All Set (continued)
Hinata clapped her hands along with the rest of the crowd as the finalists made their exit. Hinata smiled and leaned back in her chair, contentment etched on her face. 'He made it. I knew he would because he never gives up. Now they will all be able to see what I see when I look at him.' Suddenly Hinata felt a two pairs of hands grab an arm each and her eyes shot open. She saw that Ino and Sakura were the owners of the hands and the two girls quickly pulled Hinata from her seat and moved towards the nearest exit.
"Tch, women. Always so troublesome," said Shikamaru as he left his seat and followed his teammate and captive out of the arena. Neji nodded his agreement as he followed the lazy ninja to the exit.
"Come on, come on, we gotta hurry." Ino said as she moved through the crowd, Hinata and Sakura in tow.
"A-Ano, Ino-chan, but why m-must we hurry?" Hinata asked after she narrowly dodged slamming into a small boy.
"That's simple," said Sakura, "the finalist will have almost reached the exit by now." Hinata still didn't understand what the big rush was but did not resist the girls as they pulled her along down the hallway to the finalist's hall exit.
Naruto practically bounced off the walls with excitement. He and his fellow Konoha nin talked about their matches as they made their way to the exit. Naruto's smile increased as he saw Sakura, Hinata, and Ino by the exit. He waved energetically and took off at a run to meet them.
"Hey, Sakura-chan! Hinata!" Naruto skidded to a halt in front of the three girls with his face only inches from Hinata's. Hinata's face quickly began to redden but this fact was left unnoticed by Naruto as he quickly began to talk about his fight. His face repeatedly moved from Sakura to Ino and Hinata and back over again as he relayed his tale. Naruto brought his story to an end just as the rest of the Konoha nin join him and the girls.
As the group began to chat Naruto finally noticed the red color on Hinata's face and decided to investigate. "Hey, Hinata," Naruto called to her. Hinata twitched as he called her name and realized he was focused on her.
"Y-yes, N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata's heart began to beat a little faster as Naruto peered at her more intently.
"Well I was wondering if you were feeling okay or not? You look kinda red in the face like you have a fever." Naruto approached closer to the Hyuuga girl. Hinata used all her willpower to force her gentle allure of unconsciousness away but it was sadly all for naught when the Naruto placed his forehead against hers. Ino was quick to intercept the Hyuuga girls fall to the floor and brace the girl back up. Sakura took one look at the unconscious Hinata and delivered a forceful blow to Naruto's head that sent the boy flying threw the air and into a nearby wall.
"Naruto, you are such an idiot. Look what you did." Sakura yelled at her teammate and checked up on Hinata.
"But I didn't do anything. I was just checking to see if she had a fever. Obviously she wasn't feeling good if she passed out, right?" Naruto pleaded his case but his friends merely shook there heads and muttered "baka" at the blonde. "Man, why does this kind of thing always happen to me?"
Unknown to Naruto that same question had passed through the thoughts of Hinata Hyuuga. Deep in the locked chambers of her subconscious mind sat Hinata in a beautifully furnished bedroom with a large four poster bed in one corner, a tall and wide wardrobe stood in the opposite corner, a full length mirror sat a few feet from the wardrobe and posters lined her wall. All the posters depicted her favorite blonde in some sort of pose from flashing a thumb up, to his foxy grin, to him leaping from a tree into the air.
Hinata sat on the edge of the bed, her jacket discarded on the floor and her body hunched over, occasional sighs poured forth from the girl. She sat staring at a small Naruto-kun rag doll with his signature orange jacket and pants and his whiskers that gave him the fox like appearance. Slowly she placed the doll on the bed and looked up at the endless white ceiling of the room.
"Why does this always happen to me? Why am I so pathetic?" Hinata stood up and paced around her room. "I am supposed to be the heir to the great Hyuuga clan but all I ever do is mess things up and fail. I can't even face the one person I admire the most without blushing and at just the slightest touch I pass out." Hinata ceased her pacing and collapsed onto her bed, her face buried in a pillow. She reached out and brought the Naruto-kun doll towards her and pulled her face from the soft pillow.
"I just want you to notice me and acknowledge me." Hinata's voice softened to just above a whisper as she finished her sentence and her eyes began to tighten as she felt tears begin to form. "A weakling like me doesn't deserve someone as kind and caring as you." With these words she sat up and pulled her arm back to launch the doll.
Just as she brought her arm forward a pair of hands closed in upon hers, sealing the doll in safety, and gently brought her arm back down. Hinata opened her tear filled eyes and blinked furiously as she was unable to believe what she saw.
"Don't tell me that you are giving up on me already." Naruto smiled down at Hinata who could only breathe as she stared at her favorite blonde. "You need to stay strong and never give up. I care about you."
"No you don't. You only care about Sakura. You have never really looked at me ever!" Hinata's tears continued to fall down her face and she began to sob. Naruto embraced the girl in a strong hug with her face sobbing into his shoulder. Naruto rubbed her back with one hand and held her head gently with the other hand.
"Hey, hey, there. Come on now. That's not true at all."
"Yes it is," sobbed Hinata. "You only think I am a weird girl, that I am worthless." Naruto pushed Hinata away from his shoulder and forced her to look at him in his eyes. The clear blue of his eyes met with the opal white of her eyes.
"I do not think you are worthless. I would never think that someone is worthless. All my life I was shunned and told how worthless I was but I try my best to prove myself to them, to show them that I am not the worthless boy they think I am. You are a pretty, kind, a little weird, and sweet person and that makes you worth more than all the ramen on the planet."
Hinata sniffled, her eyes still firmly locked with Naruto's. "R-really?"
"Well, maybe not all the ramen," said Naruto as he grinned his foxy grin that brought a soft giggle to Hinata. Naruto brought one hand up to her face and wiped the tear tracks from one cheek and then the other.
"But.."
"No buts. No what ifs. All I ask is that you stay strong and not give up on me and especially on yourself."
"I promise Naruto-kun. I will not give up."
Naruto gently embraced the girl who returned his hug with force. Hinata buried her face in his chest and curled up to him. Naruto held the girl and gently stroked her back before he let out a sad sigh. "Hinata, it's time to wake up."
"Not yet. Please do not go yet." Naruto looked down at the girl in his arms and nodded his head. He continued to hold Hinata as the world faded to white.
"Hey, guys, she's waking up." Hinata slowly cracked open her eyes and found Tenten, Ino, Neji, and Naruto looking down on her. She looked around the room and recognized it as her hotel room. She looked and saw she was in her bed with the sheet pulled about her.
"Good evening sleepy head," said Ino to the pale eyed girl, a smile evident on the blonde girls face.
"That must have been some dream you were having," said Tenten, a mischievous grin on her face. "You kept mumbling the whole time. I wonder what it was about." Tenten looked from Hinata to Naruto and back again before winking at the Hyuuga girl.
Neji stood up from beside the bed and said "Now that Hinata-sama is awake I shall take my leave. Goodbye Hinata-sama." Neji bobbed his head slightly and left the hotel room. Ino just rolled her eyes as Neji left and returned her attention back to Hinata.
"It is a good thing you woke up now. We were going to head for a karaoke place in a little bit. We thought it would be best if you got some rest but this idiot," Ino tilted her head towards Naruto, "insisted on checking up on you first."
Hinata's heart began to flutter and she looked at Naruto. He wore a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his head. "Eh, it's no big deal really. I'd worry about any of my friends after all." Hinata's happiness wavered for a second before it returned in full force. 'For now, I am happy to be his friend.'
"Thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata was slightly shocked after she finished her sentence because she realized she did not stutter that time.
"Well, we only have a little bit of time to get ready so time to go Naruto." Ino began to push the boy towards the exit.
"But we still have thirty minutes left before we were going to leave. Ouch, hey, not so hard."
"Move it baka. Go!" Ino pushed the blonde boy out of the room and into the hall before she slammed the door shut and returned to join Hinata and Tenten. "Okay, we have thirty minutes until we leave so, Hinata, what were you dreaming about?" Ino and Tenten press in on Hinata and begin their interrogation.
Naruto looked around the room he shared with the other Konoha males. Naruto was doing his best to drown out Kiba's song about asking who released the hounds or some such nonsense. After Kiba finished the song he was met with boo's from his friends and the lowest score from the machine for the night. Kiba angrily sat in his chair and grumbled. "What the hell do they know about music anyway?" Akamaru barked his agreement with Kiba and nestled himself deeper in Kiba's jacket.
Kiba suddenly jerked in his seat as Lee appeared in front him. "Kiba-kun, your youthful fiery spirit has inspired me! Now I will follow your lead and let the flames of youth guide me in my journey!" With those words Lee grabbed the microphone and hit the random button on the song machine. Lee's voice filled the room and caused several members to cringe and others with more sensitive ears to cry out in pain. Even stoic Shino was forced to twitch at the attempt of the spandex clad nin to sing. Halfway through the song, which talked about tights and looking for fights in a forest, Naruto had had enough and made for the exit. Naruto saw as he left that Chouji and Shikamaru were in the process of removing the microphone from Lee's grasp. After he swiftly exited the room Naruto made his way to the restaurant portion of the building but halted when he heard a familiar voice from a nearby room. Naruto was curious what Sakura and the girls were up to and moved towards the door the voice had come from.
Ino's song just finished playing and the other kunoichi applauded at her performance. Ino went back to her chair between Tenten and Sakura and set the microphone down on the table. "So who's up next?" asked Ino. Sakura had already sung three songs, Tenten did her best on her favorite song , and Ino had just finished her fourth go. All eyes turned to the shy purpled headed girl whose eyes were downcast at her feet. Sakura moved next to Hinata and handed her the microphone.
Hinata's eyes widened in slight fear and her face began to redden. "M-me?"
"Yes, you Hinata-chan. Go on, it will be fun. Trust me."
"Besides," said Ino "you are the only one of us that has yet to have a go at it."
Tenten pulled Hinata from her chair and brought her to the song list. "Don't worry, it is just us so have fun with it." Tenten smiled at Hinata and went back to her seat. Hinata nervously browsed through the list of songs. Hinata's eyes stopped on one song near the bottom of the fourth row and input the number into the machine. Hinata turned back to look at her friends as the song began to play and she began to sing.
ienai kimochi o daita mama
kono mune ni anata michitekuru
dakedo setsunakute kurushii omoi naki dashisou
kanojo o mitsumeru sono hitomi
towa yuru ga nai ki ga suru no
demo ne, sukoshi dake . . . honno sukoshi dake kono watashi mite yo
moshi dare yori mo hayaku anata ni deatte itanara
omou mama ni negau mama ni koi o shita deshou ka
mouichido moichido
umare kawatte aeta nara
koto wa anata no
ichiban ni naritai
aeba au hodo ni tsunoru bakari
awanakya sabishi kunaru bakari
nante migatte na soshite konan na koi o shita no deshou
isso ubaeru mo no nara sou kangaeta koto mo aru
futari no kyori mou kore ijou hanashitaku nai kara . . .
okubyou mono da to
mou hitori no watashi ga iu
soredemo itsudemo
anata ga ichiban yo
moshi dare yori mo hayaku anata ni deatte itanara
omou mama ni negau mama ni koi o shita deshou ka
mouichido moichido
umare kawatte aeta nara
koto wa anata no
ichiban ni naritai
The girls cheered Hinata loudly as the song ended. "That was amazing Hinata-chan," said Sakura. Hinata blushed slightly at the compliment.
"Do you really think so?"
The kunoichi nodded their agreement with Sakura. "Hell yeah. You were amazing Hinata." All the girls turned to the voice and saw Naruto looking into the room from the small window in the door.
'H-he saw me? He h-heard me sing…no….' Hinata's legs grew weaker by the second and she began to move towards the floor. Ino and Tenten, knowing the effect Naruto's presence would have on the girl, dashed to Hinata's side and grabbed an arm. The two girls propped the girl up and glared at Naruto. Sakura looked back and forth between Hinata and Naruto, a cruel smile formed on her face.
"Naruto! You baka!" Sakura launched herself at the blonde boy and smashed her fist into the top of his skull that sent him face first into the floor. Sakura looked down on Naruto and continued her beating.
"Aah, Sakura, oof, what did, ouch, I do?" Ino and Tenten shook their heads in dismay as the pummeling continued. "Someday someone is going to have to just tell him you know," said Ino.
"I'm afraid you are right," agreed Tenten.
Hinata felt very comfortable for some reason. She couldn't explain it but she felt safe and secure right here. She was afraid to open her eyes and dispel this illusion of security and warmth. She increased her grip, afraid to lose this comfort. "Ha, Hinata, that's a little tight." Hinata's eyes shot open and she found herself on Naruto's back. She pushed away from Naruto's back but found he had a hold of her legs so she could not move. Naruto became unbalanced and fell forward and slammed his face into the ground.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata quickly got off of the blonde ninja's back and rolled him over. Hinata became aware of many pairs of eyes on her and found the other Konoha nin looking at the two on the ground. Naruto sat up and shook his head to clear away the haze. "I'm s-sorry Naruto-kun. I-I did n-not mean to…"
"Hey, calm down. I'm okay and it was no big deal." Naruto laughed and scratched his head, his smile made Hinata forget about her worries. Naruto stood back up and brushed his clothes off. The females rolled their eyes and went back on towards the hotel. The group walked the rest of the way to the hotel and talked about the night and plans for tomorrow. The ninja separated to their respective rooms except for Naruto who followed Hinata to her room with Tenten. Tenten unlocked the hotel room door and stepped inside so as to leave the two alone.
"I-I'm sorry Naruto-kun. You had to c-carry me back and then…"
"Ah it was no big deal. Kiba offered to carry you but it was my fault. I didn't know you had such stage fright but Sakura explained it all to me so I was only doing what was fair. Besides, you are pretty light, compared to Sakura anyway." Hinata could not suppress a small giggle at that comment. Naruto laughed too and the two enjoyed the moment of humor. "Well, good night Hinata. Got to get plenty of sleep for tomorrow."
"Hai, goodnight Naruto-kun." Hinata bowed slightly to the orange clad ninja before she entered her room and closed the door. Naruto made his way back to his room and waved to his teammate. "Night Sakura-chan."
"Naruto, wait. Please." Naruto stopped and looked back to the pink haired girl. "Can we talk for a minute?" Naruto looked at her questioningly and nodded his consent. She led him to her hotel room and they sat at the small table in the corner.
"What's wrong Sakura-chan?" Naruto was worried about his teammate, she never wanted to just talk before.
"Nothing is wrong, not really. Maybe a little. It's just that…with this tournament I keep thinking back on the chuunin exams. Then my thoughts move towards your fight with Neji and…and Sasuke's match with Gaara. Do you remember that?"
"Hard not to. That was one rough day. We nearly lost the city, but more importantly I nearly lost you and Sasuke." Naruto took hold of one of Sakura's hands and gripped it firmly. "We won though, we made it."
"I know, but now with this tournament I think back to those days and the nightmares have returned."
"Nightmares?" Naruto cocked his head to the side.
"Yes. After your last fight with Sasuke I have had them. They are not like normal nightmares. They feel too real for that and the images are just….are just…." Sakura's eyes began to water.
"Why didn't you tell someone sooner?" Naruto held her hand firmer, trying his best to let her know he was here for her.
"I did. I told Ino and she told me to tell Tsunade-sama." Sakura took a deep breathe and released it slowly. "Tsunade-sama gave me some medicine that stopped the dreams but it does not seem to work anymore and the dreams are getting worse."
"They're just dreams though. They aren't real."
"You don't understand. I see you and Sasuke fighting, but this time you don't come back. Then I see Orochimaru tear Sasuke to pieces. Again and again and again." Sakura was visibly trembling, the fear and terror of the thoughts to great for her. Naruto pulled Sakura to him, her head to his shoulder as the tears began to fall from her eyes.
"Shh…it's okay Sakura-chan. Even though Sasuke and I left on not the happiest of terms, we would never kill the other. As for Orochimaru, Sasuke would never let anything get in his way of getting revenge on his brother. Nothing at all." 'Even those he loves the most,' thought Naruto as he cradled the terrified girl. Naruto moved Sakura to the couch in the room and sat next to her for several minutes as she approached her calm once more.
"Naruto, will you stay with me tonight. I don't feel like being alone." Naruto nodded as Sakura curled next to him and drifted to sleep. Naruto looked on his teammate with sadness in his eyes. 'Damn you Sasuke. Why did you have to go and do this to her. Bastard….' Naruto closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber where his nightmares and demons clashed every night.
Hinata left her room and knocked on Naruto and Kiba's door. She waited nervously and jumped as the door opened quickly. "What, forget your key?" Kiba looked at his teammate with surprise. "Oh, Hinata, I thought it was Naruto."
"He is not here?" Hinata was a little shocked that he had not returned to his room and sad that he was not here. "Do you know where he went?"
"Yeah, Sakura said she wanted to talk to him." Hinata quickly bowed to her teammate and walked to Sakura's room. She did not know what she was going to say to Naruto, she just knew she wanted to say something. As Hinata neared the door she saw that it was slightly ajar. She peaked through the small crack and gasped as she saw Naruto with Sakura curled next to him. Hinata's eyes lowered to the floor as she walked back to her room. Upon reaching her bed, Hinata fell face first onto a pillow and spilled a single tear. She fell into a fitful sleep with memories and thoughts that only deepened her depression.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please R&R. See you in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 4: First Fight, First Fright
Hope you will enjoy it. TY.