Such as Naruto loved ramen. Not that this was the only thing he ate, but it WAS pretty much one of his major food groups.
"-so the hard part of being a shinobi has just begun," lectured Iruka.
Hinata slid into the empty seat on the other side of Naruto from Iruka. "Naruto-kun?"
"Eh?" asked Naruto as a vaguely-familiar looking girl addressed him.
"I heard about what you did," said Hinata. "I always had faith in you."
"Errr, uhm, yeah sure," said Naruto, not sure about all this. "Yeah, I can be fairly awesome, can't I?"
"When you're not being a goof-off, irresponsible, or a prankster," put in Iruka.
Hinata giggled. Which surprised her again because she'd have thought that had been impossible for her too.
"Aw c'mon, Iruka-sensei," protested Naruto.
"So why are you here, Hinata?" asked Iruka, sipping at his ramen.
"Naruto, I've watched you for years, your smile and 'never-give-up' attitude have inspired me," said Hinata.
"Well, I..." said Naruto, rubbing the back of his head and grinning, though he was a little off-balance from getting this attention.
Hinata saw the opening and took the chance, leaning close and kissing his cheek before withdrawing just as quickly.
Naruto completely froze. So did Iruka. So did the ramen cook. So did the slightly-inebriated businessman at the far end of the bar.
"No matter what's within you, I like you, Naruto," said Hinata, keeping in mind their current ages and that if she did too much now she'd just completely freak Naruto out. Even more than he already was. "When Sakura rejects you, keep that in mind, but don't make me wait too long."
Hinata smiled a little as she walked away, quite aware that Naruto was touching his cheek where the kiss had occurred. She was also aware of the continuing stares from everyone else.
OK, maybe they were reacting to her being a bit more forward than she'd been her first time around.
Once she'd gotten a suitable distance away, Hinata sighed and prepared for the task of sneaking back to her room. Honestly, taking these baby steps was frustrating however necessary they were.
A form loomed out of the darkness, the ANBU mask in place.
"I have no idea how you learned so much," said the ANBU operative, "but you can't be allowed to continue."
Hinata leapt as fast and far as she could as the killing intent rolled over her. She didn't make it though, her body as it was now just didn't have the speed she'd later be able to develop.
She knew enough about anatomy and medic-nin practices to know that her spine being severed like that was not something she could shrug off.
"NARUTO!" cried out Hinata before her voice was silenced, her hand reaching out one last time in the direction she thought he was.
"OH MY GOSH! WHAT HAPPENED HERE?!"
Iruka looked at the badly slashed-up Hinata lying on the ground and tried to figure out who could have done that. She'd just left them barely a minute before they'd heard her cry out. Now - she didn't look hurt so much as just plain dead.
"Naruto! I need to borrow your chakra," said someone unfamiliar as they dropped down into place near the fallen girl. "There's a medical technique I can use to save her life, but it requires a huge amount of chakra and stamina."
"Huh?" asked Naruto.
Iruka blinked at the newcomer, knowing this was:
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(Posted Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:08)
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