Hello everyone! I know it's been a while since I've updated anything and I'm sorry. After reading this short story I will tell you in a rather semi-long-ish author's note the reason behind my despicable slow nature with updating my other fanfictions. I'm so sorry for making everyone wait impatiently. Enjoy this short story/one shot for now though at least. Thank you!
(UPDATE: 7-3-14 I've recently got a very insightful review from someone regarding this story and I couldn't respond to it directly so I've decided to reply to her review here. I understand how most of the readers who've read this story find it confusing and obviously not as realistic as I hoped to approach it. Logically I understand that Naruto probably never had any clear feelings towards Hinata romantically. And I know in this short story I had Naruto give Sakura a 'thank you' kiss and had Sakura react questionably. Then later on Naruto hooks up with Hinata but based on yet still empty feelings. So I know this may or may not have been a disappointment for most readers since it's not logical to have Naruto be suddenly interested in Hinata after I made a clear point throughout the story that he didn't really have feelings for Hinata in the first place and that he still sort of liked Sakura at the time. I know this story was poorly developed, I know this may or may not have upsetted quite a number of you guys, but I really do appreciate the insightful review I was given regarding this very interesting point. I agree that Naruto, realistically, wouldn't have gotten together with Hinata if he still liked Sakura. I'm sorry to that person that I wasted their time with such a dissatisfying short story of a NaruHina so I'll try to do better next time. Nonetheless, thank you for your review Lucy, it's nice to be critically criticized for my work if I've done anything illogical. I'm still happy for those who did enjoy the story despite the many flaws present, so I'll work harder next time. ;D Thanks to all who reviewed - especially Lucy who shared with me her views on this story. Thank you all!)
She confessed again.
He knew she confessed once before, but that hardly counted as a confession since she was battling Pain to protect him. It was more of a statement the way he saw it.
So hearing her confess the second time was mind blowing. It would only mean she was trying to reconfirm her words from before, expressing to him that they were more than words; they were her deepest and most sincere feelings.
And he knew not a damn clue how to respond.
"What!? You said WHAT to her!?"
Kiba shot Naruto a piercing glare as he exclaimed, "You don't leave a girl like that hanging by just saying, 'Oh shit, um, can I get back to you about that?'! You really are an idiot!"
Naruto looked around to his friends, surrounded by equally disappointed and dissatisfied expressions as he defended himself, "Hey! I never had a girl confess to me okay? I found it hard to believe that Hinata would ever say things like that to me when none of the other girls ever took an interest in me. I thought she might've been pulling a prank on me with the girls or something…"
Kiba cursed as he kicked the table before them.
"Fuck that shit Naruto! Do you really think Hinata would be the type to pull a shitty prank on you? Hell no, she practically idolizes you dummy, can't you take a fucking hint every now and then!? It's not that hard to notice when she practically kisses your feet every time she comes across you!"
Shikamaru yawned and lifted a cup of sake to his lips idly as he mumbled, "Geez, Kiba, cap it for a moment will you? Your loud barking is going to pop my eardrums or something…"
Kiba threw Shikamaru a dirty glare as he snapped back, "Cap it!? Hell, we're talking about my dearest friend Hinata confessing to the dumbest idiot on the block here, I think I have every right to be as loud as I want Shikamaru!"
"At least exclude the profanity. It's getting really excessive and repetitive."
Glaring at the calm and composed Nara, Kiba shot back shamelessly, "Oh go fuck your girlfriend Nara."
Shino immediately grabbed Kiba's ear and twisted it painfully in his grip, causing his teammate to yelp and whine as he tried to pull away. Shino only released after a painful minute before addressing to a rather flushed Shikamaru, "Don't take it personally Shikamaru. Kiba has been resorting to crude comebacks lately just so he doesn't look bad in front of everybody, just ignore his big mouth."
Kiba glared at his teammate as he shouted, "What the hell man!? Why do you always have to yank on my ear like that when I did absolutely nothing wrong?"
"There's a reason behind everything Kiba, and my reason to you is because you're being loud, obnoxious and extremely rude towards others. I was simply helping to restrain you."
Naruto pleadingly outstretched his hands, waving back their attention towards him as he exclaimed exasperatedly, "Guys! Seriously, I called you guys here to talk me through this, not to go around in circles talking about the incident! I seriously have no idea on how to deal with this, for once, I'm clueless! One of you guys know what to do right?"
He stared at the ring of his friends around him, expecting someone to step up and give him a hand. However no one said a word. Naruto sat there staring before coming to a conclusion – these guys were just as clueless with the situation as he was.
"Oh God, don't tell me you guys have nothing to tell me…!"
Choji shrugged as he apologized for the group, "Sorry Naruto, but most of us aren't even dating. That would mean we've never had a situation where a girl has ever confessed to any of us. Even Shikamaru here wasn't confronted with a confession from Temari; he was the one who got on his knees, not her."
Shikamaru sighed as he took another swig of sake, shaking his head as he muttered, "And God did I regret it. She's more of a slave driver than a girlfriend."
Choji elbowed him, chuckling as he whispered back, "But at least you two have progressed delightfully…"
"Shut up Choji."
Lee piped up suddenly, getting back on track with the current situation at hand as he asked, "Well then, Naruto, couldn't you just be frank with her and tell her how you feel?"
Naruto sighed as he dropped his face in his hands as he explained, "Like I've been telling you guys, that's another issue. I don't even know if I have feelings towards her, I mean, I've never considered Hinata a romantic option before. She was just… a friend."
"Well then the first step for you would be figuring out if you even feel the same way towards her."
Shikamaru pushed away his cup of sake as he turned his attention to Naruto solely, his sharp gaze critically observing him.
"First off, you've never considered Hinata as a romantic target. Well that basically speaks for you – you've never had any thought about Hinata as anything more than a friend so that brings you down to only one logical stand point."
Choji eyed Shikamaru as he asked, "And what may that be?"
Shikamaru shrugged as he concluded, "Isn't it obvious? He never liked her."
The outburst the boys shared was unbelievable. Kiba was on the verge of murdering Naruto, only being held back with a slightly annoyed Shino. Lee and Choji were trying to debate with Shikamaru the logic behind his conclusion but all Shikamaru did was shake his head and shrug.
Naruto knew he was right. He never did think about Hinata much therefore meaning he never liked her in that way. It was kind of a shame… if he had been a bit more aware maybe he could've considered it once…
"But that's not the only thing; didn't you say a long time ago that you liked Sakura?"
Naruto snapped back to reality at the mention of that name, his focus returning to Shikamaru who had readdressed the situation as he sighed, "Yeah I did…"
"Well do you still do?"
"…I don't know."
Naruto groaned as he leaned on the table face down as he mumbled, "It's complicated you know? I don't even know if Sakura still likes Sasuke..."
The boys shared a knowing look, knowing all too well the love triangle that went about in Naruto's childhood years. Sasuke and Sakura had always been a problem to Naruto despite being his closest friends due to being teammates, but ever since Sasuke defected from the village years ago, things had gotten complicated between the three. Of course now things were a whole lot better; Sasuke returned to the village after the war though he didn't stay often. He would leave frequently on his own and barely had given Naruto and the others a chance to strengthen their restored relationship. Sasuke was too used to be on his own and a loner so it was understandable that he would distance himself. Though it was a bit confusing for Naruto to understand, he gave Sasuke his privacy and left him alone most of the time. Even now, Sasuke had left the village for personal matters while Naruto wallowed in his own personal situations.
"Sorry man, it does sound complicated."
Choji patted Naruto sympathetically on the shoulder as he offered, "But hey, look on the brighter side, knowing now that Hinata has always been in love with you, that gives you hope once again in attracting the opposite sex! So if you worked a little harder you could be a lady's man-"
"Choji, I don't think that's what Naruto was aiming for."
Naruto gave Shino a grateful expression, "Thank you Shino."
Shino stared at Naruto before muttering to himself, "Damn… he remembered my name."
"The thing is Naruto, you're asking for the impossible here. You want us to help you deal with a situation where a girl has confessed to you – to be more specific, Hinata. We really can't tell you what to do this time Naruto; this is something you're going to have to figure out on your own."
Shikamaru pointed a pair of chopsticks in Naruto's face as he emphasized, "This is your own feelings towards her you're asking about. It's up to your really if you want to dive into a relationship with her. You need to take a moment and reflect about your own feelings towards her. Because if you have any lingering feelings for Sakura, I'd strongly suggest you don't go out with her."
Naruto frowned as he asked, "Why?"
The boys cleared the table to make room for the waitress to place down their long awaited meals as Shikamaru gave Naruto a long hard stare and explained, "Because nothing more hurts than knowing that your lover is actually still in love with another."
Then he snapped his chopsticks apart, almost as if to emphasize his point.
It was almost too well expressed.
He walked home alone that night.
He decided it was best if he gone out on his own, just so he could have a moment to think to himself. The other boys went on their own ways, half of them drunk and singing ridiculously as they sauntered down the road. It would've been funny if Naruto hadn't been so absorbed with despair concerning his situation with Hinata. He was so disturbed by that confession of hers, that he didn't even have much of a good time at the restaurant with his friends. Now he wished he had spoken with someone a bit more reliable…
Then it struck him. Why didn't he think about it before? Pervy Sage and Kakashi were potential consolers, one of them was bound to know what to do, right?
It would've been a good idea if he hadn't remembered that Kakashi was busy being engrossed with a top secret matter with Tsunade and the fact that Jiraiya's current status was being in a grave.
Great. Here comes another boatload of depression and despair remembering the death of that pervert….
He paused in the middle of the street, his hands digging into his scalp as he growled in a frustrated manner, "God damn it, pull yourself together! You need to be mature about this…!"
Mature? Oh God, now he really was losing it. Since when has he ever been mature about anything?
Okay sure he has been rather composed and serious when it came to some pretty heavy situations but most of the times; he wasn't built to be mature about everything even at this age.
Honestly, why was it so difficult to figure this out all on his own?
Some things he would never understand.
Stopping to rest on a bench under a lamppost he took a moment to seriously reflect on his day. He couldn't believe how oblivious he had been to Hinata's love all these years, only now having his eyes opened to it ever since the Pain invasion on Konoha. Back at the war even, she was the one who literally smacked him to return him to his senses, reviving his will to fight. It had been four years since the Fourth Shinobi World War, successfully ending the war, however there were plenty of casualties. Sasuke returned, the village was revived, and the Allied Shinobi Forces remained yet still. Life had started a turn for the better as the different ninja villages joined forces and created a mutual relationship, most feuds and grudges held against other villages dissolving during the course of the war to a mutual harmonious community. Most of the villagers in the Hidden Leaf Village proclaimed Naruto the cause of the result of the war, praising him endlessly for all these years of his efforts four years ago. Certainly that had been the height of his prime, but he refused to indulge himself with the growing fame he carried as he remained humble concerning any major achievements.
Years had it been since he had faced anything potentially life threatening. Before it had been the Akatsuki, Orochimaru and Kabuto, and then Pain's invasion; then it started to become the problem with Obito, then Madara, until ultimately Kaguya, which remained as Naruto's strongest opponent he ever faced. It had been a miracle he even defeated her. He had defeated all evil and yet he couldn't overcome one hurdle in his life – when it came to love, he was without a doubt, foolishly lost on that path. He was told by his mother before to hook up with someone similar to her nature, though Naruto wasn't sure himself if he even wanted a girl as hot headed as his mother. He had a feeling that such a relationship would clash and end in sparks of anger and misunderstanding. Quite possibly. So technically he did have more of a chance at a relationship with Hinata…
But on the other hand, he didn't want to blindly walk into a relationship without any genuine feelings. Like as Shikamaru had indirectly implied, nothing hurts more than knowing that the one you love really didn't love you. Currently at this moment, Naruto had no idea of what to think of Hinata Hyūga.
She was a gentle spirited young woman, always kind and polite, mannerly as always. She was the shy and timid one, always careful with the words she spoke, making it clear to everyone that she was very conscious of whatever she spoke. Not for the sake of herself, but for the sake of others; she was the type that would never want to say something that could potentially offend others. This only comes to show that she has a very considerate and thoughtful side as well. Aside from her calm and composed nature, she wasn't that bad of a looker either. Inherited a natural beauty from a long line of Hyūga women, she was clearly one with a perfect appearance. Being a fit ninja and exercising daily for the sake of her work, she kept her body in shape and kept herself as hygienic as possible. She clearly took well care of her own body and maintained her beauty, not really for anybody in particular – nor for herself – but more for just the sake of it all. He heard her once say that one who doesn't take at least a little effort to take care of themselves was one with little confidence within them. It was strange overhearing that from her – she was usually the last one he knew with any confidence. But that was another thing about her. Confidence. She lacked that sorely the first time he ever met her, being abused emotionally by her family around her, being called the failure of the Hyūga clan. However he only said a few meaningful words to her and now he found himself wound up as her one and only love interest. Not that he didn't like it, he didn't mind at all that she took a liking to him, but it was just… he didn't want to do anything that would hurt her feelings. He absolutely didn't feel like jumping headfirst into a relationship that he wasn't even ready to commit to, since he never really had any serious feelings towards Hinata. He felt guilty that he didn't even have an ounce of romantic feelings expressed towards her. All of that supposedly had been drained for Sakura. Ugh, another problem.
Sakura had always been his one and only crush, going on for many years since his childhood. She was a scary monster that could wallop him to death if she wanted to, but upon many occasions she has shown her soft side to him; most times they were when she was sad and heartbroken. Unfortunately they were mainly because of Sasuke. Sakura wasn't at all as attractive as Hinata; she was what he always assumed a late bloomer. Her body hadn't really reached its peak of femininity and she never really took that much effort to pamper herself like the other girls. Naruto always assumed he had a liking to her because she was brutish and brash with him, often times when he was younger, he simply thought she was playing 'hard to catch'. But of course he had simply blinded himself to the fact that she was stuck on only one love interest at the time – possibly even until now – and that was called Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto knew she was always in love with him, he'd even seen her in extreme moments. After the war, she had tried to approach Sasuke in a tentative manner, hopefully expecting to take things slowly and help him recuperate from the years he spent away from the team, but Sasuke appeared to be reluctant to return to any of them – much less Sakura. So maybe it was safe to say that Sakura was still in love with Sasuke… which should be a good thing since it just comes to show that her feelings truly were genuine towards him and not some foolish concept of a child. Surely it was a good thing…
But it always made him sad to think she never once considered Naruto as another option. Not that he expected she would, but it was a bit depressing to think that alongside Sasuke, he was the other supportive friend that always stayed by her side when no one else would want to. Maybe he was hoping for too much and got blinded by his own hopes.
Sighing he dropped his face in his hands, rubbing his eyes as he groaned, "Eesh, what am I doing…?"
"That should be my question."
Jerking his head up he looked up in surprise at the pink-haired lass before him. She peered down at him with a questioning look on her face, dressed in her off-duty attire and quietly snacking on a Popsicle. Ah geez, the last person he wanted to meet this evening.
Raising a tentative hand he addressed to her, "O-Oh, hi Sakura… lovely evening isn't it?"
Sakura wrinkled her nose at him as she took a step back, "It would've been if you didn't reek of sake. Have you been drinking with the other boys again?"
Naruto sniffed his coat, smelling the sharp tang of sake as he sheepishly apologized.
"Yeah sorry, I've been having a rather sucky day…"
Sakura seated herself beside him, taking another bite out of her Popsicle as she glanced up at the sky with a thoughtful look on her face.
"Hnn? Really now? Does it have to do something with a certain Hyūga?"
Naruto glanced toward Sakura, only to look away as he grumbled, "…Yeah, sort of."
Sakura took another bite out of her Popsicle before speaking after she swallowed, "I figured as much. You know the girls were just talking to her a moment ago…"
Funny, us boys were doing the same thing only with me…
"Hinata seemed rather distressed. She kept telling all of us that she was scared she told you something you didn't want to hear or you weren't ready to hear yet. But most of all, she's scared of one thing…"
Sakura cleaned the stick clean as she took one last bite, flicking the stick away as she leaned back and eyed Naruto almost accusingly.
"She's scared for you. She's afraid that after she told you her confession, that out of kindness, you'd go out with her. You know she never wanted to enter a relationship where her partner never had any genuine feelings towards her. She would rather be rejected than end up in such a position. Oh, and she mentioned something about lingering feelings…"
Sakura grabbed Naruto's ear, dragging him closer so he'd have to turn and face her in the eyes as she bluntly asked, "Tell me, do you still like me?"
Naruto flustered as he pulled himself from her grip, rubbing his ear as he exclaimed, "W-What? Don't be ridiculous, why would I like an ugly girl like you-?"
"FUCK YOU NARUTO!"
Ouch. Now with a stinging ear he received a rather memorable punch to the face. He should really now start a log of how many times she's already physically abused him…
Sakura settled back in her seat, sighing as she flexed her fist, shaking out her fingers as she readdressed the conversation, "Aside from your rather RUDE comment, let's get back to the situation at hand shall we? Now answer my question you big dope; do you or do you not still like me? And please answer honestly, because you know…"
Sakura cocked her head at him, displaying the sweetest smile she could offer while cracking her fists menacingly, emitting a dark aura as she explained in a sickly sweet way, "…I have little patience for liars today, so you might as well be truthful and be quick about it."
Not intending to have an early funeral, Naruto quickly jumped to his own defense.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you! I'll tell you…"
Sakura relaxed and leaned back on the bench with her arms and legs crossed as she smiled with the same chilling demeanor looming behind her facade.
"Good, now spit it out Uzumaki before I bury your face into the earth."
Oh geez, now this was really a problem. He actually honestly didn't know if he still did like her. This was going to end poorly…
Naruto sat up from the ground where he laid sprawled, his thoughts racing to find an answer as he stammered, "Uh, eh, erm… yeah you see, uh, I, erm…"
Sakura waited patiently, watching his flounder to find a definite answer under her steely glare.
"Well Sakura always knew I've liked you since I was young and uh, well if this is acceptable… you can say I… really don't know… if I like you or not… so maybe it's uh… a no…?"
Naruto glanced up at Sakura apologetically, expecting his answer to be unsatisfying for her and potentially be buried in the earth for his unsatisfying answer, but instead he found her smiling at him; a gentle, genuine smile as she uncrossed her arms and legs and stood before him, a hand outstretched for him as she helped him to his feet. Then with that she patted the dust and grime off the back of his jacket before speaking, "Well then that's a relief."
She shoved him back on the bench, standing before a dumbstruck Naruto as she began lecturing him, "Now, we need to patch things up between you and Hinata. After leaving her saying that lame and cliché phrase of 'I'll get back to you' has left the two of you rendered severely confused. So I suggest you-"
Naruto waved her to a stop, a confused expression on his face as he berated, "Hold up now, what are you saying to me now? I'm not even sure of my feelings for you and you're expecting me to go out with Hinata!? Are you insane!?"
Sakura blinked in mild surprise at him before retaining a composed expression, gently patting him on the shoulder as she assured him, "Naruto, I know for years that you've been intent on gaining my affections and whatnot, but let's face it, I've always had my heart set on one guy and one guy only. And he's your closest friend…"
Oh no. So he was finally going to face it. The little speech of rejection…
"It's not that you have any bad qualities Naruto, if I were to have fallen in love with someone other than Sasuke, it would've most definitely have been you. I'm sorry that things turned out as a disappointment for you, but I want you to look upon this as a memory and a lesson."
Naruto hung his head, unable to look at her as she sat beside him and kept her hand on his shoulder, her words yet still flowing flawlessly.
"I want you to learn to take the love you had for me and put it to good use for someone else who truly deserves it more than I do. It's true that you may or may not have any true feelings for Hinata, but if you give it a chance, maybe a little more time, you may find it to your surprise Naruto… she may have been the best decision you've ever made in your life."
Why was he listening to this? Honestly it wouldn't have made him uncomfortable and sad if he really didn't have any feelings towards her, but hearing her say these words now to him made him upset. Perhaps he really did have lingering feelings for her…?
"I know it sounds really stupid and maybe even selfish of me to request this, but I really want you to give it a try with Hinata. This isn't just for your sake you know, it's also for Hinata's. She's waited years to be able to stand by your side and has supported you years on end. Also, she has dutifully waited for your affections in return one day. You're not going to throw away all that effort with rejection as your thank you are you?"
Naruto remained silent, reflecting quietly to himself as he absorbed her words, for once, seriously considering them. She peered at his looming expression, trying to read his eyes as she harshly urged, "Answer me Naruto, were you even listening-?"
Standing abruptly he stood with a renewed purpose, the slouch in his shoulders disappearing and his limp hands curled into solid fists. His jaw was set and his eyes were set straight forward. A good sign. Sakura smiled again, this could only mean one thing…
"Thanks Sakura, you've been able to help me let go the last strands of my past. I've foolishly clung onto you for far too long… I think it's time I tried giving other people a chance."
Turning to smile down at Sakura he added, "Thanks for the talk Sakura."
She shrugged, giving him a coy smile as she replied, "It's not a big deal, I just spoke what was on my mind."
"Nonetheless, thanks. I think I can really start making new connections now. After four years of negligence to this sort of situation, I'm grateful now that I can move on with someone new…"
Bending down towards Sakura he gave her a brief kiss on the cheek; one that didn't particularly mean anything to her. Just a kiss of thankfulness. Only gratitude was expressed in that one kiss; that was all he meant to express. Sakura brought a hand to her face, clearly a bit stunned by the move as he then hurried and disappeared from her sight, leaving her with tingling skin and slightly confused emotions. Frowning Sakura shrugged, dropping her hand from her face as she snorted with a smile, "What was that all about? Eesh, such an idiot…"
It was getting so dark outside and the moon was already revealing its bright light throughout the darkness alongside the stars. Surely it wasn't a good time for him to confront her now of all times, but he felt that if he waited any longer, he'd lose this feeling of change. He wanted to express to Hinata that he wanted to give it a chance. He didn't want this opportunity to slip away overnight. So you could pretty much conclude that this was the reason why he was stalking the Hyūga grounds as silently as possible. He was pretty sure he was already trespassing and if he got caught by anyone other than Hinata, he'd be scared off the property and never allowed back at the Hyūga home. And quite possibly anywhere near their Hinata.
So he'd have to do this properly and quickly. Getting caught and failing was not an option. He crept along the floorboards, knowing that now he would be invading the Hyūga privacy and possibly be overstepping a few boundaries, but he really didn't care about that right now. At the moment, his mind was only focused on Hinata.
Then as he crept along past dark rooms he paused and reflected on a serious problem. He didn't even know which room she resided in and if he pulled open the wrong door… ah geez, things got a whole lot harder. Then that led to another thought. He could just simply use his chakra to sense hers and – oh wait. All this time he had been using his chakra to suppress his so that none of the Hyūga members would sense his presence, it'd be bad if he switched roles even for a split moment – his chakra signature was too significant for anyone not to notice it. No, he'd have to play it safe and risk the guessing game of which door would be Hinata's…
Suddenly farther down the hallway, as he crept past a door, it suddenly slid open, revealing the dim glow of a candlestick and a bleary eyed girl that stood there staring at him while rubbing her eyes.
"Eh? What are you doing here Uzumaki?"
Naruto sat there caught red handed as he frantically considered his next moves. He could tackle her and knock her out, but that'd be too loud and he's heard that Hinata's younger sister, Hanabi, was a rather capable fighter. She'd put up a fight before going down. He could try running away now but she might just tell someone that he was here without permission and that'd be really awkward for him between him and Hinata. Urgh, what was he supposed to do!?
Resorted to simply raising a hand he gave her a nervous smile and mumbled, "H-Hi…"
Hanabi eyed him before glancing up and down the hallway, blowing out her candle before leaning towards him in the moonlight whispering, "If you're looking for my sister, she's down the other hallway. She's the last room to the right, be careful to avoid the second room though – that's where my dad sleeps."
Naruto blinked in surprised, unsure of why she was aiding him when she answered for him as if reading his thoughts, "I heard what happened between the two of you and I'm only going to assume you're here to give her your final answer. It'd better be what we've all been hoping it is; otherwise I'll find you…"
Leaning closer she darkly added, "…and I will do whatever it takes to make you suffer Uzumaki. I don't know you very well, but my sister thinks highly of you. If you don't cherish her, you'll face judgment."
Laughing quietly as a nervous wreck he whispered, "Eesh, you're one scary little brat aren't you?"
Hanabi smirked at him before jerking her head up towards the roof.
"If you're going to be sneaking around, try the roof. It's a bit less risky if you take extra precaution not to slip up while you're up there. If you're down on the floorboards and you try to bypass my father, he'll most likely hear something and catch you. So the roof is your best shot."
She started to close the door when Naruto held out a hand to stop it from helping.
"Hey uh…"
She opened the door ever so slightly, giving him a blank expression as he exclaimed, "You uh… seem to know a lot about sneaking around…"
Hanabi cracked a smile.
"I sneak out at night sometimes for a midnight snack. My father would kill me if he found me stuffing myself with cookies. So I learned from experience to take the roof. Just sharing a few tips while you're sneaking around on our household Uzumaki."
Naruto nodded, then he offered her what he meant to say to her, "Yeah, and oh, uh, thanks… Hanabi."
She blinked in surprise, probably because she probably thought he didn't know her name, as she then regained her composure and gave him a slight inclination of her head, then she slid the door shut just in time to hide a smile. She was pretty certain he'd be a good guy for Hinata. She felt pretty bad for her sister since she took her heiress title and was basically the root cause of why Hinata was considered a failure in their clan. So having Naruto be beside her would be a good change. Maybe then Hinata will forget the shame she was constantly reminded of when residing here at Hyūga grounds. He'd better give her the one and only answer they all wanted him to give her…
Naruto smiled as she closed the door, thankful to the little sucker for helping him rather than exposing him to the others. In essence, she saved his hide.
He decided to take her advice and carefully scaled the roof, carefully landing above the shingles of the delicately structured building as he silently crept along the edge, keeping his eyes on the doors below. It was harder to stay quieter up on the roof, but it definitely had its advantages if you put in some real effort in keeping quiet. Being up on the roof you'd avoid any unwanted encounters in case anyone else like Hanabi decided to open their door randomly.
After grueling efforts to remain silent and virtually invisible to the slumbering Hyūgas beneath his shoes, he located Hinata's room true to Hanabi's word and nimbly dropped down from the roof before her door. This is it. He'd enter this room and face her and tell her his answer. Hopefully he wasn't too late. He sat there before her door in a moment of hesitation. He was beginning to feel the anxiety bubble up and he couldn't think of the words he'd say to her. After a moment of frustrated attempts to plan something to say ahead of time, he concluded that it may be just better to just say it off the spot of whatever stays on his mind. At least then it'd be truly sincere and natural.
Assured that he had prepared the best he could already, he silently reached forward and wedged his fingers into the edge of the door, separating it from the wall as he slowly slid it to one side… here goes nothing.
Hinata was absolutely in regret for her past actions today. She had been thinking about re-confessing her love for Naruto because she didn't believe he took it seriously back at the Pain invasion. It had been years since that event and the Fourth Shinobi World War that took Neji's life; even the years after the war had been a long stretch since her first ever confession. A lot of time has passed and a guy can only consider so much in so long…
But now she regretted it. After awkwardly exclaiming her love once again for him in a more proper, memorable manner, he had stood there beside her dumbstruck and tongue twisted. He stammered, keeping his gaze away from her face as he asked to get back to her later about it. Then he turned and hurried away, unable to face Hinata with the same sincerity she faced him. She could sort of understand his conflicting emotions at that moment. True, she never really expressed any love interest to him in anyway and expressing all of that now was a bit of a shock for him. Not to mention he had a long crush upon Sakura Haruno, the one girl Hinata felt no bitterness towards despite being the one to have captivated Naruto's affections and yet never returning them. Why didn't she hate her? Well because Sakura had every good reason to reject Naruto's affections – that girl was in love with another man. So it was only natural she would ignore Naruto's love. Yet nonetheless, there were times where Hinata wished Sakura would be kinder towards him for all the effort he placed in keeping her happy and satisfied. And other days, she wished so desperately that she could've been more like Sakura, so that maybe Naruto would've taken more notice in her and got to know her better…
Hinata shook her head, shaking the thoughts away from her mind as she finished brushing her hair as she stared back at her reflection in the mirror before her. Hinata knew she was a fairly pretty girl, often times Kiba mentioned this to her only to tease her in the end with a smirk, "Just be sure you don't attract some creep other than Naaaaruto~!"
It had at first been a joke and a common tease, but then lately she really did attract a few strangers and she had a few incidents where she had to shake off a stalker every now and then. Only then did Kiba and the others joke about how after she and Naruto hooked up, she would never have to worry about that. But things weren't looking so hot now that Naruto hadn't given her a definite answer…
She fingered the ends of her hair, squinting at her reflection in the mirror as she sighed, "Maybe I should get my hair trimmed… it's starting to get uneven…"
Suddenly in the corner of her eye at the reflection in her mirror she saw fingers at the edge of her door. With her heart leaping in her chest she whirled around, staring at the fingers as her heart raced in fear. Certainly this wasn't one of the servants or any of her family members here on Hyūga ground, so who was it!? She was about to grab her pillow and suffocate the stranger to death when the hand pulled the door to one side to admit inside a rather ruffled Naruto into her room.
Shocked and stunned she quickly hugged the pillow to her chest (she felt self conscious of herself since she wore rather tight fitting pajamas when she went to bed) as she exclaimed harshly in a whisper, "N-Naruto? What are you doing here!?"
Naruto turned to glance at her, a blush faintly touching his cheeks at the sight of her in her off-duty attire, more or less, her pajamas.
"I er, I needed to talk to you… and I really didn't feel like waiting for tomorrow to come so I just sort of snuck in here…"
Hinata shooed him inside before closing the door behind her, making sure no one heard or saw Naruto she turned around and faced the disheveled blonde.
"That was risky! What if my father caught you? You would've been forbidden to enter Hyūga grounds and strictly restricted from encountering me ever again; do you have any idea how strict my father is?"
Naruto gave her a sheepish grin as he apologized sincerely.
"I'm so sorry, but I felt like if I waited any longer I wouldn't be able to tell you what I'm going to tell you now…"
She sat there facing him, suddenly it dawned on her; this was it. He was really confessing to her. But wait; was it of approval or rejection…? Her hands curled into fists on her knees as she faced Naruto, silently allowing him to speak as he began slowly, "I uh, spoke with my friends about your confession to me because I really didn't know how to deal with it. I've never been confronted by any girl about their love for me and so having you be the first and only was kind of a shock for me. I assumed it must've been some kind of prank you and the girls planned or something. But then I was reminded by my friends that you were never that type of person and that whatever you confessed was always genuine and sincere. I'm sorry I doubted you. But most of all, I left you no answer because I wasn't sure of my feelings towards you myself. I had lingering feelings for Sakura but that was quickly taken care of when I ran into Sakura on the way home. She told me many things and also told me it was better to take my unrequited love for someone else and… she at least suggested I'd give this 'you and me' thing a chance…"
Naruto forced himself to look into Hinata's eyes, willing to prove he was being serious though the blush on his face didn't help the mature appearance.
"Please Hinata… will you go out with me?"
Hinata sat there in stunned silence. This was really it. The words she wanted to hear. A waterfall of emotions broke loose as she began to tear up, a laugh on the verge of quivering lips that didn't know whether to smile or frown. She was overjoyed and relieved at the same time – also scared to have thought he would've said anything else. Hiccupping and sobbing she was unable to answer, but Naruto simply drew her in an embrace to ease her emotional turmoil. She clung to his jacket, burying her face in the orange and black as she continued to sob. He smelled of barbeque and sake, and a hint of ramen that was naturally mixed into his usual musk. She only dreamed she'd be the one under his arms, with his chin resting on her head, with his shoulder to cry on. This had to be a dream.
"Thank you… thank you so much…!"
She cried quietly against him, mumbling her thanks to him over and over before he stopped her with a hand to her face as he lifted her eyes to his.
"You don't have to thank me; I did nothing to receive your gratitude. Instead, will you accept mine?"
Hinata stared back into his eyes, feeling an overwhelming sense of love towards the young man. Years of waiting and of utter patience, and now she was finally getting what she wanted so desperately…
Naruto hesitated. He wasn't sure if he was in any position to instigate this, but he really did want to try it out. This was new for both of them and to kick start their relationship, didn't couples usually go off kissing their newfound partners?
Holding her head steady he leaned in to her, taking a moment to breathe in her scent, to feel the smooth skin under his hand. Their lips were separated by a mere centimeter, their noses brushing and her eyes closed in anticipation. Well he had her already prepared for it, so he might as well go for it.
Leaning in he slowly fitted his lips against hers, careful not to mess it up as he slowly pressed into the kiss, surprised at how sweet and thrilling the experience was.
Hinata's trembling hands linked behind his neck, reacting to his kiss as she moved her lips against his, her heart nearly thumping out of her chest. This was really happening. Hinata Hyūga was actually kissing the one and only Naruto Uzumaki… she wanted it to last, she wanted it to linger; but most of all, she wanted to remember it.
His hands slipped around her face, digging his fingers in her hair as he pulled her closer, his eyes closed and jaw slack as he gently probed her lips with his tongue. Ecstatic she opened her mouth and…
The door slid open to reveal a sour glared Hiashi Hyūga, his eyes releasing the Byakugan as he stepped into her room, his arms crossed as he eyed the two ninjas with distaste.
"I apologize to interrupt your little moment of heartfelt desire, but I couldn't stand sitting in my room watching you two go full out on one another with my Byakugan. It was a bit disturbing and I had to step in before anything got… wild."
Naruto and Hinata had long pulled away, both blushing and embarrassed as Hinata tucked her hair behind her ears and a rather stunned Naruto concerned for his welfare.
"Oh God, I'm so sorry, you knew I was here?"
"Well once you entered her room I sensed a new presence. You must've been trying to mask your presence by keeping your chakra level substantially low, however the moment you got distracted by Hinata, you released all efforts of keeping quiet and that's how I spent the last five minutes watching the two of you before I had to stop you two."
Hinata eyed her father with flushed cheeks as she hissed, "Father!"
"Don't mind me; you can kiss him all you want. Just try to make sure I make my points here."
Hiashi settled down beside the two blushing ninjas as he rattled off, "Now listen here and listen good Uzumaki, you're dealing with my precious flower here and if you ever do anything horrible to her, I will be the first to tear you apart limb by limb starting with your fingernails and eyes…"
Hinata, beyond words of embarrassment tried to stop her father, but Naruto simply reached over and took her hand, smiling at her as he whispered to her amongst Hiashi's lecture, "Don't worry, I'll listen to your father and keep in mind a few important things. This is new for you and me so I need to know your boundaries…"
Hinata blinked in surprise at the sincerity in his words and therefore allowed her father to embarrassingly rattle off a long prepared list about taking extra good care of his daughter. Hinata smiled as she resigned to sit there beside Naruto, hand in hand as she murmured below her father's banter, "Yeah… I guess you do."
*A/N* Okay... so. To those who don't look at my profile page often and therefore know virtually nothing about my little "Update about Updates" section of it, here is some of the news you may or may not have missed out on. The reason why I had not been able to update any of my stories lately is because I had a severe headache and a touch of fever for the first week and the second week I tried to get back to work, I ended up on a trip for a church retreat for the majority of that week. I apologize, some of you never I had these reasons which prevented me from updating my other two fanfictions. Anyway, if you want to be kept on your toes about what is going on with why I haven't been updating stories lately or you're curious to see if I put out a note about when I'd be updating the next chapter, check out my profile page and scroll a bit down (it's a long read of lovely randomness for the first chunk) to check it out.
Anyway, I'm working on getting the chapters out so please be patient with me! Thank you for all your support and I'm relieved the know that you guys will continue to support me and be ever so more patient with me. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Also, did you guys like the short story? Sorry, the last part was a bit rushed because I was tired and I wanted to go to bed so I apologize if it sounds weird or kinda funky. If you liked my short story, even if it's just a tid bit, give me a shout out in your reviews, constructive criticism is welcomed, praise just as equally so, and tell me in your reviews if you want me to put out more short stories. If you want even, I can try taking up any requests for a short story. :) Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope you can forgive me for being a slow writer for my other two stories and hopefully I can keep trying harder so I can get your well deserved chapters out everyone! Please continue to cheer me on everyone! Thank you!
(Please read and review, favorite the story/author so that Pencilfreak17 - me - can be very happy and continue writing with more enthusiasm! Thanks! :D)