A number of crystal glasses struck together in toast.
"Cheers!" Ten Ten smiled. "To another Spring!" She took a sip of chilled spring water.
"To Spring!" Ino, Sakura, Shizune, and Kurenai spoke as one. Hinata raised her goblet, but didn't say anything.
"To girls" Ino called out, knocking her glass against others, causing the ring of crystal to sound once again in the dark and quiet corner of the restaurant. "The true heart of the Leaf!"
"Despite what Gai says," Kurenai added with a laugh.
"O-O-O-O-O-H! The burning heart of Konoha will kindle the flame of romance within you boys! And that will make you unstoppable. A-A-A-A-A-A-H!" Ten Ten's imitation had everyone giggling.
"At least he doesn't always carry an Icha Icha book around," Sakura said. She pulled her forehead protector down and over one eye. She then held the small wine menu up like a novel. That had everyone snickering.
"You girls are just jealous of us guys!" Ino held piece of Pocky between her teeth like a cigarette, imitating her sensei. "Anybody got a light? Smoking makes me look cool!" Kurenai almost spat out the water she was swallowing.
"He is correct. Girls do notpossess the heart of a warrior." Ten Ten looked around the room. "If my meal does not get here within five minutes, I will do five hundred kicks. If I cannot do that without stopping, I will do one thousand pushups." Her imitation of Lee had Sakura applauding.
"Do Neji!" Ino said.
Ten Ten just sat there, still and unspeaking.
"She is!" Sakura said, grinning.
Shizune looked at Hinata and smiled. Neither of them was big on gossip or joking, but both thoroughly enjoyed seeing other people act happy and carefree. Hinata sat quietly, hoping that no one made fun of Naruto.
Sakura stood up on her chair, striking a pose. "I'M GOING TO BE HOKAGE!"
"I'm glad that she was the one to do Naruto," Ino said.
Sakura jumped up high, then fell hard in her seat. She picked up her fork and spoon and slammed them down hard. "Bring me noodles, now. Ramen ramen ramenramenramen…"
Ino made herself look perturbed and exasperated at the same time. "Sakura is so bothersome." She shook her head. "Girls!" It was a perfect imitation of Shikamaru. The loud laughter that followed gave way to more toasts.
"Hey, Hinata! Do Kiba or Shino!" TenTen nudged the white-eyed girl with her elbow.
"Ummm…" Hinata crouched down a bit, her face hidden slightly by the collar of her coat.
"Well, that's pretty close to Shino!" Ino said. "Come on girl, join the fun. We need to lighten you up some." Even after a few years of concerted efforts, the girls had been unable to get Hinata to come too far out of her shell.
Kurenai stepped in to save Hinata, as she had a tendency to do. Her imitation of Kiba scratching when he thought no one was looking had everyone in stitches. No one wanted to do Choji that day. They were all on a diet, and wanted to enjoy their main courses.
Naturally, as soon as the shinobi had finished denigrating every guy they knew, the tide changed once again. The talk turned to dating, touching on boys they had gone out with, or ones they would give their last pair of shoes to hook up with.
"How about you, Hinata?" Ten Ten asked. "Do you have your eyes on someone special?"
"Or are you still obsessed with the village's loudest ninja?" Ino asked, shaking her head. "You need to open your eyes. Sheeesh!"
"Hey! Naruto's not so bad. He's gotten really strong. And he would never let anyone down, like some guys." Sakura spoke up for her teammate.
"Uh huh," Ino said. "Looks like you have some competition, Hinata. That is, ifa girl with a freakishly large forehead can be considered competition." Hearing that, Hinata bit her lip.
"That's not it!" Sakura came close to shouting. "Naruto's my friend. And, you know how that Frog, Snake, Snail thing goes. I'm going to be like Tsunade, and Naruto is going to be like Jiraiya." No one wanted to mention Sasuke's name.
"If that's true, the Naruto is the last guy that Hinata needs to get involved with." Kurenai shook her head. "Despite spending so much time with that Frog Pervert, he hasn't changed too much, for better or for worse… except I hear that he's developed a new perverted jutsu."
"You had to remind me," Sakura said with a sour face. "When he came back to Konoha, he was talking that stuff within two minutes!" She sighed. "Maybe a girl with patience could get him to shape up some." She looked over at Hinata and cocked her head. Hinata rubbed a number of fingers together.
"Or, who knows howNaruto might change that girl!" Ten Ten chuckled. "Can you imagine Hinata breaking wind during a training match with Kiba?"
That time Kureai did spit out her water. She coughed for a bit before catching her wind. Shizune patted Hinata on the shoulder.
"I think that you really should talk to Naruto sometime, Hinata. I bet you really want to, right?" Sakura smiled a big smile. "Bring him lunch some day. You're a really good cook, and he has an enormous appetite. Or ask him if he'd like to join you for some noodles." She shook her finger at the smaller girl. "Offer to teach him a jutsu…"
"I hate to agree with Sakura, but you should do something." Ino pushed her hair back. "Who knows… if you're lucky… going out with Naruto once might get you to swear off him forever!"
"I think that Hinata needs to find her own time and place," Kurenai said. "If it never comes, then it never comes. That's up to her."
"I wonder," Ten Ten said. "You saw how she changed after fighting Neji." She blushed, mentioning that name. "He told me that it was Naruto's belief in Hinata that made the difference. If Hinata could do it with training and missions, maybe she could do it with boys, too."
"Then we're pretty much agreed," Sakura said, an intense look in her eyes. She had the sudden urge to play matchmaker. "Hinata should approach Naruto." Ino and Ten Ten nodded their heads. Kurenai frowned and Shizune sighed. Hinata looked like she had been doused with ice cold water.
"But…ummm… I… he wouldn't want to… well..." The shy girl stammered, turning pink in the face. "I don't know how to… how to…"
"We do," Ino said with a sly grin.
"That's right," Ten Ten said, rubbing her hands together. "Leave it up to us."
"One of us will coach you about guys. Another will help you pick out some new clothes and make-up. And the third will help you decide what you want to say." Sakura slammed her fist down on the table, her eyes practically shining. "It's settled.
"But..." Hinata swallowed hard.
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The main dining room of the Happy Crab was full.
Although the restaurant was fairly new, it drew a huge clientele. The food was excellent, and the introductory prices couldn't be beat.
Making her way through the enthusiastic dinners, Sakura felt as if she had entered a foreign land where the language sounded like a series of slurp, sips, and sighs. The diners were happily engrossed with their meals, most of them unaware when she bumped into them while passing between the crowded benches
"Where is that idiot?" She mumbled to herself, scanning the room. The boy that she was looking for should stand out like a sore thumb, either visually, or by means of his behavior. "There!" The orange and black jumpsuit stood out amongst the more somber colors of the lunch crowd. If that hadn't drawn the pink-haired girl's attention, the tower-like stack of empty bowls would have. That, plus a loud shout for more Ramen.
Smiling, Sakura sat down on the seat opposite of Naruto, without his even knowing that she was there. Pushing the stacks of bowls apart, she caught sight of him, a huge bunch of noodles hanging from his mouth. The sight had her giggling, and then laughing.
"What!" Naruto asked with a sour face, after he had sucked his food in.
"I was looking for you, Naruto!" Sakura said. "I'm on a mission." She tugged at her hair a moment, feeling a bit uncertain. This was the right thing to do, wasn't it? Hinata had eventually asked Sakura, Ino, and Ten Ten not to interfere. She timidly thanked them all for their offers, but said that she was not ready to approach Naruto. When the shy girl had left the restaurant, the three schemers hatched their own plan.
"DAMN!" Naruto said. "Why did Kakashi-sensei have to send you to find me at lunch time?" Then his eyes lit up some, despite his disappointment. "What kind of mission?"
"No, it's not that kind of mission." Sakura said, holding her hands up.
"Huh?" Naruto pushed his latest empty bowl aside, and then reached for the final full one. "If it's training you're talking about, you'll have to do it by yourself today." He pulled out a long string of noodles and consumed them quickly and loudly. "The guys are going to meet today."
"Oh?" Sakura raised one eyebrow. "You boys are going to probably talk about girls, right?" She smiled. This would be the perfect lead in.
"Maybe." Naruto scratched himself. "Whatever." He picked up the bowl and greedily drank down some of the soup. "Why?"
Sakura rubbed her hands together under the table. Hinata would thank her for this, some day. "Well, we girls had a similar get together last night," she said. "And of course, we all talked about boys." She looked around to make certain that no one else she knew was in the shop. "As it turns out, one girl wants to ask you out, but is too shy to do it herself." Now, she would see if he was able to figure out who it was, based on those clues.
"A girl?" Naruto stopped eating. He pulled at one ear. "Who?" Then he scowled. "If this isn't some kind of joke, why isn't the mystery girl here?" His eyes opened wide, and then he rubbed his chin. Could it be?
"I told you!" Sakura said, with more heat than she intended. "She's too shy to come herself. So, I'm speaking for her
"I see." Naruto said. Raising one arm, he signaled the serving girl to bring him more Ramen. "You're speaking for someone else. That's your story, and you're sticking to it."
Sakura nodded her head. By the look in Naruto's eyes, he seemed to have an idea of what was going on. Good. "Yes, like I said, she's very shy. She's liked you for a long time, but never came out and told you."
"Really?" Naruto smiled. "When I was off training with Jiraiya, I stopped hoping that… you know… that girl would ever care about me.
"You suspected?" Sakura was surprised. She had thought that Naruto was too clueless to notice such things. Was he too shy to approach Hinata? This plan might do both him and Hinata a lot of good! "I know that she'll be glad to hear that. She spends so much time thinking about you."
"Now that I know the truth, will she come out and speak for herself?" Naruto scratched his head. The look her gave Sakura had his teammate confused.
"I'm…." Sakura froze a moment. Why was Naruto staring at her that way? "I don't know. She's really hard to understand, sometimes." She shook her head, and then twirled some hair around her finger. "I think she would… ifshe was certain that you cared in return. Otherwise, she probably won't say anything.
"You were never that shy around Sasuke, Sakura-chan." Naruto sat straighter in his chair. He struck a sitting pose
"What?" Sakura looked perplexed. "Naruto, what do I have to do with anything?"
"C'mon, Sakura-chan. There's no need to be shy anymore. The secret's out." Naruto flexed his muscles. "I should have known that my charm would wear you down sooner or later!" He began chuckling. "I wish you just came out and said it, though. I like people who are straightforward."
"Me-M-Me?" Sakura stood up. "Naruto, you idiot…"
"Whoa. Take it easy, Sakura-chan. I'm not putting you down. After all, it was brave for you to come here and admit your feelings for me." Naruto cracked his fingers. "Wait until I tell the guys! Lee is going to be so-o-o-o-o jealous…."
"What?" Sakura slammed her hand down hard. The tower of bowls tipped over, clattering to the table top with a loud sound. "Don't… you… dare…"
"Girls," Naruto said, practically preening. "It's alright. There's no reason to keep it a secret now."
"I… WASN'T… TALKING… ABOUT…ME…" Sakura's shout had everyone in the shop go quite. Many had noodles hanging from their mouths when they turned to stare at her. "I was talking about Hinata," Sakura added, talking just above a whisper.
"Sure… sure… I hear you…" Naruto leaned back in his chair, arms folded. He winked. "It's OK. I like you a lot, Sakura-chan. No need to pretend anymore."
Sakura threw a bowl at Naruto's head. Striking his forehead protector, the speeding missile fragmented into a myriad of small pieces, bowling the young ninja over, so to speak. Training with Tsunade had made her freakishly strong.
"Idiot!" Sakura stamped her foot. "Moron!" She slammed a fist down on the table, causing the table legs to buckle. "How stupid can you be? There probably isn't a word for it!" She put her hands on her hips. "I'm not that shy. I really was talking about Hinata."
"But…." Naruto began to wonder if he had been mistaken after all. "Hinata…."
"Yes. Hinata." Sakura bit her lip, realizing how loudly she had spoken. "You know…… small shy girl…… white eyes…… huge crush on you for as long as anyone could remember…."
"Crush?" Naruto rubbed his sore head. "Hinata?" He pursed his lips. "Me?"
Sakura just closed her eyes and counted to ten "How could anyone have missed that? Even you!" She sighed. "I told her that you would never come and talk with her. I told her that she needed to take the lead." She clenched her fists. "Geeeez…."
Naruto just sat there stunned. Sakura didn't like him that way? Hinata did?
"Well, now that you know how she feels, what are you going to do about it?" Sakura almost sounded angry. The face she made was a lot like one the Hokage was known to make.
"Nothing," Naruto answered, folding his arms across his chest. He stuck his lower lip out, and then frowned. "Not a thing." He picked a long strand of Ramen off of his pants, looked at it, and then ate it. The noodle had been nearly lint free. "Not after this stuff."
"Huh?" Sakura's face softened. She began to look worried. "What do you mean?"
"You know my Ninja Way. When I thought you were too shy to admit your feelings for me, I glad you were here in person, making some effort." He shook his head. "But Hinata didn't have the courage to do that. She sent you instead…."
"No." Sakura shook her head. "She didn't." She waved her hands in short little motions. "It wasn't her idea. It was mine. It was my idea, along with Ino and Ten Ten. Hinata asked me not to do anything. She doesn't know I came here!"
"Sure!" Naruto shook his head. "You're a good friend Sakura. But, you shouldn't lie, not even for your friends." He spilled a large number of coins out of his frog purse, counting out the amount he needed to pay his tab. "I'll tell Hinata how I feel about this myself, if I happen to see her."
"Wait!" Sakura stood up. Moving to intercept Naruto, she knocked the coins onto the floor. They rolled this way and that. "Don't say anything to Hinata." She was torn between picking up the money and literally knocking some sense into Naruto. "Please…"
The sound of a ringing bell signaled that Naruto had left through the shop door.
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Something caused a covey of birds to take to the wing.
Hinata quickly used her Byakugan, training much in the manner that Neji was known to do.
"One… two… three… four… five… six…seven… eight…"
She had been correct. Good. That was enough for one day. After Asuma, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino had left, she had spent a couple of additional hours working on her own.
For some reason, she had been feeling somewhat edgy. It was as if someone was out there in the forest, watching her. But, after her teammates had left, birds and small animals had been the only thing that her jutsu could pick up.
It would be dark in an hour or so. This was a good time to quit. Her father and Neji would scold her if she stayed out after sundown. That irritated her some, although she was glad that her family cared about her.
A stick snapped. Someone was coming, but made no effort to conceal his- or herself. Who might it be? Did someone else come here to train alone? The only person she knew that had a habit of doing that was….
Naruto.
She had crept up behind one of the large trees at the edge of the field, the other day. The whole situation had felt so nostalgic, as she watched Naruto practice. Kakashi and Sakura had left, but he stayed behind. The exhibition of strength and speed he put on had left her speechless. He had only been practicing! What might he be like in battle these days?
Another stick snapped. If it was Naruto, what should she do? Her first instinct was to run or hide. But, she remembered what the girls had said at the restaurant. Maybe she should muster up her courage and take a chance. What was the worst thing that could happen? He could laugh, or try to let her down easy. If that was the case, at least she would know that there was no reason to keep on dreaming.
"I'll… I'll do it…" If he showed up here, and they were alone, she would be able to talk to him. She was certain of that, even if she did not have the gumption to actively seek him out and speak her heart.
When a large woody bush was parted, someone stepped into view. It was Naruto. Hinata suddenly felt frantic, but forced herself to be calm. No matter how things went, it would all be over soon, one way or another. "N-Naruto-kun." She swallowed hard.
"Hinata." Naruto looked surprised to find her there. He did not sound pleased.
"I… hello, Naruto-kun… there's something…" Hinata rubbed her fingers together. Why did Naruto sound that way? Was he angry because he wanted to training fields to himself? "There's… ummm…… something I wanted to say..."
"So I hear…" Naruto said, stopping. He put his hands on his hips and shook his head, making a face. "I thought better of you, Hinata." Normally he wouldn't even talk about the things he had heard from Sakura. It was his way to let stuff like that pass, storing away his opinions of people, quietly letting the knowledge influence the way he thought about them. But, for some reason, he was feeling rather cantankerous. Maybe it was because he had gotten his hopes up over Sakura, and she had burst his bubble.
"Wh-What…." Hinata brought her hand to her mouth. "Naruto-kun.." What could he possibly mean? Why did he think less of her? What could he mean by 'So I hear…'
"I can't believe that you sent Sakura to speak for you." Naruto frowned and furrowed his brow. "That's pretty lame, you know Even though you're shy, I expected better. The girl I once said I could like didn't run away from Neji. She stood her ground." He felt his disappointment growing. He had never even considered Hinata in a romantic sense; but, he also didn't view Ino or Ten Ten that way either. The difference was, he respected Hinata more than those other girls.
"B-But…." Hinata bit her lip, her eyes watering some. "I don't understand…." Did Sakura let something slip, accidentally? "I d-didn't ask Sakura to do anything…."
"Oh… of course not…" Naruto kicked at a stone, hard. He made a gesture with one hand. "The pink-haired girl who walked into the Happy Crab was just a figment of my imagination!" He kicked another stone. "I thought you were different than those other girls. I never expected you to play the same kind of silly games that they do." He sighed. "I thought you were better than that." Now why did he say that? He sounded like a pompous judgmental ass, the kind of person he usually ended up shouting at. This was a personal matter, but he didn't have to take it so personally, did he?
"Naruto-kun… I promise… please…" Hinata trembled slightly. She sounded so needy; but, she didn't want Naruto to get the wrong impression of her. "I d-didn't ask anyone to d-do anything for me. I told them I wasn't r-ready for their help…." She blushed. "I really did want to talk to you when you entered the clearing, though."…."
"Maybe I'm not so bright, Hinata." Naruto threw his hands in the air. "But I am not dumb enough to buy that one. Why would Sakura show up at the noodle shop on her own? Do you really think that she would go sneaking around your back?" He cursed. Sakura might have spurned him once again, but that didn't change the fact that she was a teammate and a friend. He clenched his fists. It angered him when someone tried to unfairly blame a friend, even if it was another friend. "That pisses me off. She was doing you a favor, and you are trying to dump things off on her."
"B-But…." Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why was this happening to her? She hadn't done anything wrong.
"Sakura's a really nice girl. If you can't be a good friend to someone like her, maybe you can't be a good friend to me either." With that, Naruto turned and vanished.
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The sun had begun to go down, painting the area with a beautiful palette of hues.
Naruto limped down the path, still holding his abdomen. Sakura followed closely behind him, her face just as ferocious looking as it had been when she punched him.
"She had better be there, Naruto!" Sakura said. She had finally tracked him down after he had already run across Hinata. Her 'Inner Sakara' was still cursing, after he had told her the things he said to their friend.
"Why are you so angry at me, Sakura-chan" Naruto wrinkled up his brow. He could accept his own anger towards himself, even though he had been operating under a misconception. But, Sakura had been the one who had been acting so damn sneaky. "I'm going to apologize, you know. You owe both her and me an apology."
"What!" Sakura was feeling too guilty to take too much offense at Naruto's placement of blame. After all, she had walked into the Happy Crab feeling all puffed up and proud, as if she was going to perform some great feat or service. She had been so caught up in things, that she ignored Hinata's earlier pleas. "Oh, just be quiet." She looked this way and that, checking out the various paths that led away from the practice areas. "Maybe she's still practicing," Sakura said, crossing her fingers. "She does that sometimes, when she's really upset."
"Well, if she's practicing Byakugan, she might know that we're coming. And, I can't think of two people that she would want to see any less at the moment" He said that with the beginnings of a snarl. He couldn't believe what an idiot he had been. How could he have doubted Hinata? When had she ever done anything even the slightest bit dishonest? Well, she had offered to let him cheat off of her paper during the Chuunin exam…
When Naruto took to the tree tops, intent on a stealthy approach, Sakura decided to take a different tack. If her apology didn't reach Hinata's ears before her friend knew she was there, the other girl might rush off.
"Hinata," Sakura shouted. "Hinata, I'm really sorry." She stopped, listening for any kind of signal that Naruto might send. "Hinata, I was only trying to help." Still no reply, and no word from Naruto. "Hinata… please… I didn't mean to hurt you…"
The sound of a large songbird echoes through the forest. That was Naruto's signal. Sakura flashed away as quickly as she could, headed to the source of that sound. When she arrived at the clearing, she found Naruto on his knees, a blazing stick held in one hand. He was examining the ground. At one side, he carried a weapons bag that she had seen before. It was Hinata's.
"Search the area!" Naruto's voice was gruff. Sakura had rarely heard him sound like that. "There's been some kind of struggle here. Things look different than when I spoke to her earlier." With an angry gesture, he performed Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu, throwing fire at a number of small isolated trees. "Shit!" The plant life caught fire, sending an orange flickering light around the open area. Sakura was worried that the crackling fires might spread, causing a dangerous forest fire. But, Naruto had selected his targets wisely, despite his obvious hurry.
There were a number of footprints of different sizes in the soft dirt. Shuriken were embedded in a number of trees, their metal pattern indicating that they had been crafted in Konoha. A single kunai lay in the open, near a bush that looked like it had been damaged during a struggle of some sort.
"Naruto!" Sakura held up the weapon. "It's not one of ours!" She brought it close to one of the fires, looking for telltale engravings or marks. "The Cloud!"
"Damn!" There was a loud explosion following Naruto's response. A large tree fell over slowly, impacting the ground with a tremendous noise. The angry ninja had broken it clean through with Rasengan. "Bastards!" A second tree fell, even larger than the first. "Once was enough!"
Sakura was grateful that Naruto hadn't uses that jutsu on her, after she had sent him through the wall of the restaurant that he and the other guys had been sitting in. Even as strong as she was now, the chance of surviving such a blow was not great.
"You know the story, right?" Naruto asked, looking very determined. He was referring to Hinata's history, and the time she had been the target of a kidnapping plot as a child. "You have the evidence that Old Lady Tsunade will need." He hooked one thumb through a belt loop." You go tell her what happened. I'll go bring Hinata back!"
"No! You don't know how many there are!" Sakura realized that she was talking to herself. Naruto had disappeared in the blink of an eye. She would need to yell, if she wanted him to hear her. "NO, NARUTO! YOU SHOULD WAIT FOR THE ANBU. IT WON'T TAKE TOO LONG! " She trembled, her anxiety level skyrocketing. That idiot! This was a good way to get himself killed. That wouldn't help Hinata, would it? No wonder Kakashi kept trying to instill a sense of patience in him.
There was no time to waste. She needed to alert the Hokage and any jounin she came across on the way.
If her conscience had been bothering her before….