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For the next week after Natsumi's barrage of questions about her mother's boyfriend, Natsumi decided to stay in Hinata's class everyday after school. She liked talking to her, asking her random questions and making her guess things. Natsumi thought it was a much better way to spend time than to just sit in the main office and wait for her father. Natsumi didn't realize that Hinata was staying after school when she usually used to leave right after school ended, but she didn't mind it because Hinata also like talking to Natsumi. Her personality was something she admired and even though she reminded her of Naruto a lot, she still enjoyed Natsumi's company. Slowly, without really knowing it, Hinata was getting over the pain she felt of Naruto leaving her because now she knew that he did it for the best for Natsumi. Hinata just wished that he had told her about it then so they might have still be able to see eachother afterwards.

"Hi," Naruto said as he stood in the doorway to the classroom. Hinata and Natsumi were laughing about something while looking at a book. He couldn't help but smile at the scene in front of him. "What's so funny guys?"

"Wait, wait, you have to look at this one!" Natsumi said as she flipped through some pages. That was when Naruto got a glimpse of what kind of book Natsumi was holding. "Look here, Ms. Hinata! This is where he gets punched for pretending to kiss her in his dream. He's so stupid, just like my dad!"

Naruto's eye twitched when he realized what his daughter was talking about. They were looking at that stupid manga about the blonde ninja who somehow looked a lot like him. Natsumi always used to bring the show up whenever she wanted to make fun of him by showing all the different ways the main ninja got hit on the head for his stupidity. Now she was showing it to Hinata!

"Natsumi, what are you doing?" he said threateningly. Natsumi gulped when she heard her father's voice and Hinata just giggled even more because she couldn't get the image of Naruto getting hit on the head out of her mind.

"I'm sorry! She wanted to show me something." Hinata raised her hands as she tried to contain her laughter when Naruto turned his glare to her.

"Dad, I w-was just, you know, showing her the manga you bought me. Ahaha," she laughed nervously. She always teased her dad but she never knew how far she could get away with it.

"I didn't buy that one for you! It was that other one , how did you get this one?!"

"Oh, I, uh, switched them the last minute." Natsumi looked away, but then her stomach growled making her blush.

"Ah, let's just go get some food from Itchiraku. I'm too tired to cook tonight," Naruto said as he rubbed his face.

"Yes!" Natsumi jumped off her seat. "I already know what I want -wait- can I have two -no- three bowls tonight, dad? Please?"

"I don't know if you can since you tricked me into buying you that manga."

"I'm sorry dad. I won't do it again," she pouted. "Please dad, can I have four bowls?"

"What happened to three?"

"Can Ms. Hinata come with us too?" Both Naruto and Hinata froze.

"Well...I'm sure Ms. Hinata is really tired."

"Come on, Ms. Hinata. It's the best ramen in town here. You have gotta try it." Natsumi pleaded.

"Uh, I don't think I can. Sorry." Hinata smiled at the little girl as she got up herself and walked back to her desk. At Natsumi's devastated face Hinata couldn't help but say, "Maybe another time."

"Yay! Next time then you have to come Ms. Hinata." Natsumi then waved goodbye and walked away.

"Sorry about that. She can get a bit too excited about things," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head in nervousness.

"That's okay." Hinata smiled and for the first time she felt like she wasn't hiding in front of Naruto like she used to whenever he came.

"Uh, thanks again for staying with her after school. I know you must be busy too and -"

"It's no big deal. I'm here anyways, grading homework and stuff. It's nice talking to her sometimes so I enjoy it."

"But still thank you. She really enjoys your class."

After saying goodbye, Naruto was about to leave but decided against it. He wanted to say something to Hinata that he knew he should've said a long time ago, but was too afraid to confront this topic with her.

"Hinata... I...I'm really sorry for everything that I did back then. I should've told you instead of just abruptly ending things and leaving you. You deserved to know." He rushed as he spoke because he was afraid to lose his courage. He wanted, no needed to tell Hinata. The guilt and pain was eating at him for hiding and basically running away from her. Naruto was too afraid to know what Hinata would think of him when she found out that he had a daughter. He was afraid that she might leave him. He knew that wasn't the case because Hinata was not someone so shallow, but the fear still held on to him. The main thing led him to leave her without any explanation was that he didn't want her leave her life behind and follow him to help him take responsibility of something that wasn't her fault. He was afraid that he would only hold her back from reaching her goals and her happiness. Breaking up with her was his punishment for not knowing about his daughter for the first few years of her life.

Hinata stayed quiet, not knowing how to respond to what Naruto said. Out of nowhere he just said all this to her, and at her workplace which happens to be his daughter's school as well. Things seemed to happen in weird way to Hinata, but at this point, she didn't feel the pain and hate she used to feel whenever she thought about Naruto and her relationship. Even though she didn't suffer from it, she was grateful that Naruto finally said something. It would have been better if he had said something sooner, but people aren't perfect. She realized that and so decided to moved passed the things in her life that were hurting her.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked cautiously anticipating his response.

"I... I was just afraid of what you might think of me." His gaze fell, unable to look at Hinata.

"But that's not it though." She frowned as she knew he was not telling her everything.

Naruto stared at her expression knowing full well that Hinata wasn't going to let him go until he gave her what she wanted. He bit the inside of his cheek as he realized how he knew this from the years they had been together, how he could still remember these tiny details about her.

"I didn't want you to follow me," He finally relented and told her the truth. "It didn't want you to leave everything for me. It was for the best." He held her gaze thinking that no matter what had happened, his decision had been for the best.

"Well maybe f-for you...but you never gave me a chance t-to decide on my own." She tried holding her tears from falling in front of Naruto. She really hated him right now. He could have told her the truth from the beginning. She could have still been with him.

"Hinata..." Naruto took a tentative step towards her because no matter how much he wanted to hold her, he knew he couldn't, not anymore.

He was beginning to realize how much his actions had hurt her. He could now see how she would have interpreted his actions knowing how diffident she was back then. She probably would have blamed herself. Naruto was really starting to think that maybe he had made a mistake. He wanted to punch himself.

"It's okay Naruto," she finally said as she looked straight at him. "I know now that what you did was f-for your daughter so I'm not going to hold it against you... Take care." Hinata smiled through the tears that were building up in her eyes, and decided to leave the classroom before they fell. She walked by Natsumi who waved at her in the hallway, and then left the school building.

Naruto just stared at the empty space where Hinata had been, seeing in person how much he had hurt her. He had pushed her away thinking it was for her own good, but the hurt he saw in her eyes and the pain he felt in his chest told him that he might have been wrong to think that.

Natsumi had been waiting in the hallway for her father, and even though she couldn't hear what they were talking about, she could see how they spoke to each other. Naruto walked out of the classroom after her teacher left, and Natsumi could see that something was on her dad's mind. He had been quiet most the way back home and when they got there he didn't say much except for a few words. His contrite demeanor and defeated look didn't help with Natsumi's worry since her father was always so jubilant and energetic whenever his daughter was around.

Natsumi didn't know what her father and her teacher spoke about, but it must've been serious because of how Naruto was behaving since then. There was one thing she knew, which was that the way they both spoke to each others was different than how they would speak to other people. It was like they knew each other when they spoke, as if they had shared secrets, or a special bond.

Natsumi didn't like the feeling she was getting when she saw her father and Hinata together in the classroom today. It was like there something hidden and she did not like the idea of it.

How was Naruto and Hinata's talk? Do you think he explained everything? Was he justified in his decision?

Also, I haven't started on the next chapter yet and thought I should ask before I did.

So who should be Hinata's blind date?