CYPHER ~ Naruhina

Chapter - 13

"Please keep it a secret... Erika-chan" Her voice sank in embarrassment. 

Erika rubbed Hinata's back consolingly as her gaze lowered towards the ground. "Relax, I won't... I still don't understand why you want to hide the truth, though."

"Uzumaki-kun has been gracious enough to be my friend... If I face him with feelings now, he will f-find it very burdening... E-Especially from someone like me."

Erika rolled her eyes. Knowing both sides of the story, she face-palmed, controlling her urge to spill out Naruto's desperately guarded secret. But there's no point if I end up letting the cat out of the bag. Both of them need to develop a bonding through their own effort first. Only then can I step up to help.

"Someone like me isn't qualified enough to like Uzumaki-kun, let alone confess to him... Besides, he is friends with a lot more b-beautiful girls, so I don't even stand a chance..."

"Who told you that!?" Erika fumed, visibly irritated at the statement. "You seriously need to stop talking down to yourself like that, Hinata!" 

Hinata bit her lower lip, as the bullies' words resonated within her mind. "Our so-social standings, our friend circles, our w-way of life... Everything is so different... I don't deserve to like someone as dazzling as him... Besides, he has considered me nothing but a friend for this long... I w-wouldn't want to ruin our b-bond and approach him with ulterior motives "

Ulterior motives. If I tell you about how Naru-senpai has the same ulterior motives towards you... Erika shrugged off the thought. "How else is one supposed to date then? It's not like one fine day, a person you like will fall out of the sky, Hina. Loooots of people date only after starting out as friends." She emphasised.

"But he doesn't see me that way! If I confess now, it'll mess up everything! He will think I just fell for him b-because he saved me so many times!"

"Darling, I'm not forcing you into confessing. I'm just telling you that it is okay for you to be with him, bond closer and imagine a future. It is not wrong to hope for something good..."

"But it's false hope, Erika-chan... You don't understand at all, do you?" Tears started streaming down her face after she finally got to the main reason why she felt so hurt. "Uzumaki-kun's never gonna like someone like m-me... He's gonna think I'm weird for liking him... And after he rejects me, he won't be a part of my life anymore..."

Erika let out a deep sigh. She realised what the problem was. There were lots of layers of unpacking to do, in the way Hinata thought. Her thought process was so pessimistic and self-belittling, that it was beyond a normal human's control at this point.

"He's just being nice to me, he doesn't have any interest in me..." Hinata rubbed her eyes as tears started to pour uncontrollably. "It hurts so much..."

Erika went closer and gave her friend a warm hug and a rhythmic pattern of soothing pats on the back. How can I make her see how hard Naruto is trying to win her over? She used the silence of the moment to brainstorm. Her eyes lit up when she finally figured it out. "Girl, how do you know he has no interest in you?" She questioned slowly. 

"I just know it... Uzumaki-kun is just nice in general, and I am no exception. I fell in love with his gentleness and kindness." She said amidst sobs.

"Well, I think you are wrong."

"Why so?"

"You think a guy who sees you as a friend would wait for you outside your class until your lecture is over, just to pick you up?"

"He... He was just concerned a-about me... He told me he wanted to ensure that the bullies won't bother me anymore... Maybe he feels a sense of responsibility because the reason the bullies hurt me is using him as the reason..."