Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Twice Shy - Story Completion ❯ Return to Konoha ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: eternalshiva
My new pet project. The continuation to Two Halves, a wonderful fanfic on Naruto and Hinata's relationship, its AU.

DameWren has given permission to anyone that wants to continue her wonderful fic continuation to Two Halves.Even if there are 3 chapters to Twice Shy, I decided to straight up start it from chapter 1, some of the development I think is too fast and didn’t flow right. I’ve read a few floating around and I wanted to do my own. You can read her original fanfic here :

Two Halves: http://www.samizdat.com/fanfics/DameWren/twohalves1.html

Twice Shy: Chapter 1-3 are Dame’s http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3541221/1/Twice_Shy

My beta and I are reviewing the first 3 chapters sorry for the e-mail notifications ^^;

Anime/Manga: Naruto Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.15.2009 | Updated On: 04.20.2009 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.6K | Visits: 987 | Status: Completed

Twice Shy - A Story Completion
Continuation by eternalshiva
(Revised V2)
DameWren has given permission to anyone that wants to continue her wonderful fic Two Halves. Even if there are 3 chapters to the official Twice Shy, I decided to straight up start it from chapter 1, some of the development I think is too fast and didn't flow right. I've read a few floating around and I wanted to do my own since I didn't feel very satisfied with some of the directions they had taken.
AN - I took into consideration what some people suggested and made quite a few changes to the chapter, I hope this is easier to read and follow now :) Thanks go to In Ghost Colors on for helping me out!
AN Edit - The great re-beta begins! I've managed to convince my beta to review the first 2-3 chapters. Huzzah to re-read! And I apologize for all of those who will be getting warnings in their e-mails as though I updated :P Psych?
Naruto is copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. Sora, Yasu, Miki, Dango, Kaze Clan, Shivani are all copyright of DameWren.
Chapter 1
Return to Konoha
Naruto felt a bead of sweat form on his brow, the heat was a lot warmer then up in the mountains. He felt excitement as the gates of Konoha appeared in the horizon. Hinata squeezed his hand lightly and intertwined her fingers with his. Naruto glanced down at her hand and saw that it was no longer the fragile hand from three years ago but the hand of a woman warrior. She had a few calluses and her skin had become a bit thicker. He smiled as his eyes met with hers and she still blushed lightly. He managed to disarm her with that loving smile that seems to be completely focused on her alone.
She looked at the gate and suddenly wanted to slow down, drastically. She felt her old self resurface a little as she thought about what it would be like in the village. Deep down she didn't really want to go back. She wanted to stay with Naruto, wanted to avoid her father at all costs. The bitterness of their last meeting welt up in her throat and she grimaced. As if on cue, Naruto pulled her close to him and shushed her softly. She looked up, her eyes dampening knowing that he knew what she was thinking. His arms wrapped themselves around her and sought her mouth with his lips, kissing her tenderly, soothing away the doubt.
“Hina-chan,” he whispered. Her heart beat a little faster when he spoke to her like that, it seemed so intimate. “Don't worry, we'll figure something out. At least right now he can't take away our partner team right? That's Obaa-san's decision.” She nodded lightly, feeling her doubt still lingering. He kissed her again and she felt his sigh as he tasted her lips.
“I'm going to miss kissing you though, whenever I want to.” She smiled, her voice was unable to come out as her fears still gripped her. Naruto began walking again, Hinata trailing a little behind. She stared at his back, wondering how he managed to face everything so head on. She didn't see any doubt in his step or in him. She felt ashamed.
She pushed down old Hinata. She was 16 years old now and had mastered the Shina-To-Be and discovered her Byakuugan could read the echoes of chakra. She had nothing to be ashamed of or to fear. She narrowed her eyes at her own foolishness and squared her shoulders and looked forward, determined. Naruto felt the change in her and smiled.
“I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, my old self resurfaced.” she said.
“It's ok sweetheart, just remember we're in this together.” She nodded and replied with a loud and assured “Hai.”
They could now see two shapes at the gate and Naruto stopped momentarily, feeling a sudden wave of nostalgia. He squeezed Hinata's hand before he let it go unwillingly. This is where they had to stop being the lovers they had become until Hinata's father had accepted her and him. A sudden unwelcome wave of loneliness swept over him and for the first time in his life he felt his own optimism falter.
“Time to do this Hinata.” They continued to walk towards the gate.
* * *
“Oi!” Naruto called out to the jounin guarding the gate. They stood before them, weary and tired.
“Ah. Well if it isn't Uzumaki and Hyuuga. We've been expecting you! Shouldn't there be three of you?” the guard asked asked, one eyebrow raised in wonder, more interested in the gossip then the failed mission. Naruto sighed internally and stared down the guard, not willing to participate in the obvious joke he was missing.
“Yeah, there was. We want to see the Hokage as soon as possible.” Naruto quickly added. “We have to report from our 3 year mission.”
The guard shouted out to a third guard seemingly asleep at the base of the gate. “Nara. Get these two to the Hokage.”
Naruto laughed. Big surprise, Shikamaru was asleep on the job.
Shikamaru stared at Naruto and Hinata through one eye, the other was closed in an attempt to fake disinterest.
“Well I guess you're not the shortest ninja anymore.”
“Is that all you have to say to me after not seeing me for 3 years?” Naruto scolded. Hinata muffled a giggle as Shikamaru shook his head and mumbled how troublesome it was for him to take him to the Hokage.
“Hinata?”
She looked up to Shikamaru. “Yes?” she stated curiously.
He blinked. Had she just answered him without her usual stutter?
“It's nice to see you again. Kiba and Shino have been quite lonely without you.” She blushed lightly.
“I will be sure to see them as soon as the Hokage has heard our briefing.” He nodded.
“I'll let them know you two are back. I'll tell Sakura as well.” Naruto nodded in return.
The blond ninja looked around him. The village seemed to be bustling with life still today as it did three years ago. The sounds were a bit overwhelming after spending so much time in the mountains but it was a welcomed change, he had missed this place. He could see the faces of the Hokage on the mountain and grinned - they had finally put up the old lady, next to his father. His eyes lingered on the monument for a moment, feeling a squeeze of pride in his heart as his father looked over the village. For the first time he regretted having given him a makeover.
'Well, it was worth it at the time.' he thought to himself.
Hinata followed his gaze. His face no longer reflected every single feeling as it had when he was younger, he had been trained to hide them. In fact, Sora had been quite forceful on the subject.
“I've NEVER in my life seen such a bad poker face.” Sora yelled.
“Why is this so important? I'm going to be too busy kicking their asses to get caught!” He yelled back, his face pinched in irritation.
Sora's eye glowed purple a moment as the rage was beginning to spill over her limit. This kid...
“That's IT. You and me little punk, in the kitchen!”
Hinata sighed, this didn't bode well...
For weeks, Sora had begun what she amusingly called Poker no Jutsu. She would play poker with her brother for hours on end until he had learned to finally bluff his way out of a loss to a win. Frankly Hinata thought it was hilarious training and both Sora and Naruto discovered that Hinata was a monster to be reckoned with at poker.
Hinata smiled at the memory and absently reached out for his hand. Naruto, seeing her hand move towards him, called out her name to snap her out of the daze.
“Yes, Naruto-kun?”
“When did you want me to help you bring your things to your father's?” She thought for a moment and sighed.
“I should do it alone Naruto. Father will want to see me right away I suspect.” He nodded.
Having dismissed her hand, Naruto felt a pang of loneliness that he managed to cover with a smile when she examined his face, lost in thought.
The Hokage Tower came into view. He pushed away what had just happened and felt excitement at seeing the old lady. Shikamaru continued talking about the recent changes in the village, the gennin exams had just recently wrapped up and the specialty chuunin exams were being prepared. Naruto nodded at the bits of information but was barely paying attention, his excitement building up as Shikamaru opened the door to the office.
“I've brought Naruto and Hinata to be seen by the Hokage, Shizuna-sama.” The assistant turned around at Shikamaru's voice and smiled at the two ninjas waiting behind the jounin.
“My, how you two have grown!” she cried out suddenly and to her gratification, both Hinata and Naruto blushed. “Hai” they answered in unison.
“Please follow me, Tsunade has been waiting for yo-” before she could finish her sentence, they heard a door open and surprisingly, there stood Tsunade with Sakura.
“Ah! Well, if it isn't Konoha's loudest and shyest ninja!”
Naruto groaned.
“Obaa-san, I see you still haven't aged a day.” Never mind the fact that her bosom seemed much bigger than before. Was that even possible?
She glared at him.
“N-Naruto?” His smile broadened as he heard Sakura stutter in surprise.
“Oi Sakura, you still with Sasuke-teme?” He gave her a grin and she rushed over to him and gave him a hug.
“Yeah but he's still an asshole.” She answered him and he laughed. He was glad to see that she was at least out of her crazed obsession with him. Sakura looked over his shoulder and pulled away from him and grabbed Hinata in a big hug and nearly squeezed the breath out of the kunoichi.
“Oh Hinata! It's so nice to see you!” Sakura pulled away and stared at Hinata seriously. Her pale eyes grew worried a moment as Sakura's face darkened and she asked, “Did this idiot do anything to you?” Hinata blinked.
“Like I'd do anything unseemly to Hina-chan.”
Sakura laughed.
“Hina-chan? Is that your pet name for a friend now?” Naruto kicked himself; that was a major slip.
Hinata piped up as he was about to respond. “Yes, we've become quite close Sakura, he asked my permission to call me Hina.” Sakura gave them a skeptical look and nodded as if satisfied with the answer for the moment. She'd get to the bottom of it eventually.
“Naruto,” Sakura looked at him as he looked over his shoulder to see what she wanted, “I'm glad to see you back with us.” She smiled and he nodded.
“Me, too.”
* * *
Tsunade sat down behind her desk after dismissing Sakura from her medic training and stared at the two teens in front of her. To her pleasure, she noted a big difference in Hinata who did not look away from the Hokage or twiddle her fingers. In fact, her face held a calm and composed confidence she didn't think would ever come out of the oppressed Hyuuga. Sora had done a wonderful job with her. Naruto on the other hand, seemed to be brimming with energy as always but it was more controlled, he was still his usual confident self but there was definitely a maturity to him she had to applaud.
“So, you failed the mission.” she spoke after a few minutes. The boy shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the next and Hinata looked to the floor, seeming to be the 13 year old she remembered.
“We didn't fail.” Naruto added flatly, annoyed with the Hokage's assumption. “Sora said she'll return to Konoha but during our last battle against Itachi and Kisame, her partner lost her husband in the battle and she needs to take care of Yasu and Miki until Yasu comes to terms with Nori's death.” he calmly added. Why did she need a reminder on this? Sora had said she'd give her sensei a heads up.
Tsunade was floored. What? Itachi? Battle? Who was Yasu? Miki? Someone died? She blinked.
Hinata looked at the blank face of the Hokage and had this sneaky feeling that Tsunade had no idea what they were talking about.
“Um... Hokage-sama, didn't Sora report this to you six months ago?” she asked, biting her lip as Tsunade blinked again.
“Report?” She finally said. She got up and picked up a very thin pile of papers.
“This is all I have about you two from the past three years. Sora stayed true to her word and sent me a report every six months.” She raged internally. “Can you really call these reports?” She picked on up and read it aloud.
“Dear Obaa-san, all is well. I found this fabric while in town the other day I think you could definitely use for your office. Naruto agreed that it would definitely suit you. Much love, Sora.” As she finished, she noticed Naruto digging in his bag and heard a “Almost forgot about that” mumbled. He pulled out a blue fabric from it. Her eyes narrowed and she sighed. The damned thing had bottles of sake on it. He grinned at her as he handed the bundle to her.
Hinata shook her head. Even with Sora not around they still managed to double team the Hokage in a joke. Tsunade blew out the air in her cheeks and sat down again, mentally throwing up her hands in the air and giving up understanding both her student and Naruto.
“I guess I'll leave your mission as on-going.” She replied, starring at the ugly fabric on her desk, wondering what to do with it. “I want you here first thing in the morning, I want a detailed report on your mission and anything regarding Akatsuki and any training you've received.”
“Does that include the time we spent in the west?” He asked thoughtfully.
Tsunade blinked. The west? They went to the west?
Naruto lifted an eyebrow in wonder at the Hokage's reaction and Hinata concluded, with much certainty that Sora had forgotten to mention it in her ... “reports”.
* * *
A loud grumble was heard and Naruto blushed. Hinata laughed as she watched him pick up her bag from the floor.
“Are you hungry?” she asked innocently. He glared at her from the side.
“Maybe.” She laughed again as he carried both bags with him and walked out of the Hokage's office.
“Let's go to my place, I'll drop these bags off and we'll go to Ichiraku for some much needed ramen.” She noted his look of euphoria at the thought of his favoured food and rolled her eyes. Of course that would be his second official stop in Konoha. She guessed he did deserve it.
“Ok, ok, we'll go there next.” she added. He could hear the laughter in her voice as she followed him.
He shouted in glee and jumped up above the roofs and sped away to his apartment. “Come on Hina-chan, last one there has to clean my apartment!”
She blanched. No way was that going to happen. She sped off in a blink of an eye, a cloud of dust left in her haste to beat Naruto to his apartment. Had she been there a few moments more, she wouldn't have have missed the pair of white lilac eyes following her bouncing form.
Neji stared at his cousin in quiet confusion. He pursed his lips in wonder as he continued towards the Hokage's office. He would let her be for now but he would have to bring her home to her father sooner or later.
* * *
Naruto pouted. He had managed to lose somehow to Hinata who proudly grinned at him waiting at his door. “How did you...” he started and she humphed.
“That's a ninja secret.” she answered.
“I didn't even know you knew where I lived.”
She blushed, deeply, realizing that she used to pretty much stalk him back then. He hadn't seen that shade of red in two years. He laughed, surprised at her reaction. He wanted to tease her more on it but she didn't give him a chance as she took the keys from his hands and opened the door.
His room smelled stale. No one had been there in three years and oddly enough it was cleaned. Obaa-san must have come in here and kept an eye on things he assumed. He dumped the two bags on the ground and closed the door behind him and looked at Hinata. She was exploring the apartment. This was where her love had stayed all those lonely years.
She felt his hands touch her shoulder and she turned towards him, he had a very serious look on his face and she started to ask him what he was thinking about when she felt his lips brush lightly against her own. She smiled and pressed against them. They were alone away from the curious eyes of the village.
She felt his tongue demanding access to her own and she let him in as he deepened the kiss. Unknowingly this was more than just a kiss, Naruto was looking for acknowledgement. He had increasingly been feeling lonely since returning to the village and needed this kiss from her. Filling his need he broke the kiss and looked at her.
Hinata curled under his chin and pulled him close in a hug, knowing full well that there was a hint of sadness in his eyes. “Let's go Naruto, lets discuss what we're going to report at the ramen stand.”
He nodded silently, his voice having lost its use for a moment. He was weighing his decision on keeping their secret. This was for the best right? He squeezed her in a tight hug before letting go, her heat leaving his body again and dug out his frog wallet as she opened the door and stepped outside.
Twilight was settling over Konoha as Naruto and Hinata walked slowly towards the ramen stand. They stood together close enough to barely touch as they discussed where they would start the report. As they entered the shop they heard a woman squeal.
“Naruto!” He whipped around to see Ayame, the shop owner's daughter grin at him.
“Finally.” He heard another voice from the back. “About time you got back, I need to make some money!” Naruto laughed as Teuchi filled a bowl of Miso ramen and plopped it on the counter.
“On the house Naruto, to celebrate your safe return!” the old man grinned at his favourite customer.
A movement to the left caught his eye and he noticed Hinata standing next to the blond ninja and he grinned, a twinkle in his eye as he asked what kind she wanted.
“Chicken please.” Hinata shyly answered as she sat down with Naruto and watched him with a mix of delight and disgust, slurping up the ramen with little concern for the mess he was making. After the initial rush of getting as much as possible inside his stomach, Naruto sheepishly put down his bowl and began to eat his second one more calmly and apologized to Hinata. She laughed again as shook her head, he wouldn't change.
Several hours had gone by as they discussed things from the report to training before Naruto noticed a shadow creep up on them. He stopped mid-sentence and looked over his shoulder. He held in a groan as he nodded in acknowledgment and greeted Neji. Hinata froze as she heard her boyfriend speak to the person behind her. She had known this was going to happen but she had hoped that it would have been later. Regardless, she turned and smiled softly and stood up to bow to her cousin.
“Neji-san, I am happy to see you.” she spoke with calm clarity, which surprised Neji. He bowed to her as well and gave his greetings to both Naruto and her.
“Hinata” he began, a shuffle distracted him from the side as Naruto dug out his key from his pocket and threw them at Hinata. She caught them without looking and he turned back to his ramen, his face blank. She looked to her cousin, waiting for him to finish. “Your father is expecting you. I have put it off as long as possible.” She nodded and turned, whispered something in Naruto's ear to which he nodded and waved goodbye to Neji.
“I'll see you tomorrow at the Hokage's Hinata.” Naruto said slowly. Still no emotion showed on his face as he slurped down his ramen. He couldn't bear to look at Hinata at that moment.
“Hai Naruto-kun, I'll leave your keys in your mailbox.” She spoke barely above a whisper as she wished him goodnight. For the first time in 2 years, they had not kissed goodnight. The reality of it stabbed at her as she lifted the flap of the stand and walked away. Naruto had stopped eating and stared at the bottom of his cooled bowl of ramen. This was going to be a long night.
***
“Why didn't you bring your bags to the Manor?” Neji asked his cousin as she hid the keys to Naruto's home. She looked at him sideways as she considered her answer.
“He was really hungry and couldn't wait to go eat. This was the best option at that time.” she logically answered him, without skipping a beat. Neji blinked. Was this really Hinata? She pulled the bag onto her back and winced. Her injuries from the battle with Itachi still lingered. Her scar hadn't yet begun to fade from the Kyuubi. She mentally groaned as Neji reached out to help her with her bags and she declined his help.
They walked in silence. Hinata was lost in thought, wondering how her father would react to her new training and how she utilized the Byakugan now. This was definitely against family tradition. She was not about to be beaten down by her fears so she turned to her cousin and started to ask him what he had been up to and was cut off by him.
“I must apologize.” His voice brought her attention away from her inner thoughts and she stared at him, a bit dumbstruck at the sudden confession.
“For what, Neji?” She replied.
“At the exams. I took out all my anger on you, I injured you severely.”
She nodded in agreement. She was glad that he finally felt shame for what had transpired.
“I accept your apology, although I had forgiven you many years ago.” She replied slowly, picking her words carefully. He stopped and glanced at her, she smiled at him. He looked at her, struck in wonder at how she had grown. He voice was steady, her shoulders were squared in pride and she walked with a step he had never seen her with before.
“Tell me Hinata, what has happened to you in these three years?” She blushed and looked to the floor before she began her walk to the manor again.
“Many things, as Sora would say, I have blossomed from my former self.” She grinned, a very Naruto like one he might add and shook his head.
“How is Hanabi?” she inquired softly.
“She has improved greatly with the Gentle Fist.” Neji replied, unconcerned with the question. Hinata was looking forward to seeing her little sister; she had many things to give her. She collected trinkets during her travels to the west. The young warrior Shivani reminded her of Hanabi in many ways. She had missed Hanabi dearly during that time.
The manor loomed in the distance. She sighed unknowingly and Neji quickly glanced down to her, he could see slight hesitation in her body language and he couldn't blame her. Her father had willingly pushed her out the door when she was sent away on this mission and hadn't thought about her much since then, focusing on Hanabi's training. She caught his eye and smiled quickly.
“Come on”, she tugged at Neji's sleeve as she increased the speed in her step. He took a moment to register her sudden movement and recover from her action and nearly let out a laugh when he heard a very disgruntled “Let's get this over with” come out of her mouth. Naruto was definitely an influence on her.
Hinata was deep in thought as she planned the conversation for the meeting with her father. First thing she needed to do was get out of this ninja gear and into her kimono.
***
She knelt before her father and bowed deeply onto the floor, her kimono restricting her movements. She felt her father's eyes on her. She knew he was weighing her changes.
“Hello father, I have returned from my mission.” She stated calmly. It seemed like an obvious thing to say... considering she hadn't been in the house for three years. She had to stifle a giggle.
“Welcome home Hinata.” her father responded. His voice held no emotion, she didn't expect him to but it still hurt to hear it. She lifted herself from the deep bow and sat straight up in her kneeling position and without realizing had done something she had never done before. She stared straight into her father's eyes and waited for him to continue.
His eyebrow twitched momentarily in this subtle change. For a moment he was reminded of her mother. He mentally shook himself of the lingering memory and began to question her on her mission. Hinata winced. This was going to be a long night she thought as she shifted in her sitting position to relieve the tingling feeling of the blood being cut off from her feet.
She collapsed in her bed after disrobing from the kimono. Her throat felt dried as she performed hand seals without thinking and pulled water from the air and let it drop in her small container. After a long sip, she rubbed her face in disbelief. That had taken three hours and she was exhausted. There were many things she hadn't told her father were part of the mission that were classified. She did however speak about a new training technique she was taught and it incorporated the Jyuuken.
He had been furious to know she had dirtied Gentle Fist with some form he had never heard of. She was angry. Shino-To-Be was not a dirty form. She slipped beneath her covers, feeling very much like a captive in a prison as she looked out the window of her room, the moon hung high in the night and she thought of Naruto.
The manor was dark, empty and silent. She missed the sound of Naruto. He was a loud roommate and had grown accustomed to him sneaking into her room at night for a cuddle. Her eyes moistened up and tears threatened to spill as she felt the pangs of longing for him, to spill her secrets from tonight in his ear. She missed the sound of his heart beat, his soft sighs when he was sleeping. She pulled the pillow over her face as she finally let out the tears. She couldn't do this.
***
Naruto opened his eyes slowly and yawned. He begrudgingly glanced over from his bed and looked out the window. The sun had just begun to rise. He groaned. He still wasn't very good at dealing with early mornings. The first thing he noted was the lack of music. He sighed, he missed Sora.
He rolled over onto his back only to knock into something. “Huh?” He looked over to a mass under his blankets and peeled back the blankets to reveal a fully dressed Hinata, snoring softly. He smiled and bent down to kiss her on the cheek which woke her up and she stretched her arms out and wrapped them around his neck and sleepily greeted him.
“Ah, Hina-chan” Naruto asked softly. She looked up to him and blushed lightly realizing he was bare-chested.
“Yes?” she replied, suddenly shy.
“What are you doing in my bed, although I can't say I mind it.”
He peered at her as she seemed to burrow deeper into the duvet. She couldn't really answer him, she had arrived an hour ago to meet with him and since she hadn't slept a wink the entire night she decided to crawl in next to him after considering it for a lengthy two seconds and fell asleep.
“Uhmm...” she started, fully intending to explain herself but she was cut off by a grin.
“Shouldn't I be the one sneaking into your room for some cuddles?” he added playfully. She blushed deeply and he laughed before kissing her again and pulling the blankets over them for some much needed affection.
“How did it go with your father last night?” She grumbled as he waited for her to wake up.
“Oh same `ole...” she replied. Was that sarcasm in her tone? “He thinks I dirtied family tradition with Shina-To-Be and that my mission was pointless since from what he could tell I had nothing new to show him. I was still a failure.” She pouted.
Naruto was dumbstruck. “What! That's not true!” He started on a rant and she laughed. He looked at her and she smiled at him and leaned in for a kiss which he happily provided.
“I know that. He hasn't seen what I'm like in action and what I'm like with my partner.” She nodded sleepily and sneaked in closer for more cuddles. She was full of confidence and Naruto concluded that her father hadn't managed to bring her down.
“Let me get dressed Hina-chan so we can start on that report for the old lady.” She nodded as she rolled her eyes, clearly unhappy with the loss of snuggles and hopped out of bed, heading towards his kitchen.
“I'll make us breakfast, I haven't eaten yet.” She shouted as she walked into the other room.
“Hai” He watched her back and smiled. He was glad she had decided to come wake him instead of meeting him there like they had planned. He laughed as he heard Western Rock play out of his stereo and Hinata hum along with it. He guessed he wasn't the only one that had gotten used to his sister's strange morning routine.
* * *
A burp escaped Naruto as he locked his apartment. Hinata gave him a disapproving glare and he laughed softly, embarrassed.
“Well, it was a really good breakfast!” He added in defense. She snorted in disbelief as they rushed towards the Hokage's office. They were running late. Their morning cuddle had taken a lot of time from getting ready.
She blushed again thinking about his chest against her cheek. It had felt hot, more so than any of their close contact before. It was only natural, she supposed, as his lack of clothing combined with being alone... Her thoughts had drifted into more intimate things that she knew she wasn't quite ready to act out yet. Naruto was very respectful towards her and where he would touch her he would never consider doing anything else unless she asked first. She was grateful to him for that.
They entered the building and greeted Shizune, her arms holding Tonton, Tsunade's pig. It snorted as Hinata petted the pig with affection. Shizune announced them to Tsunade who was speaking with Kakashi. Naruto narrowed his eyes at his former sensei. He still had to speak to him in regards to why he never mentioned his father.
Kakashi excused himself and greeted Naruto with his usual “Yo” before leaping out the window. If looks could kill, Kakashi had known why he'd be ten times dead as it dawned on him that Sora probably had told him about his father. He wasn't looking forward to that conversation.
Naruto watched Kakashi disappear. He grumbled and his face had a pinched look to which Tsunade raised a brow in wonder but decided that it would be too much of a hassle to figure out why the boy was mad at Kakashi. She pointed to her desk and the two teens sat down in the chairs, preparing themselves for a long and painful sitting session of writing. He was glad that Hinata had patiently helped him with a brush many years ago, he definitely needed it today.
***
The two teens laid down into the grass, staring up at the clouds, sweat rolling off their skin and dampening their clothes. They had finished running through all their partnered training routines and spent several hours going over several jutsu they had learned over the years. Naruto still needed some practice with a few of the one-handed seals. He had a lot of power but sometimes didn't have the capability to figure something out on his own. It really had to be dumbed down.
The report they had written took almost three days to write. He was in disbelief at how little his sister had reported on and how non-informative she had been. They literally had to write every single thing that had happened to them in the past three years. He made a promise that when he lays his eyes on Sora, she was going to suffer the 1000 years of pain for being so irresponsible and making him do all this work.
Sakura stared down at the pair who were covered in sweat and breathing hard. “Oi.” she said in a very Naruto-like fashion. Hinata opened her eyes and looked at her.
“Ah! Hello Sakura!” she heard the girl say in surprise. Sasuke couldn't be bothered to talk and casually kicked the bottom of Naruto's foot.
“Ouch!” Naruto jumped out of lulled stupor and held his foot. “Bastard!”
Sasuke braced himself for the tackle as Naruto knocked him down in retaliation. “Sasuke-teme, you're too slow,” He snorted.
“It will be a cold day in hell when I seriously let you get me.” Naruto laughed.
“I see you're still your usual self. Did you finally get that seal under control?” Naruto asked, trying to peek at his shoulder.
“Yeah, Kakashi spent a lot of time on it, for a little while it had control of me.” His eyes became dark a moment before Sakura touched his shoulder and smiled at him. He touched it lightly with his own and sat down next to Naruto.
“Were you guys sparring?” He asked. Hinata looked at him and raised a brow.
“Uh well, yeah.” Naruto answered. Sasuke looked curiously at them and Naruto grinned.
“You and Sakura want to spar against us?” A twinkle seemed to sparkle in Sasuke's eyes. Spar with his rival? Team basis? Was that even a question?
“Hell Ya!” His answer was cut off by Sakura who was already stripping off the medic garbs. He sighed. Hinata only smiled and Naruto looked at her and asked her if she'd be willing. She nodded and the pair moved into a battle formation he had never seen.
Sasuke looked over to Sakura and she had an inquisitive look on her face. “I have a bad feeling” she said. And for once Sasuke agreed with her. Hinata activated her Byakugan without hand seals or uttering a word. They never saw it coming.
As if an unspoken command happened between the two, Naruto charged forward and begun his attack on Sasuke. Sakura moved against Hinata thinking she was the easy target and leaving the boys to fight but she did not know that being back to back to Naruto, Hinata was unstoppable. Without much effort, Hinata pushed away the punches from Sakura, diffusing the chakra from her fists as she could see the echoes emanating from her.
`Shit she's fast!' was all Sakura could think about. Hinata had the fight under control from the get-go. She could feel all her chakra being sapped away when Hinata's hands would touch her, light pats against her skin, she frowned as she spent more time gathering the lost chakra then figuring out how to beat her.
Hinata smiled at Sakura as she continued her soft assault on the medic-nin. She could see Sakura getting frustrated as a punch finally made its way in and moved quickly towards her. She leaped up in response and Naruto, sensing her jump, briefly stepped back and caught Sakura's fist and pulled it forward, launching her into a very surprised Sasuke. She yelped in surprise as she crashed into him. She scrambled back up and gave Naruto a hard unforgiving look to which he could only sheepishly grin.
“I'm sorry Sakura.” Hinata said as she landed next to Naruto. Sasuke was breathing hard. He nodded to his pink haired partner as they resumed their assault, this time they were facing team versus team. That's when Sasuke and Sakura discovered that Naruto and Hinata were using a fighting form they had never encountered.
The fight had gone from a friendly sparring match to a very serious one in a matter of minutes as Hinata and Naruto combined their attacks, with Hinata focused on disabling Sakura with her Gentle Fist mixed with Shina-to-be formations. Sakura had stopped holding back her attacks ten minutes ago as the ground broke and shook under her precise chakra punches. Hinata continued to hit chakra points on Sakura as she leaped around and over the medic-nin. Her hands forming various seals to disable the girl long enough for her to systematically shut her down with touches that felt softer then feathers.
Sasuke wasn't holding up too badly against Naruto's Shina-Tsu-Hiko. Naruto was releasing chakra much like Hinata, very precisely and rapidly against Sasuke. He had managed to hit Naruto a few times before he noticed Sakura collapse and Hinata turned to Sasuke. She ran towards Naruto and as though on cue, the blond nin bent down as she jumped over him and he held fast on Sasuke's arms who barely had time to blink as he felt Hinata's hands touch several spots on his body while flipping over him, resulting in his own collapse. He heard her soft landing and he stared up at a grinning Naruto.
“You have a parka?” He asked him. Sasuke shook his head wondering what he meant. “Oh that's too bad cause it just got real cold in hell!” Fresh laughter filled the training yard again as Sasuke grimaced, unable to move from the ground.
“I'm so very sorry Sakura.” Hinata repeated as she released the blocked chakra points from her friend within seconds. Sakura looked into the white eyes in disbelief. Hinata had just totally and completely disabled her without even sweating in the span of a few minutes. The dark haired ninja moved over to Sasuke and apologized as well while removing the blocked points.
Sasuke laughed and spoke with disbelief. “I can't believe it.” Naruto looked at him.
“What?” he curiously asked, laughter still lingering in his voice.
“You distracted me long enough to let Hinata cut me down.” he said. Naruto grinned.
“Oh you noticed that huh? I wanted her to show you guys how awesome she's turned out!” Hinata blushed before adding her own snort of disbelief.
“You could have at least tried to fight, Naruto-kun.” she replied. He only grinned at her. Sasuke swallowed hard and looked at Sakura. They couldn't believe what they'd just heard. Naruto hadn't even tried? This was all just for Hinata to show off her skill? Sasuke leaned back against a tree in thought.
“Oh Sakura!” she looked to Hinata who was ignoring a laughing Naruto. “What did you come here for?” She blinked and slapped her forehead mentally at her forgetfulness.
“Oh that's right, the Hokage wants to see you guys. Pronto.” She lifted herself from the ground and dusted her shorts. She smiled to Hinata and said, “You're going to have to teach me a few of those moves.” Hinata swallowed hard as she recognized the look in Sakura's eyes.
RR Please!
Revised chapter by HinatasHusband - March 09
(Thanks perpetual159 for the suggestions, I hope I did justice to them D:)