Y'all. Are the email notifications finally working for this godforsaken website? If you're confused as to where I updated, chapters 7-9 were posted May of 2022, 10-12 were posted August of 2022 and 13-20 were posted September of 2022. I'm pretty sure that covers my newest bout of updates that happened after notification stopped going out for update.
If you haven't watched the "Road of Naruto" remastering of some scenes on YouTube for the 20th anniversary of Naruto you100% should! The only downside is they cut out anything with Hinata but I'm not bitter at all, it's fine.
Some guest reviews:
Darktaco - as always thank you for reviewing! This is the chapter that made me want to write this whole thing. I love the "I don't know why I feel jealous but I am" trope. So I hope everyone enjoys the start to my favorite tag for this fic "Naruto is like WTF is pining…am I pining?"
Hina-bae - All your reviews made my day, seriously I woke up to twenty emails and I was shocked and super happy. I'm so glad you're enjoying reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it. Thank you!
Just a little PSA before we start: please remember that these characters are literally teenagers who are experiencing a time of peace for the first time in their life so if you're going to get butt hurt by me writing about these fictional characters doing non-ninja things, please go away.
"What's her deal?" Kankuro asks, draining his beer and nodding his head towards Hinata. She was sitting a few tables away, chatting with Shino.
"What do you mean?" Kiba asks
"You're her teammate right? She single?"
"Technically." Kiba smirks, looking across the bar, watching Hinata's eyes flicker ever so often to the loud blond balancing a full pint of beer on his open palm while staring at Lee who was doing the same.
"Complicated, I like it." Kankuro chuckles "But seriously, she's fucking hot."
"Who's fucking hot?" Ino and Sakura say almost in tandem
Smirking, Kiba turns to the girls "Kankuro's eyeing Hinata."
"Go talk to her, she's super nice." Sakura all but pushes him from his chair. "Plus I want to sit down."
"You know she's not going to give him the time of day, well at least not in the way he wants." Kiba stands, "I need another drink if I'm going to watch this."
"Get us two!" Ino yells after him. "What are you scheming over there forehead?"
"I know for a fact that Naruto thinks Kankuro is 'creepy' because of the puppets and he's been making eyes at Hinata when he thinks no one's looking, but hasn't talked to her all night." Ino makes a low noise in acknowledgment. "I don't know about you Ino, but I'm getting really tired of watching those two dance around each other."
"What I'm hearing is that, if you can't have romance you're going to force it on others." Ino scoots her stool, making room for the one Kiba begins to pull over.
"I'm not forcing anything, Ino-pig. They love each other and isn't my fault Naruto is too stupid to figure it out. You've heard her recently she's getting fed up with him. So maybe a little nudge in the form of someone else flirting with her will help them both."
"Whatever you say Sakura." Kiba drinks while Ino nods in agreement.
"You two are idiots. Naruto is so stuck in his head that she's his friend that they're just 'really good friends' maybe seeing someone else be interested in her will flip whatever needs to be flipped in the stupid head of his."
The three watch Kankuro from across the bar, walking over and leaning against Hinata's table. They talk for a few minutes, Hinata laughing at whatever he has to say. From the table across the bar it looked as if their conversation was going well; he had even bought her another drink. They watched as he reached out and tucked a piece of loose hair behind her ear.
The sound of breaking glass cut through the noisy bar. Everyone stopped and turned looking for the source of the noise. Sakura met Naruto's eyes through the crowd. Lee's beer still balanced on his palm while Naruto's laid broken on the ground.
"Sorry bout that!" Naruto shouts to the bartender "Must of slipped, I'll clean it up."
"Told ya so." Sakura says in a singsong voice, smiling as Naruto drags another stool to their table.
"Losing that chakra control." Ino teases him
"I got distracted." Naruto states, voice tight as the same bartender places another drink in front of him. Speaking softly, thanking Naruto for cleaning his mess.
"What's Temari's bringing her weird puppet brother here for?" He questions, glaring at the back of Kankuro's head.
"I was talking to him earlier. He isn't that bad." Kiba chimes in.
"Yeah whatever, Sakura you ready to go?"
"You two are still coming back to my place right?" Ino had invited their group, minus the delegates from other villages they were entertaining back her apartment whenever they decided to leave the bar.
"Yeah, let's round up the others." Naruto stands, walking over to Shikamaru and Choji who were talking to the young delegates from the Hidden Cloud.
The six Leaf shinobi make their way through the bar, confirming different meetings and leaving times, before following Ino out.
"What's he doing coming with?" Naruto asks in a whisper as Temari and Kankuro follow.
"You know Temari stays with Shikamaru in the village and he's her brother. You're just drunk so you're in a mood." Sakura questions.
"I'm not drunk."
"Oi, Ino!" Choji's voice sounds before Sakura can reply. "What food do you have at your place?"
"Nothing Choji, I need to shop, swing by yours then come over. I'll leave the door unlocked." Ino waves her teammate off. "Where's Tenten?"
"Hidden Mist." Sakura replies, noting their group dwindling in size. Shikamaru walked with Temari, Naruto walking behind them, hands shoved deep in his pockets, Kiba silently at his side while Hinata and Kankuro brought up the rear. Continuing their conversation from the bar that seemed to be about chakra control.
"I'm going to head home." Shikamaru states, stopping in front of the quarters, Sakura knew the Sand siblings stayed in when visiting the Leaf. "You staying?" He asks turning to Temari.
"We both should, Gaara wants us home tomorrow." She looks back at her brother, disappointment crossing his face.
"Yeah sure." He turns to Hinata. "See you next time?"
"Oh, um, yes. Probably." Hinata stumbles over her words, eyes flicking from the ground, to Kankuro's to over his shoulder before landing on Naruot's face.
The remaining four continue their walk through the village, Ino stopping to unlock the door on the side of the flower shop, climbing the stairs to her small apartment.
"So what was that all about?" Naruto asks, turning to Hinata as they take off their shoes.
"Kankuro uses very spe-cific chakra control when opera-ting his puppets and he knew I pri-primarly using chakra when figh-fightint."
"You're either drunk or your stutters back." Naruto teases, falling to the side as he tries to slide off his second sandal.
"Oh like you're one to talk." Hinata nudges his shoulder.
"You concentrate really hard to make that sentence there, Hinata?" He asks, steadying himself and taking a step towards her, putting the two of them almost chest to chest.
The rest of the room falls away from Hinata. Her brain buzzed with the alcohol from the evening and the lie she had told her father about it just being the girls going out. That they were just doing their village duty and taking the delegates to dinner then she would be staying at Ino's because they had an early breakfast meeting before a mission the next day. In reality her mission wasn't scheduled to leave till mid afternoon. Those two things paired with the crisp scent she had learned to associate with Naruto made her train of thought come to a complete halt.
"How bout I get you another drink."
"Bathroom." The word comes out of her mouth in almost a mumble. She pushes past him and down the narrow hall to the small bathroom tucked away in the back of the apartment.
"Hinata?" Sakura's knock almost follows the sound of the door latching.
"Come in." Her soft voice sounds from the other side. Sakura slowly opens the door, Ino in tow, to find Hinata sitting on the sink, staring down at her feet.
"What's wrong?"
"I ju-just. I just, he was so close. So damn close. I can't do this. I can't be dru-drunk around him."
"Here." Ino hands her a glass of water, wordlessly Hinata takes it downing the contents. "Take this too." She hands her a day-old croissant.
"Thanks."
"Ssssooooo?" Sakura raises an eyebrow, watching Hinata refill her glass at the sink behind her.
"My brain said to kiss him so I ran away." Heat flares at Hinata's cheeks.
Sakura groans, rubbing her brow as she shakes her head back and forth. "The next time your brain tells you to do that. For the love of the Gods Hinata listen to it."
"What so he can think I'm more crazy?" She looks at Ino for support.
"Nah, I'm agreeing with forehead on this one"
"He dropped that beer when Kankuro touched you, he asked to leave when he saw you laughing at whatever he was saying to you. He moping the whole way here until Temari made Kankuro stay to go home early."
Out in the kitchen, Kiba was rummaging through Ino's refrigerator, she truly had nothing in there save a few bottles of wine. He settled for the least pink looking one, taking it in hand and turning towards Naruto. Expecting to find him either standing at the other side of the kitchen island or sitting in a chair. Instead he was walking back down the hall, his expression split between anger and sadness.
"I'm going home. Tell them night." Naruto pulls on the shoes he struggled to take off. Shutting the door a little harder than necessary behind him.
"What was that?" Hinata questions, a third glass of water in her hand.
"Naruto left."
"Where'd that idiot go?" Sakura steals the bottle from his hand, taking a long drink.
"He came back down from the hallway, looked pissed and just left."
"Oh." Hinata's face falls. "Do you think he?" She trails off looking at Sakura and Ino.
"Probably."
"Well fuck." She calmly sets her glass down, taking the bottle, setting it on the coffee table before laying on the floor next to it.
"Anyone going to fill me in or should I be worried that she's now downing wine on the floor?" Kiba asks.
"She drunk panicked and almost kissed Naruto and I'm betting the idiot heard her say that but she didn't say a name so I'm guessing he thought she meant Kankuro so now he's off to deal with his not feelings."
"I'll deal with his not feelings." Hinata grumbles from the floor.
Down the road Naruto shoved his body into his apartment door a little harder than needed. The old door creaked at the abuse.
Fuck him. Can't mind his own business and mess with girls in his own village. Hinata's too good for him anyway. He thinks, falling into bed fully clothed.