Chapter 8

"Hi Sakura-chan!" Naruto greeted his crush in that usual excited way he did. His feeling inside was different though and it had everything to do with what Kiba said. He felt happy to see her and yet he dreaded it too.

"Oh, hi Naruto." she actually said back and to his utter surprise she didn't look annoyed. It was as if it was just like the dream he had earlier. It was so similar that he thought that he might still be dreaming and that everything that happened, what he talked about with Kiba was just created in the back of his mind.

"So, uh..." he thought of words to say, his mind blank from thinking about the dream. He better speak up or else Sakura would go her way. "...did you like the a-anmitsus?"

"Oh, about that. Kiba did tell me it was from you." she said but then she paused. Naruto didn't speak back, hoping against all odds Sakura would say she loved them, then maybe even ask him where he got them and then he'd offer to eat anmitsus with her and she'd agree.

Who was he kidding though? That was highly unlikely.

"They were really delicious." Sakura finally spoke. "Thank you Naruto."

Her response made Naruto's blue eyes grow wide and his lips grin ear to ear. Sakura thanked her for the anmitsus, and she loved them. That was a good sign. Maybe this really was the best time to ask her out to eat.

"I'm glad to hear that Sakura-chan. You know if you'd like..."

"Naruto." she quickly said his name, making him stop midsentence. "I really appreciate you sending those anmitsus for me but... I'm not gonna change my mind, no matter how many times you ask me."

"But you haven't even heard what I was gonna..." the blond tried to reason out but Sakura didn't even want to hear him out.

"I already know Naruto. And I'm sorry. I'm not gonna go out with you no matter how many times you ask me. You're not my... type. Now if you would, I need to get to my next class." Sakura reminded him and moved to his side to walk pass him. However, Naruto didn't want her to leave just yet so he grabbed her arm.

"Sakura-chan, please just give me a chance." he pleaded, seeming not to have even heard what the pinkette just said to him. Sakura turned to look at him and what was a while ago a calmer demeanor, turned to irritation once again. She forcefully pulled her arm away from Naruto's grasp and walked away, giving him a look of disdain.

Naruto felt as if an arrow had been shot into his chest, and it was no Cupid's arrow. That was like a ballista missile. The way she looked at him and pulled away, it hurt a lot. He's been turned down for so many times but this time it felt harder for him. Why did he have to feel so hopeful this time? Maybe because of the dream, or maybe because of her eating the anmitsus he sent her and her thanking him for them. But even those things couldn't change the fact that she had no interest in him and wouldn't even want to try.

He felt a huge pang in his stomach thinking all about it. It was that feeling of embarrassment, like when somebody yells at you point blank and you could feel all their emotions. He couldn't help but feel like he was the center of attention when he looked around, knowing that the other students probably saw the exchange between the two of them. Some of them were probably feeling sorry for him and the others secretly laughing at the rejection Sakura gave him.

He knew he couldn't stay there in the hallway anymore so he quickly made his way to his next class, doing his best to keep his emotions in check. When he reached the room it was Kiba who immediately called out his name.

"Yo, what took you so long man?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." Naruto replied stoically as he took his seat next to him. Kiba immediately knew something bad happened by the blond's response.

"Come on what happened, is it something about Saku-"

"Kiba! I said I don't want to talk about it, okay?" Naruto looked him in the eye and Kiba stopped after that. He still was curious though and had a great suspicion it was about Sakura.

An hour after, the bell rang signalling the end of their final period and Naruto got up his seat to go see Hinata. They had a project to finish after all.

"Hey, wait up." Kiba called out as he saw the blond leaving the room. "I'm not gonna pry you about what caused you to be so grouchy earlier but, you're gonna work with Hinata again right?"

"Yeah." Naruto replied normally.

"You know, I really don't wanna force you to do anything especially about this interrogation stuff. But if there's a chance you can slip it in and ask her if there's anyone she likes so I'd know my chances with her..."

"Kiba, about this deal we made, I'm sorry I wasn't able to find out as much for you as you did for me. And sorry about earlier." Naruto sighed. "It's just, like what you told me about Sakura-chan. I got rejected again and I hate to admit it but it's now making me think you are right."

"What did she tell you?"

"That she wouldn't go out with me no matter how many times I ask her. That I'm... not her type." he admitted. He did hear her say that and he tried to dismiss it earlier but now there was almost no choice but to believe her.

"I'm sorry man." Kiba gave him a pat on the back, trying to comfort his friend.

"It's okay Kiba. It's not like I've never been turned down by her before. But maybe this should be the last time. Anyway, I gotta go see Hinata, she's probably already waiting at the parking lot. I'll let you know asap whatever I can get out of her."

"Okay."

...

Just as Naruto said, he met up with Hinata and Kō drove them once again to the Hyūga two didn't talk much on the way there and it wasn't like Naruto would be able to ask Hinata about certain things with Kō in earshot.

They were greeted once again by Natsu and were led to the study. To Naruto's surprise, all their materials were already set on the table and there were already snacka and drinks beside them.

"Whoa, did you ask someone to set it up by the time we get here?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I figured it will help us in finishing up faster." Hinata replied. Some part of her thought otherwise though as finishing up faster would mean lesser time to spend with her crush. But then Naruto would also be happy to know they would have less trouble to deal with.

"Sweet. Tell whoever it was that set this up I said thanks. So, you gonna change clothes before we start right?"

"Uhm, actually I think I'll just do it later. My clothes are comfortable anyway."

Naruto then looked at Hinata, as in inspected her. To his surprise, he didn't notice that Hinata wasn't wearing that baggy cream jacket she always used to cover herself up. She was wearing a lavender shirt that showed her curves and Naruto could pretty much say he preferred if Hinata would dress just like this more often. She looked rather... sexy.

And that was the first word that came to Naruto's mind.

'Did I just think that Hinata's sexy?' he asked himself. He couldn't help the blush forming on his cheek.

"Na-naruto-kun, is something wrong?" the girl inquired noticing Naruto's change in expression.

"H-huh? Oh, no-nothing." he stuttered to say. "Let's get on with project."

The two then continued their work, Hinata completing peeling off the wirings while Naruto began to screw in the sockets where the bulbs will be placed. Since there were a lot of them to place, Naruto kinda regretted his decision on making the project too fancy because screwing them in was tiring especially because the wood was harder than usual. Hinata was already finished with the wires and was now unsure of what she ought to do next.

"Uhm, Naruto-kun?" she squeaked out quietly, calling the attention of the blond who was focused strongly on his task. He heard her though and looked up and noticed she was done with the wires.

"Oh, are you done?" he asked to which Hinata nodded and asked what she could do next.

"Hmm, I'm not done placing all the sockets yet but I think it would be hard for you to screw them in along with me. Maybe you can connect the wires?" Naruto suggested.

"Uhm, I'll try but I don't know how to place them." Hinata admitted.

"Don't worry, I'll show you." the blond assured her. "You can start with the sockets I've placed. Luckily we have two screwdrivers. Get one for yourself Hinata."

Hinata took a screwdriver as well as Naruto. "Now get the piece of wire that's fit for these two sockets." Naruto pointed and Hinata searched for the wire which she eventually handed him.

"Now, just loosen the screw on this socket just enough for the wire to fit under." he instructed and showed her. Hinata looked at him intently, deep inside jumping with joy that she was spending time with Naruto like this. Not only that they were working together but Naruto was also talking to her, teaching her this close and would glance from time to time just to see if she was listening. Sometimes it was still hard to keep herself from blushing whenever he looked at her.

Rght now she should do her best to focus as she was going to be the one to screw the wires in and it was something she's never done before. She followed his first instruction and tried to loosen the screw of the socket on her side but to her surprise it tightened further. She then heard Naruto giggling, trying his best to hide it but couldn't. Hinata felt her cheeks warming up and she immediately stopped.

"I'm sorry Hinata." the blond quickly apologized. He knew there was a great chance Hinata might turn the screw the wrong way but then again almost everything is turned counter clockwise to be loosened so that's why he couldn't help but giggle a bit even though he didn't want to. "You have to turn it counter clockwise to loosen it."

Naruto reached for her screwdriver and accidentally touched her hand. At that moment it was as if he felt a spark at the contact. He heard Hinata gasp and saw her retreat her hand. He looked up at her and saw how bright her cheeks were, easily visible due to her pale complexion. He was then reminded about what Karin told her the day before.

Hinata likes him.

That's what she told him and the thing he was finding trouble believing. But from the reaction she just gave, maybe Karin was actually right. That Hinata was indeed infatuated with him and so the cause for how she acted around him. Or was it just because she was around a guy? Could it be because she was just really shy? But then again they've been seeing each other for quite some time.

"Sorry." Naruto as he tried to dispell the awkwardness that has taken over them.

"It's o-okay. I'll try turning it the other way." the Hyūga girl said and she grabbed the fallen screwdriver and as Naruto instructed, turned it to the left and was able to loosen the screw.

"Great." complimented the blond who was watching her the whole time. "Now wrap the wire around it and then tighten it after and you're done, like this." It was now Hinata's turn to look at him and she easily followed through.

"I did it." she exclaimed happily. Naruto inspected her work to make sure the wire was snug and it was.

"Now we just have to do this over and over until we connect all of these bulbs to the main electricity source and switch."

And so the two of them continued with their work, taking half an hour to screw around 3/4 of them in place. Naruto would have continued working if not for his stomach growling like a lion from out of nowhere which reminded his brain that he was already hungry and that were snacks and drinks just on the table beside them.

The room was silent due to their focus but even Hinata was able to hear the grumble. She giggled to which Naruto heard and thought sounded cute.

"We should probably take a break."

"Hehe, you're right." Naruto chuckled. "I guess my stomach couldn't wait anymore."

He scooted away from his seat but then suddenly his right leg felt really numb and moving it and making it hit something only made the leg tingle more with a very uncomfortable feeling.

"Ah, oh man I think I sat wrong for too long." Naruto grimaced as he tried to stretch his leg out but very slowly as moving it made the feeling ten times worse.

"Are you okay Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked with heavy concern and got up to go over the blond.

"Ye-yeah. I just gotta let it pass." Which he did and it slowly receded and after a minute it was almost completely gone although his right leg still felt tired and a bit numb.

"Maybe I'm just not used to sitting down on the floor. Your home is very traditional Hinata, unlike ours." he said as he tried massaging his thigh to help alleviate the numbness..

"I'm sorry." Hinata looked down.

"What are you saying sorry for? Come on it's not your fault I squashed a nerve while sitting down."

"I suppose. But, are you feeling better now?"

"Yeah, definitely better than a minute ago. Feels kinda numb still but nothing a walk can't fix."

"A walk? Maybe we can go outside the garden to stretch your leg for a bit while we eat our snacks... bu-but I mean, only if you want?" Hinata blushed heavily as she offered on the spot.

"Really? You'll let me?"

"O-of course. It's just outside this room. There is a sliding door on that other side. I can ask Natsu to bring us something to wear for our feet."

"Awesome." Naruto exclaimed. Slowly he stood up, his leg still a bit numb as he tried to shake off the feeling, literally. Hinata went out to find Natsu and just over a minute they were back with outdoor footwear.

Hinata led the way out while Naruto took the sandwiches, holding both his and Hinata's share. Naruto was surprised at the sight that stood before him.

"Wow! You have a pond filled with kois? And there's a small bridge over it too?" he said excitedly. He knew that Hinata's place was huge but to have something like this in the middle of it, he's never seen anything like it in Konoha. Not even the local park has something like this. "May I go on that bridge?"

"Of course."

The blond wasted no time and walked, run if he could to the middle of the bridge and he looked over the kois. The pond was filled with them, more than twenty in the least all in different shades of orange, black and white. Orange was his favorite color.

"This is so cool." he said under his breath. He didn't even feel the slight tingling in his leg anymore as his gaze was fixed to the kois swimming around the pond. He didn't realize Hinata was already right there standing next to him.

"It's a family tradition to keep kois. We have more although they're in other ponds." Hinata told him as she too took a look over. "Fathers keeps the best colored ones here."

"Cool. I'd like to have one or two but it's not like we have a pond or something to place them."

"You could buy an aquarium to place them."

"Yeah I know, it's just it would probably be boring for them to live inside a box with water. At least with a pond this big they have more room to swim and could have lots of company."

"I suppose so." Hinata agreed.

"Can I feed them? What do they eat?"

"Maybe we can give them bread. Our sandwich is made from whole wheat and baked at home. Sometimes father gives them bread too when he takes a walk here."

"Really? How about the bread from our sandwiches?"

"Of course. Natsu can bring us more later anyway." Hinata informed him as she took a small piece from the sandwich and let it fall on the pond. As soon as the crumb hit the water, the kois beneath them went as fast as they could to the source of the ripple and sound that was made by the crumb, instinctly thinking it could be food.

Naruto saw the really orange koi with the black spot on its forehead gulp down the crumb and it filled him with excitement.

"I wanna feed them too." Naruto said and looked at Hinata as if asking for permission. Hinata smiled at him and nodded and the blond didn't hesitate anymore to take a piece of his bread to throw it down the water. The same reaction from the fishes happened but this time it was the white koi with orange patches that was able to take the crumb.

"Ah, this is so cool. Do you do this a lot Hinata?"

"Sometimes only. Natsu usually feeds them at scheduled times unless father says he wants to feed them. My father is usually busy though so it's mostly Natsu."

"What about Hanabi-chan?" Naruto asked, trying to continue the conversation as he dropped more pieces of bread on the water.

"She used to like feeding them a lot before but now she rarely does. Maybe doing it for so many times takes the excitement away."

"How about you? Has your excitement run out too?"

"Maybe. Fishes aren't really my thing. I suppose their fun to watch when you want to relax or maybe... if you have so-someone there to feed them with so there's someone you can talk to."

"Well I guess it's a good thing I'm here, or else you might not find yourself feeding them again, hehe." Naruto said as he looked and smile at Hinata. Hearing this made her heart skip a beat. It was almost as if it was at that moment that she fully realized Naruto was here, chatting with her and feeding the kois with her. Almost like... a date.

"Oh I just remembered. It's just like in that animé movie The Shape of Voice. You know that?" Naruto asked but Hinata just looked at him confused. "The main characters were feeding the kois with bread and they were over a bridge too, kinda like us."

Main characters.

Feeding kois.

Over a bridge.

Like us.

Us.

Hearing those words, it made Hinata's heart race. Naruto just compared them to main characters of a story. The two of them. How happy that made her feel inside.

For Naruto though, remembering that movie made him think otherwise.

'Ah, what was I thinking? I shouldn't be doing this. I shouldn't be feeding kois with Hinata. She's Kiba's girl damnit. How could you forget? Why are you doing something so romantic with her when she's not even your girlfriend?'

Hinata didn't fail to notice the sudden change in the mood of Naruto and how he looked like he was deep in thought as he just went to stare blankly over the pond after mentioning about the movie.

"Na-naruto-kun. Is something wrong?" she asked softly which startled Naruto a bit and shook him out of his musing.

"Oh, uh, no-nothing. Just thinking about something." he explained in a bit of panic. "Anyway, maybe we should go back to the study room and continue with our work. My leg's feeling fine already."

"Oh, okay." Hinata nodded, feeling disappointed that she couldn't spend more time with Naruto there on that bridge.

The two returned and Naruto immediately went back to work, trying hard to get rid of the thoughts of what happened just a while ago but he couldn't help it. Kiba would come up in his mind, making him feel guilty that he was doing stuff like that with her without his knowing. It was already bad enough he accidentally groped her breasts and dreamed about her just last night, but now he was actually spending time with her aside from the project when he himself knew Hinata might have feelings from him.

But what was he supposed to do? She was his partner and in order to do the project he had to be with her, to talk with her and do stuff with her. Because of that he would be seeing her more than any other girl in their school, see that beautiful face of her, hear that sweet stuttering voice of an angel that was hers.

And deep inside wish he didn't bring up going back to the study room because he enjoyed feeding the kois with Hinata more than he should.

A/N: 4 months for this. I hate it how it took that long for me to write this. Last post was November but I actually started writing December, a whole month after. And then I lost motivation and couldn't think of what to write. This is honestly the hardest story I've ever started writing and it being a 'straight' story is one of the likely reasons. I don't want to give up though. Help is appreciated. If any of you have some ideas, maybe you can leave it on a review and I'll see what I can work with.