Chapter Twenty-Four
Naruto sat back to back to his opponent, waiting for Kakashi to blow the whistle to begin this round. Despite nothing but pride being on the line, his heart was beating the same as it was when Obito had Hinata by the neck on their first mission a month ago. The cool November air evaporated sweat off his back, promising that the warm fall was soon to give way to a bitter, cold winter.
The screeching sound pierced the air. He sprung right and his opponent went left. In less than a second, he had gone from passive to trying desperately to put Sasuke into the ground. Sasuke popped one elbow into Naruto's right ribs, still sore despite having healed full. Naruto's grip on the boy's shoulders slackened, and Sasuke got the upper hand, putting Naruto in a headlock. The next thing he saw was a close-up image of dirt and grass.
"Remember, Sasuke, this is a wrestling match, no strikes, only grappling!" Kakashi yelled. "No points for that one!" That left them tied one to one.
"What the hell is the point of doing things this way?" Sasuke mouthed back at Kakashi. "If this was the real world, we'd be using hands, feet, fingernails, and teeth! And we wouldn't stop until one of us was dead or lying on the ground bleeding!"
"This is training for the real world, Sasuke," Kakashi chided, "During the Chunin Exams, any rule set can be imposed, such as the ones I put on this match. Breaking those rules will result in instant disqualification. Now get it right or you'll lose to Naruto because you can't follow basic instructions!"
Sasuke released Naruto from the headlock. He's worse than ever today! Ever since getting back from the mission, Sasuke's behavior, already intolerable at times, had become borderline feral. He was even more diehard competitive with Naruto and impossibly flaunting authority and discipline worse than he ever had at the Academy. Sasuke, already a bit of a ladies' man at the Academy, was now a full-on player – juggling multiple ladies without any real regard for their feelings or how long the relationship would last. To Naruto's surprise, it almost seemed to make him even more sought after by kunoichi both younger and older.
As Naruto got up and spat out grass, he traced everything back to the aftermath of the mission – mixing his feelings about the mission like soft-serve ice-cream. Everyone had gotten a letter of commendation from Dad, and everyone had logged an A-ranked mission as a result of what they had faced and how they had faced it. The fact that so many mission details were classified as secret only served to make the nine genin – the only genin team to complete an A-ranked mission on their first go - bigger rock stars among their fellow genin. Hinata, Shikamaru, and he had received the Distinguished Service Medal with Valor device to signify they'd earned the medal through heroic actions. Sasuke, Sakura, and Choji had likewise earned the Meritorious Service Medal; Choji and Sasuke earning it with Valor device. Ino, Kiba, and Shino had, with everyone else, settled for the Wounded in Action Medal.
On one hand, Naruto enjoyed the celebrity status, the fact that fellow shinobi suddenly respected and recognized him for being more than just the Hokage's son. On the other hand, it had brought plenty of negative effects, too. Sasuke's father had been livid that his son had not come home with the Distinguished Service Medal when Shikamaru, an unlikely hero, had. Furthermore, Ino, Hinata, Shikamaru, and Naruto had all come home with significant injuries. Fugaku Uchiha treated his son's mild concussion, still plenty serious, as if it were nothing but a superficial injury. Sasuke's rebellious behavior went through the roof as a result.
As Naruto and Sasuke took their marks, seated back to back, Naruto lamented the futility of trying to defuse the situation through any means he had available. If he let Sasuke win here, he'd just be a weak fool in the other boy's eyes – reinforcing the illusion that Naruto was a paper tiger. If he stepped up and beat the crap out of Sasuke he'd just be grandstanding, and it would reinforce the rivalry. You could try talking to him like a normal human being.
Naruto had thought about talking to Sasuke before, but lately, he'd been unapproachable. They had been friendly rivals for years, back into preschool. Even then, Sasuke played the part of the loner, but it had been only a facade then. Once you got past the surface, he could be both fun and sociable as anyone. But that had been when Sasuke had been clearly the better student and the better Shinobi. In Naruto's head, Sasuke was probably still more skilled than he. He would try talking it out, but the pressure of the mission was starting to change things, and not for the better.
TWEEEETTT!
The whistle again sounded, and he and Sasuke got to their feet, arms and shoulders tangling in a jumbled mess as each tried tackling the other to the ground. "Come on, Naruto! You can do it!" Hinata shouted from the group observing the match. Naruto's heart jumped a few beats, and he lost his footing as Sasuke put him into the ground again.
He didn't know what to make of his situation with Hinata as Sasuke had him firmly pinned to the ground. When Hinata and he talked afterwards, they agreed that the sleeping arrangement they'd made in the field had been a matter of survival, and they still were friends. So why the hell do I feel so odd around her lately? Naruto knew people reacted strangely to almost dying together, but Hinata hadn't changed afterwards. She was still shy, still mostly quiet, and still pretty. As Naruto got up from the ground, he caught sight of her. She was wearing the same style mission gear she had worn, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood at tiptoe.
Dammit, not again! He had been thinking about her at random intervals through the day. During the day, he'd daydream about her walking through a park with him, holding hands. At night, he was dreaming about her, too. Sometimes he was grown up, holding her and their expected child. Other times, they were back in the sleeping bag, alone in the woods, trying to stay warm. At least once, they'd been curled up in his bed at home. None of it made sense to him – Hinata was just a lifelong friend. Just a friend, right. Just a friend that breathed life into you after you drowned. Just a friend who refused to leave you alone to freeze to death in the woods! Just a friend who saved your mom and probably screwed her own future in the process!
As he again took position back to back with Sasuke, he could feel her eyes on him. Her purple eyes stared hypnotic – entrancing. TWEEEEEETTTT!
Sasuke on the other hand, was anything but gentle or attractive. Naruto had barely moved when he felt the mass of Sasuke's arm wrapping backwards around his neck. Rather than try and fight it, Naruto rolled down with it, knowing full well how badly injured he could get if he resisted in this position.
The whistle split the air, and Sasuke released his arm around Naruto's neck. "You're getting slow, Naruto," he said, matter of fact and flat. There was no hint of disdain or anger. Sasuke clutched his left arm, clearly having injured it with the unconventional maneuver.
"That was a cheap shot, Sasuke," Kakashi said.
"It worked, didn't it?" Sasuke grumbled in reply. Despite his best effort, Naruto saw the corners of Sasuke's eyes wrinkle, wincing from pain.
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded dryly, "and you nearly dislocated your shoulder to do it. Had Naruto fallen wrong or resisted, you'd be on a stretcher on the way to the hospital right now." Kakashi patted him on the shoulder. Sasuke's strong front collapsed into tears; he fell to both knees he was in so much pain. "Sakura, you might want to look at his shoulder before we wrap up here!" Kakashi said
Naruto got to Sasuke before Sakura, "Hey, you okay, man?" Before he could do anything else, Sasuke put out his right arm, motioning him to stop. He got to his feet and started marching off into the wooded part of the training ground.
"Sasuke!" Sakura called out as she ran up to him. He didn't even stop walking, much less acknowledge her presence. Sakura balled up her first into tight wads of flesh, "Naruto, go after him, PLEASE!" The searing anger in her tone suggested there was no room for him to refuse.
Naruto turned to look at Hinata. Her eyes were pale amethyst, both full of concern. "I'll be back in a minute. Walk home together?" he said. She nodded, not saying anything.
Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat and followed Sasuke's path into the woods. Even from a distance, Naruto could feel anger radiating off his friend. "Hey Sasuke!" he shouted. Sasuke didn't even pause. Naruto knew he was waving raw meat in front of a hungry tiger with what he was about to say, but he decided it was worth it. "YO DUCK-BUTT!"
Sasuke's reaction to Naruto's favorite taunt regarding Sasuke's hairstyle, reminiscent of a duck's tail feathers, was predictable. Sasuke turned, his face contorted in anger, and charged straight at Naruto. Here we go!
Sasuke tackled Naruto at the waist. Naruto clenched his core, bracing for the impact. Even though Sasuke hit with his bad shoulder, Naruto was knocked backwards several feet before he could halt the raging bull. He kicked out Sasuke's left leg causing both of them to roll to the side. Again, Sasuke landed violently on his left shoulder, his bad shoulder. "Gah!"
In spite of his size advantage, Sasuke was now on the ground, pinned onto his bad shoulder. "Now you see, duck-butt, this was what Uncle Kakashi was trying to teach you!" Naruto groaned against his struggling quarry.
"You're an asshole!"
Naruto grinned, "Yes, you've said it a few times now!" he laughed. "Now you see, you were so focused on winning the round that you would have lost the next round and any other match afterwards!"
"You've got an answer for everything, don't you, blondie!" Sasuke growled. He struggled but was quite unable to move. Naruto released his hold, and Sasuke rolled onto his back then onto his right side, clutching the bad arm.
"So, talk to me; tell me what climbed up your shorts and died!" Naruto heaved - grateful his own strength had held out.
"You don't get it, do you, idiot?"
"Enlighten me!"
Sasuke sighed, "You come home and spend a week in hospital with all those fine medical-nin fawning over you, wanting to give you a sponge bath…"
"Ewww gross!"
Sasuke grinned, "I guess you don't know enough about girls yet!" Sasuke flashed his eyebrows mischievously as he moved his shoulder a few times before carrying on, "and your mom and dad pin a medal on you, tell you how proud you've made them!" Sasuke's grin turned into a grimace, "I get home, I get a lesser medal, and my dad won't even look at me! To him, I might as well have turned and run away like a coward!"
"I'd gladly trade spots with you if it meant not having broke three ribs and almost dying of pneumonia!" Naruto shook his head, "That time in the hospital wasn't fun, Sasuke!"
"What was it like?" Sasuke asked, lips forming a thin smile.
"The hospital?"
"No, sleeping with Hinata?"
That bastard! Naruto's fists clenched white at the knuckles, "Look you JERK! We curled together to stay warm and survive! That's all!"
"Right…" Sasuke said in the same tone he used when calling bullshit. "I bet she's great to curl up with," Sasuke grinned, realizing he'd hit a nerve, "She's practically a mountain range!"
"Listen, you horndog!" Naruto shouted, "Don't you even think of adding her to your list on conquests, or I'll kick your ass so hard my toes with tickle the roof of your mouth!"
"Hmmm…" Sasuke grinned, "I bet she's a hot kisser, all shy and innocent," Sasuke mimicked batting his eyelashes, "not like Ino. She's almost too forceful!" He crossed his arms in disappointment the same Teuchi did if he screwed up a recipe.
"Sasuke," Naruto paused, considering the question, "Why do you do it?" Even before leaving the academy, Sasuke had been disciplined several times for playing Ten Minutes in Heaven, making out with a variety of girls in a custodial closet during school hours.
"We'll, when you're a bit older, I think you'll understand." Sasuke smiled triumphantly.
"You're only a few months older than me!" Naruto shook his fist.
"Apparently that is all the difference!" Sasuke said, finally getting to his feet. "Come on, idiot, let's get out of here!"
"Feeling better, jerk-off?" Naruto asked.
"Just because you got me to laugh doesn't mean we're going to be holding hands on the walk back to the village." Sasuke laughed. Naruto doubted he'd ever understand the boy.
"I just don't get it!" Sakura complained as she brushed her long, flowing hair like she was trying to tear it out. Hinata silently wondered if that was her intention. The long hair had been the result of vanity and not practicality. "What does he see in Ino and all the other girls that he doesn't see in me!" Of all the girl conversations I can't back out of, why did it have to be this one!
Hinata considered being truthful and admitting that any other girl in Konoha could do a better job answering the question. Even Hanabi probably understood boys better than she did. If she hadn't been such good friends with Naruto growing up, Hinata's understanding of boys would be on par with a teaspoon.
"I mean really Hinata," Sakura shook her as she grabbed Hinata by the shoulders, "Look at me! Am I not pretty!"
"Ummm…" Hinata felt uncomfortable just considering the question. Sakura was by no means ugly.
"Oh my god!" Sakura wailed, "you think me ugly!" The girl started to cry.
"Sakura… I didn't… I mean… I don't think…"
Sakura buried her face into Hinata's shoulder, continuing to sob. Awkwardly, Hinata brought her arms around Sakura, gently patting her on the shoulder. "Come on, Sakura," Hinata squeaked, definitely out of her element. "You're plenty pretty!"
"Then why doesn't he see me!" Sakura asked as she rose off Hinata's shoulders. "What could he possibly want that I don't have! He's dated half the girls in our class!"
"Maybe he's into a different type of girl?" Hinata half-said, half-asked her one and only theory. Unfortunately, Hinata knew Sasuke was anything but selective – female with a pulse seemed to be his only qualifications.
"Come on!" Sakura quaked again, "He's dated skinny, fat, flat, and busty! What else does he need?"
Unfortunately, Hinata spoke the first thing she though, "Umm… something that Naruto has?" Hinata wished she could suck the words back in. Dear god, could I say anything stupider than that!
"That's it!" Sakura's green eyes shined again, and the girl bounced excitedly.
"What's it?" Hinata cocked up an eyebrow in confusion.
Sakura's eyes became wild with satisfaction, "I'll ask Naruto out on a date!" Sakura bounced excitedly.
"Wait, WHAT!" Hinata's words seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
"I'll be the one thing Sasuke can't have; no way he'd be able to resist!"
Is this girl for real? As the two boys emerged from the nearby woods, Sakura flew up to both of them. "Naruto!" she squealed, "Do you want to go on a date this Wednesday night after training? We could go to the movies."
Everything happened in slow motion. Sasuke's eyes opened wide and his chin dropped. Naruto's eyes also widened, but his mouth curled into a grin. "Sure!"
Hinata felt a kunai strike her all the way into the center of her heart. She wanted to tell Naruto Sakura was using him, she didn't care about him. Naruto, she doesn't love you, and I do! She wanted to move her lips and end this farce, but Naruto looked so damn happy! As much as she wanted to warn him, she didn't want to steal his joy.
A lone tear traced from one eye, and another, and another. Soon a full torrent spilled, and she turned and ran. As Hinata fled the training ground, she could hear Naruto distantly call, "Hinata!"
Jiraiya walked the cold hallways of the Konoha Shinobi Academy. Even though winter break was still weeks away, the school felt ready to close for the coming major events: the Rinne Festival, New Years, and more. His shoes clacked loudly in the now deserted and dimmed hallways. Feels like nothing changed at all. Like many children who had been orphaned by war, disease, or any singular mission; coming back to the Academy was frequently coming back to the only home you ever had.
Jiraiya had been little more than a street urchin when then Jonin-Sensei Sarutobi took pity on him. Whether his parents abandoned him or died, even Jiraiya's keen memory couldn't recall. He lived, breathed, ate, and slept at the Academy most frequently, only returning to the orphanage as long as needed – always the first out in the morning and the last one to return at night.
In the long shadows of the Academy, there was one area still a shining beacon even this late at night: the library. For many a young shinobi, it was sanctuary from distraction, family drama, and the prying eyes of the world. It opened at 0600 and closed at 2400 every day. Scrolls, books, and other media ranged from ancient texts handled by a select few to pop culture magazines sought greedily by students without the pocket money or parental approval to have their own copies. Jiraiya had learned to love art and reading here. This place was the reason he wrote of his journeys and escapades.
It didn't take long for him to find Hinata curled up in the book stacks. She seemed destined for a place like this – quiet, unassuming, but full of potential if properly directed. "I thought I might find you here," he whispered, careful not to upset the librarian. Jiraiya recognized at least one librarian that had been a former lover – they hadn't parted on good terms.
"Jiraiya, what are you doing here?" Hinata didn't rise from the corner she occupied. Like a turtle hiding in her shell.
At least, she wasn't upset with him the same way she was with his grandson. "Naruto told me about you running off after training." Jiraiya let the words hang, but Hinata didn't bite. "He was very worried about you. He spent the past several hours looking for you when he came to get my help."
Hinata sniffled, trying to fight tears. "How did you know I'd be here?"
For what little time Jiraiya knew Hinata, he saw in her a kindred spirit – another wounded soul who loved someone too hurt or too close to love you back. "Let's just say," he sat on the floor beside her, "if these stacks could talk, they'd be welcoming me back as an old friend." He smiled faintly, "This is where I came to be alone and think." He sighed deeply, "this is where I'd go if I wanted to run away from the world."
For a long moment, they said nothing. The traveling sage and the future leader of the Hyūga Clan sat on the worn library carpet in silence. "My idiot grandson really hurt you badly, didn't he?"
"Jiraiya, you shouldn't call him that!" she scolded him with a sharp whisper. She still loves him in spite of everything – talk about commitment!
"He'd have to be an idiot to miss the fact that you love him with every part of your being," he grinned, "It doesn't take a sage who writes trashy romance novels to see that much!" Jiraiya chuckled, drawing dirty looks from at least one nearby patron.
"He… does have his moments…" Hinata smiled thinly as a few tears streamed from her eyes. Jiraiya offered her a handkerchief, and she accepted.
"If you don't mind me asking, how long?"
"Since we were three," she said. "He saved my life! I can't believe it's come to this!" She wept quietly.
To be honest, Jiraiya couldn't believe it either. When Naruto came in, equal parts excited and worried, Naruto explained to Kushina and Jiraiya about Sakura asking him on a date and Hinata's sudden negative reaction. Even Naruto knew he'd crossed some line, even if innocently, by saying yes. Still, it didn't make sense to any of them that Hinata would run off the way she did. That wasn't the only thing that didn't make sense. As far as Jiraiya could tell, Sakura didn't even like Naruto all that much. Grey, rusty cogs began turning in Jiraiya's head, and he told Kushina to keep Naruto home while he got to the bottom of things. "Hinata, it's only a date; you're assuming she won't get cold feet or stand him up!" he tried laughing things off.
Hinata's reaction was anything but humorous. She began crying like a waterfall. "Shhh…." Jiraiya tried calming her as quietly as he could, "I swear, I didn't mean to make light of how bad it hurts! I've been there before!" Jiraiya had watched jealously as Dan, the man that owned Tsunade's heart, flew circles around him effortlessly. Jealousy turned to guilt as he watched helplessly as Tsunade worked in vain to save her mortally wounded lover on the battlefield. Is that going to be the same thing here? Another couple that should be lovers one day cut short because of something stupid! He needed to know, "Hinata, what exactly happened?" he asked calmly. "I know this might be painful, but why would Sakura ask Naruto on a date? From everything I saw, she doesn't even like him!"
"That's just it! She doesn't like him!" Hinata wailed aloud. It was enough to draw the attention of everyone in the library. Jiraiya thought quickly how to defuse the situation, "Sorry folks," he laughed, "dramatic coaching that got out of control!" His attempted to placate the other patrons of the library failed.
Undaunted, he took Hinata gently by the wrist and walked her out to the large oak tree with a rope swing that stood just outside the Academy. Jiraiya called it the orphan's swing. Lord Sarutobi found him on it. He'd found Minato swinging on it after he'd gotten the letter telling him his daddy would never be coming home. And now, Hinata was on that swing, trying not to lose everything that mattered in her life.
"So, tell me, why is a girl who doesn't like Naruto asking him on a date?" In reality, Jiraiya already knew the answer, praying he was wrong.
"Sakura, is madly in love with Sasuke," she explained tearfully. "He won't even give her the time of day!" Hinata sobbed, "So, she decided to do the one thing she thought she could do to make him jealous, ask Naruto out on a date!"
Everybody plays the fool… wait a minute! "Wait, Hinata, how do you know this?!" Jiraiya felt a vein in his forehead pulsate angrily.
"She told me!" she screeched, "Right before she did it, she was complaining to me about Sasuke and how he wouldn't pay her attention! I made the mistake suggesting that anything to get Sasuke's attention would be something Naruto had!"
"So, let me get this straight," Jiraiya rubbed his chin, "Sakura is asking Naruto out in hopes of getting a rise out of Sasuke, and she cares nothing about what happens to Naruto in the end of this?" Hinata nodded. "And she told you this before going ahead with her plan?" Hinata nodded again. My god, this is beyond screwed up! Jiraiya thought back to how many times an innocent love triangle in history had ended in tragedy, but this was anything but innocent. "Hinata," Jiraiya sat on the ground in front of Hinata, "we have to tell Kakashi about this."
"No!" she protested, "That would embarrass Naruto!"
"Hinata," Jiraiya raised a finger, "we're already past that point. In fact, we passed it the second Sakura decide to start this crap."
"What do you mean?" she asked with eyes wide as a baby-doll.
"Think about it, she started this knowing full well that she was going to dump Naruto for Sasuke," he slapped a fist into his open palm. "That means she either gave no thought to what effect it would have on Naruto, or she knew full-well and just doesn't care!"
Hinata's eyes widened before focusing angrily. "She's planning on hurting him!"
"Or at the least doesn't care that he gets hurt," Jiraiya corrected.
"But Jiraiya, what do we do?" She pleaded, "if we tell him now, he'll be heartbroken!"
"Hinata," Jiraiya, "we've crossed into a situation where there is no way out without heartbreak of some kind; just consider yourself for a minute."
She stared back, a wave of realization washing calm over her face, "Then what do we do?"
"If we simply tell Naruto, it's our word against hers, and blind as teenage boys are, he's going to probably side with her and resent us," Jiraiya explained. For a long moment, he considered what he was about to put his grandson through. It can't be helped. You said it yourself, we're already past the point of people's feelings getting hurt. The question is what can we accomplish to put things right?
He stared at Hinata for a long moment, seeing a young Tsunade. Of the many places he'd gone wrong with that relationship, he always wondered if it had started when they were only genin as well. The past repeats itself because no one was paying attention the first time. Are you paying attention now? "Hinata, you love him, right?"
"Yes," she said, voice squeaking.
"And you'd do anything to keep him safe and happy?"
"Yes," she said, voice becoming firmer.
"Even if it meant protecting him from himself?"
There was a long pause, "Yes," she answered.
"Hinata," Jiraiya shifted to alleviate the ache in his lower back, "You know, mixing relationship and teams is a lot like mixing booze with orange juice – sometimes it's amazing, other times you're ready to throw up after your first taste."
"You think it's a bad idea that I care about him?"
"No, I didn't say that," he corrected, "I think he cares about you, too. Considering all he talked about when he was sick was you, I think he cares more than he knows."
"Then why can't he show it?" she whimpered.
"Don't forget, Hinata, he's only twelve. Young men rarely know what love is at such a young age, and no growth is done without some element of discomfort, especially at this age." He nodded.
"So, what do we do?"
"We talk to Kakashi and tell him everything you just told me." He smiled thinly, "And we get Sakura to take a huge dose of growing up! Playing these games as kids is bad enough, imagine if you were even a few years older!" They both got to their feet, mission firmly in mind. As they walked away, Jiraiya couldn't help but wonder if this was some strange penance for a sin committed so long ago he'd forgotten it.