Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ The First Date is the Most Important ❯ Walking Home ( Chapter 2 )

Heya, I'm finally updating this story. I know it's been forever, but I have a bad habit of ignoring my fickies. Plus, I have another Naruto fickie going and when I wait too long to update it, I feel bad (And receive threats at times…). Anywho, I had to read the first chapter, 'cause I had totally forgotten where I had left off, heh. I'm not sure where I'm going with this, so I'll just make it up as I go along. Not that I ever do it differently…

Naruto does not belong to me. I'm sure you knew that, but I thought I'd just go ahead and make sure.

.Chapter Two......

In the time it took for Hinata to finish one bowl of ramen, Naruto had polished off three. It had turned out that Naruto hadn't been worried about having enough money for one bowl, but for as many as it would take to fill him up. Hinata was just glad to see him stop eating before the bill got too high.

"Ah~!! That was delicious!" Naruto exclaimed as he rubbed his belly happily.

Hinata smiled shyly. "Yes, it was really good. Do you eat here a lot, Naruto-kun?"

"Huh? Yeah, I eat here all the time." He examined her bowl. "Is that all you're going to eat?"

She looked down. "Yes, I-I'm full."

"Eh? You need to eat more, Hinata!" He grinned. "You'll get hungry later."

"T-thank you, Naruto-kun," She replied quietly. "But I'll be fine…"

"Whatever you say… Oh yeah!" He pulled out his froggy wallet. "Here's all the money I have on me."

"Oh! I-it's okay, Naruto-kun. I don't mind paying…"

"Well, at least take this," He took her hand and dumped out his wallet's contents into her palm. "I can pay you back for the rest later."

The dark-haired girl blushed furiously as she stared at her hand in Naruto's. Oh my god…!! He's holding my hand! Maybe it's not in the way I had hoped, but he's still holding it!

"Eh…? What's wrong, Hinata?"

"Oh!" She suddenly came to her senses. "N-nothing's wrong, sorry!" She took the money and smiled, trying to ignore how hot her face felt. "Thank you, Naruto-kun. I… you don't have to pay the rest."

"Thanks, Hinata!" That blonde smiled broadly. "I'll buy you ramen some time, okay?"

"Y-yes… that would be nice."

Naruto checked the time. "Do you have to be home any time soon?"

She looked at the small clock on the wall. It was 8:32. "I…" She knew it wouldn't be good to get home too late, but she didn't want to say so. She wanted to get as much Naruto time as she possibly could.

"Do you want me to walk you home or something?"

"N-Naruto-kun!" Her cheeks which had temporarily returned to there original color, went right back to being red. "I… if it's okay…"

"Yeah, I don't mind." Naruto paused for a moment. "You'll have to show me the way though, since I don't know where you live…"

"Uhm, okay." She began to get up. "Do… do you want to leave now?"

"If you're done." He was already standing.

Hinata quickly paid for their food and faced Naruto again. She could hardly keep herself steady. Everything felt like a dream. I can't believe what's happening! We went on a date and he's even going to walk me home! Or… is this a date?

She was snapped back to reality when Naruto said her name.

"Hinata… is something wrong?"

"N-no!" She took a step forward. "…Let's go"

She began walking out of the ramen shop. She avoided Naruto's eyes as she stepped outside. Don't mess this up. Just try and act normal…!

"So where do you live, Hinata?" Naruto asked with his hands in his pockets.

"Uhm… I live kind of far…" She looked away. "You don't have to walk me all the way…"

"Since you paid for most of the food, I should at least keep you company all the way there," He said brightly.

"Oh…"

She explained to him where she lived, and they made their way to her house. Naruto was talkative the whole way there. He told her about the missions he went on and about how annoying Sasuke was. Hinata listened eagerly. It really didn't matter to her what he said, just as long as he was saying it. She loved how energetic he was. She said very little the entire time. Whenever it was necessary, she would reply to a question, or make a small comment, but other than that, she kept quiet. She was too nervous to talk.

"Wow…!!" Naruto exclaimed once they had reached the mansion where Hinata resided. "This is where you live??"

"Y-yes…" She said, embarrassed. She took a few steps toward the gate. "Do… do you want to come in for a little while, Naruto-kun?"

He looked as though he was contemplating her question. "Hmm… no. Maybe some other time…"

"Oh… okay."

Naruto brightened and smiled at her. "Well, I'll see you later, Hinata!"

"Oh? Okay, Naruto-kun. I'll see you."

He waved and turned away.

"Good night, Naruto-kun…" She said in barely a whisper.

"Did you say something?" Naruto asked, turning back around to face her.

"Uhm… G-good night, Naruto-kun!" She stammered.

"Yeah, g'night, Hinata!" He waved and walked away.

Hinata stood at the gate and watched the boy until he disappeared from sight. She opened the gate in a daze, and walked lightly through the door, and to her room. The butterflies in her stomach didn't dissipate until she flopped down on her bed and sighed. Tonight has been a very good night.

……

The next morning, she woke up early to meet with her teammates. It was a crisp fall morning, and it was nice to have her coat on for a reason for a change. She smiled and hummed to herself as she walked to the designated place where they met. She was in such a good mood; she nearly walked right passed without noticing. Actually, she would have if it hadn't been for Kiba.

"Hinata… where are you going?"

She came to her senses and blushed. "Oh… Kiba-kun!" She looked at the ground as she approached her teammates. "Sorry… I wasn't paying attention"

Kiba laughed. "Yeah, you probably would have walked right out of Konoha if I hadn't said anything!"

Hinata smiled apologetically.

"Did something happen, Hinata?" Kurenai asked.

"Huh?" She looked at her instructor quizzically. "No, Kurenai-sensei, why?"

"Nothing… You seem a bit distracted. Is something on your mind?"

"N-no, Kurenai-sensei." Am I really acting different? She blushed a little. Maybe I'm thinking of Naruto too much…

Kurenai looked at her a bit longer before moving on. "Well, now that you're all here, I'll explain today's mission…"

Hinata moved closer to the group and stood near Shino. Even though she felt more comfortable with her team members than with anyone else, she still couldn't be at ease when she was around them. Even so, she felt the most comfortable around Shino. It was strange that she would feel that way, since she had been a little afraid of him when they had first been teamed up. After spending time around him, she realized that he was a nice person. He was really quiet, but she never felt like she had to say anything when she was near him. He never expected anything from her, and she appreciated that more than anything.

Of course, she didn't dislike Kurenai or Kiba. She liked things about them too. What she liked about Kiba was that he could make you feel more comfortable with him without even trying. He was such an outgoing person; it was hard to dislike him after you got to know him. The only thing she didn't like about Kiba was that he had a bit of a mean streak. He was never mean to her, but he made fun of others sometimes. She also didn't like that he didn't get along very well with Naruto. She couldn't understand why. They seemed a little bit similar to each other to her in some ways. Maybe that was why.

She liked Kurenai because she was so patient. She was never too harsh on them, but at the same time, she wasn't too lenient, either. When she messed up, Kurenai never got angry, or yelled at her. She would always just calmly tell her to try again. Hinata was happy to have them all as part of her team.

"…Alright, did you guys get all of that?" Kurenai finished.

The three of them said yes.

"Good," She nodded in approval. "Now let's all get this finished in time for lunch, okay?"

"Yes, Kurenai-sensei."

……

Yay, I'm finished! I even forced my self to write a bit longer than I wanted to. I was going to stop right after she got home, but that would have been just too disgustingly short for even me to handle. I know it's still short, but just keep in mind that it could have been worse.

How did I do with her thoughts on her teammates? I always thought it would make sense that she'd get along well with Shino. They're both such quiet people. I'm not sure if that last part really fit in though… It seemed a bit out of place with the rest of the story, I think. Maybe I should have just left off when she got home…

I'm still having some difficulty adjusting to writing such a shy character. I love Hinata to death, but I'm really afraid I'll make her out of character… Plus, I feel like I'm over doing it with all the stuttering and such, but whenever I leave it out, it feels like she's too relaxed. She's so shy! It's adorable, but difficult to write, heh.

Well, comments and suggestions are muchly appreciated. Especially suggestions. I'm having trouble thinking of what to do next.