Disclaimer: I don't own argh you know! Second story prequel is written by me.

Father – prequel:

Wordless the path of

Or the art of drinking, fighting and… loving

Second Story Naruto and Hinata

Chapter 5: S-rank is easier: I have to tell you…

The three young shinobi walked to Tsunade's office. They just got back from their mission. They were passed by someone. Hinata. She greeted with a smile that gave Naruto the feeling he was walking on clouds, and walked further. Naruto kept on walking.

Since he knew what he felt, he was almost the whole time thinking about her. He actually did that too before he found out, but now really noticed it.

'I… I have to tell her. But how and when? Damn this even scares me more then that Miyoshi I had to fight.' After a minute of hesitation Naruto had started to walk more slowly.

Suddenly he stopped walking, turned around and ran up to Hinata.

Sakura and Kiba stopped in surprise, watching him running away. "What's with him so suddenly?" Kiba asked. "That's what I was thinking too," Sakura said.

Naruto turned around the corner and saw Hinata. "Hinata, wait up!" She stopped walking and looked at him in surprise. Naruto stopped in front of her and stared at her for a while. Trying to find his words. "Uhm… I was wondering. Do want to eat ramen with me?" "S-sure of course," Hinata stuttered overwhelmed by the sudden question. Naruto smiled at her and then felt two hands on his shoulders, one on his left and one on his right. Confused he looked from right to left. "Huh? Sakura? Kiba? What is it?" he asked and then got pulled with them. "You have to report Tsunade-sama about the mission," Kiba said. "You can be with Hinata later on," Sakura said. The two of them dragged Naruto by his arms, who tried to free himself, but they held him tight. "Oi, release me at once! I am team captain! Listen to me!" Naruto shouted, but they didn't listen.

Hinata stared at Naruto, who was trying to free himself, and giggled.

Half an hour later, Naruto finally left the Hokage mansion. "Yosh; that report needed longer than expected." Still tired, he bumped into Hinata, who was waiting in front of the mansion. "Oh, sorry Hinata."

She blushed and smiled a bit shyly. "It's okay. You said you wanted to eat ramen with me, so why not yet?"

Naruto was put off his stroke. "O-okay." The pair (you really cannot call this couple yet) went to Ichiraku. 'I really have to tell her.' They were sitting and eating there for about half an hour, but all that he managed to say was complete nonsense. What made it is even worse was the fact that Sakura chose today to eat ramen for lunch (and check on Naruto).

"Hey, you two, how are you?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked with a generous smile.

'Fuck, I really cannot do this in front of Sakura…' Suddenly, he finished his ramen in a new record time and ran away. "Bye, Hinata!"

"Naruto…?" Hinata sat there, puzzled, while Sakura jumped up from her seat, chasing down the shinobi with raised fist. "Naruto-no-baka!"

"Oh no!" Running, hurrying, fleeing, and completely unaware of his surroundings, he bumped into Yakushi Nekomata, who was buying paper. He fell on his bottom.

"Ouch, hey, Naruto, are you completely nuts?" she shouted angrily.

"Sorry, Yakushi-san, but I have to…"

Too late. "Naruto you bakayarou!" Sakura had caught up. "Thanks, Yakushi-senpai. You have found out, haven't you?"

Nekomata pulled a face like acid. "I've seen it. Naruto, you COWARD! Even Lee was more courageous than you!"

The blonde shinobi got up, confused and surrounded. "What the heck has Lee to do with this?" The green-robed kunoichi folded impatiently her arms. "What the hell? Does that mean that you and Lee are…?"

"…a couple. Since the moment we spotted each other." Her expression was even worse because it became totally blank.

Naruto couldn't believe his ears. 'Even Lee…with Nekomata! YIKES!' He took some big breaths in to calm himself down. "You two are really…?"

With a calm but dangerous voice, Konoha's demon cat cut his sentence. "That doesn't really matter now; you screwed up your own confession." She laid her left hand on the handle of her sword. Sakura let her right fist crack. Both got an evil grin on their faces.

Naruto shivered. "Oh-oh, I am in deep trouble…" He knew the message of the two medics: confess or hospital. "Holy shit!" Naruto ran away, being chased by a super-skilled and a super-strong medical ninja. "NARUTO!!"

After a quarter of an hour – he still didn't know how he managed to outrun Nekomata's eyes (of course he didn't) – Naruto found himself in front of the Hyuga compound.

'How the hell did I manage to come here? Well, I guess I have no choice anyway. If I try to go home, I will be in reach of Nekomata's eyes, and then I have to run again…How am I supposed to tell her?' Naruto thought depressed and knocked on the door.

It was Hanabi that opened. "Hello, Naruto-san. I will get Hinata," she said with a smile. Naruto only nodded and leaned against the wall, waiting for Hinata. It took around seven minutes until she came.

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata said after closing the door of the gate. Naruto rapidly turned his head to her. His heartbeat fastened a bit as he tried to find something to say. "Uhm, hey… wanne walk around with me?" Naruto noticed he was mumbling, what irritated him. "Sure," Hinata said. Naruto pushed himself away from the wall and together they walked, not in some direction, it didn't matter where they would go. Naruto looked down at Hinata's hand; she was walking on his left side. Naruto hesitated for a few minutes and then got her hand gently. He knew very well that he had held her hand more often, so he didn't understand why it was so difficult now. Hinata was surprised, of course she was. Although he had held her hand before, he never grabbed her hand by himself like he had done now.

Then Hinata suddenly stopped. "What is it?" Naruto asked her. "I have the feeling we are being followed," Hinata said and looked around. "We are," Naruto said without looking at her, "Sakura and Nekomata are following us." Hinata looked at him and Naruto turned his gaze away. "Why?" Hinata asked. "They like to annoy me," he mumbled as answer, "But I don't know how to get rid of them." Hinata giggled a bit and that made Naruto look at her again. "Why don't you try Kage bunshin?" Hinata suggested. "Kage… bunshin?" It took Naruto a few seconds before he understood what she meant. "O right. Okay I know what to do now. Come, we have to run for a while."

Hinata nodded and they started running, still holding hands. They turned around a few corners and Naruto made two Kage bunshin, one of them changed in Hinata and he sent them to run further. He and Hinata turned to another street.

xoxoxoxox

"Why are they suddenly running?" Sakura asked. "I have a slight idea," Nekomata answered. They turned around a corner and saw Naruto and Hinata up ahead. 'Wait a minute…Snake-Dragon-Tiger: Eyes of Yakushi…' Nekomata used her heaven eyes and looked at the two, just like she thought. Kage bunshin. She stopped running and looked around. "What is it, Nekomata-senpai?" Sakura asked, she had stopped a few seconds later and walked back. "Those weren't the real. They are probably trying to get rid of us." Sakura stared at her for a while before she asked, "What do we do now?" "Don't worry, I found them; Naruto's life force is a bit too big to be overseen…" (That's what you see with Tengan, life force.)

xoxoxoxox

Naruto sat down in the grass; it was the same field as where they had been looking at shooting stars a while ago. "I wonder if that really stopped them, Nekomata-san can see the difference between Kage bunshin and the real body." Naruto looked at Hinata who had activated her Byakugan. "They're not around anymore." "Good," Naruto sighed relieved. "Ne, Naruto-kun, why did you suddenly appear tonight? I mean, you never did that before… I…I always know when you come… and…" Hinata stopped talking and looked at the ground. "I… I just felt like it." He saw Hinata looking at him with a blush on her face. "I kinda… well I missed you," he mumbled.

"M-mi-missed me?" Hinata suddenly turned back to her old habit. "Ye-yeah," Naruto said with a silly grin, "it's stupid that I never noticed this before but…" Hinata stared at him, her face almost as red as a tomato. Naruto was turning red as well and stared at the grass. "… I-I figured it out when you were gone and I was alone again. … I like you, Hinata. I like you a lot." He paused for moment to look at her reaction and then got a smile on his face. "It's not just like… I love you," he then said.

Hinata looked shocked at him and the next moment she passed out. Naruto caught her and looked down at her. 'I think I now understand why she used to do that when we were younger. … It's really stupid that I never noticed it before.'

After a few minutes Hinata opened her eyes and she looked up into Naruto's. She quickly sat up and looked at the ground. "S-sorry," she muttered. "Nah, it's okay. I understand," Naruto said looking at the sky, with pink in his face. "Na-Naruto, I didn't mean that I… that I don't…" Hinata couldn't get herself say the word 'love' and she almost started crying. The reason she didn't was because Naruto was looking at her with a gentle smile and came closer. "I know," he whispered in her ear and then he placed his lips on hers. After a moment of astonishment, Hinata placed her arms around him.

xoxoxoxox

Nekomata deactivated her heaven eyes with a genuine smile on her face. "And?" Sakura asked eager to know what Nekomata had seen. "Don't worry, Naruto didn't screw up. They'll be fine," Nekomata answered, smiling. Sakura sighed and smiled. 'Well done, Naruto-nii-san,' she thought.

xoxoxoxox

When the two let go, they were both blushing a bit. Naruto laid his forehead on Hinata's shoulder. "Would you please come live with me again? The place is so big and empty without you," he mumbled. "I'd like nothing better," Hinata whispered back.

Ok, that was the last story of the prequel. Now on to the main story! Father prologue next up.