So, new here.
Anyway...hm, when I first got into Naruto I kinda leaned toward NH, but after watching a good part of the series and getting a good feel of the characters, it was like "Nope, we're going with NS". Although I still thought NH was cute, but now I find myself being immediately turned off by any fanworks containing NH. IDK why, maybe because I see it and the NH/NS couple wars every-frickin'-where.
I'm not even sure why I prefer NS to NH, I just do. I've noticed that other pairings I ship have similar chemistry/personalities, so maybe that has something to do with it.
As for what happens in the manga, I don't really care what Kishimoto does pairing-wise, so long as it makes some amount of sense. Neither are pairings my main interest; I'm rather in it for the characters themselves and not who they end up with.
Have to say, though, that if Kishimoto did set Naruto up with anybody, I think it'd most likely be Sakura. They know each other the best, Naruto always loved her, the best information that I could find hints that Sakura feels the same way...it just makes sense.
Plus, to my knowledge, the NH fanbase is mostly from Western fans. Japanese fans from what I heard tend to lean more toward NS. But I'm not expert or anything, so, y'know, I could be wrong on that regard. *shrugs*