: man :
: a grown masculine person
Naruto is starting to wonder what exactly happened in a short span of time.
He couldn't take his eyes off her.
She no longer hid behind a baggy jacket, in fact, she no longer hid anything. She was showing what she has.
A sleeveless kimono top that showed her milky white arms, thin and well toned, and hugged her body perfectly like a second skin, her obi pouch emphasizing her curves and chest. Those thigh high stockings stopping a little short up to her shorts, teasing his eyes with a little amount of soft and creamy skin pf her leg. The boots didn't help either, it was ad if a teasing mock to him telling him that there is more to see under them.
"Hinata?"
There she was, casually reading a festival poster on the fence, her hands behind her back, slightly leaned forward.
"Should I come up to her?" Naruto thought nervously, then he shook his head, "Maybe I shouldn't!"
Her eyebrow suddenly quirked up as her lips tugged up into an interested smile, one of her hand leaving her back to tuck back a lock of hair behind her ear.
One shaky breath. That's what Naruto released before he urged himself to leave.
"What?! No!" He suddenly thought as he quickly shook his head again, "Why am I leaving?! I should give Hinata company!"
Naruto lifted a foot to walk out from behind the tree, "I mean, what am I even getting all nervous for? It's not like Hinata thinks I'm weird!"
"Wait..." He stopped midstep, "Does she?!"
There he was, hiding behind a tree, shamelessly staring at Hinata, contemplating whether or not to come up to her.
Naruto's clammy hands became sweatier as he flinched and jumped back in to the shadow, "Oh shit! I am weird!"
He slapped his cheeks twice, "Stop it, Naruto! Man up, Naruto!"
He quickly straightened himself up.
Naruto raised his arms to cross it behind his head, trying to calm himself out and looking as cool and carefree he always is, "Alright, chill..! You're just overthinki- Fuck!"
His hands flew down to cover his sweaty armpits, horror painted across his face, "Was I that sweaty?! I can't possibly walk up to Hinata sweaty as hell! I'll be smelly, too! She'd be disgusted!!"
Wussing out, he nodded and turned to walk away, "Yeah! I should fix up fir-" "GAHAA!!"
In his haste to leave, he accidentally tripped over his own foot and falling to the group of trash bins nearby.
"Ah! Naruto-kun!"
"Oh no!" Naruto paled, knowing exactly who it was.
Hinata quickly jogged over when she saw him, worry evident in her eyes, "A-Are you okay?"
Naruto was panicking! He wanted to say something, but his voice was caught in his throat or something, and his brain can't seem to process what to say next.
She was there... So close! So close!
Just seconds ago, he was literally salivating as he watched her leaned over from the distance! Then all of a sudden, there she was! And this time! She was leaning over right in front of him!
"N-Naruto-kun?"
"That's my name!" Naruto wasn't processing well, "That's my name, right?! My name! God, why is it so hot?! Too hot! What's going on?"
And the last thing he heard; "Naruto-kun!"
Then everything turned black.
Groaning, Naruto slowly opened his eyes as he sat up, "What the heck happened?"
As his vision adjusted, he saw Sakura standing beside his bed with a relieved look, "Oh good, you weren't out too long. According to Hinata, you might've blacked out on impact when you fell earlier"
"A-Are you okay, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, her hands clasped together by her chest, her eyes almost teary, "W-What happened? Are you hurt?"
Naruto almost panicked to quickly wave his hands around as he frantically assured her, "Hinata! I'm okay, dattebayo! Don't worry about me! It was nothing!"
Her teary eyes met his frantic ones, she almost sniffled as she wiped her tears and asked "A-Are you sure, Naruto-kun?"
He gave her a sincere and reassuring look, "I am. I'm fine, Hinata. I'm sorry that I made you worry about me"
"Well you better be!" Sakura suddenly butted in "Did you know how scared Hinata was when she dragged you in here?!"
"Sa-Sa-Sa-Sakura-san!" Hinata suddenly gasped as she turned red in embarassment, "D-Don't tell!"
"I'm sorry, Hinata, but I have to get this through his head!" Sakura huffed as she crossed her arms "You could've at least made it easier for her to bring you here! Shanaro!! You were face planting everywhere just 'cause you can't sleep still! The floor, the wall, and even Hinata's chest! You perv!"
"S-Sakura-san!!"
"Face planting in..." Naruto gulped as his eyes involuntarily trailed to- "Hinata's chest!"
And the last things he heard;
"N-Naruto-kun!!"
"Shanaro! He's bleeding out of his nose!"
Then everything turned black. Again.
For the third time this day, Naruto woke up.
"Alright, explain what happened" Sakura said as she crossed her arms, an eyebrow raised as she leaned in to make him face her.
Naruto's eyes squinted back, as if challenging her back as he rather too aggressively asked "Explain what?"
"What's gotten into you, of course!" The pinkette stated, starting to pace around, "I mean, are you sick? Is it in your head? Your chakra? Because you're not physically ill"
"What?! I feel as awesome as usual, Sakura-chan!" The blonde proudly claimed "I never get sick!"
"Then what? What's been on your mind?" She asked, starting to get genuinely worried, "Naruto... Is something bothering you?"
Recalling her previous knowledge about Naruto, she could only remember a few counts when he lost consciousness... All of those were because of battle, hyperventilation, and- Wait...
Sakura's eye twitched, "Don't tell me..."
"Well... Something about Hinata's clothes is bothering me..." Naruto said as he looked down at his lap with a distressed look and burning cheeks, "D-Do you think she's cold?! What if perverts saw her?! Did she forget her jacket somewhere?!"
Sakura slapped her hand to her forehead.
"That's right! Maybe she forgot it somewhere! Don't worry, Sakura-chan!" Naruto said as he punched his palm and stood up with a determined look, then grabbing the ends of his top to pull it over his head as he walked out, "For the meantime, I'll lend this to Hinata while I go find it with Kiba! Don't worry Sakura-chan! Everything's under contro-"
"SHANARO! YOU'RE SUCH A KID!" Sakura suddenly yelled out of nowhere and hit the back of his head.
"Hey! What did I do?!" He argued back as he rolled back to the wall, "I have no time to waste, Sakura-chan! She might catch a cold or something!"
"Naruto, quit being so childish and just talk to her, alright?" She scolded as she put her hands to her waist, "Nothing's wrong with her new gear, the same way that nothing's wrong with mine and Ino's, alright?"
Grumbling down the same path as that morning, Naruto rubbed the back of his head with a dejected look, "Childish? I'm not childish! I'm a full grown man! I'm technically eighteen!"
"Ah! Kiba-kun! Shino-kun! There you guys are!"
Naruto's eyes lit up as he turned his head towards the direction he heard her voice, and as expected, she was at the same place as this morning
Instinctly hiding around the corner, the blonde eavesdropped at the team.
"I saw this just this morning and I was wondering if you guys would join me" Hinata said as she pointed at the poster.
Kiba slung his arm around Hinata's shoulder and leaned forward the poster and took a closer look at it, "Ehh? They're celebrating it just now? He's been Hokage for over a year now"
"Sure thing, Hinata. We would go with you, you didn't even have to ask, why? Because we are friends from the very beginning and would stick together as much as possible"
"Thank you, Shino-kun! Kiba-kun!" Hinata cheered as Kiba laughed and put his fists on either sides of his waist, "No problem, Hinata! Honestly, I would've asked you two too if I found that first!"
Naruto noticed something different about the team... They looked experienced. Strong. Matured.
Hinata looked like a woman, and Kiba and Shino looked like men.
Noticing his reflection from a far away store window, Naruto noticed...
"Kiba and Shino looks so cool with Hinata" He thought as he walked towards his reflection, "Sakura-chan's right... Compared to them... I look like a kid"
He didn't look like a man. He looked like a rapscallion teen acting like a man. He didn't look like he had a sense of responsibility and control. He looked as if he is needed to be constantly on a leash.
He didn't look like he belonged beside a woman like Hinata.
"Hey, dude! You've been standing here for a while now, at first I thought you were eavesdropping at us or something!" Kiba laughed as he walked beside Naruto.
The blonde could see the brunette's reflection beside his. There was an obvious difference. The maturity was there.
"So? What's up? You lookin' to buy somethin'?" Kiba asked as he squinted his eyes to look through the glass.
"Actually... Yeah" Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head, "Do you mind helping me to find a new mission gear? I look kinda childish, you know?"
The Inuzuka only raised his brow, confused, but shrugged it off and said "Sure thing"
The following day, Hinata sighed as she walked out of the compound's gates.
She held her cheek in worry as she looked down, "I wonder if Naruto-kun is still sick... He was acting really weird"
And as if on cue, she felt his familiar presence flicker in behind her.
She smiled and turned.
"Naruto-kun! I was worried about you yesterday, a-are you-"
Her voice got caught in her throat as her eyes widen.
She felt her cheeks get hotter and hotter as she realized-
"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto gleefully greeted, "Come on! Let's grab some ramen together!"
He was overflowing with confidence and joy, much more than the previous times they met up. And not only that-
"Hinata?"
His new mission gear made him look-
"Oi, Hinata! Are you okay?"
Like-
"Did you catch a fever at the hospital yesterday?!"
A-
"Gaah!! Hinata! Oi! Wake up! E-Eh?!?!"
Man.
Land-ho!!!! Arrrrrg!!! Cap'n author here!
Hahaha, sorry, I was reading this cool AU, and I can't get it out of my mind haha
Anyway!
Everyone's finally in their new mission gears! Woohoo!
Also! Number 18 on #NaruHina (10-26-2020)!! Whoop whoop!
I really think that Kishimoto did a great job with The Last designs since they actually looked like young adults, unlike the previous ones that actually accurately made them look like pre-teens and teens.
NaruHina sexual tension? Maybe~
Anyway! Important announcement!
Do you guys mind if I only update once every week from now on? Mondays or Fridays same time?
I mean, it's really hard to come up with original themes since I wanted to make most of the plots here unique to other FFs.
And to those of you who actually knows me, you know... Online school, martial arts, improving my digital drawing, learning French, trying not to be lonely during quarantine due to lack of real life contact, honing my beauty pageant skills, keeping up with the new laws... It's really hard to keep up with everything especially due to my short attention span.
I've got to keep everything interesting or else I won't be able to focus.
It doesn't feel like a game if I have to make something new twice a week, so I keep missing the update schedule because my attention is on something else.
Hope you guys understand! I love you all!
-OrenjiRabenda
