a chance against me, ya know?"

"What did this boy just say to me?" The girl glanced at Kiba and pointed her thumb at the genin. "He think he better at every little thing, don't he?"

The Inuzuka chuckled. "All right, all right, let's switch things up. For this round, we'll see who's better at-"

"Atchoo! Atchoo!"

"Apparently sneezing," The teen was annoyed by the interruption.

"S-Sorry," The kunoichi apologized through the doctor mask she was now wearing to prevent anyone from catching her cold. "These competitive games are fun and all, but I'm a little too sick to continue."

"I got some cards in my bag we can play to pass up the time," Naruto suggested as he grabbed his book bag and zipped it open. "Sweetie, you like cards too, right? Wanna play some poker or goldfish or something?"

"Uh yeah, that'd be fine. Let's play poker."

"Kiba? Shino? You guys going to play too or what?"

"A chance to earn some easy money? Of course you can count me in, Naruto," The brown-haired boy sat on the floor criss-crossed.

The blonde eyed the Aburame.

"Sure... I'll play," He reluctantly answered as he was already sitting on the floor.

"All right, lets get-"

"U-Um..." A small voice crept behind Naruto as he glimpsed over his shoulder to note Hinata timidly standing behind him.

"Hey Hinata, what's up?" He greeted her. "You looking to play too?"

"Would... that... be okay?" She blushed as the ninja patted a spot next to him which the Hyuga excitedly yet awkwardly took her place beside her crush.

When she did, for a brief moment, her eye locked onto Nia's who was observing what was going on. Moments later, the Umino girl began to set up the card game while Hinata clenched her sweatpants and narrowed her eyes at her as she did so.

'This is my chance,' She told herself. 'This is my chance to prove myself to Naruto and impress him more so than Nia... I will not lose to her.'

Meanwhile, in Nia's head, she could only think to herself, 'Oh man, I hope I don't get everyone sick with my cold. That'd be really bad for all of us if that happened.'

"Okay, everything is set up," She then spoke up. "Now we just need someone to start off as the big and small blind. Any volunteers? We'll start off with five ryo for the small blind and ten ryo for the big one."

"I... I'll start off as the big blind," Hinata dramatically volunteered as she set ten ryo on the table.

"Wow Hinata," Naruto was caught off guard by her action and smiled. "You must be really confident in your cards to be starting us off, ya know?"

Flustered that he had taken notice of her as she planned to have had him do when she offered to be the big blind for the first round, Hinata reddened and smiled to herself as she believed she had scored some major points over Nia.

"I guess I'll be the small blind," Shino chipped in five ryo. "I guess that means you'll be starting us off, Naruto."

"Oh uh, right," The blonde studied his two cards then grabbed his frog wallet, opened it, then threw in ten ryo, "I'm calling."

Likewise, everyone did the same as Nia then placed the first three cards into view: King of spades, two of hearts, and five of clubs.

Being as it was her turn, Hinata glanced over her cards again, yet soon came to the realization of something crucial — she had no clue how to even play poker!

"Hey now Hinata, no using that byakugan of yours to sneak a peek at our cards, all right?" Nia joked with her as she had noticed the girl's hesitation.

'W-What am I even supposed to do?' The Hyuga trembled slightly as she desperately tried to figure out the rules of the game. 'I was so focused on trying to impress Naruto that I forgot I don't even know how to play this game...'

"Ah, Nia, thanks for bringing that up," Kiba eyed his shy teammate across from him. "Hinata, I got my eyes on you, you hear?"

"U-Um... I wouldn't... cheat..."

"They're just messing with you," Naruto nudged her on the arm. "Try and not be defensive. You got this, Hinata."

"I-I'm sorry, but... I actually... don't know... how to play this game, N-Naruto." She confessed.

Immediately, almost as if on cue, the four other players sweatdropped.

"Why the heck did you ask to play if you don't even know the rules, Hinata?" Kiba complained.

"Maybe we can explain the rules to her real quick?" Shino suggested as Naruto shook his head.

"That would take too long. Poker is a very complicated game to teach someone in a short amount of time. You're our friend, Hinata, but maybe you'll have to join in another time? Besides, I don't want you losing your money because you don't know how to play. In fact, here — you can take back what you put out. I'll just be the big blind, ya know?"

"B-But Naruto..." The girl felt her chance to connect with the genin was blown into the wind.

"Poker is more of a man sort-of-thing anyway, Hinata. I'm not surprised you don't know how to play this," Kiba stated.

"But... how come Nia is playing then?"

"She's more of a tomboy with her interests," Naruto answered for the girl. "She knows and likes most guy activities. In this case, she knows how to play poker and is actually pretty good at it, so we're letting her play."

"I see..." The dark-haired girl lowered her eyes.

"S-Sorry, Hinata..." Nia gave her sympathy. "We would explain it to you, but like Naruto said... poker isn't a game that'll take ten seconds to explain. It's very complicated to explain to a beginner. I hope you won't take any offense to this..."

Without saying a word, Hinata turned her back at the kunoichi and walked away, causing Nia to feel a bit uncomfortable with how she looked at her when before she did so.

'Did she just... glare at me?' She just blinked a few times. 'No... she couldn't have, could she? This is Hinata I'm talking about — she's a nice girl. Why would she glare at me like that? No way... that had to have been my imagination messing with me...'

"Nia," Naruto snapped her out of her thoughts. "It's your turn. You gonna check or what?"

"Oh! Uh yeah, I'll check." She knocked on the floor.

And so, for the next hour or so, the group did whatever pleased them. As for Hinata, she had gathered up with Sakura in another room to speak about her feelings once more.

"So, you're saying that you don't like Nia?" Sakura leaned forward as to hear her friend better.

"I feel... like an awful person, but... I can't help but feel the way I do, Sakura. I feel like every time I see her, hear her, or especially see that she's receiving Naruto's affection and attention, I just-"

"Hinata, this is why you should leave Naruto alone... Your feelings for him are starting to eat you alive because he's focused on another girl. I already told you what he does to her, says to her and about her to everyone else... so why keep trying to win him over? I just can't see them breaking up right now..."

"BWAH! MAN, I WAS THIS CLOSE TO WINNING!" The two suddenly heard the boy and the sound of cards being thrown into the air from the other room.

Listening to the voice she held so dear to her, Hinata felt tears wallow up in her eyes as she then used her hands to cover over them.

"Oh, Hinata..." The pink-haired girl sighed as her friend began to cry.

For the next few minutes she comforted the Hyuga, letting her get out the stress and pain that had been building up inside her for the last several months since the very day she knew her crush had been taken from her. Though she fought hard to resist the negative feelings she had toward Nia and Naruto's feelings for her, the girl just couldn't keep herself from harboring a newfound intense disliking to or maybe hatred and jealousy toward the one whom she believed to have stolen her one true love.

Hinata had thought she could handle Naruto liking someone else. She thought that if he were to be happy, that would be all that mattered to her. Though she had remembered that time when Nia had sincerely apologized for snapping at her all those months ago, that didn't matter to her suddenly. No longer did she care about the friendliness Nia had shown her following the blood transfusion incident and to this day. No longer was she wanting to put up with watching her laugh and share special moments with the one guy she loved her entire life.

Hinata, after months of putting up with knowing about her crush's relationship status and day upon day of seeing him going on dates,  holding hands, kissing, and holding another girl close to him she felt was undeserving of him, finally had made her reach a breaking point. Nia was always in the way since she was brought to the Leaf. She was always in the way of getting Naruto to notice her.

Though she did her best to not think horrible of anyone in regards to their appearance, Hinata couldn't help herself but wonder: How was Nia even able to catch the eye of Naruto before she herself could? She didn't think too highly of herself, but Hinata knew she was considered attractive to men. She knew she had a killer body and long, beautiful hair. She knew her face wasn't too bad and that overall she was able to turn heads effortlessly.

So how was it... that her appearance alone wasn't enough to get Naruto to ever notice her?  How in the world was Nia able to win him over? She wasn't even considered beautiful! Was beauty really in the eye of the beholder?!

"Hinata..." She could hear Sakura whisper her name. "You alright? I'm here for you. What do you want to do with this Naruto drama? Are you gonna leave him be?"

"No..." She said with a stern expression as she wiped her tears. "Naruto... I loved him since we were children! I thought... I thought I could handle him being happy with Nia, but Sakura... I just... can't. I've always been walking behind him, desperately wanting to talk and get close to him, yet was unable to because I was just too shy. This time... I'll be walking at his side — no longer having to stare at his back. This time Nia will have to be the one to walk behind him — desperately desiring his attention and affection. Desperately wishing to be at his side like I..."

"What... are you saying, Hinata?" Sakura was immensely bewildered by the girl's newfound determination.

"I'm saying... I'm taking Naruto back from Nia... No matter what!"

———

A/N - Oof, I haven't updated this story in a month lol sorry y'all. Anyway, in case you don't know, I had posted two updates in my Light In You story if you'd like to check out and read.

And YES! I know this isn't typically going the Shippuden series way loool but I already told y'all that I'm not making some bootleg fanfic of it 😂 I gotta bs a lot of things and some events will be held off for some time. In this case, the Jiraiya fight, six tails capture thing and so forth. Well actually those two events are happening soon just not right now.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed reading! Please comment and vote and have a good day ❤️

QOTD:

1. Fave Part?

2. Fave Line?

3. Any comments or opinions about Hinata in this chapter?