Chapter Five – Sasuke's Side

Hinata was fairly vibrating with nerves and curiosity all day. She couldn't wait to see Naruto that afternoon and find out Sasuke's version of what had happened the night before. Sakura could easily sense her usually mellow friend's excitement, but no amount of questioning stares could get Hinata to reveal the excitement's source.

"Finally!" Hinata gasped as the finale bell rang. Swiftly she leaped up and gathered her books. "Gotta go Sakura- chan! Talk to you later!"

"See you later!" Sakura shouted at Hinata's retreating back. She shook her head, puzzled at Hinata's behavior.

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Naruto slide into the booth across from Hinata. They were at a small, local dinner. It was popular among High school students, and always became busy after school let out. Most of the tables were filled. It was crowded enough that you could speak in a normal voice without fearing being over heard, but small enough that there was an atmosphere of privacy and secludedness. Calmly Naruto ordered his usual: pork ramen. Hinata choose to get a chicken wrap. An easy silence fell over the two as they waited for their food. Naruto grinned as he sipped his tea; Hinata squirmed in her seat, obviously eager to hear what Sasuke had said.

"I love you," he murmured, gazing softly at her.

"What?" Hinata asked, unable to hear him over the soft drone of the other students around the other students around them. Naruto just smiled and shook his head.

"So…" Naruto began, drawing out the word. He chuckled as Hinata's squirming increased. It was just too much fun to tease her! "I spoke to Sasuke this morning." Naruto took another sip of his tea.

"Naruto-kun! Please, what did he say?" Hinata begged.

"He said 'Wake up Dobe.' Then kicked my leg… hard." Naruto said, lowering his voice a few octaves when he imitated Sasuke. Hinata stared at him; her eyes where wide and confused.

"Naruto-kun!" She shouted in frustration. Several heads turned to glare at them. Naruto jumped up and walked to her side of the table.

"Gomen!" He cried out. He bent over and quickly kissed her. Pulling away, they both blushed realizing that people were staring. Silently Naruto sat back in his seat.

"Well Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan's basic story are the same. It is smaller stuff that was different." Naruto began quickly, hoping to appease Hinata. "He was really surprised when he saw Sakura-chan. I mean not her in general but the way she acted and looked. He described her as happy and almost… confident. Those are two things Sakura never acts like, you know? I think he likes the way she looked; her aura was really different. And he said she was nervous, but worked really hard. He was surprised with how smart she actually is. She's always so quite, you'd never know. and I think he's worried about her. She's staying all by herself at home, which is pretty dangerous. He practically killed me when he told me about it. He thinks you and I should be taking better care of her. I've never seen him act like that about someone else!" Naruto finished with a flourish. He and Hinata sat, grinning at each other. They both were thinking about how ironic it was they could see what their friends were so blind to. Hinata glanced at her watch.

"Why don't we stop by there tonight. Say… a little after eight. Its Friday so we'll bring movies and all four of us can hang out there all night. It will be like a double date."

"Alright. If I can get Sasuke-teme to stay… how much do you want to bet that they don't notice they double date component?"

"No way! That's a bet I can never win!" Laughing, the couple began to eat and debate about which movies to bring that night.