Heiwa: A Naruto Story

Angel of Anime

Chapter Two:

The walk back was silent, but each member of the group could feel Kiba's glare and Hinata's burning cheeks. It was dark; nearly pitch black, but the threesome, plus the dog and the outlaw, made it back to where the other outlaws were tied up. Hinata wanted to stammer something to assure her teammates that she was okay, despite her trembling, and Kiba wanted to clobber the guy that hurt her. Shino was calm as he usually was, but he still did feel concern for the vacillating Hyuuga.

"All right, we'll take these guys back to the village and then we'll report our mission." At first Kiba kept his brown eyes fixed on the bandits, but then as he said, 'we'll report our mission,' he allowed them to glance at his companion. She looked at him, her hand balled into a relaxed fist, resting on her chest. Hesitantly, she requested Kiba or Shino not tell what happened to her. "What; but why?!" he exclaimed.

""W-well, because… it doesn't ma-matter, Kiba," she answered, looking down and pressing her index fingers together. "I-I'm fine, really. We don't have to w-worry anyone; and my father and Neji would hear about it, a-and they would…"

Shino cut in before Kiba could make a rash reply. "It would be best if the Hokage knew, Hinata," he told her, tying up one of the men who were still passed out.

Kiba agreed with Shino, for sure. Only, he agreed raucously. "Yeah, Shino's right, Hinata; why don't you really want to tell Lady Hokage?" He'd seen through her; Hinata wasn't as worried about her family and the whole village knowing what happened to her.

N-Naruto… It was Naruto Uzumaki who she really worried about. What would he think about her when he saw her again? After he had brought Sasuke to his senses, Hinata and he had been bumping into each other a lot, but they still weren't close enough to where you could actually name them friends. Would he try avoiding her? Would he accept it? How would he see her? And… how would she see herself?

It wasn't only Naruto whom she was troubled by. It was also herself. If everyone saw her differently, then she might also. She would see herself as worse than she already was; she would go back to the way she was before the Chunnin Exams, when she didn't like herself at all. Hinata would go back to a completely unconfident little girl who was detested and looked down upon by her family. She would be unloved by them, and cast out by everyone else.

Hinata wore her strongest face, though it still turned out to be very weak as usual. "Please, just don't… tell anyone…" she implored. Her teammates aversely agreed, but they still didn't quite understand why she said what she said.

-

It took a little less than a day to reach Konoha. Hinata immediately returned home while Shino and Kiba took the bandits to the penitentiary and gave the mission report to the Hokage, leaving out a few details, of course. "And why didn't Hinata return with you to give the report?" inquired Tsunade after the two stated all that there was.

"She wasn't feeling too well so she went to rest," Kiba answered, though it was just partial. Actually, Hinata wouldn't have been able to keep something from the Hokage or from anyone for that matter; but, she really didn't feel very well.

"I see. All right then, you're dismissed," the blonde woman sent them away.

-

Hinata, just getting out of the shower, dried her long dark hair with her towel. For about twenty-four hours she had only one thing on her mind, and she just couldn't push it away. She'd been robbed of her innocence, of her being; her innocence was what her personality was, and so if that was gone, who was she? What was she going to be now? Maybe, she hoped, she would be the same person. Maybe she was just fine, and she'd be shy little Hinata Hyuuga. Maybe what happened to her would have no effect on her mind or body whatsoever. Maybe… she hoped.

A faint knock on the door forced Hinata's thoughts elsewhere. "Y-yes?" she responded, wrapping the short white towel tighter around her body.

"It's Hanabi," said her younger sibling.

"Ah, w-what is it, Hanabi?"

She remained on the other side of the door, so she spoke a bit louder so her sister could hear. "I made lunch; are you going to eat?"

Hinata had eaten breakfast, but that was hours ago. She was famished, she remembered. "I-I'm coming." Hanabi said nothing in reply and instead walked away. A few minutes later, the girl came out of her room and onto the porch outside wearing her usual outfit: a dark purple, button-up sweater with long thin sleeves and navy blue Capri pants with gauze around her lower thigh where she would keep her weapons pouch if she was going on a mission. Her sandals were blue and had a round opening in the back, and heels that clacked as she walked on the hard wood were attached. She wore her forehead protector around her neck as she did as a child.

Nineteen year old Neji was sipping tea, sweaty from the training he and Hiashi had been doing. Hanabi had just brought out small finger sandwiches, one of the few things she could prepare. Hinata helped herself, as did her father and cousin. Her sister smiled when she saw that everyone seemed to like her lunch.

"Did you mission go well, Hinata?" asked her father, who had noticed that Hinata was somewhat quieter than usual. Hinata's head tilted slightly toward the ground and she replied in a tone even lower than normal.

"Yes, it went fine." She stood, still looking at the floor beneath her feet. "I'm going for a w-walk." She didn't sound rude or impolite, but her father's and Neji's faces became worried when they felt that dark cloud over her. Hanabi, being the cheerful girl she was, didn't notice it at all and took Hinata's cup of tea to the kitchen with a smile that Hinata tried to return.

The sun shone brightly that day, despite the mood Hinata was in. Truthfully, she didn't know what she felt; sad, angry, or whatever emotion fit the situation she was in. Perhaps it was a mixture of feelings, making it difficult to single each one out. But, it wasn't like the weather would change just for her anyway.

Or maybe it would.

Almost immediately after Hinata turned a corner the rain began falling, and she realized she hadn't even noticed the sky had become dark and grey. Quickly she went into the nearest shelter, the Ichiraku ramen shop, where she'd coincidentally found her crush, Uzumaki Naruto. She was drenched in water and shivering to the bone.

"Huh? Oh, hey, Hinata," greeted Naruto, who had just finished slurping down an entire bowl. Hinata blushed and mumbled a reply, taking a seat beside him and ordering a small, warm bowl of noodles. Becoming aware of the girl's shaking, he offered her his jacket. Not waiting for a real answer, he zipped off his orange and white jacket, which was similar to the one he wore when he was fifteen, and put it around her shoulders. Hinata's cheeks became even redder as she grasped it tighter around her.

She murmured, "Um, thank you, Naruto; b-but you didn't, um, have… to." Hinata looked down at her lap, thinking, I'm still grateful for the jacket; I really was cold.

Naruto, another bowl set in front of him, hollered, "It's no problem, Hinata! You're the one that was all wet; I would worry about you if you got sick, you know." He flashed a large grin before gulping down a dozen mouthfuls in one.

He would worry about me…? Hinata couldn't help but smile at that. "… Ah, I have to, that is… I s-should go to prepare d-inner." She'd been wandering around for a few hours, and it was now nearly seven o'clock, and dinner was supposed to be at eight. Hanabi could only make sandwiches or some kind of simple sweets, so it was up to Hinata to cook supper for her family.

"But it's still raining," the blond reminded her. Hinata look behind her to see that hundreds of drops were continuously hitting the ground, hard and fast. She nodded hesitantly.

"But I…" she began. "I still have to… go…" Hinata still stared at her lap, and her hair hung freely on each side of her face. Her gentle hands rested on her lap and she blushed even more deeply. I'm afraid that if I'm home late, then Father will be angry. He isn't as harsh as he used to be, but…

What's with her, I wonder, Naruto asked himself, looking at her intently. Hinata felt his blue eyes on her and shot upward immediately. She set her money for the ramen, which she hadn't eaten, by the white bowl and saw the rain was lighting up, so she thanked Teuchi and Ayame for the meal, handed Naruto his jacket back, and walked out. "H-hey," Naruto called after her. She turned around, startled, not more than twenty paces away. "Let me walk you home; I can lend you jacket if it starts raining heavily again," he laughed, rubbing the back of his head.

Hinata smiled generously. "S-sure," she replied, cheeks burning.

The walk to the Hyuuga household wasn't all-too special; they were no holding of the hands, and hardly any conversation. Well, not on Hinata's side anyway. The only thing she could do was glance at Naruto and nod at what he was saying. Of course, there was the occasional, "Me too," or, "Um-hmm, yes." That was about it, though. Naruto, he chatted on and on about how strong he'd gotten in the past years. He'd managed to bring Sasuke back to Konoha as well, but it took a lot of convincing for Sasuke to completely apprehend what he was doing was wrong. He'd set his mind on attacking Konoha, getting revenge for his dead brother, but Naruto, being the Naruto he was, changed the boy's mind and made him see it was terrible for him to have even thought something like that. Now he was going out with Sakura every night. Naruto had given up on Sakura, but held no grudge against Sasuke. He was just glad he was back and happy; Naruto wasn't really the type for love or a relationship, that's what the boy himself suspected anyway. Everyone in his age range had someone: Ino had Chouji, Tamari (who who had moved to Konoha after engaging into a serious relationship with Shikamaru) was taken by Shikamaru, and Tenten by Neji, though it took some time. The only one left was Hinata, but he could only think of her as a very close friend or a sister, nothing more.

Yeah, Hinata's just like a sister, thought Naruto, who had stopped talking once they reached the house.

"Um… thank you…" Hinata pressed her index fingers together, gazing at her feet "… for walking me back, I mean…" She blushed and before Naruto could say anything else opened her front floor and slammed it shut, leaving Naruto confused but strangely with a smile on his face.

a/n: I wanted to post this two days ago, but I didn't have my computer... This time I proof read and spell checked twice, instead of just once. There are probably still some mistakes in there, but I hope it isn't difficult to read.

Haha, I totally took the story away from Kiba and Shino and went to Hinata, and some of Naruto. Actually, I do hope I didn't go too fast with their little walk. It seems a lot of fanfics do that, and it completely takes away the whole "love" thing, or whatever you call it. The next chapter is where the problems with Hinata come in. Of course you've probably guessed that she's going to have a baby. Duh!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... how unfair is that?