Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the Characters from Naruto.

A/N: I'm not going for reviews or anything on this one, this was just something I needed to put out there. The characters will definitely not be themselves, as they will represent someone else entirely. If you enjoy this, great. If not then well maybe you can go back and find something else.
Added update: I will for sure not be updating this. I have NO inspiration for this story left, I'm very sorry. So I'm deleting chapter 2 and I'll be making this into a one shot. If anybody got a brilliant idea from this, go ahead and run with it. Just please give me credit as you inspiration!

xxx

She looked at him in surprise. She had honestly never expected to see him again, and yet here he was. He looked the same as he always had, if time had done anything it appeared to have worn away the last of his childish demeanor. From his appearance anyway. The old twinge of shyness pulled at her, telling her to walk away. But that was not how she was anymore, she would be confident. A trait she had learned from the very person who stood before her now.

"Naruto," She said calmly and clearly. No longer being the timid girl she once was, she went closer to see him. Upon hearing his name, the blonde haired boy had looked her way and their eyes met. It had only been a year or two since they'd last seen each other, and yet it felt like it had been much longer. His eyes took her in, recognizing an old friend, and he smiled.

"Hinata, it's been so long," Naruto walked over to her calmly and gave her a hug. Hinata was not expecting this display of affection; he had hardly paid her that much attention before. "How are things with you?"

"I'm doing fine, what's new with you?" Hinata tried to remain emotionless but found it hard to pull off. After all she had gone through, it was hard to be calm about it.

"Just got back from spending some time training with Jiraiya-sama actually," He smiled, and something in his smile suggested that he had learned a lot in the time he had been gone.

"Sounds interesting," Was all that she could say in response. What was she supposed to say? She had been happy that he'd gone away so that she could eventually forget him. Before Naruto had left things were already growing complicated. She had become accustomed to running into him at the Ichiraku, silently hoping that one day he would finally see her as more than a friend. That trail led to heartbreak, and she'd gone back to take another path before she could be affected. Or so she had thought.

"Look, it's about lunch time. Why don't we go to the Ichiraku? It'll be just like old times," He grinned at her again. Hinata agreed, but it felt so different to her.

As they walked, old feelings stirred up within her. She had liked him long ago, and now she began to think she liked him once again. He had a certain air about him that affected her in ways she didn't like. Hinata had spent every moment he was gone thinking of how she was only doing herself harm. She was reaching for something that was out of her reach. Now she knew better, she would not lust after Naruto like she once had.

"Well, what have you been up to here in Konoha?" Naruto wanted to know.

"Pretty much the same, going out on missions with my team," Hinata sighed, trying to think of what she could tell him that would be interesting. There had been a time when it felt like he'd found everything she told him interesting, but that was then and this is now.

"I heard Neji moved up to the Jounin level," Naruto said casually.

"Oh yes, him, Shikamaru, and Kiba," She beamed. Kiba had come to her first when he'd been promoted, the look on his face was more happy than she'd seen him before. Of course, she couldn't say that to Naruto. "The rest of us are still Chuunin."

"So much for the rookie nine," Naruto let out a half laugh but stopped when Hinata glared at him. "Sorry, I'm glad you passed finally. It's just…"

"You're still a genin," Hinata finished for him and he nervously laughed once more. "Don't worry, it's easier the second time. We'll try not to tease you too much from the sidelines." He looked amused by her remark, and they went into the Ichiraku quietly. A few people smiled and waved as they saw Naruto come in, it had been so long since most of them had seen him

"Wasn't expecting that," He said quietly as they sat down. The restaurant had settled down and people were back to their usual selves. Hinata and Naruto were the only members of the rookie nine there at the moment.

"You were their favorite customer, why wouldn't they be happy to see you?" Hinata grinned at him.

"It feels like it was yesterday, but everything seems so different," He looked around the restaurant, memories lighting up his eyes. When his gaze settled back onto Hinata, he studied her for a moment. "You've changed too."

"I suppose," She grinned. "I mean, I'm not sitting here blushing and twiddling my thumbs like I would have two years ago." He grinned back at her, remembering how she had been when they were kids.

"True, but it's not just that. It's like you're…" Naruto trailed off and shook his head sheepishly. "Never mind."

"You're not so childish anymore," Hinata commented. "It's refreshing, in a way."

"Nah, I'll always be a kid at heart," He replied, and she could tell he was right from the way he smiled when they got their ramen. "Oh I missed this…"

She smiled at him, remembering the Naruto she'd known so long ago who'd slurped down his ramen in exactly the same way. He was still the same happy ball of sunshine that had left to train, even if he'd matured a little bit.

"Oh, uh, Hinata," He wiped his mouth as he spoke. "How is Sakura doing?"

Hinata openly sighed, she knew he'd ask about the pink-haired girl sooner or later. Naruto watched her patiently, hands ready to dive for more ramen as he waited for her answer.

"She's fine. She's been working with Tsunade a lot. She has that super human strength and is a medic now," Hinata answered plainly.

"Huh, good for her," He went back to his ramen immediately. Hinata was a little surprised he'd stopped there, but then again this was Naruto.

"Did you miss her?" Hinata asked and mentally smacked herself. 'Why do you want to know that? You don't like him anymore! Remember?' She thought as she saw him pause again to answer her.

"For about the first year, I did," He swallowed and looked to the side, deciding whether or not to continue. "Then I got thinking, she was crying when Sasuke left. When he turned his back on our village so that he could be strong enough to kill his brother, she cried. When I left, to train and come back strong enough to protect our village and someday become Hokage, she waved me off with a smile on her face."

"Well, she knew you'd be coming back," Hinata said.

"That's what I kept telling myself," Naruto said. "But she didn't know how long it would take, I didn't either. I just finally realized she hadn't acted like she was going to miss me, so I made myself get over it."

Hinata couldn't find anything to say. He had practically put words to how she had been feeling for those last two years. 'He really has grown up,' She thought. Naruto went back to his ramen and Hinata ate her own in silence. Secretly, Naruto had been thinking the same thing about her.

"Would you like another bowl?" The waiter appeared by Naruto's side the very second he set down the empty bowl, a move he'd practiced since Naruto had discovered his love for ramen.

"Yeah, sure," Naruto said absent-mindedly. Hinata giggled as the man went away, it was just like old times. "I heard Shikamaru and Ino are finally dating."

"Yeah, I think Ino finally realized Shikamaru really did care about her," Hinata smiled at the thought. "And Tenten and Neji got together."

"How'd that one happen? He's too much of a rock and she's too proud," Naruto wanted to know.

"She went on a date, that woke him up," Hinata laughed.

"With who?"

"Kiba."

"Yeah, that would do it," Naruto laughed and looked down to the new bowl of ramen before him. As Naruto dug in, she flashed back on the whole scenario. Kiba and Tenten had planned it out so that Neji would see them out on her date, and they knew it would be enough to fire up the Hyuuga. The very next day during training Tenten and Neji had sorted things out.

When they both finished their ramen they decided to leave. Hinata made to pay for hers, but Naruto wouldn't let her. She was surprised, she'd never seen him treat her this way before. Hope began to flicker in her heart once more.

"I should go, I'm supposed to help Hanabi train today," Hinata smiled at Naruto once more. "It was good to see you again."

"Oh yeah, you too," He stammered back, surprised by her suddenly leaving. She turned to go before he caught her arm to stop her. "Wait… Uh, do you want to do lunch again tomorrow?"

She looked at him in surprise. 'Is that his way of asking me on a date?…' Hinata thought but told herself to not get her hopes up. But the look in Naruto's eyes suggested otherwise, still she knew she had other plans.

"I can't tomorrow, sorry," She said. 'Why should I be sorry? He's the one who treated me so indifferently. He doesn't matter, just like I didn't matter to him. He didn't care,' She thought to herself, trying to maintain the mask she was hiding behind. Something she'd learned from Neji over the years.

"The day after tomorrow?"

"Naruto…Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

"Well…Yeah, I guess so…" Naruto actually turned red, she couldn't believe her eyes.

"I'm so sorry Naruto," Hinata said, honestly this time. "I'm…Kind of…taken."

"Taken?" He said and she nodded. He looked disappointed, which merely added to Hinata's confusion. 'Wait a minute… Now he cares?'

"Oh I see…Who's the lucky guy?" Naruto asked, it was another one of those questions. The kind where someone doesn't want to know the answer but they ask anyway.

"Kiba."

"You're dating him? Why?" Naruto slid back into his childish state without knowing it, Hinata thought it was funny but didn't show it.

"Well, he treats me well, he really cares about me and…" Hinata trailed off as she studied the look in his eyes. Naruto almost looked…hurt. She didn't know it was possible for her to make him feel that way, after all she'd gone through, thinking that he hadn't cared. "…You weren't here." She finished and walked away, leaving Naruto alone to think about what had just happened.