Day 5: Forehead touches
Sasuke was incredibly annoyed.
"Sasuke-kun, where are we going? If you allow me a suggestion, there's this place where they sell absolutely delicious gyoza and…"
"Stop crowding him, pig! Sasuke-kun, what about barbecue? This new place…"
"I wanna go to Ichiraku!"
A muscle in his temple spasmed. If not because of the conversation he had the day before with Izumi, never would he have allowed those three stooges to accompany them on their date. Never mind he was the one that asked for Naruto to come as well.
"Who wants to eat ramen?!"
"Yeah, my option of gyoza is much better…!"
"But Ichiraku's ramen's amazing!"
"What do you feel like eating, Hinata?" his voice cut through the fight, as sharp as a knife. Said girl fidgeted under the sudden attention put upon her after his question, and Sasuke didn't miss the way Sakura and Ino frowned.
So this was the reason Hinata was so angry he had revealed their relationship to everyone in class.
Tsk, who needs friends that would turn your back on you just because you started dating someone? Of course he knew those two had 'feelings' for him, even though only Ino had confessed to him once. But, despite that, they were friends, so obviously it was possible for the three to like the same boy without alienating each other.
He conveniently ignored the fact only Hinata got to be with him and that might be the reason the other two were so unhappy.
"Mmm, I…" Hinata played with her fingers, her voice soft and almost inaudible. She was blushing again, looking absolutely stupid while she continued with her annoying display of nervousness. "I'm… I'm fine with whatever you guys want to have…"
"Alright! Ichiraku ramen it is-!"
"I invited you to eat" Sasuke interrupted, voice rougher as his patience was running thin. "I want to hear what you want."
The tension was palpable, so much even Naruto remained silent. Hinata became redder. She bit her lip, and for a moment Sasuke thought he might have seen a small spark of annoyance in her eyes. But that was ridiculous. Why would she be annoyed?
"Then… I want ramen" she proclaimed, as firm as she probably could, though her voice still sounded cotton soft. Sasuke resisted the urge to groan, something that Ino and Sakura did not bother to, while Naruto celebrated obnoxiously as always.
"Yes! I knew you had great taste, Hinata!" he patted her on the shoulder, winking. If possible, Hinata's face became even redder.
"I-I'm…!"
"Enough of that" Sasuke pushed Naruto away from his girlfriend, thoroughly ignoring his yelp of indignation. He looked at Hinata directly in the eyes, crossing his arms, and asked. "Are you sure you want ramen?"
She frowned, but only for a second before fixing her face in an innocent expression once again. "I do… I like ramen, and Ichiraku's the best in Konoha."
"You got that right!"
"Ugh" that was Sakura, though Sasuke couldn't help but agree with her. He closed his eyes, counting to ten. It wasn't like he had anything against ramen, or Ichiraku for that matter. He admitted the place was actually quite good, but, being Naruto's friend came with many disadvantages, one of which was being subjected almost daily to whines and pleads to eat at the same place always, and because he appreciated his peace, he most often than not gave in.
A complete nightmare.
Most of all, however, was that absurd feeling in his chest that told him Hinata had chosen that place on purpose. It reminded him of the sensation he got yesterday, when he saw her looking at the idiot with such fond eyes.
It made him sick.
"Fine" he sighed, completely jaded. He heard Ino and Sakura complain, but one acidic look had them shut up. Hinata smiled, as if oblivious.
What a load full of crap.
Sitting down at Ichiraku, Hinata looked over her options. Should she ask for her regular pick, or try something different?
Naruto was there, but she tried to ignore that fact as he was there only because her boyfriend asked him to. She also tried to ignore the way Ino and Sakura crowded over Sasuke, who looked incredibly annoyed and was staring holes into her skull, as if waiting for her to do something.
She would do something alright, but only once their food arrived.
"One miso ramen please" she ordered politely, deciding to just settle for her usual. At her side, Naruto loudly asked for tonkotsu ramen, while Ino and Sakura asked Sasuke what he wanted so they could order the same. When the food finally arrived, she could tell that Sasuke's patience was already at its limit.
"This… Sakura, Ino" she called. The two girls immediately stiffened, but they quickly continued speaking as if she had not said anything at all.
"Sasuke-kun, do you often come here to eat ramen?"
"Sasuke-kun, what do you think of going somewhere else after this? We could eat ice cream…"
"That's a great idea! Finally you're useful for something, forehead."
"Shut up pig, you are the one…!"
"Hinata wants to talk to you" Sasuke interrupted them, holding his chopsticks with enough force to turn his knuckles white. The two girls stopped fighting, turning to look first at him unsurely, and then at her with reluctance. "In fact" he added, seeing their expressions, "that's the only reason you're even here to begin with, because Hinata asked me to. So stop trying to talk to me so much, you're both annoying."
The stunned expressions on their faces would have been funny had the air not become so heavy.
"Hey, old man! When is the ramen coming?" Naruto shouted, standing up and leaning his weight on his hands on the bar. Teuchi sighed, complaining about being barely in his forties, but the boy's outburst served to shake everyone out of the stunned state they were left in after Sasuke's words.
It was, however, Sakura who spoke next, shocking everyone when she said; "Sasuke-kun, I understand that you… I understand what you're saying, but whatever happened between Hinata and us… it's none of your business."
Ino and Hinata gasped. Naruto widened his eyes, and even Sasuke appeared surprised.
"Sakura, just what do you think you're-?" Ino started; just to be cut by her friend shaking her head.
"I'm not saying anything ridiculous. It is like that, no?" she turned to her, pressing her hands together as if nervous. "It's one thing if Sasuke-kun and Hinata are dating, but… but it's with Hinata, not with Sasuke-kun" she looked at the boy again, her expression becoming firmer. "We will talk with Hinata when we feel ready for it, but please don't meddle. This is something between us. Between friends."
Sasuke held Sakura's gaze for a moment, before finally nodding. The pink-haired girl sighed in relief, and just a moment later their food arrived. They all ate in silence, except for Naruto who kept talking about this new technique his dad was going to teach him once he graduated the academy.
Hinata played with the noodles, stirring them in the bowl with her chopsticks, from time to time raising her eyes to look at Ino and Sakura. They weren't looking at her, but they also seemed lost in their own thoughts, so it wasn't like they were purposely ignoring her anymore.
Between friends… Hinata sighed, catching Sasuke's attention without her notice. At least Sakura's words assured her they were still friends, though they were both obviously very upset with her. But Sakura was right. It was wrong of her to try to get Sasuke to talk to them on her behalf. This was between them only, and as soon as they were done eating, she would get them away from the others so she could talk to them.
With that new resolution, she nodded to herself and lifted the bowl to drink the broth, before ordering another one.
Sasuke was a bit stunned. He never would have thought Hinata to be the type to eat so much. She was already on her sixth bowl of ramen, while he was barely in his third. At his other side, Naruto was asking for his eighth bowl, but that was normal for him. Ino and Sakura barely ate two.
He made counts in his head. If she kept eating like this, his pocket money would not suffice. Izumi had told him it wasn't necessary for him to pay, but that it would be a nice gesture to do so. Of course, he was only going to pay for Hinata. The other three could handle the bill on their own.
However, when the time to pay finally came, Hinata did it before he could even get his wallet out. He looked at her, definitely not pouting, until she turned her gaze on him, and she looked taken aback by his apparent disappointment.
"What… what is it?" she asked, unsure. He pursed his lips.
"I was supposed to pay for you" he complained. Hinata tilted her head in confusion.
"You… were supposed to pay for me?"
He huffed. "This is a date. Isn't it a given?"
She didn't say anything for a while. In the background, they could hear Naruto trying to convince Ino and Sakura to split the bill, and the two girls complaining loudly about how they would absolutely not be paying for his ten bowls of ramen. Finally, the girl opened her mouth; "it's not… I can pay for my own food. And" she added, seeing he was going to reply, "this wasn't much of a date anyway."
And saying this she looked at the trio that had finally settled their argument, all of them paying separately as it should be, according to Ino and Sakura, though a despondent Naruto thought otherwise. Sasuke followed her gaze, narrowing his eyes in distaste.
"You were the one that wanted them here."
"Because I wanted you to help me explain to them about us… but Sakura's right" she said with a determined face, "it was wrong of me to try to drag you into this. For that I apologize" she inclined her head, making him uncomfortable. "I will talk to them on my own. Thank you for inviting them when I asked you."
She turned around, about to walk over to her friends. Sasuke grabbed her wrist without thinking, stopping her. "Where do you think you're going? Our date's not over yet."
Hinata's mouth fell open. Before she could say anything, Naruto approached. "Hey, bastard, we're leaving now. Are you gonna walk Hinata home?" he asked when he saw the way he was holding her. Sasuke nodded, pulling Hinata towards him, until her back was almost touching his chest.
"You three go ahead. See you tomorrow."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow!"
"Wait, I-!"
Naruto turned around and ran towards Ino and Sakura, who were staring at them with unreadable expressions. Sasuke didn't wait for them to leave, he pulled Hinata in the opposite direction, practically dragging her as she was struggling against him.
"Can you stop doing that? It's difficult to walk like this" he huffed in annoyance. Hinata let out a sound of indignation.
"I wanted to talk to Ino and Sakura! Please stop pulling my arm!"
"Fine" he rolled his eyes and instead grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers like he had done in the academy. It was a weird sensation, holding hands with someone. He had never done this before with anyone except his mother when he was very little. But Izumi had told him contact was important, and that girls liked holding hands. It wasn't so bad either, he thought as he felt the warmth of her small hand on his. "There, I'm not pulling anymore. Happy?"
She didn't look happy.
"I want to talk to Ino and Sakura" she tried to pull away. He frowned and resisted her efforts.
"It's late, you can talk tomorrow. Don't you want to go home already? The graduation exams are coming soon" he argued. "Besides, they're already gone" he added when he saw she was going to protest more. At this, Hinata gasped. She turned to look over her shoulder just to see that he was right, and Naruto, Ino and Sakura were no longer there.
Her shoulders sagged in disappointment. "Why do you always have to be like this…"
"What do you mean by that?" he asked resentfully. She didn't answer. Instead, her head was down, her short bangs managing to cover her eyes. He didn't like that. "Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you" he complained as he lifted his other hand and pushed her hair away.
Hinata jumped at the touch, but not with enough force to push his hand away. He brushed her hair, surprised at how soft it felt. The skin of her forehead was also smooth, and he glided his thumb across it. Despite her hand feeling calloused, it seemed the rest of her was soft and nice. He took a step closer without thinking.
"Mmm, Sasuke-kun, could you…?" she asked, face that ugly fluorescent red again. The question brought him back to reality, and he almost stumbled back in his haste to put distance between them.
"Anyway, I'm walking you back home. Talk to them tomorrow with more time, alright?" he said, turning his face away. He wasn't sure what expression he was making, but by the way his skin felt a bit hotter he guessed it wasn't something he wanted Hinata to see.
"You don't need to walk me home. And you don't need to hold my hand" she protested lightly, even though she was allowing him to drag her with him, her whole body sagging in defeat. Good, she needed to get used to this kind of stuff because they were a couple now, and this was what couples did. According to Izumi anyway.
"Our homes are in the same direction, so if what bothers you is that I'm going out of my way to do it then don't. And I told you, this is a date. I'll walk you home and hold your hand because we're dating" he emphasized the last two words. Hinata sighed, something Sasuke couldn't interpret, but she didn't say anything further, and so he shrugged and continued on his way to the Hyuuga compound.
However, when they were a block away, Hinata suddenly halted, making him turn to her with a frown of confusion. "I can walk on my own from here. Thank you for… the date. I'll see you tomorrow" she bowed, trying to disentangle her hand from his. But this time he was prepared, and he didn't let her go.
"It's only one more block. What's the matter now?" if he didn't know any better, he might have thought she was trying to get away from him, resisting this dating thing. But he did know better, because she had written him a love letter, and she wouldn't do that if she was with the boy she liked.
Hinata bit her lip, as if thinking over what she was going to say. His eyes involuntarily flew to her lips, but he returned them to her face as soon as he realized what he was doing. "My… father doesn't know I have a boyfriend…" she explained. "He… doesn't want me dating until I become a jounin, because he says it would hinder my progress as a ninja, so…"
"Oh" he said, a bit disappointed, but understanding. "I… see" he cleared his throat. "Then, you want this to…?"
"It would be preferable if he didn't find out, yes."
"…ok" he allowed her to pull her hand away from his. "Ok, then…"
"See you tomorrow, Sasuke-kun" she bowed before he could say anything else, and then she left. He watched her figure slowly walk away, until she disappeared when she entered the gates to her compound. He stayed there a little more, before shaking his head and making his way home as well.