Chapter 2 – The Deal

If entering the hospital was one thing, going through Naruto's room's door was something else.

Hyuuga Hinata stood in front of the door, its dull green color not really giving off any aura of invitation to anyone who might want to visit. At least, it seemed that way to Hinata, who was standing there for about a few minutes already, just looking at her sandals, fidgeting. Sometimes she would go touch the metal surface of the doorknob, and even though it was only a little cold, her nervousness amplified it to the point that she would retract her hand.

In her pocket, was the box of medicine Shizune entrusted to her to give to Naruto. Her description still rang clear in his head, that it was something that could help him heal faster.

She told herself so many times that that should be motivation enough to overcome her own nervousness and just enter the room, but just thinking about meeting him again, after all this time that she hadn't seen him, behind a tree or post or not, made her heart giddy with anticipation, but at the same time, trembling with timidity. The last time she actually saw him was a long time ago, back in the Chuunin Exams, during his fight with her cousin, Neji.

She still regretted it today that her injury gave her a spasm attack and she fainted, missing out the rest of the match. While she was deeply overjoyed that she learned later on that Naruto had actually won the fight and beat Neji, she was also saddened by the fact that she was not able to cheer him on. It was, in her opinion, the least she could do for his loud and energetic cheers for her during her own match.

But, her thoughts drifted farther back to the time when, for the first time in Hinata's entire life, and Naruto's as well, the two actually had a decent conversation. She still remembered how she suddenly jumped from where she stood and went behind the wooden post when he suddenly greeted her. She could still remember each and every word that was exchanged between them, and she was still amazed at herself for actually speaking back to Naruto. She still remembers fondly the words that she shared that gave him the encouragement that Naruto needed for his fight, and how he reacted.

She giggled softly, remembering how cute he looked when he was awestruck by her advice.

Her cheeks became a vibrant red, afterwards, with the memory of Naruto's words as he left for his match.

Hinata…

Eh?

I always thought of you as…

Eh? Eh?

…A dark, timid, and weird person!

Naruto-kun…

But you know something…? I like people like you! Crap! I'm late! See you later, Hinata!

Hinata wasn't sure, but she thought her heart skipped a good number of beats at that time, and she still could remember how hot her cheeks were. She was so lost in the moment; she did not even notice that Kiba, who came to meet with her, was already there until he had to give her a good, rough shake.

She was even amazed that she could remember him saying "Crap."

But the fact that she was able to talk with him, to open her heart to him, even just a little, and the fact that Naruto confided in her his own inner feelings, his feelings of weakness, something she believed the proud Naruto would never reveal to anybody else, gave her a little confidence, a little courage. If she was able to talk to Naruto so warmly and freely before, she shouldn't have any problems now.

At least, that's what she was trying to tell herself. Taking a deep breath, calming herself down, she grasped the doorknob. Twisting it open, she entered, but only head-first.

"A…anou…Shitsurei shimasu…" she said, excusing herself as she entered the room.

The room itself looked like a typical Konoha Hospital patient room, with dully colored walls, a cabinet for clothes, and a door that led to the bathroom. However, a privacy curtain concealed the rest of the room, including the window, the bed, and of course, the patient.

She gulped. Bracing herself, she approached and reached for the curtain.

What she saw inside surprised her, to say the least, making her gasp and say, "N-Naruto-kun?!"

Naruto, wrapped in bandages from head to foot, wearing a black yukata for patients, was about to put his last leg out the window when he heard the curtains swish. Immediately, he turned around and his face went pale, sweat immediately dripping down his face.

The feeling was terror, he was sure of that, but he didn't even notice Hinata. What he did see was a flying paper fan aimed directly at his face, and the very angry teacher who threw it.

"NARUTO!" Umino Iruka growled.

"Sorry you had to see something like this, Hinata," Iruka apologized, scratching his cheek, "Naruto can be well…you know what he's like."

Hinata just nodded in reply, though, honestly she did feel a little sorry for Naruto. Not only did she think that Naruto was yearning for freedom from the hospital, but also, yearning for freedom from all the ropes Iruka tied around Naruto to keep him from escaping again.

"Iruka-sensei! Let me outta here!" Naruto pleaded, struggling weakly against the ropes, "I have a coupon at Ichiraku which'll give me a free bowl of ramen, but it'll expire in a few hours, so PLEASE," Naruto paused for dramatic effect, "PLEASE, let me outta here!"

"Listen, Naruto," Iruka calmly explained, "You've been through a very difficult battle, and you barely made it out alive! Your injuries need to heal, and going out the window is definitely NOT a good way to heal yourself, so be good and stay!"

"But…the ramen!" Naruto gasped weakly.

"And don't embarrass yourself in front of Hinata here! She came all this way just to see you, and you're acting like an idiot," Iruka reprimanded, crossing his arms.

That set fire in Hinata's cheeks, making her blush like crazy. Her immediate reflex was to quickly deny what Iruka said, saying, "N-No…i-i-it's not that! I-I was just a-asked to d-de…"

She would've continued (although her meek voice made her denial barely audible), but she caught sight of Naruto, and immediately froze. His eyes met hers, and she could see that his expression was that of sheer surprise. His mouth was slightly open, and his eyes were wide.

She knew where that expression came from. She could never forget that face he made when she told him her feelings about Naruto's strengths and weaknesses, way back before his battle with Neji.

Her heart was beating rapidly, and its pace increased when Naruto said, his voice in awe, "Wow…Hinata…"

"E-Eh?" Hinata found herself caught in his bright blue eyes, and she could barely speak. She could feel the warmth of her cheeks burning through the skin. She would touch them to see just how hot they were if her fingers weren't so busy twiddling around each other.

"Hinata…"

"H-Hai?"

"Hey you! I didn't see you there. How are…ouch!" He was about to say more when he was smacked upside the head with Iruka's paper fan. Hinata's shoulders just drooped.

"Watch what you're saying, you idiot!" Iruka growled, and Naruto reeled with the pain, his head falling back down on the pillow.

"R-Ramen…" Naruto groaned.

Iruka sighed, seeing Naruto in such a state of gloominess. Acting as a father-figure to Naruto, he pained him to make him suffer like this, though he knew that it would be for his own good. He had heard from Naruto's Jounin teacher Hatake Kakashi that he had just come from a very serious battle, one against his former teammate and friend, Sasuke, and barely made it out alive. He told him that he found Naruto unconscious, suffering from a severe wound. It was a miracle that he survived.

He sighed again, and brought out a slip of paper from his pocket. Somehow, it immediately grabbed Naruto's attention.

"See this, Naruto?" Iruka said, grinning. Naruto could scarcely believe his eyes. Hinata just slightly tilted her head in question.

"This here's an Ichiraku coupon for TWO, not one, but TWO free bowls of BEEF and PORK ramen," Iruka continued, putting stress on the meat to make Naruto drool even more than he already had, "And it's valid up until next week."

If it were possible, Naruto's eyeballs would have popped out of his eye sockets in sheer disbelief, but Hinata did imagine that, seeing his eyes so wide they seem to stretch beyond his eyelids. She had to wonder, was ramen really that good?

"I'll let you have it, in ONE condition," Iruka said, folding the coupon in half and hiding it behind his hand, much to Naruto's dismay.

"What condition? I can handle it, I promise!" Naruto blabbered, obviously desperate.

"You see, as much as I'd want to stay, I still have my responsibilities as a teacher back at the Academy, and right now, I still have four classes to handle. That'll take four hours, approximately," Iruka explained, slowly moving over to Hinata's side.

"What, what else?!" Naruto demanded.

Then, Iruka calmly slipped the coupon inside Hinata's jacket pocket, and said, "If you can behave yourself for four straight hours, then Hinata here will give it to you."

"W-w-what?!" Hinata exclaimed, at a volume even she was surprised of. Naruto had an utterly confused look on his face.

Iruka knelt down and whispered to Hinata, "Sorry about this, but actually, I'm already late as it is. I have to go soon, too."

"B-but, I-I can't stay here…" She reasoned, her voice weak.

Iruka just smiled and said, "Can't you? Naruto's bored right now, and I don't think there's anybody available to talk with him right now. I'd like to ask you to just be with him for four hours. That won't be too difficult, right? You ARE classmates."

Hinata gulped. Iruka had NO idea how difficult it could be.

"B-but…"

"Ack! I have to go!" Iruka grumbled, then facing Naruto, "Remember! The fate of your Ramen is now in Hinata's hands. Be good!"

Then Iruka dashed out of the room, leaving a trail of dust, and out of sight, leaving Hinata and Naruto alone to helplessly stare at the door as it closed shut.

Hinata's eyes were fixed on the door, not that there was something worth looking at, but she was terribly nervous of looking back at the bed where Naruto was. She admitted many times before to herself, she had an intense crush on Naruto. So, even the slightest attempt of asking for the coupons would make her heart stop and make her give them to Naruto immediately.

But she did not need the Byakugan to discern that Naruto's bright blue eyes were fixated on Hinata, and so, gathering her courage, one centimeter at a time, she turned to Naruto.

She gasped.

Naruto sighed, and looked out the window. He groaned, quite loudly.

"Looks like I'll be stuck here for a while. Say, Hinata," he paused to look at her, "Iruka-sensei's gone, so can you untie me?"

She almost jumped up from her seat as she walked over to Naruto's bedside and, using a Kunai from her pockets, slashed the ropes that bound Naruto. As it loosened up, Naruto propped his back on the headboard of the bed and crossed his arms.

"Thanks," he said, with a short grin, but groaned loudly again.

She sat back down on the chair, while Naruto just looked at the window, seemingly counting every cloud that hovered on the sky. It wasn't long before silence completely enveloped the room. Not one made a single sound. Naruto was just looking outside, while Hinata was just looking at her sandals.

The silence was terrible, especially to Hinata. She could not stand the heavy atmosphere, the difficult feeling bearing down her heart as each minute passed; so much that she was clenching her fists tightly to resist it. There was so much uncertainty that pained her. Was Naruto not speaking to her because he was mad at her? Was he angry because Iruka gave her the coupons and not him? Did Naruto hate her now?

They barely even had a relationship. As much as Hinata wanted to have a warm one with Naruto, now, with this situation, could it be that Naruto hated her now? This was becoming far too strenuous for even the meek Hinata to keep bottled up inside.

"N-n…" Still, she was still a nervous wreck when it came to talking with him.

Naruto noticed that she was about to speak and turned to face her.

"N-N-Naruto-kun…"

"Yeah?" Naruto responded ever so casually.

"W…w…"

"Huh?"

"W-Why…won't…you…"

"Why won't I what?" Naruto asked, his eyebrow cocked.

"W…why won't you ask for them? T-the coupons, I mean…" There, she said it. Gulping hard, she nervously waited for the reply.

"Well…uhh," he paused to think, scratching his bandaged head, and then he said, "Do you want to give them to me?"

"Eh?" She did not expect this.

"Do you?"

Of course she did not want to give the coupons to him. It was not because she wanted to deprive him of his favorite food, but it was just as their teacher had just said, he needed rest. He had just returned from a life-and-death mission, one that he barely survived, and Hinata, from the bottom of her heart, just honestly wanted him to get well again. Knowing his impulsive nature, she felt that Naruto would simply jump out the window once he got his hands on the coupons despite his injuries, and risk hurting himself again.

So, she just shook her head.

Naruto groaned softly, and said, "Well, that's that, then. Anyway, I think the Ramen's going to taste better if it's worked hard for."

Hinata could feel that his last sentence was just something to make him feel better, so she made a small bow and said, "I…I apologize."

That startled him and made Naruto fumble his words. "Ah, no! There's nothing to apologize for, Hinata. It's just…well…"

Hinata looked up and saw Naruto looking away from her, scratching his blond hair. It seemed like he was choosing his words, but his cheeks were slightly tinged with red.

"Well…it's like the Chuunin Exam, y'know? Neji making you quit and stuff? Well…probably not, but I don't wanna make you do things you don't want to do, y'know?" Naruto explained as best he could.

He laughed uneasily, scratching his head. His eyes were habitually squinting, which was fortunate for Hinata, who wouldn't want Naruto to see her blushing like crazy.

"But you know what?" Naruto said with a grin, opening his eyes again to look at her, "It's been a really, really long time since we last talked like this! The last time was…uhh…when…uhh…"

It was obvious that Naruto had forgotten, judging by the way he would look at the ceiling and scratch his cheek or chin. He would say some words, but immediately shake his head and try again.

Hinata sighed and said, "…right before your match with my cousin, at the Chuunin Exam?"

"Oh right! I was gonna say that," Naruto blurted out, sheepishly, scratching his head once again, "Well, yeah, that long! So, how you been?"

Hinata blushed. Once again, it seemed like her dream was about to get fulfilled once more, to have a decent conversation with the object of her affections. She always had a difficult time doing so, but, it was always Naruto who would talk first and start it, and she would be eternally grateful for that. She hoped the words she needed to reply with would come out naturally, just like last time. She quietly vowed, placing a hand over her fast-beating heart, to make the best out of this conversation.

And maybe even reveal a little bit of her feelings to Naruto as well.

She looked at him, and her heart felt a little lighter when she saw him with a grin on his face, eagerly waiting a reply.

"I…I've been well," Hinata said, with a smile.