Author's Note: To my loyal fans thank you for enduring the long wait for this chapter. I did not realize just how popular this story has become ever since I uploaded the first chapter.
I greatly appreciate the continous support! One more heads up, I do my updates in a cycle but that will change once I complete one of my fanfics. So the wait may not be as long as this one.
Thanks,
Aisha12894
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The girls, except Hinata, patiently wait outside of a wooden built restaurant with the sign "Ichiraku's Ramen" position at the top of a medium size wooden roof.
"How long did Hinata say she was going to be?" Ino curiously poses as she gently rests one of her hands against her right hip.
"If you're that hungry why don't you go in and reserve us a table?" She snaps at the platinum blonde before she checks her phone again to see if Hinata calls her.
Ino releases a "huff" noise while she swivels around and struts inside of the restaurant. A polite gentleman holds the door open just for her to enter.
Emerald green eyes study the expression on Ino's face after she removes herself from the group and voices, "I'll go in with her. I just hope she doesn't unleash her rage on someone else."
"Please do…because I actually like coming here to eat." Tenten sternly agrees with a serious expression on her face as she shakes her head left and right.
She nods her head in agreement and leaves the pair outside of Ichiraku's as she follows behind a irate Ino.
"You know she's upset because she wants all of our attention on her since she became engaged." The sandy blonde surmises as she fiddles through the list of calls on her cell phone.
Tenten shrugs her shoulders up and down before she responses with, "I would be too. I mean it's not every day that someone pops the big question especially to a girl like Ino."
She releases a sigh, breaks her concentration away from her phone, faces Tenten, and replies, "I'm truly happy for the girl but right now I am more concerned about Hinata's safety."
The ringtone of "Dance in the Dark" (A/N: by Lady Gaga) starts to blare, which signals to the blonde that the call was from Hinata, "Hello? Hinata, where are you?"
Chocolate brown eyes merely watch as Temari chats with Hinata over the phone for a couple of seconds before she hangs up.
"So where is she now?" She inquisitively inquires with an apparent expression of concern present on her face.
Temari removes her cell phone from the side of her ear just in time to hear Tenten's question, "She said she caught a cab and is on the way as we speak."
"Good." The brunette women mutters to themselves while they both release a sigh of relief at the good news
"Are you ready to head in now?" Tenten asks as she gestures one of her hands toward the entrance and exit of Ichiraku's.
She nods her head before the two women venture inside of the medium size restaurant.
'For some reason…I have this bad feeling all of a sudden about Hinata.' Temari inwardly conceives to herself.
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Hinata nervously released a deep sigh as she repeatedly attempted to ease herself in the backseat of the cab.
Yet, the information she heard from earlier still heavily weighed on her mind.
'I can't believe that even happened!' The woman shockingly thought once she finally processed the conversations she listened in on while she was inside of the restroom.
Opal eyes glance down at one of her hands that starts to shake when she wonders in shock, 'How was I even able to sound calm on the phone just now?'
The woman uses her other hand to grasp the other hand but her nerves refuse to cooperate with her and now both of her hands begin to shake as well.
'I have to find a way to calm myself down…' she considered yet her brain could not even process what it was that she was mixed up in.
'To think that the Dollhouse was used as a safe house for drugs.' Hinata inwardly weighs to herself when she suddenly feels the cab jump from a hidden pothole in the street.
An "eek" unknowingly emits from her mouth after she swiftly covers the crown of her head with her hands that roughly collides with the ceiling of the cab.
Hinata eventually exhales another deep breath of air as it seems to have some type of calming effect for her racing heart.
'I'll probably feel better once I get around the girls.' She inwardly hopes that her assumption would turn out to be truthful.
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Naruto was leisurely napping when the sound of his stomach was loudly growling at him for not properly feeding it. It was then that he suddenly remembered that he had not bought anything to eat for dinner.
He rubs his right eye with the side of his palm and casts his gaze in the direction of where his alarm clock was position.
'Ichiraku's should still be open.' he recalls as his empty stomach seems to agree with his thought once he rolls out of his bed.
He adjusts his dark orange sweatpants, stretches his slightly tense muscles, stands up and reaches out until his fingertips brushes against the black t-shirt that lies against the body of the chair.
'I can't forget the helmet.' He reminded himself as he secured a black helmet with a red whirlpool swirl stickered in the middle of the lower portion along with a similar colored jacket. He slips both of his feet within a pair of black tennis shoes.
Naruto jogs to the front door of his apartment and removes the set of keys that dangles from the key holder attach to the side of the door.
Once he eventually makes it outside and down the set of stairs that lead to the parking lot, his mind occasionally travels back to a certain indigo haired woman with the pearly white eyes.
'She's so beautiful.' He mentally notes as he leisurely treks toward his orange and black Kawasaki Ninja 250R when another thought instantly pops up in his head, 'I wonder if she's dating anybody?'
Naruto kicks his leg over the opposite side of the bike, straddles the seat, places the jacket on, secures the straps to his helmet, sticks the key in the ignition, and cranks up the bike.
'I hope I will be able to see her again.' He silently wishes before he speedily motors out of his parking spot and eagerly gases the bike forward.
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"We have arrived at your destination, ma'am." The taxi cab driver finallyannounced to Hinata, who was totally zoned out in the backseat of the taxi.
She removes her eyes from the sights of Ichiraku's outside and casts them in the direction of the taxi cab driver. "Oh that's right…"
Hinata unzips her duffle bag, digs out her wallet and pays for the fare, which earns her a "Thank you ma'am" from the driver.
She exits from the cab and spots Temari, who walks out of the restaurant and starts to search for her.
"I'm over here, Tem." She declared after she was able to swallow a dry lump that had formed in her throat.
Temari immediately directed her gaze over toward the indigo haired woman once she overheard a nickname that very few people were permitted to call her.
"Hey come on, we already got us a table." She informs her as she waves one of her hands toward her body as a signal for her to come on over.
Hinata nods her head and follows the dirty blonde haired woman in the direction of their table.
"Blondie managed to actually get us one of the best seats in the house." Temari jokes once she takes a seat next to Tenten while Hinata drags an avaliable chair to the tables.
Ino's eyes breaks away from the menu, flashes Temari a frown, mumbles under her breath, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever," and diverts her gaze back to the menu in front of her.
Tenten nudges Temari in order to capture her attention and whispers to her, "I think we should toast to Ino's engagement. It will definitely get her spirits back up."
"Why that's a splendid idea, Tenten." She replies before she turns, flags down someone, and murmurs her request.
"So ladies what has been going on in your lived? Sakura go on and start us off." Temari speaks to the group once her focus returns back to the ladies in front of her.
Sakura breaks her concentration away from Ino in order to answer the question, "Well as you all know...medical school tuition is a hassle but I have been saving up everything that I've earn. So now, I have enough funds for a couple of more years of school without being in debt."
"Ah congrats Sakura! We all know how much that means to you." Tenten was the first to response to Sakura's answer.
"Thanks guys! These next upcoming exams are tough but I always manage to get good grades out of the classes." She mentions with a small confident smile on her face.
Hinata was feeling that she at least should be listening in on the conversation rather than reminiscing about what occur at the Dollhouse earlier.
"You would make a wonderful doctor one day, Sakura-chan." She unexpectedly chimes in, which instantly garners stares from the others.
A blush of embarrassment tints Sakura's cheeks after she hears Hinata's comment, "You really think so, Hinata-chan?"
She eagerly nods her head with a small smile present on her face, which causes one of the widest smiles to ever appear on Sakura's face.
"Enough of me, Tenten, how's it on your end? " Sakura redirects the question on to the brunette haired woman in front of her.
"A tad bit stressful but hey that's normal when you have an energized toddler, who likes to run throughout the house all day." She answers while she stifles a giggle at the mention of her son.
"Doesn't Tao have a birthday coming up soon?" Temari inquires about Tao's date of birth.
A smile similar to Sakura's materalizes on Tenten's face now, "You're right. In a couple of more weeks, my little boy will be five years old."
The mention of parenthood causes Hinata to wonder about her own parents, 'Do they miss me as much as I miss them?'
"Five?! Man time really flies by when you're a parent!" Sakura mentions to the group, but to Tenten in particular.
This cause Hinata to think about her younger sister, 'Hanabi should be about fifteen and well in her high school studies now.'
"It does Sakura. It really does and of course you all will be invited to the party." She reminds them since it becomes somewhat of a tradition for the girls to attend little Tao's birthday parties.
"You know we won't miss it for the world Ten." Temari excitingly states with a smile on her face.
"So what's new on your end Temari?" Tenten inquires about Temari's social life away from work.
She peered at each girls' face with the same smile she had flashed to Tenten still on her, "Well if you must know…I have a very hot and sexy man waiting for me once I get home."
The girls' faces shift to expressions of shock before she could no longer contain her laughter, "You're faces...are absolutely…priceless."
Everyone, except for an upset Ino, breaks out in to laughter, once Temari reveals that it was just a ploy.
"I mean of course with keeping the paperwork in order for Kankuro whenever he would ask me too. Oh and I just joined a local shoji tournament with a nice chunk of money for the prize winner." She informs them of what was going on in her life.
"Good luck and win that money girl!" Sakura cheerfully proclaims.
"You know that's what I plan to do and bring that jackpot home to mama." Temari agrees with Sakura as she repeatedly rubs the tips of her fingers across her thumb.
A slightly distracted Hinata overhears someone calls her name as she returns her focus back on to the girls in front of her.
'Why is everyone looking at me?' she inwardly questions herself before she hears Temari speaks, "So Hinata, how's life been treating you?"
Images of earlier events flood her memory banks as she fixes her mouth to voice her thoughts instead it comes out, "Pretty fairly."
The expressions on Sakura, Tenten and Temari's face was one of "is that all or is there more that you would like to tell us," rather than being satisfied with her answer.
'Come Hinata think up of something quick…oh wait I got it!' "I was thinking about adopting some type of animal but I don't know what I want just yet."
Her comment appears to have successfully place the girls' curiosity at bay for the moment, 'Whew...that was a really close one.'
"You should probably adopt a dog, they're quite loyal you know." Sakura kindly suggests, which causes Ino to snort at her comment and deliberately mutters a "Yeah right…"
"Uhm guys…" Hinata softly speaks up once the attention was finally off of her. "I'm going to see what they're serving at the grill."
"Oh tell me if the special for tonight is either shrimp or chicken." Tenten poses to Hinata once she removes herself from the table. "Sure."
The sound of Ichiraku's door opens and closes…
