Chapter Two
Feelings
"Well...?" The blond half-hissed, clearly wanting a verbal response. Her impatience showing not only in her voice, but on her face as well.
Sakura stared around the room frantically, trying to find some sort of escape from Ino's penetrating gaze.
Not only was Ino training to become an acomplished medic-nin, like her friend and rival Sakura, she was also well on her way to becoming a master of the mind.
Sakura knew full well that Ino could read her like a book... just as she was doing now. Normally, it was fairly easy to hide her true feelings from a certain blond, even if she had yet to figure them out herself, but as she learned the hard way, hiding anything from this particular blond proved to be much more difficult.
"As much as I wanted to hear it from your own mouth, I already know the answer... even if you don't," the blond kunoichi revealed with mild impatience mixed with disappointment at letting herself give in so easily. But she realized that Sakura wasn't the one she was impatient with. She couldn't wait for the answer and she didn't know why. She felt very nervous for some reason, but hid that well from her pink haired friend
After some time of looking around her room for a scapegoat proved hopeless, Sakura made herself content with staring at the floor.
"I-I... don't know," the thoroughly flushed Sakura finally admitted to the question that, just a couple days ago, she would have answered with utmost confidence that she did not like the blond. She hung her head low, avoiding Ino's steady gaze, as if she should be ashamed.
As if she were reading her mind, Ino interrupted her thoughts.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of. You are moving on. That's good," she advised, trying to sound wiser than her years permitted her.
"But... I don't know," she said, sounding defeated. Not even Sasuke made her feel this way and she flinched at the idea that Naruto could stir up feelings that Sasuke could not. She never gave her feelings for Sasuke a second thought, but she found herself wondering what was so great about him. What was so great about a guy that never returned her feelings... Not once. Naruto on the other hand...
Sakura snapped out of her thoughts as Ino started speaking once more.
"Then we'll just have to find out!" She concluded confidently.
"What?!" Sakura exclaimed immediately perplexed as if on cue, making no effort what-so-ever to hide her shock at Ino's sudden decision.
She was making that face... the one she only made when she was thinking up one of her mischevious schemes.
"Here's what you'll do..." Ino began.
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The busty blonde let out a deep sigh. "Oh well," she said uncaringly. "It's their own damn fault they got themselves killed. So why should I care?" She asked, as if any answer that was given wouldn't make a difference.
Shizune gasped and TonTon...well, 'oinked.'
"Tsunade-sama!" She pleaded.
Tsunade just rolled her eyes, no longer paying attention to the reporting ANBU in front of her. Her gaze soon fell back upon the cloaked figure when he started to speak again.
"Actually... they didn't die. As a matter of fact, it's the manner in which they did not die that you should concern yourself with," the man continued behind his bird-like mask while motioning towards his written report that was placed on her desk upon entry.
Before flipping open the thin black covered booklet, she took a moment to scowl at the ANBU operative for even hinting that he could tell her what she should concern herself with. Realizing his mistake, the cloaked figure immediately straightened his posture, trying to stand even more at attention than he was previously.
She opened the black covered booklet and read the opening notes, presumably the most important ones. Something about a pretty nifty lightning jutsu and some other stuff.
"You are dismissed," she said monotonously after reading from the book.
The cloaked figure, once again, stood to attention and replied with a "Hai" and disappeared in a small cloud of smoke.
Now letting lose her pleasure, Tsunade broke out the sake bottle she had hidden in her robe just before the ANBU had 'popped' in.
This time it was Shizune's turn to let out a sigh before silently remembering what she had done earlier that day. Nervousness suddenly took over as she started thinking up reasonable excuses to get the hell outta there..
"Locate Team Seven," Tsunade ordered bluntly.
"Hai," Shizune obeyed, sounding almost pleased to leave. She turned on her heel and rushed towards the door. Shizune stole a quick glance back at the Hokage before shutting it behind her. "She would have been drunk by the time they got here..." she said to herself, thinking of the Team Seven members.
Tsunade cocked an eyebrow at her assistant. She could've sworn there was a smile on her face just as she closed the door...more of an evil smirk, really. Shrugging it off, she poured herself some sake in a small saucer and sipped at it eagerly, closing her eyes as the warm liquid rushed over her tounge. Her eyes snapped back open at the absence of its usual flavor. It wasn't sake, it was...
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"WATER?! SHIZUNE!!" She could hear her name followed by the usual obscenities yelled from across the street inside the Hokage tower. Shortly after, the bottle could be seen crashing through the closed window, shattering the glass. She cringed but couldn't help feeling sastisfied.
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She was going to do it; just as Ino had told her. Besides, what could it hurt...right?
"Besides everything, including me! What if I make a fool of myself? What if someone finds out...?" She stopped walking, positively shocked at the idea. "I have a reputation to keep..." A thought just entered her mind causing her to gasp. "INO! That's it! She's just trying to lure me away from Sasuke! UGH! That conniving little BITCH!" She screamed the last word before looking around her. People were staring. One women was actually leading her children away from the scene as if trying not to catch some sort of disease.
Sakura had not realized she was talking out loud, let alone ranting!
"Eh heh... heh. Oh crap," she said to herself just barely above a whisper. She hung her head down low, as if trying to hide herself and started walking away from the crowd in more of half run to get away from the scene. She kept silent trying not to attract anymore attention, if that was even possible.
As soon as she turned the nearest street corner, she bolted down the street, wanting to get away from there as fast as possible. She took several random turns before finally deciding she was far enough away.
"Well at least I no longer have to worry about my reputation," she thought to herself. "I completely soiled that in no time... without Piggy's help." Her eye twitched with anger at the thought of her 'name' but with her name came the topic of their discussion, mentally and literally. Naruto.
She hadn't yet noticed the blond until she heard his voice, even though her thoughts at the moment were focused on him. She felt her anger die down only to be replaced by something else. Some familiar feeling, but she couldn't quite place it... but that too was soon replaced by something else...
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"H-Hey, Hinata! I didn't mean here! Wake up!" Came his panicked voice.
Sakura looked up to find herself back in the housing district of Konoha.
For some reason, Sakura's heart fluttered at the site of him, yet she still did not know why. Possibly because she was just thinking of him, but that feeling died down quickly as it was replaced by another. Jealousy? She couldn't take it anymore. With the blond and indigo haired girl in the middle of the three-way street, she bolted, taking the street to her left which was also to the back of the blond.
Naruto scoopped up the Hyuuga girl and headed down the street in which Sakura had originally come from.
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For the second time in less than an hour, the pink haired medic found herself running aimlessly. She had only taken one turn and continued running for another few blocks until her mind had realized that the scenery around her had changed drastically. With mixed feelings, she took in the sight. Lush green trees and bushes were all around her as well as the grass beneath her feet. She finally realized where she was.
In the distance, she could see a few kids playing ninja as one threw his fake shuriken at the other and pretended to be hurt when the plastic toy hit his arm. A third boy in the group went through a few sloppy handsigns and threw a handful of grass at the 'hurt' kid while he yelled, "Razor Grass no Jutsu!" (Didn't feel much like translating this one and besides, adding 'no Jutsu' makes it sound cool, lol)
Sakura couldn't help but chuckle at the actions of the three. She soon turned away and began walking this time. A few minutes later brought the sounds of running water to her ears. As she took a turn around the trunk of a rather large tree, a bridge stretching over a small river came into view. Closing the distance, she took a seat underneath the bridge, and before she knew it, fell asleep to the sounds of the water crashing softly over the rocks.
A few peaceful hours of rest later brought Sakura eyes to leisurely drift open with a rested smile. With a yawn and a nice stretch, the pink haired girl looked around her. She looked at how the shadows were leaning and guessed it was only about three-o-clock. She missed lunched but she didn't feel like going home. She knew somewhere that was alot closer. Her smile faltered a moment but pushed the feeling away. She then got to her feet and began walking once more. When she came to the small clearing she had come across before, she was slightly surprised to see the ninja boys were still at it. Before moving on, she watched for a moment as the three boys competed against each other to see who could climb a tree the fastest.
Slip
Sakura gasped as she saw the last boy's footing slip on one of the tallest branches. Flailing his arms in a desperate attempt to grab a nearby branch, he did managed to grab onto the thin tree limb at the last second before... Crackle crackle. Snap!
Sakura let out another gasp as the boy began falling again, but this time, he had no branches to catch onto and only a few thin ones to slow his fall as he crashed through them. Many incoherent screams were heard as the kunoichi rushed to his aid. Seconds before hitting the hard root-popping floor, the pink haired kunoichi swooped in and caught the boy in mid-air. The boys above looked down on their friend and his savior, completely awestruck.
She then carefully layed the boy down at the base of the tree as his friends came climbing down as quickly and as carefully as possible.
A familiar green aura glowed around the medic's hands as she took care of the few cuts and scrapes caused by his fall.
"Wow Lady, you're like... a real ninja, huh?" The two boys chorused almost at once. The fallen boy was still speechless.
"Yes, I am," Sakura answered with a smile.
"Wow..."
"Now you guys have to be more careful. And you..." She said, now speaking directly at the sitting boy, "You need to stay put for a few minutes while your body recovers. Be more careful, got it?"
"H-Hai! Arigato, Medic-san!" Sakura simply smiled in return and continued back on her way. About five minutes later and she found herself standing at her destination.
"HEEEY!"
Sakura smiled unknowingly at the call. She turned to see the incomming blond who was needlessly running to her position.
"H-Hey Naruto... kun." She said when he finally reached earshot. Throwing away the previous scene she saw with him and Hinata out of her mind, she found herself suddenly nervous. "Where have you been?" She asked curiously.
"Oh...," his demeanor slightly shifted. Sakura could tell something was amiss.
"Me and Hinata were going to hang out..." Sakura's heart dropped the moment the words left his mouth.
"Oh... really?" Sakura enquired, trying not to sound too disappointed and not really wanting to hear his answer.
"Ya, but she like... collapsed or something. Fell unconcious, I guess. She felt really warm so I took her to the hospital..." He finished, pointing to the hospital behind him with his thumb, though you couldn't actually see the building anymore.
"She must have fainted again... She always does that around Naruto," Sakura frowned.
"Man! Time flies. I missed lunch," Naruto said aloud but mostly to himself, gaining the attention of his pink haired friend. "I came here to get some ramen," he informed, practically drooling. "Looks like you had the same idea..."
Sakura had forgotten all about lunch, being distracted by the earlier incident and all. She was a bit surprised that she had forgotten about it since not only was it part of Ino's plan, "Ugh, Ino..." but it was practically right in front of her as well.
"Mind if I join you?" She asked nonchalantly, deciding to take this chance to set the plan in motion. Even if it was a trick, she didn't care at the moment. "I missed lunch too," she quickly added, hiding her subtle embarrassment when she noticed Naruto was looking at her strangely.
Naruto's eyes got wide and his grin got bigger.
"Sakura-chan, is this a da-"
BAM! Sakura hit him before he had the chance to say it. She did not want him to thinking that way... yet.
"Owww!" The blond whined.
"Can it! And don't get any ideas! I'm just hungry, ok?" She half-lied, getting overly defensive.
"Ok, ok. Just quit hitting me..." He pleaded.
Sakura sneaked a smile.
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Flashback
"Guuuurrroooh," came the odd sound from the blond's stomach.
"Hehe, sorry," he apologized with his usual grin that always came with that head-scratching habit. "When you passed out, I was worried about you, so I kinda... skipped lunch, heh..."
Hinata gasped inwardly and thought, "H-He... skipped lunch... f-for me?" Blushing deeply she continued aloud, "Y-You didn't have t-to do that f-for me..." She finished slowly, looking into his eyes, getting lost in the deep cerulean blue. The sound of his voice made her break eye contact, once again, blushing uncontrollably. She looked down at her lap.
"Well, uh... it's not like I was just gonna leave you here all alone without a word..." Naruto said, releasing a genuine smile at Hinata. A slight blushed creeped onto his face.
Without really thinking about it, Hinata started moving her right hand towards Naruto's, whose just so happened to be resting on Hinata's bedside, close to her hips. Clueless, Naruto had been sitting at Hinata's right bedside, by the window.
Her hand, moving ever so slowly, glided over Naruto's own. It hovered there for a moment before Hinata finally mustered up the courage to let it settle upon the top of his hand. She had not even realized Naruto was talking until the sudden silence told her that he stopped. She had been lost in thought, or in this case, lost in action. Naruto, on the other hand, stopped thinking altogether. He felt the sudden warmth flowing over his hand so he looked down to see where this wonderful feeling was comming from. He saw her hand resting upon his. Her smooth, gentle fingers caressing his own. He felt the urge the hold onto it, so he did. He turned his hand facing his palm upward. He then closed his fingers around hers, entwining them together.
His eyes followed up the path that her arm gave him. He found himself taking in her features that he never seemed to have really noticed before... Her smooth round chin. Her angelic smile. Her rosy cheeks. That cute little nose. Those somehow beautiful pupil-less eyes. And her long gorgeous indigo hair with her bangs hanging down neatly to the sides.
He was stuck on her eyes as his gaze finally met hers. They stared into each other's eyes with a warm affectionate feeling emanating from the two.
Naruto was now the one lost in Hinata's eyes. Though they were mostly colorless, to him, they were the prettiest things in the world. He was lost for words. He had completely forgotten what he was saying earlier and was now waiting for his mind to catch up to the current feelings he was having.
The feeling was mutual. Neither of them wanted it to end. As a matter of fact, Hinata actually wanted it to go further. To her, it was already pure bliss. It was a miracle she was still conscious. Or maybe she already fainted and it was all a dream. But to their unfortunate surprise, a knock at the door told her she was not dreaming and effectively ruined the moment.
Both Naruto and Hinata panicked and tore their hands away, looking in opposite directions. They tried to pretend nothing happened in front of the nurse who just walked in, but the look on both their scarlet faces said everything.
Seeing this, the nurse could tell she interrupted something possibly romantic.
"S-Sorry, but it's time to check up on the patient. It's a good thing you brought her in, she was actually starting to come down with something," she informed, still alittle flustered herself at walking in on the two..
Naruto was surprised that the nurse was so nice about it. He expected some sort of mean remark like he always got. This girl must not have known.
Hinata sighed deeply and Naruto released the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding.
A few silent minutes past until the nurse was done looking over something on a chart and move to a cupboard opposite the room. A moment later, Naruto tensed up seeing an object in the hands of the nurse. A syringe. He could fearlessly take a chidori to the chest, but there was something in him that just made him hate needles.
Seeing this reminded Hinata of this fact. She was sorta his stalker, you know. So this just so happened to be something about him she already knew.
"A-Ano..." The nurse paused and looked up at the questioning look on the Hyuuga's face. "Y-You can go get some l-lunch now... I-If you w-want..."
"Really? You sure?" He asked, wanting to make sure but also wanting to get outta there.
"Mm hmm," she answered with a nod.
"Thanks, Hinata-chan!" He said, slightly disappointed in leaving but still happy to go eat. He rose from his chair and stood next to Hinata. Naruto gave her a smile and started to walk towards the door.
"I'll see you arround?" He questioned in a cheery tune.
"Mm," she replied, giving him another nod. The blushing slightly.
With a wave and a smile, the happy blond continued out the door.
Flashback End
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Hinata kept going over the scene again and again during and even after the nurse left. She pinched herself to make sure she really wasn't dreaming... but even her dreams hadn't been this good. She sighed happily and dropped her head back onto her pillow from her sitting position. She snuggled up to her pillow, pretending it was a certain orange clad ninja. She blushed and smiled harder than ever.
A/N: Lol, bad Shizune. I thought it was funny though. Some NaruHina fluffyness! What did you guys think? Always looking forward to your reviews and suggestions.
Until Next Time...