Hinata ran as fast as she could. She ran and ran until she realized that Sasuke hadn't followed her and then fell to her knees. As she tried to steady her breathing she smacked her forehead with the palm of her hand. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! Why did I do that? My shyness took over again. I hope he's not angry with me for running away from him. Oh, he's always so nice to me! I hope what he needed to tell me wasn't too important. It kind of seemed like he meant to grab my hand… and come to think of it, he's never that nice to anyone else. Is it possible? Does Sasuke like me? She shook her head. What a stupid thought. If he were interested in girls then he would already be with somebody. With all those other girls around him he would never notice a klutz like me.
Oh! I dropped my stuff! She sighed. I need to go back and get it… I'll just have to tough it out. She got up and headed back towards the edge of the forest where she had run into Sasuke. With every step she took she reassured herself that she could do this.
Suddenly she was out of the forest. She shielded her eyes from the bright sunlight and waited for them to adjust. When her vision came back she looked around. She found Sasuke fast asleep on her coat. He looked very peaceful, as if he was having a pleasant dream. She simply didn't have the heart to wake him up. She picked up her basket. Now, what to do with all this food? I can't eat it alone… perhaps Sasuke-kun would like some? Yes, that's it. I'll set up a picnic so that when he wakes up I can apologize over lunch. And maybe get some answers to my questions. She spread the blanket out and began setting out the food. There was bread, ramen, salad, rice cakes, and tea all home made, packaged, and lidded so that it wouldn't spill. She got out the plastic dishes and sorted the food onto them. She poured tea into the cups and set the chopsticks next to the plates.
"Perfect!" she said to no one but herself. "Now I wait." She sat down next to Sasuke. Not ten minutes had passed when he opened his eyes and sat up.
