Summary: Shippu! Konoha Gakuen Den! AU. Two-Shot[*]. Naruto has gained interest in Hinata after their date. "What a second! It was a date?"
Author's Note, Part 1: Some people write fluffy NaruHina. Others do angst or dramatic NaruHina. And then there's me. Please bare with me.
Useful Stuff: I'm keeping the suffixes '-sensei' and '-senpai' because I can. Also, souban is a slang term used by the yakuza to refer to their leaders.
Merry Christmas, Dulce!
There are only two things Naruto Uzumaki has ever wanted in his life. Well, three, but that third one is depressing, so he doesn't mention it often. The ones that he does are 1) to be the souban of all of Japan and 2) to have girls confessing their love for him.
Now that he's older, however, Naruto's goals have slightly changed. He still wanted to be the souban, but not in the malicious way. He wants to get all the gangs together and have them be the protectors of their cities instead of their terrorizers. OK, that didn't change because he's older. It's because Sakura kept punching him every time he said his was going to keep his original plan. Something about him "going to get arrested" or "get killed". Those weren't going to happen anyway since he'd be on top.
As for the love confessions, Naruto only wanted one girl to give him one. He almost got one out of her when they were on their date.
"Wait a second! It was a date?"
"Naruto, stop screaming," Sakura sighed. She rubbed her temples due to the pressure beginning to form in her head. Naruto has been the cause of her headaches for quite some time now. "Of course it was. Hinata made a picnic lunch all by herself for you. She even asked you out by writing a love note. It even had a heart sticker on it. How could you not know?"
"I... well." Blushing, Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "I thought," his eyes shifted down to his left, "She was being nice... since I saved her...? Hehe..."
There was a pause.
"Wow, you're more of an idiot than I thought."
"NO ONE ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION, INO!"
That conversion still embarrassed him.
But, to Naruto's credit, he never envisioned a love life for himself. Yeah, sure, he thought girls smelled nice and were soft, but he never thought of being with one before. His dreams involved them fawning over him and passing out-like when girls see their idols, y'know? So when there was development in his love life, he wouldn't notice.
Actually, he did notice since he was standing behind the school receiving another confession from a first-year.
He was notorious during the beginning of his first year as a fighter, the second half was him being a protector. This continued to his second-year. He's been getting more and more confessions as the days goes by, but like he stated before, Naruto wished Hinata would. It didn't seem that the girl would, though. She blushed and ran in the opposite direction if he so much breathed the same air as her.
But back to this.
"Na-Naruto-senpai. I..." The girl took in a deep breath and bowed. "I am in love with you! Please go out with me!"
Naruto shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Looking around, he hoped something would interrupt so he won't have to answer her. He groaned internally when nothing came.
When Naruto focused back on the girl, she was staring up. She must have wondered what was taking him so long to reply. He patted her head. "I'm sorry, but I have feelings for someone else."
Tear swelled up. Naruto tried giving her a smile, but she ran off.
At least she didn't scream like the last three, he snickered. These confessions go in a patterned like so: One or two who would react like this girl, another one or two who would cry and stay in their spot for who knows how long (Naruto would leave if he couldn't get a response from them after a few minutes), and about four would have some sort of sobbing/dying animal noise mixture and may or may not try to attack him. The worst part was that most of these girls weren't even from the same school as Naruto.
And yes, there were some guys that asked him out too. And they did react the same way as the girls.
It was a rare occasion when someone would take his answer and peacefully leave. Why did his life have to be like some manga? But who would have thought having people professing their love for you left and right would be exhausting? Maybe this is why Sasuke isn't social. Speaking of that prick, he came back after leaving with Orochimaruko. He won't tell anyone why he left in the first place. Naruto thought if he fought him again, Sasuke would tell, but Sakura threatened to rip off his balls if he even tried to yell at him.
It's probably because of Sasuke's return that Naruto had begun to explore his feelings in the first place. He didn't have to worry about finding the dickwad or beating him up, so that left room for other thoughts to roam his mind. Like how he was seriously lacking in the love department. He was almost sixteen and he had yet to have his first kiss-Sasuke did not count, that was an accident! It was a stupid accident that cost him his dignity. The only time he had a real romantic encounter was that lunch with Hinata. But that wasn't a date, right?
"Wait a second! It was a-"
Oh, yeah. We already went over that. It would have been a more appropriate to have that flashback here since this is where Naruto began to think about Hinata in a romantic light...
Anyhow, during the time after that discussion and Sasuke's return but before the confessions, Naruto began to think about his underdevelopment in the romance departme-
I talked about that too?
Goddammit.
"Maybe we should switch to first-person narrative instead of third. You seem to be having a little trouble there, Renee."
Maybe I should have you not get the girl, Naruto.
"Maybe I should let you do your own thing."
Now where the hell was I... Ah, yes. Naruto's romantic perception of Hinata. It wasn't as if he had woke up one morning and went "Oh. I'm in love with Hinata." Truthfully, he wasn't in love with her. That wasn't going to stop him from pursuing a relationship, though. You don't have to be madly in love with someone to want to be with them. As long as you had interest, you can start one and then fall in love with them.
Now, let's get to how Naruto gained interest.
During their lunch date, the usual shy and nervous expression Hinata wore was replaced with a bright smile. Naruto liked that smile. Hinata's entire being glowed when she showed her happiness. At school, when she wasn't watching, Naruto found himself staring at her. He would wait for her to smile again, and when she did, Naruto himself would. Sometimes she would find him sneaking glances. At first, he would blush along with her. Now, he wished she wouldn't look away. Maybe one day she'd get the hint, he thought. But he knew the truth. Hinata tried to start a relationship and it didn't work out. It could have if things hadn't gone wrong. Now, it was Naruto's turn. He liked her and he prayed she still wanted him.
Watching Hinata smile was a segue for Naruto. He would notice how her eyebrows scrunched together and she bit the cap of her pen when she was concentrating on her school work. How she would pout (the cuuuuuu~test pout!) when she didn't understand what the teacher was saying. How crossing her right leg over her left meant she was frustrated. Or how wearing her favorite lilac sweater when it was warm meant she was upset. Little body movements that no one else would care about made her an open book to Naruto. Maybe others too if they took the time to read her.
"Naruto."
He wondered if Hinata's friends could read her like he does.
"Naruto…"
Eh, both Sakura and Ino are smart, they should be able too. Kiba and Shino are like over-protective brothers to her, so it's safe to assume so. And Naruto's not joking about the protective brothers part. He was walking down the hall to lunch one day and Hinata passed him. He gave her a quick glance, like anyone, but he did a double take when he thought he saw bruising on her face. There was none, of course. When he turned back to the direction of the cafeteria, he stopped dead in his tracks. There they were, Kiba and Shino giving him two of the most terrifying glares Naruto has ever received. Well, Naruto couldn't see Shino's thanks to the sunglasses and hood he wears, but he wasn't going to fool himself and say he wasn't.
Those two are probably why Naruto hasn't asked Hinata out. No, they were the reason. Neji would have been included in this, but he's been too busy trying to help Tsunade think of ways to restore the school's fund. 'Cause, y'know, he's the student body president. He kind of represents all of the students. Even if Neji was in this, Naruto could kick his ass and—
You're getting off track again, Naruto.
"YOU'RE THE ONE NARRATING!"
I am describing your thoughts. This is all on you.
"Naruto."
Naruto gave his face a high-five. I would have said 'he faceplamed,' but that is so 2007. And Naruto here seems to think he's holier-than-thou and has a special snowflake syndro—
"WILL YOU SHUT UP?"
It was then Naruto realized the classroom had become very quiet. Slowly, he looked up. Wrong decision. Green hostile eyes were burrowing holes in his head.
"Oh… Hey, Ino." Naruto squirmed in his chair. Ino hasn't said anything. Ino always has something to say.
Her lips thinned as she jabbed her finger into Naruto's shoulder. "Do not 'Hey, Ino' me!" She grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him close to her face. He could see her cheeks were lightly flushed. Too bad it's not the good type of flushed.
"He-hey now! There's no need t—"
"I have been trying to tell you your class ended just for you to scream at me!" She threw Naruto off his seat. It would have been nice if he landed on a desk, but nope. Ino threw him on the ground head first. He's gonna have to see the school's nurse, Shizune, after this. That's assuming Naruto gets out of here alive.
Ino grabbed his collar again. "I have had enough of your disrespect, Naruto!" Not only did she drag him, Ino made sure to hit a few desks and the doorframe when she exited the room. She made sure to go down the hall some before letting Naruto fly into the wall. Naruto tried to gain some distance between the two by scooting backwards. He was only pushing himself up the wall instead. He cursed at himself. He'd taken down so many gangs single-handily, yet he can't handle Ino? But she was so intimidating.
Naruto closed his eyes as Ino closed in on him.
"Why are you all pissy?"
He was pissy?
She wacked him. "Naruto!"
"Ow!" He rubbed his head, but that caused even more pain. He even started to tear up a bit. "I've already got a concussion from being thrown on the floor! You don't have to make it worse!"
His watered eyes made everything blurring, but he was certain he saw her reach out to him to offer her hand. He wiped his eyes to make sure.
"Sorry." With that smile, he knew she was being sincere. Naruto took her hand. He didn't have to worry about her slipping since it was a well known fact Ino is much stronger than her appearance lets on.
Naruto wiped off his pants and shirt before facing Ino.
"You gonna tell me what that was all about?" he asked.
"I needed a reason to get out of class to talk with you."
What.
"What."
"You've been acting weird lately," she explained. "You zoning out like that was the last straw. I threw a fit like that so I could get out of class without getting in trouble."
Naruto cocked his head to his side, his brows scrunched together and his mouth kept opening and closing, trying to find something to say. He could be the poster boy for 'baffled' if there was a contest.
He shook his head. "Ino, that doesn't make any sense!"
"I am someone who is concerned about her friend. How doesn't that make sense?"
"You—" He sighed. There was no point in questioning her. She was a smart girl, but on rare occasions she had no meaning to what she does. This was obviously one of those occasions.
"So, you gonna tell me why you're only daydreaming about Hinata and not asking her out?"
"H-How—how'd you know?" There have been rumors that Ino's family, the Yamanaka's, maybe have physic abilities. Many of them work with the government because they have some sort of technique to get inside the mind of the person they are interrogating. It's thought they are physic because that technique is able to crack the most solid suspect. She must be using it on Naruto now!
"I don't have to use any of my family's techniques when it's clearly written all over your face." Ino stated as matter of factly.
Blushing, he rubbed his neck. "Is it really that obvious?"
She winked. "Only to those with a trained eye."
These mind games Ino plays were the least bit amusing to Naruto.
"But seriously, why haven't you?"
"I, uh…" Truthfully, Naruto had no excuse to why he hasn't. He liked her and she might still like him. Every day that passed by, her feelings could dwindle down. That would suck. He would finally asks her out, just find out she doesn't like him anymore? That would really suck.
"You're losing confidence in yourself, aren't you?"
"I—!" He shut his mouth and looked to something interesting on his right (re: sarcasm). He puffed his cheeks.
"It's not easy," he mumbled. Naruto pretended to kick something. "TV and mangas make it look so easy, but it's not. I… What if I do ask her, confess that I like her, but she says she's not into me anymore? Or she's moved on to someone else? What if sh—OK, OK. I know it's like when others confessed to me… but I didn't have interest in them beforehand!" Naruto stopped pacing—he had been pacing?—and used his fingers to comb through his hair. "I dunno. I just feel that… that here's this girl who's—who's amazing and who likes me and I fucked it up! By not doing anything! Or we do go out and she sees the real me and hates it! What's that going to say about any future relationships?"
He stopped pacing again—again?—and gripped his right elbow. He kept his eyes downcasted as he said, "I just don't know what to do."
It was silent between the two for some time. If you listened closely, you could hear someone close their locker door from somewhere way down the hall.
Naruto kept picking at something with his shoe. Ino wasn't saying anything. Ino always has something to say. Maybe this was her way of telling him that he was right and shouldn't try?
He glanced up to check on the girl. Hm, that seemed strange. He was the one who had to make sure she was okay. Well, it's a good thing he's considerate. Ino had one of her arms holding her abdomen while she had her other hand up to her mouth. Her body was shaking slightly and Naruto swore he could hear her take in short, shallow breathes. Was she crying for him? In a way, Naruto was touched. Ino understood his emotions enough to feel them herse—
Hold up. She wasn't crying. Those were giggles he was hearing! She was laughing at him.
The bitch.
"You're laughing at me!" Naruto accused her. He even pointed one of his fingers at her for extra measure. He was beyond pissed. He revealed one of his deepest fears and she's fucking laughing at him! He knew if it was the other way around, she would have beaten the shit out of him.
Those soft giggles Ino had earlier turned into full-blown howling. "Of course I am! Don't you remember"—she gasped for air—"what Sakura told you?"
As he dropped his finger, his scrunched together. What Sakura told him…? Oh! That's right! How Hinata made the picnic all by herself and how that meant she really liked him!
You dumbass. I cannot believe you forgot! We even went over this! Twice!
Naruto only conjured up a vacant "Oh" as he processed what both Ino and I said. Well, what Ino said since I've officially stopped breaking the forth-wall when Ino handed his ass to him, but that's beside the point.
Ino snapped her fingers directly in front of Naruto's face. His reaction was to blink and stumble backwards.
Hands on hips, a coy smile and an arch brow. "So, you gonna tell me why you're only daydreaming about Hinata and not asking her out?"
You know in those movies how the hero beginning to doubt themselves, so a friend or teacher gives him a pep talk? And how after receiving it, the hero not only gains confidence in himself again, but is, like, a thousand times more energized than before?
"Thanks, Ino!" Naruto grinned. He went in for a hug, and Ino was going to stop him, but the buffoon was too happy to not let him.
"No, no. Thank you!"
"Huh?"
"Letting me talk to you wasted a good fifteen minutes from that boring history class."
Ah, he was nothing more than a distraction.
"Don't make me smack you again."
Stupid… mind reader… thing.
Thanks to Tsunade, who kept busting in and ranting on about how she is "too free for all this bullshit" (Naruto assumed she was talking about her paperwork that piled up over the course of three months) and how a young woman like herself shouldn't have to settle on this crummy life, Naruto had to wait forty minutes for his head assessment. It was barely after one and she was hammered as hell. Shizune was able to coax her back to her office by promising to get lottery tickets. Because what this school needs is to go more into debt.
And for your curious minds, Shizune said Naruto didn't have a concussion, but he should try not to have more damage done to his head. Of all her niceness, Naruto could have sworn he heard her also say, "Even though it might knock some sense into you."
Naruto was lucky to have two study halls back-to-back. Obviously, the first was gone by now. (Each of these class blocks were fifty minutes. If you paid any attention to what Ino said—which was fifteen minutes—and to what Naruto has just stated—forty—you could figure it out on your own without my help. Or Naruto's. I'm not sure who's narrating at this point.)
During the forty minute hoo-ha with Tsunade, Naruto had some time to do some serious thinking. And by serious thinking Naruto meant he was going to ask Hinata out as soon as he saw her, come hell or high water. That required him knowing where Hinata was at the moment. He did know that she had study hall during this block. He could check all the classrooms that would be open, but there are so many of them and he had such a short period of time.
Someone has to know where she is. Naruto stopped mid-step when he recognized two distinct laughs from down the hall.
"Tenten! Lee!"
The pair stopped what they were doing (which wasn't much, just taking a strolling) and looked over to Naruto.
"Naruto! How are you, my friend?" Lee asked.
Naruto jogged up to them and asked if they had seen Hinata around. They were friends with Neji, and Neji is Hinata's cousin who's always with her, so they could have seen her. Tenten said that she saw her go into the library.
"Why you looking for her?" Naruto didn't even need to answer Tenten. He knew she knew by that sly grin of hers.
Lee gave him his signature pose. "If she says no, I shall do 500 laps around the school! On my hands!"
Naruto chuckled and he ran. "Thanks!"
Due to the prestigiousness (Trademark - Naruto Uzumaki) of Konoha High School, the library is gigantic. There are three main sections: fiction, nonfiction and other informational stuff (Naruto couldn't remember the name for the life of him). With those sections are smaller sections, like within nonfiction would be historical nonfiction. Then those sections would have aisles upon aisles of sub sections. Historical nonfiction to historical western nonfiction. And finally those would have sub sections. Historical western nonfiction would hold Canadian historical nonfiction. ('Why Canadian?' Why not?)
He spotted Hinata in the fiction section-the horror aisle to be exact. I wouldn't have pegged her for a horror type, Naruto mused. Whatever she was looking for, she seemed to have found it since she made a little "Oh!" noise. She reached above her to get it, but it was to no avail. She tried to tiptoe higher, and even stuck out her tongue. She had the same results as before. Naruto silently chuckled at her antics.
"Need help?"
Hinata was startled by the sudden presence behind her that she fell backwards. Luckily, Naruto moved fast enough to stop her.
"I was thinking more along the lines of getting the book, but this works out too."
Hinata was stuck between a rock and a hard place. And she didn't mean Naruto's chest—but it was hard. Wow, he must workout a lot. Wait, no. His chest was one of her problems. She could stay in his arms for a bit longer; he was really warm and she was cold from the high AC in here. Or she could jump out of his arms like he was going to murder her. Her mind wanted the former, but her body did the latter.
Naruto wasn't going to lie, he was happy Hinata moved. If he held her any longer, she would have heard how fast his heartbeat was going. It was beyond what was considered normal rhythm.
The two stood there. Naruto was watching Hinata and Hinata seemed to be watching something on the ground. Little did Naruto know she was trying to conceal her blush from him.
It was Naruto that broke the silence. "Is that"—he pointed to a purple, paperback book—"the book you're trying to get?"
Hinata gazed toward the direction his finger pointed, while making sure not to reveal her red face.
Naruto didn't even have to reach that far up to get it. "Frankenstein? The one with the monster?" In case she didn't understand him, Naruto held out his arms and began to hobble. When Hinata started to laugh, he stopped to watch her. Like in their classes, she noticed him staring. She resumed her default position.
"Y-yeah. But… Frankenstein is the scientist. The monster is only known as the creature."
"Hmm." He flipped through some of the pages. Damn, that was a long paragraph. He glanced up. He actually meet Hinata's eyes and she didn't look back down! This was amazing progress. "I'm guessing you've read it before. Is it your favorite?" If he gets her more comfortable around him, he could ask her out without any worry. Maybe.
"It's… it was… my mother's favorite."
"She don't like it anymore?"
"No… it's not that. She… she passed away."
Wow. Naruto knew he had always been called an idiot, but for once in his life, he actually felt it. Though, it was of a "Way to be a jerk" feeling he had. Naruto felt like complete shit.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
"No, no! You don't have to apologies!"
Neither of them spoke. Naruto kept shifting his weight around on his feet. Hinata went from looking at her book to the right.
"Well… I should be going. I have to… study for my science test."
When she walked off, Naruto's head and heart sunk—demoralized and all. He felt light-headed, dizzy and too slow for the world rushing past him. Even if he was in the library. He wasted his chance! Instead of making a move, he made idle chat! There was no way he could motivate himself to ask her out again. It took him everything he had for this moment, how on earth could he get another?
Go after her! something in his head screamed. Go after her or you will lose your chance! Go you moron! It definitely not his own inner voice. It was deep and… it seemed darker. Like a demon. What would a demon not only be in him, but encouraging him to ask Hinata out? She's leaving! Hurry!
His feet didn't move at first. It was as if someone turned gravity on to its maximum power and forced him to stay in his spot. Then, he felt it. Something—something burned within him. Much to Coach Gai's disappoint, it wasn't youth. It was—GAH! He couldn't even describe it! It stirred within him, flowing through his veins. One foot moved, then the other. Before he knew it, Naruto was dashing between the aisles. He didn't know how long he had been standing there alone, but it must have been enough for Hinata to gain much distance between them.
When he reached the front, he saw Hinata with her hand on the door. "WAIT," he belted. He earned quite a few "Shhhs!" (which caused him to stop running) and one nasty glare from the library assistant, Shiho was it? He shook his head. He doesn't have time to be pondering over her!
Naruto shuffled over to Hinata as quickly as he could. She didn't say anything when he approached her. Why didn't she? Oh, that's right. He's the one that stopped her.
"I… uh…"
"Yes?" Hinata was concerned for the boy. It wasn't like him to not find something to say.
"I… I…" Quicker than the blush spreading across his face, Naruto bowed and shouted, "I LIKE YOU. PLEASE GO OUT WITH ME."
Dead silence. Everyone in the library stopped what they were doing to watch this. All the students at the tables had front row seats, the kids in the aisle watched from the side and one first-year whispered, "My OTP is becoming canon." Did this just happen? Did the loud and rough Naruto confess to the shy and timid Hinata? Had he finally noticed? What was the girl waiting for! Answer him!
"Uzumaki!" A voice called. Naruto didn't even have time to react when Shiho took him by the ear. "If you do not know how to behave in the library, then you do not belong in one! Ms. Tsunade's office seems more appropriate for the likes of you."
"Owowowow!"
If she kept pulling on his ear, it was going to come right off!
"YES!"
Even Shiho stopped when she heard that. She released Naruto's ear, to which he quickly distanced himself from her and tried to sooth it. Naruto observed the small girl. Her head was down again, but she was shaking violently. Had that loud burst really come from her?
"What did you say?" He had to make sure it was her.
She fidgeted with her skirt before looking up. Her whole face was bright red and her eyes sparkled. "I said—"she took in a deep breath, "Yes! I… I'll go out with you!"
He was so ecstatic his fist pumped into the air. Nothing could bring him dow—
GODDAMMIT, NARUTO. DID YOU HAVE TO TRIP OVER YOUR OWN FEET? YOU DESERVED THAT FACEPLANT, YOU DUMBASS.
[*] IN ANOTHER LIIIIIFE I WOULD HAVE THE SECOND PART DONE WITH NOW BUT I DON'T SO LEAVE A REVIEW AND GO AWAY (O WHOA WHOA WHOA)
Author's Note, Part 2: I don't know when I'll finish the second part, but it'll definitely before March (I am going away for a few days then school starts up again, OK?). Just to let you know, the first kiss will be in it. Hopefully by then I will have better writing abilities. Whether it'll be longer than this part or not is up to how much inspiration I have when writing it.
Author's Note, Part 3: I swear this is the only story I'll break the forth wall. I wasn't planning on doing it in the beginning, but it was too good of a chance to pass up.