Gah! Sorry it took me so long to update. I got sidetracked by real life and some of my other projects so I couldn't work on this as much as I wanted. I will try to update this fic more consistently, but I am not making any promises.

"dialogue"

'thoughts'

flashbacks


Nine Months and 29 Days ago…

Naruto was dreaming of an angel

It was a dream that he had many times...

The angel's form changed a lot throughout the years. It started as a small girl in winter clothes, then moved on to become a teen in a beige jacket and eventually became a grown woman in a purple jumpsuit. But two things remained consistent: her black hair (which grew longer as time passed), and her soft gentle voice, always calling out his name like he was the most precious person in the world.

Naruto could never quite make out the angel's features in his dreams. Or rather, he couldn't remember them clearly when he woke up. But the sight of the angel always made his heart fill with joy. It made his entire being warm.

It felt as if… she was always looking out for him… Always taking care of him…

He adored that angel!

He was so excited to see her again!

"Naruto-kun…"

"My angel…"

The angel was holding a bowl full of Ramen in front of her. It looked so tasty! Its mere smell made his mouth water with anticipation.

He saw the angel inch closer to him with the bowl on one hand and a pair of chopsticks on the other.

"Let me feed you again, Naruto-kun…"

'Again'? What was that supposed to mean?

This was driving him crazy! Was the angel someone he knew in real life? He needed to see her clearly! To have a clear image to remember when he woke up!

Alas, he couldn't take his focus off of the ramen bowl. She watched the angel stir it with her chopsticks, and take out a generous serving.

"Here! Have a taste!"

No! He needed to resist the temptation of ramen! He needed to focus on the angel! To see her! To recognize her features!

It took all his willpower to raise his eyes from the ramen bowl but he eventually did it. He began to look past it and take the angel's features in. Her eyes were now beginning to form in front of him. They were white with a hint of lavender…

He began to hear a faint noise in the background. Like a door knocking loudly.

He ignored it. He wanted to look at the angel and eat her ramen!

"Oi! Naruto! Wake up!"

Come on! Just a little bit more!

He felt a slight tap on his shoulder. Who could it be?

He turned around and came face to face…

...with the pink-haired demon! The hellspawn that tortured him in his dreams! She was wearing red clothes and an oni-mask that covered the entirety of her forehead. Her hoarse and gruff voice was the stuff nightmares were made of.

"No, please! Go away! I want to stay with my angel!"

"They told you to wake up! SHANAROOOOOO!

The final thing he saw before waking up was a chakra-enhanced fist travel towards him at five times the speed of sound…

"NOOO!"


Naruto woke up with his face on the floor, drooling all over his black cat-shaped cap.

He had fallen off the bed again. Damn that pink-haired demon!

"We know you're in here! I can smell you, you know!"

He groggily got up from the floor, and headed towards the door.

He opened it up to find Hinata… along with Kiba and Shino…

Kiba immediately covered Hinata's eyes.

"Dude, put a shirt on, will ya?"

Naruto took a look at himself. He wasn't wearing anything from the waist up. Last night he managed to put on his pajamas' pants but he couldn't quite put the shirt on, so he slept without it.

"Uh… Sorry… I really didn't expect anybody today so..."

"I made a promise, didn't I Naruto-kun?" said Hinata as she made an effort to remove Kiba's hand away from her eyes.

Last night's conversation played back inside Naruto's head.


"Until your right hand is healed, please let me be your right hand Naruto-Kun."

"Say what?"

Naruto looked at her face curiously. She had a look of quiet determination in her eyes.

Hinata held his empty sleeve tighter.

"Let me help you get through this one year. If doing everyday tasks is as difficult as you described, I want to stand by your side and just be there for you. You don't have to go through this on your own, Naruto-Kun."

"Look, Hinata, I am touched and all, but… you really shouldn't. I mean, I have to become more self-reliant…"

Hinata huffed and looked at his eyes intently.

"I'll help you with that too."


He knew that Hinata was going to stay true to her words. That she wasn't going to go back on them…

...They shared the same nindo after all...

...He just wasn't expecting her to actually show up on his doorstep to make true on her promise, on the very next day!

'Oh crap! I'm not decent!'

Naruto went back inside quickly and grabbed one of his white t-shirts that he used to put on underneath his yellow jacket. He tried to put it on as fast as he could, but it seemed that even the simple act of putting a t-shirt on was too much for him. He couldn't, for the life of him, get his face inside it so that he could pull it down and wear it. The t-shirt just dangled downwards from his left hand and kept slipping off his head as he tried to wear it.

'Dammit, Dammit, DAMMIT!'

"Please, allow me, Naruto-kun."

A pair of small delicate hands took his shirt from his hand and opened it up so that he could fit his head inside. Those same hands then pulled it downwards allowing his head to come out…

For a brief moment her fingers touched his bare chest as she fitted him his t-shirt. He jolted as he suddenly felt a previously unknown sensation. He couldn't quite describe it. It was like being tickled by a feather, except it felt... more pleasant, more exhilarating…

"Did I startle you?"

"No, no, no… It's just that I've never been touched by anybody there before and it felt a bit…"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to…"

"No, it's OK, it felt…"

"Ahem!"

Naruto and Hinata's heads turned to see the disapproving faces of Kiba and Shino who were still standing at the door.

Oh right, they were also there. He forgot.

"May we please come in?"

"Uhm… Sure… Make yourselves at home…"

The rest of Team Eight walked inside his house carefully observing their surroundings. Kiba's face formed a rather painful expression as he took a long hard sniff.

"Man, your place reeks! How can you stand it?"

"He probably can't smell any of this. Why you ask? Because the human nose gets used to even the strongest smells in about six minutes. He is used to the way his house smells so he can't understand how bad it smells to others."

The blond ninja clenched his fists.

"Don't mind me guys, it's not like I am listening to you or something."

He felt a light tug on the back and turned around to see Hinata smiling sweetly at him.

That's all it took to make his anger go away. He couldn't help but look into her eyes and smile back. Hinata had that sort of effect on him.

He addressed the two shinobi in front of him once more.

"What are you two doing here, by the way? I don't recall you two making a promise to me or anything."

The boys of Team Eight looked at each other, trying to come up with a proper answer. What were they supposed to tell him? The truth? That Hinata felt uncomfortable going inside Naruto's place for the first time? That she needed them for emotional support and to ease her into it? That they had to make sure that she would be OK alone with him?

No, this wouldn't do at all.

Luckily their team-mate already had an excuse.

"Uhm… I told them to come here to help me with the cleaning."

"Help you with the cleaning?!" Naruto and the Team Eight boys responded simultaneously.

"Yes. Kiba-kun is a smell specialist so he can track garbage and dirt, while Shino-kun is a bug-specialist, which means he can take care of any insect related problems you might have."

Naruto scratched his head absentmindedly. This seemed to make sense to him.

"OK…I guess…I'll go get the brooms and stuff…"

"Do you even have a broom man? I don't think this place has ever been cleaned!"

"I think it's in the building's supplies closet… I think… I'll go check…"

When Naruto went a safe distance away, Kiba and Shino approached their teammate and looked at her intensely.

"We agreed to help you get accustomed to being inside Naruto's house, we didn't sign up to being freaking housemaids." said the dog-nin while his partner nodded silently in agreement.

"Please guys." Hinata said as she clasped her hands and bowed her head to them. "It's only for this time. You've seen the state his apartment is in! I can't let him live like this!"

Kiba and Shino looked at each other in panic. They could never deny Hinata's requests whenever she was asking them like this. It was like kicking the biggest most adorable puppy in the world.

They both sighed and nodded.

"I swear, the things we do for you sometimes."

"Thank you Kiba-kun! And you! Shino-kun!"

"I believe we should wear some sort of protection before engaging in this task. Why you ask? Because Naruto's place is extremely dirty and will require us to get our hands dirty. We need to report to the Hokage in the afternoon and we can't do it with our mission clothes reeking like rotten garbage."

"Don't worry Shino-kun! I have this covered."

Hinata took out a scroll from her backpack and opened it. Kiba shook with fear as he saw what appeared in front of him.

"Oh, hell no!"

"Come on Kiba-kun! It's for your own protection!"

"Like hell! There's no way I'm gonna wear this! No freaking way!"


Naruto returned to find the entirety of Team Eight wearing aprons around their waists and bandanas on their heads. Shino's apron had a ladybug, Kiba's apron had a puppy and Hinata's apron had a bunny. Hinata was smiling brightly as she tightened her bandana while Kiba and Shino cringed like they wanted to disappear off the face of the earth.

"Remind me again, why I agreed to wear this…"

"She said it was either this or the maid outfit."

"Hand me my cleaning gloves."

The blonde ninja struggled not to laugh. Shino gave him a sharp intense look.

"I advise our blonde friend to not tell anyone about this. Why you ask? Because, if he does, I will install a bug inside his stomach that will convert everything he eats into acid giving him the most excruciating death imaginable."

Naruto immediately froze and shut his mouth up. He had a feeling Shino would actually do it.

"My lips are sealed."

"Now then!" Hinata said as she cheerfully approached her teammates. "Where should we start?"


Naruto watched in amazement as he saw Team Eight go to work at his house. Their teamwork was truly a sight to behold. They took even the mundane task of cleaning a house very seriously each one completing the other flawlessly. Hinata activated her byakugan and gathered the dust that had accumulated all around the house with a series of vacuum palms, Kiba used his advanced sense of smell to locate garbage that was out sight (and out of mind), and Shino used his bugs to clean the mold that had formed on the walls, inside the kitchen, inside the bathroom and inside the refrigerator.

Not that they worked without any problems...

"Why don't you let me take them out with the bug spray man? It's freaking roach infestation over here!"

"Why you ask? Because cockroaches are a valuable part of the city's ecosystem. They eat excess filth and prevent more serious diseases from spreading in the populace. It's wrong to kill such brilliant creatures."

"They're freaking bugs man!"

"I told you not to call them bugs. They are insects. And they are precious."

But when something like that happened, Hinata always stepped up and bought their teamwork back to its usual excellent state.

"Shino-kun, I agree that cockroaches are valuable and shouldn't be killed but we can't just leave them inside Naruto's place. And Kiba-kun, the infestation is near the refrigerator. If you just take them out with bug spray, you might get Naruto-kun poisoned."

Shino and Kiba both looked at Hinata expectantly.

"What do you suggest we do?"

"How about a non-lethal solution?"

Kiba and Shino both nodded in agreement. Kiba opened the window while Shino summoned a swarm of bikochu beatles. The beatles went towards the roach nest and then walked in unison towards the open window. The cockroaches started following after them, leaving Naruto's apartment completely. Shino then summoned a completely different swarm of beetles which cleaned up what was left of the roach nest.

Naruto was amazed.

"Dude, what did you just do?"

"I summoned a swarm of bikochu beatles that mimicked a cockroach's mating pheromone which made the roaches move out of the house. I then summoned a special kind of beetle that ate cockroach eggs in order to clean up the nest and make sure the cockroaches don't respawn."

"Beatles can do that?"

"There are over a million species of beetles in this world." Shino assured him "They can do anything!"

"You're so full of crap, man!" Cried Kiba as he joined in the conversation "Killing roaches with bug spray is wrong while having other insects eating their eggs is somehow right?"

"I follow the circle of life and I don't pollute the environment with harmful chemicals, to which the insects will grow resistant to anyway. Besides, it's not like I haven't done this before. A species of beetles that I often use in battle feeds on Akamaru's lice eggs."

"Akamaru doesn't have lice!"

"And why do you think that is, hmmm?"

Kiba shut down the window in anger in order to prevent any insects from reentering the room.

"I swear! You better not put any bugs on me or there will be hell to pay!"

A loud clap by Hinata diverted the boys attention.

"Guys! Look around you! We did it!"

Naruto's apartment was now sparkling clean! There wasn't a speck of dust in sight.

…To say that Naruto was impressed would be an understatement. The three of them had operated with the efficiency of a well oiled machine. Kiba was the motor, Shino was the gears, while Hinata was the grease that kept the machine operational and going. He didn't think it was even remotely possible for anybody to clean his apartment. And yet, here was Team Eight managing to do so in a couple of hours!

'Must be because of the familiarity, they have with each other.' Naruto thought. "Each one knows each other's strengths and weaknesses and they do their best to complement each other."

He couldn't help but feel a small pang of pain in his chest when he realized that it was Kiba and Shino, not him who knew Hinata in that sort of way.

A part of him wondered what would have happened if he was assigned to be with Hinata back then in the academy. What sort of teamwork would he have with her? Would he complete her the same way Shino and Kiba did? Would he have formed as strong a bond with her?

Not that he didn't have a bond with her. It's just that… he wished he was more there for her when she struggled to overcome adversity and become a ninja…

… The same way her comrades were there for her…

...The same way she was there for him right now…

He saw Hinata sit down on his table and take out a scroll from her backpack. She opened the scroll on the table and placed a bit of chakra on it. Four boxes appeared. Hinata gestured them to sit down close to her and hand them one box each.

"Kiba-kun, I prepare you some barbequed meat. and Shino-kun, I made you some green salad. I felt a bit bad for asking you to do this so I thought I should prepare you your favorite sort of food to thank you for helping me out."

"Hey, helping you wasn't so bad! We finished in what? Two hours?"

"Two hours and 12 minutes" Shino interjected. "It really wasn't so bad. But I would have prefered if we didn't wear those aprons and those bandanas."

"I personally think the bandanna suits you, Shino-kun!" Hinata said with a light smile."You have a really nice face, you should show it a bit more."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Naruto swore that he saw Shino blush for a few fractions of a second…

He felt jealous! He wanted Hinata to compliment him on his appearance too, dammit!

"Come sit down with us Naruto-kun!"

She gestured towards a box with a whirlpool sign on top of it.

"Is this… for me?"

"Yes! I made it for you!"

Naruto sat down on the table and eagerly opened the box that Hinata had prepared for him. He couldn't wait to see what she had in store for him. Kiba and Shino got their favorite food so she probably prepared some sweet homemade ramen that she knew he would enjoy. It was probably hidden under all those vegetables or something…

Wait a minute...

...vegetables?

VEGETABLES?!

HE! HATED! VEGETABLES!

"Uhm… Hinata…"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Did I do something bad to you or something?"

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"It's nothing… It's just… How come Kiba and Shino get their favorite stuff, and I get vegetables?"

Hinata's look turned serious.

"Naruto-kun… I've been observing you. All you eat these days is ramen. This is not healthy. You are going to get seriously ill if you don't change your eating habits."

"But… I don't like…"

She gave him a stern stare that made him freeze in place.

"Your life is no longer just your own Naruto-kun! You need to take better care of yourself!"

A painful image from the past flashed in front on his eyes. He got reminded of… that time…

She was right. His life was no longer his own. People relied on him, people cared for him, they sacrificed themselves for him. He needed to stay healthy and in shape. He needed to make sure that other people could rely on him, the same way he was relying on them.

Hinata got up and sat down next to him. She took the pair of chopsticks that were on the table, next to him, and held them up in the air balancing them carefully.

'Oh well.' he thought 'if Hinata is going to feed me again, then maybe it won't be so bad.'

He closed his eyes and opened his mouth, expecting a mouthful of food…

...Instead he felt Hinata place the chopsticks on his left hand.

She wasn't going to feed him?

"Here! With this, you will be able to eat on your own Naruto-kun!"

Naruto looked at the chopsticks on his left hand. Hinata had attached some sort of rubber figurine to them. It looked a lot like him.

"What is this?"

"It's a chopstick helper. "

"A chopstick helper?"

"Yes! It will help you grab your chopsticks more easily! I used to train Hanabi with them when she was young, and I thought that they would also help you until you get your prosthetic done."

He squeezed the chopsticks and tried moving them around. Hinata was right. The figure really did help him hold the chopsticks more efficiently. The food no longer slipped from his hands, he could now effectively eat food on his own…

...which meant Hinata was no longer going to feed him…

"What do you think? I promised you I was going to help you be more self-reliant, didn't I?"

Why, yes. Yes, she did make that promise.

Damn, Damn, Bloody Damn!

"Thank you, I love it" lied Naruto in a half-hearted tone.

"Why don't you try eating the food I have prepared for you with it?"

Naruto sighed and grabbed some of the food from the box and placed it inside his mouth. He closed his mouth and started chewing, expecting to hate every minute of it. He despised vegetables all his life, he wasn't going to start liking them now…

...it tasted... good?!

He took another bite and sampled it. It still tasted good!

He took another bite, and another… He actually liked this!

He couldn't believe it! Hinata could actually make vegetables taste great!

"This is really good Hinata! What is it?"

"It's my Chicken Salad glazed with my own special sauce.."

He wanted to know more about her special sauce, but he decided that this would distract him from eating and so he focused on gorging himself instead. He saw Hinata smiling contently as she watched him eat his food from her bento. If you opened up a dictionary and looked for the word 'satisfaction', you would see her face plastered all over the page.

"Do you like my food Naruto-kun?"

"Mm-hm! I luf if!"

"Then from now on, I will make food for you as often as I can, how about it?"

Naruto nodded as he stuffed the last few bites of his bento inside his mouth.

Shino and Kiba just shook their heads. Eventually they both got up and headed for the door. They gestured to Hinata to get up as well.

"Well, it was nice feeding you, helping you clean and all, but we have to head to the Hokage tower for a mission. Hinata, we really should get going."

Naruto looked dejected.

"You're leaving?!"

"Well, the world doesn't stop for anyone. We are still shinobi, we still have to go on missions, and we still have to report to our superiors."

Hinata took out one final scroll and procured a few more boxes from it. She then wrote something on a piece of paper and placed it on the table next to them. She bowed gently at Naruto and followed her team outside.

He felt a pang on his chest as the door closed. A feeling of cold emptiness and loneliness, as if his entire world was drained of sunlight…

...He really wished Hinata would have stayed behind.

Alas, Kiba was right. The world didn't stop for him. Hinata, along with the rest of Team Eight, would still need to go on missions and go outside Konoha for a long time. And even when she returned, and she stayed by his side, she would still need to go back and sleep at the Hyuga compound.

The world didn't stop for anyone, not even for him.

He took a look at the note Hinata left him.

My dearest Naruto-kun,

I left you enough food for three days. You can put the boxes in the fridge, and heat them up slightly on your stove whenever you are hungry and want to eat a healthy meal. Please take care of yourself while I am away, okay?

I will come and see you as soon as I return.

Hinata

A wide smile formed on his lips.

She said she would return to him!

He put the food Hinata prepared for him inside the fridge and lied down on the bed with Hinata's note on his intact hand. He took a closer look at it noting its delicate and beautiful handwriting.

Why did she address him as "My Dearest Naruto-kun" in her note?

He didn't know. But it made him feel giddy!

He closed his eyes and placed Hinata's note on his chest. A strange warmth was overtaking him. It felt like a gentle sunbeam inside his heart.


The image of the dark-haired angel formed in front of Naruto once more. She was holding a bento box on her hands.

"I made some food for you, Naruto-kun!"

He watched the angel open up the box, and grab a few vegetables with her chopsticks. She held them up in the air.

"You need to eat more healthy, Naruto-kun!"

Naruto dashed towards the angel as fast as he could. This time he would see who she was! He would remember her face when he woke up in the morning!

There was a loud crash and a dust cloud of debris as a figure appeared between him and the angel.

Was it the pink-haired demon again?

He didn't care! Whatever it was, he would kick its ass!

He looked at the figure as it emerged from the rubble.

It wasn't the pink-haired demon. It was something… else…

It looked like him, but it was chibi-shaped, fully orange and it moved in a strange conjoined way, as if its entire body was made of rubber.

In fact it was made entirely of rubber!

"Go away! I need to go to my angel so that she can feed me!"

He tried punching the figure but his punches got bounced right back at him. He tried rasengan but it just shrugged it off. None of his attacks worked!

The figure stretched out its hand and wrapped it around him. He struggled to break free, but it was useless!

"No need! I will be the one to feed you from now on!"

The rubber figure grabbed the angel's bento with its other hand and bought it in front of Naruto.

"It's time to eat your veggies!"

"NOOOO!"


Naruto woke up with his face on the floor once more, his eyes now wide open.

He looked bitterly at the direction of the "Chopstick-Helper" that Hinata had bought for him.

"My angel didn't feed me today because of you." He growled at the rubber figure "I hate you."

The figure just grinned at him.


And there you have it! The second chapter of "My Right Hand". Finally!

So why did it take me so long to update?

Quite simply I am into typesetting. I collaborate with translators and artists in order to make doujin legible in the US. The typesetting jobs just didn't leave me enough time to update my fanfics.

But with NaruHina Week (formerly NaruHina Month) uproaching and an "Unawareness Period" prompt, I decided it was high time to finally finish the second chapter...

...which is actually the *third* chapter I wrote. This was supposed to be just a small flashback to the day Hinata visited Naruto's home for the first time, but it ended up being too big and too bulky to be just a few side paragraphs. So I gave that encounter a separate chapter, and made the second chapter the third chapter.

So the good news is that the third chapter is almost done (just a few edits here and there) which means you won't have to wait for a full year to get to read it this time.

This was as much a "Team Eight" chapter as much as it was a NaruHina chapter. I love their dynamic and their interactions, and I really wish they were used more on the show and the manga. So there wasn't much fluff and romance. It was more of a "fun" chapter than anything else. Don't worry, the third chapter will get back to the "feels".

The whole thing about Naruto dreaming about the angel (no prizes on guessing who it actually it) is his subconscious trying to tip him off about Hinata and how he feels about her. The idea is that Naruto already has feelings for Hinata, he just doesn't realize that they are romantic ones and that Hinata also loves him in that sort of way. This will start becoming more apparent in the next chapter.

Please leave a review and tell me what you think! The fact that people still left reviews for the fanfic even months after it was initially posted is a big reason on why I decided to update it after all this time. Do you think I got the characters right? Do you like where the story is going? What were the parts that made you smile and the parts that made you cringe? Your words mean a lot to me!