Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Cliche Guide to a Classic Romance ❯ Undeserving ( Chapter 25 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

It had been almost a week since he had spotted that other guy in the village and interrupted Hinata's training. Which after Sakura and him left. The pink haired girl turned into a Tsunade clone and whacked him on the head countless times calling him varies words that all meant one thing. Stupid. Then to make him even more confused, she hadn't told him what it was that he had done.
Hinata had told him about the 'strange guy' that had been following her around and even he wasn't dumb enough to not know who it was. The guy was probably trying to find out where she lived and find the best chance to approach her. It was what he had figured the guy was up to from the start. He was surprised that Hinata wasn't aware of it. Her most likely theory was that he was trying to finish what the enemy had started on the last mission, retrieving the scroll and selling it.
Naruto wished he was that lucky.
"Naruto are you even paying attention!"
Jumping at Sakura voice he quickly forced a smile. "Yeah, of course!" he exclaimed, watching as she gave him a skeptical look. "You and Ino were fighting over what color flowers would look best in the hospital's waiting room."
Sakura gave him one good whack on the back of the head. "That was over ten minutes ago. Your spacing again." She stated accusingly.
Naruto gave her a sour look. There wasn't any real force behind the attack but, his head was still extremely sore from the previous injuries she had made sure he received at least once a day until he figured out what he did wrong. "I can't help it. What do I care about the interior of the hospital? I only go in there when I'm severely injured, then I lie in the bed bored for a couple days and leave. I don't really spend my time looking at the walls."
Crossing her arms she glared. "No you spend your idle time trying to escape." She said returning the look as if his escape routine was a personal insult to her.
"Not my fault it's boring in there, and we both know I'm kept in there longer then I need to be anyway."
The female gave a frustrated sigh. "You have no respect for the medical field do you. They have to be positive your okay. Fast healer or not."
The blond for once decided not to continue the arguement and wisely kept quiet. How did he end up listening to sakura rant about her 'Ino problems' any way? When they first ran into each other she was complaining about the line being to lone at the store. Was talking about random subjects on whim a girl thing or a Sakura thing? Or did people just do it without realizing it?
"You know, I never did ask you what you were up to. I've been following you around for at least a half hour and I think your going in circles."
Either Sakura was extremely bored or avoiding something. Otherwise she wouldn't have been following someone who was going in circles in the first place. "I wondering if I should look for Hinata."
Sakura tilted her head to the side thought fully. "Your wondering if you should look for Hinata. Why shouldn't you. You haven't seen her for a few days, She'd be thrilled to see you."
"Yeah but she's been training really hard. I don't want to ruin that for her. I'd be getting in the way if she's in the middle of doing something."
"When has that ever stopped you?" The pink haired girl laughed earning another annoyed look from the male. "Look if you really want to see her, go see her. If she's been training non-stop she's probably due for a break, right?"
Smiling naruto nodded. "Yeah. Shino's probably driving her crazy by now and both Shino and Kiba are definitley causing her to to have a mental break down from arguing."
"Exactly. Now why don't you go save your princess from the two diabolical villains. I Have to get back to. . .well I have things to do."
Pausing in his steps, choosing to pretend he didn't here the 'rescue the princess' statement he gave her a sceptical look. "Your not going to follow me are you?"
Sakura froze as well giving him a confident smile. "On any other day I would definitely want to see how this would turn out, but I have plans."
He wasn't entirely sure if he believed her but he nodded anyway. Both separating and going in opposite directions.

Hinata was walking with her team. It was sometime in the afternoon and they were just headed back home after training since before the sun rose. She was completely drained. She had been training by her self last night and didn't get to bed until well after the rest of her family. Then Shino had showed up at around three telling her they had to start earlier then normal because Kiba had a mission.
Of course she had agreed. She didn't want to ask to just call of the training session, It would be like telling them it was a waste of time. Besides it would upset Shino. Depending on his mood he might not saying anything to her, but it would still annoy him.
However right now she was wondering if he was more annoyed that she would probably spend the rest of the day and maybe tomorrow morning recuperating, when she could have just asked to rest today and been fine tomorrow. She was afraid to ask.
"Alright I'm off. I'll let you guy know as soon as I'm back." Kiba said as he stopped walking as the reached the front of the Hokage tower. They had agreed on walking there with him since they wouldn't be able to see him off at the gate. Mostly it was just out of habit. They tried to stick together whenever possible, everyone did.
"Please, be careful." Hinata called after him only getting a wave in response. She knew how reckless he could be sometimes. Usually he was a great ninja, but sometimes he didn't think clearly. It happened to them all at one point or another, even Shino. And even though he was acting cool about it, he was nervous about going off alone.
Kiba disappeared into the building and the two remaining members started walking again. Hinata looked over at Shino worried. He looked calm, but how he was really feeling wasn't exactly always clear. Apperantly Hinata was an open book.
"He'll be fine."
Hinata nodded but her worry didn't disappear at all. She knew that he was saying it so she wouldn't worry as much, but they both knew that a mission was a mission and there was always that chance. "I-it just that he. . .we're not. . ."
"I understand." He said without looking at her.
She wasn't so sure he did understand. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say. They're not what exactly? She couldn't find the word for it. Invincible, indestructible, immortal?
Hinata pushed the thoughts out of her mind. It wasn't like they went out blindly and fought for the fun of it. They knew what could happen in their line of work, what did happen. But, they did it for the village, to keep the others safe. It was worth the risk.
She looked at Shino again, for some reason he seemed annoyed. Sometimes she wanted to ask him how he was feeling, but past attempt taught her it was futile to even try. She turned her head to face forward again, and was forced to stop as her eye's were covered.
As a child she had only had this done to her a handful of times by members of her family. Usually she would guess the name and end up laughing. However she could already tell who it was. If the smell of ramen didn't give it away the laughter did. She blushed as she smiled. "Naruto."
"How did you know?" he said moving his hand so she could see again. He was completely silent while he got to her and she hadn't spotted him.
Hinata turned to look at him. "You've. . . been at the ramen house." she said, watching an immature pout of defeat take over. She grabbed onto his hand, hoping to ease some of the mental abuse he was putting his inner mind through for going to the ramen house before, spontaneously deciding to sneak up on people. ". . .and your laugh is recognizable."
The blond's face instantly brightened. "What are you two doing around here? I thought you guys were training around now. I was on my way over there to. . .never mind." He stopped himself remembering that Shino had a rigid out look when it came to, well everything. He definitely wouldn't have approved of him interfering with Hinata's training.
The darker haired male was definitely glaring the blond, even if he couldn't see it. "We had are session earlier since Kiba had a mission. We walked him to the Hokage's."
Naruto grinned, "So Hinata's free now, right?" he looked at the girl who nodded.
Whether he was ignorant to the Aburame's angry stare or he just wasn't bothered by it, they couldn't tell. However, bothe Hinata and Shino both assumed he wasn't aware. No one really ever was.
"So can we go get lunch and then I can walk you home? You look tired." The blond asked tugging on her hand already, as if that was going to help her decide.
She looked at Shino for a moment, pleadingly. When he turned and started walking away she smiled. "I'll see you later, Shino." She called after him, waving even though he couldn't see it. She was happy that he didn't get angry. Usually he found importance on the walks home. That was when they went over what she needed to work on and where she was starting to slack off. He let her skip out on the lecture part of his training.
Smiling she gave Naruto, a nod and started walking with him. He still smelt strongly of his favorite ramen place. The smell would probably stick to him until his clothes were washed. Then, he might have to put them in again for good measure. Actually, he probably had a permanent faint scent of ramen on them anyway. "Naruto, You just ate. W-why would you want to go eat again? You'll get sick."
"N-no way. I could have kept eating those noodles all day! But they were getting pretty busy and they started taking a long time to get done, so I decide to not bother them anymore." He said with a laugh. Looking around the streets for a moment before he focused on her again. "So, where do you want to go?"
Hinata wasn't sure why Naruto was lying, but calling him out on it didn't seem like a good thing to do at the time. "Why don't you choose. Last time I chose you almost got sick." she mumbled remembering the foods she was trying to get him to try. It didn't matter if he liked them or not, but she wanted him to be able to at least stomach some of it because of the dinner party her father had. Liking the food was even difficult for her. She only ate it when she had to.
Naruto must have been thinking the same thing because he had agreed too eagerly. However, he stopped and looked around the streets again. "Um. . . Oh, I know!" He said and started hurrying down the street, dragging her along. If he kept this up, her bones would eventually grow a resistance to being pulled out of their sockets. Or stretch long enough to touch the ground. Which ever came first.

Sakura and Ino where in the flower shop, arguing over what would look better in the waiting room. Roses, tulips, maybe a bouquet of mixed flowers. Of course, Ino argued over everything Sakura suggest, saying that Sakura's lack of knowledge in decorating was a major flaw in her personality.
The pink haired girl would have been lying if she said that she wasn't effected at all by the blond girls comment. She also be lying if she said she didn't blame any of this on the Hokage. Shizune decided after a month of talking it over with a couple other workers, that maybe a little bit of color in the hospital would cheer the place up a bit. Well, Shizune's exact words were, 'Calm down Hokage, and maybe bring a little more peace to the building when she's there.'
Tsunade had been on edge since the attack on the village during the mission a while back. It seemed that she was waiting for a sign or something. Maybe a letter of demands and threats or simply, another attack. Either way, there were still a lot of people there from the first attack, some of the already healed returning from not following doctors orders, The normal injuries from missions and sick villager and on top of it all, Tsunade was still interogating that woman and trying to find a cure for her.
Maybe the Blonde woman had a right to be stressed.
"And why are we not picking out the trim and furniture before the flowers again?" Sakura sighed as Ino held up a red flower that personally The pink haired girl couldn't care enough about to remember the name of.
Ino gave the girl a disbelieving look. How many time did she have to repeat her self to the pink a haired girl. "For the Last time, Forehead girl, You want the flowers to be the center of attention, the Furniture and trim should compliment the flowers, not the other was around. We're going to use those as a. . .Like a background to a painting. The flowers are the subject everything else is just there for decoration."
"It's all decoration, The main focuse is the Hospital itself and the patients these decorations are supposed to calm."
"Really, Sakura, How can you be so. . .so-"
"If your going to insult my intelligence or femininity again, I'm going to murder you."
The blond rolled her eye's, bored with the threat. "Maybe if you'd actually try and remember some of the things that I taught you about flower arrangement we wouldn't go through this."
"You work in a flower shop, Ino. I work at a hospital. You need a creative mind and charm. I need Logic and consentration."
She felt as if she had been insulted and when to shout something at the other however, the store bell caught her attention. Wiping the ugly anger from her face and replacing it with a cheery smile she turned around and walk to the counter. She saw a boy walking around the shop, looking through roses of different colors.
Leaning over the counter she gave a quick analyzing glance and then smirked. He was grinning and had that look in his eyes. He was looking for a romantic flower to a give to love interest. This would be a quick sale. "Can I help you?"
Sakura's smile dropped when she recognized the guy browsing through the flowers. It was the guy who had been following Hinata around and giving Naruto those smug looks. She thought he had left a while ago. When did he get back into the village?
Instead of actually helping Ino sell flowers, she grabbed her arm and pulled the blond back behind the counter. "You can't sell him flowers Ino."
Ino glared at the other girl and rolled her eyes for a second time. "It's my job Sakura." She stated irritated and taking in the dark look that had quickly spread across the pink haired girls face. "What's your problem?"
"That's the guy that's been stalking Hinata. He's trying to win her over."
Shaking her head, Ino crossed her arms. "You worry to much. Even if she does receive flowers It doesn't promise that this guy will win her love. Giving roses to a girl is only a show of affection, to let someone know you care. It's not a claim on the girl."
Sakura herself placed her hands on her hips and glared. "And when do you think Naruto will ever give her flowers. He's not a romantic. If that guy starts showing her all this affection she's going to get confused."
"Your thinking to logically. . .Why don't you see it from Hinata's point of view. Naruto is the love of her life and has been for years. She's even got the patience to wait until he can sort out his own feelings for her. The one you should be worried about is Naruto him self." Ino said, poking the other girl in the forehead, a habit from years of arguing.
The blond watched the girl blink before looking at the floor in thought. Great she was plotting something. Holding back a frustrated yell, Ino settled on a disapproving sigh. "I'm going to go make that sale. You sit back here and come up with your failure ideas"

Eventually they had ended up a small place. It had been almost empty, only a few groups and couples scattered around but there was still a loud murmur of voices you'd here at any other place you went.
They order and ate talking about everything from Hinata's training to Naruto sneaking in the school and moving thing around in Iruka's class room just to annoy him. Even moving his pencils where he kept the some files and hiding the files in a box outside side of one of the window on a ledge. He was just that bored.
Then they were walking to Hinata's, Naruto complaing from a stomachache and Hinata giving him an apologetic look as if it was her fault.
"N- Naruto? Are you sure your alright? You don't want to rest?" She asked her voice shaking slightly from worry. Stomach pains weren't serious, but the blond looked like his meal was about to come back up. If he wasn't so stubborn and just sat down and let his stomach settle, maybe he'd feel better.
Naruto laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine really. I can handle it!" He sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself then Hinata.
He was surprised although he really shouldn't have been, She hadn't said anything even similar to 'I told you so.' She just kept asking if he needed to rest or if he was positive that he was okay. Sure it was slightly annoying to have to repeat himself and tell her he was fine but in the end it was still sweet.
"Beside's your house is right there." He smiled and pointed to the house. The house intimidated him, or rather the fact that the house belong to a higher ranking family and a bit of a wealthy one. He on the other hand lived in a small dirty rundown apartment and while he knew how to save money, still found himself low on cash sometimes.
It was only natural for him to not want Hinata's father to be standing there when he walked her home like he was doing now, Holding flowers.
Why was the man standing there, Holding flowers?
Perhaps he was too curious for his own good, He didn't even notice that hinata was dragging him along with her and up the walkway until they reached the other man.
"F-father?" Hinata questioned looking at the flowers. Her fathers only response was a stern look as he handed them to her. She let go of Naruto's hand and examined the roses, reading the card that came with it. Her eyes widened and she nearly dropped them. But, the more she reread the card the more angry she got. Soon she was giving the flowers the same look her father was.
This had Naruto confused. What could flowers do to make someone so angry?
"Hinata?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump out of her thoughts. He would have found it amusing to have caught her off guard and her shocked expression priceless if his mind wasn't already set on the plants. "What's going on?"
Hinata wasn't sure what to say. How could she explain it when she didn't even know who sent them. She really didn't even want to tell him, but keeping something like that from him didn't seem fair. If her father knew he would most likely tell Neji and the rest of the family, just to make sure she was watched over. Shino would probably figure something out and tell Kiba and then Naruto would be last to know. She didn't think it would be right so she handed him the roses.
Naruto gave her a blank expression, not sure what to do with the bundle of thorn covered stems and red petals. He figured he'd do what Hinata did. He turned the thing over until he got to the card and opened it.
'He doesn't deserve you'
It was written in scratchy print and looked as if it was written in a rush. The card didn't have a name anywhere one it but Naruto didn't need one to know who sent them.
Everyone in town knew him and Hinata were. . .whatever they were, and no one had a problem with it. If they did they would have said something. The only coward he knew was the stupid grocery store boy.
Naruto handed the roses back to Hinata. "I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." He said running off, ignoring anything she was saying to him. He'd visit her tomorrow after he got a hold of that jerk.