First I want to say thank you for those who reviewed my first chapter! I honestly thought that no one would read my story, but in only two days it was published, and I was surprised at how many I got. The encouragement means a lot to me, for this is my first story on here. So grin and bear it with me. Ha! I plan on this story to be on going, and all I really ask for is your lovely reviews, whether it be criticizing my work or encouraging it, because all of it helps me become a better writer. Thanks again!
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- skylarbecker
Chapter 2: Knock, knock, and knock?
Hinata stood motionless outside of Naruto's apartment, not sure how she should knock on the door. Yes, it is important on how you knock. A simple one knock might seem like she's too boring, when a few knocks could seem like she's too eager. Then there was the other tough decision on how hard or soft she should knock. A light knock seemed to fit her personality, so she finally decided to do a soft triple knock. It was elegant, and made sure to tell the person on the other side that she wanted to see them, but not too eager. Right as her knuckles lightly brushed the door, it swung open to reveal a cheekily grinning Naruto. "How long were you planning on standing out here?" The smiling boy said. Hinata blushed, embarrassed that she was caught standing there for a while and that she was making Naruto wait for no reason. "Um..," was all she responded with, not sure how to answer his question without sounding like a complete weirdo. Naruto noticed the embarrassed expression on her face and stopped her from answering by taking her hand and leading her into his small apartment. The apartment was small but cozy, despite the stale cracker smell and the light film of dust that covered almost everything. Naruto gave her a sheepish look and said, "Heh, I didn't get a lot of time to straighten up the place since I got back.. But we're not staying here long, I just wanted to grab my jacket and then we can go on our date." He finished his sentence with a wink and Hinata blushed. She didn't just blush at his gesture, but also from the word date. Though, she' has been on plenty of dates with him before, each of them were special and wonderful for her of course, but this time it feels like they are a new couple after been apart for so long. Everything feels new to her, she looked at Naruto and saw a new man standing before her with new stories and a new personality. But it wasn't that only Naruto had changed, in fact she noticed that she had changed just as much as he did, and maybe even a little bit more. With these ideas running through her head, her heart sped up. This was like a brand new adventure; a new relationship. Maybe this time she can get it right; start off with a clean slate. Hinata was determined to show Naruto how confident she was, and how she changed from an insecure nobody to a respectable shinnobi and Hyuuga heir. Naruto came back from his room, now wearing his signature orange jacket. He and Hinata then left, making their way to the park that was in the center of Konoha.
The air was warm and filled with nice calm cool breezes that ruffled through Naruto's now longer spiky blonde hair. The two pieces on the sides of his face came about to his mouth while the other part of his hair spiked up and was held back by his headband. Hinata like Naruto's haircut, it made him look much older and charming. "I wonder when he decided to let it grow out," she thought. Hinata had been wondering when he changed so much, what his journey was like, what kind of people he met in distant lands, and mostly wanted to know more about him. When they were together three years ago, it seemed like she didn't know him at all. She knew the basics though, from the years of watching him when they were growing up. His favorite color was orange, his favorite food was ramen. But what was really bothering her is that she didn't know anything about his past life, like how he grew up and who his parents were. It made her sad when she thought of all the times he would sit all by himself. He was always excluded and it puzzled her. Thinking back, she always thought Naruto was kindhearted, energetic, maybe a little obnoxious, but never mean or rude. So why would people treat him like something awful and repulsive? Why was he so unwanted?
As they sat down on the wooden bench right beside the clear shimmering water, Hinata tugged on Naruto's bright orange jacket, drawing him into a kiss. Naruto wasn't prepared for such a spontaneous action coming from Hinata, especially since they were so out in the open as well. "Whoa, what's gotten into you?" He asked in surprise. Hinata just smiled and kissed him this time on the cheek. "I could get used to this," he murmured while looking into her beautiful lavender eyes, making her giggle. Hinata finally spoke after spending some time just enjoying each other's company and watching the ducks swim across the pond. Quietly she said, "Did you think about me while you were away?" "Of course I did. Everyday actually," It was Naruto's turn to blush. "Well, what did you miss the most?" Hinata raised her eye brow and had a seductive look on her face, clearing implying what she meant. "W-well..um..uh..," Oh no! What should I say? If I say something that Ero-sensei would say, I might get hit, but if I say something cheesy, she might get offended. "w-what I missed about you the most was the way you would smile at me. The way you'd laugh at my jokes, even though I knew they weren't even half funny. I missed the moments when we'd snuggle and would feel so safe and warm. But what I missed the most was loving you every day, being able to kiss you and feel you underneath my fingertips. What bothered me the most actually was thinking about you moving on to someone better than me. For a long time, I was so jealous of this imaginary person that got to hold you like I did." Naruto looked sheepishly down to the awe-struck girl, whose eyes were slightly glazing over with tears. "Oh no, I must have reaaally messed it up," Naruto thought. But he really didn't make any of that up; it's how he truly felt while he was away. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to make you cry Hinata-chan," he said with concern in his voice. "N-Naruto-kun." was the only word that he heard Hinata reply with before he found his lips busy again. This time Hinata took him in her arms and kissed him, making him know she was in charge. Their tongues danced over each other's and their kiss was like a beautiful dance, both of them moving in rhythm and harmony. Hinata brought her one leg over Naruto's so she was straddling him on the bench, falling deeper than she planned into the kiss. Her lungs gasped for air, but she didn't want the kiss to ever end. She was in control, and she loved every moment of it. She felt Naruto's heart rate speed up and knew she was doing everything right. What broke the kiss was when a man walking past the two lovers coughed loud enough to indicate to them that they were causing quiet the scene. Both blushing and laughing, Naruto picked the light girl up and placed her on the ground in front of him, making the girl's lip curl up in a pout. "Awe, now don't give me that look," he said quietly while looking down at her from where he sat. "Aren't you hungry? I sure am, how about we go and get some ramen from Ichiraku? We can finish that conversation there." Hinata couldn't stay disappointed with someone like Naruto around; he seemed to always make people feel better. She got up and brushed off the dirt and grass on her knees and took the hand that was offered to her. Naruto gave her hand a little squeeze and together they made their way to Ichiraku Ramen Stand.
After downing 5 bowls of ramen, Naruto grinned widely. Hinata laughed at how that boy could eat so much and still not gain any weight. I wish I had his metabolism, I think any girl in Konoha would. Hinata hadn't even eaten half of her ramen and was full. She wasn't even hungry to begin with, all she wanted to do was go back to Naruto's apartment and finish what she had started on the bench earlier that evening. She played with her fingers while she listened into the conversation Naruto was having with Teuchi, the owner of the ramen stand, and his daughter Ayame. They were talking about trying to make some kind of special ramen made with a secret ingredient called menma. Hinata had no idea what was happening in the conversation, but she could have sworn that she saw a small tear roll down his face. After catching up with the owners of Ichiraku, Naruto wanted to catch up with everyone. He practically missed 3 years of everyone's life, and he wanted to make up for that.
Naruto and Hinata sat on Naruto's bed after the short walk home. Hinata went in for a kiss, but before things got too heated again, Naruto stopped her and said, "Wait, I want to catch up on what happened while I was away. I want to talk to you, and get to know you. I feel like you're a brand new person, and I think we should take things slowly again. Anyway I did promise you that we could talk at Ichiruka's but I kind of got absorbed in eating." Hinata blushed, but was a little relieved that he felt the same way about them being like a new couple. She kissed him on the cheek and looked into those shocking blue eyes of his, waiting for him to go on. "Well obviously you hadn't moved on, since you're here with me now," he analyzed with a smirk. "How could I move on from somebody like you Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a sweet tone. She continued, "So let's talk, what did Hokage-sama say to you when you returned? Didn't you have to fill out a report or something?" Deciding to ask something on a lighter subject, later she would ask more personal questions. Naruto had told her that Old Lady Tsunade just looked at him and laughed saying something like, "The brat's finally turned into a man, damn I can never win a bet." While handing Shizune, her faithful apprentice some money. He said that after he had gone through some test and medical exams, Baa-chan dismissed him and told him that Jiraiya had already handed in all the information on their mission beforehand, so there was no need for him to do anything else. Naruto knew that this wasn't a really important question and patiently waited for the next question; waiting particularly for that one difficult question to come up in the conversation. It's the same question that even he couldn't answer. More so, the one he didn't want to answer.