Aftershock

The Restaurant

No one noticed that anything was wrong with Hinata at first, a side effect of her generally

timid nature off the battlefield. The jounin were at a table amongst themselves, leaving

the students to congregate over four joined tables. Stronger personalities started off the

conversation; after a while groups of kunoichi and shinobi formed over various topics.

Hinata was quiet, merely responding when spoken to, and only with soft, short replies.

She still kept the box with her, fiddling with it throughout the courses and talk. As painful

as it was to be reminded of her break-up, she still could not bear to let go of her last link

to Naruto.

Shino and Kiba both became aware after a while that something was odd, but as their team member simply gave them a "it's nothing I want to talk about" look they did not pursue the matter.

Suddenly Sakura, Ino, and Ten Ten turned to her and said,

"Hey Hinata, we noticed that you've been extra quiet, well more so than usual anyway. Is

because you thought we forgot your birthday? Well, turn that frown upside down girl.

We surprise for you!" Gesturing, everyone took their positions.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY HINATA", cheered every one of her friends. As if waiting for that cue, Kurenai, Kakashi, Asuma and Gai appeared with burst of smoke, and with them was a large lavender cake, magnificently decordated with miscellaneous ninja tools and- Naruto's face in his signature foxy grin! Eyes looked at her expectantly, faces were clearly proud that Hinata was left speechless while gazing at the cake. No one expected that she would cover her face with her sleeves, and turned away from them. A slight sobbing could be heard. Not quite the response they were hoping for. Kurenai was frantic to find out why.

"Is something the matter Hinata?! Whats wrong? I'm sorry if we did anything to offend you. Is it because Naruto is away?" Similar lines were echoed by the rest of the ninja. Recomposing herself, she apologized, determined not to undermine all their efforts.

"Ano, I am truly sorry that I reacted that way. I don't mean to be so- I don't mean to be so weak." The audience drew in close to hear what she had to say. "The truth is, I appreciate what everyone has done for me, please do not see me as ungrateful. However, at the sight of the cake- I could not help but think of earlier…" As quickly and as simply as she could, Hinata related the source of her sadness. She told them about what Naruto had sent her, and the obvious implications behind the kunai. The kunoichi spoke in perfect unison.

"Damn that Naruto!!! He has some nerve, not just breaking up with you but doing this on your birthday too! Don't worry Hinata, we'll make the idiot pay, you can count on it!" The boys, in particular Neji, Kiba and Shino, were of similar mind as they all knew how dearly Hinata regarded Naruto. Shikamaru, however, was suspicious as a genius tends to be with the unusual. Attention turned to him as the chuunin spoke.

"Hold it; let's not do anything too troublesome. Not yet, anyway, (seeing the girls glare at him). Firstly, this is Naruto we're talking about. The guy has a tendency to do dumb things, everyone knows that, but this is simply not his style." Kakashi, who suspected this as well, took over from the young man's deduction.

"Shikamaru has a good point. Also, I find it highly unusual that he sent a message while training with Jiraiya. From what Tsunade-sama told me, his location is supposed to remain anonymous, and sending packages allows his movements to be tracked. Are we saying that Naruto broke the rules for something as nonsensical as this?"

Hinata blinked, and as their logic took effect she felt herself awakening from a nightmare. Of course Naruto-kun, how could I think so poorly of you? Yet, why would you send me something so ominous?

Almost as if this whole day was part of an author's story, a Messenger Ninja made his way towards their group.

"Excuse me! Could anyone tell me who Hyuuga Hinata is? I have an S-rank Priority message for her!" The crowd immediately pointed to the said kunoichi, who stood dumbfounded. The Postal Ninja continued.

"Hyuuga-dono, please answer this security question posed by sender; What is our Way of the Ninja?"

"… To never- to never take back our words…" Hinata softly answered.

"Correct it is, Hyuuga-dono! Please accept this letter from Uzumaki-san". After handing a sealed envelope to Hinata, the courier excused himself. It was Sakura who broke the silence.

"Open it Hinata, don't keep yourself waiting!" she said with a smile. Nodding slowly, Hinata proceeded to read the content, hoping that this mystery could be explained.