Trolls - Burning Branches AU part 1
Or alternate title, I have now been sucked down the sudden black hole that is this fandom and now the troll plot bunnies are running ramped around my Fanfic farm, because the creators of this franchise has added my weakness...Sibling relationships... Now I have plans for a two story saga in this fandom of which I wouldn't have glanced at with interest at all a month ago.
Well, that's enough rambling, Time to get into the meat of the fic plot.
So, while browsing on Ao3 I noticed that there was this Rock!Branch au, where Branch is separated from the pop-trolls as a kid and ends up being raised by Barb and Thrash of the Rock Trolls. I love this concept, more then some relatives of mine. But I want to put a little spin on it. I've been a big fan of amnesia/memory loss fics, and I noticed there was a lack of them in this fandom.
Brozone breaks up and Grandma dies like in canon, same old same old. However, in this AU Branch is forced to leave the Troll Tree as a kid, because there is a larger sigmatism about trolls who went grey. The Trolls are very clear that they want nothing to do with Branch. They are all already living with death at their door step and they don't need a grey child to constantly break the false image of happy paradise that the adults try to maintain in the Tree to keep themselves sane. Branch, with nothing else left for him in the tree, packs up and tries to leave to find his brothers, though he does worry if they would even want him now that he was grey.
After successfully escaping the town, (the bergens don't notice if a small troll vanishes in the middle of the night, they didn't notice the whole village packing up), Branch spends a terrifying night in the woods. Running away from what are "predator's" in the eyes of a small child. Until he accidentally, stumbles in the a wormhole. The wormhole sucks Branch away from, Pop territory to the outskirts of the Rock badlands. But in this new hot volcanic he is still far from safe. (I'm adding that their are harsh powerful dragons that roam around the Rock trolls territory, as there has to be some type of reason behind they turned their own music and instruments in the to energy weapons while the other tribes didn't. Not to mention the active volcanic activity everywhere!) While running away from some of these actual predators and dangerous lava pools, Branch gets shoved over a cliffside, and falls into one of the few rivers nearby. In the raging rapids, the little troll strikes his head against the rocky river bed. Knocking him out.
Meanwhile, Still-King Thrash is leading an expedition to the river to fetch water for the people of Volcano Rock City. Being the very soft and caring Father he is, once he sees a small child floating in the river he jumps in without a second thought, and pulls the child to the shore. He leaves the expedition in the hands of another Troll and brings the some how still alive child back to the City and into the care of a capable doctor. While waiting to hear if Branch will live, Thrash goes through the little sack the kid had with him. There's enough evidence for the king of rock to come to the conclusion that Branch was running away, and needless to say Thrash is furious. Who would be so cruel that dared to make a child in his kingdom feel so scared and unwelcomed that they would run away! (at this point due to Branch's greyness and the high emotions of the situation Thrash hasn't realized Branch is from Pop yet, not that it would matter in the long run he's still ticked off).
Eventually, the doctor (an old friend of Thrash's whom they have a deep trust between, I haven't named them yet), calls Thrash in. Thrash finds Branch unconscious on the medical bed with his head bandaged. The doctor tells Thrash that's its a miracle that Branch is even alive, but it would take a bigger one for the child to wake up. The underneath the blood of the wound was a skull fracture and possible brain damage. Then he mentions it would probably be better if Branch never woke up, and further explains Branch's nature as a pop troll, and his greyness. Thrash takes this information in with a sad heart. Stigma against pop was still running high in the Rock kingdom, despite Thrash wanting to believe his people could spare their bias to care for a wounded child, he knows that no foster family would take a pop troll in. He asks the Doctor to keep quiet about Branch, and that if the boy would wake up Thrash would take him in himself. He goes home and hugs Barb after an exhausting day, and asks her if she was open to having a little brother.
After a few weeks, Branch wakes up, but he has no memory of anything. Not his name. Not where he's from. Not how he got there. At this point the medical staff that were allowed to know about him, have taken to calling him Charcoal, or Char, after his perfectly black and shiny hair, and it just kind of stuck after that. Thrash has taken to visiting Branch, even before the boy was conscious, quickly growing fond over the boy and until he'd recovered enough to be taken to the royal cavern. Barb takes to having Char around very well. Having a younger sibling, gives her something to put her protectiveness towards. Thrash makes and announcement, claiming Char as his own to Rock, and putting the boy as second in-line for the throne.
Still it isn't all cupcakes and rainbows with Char in his new home. He has lasting effected form his head injury in the form of migraines and fainting spells. The child is plagued by nightmares, of Giants coming to eat him and old ladies. They frighten him so much he draws and designs traps and bunkers to keep himself safe. Some of the designs Thrash actually considers building in case of emergency. Music brings him to tears if it's too loud or sudden, or if Barb asked him to sing-along. His room is sound proofed, and he has a pair of headphones to block things out if needed. Thrash also finds that his new adoptive son, is far more book-smart then him or Barb, the rarely used Rock library becomes Char's second home. The child become well educated in History, engineering, math, sciences and politics.
It would take two years before, Barb managed to talk Char into coming to her music practice, where the kid learns that music is more then just noise that makes him feel scared/unsafe. Seeing the weapon music can be, something he can learn to protect himself with, Char becomes hooked on the idea of learning it. Too everyone's surprise, it comes to boy like second nature, and his voice is like that of an angel's.
Eighteen years pass, and Branch grows up to be, Prince Char, second born son to Thrash King of Rock. He's a known expert with a guitar, both as an instrument and a weapon, his reputation is that of a eerily smart and organized strategist, who is loyal to his family and people to a fault and ruthlessly protective. With Thrash's health, both physical and mental, in rapid decline, Barb is forced to take on the mantel of Queen earlier then she wanted, but this time she has a brother to lean on as an advisor. Which is a good thing, because between the two of them Char is a much better planner.
Pressure is turned up on the royal rock siblings, when an unexpected earthquake destroys the farmlands that feeds the city. Sure, volcanic soil can been great for growing plants, but rivers of lava and giant fresh trenches don't help at all. Barb flies off the handle, and begins to panic in quiet about what she needs to do to protect the people of Rock, while Char looks into historical records to see if the past king ever had to deal with issues like this. Eventually he stumbles on the knowledge that during ancient times if one of the tribes was in trouble they would call upon their sister tribes for aid.
"Oh that's great advise your books have, let's ask for help from our sworn enemies!" Barb would exclaim, "Wait...the other tribes! If they lasted as long as we did, then they must have resources! But they wouldn't help us...not unless they were just like us. We could use our string to convert..."
"Barb! I'm going to stop you right now. First one our string isn't powerful enough to over-write someone's genre, believe me I looked into it-"
"But if we get all the strings..."
"You mean steal them?"
"Yah!"
"No, if we were to fail that would only sour relations between genres further and our people would still be starving. We'd be better off forging an alliance with a tribe, rather then wasting already limited resources conquering one."
"URGH! Why are you always right....So, alliance...that's our best plan?"
"Currently yes."
"With people that hate us! Are we sure we can't conquer them?"
"Barb, were trying to make a harmony. You can't make harmony with everyone using the same voice. They all need to be different, and they all can't be forced into something they they aren't or it all falls apart."
"Whoa, that's deep. Where'd ya learn that?"
"I-I don't know...but the point still stands we need to befriend another tribe not conquer one!"
"Okay, so how do we do that?"
"Well, apparently theirs more ways then one, all of them include paper work, so leave that to me, but one of them we actually have a unique opportunity to ally with."
"Oh? And how do we take advantage of this unique opportunity?"
"You're not going to like this...but we use me..."
Branch would go on to explain his plan to ally the Rock kingdom with the Pop trolls...through an Arranged Marriage between him and the Pop princess. Barb hates it, especially after all the pop trolls did to her brother when he was young, but she can't argue the logic. The pop trolls live in a forest rich with food and plant life, and water sources. However, they have zero defenses other then how deep they live in the forest. (how he knows all of this Branch has no idea) If the alliance managed to go through, the Rock trolls could get the needed food supplies, and the Pop trolls could gain the knowledge of how to use musical weaponry.
Barb still hates it, it feels like her little brother is throwing away his future. But Char assures her that he's okay with it, and that it's his turn to take on the burden of the crown he supposed to wear. As a bio-pop troll the possibility of an heir from the alliance marriage is higher then if they use a random Rock citizen, and as Rock Prince that will give more creditably to the pleads of their people to Pop. He tells Barb to just take care of Dad when he's gone and that they always have debbie to talk to each other through letters.
So they send a message to Pop Village...requesting to consider the marriage.
At Pop village, Poppy is busy with her new duties as a fresh coronated Queen, caring for the village needs and further establishing peaceful relations with the Bergens after the fall of Chef. When the message reaches her, delivered Via Debbie and Biggie, Peppy tries to take it from her before she cane read it. And then she demands that he Explain why she just got a proposal in a letter from a Rock Prince?
Peppy reluctantly explains the history of the Tribes, and how some times they would form alliances between the genres by wedding members of the royal families together to ensure peace. He makes it very clear that He doesn't want Poppy to even think of answering the Rock trolls even if to decline the proposal, but she fights back saying hat this might be their only chance for peace between the genres for years to come if its taken this long for them to reach out this time. Peppy then tries to argue that if Poppy were to accept the proposal that she would have to marry this prince, this stranger, and he never wanted that to happen to her. He knows Poppy is queen now and he can't order her to do anything, but he asks her to think about this before making any kind of decision.
Poppy needless to say, deeply contemplates the proposal. She wants to help reunite the tribes, but bonding herself to a stranger she never met was a daunting thing. She talks with Cooper and Bridget who are surprisingly helpful with everything, and decides that she'll accept the proposal with the condition that she and her future groom have the chance to meet and get to know each other before the wedding.
Barb and Char readily accept the condition, and calculate that they can give one month of courtship before the Rock kingdom is without food. They respond back to Poppy, and tell them that Char and a few others would arrive in Pop Village a few days after she would receive the letter that confirmed the betrothal.
Char arrives at Pop Village with much fanfare from his travel companions, but shushes them quickly and addresses Poppy and Peppy in a polite manner. Poppy is kind of thrown off by how grey her future husband is, not that she shows it. Char is just as shocked about how bright and colorful she is.
The romance is awkward at first. The cultural differences get in the way sometimes. But eventually a connection is formed. Char learns to feed off of Poppy's energy and Poppy learns that there's more to this grey prince then gloom. With the wedding scheduled for the end of the month, Poppy decides to introduce Char to her BFF Bridget.
Needless to say, it doesn't go well.
Char's underlaying trauma comes back in a panic attack and flashback upon seeing the Troll Tree and bergens. The memory of his Grandmother's demise suddenly becoming clear as day in his mind. In the panic he accidently fires his guitar at Grisle and Bridget, with makes Poppy panic and angry at him. So he runs off into the woods.
Bridget and Poppy end up having a heart to heart where Bridget says that Char looked scared. Having heard about how Char was acutualy a pop-troll and was adopted into the royal family, Poppy connects the dots rather quickly. Realizing that Char used to live in the Troll Tree but didn't escape with the others. the whole visit was triggering for him.
She runs back to Pop Village looking forh im, only to find that Queen Barb had arrived to help set up the wedding, and she wants to know where her Brother is. Poppy blurts out what happened while trying to defuse the situation, and that only serves to rile Barb up further. Until Poppy snaps, yellling at Barb that they need to go looking for Char not fight here! This impresses Barb into agreeing.
Poppy finds him and they end up having a heart to heart, and confessing...
The wedding goes on as planned. On the neutral ground of the Troll Tree, allowing Char to visit his late Grandmother's home for the first time in twenty years.
All seems well...Until one John Dory screams, "Stop the Wedding!"
...
I will post part two in a separate post because this is long!
Part two, and Part three
Edit: The prolog for this fic, which is basically Char's child hood is now posted on Ao3. Link
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The Tell-Tale Heart
❀Fest No Jutsu 2023❀
Naruhina Oneshot Available on: AO3 | Wattpad | Fanfiction.net |
Prompt claimed fulfilled for @wickermayne 🥰
❀Naruhina RomCom❀
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Summary: The Fourth Great Ninja War ends and Konoha is at peace; Hinata Hyuga contemplates Naruto Uzumaki's unexpected desire to spend more time with her.
》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 • ˚《
》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ * 。° 。 • ˚《
Tags: Blank Period • Canon • Canon Divergence • Declarations Of Love • Drama & Romance • Fake Relationship Trope • Fluff • Happy • Happy Ending • Humor • Light Angst • Love Confessions • Mutual Pining • Naruto Universe - Freeform • No Smut • Post War • POV Third Person • Romance • Teen Rated •Tooth Rotting Fluff •
Word Count - For Entire One-Shot: 8.4k.
Word Count - Tumblr Post: 3.3k.
❀Preview:
Today in Konohagakure, the temperature was moderately warm.
The shining sun rose high in the cloudless, blue heavens, beaming with happiness where it took center stage above.
The residents of Konohagakure, enjoyed every moment of the new day, a day of peace and fun, as the sun smiled down on them with warm but pleasant beams.
The summer breeze flowed through the busy streets of the village, sweeping green leaves within its gentle wake where they carried on powerfully, just as the ninjas, Konoha's defenders, have done each and every day.
A year had passed since the conclusion of the Fourth Great Ninja War, allowing Konoha as a whole to at last settle down.
The streets were alive with laughter and chatter, with kids flying kites and pretending to be the ninjas they idolize, racing full speed through the crowds with their arms thrust behind them as if soaring.
Smiling villagers of all sizes and ages filled the streets, setting up their businesses and outlets to cheerfully trade their produce and wares with one another.
All around, structures and residences stood tall, having all been rebuilt from the devastation that numerous battles, particularly the Pain onslaught, had wreaked upon them.
Konoha was now endowed with brand-new structures, fresh possibilities, and new beginnings.
Ninjas, villagers, and children alike were all beaming and renewed—all appreciative of the timeless peace they had gained by never giving up, by consistently standing up for what is right, and by moving onward no matter what.
Konohagakure was now at peace.
Aside from Hinata Hyūga.
In the midst of the happiness that beamed all around her, the young kunoichi found herself having quite an episode: fingers twiddling together, her breathing escalated, cheeks red, and her mind in scrambles.
Hinata traversed the streets of Konoha dressed in her typical ninja garb, accompanied by her longtime team members and companions, Kiba and Shino.
Kiba, her loud, ferocious friend, shot her a glance with his slitted eyes, lifting an eyebrow as he sensed his shy friend's worried state.
After all, it was Hinata's idea to get together so the three of them could go for a walk through the village, get some fresh air, and just spend some time in each other's company.
However, Kiba and Shino have observed Hinata to be extremely fidgety and quiet the entire time, appearing to be preoccupied with a problem that both ninjas were overly conscious about.
Hinata was unable to stop talking about it after all.
Kiba groaned and shook his head, causing his brown curly hair to tussle about, brushing against the nape of his neck due to its increasing length.
To lighten the mood, the cheerful canine ninja gave Hinata a gentle shove with his elbow—just with the side of his folded arms.
He laughed as he caught the surprised squeak that flooded out of her lips, her body jolting as a result of being shoved out of her troublesome thoughts.
"Come on, Hinata-chan, stop overreacting already. It's not that bad." Kiba remarked with a gruff tone and an amused grin, his lips stretched wide to show off his razor-sharp canines.
Due to his delighted smile, the red triangles on his cheeks raised just a touch, his features quite robust and well-defined given his maturing age.
His voice, which had become deeper over the years, was emitted in a halfhearted manner, with little worry detected within, which did absolutely nothing to calm Hinata's anxiety.
Hinata's predicament was only made worse because of it.
Her pale cheeks grew even redder, and she found herself hiding behind the curtains of her long, midnight-blue hair, unable to meet Kiba's gaze.
"No, th-this is..."
"It's just Naruto, Hinata-chan. What does it matter whether the knucklehead wants to spend time with you? Big deal."
Kiba muttered impassively once again, simply shrugging his shoulders as if everything was normal—and especially normal for Hinata.
She shook her head. There was nothing normal about her situation.
Hinata took a glimpse at her brown-haired pal through the strands of her dark hair, only to be struck by the nonchalant expression found on his tanned face.
Kiba didn't seem bothered by her predicament or even able to understand why she was feeling the way she was, for the matter. It was certainly a sight she just couldn't comprehend.
It was quite obvious why she was so worked up.
Hinata bit her lip briefly, to deal with her nerves.
"B-But every day?" Hinata exclaimed, apprehensive.
"A-Am I the only one who finds it strange that Naruto-kun is suddenly spending so much time with me? It's s-so odd."
Hinata's meek voice broke through the gaps of her delicate lips, bursting into the village's midday hum. Such comments of hers would have been drowned out by the din of the crowd, but Kiba's keen hearing picked up on her words flawlessly.
He heard her loud and clear.
Kiba shrugged.
He genuinely did not perceive anything wrong with her current "situation."
Kiba thought Hinata was acting rather ridiculously, in fact. Every time Naruto was brought up in their many conversations, she would just revert to her usual flustered self.
The mere mention of the goofy blonde ninja always causes her to flush red all over and sends her into a stuttering frenzy. Even in her primary years, she would faint just by being in the blonde's presence.
Hinata has always been a flustered mess around Naruto, but even now, after having Hinata as a teammate for so long, Kiba has never been able to understand the immense anxiousness she would feel because of the blonde.
Apart from the fact that Naruto was now regarded as a war hero as a result of his heroic deeds during the Fourth Great Ninja War, Kiba still saw him merely as a hyperactive, dense, brainless knucklehead.
He just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that anyone would feel immense anxiety around someone like him.
It was all quite ridiculous.
Kiba found nothing odd or different about Hinata's frenzied behavior nor about Naruto's desire to spend more time with Hinata. After all, they were all growing closer to one another—every single one of their friends—now more than ever.
Nothing's strange there.
Shino, on the other hand, saw a different picture.
He let out a hum of curiosity, bringing to light his presence as he walked alongside Hinata.
His eyes were shielded from the sun by black shades, so others couldn't see his facial expressions as well.
One hand of his was buried in the pocket of his long jacket, while the other lifted to stroke his chin.
"Now that you mention it. That is strange."
Shino's voice emerged from his mouth, somber and monotone, phasing with the pleasant breeze around them. He too joined the conversation between Kiba and Hinata, voicing his concerns about the current situation at hand.
Hinata's dilemma.
All in all, it shouldn't really be a dilemma.
Hinata was aware of this.
Her predicament shouldn't be one that keeps her up at night, sends her in a tizzy, and leads her to become a hot, stuttering mess whenever she thinks about it.
Naruto.
Naruto was her dilemma.
Since the war has ended and all of Konoha has spent its time relishing the peace, Naruto has been exhibiting a variety of behavioral shifts—shifts that were pretty different and quite apparent—particularly because they diverged from the customary behavior tactics he has always demonstrated.
Such changes were all very unusual to Hinata, changes that she was unable to interpret or understand.
To put it simply, Naruto's been acting quite strangely toward her.
How strange you might ask?
For starters, Hinata thought it was somewhat odd of Naruto to unexpectedly develop the longing to devote every waking moment with her.
It seemed weird to her that he wanted to see her every day at the same time at Ichiraku Ramen in order to spend time with her.
Hinata bit her lip a bit harder.
She could hear him now.
"Let's eat out again, tomorrow, Hinata-chan. At Ichiraku, same time, same place. I had such a great time with you, dattebayo!"
Hinata could still clearly remember what he said to her almost a day ago when they shared a meal together at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.
Even then, he showed signs of immense eagerness for her that she had never seen him show before.
Hinata recalled how he constantly barraged her with many subjects of discussion, even as he spoke to her while stuffing ramen noodles into his mouth.
He told her several of his own tales, including mission experiences that actually made her laugh quite a lot. More than she's ever done in her entire life.
It was all so... strange.
Don't misunderstand Hinata; Naruto's excitement was refreshing, albeit a little overwhelming.
Indeed, Hinata has always wished to spend time with Naruto, and she can't stop herself from enjoying those moments when she gets to sit beside him, shoulder to shoulder, and share a meal and a conversation with him, especially after the war is all said and done.
Sharing such moments with him has always been her dream.
Hinata relished the moments when Naruto lavished her with lots of attention, gazing into her eyes with a true sense of joy and care, and wanting nothing more than to spend as much time with her as he could.
And maybe, she's just overthinking.
Maybe, she's just blowing the entire situation out of proportion.
Maybe she was getting ahead of herself, but she was unable to ignore Naruto's peculiar behavior toward her, including the very difference in the way he spoke to her. It consumed her mind and bugged her so much.
Hinata has made a constant effort to understand why Naruto's behavior has drastically changed in the way it did toward her and why he suddenly developed the urge to hang out with her so excessively.
This was a really big deal to her.
Hinata couldn't help but mull it all over.
In the immediate aftermath of the war, Naruto changed from scarcely recognizing her to having just fleeting conversations with her to obnoxiously craving her company all the time.
It's such a drastic change.
This cannot be a coincidence, she thought.
Hinata occasionally found herself questioning whether Naruto's motives were sincere; she wondered if perhaps he was merely allowing himself to be close to her out of pity.
Pity for her losing Neji.
Yes, the war was officially over, but even so, there were still a lot of wounds that needed to be healed, and Neji's death surely left a lot of them. A lot of wounds.
Hinata occasionally finds herself becoming very sad at the mere recollection of Neji being dead, no longer living in Konoha, but instead buried with the other valiant ninjas who fought in the war.
She would frequently experience severe depression as she recalled the events leading up to his death and once more realized that he had indeed left this world and never to return again.
Hinata often thought of such depressing memories and felt their suppressive effect on her throughout her day-to-day life, and thus, she often thought that is why Naruto wished to spend so much time with her.
Because of pity. Because of guilt.
However, she always dismissed the idea, labeling herself as ridiculous for having such negative thoughts about her dear Naruto-kun.
As a result, Hinata discovers herself becoming quite enthusiastic about the alternative reason she came up with for Naruto's behavioral changes toward her.
And that was a result of authenticity.
Maybe, just maybe, Naruto has come to want to be close to her from a genuine standpoint.
Maybe he secretly yearns to be close to her, yearns to learn more about her, or, better yet, just genuinely enjoys her company.
Maybe, Naruto has come to yearn for something more.
But just as Hinata thought of such a thing, just as she allowed her fantasies to intertwine with her thoughts, she was quick to shake them off.
Hinata squealed, covering her eyes with her hands due to her lewd thoughts.
'No, no, that can't possibly be it!" Shaking off the idea, Hinata exclaimed in a frenzy fit in her mind. It was absurd for her to think that the frequent outings she would have with Naruto were anything romantic.
Yes, Naruto yearns to see her virtually every single day.
Yes, he genuinely offers to pay for her meal at each and every get-together.
Yes, he regularly gives her his jacket whenever she grows cold, without her having to utter a single word.
But...
Those were merely the acts of a friend, Hinata thought, a friend that truly cares.
'There's nothing romantic about that.' Hinata dismissed once more, hysterically shaking her tomato-red face as she hurried on carelessly, her open-toed shoes kicking up dirt every step of the way.
However, she was interrupted from her thoughts when she once more heard the voice of her enigmatic friend, Shino, speak after a little period of silence between the three of them.
"Hm, it almost seems like the two of you are dating. Maybe that's what Naruto wants."
It was only hearing those words from Shino that led Hinata to completely lose it.
She began to feel lightheaded. Terribly lightheaded.
'Me? D-Date Naruto-kun?!?' Hinata practically screeched in her head. She was going to faint, she just knew it.
It was only a matter of time now.
She whipped around to face Shino, in an effort to quickly dismiss such a ridiculous notion from his head. She couldn't bear it.
Hinata sweat dropped, her cheeks flushed red, "No, no, Naruto-kun and I aren't d-dating. Dating o-or romance, for that matter, isn't possibly the reason for all of this. There has to be a-another explanation..."
"Hm." Shino rubbed his chin once more, "It's quite obvious what's going on here, Hinata-chan. Naruto's sudden and enthusiastic yearning to spend more time with you when the war is over. All of it seems to be pointing towards the possibility that his eyes may have opened after all this time." Shino hummed.
"The evidence is right in front of you." Shino expressed with a nod, as he tried to piece together the situation and come up with a solution.
Kiba, in contrast, just shrugged. He merely found the two humorous, trying to solve an issue that was so clear.
He shook his head, "Hinata-chan, come on. You gotta stop overthinking."
He brushed his shoulder against hers yet again, doing so with a groan, "Good kami, all of this Naruto stuff is getting you ridiculous, Hinata-chan. Come on, think about it. Isn't this what you always wanted?" He asked, blurting out what he knew had to be said.
With wrinkled brows, he gazed down at the midnight blue-haired woman beside him, watching as her lavender eyes widened at his remark.
He tilted his head, his expression somewhat solemn, "Isn't this time spent with Naruto, or rather, him wanting to spend time with you, something you always wished for?"
Hinata's eyes widened even more. Even her heart skipped a beat.
It was. It's all Hinata has ever wanted.
She's spent her entire life walking behind Naruto, always staring at his back, longing for him to turn and notice her.
She had yearned for him to realize her presence, to recognize all the times she had followed him, supported him, been influenced to become stronger by him, and even risked her life for him.
She yearned to be by his side, showering him with her affection and reverence.
She wished so badly he would one day look at her the very same way she looked at him.
That is all she has ever wished for—Naruto to notice her.
And now...
Hinata's breath caught in her throat as Kiba's words flashed through her mind, finally waking her up and causing her to realize what a blessing this entire situation was for her.
The sudden acts of Naruto wanting to spend time with her; and the genuine smiles he showers her with.
The big, warm hugs he gives her the moment she arrives at Ichiraku Ramen.
The jokes, the laughter, the smiles.
Everything.
Hinata finally considered every bit of her situation, and she used the opportunity to take a step outside of herself, away from the troubling emotions that were stifling her, and instead take in the situation as a whole.
Her breath hitched.
Indeed, she has always wanted this.
Always.
And now, with her eyes opened, she has realized how silly she has been.
She has done nothing but speculate about Naruto's motives, questioning herself as a whole for liking his behavioral shifts.
She was so worried and anxious about the whole thing, as well as flustered and embarrassed by being so close to Naruto so suddenly, that she entirely failed to notice the positive elements of her predicament.
But now...
A smile arose on Hinata's face and in that moment, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders. She suddenly felt the worries she's been dealing with for a couple of weeks now set sail and fly away.
She finally sensed herself becoming free from her worries; free from it all. All thanks to her friends; Kiba and Shino.
She really needed this chat.
Because now, Hinata could finally see the situation from a different perspective, a more positive approach to her situation, and now she finds herself a little bit more...
appreciative.
She bawled her fists tight by her chest, biting her lip briefly, "Y-Yes, this is what I have wanted." She whispered, finally voicing out her own wants for a change, voicing that she indeed has always wanted Naruto to notice her, just in the way he has recently.
Kiba and Shino exchanged a joyful grin, both ninjas flawlessly catching their bashful friend's answer even in the midst of the raucous outside noises around them.
It was undoubtedly like music to their ears, and they were both comforted by the fact that their friend's sentiments of embarrassment and worry were no longer clouding her judgment—no longer keeping her troubled.
The two men were pleased to find that their efforts had been successful and that their words of caution and contemplation had not been merely ignored or overlooked.
Kiba and Shino were certainly pleased to see Hinata finally diverted from her mental woes and the clamor of her irrational thoughts, which had previously blinded and hampered her. And ultimately, keeping her from finding happiness with the one man that almost everyone in the village knows can greatly comfort and increase Hinata's level of contentment.
Peace was now assured.
Kiba exclaimed joyfully, "See, there you go! So I say, quit your overreacting and relax! Enjoy the peace already!"
He shoved her shoulder again which actually caused Hinata to giggle, her body swaying a bit.
"Kami, if you're so worried about Naruto spending time with you, why don't you just ask him? Who knows, Shino might be right, your precious Naruto-kun might have finally woken up." Kiba teased with a laugh.
Hinata instantly gasped, her head space once again flooded by overwhelming thoughts, her body riddled with feelings of flusteredness.
Throughout Kiba's entire speech, one particular detail caught her attention the most.
My precious Naruto-kun.
Hinata's blush rushed back to engulf her whole tenfold, "H-Hey don't call him that!" The flustered kunoichi exclaimed in embarrassment before reaching over to slap Kiba's folded arm.
But her gesture of getting him back due to his teasing only pushed the brown-haired male to laugh and tease her even more.
"Oh, Naruto-kun! My precious Naruto-kun!"
"St-Stop it, Kiba-kun!"
"No! You make it so easy, Hinata-chan!"
Hinata grumbled, her heart racing in her chest as she was teased by Kiba but soon comforted by Shino.
After all was said and done, however, and after a much-needed conversation with her good friends, she found herself looking forward to the dinner get-together with Naruto.
Now, more than ever.
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