Chapter title from the song Crystalized by the XX.
Thanks for the reviews: dumdeedum, I-Love-Trunks1, christinamoondust, Yuzuki476, km987001, impronin, Kiats10, and a Guest.
Last week, Kakashi's_sharingan on the Sasuhina Month Discord asked when I was going to update. I did not quite manage to post last week like I said. My apologies.
Thank you for reading.
oOo
Chapter Three: And You've Got the Faith
The first rays of sunlight slid into the windows of the Hokage Tower when Itachi entered his office. He felt the new presence in the room from a floor down. Yet, he still experienced something close to surprise when he spotted Hinata in a new, small desk catty-cornered from his and across from Naruto's.
Papers obscured most of her form except the crown of her head. She stood. Her hair lay unbound and smooth down her back. Her uniform did not look particularly rumpled. Her face held no signs of exhaustion. Itachi knew better.
Seeing as the stacks of paperwork on his desk and piled up on the floor were now surrounding Hinata, he knew she had spent hours here.
"Hello, Hokage-sama," she greeted quietly.
Itachi moved from the doorway to his desk "Hello, Hyuga-san. What time did you get here?"
He stopped in front of his chair. Last night, he draped his Hokage robes over the back, per usual. Turning around, he saw them hanging from their designated stand.
"I came in at a time that would allow me to begin arranging your paperwork, Hokage-sama."
His back faced her as he slipped on the robes, so she did not see the small smile on his face. His eyes caught on a strange detail. He slid his hands over the front of his robes. Did she press them for him?
"That was not the answer I was looking for," he finally answered, turning to face her. "I was looking for an exact time."
To his surprise, her blank Hyuga façade softened a bit. "Do you really want me to be specific?"
He thought for a second. "Probably not," he admitted. "But I would like you to go home early."
Despite her stiff formality, Hinata did not have any trouble meeting his gaze.
Sasuke spent the previous night regaling Itachi about the stuttering, shy girl in his pre-genin class. Also, whispers constantly circulated the village, saying Hinata did not have the inner strength to be the Hyuga Clan Head. According to the rumors, she was either painfully shy or a spineless coward.
He did not see any of that in her steady, white gaze.
She spoke. "May I take the time off some other day, please?"
"You may."
A pleased smile grew on her face. It did not fade as she gathered a large amount of paperwork in her arms and trotted over to him. He gave his desk a forlorn glance. It was nice to have it empty while it lasted.
When she reached the desk, she divided the pile into four smaller stacks.
"This," she said, starting from the left then moving right, "are things that require your attention immediately. This set of papers are for items you need to review today. These by the end of the week. And these for the end of the month."
Itachi motioned to the leftmost stack. "Why do these need to be done as soon as possible, if I have to finish the ones next to them by the end of the day?"
Her grimace was apologetic. His heart sank.
"Those are the overdue ones," she said.
He held in a sigh, sat, and reached over to begin.
"Do you need any tea or food, Hokage-sama?"
He shook his head. Despite the early hour, he already ate breakfast.
Silence lay heavy over the office until the sun shone hot and bright in the windows.
oOo
At mid-afternoon, Naruto blew in a whirlwind of energy. He slid to a stop in front of Itachi.
"Hey, Itachi!" He paused before walking backwards until he was even with Hinata. "Hinata-chan! How is it going so far?"
She stood and greeted him. Pink slowly bloomed on her cheeks. "It's going well. Thank you for asking."
Naruto beamed before rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "I'd offer to help you, but I wasn't too good at figuring everything out!"
She ducked her head. "I'm sure you did a fine job."
He laughed and thanked her, before turning back to his original direction. He bounded up to the big desk. Itachi made a show of unlocking one of his desk drawers. Naruto impatiently bounced on the balls of his feet. Itachi finally drew out a scroll and extended it to Naruto.
"Here is your mission," Itachi said. "Be safe."
Naruto took it and pressed it to his temple in a playful salute. "Sure thing, Boss. See you later, Itachi! Bye, Hinata!"
Hinata, who was still standing, gave a little wave.
When he finally left, Itachi looked at Hinata to see her smiling wistfully after him. She met Itachi's gaze and her blush returned. Itachi raised his eyebrows.
The whole village knew of her confession all those years ago, during Pein's attack. Did she still have feelings for Naruto? Interesting.
Even though he said and did nothing to prompt her, she spoke.
"He's the kind of man who inspires loyalty in practically everyone he meets, isn't he?" she asked.
"Aa." Itachi nodded. "It's an admirable trait."
Hinata reached up and touched her lips. Her smile turned brittle and her eyes glossy. "I wanted to emulate him," she murmured. Her gaze focused inwards. "But now I just don't want to disappoint him."
Itachi sat back. Did she regret her demotion? Was Naruto the blueprint for the kind of leader she wanted to be? What would she do now?
The green seal sat starkly against the pale skin of her forehead.
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