A/N: I had no idea what I was doing while writing so don't ask me about why my humour is bad nonsense. Wow this chapter got longer than I thought it would. Hope it entertains anyways haha.

Sasucakes: I'm glad you like them here! I'll try to include and write about them more here.

Guest: Ahh, I'm happy to hear you say that. Happy that you're enjoying my vents as well.


The old wooden fence creaked as Naruto pushed it and tried to hook the door back in its place. He banged the thing once against the lock, the door springing back towards him. He sighed and went to ring the bell.

Kiba opened the door, ushering Naruto inside. His friend was in his pajamas, if he could call the baggy red t-shirt and gray sweatpants Kiba had on pajamas, his bed hair sticking out. Naruto followed after Kiba up the stairs and he sat on the ground in the living room.

"So, you ready to study?" he asked, setting his backpack down. He took out his class notes and put them on the coffee table, seeing Kiba disappear into the kitchen.

"I don't know. Honestly, I don't think studying now is gonna help," Kiba said. He dug the pantry for snacks and chips, scanning quickly for the ones he wanted to eat.

"You want anything to drink?" Kiba called, stepping into Naruto's view.

"You have ice tea?" He flipped to the first question of the review package his instructor for kinesiology gave a week ago.

"Uh…" The fridge was opened and closed shortly. "No, sorry we're out. We have ginger ale, beer, orange juice….and chocolate milk left," Kiba listed.

"Chocolate milk then."

Kiba set the food and drinks on the table. As Kiba started to open his notes to the right page, he paused, looking at Naruto.

"What?" he asked.

Naruto gave Kiba a strange face and pointed to the cup. "Why the hell did you give me a bendy straw?"

He frowned when his friend barked in laughter.

"I thought you had that cavity problem?"

"What does the straw have to do with my cavities?" Naruto retorted. Just because he'd had one too many sweets during his childhood, didn't mean he had to drink through a straw. His dental hygiene was fine and besides, he hadn't gotten a cavity in two years.

"I promised your mom when you moved out, remember?" Kiba snickered at Naruto's lost face. "She gave everyone who was there helping you pack your stuff to promise a bunch of things to make sure you do this or don't do that."

Finally, Naruto realized what his friend was talking about and dropped his head to the coffee table.

"I remember. Ugh, I don't remember bendy straws being one of them though," he groaned.

"There's a lot of them you don't remember," Kiba pointed out. Naruto blankly stared at him.

"I didn't bother to memorize every little thing she said. It wasn't for me anyways, it was for you guys," Naruto said and grinned. "Aw Kiba, you remembered my mom's teachings and kept an eye out for me. Like with this bendy straw. What a good friend," he cooed.

Kiba made a face and tore his gaze away from Naruto to look at his paper. "That's 'cause your mom made me recite it all," he mumbled. As hot as Naruto's mom was, she was kind of crazy when it came to her son. If chasing Naruto's bullies in elementary school with a broom wasn't crazy, he didn't know what was. She beat those kids with a freaking straw broom. Other than her impulsive behaviour that Naruto inherited from her, she was cool.

"If you didn't want the straw just say so, geez." Kiba reached for Naruto's cup of chocolate milk and was stopped by a hand.

"Wait, who said I didn't want it?" Naruto let go of Kiba's wrist and sipped his drink from the cup. "You went out of your way to get it for me, I can't let your effort go to waste, can I?"

That was it. Naruto's obvious sarcastic tone was ticking him off.

"So it's okay if I spread your pictures?" Kiba smiled deviously.

Catching the evil undertone in his body language, Naruto stopped and his jaw went slack.

"W-what pictures?" he asked carefully, slowly straightening his posture.

His dog-loving friend whistled, rolling his eyes.

"Oh…I don't know," Kiba started, pulling out his phone, "maybe these?" He scrolled with his finger, down the collection of photos in a folder labelled Blackmail Naruto Material. As expected, Naruto jumped at him, hands trying to grab his phone. Kiba laughed, putting his phone into his other hand so Naruto couldn't get to it. He pushed the man's face, waving the device in the air.

"Not so fast," he said, avoiding Naruto's attempts to poke his eye. He heard a growl and a sudden pain in his hand made him drop his phone. He yelped and taking that opening, Naruto snatched it up, deleting the whole folder.

"Dude, did you just bite me?" Kiba grumbled, inspecting his hand. It already had red imprints of teeth marks and he blew at it.

"Sorry, but desperate times call for desperate measures," Naruto said.

"I can always get my hands on those pictures again you know."

"Who took them and why do you have them?" he questioned.

"Confidential information, can't tell you," Kiba said and huffed. "Are we going to actually study or what? The exam's tomorrow. I know enough to pass, but what about you?"

At the mention of their midterm the next morning, Naruto bit his lip, and looked away. He picked up his pencil, tapping the tip onto the paper. He squinted his eyes at Kiba.

"Don't think I'm going to forget this, Kiba," Naruto warned and Kiba shrugged. They got to work, reading through their notes Naruto hadn't even glanced at since the beginning of the semester.

Unfortunately after an hour and a half, Naruto thought it was about time for a break and somehow that resulted in them playing Dead or Alive on Kiba's Playstation 2, forgetting about their review session.

"Hey, I got my hands all tied up, tag me out," Kiba shouted, scooting his character away from the computer opponent. He turned his head, confused why Naruto wasn't responding.

The opponent character reminded Naruto of Hinata—the purple outfit and the purple hair, though the shades were different. His thoughts wandered to the time at the diner and the time he saw her during work.

"Basically you just asked her on a date and she said yes," Sakura said, leaning on the table on her forearms.

"Okay, friend date that's normal."

"Um…" Sakura exchanged a look with Sasuke and they stayed silent.

"That's cool and all, but what if she has a boyfriend? You know how guys don't like other guys hanging alone with their girlfriends. Call it possessive whatever. I'll be in deep shit six feet under the ground," Naruto said, holding his head in his hands.

The two blinked. Was that a reference to something?

"He's gone ahead and scared himself," Sakura whispered to Sasuke, nudging him lightly with her elbow.

"I mean, I don't want to break someone's relationship you know and have some guy hunting me down," Naruto continued to ramble on.

"You scared the guy will beat you up?" Sasuke asked and saw Naruto make a troubled face.

"That's not the problem. I don't want to ruin anything. Also, I've watched enough tv shows to know drama can get real messy," Naruto said, shaking his head. He slumped his upper body forward onto the table. He let out a long humming noise.

"She seems nice though…" he muttered.

"There's not going to be any angry guy hunting you Naruto. Hinata's single," Sakura assured softly. Her eyes locked with Sasuke's again.

"Wasn't there that overprotective cousin of hers? If he found out what we're doing…" Sasuke said in a hushed voice. Joining her lover in that same line of thought, Sakura's mouth parted.

"There's also her dad to think about. Well, not the kind of angry boyfriend he's panicking about," she mumbled back.

"Oh that's…great. Hehe…" Naruto grinned, rolling his face on the table. The two snorted at his goofiness.

The trio paid the bill and began walking onto the streets for a day of shopping. Sakura was in the changing room in one of the stores while Naruto and Sasuke waited.

"Don't need to buy anything?" Sasuke asked, side-glancing at Naruto.

"No. I'm broke if you forgot. I hope I can make this month's rent on time." Naruto chewed his bottom lip. He better get his pay this week or else he'd be dead.

"You should've roomed with me, that way we could have split the rent," Sasuke said.

Naruto scoffed. "Rooming with you when you two are doing stuff day in and out?"

"We don't do it as often as you think we do."

"Sakura practically lives with you. She can't keep her hands off you when you're near you know," Naruto said and sighed.

"It's not much of a difference since you live right next door." Sasuke shrugged. It was pretty much the same whether Naruto lived in the flat next to his or in his. The lack of sleep Naruto was getting because of them was proof of that. Whether or not a wall separated them, Naruto would hear their activities anyways.

"Sad how that's true. At least I get my privacy."

Sasuke had to chuckle. Little did his friend know he was the one who let Kiba into Naruto's apartment when he was asleep to take embarrassing photos. Though, it wasn't his fault Naruto was a heavy sleeper that Kiba could move his limbs into funny positions and poses. Fun times.

After their small conversation, Sakura popped out, twirling in her outfit. She asked for Sasuke's opinion and he gave it. They all knew Sasuke wasn't particularly picky with what she wore so the comments were plain. Sakura went to pay for the clothing and they parted at her bus stop.

The keys jangled as Sasuke unlocked his door. He felt Naruto brush by and he called, "Naruto."

Naruto raised his head. "What?" He was momentarily stunned by Sasuke's knuckles knocking his chest.

"Even if there was some mad boyfriend chasing to beat you, you wouldn't lose," Sasuke said, smirking.

He composed himself and returned the smirk. "Yeah, of course," Naruto answered.


The second time he saw Hinata was during his part-time job at the supermarket a block from his apartment. A co-worker of his asked Naruto to cover for him as cashier for ten minutes so he could smoke out at the back. The boss was chill about it as long as there was someone around to take care of the customer's purchases.

Multiple clear plastic bags containing fruits were set on the counter and Naruto waited until the person finished moving their items from the basket. As the woman bent up again, their eyes met and recognition sunk in.

"Hey, Hinata," Naruto said, gesturing a hand. He watched as Hinata nearly jumped on the spot in surprise. Her face went red and immediately, she bowed.

"S-sorry!" Hinata sputtered. "I didn't mean to forget."

"What are you talking about?" he asked, brows knitting.

"I didn't give you my number…" Hinata mumbled and Naruto just blinked. His mouth opened in understanding.

"Oh, it's fine. I could've asked Sakura for your number."

Hinata exhaled in relief and looked at Naruto. "I don't have pen and paper on me," she said.

He didn't really get it and was about to repeat himself that he could get it from Sakura when he caught something shining in Hinata's eyes.

Oh.

He pat his jeans and pulled out his phone without breaking eye contact with her.

"Can you put it in my phone?" Naruto said, holding out his cell to Hinata.

"Sure." She found the add new contact button and punched in her phone number along with her full name. She passed it back to Naruto, seeing him pocket the phone swiftly. They started to stare at each other, taking in the other's face.

It was nice, Naruto thought absently, to do nothing but look. His pleasant moment was interrupted by a rough cough. His attention flew to the old grandma standing in line behind Hinata. He scanned Hinata's items in a smooth motion, inputting the codes after he'd peeked at his cheat sheet—well, the boss taped a reference list on the counter beside the machine.

Naruto announced the total and Hinata handed him the exact amount. She heaved the bags off the counter and hesitantly glanced at Naruto. He felt compelled to say something.

"I'm off in five minutes. Do you want to hang out after I'm done with work?" he asked. Naruto saw Hinata look towards the exit.

"My sister's with me. If you don't mind…we could go out for a drink?" Hinata rubbed her thumb over the plastic bag in her hand. She smiled widely when Naruto grinned at her.

"Yeah! Let's hang out," Naruto replied, giddy. He breezed through the grandma's groceries and stuffed the money into the cash register. He dashed to the staff room once his co-worker came back, gathering his belongings and dashed out to meet Hinata and her younger sister.

"This is my younger sister, Hanabi," Hinata introduced and the girl waved. "She's seventeen."

"Hello there," Naruto greeted. "I'm Naruto."

With the introductions done, Naruto pointed into a direction, smiling.

"Alright, let's go to Triple-O's for a milkshake. Or do you guys have somewhere else you want to go to?"

Hanabi gasped. "Yes, let's go, we're going there." She balled her fists, shaking a little in excitement. "You read my mind."

Naruto chuckled. "Someone's a fan of milkshakes. You okay with it too, Hinata?" he asked. He paused, seeing the woman frozen up with a…was that a wobbly smile on her face?

"Sister loves their strawberry milkshake so of course she's fine with it, right?" Hanabi answered, patting Hinata's back. Hinata relaxed at the contact and stopped trying to hold in her delight.

Naruto was taken aback, shocked by Hinata's glowing face. There was a hint of pink in her cheeks and he could feel warmth gather in his own.

Hanabi ordered the blueberry, he got the chocolate—his usual—and Hinata the strawberry. They sat by the window and chatted for the rest of the afternoon. Naruto learned a lot about his elementary classmate and a little about her sister. Hinata's family moved to a more luxurious part of the country during seventh grade for work and now she was back for her studies.

When Naruto had asked what she was studying, he didn't know how to feel.

"Business…" she said and frowned.

"You don't like it," Naruto stated. He saw Hinata's fingers fidget around her milkshake.

She lifted her head. "I don't."

He wasn't going to ask her why she would be studying something she didn't like. People had their reasons be it family pressure, for money, or it could be a test—study it then find whether they like it or not. It wasn't just that that was keeping Naruto from prying though. Hinata struck him as the kind of person he had to be delicate with and part of that was because he didn't know her very well yet like he did with his childhood friends.

It was different. Different than helping Shikamaru bust into Chouji's room, different than starting a fist fight with Sasuke to get him to talk, different than arguing with Sakura and different than kidnapping Akamaru because Kiba refused to prank their teacher with him. Naruto was also more mature now, he'd be considerate.

"Sister, we have to go before Neji starts throwing a fit," Hanabi said, pushing the chair back as she stood. Hinata nodded, agreeing.

"Neji? You mean that stuck up overprotective cousin of yours?" Naruto asked, eyes widening.

"Yes, that's the guy!" Hanabi shouted, slamming her hands on the table. She leaned forward. "He's cool, but when it comes to my sister, lame." She shook a hand and made a face.

"Well, he was smart. There was always that other side of him so…" Naruto stretched the word, thinking of an appropriate adjective.

"So much like an ass? Has a stick stuck so far up his ass he's walking stiff straight?" Hanabi supplied.

"Hanabi…" Hinata warned, afraid Neji might appear out of nowhere and overhear her sister.

Naruto threw his head back, cackling. "Both of that! God, you're hilarious." He wiped a tear from his eye and said, "I was thinking he's so stubborn that he'd trip and crack the sidewalk, falling into the depths of the earth creating diamond with his forehead."

"And you have crap humour, wonderful. Hang out with my sister some more and maybe it'll rub off on her, why don't you," Hanabi teased and Naruto cocked his head to the side, crossing his arms.

"Didn't your sister teach you to flatter your elders even if they're spouting nonsense?" he said. He held his forehead, putting his other hand up to stop Hanabi from answering. "Actually, don't say anything. Sorry, I inherited my lame sense of humour from my dad."

"Apology accepted," Hanabi said.

They left the restaurant after finishing their drinks, tossing the cups into the trash. It was already early in the evening when they stepped outside.

"Sorry about Hanabi…" Hinata muttered sheepishly.

"Ah, no it's okay. She's funny." Naruto looked past Hinata where Hanabi was waiting at the corner for her sister to wrap up the goodbye. He tried to think of something to say, something a little more than a lonely see you next time when I do kind of thing. Naruto's eyes fell to look at Hinata's skirt that clung to her waist on the top and flared at the bottom. He smiled, he liked that style.

It occurred to him that he didn't comment about her appearance and rubbed his neck in preparation to do just that.

"You look cute today," Naruto said. He hoped he didn't come off as strange. "I like the skirt." Someone needed to tell him he was being creepy. Naruto didn't get the whole courtship, romance thing. Maybe he should've kept his mouth shut, shouldn't have attempted at complimenting people when he couldn't. It made him sound like he was like every other guy trying to hit on girls.

Hinata perked up at his words though. She lowered her head and touched her skirt. "Y-you think so?"

"Yeah, I do," Naruto responded instantly.

"It doesn't look odd?"

Naruto chuckled. Where was she going with this? "No it looks pretty."

"I'm relieved. I…made this and I wasn't confident that it'd turn out okay," Hinata said, flushing in embarrassment.

"No way, seriously?" He must've been loud, he realized and quietened down. "I can't believe you made this…"

"It's a hobby of mines and I always enjoy making and designing clothing," Hinata said, each words growing louder as a wide smile spread on her face.

Naruto grinned. "Show me what you make next time!"

"But it's not that good…" Hinata gaze travelled to the ground.

"Please, please, I want to see," Naruto pleaded, curiosity getting the better of him. He grabbed her hands and shook them. He was excited. None of his friends were into arts, choosing to study bland things like business management—no offence to Shikamaru—history, calculus, physics and whatever. Not that he had anything against the subjects, it was just his friends weren't too interested in the same things he was.

"Please? I'll show you my photo collection if you show me your clothing designs," Naruto said and Hinata gasped.

"You're studying photography?" she whispered, disbelieving. She was certain someone like Naruto would be doing sports instead, seeing how he was full of energy to move every time. He loved physical ed, she remembered in elementary. He was playful, aggressive when he played against Sasuke's team or that's what it seemed to Hinata.

"No, I'm not. It's…a hobby of mines," Naruto replied, still grinning.

Hinata squeezed his hands, gazing up at Naruto in resolution. "Okay," she answered.


"Naruto?" Kiba called again, waving a hand in front of Naruto. He whipped his head to back to the tv, finally seizing the chance to tag his character out before he died.

"Naruto, you're the only one left, beat them," he said, nudging his friend.

"What?" Naruto blinked, staring at the screen to see his character get beat up and his hp going down. "Shit, sorry. I wasn't paying attention."

One way or another, Naruto beat the opponents and they cleared the round. They were about to continue on when the entrance door creaked open.

"Crap, that's my sister," Kiba cursed. The two of them scrambled to unplug the game console and make it look like they hadn't touched it.

"Hey." Naruto stopped in his actions, a thought dawning upon him. "Why're we scared of being caught not studying? We're not in high school anymore…"

"Very good question," Kiba said and pushed Naruto to the window. "Because my sister will kill us like she almost did when we were in high school. Her rage fits aren't fun, alright?"

"I don't remember anything," Naruto mused.

"Oh that's 'cause you hit your head and got sent to the hospital," Kiba continued and slid his window open. "No time, she's stomping up the stairs now. Tell me about the girl you were daydreaming about later."

"How do you kn—" Naruto didn't get to ask his question as he was shoved through the window. He landed on his feet, crashing into the fence before dropping onto his side on the hard cement.

"What the fuck Kiba?!" he yelled.