Hinata P.O.V.
That night I couldn't sleep. I had come back to the compound in the most euphoric state. After the meet up with Naruto, Tenten and I had spent our remaining time talking about her mission before she had to leave to meet Neji. Though she would never say it out loud, I knew she was excited to see him again. Their friendship was strange and almost impossible for me to understand. Tenten is very caring and compassionate. She's funny and quick witted, always so fast with a comeback. Tenten flirts and can be somewhat of heart breaker. Neji was the complete opposite. He was no nonsense and insipid. But they spent hours together outside of the required team meetings. Neji, on multiple occasions, has stated that he would only train with Tenten though not for personal reasons but because she was the most qualified which was as close to a personal emotion as he was willing to go. Even though the pair was an unlikely match, it made Tenten unbelievably happy to be with Neji.
I had tossed and turned all night thinking about what I would wear and what I would say to Naruto when I saw him again. I practiced my speech and hoped to god that I could avoid stuttering. It was a result of my own nervousness and anxiety but maybe if I calmed myself down enough I wouldn't trip over the syllables.
When morning finally came I had only gotten an hour of sleep but it didn't matter. My own thrill was enough to give me the energy for the day. I ran through my chores as quickly as I could have until finally Hanabi had stepped off the mat. I didn't even wait for her to leave the room before heading back to my own. I dressed in the clothes I had laid out the night before and checked myself in the mirror to make sure I looked appropriate. Grabbing a small money pouch, I opened my door. To my surprise my sister was standing outside.
"Is something the matter sister?" She looked at me stoically. I gasped. Hanabi and I were never close not for lack of trying. From early on the elders could tell that Hanabi was the more talented out of the two sisters. They had separated us, unintentionally, for a very long time in order for her to make progress. There was a year where I had only seen her once a week. Though I had tried a few times to strike up conversation, she seemed uninterested in my words or in me. We never had a sisterly loving relationship. I suspected at times she even looked down upon me. So for her to ask such a question came as a shock.
"I-I-I d-don't know wh-what you mean?" I said shakily moving past her, locking the door behind me.
"You seemed in a rush."
"M-Merely l-l-looking f-forward to meeting T-Tenten-san."
"Oh. Be more focused tomorrow morning please." She turned away and walked down the hall into her own room. I was a little taken aback by the conversation but I didn't have time to pursue it further. I wanted to be at the stall early in case he had shown up sooner than we planned.
I stood at the front gates of the compound waiting for Tenten. She was adamant about meeting the new man, insisting that he be Tenten approved first before I go falling in love.
"Are you waiting for someone, Hinata-sama?" Asked the unnaturally calm man who stood a few feet away. I hadn't heard him arrive and his words startled me. He stared straight in my direction but avoided eye contact.
"Y-Yes. I a-am w-w-waiting for T-Tenten-san." I stuttered. Neji respectfully nodded and moved closer to the gates. He glanced outside.
"She will be here soon." I didn't ask how he knew. His eyes told me everything.
"T-Thank y-you. Would you c-care t-to stay an-nd greet h-her?" I already knew the answer.
"No. I'm sorry to leave but I am needed elsewhere." Neji replied without a hint of emotion. "Excuse me. I expect Hiashi-sama is waiting for me."
Neji left dutifully back into the compound.
Tenten came moments later and was immediately let in through the main gate. The guards formally announced her arrival and escorted her to where I was. They gave a low bow before heading back to their posts. As Tenten walked in her eyes scanned her surroundings. Even though she would never tell me, I knew she was looking for whether or not Neji was around. Seeing that he was nowhere in sight, she turned to me.
"Let's go Hinata. I can't wait to meet him!" Tenten hastily grabbed my hand as we ran through the gates. She seemed as excited as I was. I suppose she was happy that I had finally taken an interest in meeting new people, a boy in particular.
Naruto P.O.V.
Sun light hit my eyes the moment they opened. It blinded me for a couple seconds. Stuffing the pillows over my head, I laid in bed a little longer. I imagined soft pink hair and green eyes. During the nights I dreamt about Sakura and during the days I longed to see her. It hurt knowing she'd never really like me and even if she did it would either be out of pity or desperation. She liked Sasuke. I threw my pillow across the room and furiously tugged my shirt over my head. What a fucking prick. Here I was training to bring him back and I knew the moment I did Sakura would fall right into his arms as if nothing had even happened. That asshole could have burned down the entire country and he would still be a god in the eyes of Sakura Haruno.
I shot out of bed.
"Fuck this." I mumbled. I threw on a pair a pants and shuffled over to Jiraiya's bed. The covers were made and a note was laid delicately on the pillow.
We'll train at 2 pm today. Meet me back here around then.
"Asshole didn't even wake me up." I furiously kicked his bed.
"Jiraiya!" I screamed into the air. " I hope you get so drunk you end up sleeping with a man!"
I grabbed breakfast from the kitchen and sat on Jiraiya's bed. As I was chowing down noodles, I looked at the clock. 11:36. An unnerving feeling that I was forgetting something important washed over me and I paused for a second before taking another bite. I kept eating while watching the clock tick. A few minutes passed by and as my mind wandered a particular image came to mind. Pearly white eyes flashed through my thoughts. It hit me.
"Shit! The girl from the bazaar!" I grabbed my jacket and rushed to the door. Just as I was about to leave, I ran back to Jiraiya's bed and shoved my remaining breakfast under his pillow.
Hinata P.O.V.
It took us quite a while to figure out where the original stall was located. At exactly 11 o'clock we were at the apple stall. I apologized to the vendor and paid him triple what the apple was worth. But the boy, Naruto, was nowhere to be found. So I then thought it was the other stall where he had stopped me that he was referring too.
My hands wouldn't stay still almost as if they were hyperventilating for me. What if this was just a fluke and he wasn't going to show up? What if he was just being polite and didn't really mean to meet me again? I was having trouble paying attention to what Tenten was saying.
"Hey he's not here either."
"Maybe he's back at the apple place?" I suggested. We spent the next half hour walking back and forth between the two stalls. Beside me Tenten was starting to get agitated.
"Maybe he's a no show." Tenten sighed in exasperation. She sat down at a nearby table and rolled her eyes. "Let's forget about this kid and go get you that new shawl you were looking at."
"No." I said with determination.
"Jeez Hinata's really got the hots for this guy." Tenten mocked me. She jabbed her boney fingers into my side causing me to giggle.
By our fifth walk around we strolled a little slower and took some time to stop and chat with Tenten's various acquaintances. A few boys she knew from academy had come around to say hi and Tenten spent a few minutes catching up with them. During their conversation, I stopped to look at a pair of green earrings. Suddenly Tenten grabbed my arms.
"Is that him?!" She pointed, her mouth open, to a man with spiked hair who was wearing the same jacket as the day before. He looked more flawless than I remembered. Naruto turned our way and waved.
Naruto P.O.V.
I had rushed over to the stall pushing past people and definitely angering passersby. But I felt so bad. I mean I was the one who asked her to hang out and here I was completely forgetting our plans.
I almost passed the stall if it wasn't for the loud shout from behind me.
"HEY KID!" I turned around to see the burly man from the day before calling me over to his apple stall. When I came closer he threw me an apple which I caught with surprise. I raised an eyebrow.
"It's to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn't have been so rough." He looked at me with a grin on his face. "Don't worry, eat up!"
Cautiously at first, I took a hasty bite of the apple.
"These are really really good man."
"Thanks kid. My wife and I have a farm a little while South of here. It's not much but we make enough off of it." The vendor began to regale me with a tale about farm life and working with his wife. I was half paying attention. As he delved deeper into his story, I scanned around hoping to find the girl from yesterday. Though I was half an hour late for some reason I expected her to stay and wait for me. It was a little selfish but I some part of me really hoped to make a stable friendship for once in my life.
"She was here a few times." I broke out of my thoughts. The man stared directly at me with an all-knowing look. "She'll be making another round I'm sure so don't worry."
For the first time I smiled at him and took a larger bite from the apple. We talked for some time about his life and joked about the events of the previous day. Throughout the conversation I made sure to keep look out for Hinata and I finally saw her in the crowd. She was with a girl with chocolate brown hair tied in two buns on top of her head. The girl had pointed at me and I began to wave. They walked slowly towards me.
"Hey!" I shouted to them rushing to close the distance. I must have walked too quickly because I almost tripped over a small rock. I caught myself before I fell but I was within a few inches from her face. I took the opportunity to apologize. Grabbing both shoulders, I leaned in closer until I was looking straight into her eyes.
"I am so so so incredibly sorry for being late. I don't know what I was thinking it just slipped my mind! You're not mad right?" I asked trying to do my best to convey my apology. She turned the color of a bright red tomato and almost as if in slow motion I saw her eyes slowly close and her body begin to collapse. Her friend shouted in surprise. Before she could fall though I quickly grabbed her.
"What the hell did you do?!" The other girl shouted. She looked absolutely furious as she took Hinata out of my arms and pulled her over to a nearby bench. After seating Hinata down, she whipped around to shoot me daggers. I honestly had no clue what had happened but clearly fainting wasn't something Hinata did often.
"I-I-I don't know what happened. Is she okay?" I moved to sit next to her. The friend pushed me away and took my seat instead.
"Stop being useless and go get some water!" She commanded me pointing towards a nearby fountain. I looked at her in exasperation. Who was she too order me around? But with little choice I begrudgingly rushed to the fountains and scooped some of the cool water into my cupped hands. Carefully I walked over to the girl as she dipped long thing fingers into the water and splashed them onto Hinata's face. Delicate eyelids began to flutter.
"Hina are you okay?!" The brunette questioned with panic in her voice. It took Hinata a few second to process her surroundings. She looked at me then looked away very quickly. Hinata turned to her friend.
"I-I-I'm ok-okay Tenten." Hinata grabbed her friend's hand in reassurance. I moved in closer to make my presence.
"Oh thank god! Jeez whydya have to scare us like that?" I laughed. Her friend continue to glare at me but Hinata giggled. Upon hearing her laughter, the friend's scowl lessened.
"N-Naruto-kun, th-this i-is my f-f-friend Tenten-san." The brunette placed her hand out and I quickly shook it. I was in a bit of a shock. No one in my entire life had ever called me 'Naruto-kun'. It seemed foreign to hear someone use the suffix.
"Uh, I'm Naruto. Nice to meet you." Tenten scoffed and crossed her arms as she leaned back against the frame of the bench. I tried to ignore her behavior. "So what do you guys usually do here?"
Tenten laughed haughtily.
"Well we're in a bazaar so probably shop." Her tone was meant to patronize me but I wasn't going to let her get to me. I didn't know why but this girl did not like me very much.
"Alright so why don't you show me some of the stall you like best?" I aimed my question towards Hinata who just nodded her head and got up off of the bench. She walked next to me as Tenten followed silently behind us. As I tried to talk to Hinata, I could feel her friend's eagle eyes watching me with fierce protection. With my best attempt, I ignored her glare and began questioning Hinata on the area. She was very quiet and slow to respond and her mumbling forced me to move closer to her and as I did I could feel Tenten's anger intensified.
Finally we stopped at a small open market where Hinata meandered silently past the stalls. Tenten stopped us on occasion to talk to some of the merchants or other patrons. She broke out of her angry state and turned into an incredibly animated and friendly person. I was completely confused as to why she was acting like such a...witch… to just me. I tuned out her behavior and focused back on Hinata. She seemed to have recovered though her face was still a bright pink. She gave most of her attention towards a small bracelet.
"So is she always this...hostile?" Hinata looked up at me with a confused expression. I nodded my head towards Tenten who was currently smiling at a group of young girls.
"I-I-I d-don't underst-stand?"
"Nevermind." I said quickly as Tenten started to approach us. She grabbed the bracelet from Hinata's hands and examined it.
"It's cute." She started. "But I find that I don't like things that are too...flashy." She casually glanced at me as a smirk played on her lips. She was quickly becoming way to annoying.
"You sure you don't have somewhere else to be?" I chimed innocently. She scoffed and gave the bracelet back to Hinata.
"Nope no where else but here." She challenged. Her eyes looked past me to a clock hanging in the tent behind me. They widened with surprise.
"Shit! I have to go. Damn it Neji's going to kill me!" She took off down the street. I stood there in amazement.
"What just happened?"
"M-My c-c-cousin is her sp-sparring partner. He is st-strict." She watched as Tenten disappeared into the distance.
"So whaddya want to do now?" I asked as we continued to walk.
"Th-There are s-some st-street performances y-you might enjoy." She said nodding towards a group of mix matched people dressed in strange clothing. I took her word for it and followed her lead.
A/N: So how are you feeling about this chapter? You liked it? You hated it? Leave me a review to let me know