The Love Notebook

Naruto was walking home after coming from his mission. He was tired of the constant missions; mission after mission after mission. Of course he was happy that he actually doing something but even he had a limit to what he could do. He just wanted to go home and take a nice warm bath. He also wished that at least someone could be in the village, waiting for him to come home.

Kakashi was either out on a mission or nowhere to be found. Naruto has tried to find him but could not find one trace of his masked sensei. Sakura was also never around, she would always be training with Tsunade. He sighed as he realized that he had no one waiting for him back in Konoha.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw someone suspiciously making their way to the forest caring something in their arms. Normally, Naruto would've ignored it and been on his way but something inside him told him to follow the person. He sighed one more time before going after the person. Naruto could barely see the person in his view but luckily, the person stopped and sat down under the shade of a tree. The clearing the person was in was filled with Lilacs and dandelions.

Naruto was finally able to get a better look at the person and saw that it was Hinata with a notebook and pen. She opened the notebook and started scribbling something into it. Naruto was about to leave but Hinata started to read aloud the things she was writing.


"I see people stare, I see them glare...


"All around the village, almost everywhere...


"Unknown to you, I watch from afar...


"I watch that smile that's as bright as a star...


"And your blue eyes that always hypnotize me...


"Also the feeling you give me that makes me feel free...


"And maybe one day I'll tell you how I really feel too...


"One day I will tell you that... I really, truly love you..."

Hinata was crying at this point and some of her tears stained the page. She quickly closed her notebook before anymore tears could mess up the notebook. She brought her knees to her chest and crossed her arms over them. She laid her head down and quietly spoke.

"...Naruto-kun..." Naruto froze, he wasn't sure if she found out he was there. "I... I wish I could tell you..." Naruto was shocked.

'She... She loves me? Me? Is that who she wrote it for? Am... am I the reason she's crying?' Naruto thought to himself. He saw Hinata wiping her tears and standing up to leave. Naruto checked the time and saw that it was five in the afternoon. He would come back the next day to see if she'll come back too. If she really was talking about him, he would be really surprised.

[*.*.*.*]

The next day, Naruto was once again in the same clearing he was in yesterday. He looked at his time and saw that it was still five minutes to five. He heard someone coming and hid in the trees. A second later, Hinata walked into the clearing with the same notebook wrapped in her arms. She sniffed as she sat down and started to write down things. Again she spoke aloud the things she wrote down.


"I see you walking with her, laughing and having fun...


"I wish I could be her, if only for a while...


"It would be so great, hanging out with you under the sun...


"Just thinking about it makes me smile...


"It's only a thought, a dream, not a reality...


"In a different point of view, it's quite sad really...


"How weak and foolish I can be at moments like these...


"I wish you could see me like you see her...


"Treat me like you treat her, I'd probably feel better...


"But I know it won't happen, it'll never be true...


"Because you have eyes for only her, just like I do for you..."

Hinata started drawing small hearts and shading them in. Naruto felt a lone tear fall from his eye. He couldn't believe how much pain he brought to someone he saw as a precious person. He wiped his tear and saw Hinata momentarily stop writing to also wipe her tears. She then reached for her notebook and wrote some more.


"I only wish to be with you, not with any one else...


"And that'll never change, even if I end up by myself...


"No one understands what I see in you though...


"But they don't see what I see, they just don't know...


"I see a brave, strong boy, loving and caring...


"Putting others above yourself and always sharing...


"Your bright blond hair and precious blue eyes...


"Even though you hide yourself behind your lies...


"I know when your smiles are fake, they are obvious...


"But the rest of the world are too oblivious...


"But I see your sadness, I understand it too...


"People always hating you for whatever you do...


"But you always stand tall, no matter what's in your way...


"They might hate you but I don't care what they say...


"I'm in love with you and that's how it's going to stay..."

Hinata closed her notebook again and stood up. She walked out of the clearing and left Naruto alone to think about what he was going to do. He was leaving to travel with Jiraiya for his three year trip in a couple of weeks so his time was limited.

"What am I going to do?" Naruto asked himself as he too left the clearing. He walked into his home and went straight to bed. He laid down and thought about the things he could do. He could either go up to Hinata and talk about it; though he knew it would lead to an awkward conversation and end up being pointless.

He could just forget the whole thing and hope it never pops up but he knew he shouldn't do that; that was just cruel. He sighed and drove his head into his pillow. He hated how complicated his life could be. He looked to his left and at the clock. It was half an hour till midnight and he decided to dwell on his problems in the morning.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto was walking to the same clearing at the same time everyday to the see the same Hinata walking into it and write a different poem. It's been over a week now and Naruto still hasn't figured out what he was going to do. He was still trying to figure out if he should give up on Sakura. She loved Sasuke and there was nothing he could do to change her mind.

It's not like anything he did was good enough for her anyways. He would always ask for a date and she'd always either make an excuse not to go or hit him and yell at him. The hits weren't physically painful, just emotionally. It annoyed him that Sakura never gave him a chance. She's never gives him a chance to show her the real Naruto...

Naruto's eyes widened at this thought. Sakura never gave him a chance and he's never given Hinata a chance. Now he really felt bad about his whole situation. He closed his eyes and rethought his whole situation and options.

He was leaving to train with Jiraiya in two weeks. He had about fourteen days to get to know Hinata. Not a lot of time but it was still better than nothing in his mind. He saw Hinata walking out of the clearing and decided to start spending time with her. He walked up to her and waved.

"Hey there Hinata!" Naruto said, taking Hinata from her thoughts and making her blush.

"H-Hello Naruto-kun." She said meekly. Naruto tried to taking in as much of Hinata as he could. He hadn't noticed before but she had really pretty eyes. Even though she didn't have any pupils, it only added to her uniqueness. She also had pale, soft-looking skin that Naruto wouldn't mind touching. He blinked his eyes at that thought and shook it off.

"Oh um... well I was going to go get some ramen, want to come?" He asked, suddenly getting nervous. He hadn't asked a girl out to eat except Sakura and he hoped Hinata wouldn't hit him. Hinata was shocked though. She was having some difficulty grasping the fact Naruto basically asked her out on a date; or she thought he did.

"L-Like a... like a d-date?" She asked hesitantly. Naruto looked at her somewhat seriously but then smiled.

"I guess but not if you don't want it to be. It could be just two friends out to eat. Well, do you want to go or not?" He asked. Hinata poked both fingers in front of her and blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Um... sure." She finally said.

"Great, let's go." Naruto grabbed Hinata's arm and dragged her to Ichiraku's. When they got there, they ordered their ramen and started talking. Naruto kind of wanted to talk about his missions but figured he couldn't get to know Hinata if he was the only one talking so he was able to convince her to talk about herself.

The following week continued much like that. Naruto would wait in the clearing, listen to Hinata write her poems and watch her cry from time to time. He would then spend some time with her, getting to know her, little by little. He was surprised when he found out she loved ramen too. It wasn't as much as he loves ramen but it was still amazing to him that she at least didn't mind getting it almost everyday.

Naruto sighed as he walked to the clearing to wait for Hinata. He had about two more days to spend with Hinata before she left and he still was unclear on what exactly he was going to do. He jumped into the tree he usually hid in and waited. It wasn't that long when Hinata also entered the clearing. Naruto noticed that she upgraded her notebook abit.

It used to be a simple blue covered diary looking notebook but now the front had a couple of doodles and writing on it. It almost looked like she was getting over the mournful part of her writing.

She opened up the notebook and started to write as her soft voice lulled Naruto into a trance induced mode.


"Life has been great, everyday is a bright one...


"I can't believe how happy I've been since that day...


"It was the start of something new, something fun...


"And it's all because I finally have somethings to say...


"I think he's actually starting to like me, me!


"He sometimes blushes when I look and he smiles a lot...


"I think it's starting to happen, I'm so happy...


"But I could be wrong, I mean it's only a thought...


"I just hope I'm right and he really does feel that way...


"Even if he doesn't like me like that, it's still okay...


"Because he's paying attention to me now, anyway..."

Hinata closed her notebook and hugged it close to her. Naruto had his eyes wide open. He wasn't starting to like her... was he?

He wasn't so sure, he did notice he was blushing a lot when he was around her. That didn't mean anything. Maybe he would sometimes steal glances of her when she wasn't looking, so what? That's nothing too. So sometimes his heart beats quickened when she would smile at him, and?

Naruto saw Hinata leave the clearing and he jumped down, putting his hands in his pockets and then walked home.

"Two days..." Naruto said lowly.

"Two days u-until what Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked behind him. He flinched and turned around, he wasn't expecting Hinata to be beind him.

"Huh? Oh, um... well ero-sennin is taking me training for three years or so." Naruto answered, rubbing the back of his head. He knew his nervous smile was plastered on his face and there wasn't a single thing he could do about it. He then noticed how Hinata's attitude plummeted. Her small smile disappeared and her fake smile replaced it.

"Oh... I-I... I'm so happy for you." Hinata said, trying to sound happy for Naruto, but he knew she wasn't.

"Hinata..." Naruto said but Hinata just turned around.

"Um, actually, I-I got some... s-stuff to do a-at home... I'll see you later Naruto-kun..." Hinata said quickly and then ran off. Naruto knew she was desperately trying to hold back her tears. He watched her run and he was kind of hoping to spend the last two days with her.

"I... I think I'm starting to like her..." Naruto whispered and walked home.

[*.*.*.*]

Today was the day, the day he was supposed to leave on his training. She knew she should see him off but she just couldn't, she couldn't deal with it. She didn't want him to leave, he was the reason she tried at all. Now her inspiration, her strength was leaving for almost three years and she was too scared to see him off. Neji had come by earlier to be with her when Naruto left but she told him she wasn't going.

Hinata just wanted to spend all day in her room, at least until sunset. She looked at her notebook and reached for the soft cover of it. She wasn't sure what got her into poetry but it was a good way to relieve some of her sadness and sorrow. She guessed she was bored one day and had an empty journal with her and just started writing.

She really wanted to write now since she felt like relieving some unwanted emotions. But if she were to do that, she had to leave her room and go to the clearing she walked to everyday. She wasn't sure what it was about it, but something told her to write in that clearing. She enjoyed the peace and quiet she got when she wrote in the clearing.

Hinata got off her bed and picked up her notebook and skimmed through it. She then heard something tap her window and she jumped. That caught her off guard, she wasn't expecting anyone to visit her. She went to her window and opened it only to gasp when Naruto came into her room.

"N-Naruto-kun." Hinata said. Naruto just looked around her room and whistled.

"Nice room you have Hinata-chan." He said. Hinata blushed at the "-chan" he placed after her name but she would think about it later.

"N-Naruto-kun, don't you go on your three year trip today?" Hinata asked. Naruto stopped looking around Hinata's room to look at her. "And h-how did you k-know where I l-lived?"

"Neji told me and yeah I do but I didn't see you see me off so I thought I'd come say goodbye..." Naruto told her. Hinata was surprised that she meant enough to him for him to tell her goodbye. Hinata then saw him reach into his back pocket and pull out an envelope with the words "Hinata" in big, bold letters written in the front.

"And to give you this. Now, I want you to read this after I leave, ok?" Naruto asked as he handed Hinata the envelope. She took it and looked at it curiously. Naruto smiled and walked to her window to leave but not before taking some time to kiss Hinata's cheek. It took Hinata to realize what he did and another second to react to it. She fainted and was about to hit the ground but Naruto caught her. He picked her up and gently placed her on her bed. He kissed her forehead and he saw a smile grace her lips. He smiled and jumped out the window.

"Goodbye for now... Hinata-chan..."

[*.*.*.*]


"Unknown to you, I have watched you...


"Unknown to me, you've watched me too...


"With my feelings clear and visible...


"I finally know what I'm going to do...

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto waited in the bridge his old team used to go to when they had missions. He looked up and saw the Hokage Mountain with the previous Hokages; the past Hokages' faces on them including the Fifth Hokage.

"Things have really changed since I last left this place..." Naruto said as he closed his eyes and waited for someone to show up.

"N-Naruto-kun." Someone said softly behind him. He couldn't help but smile when he heard her stutter.

"Hey there Hinata-chan." Naruto said, his breath visible. It was winter in Konoha and freak blizzard hit it a couple of days ago. It was funny in Naruto's mind that he finished his training early and that he came into Konoha on Christmas eve. Now he had a wrapped up box sitting next to him, It was a simple lavender wrapping with a light blue bow. He turned around and was momentarily shocked when he saw Hinata.

She had grown up quite nicely in his opinion. She was a little taller than when he last saw her and she had longer hair. Her hair reached up to the small of her back and it was very shiny. In all honesty, Naruto couldn't stop starring at her, he thought she looked more beautiful than any other girl he's seen; and when you hang around a pervert who is constantly after pretty girls, that's saying something.

"Oi, Hinata-chan... you've really grown." Naruto complimented sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. Hinata blushed and rubbed the point of her shoe onto the ground, squishing the snow between them.

"T-Thank you... I see y-you have too." She said and smiled. Naruto felt his heart rate pick up and he smiled too.

"So I guess since you're here that means you read my letter?" Naruto asked.

"How could I not, you gave it to me right before you left." Hinata answered.

"Oh right." Naruto replied, making her giggle. She stopped and got serious.

"S-So... Naruto-kun... did, did you mean what you said. You know, in your note?" Hinata asked. Naruto then got serious as well.

"Well yeah, I really do like you. But that was along time ago." Naruto answered nonchalantly, making Hinata frown and look at the ground.

"Oh..." Naruto saw her saddened expression and picked up his present. "Don't be sad Hinata-chan, I got you something." He handed her his present to her and smiled. She took it and looked at it in surprise.

"Naruto-kun, that's so nice but... I-I didn't get you anything." Hinata told him. Naruto shrugged his shoulders and smiled widely.

"I'm sure you'll think of something." Hinata had a thoughtful expression her face and looked like she was hesitating about something. Finally, she took a deep breath and got something out of the little book bag she seemed to always carry.

"A-Actually, I-I do have something... for you." Hinata gave Naruto a small blue book with a lot of writing on it. Naruto's eyes widened and looked from the book to her, then at the book again before finally looking at her.

"A-Are you sure? This looks like it's really important to you." Naruto asked but Hinata just nodded.

"I'm sure Naruto-kun. It is really important to me... but I want you to have it." She said, smiling at the end. Naruto looked incredulous at the book before smiling too.

"Before I read this though, how about we go to my place, you know, to get warm." Naruto told her and she nodded. So they walked back to his house and talked about what they did over the last two years. When they got in his house, he turned on his heater and sat on his couch, motioning Hinata to join him. She blushed and slowly but surely, sat beside him.

"So, open your present." Naruto said eagerly. Hinata giggled and picked up her present. She carefully untied the bow and gently took off the wrapping paper. She looked at her present confusingly.

"A-A book?" She asked but Naruto laughed.

"Sort of, now open it." He said and she did. Inside the cover, there were small words in it.


'To Hinata,


Unknown to you, I have watched you...


Unknown to me, you've watched me too...


With my feelings clear and visible...


I finally know what I am going to do...


Love, Naruto'

Her eyes widened at the word love but didn't think much of it as she read the first page of the book.


"Looking into your eyes, I've seen all I want to be...


"And I don't want it to end, at least, not for me...


"So when I fall asleep you're all that I see...


"You're in my thoughts and all of my prayers...


"I wish I could be all that you need to be...


"But I'll try anyways..."

Hinata looked at Naruto and he sheepishly smiled.

"Sorry it's not good but it was the first one I wrote... The others are better, I promise." Hinata nodded. smiled and continued reading the book, tears appearing in her eyes after each page. Twenty pages later, she finally reached the last poem which read.


"Unknown to you, I have watched you...


"Unknown to me, you've watched me too...


"Whenever you gaze at me, I get this feeling...


"This feeling, I think I get it's meaning...


"My palms get sweaty, my arms feel heavy...


"There goes my nervous smile already...


"What does this mean? That I am in love...


"To this perfect angel sent from above...


"But why would god send an angel to a demon...


"People won't agree, I can already see them...


"But I don't care, they're not the ones I'm want to impress...


"Only one special girl, known as the Hyuga princess...


"You might think that I don't look at you...


"But I want you to know that that's not true...


"I don't want to talk, nor do I want to breathe...


"Not until you know that you're all that I see...


"I'm not really good with words so here's my last go...


"I love you very much, just so you know..."

Hinata's tears were freely falling from her face. She had a smile on her face and grew by the second, she looked at Naruto and he looked at her.

"So... do you like it?" Hinata shook her head and hugged Naruto.

"No... I love it. Thank you so much..." She said as Naruto hugged her back.

"You know it's true, I really do love you." Naruto told her. Hinata looked up at him and their faces slowly got closer to each other until the were close enough to kiss. Hinata and Naruto really enjoyed the kiss, it was the best thing either have ever felt in their lives. When they parted, Hinata let her head rest on his chest and she sighed contently.

"I love you too." She said as they both soon went to sleep, dreaming of the other and their happiness...