Define Destiny

A/N: It's chapter 6! And the next part of the plot has officially started.I felt so awkward writing this chapter. It was difficult keeping them in characterAND having them express actual feelings. I tried to do the best I could. I hope you all like the chapter. Remember that nobody really acts the way they would when they are disappointed/angry.

Also, I will not be updating next week. I have finals. It's the last week of school. That's a good thing, I guess. But it means loads of studying for me and no time for writing. But I promise to have a chapter up once school's over. Then I'll have two whole months of free time for writing! Okay, I'll stop ranting now.

Remember to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Hinata, or any other character.

Chapter 6

He roamed the streets like an animal, searching for his love. He hadn't seen her for three days and he was worried. Once he found her, he was going to take her into his arms and—

Naruto closed the book with a snap and placed back on the shelf, right next to Icha Icha Flowers. He turned away from the shelf; unaware of the weird looks he was getting from the villagers. He just knew that he wasn't ever going to pick up a random book like that again, especially not one that was written by Jiraiya. That's what he got for actually listening to the Ero-sennin: embarrassment and more distortion of his mind.

The blonde haired ninja scanned the streets, looking to spot a familiar face, his encounter with Jiraiya's writing forgotten. His very intense search was interrupted by a loud growl. He looked down. It was his stomach. Naruto reached into a pocket and took out his worn, frog wallet. He made a mental note to bother Ero-sennin into buying him another.

He opened the small wallet and grinned. He had just enough money to eat about five bowls of ramen, six if he played his part right. Naruto set off to Ichiraku, eager to get to his ramen. His stomach growled loudly at just the thought of it. He was so into his daydream of finally getting all the free ramen he wanted that he didn't see the girl that was coming from the opposite direction and collided with her.

She fell to the ground, landing quite roughly in the dirt. Naruto, however, stayed standing, his body not as light as hers. In other words, he didn't feel a thing when they crashed, while she was the one who took the brunt of the collision.

"Are you alright!" he exclaimed, running to the girl.

He helped her up, again not watching the strength he put into the small action. What he meant to be a soft tug was actually much stronger, sending the girl into his chest. She breathed a small 'oof' as she hit his chest. "I'm sorry, miss, I wasn't watch where I was going!" he apologized. The girl froze.

"Na-Naruto-kun?"

He paused mid-sentence, halfway through his explanation of why he hadn't been paying attention. He knew that voice. Now if only he could match it with a face…

It was Hinata!

He opened his mouth to greet her when he became uncomfortably aware of the fact that his arms were wrapped around her waist, keeping her body pressed against his. She was so delicate. Naruto felt that if he were to tighten his grip, she would break.

An intoxicating smell of jasmine was drawing him closer to her. He pressed his face to her hair and breathed in the sweet scent.

"Naruto-kun…" she whispered.

His eyes widened and he quickly let her go, backing away, leaving a good ten feet of space between them. An immense blush spread over his face. He couldn't look at her as he apologized.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan!" Then he glanced at her and saw that she too was blushing. Hinata stood fidgeting, her eyes trained on the floor. The people passing by were giving them strange looks. That wasn't bothering Naruto.

"I'm s-sorry," she echoed. "It was m-my fault."

Now he felt bad, taking advantage of the situation like that. One part of his mind was yelling, "Pervert! Pervert!" while the other was congratulating him. It was all Ero-sennin's fault. Yep, his entire fault.

Stupid pervert.

They stood, half bowing to each other, for several uncomfortable minutes. Neither could find the courage to speak and move along.

"Naruto-nii-san!" The shout startled them both. He turned, still avoiding her eyes, to see who was calling him. It was Konohamaru. He was waving at him, flanked by his friends, Moegi and Udon. Konohamaru flung himself at Naruto, knocking him to the ground. "You haven't come to see us in a long time, nii-chan!" he shouted. Moegi and Udon nodded.

"It's only been a week, Konohamaru." Naruto stated. Sometimes the boy acted like he was still eight years old, though he was now fourteen. He pushed the boy off him and stood up. Konohamaru scrambled up and punched him in the arm. "Well, you can make it up by having lunch with us now!"

"Yeah!" Udon agreed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. Poor boy still didn't talk much, except to support Konohamaru.

"Please have lunch with us, Naruto-nii-san!" Moegi pleaded, wrapping her arms around him.

He sighed and turned back to Hinata. She was watching the scene with wide eyes, her blushing not as noticeable as before. "Uh…" He didn't know how to phrase the question. He placed his hand at the back of his head awkwardly and said, "Would you like to join us, Hinata-chan?"

"Um, uh, s-sure, Naruto-kun," she said. "I'd l-love to!"

Naruto held out his hand to her. Hinata reached to take it but hesitated. For a brief moment, Hikari's image flashed in her mind but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She grabbed his hand and a shy smile hovered upon her lips. He grinned and asked, "Can we forget about what happened earlier?"

Her face almost fell in disappointment but she hid it with a nod. "S-sure,"

"I just hope I didn't offend you in any way."

"Not at all, Naruto-kun,"

His grin widened. "Okay!" He turned back to Konohamaru and his friends. He gestured to her and said, "This is Hyuga Hinata, my friend."

Konohamaru's eyebrows rose. Naruto shot him a dangerous glance. "Say a word and you'll regret it." The teen raised his hands in defense and said, "I won't."

"Wow, you're a Hyuga? That's so awesome!" Moegi exclaimed, immediately liking the older girl. She was just as cool as Sakura-nee-san in her eyes.

"Okay, let's go, guys!" Udon said, beginning to walk.

"Where are we eating?" Hinata asked.

"You'll see." Konohamaru replied cryptically, glancing back at Naruto and Hinata. A smirk appeared on his face when his gaze felling on their hands. He turned back and whispered something to Udon who passed it on to Moegi. They burst into giggles.

"I have a feeling they're laughing at us, Hinata-chan." Naruto muttered.

She sighed. "Me too, Naruto-kun, me too,"

The trio kept on glancing back at the two and giggling every so often the entire way to the restaurant.

&&&&&&&&&&&

He opened the menu and read over the several items on it, his eyebrows rising more and more with every word. What the hell was some of this stuff?

Potato Chip Ice Cream?

Chocolate Dipped Fries?

He grimaced. If he ate that, who knew what would happen.

"So, what are you going to eat, Hinata-chan?"

She peered at him over the top of the menu and made a face, making him grin. "Nothing looks very appealing."

Konohamaru looked at her, dramatically putting a hand over his heart. "Nothing?" He practically yelled. "Everything here is awesome!"

"It's a kid's diner, made for weirdoes like you guys. Everything here is extremely greasy, fattening, and absolutely disgusting." Naruto said flatly.

"Hey, you were a teen once too!" Udon sniffled.

"He still is," added Konohamaru. "Just too lame to admit it,"

Naruto's eye twitched. The mental image of wrapping his hands around Konohamaru's neck and choking him was very appealing. "Really? Who the hel-" He stopped himself from saying 'hell'. "—heck eats 'Syrup Covered Apples?"

"I do!" Moegi chirped. At the look he gave her she giggled, wrapping a strand of her brown hair around a finger.

"The stuff is still fattening!"

"Nuh-uh! Look at me!" Moegi stood and turned around, modeling her figure. She stopped after a couple of turns. "I'm perfectly fine and I eat this stuff. Besides we only eat it once in a while."

"Well, like I said before, you guys are weird. I'm sure Hinata-chan doesn't want to screw up her figure. I know I like her the way she is." The words were out of his mouth before he could think them over. Silence fell over the table before Konohamaru began laughing. He stood and pointed at Naruto.

"I knew it, nii-chan!" He proclaimed proudly. "You do like her!"

Naruto stood so he towered over the boy. "I do not!"

"Do to!"

Hinata had frozen upon hearing his words. A blush began slowly spreading across her face until she was tomato red. He had just complimented her. A rather personal compliment, if she could say so herself. She took a deep breath and looked up at him.

He was eyeing her nervously as if expecting her to get angry over that.

She dismissed that fear with a wave of her hand. "It's alright, Naruto-kun. No n-need to get like that."

He sighed in relief. "Good." He seemed to pause, hesitating. "It's not as though it was for real."

Now, her mouth fell open, she looked at him in shock. "W-what?" Naruto knew he had said something wrong.

"Now, he's going to get his ass kicked." muttered Konohamaru. The three teens backed away slowly until they were a safe distance away, yet close enough to watch the drama unfold.

"Are you s-seriously going to tell me that to my face?" Hinata had stood up and was looking terribly menacing to Naruto. "I just don't know what to t-think anymore!"

He cringed under her white gaze. "I-I'm sorry, Hinata-chan."

"Well, that w-won't cut it, Naruto-kun. I like you! Though isn't it sad that y-you don't like me!" By the end of her speech, tears had welled up in her eyes. Naruto really saw her as just Hinata for the first time. He gazed at her pretty, tear-stained face, trying to commit it to memory. Then he saw the shadow of a bruise on her right cheek.

He stood up and brushed aside her bangs, ignoring her flinch. The bruise was very visible now. He could see the healing split in her bottom lip. "Who did this to you?" She looked away, but he grabbed her chin and turned her face back. "Who?"

"I-it's nothing of your concern." she replied, her voice so low he almost didn't catch her answer. Naruto knew that he had stepped over the line this time and that he wouldn't be forgiven easily. How could he have been so blind to see the girl that always stood by him?

She pulled away from and shot him one last tear-filled glanced before running out of the restaurant. "Hinata!" he called after her.

"Go after her, Naruto-nii-san!" cheered Moegi.

And he did.

Luckily for him, she hadn't gotten too far. He easily caught up to her in seconds. "Hinata! Please, listen!"

She kept on walking, purposely ignoring him. But he could see the tears rolling down her cheeks. "Please?"

She glanced at him and hesitated. Would it be worth it? Then she saw the remorse in his eyes. Her hesitation lasted only a heartbeat. "W-what?" His next action was an impulse, something he doubted she would object to.

Naruto pulled her into his arms so hard she lost her breath. It was overwhelming for Hinata, actually feeling his face pressed and his arms wrapped securely around her, his heart beating loudly. The heat of his skin, for she knew he was blushing like her caused her tears to stream down her cheeks. "I'm sorry." he whispered. "Will you forgive a lowly commoner like me?"

She wanted to laugh. He sounded so funny, being so polite. "Yes, I will." she replied, her voice thick, muffled against the soft fabric of his shirt.

He grinned and grabbed her face in his hands delicately and did the unexpected.

He kissed her.

She was caught by surprise and froze, her eyes meeting his as their lips locked. Why? Her mind went blank at the first question, too occupied with what was happening to think too much into the situation. His lips fit with hers perfectly, her arms fit around his neck perfectly, and everything was perfect.

Then it was over all too soon.

They pulled apart, out of breath. Naruto rested his forehead against hers, and she realized with a jolt that he didn't have his headband on. He could see himself reflected in her eyes, in the midst of the confusion of emotions swirling in them. "Hinata-chan…" he whispered, his lips coming dangerously close to hers again.

Hinata's eyes went wide, wider than they had already been. Her strength slipped from her and she felt her knees give out. Her eyes closed and all was dark.

Fate was too cruel to her.

She had fainted.

And right after kissing her crush too.