Chapter 6: Intimacy
Neji always did have a knack for creating awkward situations.
This time is no different.
"What would happen if we really were engaged?" Naruto questions to break the silence, amusement laces his tone and Hinata feels her face burning up all over again as his stare roams over to her.
But Neji's eyes only narrow, wrinkling his nose at the just the idea. "I'd probably kill you."
"…Harsh."
Hinata fidgeted at Neji's continued stare down of Naruto, white eyes sharpening over every inch of him before his gaze finally returns to her.
"Let me talk to you. Alone." He adds in when Naruto opens his mouth to speak again.
He shuts it, but now he's clearly growing impatient with him and she mouths they'll be back quickly before his eyes begin to darken.
He guides them out of earshot around the corner by the alleyways, the streetlights ominously flicker on and off as his expression morphs into one of concern.
"What are you doing Hinata?"
Hinata blinked, resisting the urge to ruffle with the hems of her shirt. "I'm on a date; that you rudely interrupted."
Neji arched a brow. "Really?"
She nodded, not trusting her voice this time.
But the action is enough to bring suspicion back into Neji's voice and she steps back when his fingers reach for the key around her neck.
"You know the lock and key is for couples about to be married, right? Or at least given during the actual marriage ceremony. It's an old Hyuga custom I don't think we even still do, though you remember the history behind it; don't you?"
Of course she does, why even ask such a silly question?
Her reasons for giving Naruto the lock aren't what he thinks though.
"Neji, we aren't about to get married. I've only known Naruto for around a little over a month now. I'm just trying to help him with school…so could you please not be impolite to him?"
"No; I don't trust him."
Hinata sighed, pouting. "Yeah, I noticed."
But he's right to not fully believe in her she supposes, but she hopes it may just put him at ease that Naruto hasn't sprouted fox ears yet nor have his eyes taken on an all too familiar scarlet hue.
It doesn't!
Neji crosses his arms, regarding her as if she's ill, lost her mind, or perhaps a combination of both.
"You're not being fully honest with me, but I know I'm not going to get any real answers out of you. It's fine if you want to tutor or even study together, though to keep it hidden from your closest friends and even your family you have to admit looks worrisome on your end."
'That's because I knew you would react like this!'
"Neji, you're always distrustful of anybody. It's the way father raised you." Hinata retorts.
"Can you blame me?" He questions, though there's a hint of a smile in his expression as his shoulders finally begin to relax.
And she resists breathing a sigh of relief, stomach slowly unknotting from its tight coiling.
His tone is wary and unsure, fair enough. He doesn't know who Naruto is, but trust can be built.
"So I'll just ask Mr. Inuzuka instead; he'll tell me everything I need to know about this guy." He emphasizes coolly.
Or not…
And before she can dare follow or stop him he's moving past her into a nearby car waiting, glancing at her one last time.
"If you ever feel uncomfortable or worried we're only a phone call away; either me or Uncle."
The car heads in the direction of the manor and her gut returns to churning again at the thought of her father's questioning in the near future.
'Neji why?'
"Did you know that your brother was an asshole?!" Naruto frowns, his last bowl of ramen sits forgotten by his side, bowl no longer giving off steam of fresh noodles and beef when she pushes it aside.
"Cousin." Hinata corrects.
Even though she often did refer to Neji like a brother, having grown up so closely together she watched him succeed time and again where she often just seemed mediocre at best. From grades to tournaments, she constantly loomed in the shadows behind him in second place.
Going into medicine while he went into business was finally an opportunity for the comparisons to end.
I guess the transition of severing ties came with the territory of being overprotective as well.
Naruto snorts before grinning at the clear annoyance in her voice. "Let's get out of here."
They take the long way back home through the groves. Most people avoid this path at this time of year, the wind crackles against barren trees and the moon slowly becomes obscured by twisted branches and puffs of gray clouds sweeping by.
Naruto is completely at ease though, whistling a light tune without a care in the world.
Others have more to fear in crossing him than vice versa.
Neji's presence has done one thing for sure tonight though.
No more pussyfooting around! (As Sakura or Ino would say)
All the advice she's gotten from her two best friends has only made her go in circles, the answers she wants to solving Naruto's problem will never come to her unless she makes the first move for once on him.
"Will you be calling me again on Friday night?" She asks gently when they reach the corner that leads up to her apartment.
Naruto nods, dancing his fingers through her violet locks until he sees the familiar tint of red stain her cheeks.
"You know I will." He muses with a smile.
And Hinata smiles back, reaching to tap his chin when he leans closer for a kiss.
"Then I have a request, for our next outing that is. I want it be memorable for the both of us."
His blue eyes swim with curiosity but she only shakes her head; this has to be a surprise.
Her idea being Naruto has to give into his temptations in order for him to learn.
But more so than that she needs to work up the nerve to be confident and flirty like any other call girl if this going to work!
'I can do that though; I just need to prepare properly.'
-X-
"Family clans of Konoha, this must be it." Hinata smiled to herself.
Konoha Central Library usually has more visitors during the weekend, it's rare to see it so packed for just a weekday. She has just enough time to finish up the last bits of her schoolwork and do some research before heading off to work.
The weekend always seems to arrive too fast again and again in her case.
She drifts past the children's section where they're having a read aloud sessions and painting that's already inked the shelves with splatters of whites and blues to the quieter halls upstairs.
This is the only book she found that lists all of the major clans of Konoha from over the past century.
Including the Uzumaki.
Her hand spins over the spiral mark of the clan and she frowns at the realization there's barely a page and half covering the entire family's history.
Were they that secretive?
No, there must be another reason.
'The Uzumaki clan were a renowned family from the warring states era predating Konoha's official creation. Many members of this clan were known for their longevity, fiery red hair, healing abilities, and sealing of animals and other various properties.'
Okay, nothing out of the ordinary so far.
'Though the Uzumaki were a prominent clan, they were quickly destroyed and disbanded due to fears of certain other skills most members began to possess. Many reports from eyewitnesses tell stories of vicious behavior and beast like features manifesting in Uzumaki when they come of age that only worsened if they weren't immediately taken down.'
Hmm, well that's not good!
This is sounding more and more exactly like Naruto's case.
She read further through the paragraph as it went into examples of Uzumaki gaining unusual amounts of fur along their body and 'glowing crimson eyes' that haunted people at night if they ever made one angry.
In the end, other family lines had banded together to destroy the clan before they became too powerful or dangerous.
'Oh, dear.'
Well, at least she knew where all of Naruto's traits came from. It couldn't be helped that this was something that came from his family history apparently.
The end of the page was worn and dusted with any other detailed information torn out, others in the past clearly having tried to block out as much data as possible that mentioned the clan. It seemed that few had taken the time to learn more about the clan, it sounded interesting and if Naruto existed that meant some of his ancestors had survived at least.
Though none of this exactly helps her in controlling said changes of his…
'It said that the traits tended to worsen if not immediately taken care of, does that mean Naruto's changes will only grow more and more obvious or dangerous until I finally help him get a hold of it?' She wondered.
"Maybe I really am going to need to borrow some Ino's more revealing outfits." Hinata whispered, biting her lip at the image of putting on a show for him.
Her phone abruptly buzzes from her pocket breaking said lewd ideas and Hinata shuffles it out just in time to see a missed call from Sakura flash across the screen.
Odd, she's going to see her later on at work tonight anyways.
"Hey Sakura, what's up?"
There's a breath of relief from her end to be hearing back from her so fast, voice absolutely giddy and almost oddly shrill.
"Hinata, Hinata you have to come down to call center! Now!"
-X-
'This is the emergency? The excitement?' Hinata thinks, but makes sure to keep said thoughts to herself.
All of the woman (even the ones not on shift tonight) have gathered at the office, huddled around the windows just to catch even a peek of the glorious sight of…
Sasuke?
'Naruto's roommate is here; maybe Naruto was right when he said Sasuke would have to give into his repressed sexual needs eventually or it would kill him.' Hinata muses, though Sasuke looks terribly bored and uncomfortable by all the attention he's getting. The same flat expression is on his face, charcoal eyes just as cold as when she first met him.
He stands outside the doors of their call center, not making a move to enter or go away.
Naruto did say he had strange quirks…
Sakura nudges her excitedly, like one of her callers just gave her one of her biggest tips of the night or a good compliment.
"I never thought I would see the day when Sasuke Uchiha of all people would break down and need a phone sex line! I thought from all the rumors I heard about their family's prestige and whatnot that something like this would be beneath them. Men have urges no matter how rich or poor their background is, huh?
Oh, so that's why Sakura was so fascinated by this scene, she and Ino always did get a kick out of seeing/hearing rich people call their line and use their services trying to disguise their voices or facial features.
Though there's undeniably an interest that sparks in her green eyes at staring at Sasuke, cheeks darkening when she swears their gazes meet for a second.
"Ah, but he is a bit cute too, don't you think? Like in that bad boy, loner type of way. The kind so many of our guy callers wish they could be." She prattled on.
'Not really, he reminds me of father…'
Hinata just shook her head with a laugh and Sakura quirked a brow before smirking.
"That's right, you're type is more the loud, energetic guy; ala Naruto." She hummed.
Hinata could feel herself beginning to blush and pouted. "W-Well, there's more to Naruto than just those two things!"
Much, much more.
Sakura nodded, but waved her off. "It's okay to have a type Hinata! Anyways, seems like Mr. Uchiha here just needed to give something to the madam seeing as he's leaving now."
She followed her line of sight as the raven haired man disappeared into the crowded streets as a wave of disappointed croons filled the air.
"He's leaving already? Oh, what I wouldn't give to have had him as my client!" Carnation hummed.
"You? Ugh, get over yourself! I'm sure I could have had him paying me after just thirty minutes of talking back and forth! He would have been begging me for more." Lily snapped from beside her, wiggling her breasts for emphasis.
That's gross.
And Hinata only cringed at the thought, Sakura thankfully not bringing up the topic of sex with Sasuke either.
Tsunade's loud cough breaks the two apart though, brown eyes searching until they fall upon her.
She holds a letter out to her, pushing it into her hands when she doesn't immediately reach to take it.
"He said he couldn't bring himself to come inside and that he just needed to deliver this note from the 'moron'? He said you would know who he's talking about." Tsunade grumbles before announcing anyone not on shift tonight needs to get going unless they plan to do some overtime.
Clearly she hasn't had her afternoon sake just yet.
Hinata retreats once more to the privacy of the bathroom, carefully opening up the sealed note. For Sasuke to have to come in person to deliver it, must mean it's something important.
'Charger for my phone hasn't been working properly, won't be able to call you this evening…would it be okay if we met up in person instead, say Ichiraku at around 7 or 8?'
The handwriting is crude and hard to make out in places, but it's undeniably from Naruto and her heartbeat quickens.
She won't get paid if she went out with him tonight.
And Tsunade reminds her of said fact when she heads to her office shortly after to state she's calling in sick for the night.
Even so, Naruto's calls as of late take up most of her night anyways and it bothers her that he continues to pay her knowing he can't afford to keep using the service so much.
'I'm not mentally prepared yet for the surprise I was going to give him though! I promised him our next outing would be memorable.'
No, no she couldn't chicken out on this, all the ideas she had in mind would just have to be put into action faster than she expected.
Tonight will be great!
One way or another…hopefully.
-X-
"Where are you going dressed so fancy? I thought you were just going out for ramen as usual?" Sasuke questioned.
Naruto shrugged on the blue blazer before sending him a glare. "What? I can't dress nice for my date? Besides, Hinata said she wanted to go out afterwards to somewhere nice, she wouldn't explain where though."
It did feel a bit odd to be in slacks and a neatly pressed button down shirt, Sasuke had given one look at him when he stepped out of his room and asked if he had hit his head.
Not funny.
Sasuke flicked off the remnants of dust on the shoulder pads of the jacket, shaking his head with a small smirk.
"Been awhile since you've had to go somewhere nice, huh?" He mused.
"Says the guy who's just going to spend all night watching TV alone in the dark!" Naruto snaps back.
Of course Sasuke had no problems with doing that, schoolwork and running the finances of the multiple branches of the Uchiha's corporations kept him busy enough during the week.
So while he stayed inside being a loser, he would go out and enjoy life!
He swung his silver keys around his index finger, grinning at the thought of what Lilac would wear. He still sometimes liked to call Hinata by her nickname, much to her embarrassment and his enjoyment.
"I guess I won't see you until tomorrow morning then or afternoon?" Sasuke asks suggestively at seeing Naruto's stupid grin.
"Probably so!"
He hears Sasuke mention over his shoulder to avoid breaking the law or scaring off people if the tiniest dirty thought happens to come to mind.
Well duh, he has to do that every day!
Hinata is already waiting for him not too far off from Ichiraku's stands. In the evening sun, she looks absolutely radiant.
And he stops for a moment just to admire her from head to toe out of her viewpoint.
From the blue and purple floral dress she has that hugs her curves nicely, the teardrop earrings sparkling as she nervously taps the antique key around her neck looking around every which way in the crowds for him, her long creamy legs…
He can feel the hairs on his arms rising and he quickly looks away.
'Breathe, the date hasn't even officially started yet.'
"Ah, there you are! I was starting to worry maybe I had come a bit too early! It's so busy, well it is Friday night, but even Ichiraku's doesn't seem like it has any seating for us to-" Hinata rambled, cut off as Naruto moved to approach her and wrap her in a hug.
"You smell just as good as you look." He purrs in her ear and he nips at the tip of her lobe as she shivers in his arms.
"Naruto, ah w-we're still in public!" Hinata mumbles quickly, tugging back from him slightly before he began to trail his kisses downward.
Or gain any more fox features.
To her relief, Naruto does indeed relax as he turns his gaze towards inside Ichiraku. There really is no spots to sit down and eat, Teuchi and Ayame busily moving back forth from the kitchen to the front with new orders of beef and chicken broths in their arms each time.
"You know I never thought I would say this, but we may have to skip the ramen for tonight. Do you want to try Yakiniku Q instead?" Naruto asks to which Hinata nods.
Any food is a good distraction for her nerves.
But she's sure Naruto notices her shakiness minutes later as they sit across from each other sharing a variety of meat and seafood cuisine.
"Hinata, you're quieter than usual tonight." Naruto notes between bites of chicken wings, his fingers are quickly becoming stained with barbecue sauce and Hinata giggles as she passes him some napkins before he dirties his clothes.
"I'm just thinking about what we'll do after this." She replies, trying to keep her jittering under control. The meal is winding down now and their waiter is going to return with their bill soon enough when he makes his rounds again.
"Don't we always just go for a stroll in the park to let our meals get in our system?" Naruto questions before chugging down the rest of his soda.
'Stop being so nervous; it's not like Naruto is going to make fun of you or laugh.' Hinata berates herself, nodding her head.
And as they split the bill and leave, she reaches forward for his hand to begin guiding them to their next destination.
Naruto takes it in stride, letting her lead the way as they bump shoulders affectionately. The temperature has gotten much cooler as they drift through the faint amber glow of twilight.
It's taking a lot of effort for Hinata to ignore her heart's wild thumping as they twist and turn down different corridors.
Eventually, Naruto is going to realize where she's taking them.
She watches from the corner of her eyes as he looks up at the bright billboards and growing rowdiness of the crowds filled with drunken patrons.
"Hmm, this isn't the normal way we walk to the park Hinata, you know." Naruto points out.
In fact, it seems like they're heading in the opposite direction…right towards the red light district.
'Does Hinata want to go to work?'
"We're not going to the park. Remember how I said I wanted to surprise you? Well, everything will make sense if you stick with me on this." Hinata explains.
She can feel Naruto squeeze and grip her hand just a bit tighter.
"Of course I trust you Lilac." He teases.
Two more turns and one street crossing later, they arrive.
Hotel Oasis.
One of the best love hotels in Konoha.
-X-
"Ah yes, under the name Lilac Uzumaki, correct?" The receptionist types away at her computer before looking up at her again.
Hinata's face must surely be an annoying beet red as she nods and hurriedly accepts the keys, gesturing for Naruto to follow her.
Naruto's confusion/puzzlement at being here has immediately switched to pleasure/amusement.
He pokes her blushing cheeks as soon as the bellboy is out of sight, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Mrs. Uzumaki, huh? You're only going to make Neji think we really are engaged pulling stunts like that!"
"I-It's only because using the last name Hyuga and using my real name would've been too weird! When the Hyuga's own so many hotels, spas, casinos, and what not it wouldn't make sense for one of us to be a love hotel!" Hinata sputters back.
Well, Naruto doesn't believe her lame excuse.
"Speaking of which, why are we here anyways?" He emphasizes, plopping down on the bed.
Not that this is a bad place to be with Hinata. Rose petals decorate the bed along with a bottle of some type of fine wine on the table nearby, the walls and furniture were the latest designs in leather, velvet, and intricate designs of golds and reds. Altogether, the room gave off the vibe of the lavish lifestyle that only the elite of Konoha's citizens got to enjoy.
Hinata doesn't answer him though and he turns to look at her just in time to see her slowly unzipping her dress.
She pauses when she realizes he's watching her, red mixing in with the blue of his eyes as he grins toothily at her.
"Is this what you were nervous about earlier? Putting on a show for me?" He grunts.
And she allows him to tug her into the bed, his grumbling becoming animalistic against her neck. Hinata pulls back from him once more though, gently sliding her fingers against her face before initiating the kiss this time.
Naruto doesn't react at first and her whole body stiffens that maybe she's doing this all completely wrong or she isn't being attractive until she abruptly feels Naruto steady himself and guide her into his lap to kiss her back tenfold.
Her dress descends even further past her shoulders when the break apart, and she fleetingly feels Naruto's tail start to brush up against her when he sees the lace of her bra.
"And you're wearing lingerie too? What's this all for; seducing me?" He growls, nails sharply dig into her thighs and she winces.
He's starting to lose control.
"I read about your family history Naruto…and well as much as I got advice from a variety of people and thought of different options, I think the only way to really help you is to expose you to what causes your transformations in the first place in the hope after enough time you'll be able to manage this and control your changes at will."
It's a mouthful and she's pretty sure it completely went over Naruto's head as his eyes drift down to her breasts.
She forces him to look at her properly though, keeping her breathing steady. No getting antsy or giving into her own desires too…
"Naruto, I'm sorry to say this…but you can't ravage me if you give in to the beast."
"What, I'm completely fine though!" Naruto retorts, though he has to grit his teeth just to get those words out.
Hinata shook her head, trailing one hand down his tail and he groans as he pushes her down into the bed.
"Then why do you have fox ears and tail right now?" Hinata asks from beneath him, either Naruto's answer will be a garbled mix of growls and hisses or he'll manage to give her a ridiculous response.
He chooses the latter.
"…Just because!"
-x-
Woohoo, made it to 100 favorites and over 180 follows, blows my mind! So glad so many people are enjoying this story!
On a side note, I've been having a tough week but while dealing with patients and their families and the everyday struggles of life, I know now exactly how this story will end which is going to be so much fun to write when I get to that part lol. Anyways, I love all your feedback and thoughts as usual!
Enjoy. Review. Favorite. Follow!