A/N: Reviews... Look at all those reviews... and they're mine, all MINE!!! MUHAHAHAHA (cough) HAHAHA!!! Sorry about that... the evil twin I don't have stole my keyboard. Really though, I do want to say thank you to all those who reviewed. It is a huge help. I want to say thank you to my beta, Narai Moroha, who has kept my grammar in tip top shape. I had a couple of reviews from people saying that I got Naruto's parents names wrong. I am aware of it, but I will only change them to the correct names maybe a month or so after this fic is finished. It will make it less confusing to the readers who aren't aware of the real names but have followed the story so far. I will also use the correct names when I write another story. I also found out how to shut that stupid fan fare off. A kunai with an explosive seal works wonders. That said, ONWARD and NJOY!!!
NB A/N: My thoughts and prayers go out to all who lost friends and loved ones in the attacks and aftermath of the 9/11 suicide attacks in USA. (I updated this chapter on 11th September 2007.)
Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto-sama owns Naruto. He keeps laughing at me and rubbing it in... BIG MEANIE! Oh well, I suppose he should be the one to own it. He did write it after all (grumbles). I don't own Naruto... happy?
"Speaking"
"Whispering"
'Thoughts'
"Kyuubi talks"
'Kyuubi thoughts'
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Naruto walked up the stairs to his apartment. He was a ninja, but right now he wouldn't be able to jump one foot in the air. Darkness closed over the stairs with alarming speed until the lights came on automatically. He stumbled over to his door and fumbled for his keys.
When he made it into his apartment, he didn't bother getting changed. He fell straight onto his bed and fell straight to sleep.
He had a fitful night's sleep. He kept having nightmares that he had no ramen left, and nobody would give him any. He woke up in the middle of the night, wondering why he felt so uncomfortable, until he realized he hadn't changed into his pajamas. He struggled up, still half asleep and changed. Once he was done, he collapsed into bed and made a quick detour to la-la land.
He was awoken the following morning by a loud rumbling growl coming from deep within. Naruto growled out in frustration at being awoken after little to no sleep. 'Baka kitsune (idiot fox), what is it now? Shut up in the morning! I couldn't sleep. Oh no… its 10 in the morning already…'
"That wasn't me, brat. That was you and your stomach. You never ate anything last night. Go get something to eat! I was sleeping too!" growled Kyuubi.
'You sleep? Don't make me laugh! A baka like you doesn't need to sleep.' thought Naruto. 'And I suppose it wasn't you who was making me have nightmares?"
"Now... you know me, brat. Of course it was me. I love giving you grief!" said Kyuubi, and laughed. "And besides, are you sure you're even awake now? Perhaps you're still dreaming!"
'Oh, very funny! As if it's not enough that everyone hates me because of you, I am actually the one who has to put up with the annoying fur-ball comedian!' thought Naruto. 'What did you mean by 'are you sure you're even awake now?' and of-course I'm awake!'
"Weren't you supposed to be hungry or something?" Kyuubi asked in a bored voice. 'Why am I even talking to you anyway, brat! Oh yeah... because you're good for laughs... hehe.'
Naruto got up, and walked through to his kitchen. All the way he just couldn't get over the idea that there was laughter coming from somewhere around him. He began rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he walked. When he got to the kitchen, he turned the kettle on and yawned as he stretched to open his ramen cupboard. He had to rub his eyes several times before understanding what he saw wasn't really just some sick joke.
He launched himself at his other ramen cupboards, wrenching the doors off their hinges in his panic. His mouth gaped in utter horror at what he saw. This time he was positive he heard raucous laughter. He banged his head on the counter, and felt definite pain. He was now positive he was awake… dazed, but awake. This was no dreamt nightmare.
'WHAT DID YOU DO, DAMN FOX? WHERE'S MY RAMEN?' screamed Naruto mentally. 'Is this just another kitsune joke?'
"Naruto-no-baka, that's not me. Hehehe," laughed Kyuubi. "That was you and your lady friends yesterday."
'Oh…' thought Naruto. He then heard the growl from his stomach again and remembered his hunger. He sprinted out the kitchen and through the front door in a blinding speed that'd put Lee to shame.
In his haste, he forgot his Gama-chan in his apartment with all his money, so he had to return and fetch it. When he ran out of his apartment again, he was nothing but a blur. He couldn't escape the feeling that there was something else he'd forgotten as he ran. He had only one word being screamed in his head… 'RAMEN!!!'
When he got to the streets, he had to jump onto the roofs to avoid the usual morning traffic as he ran. He arrived at the store to find that it was already full of shinobi and other early worms. He bolted down the isles and breathed a sigh of relief as his favorite cupped food came into view. He began grabbing as much as he could reach in his arms.
From behind Naruto, many people began pointing and laughing. He, unfortunately, was oblivious to this until he turned around. A large portion of the shops occupants had noticed him now and were standing around him laughing. He blushed, not knowing what else to do. He quickly looked behind him to see if there was anything else that the people might be laughing at, but there were only the piles of ramen he had stacked for his purchase. There was nothing funny about that.
It was only when he shrugged, turned around and bent over to pick up his ramen that he noticed it… A tassel on a green monster night cap fell down over his eyes. He looked down at his clothes… 'So that's what I forgot. I'm still in my pajamas!' he thought.
He stood back up in shock. A nervous laugh escaped his mouth as he rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. He quickly grabbed his ramen and ran to the counter to pay. Raucous laughter followed him all the way. Even without his ninja enhanced hearing it would have been easy to hear the snorts as he ran. He paid and quickly bolted to the door with his precious ramen store piled high in his hands.
WHAM!!!
He slammed straight into a wall that he hadn't seen and fell over onto his back. He groaned as he lay there staring at the ceiling, his ramen cascading down around him. A small hand tentatively stretched out before his eyes for him to grab a hold on. He glanced up to see to whom the hand belonged.
"Hinata-chan?" he asked as he stretched out his hand. "What are you doing here?"
"Naruto-kun… are you okay?" Hinata asked, grabbing his hand. "T-that was quite a big b-bump."
Hinata settled her feet to pull him up, and unfortunately stepped on one ramen cup. She began to profusely apologize to Naruto, ducking her head to hide the ever present blush. Naruto interrupted and said, "It's fine Hinata-chan… you're more important than one ramen cup." He said, and then adopted a thoughtful look. "I don't know about two though… maybe not."
Hinata recognized Naruto's teasing for what it was and smiled. 'I'm glad he's so relaxed… he seems to be back to his normal old self.' she thought. 'He looks cute in that night cap … wait, he's in his pajamas… eep!'
Naruto wondered at her sudden nose-bleed as he pulled himself up by her hand. Unfortunately for the both of them, a ramen cup isn't very sure footing. Hinata slipped and crashed down on top of Naruto.
At Hinata's squeak and blush, Naruto just laughed, despite having the wind knocked out of him. He managed to lift himself and Hinata back onto their feet. Fate, it seemed, had better plans for them though, as Naruto slipped on another ramen cup and yanked Hinata back down on top of him.
He laughed as Hinata rejoined him on the floor, not realizing their compromising position. Hinata did, and invented new shades of red as Naruto's arms wrapped around her. 'Naruto-kun's hugging me… EEP!!!' she thought as darkness claimed her vision. Naruto never noticed as he continued to laugh, inwardly cursing fate and all she had for him today.
Naruto eventually noticed that Hinata made no attempt to get off of him. He tilted his head to look down at his chest where Hinata lay. He brushed some hair out of her face so he could see her, and froze. He was stunned by what he saw. Her eyes were closed and she was resting peacefully on him, her cheek over his chest, with that inexplicably cute blush adorning her cheeks. He admired the way her eyes curved, so different to all the other girls he knew. He saw the way her full lips pouted slightly as her cheek squashed into his chest. He saw her button nose, the way it fit her face so well and adding to her angelic face so… perfectly. He began to caress her soft cheek, just gazing at her.
'She's so… so… kawaii. She looks so peaceful like that… so… content, happy even.' he thought. 'I'd give anything to see her happy like that every day. Very pretty too… Wait, I just saw her as pretty. What's happening to me? What about Sakura-chan? She's very pretty too, and I'd also give anything to make sure she's happy. That's right… I like Sakura-chan. Besides, this is Hinata-chan I'm thinking about…'
"So, you're finally starting to notice, huh, brat? Took you long enough!" said Kyuubi sarcastically. "As if being stuck inside of you wasn't enough, I have to put up with all your teenage angst. I'm more than nine thousand years old for Kami's sake…"
'Shut up, fur-ball!' Naruto screamed mentally. 'And what have I finally started to notice? That she's beautiful? I've… I've always known that! That I care about her? I've… I've…'
Naruto's only answer was a deep, rumbling laughter coming from within. 'I said SHUT UP!'
Naruto was brought back to the present when he felt Hinata nuzzling her face into his chest. He squeezed her shoulder gently to get her attention. She looked up at him, finally opening her eyes. "Hey sleeping beauty. Welcome back." he whispered to her.
She gasped at their closeness before sitting up, her face glowed hot. She tried to cover it with her hands, muttering a muffled apology. Naruto finally noticed the ring of customers and shop staff surrounding them, all laughing.
"Shut up!" Naruto shouted, and he began to invent wildly. "She's had a fever, and she's just come back from a tough mission. Laugh at me, but give her a break!"
Kiba stepped through the dispersing crowd just then. He threw Naruto a sharp glare as he walked to Hinata. "Hinata, come on. We're supposed to meet Kurenai-sensei at the training grounds. She said something about us all having another mission in a few days in another village." he said, pulling Hinata up. "Hey, Naruto. What's that on your head?"
"Ohayo (good morning), Kiba." Naruto greeted as he got up, dusting himself off. "Hehe, I woke up this morning to find that my nightmare had come true. I ran straight here to sort that out."
At Kiba and Hinata's blank looks of confusion, Naruto continued, "I ran out of ramen."
"Oh…" said Hinata and Kiba. They both knew how scary that'd be for the hyperactive blonde.
"See ya!" Kiba said as he began to pull Hinata possessively towards the door, but suddenly Hinata dug her heels in.
"Wait, Kiba-kun!" she said. "I need to get something from the shops first. Besides, I already know about the mission."
Kiba looked surprised. "You do? How did you know about it? Most people are pulled from missions for the Kyuubi festival."
"I saw Tsunade-sama yesterday when we returned from our mission." Hinata said. "She told me about it."
"What mission do you have, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto who was confused by her lack of stutter. "I never heard her telling you about any mission."
Hinata suddenly looked around frantically. "S-she told me w-when you were g-getting changed." said Hinata, suddenly spotting an escape and began walking towards it. "Oh l-look… That's j-just what I need. It's r-right next to the… erm… a-asparagus."
Naruto just shrugged as he watched her retreating form. Then, remembering something, called out to her, "Hinata-chan… don't forget! I'm meeting you after lunch later today. See you later!"
Kiba was equally shocked by his team-mate's strange actions. "Alright, Naruto. What did you do to her on that mission? I heard from the guards that you all came back in bad shape, and you attacked Hinata outside the gates!"
"I did not attack her! I would never do that! She fainted when I stopped her to ask her if she was okay." said Naruto indignantly, and he began to pick up all his ramen cups off from the floor. "As far as the mission is concerned, that's none of your business, but let's just say we all got closer together."
Kiba suddenly looked feral. "What do you mean 'you all got closer together,' and it's my business if Hinata gets hurt! She's MY team-mate."
Naruto, realizing his poor choice in words, gulped and said, "I didn't mean it like that, dog-breath! Get your mind out of the gutter. All I meant was that we found… certain… things out about each other. I found out that Hinata-chan likes me."
Kiba's jaw hit the floor as he just gaped at Naruto. Eventually he managed to regain use of his mouth, though. "So, you finally noticed, huh? It took you long enough!" he said. "Wait a minute. What did she find out about you? There's nothing to you that you can't tell just by looking at you."
Naruto looked angry for a moment, but pushed it away for later use. He finished picking up his ramen, and then turned to face Kiba. "Some day, Kiba, you'll eat those words. You've underestimated me before," he said, and his neglected stomach chose that moment to grumble about its lack of anything to eat. "What she found out about me, well, that's none of your business. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm really hungry. I'm off!"
Kiba just blinked into the open space Naruto had just been in as the smoke dissipated. 'I suppose I did underestimate him before. I had to eat a big piece of humble pie for it too. I wonder what Hinata found out about him, then. She's acting very strangely. I'm gonna find out why.'
He turned and walked out of the shop, and then, noticing the time, jumped on Akamaru. They rode off towards the training grounds, hoping to find out about the strange mission on what was becoming a strange day.
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Naruto bounced along the roofs of the village. He'd gone home, eaten, showered and then changed. He endured Kyuubi's constant taunts all morning. He managed to get in an hour of training before he had to head over to Ichiraku's for his 'all-you-can-eat' lunch that Sakura had so kindly offered to pay for.
Spotting a pink head of hair moving along on the street below, he snickered before silencing his running. He moved as quietly as he could before dropping down beside his team-mate. He reached slightly around her and tapped her on the shoulder. When she turned around to see who it was, he jumped in front of her. She turned back to the front after seeing nobody walking next to her.
"Sakura-chan!" greeted Naruto as loudly and enthusiastically as he could. He laughed when she got a fright. "You know Sakura-chan, a ninja isn't supposed to get a fright so easily."
"Naruto!" Sakura growled. "Don't sneak up on me like that! It's creepy. Besides, the only reason I got a fright was because I have a lot on my mind. Here we go… Ichiraku's."
They stepped up to the ramen stall, and Naruto greeted Teuchi and Ayame enthusiastically. "Ojiisan, Ayame-neechan!" he shouted. "Konnichiwa!"
"Ah, Naruto! My favorite customer." greeted Teuchi. "And you brought your team-mate too. Konnichiwa, Sakura-san."
"Konnichiwa," Sakura greeted with a bow. "Two miso ramen please."
"Wow, Sakura-chan. I've never seen you eat more than one ramen." Naruto said, and then turned to Teuchi without noticing Sakura's twitching eyebrow or growl. "I'll have three miso, two pork and two beef ramen please."
"Naruto, one of those miso ramen was for you, not me. I'm stingy, you know." Sakura said.
"Was it?" said Naruto. "Oh well, I'll have that one later. You're paying after all."
Naruto sat at the bar, ready to dig in. Sakura just sighed and muttered something under her breath that sounded suspiciously like, "Typical Naruto," before joining him.
They waited in silence for their ramen to arrive. Sakura kept glancing sideways at Naruto as he talked animatedly to Ayame and Teuchi, telling them of all his adventures. She fidgeted with her hands as she thought of all she had to speak to him about… it wasn't going to be easy.
Their ramen eventually arrived, and Naruto broke his chopsticks apart to the sound of his shout, "Itadakimasu!"
He began to slurp his ramen down with great relish. Sakura looked on disgusted for a moment, until she decided to join in with his enthusiasm. Once Naruto had almost finished his fourth bowl of ramen, he looked over at Sakura and said, "Sakura-chan, what was it that you wanted to speak to me about? If you don't want to go on my mission, neither you nor Kakashi-sensei need to. I asked for it so I could leave the village during the Kyuubi festival."
Sakura put down her chopsticks for a moment and paused. She looked over at Naruto and sighed at his concerned face. "Naruto, no that's not what I need to speak to you about." she said. "Besides, I'm the one who requested the mission in the first place. I'm tired of not being able to spend that time with my friends."
Naruto looked confused for the moment, and he scratched the back of his head. "But Sakura-chan, what about the rest of the Konoha twelve? You always have them," said Naruto. "What did you want to talk about then?"
Sakura sighed. "Yes, there are all the others, but you and Kakashi are like family to me. We've been team-mates since the beginning," said Sakura. "But that's not the point. The reason I want to speak to you was another of our friends: Hinata."
"Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked. "What's up? You know, I saw her this morning. It was quite funny… I ran into a wall that I hadn't seen, and when she tried to help me up, she slipped and fell down on top of me. When we got up, I slipped and yanked her back down. She passed out again, but that might have been because of where she fell on me. When she woke up, Kiba found us. Hinata was acting really weirdly. She said she also had a mission, or something."
Sakura listened, and then when he stopped talking, she sighed and looked back to her half finished ramen. "That's the reason that I want to talk to you, Naruto." she said.
"Nani (What)?" he asked confused. "That only happened today, but yesterday already you wanted to talk to me."
"No Naruto… That whole fainting thing, the way she likes you, the way you act around her…" said Sakura, growing a little frustrated. "That's what I want to talk to you about."
"Oh…" said Naruto cheerfully. "Okay, shoot!"
"Naruto… This is serious. She's my friend. Please take this seriously," said Sakura, and at Naruto's nod, continued. "Naruto, I don't know if you quite realize the depth that she likes you. She's… she's given you her heart, so much so that she doesn't notice other guys that may show interest in her."
"She's given me her heart?" asked Naruto. "What do you mean by that? Isn't that only supposed to happen with the one that you want to… to… oh boy…"
"Welcome to the same page, Naruto. Yes… you're starting to see this for what it really is," said Sakura. "She doesn't just like you; she really, really loves you. From what I can tell, she's done so for a very long time. You are holding her heart in your hands. You need to-"
"Wait a minute Sakura!" said Naruto forcefully. "That's dangerous! I don't know what to do with that! She can really be hurt. I don't want to hurt her. I know what it is to give your heart away and see it thrown down like it was nothing."
Sakura froze at Naruto's words. The edge of her eyes began pricking as guilt took over her, and so she looked back down at her ramen. "I know, Naruto. I'm sorry for the way I used to treat you. I have changed in the past few years. We're no longer genin. You and I are two of the strongest Jounin in this village," said Sakura. "My point, though, is that what you do to Hinata every time you talk to her, hug her, even so much as hold her hand… you throw her a line. It's a line that she feels leads to your heart, to your love."
"What am I supposed do then?" asked Naruto, worry growing on his face. "I can't ignore her! She's one of my deepest friends… she's one of the first people who ever acknowledged me! The way I act around her… I do that around everyone. I'm just that type of guy."
"Do you, Naruto? Do you really?" asked Sakura. "Yesterday, you carried on holding her hand, even after you dropped mine. She saw that… I saw her face. She believed that there was something in that. Some extra feelings from you."
"Sakura-chan… You know how I really feel. I've liked you for years," said Naruto in all manner of seriousness he possessed. "Hinata-chan… the way I feel about her is completely different. I don't want to see her hurt. I'd protect her with my life!"
"Would you really? Would you protect her from anything, even yourself?" asked Sakura, and seeing Naruto freeze at her words, carried on. "Like I said, Naruto, you have her heart in your hands. You have a choice to make. If you feel the same way about her, you can embrace it and give her your heart in return. If you don't feel the same way about her, you NEED to tell her. Don't, I repeat, DON'T play with her heart."
"Hiashi… Hiashi said the same thing to me. So that's what he meant," said Naruto, realization dawning on his whiskered face. "I've never held this much in my hands before. I've defended people from terrible dangers… Akatsuki is finished, Orochimaru was killed… none of that compares to this. I… I really care about Hinata-chan. Her heart is more precious than anything to me. She… I don't want to hurt her. What do I do Sakura-chan?"
Sakura sighed as she looked Naruto in the eyes again. She was surprised to see the frantic worry written all over his face. She took a moment to gather her thoughts. "Naruto, are you sure you still like me?" she asked. "What do you feel about Hinata?"
"What do you mean by that? Of course I still like you! I've always liked you," said Naruto indignantly. "What do I do about Hinata-chan? Why is it that I have so much more power now?"
"You found out about her feelings for you, Naruto," said Sakura, and she picked up her chopsticks to begin eating again. "Now, whenever you do anything to her that you didn't do before, which yes you do by the way, she feels that there's something deeper to it. Basically, you must stop it."
Sakura noticed Naruto look crestfallen for a moment, and she smirked inwardly. 'I don't think he even realizes just how much he enjoys doing that… having someone to laugh with… someone to cry with… to share with… just to be with. He likes her,' she thought. 'but, Hinata is also our friend. He'd do anything to protect her. I don't want to see her hurt. If he carries on acting the same way around her that he has, without him knowing how he really feels… she will be hurt, and badly at that.'
Sakura stretched out her hand, placing it over Naruto's. "Naruto, I know how much you want to feel loved and cared for. You get that feeling from Hinata, and again, I know how much you crave it," said Sakura. "The problem is Naruto, unless you're prepared to return those feelings to her, you'll end up hurting her far worse than even you can repair. You're not used to feeling that from anyone, but neither is she. Think of her, of all she's been through. She's the same as you. I'm sorry for the way I treated your feelings for me, but what you're doing hurts her far more."
Naruto looked down at his ramen bowl. He clenched his eyes tightly shut, and a tear fell, adding it's saltiness to his ramen. He clenched Sakura's hand and nodded. "I know. I'm meeting her after lunch," said Naruto. "Thank you, Sakura-chan."
"Hey, Naruto… don't worry about it. It's what friends are for, isn't it?" said Sakura. "Besides, I know you'll do the right thing… you always end up doing so in the end."
Naruto looked up at her and grinned widely. He gave her a quick hug around the shoulders before turning back to his ramen to finish up. Sounds of slurping soon were coming from Sakura too. Now that she'd gotten that off her chest, she realized just how hungry she was too. She hadn't eaten anything since the night before, and Ichiraku's ramen was better than even her favorite anmitsu at that point, not that she'd admit it to Naruto.
"I've got a small… mission… for you for the next few days, Naruto. Just until she leaves for her mission anyway," said Sakura the moment she'd finished her bowl of ramen and Naruto his eight. "Yours will not be a real mission, but you can treat it any way you want. Here it is: Find out all you can about how you really feel about Hinata. You don't even know yourself at the moment, do you?"
Naruto surprised himself as his head quickly shook. "No," he said. "But what do you mean by that? I like you. I keep telling you and everyone that."
"Naruto, find out how you feel about Hinata, not me. You might just surprise yourself," said Sakura with a knowing smirk. "When Hinata leaves, you'll have a couple of days to think about all you find out. Also, you should try to get to know her better. Find out about all she likes, and dislikes. When we leave on our mission, we can chat and you'll tell me what you've found out."
Naruto grinned and readily agreed. He stood to leave and get on with his new 'mission' from Sakura.
Sakura called out to him before he could disappear. "Naruto, one more thing… don't tell her you're doing this. Treat her with respect, and take care of her heart."
Naruto nodded and waved goodbye before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, heading towards the training grounds he was supposed to meat up with Hinata at. Sakura turned to Teuchi and Ayame, who had been in the back of the shop to give the two teens privacy. "How much do I owe you? That was ten bowls of ramen." she said with a worried sigh.
"Nothing." said Teuchi with a laugh at Sakura's face.
"Nani?" asked Sakura.
"You don't owe us anything," said Ayame with a smile. "Naruto used that small hug he gave you earlier as a distraction to pay for your meals. He does that all the time now. Not even Iruka can pay for him, because he pays whenever whoever is 'treating' him isn't looking. He's matured so much over the past years."
Sakura got over her shock a moment later, and grinned before waving goodbye to Ayame and Teuchi. She stepped out of the stall and decided to go and get some things they'd need for their mission in a week. Things were indeed looking up for her master plan.
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Naruto sat and thought about all he'd heard Sakura say as he waited under a tree for Hinata. 'I already know a lot of what Sakura asked me to find out. I don't really know why Hinata likes me so much, but I'll find out now. I don't want to hurt her any more than she's been hurt so much in her life already. Yesterday was a… wait a minute… she was crying… why was she crying after I hugged her?' he thought. 'She asked me what I thought of her… was this the sort of thing Sakura was talking about? She… today… I did it again. Am I really trying to hurt her?'
He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear the footsteps walking towards him. He put his face in his hands and whispered, "Hinata-chan, I'm sorry. I like you too much to hurt you, but I've been doing it all along."
At the soft gasp, Naruto jumped up in shock to find that all he'd just whispered had been heard by the one person he didn't want them to be heard by: Hinata.
"Hinata-chan…" said Naruto softly to the bright red, and unfortunately frozen Hinata. She had her mouth hanging open with stars in her eyes.
"Hinata-chan… are you okay?" he asked, his concern evident in his voice. "(sigh)… We need to talk later, Hinata-chan. I need to say sorry for so many things. First though, snap out of it and tell me how you are."
Hinata shook herself to get her mind functioning again. "G-gomen nasai (I'm very sorry), N-Naruto-kun. I…" she said as her blush deepened at her temporary loss of brain function. "I-I am really h-happy."
They began to stretch for a while before getting down to the actual training. Naruto couldn't help himself… well, he could, but he didn't want to. He spent a little more time watching her stretch than on his own stretches. He ignored both his and Kyuubi's annoying voices shouting in the back of his head that if he doesn't stretch properly, he could injure himself. He even ignored Kyuubi's threat not to heal him in favor of the beautiful woman warming up before him.
They started off with basic taijutsu sparring, and then moved on to ninjutsu and genjutsu. They were fairly evenly matched at taijutsu, but Naruto was far superior at ninjutsu, having a much greater arsenal. Hinata proved better at genjutsu, as Naruto still struggled to throw off even the most basic of illusions. This wasn't the first time that they had sparred, but this time Hinata had even more sympathy. She now knew why Naruto struggled with genjutsu.
After an hour of training, they broke apart to catch their breath. "I think that's enough, Hinata-chan," said Naruto. "Yesterday was quite a long day... and I need to talk to you anyway."
Hinata blushed even through her flushed face as she caught her breath. She nodded and relaxed her stance. "H-hai, Naruto-kun," said Hinata. "I-I brought some s-snacks."
Naruto grinned. He'd had a taste of Hinata's snacks on many occasions yet, in his opinion, not nearly enough. They sat under a tree together, Hinata reaching into her bag and pulling out a thermos of tea, and some rice snacks for them to share. "Naruto-kun, maybe I can help you train with genjutsu," said Hinata after a moment. "Hyuuga are g-generally very g-good a-at chakra control, a-and therefore also at g-genjutsu. I-I c-can show you a few t-techniques to help you i-improve yours..."
Naruto nodded and grinned at Hinata. "Arigato, Hinata-chan," he said as he began to reach for the tasty snacks. "Maybe I can be as good as you someday."
Hinata blushed at the compliment. From Naruto, who was one of the best shinobi in the village, that really was high praise. His chakra control might be poor due to the Kyuubi, but his other techniques requiring vast amounts of chakra were matchless.
Naruto looked at the blush on Hinata's face and frowned. He had begun to find that cute, but knowing what he did now, he was worried for his friend. "Hinata-chan... I need to talk to you," he said eventually in a soft voice. "Yesterday... you were upset about something, right before we got to your house. What was it? You asked me what I thought of you..."
Hinata froze and paled at the question. She'd hoped that he'd forgotten about that. "I-I d-don't know w-what y-you m-mean n-Naruto-k-kun." she stuttered worse than ever.
Naruto frowned at the attempt at aversion. "Hinata-chan... you asked me if I still saw you as a dark timid weirdo," he said. "I don't, you know."
Hinata looked up in hope at those words, completely forgetting to feign ignorance. "You don't?" she asked. "You t-told me once that that's w-what you thought o-of m-me..."
"No I didn't, Hinata-chan," said Naruto in his best voice of comfort he could muster. "I remember the day you're talking about. It was the day of the chuunin exams final. It was as I walked away from you after that speech you gave me about me being a proud failure. I said that I used to think that you were a, well, that... If you remember, I then said that I liked people like you."
Hinata smiled at those words. Nothing Naruto had ever said in his life to her had ever made her happier. It was one of the best memories she ever had. Well, there was an embarrassing memory of when Naruto saw her training under a waterfall at night. She'd been nude to stop her clothes getting wet. Naruto, not realizing it had been her, told the story to Kiba the following morning, saying that he'd seen an ultra pretty girl. Thankfully, he still didn't realize it was her.
"I'm... sorry that I ever called you that," said Naruto with his head lowering for a moment in shame. "You have become one of my closest friends. You mean more to me than..."
Naruto froze when he looked back up at Hinata. Hinata's eyes were wide open in what Naruto was sure was the happiest face she'd ever shown. 'This is the sort of thing Sakura-chan warned me about...' he thought in worry. 'This is what I need to stop.'
"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry," he almost shouted frantically. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"How have you h-hurt m-me, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
"If I... well, yesterday you were hurt," said Naruto. "I know how you feel about me, Hinata-chan... and I know how you get hurt by things I say or do when you find out that they're not quite what you thought. You thought I was about to kiss you yesterday, didn't you?"
Hinata looked surprised that he'd known that. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and threatened to fall. She looked away from Naruto so he couldn't see her eyes, but Naruto moved to sit right in front of her. He reached out to cup her chin in his hand.
"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry..." he whispered softly to her. "I wanted to thank you for being a friend to me, for comforting me... but all I ended up doing was hurting you. I'm really sorry."
Tears began to roll down Hinata's cheeks onto Naruto's hand. He brushed a little hair out of her face so he could look into her eyes. He then her brushed tears away softly with his thumb. "Hinata-chan, I think of you as one of my greatest friends, someone I'd willingly give up my life to protect," he said gently. "I don't know how I feel about you... all I know is how I feel when I'm around you."
"R-really?" she choked out softly, finally meeting his blue eyed gaze. "H-how?"
Naruto smiled at her kindly before replying. He brushed the last tears from her cheeks and said, "When I'm with you, I know I'm safe... I know that no matter what, I'm not alone. I can feel the love you show to me, and it comforts me. I remember when I would be hated by the village, whenever you'd be there, it was okay. I could always be myself around you, and I never felt that you judged me for it. I'm happiest when I'm around you... but I only ever hurt you."
She managed a watery smile at his words. "Naruto-kun, I..." she tried, and attempted to strengthen her voice. "Thank you. You don't always hurt me. B-being with you m-makes me h-happy. If you really wanted to hurt me, we would never be together again. I-I couldn't bear to lose you f-forever."
"Hinata-chan..." said Naruto. "I know, and that's what I'm scared of... that I will do that to you and hurt you. I don't want to hurt you. You mean too much to me... you've given me so much, and I can't bear to lose you either."
Forget the watery smile. Hinata grinned as widely as she could at his words. She covered his hand on her cheek with her own hand and nuzzled into it. "You won't lose me, Naruto-kun." she said as she gave his open palm a small kiss.
Naruto got a small shock from the feel of her lips on his palm. He let it slide however, as he asked, "Really, Hinata-chan?"
"Really," said Hinata. "I won't go back on my words. After all, it's our nindo!"
"I like the sound of that, Hinata-chan," said Naruto cheerfully, as he stood back up. "Come, let's go back to the village. We can train together more this week before you leave for your mission. Where are you going to anyway?"
"Um... nowhere in particular..." she dodged as she too rose to her feet. "J-just a-another village a f-few days a-away."
When Hinata had dusted herself off, Naruto began walking with her back to the village. "So, same time tomorrow, Hinata-chan?"
"Hai!"
Naruto grinned. 'Perhaps this is going to be a better mission from Sakura-chan than I thought it would be,' he thought. 'I get to train, and spend time with Hinata-chan at the same time.'
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Naruto and Sakura waited outside the Hokage's office for their usual team-mate to arrive. They were used to his tardiness by now, so they always told him to be there an hour early so they'd only have to wait a few minutes. Unfortunately, Kakashi had realized this and now always arrived an extra hour late to make up for it.
Naruto and Sakura were taken out of their conversation about Naruto's side mission he'd received a couple of days before by a puff of white smoke followed by the now customary greetings "Yo!" and "You're late!"
They walked into the Hokage's office to find Tsunade hiding behind the mountain of usual paperwork she always tried to pass on. She gave a grin at Naruto for some reason, and when he noticed it, chills shot up and down his spine.
"Tsunade-sama, you have a mission for us?" asked Kakashi.
"Yes," said Tsunade. "Naruto and Sakura requested it a few days ago."
Kakashi looked over at his two former students before turning back to Tsunade. "What is our mission, Tsunade-sama?"
Naruto looked over at his old sensei, and couldn't help but sense that he was putting on a show for them. Although he spoke in his usual bored voice, Naruto was sure he saw the faint outlines of a smirk under his mask. He shrugged it off and looked back to Tsunade.
"This is an A-rank mission to deliver two scrolls to a small village about two days outside of Konoha. You will leave on the eighth of October and arrive on the tenth." said Tsunade over her tented hands.
"Why is this an A-rank mission, Tsunade-baachan?" asked Naruto. "Are there going to be missing nin along the way?"
"Don't call me that, brat!" she said. "It's an A-rank mission because these two scrolls are very valuable, and concern the future safety of that village and many others. Many lives depend on this mission. Do you accept?"
"Yes, Tsunade-sama." said Sakura formally, but with the faint hint of a smirk. "When will we receive the scrolls?"
"When you leave for your mission," said Tsunade stiffly. "Dismissed!"
"Hai, Hokage-sama!" said Kakashi and Sakura at the same time.
Naruto just gaped at them before turning back to Tsunade. "See ya later, baachan!" he said in his sing-song voice with a slight wave. As he reached the door, he ducked the desk that had mysteriously flown towards the back of his head. He laughed before disappearing in a puff of smoke along with Sakura and Kakashi.
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A/N: Well, that's another chapter gone. I hope you enjoyed it! It wasn't quite as funny as other chapters, but I hope you enjoyed the all-out fluff. (E/N: Excellent fluff!) I'm really sorry this chapter took so long to come out... My work-load sky-rocketed over the past while, and my family wouldn't give me a chance to write at home. If you'd like updates to my story, go check out my profile. I type updates for the progress of the next chapter there. Also, place my story on alert to receive an email when I update. Thank you for all the interest the story has received. I really appreciate it! Next up... The missions!
Some questions for reviews you're itching to write: What did you think of the fluff? Was it too much or too little? Am I still writing my characters correctly, or should I change them? What did you think of Sakura's chat with Naruto? (It comes from personal experience.) Please tell me if you don't like something in my story and tell me how I can improve it. Often these are the sorts of reviews I prefer (I won't complain about any of them, though!) I hope you enjoyed the story, and I hope you have fun reviewing it(puppy-dog-eyes-no-jutsu) (E/N: a.k.a "Eno-kurikuri no jutsu" or "big round puppy eyes jutsu")
BTW, if you think you recognized small things from the opening scene of this chapter from another story you've read, you may be right. As I was writing this chapter, I noticed that it was coming dangerously close to things that happen in Tobmaster's "Ramen Gone Astray," so I tried to make my story a little different. Tobmaster is aware of it and says in his profile that it is fine. Go check it out... the link is in my profile, but just a warning: The story is M-Rated for a VERY good reason. Do not read it unless you are of age! If you are... be prepared to read a brilliant story. Enjoy it!
Thanks again and NJOY!!!
