Chapter Twenty Two
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Hinata lay, with her face pressed against the dark blue blankets that covered her bed. She was taking in irregular breaths but she mentally convinced herself she was alright.
Feeling as though she were pushing herself to the limit, she forced herself to sit up. She took off her jacket and let her fingers run up and down her bruised sides.
Just laying a finger on the sore areas shot pain through her body. She would be fine in a couple of hours though.
Hinata smiled, though she actually didn't do anything she felt a sense of self-achievement.
Now that she was alone, she had some things to tend to. At first she struggled to stand on her feet but once she did it became easy for her to walk.
Hinata picked up her pace and soon began running to her bathroom.
When she was inside, she securingly shut and locked the door behind her.
Looking around the sink at first, she failed to find what she was looking for. Then she tried in the bathtub.
There she found her secret comfort.
Shaking hands tightly gripped the razor. Holding it with her right hand, she forced it against her left wrist.
At first no blood poured so she was forced to press harder. When Hinata felt the sharp razor edge tear down into her skin, she made a sideway motion.
Carefully she drew her hand away so she could watch the crimson liquid flow over arm.
After a few minutes, she soon became bored with the no longer new sensation and wiped herself clean.
She walked out of her bathroom, after cleaning the bloody razor off too.
She gently let herself fall back onto her bed. Looking at her clock which laid on the dresser beside her bed, she sighed as it read a quarter past 10.
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Hinata awoke to the same buzzing of the alarm clock that woke her up every other morning.
She instantly jumped up but regretted it when the pain gained from the previous night made itself unforgotten.
Hinata let out a hushed moan when her still very sore body was stretched.
Today she was scheduled for training today with her team. That reminded her.
"Kiba-kun ..." She muttered.
There was nothing she could think of to say to him. An apology would work but, what reason did she have to apologize ?
Kiba was a nice person but he could be so childish at times ...
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Hinata continued walking. The faint smell of rain was recognizable as she passed the family gardens.
She enjoyed walking here every morning.
She decided she should probably leave now before she got to caught up and was late.
It wasn't too long after she started walking her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten breakfeast.
While she kept walking, there was only one place she could think of to get a meal and it somewhat disturbed her.
Everytime she went to the Ichiraku noodle shop, she saw Naruto there. She liked to see him but everytime she did ... it was a difficult thing to explain.
There was a chance he wouldn't be there. A very, very, very, small chance, but a chance.
Taking a deep breath, she entered.
She looked around sadly. Nobody was there, no customers atleast.
Taking her seat she politely ordered.
The owner cheerily placed the bowl of Miso soup in front of her along with a pair of chopsticks.
"Thank you." She said while picking up her chopsticks.
He gave a friendly smile but it quickly faded as he stared at her with a blank expression.
"What did you do ?" He managed to say while grabbing her wrist roughly.
Hinata gasped at his actions.
She looked to her arm in horror. How could she not have noticed ? It must have kept bleeding through the night. But how could she had not noticed the blood stains on her jacket sleeve.
Hinata looked down. What could she say ? She barely knew this person and they had just realized the most terrible thing about her.
He gently let go of her arm as she jerked it back, keeping her head down she hid both of her hands underneath the counter.
"Give me some ramen !!!" Yelled a hyper voice from outside the shop.
Hinata turned her head to see Naruto run in and sit beside her.
Naruto looked at the shop owner impatiently who was still staring blankly at Hinata.
Naruto turned to see Hinata with her head down then looked back at the shop owner who was now frowning.
"What's going on ?" He questioned now forgetting about his ramen.
The shop owner continued to look down on Hinata disappointingly. Hinata stuffed her hands in the pockets of her pants and stood up.
"I'll pay you later for the food, I'm sorry."
Without anymore words Hinata left. She wasn't running but she was walking very fast.
She felt like running though when she heard her name being called.
"Hinata-chan ?!?!" Naruto screamed from behind while running to catch up with her.
Hinata froze. What was she going to do ? If she ran he would just run faster then catch her. There was nothing for her to do.
Naruto stopped when he was by her side.
"What's wrong with you ?" He asked curiously.
Hinata continued to look at the ground.
"Hinata-chan ?"
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun."
Hinata tried to walk fowards but stopped when Naruto jumped in front of her. She put her head down and was slightly blushing.
"But that guy who owns the noodle shop says you needed to talk about something."
Hinata kept her head down but the blush that was covering her cheeks quickly faded.
"I ... I don't know ... I don't know why he would say that."
Hinata stared at her feet as Naruto continued to question her.
"Are you sure ?" He asked suspiciously.
Hinata didn't answer so Naruto bent down on his knees in front of her.
"I'm fine."
He moved closer to her and looked up so there eyes met.
"Then you should finish your food." He said while standing up.
"No ... that's oka-"
Hinata was cut off as Naruto grabbed her hand and started to lead her back to the Ichiraku noodle shop.
"NO !!!"
Hinata jerked her hand back and Naruto turned around to look at her.
"What's the ..."
Naruto's voice trailed off as he looked down at Hinata's jacket sleeve. Hinata quickly noticed what he was staring at and tucked her hand in her pocket.
He looked up at her with a stern and frightening face.
Hinata quickly started to stare at her feet until her chin was roughly yanked up. Naruto pressed their forheads together so they were eye-to-eye.
"We need to talk." He said expressing a threatening tone.
Hinata tried to pull her head away but Naruto kept his hand firmly cupped under her chin holding it in place.
"Now."
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