Friends Forever

By Lady Tofu

Chapter 12

"I saw you on a date with that Sasuke-bastard. I saw you, and I didn't like it, because I like you Hinata-chan. I like you, and I think I like you a lot."

Hinata scrubbed at her face, trying to banish the words that had haunted her for nearly a week. Ever since the morning Naruto had caught her training outside the village bounds and confessed his feelings, she had avoided him like plague, but no matter what she did, Hinata couldn't escape the memory of his words. They rang again and again in her ears, along with the shocked hurt in his eyes as she leapt up to hit him.

She hadn't meant to punch Naruto, she thought with a grimace. But she had waited to hear those words for so long... She had waited, and he had finally said them, only he had made it sound like just another declaration, just another vow to beat Sasuke... Yet another little stitch in his ever-growing nindo tapestry. And it had made her so mad. She might not have been smart like Sakura, or beautiful like Ino, or even fierce like Ten-Ten, but she still deserved to hear the words she had longed for...those words she had dreamed of... as more than an answer to a childhood rivalry.

A wave of anger had clouded her senses as the sheer shock of his words died away. For, perhaps the first time, Hinata knew what it meant to see red. Her fist had connected with Naruto's cheek before she could stop herself.

"I think I like you a lot."

And I was finally going to move on, Hinata wailed mentally and wanted to wail out-loud. He hadn't even been able to decide if he really liked her or not! Only, she couldn't hate him for it because of the way her heart had fluttered. The way a corner of her mind had whispered that her true love would be realized at last...

Now, Hinata wasn't sure who she was more upset with: Naruto or herself.

Hinata shook her head and dove beneath the warm water of the Hyuuga family's private onsen. The water was hot, almost burning, as it touched her face and ears. She needed to clear her head, she knew, before anyone started poking around.

There were already enough rumors going around about her lately. Apparently, her date with Sasuke was one of Konoha's worst kept secrets, and the Hyuuga's in particular were snooping for more gossip. Half of her family was already mapping out space in the Uchiha compound, and the other half was whispering a little too loudly about treachery and missing-nin. Of course, rumors had been circulating about Hinata and Naruto for years, but that only made for more interesting (and dramatic) stories in many cases and Hinata wasn't sure she could deal with that just now.

Rising up for air, Hinata squeezed some of the water out of her hair and piled it on top of her head, twisting the ends together into a loose knot. She let her gaze wander across the calm waters of the bathing pool. From her seat, she could see the steam rising off the water like curling, wispy clouds.

It was peaceful here, unlike her insides. A forest of long-stemmed rushes lined the east side of the main pool, their tall, green stems waving slightly with every breeze. They screened bathers from the more rambunctious antics of those that chose to use the stream-shaped swimming pool on the other side. On the west, just beyond a stand of bamboo, there was a rock garden for meditation and long, comfortable benches of old, worn wood that seemed perfectly positioned to catch every ray of sun no matter how gloomy the day. Hinata loved to lounge on those benches during her rare free moments and read--even if it made her feel a little like a spoiled cat.

A smile tugged at Hinata's lips for the first time in what seemed to be days. She wasn't the only one. She had caught Neji-ni, Hanabi, and her own father there a few times as well, although she tactically kept up the façade that she hadn't seen any of them contentedly smiling as they lay back with their eyes closed against the warm light of a sunny day. After all, what happened in the Hyuuga compound, stayed in the Hyuuga compound.

Neji... perhaps it was time to ask him for advice. There was to be a family meeting in the evening, and Hinata wasn't sure she could face the questions that some of her nosier relatives were bound to ask without resolving some of her own inner conflicts.

Certainly, she couldn't turn to her father or Hanabi. Both of them had a strong bias when it came to Naruto, and would tell her to immediately seek out the blond and make reparations. Hanabi, in particular, was a Naruto-fan, ever since the blond haired ninja had gleefully agreed to eat her chocolate on Valentine's Day several years ago. Hinata doubted that Naruto even remembered, but it had meant the world to Hanabi, who's chocolates had been turned down by several other boys because (they said) she was "scary" and "creepy."

Hinata grimaced a bit. Children could be so thoughtlessly cruel. She remembered those remarks from her own childhood as well. It was the curse of the Hyuuga eyes. Albeit, she had only gotten "creepy." Unlike Hanabi, Hinata had never been strong or out-going enough to merit a "scary."

My mind keeps going off on tangents today. I need to talk to Neji-ni before the family meeting tonight. Otherwise, I'm not going to be calm enough to conduct the tea ceremony properly...

Hinata climbed out of the onsen quickly and grabbed a fluffy towel she had dropped earlier by the side of the pool. It felt good against her skin as she wrapped it around her body and she wanted to enjoy the moment, but she knew she shouldn't waste any more time.

With all the speed of a kunoichi, Hinata dried, dressed, and trotted out into the clean-swept alley in front of the Hyuuga bath house.

It's about 3, so Neji-ni should be in his rooms studying those old jutsu scrolls he found, Hinata mused. Her cousin was a genius, but a very predictable genius.

Minutes later, Hinata wove her way past the Branch Family's main house and walked toward her cousin's rooms. They were in the back wing of the house for easy access to the training grounds and the compound's walls, Neji had told her once. Letting the Hyuuga mask drop over her face, Hinata sedately called out her cousin's name... and stopped.

There was something odd about the chakra emanating from his rooms. With practiced precision, Hinata activated her Byakugan, and saw... Neji... and Ten-Ten...

Hinata dropped her Byakugan as she felt a blush burn its way down to her toes. Spinning on her heel, Hinata darted out of the Branch Family section as fast as she could. Now was probably not the best time to talk to her cousin. It would, she decided, however be an excellent time to go and practice those memory jutsus Ino had taught her. There were some things she just did NOT need in her brain.