The lunch time crowd was present with a vengeance.
Civilian workers customarily used this time of day as a break, wanting a place to sit and eat in peace, or gather with friends for a pleasant conversation.
Likewise, the staggered and rotated training schedules for shinobi always had a number of groups wandering the streets at this time in between sessions. As a result, the food shops and restaurants in that part of the village were always quite busy at mid-day.
"I… I wanted to thank you… Naruto-kun…" Hinata sat at one end of the table, wearing her newest coat. Team Kurenai had the day off, and she had worked up the courage to do this, but only after the Hokage had told her and Naruto's other friends that he could use companionship during the days he was restricted to Konoha.
"Huh?" Naruto scratched himself, making a face. "Thank me for what?" He shrugged, wondering what Hinata was talking about. He had his suspicions, but that was a subject he had absolutely no desire to think about. Not that he could focus on anything but food at the moment. She had offered to treat him to lunch.
"Ummm… you know…" Hinatas coat seemed to move on its own. "When I went off on my mission… you… ummm…" She paused when a waitress brought her a menu. Naruto didn't need one, having everything memorized, including price and portion weight.
"I'll take two 'Number 5s,' one 'Number 12,' four 'Number 23s,' a 'Number 8,' and a side order of 'Number 3.'" Naruto smiled, hoping that Hinata had a large purse. He stared at her coat, which caused the shy white-eyed girl to blush and fight to maintain her balance. She always wore something like that. It made it very difficult to see how she had grown, in a matter of speaking. Not that he really needed to be staring at Hyuuga Hinata, naturally. He was just bored. That's all. "What the?" The coat was moving, but Hinata's hands were both in view.
"I… ummm… Naruto-kun, is there something wrong?" Hinata swallowed hard. She put her hand on her coat. There couldn't be any kind of stain, since she had picked it up at the cleaners today. "You… you're staring…" She thought a moment and unzipped her coat half way. Only after she had done so, did she realize how Naruto might interpret such an act. She almost passed out, imagining his thoughts.
"I thought I saw something move," Naruto said, trying not to look at Hinata's chest. It was no big thing. Well, figuratively speaking. There was no need to look at Hinata. Well, except for the fact that she was sitting directly across from him. Of course she would be larger, since she had grown a fair bit herself, just as he had. But, he was taller than her now. Yes, he could safely think about that! "Not that I'm crazy or anything." He still wasn't wearing his forehead protector, since a large bandage was still wrapped around the top of his head. "I didn't hit my head that hard."
"I was very worried," Hinata admitted. "I had thought that you might have… ummm… left the village against orders, and were injured after running across an unexpected enemy." She giggled for a moment, feeling something tickling her belly. She blushed, having made such a noise in front of Naruto. A kunoichi should never giggle. "I was very surprised to… well… find out that you had hurt yourself at home." She took a deep breath, held it, and then let it out again. She was doing better than she expected. She could talk to Naruto the same way that she talked to everyone else. Almost. One step at a time.
"Thanks for rubbing it in," Naruto said, making a sour face. He couldn't help but think back to the manner in which he was hurt. Hinata owed him a lot more than she knew. At least, she better not know! Sakura, Shizune, and Tsunade were honor bound to keep things secret. Patient confidentiality, and stuff like that. He twitched a bit, seeing Hinata's coat moving again. He rubbed his eyes.
"Ohhh… I'm sorry, Naruto-kun." Hinata looked down her coat and smiled, despite feeling embarrassed that she had made Naruto feel upset. "I almost forgot… I was thanking you…" Her smile grew larger. Whiskers crawled up until her head was clearly visible above the 'V' of her coat.
"Meow!" The young cat clearly recognized Naruto. It wriggled free and jumped down onto the table top.
"That thing!" Naruto stood up, drawing the attention of the other patrons. "But… how… why…" One mystery solved. The kitten was responsible for Hinata's moving coat. "Hey! Hinata! They probably don't allow pets in here. Health code stuff." His voice came out in a squeak until he coughed to clear his throat.
"Purr-r-r-r-r-r…" Whiskers jumped, fell flat, and then siddled over to rub against Naruto's hand.
"The store keeper let's me bring her here," Hinata said, watching her kitten leap onto Naruto. Trying to grab hold on his jumpsuit, it worked its little paws in a blur, unable to gain any purchase. It tumbled down into his lap.
"No!" Naruto practically shouted. "Not my lap!" He picked the happy little creature up by the ruff of its neck and placed it on the table. "Bad cat!" Looking over at Hinata, he felt like a total idiot. Whiskers hadn't jumped onto his lap on purpose. It's not like the kitten had any memory of what it had done before. Watching the small animal play with a straw wrapper that Hinata dragged across the table top, he tried to maintain his composure. He had stood up bravely in front Gama Bunta, Manda, Shukaku, and the like. He could deal with a cat.
"Here's you order, Hinata." The shop keeper's daughter smiled as she placed a number of dishes in front of Hinata. "You have quite a few, Naruto." She lined up a large row of plates, bowls, and boxes in front of the eager-looking ninja. "And, I haven't forgotten the little lady's favorite." Removing the last dish from her tray, the serving woman placed a sausage link in front of Whiskers.
"Gah…" Naruto knocked over his bowl of Ramen With Pork. He was staring at the kitten's meal. So was the young cat, which had taken up a stalking posture. "Th-That can't be h-healthy for a c-cat…" He clenched his fists. It certainly hadn't been healthy for him!
"It's just a treat," Hinata said, smiling down at her little friend. "She usually doesn't eat much. She just likes to play with it." She looked over at Naruto, who was choking on the tea he had swallowed. "Naruto-kun, are you OK?"
"Gurk…" Naruto coughed for a few moments, while the serving girl and her father patted him on the back. He assured them that the food was fine. "I'm fine, Hinata. I'm great. Really. Nothing can keep Uzumaki Naruto down for long!" He tried to smile, but his mouth looked crooked. Unable to meet Hinata's eyes, and ignorant of that irony, he wondered if the kitten had developed a liking for sausage after its stay with him, or before.
"I'm… I'm glad to hear that..." Hinata began feeling shy again, but focused on Whiskers, making it easier for her to sit there without getting too tongue-tied. Surprising herself, she began telling Naruto about her latest mission.
"It sounds like you're getting stronger, Hinata. That's great!" Naruto's natural enthusiasm had him starting to forget about the cat and its breakfast. He tugged at one ear, wondering why Hinata was turning bright red. "I really think that…" He lost track of what he had intended to say. Hinata was swinging the sausage back and forth like a pendulum. Whiskers was jumping and taking swipes at it.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata let the sausage dangle, looking at Naruto's face. Why did he look pale? "Are you sure you're alright? They didn't… ummm… release you too soon?" No one had told her about the embarrassing details of his hospitalization, so she truly was at a loss for his behavior.
"That's just wrong!" Naruto stiffened, watching as Whiskers batted at the unmoving sausage. He grimaced when the cat leaped, claws extended, and hooked its paws on either side of the link. "It…" He gripped the sides of the table when Hinata began gently swinging the sausage with the cat still attached. "You shouldn't…" He closed his eyes.
"Oi! Naruto!" A loud voice called out. Someone had recognized the characteristic orange and black jumpsuit.
"Kiba!" Naruto stood up again, glad for the distraction. "And Shino!" He watched as his two friends headed over.
"I'm amazed that he knew who I was," Shino said, his head covered by the large cowl of his new style robe. He was still somewhat miffed that Naruto hadn't immediately recognized who he was, when they met for the first time after Naruto's long absence from the Hidden Leaf village. "Hinata is here too, sitting with him."
"Really? Is she conscious?" Kiba laughed. He looked outside the shop window to see if Akamaru was alright. His friend was much too large to come into shops with him anymore. "Oi, Hinata. Finally worked up the courage to speak?" A huge smile lit up his face and a wicked gleam came to his eyes. "Trying to sink your claws into him?" He too happened upon the sore topic by accident.
Crash. Crash. THUNK. Crash. Crash Crash. Tinkle Tinkle Tinkle Tinkle.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata brought her hand to her mouth. Kiba and Shino looked down at the floor, wondering what had just happened.
"This is just not my week…" Naruto moaned from the floor, laying on his back, covered by fallen bowls,and surrounded bybroken dish fragments. He had tripped over his bench seat, hearing the 'sink your claws into him' part.
Whiskers jumped down to sit on Naruto.
"Purr-r-r-r-r-r…"