I think these chapters are more conversation than anything else... I miss the way I used to write lol. It's like I can only do it in school. I'm not happy with these chapters but can't do anything else with them... ugh
"You're late. We have a game next week and you-" Naruto drowned Kakashi out. He was happy overall and didn't want to be put in a bad mood. First, he and Hinata kissed then… that's pretty much it. He rushed back to his room to get ready for practice, something he should've done when he got up at six- too early- and now, Kakashi was lecturing him on tardiness. He was one to talk. Kakashi was always at least twenty minutes late for practice and there was always a dumb excuse. One was helping an old lady cross the street and his latest, his supposed girlfriend made him shop with her. Like Kakashi could ever get a girlfriend. If he had one, he would be rubbing it in his team's face.
Naruto simply nodded and ran onto the field, joining Kiba and Shino as they stretched. "So Kiba, are you…" When Kiba didn't look at him, Naruto cleared his throat several times, eventually kicking him and getting a reaction. "Are you still mad at me? Last night when I got back-"
Kiba stood and shrugged. "I don't know man, what does it look like? First you made Hinata cry. Then, you refused to get in the car after she forced me to go after you. Gee, I just don't know."
"Can't you just let that go? Hinata forgave me. It's fine-"
"No, it's not." Shino interrupted, standing up. "You made her cry."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously and backed up. "Guys," he said as they advanced. "Think of how Hinata will feel about this. I mean, she and I are…" Naruto wasn't sure what they were now. All he did was kiss her and they shared the same feelings so were they… together?
The boys in front of him stopped, confused then angry. "What did you do?" Kiba demanded to know. "What happened to Hinata?"
"Nothing, I'm not like that!" Naruto said, wondering why no one was helping him. So what if he beat Sasuke's ass one time before? That was luck. He barely made it out of that fight alive. Metaphorically speaking of course. "Please don't be like that Shino!" Naruto exclaimed as Shino backed him up against a pole under the bleachers. "Guys, listen to me first. I went to her place this morning and apologized and told her how I had these… feelings for her! She said she likes me and her dad was coming so when I was leaving out the window, I… kissed her-"
"Don't tell me you like her Naruto." Kiba demanded, his voice strained.
"Why did you kiss her?" Shino asked.
"It felt… right. Why is it such a big deal?" Naruto wondered. He couldn't see why this thing with him and Hinata was a huge deal for his teammates. Was Hinata not allowed to have a boyfriend or something? They acted like she was this fragile creature who needed to be kept safe and protected. If they felt that way, they might as well keep her isolated or, to keep a better eye on her, quit the team and follow her around. They'd scare away every guy who wanted to talk to her; then again, Naruto was sure they couldn't rival Neji and his twenty-four seven bad attitude.
"We don't want her dating one of our teammates." Kiba informed.
Naruto moaned. They were taking this too seriously. Yeah, she was precious to them but just because Naruto was on the team was ridiculous. He was probably the nicest guy on the team- maybe. He had a little temper sometimes but that was rare. "Kiba, Shino it's me, Naruto. You know I'm not like the other guys."
Shino let Naruto go, going back to his cool and calm state; pushing up his sunglasses. Kiba looked away with his arms crossed, still dissatisfied with Naruto. "I know but-"
"Naruto," Sasuke said suddenly from behind them and drawing their attention. He looked angry but that was nothing new. "We need to talk about the game against Suna."
Naruto stood straight and pushed past Kiba, annoyed at how overprotective Kiba was being. They walked a distance from them and the field before Naruto stated, "We'll win the game against them."
"You know that's not what I really want to talk about." Sasuke retorted, shoving his hands in his sweatpants pockets. "But winning would be nice. Last year we lost because Lee had to be a fucking idiot and miss the goal."
"Don't call him that! You know Gaara pushed him just as he kicked the ball." Naruto defended, staring at Sasuke seriously.
"It's whatever. I forgave him-"
"Yeah, only after you beat his ass and then I beat yours. Sasuke, if we lose this game, who are you going to blame it on this time? Me, Choji, Shikamaru, Shino-" Naruto wondered, anxious. He didn't want to repeat last year.
"Whoever happens to kick the ball last." Sasuke threw a sideways glance at Naruto and continued. "You've been around her again."
"What makes you say that? Have you been stalking me again?" Naruto asked, stopping at the gate. He wasn't going to go any farther. Who knew what Sasuke had planned?
Sasuke laughed, amused by Naruto's response. "No, you have that look on your face."
Naruto backed away, confused. "What look?" he asked, feeling his face for any tell-tale signs.
Sasuke growled. "Never mind, you're too stupid to understand." He paused. "What did you say to her? You don't just hang out with someone and not talk."
"You know, just hung out. Like friends do. We studied a little too. I needed some help in my Philosophy class so she offered to help. After that, we watched a movie-"
"As long as you didn't tell her anything." Sasuke sneered, turning to face him.
"What would happen…if I told her? It's not that big of a deal, right?" Naruto wondered carefully, watching for any sign of change.
The only sign of irritation or anger from Sasuke was a slight twitch of the eye. "Didn't we already go over this?" He asked before walking through the metal gate and back to wherever he had come from.
"Hey, Sasuke-" Naruto exclaimed, wanting to follow before he heard someone call for him. He looked back, smiling, and grabbed her hand. "I was wondering when you'd show up."
"You're one to talk. Shino said you were late too… Am I still going to run?" Hinata giggled, walking by his side as they headed back to practice.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "You were going to," he joked, receiving a pout. "But Kiba and Shino are really… protective of you and I didn't want to-"
"Tell me how many laps and I'll do it. I've got your back." Hinata told him as they stepped out from behind the stands.
"But they're your brothers-" Naruto said, admiring how she would stand up for him. She was one of the first. It was still new and it made him wonder how much she really cared for him. Was it more than what he felt for her? Naruto shook his head inwardly. 'That's not it. I would do the same thing.'
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled and he turned to see her fist headed for his face. He closed his eyes and waited, expecting pain. When there was none, he opened his eyes and found her fist just inches from his face. 'Really Sakura, you would be the one to threaten to pound my face in.' He focused back on Sakura again. Her fist was lowered and she looked calm with her hands on her hips as she watched the boys play.
"Um, Sakura, why didn't you hit m-" Naruto wondered, thinking she had gotten distracted.
"Do you want me to hit you? Hinata forgave you obviously so why not give you a second chance as well? Plus, I kind of need to. If I didn't, I wouldn't have anyone to hang out with during those lame student council meetings." she retorted, keeping her eyes on the practice.
He could see she was almost sad and he could tell it was because Sasuke wasn't there. She hated soccer but he was why she came. They had all known each other since fifth grade and Sakura's little crush on Sasuke grew to be what Naruto knew was love. Sasuke never cared for her until ninth grade when they ended up doing a project together. A couple weeks later, they were boyfriend/girlfriend and had been until a few days ago. Naruto wasn't sure how Sakura took it but she looked great.
"Naruto!" Kakashi yelled for him to get back on the field. "You were late and now you're goofing off- Do you want to run?"
Naruto sighed and replied, "Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch." He turned to Hinata saying, "Don't run. I have a better idea."
"What is it?" Hinata raised an eyebrow, curious.
"It's a secret." He whispered, leaning in close and watching Hinata blush. He laughed and kissed her, running off to practice. He couldn't wait to surprise her. It was sure to make her blush again and he loved it. She was so cute when she became timid and shy. As Naruto caught up with Shikamaru, someone else decided to show up, someone that got on his nerves lately.
"Hey Naruto, what's up? I haven't seen you in a while." Suigetsu exclaimed as he ran with them, going on defense and kicking the ball in the other direction.
"We just had practice yesterday, fucking idiot." Naruto retorted, wanting to throw Suigetsu onto the ground and kick him instead. Maybe if he did, Suigetsu's face wouldn't be so… annoying? No, fugly. Naruto knew where these thoughts were coming from and he kind of liked them. He was never the offensive type but it felt kind of nice just thinking like he was. Naruto took a deep breath, hoping to clear his mind of them, even if they were true. He didn't want to be like that. It wasn't him and it would never be; at least he hoped. Lately, a lot had happened in the past few days and he wasn't sure of anything except of the "predicament" he was in with Hinata. She liked him- a lot- and he liked her and that's what Naruto thought because his mind was reeling just thinking about her. It was the only logical explanation to what he was feeling, to what he was experiencing. If his emotions towards her were not what he thought, then someone would get hurt. Naruto took another deep breath and tried to convince himself none of his emotions were because of his guilt. It was impossible for that to happen.
"That's right… Well, how was your date?" Suigetsu wondered, catching Naruto off guard. Suigetsu caught the ball and kicked it to Shikamaru who lazily sent it to Choji and walked down the field after him.
"What "date"? I haven't been on any date with Hinata." Naruto replied standing and dusting grass off his shorts.
Suigetsu smiled. "I didn't say with who." Naruto glared, his eyes like icy, blue daggers. "Like I asked before, how was your date?" he asked again, following Naruto to the bench.
Naruto grabbed his water bottle before answering. "Did Sasuke tell you? I think Sakura needs to forgive him. Maybe then he won't act like a crazy-"
Suigetsu raised his hands in defense, not wanting to be yelled at in Sasuke's place. "Yes, he told me but only because I wanted to know what you planned to do about your little girlfriend since then. Knowing you, you'd ask for forgiveness because you'd feel so guilty. I bet you couldn't even keep your mouth shut, could you?" he informed, his eyes steady as he watched Naruto move.
"Yeah right; Like I told Sasuke, if I told her anything, Kiba would be up my ass and plus, Hinata wouldn't even be here!" Naruto exclaimed and pointed to Hinata sitting in the stands behind them, smiling and waving down to them. He waved back with a grin and continued. "I don't know why you and Sasuke continue with this." He added, taking a swig of water and spitting before looking back at Suigetsu.
Suigetsu quirked his eyebrow, a little confused and interested. "This? What are you talking about?"
"Everything related to Thursday night! Why do you two continue with her and me?" Naruto wanted to know as he glanced up at Hinata, unable to wait until practice ended to show her his surprise.
"I honestly find it… mean. I'm doing it because Sasuke keeps threatening to get me kicked out of school. He's still doing this because she's okay. She's happy and here and not hurt. He wants her to suffer I guess. Maybe suffer isn't the best word but you get it." Suigetsu informed, taking a seat and sighing as a shadow passed over them, relishing the coolness of it.
Naruto growled, feeling hotter suddenly. How could Sasuke do this to someone as innocent as Hinata? It wasn't fair- No, it wasn't right. "And me? Why is he doing this to me?"
Suigetsu shrugged. "I think it's because he wants you to hurt too and since you are really "attached" to her, he knows there isn't anything you can really do to keep her safe except…" he turned back to the game, ignoring the glare that was on him.
"Except what? I hope it's not what I think it is. Please…" Naruto begged, his temperature rising. He couldn't take it anymore. He felt like he was dying in his shirt and he took it off, feeling relieved as he could breathe again. He grabbed Suigetsu when he received no reply and gripped his shoulders tightly. "Tell me."
Suigetsu bit his tongue, thinking hard before answering and shocking Naruto. He removed Naruto's hands from his shoulders and ran back to practice, leaving Naruto to his thoughts.
Naruto wasn't sure what to think. 'If Sasuke expects me to do this without some sort of compromise, then it won't happen.' Naruto thought having preferred not to- ever- but if it was the only way to keep her safe, then he'd have to do it himself.