The dawn breaks on another beautiful morning in Konoha. A few clouds exhibit a pinkish hue and the dew is freshly glistening on the grass as the shopkeepers are busily organizing the finishing touches to their stores before the morning rush.

"Well it is the third day," Hinata thinks to herself. "I-I wonder what Naruto-kun is going to ask me." She is sitting idly by on a bench just a few feet away from where the chance encounter that was two and half years in waiting occurred.

"I hope N-Naruto-kun likes this. It took me a while to make and I think I may have overdone it, but I want to impress him," Hinata wonders as she stares down at the package resting on her lap wrapped in a purple towel.

Inside the wrapping is a freshly made bento box. The violet haired ninja's fair colored skin begins show a rosy complex and a smile as she remembers back to the first time Naruto tried her food. "You will make a good wife someday," he said.

The street traffic begins to pick up a bit and the market fills the air with the smell of seafood, veggies, and ramen. "Well I guess the only way I will know is when he comes by here like he promised." And so Hinata waits for his return.

A couple hours have passed and more traffic is flowing in the streets. "Well he didn't say what time in the morning to meet him. Plus he always was known for sleeping in and being almost as late as Kakashi-sensei." A few gray clouds begin to roll in.

Another hour passes, and Hinata beings to look up at the clouds. A couple of small drops of rain begin to glance off her checks. She takes out her umbrella and opens it for cover. "Well maybe the rain slowed them on their way back."

A slight look of concern comes across her face and she looks down in her lap at the prepared bento box. "His lunch will get cold. I guess he could reheat it." "Hey Hinata…" a voice says. She raises her head quickly to see who called her. "Naru…"

"Why are you out here? You will catch a cold," says Shikamaru with Temari in tow. "Oh…hello Shikamaru and Temari," replies Hinata with noticeable disappointment in her eyes. "I am just waiting for Team Kakashi to return. You haven't seen them have you?"

"Nope, I haven't seen them since the mission orders three days ago. Sorry." "Come on Shika-kun, you promised to get me a gift for visiting early," Temari prods. "Yeah, yeah – I know. So troublesome," Shikamaru says with a coy smile as they walk off.

"Ok, so they are just late. Thank goodness," The relieved little girl sighs to herself. Five minutes later the rain begins to let up so Hinata puts her umbrella away, not concerned about the drops still hitting her face.

Another hour passes, and two students from the academy walk pass Hinata. "Man that Sakura can be a tough teacher some days," one student says. "Don't worry, she always is that way when she comes back from missions."

"Um-Um excuse me," Hinata says standing up. "So you saw Sakura recently?" "So that means they are finally back?" The student replies, "Well not so recently. We had our class about two hours ago." "O-oh… thank you," says Hinata.

"So-So they have been back for a while, huh? Why didn't Naruto come here? Ha-have I been stood up? Does he not like me? What did I do wrong?" Hinata slumps back onto the bench, water racing down her checks but it stopped raining an hour ago.

Hinata just sits there for what seemed like an eternity, wondering what had just happened. Her fears of being stood up mounting. "Why? Why did he make a promise and not come through," Hinata sobs. "Well hello Hinata, why are you here?"

She raises her head, wiping the tears away from her eyes. It is Kakashi. "Oh, hello Kakashi-sensei," raising up from the bench to greet him formally. "Well I must say I am surprised to see you sitting here," comments Kakashi. "I thought you would have been at the hospital."

"W-why do you say that?" Hinata's face shows that of a sad and confused lady. "Well, coming back from the Sand village, we ran into Orochimaru and had an unexpected battle. Naruto got banged up really bad and we had to rush him to the hospital."

"OH NO!!" exclaims Hinata, her hands covering her heart. "Why didn't I know about this sooner?" "Well Sakura had a class to teach and I was busy filling out the report of our mission and run-in. I just finished up," explained Kakashi.

A slight feeling of relief fills Hinata soul. "So you didn't break your promise." Suddenly her face is struck with concern. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensi. I need to head off now." She grabs the bento box and runs towards the hospital. "N-Naruto-kun, I am coming. Hold on for me."

Next Chapter - "The Question"

The video version of this chapter can be seen on youtube under my username bkeller1976 or search by the title of the chapter.