Prophecy (Naruto Neglect Fanfic)

Team 10 Survive

A/N: Again, short chapter. Hope you enjoy :)

Once Neji had been recovered, Hinata stayed by his side in the hospital for hours. Her silent emotionlessness was deafening. There were no tears. No lip quivering. No stuttering. Just blankness shown in the eyes of the pure Byakugan. Hinata had stuck to her promise of never being powerless again. Whilst her outward appearance seemed calm, her brain was more stressed than it had ever been before. She had been trying for so long to push Naruto out of her head. She had been making progress until she found out about his room. That set her back but with her team's help she was beginning to make progress again. He slowly faded out of her mind to be replaced by more important matters and information. That was until she saw his face again. Clad within the obsidian black robe, splattered with blood red clouds stood her 'best friend'. The man who inspired her to become everything that she was today was standing yet again in front of her, dead behind the eyes and set on causing only destruction to everything that she holds dear. She almost wanted to believe that it was the same Naruto but as soon as she saw his eyes she realised that the man she loved was long dead.

"You're really nice Hinata!" Naruto proclaimed, causing Hinata to blush even pinker, "Do you want to be my best friend?" Hinata's mouth opened and closed but no sound came out. "It used to be Sasuke but because he doesn't like me anymore, I think it should be you now."
"Of course!" Hinata squeaked a little too loud. Naruto grinned at her.

"Hinata! Thank you so much!" he said and hugged her. Hinata froze. 'N-naruto-kun... hugging... me,' she thought. Hinata felt her consciousness fading as she lightly fainted on the ground.

'I was so happy when that happened. It might have even been one of the happiest moments of my life. Even then, I didn't notice his words. I didn't hear his desperation for friendship. His loneliness and betrayal he felt after his best friend ignored him. He must've felt the same when I...' Hinata internally gasped at her revelation. 'I did the same thing. I was his best friend and I too ignored him. I could have helped his loneliness... but instead I just perpetuated the cycle.' An image of the current Naruto flashed across her mind. 'And now it's too late.'

"It's never too late Hinata!" Naruto's voice crept inside her head. It was quiet but still heard. 'Naruto-kun... I'm sorry that you ended up like this. I should've saved you.' "Hinata, it's fine! You can still save me!" Hinata internally chuckled at her version of Naruto playing around in her head. 'Maybe...' Hinata felt a dark presence overtake her thoughts.

"This world is full of sin. I am an example of that." The present Naruto's words filled her head, consuming the younger version. 'No...' "Without all of you, I would not have seen the light." 'That's not...' "I am useless, a weakling, an annoyance. I must repay the world for my sins." 'THAT'S NOT NARUTO!'

"Hinata, I thought we got off on the wrong foot," Naruto said thinking back to his past experiences with Hinata. Hinata became red. "I know you probably hate me. Probably because I'm an annoyance, useless and a weakling but I just wanted to say that I want to be your friend!"

The memories of Naruto began to shift in her mind. She imagined Naruto's past words being said in the tone of his present self. The signs were evident.

'N-naruto-kun...' Hinata had started to cry silently next to Neji's bed, 'Why did I let you think like that?'

Lee lay wide awake on his bed. The day's events had shaken him. He didn't train when he normally would. He didn't meet up with Guy-sensei like he normally would. He didn't even rest like he normally would. As soon as Neji had been recovered, he headed directly to his house and laid down on his bed. It had now been hours into the night and it was obvious to Lee he would not be getting any sleep tonight. Lee tried to lie to himself about his discomfort but could not for long. Eventually he gave in and allowed his head to fill with the thoughts of his "eternal rival". Eventually he gave in and allowed his guilt to consume him.

"Ah! Thank you Naruto!" Naruto looked up.
"What for?" asked Naruto, holding back his laughter at a stray noodle on Lee's face.

"You really helped me. You showed me that it's always better to not be alone. To have a training partner. I have always pushed myself everyday to my limits, not getting sleep for days on end until I would collapse. It was horrible. You showed me the value of sleep, of rest, of having a rival. You helped me beat my greatest enemy; my mind. For that I thank you."

'I could never repay you, my friend. You saved me and I was not there to do the same for you.'

"Bushy Brow!" he almost pleaded still trying to keep his facade up, "Let's spar! Like before, eternal rivals remember?" Naruto this time, jumped to keep up with them. Lee didn't respond.

'I am so sorry, my eternal rival.' Lee straightened himself suddenly. A wave of determination flooded over him. 'No. No no no no! I will not let you go Naruto! I may have left you but we never stopped being eternal rivals. We never could!' Lee stood up. 'I will bring you back Naruto, even if it's the last thing I do!'