Longer chapter babyy! You you should probably re-read the previous chapter before starting this one.
"l AM NOT GOlNG TO TOUCH HlNATA-CHAN AT All TODAY DATTEBAYO!", Naruto challenged, scratching his head in frustration.
Hinata could feel her heart beating at her throat. Of course Naruto squeezing her breast was an accident. The only person who squeezed her there before was Hanabi, but that was when they were kids and they used to quarrel alot.
But this felt way different.
Hinata took a few quick steps forward and paused. "Naruto-kun lets go have some ramen. ls that alright?", she squeaked.
The blond stopped agonizing and looked over at his girlfriend. "O-okay..."
Hinata resumed walking, slightly increasing her pace. Naruto's larger footsteps however easily caught up to hers and then slowed down to match her.
"Why am l over thinking about this? This is normal right, between couples... l think. When Naruto-kun and l get married he'll be touching me everywhere... OH NO!". Hinata squirmed and hid her embarrassed face behind her hands. "Naruto-kun...what's he thinking now..." She slowly pulled her hands down her face, and peaked at him cautiously. Her eyes slowly slid up his pants, to his jacket and up to his face. Hinata's eyes widened in shock as they met Naruto's, his face two inches away from her.
Caught.
"Ahh!" Hinata jumped and quickly turned away and looked down.
"Hinata-chan...are you mad at me?"
"N-no, of course not!" Hinata hesitantly met his gaze and forced a smile.
Naruto bought it and sighed in relief. "Okay... So watcha getting this time from Ichiraku Ramen?" He felt his pockets for his froggy pouch.
"Um...m-maybe a bowl of Tonskotsu ramen and some gyoza. I really enjoyed it the last time we went."
"Yea, yea that tasted great. You know ramen makes me feel better all the time, though I think I should take you somewhere else next time around, eheh.." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed. "l'm a pretty lousy boyfriend. lt's because l'm new to this relationship thing maybe that's why." He eyed Hinata, curious about her reaction.
The last thing Hinata wanted to do was trouble the people she loved. Even though she regretted using her Byakugan shamelessly to check out Naruto's froggy last time, she didn't want him to end up broke because of a date.
"I love what you love Naruto-kun. Besides, the ramen there is delicious, so don't worry." She turned to face Naruto. "Also...never call yourself a lousy boyfriend. I think your perfect. I always did and always will." Her pale eyes poured out love, the smile lines adorning them emphasizing her feelings.
Naruto's heart skipped a beat. The way Hinata looked at him felt somehow different, compared to how Sakura or any other girl looked at him. He couldn't explain it. lt made him feel things that others couldn't conjure. This always frazzled his nerves, and messed up his heart. Moment like this, his eyes would linger on her a second too long.
As far as he remembered, no one thought he was perfect. He had been called the loser of the village. A monster. Dead last. Hinata was the first one to notice him, or even think he was perfect, while others ostracized him.
"Hinata-chan...thank you." Naruto's voice turned hoarse. The girl in question heated under his gaze and her eyes flitted to the ground. But Naruto wanted Hinata to have her eyes on him. He wanted to push her chin up and have her helplessly look into his eyes.
He reached out towards the Hyuuga and gently held her chin between his index finger and his thumb and titled her head up.
"Naruto-kun..?" Hinata whispered as her body sent heat waves all over, her anticipating eyes fixed on Naruto's gorgeous blue ones. The boy slowly leaned in causing her eyelids to droop.
But he stopped. Because he knew he wouldn't be able to control himself after that. Especially at night.
Naruto released his hand. Hinata, confused, fluttered her eyes open and saw Naruto stare at the ground.
"Did my breathe smell unpleasant?!" she panicked, and quickly breathed out into her hands and sniffed. It smelt like mint toothpaste.
Naruto's eye caught Hinata doing this. "Damn..she's so cute. She thinks it's her fault while I'm here being an ass to her."
Naruto cleared his throat, "Let's hurry to Ichraku's. You must be starving." ( she's starving for you, you Baka)
He immediately resumed walking, feeling like such a douche. Hinata followed him, feeling disappointed. "He was going to k-kiss...I'm sure of it...but why did he stop? My breath was fine too..." Hinata clutched the side of her skirt in her hand and twisted it. Her heart didn't slow down, especially after the prospect of getting a kiss from the love of her life. But she figured she was too hopeful and stopped fretting about it. Right now however, she wanted to hold his hand.
She shyly reached out to place her hands in Naruto's and intertwined her fingers with his. Naruto feeling her small soft hand on his rough calloused one melted his heart. But...But he promised himself not to touch Hinata today!
"AA-ACHOOO!" Naruto faked sneezed, and broke his hand away from Hinata's to cover his mouth.
"Bless you. Do you need a tissue?"
"I-it's fine."
Hinata reached out to take his hand again but Naruto interrupted her. "I-I don't want you to get my germs on you so I don't think you should hold my hand", Naruto said, trying to sound serious.
Hinata contemplated holding his hand anyways. Her fingers brushed against his but Naruto quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.
She was hurt. She had a feeling Naruto was...avoiding her? He didnt seem to want to kiss her, and probably didn't want to hold her hand..
Was he sick? He felt hot earlier when they met, but he doesn't seem to be running a fever now or even have a nasal condition... Or was he avoiding her because there was something wrong with her? Hinata shook her head forced herself to snap out of it. She was on a date with him after so long and she wanted to cherish it. She wasn't going to let her petty thoughts ruin her day.
The couple passed the cherry blossom trees and entered the residential area of the village. The sun reaching its zenith, lit the colourful spiral rooftops of the adjoining wooden houses. Each window sill housed potted plants sprouting bright mint coloured leaves, adding more life to the scene. Every corner of the area had trees that provided shade and comfort to the occasional bird or mammal.
The sound of water splurtting out of a hose caught the attention of the two. The person holding the hose had her back facing them. She wore a pale green sundress that went down to her knees, with a large straw hat to go along with it. She was spraying water onto some well grown juicy watermelons in the garden space located at the side of someone's home. Under the shade of a nearby tree were two kids, around the age of five, squatting down with sticks in their hands, scribbling on the now wet soil due to the water trickling towards them from the hose.
"Hotaru! Natsume! Wanna help me wash the watermelons?" The girl called out.
The kids momentarily paused with their incorrigible scribble and looked up, contemplating about the offer. They ignored it and went straight back to doodling.
The girl placed her hand on her hip. "Are you sure you don't want to help me?"
Seeing that she got no response, she took the hose and sprayed water near their feet, washing away their mud artwork.
"Eehhh? Nani onee-sama why did you do that?", the two whined.
The girl stuck her tongue out playfully and pretending to run away, causing the two tiny ones to chase after her. The girl sprayed water around careful not to wet them, while the kids tried to stop her by hugging her legs. High-pitched screams and giggles filled the air as they played together.
Hinata was watching the familiar pink haired girl, and smiled. "Sakura-san is very pretty. Just like spring." She looked over at Naruto. He too had his eyes on Sakura and she noticed how his eyes were wider than usual, his mouth slightly ajar. Hinata felt something uncomfortable swelling in her chest.
"SAKURA-CHAN...SHE CAN HELP ME WlTH MY DREAMS AND STUFF DATTEBAYOO!", Naruto thought, feeling an epiphany.
Sakura noticed two people watching her and looked towards them. A smile grew on her face as she recognised her friends and called them over. "Naruto you're back home! When did you come? Hinata it's so nice to see you! I see you guys are on a date." She grinned cheekily.
"Ehheheh yea you guessed that right Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his neck. "So watcha doing here?"
"Ayumi Obaa-san isn't feeling well so I volunteered to take care of her while she stays at home. I help her with chores once in a while, plus keep an eye on these troublemakers too. " She ruffled Hotaru and Natusme's hair, who due to the sudden arrival of two grown ups caused them to turn timid and bashful. Hotaru clutched on to Sakura's sun dress and shyly looked up at Naruto. Natsume suddenly distracted by a squirrel, ran after it. "So Hinata, is Naruto taking you to eat ramen?" Sakura shot a criticizing look at Naruto and narrowed her eyes.
"Actually it's me who suggested eating at Ichiraku's." Hinata smiled and tucked the hair behind her ear.
"Ehhhh?! I'm surprised. Naruto used to make Kakashi sensai, Sasuke-kun and I eat ramen alll the time. I definitely gained weight because of him." Sakura sighed. "You might too Hinata."
"Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan doesn't care about getting fat over ramen. Don't you..Hinata-chan?"
"Well I don't want to get fat but I wouldn't worry about it too much." Hinata giggled.
"See! That's my kinda girl!" Naruto patted Hinata on her arm.
Hinata beamed and Sakura noticing that, grinned and felt happy for them. Her dorky bestfriend is still... a dork.
"You guys should carry on with your date. I got some work to do." Sakura winked.
Naruto and Hinata were going to turn and head towards Ichiraku's but Naruto remembered something. He grasped Sakura's shoulder and leaned towards her ear. "Ano Sakura-chan, I need to talk to you about something that has been bothering me. It's kinda important dattebayo." He whispered. "Can I meet you tomorrow maybe and talk about it?"
Hinata noticed how close Naruto was to Sakura and wondered what he was whispering about. Sakura also wondered what was up and became concerned. Naruto sounded troubled.
"Hmm okay. But you better not be wasting my time with something silly. I've got a busy schedule tomorrow. Now go on, Hinata's waiting." Sakura waved and went back to the watermelons.
Naruto was feeling optimistic. Sakura could help him out with his perverted dreams that have been increasing in intensity...and he can finally stop feeling like an ero creep around Hinata!
"Naruto-kun, what did you tell Sakura-san earlier?" Hinata asked innocently, hoping she didn't sound like a prying girlfriend.
"Ahh...huh whadya mean?" Naruto looked away distractedly.
"Nevermind.." Hinata forced a smile and continued to walk. A rain of thoughts began to cloud Hinata's mind and she struggled to run away from them. She knew it wasn't wise to keep assumptions in her mind, but she was unable to face them and get rid of them. "Naruto-kun's acting weird with me today...ls it because.."
"Hey look! We've reached our academy. This brings back a lotta memories..." Naruto felt nostalgia welling up inside him, and the memory of the time he failed his graduation exam crossed his mind. His eyes landed on that lone swing in front of the academy's doors and looked at it wearily, a sad smile worn on his lips.
Hinata, always perceptive of Naruto's change in mood, reflexively squeezed his arm gently. "What's wrong?"
Naruto's expression shifted quickly into his usual bright demeanor. "l was just remembering the graduation exam we had back then. The one l failed like a loser eheh..."
Naruto stopped smiling and looked up at the sky. He watched the wisps of white clouds flitting across the blue sky, the sun's rays passing through them. A lot has changed. Since then.
"Around that time, many of the adults in the village feared and hated me, calling me a demon fox. Even though they pretended to be nice in front of me, they used say really mean things about me to their kids. Because of that..l was left so alone."
"But then everything changed when lruka Sensei acknowledged me for who l am. Soon after that l got Sasuke, Sakura-chan and Kakashi Sensei. lt was like having a family for real. Sasuke was an annoying bastard most of the time, but l felt what it was like to have a brother. And Sakura-chan, she became an irreplaceable best friend. And Kakashi Sensei ...was well Kakashi Sensai," Naruto chuckled.
Hinata felt her heart ache and tears slowly filled her eyes. She was so proud of Naruto and what he has become. She used to always watch him from the back, hiding behind a tree or a pole. Now finally standing beside her, was the person she always looked up to and admired. Thinking about how much he has grown and achieved made her cry tears of joy. Hinata sniffed and wiped away her tears, not wishing to alarm Naruto. "And now you are the hero of the village...of all the nations." Hinata held Naruto's his hand with both of hers, and played with his fingers. She was amused at how her pale skin greatly contrasted against his beautiful sun kissed skin. She slowly brought his hand to her lips and gently kissed his fingers.
Naruto felt her soft lips graze his skin causing his heart to accelerate, his body turning warm all over. His throat tightened as he watched the Byakugan beauty in front of him lower her eyelids, greedily taking in how her long eyelashes and crimson cheeks made her so damn beautiful. Hinata raised her head and slowly released his hand. She looked into his eyes and smiled at him with all her heart. Naruto was going to explode. He was just ahsdajshfkls!
"Come. lchiraku's is just around the corner." Hinata said and dragged Naruto by his limp arm.
"Yy-yea. Sure..."
Okay. So this chapter was supposed to be longer but since I was delaying the update, I thought I'd stop here for now.
But the date isn't over yet.
People follwoing the story...You havent left me right ;-; Looking forward to your reviews you awesome readers!