It had been a few weeks since the Mission to the Moon. Whilst the mission ended successfully (and with the beautiful confession of love between Naruto and Hinata), many towns and people were still in utter chaos and calamity. Teams of ninja had been dispatched across the nation to aid the areas most badly affected by the moon shattering and the mass multi-level evacuation. Needless to say, Hinata and Naruto were vital in the field because of their Byakugan and extensive Shadow Clone Jutsu respectively - so they were placed at oppossing ends, leading the aid missions. Despite all the good she was doing, Hinata admitted that the distance between her and her new boyfriend was extremely frustrating.

If that wasn't enough, the rare occasions that Naruto and Hinata were together in the Hidden Leaf Village were anything but peaceful. The entire village (along with surrounding nations) had latched onto the legendary love story of the Shinobi Hero and the Byakugan Princess – a story cleverly concocted by news outlets to sell more magazines, and backed by the Shinobi Alliance for the sake of morale and to protect the status of shinobi. The fame meant little to no privacy, and the couple found themselves constantly swarmed by 'fans' in the streets. In private, Hinata also felt overwhelmed by her duties as interim Head of the Hyuuga Clan - a position she took on whilst her father and sister recovered from their injuries.

Hinata also mentioned how she'd be going insane if it wasn't for Naruto's support. Though he didn't have much, Naruto always had a quiet apartment with a ramen cup and a warm hug.

"Okay wait- I thought you said you were having relationship troubles with Naruto… it doesn't sound like he's doing anything wrong," Ino interjected, sipping her iced tea through a straw.

Hinata currently sat across from her three bestest friends - Ino, Sakura and Tenten. She had spent the morning catching up with them and was venting about her most recent troubles.

"Yeah, I'm with Ino on this one, Naruto sounds surprisingly good... I never expected him to be such a gentleman." Sakura added, her greens eyes watching Hinata.

"Give her a moment guys! She's not finished yet." Tenten exclaimed. "Please continue Hinata."

Hinata nodded, then continued her story. She was a little embarrassed to say it aloud but she was at her limit.

Hinata thought her relationship with Naruto was going really well, in spite of the distance, unwanted attention and extra responsibilities. Yet, she was beginning to notice a puzzling and annoying pattern of behaviour from Naruto.

It started with their first ramen lunch date at his place. After slurping her last noodle, Hinata put her hand on his lap, hoping for some romance - a kiss, a rub or maybe even a cuddle. He was, after all, her boyfriend now - and they hadn't seen each other in a while. She began rubbing his thigh. She leaned in and pursed her lips. Her eyes closed, hoping for a kiss... Only to have Naruto jump up, muttering something about needing to clean the dishes - leaving her to fall flat on her face.

"Ouch," the girls winced. Rejection was painful to listen to.

"That's not all," Hinata proceeded to tell them about the other few times her romantic advances had been dismissed, subtly rejected or flat out ignored.

There was their picnic in the forest, when Naruto rolled away because he had to "chase away the ants". Then, there was the time he insisted on walking her back at the Hyuuga estate in the middle of the night because "his apartment only had one bed".

"It sounds like he's innocently just very,very stupid," Ino told her bluntly.

"Ino!" Sakura chided, "She's right though. Naruto is the number one knucklehead ninja."

"Yesterday before he left for his mission to the mines, I suggested a trip to the hot springs. And he told me that he shouldn't go because he's "allergic to hot water"," Hinata revealed.

"Now that sounds like he's coming up with reasons to avoid you, Hina. That last one isn't even a good one,"Tenten commented. Ino elbowed her in the rib.

Hinata groaned into her hands. The kunoichi tried to comfort her, themselves unsure what to say.

"Maybe you just gotta talk some sense into him," Sakura suggested,"Naruto's a knucklehead, but he's a lot more emotionally intelligent than people gave him credit for."

Hinata gave it some thought - maybe Sakura was right. She just needed to muster up the courage to talk about it... But it was tough when you've spent years as a shrinking violet. She had taken her years to stop passing out around Naruto, and now she had to find the courage and energy to talk to him about their affection and intimacy. Her mind was worried and her anxiety was making her wonder: what if he'd changed his mind about her? what if Naruto didn't actually like her anymore? If they broke up, the public backlash and shame would be unimaginable. And where would that leave them? Friends with a one-sided-unrequited-love? Unlikely things would ever go back to normal. Hinata groaned a little louder.

A bandaged figure walking in the street caught Ino's eye. She perked up and called out to him, "Oi! Shikamaru, get your stupid genius butt over here."

Shikamaru reluctantly limped to the table of ladies.

"Look what the cat dragged in. What happened to you, Shikamaru?" Tenten asked, referring to his messy ponytail, the bandages on his face and neck and the sling for his arm.

Shikamaru was too lazy to give them details about his latest mishap of a mission, so he shot her a scowl instead. Ino decided this was the best time to bluntly ask him, "Shikamaru, tell us what is wrong with men?!"

Shikamaru looked at her, tired. "You'll need to be more specific."

"Okay- what is wrong with Naruto?" Tenten attempted to ask.

Shikamaru's face twitched in annoyance. "How much time do you have?"

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be at the mines with Naruto and Sai? Something about part of it caving in?" Ino asked him.

"The mission... ended early," Shikamaru said, choosing his words carefully.

"Wait, so Naruto's back?" Hinata looked up, with some hope in her eyes.

"Yeah... unfortunately," Shikamaru said, his tone filled with malice - but this went unnoticed because the girls' attention had shifted back to Hinata.

"Now's your chance, Hinata. You could go and ask him why he's been acting so strange." Sakura told her.

"You can give him a piece of your mind." Tenten reminded her.

"Or you could try to work you moves again and finally get him to fuck you-" Ino was about to say but Hinata was already gone.

"Ino! You're so vulgar!" Sakura chastised, blushing. Tenten was laughing aloud beside her.

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Ino shrugged. Shikamaru wasn't sure what was going on, but he took it to mean he could leave - until Ino turned to Shikamaru with mischief in her eyes, and in a sing-song voice, "Speaking of... a little birdie told me that someone important is arriving in the village today."

"I'm officially on sabaticcal," Shikamaru told her, gesturing to his arm in the sling. "Whatever it is, I'm sure a genin can do it."

"Alright, I guess a genin can just escort her around the village then. But you know, Suna really is such a far distance to travel from... only to see a genin..."

Shikamaru looked at Ino, realising who she was talking about - he cursed himself because telling her,"Nevermind, I'll do it."