Hinata's Glasses

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Genre: Drama

Rating: Teen

Summary: Amazing! Part two! Originally a one shot, this story now has a second chapter and more to come! (I plan on making future chapters shorter than one since that one was a pretty long chapter for a fan fic, I suppose) This chapter revolves around Hinata dealing with feelings she had always taken for granted and experiencing feelings she never knew existed. What choices will she make? And what mistakes will she regret?

This entire story is dedicated to every girl who has been confused about and/or has experienced love and heartbreak and everything that comes in between.

Chapter two: Chasing My Tail

Hinata sighed happily as she brushed her hair out of her sweaty face. She then sighed, annoyed at herself. She had forgotten to take off her leather gloves first and now her hair was wet with fish grease. Before Hinata could tear off the gloves or find something to wipe her hair with, the bald headed manager walked into the fish arranging room.

"All right, your shifts are over, you two! Time to get your paychecks!" The jolly man produced two bland envelopes from his greasy apron.

Hinata turned her head to the man and forgot about the fish mess in her hair but merely pushed her glasses further up her nose. Reaching behind her back she fumbled with the knot briefly, being as Shino still tied her apron for her. For some reason the slightly too snug apron had begun to feel like home. It was an amazement Shino had not yet refused.

Tossing her apron on the appropriate rack, Hinata hustled before the manager. Bowing deeply yet holding one hand to her glasses she thanked the man deeply. "Thank you, Ojii-san!" She straightened up and adjusted her glasses once more. The first time she bowed with her glasses on, they had fallen off from her deep bow. She was lucky that time that Shino managed to catch them before they shattered on the ground.

Grinning, the manager handed her the envelope. "It seems like yesterday you came by to help your friend here. Hard to believe it's been three weeks, eh?"

Shrugging, the Hyuuga smiled slightly. It was hard to believe. By now, she had forgotten how long it had been entirely. She cast a furtive glance at Shino who was setting his apron on the rack carefully as he wiped away some sweat from his face. Hinata abruptly blushed and looked away, uncertain why this would suddenly make her feel uncomfortable.

Three weeks... She'd love to say that during the past three weeks, she had really gotten to know her co-worker and classmate, but she still couldn't. Of course, he was very courteous and polite, but he wasn't the type of person who talked much. She didn't even know why he worked at the fish shop! She stared blankly at the other boy as he bowed before the manager, thanking him for the paycheck. She didn't realize how intently she had been watching him until he was almost out the back door.

"Oh!' Hinata jumped a little, realizing how-- how lewd she must have appeared. She blushed and glanced at the man she named Ojii; one of his eyebrows was raised as he had a small smirk on his face. Embarrassed Hinata ran out the old and splintering door after Shino.

"Ah, Sh-Shino?" She called out tentativily. The late afternoon sun had dipped low, below the roofs of the buildings before her, tendrils of bright light singed at the buildings silhouette, blinding Hinata.

Shino turned around curiously, the sun glaring around his body, a glint of light reflected off a part of his sunglasses.

"I-I was wondering, um. You can say no of course! I mean you might have something better to do but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind... I mean, it's not like it matters and I don't mean anything by it, of course not, but, uh..." Hinata paused and even through the shadows, she could see an incredulous eyebrow appear over the taller boy's shades. "What I mean is, uh, would you like to go to Ichiraku's with me?" Her voice began to fade at "Ichiraku's" and by "me" she was barely audible.

Hinata winced at the silence that loomed over them like a circling bird. Finally Shino responded, alleviating her angst. "Sure."

"Fuuuu..." Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, finally realizing she had been holding her breath. Before she could inhale properly, they had already set off for the ramen bar, another uncomfortable silence settling over them.

Walking behind Shino, she stared down at the roughly beaten ground, watching her sandaled feet walk upon her shadow. Her eyes then traveled over her long stretched shadow from the low sun. She was almost surprised to see it. Even though it stretched so far, it still felt so small. Her shadow was hunched and looked as though it wanted to run away. Especially in comparison to Shino's long shadow, Hinata felt tiny. The Aburame's shadow stretched far and confidently, dwarfing the Hyuuga's meager shadow.

Straightening her back, Hinata made an effort to seem tougher than the personality she normally seemed to show. She found it a lot harder than she expected, her back feeling strained from the unusual posture and when she tried to look forward instead of at the ground, her neck felt so limp that she couldn't possibly hold her herself that way forever. It took Hinata a moment to realize she was merely making excuses not to straighten up and that was enough to make her hang her head and lose her posture once more.

Hardly daring to uplift her head once more, she jumped out of surprise when she ran into the banner of the Ichiraku bar. Holding a hand to still her excited heart she felt a little ashamed that she had been so jumpy.

After seating themselves at the bar on some old yet sturdy stools, Hinata glanced around herself. There were hardly any people in there. There was a young woman at one end of the bar trying to order dango and an old man to their right, slurping down pork ramen. Otherwise, it was pretty dead. Hinata began to wonder what time it was and if they were actually let out early. Glancing around for a clock, she also began to remember something. Oh, yeah, isn't this where Naruto wanted to go with... Hinata refused to let herself say "me". However, after shaking that off, she did wonder where Naruto was, then she worried about what if he walked in there. It was hard enough to decline him last time!

She cast a furtive glance to her left. Shino had his arms resting on the counter top as he glanced straight forward. Hinata also remembered that she had turned down Naruto to work with Shino. It took her moment to realize Shino had turned and was staring back at her. It took her even longer to realize he was asking what she was staring at.

"Oh!" Hinata blushed bright red, chastising herself first for staring and secondly for blushing. "I-I was just wondering, uh... I-I..." She paused to collect herself and make an excuse. "Um, wh-what are you ordering?" Her voice became very small and was hardly audible by the time she said, "ordering".

"Well," If Shino had been staring at her suspiciously; Hinata would never have been able to tell, "I was thinking about ordering the beef ramen. What about you?"

Hinata took a breathe in trying to calm her overactive heart. "Um, the miso, I think."

With that, their conversation died once again and Hinata once more felt really awkward. She was beginning to hate silence, the more time that went on. Finally the serving girl appearing from the back broke their silence.

"I'm so sorry for the wait!" she seemed fluttery and kind of new. Her nametag merely said Ling. "We just had a little accident in the back to take care of. So, uh, what will you be having?" The girl tried her hardest and a waiter smile but merely succeeded in scaring Hinata.

"I'll be having the beef ramen." Shino turned to Hinata, as did Ling.

"Um, the, uh, miso, please." Hinata murmured.

"All right!" Ling made an exaggerated swoop of her pen across her pad of paper. "Would you like some water?" Both nodded. "All right! I'll be back!" She made another outrageous movement, practically diving into the back room.

Once again the dull silence fell upon them like a heavy could looming on the verge of rain.

After a moment, Shino finally spoke up causing Hinata to take to surprise once more. "I'm sorry."

Hinata stared at him confused.

"I'm not the greatest conversationalist, and I know you're trying to start a conversation, but..." He trailed off and turned to her. "Well, I know you dislike this silence far more than me. So..."

And the proverbial rain clouds lifted, letting Hinata shine in the forgiving sun.

"Oh no! It's okay!" Hinata pressed her forefingers together. "I-I guess I didn't realize you might actually like the silence as peaceful." She fumbled briefly. "So, um." Now what do I talk about? "So, wh-why are you working at the fish shop?"

Shino seemed to stiffen. "I just like having some extra money on hand." Hinata felt upset at herself. What if she hit a sensitive topic? Before she could take it back Shino continued. "Are you going home after this?"

Hinata noticed the abrupt change of topic and went with it even though she noticed Shino seemed to tense up a little more, but only after he asked her if she was going home. Could he be angry that she touched a sensitive topic? Or maybe he was beating himself up mentally for changing the topic to something personal himself. Hinata knew she would if she blurt that out. However she went with it, figuring Shino was a different person and probably didn't do that. "Well, yeah. My dad wants me home right away." Hinata didn't want to kill the conversation. "I, uh, have a sister too."

"Older or younger?" Hinata doubted Shino really cared but at least he was trying to keep the dialogue alive as long as possible.

"Younger." Hinata reflected briefly. She then smiled a little, recalling when she had eaten the dog food.

"What is it?"

Hinata jumped and glanced at the boy sheepishly. She didn't want to with hold anything but... She was also worried he might laugh at her. She stared at her lap for a moment considering. Finally deciding she'd say it was nothing, she turned to him, her mouth opening to form the words. Then she stopped, mouth still agape. He seemed to be watching her behind his glasses, but Hinata felt like she suddenly saw things differently. He wouldn't laugh at her. For some reason that thought seemed to float in her mind peacefully.

"Just something stupid I did. Looking back on it, it was actually kind of funny." Hinata paused as Ling had come back with water.

Flourishing the cups as though they weren't full of cold liquid, the water miraculously didn't spill over as she elaborately set the cups before the couple. She excused herself and explained the food would be a minute.

Hinata took a sip of the cool water, allowing it to slide down her throat, creating a soothing effect in her parched throat. Setting the glass down, she licked her lips, savoring the sweet water as she stared into the glass, gazing speculatively at the inverted view. She played with the condensation on the outside of the cup with a finger as she spoke again. "Remember that day you took me to the eye doctor, er, well, course you do, sorry, dumb question. But, uh, yeah, I was having troubles seeing and my sister had just run out of the house chasing down an Inuzuka dog. Anyways, I was hungry and wanted food, so I grabbed a can thinking it was soup. Of course, while it was cooking I was thinking to myself, 'Ooh, why does this smell so bad?' then I thought, 'Oh well if I'm going blind then maybe my sense of smell was going too'" she paused for breath. "So anyways, when I sat to eat it, I thought it had tasted weird, but well, I figured it I couldn't smell then my sense of taste was affected because that's what I heard before. Well, by now my sister had returned home. She came in asking what the smell was. Of course, when she saw me, she burst out laughing."

Hinata began to snicker herself, recalling even more vividly now. "I was eating her dog food! I still remember how it tasted too!" Hinata let a peal of joyous laughter escape her lips, but she immediately stifled it, feeling a million invisible eyes suddenly watching her though in actuality no one was.

For a moment though, she then thought Shino was choking. His shoulders shook and his face had a tint of pink on his cheeks. Then she figured he was laughing!

"D-don't laugh at me!" but Hinata had already dissolved into her own giggles. She knew he wasn't laughing at her.

"My, my, my, you two seem quite the couple!" Ling had returned with two hot bowls of ramen. Both preteens stopped laughing. "So, who ordered miso?"

Hinata raised her hand and Ling plopped the bowl before her and dropped the other bowl before Shino. She then excused herself, winking at the two.

Hinata broke her chopsticks and set them in her fingers and let them hover over her bowl as she spoke, her giddiness still leaving her light headed. "Ah, I have never laughed or talked that much before." before she could stop her lips from spilling the next sentence, her mind was already cursing herself. "I just feel so comfortable around you, it's weird." She nearly dropped her chopsticks in the steaming noodles.

She hardly dared to glance at Shino but did so though she hated herself. Shino was frozen. His hands were still paused before he could break them, and a red began to crawl up from under his high collar to reach the bottom of his sunglasses. He then abruptly ripped the chopsticks apart almost too harshly and turned his face away a little.

"Nn..." was the only sound from him before he dipped his chopsticks into the broth.

The Hyuuga felt like the biggest moron to ruin such a pleasant lunch.

XXX

Forced to sit through another painfully awkward silence, the shy girl with pale Hyuuga eyes cast down to her dinner plate at her home trying to stop thinking about the lunch she ruined. After the lunch, Shino gruffly excused himself and said his 'later' to Hinata, hardly looking at her, a faint residue of pink on his face that was probably from bottled anger against herself, Hinata reasoned.

Even Hanabi was quiet. With just them and their father, the table was so very quiet, like a heavy muffling blanket shrouding everything, even stifling the clink of plates and glasses.

"Um, father?" Hinata stammered after still hardly touching her rice and curry.

Her father, Hyuuga Hizashi glanced up from his own deep thought in what could be construed as surprise.

"I, uh." Hinata didn't feel the most confident about talking to her dad, but she had him or her sister. Or one of her cousins. And none of the choices liked her that much, but at least this was her father. "Um, is, uh," Wording was everything, "laughter a-- a weakness?"

Hizashi seemed to consider her words as he set some more rice and curry into his mouth. Chewing slowly he then seemed to think over his own words. "It could be seen as a weakness as it revealing emotion which a shinobi should avoid at all costs. What a person laughs at could also be seen as to what the psyche of a person is like as well. Laughter may also lower defenses and cause the ninja to make a slip up due to the fact that laughter creates a form of pseudo comfort of sorts. In essence, yes, laughter can be construed as a weakness." Hinata and Hanabi's father paused briefly. "Hanabi, did you make a mental note of that?"

Hanabi jumped a little from the snap in his voice. "Yes father." she then returned to her moodiness, staring at her plate, she had also merely pushed the food around like Hinata.

The dialogue then withered into death, just like most of Hinata's conversations. Though she tried not to care, it did hurt a bit that her father had not asked her why she had asked the question. It was as though why was of no importance to him, as though her why's and reasoning were of no importance. The feeling of no importance stung her a little.

XXX

After dinner, Hinata had sulked off to bathe as her sister did likewise. Hinata would have cared more about Hanabi's moodiness if Hanabi hadn't been so defensive when Hinata had questioned her concernedly. Hanabi's coarse remark back had caused Hinata to shy away a little, confused. Regardless, Hinata thought to herself, Hanabi's problems are Hanabi's problems as my problems are my problems.

Slipping her pale silken nightgown over her head, she shivered a little as the cool fabric engulfed her body. She plopped herself heavily on her bed, playing events over in her mind again. She then covered her face with her slender hands and nearly fell back into her bed, a bright red burn on her face. How could I say something so ridiculous? God, he must think I'm a moron. Hinata couldn't stop the embarrassment she felt, even after she had said something. It actually almost felt worse since she had more time to think about her mistakes.

"I just feel so comfortable around you, it's weird."

Hinata seriously began considering slapping herself. Tempting, but that won't solve anything. Hinata turned and set her bare feet on the cool wooden paneling of the floor in her small room. She ignored the still wet strands of hair in her face and stood up. She padded softly to her window glancing around momentarily.

She climbed out her window as nimbly as possible, banging her knee slightly against the sill causing her eyes to tear a little. Cursing herself silently, she limped out the window and around some carefully cultivated bushes. She tested her leg gently and found it was fine, just sore. Well, duh, you hypochondriac, what you don't want to go to work tomorrow so you can avoid Shino? An evil voice whispered inside her head. She nearly shocked herself into giving a heart attack. That new voice scared her. It was so dark and cruel, it sounded like her father, Hanabi, Naruto, her cousin Neji, and worst of all, that voice sounded like her.

After setting her hand to her heart, she calmed herself. She didn't want to miss work! How absurd. She glanced about herself; she wanted more than anything to continue her way to her favorite place to think, and she really needed it tonight.

She walked along the bushes for a little bit, wondering why in the world she didn't bring her robe. Wishing for her fuzzy blue robe she finally came across the clearing she was looking for. Surrounding the clearing was plum trees and red flowers, all carefully arranged and planned. Even the sand was planned. Sometimes it bored her, sometimes it fascinated her; the control over nature humans could have.

She had reached the Zen garden.

It was a rock Zen garden to be exact. She loved the carefully placed rocks and raked sand that resembled the great ocean's waves. She carefully hopped upon the closest rock. Land of Clouds, perhaps? She thought to herself almost sarcastically. The rocks represented the great countries but she wasn't certain which were which. She just knew the big one in the center was Konohagakure. Egotistical for Konoha to be in the center? Perhaps. But it was one of the biggest countries; Sand being the only one that matched it in immensity. Regardless, Konoha's rock was the one she wanted. It was the biggest so easiest to sit on and it was in the center, so in essence it almost could make her feel special without feeling as though she was being stared at.

Settling herself as comfortably as possible on the cold slab of rock, the Hyuuga prepared her mind for meditation. She stared at the waves until she got dizzy, pushing the worry of being caught doing this, pushing away her fears, pushing away her insecurities the best she could. This was the only time she could feel at peace to some degree.

She inhaled deeply and shut her eyes. She replayed her day on fast forward. She paused only on things that stuck out. The moment that stuck out like a bent senbon was her comment to Shino. Even now her face flushed and her chest seemed to hurt.

"I just feel so comfortable around you, it's weird."

She almost made to clutch her chest, as the pressure there was unbearable.She only felt something close to this when Naruto was around, so she couldn't quite translate this. Her heart wasn't fluttery; it felt as flat and heavy as a dead rock. It felt like it was being crushed on all sides by broken glass. What was this? Her gut and chest felt so painful and her head got a headache trying to stop thinking about what she said.

What did Shino think?

Hinata almost blushed at simply thinking his name. God, what was wrong with her? She seriously wanted to beat herself up now! How embarrassing.

She shook herself mentally and tried to continue.

Well, his face turned red. He was probably embarrassed I made such an absurd statement.

... Or maybe he honestly liked-

No. Hinata cut herself off. I can't even think that. I like Naruto! And above all else, why raise my hopes? Am I stupid? I like Naruto...

Even to herself she didn't sound confident. She sounded liked a scared and confused little girl.

I'm not confused!

She protested against herself vehemently, knowing the tendrils of the other voice was just around the corner of her mind. She couldn't let that scary voice speak up. That voice told the truth, and the truth scared her too much, no matter how much she tried to deny it.

She cut herself off short. It was ridiculous. The thought the scary voice was trying to push on her. She slid off her rock almost letting her feet touch the sand when she remembered in time to jump rock to rock instead. She really disliked the idea of leaving an imprint as much as what the voice tried to tell her.

Maybe you actually like Shino.

Hinata jumped and nearly let out a scream as the voice suddenly invaded her thoughts, causing her to slip on her rock. Expecting her head to crack open on one of the other rocks, she was surprised when her brains weren't all over the ground at that moment. Instead she was being held, caught by someone. For a moment she didn't open her eyes she had shut in fear, letting herself actually wonder irrationally if it was Shino.

When she opened her eyes, she was looking into the angry and slightly disgusted eyes of another Hyuuga.

Shizuru Speaks: All right, the first chapter was so insanely long I decided to end this chapter short(er). Actually I wrote more for this chapter but I edited it so it was shorter. Oh, and to my readers, I'm sorry if it took so long, I've just been having a hectic year so far! I can't wait for 2007 now! Then I won't be able to wait for 2008 when I can finally leave my high school. Woot! Graduation '08!