"Wh-where would you like to have lunch then?" She asked staring at her feet at they walk back into the main portion of the village, he was leading but wasn't she supposed to do that? She was the guide.
When he didn't respond she looked up to see the tinge of confusion on his face.
"Th-there are other places then Naruto's favorite ramen shop." She explained, she could tell by the slight tilt his head made when he turned it forward again that he hadn't even thought of it.
"What is your favorite then." He asked. "We will go there." He slowed to a stop turning to her.
"W-well th-there is a little cafe, that sells very nice teas and coffees." She looked down at her hands instead of his eyes.
"Where?" She could hear the impatience and she turned to lead him to it, feeling her cheeks heat up. They were silent again until they sat down. She loved the little shop, it was warm and inviting the staff was friendly and the food was comforting. He looked at the menu for a while before setting it back down and glancing at what she was looking at. "I am not familiar with these foods." He finally admitted.
"W-well is there anything you don't like." She tried.
"Sweet bean paste." His nose crinkled only a little at the very word.
"Okay, none of those then. H-How about something simple, l-like a soup and sandwich." She pointed to that part of the menu on hers, instead of picking up his own and finding the page he simply leaned forward to look at hers, she laid it flat for him.
"What are you having." His voice held impatience.
"Th-these are my favorite." She pointed to the soup she like and the sandwich she would be getting.
"I will have those as well." He decided, crossing his arms clearly already annoyed. She ordered for them and waited, fidgeting and looking out the window instead of directly at him.
"Naruto thinks highly of you." His deep voice broke the silence. She looked back at him as her face turned red. "He was very upset when he found that I upset you." He continued.
It was sweet to know he was thinking of her, but she wished he hadn't made the young Kage do something so uncomfortable. "H-He thinks highly of you as well." It was a compliment she believed he certainly trusted Naruto's opinion so being pointed out in his favor seemed like a compliment.
"If you are to be looking for husband why have you not approached him?" That's was definitely a compliment to her, he thought her worthy to ask Naruto of all people to marry her.
"W-Well, there is a couple problems there, d-despite his acts of heroism and future path, the Hyuuga do not approve of him." She started, she gave him a two-second glance that told her he guessed why he seemed irritated by the notion. "Th-That aside, he's not interested." Her heart sank saying it out loud.
"Have you asked? He thinks highly of you." He pressed as their food was set down. She was not sure this was an appropriate conversation to have with a kage.
She didn't feel hungry and more but she would not be any ruder so she would force it. "Y-You should hear him talk about Sakura-chan." She nibbled on her sandwich to give herself an excuse to not talk anymore.
"The pink one." He inquired, she nodded. "He has spoken of her. He uses vastly different descriptions. I'm not sure I understand the difference between the complements of 'beautiful' and 'adorable'." She was surprised how open he was being like Naruto was sitting leading the conversation, he was really trying hard to make Naruto's words to heart, it was really sweet.
She could tell who was who, she was never really thought of as beautiful. Cute, adorable, pretty, were the usual. She had been told she was beautiful by family but they were biased. She always would think her sister was beautiful and would tell her every day if she wanted, but she was biased as well.
She could harbor foul feelings for Sakura, she did nothing wrong. She didn't feel for Naruto, and that frustrated her sometimes, but not because she thought Sakura should. If she didn't there was nothing to be done, but it did hurt knowing that he gave all his love to someone and it wasn't returned.
"S-Sakura-chan is very beautiful, both in looks and personality, she's known for it." She sipped at her soup feeling a bit ill thinking about just how superior she was.
"You do not believe you are." She cringed, she had hoped he hadn't picked up on that. He sounded genuinely curious, that was better than mocking.
"I-I may be considered pretty is some books, but for any flaw, she could have in physical attractiveness she could easily make up for in expertises, c-confidence, and personality." She stopped eat for a minute to make sure what she ate stayed there.
"You are still aren't talking about yourself." His voice lowered signaling his irritation.
"T-to be honest I-I'm really none of those things." She noticed he had stopped eating as well and she suddenly felt bad. "I-I'm not particularly any type of expert, I-I'm painfully shy, and I-I have terrible people skill."
His non-brow furrowed forward. "That is not how Naruto perceives you."
Her heart was warmed for only a moment. "N-Naruto-kun sees the best in everyone even if he had to make something up. I-It's something I like about him." She picked up her sandwich and finished it so he would continue eating as well.
He still seemed confused and in thought so he sat in more comfortable silence for the rest of the meal.
Hinata gave a more scenic tour this time. Showing him parts of the village that weren't really attractions but places that were still important or nice. Whether he got sick of walking behind her or realized how uncomfortable it made her, at some point he decided to walk beside her or a step in front of her rather than following her.
She was much more comfortable now, her hands weren't raw, her shoulders weren't killing her from standing too straight. They had slowed their pace, she didn't think he would want to just casually walk around, she thought he would an A to B type of person.
He stopped and asked about things she hadn't pointed out, he seemed genuinely interested in the village itself.
"Will you be taking my brother through here?" He asked. Looking over the building they were standing in front of.
"I-If he is still interested." He nodded.
He was then silent for a minute as he stared at her like he was thinking about something.
"Why is that you family see such little worth in you to offer you to me." It was a very blunt very painfully put questions. Double ended blade, he was insulting himself as well.
It broke her heart that he thought so little of himself for the actions he was easily making up for. "I-In comparison to my sister my worth is diminished greatly in the eyes of the Hyuuga." She cringed at the bluntness of her own words. Wait offer? Was he talking about when her father spoke to his older brother? "I-I'm not sure how you mean, though."
"Your father has offered you hand, I assume he knows who I am. I do not understand why anyone who cared for their child would offer them to me."
She blinked wildly at him. "K-Kazekage-sama, you might not realize how much your image has changed since becoming the Kage. N-Naruto-kun speaks highly of you to everyone your past is being looked over." Hinata processed fully what he said for a full 30 seconds after answering then stopped eating dropping her fork. "K-Kazekage-sama, my father offered you to marry me?!" Her face became inflamed with embarrassment.
He blinked his eyes a few times in what looked like confusion before he answered. "Yes, it that a problem?"
Hinata covered her face to hide the redness. "N-No! W-well, yes, I didn't think he would be so forward about it."
"I did not confirm or deny that I would." She peeked through her finger to see him watching her with his head tilted. He had no idea why this was so embarrassing to her at all.
"Th-thank you." She wasn't sure what she was thanking him for but she felt the need.
He didn't reply at first he seemed to wait for her to go back to normal and begin to pick at and finish her food. She was thankful he didn't continue to prod quickly.
"D-Did you like it?" She asked referring to his empty plate, his eyes followed her and he nodded. "G-Good. Wh-when you visit again maybe we can come again." She commented as they left.
"Then you do not wish to marry me?" His question physically tripped her. She stumbled before looking back at him.
"I-It's n-not that." She bit her lip feeling her face redden again, did he really after ask like that, and in public. "I-It's not that I don't wish to, I-I don't get much choice in the matter, b-but it's more about you." Glancing up from her hands only briefly she knew he didn't understand. "I-I don't want someone one to be forced to marry me, just because I have to marry."
"You are worried that I would not wish to?" He filled in though he looked thoroughly confused. She was starting to worry that his feelings were not considered often enough, just the avoidance of upsetting him.
She nodded continuing to walk them further from the crowd to not be overheard by gossipers. "W-We haven't known each other long. I-I know I probably won't know my husband well before marriage, but you didn't ask for your tour on your own will and you were not looking for a partner."
His non-eyebrow furrowed, he seemed to understand, he hadn't asked her he because he wanted to go, he asked he because Naruto made him apologize for insulting her and her father was pressing the idea of marriage and that was the only reason he was even considering the idea.
"It would seem your father would rather you were seducing me." She was tripped up by his bluntness yet again her face getting hotter as a vocal squeak of embarrassment escaped her mouth.
"I-I hope not." She weakly whimpered out.
***TheUnstableLiz***
This story is secondary on my to do list. This will only be updated after my other story Lavender Clouds has.
I appreciate CONSTRUCTIVE comments and reviews.
I can not answer questions of guests. I don't want this section a mile long and bloating the word count too much.
If you have a question please log in and PM me. I will answer any and all questions!
I will also point out that anyone who is out of character by a lot is the fault of me not knowing the character well enough and I apologize for that.
I apologize for spelling and grammar, I am a computer scientist, not a writer
