Disclaimer: Don't own any characters from Naruto, I only own the characters I create. Like Inari, Miyuki, the bad guys, etc. Oh, and the plot, that's all me.
Note: The timeline of this story changes from around the start of the Chuunin Exams in the manga. I'll explain what parts changed in their due time. For now, Naruto is 14 and has just started on his long journey with Jiraiya.
Not much chit chat this time, too tired…
I do want to thank everyone who's been reading this so far.
Your reviews, faves, alerts mean so much to me.
I know the progress between Naruto and Hinata is so slow right now so I'm happy to see that you guys are still reading it.
It motivates me to work hard although it also makes me nervous because I don't want to disappoint anyone.
I'm giving it my best because of you guys; know I've only come this far thanks to you. :)
Chapter 7
Nerves not quite of steel
Hinata fidgeted nervously as she waited for her teammates. She clutched her purple vest tightly, trying to settle her nerves. At times like this she wished she still wore her bulky beige jacket. It always provided her with a sense of comfort and protection when she was feeling nervous. But as she got older and changed she eventually decided to get new clothes. Her dark blue pants were relatively the same, if only slightly bigger to fit her growing frame. With the chilly weather almost gone she had recently changed from her long sleeved white shirt to a short sleeved one. It was worn underneath her purple vest.
It had been about a year since the change in wardrobe and by now the heiress had grown comfortable in her clothes.
However, all of a sudden she had felt so exposed and unprotected, thus making her long for her old jacket.
It didn't make sense, considering what today had in store for her. If anything she should be excited not scared. Well, scared wasn't quite right. Anxious? No.
"Yo Hinata, sorry for the wait. Akamaru and Miyuki were running around in the room." Kiba greeted from behind, "Huh, what's wrong? You nervous or something?" the Inuzuka grinned, "Afraid you'll do something embarrassing if front of Naruto?"
Hinata's face grew red, "E-eh, n-n-no," she looked down at the ground, "M-maybe," her voice was so low at this point that she could barely even hear herself.
"Ah relax, if anything he'll be the one to make a fool of himself." the brown haired teen laughed, causing Hinata to frown.
"Hinata, where is Kurenai sensei?"
The heiress turned to the Aburame boy, "Um, she thought it was best if she went to see our client on her own and that she would find us later."
Kiba pumped his fist in the air, "Yes, our sensei is the best! Ok, so now that I don't have to see that snobby punk's face anymore I say we go meet up with Naruto."
His teammates nodded and headed out. Hinata trailed behind, one hand clutching her vest. 'I though I wouldn't see him for a long time and now…Naruto, I've missed you.'
All around the small room there were articles of clothes scattered about. The hyperactive blond turned over everything in sight, growing more and more frustrated in his search.
"Damn it!" he growled, "That pervy sage must have taken it again. Stupid old man, when I get my hands on him!" By now the boy was fuming, anger lacing every word.
At that time an unsuspecting white haired man entered through the door.
"Hey Naruto, I'm back," he giggled lecherously, "Oh man, the rumors were right on the mark, you wouldn't believe how much research I was able to do last night." The man, too consumed in his perverted thoughts, never saw the teen blonds' fist fly towards him. In one swift motion the legendary sannin was sent a few feet back.
Jiraiya sat up and nursed his left cheek, which was already staring to swell up. He shot the teen a look, "And what brought that sudden burst of violence?"
"My money, you took it again didn't you?" the blond glared.
The white haired man shot him a smile, "Why Naruto, what ever gave you that idea?"
"Don't act all innocent pervy sage because I know you well enough by now!" he yelled, his voiced laced with rage. "Before we got to this place I checked my frog purse and it was full of money." the boy stomped his way towards the sannin, "This morning I checked again and my frog was empty." He looked down at his teacher, every inch of his face set in a dark scowl, "You've taken my money a few times already, so I think it's safe to assume you're the one who emptied my frog, am I right?"
Jiraiya noticed how serious his young charge was. There was no childish outburst followed by flailing limbs pointing accusingly at him. He just stood there, with a look a father would give their child when they were in trouble. It was weird; to see the energetic boy like this.
With a sigh the sannin got up from the floor, "Alright kid you got me," he reached into his clothes and pulled out a pouch. After taking out a few bills and coins he handed them to the blue eyed boy, "Here; that should be all of it."
Naruto shot the man a disbelieving look before taking the money. This was the first time the older man had actually paid the boy back. It seemed strange but who was he to question it. All that mattered was that he had his money back. He quickly checked to see if it was all there and then sported a huge grin, "Heh, thanks pervy sage."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow, 'Am I really off the hook that easily? This boy, first he's pissed and then he's as happy as can be. Damn, maybe I was too quick to give him back his money.'
Naruto quickly stuffed the money back into his frog purse and waved goodbye to Jiraiya.
"Whoa, what's the hurry kid? Is there a ramen sale today?"
The boy's grin grew even wider, "Well that would be sweet but no. I ran into team 8 yesterday. They finished their mission and decided to stay an extra day just so we could all hang out. I gotta hurry."
"Ah, so you ran into some friends from back home? Hmm, remind me again who's in team 8?"
Naruto frowned, so much for getting there in time. "There's Hinata, Kiba-"
"Ah, so that's why you're so anxious to leave," Jiraiya teased with a perverted grin. "How lucky for you: running into your little girlfriend of all people."
The blond teen frowned, "Damn it pervy sage, would you quit calling Hinata my girlfriend!" It wasn't noticeable, but the boy did feel his cheeks heat up a little at the insinuation.
Jiraiya merely laughed, "Alright kid, whatever you say. You better hurry; it's never a good idea to keep a girl waiting."
Naruto shot the man another scowl before heading out the door.
"Heh," the white haired man smiled, "that boy can be so clueless sometimes."
"It's déjà vu all over again," Kiba groaned, turning to Akamaru who barked in agreement. "Honestly! We're staying in the same inn, how can he be late?"
Hinata looked around with a worried face, "D-do you think something happened to him?"
"Do not worry Hinata. Why? Because my bugs have informed me that he's heading this way."
Sure enough the orange clad genin soon appeared with a goofy grin plastered on his face. "Sorry I'm late guys, I got held up by pervy sage."
"U-um, w-we're not interrupting your training are we Naruto?"
The Inuzuka teen grinned, resting his arm on the shorter boy's head. "That's no good; you need all the training you can get if you have any hopes of taking me on."
"Heh, I accept your challenge any day of the week dog breath." the two teens grinned, each one confident in their ability to beat the other.
"While it is good to have friendly spars now and then, I believe we planned to spend the day relaxing." Shino pointed out.
Naruto's blue eyes lit up, "Oh yeah, so what do you guys want to do first?"
"Whatever's fine with me," Kiba said with a wave of his hand. Shino nodded in agreement.
"W-what do you usually do Naruto?"
The whiskered teen closed his eyes in thought, "Well Sakura's usually busy so I'm used to being by myself. Not much fun walking through town on my own so I mostly go train somewhere." the boy chuckled softly, "Even when Sasuke was still around team 7 didn't really hang out together."
Team 8 noticed the sadness in the boy's voice and each looked to one another, wondering what to do.
Surprisingly, it was Shino who spoke first. "Being from a ninja village it is not surprising to find that most of our free time is spent training. Team 8 as well has not had many opportunities to engage in normal activities," the Aburame adjusted his sunglasses.
"Shino's kind of right," Kiba said with a toothy grin, "I'm usually training or at home helping out my clan."
Hinata nodded, "Me too." she fiddled her fingers nervously, "As shinobi we aren't given many chances to relax. M-maybe that's why I was so excited to spend time with everyone today." the heiress's voice grew softer with each word, feeling everyone's attention directed at her. Kiba smirked, knowing he was probably the only one that caught the last part. Ah the perks of being an Inuzuka.
Naruto grinned, "Okay then, how about we just walk around and see if we can't find something interesting to do?"
Team 8 nodded and followed the boy as he made his way towards the bustling shopping district.
They each looked around and occasionally entered a few stores that caught their eye.
It was a while later that a rumbling noise suddenly caught everyone's attention. Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Whoops, guess I forgot to get something for breakfast." he looked around the shops until he noticed a small food stall, "I'm going to go grab something to eat, anyone want me to get them something?"
"I-I'm fine."
"I must decline as well."
"Well I wouldn't mind something," Kiba said looking towards the food stall, "I'll go with you; I need to see what they have."
"Ok, you guys want to wait here?"
Hinata turned to her teammate, who seemed a bit interested in a nearby shop. She turned back to the blond and nodded, "We'll wait here."
"Alright, we won't be long."
The heiress watched the two boys leave before addressing her remaining teammate. "Would you like to check out a few of the nearby shops while we wait Shino?"
"Yes I would, thank you Hinata." the boy made his way inside as Hinata followed behind him.
The boy ran his hand through his dark hair, letting out a sigh. With his Konoha bodyguards gone he was suddenly feeling very bored. He contemplated the idea of running a rumor about recently spotted thugs looming about. It would certainly give cause to extend the mission and provide him with further opportunities with the dark haired kunoichi who had caught his interest.
"Nah, they said they were going to report to my dad early this morning. What are the odds that they're still in town?"
The boy turned a corner and noticed just where he was. He frowned, not used to being in this part of the city. "Ugh, the commoner's side of the shopping district, I must have been really distracted to wind up here."
As he turned to leave his attention was caught be a nearby voice.
"What do you plan to do with that Shino?"
"It's for my bugs they-"
'I know that voice!' the boy thought with a smile. It seemed all hope was not lost. With a skip in his step he approached the nearest shop.
"Hinata my dear, fancy running into you here!" the boys said with a coy smile, "This must be what they call fate."
"Hmm, not bad," Kiba said, licking his fingers.
"Yeah I'm stuffed," Naruto happily patted his stomach.
The two made their way through the crowds of people to where their friends were waiting.
"What the-?" Naruto paused, seeing neither of the two by the shops.
"Huh, where are Shino and Hinata?" Kiba gave a puzzled look as he searched in all directions.
"I'm sorry, but Hinata's not going anywhere with you." The usually monotone voice held a hint of annoyance, catching the two teens' attention.
Both Kiba and Naruto made their way to the voice and found Shino with his arm out, creating a barrier between Hinata and a boy Naruto didn't recognize.
"Come one Hinata, if your team finished your mission, then why are you still here?" he cracked a smile, "It's okay to admit that you didn't want to say goodbye."
Hinata blushed at his words. He had hit the nail on the head, but not in the way he was thinking.
The dark haired boy smiled once more and reached out for the Hyuuga teen, "So, how about we go spend some time together. There are way better stores on the other side of town. What do you say?"
Hinata bit her lip, trying to find the best way to decline the boy's offer. She wasn't used to getting this kind of attention and so she didn't know the best way to handle it. She put on a pensive look. Surely Kurenai sensei had mentioned something about these kinds of situations.
The rich boy could tell he was losing so he decided to pull out his trump card. "I'm actually relieved to see you again Hinata. I feel like we parted in such an awkward way." he motioned to his bandaged nose, which made Hinata cringe. Seeing the guilt on the girl's face, the boy continued, "Now it seems like we've gotten a second chance and so I do hope you accept my invitation. Please Hinata?"
The heiress looked down in sadness. Yesterday's incident had left her feeling worried about their mission, even after everyone had assured her it would be okay. Now she was given a chance to make things right, could she really refuse?
Naruto finally made his presence known as he walked up to the three teens. "Hinata, Shino, what's going on here?"
"N-naruto."
The rich boy frowned at the way she said the new boy's name. He glared at the newcomer, who noticed and shot back a dark look.
"Is this guy bothering you," the blond asked, his voice sounding lower than usual.
"He is our client. The one we were assigned to protect." Shino informed him.
By now Kiba had made his way over to his teammates, "Yeah, he's the one." He shot Naruto a look which the blond responded with a nod.
'So this is the guy Kiba was complaining about,' the boy thought to himself. He noticed the bandage on the guy's nose and grinned. 'Hah, looks like Hinata really left an impression on the guy.'
"It's nice to meet you um…"
"The name's Naruto Uzumaki, future Hokage of Konoha." he declared with full confidence.
Despite the current situation Hinata couldn't help but smile at her crushes' words. It was nice to know some things never changed.
"Ah, I see," the boy responded, clearly unimpressed. "Well, if you three boys don't mind, I'll be borrowing Hinata for the day." As he reached for the pale eyed girl his arm was pushed away by an angry blond.
"Actually we do mind," Naruto said with a growl, "it just so happens that we have plans to hang out together."
"That's right, so I suggest you go back to the pricier part of town and find yourself someone else to keep you company." Kiba said with a huff.
Their ex-client bit his lip, things were not going well. With so many guys there to bat away his advances it seemed it was futile to continue his pursuit on the pale eyed beauty. Still, he wasn't known to be the type to give up.
"Alright, I'll leave, but only if Hinata asks me to."
The boys all turned to Hinata, who was startled at the sudden attention.
"Tell me Hinata, do you really want me to go?" the boy gave her a pitiful look, "The last thing I'd want is to be a bother to you. Just say the word and I'm out of here."
Kiba groaned; there was no way that someone as sweet as Hinata was going to tell someone to leave. The girl was too nice for her own good, which the Inuzuka boy knew their ex-client was taking advantage of.
Naruto frowned, wondering what Hinata was going to do. She didn't seem like the type to tell someone they were being a bother, even if it were true.
Hinata for her part was nervously trying to figure out what to do. 'What am I going to do? How can I handle this so that no one comes out hurt?'
Okay so I had a last minute decision to split this chapter up into two. Mostly due to the unexpected idea I got halfway through typing this.
So I'm sorry if this is so short. It just seemed like a nice suspenseful spot to stop at.
I'm feeling so motivated right now so I hope to write down as much as I can for the next chapter. It should wrap up Naruto and team 8's day.
Please review if you have the time. It's kind of hard to judge my own work so any input is greatly appreciated.