An alarm clock rang, and a hand went out to smack it
"Ugh, 9:00, too early!" Naruto grunted, he stayed up all night playing video games with Sasuke, knowing he had an interview. About 10 minutes later Sasuke walked into his room.
"Wake up, idiot, you need a job" Sasuke had this huge smirk on his face, he knows Naruto is exhausted, they played video games until four in the morning
"Shut up, bastard, it's your fault, you shouldn't have gotten that new game!" Naruto blamed Sasuke for him being tired
"Whatever, just get up, I want you out of my house," Sasuke said as he turned to face the door
"bastard" Naruto mumbled
Naruto got up to shower, brush his teeth, wash his face, he didn't want to eat, he was going to a coffee shop after all. When Naruto went into the living room, he saw Sakura, and Sasuke watching T.v.
"I thought you had school, Sakura"
"An emergency happened, and mostly all of my instructors were needed at a hospital, the rest of them just canceled, so I guess that means no school" she shrugged "I have that interview soon anyway" After that she continued watching T.v.
"Oh, alright" Naruto walked to the front door, "Well, I'm off" and with that, he walked to the coffee shop
_XXXX_
"Where is this old man at" Naruto wondered out loud, wasn't he supposed to meet him here?
Then it dawned on him, they never said a time, it must have slipped his mind "Shit..." Naruto muttered, he has to call Neji, he can only hope Neji answered
He calls Neji, And the phone almost hangs up until a sleepy voice answers
"Hello?" The voice asked
"Neji, Neji! This is important!" Naruto screeched
"Quiet down, damn it" Neji sounded annoyed, some movement could be heard on the other side of the phone... and another voice?
"Neji..."Naruto started
Neji said nothing, there were only slight whispers until finally, Neji picked back up the phone
"What did you want?" Neji questioned
"What time is your uncle coming?"
"Noon, did I not tell you?"
"No, you didn't" Naruto, shrugged, "Well I know now thank you, Neji"
"No problem"
"Tell Tenten I said hi, will you?" Naruto smirked when Neji didn't say anything back
"Say nothing of this, I mean it"
"Don't worry, only Sasuke will find out"
"Naruto"
"M'kay, bye-bye" Naruto hung up the phone
It's 11:45 right now, so Naruto decided to wait it out.
_XXXX_
Naruto watched an older man, with long hair, pale lavender eyes, great posture, but what gave that man away, was his speech, he talked proper and ordered tea
Jackpot.
The older man looked around and noticed Naruto, Naruto had on an orange button-up shirt, black pants, and some slightly worn sneakers, basically, only something he could pull off.
"Excuse me, are you the person I'm looking for?" The Long-haired man asked politely
"Are you.." Naruto racked his brain for Neji's uncle's name, finally, he remembered "Mr. Hiashi?"
'Keep good posture, speak formally-' Naruto remembered well
"Yes, have we met before?" Hiashi questioned
"No, but your Nephew talks about you from time to time" Naruto was kind of proud of himself, he sounded so professional.
"Is that so, good things I hope" Hiashi took a sip of his tea and sat down.
"Always, " Naruto fixed his posture trying to remember what Neji said
"So, why do you need a job?" Hiashi was straight to the point
What was Naruto supposed to say 'I blew my money on ramen and got kicked out, now I live with my friend that doesn't want me there?' He couldn't say that
"I just thought it was time I get a job..." Naruto shifted "You know, at some point I have to get serious with my life"
"And to get serious you want to take care of a sick girl?" Hiashi questioned, his eyes never leaving the slight swirl of his tea.
Shit, did he mess up? " I suppose it does"
"What experience do you have with caretaking?" Hiashi questioned before taking a small sip of his tea
What does he say, huh? He thinks briefly "I'm hoping to gain some sir" Naruto was impressing himself, who knew he could be so darn smart.
"Can you clean?" Hiashi questioned
"Yes," Naruto answered, even though he knew he couldn't
"And you believe you can make her feel better emotionally?" Hiashi asked, making contact with Naruto.
"Yes, I'm sure I can"
"My nephew told me you were quite funny, is that true?"
How was he supposed to answer that without sounding cocky? "I would like to think I am, but that would depend on what she finds funny" Naruto decided to answer honestly, even though he still had to sound professional.
"Hn, what do you do for fun"
There it was, the question Neji warned him about, he had to do this right, there was no room for mistakes
"I like to read books and sit in silence..."
"You...like to read books, and sit in silence?" Hiashi raised a perfect eyebrow
Did... was that silence part a bit much? "Yes... It... Helps me keep a clear head" Naruto tried to remain as sturdy as possible
"I see.." Hiashi seemed satisfied with Naruto's answer
There was an uncomfortable silence
"Ok, you got the job" Hiashi shrugged
"Really!" Naruto said a bit too loud
"Yes?..." Hiashi stood up but before he slipped a piece of paper to Naruto
"This is our address, please be there tomorrow at 9:00 sharp. We will decide your room, and you will meet my daughter, you better hope she likes you" Hiashi said sharply, then walked out.
"I... got the job!" Naruto jumped up, and he ignored the stares of the other people in the shop
Naruto had to celebrate, with ramen
_XXXX_
"You got the job, now you can leave," Sasuke said disinterestedly,
"Shut up bastard, go focus on your Sakura addiction, creep"
"Fuck off, ramen boy"
The two started bickering until Naruto asked
"Where did she go anyway?"
"She had an interview, remember?" Sasuke rolled his eyes
"No, but you did" Naruto snickered
Sasuke stood up, "Shut it, idiot" he walked to his room, getting away from Naruto
"Going to your Sakura shrine, are we? You just can't seem to be away from her, can you?"
Naruto did see Sasuke's fist until they connected
_XXXX_
"Lady Hinata, what would you like to eat?" A maid questioned
"A-anything is fine, t-thank you" Hinata answered, she made eye contact with the maid and smiled a bit
Only Hinata herself knew that smile was only half true
"Yes, my lady" And with that, the maid was off, no doubt to tell the cook what Hinata had said
Hinata outwardly sighed, she was bored, she never left this room, only once a week to the garden, but those trips only lasted 30 minutes at most, she wanted to go out, find friends... Find love, but with her condition, one wrong move would be fatal
Neji tries to visit twice a week, and she was grateful for that, sometimes he would even bring Tenten, and on rare occasions lee. Neji tried to cheer her up, but it wasn't enough, she loved Tenten, Neji, and Lee, but they couldn't fill that empty void in her heart. The hole that yearned for the outside world, the hole that yearned for company, outside of her room.
Most of all though, that hole in her heart, yearned for... Love