Series: Naruto
Pairing: NaruHina
Author: Lynns
Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto Masashi
Type: Alternate Universe/Romance
Author Note: A big thanks to everyone who favourite and reviewed this story. Here be the next installment.
Sparks Fly
Chapter 1
For the first time in a year, Hinata did not have to wear makeup or spend five minutes deciding on what outfit was most sophisticated for a morning meeting.
Up in this neck of the woods, what you wore was something most people didn't care about. There was of course rules for the camp staff who mostly wore the same color of clothing, and obviously when you were working out in the field you had to wear the appropriate fire retardant coveralls, hard hat and PPE (Peronsal Protection Equipment). It was one of the aspects she missed about working in the Industrial environment; wearing comfortable clothes while you worked twelve hour days. However as a female worker, Hinata also knew she had to choose her clothes wisely. Wearing something too tight or too low cut was bound to bring unwanted attention; and while the men around her would not say anything about it, it was quite obviously what they were thinking.
Slipping on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, Hinata made sure her small personal room was decently tidy so the housekeepers could move around easily. The room wasn't very big, but cozy enough to call your home for the next 9 days. A twin bed for you to sleep on, a desk in front of the window for your computer, a closet, sink and your own bathroom.
Peeking out in the hallway there was no one to be seen, but at 4:30am that was the norm and most people would not be waking up until 5am. However, if you wanted to grab the best and fresh food for your lunches, getting up early was totally worth it. Sock feet padded softly down the long hallway, her violet eyes glancing at the odd door sign indicating if someone was either sick or working the night shift.
Just as she was nearing the end, one of the doors opened suddenly on her right. Instead of another female stepping out (which was to be expected since it was the girls wing), a tall male with black hair almost bumped into her as he walked quickly out of the room. With quick reflexes they danced around each other to avoid collision, however Hinata could not help but gasp when she immediately recognized the male intruder. His dark eyes narrowed slightly when he looked at her and stopped walking, but before either of them could say a word, the door opened again.
"Sasuke what's the rush? No one is even . . ."
This time a woman did come out of the room, but she stopped whispering the moment she noticed Hinata. Her pink hair was wet from just having a shower and now that Hinata was looking more closely, it was hard not to notice that the male companion's hair was also damp. The couple seemed stumped for words; both of them had reddened cheeks and were opening/closing their mouths trying to say something, but no words were coming out.
Even though Hinata's cheeks were red as well and feeling just as embarrassed as they were, she said, "G-Good morning Sasuke and Sakura. Heading off to breakfast too?"
Sasuke had been the class heart throb during the time she had been in school. Even outside the trades classes he was being followed and talked about by other girls. She was not blind as to why other girls found him attractive, but personally he was not her type. Sakura who also had been in her class had had a crush on him since their first year. She mentally congratulated the pink haired woman for getting the man of her dreams . . . or so she hoped. Up here in camp, sometimes a situation like this could be seen as a booty call.
"Oh my god Hinata!" Sakura stepped forward and pulled her in for a hug, "What are you doing here?! Gaara never said anything about you coming up!"
Hinata returned the hug, "I'm here to clean up the field administrator's mess. Apparently I've got my work cut out for me with how badly the paperwork is."
Sakura nodded, still keeping her voice down she whispered, "You don't even know the half of it. I thought Gaara was going to kill her when she admitted what she had done! Sasuke what's the matter with you? You can at least say hello! You do remember her right?!"
Sasuke's embarrassment was kind of cute, and a side Hinata had never seen before. He whispered a soft good morning, but his eyes kept darting up and down the hall. It didn't take a genius to figure out why he was nervous, it was after all frowned upon to have males in the female wing.
"Why don't we get out of the hallway and have breakfast together in the cafeteria?" Suggested Hinata.
The three co-workers walked together down the main hallway, which took them both to the lunch room and cafeteria. Konoha Energy was also known for its exquisite camp that ranked far beyond the rest. Not only did it have delicious food and great camp staff at your service, but the other perks made it feel like you were staying at a hotel. There was a full gym at the other end, along with a full court to play basketball, hockey and any other team sport you could think of. A theatre room that was mostly used for movie night and big sports games. A poker game room and a board room for mostly meetings, but every Tuesday was Bingo night. Needless to say, camp life here was never boring.
"Usually they don't approve of dating in the same company, however Gaara made an exception. I was actually at another company being the Safety Coordinator there, but when it got busy here Gaara gave me a call and asked if I would come back to Hyuuga Electric. I did warn him that Sasuke and I were dating, but he said that would be fine."
"When did you change your career from electrician to safety coordinator?"
Sakura opened her mouth to answer, but was cut off by Sasuke when they reached their destination, "I'm just going to grab my lunch and head out early. Naruto and I took unit 1999 back last night so we could gas it up and change the oil this morning."
"Alright, see you at supper tonight?"
"Of course, try to not bicker too much with Ino today."
Sakura lightly smacked his shoulder before they shared a light peck on the lips. Sasuke headed towards the boot room while the ladies walked into the cafeteria; passing by the lunch room which was closed for another fifteen minutes while the cooks added the finishing touches to today's food choices.
The cafeteria was huge. Small TV's hung from the ceiling to show what today's specials were and the times of when each food station was open during the day. During breakfast though, only one station was open, which is where the two girls headed to. A line up of bacon, pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs and much more overwhelmed Hinata's nose. It all smelled so good. There was even a cook at a grill taking orders for preparing different styled eggs to the way you liked it.
Filling up their plates, both girls headed off to one of the far walls which were set up like booths at a restaurant, and were much more comfortable to sit at then the other chairs. As they sat down, Sakura answered Hinata's earlier question, "I switched over to Safety because of Sasuke."
"Because of Sasuke?" Hinata asked, placing a napkin on her lap.
"I know that sounds like a terrible reason to change your career, but after seeing what I saw . . ." A fearful expression crossed Sakura's face and her skin paled almost to the color of her white napkin, "You probably heard of this in a bulletin somewhere, about how two years ago Hyuuga Electric almost lost an electrician when he touched a 240V live cable. How the right authority said the breaker was turned off and the cable was not live. We always heard it in class how we need to test a cable before touching it . . . I just never thought to take it seriously, especially when it's your boss telling you the cable is dead. But then again when you see a man; the man you love, drop like a stone and stop breathing . . . it changes you. It's a sight I will never forget. I was the one helping him that day, and I was just so excited to be working with him that I forgot to remind him to use the meter to test the cable. For a whole minute I thought he was dead, but after doing CPR I finally got him to breathe."
Tears were running down her eyes now. Sakura ducked her head and wiped her tears away with the back of her wrist.
"Sorry Hinata. It's been over two years now since then and I still cry like a baby when I think of it." Shaking her head, she took a deep breath before continuing, "So, I changed over to being a Safety Coordinator and I've been making sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. I suppose the only good thing that happened from all of this was that Sasuke asked me out and we have been going steady ever since."
Hinata smiled and squeezed her friends hand, "I did read about that incident, but I didn't know it had been Sasuke."
"He asked that his name be kept anonymous. Only a few people know that it was him, and he would rather keep it that way. I was surprised when he told Naruto though; they have always had a rivalry thing going on since first year, even though they are best friends and I figured he would just tease Sasuke. However he did something so surprisingly it didn't just shock me, it did Sasuke too. Then again when you get punched in the face so hard you're knocked off your feet, I'm sure anyone would be surprised."
Water almost squirted out of Hinata's nose; her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she coughed, trying to regain her breath.
"Yeah, not only that he gave me quite the tongue lashing too. I've never seen him that angry before, but after that he gave us both a hug and told us to be careful next time. I have only ever seen him as the class clown, but after that day and seeing him up here . . . he is a leader. An amazing leader I might add. You probably don't know this, but Naruto has been offered to move up in the company to be a Field Foreman and even Konoha Energy has offered him positions. However he just loves working out in the field and guiding the other apprentices; so that's why he is still just a lead hand.
"Ah! Sorry I'm kind of blabbering right now! Enough about me, what about you? I haven't seen you since we finished school! I heard from Neji a few months back that you were working at the head office and got your masters."
After finishing up their breakfast, Hinata ran into another familiar face in the lunch room. Ino had squealed so loudly it had caused everyone in the room to look at them. Hinata was red with embarrassment with Ino hugging her while jumping up and down.
"Please tell me you're not here just for the day! It would be so great to be working with you again!"
"I-I-I'm here for a few shifts at least."
"Oh my god that's so awe . . ."
Sakura slapped her hand over the blonde's mouth, "That's enough, Ino-pig! We don't need everyone staring at us like we're crazy!"
With their lunches put together, Hinata was about to head back to her room and wait until the busses came to pick them up for work, but was stopped by Sakura.
"Take the bus? Oh no no no! You can catch a ride with us every morning and we'll take you back at the end of the day. We Safety Coordinators get our own truck!"
Not that Hinata minded riding the bus to site, but to not have to wait out in the cold and have your own personal seat in a vehicle was definitely more appealing. It was pitch black outside still, and with it being the winter season sunrise wouldn't be until 9am. The days here were short and sunset would come all too soon at 4:30pm.
The drive in was full of old stories, laughter and catching up among the three girls. She could not remember the last time she felt this relaxed and talkative; it felt so easy to open up with them. Hinata felt sad for a moment when she reminded herself that this was only temporary. Snow covered the winding roads that lead towards the plant, which was the main heart of Konoha Energy's oil field site. The lights that illuminated off some of the towers and tanks almost made them look like giant Christmas trees. Stopping at one of the many stop signs, Ino took a right turn away from the plant where they would arrive in Tin Town.
Tin Town was the name that was given to the small town of trailers that took up the area where all the offices were away from the plant and pads. Depending on the size of the company meant how many trailers you had for your workers. Hyuuga Electric had three trailers with the company logos on the front of them. Trailer 1 was where the Project Managers, Lead Foremans and Field Administrator was. Trailer 2 was Safety and QA/QC. Trailer 3 was the biggest out of them all and was technically three trailers molded together to make one. It was the lunch/break room for the plant crew and safety meeting room once a week.
Walking into the first trailer had almost been overwhelming. Everyone in there had stood up and came forward to greet her. Kakashi had pulled her into a hug and thanked her over and over again for helping them; meanwhile Gaara simply shook her hand, thanked her and apologized for his partner's inappropriateness.
Iruka and Itachi both greeted her with a smile and a pat on the back. While the two of them were a few years older than her, they had been great mentors back when she had been an apprentice. Hinata even dare say, that she also saw them like older brothers.
"Well Hinata, as much as I would like for you to catch up with everyone, we need to get down to business."
Hinata agreed and followed Gaara into the small office that was the cause of such huge problems. On the outside, the office looked tidy and well organized; you would only assume that everything was in order.
"If you start opening file folders and trying to find the documents you want that is where the problem starts. Karin admitted that she filed papers where she felt like putting them and the same goes with any documents on the computer. It' just a huge mess. Meanwhile, I need you to keep up with the current paperwork while trying to organize this. If there are times you need to stay later to work on this, I completely understand. Just let me know and either I or someone else can hang back to give you a ride back to camp.
"Now you will have to go through a few orientations with Konoha Energy this afternoon, but that won't be till after our safety meeting. For now you can get started here, get a grasp of what you need to do and then after lunch you can sit back and relax for the rest of the day."
Rolling up her sleeves, Hinata looked Gaara in the eye and promised him she would have this mess cleaned up before the end of the year. Grabbing a blank piece of paper and scribbling the words 'Knock First Or Enter At Your Own Risk', she began to put a plan into place. Emptying one the cabinet completely, she basically started from scratch. Filling it with empty folders and titles as if it were the start of a new year. Once all the files were labeled Hinata began the long slow process of going through each document and finding a home for it. Granted there were three huge filing cabinets to go through, so this was not going to be an easy task.
After an hour, Neji poked his head to greet her with a cheerful good morning and a cup of coffee, "I figured you would already be in here working hard. Try not to lose track of time though, you need to be at the safety meeting in a few hours."
Hinata nodded and waved him out of the room so she could concentrate on her work. Her cousin was not offended by her wordless gesture, but simply smiled and exited the room. For the next two hours, her mind was only on the task at hand. The small office looked like a hurricane had blown in and blew all the paper around, but for Hinata it was a filing system that she used regularly at the head office.
When keeping your mind occupied like this, time flies by faster than you expect. It seemed like only a few minutes ago that Hinata had last seen her cousin, but truthfully it had been a few hours. Putting her paperwork aside, she joined the rest of the crew as they walked over to Trailer 3 for the meeting. White trucks were parked all over the place from the rest of the electricians that were here for the meeting. The only way to tell the difference between each truck was the unit number printed along the side and back.
Hinata could feel her body tensing up. She was about to walk into a trailer full of mostly new faces she had never seen before. While there would be familiar ones, it outweighed the number of new ones she would see behind those doors. She could feel herself becoming self-conscious in the clothing she was currently wearing. Jeans and a sweatshirt certainly weren't revealing or sexy in any way, but for these men it would be enough. The way their eyes would look and follow her, it was moments like this she wished she was wearing coveralls.
Oh quit being such a wuss! You are a master electrician! You are a transformer technician! You know more than all of these boys combined! So show it to them and strut your stuff! Sure some of them are going to imagine what naughty and nasty things they could do with you between the sheets, but you know that's how this ball park works! This isn't your first rollercoaster ride here! You've been through this before and survived.
Smiling to herself, Hinata followed Gaara inside. A smell of sweat and dirt met her senses, along with the overwhelming heat of all the bodies cramped in the trailer. Mostly everyone was sitting down, but some were standing along the walls. All the electricians were wearing Hyuuga Electric blue coveralls and steel toed work boots, but their hard hats had either been left in the truck or back at the pad they were working on. As she walked down the aisle of tables, Hinata could feel their eyes on her, but she held her head high and smiled. Reaching the end of the trailer, she took a spot beside her cousin and turned around to look upon the faces behind her.
It seemed like most of the eyes in the room were looking at her, she was after all the newest member of the family here. Granted there was more people than usual here because both Front Shift and Back Shift were together. When noon hit today, Back Shift would heading home for their days off and only Front Shift would remain for the next six days.
While Sakura was preparing the computer for the safety meeting slide show, she took a moment to skim the room for familiar faces. Near the back she caught sight of Rock Lee and Might Guy, who were also looking at her. Lee gave her a big wave while Guy gave her a thumbs up; smiling she returned their acknowledgment with a small wave. Continuing on near the middle of the room she saw two more familiar faces, Kiba and Shino, who were like brothers to her as well; and the only people aside from her cousin she still kept in contact with. Granted she hadn't had time to let them know she was coming here. Both men were looking at her confused, and she silently mouthed to them they would talk later.
Leaning forward slightly she tried to see who else was lined up along the back wall with her. Chouji & Shikimaru were in the far corner talking to each other, but did not seem to notice her. She made a mental note to say hello to them at the end of the meeting. Beside them was Asuma, another old mentor of hers who was currently talking to Kakashi. The rest she had already been re-introduced to. Trying to act sly, she looked over her left shoulder as if only to look at her cousin. There were three men beside him, but she could not see their faces.
Her heart slightly sank at not being able to see Naruto. He certainly would have been easy to spot with his bright blonde hair and blue eyes, but perhaps he was doing something important and would be missing this meeting.
"Alright! Alright! That's enough everybody! Quiet down and please pay attention! We should get this weekly safety meeting underway!"
Sakura's booming voice carried across the room and almost instantly the men became quiet; Hinata almost expected a tumble weed to blow across the floor.
"Good Morning everyone! Welcome to this snowy Home Day Wednesday! Back Shift, I know you are all anxious to go home today. I only ask that you drive safely and enjoy your days at home. Front Shift, we unfortunately get to work in this wonderful winter wonderland, so I hope all of you have your winter gear here.
"First things first, you all recognize Neji Hyuuga, who is here to talk about the upcoming projects in the New Year. Also I'm sure you have noticed we have a new face among us. Some of us know who she is, but most of you don't. Could you please step forward, Hinata?"
Following Gaara's request, Hinata took two steps forward; her head held high and a smile on her lips.
"This is Hinata Hyuuga and she is actually Neji's cousin. She works at the head office and here is to help us a clear up the paperwork mess in the field administrator office. Hinata will be with us for the remainder of the year, so if you see her around don't be afraid to say hello and introduce yourself. She may be only here to help with paperwork, but for the record she is also a Master Electrician."
When Gaara finished, Hinata quickly spoke before she was told to step back against the wall, "It's very nice to meet you all and it will be a pleasure working with you."
As she stepped back, everyone gave her small round of applause before turning their attention back to their leader, "Thank you Hinata. Now I'm going to turn everything over to Neji, who like I said has made a special trip up here to talk to us. Neji, the stage is yours."
Gaara stepped back and Neji stepped forward, leaving her side as he began his speech. As Hinata was listening, a hand suddenly clasped her shoulder and all too familiar voice whispered into her ear, "Welcome back, Hinata. It's so good to see you."
Her body completely froze.
She knew that voice.
Slowly she turned her head.
His face had matured over the past three years, but she could still make out the scarred whiskered marks on his cheeks. Eyes were blue as ever and as he smiled down at her, she couldn't help but smile back. She could just make out his blonde hair underneath the black Hyuuga Electric ball cap, but she could tell his hair had been cut; almost like a buzz cut. His coveralls were covered in dirt and were very worn out, meaning he wasn't just a lead hand that helped guide the apprentices, but worked beside them.
Gathering her courage, Hinata took a small step to be closer to her old time crush, so she could talk to him without interrupting her cousin.
"I-It's good to see you too, Naruto. Working hard out there?"
Naruto chuckled softly, his hand leaving her shoulder, "But of course. This morning we did a high voltage cable pull. If I had known you were here I would have requested you to join us and show these rookies how it's done."
It was Hinata's turn to let out a small giggle, "As I recall those cables are 100 pounds every 5ft, I doubt I could have helped much. Granted when we did those pulls years ago I wasn't holding as much weight as you boys were."
"True, however you are still one tough cookie. I seem to recall one cable pull where you lost your boots in the mud, but you kept walking on in your sock feet."
She smiled at the memory, but was more surprised that he had even remembered that day. "I didn't want to hold up the crew. Besides, that's nothing compared to the time you slipped in the ditch during that rain storm. You were covered from head to toe in mud and forcefully sent back to camp. You and Iruka argued for over ten minutes that you were fine to keep working for the rest of the day, even though it was cold and you were sneezing"
He snickered, but quickly stopped when Kakashi gave him a stern look.
"Ahem. Yeah, those were good times. Listen, I know we should be listening to Neji here, but give me a shout sometime tonight after work okay? I'll treat you to dinner."
Hinata smiled at the inside joke, "In that case I'll order the most expensive thing on the menu. I believe tonight is Taco Tuesday?"
Naruto chuckled again and gave her a light nudge before turning his full attention back on Neji. He probably couldn't see, but right now her cheeks were flaming red. It felt so wonderful to see and talk to him just now. Her heart fluttered and she hoped that perhaps this time around, she could possibly try her confession again. However that train of thought soon came to a startling halt. What if he had a girlfriend? What if he had changed over the past three years into someone completely different? Alright, perhaps that was most unlikely, but to suddenly confess to someone you liked after not seeing them for three years was definitely not logical.
Just get to know him again! What's the harm in that? Sure he is probably the same person, but then again this is an opportunity to know more about him. Have supper with him and hang out with him after work. This is your second chance so don't waste it!
ooooooooooooooo
When the meeting came to a close, everyone stood up and started making their way out of the trailer to outside. The wind had picked up in the last hour and now heavy snow flakes were falling from the sky. Everyone was either heading for the trucks to head back to work or off to the smoke pit for a quick puff. In the huge crowd, Hinata had unfortunately lost sight of Naruto, but her disappointment only lasted for a moment after seeing two familiar faces walking towards her.
"Kiba! Shino!" Hinata opened her arms and enveloped her two friends in a group hug, "I missed you guys."
"It is good to see you too, Hinata. Although I am a bit disappointed you didn't contact us sooner that you were coming here."
Hinata pulled away and smiled apologetically at Shino, "I know and I do apologize. It was a last minute decision and I only had enough time to gather my things before I hit the road with Neji. Reception up here is terrible! I completely forgot how bad it was, but I still tried to text you two this morning."
"Don't worry about it. It's just good to see you face to face. Shino and I were talking about all of us getting together for dinner on our next days off, but this is even better. Are you just working in the office? No field work?"
She turned her head towards Kiba, "No just in the office this time around. I did bring my tools just in case, but I left them back in my camp room."
"Well Hinata we will have to catch up later, I have to take some of my boys back to Pad #12, but I'm sure I will see you around soon. Kiba, I assume you're taking the rest of them back in unit #1212?"
"Yeah I'll meet you there. I just need to ask Kakashi something before he leaves for days off. I'll talk to you later Hinata."
Hinata nodded and turned to head back to her office, but was suddenly pulled in for another hug from Kiba. Her eyes widened, he was holding onto her very tightly and his nose was brushing against the side of her neck. Before she could say a word, he released her and walked away. Hinata was frozen to the spot for a moment. What the heck had that been all about? Kiba had never done that before, was it something she said? Spinning around she watched his retreating back as he headed into Trailer #1 to talk to Kakashi, her eyes narrowing slightly in confusion. Hinata almost wanted to walk after him and discuss what had just transpired, but Sakura interrupted her plans.
"Come on, Hinata! Time for orientation!"
Sighing softly, Hinata brushed the snow that had gathered on her shoulders and hair before lightly jogging over to Sakura's truck to climb in. The engine roared to life and after letting the windshield wipers brush away the newly fallen snow, Sakura put the truck into drive and they were off. Leaving Tin Town, they headed back towards camp where the main Konoha Energy office was and where she would be for the rest of the day attending orientation.
"Ino and I will either be here to pick you up at the end of the day, or someone in a Hyuuga Electric truck. Um . . . Hinata, are you okay? You look a little pale, did Naruto say something to you during the meeting? I saw you two talking a bit! I swear if he said something inappropriate I'm going to kicks his ass."
Hinata shook her head, "Oh no no no! I ah . . . it wasn't Naruto at all. It was just something Kiba said, or rather did . . ."
"Kiba? Hmmmm." Sakura turned her attention back on the road, "You two still really close friends? I know during school you, Kiba and Shino were always having lunch together."
When Hinata nodded, Sakura continued.
"Well I can't say this for certain Hinata, because in all honesty I don't know Kiba that well. However you hear the guys talking shit sometimes and well . . . what I've heard at least is that he's been sleeping around quite a bit with some of the female welders and even the housekeepers. Don't give me that look, Hinata. You and I both know it's the lifestyle of some of the men up here, especially the single ones. Like I said though, it's only a rumor I've heard and granted I have seen him flirting the odd time with the other ladies. I know you won't tell me what he did or said to you, however I just wanted to give you a heads up of what I know at least."
Pulling up to the main office, Hinata thanked Sakura for the ride and headed inside. Giving the receptionist her name, she was escorted to a huge boardroom where she would be for the rest of the day. Ten more people joined her moments later and soon the orientation was under way. Hinata knew most of these off by heart; they would go over the company policies, rules, where muster points were and what happened during an emergency. While on the outside it seemed she was paying attention and writing down notes for the open book quiz that took place at the end of the day. However, her mind was on a completely different matter regarding both Kiba and Naruto.
Kiba, Shino and her had been friends since High School, before they had even entered the apprenticeship program to be electricians. What Sakura had said in the truck didn't exactly surprise her, on the contrary it was something that honestly made a lot of sense. While Kiba had never made a move on her before, he had flirted a few times with Ino and the other lady electricians at school. Being in camp could be lonely, and if anyone offered to keep you company, especially at night, you had to think twice before refusing them.
A night to have someone lay beside you, make your skin tingle and your breath hitch every time they touched you. Personally Hinata had never played in that game, but with that said she could understand why some people did it. Heck, even the married men lost to temptation from time to time.
The walls between each camp room were not sound proof. On a trip to another industrial site, she could hear her neighbor talking to their family on skype, but half an hour later moans of pleasure were coming through with the voice of another woman.
Regarding Kiba though, did that hug mean he wanted to invite her to play the game? But why now? Or was she reading way too deep into the matter? Heck today was Kiba's home day and she wouldn't be seeing him until next week. Perhaps he was going through a hard time and just needed a hug. He had done something like this before back when his mom and dad had split, but he had at least asked her first.
In reality what bothered her the most was Naruto being a participant in the temptation game. As long as she had known him, he had always been chasing Sakura. Ignoring any other girl around him and only focusing on trying to woo the beauty with the pink hair. Hinata had never felt ill towards Sakura though. She had always been honest with Naruto, telling him she wasn't interested and only wanted to be friends. Never played with his heart or betrayed him or ran him in circles; truthfully Naruto was just stubborn and perhaps continued to pester Sakura until she gave him. But what had happened once Sakura and Sasuke had gotten together? Had he turned to another? Given into the temptation?
Why does this bother me so much? He's not my husband or even my boyfriend. Naruto is a grown man and allowed to do as he wishes. Okay be truthful with yourself, if he was taken and cheating on his partner up here then you would be disgusted with him. However you know damn well he is not like that at all! If he had a girlfriend he would be faithful to her, I know that. Which currently he does not have, so why is it so bad he rolls around in the sheets with someone else?
A loud smack rang across the room, causing the instructor to stop mid-sentence. Everyone turned to look at her, all shocked that she had just slapped herself across the cheek. Before anyone could question she quickly apologized, "Sorry! There's been a fly buzzing around my head this entire time and when the chance came I took it to squish him!"
A soft chuckle echoed through the room; the instructor shook his head and continued on with the orientation.
Rumors. Rumors, gossip and that mind game women played in their head. That's all this was. There was no proof, no evidence or anything such as that. It was just her imagination running wild, meanwhile logical thinking had unfortunately taken a back seat in the corner of her mind. She hadn't seen or spoken to Naruto until today, so it was fair to judge him in any way. Right now, the best thing she could do was just get through this orientation and look forward to seeing him back at camp. It had been him after all that invited her to meet up, and who knows; perhaps it would lead to something more than just friendship.
oooooo
After another painful hour Hinata finally left the orientation room. She almost felt like skipping when she walked outside, but thought against it since knowing her luck she would slip on some ice and then have to fill out a hazard assessment report.
The sun had set an hour ago and it felt much later in the evening than it really was. Spotting the Hyuuga Electric truck, Hinata made her way towards it. The wind had picked up since she was last outside and it was snowing heavier than before. Placing her hand on the door handle, she was about to pull it opened but paused. The unit number, #1212, was different then Sakura and Ino's truck, meaning that the person driving her back was someone else. With tinted windows she couldn't make the person out, however her gut was telling her that this situation was about to get uncomfortable.
She opened the door.
His eyes were forward, but even so after knowing him for many years she recognized that troubled expression he wore. Hinata was more baffled that he was still here and not miles away on his way home.
Kiba did not look at her, nor did he say a word when she climbed in the passenger seat. Silence still remained when he put the vehicle in drive and starting heading back to camp.
Her eyes glanced over to him.
Kiba however kept his gaze locked forward, but was biting his bottom lip as if he was holding himself back from saying something. Granted her body position clearly showed she was uncomfortable right now; legs crossed tightly, hands locked together and her back was so straight it was as if a broom was strapped around her spine. Taking a deep breath, she relaxed into the seat and laid her arms on the arm rests.
"Working an extra-long shift?"
Trying to break the silence didn't make him look at her, but at least he stopped biting his lip, "No. After I drop you off at camp I'm heading out. This unit has to go back to head office and I'm the one taking it in, but it wasn't free until the end of the day. But I am getting overtime for staying later then everyone else."
Hinata rested her head back, "Well I hope you have a good time on your days off. I'll treat you to dinner when you get back."
Kiba didn't smile at that. Instead his frown deepened, but that expression only lasted a moment before turning apologetic and regretful. Only then did he look at her, just briefly before turning his eyes back on the road, "I want to apologize, Hinata. I shouldn't have suddenly hugged you that way."
She sat up a little straighter to look at him better, "It's okay. Is everything good at home? I hope it's not Akamaru. I know you had to take him to the vet last month, is he alright?"
"Heh. No he's doing great, especially for a dog his age. I got caught up when I saw you today. Things that I've kept hidden just sort of came out."
Hinata froze, she wasn't sure she liked where this was going.
"I'm not sure when it started. Second year electrical I think; that's when I at least remember starting to see you differently. I had no problem flirting and talking with other girls, but when it came to you . . . I always froze. I wish I could put the blame on you, but how on earth would you have ever known. I ever only spoke to you and touched you as a friend, when really I wanted to do more. I wanted to be brave like you.
"Even though he never noticed you, at least you tried! You brought him lunch, helped him with the modules and tests. Heck if it hadn't been for you I doubt he would have found those practice exams to pass the final TQ exam each year. Hell, you even confessed to him! Why you did that while he was drunk was certainly a bad choice, but hey at least you tried!"
She couldn't remember when she stopped breathing or when she had wrapped her arms around herself protectively.
"You were always so shy Hinata and un-confident. I think that's one of the things that held me back the most; my interest in confident women. At times I wanted to help you with that, but I never did . . . I never fucking did!" Now he was yelling and she jumped when his hand punched the steering wheel, "Today however, your confidence shined through the room whether you realized it or not. Heck the moment you walked into that safety meeting Naruto would not stop looking at you. Then seeing you two talk and laughing just pissed me off even more. Not at you or at him, but at myself. For not taking the chance when it was there and instead I was a fucking coward! I'm mad with some of the things I've done in my life, especially up here. You've probably heard the rumors already from Sakura and Ino . . . some of them are true. I usually don't see it as a problem. Is it so wrong not wanting to be lonely up here? Not wanting to sleep in a cold bed and just feel wanted once in a while? I've made mistakes and I can see that you're not exactly thrilled with some of them. I mean just look at me . . . pathetic huh? I suppose what is even more pathetic is sleeping with that brunette last shift and it was your name I was crying out!"
He slammed on the breaks, and it was then Hinata realized they were back at camp. However she dared not get out of the vehicle . . . not right now.
"Kiba, I . . ." her voice was trembling.
"No! . . . Sorry, I mean no. Don't apologize and don't say anything please. I just wanted you to know. I promised myself, the next time I saw you I would be completely honest. Now that I have told you everything, I don't expect you to do or say anything. Naruto is the one you like . . . have always liked. You have a really good chance with him. I don't think he's dating anyone, or at least he hasn't mentioned it. But if you show him that confidence he would be a fool not to ask you out. However, he probably won't."
Hinata's eyes widened.
"It's not what you think though! Up here where there are so many guys and so few girls you have to see it from our point of view. So many men for a woman to choose from why should I bother taking a chance? That's what every stupid man in that camp is thinking. I know this . . . trust me. Granted, you haven't seen him in three years, and if after getting to know him again he's still the same idiot you liked back in school . . . then ask him out. I know it's not how usually things go, but hell when have you ever done anything like anybody else.
"So get in there and make that idiot finally notice the girl he ignored all those years ago. And if he feels bad about it, be sure to rub it in; do it for me."
Somehow she managed to smile softly and gestured to give him a hug. He took the opportunity without hesitation and she didn't protest when he held her tighter than before. After a moment she patted his shoulder, released him and pushed the door open to exit the vehicle.
"Oh! And Hinata?"
She paused before shutting the door.
"If . . . if he doesn't . . . if things don't go how you would like them. Just know there is a stupid man out there who would like to have a second chance with you, okay?"
Her cheeks reddened and she never had a chance to respond; Kiba leaned over and pulled the door closed before driving off again. She watched as the truck left, slowly disappearing into the snowy night. It wasn't until he was gone did she realize she was crying. Hinata stared at her tears in the glass reflection, not knowing if she felt sad for him or if it was regret for not ever knowing how he really felt. Wiping her face with the back of her sleeve, Hinata opened the door and stepped into the warm boot room.
To Be Continued . . .