He woke up to the sound of knocking on his front door. Each knock was persistent, getting louder by the second.
He was in his living room, having accidentally fallen asleep on his couch. He spent the entire night looking through scrolls and documents about his Hokage studies. It was all very tiring, but he had to keep pushing.
His limbs were sprawled out all over the place, and the awkward position he was in was all but comfortable.
Taking a deep yawn, he dragged himself off the couch. He was tired, hungry, and just wanted to go back to sleep.
After stumbling over a couple of scrolls, he made a beeline towards the door.
Feeling the unwelcomed stranger's chakra signature, Naruto let out an annoyed sigh. He could hear the muffled 'boss' along with the constant banging on the other side of the door. Maybe if he didn't answer, he'll probably go away…
"Boss I know you're in there!" Konohamaru shouts.
Yawning, he opens the door and the Sarutobi questionably eyes him. "Did you forget that you started taijutsu demonstrations today? Ya' know, at the academy? One of the Sensei's told me to come and get you."
Demonstrations...today?
Fuck!
He thought that was next week!
"Did you just wake up? You look like shit by the way." Konohamaru adds in.
Naruto berates himself at his forgetfulness. He stands there awkwardly, scratches his neck, and looks at the teen in his eyes.
"I forgot...can you tell them I'll be there in a few minutes? And don't mention the sleeping part."
"Yeah whatever you say, boss..."
After Konohamaru left, he quickly freshens up and changes into his uniform.
Gods he was hungry, but it'll have to wait. He was already late as it is.
He heads out, leaping throughout the buildings in the village. Konoha was busy as usual, with new businesses, ongoing construction, and a new wave of citizens that were constantly moving in. The fire nation was growing, and it was moving towards an innovative future.
It was all thanks to the Sixth Hokage; Kakashi-sensei paved the way for new possibilities, expanding trade routes and creating more alliances amongst smaller nations. Konoha was becoming more modern, thanks to the advancement of technology as well.
One day, he will be put in his Sensei's position, managing an entire country by himself. Of course, Shikamaru will be there, but he found himself marveling about the differences he could make, or how one mistake could impact the country as a whole.
He pushes the thought aside. He can think about the future later.
Along the way his favorite restaurant catches his eye; Ichiraku Ramen in all of its glory. It looked so inviting, it was teasing him at this point. He stops his movement, his stomach growls with hunger.
Maybe just a few minutes more…
"Hey, boss!"
What the hell? Did Konohamaru already..?
He looks over to where the sound came from. The teen was leaping his way towards him already. Well, that was fast.
"Konohamaru, you stopped by the academy already? What did they say, are they upset with me?" Naruto questions him.
"Well you see, I didn't go straight to the academy when you told me to."
What?
"Then what did you do?!" Naruto was on the verge of panicking. If he was going to be Hokage one day, he can't be showing up late to important events! It's not like teaching students certain moves was important, but his point still stands!
"Well, I was-"
"You know what, I gotta go, I'm already late!" he interrupts Konohamaru and rushes off, leaving the teen stranded on the roof.
Naruto was thankful that it was still early in the morning because that means no fangirls would disrupt his path. He silently prays it would stay like this throughout the day.
It can be a little embarrassing sometimes, especially when he's with his friends. Sakura calls it harassment, but he thinks that considering they all look up to him, it's probably just them being nice...excessively nice.
In a few minutes, Naruto was at the academy, and he was hit with a wave of nostalgia. He failed three times, and once he finally graduated, it felt like a new beginning for him. He felt honored, and a little weird to be teaching at the academy, considering his hardships in the past.
"Look! It's the hero of the Shinobi world!" One kid excitedly shouts.
As he walked towards the gates, the students were already swarming around him, like moths attracted to alight.
"Are we gonna learn some cool Jutsu, Naruto-Sama?" A student calls out.
"My dad says your body turns yellow sometimes, is that true?"
"Why is your arm completely wrapped in bandages?"
"You look like a cat up close."
Okay, this was not what he was expecting.
The kids swarmed around him like hornets taking in their target, stinging him with questions that he didn't know how to answer.
"Alright, that's enough." A voice calls out, and the kids back off of Naruto simultaneously.
Wait a minute , he knows that voice. He turns around to see Shino walking up, and what he thinks to be an amused expression on his face.
"You're late. Why?"
He tries to think of a clever answer, one that doesn't involve him sleeping and forgetting that he had a demonstration today.
"You know what, don't bother telling me. I will let it go for now, but next time be ready beforehand." Shino says in a disappointed tone.
"Heh, yeah sorry Shino...by the way, when did you start working here?" Naruto questions.
"I don't, I'm just volunteering since most of the Jounin are out right now."
"Yeah? Why's that?"
"I'm not sure, but they were offering volunteer hours at the academy, so I happened to apply for the time being."
"Oh? Do you like working with kids Shino? I didn't know that about you!"
"There's a lot of things you seem to not know about me, Naruto," Shino stated matter of factly.
He could feel his cold gaze boring into his eyes.
What a buzzkill.
Naruto frowns. "So uh...should I start now or..?"
"You can start now that you're here, yes."
"Alright! Okay everyone," Naruto looks over to the group of students. "Who wants to learn some cool moves?"
For the first hour, it was pretty fun. He was having a blast with the kids; teaching a bunch of ten-year-olds about the basics of taijutsu wasn't so bad after all. When they took breaks, the kids would sit in a circle around him while he told them stories about the pranks he used to do as a child.
"I wanna paint the first Hokage's face!" Exclaimed one little girl.
"Me too!" said another.
"Don't forget about me!"
So maybe telling stories about pranks to a bunch of ten-year-olds wasn't a good idea. Who knew they were gonna follow in his footsteps? But what does it matter...It's not like they were gonna do it anyway.
"Naruto Nii-chan?" One little boy looks up at him. His dark blue eyes looking up to his own. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Say what? That was so random. Why ask him that? Out of all things to ask him? There was way more stuff to ask, and this was the topic that was brought up.
"Of course he has a girlfriend! And it's not nii-chan , it's sempai . Put some respect on his name!" Shouts one of the other boys defensively. "He has all of those girls chasing after him. The whole village is his girlfriend!"
"That's not how it works you moron," says one girl while rolling her eyes.
"Who ya' callin a moron?"
The last thing he needed was a fight breaking out because of him.
"Okay, everyone! Back to training!"
Another hour went by and soon noon approached. Squeals could be heard from the top balcony of the academy. As time went on, multiple fan girls started showing up, praising his skills, and were even calling for his attention.
"Naruto-san, look up here!"
"Did you get that present I sent you?"
"Look this way, Naruto-san!"
"I don't cook, I also don't clean, but let me tell you, I don't have a ring!" A girl waves her hand around pointing to her bare ring finger. The rest of the girls looked at her and cringed.
He looks up to the balcony in confusion. Did they not know he was teaching at this very moment...as of right now?
Shino steps outside from the building, an annoyed tone saturating his voice, "Alright, that's enough for today everyone."
Naruto was low-key thankful that Shino was ending it early. It was getting rather annoying with the constant squealing.
He made two shadow clones to stay behind, therefore the fangirls couldn't catch up to him.
So he leaves the academy, just in time too.
As he walked, he pondered about his taijutsu and newly acquired teaching skills.
Teaching the students was a success! He couldn't wait for next week, but this time he'll come early. That way he can get breakfast.
Speaking of breakfast, he's even more hungry than he was before.
He starts his path towards his favorite restaurant when he spots Kiba and Sai conversing on a local bench. They were sharing a bento, and Akamaru laid by Kiba's side, taking a nap.
Naruto waves, making his way towards them. "Hey! What are you guys up to?"
"Well, if it isn't Konoha's favorite idiot!" Kiba gives him a fist bump, a toothy grin etched on his features.
Sai nods his head and gives a smile. "Hello, Naruto. We're just taking a break from patrol."
Naruto sits down on the bench next to them. It was nice out today, with a clear blue sky and a nice breeze that flowed through the trees. It smelled of fresh air and nature. The sounds of people laughing and children playing surrounded his ears.
There were no threats. It was calm and sincere. This was peace.
His stomach growls. He could go for some ramen right now.
"Patrol? For what?" the Uzumaki questions.
Kiba looks at him dumbfounded. "I swear Naruto, you talk about becoming the Hokage but half the time you don't even know what's going on around you."
Sai nods in agreement.
He sighs. "Just tell me already."
"We're just keeping watch on the borders for now since a new wave of people is coming through. Konoha grows every day, but in the past few days, a lot of people have been entering for some reason. Gotta keep a lookout." Kiba explains.
Naruto thinks of reasons as to why. "Do you guys know why?"
"Why would we know?" Kiba rolls his eyes, "maybe they want to see the hero of the Shinobi world."
"Nah, they probably just like it here, y'know?"
"Then you, my friend, just answered your question."
"Huh-how? You're an ass."
"Guess you would know best, huh?" Kiba smirks. Naruto frowns.
Whatever .
He got you there.
Shut up Kurama.
He hears Kurama's snickering fading in the depths of his mind.
His stomach growls. He keeps forgetting that he needs to eat.
He looks down to the bento in Sai's lap. There was only a rice ball left. "Can I have that? I didn't have anything to eat all morning."
Sai picks up the rice ball and eats it right in front of him. "No. If you're so hungry, then why don't you buy yourself rice balls?"
"Kiba you see this shit?" Naruto turns to Kiba to see him stifle a laugh.
"We didn't eat anything all morning either," Kiba says eventually.
"Well that's just great" Naruto frowns, crossing his arms.
"Get over it you loser, there are so many new restaurants open anyways. So you can at least steer yourself away from that ramen shop now and then and go to a bakery or something."
"Who needs a bakery when you have ramen?"
"There's a lot of cute girls that work at bakeries." The Inuzuka says thoughtfully.
"Ino said that a lot of female workers who work at bakeries tend to cling around male customers," Sai adds in.
Kiba leans back onto the bench, resting his eyes, a slight tug at the corners of his lips. "Speaking of girls, I have a date with Tamaki tonight."
Sometimes when he talks with Kiba, the topic of girls and sex always sneaks its way into their conversations. He doesn't even know how the topic comes up because they talk about random shit all the time. But it just does. And he finds himself slightly uncomfortable with the topic.
"I have a couple of magazines that explain-"
"Sai we talked about this already!" Kiba interrupts, "I'm experienced. The ladies just can't get enough of me."
So is he with Tamaki for the fun of it or…
"But this one's different! We've been talking for a while now, and I kinda like her."
Scratch that thought.
"Yeah?" Naruto urges him to continue.
"She's a real gem. She got Akamaru a bunch of treats and some other stuff too, so he took a liking to her real quick. It seems like I'm gonna have to tell all the other girls to back off" Kiba boasts.
Naruto rolls his eyes.
"You have chicks at your doorstep 24/7," Kiba muses. "You should've at least gotten some by now."
Here we go again.
And it didn't help that Sai was here either.
"Considering the number of girls that are after you and your immaturity, I would have thought that you would have experience, Naruto. " Sai adds in.
Naruto knows he could practically have anyone in the village. He has fangirls everywhere he goes, and it became rather annoying. He used to do stupid things to get attention when he was younger because he was lonely, he craved human interaction.
But now that he has it, he couldn't help but feel blasé about the attention he was receiving. He finally understood Sasuke's annoyance at it all.
Wait, did he just call me immature?
"Though it wouldn't be a shock if you haven't. You honestly don't seem like the type to go through the entire village" Kiba snickers. "Are you the type of person that waits for marriage or somethin'?"
Naruto shifted his weight from side to side, "Uh not really..." he states with a bored tone, hoping the conversation would end soon.
"I mean, considering your Sensei's, I thought they would've rubbed off on you" Kiba adds.
"Yeah, but I'm not a perv!" What is up with people and thinking he was a perv?
So he peeped around bathhouses when he was younger, and what about it?
"So you're telling me that you haven't even thought about bringing a girl to your place? You don't have casual hookups here and there? I know you thought about it! Don't try and lie to me because I know you!" Kiba interrogates.
Naruto has thought about bringing a girl over maybe once or twice. Scratch that- he thought about it often. He ogled the female body as shameful as it was, but he couldn't help it. He had hormones that led to sexual frustrations. It's not like he could do anything about it, he was a guy. He had certain desires…
But he told himself he wouldn't act on them. He didn't know these girls, and they didn't know him. He didn't want to use them for sex, he just wasn't that type of person.
He wanted to push those feelings aside and focus on himself. And even if he does get sexually frustrated, he can just pleasure himself.
He can't even lie, those short seconds of ecstasy when he reaches a climax feels good. Maybe he could choose a random girl, get to know her a little bit, and just go from there ... but he tells himself that it isn't worth it. Maybe he should do this with the right person? He doesn't know. The feeling of pleasure is nice, but once the high is gone, he's left with either the feeling of contentment or a feeling of loneliness. No in-between.
He does hate these conversations. His non-existent sex life just proves how lonely he is, so he sighs and agrees with him. "You're right, I have. But I don't want to use girls for sex. I just don't...yeah it's not my thing, y'know?"
"Naruto is making a good choice here. Imagine if he did take advantage of girls and used them for sex. I would think that his reputation would foster the image of a man-whore. Rumors would begin to spread, considering how much girls gossip, and that could easily ruin his image." Sai states.
"Woah! For once Sai says something convenient. Fuck, I didn't even think about that. Ha, you couldn't even get girls if you wanted to without ruining your reputation" Kiba teases.
"Shut the hell up you mutt!" Naruto yells. "I said I wasn't gonna act on it!"
Kiba shakes his head. "Whatever you say I guess."
Naruto nods his head in resolve. Hopefully, the conversation would be dropped by now, but just in case, he looks over to Sai.
"So uh, how are you and Ino doing?"
"Yeah she's giving you a hard time, ain't she? Blondes tend to be annoying" Kiba smirks at Naruto, who shoots a glare his way.
"Uh, we're good. I mean, our sex life is great if that's what you're wondering" Sai smiles.
Kiba feigns a gagging sound. "Yeah, look bud. That was too much info. We didn't need to know all of that."
"But it wasn't? I didn't go into detail-"
"Nope!" the Inuzuka shakes his head. "Nuh-uh, new conversation!"
Finally…
Kiba turns his head towards the jinchuriki and smirks. "How are things with you and Hinata?"
Huh? "Um, fine I guess? Why'd ya ask?"
"Oh well, I dunno...I just thought you guys got a bit closer after the war."
Closer?
"Yes," Sai starts "I remember seeing you guys together at that ramen place that you have an unhealthy obsession with."
Were we not close before…?
"Yeah and what about it?" Naruto questions. It was just lunch with a friend? What was so confusing about that?
Now that he thought about it, the last time he saw Hinata was two weeks ago when he took her home. That's kind of a long time.
He recalls back to the previous conversation he had with her.
" it's been a couple of weeks since we all hung out, hasn't it?"
"Yeah, but once this is all over, we'll go back to our regular lives."
And this is what he meant. Even though he doesn't see his friends all the time, the universe finds a way to bring them together, yet he hasn't seen Hinata since the outing.
When he wasn't training with his team, he sometimes trained with team Gai. He works with Shikamaru on Hokage work/studies. Ino is always with Sai or around Sakura, so that's that. He likes to challenge Choji on who can eat the most bowls at Ichiraku's, even though he loses every time. And surprisingly enough, he bumps into Shino pretty often because...he's just there . In the span of two weeks, he's seen all of them at least a few times, so where was she?
"No need to get all defensive about it, we're just asking," Kiba smirks.
"Oh, well um...I haven't seen her in a while, but I think we're good."
"You think ?" questions Sai.
"Uh...yeah?" the Uzumaki thinks. This is a weird conversation. Should he check on Hinata? He thinks about the Hyuga's whereabouts.
"Have you guys seen her?" He questions.
"I've said hi to her passing by," Sai remarks.
"Obviously dipshit she's my teammate!" Kiba deadpans.
"Huh...well I haven't seen her, but I'll probably run into her sooner or later y'know," he reasons. They both have busy schedules anyway, considering that they are Shinobi. Besides, they agreed on a spar with each other. That's right!
"That's right, we have a spar session coming up!" He beams. Maybe he should see if she can spar right now. Or if she would like to go out for ramen because he's pretty hungry. It's not like he was doing anything as of right now, except for talking to these two bozos. He turns to Kiba. "You're her teammate, do you know where she is right now?"
"Eh, most likely in a clan meeting. Those things go on for hours."
"I thought she wasn't the heir anymore? Why would she need to attend that?"
"You know, for someone who plans to be the future Hokage, you happen to be a dumbass," Sai inquires.
"Baha! You are a dumbass! Sometimes you need to learn how to put two and two together." Kiba laughs. Naruto frowns at this. Why was he a dumbass? He can say one thing and he would automatically be called an idiot or dense. If Hinata were here she would defend him, like she always does. A tiny smile forms on his lips at the thought.
After Kiba cools down from his laughter, he elaborates that it's a clan meeting and that the majority of the Hyuga's attend to discuss clan matters.
"Plus, she's still the daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, I'm pretty sure she has to go, whether she likes it or not," Kiba adds.
"Kiba," Sai notions, "we should get back to patrol."
"Yeah, yeah, I know." Kiba sighs as he starts to get up. "You should go find Hinata. See what she's up to if you aren't doing anything."
"Yeah! See you guys later!"
He heads off to the Hygua compound and reaches the front gates. He knocks on the front door and waits. No answer . He knocks on the door a few more times, wondering if those clan meetings were still in session.
He doesn't know why, but he's suddenly excited to see her. Ramen with Hinata is always fun.
His stomach gurgles. Ramen.
He was about to leave until the door suddenly opened. A woman who resembled Hinata greeted him: signature Hyuga eyes and pale skin. However, her hair was dark green and short, and she wore a maid outfit.
"Uh hi, um...is Hinata here? Sorry if I disturbed anything" He says sheepishly.
"Hinata-Sama left out this morning and hasn't returned."
Huh.
"Do you by any chance happen to know where she went?"
"My apologies, but no."
"Nah it's okay, but thanks though!"
He leaves the compound and thinks about Hinata's whereabouts. Maybe he'll bump into her along the way?
It was still the afternoon, and surprisingly there were no fangirls around. He strolls along the street and is greeted by a few citizens and fellow Shinobi.
He sees Ichiraku Ramen. It's right there just a few stores down. He speeds his walking pace, he was not stopping for anything this time. He needs his daily intake of ramen.
However, he does stop, because a certain bluenette caught his eye. He locks eyes on her- it's her; she was kneeling, comforting a little girl who was crying. Her lavender eyes were full of sympathy as her hand was wiping away the girl's tears.
He decides to approach them, although quietly so he wouldn't disturb them. He shuffled around the street to get to her, absentmindedly excusing the people around him. As he got closer, he watched as her eyes abruptly moved to his and then back to the girl. When he was close enough, he listened in on their conversation.
"I don't h-have any money" the little girl sobbed. Naruto looked up to the building they're standing in front of. It was a toy shop; a new addition to Konoha. In the window was a doll.
"I could buy it for you, y'know." Naruto suddenly blurts out.
Hinata looks at him, a puzzled look on her delicate face. The little girl stops crying and looks at him, her tears staining his face. "Y-you would do that?"
"Sure! Is that what you're crying about?
The little girl sniffs. "Y-yes…"
He crouches down and takes a good look at her. She looked dirty, her clothes were torn and she didn't have shoes on her feet. It's almost as if she was homeless or something. He looked into her grey eyes, they were red and puffy from crying. Her black hair was dirty and matted.
Hinata must've seen the look on his face because she began to explain the situation.
"She's new; a refugee from one of the smaller countries that were ruined from war. She's supposed to be at the orphanage right now, but she escaped."
Hinata stands up, and he stands with her. She leans in close, and he can smell her perfume.
Vanilla.
Sweet, elegant, and a little exotic. Yet it was a comforting smell, coming from her. And it smells really good.
"We have to return her, Naruto-Kun…" she whispers so the girl wouldn't hear.
Naruto didn't like orphanages, to him, they weren't reliable. But then again he didn't like being alone either and she needed someone to take care of her.
No one deserves to be alone. Ever.
He looks back down at the girl.
"What's your name?"
"M-Mei."
"Do you have a last name?" he questions.
She doesn't respond.
He bends down to her level and gives her his softest expression. "Is somebody looking for you?"
"I don't know…"
Okay. Some progress. "Are you staying at the orphanage?"
She nods her head.
"Can we take you back then? You can't be out here all alone, y'know."
Again, no response.
Now she's just making this hard for him. He's hungry. The poor guy just wants to eat with his friend that he hasn't seen in a while. So, he comes up with a solution:
"If you agree to return to the orphanage, I'll buy you that doll right now."
Mei looks up, looks at the doll in the window, and looks back towards him.
Come on, come on, come on…say yes.
She whispers out a small "okay."
He smirks inwardly.
Heh . He can't even deny it; he was the king of talk no-Jutsu after all.
"Awesome," he smiles at the little girl and looks up to Hinata. "Come with us, please?"
A pink tint lightly dusts her cheeks as she agrees to come along with them.
After buying the doll, they took a mini trip to the orphanage. Mei tightly wrapped her arms around the doll, as if it would fly away.
He felt good knowing he did this for the little girl. Maybe she would find comfort in this toy, and it would be there through these tough times with her.
One of the workers there thanked them for finding her and took Mei inside. He waves goodbye, and with Hinata, they start their walk in the direction they came from.
"I want to thank you for helping me out with her. What you did was nice, Naruto-Kun. I wasn't sure what to do with Mei," Hinata says to him.
"If it wasn't for Mei, I probably wouldn't have run into you. You can share your gratitude by coming to Ichiraku with me," he grins, "I haven't seen you in a while, y'know."
He looks at her, only for her to shift her gaze away from him. Again, he can see a faint glow of pink on her cheeks. He's a little confused, but she suddenly answers.
"I haven't seen you in a while either, Naruto-Kun."
He smiles at this. She's cute when she turns a different shade of color. It happens at the most random times.
His stomach grows for the umpteenth time today.
"So is that a yes?"
She nods.
Good .
He takes her hand in his, he can't wait any longer, and his strides become longer and faster. There will be no stops this time.
They made it to Ichiraku Ramen and were greeted by Teuchi and Ayame. They order the usual, miso pork ramen, and after his fourth bowl, he can finally relax.
"Ahh.. that hit the spot," he smiles at Hinata, noticing her half-finished bowl.
She looked like she was spaced out, deep in thought. She usually finishes her first bowl when he starts on his second.
He's seen this look before when they were at war; when he came to her aid but she felt down because she wanted to be the one to protect him, not the other way around. It was a look of self-doubt, uncertainty, a little distant even.
He catches a whiff of her scent again, it temporarily tickles his nostrils, but then it quickly disappears.
He shouldn't be thinking of this right now. He needed to comfort his friend.
So he decides to ask her what's wrong.
"It's nothing really…you don't have to worry about me."
"But I do. Why wouldn't I? You're important to me. You can tell me what's wrong."
He catches her eyes slightly widening at the response, but she reverses back to her previous expression. She seems reluctant to tell him, but after a few long seconds, she finally speaks.
"Naruto-Kun, you know that I'm not the heir anymore…"
"Yeah?" he urges her to continue.
"And you probably know that someone like me doesn't want to stay a Kunoichi forever…"
Well yeah, Shinobi retire all the time. He keeps this thought to himself.
Regarding her emotions, he silently waits for her to go on.
"You have a future going for you...and so does everyone else."
Where is she even going with this?
She seemed so distracted. He curses himself, unsure of what to say to her.
"I don't have anything going for me…" she says just above a whisper.
What?
"Hinata, I'm sorry but I don't understand." He looks at her, trying to figure out what's going on.
Her head is down, her gaze fixed on the half-eaten bowl of ramen in front of her. "It seems like nobody understands."
Huh? Still seated, he turns his body towards her. His eyes take in her side profile and his brows furrow into a concerned expression. This was so...out of character for her. At least to him, it was. He knows that she wasn't always the assertive type, but…to say that he doesn't understand her? Or anyone for that matter...
"Hinata."
Silence.
He frowns at this. "Hinata, look at me."
Silence.
"Hinata…?"
More silence.
Is this why she hasn't been around him lately? Is she...depressed?
He doesn't know what to do with her. She's not even being straightforward with him, so how is he supposed to figure it out if she won't talk it out with him.
He becomes frustrated and acts before thinking; he gently moves his bandaged hand to cup her chin, and he softly turns her head so that she is looking directly at him.
She looks at him with wide eyes now, and her face turns a light shade of red. At least she's working again.
He keeps his fingers on her chin, his thumb absently caressing her cheek.
"I'm sorry for not understanding you Hinata...I don't want you to think that I don't an important friend to me, and if you tell me what's going on, I promise to listen, y'know?" He lets go of her chin now that she is paying attention to him.
Hinata looks at him, and he hopes that she understood the message he was trying to convey.
"I just...I don't know what I have going for me in the future. It seems like everyone has a career to look forward to, except for me."
"How do you know everyone is certain of their future, besides me that is?"
"I don't know..."
Hm, okay. Why was this bothering her anyways? Did somebody say something to fuck with her mind? He'll figure it out later.
He knew that Hinata was capable of many things, she was so strong, and brave and caring, and nice. She would be perfect for anything she puts her mind to.
"I think you're amazing at anything you do. Besides being a Shinobi, you have a lot of skills that are essential to everyday life that I don't even have."
"Oh no, you're very-"
"Nope. This isn't about me," Naruto interrupts. He places both of his hands on her shoulders and stares into her lavender eyes. He needed to get this through her head. "Hinata, I don't want you to think that after retiring you have nothing going for you because you do. I know you. You're one of the best girls that I know. You are capable of anything you put your mind to. And maybe you're unsure of what to do next- that's fine. I can- no, I will help you. Because that's my nindo, y'know?" He flashes what he hopes to be a reassuring smile.
When she doesn't respond, his heart rate slightly increases.
She looks at him, and he thinks he's being helpful, at least she's thinking about it.
"Okay, what's one thing that comes to mind that you like to do?"
"I like to bake," Hinata says thoughtfully.
"If you like to cook, you can probably own a restaurant! Kinda similar to old man Teuchi's!"
"I have thought about taking a part-time job at a bakery."
He recalls what Sai said earlier in the day.
' A lot of female workers who work at bakeries tend to cling around male customers.'
His face automatically hardens.
"No."
She whips up and stares at him, probably not expecting that answer. Maybe... that was probably a shitty thing to say, but...
"I mean, don't get me wrong Hinata, your cooking is probably the best. But maybe you should find something else, y'know..."
That sounds so wrong. It sounds like he's telling her to ignore her passion, to give up this dream and find another one. And he feels a little guilty for that. But he's doing it for a good cause. Also, he knows she's good at other stuff too.
He knows Hinata wouldn't flirt with her customers; she's too pure for that. Her flirting with other men is just something she wouldn't do, it's practically taboo. He just knows she wouldn't. Just the thought alone doesn't sit right with him.
She's too innocent to mess with other men, especially at the workplace. Such thoughts wouldn't even occur in her mind because of how noble she is. He knows he can trust her on that.
But it's not about what she would do...it's mostly about the customers. What if those men took advantage of her, knowing that women who work at bakeries were easy? They may get the wrong idea and try to make a move or something.
Any good friend who knows what's best for Hinata would tell her not to work there, so he does.
"Have you heard about the things that people have been saying about female workers at bakeries?"
"No, I haven't...is it something bad?"
"Sai, who got this from Ino, said something about female workers who work at bakeries has a bad reputation for themselves."
"What kind of reputation?" Hinata questions.
Okay, now he has to watch what he says. He doesn't want her to think that he thinks she would mess around with other guys.
"Well, it has something to do with flirting and...yeah, but I'm not saying that you would do something like that. It's just that…" Other men would try something with you .
Maybe he didn't think this entire answer through, because now it just sounds like he's controlling her love life. What was he even saying, she can flirt with whoever she wants, it's her life! But then again it's Hinata.
She looks at him, waiting for him to continue. And for a second, he takes a good look at her.
He knew she had a nice body. He saw the curves she had. He knew that under all of the baggy clothing she wore were full breasts, a small waist, and round hips. The way she fills out her mission gear proved her femininity.
He doesn't know why, but sometimes his eyes would involuntarily drift to her body. He swears he doesn't do it on purpose, but he can't stop. He knows it's wrong to look at a friend like this. He doesn't look at his other female friends this way, It's only her. Maybe it's because he knows that she probably wouldn't do anything if he's caught, but that still didn't give him the right to just stare at her in that way.
So yeah, she would be targeted. She doesn't need to know much more on the matter.
So he switches the conversation. "You know what, scratch that conversation. You love kids right? Have you ever considered working at the academy?"
He knows she's a little confused by the sudden switch of topic, but she lets it go.
They talk a little while longer about her interests and possible career opportunities. He notices that she looks much better than she previously did, meaning that he's doing something right, and he's glad that she didn't ask him to elaborate on the previous conversation they had.
After 20 minutes or so they pay for their orders and start to part ways.
"I'm still waiting on that spar y'know," he says at her.
She looks at him with a smile on her lips. "Are you free tomorrow morning? We could spar then."
"Yeah! Be prepared Hinata, I won't go easy on you."
She giggles at his response, "don't take me so lightly, Naruto-Kun."
"Is that a threat?" he challenges.
She only smiles at him even more, shifting her gaze. "It was nice seeing you today…"
His chest tightens. It was nice seeing her today. "You too. I'll see you okay?"
"Goodbye Naruto-Kun."
He smiles. He watches her walk in the direction of the compound for a little bit, and then he heads off to the Hokage tower.
On his way there, he couldn't stop thinking about tomorrow. Training with new people was always fun.
' Don't take me so lightly, Naruto-Kun.'
He smirks at the thought. She seemed so smug about it.
We'll see about that.
