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Today's prompt is sfw and takes place right after the events of The Last. I had so much fun with oblivious Naruto this time.
The room was large, lined with gurneys and beds that were almost full to capacity. From the high ceiling shone a bright light that gave the white-clad orderlies a sort of angelic glow as they bustled from bed to bed. Despite the overwhelming number, every single wounded villager in this wing was being given the utmost care and attention, that much was certain.
Hinata's father, however, was not one of them.
"I don't understand. They said he'd be here." Her voice trembled and she scanned the beds again as if hoping one of the occupants would suddenly morph into her father.
Naruto's chest gave a painful tug as he watched her. Shuffling closer, he put an arm around her shoulders for comfort and reassurance (because that's what boyfriends do, right?).
"Don't worry, I'm sure he's fine." he whispered softly into her ear. The tug subsided only when she finally relaxed slightly and leaned into him.
"Excuse me, are you Hyuuga Hinata?"
Hinata whipped around so fast her long hair almost flew high enough to smack Naruto in the face. "Yes? Yes, I am. My father, I was told he would be here but he isn't and I don't understand-"
The nurse laughed and placed a gentle hand on her upper arm. "Yes, we did have him here at first, but he's since been moved to a more, ah, comfortable room at his request. I will take you there right now."
All the tension left Hinata's body at once and Naruto nearly reached out again for fear that she would crumple to the ground. But she pulled herself up on her own volition and they followed the nurse out of the room into the hall.
The noise level dimmed instantly. Only the hum of the overhead fluorescents and the clack clack claking of their shoes on the tiled floor echoed through the long, empty hallway. Naruto's nose automatically wrinkled at the strong scents that wafted by. He hated the smell of hospitals.
After passing several numbered doors and what looked like a storage closet, they finally stopped in front of a room labeled with a placard: "Hyuuga Hiashi". The tag next to it was yellow in color. That was a good sign; Yellow meant the patient was seriously wounded but it was no longer life-threatening.
The nurse placed her hand on the doorknob. "You may see him but please, keep your voices down. He has a long recovery ahead of him and he needs all the rest he can get."
"But he'll be alright won't he?" Hinata asked, her features drawn tight with worry. Her hand reflexively flinched towards him; He moved to grasp it with his own and held tight.
With a reassuring smile, the nurse ushered them inside. "Yes. Thankfully, we were able to treat him just in time." The door closed behind them with a soft click.
This room was much nicer than any other hospital room Naruto had ever been in (and he had been in quite a few). Instead of bare white walls, there was patterned wallpaper and even a dark wood baseboard running along the carpeted floor. The only light in the room came from an ornate lamp placed on the wooden bedside table. Even the sheets on what little of the bed they could see through the curtain drawn around it looked softer than the crisp, scratchy linens he'd always been stuck with.
Naruto almost huffed out loud. Must be nice, having lots of money...
Next to him, Hinata clung tightly to his hand and reached out shakily with the other. The curtain around the bed pulled back to reveal a stern looking man with long dark hair sleeping peacefully. His chest and head were wrapped tightly in bandages. As they stepped forward into the cozy space created by the curtain, he gave a small groan and shifted slightly. A grimace of pain flickered across his face in the dim light.
It suddenly occurred to Naruto that outside of one brief interaction during the war, he had never actually met or spoken with Hinata's father. This would be the first time he'd ever face him in day-to-day life. The first time…and as his eldest daughter's lover. He gulped and silently prayed that Hiashi would stay asleep forever.
"Father…" Hinata whispered sadly, eyes brimming with tears. Her fingers twitched in Naruto's grip, and he instinctively let go so she could reach down and clasp her father's hand.
On the other side of the bed, the curtain rustled as it was pushed aside. A small figure stepped through, rolling her eyes. "Ugh, do you ever stop crying?"
"Hanabi-chan, that's not nice." Naruto scolded without a second thought, though he did remember to keep his tone hushed.
Looking surprised at his defensive outburst, Hanabi crossed her arms and scoffed at him in an equally hushed tone. "Wow. I wasn't aware my sister's new boyfriend is also my new dad."
At the word "boyfriend", Hinata turned bright pink, but recovered quickly. "Hanabi, what are you doing here? I thought they told you to go home and rest." she whispered.
With a quiet sigh, Hanabi crossed her arms behind her head. "Oh, I'd like to, but have you seen the house? It's a wreck." She blew out an annoyed breath and muttered, "My room got the worst of it. Yours is pretty trashed, too. The bed's completely destroyed."
"Oh." Hinata's face fell and she let go of her father's hand to lace her fingers together. "I see."
The same tugging feeling from earlier returned. Thinking quickly, Naruto grasped her shoulders and wheeled her around to face him. "Hey, it's okay. You can spend the night with me, Hinata!" He gave her an encouraging smile and nodded for emphasis.
Unexpectedly, Hinata's mouth slowly dropped open. Her eyes widened and she pressed her hands to her flaming red cheeks. "W-what?"
Ignoring Hanabi's muffled laughter across from them, Naruto nodded vigorously and clasped her hands in his, but still kept his voice as low as possible. "Yeah! As your boyfriend, I insist you sleep with me tonight! I'm not gonna let-"
"Excuse me?" a deep voice interrupted.
Both of them froze and turned slowly towards the bed, which now bore a very awake and very irate man. Apparently, the Hyuuga clan patriarch's ears were just as sharp as his eyes, even when sleeping. Speaking of his eyes…none of the three standing around his bed failed to notice the way they were not-so-kindly trained on Naruto and Hinata's joined hands.
"Hanabi, leave us." Hiashi spoke a little too calmly after considering them for a tense moment.
His daughter obeyed, but not before turning back and shooting them a look that clearly said ooooo you're in trouble now.
Once the curtain fell back into place behind Hanabi, Hiashi looked at Naruto in such a manner that he felt the sudden urge to drop Hinata's hands and stand as straight as he possibly could. Which he did immediately. At that moment, he also became very aware that he was still wearing his torn and dirty mission clothes and braced himself for some kind of lecture.
After a moment, Hiashi instead turned his attention to his eldest daughter. "Hinata…I am glad to see you unharmed."
Hinata nodded. "Thank you, Father. How are you feeling?"
He closed his eyes, arms gingerly folding across his chest. "Much better. The medical care here is excellent, as expected."
Naruto may not have grown up with parents, but he was pretty sure this was an unusual way for a father and daughter to speak to each other. It felt more like watching a pair of work colleagues discuss the weather than two family members expressing relief upon being reunited.
"Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto balked at the suddenly stern pitch directed at him. "Y-yes?" He straightened back up.
"Why, may I ask, are you insisting Hinata stays with you tonight?"
"Because…Hanabi said your house is pretty messed up a-and I thought it was the right thing to do?"
"And what is the nature of your relationship with my daughter?" Hiashi opened his eyes and stared directly at Naruto. Even without the Byakugan activated, it felt like he was getting searched from top to bottom, inside and out.
Naruto tried not to shiver. "Er…yeah. We're together now…and stuff." He cleared his throat and tried to speak more formally but due to still being under Hiashi's now increasingly intimidating gaze, it came out more along the lines of a mumble. "So, if Hinata would like to stay at my place tonight, I'd be more than happy to have her."
From somewhere outside the curtain, Hanabi snorted.
Hiashi's eyes flashed dangerously and narrowed into slits. "Absolutely not" he growled.
"I…but…" Naruto started, confused.
"I said," the veins around Hiashi's eyes bulged and threatened to pop, "No."
From the bedside, Hinata gave Naruto an apologetic look.
Naruto opened his mouth again, about to ask why in the world it wouldn't be okay for his girlfriend to accept a kind gesture from him when Hanabi burst grandly through the curtain and gave a dramatic sob.
"Dad, you know the house was badly damaged by those puppet guys. There are whole walls missing." Hanabi grabbed one of her pigtails and fiddled with it in an exaggerated fashion while her face pulled into a massive, trembling pout. "A-and I'm scared. Big sis and I are still so low on chakra from everything we went through, I…I don't think we could fight those guys off if they came back. So…can we please stay at Naruto's place tonight? He's the only one who can keep us safe."
Naruto almost gagged at the sheer terribleness of Hanabi's overacting. There was no way anyone-much less a strict, overbearing father-would buy that performance.
To his immense surprise, Hiashi's tense face slackened and he brought one hand to his chin thoughtfully. He gave a defeated sigh. "Well…I suppose it may be for the best, then."
Hiashi turned back to Naruto. This time, his stern voice contained a hint of gentleness that Naruto didn't even realize he was capable of. "Uzumaki Naruto…if it is not too much trouble, I would be grateful if you would put up my daughters for the night."
Naruto blinked at him and scratched the back of his head. "Ah…oh. See, I thought it was just going to be Hinata, I didn't-"
"Hinata…and Hanabi." Hiashi suddenly snapped back to a less friendly tone.
Naruto gulped and stood even more upright, if that were possible. "Yes, sir."
"Good." Hiashi leaned back into his pillow with a tired sigh. "Hinata…Hanabi…you may leave now. I must rest."
The two of them nodded and chorused "Goodnight, Father." They exited the space, leaving Naruto alone at Hiashi's bedside. Not knowing what to do, he laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Um, goodnight…Mr. Hyuuga. It was…very nice to meet you." he said, as carefully as possible.
No response. Figuring the old man fell asleep, he started to slip quietly through the curtain when…
"Naruto."
Wincing at the icy tone, Naruto glanced back and steeled himself for the worst. Yet he swore he could see a hint of a smile as his girlfriend's father said with a curt nod, "You may call me Hiashi."
"R-right." A somewhat relieved laugh escaped him. With an awkward bow in the older man's direction, he turned and fled to join Hanabi and Hinata in the hall.
Once the door clicked shut, Hanabi spun around on her heel to face them and planted her hands on her hips. "Well, it's been great, but I gotta get going. See you…whenever." She gave an embellished wave of her hand and sauntered past.
"Wait…you're not coming with us?" Naruto asked, confused.
With a mock gasp, Hanabi turned back around and slapped a hand to her cheek. "Oh, no, did I forget to tell you? I already have a place to stay. My teammate has a guesthouse in his backyard and his mom said I could use it if I wanted." She smirked at them pointedly. "Sooo…have fun tonight."
"Hanabi!" Hinata gasped, eyes wide and cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red as her sister skipped away triumphantly. Naruto scratched his head, perplexed and not entirely sure what Hinata was getting so fussy about. Down the hall, Hanabi's smug sing-song voice echoed back.
"You two owe me biiig time!"
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