"Eh? Hinata? What happened? You're all bruised up, were you on a mission or something?" The blonde kunoichi gripped the pale-eyed girl's wrist.
"A-a mission? No, I was training with N-neji-niisan," Hinata mumbled, casting her eyes downwards.
Ino blew out threw her mouth and lightly brushed a cut on Hinata's cheek with her thumb. "Jeez. Your training must have been pretty intense. This will need stitches."
"That's what Neji said, he sent me h-here."
Ino bit her lip thoughtfully. She looked back at the doors of the hospital. She had just finished her shift and was on her way home when she saw Hinata. She knew that Sakura was busy with Shizune and she didn't think that Hinata knew any other medical-nin currently on duty. And the girl was so shy that perhaps it would be better for her to be treated by somebody she knew...besides, this would Ino the much appreciated chance to gawk at the Hyuuga.
"Come on, Hinata, I'll treat you!" Ino grabbed Hinata's hand and pulled her through the glass hospital doors.
"A-arigatou, Ino-san!" Hinata managed before being dragged away by the Yamanaka.
A short while later, Hinata was seated in a spotlessly white room while Ino prepared to wash her cuts.
Ino couldn't help but stare at Hinata. She was so shy and she had so little confidence in herself. Ino couldn't help but think she was beautiful - both her appearance and her personality. Everybody had their flaws, but Hinata's were different. Ino was loud, Sakura had a horrible temper, Tenten had some...violent tendencies, Tsunade's temper was worse than Sakura's...
They were all flaws that people found scary or annoying. Hinata? Her flaw was that she was timid and she didn't believe in herself as much as she should. But unlike the rest of them, she didn't annoy or hurt people. Towards others, she was always kind and polite. She always worked hard too and-
"Is there something wrong, Ino-san?"
Ino snapped out of her thoughts and nearly dropped the damp cloth she was holding. "N-no!" she said, a little too quickly. "I was just evaluating your injuries. From what I can see, apart from the cut on your cheek you just have some bruises, which will heal on their own. Do you have any pains anywhere else on your body?"
"N-no, Ino-san."
Ino scowled slightly, placing a bowl of warm water and the cloth on a table beside where Hinata was sitting. "You don't have to be so formal, you know," she mumbled, dipping the cloth in the water. "You can drop the "san", we've known each other like, forever."
"S-sorry, Ino-sa- um...Ino-chan."
Ino gave a bright smile to Hinata, who in turn looked away as her cheeks took on a red tinge.
Ino proceeded to dab gently at the gash on Hinata's cheek. "This really is quite the cut," she said softly, her voice laced with a hint of concern. "How did you manage to get this?"
Hinata's blush grew at the close proximity of Ino. "As I said, I was training with Nej-"
"He better not have been too rough with you," Ino said, surprised at the protectiveness in her own voice.
"He wasn't, Ino-chan. We were training and I fell and hurt myself off of a rock on the ground."
Ino raised her eyebrow but said nothing as she finished cleaning the wound. She picked up her needle. "Why do you train so hard? I know we all need to train to become good shinobi, but still. Is it because of Naruto? You like him right?" Ino couldn't help but notice the slight drop in her voice.
Hinata noticed it too. "A-at first, it was because of Naruto-kun. But...he's been away training for nearly three years now. Three years is a long time, and I don't even know when he'll be coming back."
Ino nodded. "This is going to hurt," she said, sliding the needle into Hinata's skin. The Hyuuga winced and Ino almost immediately wanted to take it out again, she didn't want to cause the girl any more pain. "Gomen," she murmured, beginning the stitches as gently as she could.
"I-it's fine. Sorry if this is too personal, but Ino-chan, do you still like Sasuke-kun?"
"Sasuke-kun?" Ino hesitated. Was that a hint of jealousy she detected in Hinata's voice? No, Ino was being delusional. This little crush was making her read too much into things. "Not really. I mean, he left Konoha. He's been gone for years, but he's probably not going to come back. And when the guys tried to bring him back that time..." Ino remembered hearing about them. Shikamaru, Lee and Kiba had been saved by the Sand Siblings, but if it weren't for them they would have died. Chouji and Neji had to be taken into intensive care. Even Naruto had been pretty beaten up. After all of that, Sasuke still hadn't come back. How could she like him after that?
"I understand, Ino-chan." Hinata would have nodded, if she wasn't receiving stitches. "Everyone was hurt. Kiba-kun was badly injured because of it. Shino-kun is still upset because he wasn't there."
Ino laughed. "Typical Shino." She pulled away from Hinata."There, nearly done. I just need to use my chakra to make sure the stitches won't break."
Ino molded the chakra to her hands and brought them to Hinata's cheek. The green-blue glow seeped into the wound and knitted the tissues together, while strengthening the stitches. Hinata closed her eyes, and Ino couldn't help but think she looked so beautiful. Her stomach fluttered slightly.
"I-ino-chan?" Hinata's pale eyes were still closed.
"Y-yeah?" Ino was mortified when her voice cracked as she pulled her hand away.
"This is another personal question, so feel free not to answer. D-do you like anybody right now?"
Ino turned away from the Hyuuga. Her heart fluttered against her ribcage.
"Y-yeah, kind of."
"Ino."
The lack of honorifics surprised Ino. She turned around to see a standing Hinata. Hinata's cheeks were bright red. "Yes?"
"I'm about to do something very...bold. Forgive me."
"Huh?" Before Ino could question Hinata the Hyuuga had taken a few quick steps towards the medical-nin and lightly pressed her lips against the blonde's cheek. Ino felt her jaw drop. Her heart rate went into overdrive.
Hinata bowed quickly. "Thank you for the treatment, I know your shift was finished. I need to get back to training now!" With that, the girl quickly vacated the room.
Ino stood in a shocked silence before lightly brushing her cheek with her fingertips. She stood there for at least ten minutes before getting a move on, but she wore a smile for the rest of the day.