Dragonchips

The Curse of Lost Eyes

Ch. 4: Mistaken

Naruto stood quietly on the gentle grass trying to regain his composure. Somewhere between finishing mending the Hyuga's stone wall and waiting for Hinata to finish preparing for dinner, he had suddenly realized that he had just basically asked the prettiest woman in the entire village on a date. He now stood silently with cheeks that compared only to the sun's blaze for their bright shine and intensity.

'What the hell am I doing?' He mumbled angrily to himself. 'I don't even have the time to go home and change into something nicer! All I have on is my normal training gear! Shit! And not only that, but because of that damn fall earlier on the way to my office I'm completely filthy! She's going to think I'm a disgusting idiot! Hinata's going to hate me! No no, calm down Naruto, think think…"

But, those thoughts were not meant to come as Hinata strolled up behind him.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata said in a sweet tone.

Naruto fell unceremoniously face down into the grass.

"Naruto-kun!!" Hinata shrieked upon seeing the normally collected shinobi take a quick dirt nap. "What just happened?!" She screamed as she took the man hastily into her lap to check him over.

Naruto blushed profusely as he quickly escaped the young woman's lap and stood up as quickly as possible.

"Nothing! Nothing! I'm fine! See." Naruto replied quickly and did a quick pose to show off his good health.

Hinata of course knew that something was amiss by the red look on his face, but failed to see the point in badgering him about it. "Ok, Naruto-kun, so shall we go?" She asked to see his attention squarely on the small plot of grass in front of him.

"Yeah! Let's G…" Naruto began only to look down and see his normally bright white coat covered in grass stains. "Shit!" He started cursing, only to stop and think about exactly who he was talking to. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan, but would you mind if we go over to my house first? You see between just now and my run with Lee, and Shikamaru earlier, I… I… I…" Naruto began to stutter as his gaze slowly drifted over the amazingly beautiful kunoichi in front of him. It wasn't just that she was beautiful, he had already known that for a long time, but he had never seen her in anything other than her clan's ceremonial robes, or her various jackets that she had worn during her early years, and now to see her in a long lilac silken dress that flowed in sequence wonderfully with all of her gracious movements and a sole silver necklace bridging the gap between her gorgeous face and her revealed collarbone, needless to say he wasn't really prepared for the sight of her. In fact, his jaw had nearly hit the soft earth below in admiration of her natural beauty.

"Naruto-kun." Hinata giggled profusely. "You're stuttering!" She let out an amused laugh, before quickly seeing him shy away from the embarrassment. "And yes, I don't mind if we go over to your house, so you can change before we go out."

Naruto nodded dumbly before regaining his lost composure.

"Thank you Hinata-chan I appreciate it!" Naruto smiled a wide grin eliciting another small chuckle from Hinata. "Shall we go then?" He asked hesitantly, and she just smiled and nodded happily, "Alright let's go!" Naruto stated happily, and began down the stone road. Hinata just shook her head slightly, sighing at the normally collected shinobi's obvious discomfort, and ran off to catch up to him.

As they walked, Naruto talked about anything and everything he could think of. Hinata on the other hand, just smiled and walked beside him. And on the rare occurrence that she did get a word in edgewise, she would just give a short affirmation and he would proceed to continue on and on about his office, and all of their friends, and the occasional run-ins with Sai, and he continued on and on and on, until Hinata slipped her arm in his as they walked down the street.

Naruto froze at the sudden contact, causing Hinata to stumble out of her normal walking rhythm.

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" She asked with a look of sincere concern on her face.

"Nothing," He quickly dismissed her concern. "Anyways, we're almost home."

'Why's he changing the subject?' Hinata's mind silently pondered, but thought better than to ask him about it. "Yes, we are." She chimed in merrily, unaware of her surroundings. Now, it was Hinata's turn to be nervous. She had rarely ever visited a man's house before. Even when she was still paired with her former teammates, she had only ever been inside their homes once or twice, being far too shy at the time to enter freely. She had visited Naruto's apartment once to get him for a mission, and when he didn't answer she had begun to open the door to check for him, only to pass out at the thought of being in his apartment alone and possibly with the object of her affection. She remembered that when he came home that day to find her unconscious with one foot in the door and the other still outside he rushed her inside and put a damp cloth on her forehead to help the heat subside from her flushed face, only to find that when she woke up and realized where she was, she turned even more red and left before even looking around. She also vividly remembered the deadly scolding she got from Lady Tsunade when she returned with the mission papers still tightly in her grasp.

Naruto, as if sensing this, was quick to comfort her. "Don't worry Hinata, it's just a house, it'll be fine."

But when they turned away from the huge mansion in the distance to go down another road, Hinata quickly stopped in mid tracks.

"Um… Naruto?" She asked in a gentle tone, "Isn't the Hokage Estates the other way?"

"Yes, Hinata, but that's not where we're heading." He said with a small grin on his face.

Hinata's face showed her obvious question, but Naruto just laughed and motioned for her to come join him.

'Come to think of it, didn't he say we were close?' Her puzzled mind thought, 'The tower still has to be at least a twenty minute walk from here! Where exactly are we heading?'

As if answering her silent questions, he announced "We're here!" and started to fumble through his pockets.

"Naruto, where is this?" She questioned, as she looked at the wonderful sight in front of her. They had come to the end of the street where a large wooden fence blocked all available sight into the area, except the door, which had a small fence preventing entry to what looked like the large Buddhist shrines she had come to associate only with important landmarks. As he pulled out a large golden key she looked at him once more, and he nodded in reassurance.

"Haven't you noticed the sign?" He asked almost mockingly.

"What sign?" She asked, clearly confused by his cryptic manner. And then she saw it, and her eyes went wide. "You mean this is?" She began to ask, only to be cut off by Naruto's overly calm voice.

"Yep, it sure is. This is the Namikaze clan's house, and the home of my father, the savior of the village and the Fourth Hokage." He said with a smile, and slowly opened the main gates.

"Oh Naruto, it's beautiful." Hinata somehow found the words to piece together as she stood there struggling for breath from the splendor of the sight in front of her. White and red roses ran alternating along the strewn path toward the inner sanctuary. In the distance she could see the different buildings, all in perfect balance with the serene surroundings that enveloped them. She thought about the immense size of the inner compounds, and just how warm and embracing they were compared to the exceedingly cold Hyuga clan houses. All around them in a splendor the deep cherry reds that the friendly smaller building's wood exuded in a flourish of vibrant color, warmed their bodies and seemed to invite them in further.

The stone walkway, adorned with the roses, had not a cold feeling, but one of a peaceful stroll through a garden. The path led them through the flowers and straight to a large manor on the back end of the compound, adorned with ornate carvings of stems and flowing vines that led to roses that seemed to bloom on the beautiful cherry wood front doors. From there towering over their heads they could see the immense roof that had a black tone that came to a point far in the distance in the spiral of wood that framed it.

"So, how do you like my inheritance?" Naruto asked with a knowing grin plastered on his face.

"It's absolutely wonderful!" Hinata squeaked with happiness, and then stopped as a small grin came over her face. "I thought you said we were just coming to get you some clothes? And wasn't there something about this being just another house?"

"Well, I didn't plan on it at first, but I figured since my nice dress clothes were here, and because you'd never even seen my other house, that coming here would be a nice treat." Naruto said while he let out a small blush that betrayed his confident speech.

"Uh huh, sure…" Hinata said mockingly, "You just wanted to impress me!" She said in a happy accusation.

Naruto thought hard for a second, and seeing it was futile to deny the truth, he smiled wide, scratched the back of his head and said sweetly, "Well, maybe a little."

This of course made Hinata's grin even wider and a faint tinge of pink invaded her cheeks. "Well, thank you Naruto-kun!" She said in a loving tone. She had never seen another place that was as peaceful as this one. All around, the beauty and poise made the place seem like a purified sacred ground, one that was channeling the heavenly vibrations of nirvana. She followed behind him, as questions flowed through her mind only to be forced back out by the grand interior of the main building. The cherry wood that had given the outside such warmth and splendor, now within the house gave it a tranquility and beauty that resounded off the walls and pierced through to every fiber of one's body, There were high vaulted ceilings that were adorned with classical chandeliers that were clearly meant for oil use, and not the modern lights one would expect, giving it an elegance and charm that enthralled the young kunoichi. To top off the beautiful feeling, an inviting brick fireplace stood in front of them, with a small mantle that stood out in the foreground, and sounds of crackling and whining with the low red flames licking the firewood placed carefully inside by Naruto a few seconds earlier, and lit by use of a small fire jutsu. Bookshelves made of mahogany finished the rest of the available space that the wall allowed, completely covered with books, scrolls, and loose parchment of all sorts. Around them the walls were adorned with dark red silken draperies that adorned the Namikaze clan's symbol, spaced in perfect intervals that flowed down the walls in perfect harmony around the windows and which gave a regal feeling to the surrounding room. The floor below them had a blackened red rug, which was soft to the touch and tied the room together. In front of them were two burnt red leather lounge chairs, which faced the fire, and a small rounded mahogany end table between the two that served as a rest for even more parchment, and a small lamp for reading. She thought of how interesting it was to have the study as the front room of the house, and Naruto picking up on her silent question, answered her thoughts.

"This is just the relaxation room." He said in a calm baritone. "This is where we go when we're not working and we find a good book, or when we just need peace of mind to concentrate. Even though you'd normally expect something used for solace in a quiet area, it's designed with a mutual understanding of love and quiet between the members of the family. Basically, it was designed for warm evenings when words wouldn't begin to express the feelings of love for one another in the family."

'Wow, that's such a beautiful ideal!' She thought with a small smile, as Naruto continued on, not noticing her diverted attention. 'But I still can't see Naruto sitting in complete silence reading a book.' And she let out a small chuckle that made Naruto curious as to what she could be thinking before shrugging and going towards the left opening on the far wall.

Naruto began to walk down the adjoining hallway on the left side of the bookcases, and Hinata followed him instinctively. She followed behind silently, soaking up the atmosphere as she walked, and enjoying every second of the young Hokage's company. She stopped at some pictures of his father and his mother which adorned the walls in elaborate frames, and smiled at how much he resembled the Fourth Hokage before him. She continued on after him, following the sounds of his muffled footsteps. As she went through an open door, she stood admiring the architecture as she walked forward, and with a small thud, stopped when she hit something that felt strangely familiar and yet different, before she looked down to see Naruto looking back at her with a look of shock.

"H-H-Hinata! God, you scared me!" He chided mockingly, "I thought I asked you to wait out in the room for me to get changed? Hey, what's the matter? Hinata?"

Hinata let out a small "Meep," and turned a shade of violet to match her dress. She knew where she was now. 'I'm in Naruto-kun's bedroom!" Her mind fluttered at the thought. "I'm s-s-sorry Naruto-kun, I just wasn't paying attention when I was following you." She said with a lump in her throat as she noticed the half undressed man in front of her.

"Well, I don't mind, but I've got to change out of these clothes and get a quick shower anyways, so unless you're comfortable with seeing me naked, you might want to go back out and wait." He said with a large grin on his face and a small chuckle under his breath at the end.

Hinata about fainted at the thought and with a quick nod, she hurried out of the room and retreated to the sanctity of the relaxation room where she sat with scarlet cheeks for the entire fifteen minutes that Naruto took to get ready.

She sat there thinking about Naruto's strange reactions to her behavior.

'What is going on? He's acting so mysteriously! First, he clams up when I try to walk with him, and now he brings me here to show me his mansion and just laughs when I almost see him naked! What could be going on in his head?' Hinata thought, as she sat stooped in a stunned silence.

"Hinata, I'm ready to go!" Naruto called out happily, half spooking the poor young woman lost half in thought.

She turned around, only to wish she hadn't. Her eyes looked over the strikingly gorgeous man, his tanned physique shoved roughly into a silken blue shirt that matched his ocean blue eyes. The shirt had tanned inlaid flower embroidery, an obvious homage to their surroundings, which was defined by a bud in the topmost button hole from a flower unknown to her and that radiated blue on its tiny buds despite being shaped like a cherry blossom. His pants were black slacks that outlined his ass very nicely, as Hinata noted, and flowed down, accentuating the soft look of the shirt. He had on black leather loafers that completed the casual style, and that made him to look more like a young Romeo than the influential leader of the village. What she had seen had been everything she ever dreamed of, and yet she couldn't help but turn away from him with a look of unbridled horror on her face.

'He thinks we're on a date!' Hinata thought in sheer terror as she put the pieces together, and stood there admiring the shaggy rug beneath her feet. 'So that's what's been going on! And that's why he's been so weird around me! God, I would have never agreed to this if I'd have known! I'm not ready! I mean look at me, I only wore this pathetic dress!' Her eyes wandered back up, to see the young man, looking away in trepidation.

"i…i…it's ok, I'll go change again, Hinata-san." Naruto said in a disappointed whisper that almost brought him to tears, "I just didn't know what to wear. I wanted to look good for tonight." He admitted feebly.

Hinata looked over the now sobbing man and realized just how cutting her stare had been. It had looked to him like she was judging him, and finding his looks unsatisfactory had turned her head away in disgust. She had deeply wounded him with her piecing glance.

"No, it's alright Naruto-kun!" She quickly reassured him with quick words and a loving smile. "I just thought you were treating me to dinner and not a-a-a-…"

Naruto had begun to smile when Hinata began, only to have his smile turn into a scowl and have a curious look alter his features. "A what Hinata-chan?"

Now, Hinata was extremely confused. "What, Naruto-kun? Didn't you invite me on a d-d-date?" She finally managed to sputter out.

"Well…" he began hesitantly, "no, I originally wanted for us to just go out for dinner, but when I thought about how I asked you, and after seeing you in your," he gulped audibly, "beautiful dress, I kinda thought I might have. But, then you just acted like normal, so I kinda figured we weren't, and then when you looked up at me and scowled I figured that I had messed up, and that we were on a date, but that you were trying to act comfortably, but still have me looking good, and I just don't know anymore!" He said as he ended in a huff of aggravation.

She let out a small giggle at how mixed up she had made the poor young man and stood there for a while, all the while pondering the odd set of coincidences that had led them to this point.

"You like my dress?" She asked curiously seeing as how she had just mentally cursed it a moment earlier.

He nodded firmly as the lump in his throat prevented him from answering further.

"Does that mean that you wanted to go on a date with me?" She asked him bluntly and watched as his face turned bright red in embarrassment.

"Well…well…" He stammered, "Well, yes I really did, but I figured that I didn't have any real chance."

'What?'Hinata mentally questioned as a frown crept on to her face. "Why would you say that!?" She confronted him, now angry from his admission.

Naruto's cheeks were now freshly dotted with moist salted rain from above as he answered her nonetheless, "Hinata-chan, I… I… I'm not good enough for you."

Her face turned angry at this. She screamed in her mind fueled by the deep hatred of seeing him weep until she looked up at him and in a blind fury began, "Are you an idiot? Stupid? CAN YOU REALLY BE THAT DENSE?" She stated now screaming at him in her frustration and practically in tears. He only cried harder at the harsh words.

She started to begin again only to see him run from her, straight out into the low hanging moonlight.


Meanwhile on the outside, a certain married couple was strolling around the inner sanctum enjoying the lush scenery of Naruto's inner estate waiting to carry out their plans, when they heard a burst of screaming coming from inside the house that sounded mysteriously like Hinata. They looked on in sheer terror as Naruto ran out of the house with tears in his solid blue eyes and ran straight into them knocking them down in a blind frenzy of tears.

Naruto looked down in horror at the sight of the two, eyes flashing in the darkness and bounded off again.

'Even they knew?' He thought while mired in distress. 'Why did they let me go do this if they knew? Was this all just a game to them? I was an absolute idiot to ever believe I could be good enough for her. I'm a fool. I always have been. I just need to think. I just need to be alone. God, I'm so pathetic.'

Rock Lee and Tenten just sat there on the ground stupefied at the events that were unfolding in front of them as Hinata ran straight past, ignoring them, and chasing Naruto into the dark night.