Okay. So, it's been a while. Sorry. Life has been going in fast forward since I started college. I finally got the courage up to write today and wanted to pump out a chapter before the night ended. So here it is, sorry if my writing style has changed, I don't really remember what my style is because it's been so long. But writing this felt good, and I hope you like it. I'll try to make more content more regularly. So yeah, thanks for reading.
XII
To this day, I still can't remember ever finding a better night of sleep. Waking up to the smell of the ocean and warm light gently filling the room as the sun began its ascent into the morning sky, washing away the last brushstrokes of blue and purple and filling the space with hopeful shades of yellow and red. Looking down at the beautiful, adorable, drooling mess of long dark hair lying on my chest, I thought about how fast she had turned my entire life around, and with how madly, insanely, completely in love with her I was. Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, still marveling at how soft it was, I had to focus for a moment to avoid such thoughts, unless I wanted her to wake up wondering why I was crying watching her sleep. As if waiting for just such a moment, Hinata-chan began to stir, yawning and looking up at me dazedly, taking a moment to blow a few strands of hair out of her mouth, she grinned at me, still half asleep.
"Hey you." she chirped cutely, looking up at me, still lying on my chest.
"Hello love, how did you sleep?" I asked, hoping that she felt as great as I did after finally getting some real rest.
Sitting up a bit, she stretched her arms over her head, making a cute squeaking noise as she did so. Lying next to me, using her pillow for what I imagined was the first time since we had been here.
"I feel great!" she smiled brightly as she wrapped her arms around me and pulled herself closer to me.
Her bubbly attitude was nearly infectious, something about her smile was just relaxing. I've always loved her smile.
"I didn't take you for much of a morning person." I said, laughing when she looked at me like I was crazy.
"Oh, I hate mornings." She said quickly. "The floors are always too cold to walk on in the morning. "she looked briefly at the floor and made a face as though she were cursing the chilly surface simply for existing.
"I don't know, you seem to be in a pretty good mood." I challenged, putting my arm around her and allowing her to shimmy even closer to me. I didn't mind her truly freezing feet as she pressed them against my calves to warm up.
"Well that's easy." she shot back quickly, now clinging to me, she closed her eyes again and rested her head on my shoulder. "I'm not a morning person. I'm a you person."
Grinning like an idiot, I took on a scandalized tone. "My, my, Hinata-chan. If I didn't know better, I would think you might have a crush on me."
Playing along, she widened her eyes and spoke haughtily. "Me? Have a crush on you? Whatever would give you such an idea?"
Laughing at her antics and pulling her back over so she was once again laying on top of me, she looked down at me, grinning as her hair fell over my face and I had to brush it away so I could see properly. We lied there like that for a few minutes, making small talk and holding each other.
But of course, moments like these were always fleeting and a loud knocking at the door interrupted our flirting.
Groaning, I got out of bed and immediately realized what Hinata-chan meant about cold floors. I would definitely be investing in some area rugs to go around the bed. Throwing on a pair of jeans as well as tucking my pistol into the back of the waistband, I made my way to the door, wondering if this place had room service, I cracked the door to find Kakashi standing against the wall on the other side of the hallway, reading a book that I hadn't thought he would have ever been interested in. He either didn't notice me or pretended not to as I opened the door fully after gesturing to Hinata-chan to pull the sheets up around her in case the silver haired man decided to let himself in, which he didn't. Instead he continued to stare at his book, giggling strangely as he turned the page.
"What are you doing here Kakashi?" I asked tiredly. "We just woke up."
"Well." He started "I'm just here for you, so she can go back to sleep if she wants to. Or she can head down to the cafeteria and get something to eat. Her choice."
"What do you mean? What's going on?" I began running through every scenario in my head, trying to find any hint of what was happening on his face, but it was just as impassive as it ever was.
"Change of plans." he responded with a shrug. "Initiation begins today. Let's go."
"Wait wait. What are you talking about, I thought you said last night that I had two days?" I questioned.
"After seeing you yesterday, Tsunade-sama has decided that we will do no more waiting when it comes to you. Not anymore. Your training starts today."
"Training?!" I asked incredulously, feeling myself relax as I came to the realization that things were okay and for the time being, the was no present danger. "I thought you said initiation." I said quizzically.
"Well yeah, you didn't think we would just put you in the field right away did you?" he chuckled through his mask at my apparent naïveté. Noting my still visible confusion, he continued.
"Don't worry, most people make it through in less than two years."
"TWO YEARS!?" I was shocked by the amount of time this 'training' would take.
"Like I said, don't worry about it." Kakashi answered nonchalantly.
I was definitely worried about it, I barely knew these people, and they wanted me to spend two years training with them? Normally, I would tell them to shove it and find someone else, but the fact that they apparently knew my parents held my tongue. I would give these people a shot, but if they had me start running laps around a track, I was out of there.
"I can't just leave Hinata-chan alone all day, I won't." I meant it.
"Oh, she's going to be plenty busy as well." Kakashi responded and cut me off before I could ask what he meant.
"No one stays here rent free, not friends, not kids, no one." He explained. "Tsunade-sama has instructed Sakura to come by in a few hours and take Hinata to Tsunade-sama's office. She has decided that for you, we will make an exception, and Hinata will stay here as long as she is training as well."
Before I could let him know that there was no way in hell that my Hinata-chan would be anywhere near a training ground, she cut me off. It was beginning to seem like no one wanted me to talk today.
"Really?!" she nearly screamed, though not with anger or confusion. She was... excited?
Disappearing into the bathroom in a blur she yelled through the door as the shower turned on, I'll be out in ten minutes! Don't you dare leave without me!"
Kakashi gave me an exasperated look and I just shrugged. If she wanted to train, who was I to stop her, I believed in her, and I would support her in whatever she did.
"Naruto, the office and where we are going are on separate sides of the complex. Can you just ask her to wait for Sakura, besides, Tsunade-sama will still be asleep for a few more hours. I'm sure she is hungover as usual" he pleaded with me.
"Oh, is that a fact?" a voice ground out behind him. An angry female voice.
Slowly closing his eye and letting his head roll back, looking to the ceiling as though he were saying a prayer, he sighed. "Shit."
Before she could tear into the man for his remark, Hinata-chan came bounding out of the bathroom in a tank top with a sports bra underneath and a pair of black calf high yoga pants. I couldn't help appreciating her figure for a moment, averting my eyes when she caught me staring at her and laughed. "Alright! Let's get this show on the ro-" she went totally silent when she saw the larger blonde woman watching her and looking amused.
"Tsunade-sama, I had no idea you were here, thank you for considering me." She bowed deeply, hoping to hide her embarrassment.
"Of course. Let's get to it then, come on, there's much to be done and I don't want to do it. The quicker you learn, the less I have to do." She replied in a matter of fact tone.
Hinata-chan looked confused for a moment before responding.
"Ma'am, I thought that I would be training. If I can, I would like to train, besides I'm not very good at being an assistant." She said, still bowing, hoping she hadn't offended her boss.
Tsunade snorted before responding to the polite girl still bowing. "Stand up." She said with authority, causing Hinata-chan to immediately straighten, almost militant in her stance. I was impressed.
Tsunade continued speaking. "I already have an assistant, and Shizune is in a league of her own, I will not be needing another."
Hinata-chan once again adopted a confused expression. "Ma'am?"
"You will call me shishou or Tsunade-shishou from here on out. Do you understand?'
"Shishou?"
"Yes?"
"What am I doing?"
"Nothing yet. But soon, if I have anything to do with it, you will be just as capable as your boyfriend here. Maybe even more so." She winked.
"Shishou, I could never be as fast or strong as Naruto-kun." Hinata-chan said quietly.
"We'll see about that." The blonde woman grinned. "But who said anything about fighting?"
Hinata-chan began to stutter, now completely lost.
"You will be training, Hinata. Physical training is a part of that, but I am going to teach you how to save people. How to save Naruto should he ever need saving. I am going to teach you how to heal people."
Hinata-chan was beaming now. "Like a doctor?!" she spoke a bit louder than she meant to but Tsunade didn't seem to mind as she nodded.
"Something like that, now come with me, there is still a ton of paperwork and in-processing to do before you can even be legally called a part of this company."
Hinata-chan rushed past me, quickly turning around and giving me a quick kiss and a rushed "Love you see you later."
I watched her follow Tsunade down the hall and looked expectantly at Kakashi.
"Well?" I prompted. "Let's get this paperwork out of the way."
Kakashi chuckled and gestured for me to follow him to the elevator at the other side of the hallway. Getting into the polished metal box, my guide held down a few buttons at once and a small light came on and blinked a few times before the elevator suddenly dropped at a speed just slow enough to keep my feet on the floor. Kakashi didn't seem bothered in the least by the box plummeting towards an eventual bottom. This didn't keep me from holding onto the handrail in the elevator for dear life, feeling the aluminum handle beginning to weaken under my grip, I was sure I would pull it off of the wall, but no sooner had I done that than the elevator began to slow its descent and the doors opened with a happy chime.
Walking into a giant room with a stone floor and black walls that had to be a hundred feet tall and at least a mile long in both directions, I opened my mouth to ask what kind of paperwork we were doing here, but before I could speak, I was interrupted for the third time in an hour.
"This is the training area." Kakashi was nearly bouncing as he spoke. "I am excited to see what kind of fighter you are, and there's no time like the present to find out."
"You want me to fight yo-" was all I said before his right foot connected with my head.
Immediately I was ready to go and the familiar feeling of adrenaline flooding back through my body returned. I just couldn't finish a sentence today…
Okay so thanks for reading, I know it's not as long as my usual chapters, but this is kinda a warm up, next chapter is time for more fighting, and I know im good at that, so stay tuned and please review.
-Much love,
datte'yaboi