Authors note: Thank you to all the reveiwers, I am very gratefull, along with this chapter I've corrected the mistakes I made in the previous chapter, after re-reading it on I noticed a few errors. I cant believe that I'm on the third chapter already, I just hope I'm not rushing this. I will try to keep this story interesting, please read and tell me what you think, I read all my reveiws,
TimeShifter16 - I say MASH, as in the medical comedy set during the Korean war
Okay here it is, chapter three of Out of Sight, Center of Mind
Out of Sight, Center of Mind
Chapter three - A Little Help Can Go a Long Way
Naruto awoke from a strange dream drenched in a cold sweat, he dreamt of walking sightless around a room filled with people who were knocking into him and talking loudly, they were scarring him because he was unsure of where he was and he was unprepared for all the contact he felt, it ended when he was pushed away and he started to fall down a hole. When Naruto woke up, he sat straight up in the bed and was reminded that he couldn't see
"H-Hello?" Naruto wasn't sure if there was anyone around, he didn't even know what time it was, but from the singing of birds and sounds of movment outside his room he figured that it must be morning. All of a sudden he heard a dull thud, he sensed somone had entered the room, the sound must of been the door being pushed open.
"Naruto-san, Tsunade-sama will be in, in a few minutes, Hyugga Hinata said that she will be here at about ten o'clock, thats in half an hour" The nurse sounded like everyone else, she had the same cold tone in her voice
"Thank you. Could you please open a window, i'm feeling a bit overheated" Naruto said as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. the nurse gave no reply
"Excuse me" still no reply "EXCUSE ME!" Naruto was feeling very scared now
"Naruto for once in your life please try not to shout" Tsunade's voice broke the silence, Naruto was very relieaved that he wasn't alone
"These nurses are really mean, you would think that they would pay me some sympathy" Naruto said
"Just ignore them Naruto, Hatred is a hard thing to get over" Tsunade tried to give Naruto a reason as to why they treated him so badly
"Riiiiight, now I feel better" Naruto was said sarcasticly
"Anyway Naruto, There are a few rules you must follow when your out of here, You musn't remove the bandages no matter what, You will be allowed to sleep in your own home for the week but if somthing feels wrong then you have to come back to the hospital, and you'll have to come to my office later tonight for me to check your bandages but after that, the week is yours. And remember, Hinata is there to help you, dont try anything complex on your own, ask Hinata for help, and remember, SHE is in charge, she is to help you but if she thinks that somthing is wrong she will bring you here, do not argue with her" Tsunade warned him, I'm sure she'll be only too happy to help, she said inside her head.
"Do I have to get her help for Everything?" Naruto said, mentally raising an eyebrow
"What do you mea...NO! not everything, I expect you to handle your own 'private' matters Naruto!" Tsunade was shaking her head "And Stay out of trouble!" Tsunade warned him
Hinata woke up feeling very refreshed, she was going to spend the whole day with Naruto and she could speak normally with him, but then another realisation hit her, other people are bound to see them together, what if they get the wrong idea,
"it would be so embarrasing if Sakura-chan or Ino-chan see us, What if they say somthing?" Hinata said to herself, she let out a small yawn and rubbed her eyes, she looked over at the clock on her bedside table and gasped,
"Twenty-to-ten! I've overslept, I was meant to get up early to explain to Kurenai-sensei about Naruto-kun, I'll have to do that later, I need to get to the hospital!" Hinata said as she rushed to get dressed. In a blurred haste, Hinata got changed. She was out her room in a few minutes, she was out of the Hyugga estate a couple of minutes later but not before almost knocking her cousin Neji off his feet.
"Foolish girl" Muttered Neji, He had actually warmed up to Hinata since the chuunin exams, ever since he found out the truth of his father, since then Neji had apologised to Hinata for hurting her so badly during their fight in the prelims, Neji watched her run out of the gates,
"She must be in a hurry, Hinata-sama didn't even stop to apologise to me." Said Neji to no one in particular
Hinata was starting to wonder if she will always be running to the hospital at some point during the week. Soon enough she was at the hospital again, she went straight to the front desk again, the same receptionest was sitting at the desk, this time there was no que of people
"I'm here to see Uzumaki Naruto again" Hinata told the receptionest, she was feeling a lot less worried than before.
"He's right where you left him, you just need to sign in this time" she said as she handed a pen to Hinata and pointed to a clipboard on the desk. Hinata signed her name and left down the corridor without another word. She followed the same path she took the night before and found Naruto's room, number twenty-seven. She knocked on the door this time instead of bursting in like last night,
"Come in" She heard Naruto's voice say, This brought a slight blush to Hinata's cheeks as she pushed open the door, and just like last night Tsunade was sitting down on the opposite side of Naruto and Naruto was lying back in bed, only this time he wore a smile
"Good morning Naruto-kun, how are you feeling?" Hinata asked, although she was blushing, she didn't feel very nervous around Naruto
"I'm feeling okay now, but waking up without being able to see can be scary" Naruto said while maintaining his smile, Tsunade looked at Naruto slightly surprised,
"it looks like Naruto is starting to open up around Hinata, before, he would never admit to being scared" Tsunade thought to herself, then she remembered somthing,
"Naruto, do feel any pain in your eyes?" Tsunade asked
"Pain? No I feel fine" Naruto said still smiling
"...No Naruto, pain is a good sign, it means that the nerves are healing, and if you dont feel any pain well..." Tsunade trailed off, Naruto's smile slowly dissapeared as he realised what she was saying
"If you do feel pain, nothing is wrong with you so don't worry about it, but try to see me when you do feel somthing" Tsunade told him,
"And i'm afraid that even if you do feel pain, it isn't a sure sign that you will see again, I'm sorry"
"Naruto, Hinata and I will be outside while you get dressed, you'll find your cloathes in that wardrobe" Tsunade pointed to a wardrobe next to the bed still feeling bad about Naruto
"YOUR FUNNY!" Naruto shouted, Tsunade realised what she had done and smacked her forehead, how stupid could she be for pointing out somthing to a blind person
"Naruto, I'm sorry, I forgot" Tsunade felt like an idiot
"Its okay, as long as you weren't making fun of me" Naruto said his smile begining to return.
"Hinata, could you please get Naruto's cloaths" Tsunade asked Hinata, which intensified Hinata's blush. She opened the wardrobe and took Naruto's black T-shirt, orange jacket and pants off the hangers and put them on Naruto's bed.
"Just call when your done, Naruto" Tsunade said as she and Hinata walked out the door.
Tsunade took the time to explain to Hinata about what she had to do to help Naruto
"Hinata, you will have to help Naruto with a lot of things so you'll have to be with him most of the time, I've already informed Kurenai about this, so she has given you time off, During that time you are to help Naruto get around the villige, and just help him with anything he may have trouble with. I've explained this to him and told him that you will be in charge, he will listen to you, so if somthing seems wrong you will have to bring him back here or to my office, You and Naruto should decide a time in the morning when you'll come to meet him, It would be best if you get a key to Naruto's appartment as well, and at night don't leave his house untill he is in bed, do you understand?" Tsunade asked, Hinata Nodded
"Almost, Do I have to help him with everything?" Asked Hinata, her face looking like a ripe tomato, Tsunade almost laughed at this, these two were more alike than she thought
"No, no not everything, Naruto will need some private time, but apart from that he will probably need your help with most things" Tsunade told her. A large crash was heard coming from inside Naruto's room. Taking a quick look inside the room Tsunade shook her head muttering to herself, then she opened the door very slightly again
"Naruto, One leg per trouser-leg" Tsunade said to Naruto. Naruto couldn't believe how hard it was to get dressed without his eyes
"If you want, I'll send in Hinata to help you" Tsunade said mockingly, at that both Hinata and Naruto blushed fiercly
"I-I'll m-manage" Naruto said shakily, Tsunade used all of her will power to keep from howling with laughter. When she had calmed down she turned to Hinata
"Remember Hinata, Keep him out of trouble" Tsunade told her, Hinata simply nodded
Naruto had a hard time, but in the end he managed to get all of his cloathes on, he managed to find his forehead protecter in his trouser pocket, he decided to tie it on over his bandage, he couldn't see himself but he thought that he looked cool. He applauded himself for thinking to cover his bandage with his headband, it would keep his bandage clean and the metal plate would protect his eyes from any impact.
"You can come back in now, i'm ready" Naruto called out to the general direction of the door. He heard the door open
"Well done Naruto, you can dress by yourself, at least thats somthing that Hinata wont have to help you with" Tsunade said, Naruto could feel his cheeks heating up again
"Are you ready to leave, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, eager to get away from the mocking Tsunade
"Yes, I cant wait to get out of here" Naruto said, he couldn't wait to get some ramen, he hadn't had any in over a week, since before the mission
"Okay then, come on" Tsunade said as she walked out the door
"Hinata, could you please give me your arm" Naruto said as he reached out his hand. Hinata approached Naruto and placed his hand just above her right elbow. Hinata's heart started to speed and her face began to heat up as she felt his hand grasp her arm. Hinata started to move forward slowly to allow Naruto to get used to the movement, they walked through the door and up the corridor, side by side, every so often Hinata had to guide Naruto away from a chair which he would of fallen over, or out the way of an oncoming patiant. They reached the front desk where Tsunade was waiting patiantly for them, Hinata held her left hand out to stop Naruto
"Okay kids, have fun" Tsunade said smiling to Hinata
"How many people know?" Hinata thought to herself as she put her head down to hide the blush
"Come on Hinata, lets go" Naruto said cheerily, Hinata started to move forward towards the main doors guiding Naruto as she did. They stepped outside and Naruto took a deep breath of fresh air
"I hate the smell of a hospital" Naruto said as they were walking away from the hospital
"Where would you like to go Naruto-kun?" Hinata realised that they were walking but didn't have anywhere to go
"You have to ask? To Ichiraku ramen, please Hinata" Naruto said turning his head toward Hinata
"I should of known" Giggled Hinata
"You must be hungry as well Hinata, I mean, I'm not sure exactly what time it is but it must be near enough to lunch time, right" It was only about half past eleven but neither Hinata or Naruto have had anything for breakfast, so they were feeling quite hungry
"Yes Naruto-kun I haven't had anything to eat today" Hinata smiled, she often thought about having lunch with Naruto, although it wasn't a date, It was close enough.
Hinata guided Naruto through the streets of Konoha to get to the ramen stand as Naruto was telling her about the missions that he had completed in the past and Hinata was listening intently, occasionly turning left or right until they reached the Ichiraku.
"We're here Naruto-kun" Hinata said to Naruto as he was explaining how he rescued the villiger in their last mission, Hinata guided Naruto inside and sat him down on a stool before sitting herself down next to him, The owner of the ramen stand turned around and welcomed both Hinata and Naruto
"H-Hello" Hinata said, feeling her nervousness returning, Naruto smiled and nodded to him
"Can I have a bowl of miso ramen and...Hinata what would you like?" Naruto asked. Realising that this man was friendly, Hinata forced herself not to stutter
"M-may I have a bowl of sweet and sour pork ramen please" Hinata asked politely
"Coming right up" the owner said friendily "Naruto, What happened to your eyes" he asked as he was preparing the bowls
"An accident, One of my teamates hit me with a fire jutsu" Naruto replied grimly, in the past half hour he had all but forgotten the fact that he may never see again
"It'll be okay, Naruto-kun" Hinata said quietly to Naruto trying to reassure him, she could sense that he was feeling sad, Naruto turned and gave Hinata a kind smile, Naruto was feeling better and proceded to explain in intricate detail about his first C-rank turned A-rank mission. He had just got to the part where Kakashi defeated the demon brothers when the owner of the stand placed the bowls of ramen in front of Naruto and Hinata, although Naruto didn't notice
"Naruto-kun, our ramen is here" Hinata interupted Naruto
"Is it? I didn't notice" Naruto chuckled, he carefully looked for the bowl with his hands, once he found it he instinctivly reached for a pair of chopsticks, but couldn't find them
"Somone moved the chopstick cup since last time I was here" Naruto said while carefully sweeping his hand along the counter looking for it
"No Naruto-kun, it was just out of your reach...Here!" Hinata said as she put the chopsticks in Naruto's hand, She jumped slightly from the contact but not as much as before, Naruto didn't seem to notice
"Oh was it, i'm an idiot, thanks Hinata" Naruto smiled as he accepted the chopsticks from Hinata, and broke them apart, very carefully he lowered them down into the bowl, he applied pressure to them and brought them up to his mouth but he didn't get any noodles, over and over he tried but couldn't get any more than a few noodles at a time, Hinata who was slurping up her noodles at a steady pace, noticed the trouble Naruto was having, when a idea popped into her head
"Naruto-kun, umm, would you like some help, its just that, y-your ramen will get cold before your finished it" Hinata said
"Help? Oh, umm you dont have to, I'll manage" Naruto said, for some reason he was blushing at this
"Naruto-kun, I'm here to help you, I don't mind" Hinata said while still blushing.
"Okay, thanks, I do have to eat after all" Naruto reasoned. Hinata took the chopsticks from Naruto's hand and lowered them into the bowl, successfully bringing out some ramen noodles, with a gulp she raised the end of the noodles to Naruto's mouth, he jumped slightly but opened his mouth and let the chopstcks in, as Naruto slurped up the noodles Hinata giggled softly, she used the chopsticks to help the long strands of noodles to his mouth. This continued for a while with Naruto giving away satisfied sighs as he swallowed each strand of noodles. Hinata was in the middle of raising another strand of noodles when suddenly...
"Ohhhh! And what do we have here?" a very sweet voice sounded behind them, Hinata dropped the chopsticks on the ground and Naruto choked on the Noodles he was in the middle of swallowing
"Hello Sakura-chan, Ino-chan" Hinata greeted her two best friends nervously, she prayed that they wouldn't say anything that might give away to Naruto that she liked him
"Hello Hinata-chan" Sakura and Ino said in unison, still grinning horribly.
"have you told him yet" Ino mouthed silently to Hinata
"No" She mouthed back, Sakura and Ino looked at each other and smiled
"They were planning somthing" Thought Hinata
"Hello Naruto" said Ino and Sakura sweetly
Naruto slowly turned around to face the two new arrivals,
"Hello Sakura-chan, Ino" said Naruto smiling, Sakura and Ino both saw his forehead protecter over his eyes and were confused
"Naruto why do you have your head band covering your eyes" Asked Sakura, not sure what to think
"Yeah, Can't you see or somthing? Ino asked jokingly
"Exactly! I cant see" Naruto said calmly
"What!? why not?" Ino asked completly puzzled, Sakura had an idea of why but didn't say anything
"Well, during are last mission we got into a fight with some ninja's..."
"And they damaged your eyes?" Ino interupted
"No, Sasuke did, he accidently hit me with one of his fire techniqes, Tsunade healed the burns but there is some nerve damage, there is a chance that I will recover but the odds are that I'll never see again" Naruto explained grimly
"Oh, we're sorry about that Naruto, we didn't know" Ino said apologeticaly, Naruto forced a smile on his face
"Thats alright, Come on, join us for some Ramen" Naruto said, his voice begining to gain some of its energy
"Thanks Naruto" Sakura said as she and Ino sat down
"Welcome!" The owner said to Ino and Sakura "What will it be"
"A bowl of shrimp ramen please" requested Sakura
"a bowl of vegitable ramen for me please" Ino ordered. Naruto turned back around on his stool, to finish his ramen
"Hinata, where are my chopsticks" Naruto asked as he was feeling around for them
"I-I dropped them on the ground when S-Sakura-chan and Ino-chan came, I'll get some more" Hinata told Naruto, she reached out and got another pair of chopsticks and broke them apart,
"Here Naruto-kun" She said as she continued feeding Naruto the noodles, Sakura looked up from her bowl of ramen to see Hinata helping Naruto, she nudged Ino in the side to get her attention, she saw what they were doing and struggled not to laugh, Sakura turned to Ino
"They're the perfect couple" Sakura mouthed
"They're SO cute!" Ino mouthed back. Hinata put the chopsticks down
"Thats all the noodles, Naruto-kun" Hinata said as Naruto gripped the sides of the bowl and brought it up to his lips, she turned around to her own bowl of ramen then looked to the right to Ino and Sakura, who had broad smiles on their faces, Hinata's forgotten blush re-surfaced. Naruto put down the bowl having drank the reminants, He let out a powerfull satisfied sigh
"Thanks Hinata, I could really go for another bowl if you don't mind" Naruto said, He heard a few giggles coming from Ino and Sakura but ignored them
"If you want Naruto-kun" Hinata said kindly
"Another miso ramen please!" Naruto called to the owner, Hinata continued to eat her ramen,
"So Naruto..." Naruto heard Ino's voice "...How long are you going to be wearing those bandages under your headband?"
"Well, Tsunade obaa-chan said that they'll stay on for a week, if my eyes haven't started to heal by then, well, I may never see again" Naruto said, he was starting to get used to the idea of going without his sight permenantly.
"So, in that week, Does Hinata have to be with you all the time? Ino questioned, while both she and Sakura wore huge grins not unnoticed by Hinata, who felt another blush coming on
"No not all the time, she's going to leave me at night when I go to bed but she's going to be back in the morning" Naruto explained to Ino
"So..."An evil smile now decorated Ino's face "...Is she going to help you shower?" This sent Naruto of his chair and Ino and Sakura over the edge, They howled with laughter unable to contain themselves any longer, while Hinata who had been innocently finishing of her noodles began choking.
"N-N-NO! Nothing like that, no" Ino and Sakura were trying to decide who's face was the darker shade of red. Naruto was on the ground was trying to get back up, his hands found themselves on the base of the stool, he used this as a guide to help him up once on his feet, he sat back down very carefully
"A-Are you all right N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata said, unwilling to look away from her ramen, Slowly their blushes went away. Naruto's ramen came and again he struggled with trying to get any noodles until Hinata offered to help once she had finished her own food
Hinata and Naruto decided to stay with Ino and Sakura at the Ichiraku stand, listening to storys of missions from each Ino, Sakura, and even Hinata. Sakura's storys were mainly re-tellings of the storys Naruto told Hinata except with Sasuke as the hero. Hinata was in the middle of a story about when her team had to fill in as waiters at a restaurent on the other side of town, Everyone was on the floor when Hinata described the antics of Kiba and Akamaru when they decided that they could balance numerous plates of food on their limbs at once
"We could have done it, if it wasn't for that old bat's handbag getting in the way, the damn manger threw us out when I dropped all those plates on her head" Said a voice coming from behind them
"K-Kiba-k-kun? I...I...well I..." Hinata was feeling very embarrased, The way Hinata told the story didn't portray Kiba and Akamaru in the best light
"Hey, Hinata what are you doing hanging around with these guys, you were meant to be training with us!" Kiba said while Akamaru barked
"I-I'm sorry K-Kiba-kun, I was helping Naruto-kun, I-I wont be training with you for the next week, d-didn't Kurenai-sensei tell you?" Although Hinata could speak normally around Naruto and somtimes Sakura and Ino, she still had trouble talking with her teamates
"Helping Naruto? Why does that idiot need help?" Kiba laughed. At this Naruto turned around and stood to face the voice
"Of course he needs help, anyone who thinks its smart to put their headband over their eyes needs help" Kiba contiued to laugh, now mockingly waving a hand in front of Naruto's face, Seeing what her teamate was doing to Naruto, an emotion Hinata had rarely felt bubbled within her, anger, towards Kiba. Hinata pushed Kiba back and stepped in between him and Naruto, Naruto sensed that Hinata now stood in between and decided to 'see' what would happen, he knew that if he were to handle it, a fight would definatly ensue
"...Stay out of trouble!" Naruto remembered Tsunade's earlier warning's
"Kiba, It isn't funny, it is very serious..." Hinata said as she was taking steps forward, forcing Kiba back, she had dropped the -Kun at the end of his name "...There's a chance that Naruto-kun will never see again, and you think its funny!" Hinata growled, Naruto was impressed and even slightly intimitated by the voice of this new Hinata, Kiba now adopted Hinata's regular stance, shoulders hunched, head down and fingers together, Kiba was scared, his animal-like insticts told him to be afraid, very afraid. Akamaru had long since crawled his way into Kiba's jacket.
"Hinata, I'm sorry, I didn't think" Kiba said, trying his best to stop Hinata from exploding, He really should of thought before he started hurling insults at Naruto, He knew very well of her crush for Naruto and how angry she got when he made fun of him, He found out shortly after the third test prelims of the chuunin exams, Kiba started to make fun of how Naruto won their fight when they were training, Hinata heard this and almost shouted at Kiba, he was smart enough to see a crush, and he saw the one Hinata had for Naruto.
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to, Kiba" Kiba looked up at Hinata with a pleading expression but Hinata had none of it, she narrowed her eyes and Kiba knew he had the choice to apologise to Naruto or have his internel organs reduced to dust by an angry Hinata, Kiba didn't know exactly how angry Hinata could get, he wasn't sure that she would resort to violence but he wasn't going to test out that theory
"I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't know you really couldn't see" Kiba said keeping his head down
"Thats alright Kiba, just try to remember to get a scope of the situation before acting next time" Naruto said cheerfully, for some reason Naruto didn't hold any form of anger, except the anger he held for Neji when he hurt Hinata but apart from that he wouldn't hold any sort of negative feeling against somone, Naruto often wondered this himself but decided that it was a side effect of his put a smile on everything attitude when he was growing up. Without another word Kiba left with his perverbial tail between his legs. Hinata let out the breath she forgot she was holding and turned around to see the approving smiles of Sakura and Ino, and a thankfull smile from Naruto
"Thanks Hinata, I probably would have gotten myself into a fight if I had said anything" Naruto said while still smiling
"Well, we've spent enough time hanging around here, Come on Ino" Sakura said
"We'd better leave these two alone" Sakura mouthed to Ino after, Ino smiled back, Hinata realised what they were doing, she blushed and nodded
"Good bye Sakura-chan, Ino-chan" Hinata said with a smile of her own
"see you later Hinata-chan, I hope your eyes get better Naruto" Sakura said kindly
"Yeah, and just get Hinata to handle anyone who makes fun of you" Ino said jokingly
"Good luck" Ino and Sakura mouthed to Hinata as they left
"Thanks girls, I'll...'see'...you later" Naruto forced a smile, without another word Ino and Sakura were gone
"What would you like to do now, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked kindly
"Hmmm...What time is it Hinata?" Naruto asked, Hinata looked to the clock on the wall of the stand and was surprised
"Its five o'clock Naruto-kun" She was surprised that so much time had passed since lunch
"Is it? Okay, time flies when your having fun" Naruto chuckled "Or when you can't see" He added, Hinata noticed the sad tone in his voice
"Try not to worry, Naruto-kun, Everything just has a way of working itself out, you just have to give it time" Hinata reassured him, She used the same line to reassure herself when her father was telling her that she was weak.
"Your right, thanks Hinata. Alright, five o'clock? I'm usually still training at this time, but it seems that I wont be able to do that for a while" Naruto said, wondering what they could do
"I got it! you can help me hone my senses!" Naruto said, thinking it was the best idea he ever came up with, Hinata looked puzzled
"What do you mean Naruto-kun?" Naruto stood up from the stool
"I'll explain while we walk, come on" Naruto said as he held out his hand for Hinata, Hinata once again placed his hand on her arm but was feeling relectant to helping him train, she guessed that she would see what Naruto meant and if she thought that it might be strenuous to him then she would tell him not to do it
"what I had in mind is simple, since I can't use my sight I might as well get my remaining sences to fill in." Hinata was still confused of what he meant but decided that she would allow him to do this
"How do you plan to do this Naruto-kun? Hinata asked, A smile came across Naruto's face
"We'll train my four remaining sences individually so they can fill in for my lack of sight, I refuse to give up my life as a ninja whether I lose my sight or not!" Naruto said, Hinata smiled at Naruto's display of courage
"Its going to be difficult to live as a ninja without your sight, Naruto-kun, If I were in your position I would be too scared to leave the house" Hinata said sadly, Naruto turned his head to face Hinata
"Hinata, I'll tell you a secret, I'm scared out of my mind, This morning when I woke up, I didn't know if I was alone in the hospital room, I could hear people talking and walking around, but I couldn't tell if they were inside the room or echoes coming from the corridor, and earlier when Kiba came, I didn't know what was happening I thought I was going to get into a fight with him, that thought scared me. My point is, Hinata, Don't think that I'm not afraid 'cause I am, but that fear is keeping me going, I want to get stronger despite the loss of my sight, I wont go back on my words" Hinata smiled at this
"Thats your way of the ninja" Hinata said, Naruto burst out laughing, along with Hinata.
After ten minutes of walking, Hinata and Naruto arrived at the training field, Hinata wasn't sure how to procede but decided that Naruto had a plan
"Okay, this is what I would like you to do, Hinata, Gather twelve rocks and place them in a clockface about three meters away from me, once that is done I will face one stone and you will stand over a random stone in the circle and snap your fingers and I've got to say which stone your at, Understand?" Naruto finished explaining
"Yes, Naruto-kun" Said Hinata as she proceded to gather the rocks, she placed them in about a three meter radias of Naruto who was kneeling down
"I'm ready Naruto-kun" Hinata informed as she placed the last rock down
"Good, now stand at any one rock and snap your fingers" Hinata stood at the rock at eight o'clock from where Naruto was facing and snapped her fingers, after a few seconds of thought he figured out which rock she was at
"Six o'clock!" Naruto said triumphantly, Hinata sighed, this could take a while
"No Naruto-kun, eight o'clock" Hinata could just hear Naruto cursing under his breath
"Alright lets try this again" Hinata changed to the three o'clock rock and snapped her fingers
"Two o'clock!" Naruto said with just as much triumph as before
"Three" Hinata sighed
They kept at this for a few hours after the sun went down before Hinata decided that it was time to go see Tsunade, Naruto did mange to sense where Hinata was by the end of the session but Hinata wasn't sure if it was just pure luck, although his guesses were only within two hours of where Hinata was standing, Naruto was still feeling proud of himself
"I'm sure I could of sensed you better if my eyes weren't hurting" Naruto said trying to make an excuse, he felt Hinata jerk to a stop
"Hinata what is it...ahhh!" As Hinata stopped Naruto kept on moving which unfortunatly made him trip over a large rock which was sticking out of the ground, Hinata saw that Naruto was falling and tried to stop him, Her grip on his arm turned Naruto around as he was falling so he would land on his back but Naruto's weight brought her down on top of him, with a grunt Naruto hit the ground and a split second later a weight dropped down on top of him, He could only guess that it was Hinata, Both blushed heavily at this, Hinata struggled to get up, her arms were weighed down underneath Naruto's body, Naruto just lay there completly entranced by Hinata's sweet smell, they were so close that they could feel each others body heat, Hinata was struggling to free her hands to get up because her face was unbelievably close to Naruto's, She managed to wriggle her hands out from behind Naruto and pushed herself up, she felt very weak-kneed from the closeness to Naruto but found the strength to stand, Naruto was busy thinking about how nice that felt
"NIce? Oh god, That damn perverted hermit is having an effect on me, Okay, clear my mind and stand up!" Naruto said inside his head
"A-are you a-alright Naruto-kun" Naruto heard Hinata's voice
"I-I'm fine, thanks Hinata, Come on lets get going" Naruto said shakily. He held out his hand and felt Hinata's hand place it on her arm as she began to guide him again.
"I'm sorry for making you fall Naruto-kun, its just that you said that you had a pain in your eyes, and thats meant to be a sign that there healing, right?" Naruto stopped abruptly at Hinata's words
"It wasn't your fault that I fell but your right, my eyes are healing" Naruto said happily. before long they reached the villige headquarters.
"We're here Naruto-kun" Hinata said, her stuttering now forgotten
"Okay, lets go see what Obaa-chan has to say" Naruto said starting to feel the day catching up to him, he couldn't wait to go home and crawl into bed, he then idley thought about what it must be like to fall asleep with Hinata in his arms like she was earlier, after he realised what he just thought he turned bright red
"Naruto-kun are you all right you seem to be heating up" Hinata asked concerned as she pushed the doors to the building open.
"Err, I'm fine, just a bit tired" Naruto said trying to stop blushing, Hinata guided Naruto followed a sign saying "Hokage office" up some stairs and along a coridor, there was a jounin standing guard outside the office, he nodded to Hinata signaling that she could go in, Tsunade had probably informed him that they were coming, She opened the door and guided Naruto inside before closing the door behind her, What Hinata saw was hard not to laugh at, Tsunade had seemingly fallen asleep over her desk, using a number of scrolls as a pillow, she was snoring but not very loudly. Hinata brought Naruto closer to the desk
"Hokage-sama?" Hinata called out trying to wake her up, but to no avail
"Here Hinata, lt me try..." Naruto said before taking in a deep breath "I'LL GIVE YOU TEN-TO-ONE ODDS AT THREE-CARD-MONTE!" Tsunade sat bone-breakingly upright and was wide awake at this
"I'LL TAKE THOSE ODDS!" she shouted, instinctivly taking an easy bet
"Huh, wha', NARUTO! don't do that again!" Tsunade said as she realised that there was no bet to be had, Naruto was busy laughing his head off
"I see Hinata has kept you out of trouble, Naruto, I'm glad I asked her to take care of you and not somone like Jiraiya. Hinata help him into a seat while I take a look at him, please" Tsunade asked, Hinata helped Naruto into a chair that was in front of the desk Tsunade came round her desk and and sat in a second chair opposite Naruto
"Naruto please remove your forehead protecter" Tsunade asked as she prepared an analysing techniqe, Naruto removed his headband to expose the bandages
"Hey obaa-chan, My eyes have started to hurt" Naruto informed exitedly, Tsunade concentrated on the jutsu instead of giving in to the urge to strike Naruto across the head
"Thats a good sign, but I would of expected for the pain to surface sooner" Tsunade said,she noticed the smile disappear from Naruto's face and once again felt bad for making Naruto feel down.
"Well Naruto, your eyes have started to heal but slowly, I'm afraid it still looks grim" Tsunade said before she canceled the techniqe
"So anyway, how did you two get on today?" Tsunade asked, trying to change the subject
"It was fun, although it was a bit difficult at times" Naruto replied with a chuckle, Hinata giggled as well
"I also improved my hearing skills, incase I have to get used to a sightless life" Naruto said
"Okay then thats good to 'hear'. Its getting late so why don't you take Naruto home, Hinata, Naruto do you have a spare key to your appartment lying around?" Tsunade asked
"I think so, why?" Naruto was curious
"I just think that Hinata should have a key so she can get in, in the morning and so she can lock up at night" Tsunade told Naruto
"Oh, alright I'll give it to her later, then" Naruto said
"Good, now off you go, I don't want you falling asleep over my desk" Tsunade said feeling her eye-lids begining to feel heavy
"Okay then, come on Hinata, lets go" Naruto said as he put his forehead protecter over his eyes
Naruto stood up and Hinata reached out for his hand and placed it on her arm
"Good night Hokage-sama" Said Hinata as she leaded him out of the office, Tsunade just waved her hand as she fought a yawn
Hinata leaded Naruto out of the main gates of the villige headquarters and procedded down the main street of the villige
"Hinata, Do you know where your going?" Naruto wasn't sure if she knew where he lived
"Yes, Naruto-kun I've seen you enter an appartment block a few times in the west of the villige" In truth she had been secretly watching him and had seen him go up the stairs of his appartment, but she wasn't about to say that part
"That's good, I'd have a hard time trying to guide you" Naruto said. They walked for about ten minutes without one word passing between them, until Naruto, who was desparate to break the silence, decided to say somthing
"Hinata...Thanks...Thanks for helping me today, I don't no where I'd be if I didn't have you to guide me, If it were Sakura guiding me I would probably have gotten into a fight with Kiba or walked into a lamp post" Naruto said
"Your welcome Naruto-kun, I actually enjoyed myself today" Smiled Hinata, Before they realised it, they had arrived at Naruto's appartment
"Naruto-kun we're here" Hinata informed Naruto
"Okay, my appartment is on the second floor" Naruto said as Hinata leaded him toward the stairs, Noticing the upcoming hazard with a blind Naruto climbing stairs Hinata turned to Naruto
"Naruto-kun be very carefull here, put your other hand on the rail and don't rush" Hinata warned him, Naruto just nodded. slowly but surely they climbed the stairs and soon enough they reached the top
"It's the second door" He told Hinata, She guided him over and Naruto got out his key and unlocked the door, Blushing from the prospect of seeing the inside of Naruto's appartment she stepped inside with Naruto, She searched on the wall for a light switch so she could guide Naruto around, she found it and flicked it to the 'on' position, when the light filled the room Hinata was surprised that Naruto could the place so tidy, She manouvered him arond the few pieces of furniture Naruto did own and through an open door she guesed was the bedroom, She found the light switch and flicked it, Apart from a few scrolls on the floor and a cluttered desk it was clean
"Thanks Hinata, I can take it from here" Naruto said as he walked into his bed
"Naruto-kun, I've been told to stay until you are in bed, and you were meant to give me a key" Hinata said, amazed she didn't stutter, even if she did blush but at least Naruto couldn't see that, Naruto nodded as he reached out a hand to find his bedside table, once he found it, he put his hand in a bowl and he started to search around in, Hinata could hear the jingle of coins and other metalic objects before Naruto produced a key, he held it out in front of and waited for Hinata to take it
"Here's the key, Its a bit difficult to turn but just jiggle it a few times and it should work" Naruto said as he sat down on the bed
"Thank you, Naruto-kun, I'll wait outside" Hinata tried not to laugh when she noticed the penguin pajamas on his bed on her way out
"I bet he must look SO cute in those" Hinata thought to herself before blushing furiously
"Oh god, I left my penguin pajamas out before I left, I hope she didn't see them!" Naruto thought as he felt the night cloathing on his bed, He decided not to worry about it and started to undress, Hinata waited patiantly outside his room, she heard a few curses coming from inside the room but nothing that would merit her needing to go inside and helping him. Naruto proceded to change into his pajamas with a little difficulty but managed to do it in the end, it wasn't long before he was curled up in bed
"Thanks Hinata, you can go now, If you can come here around about nine o'clock that'll be great!" Naruto called out to the door
"Good night Naruto-kun, See you tomorrow" Hinata replied as she made her way to the front door.
"If she was anyone else I probably would of shouted to her for saying 'see', I wonder why I didn't say anything to her?" Before too long Naruto was asleep and dreaming, not about falling down a hole or being pushed around, but of a certain blue-haired girl who he was rapidly growing fond of.
Authors note: SIGH Two days spent working on this but I got it done, you may notice I used one or two suggestions from the reveiwers a special thanks to them;
TimeShifter16 - I'm sorry I didn't make their lips touch when they fell, I'm saving that for later, thank you!
Boredathome - Thanks for your suggestion, I think I might use it in a later chapter
Wormkaizer - I don't think I'll have Hinata directly helping Naruto bathe, Maybe in an R-rated sequal perhaps ( Winks )
And thanks to all the other reveiwers
Please Reveiw, I'll need a few ideas for the next chapter.