A/N
This one's a lot shorter than the other ones, but that's mainly because I was preoccupied and had a pretty bad case of writer's block. So, don't get too mad at me, just a little bit of fluff, and yes, Hinata got a haircut. Anyway, enjoy, hopefully.
Chapter 29: We Leave, for Now
Naruto
Hinata vanished up the stairs, following close on the heels of Sakura. I half debated following them, thought better of it, and remained seated. I waited several minutes, and heard the approaching sounds of the returning girls. Sakura entered the cafe again, Hinata a few seconds behind. I stood up, and the two girls and I went to get food from the buffet bar. I picked all sorts of foods that I had come to like over the past two days. These foods included scorpion, baked and salted, desert chestnut, crisp and wet, and many others. I took my full plate back to the table I had been sitting at previously. Hinata sat down beside me, and Sakura across from us. It was then that I noticed Hinata's haircut.
Previously, her hair had been a little longer than shoulder length, but now. She had gotten it cropped in the style that she used to wear, almost three years ago. I smiled, and she seemed to notice me looking at her hair. She twirled a finger through a little bit of hair, and smiled back. She sat down, picking up some food.
"How was your morning, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, at the same time eating some breaded chicken.
"Pretty good, went to look around town, since we're leaving today. I love your hair, Hinata. Like you used to wear," I complimented, and Sakura nodded.
The pink haired ninja was chewing wholeheartedly on a rice ball, and taking sips of water. She swallowed, gulping down a chicken wing, and looking up at me.
"Sounds fun," She said, munching on an apple.
"Yeah, I guess," I said, eating another scorpion, chewing the succulent meat, crunching the shell.
"Well, I'm stuffed. I think I'm going to take a nap," Sakura yawned, standing up.
"Alright, although it sounds like somebody was up too late last night," I grinned, as she walked away.
Hinata giggled, remaining seated. I pushed my plate into the center of the table, leaning back in my chair. I looked at Hinata, and she looked away.
"So, how did you sleep, after... you know," I asked, blushing red.
"P-Pretty well, a-although I'm still a bit tired," She said, rubbing her eyes in emphasis of her statement.
"Well that's good to hear," I said quietly, standing up, offering my hand to the Hyuuga girl.
She took it, and I helped her to her feet.
"Hinata?" I asked, as we headed towards the stairs.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" She answered and looked into my eyes.
"Oh, nothing, I just can't wait to get home," I said, walking up the stairs for what felt like the millionth time.
"Neither can I, I miss home," She said, not yet relinquishing my hand.
"So do I, when do we leave? This evening?"
"Sakura wanted to leave earlier, but we have to say goodbye to Gaara-san before we go," She explained, and I nodded.
"How fast are we going this time? It would only take a day or two at top speed," I asked, and she bit her lip.
"Sakura said it should take about four days, so not top speed," She answered, and I nodded.
"Well, let's go and see Sakura," I suggested as we reached the top floor.
"Wait, she's taking a short nap, we probably couldn't disturb her yet," Hinata put her arm out, and I halted.
"Oh, right. Wanna wait in my room or somewhere?" I asked, sliding my door open.
"Sure," Hinata answered, following me in.
She looked around, and smiled. I had cleaned everything up, washed the clothes, folding them and put them in my pack that morning. The only thing of mine left in the room was a small white box, hidden in the drawer of my dresser.
"Looks cleaner than yesterday," She observed and I nodded.
"Yeah, I tidied up some," I flopped back onto the bed.
"Wonder how long Sakura's gonna sleep," I mumbled, and Hinata shrugged.
She sat down beside me, slowly reclining onto her back, lying next to me. I glanced over at her, smiling. She turned her head, ruffling my hair with her hand. I took her hand in my own, leaning my head over, kissing her cheek. She blushed, giggling slightly. She raised our arms lazily waving them in the air. I didn't resist, letting my arm be waved.
"So, you got your hair cut," I said, restating what I had seen in the cafe.
She nodded, blushing slightly.
"To be honest, I like it better this way," I whispered in her ear, and she blushed deeper.
"Really?" She asked, and this time I nodded.
"Makes you look... more grown up, more mature," I guessed, and Hinata looked away, biting her lip and fiddling with her fingers.
"You really think so?" She asked again, and I nodded.
"I love it, looks wonderful," I kissed her forehead.
"Thanks, Naruto-kun," She said, resting her head in my neck, her hair cool against my skin.
I smiled, closing my eyes. They were opened again seconds later, when a sound outside the door caused Hinata to sit up.
"I'm thinking that Sakura's awake," She said, standing up.
"Most likely, that's what it sounds like,"
I heaved myself up off the bed, landing on my feet. I walked over to the door, sliding it open. Sure enough, Sakura was poking her head into Hinata's room.
"Looks like you're up," I said, and she turned.
"Yeah, there you are," She said, closing her door.
"So, are we leaving?" Hinata asked, and Sakura nodded.
"We're going to see Gaara and say our goodbyes, then we're hitting the road, so get your things," She informed us, and I nodded.
Hinata left my side, going into her room, returning with her pack on her shoulders. I turned to my room, sliding the door closed behind me. I picked up my bag, setting it on my bed, walking over to the dresser. I opened the drawer, pulling the white box out of it's hiding place. I looked at the golden locket, before closing the box again, wrapping it in a spare shirt. The rolled up shirt was gently stashed in my pack, which I zipped up. Slinging it over my shoulder, I reentered the hallway.
Sakura and Hinata were already ready to go, and we left, quickly descending the stairs. To our surprise, Gaara turned up at the door of the hotel. He entered, almost running us over.
"Hey," I yelled as Sakura trod on my foot.
"Ow, that hurt," I complained, as we disentangled our limbs from each other.
"Hello Gaara, how are you? We were just coming to see you," Hinata said, the only one who had avoided the collision.
Gaara extracted himself, dusting off his shirt, nodded.
"Yes, I know. I came to see you off, as I was aware that Sakura wanted to leave soon," He said.
"Well, goodbye. It was really nice, staying in Sunagakure," I said, shaking Gaara's hand.
"It was an honor to have you three brave Konoha ninja escort me back. It was my pleasure," He grinned, firmly clasping my hand.
We let our hands drop, and he turned to Hinata.
"Thank you for gracing me with your presence for the journey," Gaara said courteously, kissing the back of her hand.
"I-It was my pleasure," Hinata said, blushing pink.
Gaara then turned to Sakura.
"Sakura, thank you as well, it truly was enjoyable," He said, leaning in and kissing her cheek.
"T-Thanks," She blushed, giggling softly.
"Well," I said, ruffling my hair with my hand, "I guess we'll be seeing you around,"
Gaara nodded.
"Well, you'd better be off," He said, turning and showing us out.
"Yeah, well, seeya around Gaara," I called back, and we all waved.
He stood in the doorway, waving to us as we regrettably walked towards the Suna gates. The sun was high in the sky, beating down on us as we went, looking over our shoulders at the form of Gaara with metronomic regularity. His small figure faded to a red spot against the brown, and the front gates loomed into a towering doorway.
I sighed, and our small procession exited the gate. I could barely see the hotel, let alone the Kazekage who probably still stood in front of said hotel. I sighed, hanging my head. The day blurred into night as we trudged through the desert. The forest approached, and we took a short rest. My mind was absently scanning the horizon, counting the trees. Hinata handed me a roll of bread, which I munched into without much thought. She sat beside me, and I rested my head on her shoulder. She blushed, and put her arms around me. My eyes drooped, but I didn't sleep. Hinata's form was warm, and would have induced sleep, if Sakura hadn't stood up and ordered that we move off.
"We can get in another four miles before we camp for the night," She said, pulling me to my feet, followed by a groan from yours truly.
We walked sleepily for another hour or so, although for all I knew, it could have been fifteen minutes. Anyways, we must have walked for forever, and I was completely out of it when we set up camp. I didn't bother undressing or anything, I just fell asleep. And so it went for another two days.
A/N
As you can tell, I reeeeeally didn't feel like describing the boring journey, so... review, tell me how much you hate it, and I'll crank out the next one pronto. Hence it being so short...
Matthew
