Life, Love, Lemons and Voyeurism
If you were to gaze upon the scene unfolding in a certain white-eyed girl's mind's eye from time to time, you would think it almost a polar opposite to her outward demeanor. For you see, my dearest readers, one Hyuuga Hinata, despite her shy persona, had developed a rather unbecoming habit of running erotic mind-movies, usually involving a certain blonde boy. Now, it is customary for Hyuuga not to use their byakugan to spy needlessly or voyeur. Hinata was not, however, able to resist the temptation presented to her after a certain, let's just say eventful, mission.
Incidentally, Team 7 had momentarily teamed up with Hinata, for this somewhat important mission. The team had worked impeccably together, with Naruto's powerful mid-range attacks and Sakura's brute strength. Sai had backed the team up with a squadron of quick-painted but intricate animals, swift sword strikes and ROOT-style taijutsu. Hinata had really shone out, with her lethal jyuuken-infused strikes causing havoc with the enemy's nervous system.
It was a devastating battle, with casualties on both sides. It was only due to the girls' medical ninjutsu, Naruto's demon chakra and an awe-inspiring combination of the Naruto Rendan with half-complete Ransengans and Hinata's nigh-on flawless use of her clan's doujutsu that they escaped with nothing major aside from a few broken bones. Naruto came off the worst. A fallen rogue ninja had aimed a poison-tipped senbon at Sakura's head when they left. Naruto had leapt and caught it almost effortlessly, but in doing so had landed awkwardly on a protruding tree stump. He had dislocated, then broken his shoulder, and fractured at least three ribs.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata's cry rang out over the bare plains, on which they had fought, causing an absolutely monstrous cloud of birds to take off in unison, almost blotting out the very sun itself. Time slowed, making the few seconds it took the Hyuuga heiress to run to him feel like hours.
"Hinata? What's wr-Naruto!" Sakura sprinted over to him, her medic's hands already glowing pale green with their healing aura. Pressing her hands onto his ribcage, she poured her chakra into his system, and wince when the offending bones cracked into place. Then, there came the shoulder. Grateful that he was unconscious, Sakura yanked the bone back into place, silently apologizing to him for what agony he must be in, even in sleep. Finishing it off, she tenderly placed his arm in a sling, and propped him up against the very tree stump he had been injured on.
Anyway, back to the present. It had taken little more than a day for Naruto to heal, with his arm taking the longest.
"Ehe, it's nearly as good as new!" The blonde shinobi flexed his arm and smiled his devilishly foxy grin. "Sakura-chan, Hinata, Thank you!" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Just once" thought Hinata, "I wish he'd add '-chan' to my name…"
He then adopted the 'Naisu Gai' pose, and winked at them, his grin shining. "I'd have been done for if it wasn't for you guys. In fact, I have an idea for what I could do to repay you. Ehe…"
Maybe it was the way that he said it, or the grin, but he didn't exactly get the reaction he expected. Hinata, predictably, turned a shade of red usually reserved for inanimate objects and fainted dead away. Naruto, still ever-oblivious to both Hinata's affections and what he may have implied, leapt for the second time, and caught her. You really had to feel sorry for him, because Sakura, already fuming at what she thought he'd implied, saw Naruto run toward Hinata, who was now lying unconscious in his arms. Yes, I'd say that you really had to feel sorry for him.
Sending some of her impeccably controlled chakra into her arm, Sakura drew her fist back, and let loose what must have felt like the mother of all rabbit punches to his solar plexus, sending him cascading into an unfortunately placed tree. A few hours (and several apologies) later, Naruto attempted to explain his intentions.
"Jeeze..." He sat down across from the campfire, pouting at the girls. "What I meant was that I'm familiar with this area. Ero-Sennin and I stayed in a small town around here." Realisation crept over Sakura's face, then a small amount of guilt.
"And your repayment?" she asked, upset that she'd not only made a mistake, she'd hurt him over it. "Sorry… For the misunderstanding." She smiled sadly at him.
"That's ok, Sakura-chan. I've already forgiven you!" He smiled at her. "I'll show you my surprise when we get there. Where's Hinata? And Sai…?" He looked around, a stupid expression on is face. He hadn't even notice her leave.
"Sai's gone to collect more firewood, and knowing him he's probably painting. Hinata must have wanted to stretch her legs or something." said Sakura, looking at the stars absent-mindedly. It was truly a gorgeous night, with Mars fully visible. A meteor shower glowed above them, and the quiet night-time melody played about their ears.
**********
Under the same awe-inspiring night, not more than a few hundred meters away, Hinata was lying down in a small, well-hidden hollow, wrapped up in her sleeping bag. She was thinking of him, of Naruto. She was a bit upset, truth be told. She didn't hold any hatred for Sakura, but she didn't like the way Naruto looked at the pink blossom, rather than herself.
"I love him… I wish that he'd look at me with those eyes…" She hugged herself in her sleeping bag, not depressed, but not happy either. "I should tell him. I really should…I can't. What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he has someone else? How will I ever face him? Does it matter? No. As long as he's in my life, that's all that matters." She sighed, snuggling deeper into her voluptuous sleeping bag, revelling in its delicious warmth. As she was just about to drift off, she felt someone shaking her shoulder.
"Hinata-san, why are you sleeping out here?" It was Sai. The pale chuunin looked at her, somewhat combobulated. "You might catch cold." The usual lack of emotion from Sai really freaked Hinata out, and she wanted to be alone for a while anyway. But for some reason or another, she didn't mind his company today.
"Ha-hai. Sai-san, i-is Naruto-kun ok?" She played with her fingers and blushed, thinking about her crush.
"Yes, Hinata-san. He told me that he was worrying about you. The only reason he isn't here himself is because he is still weakened from his healing. In fact, Sakura gave him strict instructions to rest." He adopted his fake smile, trying in his own way to reassure her. "Can I request something, Hinata-san?" Hinata nodded, still slightly blushing. "I have been reading a great deal on making friends. One of the books told me that in order to feel closer to your friends and potential friends, you should drop the suffix. Would this be ok with you?"
Hinata sighed, slightly relieved. She didn't have a clue what Sai could have said, and was glad it was something so simple.
"I don't m-mind, Sai-kun" she smiled, still melancholic, but not as bad as before. She thought again about Naruto, about the times she had spent almost, almost, confessing to him. And again, she blushed and toyed with her fingers. Sai caught notice of this, and puzzled over it.
"Perhaps," he thought, "this has something to do with Naruto. I'll read about it and maybe talk to them both later. The way she acts, and the way she talks about Naruto… I don't know what it is, but I want it. I want someone to feel something for me"
Without exchanging anything more than a few more words, the two teenagers headed back to their temporary camp, where they discovered Sakura relaxing, wrapped up in a blanket by the fire. She smiled and gestured them to come over. She raised a finger to her lips, and motioned towards one of the four large tents set up. Naruto had insisted on them, as he wasn't willing to share with Sai, especially after the last time. Jiraiya had gifted Sai with a copy of Icha Icha Tactics, which Sai confused with a book on making friends. He'd spent the night trying out his new tactics on Naruto, and that, I can assure you, was not a fun night.
They whispered quiet conversation to each other, talking about nothing in particular. As Sai walked towards his tent, giving a short wave, Sakura decided that now was the time to question the brunette sitting across from her. Silently she rose, crossed the distance and plonked herself down next to her, bearing a mischievous grin.
"Hi-na-ta. I think it's time we had a little chat." Sakura wrapped her arm around the other girl's shoulders, preventing any method of escape.
"Y-yes Sakura-san?" she replied, almost visibly shaking. "Wha-what do you want to talk about?" The poor girl was petrified.
Sakura laughed, and moved her face closer to the Heiress's.
"Why about 'Naruto-kun' of course." Sakura replied, imitating Hinata's voice at the 'Naruto-kun'. "It's obvious, Hinata. You're smitten with him. The only thing that's not clear is why the knucklehead hasn't realised it yet. Well, that and what we'regoing to do about it. And yes, Hinata, before you ask. I emphasized the 'we're'. I'm going to help you get it through that thick head we love so much." With that, Hinata smiled lightly.
"Th-thank you so much, Sakura-san. But let's not for-forget our mission. I'm glad, though, that you of-offered to help me." She smiled and looked at her feet, blushing. "H-he really does mean the world to me… Please! Please help me to tell him I l-love him!" Sakura saw the determination in her eyes, and smiled at her.
"Of course I will Hinata. In fact, I wouldn't have it any other way. But please, drop the –san. It makes me feel old and we're only fifteen." She stood up, and grasped the shy girl's, shoulder. "Anyway, it's getting dark. We can talk about it tomorrow, right? Don't give up Hinata, we'll bring him round." Sakura smiled, waved and strode toward her tent.
"H-Hai! Thanks again, Sakura!" Hinata smiled, and watched the fire begin to dwindle before standing herself, deciding it was time for bed. Entering her tent, she unzipped her jacket, and then slid it off her shoulders, kicking her sandals to the side. Stripping her fishnet ninja shirt, she stretched and lay topless on her camp bed massaging her aching shoulders.
"I think… that I've gotten bigger again. I hope Naruto-kun likes large breasts." She blushed at the thought, and covered herself as if she was being watched. "…I shouldn't like saying and thinking such things. But… I can't help liking being so… so… naughty." She shivered at the last word, loving the feeling of it. "I can't help but wonder if Naruto has these types of thoughts too… I don't think I'd mind it if he thought those things about me." She unbuttoned her chuunin trousers, and then slid them off. She walked over to her bag, clad only in plain white cotton panties, searching for her pyjamas. Finding them, she hooked her thumbs under the waistband of afore-mentioned panties, and pulled them down. She had just bent over to pick up her pyjama bottoms, when Naruto walked in, in all his awkward timing-ness glory.
**********
Five minutes earlier
Naruto was restless. He wanted to thank Hinata for her help healing him, and actually catch up with her properly. It had been three months since he had returned from his two-and-a-half year training trip, and he still hadn't spoken more than a few sentences to her.
"Sakura-chan said that Hinata was out somewhere, and Sai said he hadn't seen her when he came back from wood gathering. I hope she came back safely…" he turned over, stretching his tightened muscles and attempting to get comfortable. He thought then of his team-mates and as such his relationship with Sakura. "I should probably give up on asking Sakura-chan to go out with me. To be honest, it's pretty obvious that she's still hung up over Sasuke."
"I think that would be a good idea, kit." The deep, demonic voice resonated throughout his head as if it had actually been spoken next to him. "I do not think she is appropriate for you. I suggest you find another, more suitable mate."
"Che, who asked you anyway, Kyuubi?" Naruto glared at him, even though he couldn't see him. "To be honest though, I agree with you. Thinking about it, I prefer Sakura-chan as a sister. But… Who would be suitable for me? Maybe a girl from another team… Ino? Nah, she's just a blonde version of Sakura. Tenten? But I've seen her with both Rock Lee and Neji… This is hard…"
He got up and started to walk around his tent, thinking about the pros and cons of each of the girls he knew.
"Temari has Shikamaru and I could never look at Gaara again the same way… Ayeme's a civilian, but it'd mean free ramen… All the other kunoichi I know are older than me, but is that really a bad thing?"
"Kit, try to list what you want, then compare what you have listed to what each girl has to offer."Of course the Kyuubi knew that Hinata liked him. What idiot wouldn't realise it? Nearly everyone knew aside from Naruto…
"Hmm… well, I'd want someone who's cute. She'd have to be understanding, because of you, Kyuubi" said Naruto while the Kyuubi growled at him, despite knowing it to be true. "I'd like her to be strong, but kind. And…" He grinned in the same way Jiraiya would while looking at one of his 'summer fruits'. "…I'd like them to have a large chest. That was the only thing about Sakura-chan I didn't like."
"Then, kit, I think you should know who's suited to you. For Christ's sake, she's closer to you than you realise, and you STILL can't figure it out!!" of course the Kyuubi was pissed. Naruto was smart enough to be a more-than-good contender for rokudaime, but still stupid enough to be oblivious towards what could have been the most painfully obvious case of love sickness the shinobi world had ever experienced.
"Are you saying you have someone in mind, Kyuubi? Because you've never helped me out like this before. What gives?"
The Kyuubi sighed in utter defeat. "I give up. I just give up. There is nothing, NOTHING, even when it's this fucking obvious, able to get through that lump of granite you call a skull. Do me a favour, and go talk to that Hyuuga girl. Maybe she can help you shed light on the situation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd rather have my testicles force-fed to a pack of rabid pygmy shrews listening to S club 7 than continue this mind-bogglingly dull conversation with you. Good day, fuck-face."
And with that, he left Naruto's head, leaving the poor boy bemused and slightly hurt. He had no idea what he'd said that could have made the fox so angry. Giving a sigh of resignation, he stood up and pulled on a form-fitting black shirt with a single wide orange stripe down the left sleeve and side. After pulling on his regular trousers, he slipped on his sandals and stretched, ready to walk over to Hinata's tent. He silently thanked Yamato-taicho for the scrolls infused with his wood style jutsu. Each 'tent' was about the size of a small bedroom, despite being devoid of any furniture. He had decided to forgo his headband, deciding it was, to borrow a phrase, too troublesome to put on.
Walking out into the cold night-time, he quickly crossed the small distance between his tent and Hinata's. He stopped outside the door, unsure of what he was going to say; in fact he hadn't planned a thing. He bounced from foot to foot, wracking his brains for some kind of plan, some inkling of what he should do. After five minutes or so, he conceded defeat. With a rather out of character 'Oh, fuck it', he just pushed open the door and walked in.