~*Chapter Nine: For Her*~
I've always liked Naruto-kun but he never noticed me. No matter what, I had to become pretty. I had to make myself stand out...
Look at me. Take notice of me. This is how much I love you!
"Ino? She was headed towards the library looking for Hinata." The words had barely left his mouth when Naruto took off once again, leaving him behind in the dust. Kiba merely shrugged, turning back to his lunch.
Ino hurried down the hallway just as quickly, not knowing Naruto was in hot pursuit. Tightly gripping the scissors long forgotten in her skirt pocket, she rounded the corner and spotted a familiar indigo head not to far off. Running on a dangerously potent mixture of adrenaline, jealousy and hatred for the other girl, Ino raised the hand that held the blade as she came ever closer to Hinata's unknowing form. I was sure my feelings had gotten through to Naruto-kun, so why would he be looking at another woman...?!
Before Ino could plunge the scissors down upon the unsuspecting girl, her hand was seized roughly and she was enveloped in a firm embrace. She looked up in surprise to see Naruto holding her tightly in his arms. She blinked, mouth agape, and the scissors dropped to the floor with a clatter. He dipped his head down to her ear.
"...Let's go home together, Ino." He insisted, and Ino could feel his heart hammering from inside his chest. Her eyes swelled up with tears and she blinked them away - he had come back to her! Ino's arms wrapped around him in a loving caress.
"Of course, Naruto-kun," she whispered back. At this point, Sakura and Hinata turned around to see what was going on. The pinkette eyed them suspiciously while Hinata remained confused, and when Naruto raised his head just a bit he met her opalescent gaze.
"Did you have business with Hinata?" Naruto asked Ino, though his eyes never strayed from the other girl's.
"No, not really... It's all okay now." Ino assured, pulling back from the embrace to hold his hand. She pulled him towards the entrance of the school and he dutifully followed without giving Hinata another glance.
"It's a little out of the way, but why don't we stop to eat?" Ino asked, beaming up at him. Naruto's smile was strained.
"Let's go tomorrow instead. I have to help Baa-chan out with the restaurant," he lied, faking disappointment. Ino pouted but didn't push the matter, much to his relief.
"Did you know this will be the first time we'll be on a date alone together?" Ino giggled.
"Oh?" He feigned ignorance, walking briskly to get home faster. She didn't notice.
"Yeah. We've only been on group dates, with Sakura around or Kiba." Ino informed with disdain.
"Is that so," he murmured rhetorically, and she hummed in approval. There was a moment of heavy silence before she spoke again.
"Did you think I was going to do something earlier?" Naruto stole a glance at the female at his side warily, paranoia creeping up on him. She had an odd sort of twisted smirk on her face, and it did nothing to ease his discomfort.
"Uh, no... Why? You weren't, were you?" He inquired carefully, and Ino shrugged.
"I'm not sure... I might have gone off the deep end due to your cold attitude," she warned, and Naruto bit the inside of his cheek to remain silent.
"Hehe... But this is merely hypothetical, because Naruto-kun will only look at me." She said with such finality, gazing up at him possessively. Her gaze was slightly threatening, as if daring him to disagree. He was eternally grateful that they had come to the intersection where they would part ways so he didn't have to comment on her earlier statement.
"I have to go this way now, but I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto said cheerfully with a large grin to hide his desperation. Ino smiled back before stepping up on the tips of her toes to give him a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye, bye!" She winked at him with a wave, and he watched her until she disappeared around the corner. Naruto waited a moment before breathing a sigh of relief, turning down the other road.
He all but ran home, slamming the restaurant door open before loudly kicking it shut.
"Hey, Naruto! Come down and help me with the shop!" Tsunade hollered as he ran up the stairs to his room.
"I'm training now, Baa-chan!" He yelled back just as loudly and she blinked in slight surprise before shrugging, getting back to work. Inside his room, Naruto was hastily changing out of his school uniform into a pair of shorts, sliding on some gloves. He whipped around and immediately started hammering on the suspended bag, punching it relentlessly as he thought. There's no way in hell I'm staying in this little village! If I want to make it big in the city, I have to start training now... That's the only way to get away from Ino! He landed a particularly hard blow with this thought. He felt so cornered and caged with her around, and now she was dangerous towards others. It was driving him insane. But if he left... I won't be able to see Hinata. There's nothing I can do for her, and I don't think there's anything I can do to even make her smile... He breathed heavily from the harsh exercise, his body aching from the sudden stress. He ran his hands through his sweaty blonde locks with a dejected sigh.
The next day, Naruto waited at the school gates looking up at the morning sky. It was a pale blue with only a few clouds being pushed by the faint breeze. It was then that he finally understood what Shikamaru meant about wanting to be like a cloud - he, too, wished he could just float along without a care in the world. He looked back down when he heard footsteps coming near. He glanced to his right and was surprised to see Hinata. She perked up at the sight of him, a small smile on her face.
"Uzu-"
"Ino!" He greeted as the other girl came into view, interrupting a very confused Hinata. When Ino saw him she all but jumped into his arms with glee.
"Naruto-kun! You were waiting for me? I'm so happy!" She cooed, squeezing him in a tight hug that took his breath away. She couldn't hide her smirk as Hinata frowned.
"Let's go to class." He said, pulling her away into the building. Hinata followed belatedly, keeping a small bit of distance while she pondered the situation.
"Why is Ino getting so close to him?!" Some girls hissed once they were in the classroom. Hinata settled her things on her desk next to Sakura's.
"What do you think of them?" The pinkette asked. Hinata cocked her head curiously and Sakura nodded towards the blonde couple near the door.
"They seem to be getting along well," she said with a small smile.
"Yeah, you're right..." Sakura murmured thoughtfully. Her eyes narrowed with a scowl. "It really pisses me off."
"Eh? Why?" Hinata asked, baffled by Sakura's sudden anger.
"Naruto is constantly rubbing the back of his neck. He does that when he's really uncomfortable." Sakura informed, and Hinata looked over to see Naruto doing just that.
"You know Uzumaki-kun pretty well, Sakura-chan." She said, and the pinkette nodded.
"Well, we are neighbors. We grew up together, so we're almost like siblings. After his parents died, the three of us became great friends..." Sakura stopped abruptly, her lips pursed firmly.
"Three...?" Hinata inquired, watching the class president curiously. Sakura nodded stiffly and took a deep breath, her eyes never leaving Naruto's form. When Ino walked away to talk to a group of other girls the boy jumped out the window, sitting underneath in on the ground to hide.
"I'm going to go check on him," Sakura said before making her way over, dodging Hinata's prying questions.
"What are you doing down here? Your beloved Ino is over there, you know." Naruto almost jumped at the voice, and he tilted his head back to see Sakura leaning out the window looking down at him. From his perspective, she looked upside down.
"Hey, Sakura," he greeted, relieved. Sakura eyed him and he cocked a brow in question.
"Do you really like Ino that much?" She finally asked, and Naruto whipped around to face her.
"No! But if I don't stay close to her, then she might do something!" He informed urgently but quietly.
"To Hinata-chan, you mean." Sakura drawled, and Naruto sputtered.
"How did you know?"
"Ino has been harassing her for weeks now." Sakura stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Naruto gaped in response. She's already started being crazy...
"I guess she noticed all the attention you've been giving Hinata-chan recently." She hinted not-so subtly, and Naruto's eyes narrowed in thought. That's probably right, but... Does that mean this is all my fault?
"But don't worry," Sakura waved off, "Hyūga Hinata is a lot stronger than you think-"
"She is not strong!" Naruto insisted, and the air grew tense from his sudden outburst. Sakura stared at him with an unreadable look.
"Naruto..."
"Ah, I mean... Everyone has their weaknesses." He offered lamely. He could tell Sakura didn't buy it, but was thankful that she didn't press the issue... But the tense atmosphere didn't go away.
"That's right... Everyone has their weaknesses..." She repeated in a distracted murmur, looking at the ground. She had a small smile on her face, but there was nothing happy about it. It was a familiar expression, one that he recognized whenever her thoughts turned to a certain someone...
"Let's go back to class, Sakura-chan," he said gently, and she looked up in surprise from the old, affectionate name he used to call her when they were children. He gave her a big grin and she smiled in response.
"Thanks, Naruto." She offered him a hand to pull him off the ground, which he took before jumping back through the window. Then-
"Naruto-kun! Where did you run off to?" Ino demanded, appearing out of no where. Sakura made herself scarce, not wanting to be part of the drama.
"Uh, I was just in the bathroom..."
"Liar! You were not in the bathroom!" She accused, and he took an involuntary step back. Did she look for me in the bathroom?! She softened after a moment, curling herself to his side and gripping his arm.
"Don't worry me..." She murmured, and Naruto averted his gaze. When opalescent eyes looked into his own from across the room, he felt his chest ache painfully. He closed his eyes tightly shut then, turning his head away.
"Let's go, Ino." He said, steering her away. I can't look. I can't chase Hinata with my eyes any longer. It's safer that way... He left the room without another glance in her direction.
"Uzumaki-kun..." Hinata said to herself, a hand to her chest. She wondered why he was acting so strangely all of a sudden. He wasn't even speaking to her, and she briefly wondered if she had done something wrong... This isn't a big deal. Just making eye contact with Uzumaki-kun... Just eye contact is fine. Just a smile...
"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Tenten asked with concern, and Hinata looked back at the brunette.
"Eh?"
"Worried about Naruto?"
"Oh, nothing, Tenten-chan." She assured, but the other girl stared in the direction she was looking in previously.
"If you want to steal him away, I'll help! All is fair in love and war!" Tenten cheered, and Hinata flushed.
"N-no! That's not it!" Hinata insisted, and Tenten laughed heartily. The younger girl smiled sadly. All is fair in love and war... Love... The way I am now, I can't fall in love. I'm still too afraid of men. Besides, I know nothing about love... I don't even know what love is.
A/N: I do not own the characters of "Naruto", nor do I own the plot of "Bitter Virgin" (though I have made changes and will be making more later on).
I'm really sorry for the wait! I've been busy with summer classes and volunteering at the food bank, and I've been scrambling to update all my stories recently. I've also been sucked into Deathnote fanfics, hehe. There are some intriguing MisaxL fics out there. Anyway.
Shout out time~! I give a HUGE thanks to: jojo07, ZodiacBirdy, MusicIsMyLife6789, DerelictV, EveJ Hina, Naara-no-temari, Delicatelyplaced, NaruHinaFreak27, Gamakage, Guest, InuKag4everbabe, Futago-za07, LilacWhite, TucyaGirl, Narubro, xXYour DoomXx, areallnamestaken232, devil1, Brian, CharNinja LOL, dantheman23, puppyluv513, J and Company, deathgod, Guest, shybluestone, Hinata-Hime-Starz, JulaShona, randomperson28, and Toybunni! Wow, there are so many of you. It takes me about five solid minutes to write all your names out! Not that I'm complaining. ;) I'm sorry if I forgot anyone! I feel bad when I do that. xI