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: This is altered starting from of the Chuunin Exams. 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.
~Sigh~
It's ridiculous how much time I've let pass since the last update.
Regardless of the writing issues I'm having I hope I don't let this much time pass ever again.
Chapter 12
Hidden Connections
He pushed through the crowds of people moving about the shopping district. Glares and harsh words were completely ignored as he tried to keep his target in his line of sight. Some mumbled curses were sent towards a passerby who had bumped him accidentally.
A merry laugh could be heard from the two young teens ahead of him which only further fueled his anger. At this point he didn't even care if he was spotted or not. The male, green with envy, gritted his teeth and practically ran to their side. Lucky for him, about five feet from the two, the boy was able to regain his composure enough to duck down behind a food stall.
With his somewhat close proximity he attempted to listen in on the two genins' conversation.
Pale eyes watched as the blond next to them continued laughing. With flushed cheeks the young girl began to regret telling her crush that particular event. "N-naruto," she spoke timidly.
The blond tried to contain his laughter as he turned to his companion. Though one look at her embarrassed face had him cease his laughter with an abrupt cough. After reprimanding himself internally, Naruto sported a wide grin, "Sorry, I couldn't help it."
"Mmm," the Hyuuga heiress spoke in a soft voice, her eyes cast away, "W-was it r-really that funny?"
Naruto's expression turned to a look of curiosity as he looked over at the teen to his side. With slightly pursed lips and pink tinted cheeks, her pale eyes seemed to narrow slightly before softening up after glancing his way. The blond seemed a bit taken back, 'is she, or rather, did she just pout?' Naruto tried to hide the amused grin that made its way onto his face but Hinata was quick to notice.
"N-naruto," she timidly huffed, now sporting red cheeks. The boy in question only found this more amusing and tried to stifle his laughter.
Hard set glares were sent in the direction of the two teens by a hidden onlooker. 'What is this? This idiot appears out of nowhere, and takes what's mine so easily? How can that be?' His dark eyes narrowed, recalling how difficult it had been to engage with the heiress during their week together. It irked him to no end to see the blond get such cute reactions from her with little to no effort. Honestly, he was beginning to question Hinata's taste in men if that boy could get her to blush and not him.
He looked around, quickly spotting a rock and flung it towards the male teen in anger.
Lucky for Naruto, an innocent passerby was pushed into him, effectively clearing them both from harm's way.
Hinata was quick to react and pulled the blond towards her, saving him from being used as a pillow by the falling passerby.
"Eh?" the snob looked ahead with bewildered eyes. He stood up from his hiding space in order to get a better look at the two teens. Honestly he was beginning to think he was cursed. First a girl he sought didn't accept his advances. Then an idiotic boy appears and takes said girl from him. Now his attempts to ruin their day had been thwarted by some bumbling buffoon!?
It bothered him to no end to see the pair in their current position. Hinata, with her flushed face, was staring up at the idiot whose name he hadn't bothered to remember. The way she looked up at guy sent his blood boiling. Honestly, it bewildered him to see such a cute looking girl go for such a stupid looking guy.
"I've had enough of this." the boy declared with gritted teeth, turning towards the bustling street back home.
From a short distance three pair of eyes watched in amusement as the brooding teen left the vicinity.
"Glad to see that jerk finally got the hint. Idiot thought I'd let him ruin our teammates' day." he looked over at his companions, who barked in agreement.
The Inuzuka male had positioned himself closer to the teens, giving him the chance to bump a man in their direction, in order to avoid the projectile thrown at them.
However, given the position that had brought on, Kiba wondered if it would have been better to let the blond get hit.
Hinata and Naruto were currently very close to each other. To be more specific, Hinata was laying flat on the ground with Naruto right on top of her.
"Sorry about that Hinata, are you okay?" Naruto got up carefully and helped the blushing girl up. She let out a soft affirmation. "Thanks for helping me out." he chuckled, "You saved me from being landed on, but instead you got landed on." Hinata blushed while Naruto sported a goofy grin.
Kiba, from his position groaned, "Let's go before I hurl." He signaled to the pups and they headed back to the rest of team 8. Akamaru whined and Miyuki barked in agreement. "Ok, we'll grab something on our way back."
Naruto and Hinata continued their walk, completely unaware of what had just transpired.
"Oh yeah," the blond looked around, "I don't see that rich bastard anywhere, guess he either didn't see us or didn't care. In any case it looks like we're in the clear." He smiled cheerfully at his lavender eyed friend beside him, "So, should we head back now?"
Hinata nodded, looking away with a small smile of her own. Her gaze quickly caught something that interested her. "Oh um Naruto, do you think we could look inside this shop before we head back?"
The Uzumaki teen looked curiously at the shop his friend was pointing to, "Sure let's go."
As they entered the shop they were greeted by a short elderly woman with a warm smile. "Welcome, can I help you out with anything?"
"Yes ma'am, I'm looking for a specify type of cloth, preferably in black."
The petite woman moved from behind the counter, "Let's see now, I'm pretty sure we can find just what you're looking for over here. You know I pride myself in stocking a wide variety of materials."
True to her claim the shop owner waved her arm over the many different types of cloth on display. Hyuuga heiress was in awe as she looked through the black cloths of various materials and sizes.
Naruto looked around at the various items within the shop. There were threads, yarn, and materials of different textures and designs. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing that interested the boy but he was impressed at the variety though, running his hand across a very soft material. "Wow, I wish I had a blanket out of this soft stuff," the boy sported a dreamy look, "I bet I'd be so comfortable during the cold months."
Hinata giggled, "You'd be so comfortable I bet you'd oversleep in the mornings Naruto."
"Ah, that's what makes friends so great Hinata." the boy stated with a wide grin, "You'd come wake me up so I'm not late for my missions, right? You're much nicer about it than Sakura usually is." Naruto winced, recalling the bumps to his head as the pink haired girl roughly pulled him off his bed, dragging him out the door.
The heiress blushed, "Y-yes of course I'd be happy to help you out Naruto. That is, when you come back home I'll be able to." She didn't mean to but the sudden though had caused her to look down sadly.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Suddenly the atmosphere had gotten gloomy as the two teens looked downcast. With the fun day the two had been having their impeding separation had been completely forgotten. 'Gee, it's been really fun hanging out with everyone, even Kiba. I'm practically always alone thanks to pervy sage's 'research'. I mean, I'm sorta used to it but-' the blond shook his head, unwilling to continue his thoughts. What good would it do him to start getting all depressed?
"Miss? I have your cloth all ready." the elderly woman held up a bag, "Is something the matter?"
"T-thank you, um," Hinata reached behind to her side pouch and grabbed the correct amount to pay for her item. "Here you go." The woman accepted the money and handed the bag over. She noticed the two teens still sported sad expressions, 'Well whatever's going on, I doubt they'll want me poking my nose where it doesn't belong. Kids these days.' she thought with a smile.
"Thank you for your business Konoha ninja, if you're ever back in the area please come visit this poor old woman."
Before Naruto could even ask the woman pointed to their forehead protectors. 'Ah right.'
The two didn't make any stops after leaving the shop, not even a single word was said between them. The tension was quickly building up and neither one knew what to do.
Finally the blond snapped, "Ah, I can't take this!" he yelled, taking the surprised girl by the hand. He easily maneuvered through the people along the streets, finally stopping in an empty alleyway.
"Um, Naruto what-?" Hinata was cut off by a blue glow coming from the boy's hand.
It started off rather small but then the boy moved his left hand around it, causing it to grow larger.
The heiress watched with an amazed expression as the wonderfully blue ball of chakra grew and grew. Naruto tried to concentrate as he moved his hand around and around.
"Mwreow!"
Naruto jumped back in surprise as a flash of black dashed passed them, followed by a big barking dog. The black blur scurried through a small hole which the large dog could not fit through. Angered the dog barked and barked until it had its fill and huffed away.
"Wow, that was unexpected." the blond said with a sigh. "And just when I thought I'd finally gotten it on my own."
"N-naruto!" Hinata sported a rather shocked expression as she looked right at him.
"What's the matter Hinata?"
"Um," with a slow motion the young girl pointed above the boy's face.
It was then he noticed his right hand was stretched up above his head; the rasengan he had tried to perform no longer present. As he brought his hand down to inspect it his forehead protector fell onto it.
"What the?" the blue material on his forehead protector appeared to be pretty torn up along the side. It took a minute for the blond to realize what had happened. 'I guess when the dog ran by I must have brought my hand up and accidentally hit my forehead protector with my rasengan.'
The blond sighed; most of the cloth on that side seemed to be singed and torn, meaning he'd probably have to replace the whole thing.
Hinata noticed this too and pulled out a kunai from her side pouch. She kneeled and pulled out the black cloth she had just purchased. Before Naruto could ask what she was doing she unfolded the cloth and proceeded to cut it with her kunai.
"What the heck are you doing Hinata?" he asked with a shocked tone.
The Hyuuga teen held her hand out, "Don't worry Naruto; I know how to fix it." Still confused the boy hesitantly handed over his forehead protector.
This time it was Naruto's turn to watch with stunned eyes as the girl completely replaced the material. In no time at all the forehead protector was handed back to him, completely fixed.
"This cloth is pretty strong so I'm sure it'll be able to endure your training." Hinata said confidently as she packed up the remaining material.
"Uh thanks Hinata," the boy was still stunned as he ran his hand through the new material on his forehead protector.
Hinata held a worried look, "Um, I'm sorry it's black, I could go get some blue cloth if you prefer."
"Huh, no it's alright," the boy quickly secured his forehead protector back on his head. "I think black's a good color for me, thanks again Hinata."
The usual grin of his was enough to assure her, "Y-you're welcome." she blushed, "I'm glad I could help."
"But, wasn't that material going to be used for something? I mean, you did buy it for a reason, right?"
"Yes um, Hanabi's been looking for this specific cloth for some time now. I offered to look for it when I went out on missions so she gave me money for it.
"Is it okay that it's ripped now?" Naruto had heard enough about Hanabi from Hinata to know about the girl's, strong personality, to put it nicely. He'd feel bad if Hinata was going to get yelled at because of him.
"It's okay Naruto, I made sure to purchase more than what she had asked for." Hinata said in a reassuring tone. "It's a very nice material so I though I'd get enough for myself as well."
"Oh, will there still be enough for you now?"
"Yes," She shyly touched her own forehead protector, located on her neck. Hinata blushed; there was certainly enough left over for her to replace the cloth on her own forehead protector. 'Will Naruto be bothered if we match? Would he even notice the next time he sees me?' That thought brought a dejected expression to her face. For a second she selfishly wished he could remain by her side instead of leaving again. But she knew he dreamed of being Hokage and she was not going to be the one to stop him from achieving his goal.
"Man and I was so close this time too."
Hinata snapped out of her thoughts and looked over to her crush. Her eyes were wide as she realized he had been talking to her and she had not been paying attention. Looking around, the young girl also noticed the two had started walking back towards the inns. In a hurried attempt Hinata tried to keep up with the blond's conversation.
"Damn pervy sage hasn't been any help either." he muttered a few choice words. The only words Hinata was able to make out were 'seduced' and 'all night'. It made her wonder about the toad sage Jiraiya and his teaching methods. Suddenly the young Hyuuga started to worry about the influence the legendary sannin might have on her longtime crush.
"Not to mention this city doesn't really have any place for me to practice. Being here for so long, not being able to do any jutsus; it was starting to bother me." Naruto stopped, "Wait, is this the right way back to the inn?" He looked the each side of the street, and noticed a vendor starting to pack up his cart. Somehow the boy couldn't recall seeing that particular cart there before.
"Um, yes, we're going the right way Naruto." Hinata assured the boy with a slight nod.
"Ah, you there!" the cart vendor called to them with a cheerful wave. Puzzled the two teens looked at each other before making their way towards the man.
"Yeah?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow. Hinata simply nodded at the man, who gave her a similar greeting.
"Hello there, might I interest you in some of my merchandise." there was a slightly hint of nervousness in the man's otherwise cheery tone.
"Huh?"
"You see," the man wavered, his tone sounding more nervous by the second. "I'm not from this village. In truth I came here to make a trade with a local shop owner. But the deal fell through at the end. Seems another merchant came in just the other day and made a better deal."
"Whoa that sucks. Doesn't really seem fair to me."
"Yes, I think so too," the man sighed. "That's why I'm hoping I can find some customers to buy off all this merchandise. You see, all these things were made by the people of my hometown. Our town specializes in trading; it's what helps us feed our families."
"Oh no, that's terrible." Hinata held a sad and worried look.
"Ah, I'm sorry little miss, I didn't mean to burden you with my troubles." the man waved his hands frantically. He noticed the two teens looking around his cart in thought. "I would be awfully thankful if you'd buy something but I in no means want to force or guilt trip you into it." he pounded his chest and smiled, "Even if it's no good here I can always stop by the towns on my way home and try my luck there."
"Still," Hinata whispered, thinking of the many families waiting for the man to return with their earnings.
'There's gotta be something here I could use.' Naruto carefully eyed all the merchandise. There were hand carved figurines, clay pots and even a few weapons inside the boxes sitting in the cart. As the blond walked along the cart his eye was caught by a box, which contained clothes. There were jackets, gloves and even hats, no doubt made for the next winter season. And while spring was starting to make its way to them; nights still tended to be rather chilly.
"Ah, I see you have a good eye there young lad." the man said with a smile, "That hat you're holding right now was personally made by my wife. She and a few others hand-knitted every piece in that box."
"Wow," the boy gently ran his fingers through the material. It wasn't too thick but looked liked it could still keep the cold off of you. The material didn't feel itchy but rather soft. All in all it seemed very well made and Naruto could guess it would be pretty comfortable. But woolen hats weren't really his thing. 'Though you know, this design sorta looks like it would look better on a girl.' he mused to himself for a second.
"Wait, maybe," he turned towards his companion, who was looking through some of the figurines. 'Come to think of it, Hinata has always worn her forehead protector around her neck. I wonder if that means she doesn't like to put things on top of her head? I think Sakura once had a fight with Ino about wearing a hat. Something about hiding her face and how boys wouldn't like it or something…' the blond's eyes shot opened.
'That's it, if Hinata wears a hat then her face will be hidden and bastards like that one guy won't bother her anymore!' Naruto grinned, excited to be able to help his friend out. Though a part of him wondered why these kinds of problems never happened on his missions with Sakura.
"Oh right, its cause Sakura's usually hitting me during missions. Guys must see that and get scared off," he chuckled to himself. Their loss, Sakura was a great friend if you stayed on her nice side.
But Hinata…
She was too nice for her own good. Even back in Konoha when Kiba and him fought she was always trying to nicely pull them apart. She wasn't the type to raise her voice or get upset.
But it bothered Naruto to think his friend might be hassled by random bastards whose attentions she unknowingly caught. As Naruto looked once more at the Hyuuga heiress he concluded that measures had to be taken.
Hinata carefully lifted an animal shaped figurine and smiled. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed her crush approaching her. "I think my sister will really like this, what do you think Naru-"
In one quick motion the blond tugged the hat in place; right atop the Hyuuga teen's head. "W-what?" the puzzled girl stared up at her friend. With her hands occupied she could do nothing more than stare in confusion.
"Hmm, no good," the boy sighed, a frown on his face.
"Eh?" Hinata sported a shocked look, 'W-what did he put on me? Feels kind of like a hat but if so… D-does he mean it doesn't look good on me?' The poor teen could do nothing more than sport a confused and trouble face.
"Man, I though this would work," Naruto sighed, lifting his hand up in thought, "maybe I'm remembering it wrong?" He continued to mumble to himself as Hinata placed the figurine down and touched the top of her head.
'So it is a hat.' she though to herself. "N-naruto, what-"
"What about this Hinata, we could go buy some sunglasses!" the boy grinned widely, "With your face covered like that I'm sure you'll be fine."
Hinata's eyes widened, was the boy of her dreams calling her ugly? She shook her head in disbelief; surely she must be misunderstanding the situation. Sure the heiress was a bit self-conscious about her looks and often times though of herself as rather plain looking. And sure Naruto did have a habit of speaking his mind and saying things that offended people. But, Hinata had never known him to be the type of person to flat out insult a friend. And they were friends right? Surely the time they had spent together proved that. So then why was the boy she admired trying to cover up her face?
"Um Naruto," there was no point pondering this on her own; if she wanted answers she'd have to ask him directly. "N-naruto, w-what's going on?"
The blond was snapped out of his thoughts by his female companion. It certainly caught his attention to hear his friend's nervous tone of voice. Add to that her current worried expression. "Hinata? What do you mean?"
"T-the hat," she hesitantly pointed to the top of her head, "And um, you said something about sunglasses?"
"Oh that," the boy sighed, "I was trying to find a way to keep the same thing from happening again. You know, having to deal with pushy guys like that jerk client from earlier. I though if you wore a disguise you would be left alone."
Hinata visibly sighed in relief, "I see."
"You're too nice to tell people to get lost so I thought it'd help so that no one would approach you in the first place." the blond reached up to where the hat rested, "I though this hat could hide your face enough but it kind of backfired."
"H-how so?" Hinata's heart seemed to jump out of her chest at the boy's close proximity.
Naruto wore an apologetic smile as he moved his hand to the side of her face. "You're eyes are pretty." he simply stated.
Hinata blushed bright red and whispered a shy thank you. The blond's comment, if anything, left her more confused than before. Happy, yet confused.
"Well, you can still wear it when it gets cold in Konoha." the boy held a pensive look, "But how can we keep bastards from noticing you."
Hinata could tell he was truly concerned about this but couldn't help but let out a soft laugh.
"Hmm? What's up Hinata?"
"N-nothing really," her cheeks turned pink at the sudden attention.
"Eh? Come on tell me."
"Ah w-well," Hinata looked away, unable to handle her crush's piercing gaze. "I-I don't think this situation is likely to happen again. U-usually I'm pretty much overlooked by everyone." her fingers twiddled nervously, "R-remember? E-even you've told me there were times where you didn't notice my presence." The statement caused a small pain in her heart but she brushed it aside. Things were different now, she told herself with a smile. Now, there were even times she swore his eyes searched for her within the crowd of their friends. Whether it was wishful thinking or not, the heiress chose to believe it.
"Oh yeah," the boy scratched the back of his head, "I guess back then I wasn't that good at noticing when you were around. But, I'm a much better ninja now, so you won't be sneaking up on me anymore," he declared with a proud grin.
Leave it to the blond to think lack of ninja skill was the cause of his inability to ever notice her.
"I still can't notice Shino though," he stated with a frown, "He must train a lot to be so stealthy. Oh yeah, don't you guys specialize in tracking? Guess that explains why he's so good."
Hinata let out a soft chuckle, "Mmh."
"Ah excuse me, are you gonna buy that hat?" a voice cut in from behind them. The two teens turned around to find a girl with short brown hair. Her honey colored eyes sparkled with excitement, "It's just so cute," she said with a smile.
Hinata blinked in response, she unconsciously lifted her hand up to the hat resting on her head.
"Actually yes, I'm getting Hinata the hat." Naruto stated cheerfully.
"Oh," the young girl blinked in surprise before forming a wry smile on her face, "I see."
The Hyuuga heiress lightly blushed, no doubt catching the tone in which the brown haired girl spoke. Naruto stayed oblivious as usual.
With a sigh she turned to inspect the other boxes, "I'll let it pass this time given the cute circumstances," she fought back a smile after catching Hinata's blush increase ten-fold.
"Hey Hinata, are you gonna buy anything?" he asked as he closed his frog wallet and placed it back in his pouch.
The blue haired teen turned to her crush, "Um," she looked for the figurine she had placed down earlier. "Well," as she held the tiny animal statue in her hands she thought of her sister and nodded in response. "Um, excuse me; I'd like to purchase this."
The merchant looked up with a smile, "Sure thing miss." Hinata grabbed the appropriate money and handed it to the man. "Thanks for the business; it even looks like I've gotten more customers since the two of you stopped by."
"Heheh, guess we're good luck for your business," Naruto joked.
"I think so too," the older man looked at the people who stopped nearby; their curious eyes scanned the cart. "With this many people stopping by I think I have a good chance of selling quite a bit of my wares." His eyes seemed to hold a bit of gratitude as he handed Hinata the figurine, wrapped nicely in paper to prevent damage.
The two teens wished the merchant luck and said their goodbyes.
"T-thank you for the hat Naruto," Hinata shyly spoke as they walked back to the others. She silently scolded herself for not thanking him earlier. Though with everything that happened the heiress had completely forgotten to thank the blond before.
"No problem," he replied, a grin plastered on his face. Despite his failed idea he was happy to know Hinata liked the hat regardless. He didn't often give out gifts. The opportunity never really presented itself, plus he never really knew what to give as a gift. Ramen coupons maybe? They seemed like a safe choice, I mean, who didn't like ramen?
Still, he had been a bit nervous after buying the hat. Hinata had never voiced her opinion on it, he realized shortly after. But to his relief she had given her thanks a short time later. Her warm smile had been enough assurance for him.
They traveled the rest of the way in silence. Only this time neither one seemed to mind as it felt quite pleasant.
Kiba was the first to greet them when they arrived at the inn. Apparently he had just gotten there himself and was on his way to their rooms when Akamaru spotted the two.
He was quick to notice the hat on his teammate's head and smirked when Naruto cheerfully told him how they had acquired it. The boy practically howled with laughter as the blond explained his idea of using said hat to hide Hinata's face and how in the end it had just made her cute features more apparent. Needless to say the shy heir was red from head to toe throughout the whole explanation. Kiba made a mental note to bring this topic up later whenever he felt like teasing the Hyuuga.
For the moment though he felt Hinata would faint if they continued, so he lead them to their room where Shino was no doubt waiting for them.
Once they were all together they decided to discuss what they would do tomorrow. Kurenai explained that they would leave sometime around 7 am in order to set a good pace and therefore arrive back home in a good amount of time.
Naruto promised to see them off as he was sure pervy sage wasn't planning to have them leave until sometime in the afternoon. No doubt the older man would be out until dawn, doing his 'activities' or 'research' as he liked to call it.
"Be sure to say hi to everyone back home for me guys," the blond said with a grin as he got up to leave. He stopped in his tracks when he suddenly remembered something. "Oh yeah, I can't believe I completely forgot," he smacked his head. How had he not noticed sooner?
"What's the matter, can't remember what room you're staying at anymore?" Kiba joked in a friendly tone.
"No, in all this time I've hung out with you guys I never once asked about Inari." Naruto rubbed his head, sporting an embarrassed face. Everyone but the blond tensed up at this. The boy however didn't notice and continued, "I can't believe I didn't notice sooner. I mean, Miyuki's even tagging along with you guys. So, how is she? Was the shrimp able to find something in her hometown?"
Silence. Team 8 exchanged worried looks between themselves.
Naruto finally noticed the change in his friends' demeanor, "What's up guys? Did something happen?" His eyes took on a look of worry, "W-what did Inari find?" The image of a horrified four year old looking around at the various dead bodies littering her hometown came to mind. He shuddered at the thought, hoping the poor girl had not seen such a traumatic thing.
Hinata bit her lip, the moment she had dreaded had finally come. Her team had talked the night before about Inari and the best way to bring it up to their friend. But with the events that had transpired during the day each one of them seemed to have completely forgotten. "N-naruto, you see…" it had fallen on Hinata to relay the news. And while she had agreed previously, now that she was in the situation, her nerves started to get the best of her.
Both Kiba and Shino placed a hand on either side of her shoulder and gave her a reassuring nod.
"Hinata?" Naruto's questioning eyes seemed to search Hinata's.
"T-the thing is," pale eyes looked down at her feet, "our mission wasn't a success," she began, "we were attacked shortly after arriving and Inari…" Hinata bit her lip and looked up at the blond. His concerned eyes pained her but she continued, "She was all alone when those men found her, and by what we could tell she managed to escape thanks to her ability."
Naruto sighed in relief at hearing this, 'At least they didn't get her,' he thought to himself.
"But," Hinata's eyes looked down once more, "since then, we haven't see Inari."
"Apparently her ability had taken her a fair distance away from our location. We received a letter letting us know she was being taken care of by people she had come to trust. Though we do not know who they are or where they are located."
"She also said she'd head back to Konoha once she was feeling better. We think she suffered from chakra exhaustion so it would take some time for her to recover."
Hinata silently thanked her teammates for taking over the explanation. Kurenai added into the conversation as well, noting a few parts the young teens had failed to mention.
Naruto for his part was trying to take it all in. A part of him was upset that he hadn't been there for her. Another part felt frustrated at his inability to do anything to find her. Hinata seemed to sense his inner turmoil and reached out and grabbed his hand.
"I'm sorry Naruto, I wasn't able to protect her like I promised." she whispered, he could tell she was close to breaking into tears.
"It's not your fault Hinata, these things just happen," his own voice was almost a whisper as well.
"B-but."
"From what I heard there was nothing anyone could do," he said squeezing Hinata's hand, "So don't blame yourself, ok?"
Hinata hesitated but eventually nodded.
It had almost been three months since the incident and Team 8 was starting to get anxious. If Inari didn't return soon Kurenai knew they'd request to search for her again. According to the Hokage three months was more than enough time for the four year old to recover. The genjutsu mistress could only wonder what was keeping the child from returning.
The four teens chatted for a bit more before saying goodnight.
"Don't worry Hinata, you'll see Inari again soon," Naruto said in the most reassuring voice he could muster.
The Hyuuga heiress smiled appreciatively, saying goodnight once they reached Naruto's room.
A wide mix of emotions, brought on by the day's events, coursed through the teens' minds as they drifted to sleep.
To those still reading my story, I thank you.
You are the reason I keep coming back.
