Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Closer ❯ Together ( Chapter 8 )

Series: Naruto, belongs to Kishimoto-Sama

Pairing: NaruHina

Beta: Blueangel263 and Shawny helped me too on this one for a few mistakes I made.

Author: Lynns (Inu-Hugger and Mysteriousgirl)

 

Together

 

The tiles on the bathroom floor cooled Hinata's burning cheeks caused by the high fever that coursed through her body. She was short of breath and the taste in her mouth almost made her want to throw up again. Beads of sweat rolled down her face while her hands latched onto the toilet beside her; trying to sit up. Violet eyes slowly opened and she tried to stand, but stopped immediately from dizziness; hands gripping the toilet like a life line. Gritting her teeth, she tried to ignore the aches in her muscles while attempting to crawl out of the bathroom towards the warm bed. After a few more shuffles she reached her destination, hands grasping the mattress as she hoisted herself up; burying her body under the heavy blankets. Even under the flannel sheets and fuzzy blankets, the shaking chills would not stop. Wrapping her arms around herself and pulling her legs up she tried to stay warm and find sleep; but tonight was probably going to be useless as well. Even though she could barely breathe through her nose, the smell of Naruto on the sheets caused her to relax slightly; hands gripping the material even tighter. Eyes slowly opened again to peer around the familiar bedroom; even though Naruto wasn't here it still felt more like home to her than the Hyuuga compound.

 

With her father, sister and cousin away on missions there wasn't anyone to stop her from coming here. Not that Hinata wanted to return to home after the fight she had had with the elders.

 

After returning from a mission, the elders had practically ambushed her; trying to convince her that being with Naruto was a mistake and that for the good of the clan she should try to find someone else. The fight had escalated, and Hinata had to forcibly restrain herself to not attack them with her Juho Soshiken. Instead she had just left and her feet had carried her to Naruto's apartment. She had only meant to stay at the apartment for only a few days, but now she had been there for over a week. What had first started out as just a small cough turned into something much worse.

 

Now here she lay in his bed, trying to get over her sickness before Naruto and her father returned. She was worried that her father would be angry at her for not returning home right away when she found out she was sick. However she didn't want to return and face the elders feeling this way. And Naruto . . . Hinata didn't wan him to see her like this; she even didn't let her own teammates stay for very long. Her skin was paler than usual, hair messy from sleeping, bags under her eyes and she probably smelled; only having showers when she didn't feel too dizzy to stand up. Add on the throwing up almost every time she ate something . . . she didn't want anyone to see her like this.

 

Pulling the blankets over her head, Hinata attempted to find sleep . . .

 

 

****************

 

Naruto couldn't help the yawn that escaped his mouth as he walked down the streets of Konoha. His feet dragging against the ground, arms hanging at his sides and his eyes were barely open. He was covered head to toe in dirt, and prayed that Hinata would be able to get some of the stains out of his red coat.

 

At first when he had returned to the village, Naruto had wanted to see if he could sneak into the Hyuuga estate and spend the night with Hinata. However after seeing that it was 2am, he decided against it; she was most definitely asleep and trying to sneak in to see her was getting tricky with the guards. The last time he had to use a Kage no Bunshin to distract one of them while he sneaked off into her room. Neji had not been pleased that he was causing a ruckus in the middle of the night.

 

Soon his feet carried him up the flight of stairs to his home; hands fumbled in his pocket for the key. Pushing open the door and closing it behind him, Naruto slowly walked into his apartment . . . only to trip and fall face first onto the floor.

 

“Ow!”

 

Naruto rolled over while his hands clutched his throbbing face. Immediately he sat up to see what the hell had caused him to fall, his eyes adjusting to the darkened room. A pair of sandals were tangled in his feet and he recognized them immediately. A great big grin spread across his face and his hands pulling off his own footwear before bolting to the bedroom. The grin slowly faded from his face as he stood in the doorway, taking in the sight of Hinata in his bed. Beads of sweat ran down her very pale face, her body shaking as if she was cold before it convulsed as she coughed. Walking over to the bed, his hand reached out to touch her forehead; she was burning up.

 

She's sick? Okay what do I do . . . what do I do . . . what the hell do I do? Naruto smacked himself in the forehead in an effort to calm down. His eyes fell on the night table where a bottle of medicine sat beside the alarm clock. Okay so she's taking medicine.

 

He moved around the bed to see a few towels on the floor and a garbage can on top. To the other side of the bed, the bathroom door was open and the toilet lid was up. She's throwing up . . . has a garbage can on one side and the bathroom on the other side . . . so no matter which side she gets up from there's a place for her to . . .

 

Moving back towards Hinata, he pulled the blankets back just a bit. She was wearing one of his T-shirts and nothing else but her underwear. Had this been another situation Naruto would be stripping to join her in bed . . . however this was not the time to have thoughts like that. With the way she shifted in her sleep and winced as she moved; her body was aching and he could see the chills running up her body.

 

The frown deepened on his face, feeling powerless to do anything. Obviously she had done a good job so far of taking care of herself while he wasn't there . . . so really there isn't anything I could do to help right? Naruto shook his head and almost felt like banging it against the wall. Of course there was stuff he could do!

 

Quickly he changed out of his outfit and into a T-Shirt and boxers before crawling in beside her. Whatever it was she was sick with, he knew it was no threat to him. With the Kyuubi inside him he had never been sick in his whole life. He wrapped his arms around her middle and pulled her closer to him; letting her know that he was there for her. Burying his face into her hair, he could tell that she hadn't showered in a few days. Perhaps to some this would seem disgusting, but Naruto simply smiled and knew what the first thing he would be doing in the morning. Also he would have to think of what to make her for breakfast . . . when you're sick what can you eat?

 

I'll have to phone Sakura in the morning, she would know . . .

 

Naruto slowly started to close his eyes in an attempt to sleep, but suddenly felt Hinata move. Eyes widened as he watched her try to push the blankets off of her and a hand flying up to her mouth. Immediately he knew what was happening and flung the blankets off them. Picking her up, Naruto bolted for the bathroom; pulling her hair back as he set on the tiled floor close to the toilet. Her head dipped down and Naruto couldn't help but wince as she threw up, the smell making him nauseous. However, he gritted his teeth and bore through it. When she was done he watched as she tried to catch her breath, her body shivering from just emptying out the stomach. Naruto released her hair and grabbed a piece of tissue paper; kneeling down beside her to wipe her mouth.

 

Violet eyes widened as Hinata finally realized that she wasn't alone anymore, her gaze meeting Naruto's.

 

“Naruto-kun?”

 

“Hey Hinata-chan.”

 

Tossing the tissue paper in the waste basket, Naruto picked Hinata back up and carried her to the bed.

 

“Y-You don't have to do that . . .” whispered Hinata, clinging to his shoulders as another wave of dizziness fell over her.

 

Feeling her cling to him, Naruto frowned, “Don't worry, I won't drop you.”

 

Naruto set her down on the bed before crawling in beside her, “I'm here for you now and I'll take care of you,”

 

Hinata blushed under his intense gaze.

 

Pulling her close to him, Naruto curled up behind Hinata and lightly kissed the back of her neck, “In the morning I'll help you take a shower,”

 

She opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced as Naruto spoke again.

 

“How long have you been sick?”

 

“A-A week,”

 

“And you've been here all alone the entire time?!”

 

“No, Shino-kun and Kiba-kun come check on me in the mornings and brought me medicine.”

 

Naruto frowned.

 

“Why are you here? Not that I'm complaining or anything, but usually you spend your nights at the Hyuuga estate when I'm gone,”

 

“I-I had a fight with the elders, and since Neji-niisan, Hanabi-chan, and Otou-sama aren't home . . .”

 

She didn't need to finish her sentence; he completely understood now why she was here. He couldn't help the smile that spread across his face, “I have to admit, I was quite happy to see you were here when I got home; quite a nice surprise,”

 

Hinata also smiled, “I'm sure you would have reacted differently if wasn't sick,”

 

A soft chuckle left his throat, “Well I haven't had you since White Day and that was three weeks ago. So you can imagine I've got quite the craving . . .”

 

She giggled softly when she felt him nip her neck, “I promise we can when I feel better,”

 

Naruto smirked and held her tighter, “Seeing you in the shower tomorrow might appease my craving for now. . .”

 

Hinata lightly smacked his arm and jokingly whispered, “Hentai,”

 

“You're complaining about that now? I seem to remember a certain Hyuuga enjoying my hentai ways when we were at Mount Myoboku,”

 

Humming softly in agreement, Hinata buried her face into the pillow; feeling better than she had all week. Yes, she still felt the dizziness, aches in her muscles and all the other symptoms she had been suffering . . . but with Naruto sleeping beside her . . . it just seemed to all disappear.

 

****************

 

Sakura walked slowly down the streets of Konoha, shifting the bag of groceries in her hand. A small frown was etched on her face from being awakened so early in the morning.

 

“I'm going to kill Naruto for this, why the hell couldn't he get these?” mumbled Sakura.

 

“You know he won't leave Hinata's side when she's sick like this.” Sasuke walked beside her as they made their way to Naruto's apartment.

 

“I know, but why on earth is she at his apartment in the first place?” she questioned.

 

“Who knows, I could honestly care less.”

 

Her hands gripped the grocery bag a bit tighter and could not help but feel slightly jealous that Hinata was being taken care of by Naruto. Eyes glanced over at Sasuke who was staring straight ahead and her heart clenched. He was still emotionless as ever towards her, and she wondered if that would ever change between them.

 

They climbed the steps together up to Naruto's apartment and knocked on the door . . . but there was no answer.

 

“Oi Naruto! Open up!” called Sakura, pounding on the door. However again there was no answer, “If that idiot has gone back to sleep I'm going to kill him,”

 

“Perhaps we should wait until . . .”

 

Sakura ignored Sasuke and opened the door; not caring that she had broken the lock. She stormed towards the bedroom and opened her mouth to yell, but stopped.

 

No one was there.

 

The bed was nicely made and she could tell the sheets had just recently been changed. Her eyes skimmed across the room; a pile of clothes sitting in the corner and then she found herself starting at the bathroom door that was closed . . . but steam was seeping through. A dark blush spread across her cheeks as she realized where they were.

 

“I suggest we wait back outside for them,”

 

Before Sakura could say a word, the door to the bathroom opened. Naruto stepped out with a towel wrapped around his waist, carrying Hinata in his arms. She too had a towel wrapped around her, but it barely covered her body.

 

“Do you feel better Hinata-chan?” whispered Naruto, leaning down to lightly nip her ear.

 

The Hyuuga didn't answer his question, her eyes looking straight at the two unwelcome guests before she became as red as a tomato and buried her face in his shoulder. Confused Naruto looked up and froze at the sight of his two teammates in his room . . . his face becoming as red as Hinata's.

 

“What the hell are you doing?!” screamed Sakura.

 

“That's my line! What are you two doing in my bedroom!?” Naruto jumped back into the bathroom and slammed the door shut with his foot.

 

“Don't tell me you . . . doing that . . .that to Hinata while she's sick!? You Hentai!!!”

 

“Who are you calling a hentai? I'm not the one sneaking into someone's bedroom!” he called back; his voice muffled from behind the door.

 

Sakura opened her mouth to yell at him again, but was instantly silenced by Sasuke's hand. The Uchiha had his eyes closed and a light blush on his cheeks.

 

“We'll be waiting in the living room.”

 

He walked backwards out of the room with Sakura in tow before closing the door. Opening his eyes, Sasuke glared down at Sakura and let go of her mouth, “I told you we should have waited outside,”

 

Stepping back from his intense glare, she watched as he walked over to the kitchen table and sat down. Sakura frowned and walked over towards him, picking up the bag of groceries and depositing the contents into the fridge.

 

A few seconds later Naruto came storming in wearing only a black T-Shirt and orange boxers, “Don't you two know how to knock?”

 

“Where's Hinata?” asked Sakura, unable to look her teammate in the eye.

 

“She's in bed; I'm surprised she didn't die of embarrassment when . . . hey!”

 

Sakura walked passed Naruto and into his bedroom, closing the door behind her.

 

“Calm down dobe, she's just going to make sure Hinata's getting better. No one knows that she's been sick aside from her teammates.”

 

Naruto glared at the Uchiha before going to his fridge to grab a glass of milk.

 

“So I take it you had a nice shower this morning? You seemed to be enjoying yourself when you came out.”

 

Milk spurted out of the blonde ninja's mouth, “Oi none of your damn business! You're just as bad as Sakura!”

 

Sasuke could only grin at his friend's discomfort, and watched as he pulled out the contents in the fridge that Sakura had brought over. Naruto stared at them as if they were a foreign object.

 

“Uh . . .”

 

“You don't know how to cook at all do you?”

 

“Unless it involves heating water for instant ramen . . .”

 

Sasuke sighed, “How does Hinata put up with you?”

 

“Oi!”

 

Deciding it was too painful to try and explain to Naruto what to do; Sasuke stood up and started to show Naruto on how to make a normal breakfast.

 

“Since when the hell do you cook?”

 

“Since I've been on my own, you should be eating more than just Ramen and cereal you know,”

 

“Oh shut up . . .”

 

A soft knock at the door, distracted Naruto from being pissed off at Sasuke.

 

“Hello?” Kiba opened the door and eyed the broken lock, “Do I even wan to know what happened?”

 

“Sakura got impatient,” informed Naruto, coming to the entry way to greet Kiba and Shino.

 

“What did you do to piss her off this . . .”

 

“Naruto, I take it Hinata is feeling a bit better?” interrupted Shino.

 

“A little yeah; Sakura-chan's with her right now to see how she's doing.”

 

“Well it's a good thing you're back to take care of her. We've been busy and the Hyuuga elders have been pestering Hinata since her father isn't around. Which by the way, I don't now how you're going to explain this when he gets back. Any ideas?” asked Kiba.

 

Naruto scratched the back of his head, “Uh . . . yeah I'm trying to figure something out. I have a feeling this is the first place he'll check once he realizes she's not at the Hyuuga estate,”

 

“Well it was nice knowing you,”

 

The blonde ninja frowned at Kiba's joke.

 

“We just stopped by to make sure Hinata was still okay, but since you're here we'll stop coming by,”

 

“Take good care of Hinata,” said Shino.

 

Naruto waved goodbye to his girlfriend's teammates, and was glad that their visit was brief. His apartment was already feeling crowded with just four people in it. Making his way back into the kitchen, the smell of eggs hit his nostrils. It smelled so good that drool almost dripped out of his mouth; it reminded him of Hinata's cooking.

 

“You're quite the little house wife there,” smirked Naruto.

 

“Give me one reason not to put a Chidori up your ass,” grumbled Sasuke.

 

Naruto watched as Sasuke scraped the scrambled eggs onto a plate; an orange cut in four slices already was on there. “This is a normal breakfast?”

 

“Want me to take a picture so you remember?”

 

Naruto opened his mouth for a snappy comeback, but stopped when Sakura stepped out of his bedroom, “Is she doing okay?”

 

Sakura nodded, “Her fever isn't as high when you first have the symptoms,”

 

Grabbing the plate of breakfast off the counter and pouring a quick cup of water, Naruto brushed past Sasuke; whispering a quick `Thank you' to his friend before disappearing into the next room.

 

“We should go,”

 

The pink haired Kunochi watched as her long time crush made his way towards the door; adjusting the sword he always carried on his back so he could fit through. She stayed still for a moment before turning around; quickly glancing back into the bedroom at Naruto and Hinata. The Hyuuga was wearing one of Naruto's shirts, which was completely huge on her. Sakura watched with a look of longing in her eyes as Naruto brought Hinata breakfast in bed. Naruto reminded her of a mother hen worried about her baby chick with the way he was fretting over her and it made her giggle. After a few more moments, Sakura turned and left.

 

**************

 

The afternoon sun streamed in through the closed blinds of his bedroom, giving Naruto just enough light to read the scroll in his hand. Hinata was fast asleep, but since he wasn't tired at all (and had nothing else to do for the day) he had brought in a chair from the kitchen and sat beside the bed. This way, he would be able to keep on eye on her just in case something happened.

 

For the first hour he had been content with just reading, but now he was starting to become bored. He really wanted to go outside and at least walk around, but the thought of leaving Hinata alone when she was sick like this . . .

 

Suddenly an idea came to him; a smirk spreading across his face. Standing up, he quickly did a hand seal that came so naturally to him he could do it in his sleep. In a puff a smoke a clone stood right beside him. Without a word he used hand signals on what he was doing, the clone had nodded and took a seat in the chair. Smiling with relief, Naruto left the bedroom, pulled on his sandals and was out the door.

 

Even though it was only spring, the weather had been absolutely wonderful the past few days. Naruto found himself walking towards the Hokage monument, which was his favorite place to think. Sitting on top of the Fourth's head, he had a great view of the entire village and could even make out his apartment in the distance. Sighing with contentment, Naruto lay down and watched the clouds roll through the sky above him.

 

Tomorrow he hoped that Hinata would be a bit better since he would be leaving for a few days to do his sage training with Fukasaku. Whenever he wasn't on missions, he would visit the frog sage for a few days of training at Mount Myoboku. He couldn't help but smirk, remembering the last time he had seen his sage teacher . . .

 

He collapsed onto the ground with a loud thud, unable to move. His breathing came out in fast pants while his face was drenched with sweat. Eyes slowly faded back to their original blue instead of golden when he was in sage mode.

 

“Excellent Naruto-Boy, let's take a break. I'm sure you'rehungry and Ma is already preparing dinner for us”

 

Naruto turned his head to the old frog and nodded; attempting to crawl to his feet, leaving the soft green grass.Fukasaku was also covered in sweat and out of breath; itcaused Naruto to smile with pride knowing he had worn the old frog out.

 

“You've improved a lot and exceeded my expectations. I'm sure Jiraiya-Boy would be very proudof you,”

 

The thought of his fallen master made Naruto's heart clench, but he brushed it aside; knowing that Jiraiya wouldn't want him to think such thoughts.He reminded himself that even though his master was gone, somewhere he was still watching over him.

 

“So how's your girl doing these days?” teased Gamakichi, raising his pinky so Fukasaku would catch on what he meant.

 

Naruto laughed softly, “Fine. After I'm finished training here I get to see her again.” A light blush spread across his cheeks.

 

“Oh ho? Got something special planned with her?”

 

The blonde ninja nudged the frog with his elbow, “If you must know White Day is coming up . . . and yeah I want to do something special for her,”

 

Gamakichi laughed, “You're not exactly the type to sit through a candle light dinner,”

 

Naruto grumbled and nudged the frog again. Truth be told, he just wanted to find somewherethe two of them could be alone for a while. Yes there was his apartment, but usually if someone was looking for them that was the first place they checked. The Hyuuga estate always had someone there, so that place was out.Usually in the forest it was quiet, but again the probability of someone finding them was quite high as well.

 

With the help of girlfriend'ssisterHanabi< b>,he had managed to buy a present for her . . . but the place to give it to Hinata was becoming a problem.

 

If only I could find some place where no one would bother us, like . . . . like . . . Suddenly his eyes widened as an idea instantly slammed into him, “That's it!”

 

Gamakichi and Fukasaku almost jumped from his sudden outburst.

 

“Old frog, is there anyway I can bring someone here with me who hasn't signed a contract with the frogs?”

 

Fukasaku gave him an odd look, a strange emotion flashing through his eyes as if remembering something from the past.

 

“Why do you ask, Naruto?”

 

The blonde ninja turned to Gamakichi, “I need a place to give Hinata-chan her gift, but the village is always so crowded and there's no privacy so I thought . . .”

 

“Don't be ridiculous! The only way you can come here is ifyou've. . .”

 

Suddenly Fukasaku burst out laughing, causing both Naruto and Gamakichi to stare at the old frog. He was laughing so hard that a few tears leaked from under his eyes lids.

 

“Oi! Is it that funny?” growled Naruto

 

“N-No . . . no it's not that . . .bwa ha ha ha ha,”

 

“I think Fukasaku-sama has just officially lost it,”mumbled Gamakichi.

 

Finally the old frog wiped the tears from his eyes, looking up at Naruto, “Some thingsjust never change,”

 

“Eh? What are you talking about?” asked Naruto, confused as hell from the frog's statement.

 

“Never mind, I'm sure Gamabuntawill fill you in on the details. To answer your question though, yes there is a way to bring someone here,”

 

“What?” cried Gamakichi.

 

“Really? How?”

 

“Go talk to Gamabunta. He did it the lasttimeand I'm sure he'll be willing to do it this time. But first let's have something to eat!”

 

******************

 

Naruto waited on the outskirts of the village, lightly pacing back and forth which caused his red coat to flare up behind him. There were two reasons for his pacing. One he was a bit nervous if Hinata didn't end up actually liking his gift, and two . . . Gamabunta wouldnot stop chuckling and it was annoying the hell out of him.

 

“Oi! Are you going to tell me what's got you and the old frog laughing so much? It's really starting to pissmeoff!”

 

The giant frog finally stopped laughing and lowered his head so he was level with Naruto, “Show some respect for your elders brat, or I'll squash you right here!”

 

Grumbling under his breath Naruto continued pacing.

 

“As the old saying goes, the apple sometimes doesn't fall far from the tree.”

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

Gamabuntasighed, “You never heard that saying before?”

 

Naruto stoppedpacing and tried to think.

 

“Never mind . . . but to make a long story short, the Fourth Hokage did the exact same thing you're trying to do right now.”

 

“My dad? He was trying to . . .”

 

“Being the Hokage meant he couldn't find any place to becompletelyalone with your mother. So he asked Fukasaku the same question which is why he laughed when you asked him yesterday,”

 

Naruto's eyes widened, “So . . . then that means that he also trained with Fukasaku too?”

 

Gamabuntanodded, “And just like you he too got a grasp on the sagearts better than Jiraiya.”

 

With no memories of his parents, Naruto instead grasped onto the stories that people now told him about them. Smiling softly, Naruto finally stopped pacing and leaned against the nearest tree as he waited for his girlfriend.

 

The last time he had really talked to Hinata was back when he was in the hospital. A light blush spread across his cheeks at the memory of what he had told her that night and now would seem like the perfect opportunity for that to happen. However he brushed the thought aside. Yes it was true that he wanted Hinata badly, even though he said he would want it to happen right away, the next dayhoweverNaruto had quickly changed his mind.

 

Just because he was ready for the next step did not mean that Hinata would be. However at the time it had narrowed down to two choices. Either tell her, oravoid any physical contact with her. Every time she touched or kissed him, the feeling would go straight south of the border for him. At first he had thought of just avoiding any contact with her, but then he had stepped back and tried to think how she would see it from her point of view. No doubt she would start to assume that he was avoiding her for other reasons, so that plan was shot out the window.

 

However if it did happen tonight . . .

 

“Naruto-kun!”