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I bring you the latest chapter of WHITE HEART!!!!

Beta'ed by Okami! (is there anyother?)

Attack!!!

Countdown to the contest!

"What?!" I asked surprised after hearing the song they had selected.

"It's great, right?" Ino answered me with another question.

"But the song..." I tried to argue.

"I totally know!" she said almost screeching "so retro! It's perfect!"

"But the lyrics...!" I opened my mouth yet again.

"I can make sure Naruto understands them" offered herself Midori-sempai

"but..."

"No 'buts' Hinata!" scolded me Sakura "it fits great"

"...it doesn't say it"

"It does, doesn't it?" confirmed Tenten-chan "somewhat...twisted...but it's there, and Midori says Naruto can get it" it was even more difficult to understand than the one I had proposed. I looked at Midori sempai almost pleadingly asking for her help.

"I think you can win with whatever song you sing" she said to me with a warm smile. My last bastion of hope had fallen.

"Obviously! Hinata's talent is amazing, there's no way she wouldn't win!" added Sakura

"I'm not that good!" suddenly I began to feel kind of pressured. I wished they'd stop putting so much responsibility on me, taking for granted I would win just like that.

"Hinata-chan?" Tenten-chan talked to me calmly and put a hand on my shoulder "you'll be alright, believe in yourself"

"Tenten...chan..." I looked at all of them, even Kohaze, who was just watching us from the window, had a confident look in his eyes. The smiles of the girls made me smile too. I nodded.

"Ok, I'll give it a try" everyone burst into cheers and rushed to hug me.

"Yay!"

"So cool!"

"Hinata you'll be so great!"

"Gambatte"

After a few seconds I tried to calm them down a bit, fearing death by suffocation or simply for being trampled.

"Please, please, I can't breathe!" I managed while gasping.

"Oh my!"

"Sorry!"

"You ok?"

"We didn't mean to..."

"Hinata is right, we need to calm ourselves!" said Ino being the first to sit down again. "We still have a lot to do...like practice, and select her outfit, makeup, what to do with her act, because obviously she can't just sing like that! We need lights, dance steps and stuff!" the other girls nodded in agreement suddenly becoming serious...I feared, since it seemed this wasn't going to be easy for me "but first, I need some more tea" she said getting ready to stand up and walk downstairs for more said beverage.

"Please, allow me, Milady" said Kohaze flying beside her. He took the cup and suddenly disappeared, reappearing again a second later with the refilled cup of tea.

"Thanks. You're very useful, and so cute too!" said Ino petting the hawk.

"So, we have the song, what should we focus on now?" asked Sakura.

"I think we should split the rest of the responsibilities" proposed Tenten-chan.

"That's a good idea. I'll manage her outfit" said Ino

"I'll prepare a few dancing steps! She can't just stand there singing, an Idol has to dance too!" added Tenten-chan.

"I'll design the show: lights, tempos, and all that" the only one brilliant enough to manage all that was of course Sakura, so it wasn't a surprise she had proposed herself to do so.

"I...guess I'll help Hinata practice" said Midori-sempai.

So, we all started to work on different things: Ino started by making a list of all the clothes she could lend me, and asked the others (myself included) what other pieces of clothing we had in order to put some outfits together; Sakura and Tenten teamed up, drawing different steps and light works and options for the show; meanwhile I focused on learning the lyrics of the song with the help of Midori-sempai.

"You are good with theoretical jutsu, learning the lyrics should take you more than a couple of tries" she assured while I started mumbling the lyric as we heard the song once and then again, and again.

After a couple of hours I knew the lyrics perfectly, now I was trying to sing along with the song to get the rhythm right. That's when Mrs. Sawamura's voice came from downstairs.

"Midori, can you please go and buy some bread at Yuu's shop? Take your friends with you"

"Ok mom! One second" she replied and then turned to us "I'm sorry, can you please come? It's a bakery just around the corner; we'll be back in few minutes."

"Sure!" accepted Ino.

"We can use some rest" added Sakura.

"And we could even get some snack" proposed Tenten-chan.

We walked downstairs and outside to the street.

"Who's this Yuu person?" asked Ino "could he be...your boyfriend?" she elbowed Midori-sempai's ribs lightly, but the older girl didn't even react.

"Nope, he's just the kid living next door. His family owns and runs the bakery of the neighborhood, I guess you could say he's the closest thing I have to a childhood friend, even if he is two years older than me. That's why we weren't in the same wavelength most of the time" she explained.

We passed by a flower shop that was named "Eden's Halls" before we reached the store, the old woman who ran the shop greeted Midori-sempai with great joy, and she replied as courteous as ever. We entered the bakery, Midori-sempai leading the group, a little bell chimed as the door swung open.

"Ah, Midori-tan" greeted the boy at the counter "Come in, please"

"Good day Yuu-kun, how are you?" she replied.

I noticed that all of a sudden Tenten-chan, Sakura, and Ino stopped on their tracks.

"Oi! Midori!" called Sakura in a whisper "Why didn't you tell us that he was so handsome?!" she demanded. Midori-sempai seemed puzzled.

"You think so?" all three girls nodded vigorously with their faces blushing "well, we've known each other for such a long time I wouldn't notice things like that" was her argument "look around and see if you find something you like, I won't take long" she offered.

The place was small, but it was very good stocked. The wall leading to the street was made from floor to ceiling with windows which read "Kobayakawa Bakery" in painted letters, and allowed the pedestrians to look into the contents of the store. The far wall and the one on the left from the door had racks with different types of bread, both salty and sweet; then, before the wall on the right was the counter, and after it was the door to the backstore; in the middle of the store was another double rack that featured baked snacks.

"It's uncommon for you to bring people to the store" said Yuu to Midori-sempai from the counter

"Don't get used to it" she joked using a pair of pincers to place a few pieces of bread over a plate she was holding.

Yuu was tall, slim and clearly fit, his hair was short and had a strawberry yellow tone, his eyes were dark green and his skin was lightly tanned, probably because of the heat of the ovens in which he baked the bread; his voice was deep and clear, and he talked with utmost respect and courtesy. I didn't find him especially attractive, but based on the blushing faces of the other three girls I could guess he was at least as handsome as Sasuke-san in their eyes, if not more.

I just walked around checking all the different merchandise they had. There were madeleines, donuts, and muffins, little pieces filled with cream, and jam, and covered with sugar. They all looked tasty and were perfectly done and cooked, it seemed as if each was created more as a work of art than as something to eat.

"Sumimasen, do you make all these?" I asked him, he made a small jump, as if he had been drowsing and was suddenly woken up.

"Why yes I do" he replied.

"They are beautiful, so much that I think it's a shame to eat them"

"Well, I appreciate it, but...they were created to be eaten, not to stare at them until they rot" he said smiling "it would make them very sad if they don't go and accomplish the job they were created for, their very reason for existing" he said almost paternally "my family and I make them every morning to help fill stomachs and give energy and nutrients to kids at school, fathers at work, mothers who do the house chores, and even older people who pass their days enjoying the flow of the younger ones. If we make them good looking is to make them more tasty, so, please, if you really want to flatter me, buy one and try the flavor, since that's, after all, what we work so hard for" his speech wasn't mean, it was actually kind of cool, I couldn't help but feel respect for his work and his profession.

"It's the first time I hear a baker talk so proudly of his work" I said smiling "Do you have cinnamon rolls? I'd gladly buy a few, and try the flavor you speak so proudly of"

"Sure thing, on the rack of the corner, at the bottom" he said pointing the direction.

"Thank you"

Midori-sempai bought a whole bag of bread, surely for her and her family.

"Just the usual Yuu-kun" she said leaving a few coins on the counter.

"Ok, then, the usual discount would apply right?" he said taking the coins to the cashier and giving her the change.

"Thanks for the discount" she said.

"You are good patrons, it's merely normal" he replied.

"I'll take this please" I said placing on the counter a plate with a few cinnamon rolls on in.

"OK, I can give you a good discount on that" he said.

"Please that won't be ne-"

"Oh! I insist" he said looking directly into my eyes.

"I guess if that's the case, I can't refuse"

"Very well, then you can have the rolls for free if you are so gentle as to give me your name" he said seriously, the surprise was such that it left me speechless and I could hear how the other girls stopped breathing. It took me more than a second to recover from such an unexpected request. Faced with my silence he added "or maybe it is that angels have no names, just beautiful faces."

"Hinata" I replied "Hyuuga Hinata" he put the cinnamon rolls on a paper bag.

"Here you go, thank you, Hinata-chan."

I took the bag and we all walked out, Yuu-kun waving us good bye from the counter "Thanks for your patronage, come again, Midori-tan, say hello to your mother for me"

"Will do, bye Yuu-kun"

Once we turned the corner Ino, Sakura, and Tenten shrieked in my ear a quite loud "OH MY GOD!"

"Hinata! You have to forget about Naruto and go out with that guy this instant!" said Ino.

"What?" I asked.

"He liked you so much! I thought he was going to ask you out right there!" added Sakura.

"What?" I repeated.

"And he's so handsome and cool too!" said Tenten-chan.

"He is?!" I questioned.

"Of course he is!" they all said in chorus.

"I wish he was as talkative as Yuu!" said Tenten-chan.

"I'm so envious of you Hinata!" lamented herself Ino.

"You go Ino-pig, go after Yuu-sama and leave Sasuke-kun to me!" teased Sakura.

"Why you! Shut up Forehead girl!"

"Girls! Come on girls, easy! Have you forgotten than we are here to help Hinata with her song?" said Midori-sempai opening the door to her house.

"Oh right" said Ino and Sakura completely bored "I'd rather help her get Yuu-sama"

We went inside and delivered the bread to Mrs. Sawamura, climbed the stairs and found Kohaze curled on a corner.

"Please Hinata-hime-sama, don't let me alone again with that Lady" he said trembling lightly.

"I'm sorry Kohaze! I'm just not used to having someone accompanying me. I promise we didn't leave you here on purpose"

Midori-sempai closed the door and Tenten-chan talked so loud that both Kohaze and I jumped.

"You girls are terrible!" she said pointing at Sakura and Ino "Saying you want Hinata to go for that boy! The one Hinata is interested in is Naruto, and we have no reason to get involved in that, so don't say a thing like that again. A girl is free to love who ever she wants to! Unrequited or otherwise! And I'll make sure Hinata and Naruto get together even if it's the last thing I do on Earth! You ask why?! Because she is my friend! So get working! The Talent show is the day after tomorrow!"

Tenten-chan's scolding got the girls working while I continued practicing the song. A couple of hours later we decided that it had been enough for a day and chose to go to our respective homes and meet again the next day, seeing how little time we had to get ready.

Kohaze and I got home when the sun was starting to fall into the horizon; the sunlight had a light tinge of orange on it. We crossed the huge Hyuuga gate and entered the haven, finding ourselves on the big front yard (that wasn't as big as the rest of the yards and gardens) that had the huge tree in the middle. I could see Sora-nee-chan having tea on the railings of the hall of the house looking at Naruto-kun, who was apparently sparing with somebody that was blocked from my sight behind the tree, at first I thought it was Neji or Lee but if that were the case then Sora-nee-chan wouldn't be there since she says that those were "non-interesting kids fights".

I continued walking trying to find out who was the other person, but I didn't need to cover more than a few meters, because suddenly their voices ripped the silence. A shiver ran through my back and I could feel cool sweat rolling down my forehead

"I don't know where you learned that Samurai Kenjutsu, or why that heretic taught them to you; however, if you are a ninja then you must use Ninja Kenjutsu!" the voice of the Demon of the Mist, Zabuza, ripped the silence. Naruto-kun laughed excited.

"So that means you're going to teach me those cool sword techniques?!" asked the blond

"Teach you?" asked the older man skeptically "First I'm going to see if you're fit to learn them"

I continued walking towards them, slowly, ever so slowly. I noticed Haku was on the other side of the hall from which Sora-nee-san was watching. He waved to me, beaconing to join him. I walked around the two swordsmen as they unsheathed their swords; I knew Zabuza could see me, but I was walking behind Naruto-kun, that was why it surprised me when he called me out.

"Hi-Hinata" he said, but it sounded so weird, not only because I wasn't really expecting him to talk to me, but because he stuttered a little "there's something for you on your room, someone bought it for you"

"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOh~ That" added Sora-nee-san with a teasing voice.

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun" was all I could muster out, not really sure of to how to respond.

"If you have finished talking, get out of the way unless you want to die" threatened Zabuza.

"Don't you talk like that to Hinata-hime-sama" spouted Kohaze.

"Don't you refer so casually to Hinata!" argued back the azure eyed.

"Oi! Kohaze!" called Sora-nee-san "you don't really want to be between those two! C'me h're and give me your report" she added with a smile.

"Yes, yes, roger" accepted the hawk with reluctance.

I let myself get out of the way of the fight and just a second after, the clashing of swords filled the area. I approached Haku.

"How are you?" I asked smiling "is your situation resolved?"

"Not yet" he answered, his voice still sounding as a girl's more than a boy's "but it's being negotiated. It'll take a long while before anything is solved, until then, we're considered refugees"

"It's better than being hunted" I said trying to bring up the bright side.

"Hinata" called me Sora-nee-san "you really should go and check what's in your room" she said watching her younger brother defend against the swings of his larger opponent, it was clear Zabuza was holding back.

I nodded, excused myself to Haku, and walked to my room. I opened the door not really sure as to what to expect. Slowly I pushed the door open.

Resting on my desk was a beautiful bouquet of exquisite flowers, the sun coming from the window almost made them shine. A little card was between the flowers. I approached the desk and picked up the little card, bringing it closer to my face.

"Eden's Halls" I read recognizing the name of the store, it was the one close to Midori-sempai's. It had a message in the back "For a beautiful angel, since I know how much you enjoy pressing flowers..." I couldn't miss the little word. Angel? I thought surprised. Could it be that these flowers came from Yuu? After all the flower shop was just beside the bakery, but...how did he found out my hobby was pressing flowers? Finding the Hyuga residence wasn't that hard but how did he know about my hobby…?

I pulled the chair and prepared to start pressing the flowers, took out a cinnamon roll from the bakery bag I had with me and ate a bite.

"It's delicious..." I said unsure of what to think... "Habataku?"

"Yes, Hina-chan?"

"Was this Yuu person, as handsome as all the other girls said?"

"Well I guess he has fair features, but everyone always said that my tastes on men were...different"

"I...see" I eat another bite "...it really is delicious"

OoOoOoO

The following morning, after the usual training with Sora-nee-san, we all were sitting at the table having breakfast, when suddenly Naruto-kun started a topic that monopolized my attention.

"Oh right! Onee-chan~" he said with a cheeky voice "Can you please lend me some money?"

"Uh? Didn't you get paid a few days ago for an A-class mission?" she asked eating a bit of rice "You didn't waste all that money buying ramen did you?"

"Weeeeeell...I did go to Ichiraku..." accepted the blond.

"What? Are you for real?! Absolutely not, it's your fault for wasting money!" she said stealing a little bit of Naruto-kun's breakfast.

"Hey that was mine!" complained the azure eyed.

"Consider it punishment!" said the older girl...I knew my father wasn't exactly enjoying such a noisy breakfast time, but my mind was focused on something different.

No matter how 'healthy' Naruto-kun was and even with his legendary appetite, he wasn't capable of eating the quantity of ramen required to expire that money without being sick, so, what had he done with the money? Then Sora-nee-chan gave me the answer.

"You couldn't have spent all that money on some girl did you?" she asked teasing. It hit me like a Rock jutsu straight on the face. Naruto-kun had spent the day with Azumi the day we arrived from the wave country...surely he had used a good part of his money on her...something started to boil inside me, I stood up so fast I almost turned the table up.

"I'm leaving, I have training with Anko-sensei" I said coldly and left the room.

"Wha- Uh! Ah! I'm coming too!" said Naruto-kun following me.

OoOoOoOoO

The morning incident bugged me all the training and I couldn't look at Naruto-kun without feeling that sensation inside of me again, it felt terrible, but it renewed my determination to win that silly contest! I wasn't going to lose!

"Midori-sempai! We'll be meeting today again, right?" I asked her when the training was over.

"Yes, we need to finish since we have few days left to get ready" she replied.

"Ok, let's get going then" I told her turning around in direction of her place.

"Please wait a second" she said, and turned around towards Naruto-kun "This is for you" he handed him a scroll.

"What is it? A new jutsu?!" asked excited the boy.

"I'm sorry but this time it's not it, it's theoretical training" explained the older girl.

"What?!" complained Naruto-kun.

"Cheer up, cheer up" said the white haired with a smile "it's going to be useful for when you're the Hokage.

"Ok, ok" accepted Naruto, not really excited "what is it about?"

"Laws" she said nonchalantly.

"WHAT?!" Naruto-kun didn't quite look forward to the contents of the scroll now.

But with that Midori-sempai's work was done, if it was something she gave him Naruto-kun would surely read it, hopefully understand it, and with that, he would also get the lyrics' meaning.

All the details would be ready soon and I would face Azumi, A fight for Naruto-kun, on a ground that wasn't exactly on our job line.

OoOoOoOoOoO

Next Chapter's preview

"And here is our next contestant!" said the contest's announcer.

"Hinata! You have to go out there!" Ino urged me.

"I can't go out!" I said almost screaming, the terror clear in my voice.

"Hinata-chan if you don't go out you'll lose by default!" told me a worried Tenten-chan.

"I won't do it!" I said holding my head.

"I thought you had more resolve" said coldly Azumi "but if you're giving up, then I'll take it you give him up too"

Azumi's turn came. Her act was flawless; I could see Naruto-kun cheering for her from the crowd. It was unfair: she was pretty, skilled, and talented. And now she had Naruto-kun too.

A silent tear ran down my cheek as the act ended.

"Hinata we can't let it end like this!" yelled Sakura.

"And that was our last act of the night!" the contest had finished. I hadn't even sung my song.

Next chapter will be titled: "I love you"

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