Konoha High

So I'll be blaming my absence on writer's block, FFXIV, and school…

13 - Conversations

Amaya Shimizu

"Okairi!" Aiko shouts as I shut the door.

"Tadaima…" I mutter. She comes out of the kitchen and looks at me, or more, behind me, as if expecting someone else to walk through the door.

"I thought you said Akari was coming over today," she glances back at the kitchen. "I made dinner for three."

"Right… Akari, uh, got a call from his cousin. He had to help him out back at their apartment," I lie.

"Aw…, and I made your guys' favorite, too."

"Let's just eat already."

[…]

I eat quickly to avoid any conversation with Aiko, but when I stand up to put my dishes in the sink, she clears her throat.

"Is there something wrong?" She asks, then calmly takes a sip of her water.

"No."

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not."

"I'm your sister- I've known you long enough to tell that you're not alright." Aiko sets down her cup, still calm and collected as usual. She sighs, "Something happened between you and Akari. Am I wrong?"

I try to evade the question by dropping my plate into the sink and quickly walking to my room, but that doesn't stop her.

"And that's why Akari isn't here, isn't it?" Why won't she stop?! Isn't it obvious that I don't want to talk about that?

I get into my room and shut the door.

Naruto Namikaze

"You've really outdone yourself, Kushina," Jiraiya compliments my mom. "This tastes amazing."

"Yeah, Mom. It's really great." It really is, but I know we're both saying this just in an attempt to cheer her up to distract her from the fact that Dad hasn't shown up.

"Thank you." she says half-heartedly. She stands to put her dishes into the sink and starts turning the handle for the water to come on, but I stop her.

"Mom it's okay, I'll do the dishes tonight."

"It's fine, I'll do them."

"The boy said he'll do them for once, Kushina! Why don't you just let 'im?" Jiraiya grins and pats me on the back (maybe just a little too hard for my comfort).

"Well, if you insist," she gives a grateful smile as she turns off the faucet and puts down her plate. "Thank you, Naruto." She doesn't leave the kitchen like I'd expected, though. Instead, she sits down at the table again, right in front of me.

Jiraiya rises from his seat. "I'm done. Thanks, again, for the food, Kushina." He sets his plate in the sink. "I'm just gonna leave this right here for ya, Naruto."

I glare at him but let him leave without saying anything else. Now I'm left alone with my mother, whose expression becomes more serious.

"Naruto, I really hope this doesn't change what you think about your father, okay? He's a great man; he really is. But I hope you understand that sometimes, it's difficult for him-"

"It's okay, Mom," I grin to reassure her. "I know."

She smiles warmly. "You've really become-" She's interrupted by a clicking sound. It's coming from the door, which swings open to reveal who's standing behind it.

"Gomen, Naruto~ It seems I'm a bit late…"

Hinata Hyuga

I tap a button on my phone and its screen lights up.

No New Messages

I sigh- I guess I didn't expect any anyway…

While I was on the phone with him, helping him study, Naruto seemed a little different. He seemed nervous- I could hear it in his voice. I sent him a text a few minutes after we both hung up, asking him if he was okay, but he hasn't replied.

Compose New Text Message

To: Naruto Namikaze

Naruto?…

My finger hovers between the Send and Cancel button. It's been over an hour since I sent that. My thumb starts to lower onto Send. Will he think I'm too clingy or nosy if I send another one? I stop and hit Cancel instead.

Amaya Shimizu

"Amaya," Aiko knocks on the door. "Amaya!" I don't say anything and continue messing around on my computer.

"I know you aren't asleep. It's only 6"

"Who said I was?" I mutter back.

"Amaya, please-"

"Gomen, Aiko…, but could you please just leave me alone?" I hear her sigh and start walking back down the hallway.

I feel bad for making her worry all the time, but right now, I just need some space.

I shut my laptop and put it aside. I lean back against the frame of my bed, hugging my knees to my chest and burying the bottom half of my face in between.

Just a few hours ago, I got into a fight with my best friend. When I got home, I felt irritated and angry. But now, I just feel stupid and helpless. I should have just heard him out and kept apologizing, but no- I had to go and shout back. Why didn't I just keep my mouth shut? Why did I have to scream at him and make things worse? What a bad way to start the weekend.

He's definitely not going to visit this weekend, and he probably won't even talk to me when we get back to school.

I look down, just staring at my feet. My mind isn't quite at peace. I've never been in a fight like this before, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do to fix anything… What if I can't fix anything? I can't expect Akari to do everything like I'm so used to…but what am I supposed to do?

I'm such an idiot.

[…]

Beep. Beep.

Beep. Beep.

Riiiiiiiiing. Riiiii- "Hello?" I say as I finally sit up in my bed and lift the phone to my ear.

"Amaya-chan?" It sounds like Hinata.

"Yeah?"

"Did I call at a bad time? I'm sorry…"

"No, not really," I lie. Hinata's call actually woke me up. It's only 7 now, but I guess after sitting on my bed and thinking for a while earlier I ended up falling asleep. I sit down and let my legs hang over the edge of my bed so I'm not tempted to fall asleep again.

"Oh, that's good. It sounded like… Well anyway I just- I felt like- Gah," she exhales, then continues, "I need fresh air… Do you mind meeting me at the park?"

I really don't want to go back there, but… "Yeah, sure," is what comes out of my mouth instead.

When I hang up, I see two new message notifications on the screen. Both are from Hinata.

New Text Message

From: Hinata Hyuga

Amaya? Are you busy?

And then:

Can we talk for a bit?

[…]

Hinata's already sitting on a bench when I get to the park. I sit next to her, and she giggles.

"What's so funny?" I manage to smile a little.

"It's nothing, really. We both look like we just got out of bed." I look down at my clothes: my gray zip-up hoodie over a wrinkled shirt and pajama pants. I can't really say I was in the mood to put on something else after I literally had just woken up. All I did was hastily throw on the jacket and a pair of shoes before leaving the house.

I look at Hinata, who's wearing an oversized, plain white t-shirt and gym shorts. I've never seen her like this before. I've always seen her prepared, wearing out-going, simple-but-cute outfits. But then again, she hasn't seen me like this before, either.

"Wow, we do." I respond, quite late actually. "Anyways, what did you want to talk about?"

"I guess you could say I'm feeling a little insecure," she says, not looking at me, but instead at the sky. "And I'm pretty sure that the cause is obvious."

"…Naruto?"

"How'd you guess?" She smiles at me for a bit, then goes back to staring up at the sky, which is beginning to darken. "Well, I've always been like that, and knowing that he liked Sakura and that I probably didn't have a chance… but now that he's actually…"

"Yours?" I offer.

"Well yeah…, I was just afraid saying he was 'mine' would sound selfish… Anyway, now that he's er, mine, it seems like my insecurity has just increased even more. I keep thinking, 'What if he finds out he doesn't really like me? What if he realizes he's still in love with Sakura?' And after that Sasuke incident at school the other day…"

"How is Sasuke involved in all of this?"

"When he lashed out at Sakura the other day, of course it was Naruto that had to comfort her… Don't tell them this, but I overheard them afterward. Naruto seemed so mad at Sasuke but also so… defensive of her.

"I was on the phone with him earlier, helping him out with homework as usual, but he sounded different- more nervous; maybe anxious. And to me it felt like he was either hiding something or that there was something he was reluctant to tell me…

"Now…, now that he's… 'mine'…, I'm always nervous and worried and just…scared, knowing that in just a matter of minutes, he might not be anymore."

Hinata looks at me again.

"I sound really selfish right now…, don't I?" She sighs and looks down. "…but I can't help it." She doesn't say anything for a few seconds, then her expression changes. Her lips curve up into a fake smile and she actuallylaughs. "Well… I suppose you've had enough of hearing me go on about my problems…"

I shake my head, "Oh, no, no, it's okay, really."

"Thanks…, so while we're here… was there anything you wanted to talk about?" Hinata asks.

"…Not that I can think of," I tell her, even though there's the whole Akari thing occupying my mind.

"You sure?" She asks again. Well, it's Hinata. I'm sure I can talk to her about it… It'll be nice to have someone else to confide in besides Akari…

"Yeah, I'm okay." I feel guilty as soon as I say it.

"Oh, well alright." She stands up. "I'll be going then. See you on Monday, Amaya-chan."

"Bye."

Naruto Namikaze

"Well then," my mom yawns. "I'm tired.. Think I'm going to bed a little earlier than usual."

"Good night," my dad and I say, almost in sync.

"Good night," she says backs, then begins to walk back up to their bedroom.

"So…" Dad looks around the room, as if searching for a conversation topic. "…How's school?" He asks, just like Mom did earlier today.

"Good."

"Grades?"

"Er…, decent."

He kinda laughs. "Ah well… Sorry your mom and I haven't been able to help you much there…"

I shake my head. "No, it's alright. I know you two are really busy, and that your work is important, so it's fine. And besides, I've got friends that'll help me out."

He smiles, showing both assurance and relief. "It saddens me a bit, but I'm also glad to see how much you've grown, Naruto." He pats my head and messes up my hair. Suddenly his smile turns into a smirk.

"So…, between the last time we talked and now… Have you gotten a girlfriend?"

My face feels red…

"Look at him blush!" Jiraiya exclaims as he enters the kitchen again.

"H-Hey!"

"When I heard the question I just had to come and listen for the answer." He turns to my dad, and whispers (quite obviously, to my annoyance), "I'll bet you he's still chasing after that Haruno girl."

"I can hear you, you know!"

"Am I right?" Jiraiya smirks at me, too.

"N-No-"

"You're going after someone else?"

"No, I-"

"So Sakura is your girlfriend now?!"

"No! You're-"

"So you're just single."

"Agh!" A mix of a sigh and some sort of grunt escapes from my mouth.

"Well, what is it then?" My dad, not Jiraiya, finally asks.

"I would've told you sooner if a certain someone-" I glare at Jiraiya, "-would let me speak. Anyway…, I do have a girlfriend now."

They both actually look surprised. Though my dad looks more happy about it, whereas Jiraiya seems more shocked.

"Who is it?!" They ask at the same time.

"…Hyuga Hinata," I tell them.

"Hyuga?" Jiraiya looks even more shocked. "The blue-haired one, about this tall-" here he lowers his hand a bit. "With the

big-"

"Jiraiya." My dad interrupts before he can go into any more details.

"-eyes! I was going to say eyes! Because, you know, the Hyuga and-"

Yeah, right. "God, that's creepy. Do you stalk her or something? I didn't know you were a pedophile, too, Jiraiya…" I say.

"Hyuga…, as in the doctors?"

"Yeah. She's really smart, so she helps me out a lot with schoolwork. Her parents are making her take Taijutsu and get better with chakra control so that she can become a healing specialist too."

"I'm impressed," Jiraiya either admits or says sarcastically. I can't tell.

"I'm glad," my dad says. "it seems that you've gone along fine without me, and although that makes me a bit sad, but I'm glad to know that you're becoming more independent now, Naruto."

"I guess so…" I really don't know how to respond to that kind of thing. I fake a yawn because, as much as I value this time- honestly, I do- it is really awkward, especially with Jiraiya here. I had actually wanted this talk to be just between my dad and me, and that's how I'll want it to be for future conversations with him, too.

"I think I should get some sleep," I glance at the clock: 20:32 (8:32 p.m.). "Good night," I say as I get up.

"Good night, Naruto."

"'Night."

As soon as I get to my room I take off the shirt and pants I'd worn to go get groceries for my mom. I put on a plain white t-shirt and jump into bed wearing only that and boxers. I turn out the lights and reach for my phone, which I'd left on my bedside table before going downstairs for dinner.

The screen lights up and I see that I got a three messages while I was downstairs.

From: Shikamaru

Hey did you still need those notes for history?

From: number not in contacts

Naruto its Choji. Finally got a new phone. Could u plz text Amaya too? I don't have her #

I save Choji's number and start a new text to Amaya:

New Text Message

To: Amaya

[1 Attachment

Contact: Choji]

Here's Choji's #. He got a new phone but he doesn't have your #.

I send the text and open the last message.

From: Hinata

blank

New Message

To: Hinata Hyuga

Hinata? What's with the blank message?

I put my phone on sleep and let it lay on my chest as I wait for a response.

Beep! It comes almost immediately. The screen flashes on and I open the message. But it isn't from Hinata.

New Message

From: Sakura

Naruto? Are you busy?

I reply with No, why? but still wonder why she's texting me right now. She usually only texts me before we meet up as a group or if she needs me to do a favor for her.

Beep!

New Message

From: Sakura

Can we talk?

Author's Note:

I know it's been a while, so I decided to release this chapter early. Sorry that it's a bit shorter than most of the other ones- well, that's what happens when I decide to publish earlier than expected. And, (ironically), sorry for publishing a lot LATER than I should have.

I'll be starting Chapter 14 this week, but that doesn't mean that it'll be released by the end of this month. Like it says on my profile, I'm really busy with school, other various projects, and then I'm also trying to do this and that on FFXIV…, aha, well you get it. Hopefully I'll get a decent amount of writing time soon.

Catch any spelling/grammar errors? Got any questions? Have any ideas for the story? Contact me through P.M. or e-mail (theanonymousasian )!

Thanks for reading!