Chapter 10: Bokeh

Tokyo

When he got back to Tokyo, Naruto came up with a plan to pay her back for the ramen because he just couldn't let it go. He simply didn't like feeling beholden to Hinata.

And maybe, just maybe, he was fully aware that her financial situation wasn't as good as his.

Yes, he was being criminally old-fashioned, and he knew that Hinata was a modern independent woman. But the truth was, he was Japanese—and reciprocity was a part of his upbringing. His parents would kill him if they ever found out that Hinata had paid for his ramen. He needed to reciprocate her kindness.

Because that's what the Uzumakis did. They always did the proper thing.

And a gift, her treating him to lunch, was something he treasured.

Once again, he turned to the internet, found her studio address, and then ordered something to be sent to her workplace.

But in the back of his mind, though, he felt like an idiot for what he was doing.

Man, he was really pushing the boundaries of being a stalker—as she'd once accused him of. Yikes.

Still, he told himself, shikataganai, it couldn't be helped. He didn't have her number and this was the best he could do. He only hoped it would again help to soften her attitude towards him.

Hinata yawned as she opened the door to her studio. She wasn't surprised to see that Kiba was already there—as usual.

When she walked in, though, he was looking at her, the expression on his face more suspicious than usual. Plus, this morning, there seemed to be an extra serving of disapproval in his scowl.

"What the hell did you do in Kyoto that Naruto Uzumaki sent you this gift?" He was glaring at her, accusing her of something bad.

She frowned back at him, completely at a loss. "Huh?"

Then she saw the bright package at the reception desk.

"What is that? Is that from Naruto?"

Kiba didn't say anything, only handed her the note that came with the package.

My family and I love this store. I hope you like these. I just wanted to say thank you for the other day. Naruto

She looked at the expensive paper, the intricate lettering, and gasped. "Woah! Is this from that wagashi store, Tenbenya? The one that sells the red-bean paste Japanese sweets?"

Kiba peeked at the package again. "Yup."

Hinata's eyes were wide. "It's one of those stores I can never go into because I'm just so intimidated by the fact that the sales clerks wear kimonos."

"Exactly!" Kiba said with a snort. "Which is why I'm going to ask you again, what the hell did you do with Naruto that he would send you something this expensive?"

She ignored him and opened the package. Inside, the delicate treats of fruits wrapped in anko and mochi stared up at her.

Kiba whistled and then picked one up gingerly, cradling it cautiously in his hand. "Dude, you know one of these babies costs the same as three cups of Starbucks coffee, right?"

Hinata blinked before her jaw hung slack. "No way!" Then she glanced once more at the package that contained thirty of them. "But that means…" She quickly did the math and gasped.

"He spent a lot of money on you," he finished for her. "Damn! I wish I could be as rich as him."

He started to tear the packaging of the one in his hand.

Hinata slapped his hand. "What are you doing?"

"Eating it!" he snorted as he tried to finish opening it and keeping it away from her reach.

"Naruto sent this to me. I don't see your name on the package."

"Hinata! You're really not going to share?!" Kiba protested. "I've always wanted to try these things, but I just can't afford them!"

She laughed. "I'm just kidding!

"Thanks, Hinata!" Kiba had already peeled off the package and took a bite. His eyes closed as he savored the taste. Then he opened them once more to exclaim, "My god! These are amazing!" He finished it off then licked his sugar-powdered fingers.

"Here," she said as she took out a bunch and searched for a bag to put them in. "These are for your mom and sister."

"Thanks." He took it from her and set it on his desk.

Then she looked at the expiration date making sure they would last so that Shino could taste them, too, whenever he came by to the office. "I'll leave these for Shino next time he comes for a visit."

"What are you going to do with the rest?"

"Share them with my family." She picked one up and admired the beautiful way they were wrapped. "Hanabi loves these, or the cheaper ones from the other stores that we can actually afford. They're all the rage among her friends. I'm taking them home so she can photograph them for her Instagram account. She'll be thrilled to see these."

She took a couple and set them aside. "These are for Jiraiya. I'll give them to him on my way home tonight."

Then she took one, opened it and plopped the whole thing in her mouth. "Man, you're right. This is so good!" she mumbled while she chewed.

Kiba was staring at her, his eyes still suspicious. "You still haven't answered my question, though. Why did he send these to you?"

She shrugged. "I'm not sure? I ended up paying for ramen because he didn't have cash on him. You know the one that I always go to in Kyoto?"

"Ichiraku."

"Yeah. And he tried to pay for our meal, but you know Teuchi doesn't know technology so Naruto wasn't able to. He wanted to pay using e-money."

Like Kiba, she licked the sugar off her fingers, too. "I guess this is his way of repaying me, even though I never expected it. I didn't want him to pay me back. I mean, it was just ramen."

"Huh." He looked at her. "He sounds like a very nice guy."

She sighed and reached for another package and handed it to Kiba, who promptly opened and devoured it. Hinata also picked one up so she could eat it. "He is, actually. And it's a huge problem."

He smiled, expression wry. "Nice guys treating you kindly is a problem?"

Her eyes were serious when she answered, "Yes—for this competition, especially. I just can't drum up my competitive spirit when he's so calm about the whole thing? He's supposed to hate me just as much as I hate him. But I can't help but like him—he's such a fucking gentleman. Like, I feel really mellow when I'm around him and it's irritating. I need to beat him so I can win and become the next imperial photographer."

Kiba laughed and joked, "How do you know he's not doing it on purpose, poisoning you with kindness to throw you off your game and make you lose focus?"

She blinked, paused to think about it. "You mean be extremely manipulative and sneaky?" But then shook her head. "Nah, Naruto wouldn't do that. I'd recognize that tactic because that's how I work."

He chuckled. "Too true!"

"I just don't think he's got a mean bone in his body." Hinata was very sure of it.

Still, Kiba glanced once more at her face and then at the box of expensive wagashi they'd just demolished. "I still think there's more you're not telling me."

"There's nothing else. I swear!" Hinata squirmed uncomfortably, trying not to remember the way Naruto's lips and body had felt under her fingers when she'd teased him that morning—and how much she wanted to do it again.

"Hmm. I bet something else happened in Kyoto."

She shook her head firmly. "Nothing happened, Kiba."

Kiba dropped it because the elevators opened with a quiet ping, announcing the arrival of their customer. Akamaru, who'd been sleeping by Kiba's foot, woke up, and then yawned, but he padded to the entrance with his tail wagging happily behind him.

"Hi, Akamaru!" a childish voice called out, making both Kiba and Hinata smile and walk forward to greet their client for the next couple hours.

A week later, Hinata walked into the entrance of their studio lugging a couple of plastic jars of her photography chemicals that she'd just picked up from her suppliers.

"Kiba?" she called out but he didn't answer, though. She looked at the clock. Maybe he stepped out for lunch? But he normally didn't do that. Usually, he packed his own bento.

When she got inside, though, she heard voices, all male, discussing the latest baseball news.

They all looked up when she walked in. They were grouped around Kiba's desk, who sat behind it while the other two were standing off to the side.

"You have a guest," Kiba announced unnecessarily, pointing to Naruto, who had been standing and talking to Jiraiya.

To say she was surprised was an understatement. "What are you doing here?!"

Naruto brought an embarrassed hand up to rub the back of his neck and smiled tentatively. "Hello."

He opened his mouth, but stopped and then glanced briefly at Kiba and Jiraiya, who both suddenly looked down at the desk and found something to fiddle around with.

Instead of answering though, Naruto abruptly left them and started for her when he saw the heavy bags she was carrying.

"Let me help you with that."

She shook her head. "Thanks, but I got it."

Still, he approached her and held out a hand. "I know you're being independent and all, but they look heavy."

"Alright then. Thank you." She smiled and handed him the bags, which he took. He didn't see the amused glance she shot at Kiba and Jiraiya.

See? He's too fucking nice. A real knight in shining armor.

Kiba and Jiraiya only nodded back at her.

"Here," she said and indicated he followed her inside into their storage room. Naruto trailed after her and stopped when she pointed to a spot on the floor beside some rolls of canvas paper. "Just put those here and I'll take care of them later."

"Oh, wow! You actually know how to develop your own photos from scratch?" he exclaimed after he did as she'd instructed and finally looked up to see her darkroom. He glanced wonderingly at the old-fashioned rolls of film lined up on a shelf and the pans that held the chemical solutions to process them.

"Yeah. My senpai at my old job taught me," she said proudly. "But just black and white photos, though. I haven't worked on color yet. Maybe someday."

He smiled at her. "I had to learn how to do it in school, but I just didn't like the smell of the chemical solution, so I never got into it." He pointed to the various photos that were drying on the line of string above them. "It's really cool that you do it. Looking at those, I wish I'd persisted and stuck with it now."

Her shrug was ignored because he'd lapsed into silence, staring at her black and white pictures, seemingly absorbed in them.

Hinata glanced at them and frowned. She didn't think they were anything special. They were various snaps of stupid things, really. Just some candid photos of Hanabi making faces at the camera while she tried to eat; Neji and her father sitting together on the sofa, arms in the air, cheering on Team Japan at the recent soccer game that aired on television; some of the Inuzuka dogs sniffing after Kiba; Jiraiya and Shino at the studio arguing heatedly about music, one adamant that the greatest British rock group was The Beatles, the other, Queen.

He kept looking at them, though, a smile on his face.

She cleared her throat loudly to get his attention. "Thanks again for helping me."

He finally glanced at her and apologized again, but his voice was admiring. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. They're beautiful photos."

Hinata nodded but she brought him outside, unwilling to admit she'd been slightly unnerved to be inside that tiny space with him. She didn't want him looking too closely at those photos and her hobby. He didn't need to know any of that about her because they revealed too much about herself.

Jiraiya was still at Kiba's desk, and both appeared to be peering at something lying on top of it, some paper, or maybe a file.

She doubted whether it was fascinating enough to hold their interest for that long.

Hinata turned to Naruto, still waiting for an explanation of why he was here, at her studio and her place of work. Her turf.

"Is there anything you wanted? How come you're here?"

He seemed flustered by her question, which to her was an obvious thing to ask him. Obviously, she wanted to know why he'd shown up to her office.

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure that the stuff I sent you got here safely," Naruto answered, and again, that pink hue that seemed unique to him flooded his cheeks and his neck.

She beamed. "Oh, yeah! Thank you so much! Those sweets were really good! We all loved them." He smiled, too. And she sensed he was really happy and relieved to hear that directly from her. "You didn't have to come over, though. I was planning on letting you know the next time I saw you."

His eyes widened in surprise to hear that and his response sounded breathless to her. "I was worried that maybe I got the address to your studio wrong. I'm sorry for coming over so suddenly."

"No worries," she said with a wave and then grinned wider at him. "Obviously, you got it right."

He was looking at her, pressing his lips together, then his expression was suddenly tense, became a bit nervous. "Are you busy right now?"

She frowned but she shrugged. "Kinda. What's up?"

His voice seemed shaky. "I know this is sudden, but are you free for lunch?"

From the corner of her eye, she saw Kiba elbow Jiraiya's side and heard snippets of their whispered exchange.

"Bet you one thousand yen she doesn't get it."

"I'll take that bet. He's so obvious, she's got to see it."

Distracted, she glared at the two of them, but Kiba lowered his head, eyes focused again on the desk. Jiraiya only looked outside the window, both pretending they weren't listening.

She turned back to Naruto. "Lunch?"

He swallowed and then nodded.

Hinata shook her head. "Nah, no time. I actually have to get prepped for my next customer." She looked at her watch. "They'll probably be here in about twenty minutes."

"Oh." He smiled when their gazes met again, but then Naruto cleared his throat. "What about after work, maybe dinner? You must be hungry then. I could come back."

Hinata picked up her bag and took out the onigiri that Hanabi had made for her. She then grinned at him. "Got my food, see? I'm covered for the day."

"Uh, that's good, I guess." He blinked rapidly when she continued to wait for him, looking at him expectantly but then he suddenly blurted, "I should get going then. I'm interrupting you from work."

She nodded. "Okay. You've probably got a lot of things to do, too."

She followed him when he abruptly turned around and made a beeline for the exit. When they were at the entranceway, she said, "Bye." She was still smiling at him. "But I'll probably see you in Aomori, right? I'm assuming you made it through because I did."

He was pink for some reason, but he smiled back at her and said, "Yeah, I did. Congratulations. I guess I'll see you then."

He was at the door when she belatedly realized something. "Hey, Naruto!"

At her voice, he turned around and stopped. His face was expectant and hopeful, but it turned to disappointment at her next question.

"So the only thing you came over here for was to check that we got the sweets from Tenbenya?"

She saw Naruto glance at Kiba and Jiraiya and then hastily looked away after that brief but awkward eye contact. He turned his gaze back to Hinata, nodding vigorously. "Yeah, that was the only reason." He offered her one more tentative smile. "See you around, Hinata."

"Yup! See you next time."

She watched him walk out into the elevator and when the doors closed, she turned to Kiba and Jiraiya with a frown. "That was weird. What do you think he really wanted?"

Kiba groaned, then angrily took out his wallet. She saw him hand over a ¥1000 bill to Jiraiya, who was laughing gleefully.

When he turned to her, Kiba's expression was exasperated. "Hinata, you dumbass! I don't believe you! He was asking you out!"

Her mouth hung slack for a moment. "He did? When?!"

"When he asked you if you had plans for lunch and then dinner!"

Her jaw dropped even further. "Holy shit, Kiba! You're right! He did ask me out." Then she squinted at him. "Why?!"

"I don't know! But he did!"

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yes!" He heaved a sigh of annoyance. "I'm a guy. I think I can recognize when a boy is trying to ask a girl out."

"But he's going out with that Ino model!"

"Are you sure? Has he ever mentioned it?"

"Yes." But she honestly wasn't sure, though. She racked her brain and decided that he must have because why were they together at the info session that day? There was no way Naruto Uzumaki was interested in her.

Hinata grinned at Kiba and head swinging sideways, she said, "You guys are delusional! Why would he ask a girl like me out? Like, he can have anyone he wants? He's rich and good-looking, and he works with models. What the hell does he want with me?"

"You're just as pretty as those models!" Kiba answered loyally. "If not prettier!"

She laughed. "Nah, have you seen me? I'm a mess."

He humphed. "This is why I don't like complimenting you because you never take me seriously."

"Oh, you really meant it?" She couldn't help her disbelief because she was embarrassed to know Kiba was being honest for once and wasn't joking.

Jiraiya was also grinning at her, the expression on his face fatherly. "Hinata, you're one of the most beautiful girls in all of Tokyo."

Kiba snorted and shared a look with Jiraiya. "Let's quit while we're ahead before she gets a swollen head."

Hinata blinked. "Well, I love you, too, Kiba."

"Hey! What about me?!" Jiraiya said with a protest.

She reached over and patted his arm. "You, too, you old perv."

"Damn straight!" Jiraiya replied and gave her a one-armed hug.

Then she frowned again. "That was really weird with Naruto, though. I've bumped into him a couple times before, at the festivals, but I just never got the vibes that he was interested in me."

Kiba snorted. "Hinata, you wouldn't recognize something as subtle as vibes unless it smacks you hard in the face."

She laughed. "I guess. I mean, look how long it took me to realize that Shino liked me."

Kiba and Jiraiya shook their heads but then laughed, too. Kiba added, "Yeah, and there was also the fact that you didn't even recognize you were on an actual date with him until you were halfway through dinner."

She covered her face with embarrassment then her expression chagrined, admitted, "I'm slow, okay?! I had other things on my mind that time. I just thought Shino was willing to hear me out because I needed to complain about Hanabi and her shopping habits. She dragged me to so many kimono places just to choose the one she wanted to wear for her Coming of Age ceremony."

Jiraiya grinned, though, and took out the ¥1000 bill he'd just won from Kiba and flicked it in the air a couple times. "It's all good for me, though! Naruto blatantly asked you out today. And he did it twice, too!" He shook his head incredulously. "Yet you still didn't pick up on it."

Kiba glared at Jiraiya then angrily raised his hands up in the air. "Seriously, Hinata! I can't believe you bought his excuse! Nobody makes the effort to visit a girl 'just to make sure they got a package.'"

Again, she shook her head in denial. "Meh. He probably didn't mean anything by it."

But Jiraiya was suddenly looking at her with a peculiar smile on his face. He pocketed the money he'd won and started walking away from them. He glanced once more at her and then said, "I just wonder, though, whether you're being deliberately ignorant and just being stubborn, refusing to accept that he's really interested in you." He waved a hand before she could say anything. "Anyway, you both have a good day."

In the wake of his departure, Kiba nodded and started gathering his things, the files necessary for today's photo sessions. "Man's got a point," he muttered.

Hinata ignored it all and walked to the camera set up on the tripod, ignoring what the two of them had just said—and also the thought that lingered inside her whenever she thought of Naruto: I don't want any complications.

Meanwhile, Naruto almost sprinted to the nearest subway station, wanting to be away from here as far as possible. He was dying, embarrassed to his core.

Why was it so difficult to ask her out?! Has it always been this much of a struggle to get a date with a girl?

Naruto didn't think so.

He'd been fine when he was in New York. There'd been no problems talking to the girls he'd met and even going out with them. He'd even managed to get himself an American girlfriend. His dating life in college had been fine, too. Granted, that was after Sakura and Sasuke had helped him figure it out and eased him into actually talking to a girl and then inviting them to hang out.

But Hinata. Holy shit.

He inwardly groaned, again feeling the mortification climbing up his body, the heat of shame making him appear flushed and fevered. He knew his face was red when he saw his reflection on the glass of the poster display case on the wall of the station.

He then tapped his phone over the card reader on the subway gate. He made it through and slipped into the train and found a seat, where he promptly buried his hot face into his hands.

Naruto forced himself to calm down and was heartened to realize that he'd made some progress today in his task to get her to become interested in him.

At least he'd finally been able to ask the questions out loud, that he'd actually gotten the words out of his damned mouth. Not only that, he'd done it while her friends, the friendly Kiba and the dirty-minded Jiraiya, had looked on and watched him flounder to invite her out for lunch and dinner.

Hell, those two strangers had been easier to talk to than Hinata. As soon as he'd walked inside their studio, the two men who had been chatting to each other, turned around and met his stammered greeting with friendly expressions on their faces. When he'd asked for Hinata, the two had instantly seemed to know who he was without him introducing himself.

Kiba and Jiraiya both thanked him for the Tenbenya fruit mochi sweets he'd sent over last week, apologizing that Hinata had shared her gift with them. Naruto didn't mind. It was hers to do whatever she wanted and told them so.

And thanks to them, right then and there, Naruto had been struck by inspiration to use that as an excuse to explain why he'd suddenly appeared here today—even though it had taken him forever to work up the nerve to ride the subway and come here.

"She's not here, but she should be back soon picking up some supplies," Kiba had explained. "Why don't you wait?"

Kiba had offered some drinks that Naruto had refused while Jiraiya eyed him up and down. "So you work with some pretty honeys, right? All those hot models coming to you. Man, you're so lucky. You being a fashion photographer and all."

There was a knowing look on the older man's face that made Naruto flounder.

"Uh, sure."

"You know, I used to be in an idol group—"

"Jiraiya, not that again!" Kiba complained.

"Come on, Kiba! Give me a chance to talk about my glory days."

Kiba pointed to Naruto, who'd suddenly clammed up because he hadn't known Jiraiya was supposed to be famous. Social etiquette demanded that he pay respect to his elders and show recognition, to mention something polite about the previous work Jiraiya had done, but Naruto was coming up blank because he just hadn't known Jiraiya was a former idol.

But Kiba had unexpectedly come to his aid. "I don't think he wants to talk about that."

Jiraiya pouted momentarily before he shrugged and gave up. "Fine."

Naruto smiled gratefully at Kiba, who grinned back at him.

Jiraiya, though, before finding a topic that was more interesting for everybody, added, "Jinchuurickies. That was the name of our group. Look it up."

"I will," Naruto had promised and made a mental note to do so when he got the chance.

Jiraiya then launched into an excited recap of the national baseball team's exploits last night at the international tournament they were participating in.

Thankfully, even though he wasn't really a baseball fan, Naruto had watched the game and was able to contribute to the conversation. "Yeah, it was such a good game. I'm glad Japan won."

Jiraiya had beamed at him with approval. "For sure! Ohtani's a monster!"

But as soon as Hinata had walked in looking beautifully bedraggled, his mental capabilities disappeared. He hadn't been able to do anything but fell back on just offering to help her do stuff instead of coming out and inviting her out for lunch.

For some reason, he'd been hopeful that she would be okay with sharing a meal with him today. Naruto thought that even despite the animosity she'd shown him in Osaka, she'd thawed enough to talk to him in Kyoto. He was glad because she seemed friendlier than before—and had even shown him her darkroom.

Unfortunately, though, today he'd struck out again. He was batting zero for three.

Still no date with Hinata Hyuuga.

He sighed and finally looked up and gazed at the other occupants in the train, the couple seated across from him

"So the only thing you came over here for was to check that we got the sweets from Tenbenya?"

No, Hinata, he responded inwardly. I came to see you hoping you'd agree to spend some time with me.

It was getting easier to ask her out—and even easier to accept her rejections.

Still, though, he thought with frustration, What would it take to get her to finally go out with him on a date?!

He shook his head at himself. At this point, he wasn't even sure if it was worth it to keep doing this. His self-respect was in tatters, his confidence was begging to be handled with care, his ego bruised and wishing so much to be put back into its glass case for safekeeping.

But he just couldn't stop thinking about her.

He smiled, recalling that moment in the storage closet. Those photos of hers in the darkroom, those frozen moments, perfectly encapsulated the story of her life in one shot. He couldn't help but appreciate the obvious love she had for her family and friends.

He found it refreshing that she almost disregarded and didn't care about him being the son of a governor. All she cared about was beating him in their chosen profession, to meet him as an equal in their field, that she took him seriously as a rival photographer.

I just want to crush you.

My god, the relish in her voice when she'd said it! She was serious about winning, and he found it really endearing that she was blind to everything but absolute victory and was very laser-focused in achieving that goal.

Mutual respect for each other. It was a very intoxicating thing.

But then the memory of her in Kyoto, basically fondling him, out in public, popped into his brain.

Kissing, she'd said.

His body tightened, still hoping for that opportunity.

And Naruto knew he was in deep, deep trouble.