Espial: Part 6

     Start at the East Gate… Circle twice around the East watchtower, briefly check the underground passage, report back to the East Gate, hop buildings until the main Konoha library… For the millionth time, Naruto ran through the safety regulation plan in his head. Though he could probably recite it by now in his sleep, the ninja couldn’t  seem to draw his thoughts from the foreboding situation of Sasuke’s absence. He had never before considered himself to have OCD, but now it seemed otherwise. Naruto still couldn’t deny, though, that he was getting extremely bored by the lack of action. He wanted to see Sasuke so bad now that he could rip him to shreds for stirring up so much grief.

     Naruto mentally scolded himself. He had already decided that he wouldn’t continue to think those thoughts. All of his teammates learned the plan – should Sasuke arrive – so nothing more could be done. He would go to Ino’s party, try to have a good time, and move on from there until something happened… And Naruto would see Hinata again.

     Thinking of the kunoichi sent a slight stab of pain in Naruto’s gut. He had been wrong to ignore her like he did, especially since she could’ve helped him so much. But he couldn’t bring himself to face her – not without his composure or confidence. And now that Naruto had overcome his unfamiliar-and-slightly-emo-state, he missed her more than ever. But would she forgive him…?

     Mopping the raindrops off of his forehead with the back of his hand, Naruto ducked his head and walked faster through the steady rain. Ino probably wouldn’t be too thrilled to see him… He didn’t have a gift, he wasn’t wearing fancy clothing, and on top of everything he was “moody”. But Naruto’s decision was made – he would go to the party.

     As the blonde ninja approached Ino’s house, he could hear a loud base thrumming against the constant patter of rain. Drawing a deep breath, Naruto firmly walked up to the front door and entered the house.

     Naruto soon realized that coming to the party was a bad idea. A very bad idea. It was completely overwhelming. The entire living room was packed with people so  that bodies pressed against bodies and on top of the loud music, Naruto was sure to be deaf in a matter of minutes. He could hardly even recognize anybody. As a short girl squeezed in front of him so as to move across the room, Naruto caught a glimpse of a forehead protector – the girl was from the sound village? What the hell? What kind of birthday party was this?

     Slowly drifting toward the room Naruto knew to be the lounge, the ninja bowed his head and avoided eye contact with any of the strangers. This was too weird.

     Luckily, the lounge wasn’t as crowded as the living room. Though there were still a good amount of people dancing, there was at least enough room to breathe. Peering to his right, Naruto spotted a ring of men of various ages circling around an unknown object, but he ignored them in favor of sitting at the bar in the opposite corner, where he saw Ino chatting with a few girls.

     Ino seemed to sense his presence, for as he drew nearer, she turned around and beamed. “Hey, Naruto! Glad you made it!”

     Naruto shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, well… Sorry I’m not so prepared.”

     Ino giggled and leaned forward so that she could talk into Naruto’s ear without anyone hearing. “No worries if you’re referring to your lack of fancy clothes… That ‘wet’ look really suits you.” Naruto did, in fact, look handsome. His damp clothing defined his toned muscles and the beads of water that rolled down his gave him a wild, husky look. And his usual blonde hair was darkened slightly, falling into his eyes and making the cerulean orbs brighter than ever.

     Naruto jerked his head back, alarmed. Ino merely grinned wider and gestured at the two girls sitting in the barstools next to her, who were obviously taking a good pan up and down Naruto’s torso. It made him feel extremely uncomfortable, and wary. Which was even more bizarre, because a few months ago Naruto probably would’ve enjoyed the attention. But then again, if Ino hadn’t pointed it out, Naruto wouldn’t have realized in the first place that any attention was directed at him at all.

     Changing the subject, Ino leaned back against the counter and supported her head on her hands. “Anyway… Have you seen Hinata?”

     Inhaling too quickly, Naruto spluttered and caughed. Slightly embarrased, Naruto tried to regain composure and as casually as he could, said, “No… do you know where she is?”

     Smiling as if enjoying a private joke, Ino pointed at the group of boys in the opposite corner, the same group that Naruto had seen when he first entered the room. “Ask those fella’s over there…” Naruto’s heart sank. If that meant what he thought it meant, Naruto was about to get very angry…

     Walking a little faster than would be normal, Naruto headed twoard the guys. Shoving the nearest one aside, the ninja found himself face to face with the center of their attention: Hinata.

     Overcoming his initial anger, Naruto faltered and took a closer look at Hinata. She looked… amazing. The color of her dress accentuated her eyes, and fit snugly against her slim figure. Naruto was certain he hadn’t ever seen so much of Hinata’s skin before, and the relevation sent a warm tremor through his body. But though Hinata’s new look was gorgeous, Naruto felt ashamed somehow. It kinda felt like he had walked in on her when she was indecent.

     And her body language proved the point further. In a futile attempt to cover herself more, Hinata had her hands tightened around the fringe of her dress, straining the fabric over her thighs. And her face held such an expression of utmost embarrassment and innocence that Naruto wanted to erase all her worries right then and there.

     “C’mon, Sweet…” A revolting, slurred voice sounded from one of the boys to his right. “What’s your number? Pity for someone like you having no one to hang out with on weekends…”

     Realizing what was going on, Naruto growled in the back of his throat and pushed himself to the head of the crowd. He could only imagine what these perverts had planned for the kunoichi. “Hinata’s with me.”

     Noticing Naruto for the first time, Hinata’s face instantly change to an expression of pure relief. Naruto smiled at her reassuringly.

     An older-looking man snarled and furrowed his eyebrows over his slightly crazed eyes. He didn’t even say anything; he simply stayed in that bizarre, unnatural position. He was drunk.

     Several voices sounded at once, and all Naruto could make out was a particular loud voice over the rest, “Heh, this is your girl?”

     The blonde ninja firmly planted his feet on the ground and grasped one of Hinata’s hands, uncurling her fingers from the dress in the process. With as much menace as he could muster, Naruto replied, “Hn. What of it?” He had taken inspiration from Sasuke with his reply, truth be told. No one could do intimidating like an Uchiha.

     But it seemed his confidence worked well enough. The boys were calm -  or as close to calm as they could be – long enough for Naruto to say, “Come on, Hinata. Let’s get out of here.”

     Smiling nervously, but clearly greatful, Hinata said, “Y-yes, please.” Letting Naruto guide her past the men and a tight group of dancers, Hinata mentally panicked. Why did Naruto have to see her like this? What would he think of it? And more so, how should she even talk to him after all the recent events? Everything had happened so fast. She learned that Naruto could very possibly like her very much –she felt her cheeks heat at the memory – and then Sasuke escaped. Everything pretty much went downhill from there… She hadn’t even seen Naruto for about a month!

     Suddenly, Naruto came to a halt and Hinata nearly ran right into him. “Wha -?” Taking a closer look at their surroundings, it appeared that they were standing at the fringe of an extremely dense crowd. At her humble height of 5’2”, Hinata couldn’t even tell what room they were in. And the music was so loud that it made her even more disoriented.

     Leaning low and shouting so that he could be heard, Naruto said, “Sorry, Hinata! Looks like we can’t get to the front door!” Pausing for a moment, a sudden inspiration flooded the blonde ninja’s face. “Keep following me!”

     It wasn’t like Hinata had a choice what with Naruto’s vice-like grip on her arm and eerything. But of course, Hinata didn’t object. She was so very happy just to finally be with Naruto again.

     Eventually, Naruto led Hinata to the stairs. This confused her further but she kept shuffling after him nonetheless.

     But when the pair finally reached their apparent destination, Hinata’s eyes widened and her hands suddenly felt unusually clammy. Naruto looked down, confused at her sudden change of expression. Just barely loud enough so that Naruto could hear, Hinata whispered, “U-um… Why are we at… I-Ino’s bedroom?” She was almost too scared to hear his response. She had thought Naruto wasn’t that kind of guy…

     A look of horror suddenly dawned on Naruto’s face. “NO! God no! I didn’t realize what this would look like… Sorry, Hina!” Embarrassed, Naruto scratched the back of his head. Hinata still wasn’t reassured. What, then…? “There’s a porch connected to her room. I thought maybe we could talk out there. The stars will be out, and it’ll be a lot more quiet.”

     Hinata drew a sigh of relief, slightly ashamed that she even doubted Naruto. But after all the awful things the boys had said to her earlier, could she really be blamed?

     Still nervous to talk to him, Hinata quietly followed Naruto through the vast bedroom and out onto the mentioned porch. She was surprised she hadn’t noticed the porch before… it was gorgeous!

     From the height of the second story, the porch provided an excellent view of the city nightlife of Konoha. Shimmery lights flickered and winked until they gradually dissipated into the darkness. The rain fell at a steady patter, and filled the night with its serene sound. The air smelled ever so fresh and to top it all off, a clean cut cresent moon glowed brightly in the sky. After the inside mayhem of the party, the scene was ever the more enjoyable.

     The peace of the moment suddenly overcoming her shyness, Hinata exclaimed, “Wow, this is amazing. How’d you know Ino had a porch?” She looked over to find Naruto with his arms folded over the banister.

     He shrugged and looked up at the sky. “I was walking this street one day, and saw Ino weaving a bracelet or something in that chair right there.” Naruto pointed to a recliner that Hinata hadn’t noticed to her left. “Ino saw me too, and started bragging about her new porch. ‘Said it was a holiday present or something. I dunno… I wasn’t really paying attention.”

     Unsure what to say then, Hinata walked forward and clung to the banister as well. They shared a comfortable silence, each immersed in their own personal thoughts. Somehow they were content this way. They had a lot to talk about and sort through, but their mutual hesitency called for a pause in conversation.

     Finally, Naruto sighed and looked at Hinata with such a steady, fierce gaze that Hinata shivered. “So, um… I’m not so good at this, but… Hinata, forgive me.”

     That took Hinata for surprise. “F-forgive? You? But for what?”

     Sadness filled Naruto’s eyes. “I just… Sasuke was my first friend. And more than that… My rival, too.” He then smiled grimly. “I guess the constant competition kept our attention focused on one another. It doesn’t really matter. Point is, I got a little ahead of myself these past few weeks. It’s still hard for me to believe he’d be such a bastard.” Naruto was somewhat proud of himself for being able to put his thoughts into words so easily. Though his heart was still racing as fast as the rain, or so it seemed.

     But suddenly a soft snifle drew his attention. “Hinata?!” She was crying! Did he say something wrong?

     Hinata covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. “It was my fault… T-that he’s gone. I-if only I was stronger, not so much of a burden…” She was even more humiliated that she was crying yet again in front of Naruto. She really wasn’t this unstable, usually. How come Naruto drew out these emotions from her so easily?

     Naruto’s gaze hardened. “Listen to me, Hinata. Sasuke’s gone. I’ve come to terms with that recently. And it’s no one’s fault for that, either. His mind was set on this destiny. If I had defeated him, he probably would’ve had his corpse magically transported to wherever the hell he is right now. The idiot threw away any possible future of happiness. Let him suffer.”

     The speech didn’t seem to lighten Hinata’s mood. She knew that Naruto couldn’t really mean those words… Looking down, Hinata fidgeted with a bracelet.

     “Look at me, Hinata.” Lifting the kuonichi’s head with his hand, Naruto stared deeply into her beautiful, glossy eyes. He knelt down and captured her lips in a chaste yet intense kiss. When he gazed back at her again, her face was flushed and a tear glided down her cheek. Brushing it away, Naruto shook his head. “You are strong, Hinata! Never doubt that. It’s one of the reasons why I admire you, you know! Your moves are super fast. And that one technique you invented…” Naruto rotated his arms in wide circles and imitated the thin needled of chakra that emanated from her palms. The sight brought a reluctant giggle from Hinata. “It’s amazing. And you’re gonna get even better. We should train together! Tomorrow?”

     Hinata smiled, slightly flustered. “Sure…?”

     Naruto relaxed. “You’re beautiful too.” The warmth in his bright blue eyes gave so much more meaning to his statement. Hinata had no clue how his eyes could be so calming yet scorching at the same time. They held such emotion…

     Hinata returned her gaze back to the sky, listening to the rain again for a moment. Naruto had given her some courage, so she felt confident enough to let Naruto know a bit of where her uncertainty originated. It seemed fit, afterall. She suddenly wanted him to know that her lack of confidence wasn’t created all entirely by herself. “But I still… am not s-strong enough. I don’t think I ever could be.”

     Naruto frowned. “Why?”

     “B-because… Tradition of the Hyuuga clan frowns upon me. The ideal child would be m-male, and a strong one at that. He would provide honor, protection to our families, provide a family of his own, and take care of his elders. Someone like N-neji. Neji fits the mold perfectly for the ideal Hyuuga child. Strong, fierce, and intelligent… The fact that I am of high birth makes it even worse. It is a ‘waste of nobility’, as they say.”

     “That’s the biggest load of crap I’ve ever heard. With all due respect.” Naruto felt like he should tag that on. “You have so much that Neji doesn’t… Many things he’ll never be able to learn. You’re compassionate, for one. But you also have a sense of… oh, what would you call it? Intuition, that’s it! You took your abilities into account and explored with it, creating a unique technique that is one hundred percent original and your own. How many ninja could do that?”

     Hinata blushed again. “Y-you think too highly. Of me.”

     “Nah… I can just be observant when I want to be.” Speaking of her family reminded him of another thing. “Remember… when we were traveling to the village to pick up the Anbu? You and Neji got in a fight, and he whispered something to you. It seemed to upset you. What did he say?”

     Hinata winced. She remembered clearly what happened that night... One of Neji’s hands unexpectedly whipped out at Hinata’s waist and she spun around, gasping. Unfortunately for her, Naruto stood directly in her new line of vision. Though she saw him before through her Byakugan, it was always different looking at him straight on.

     Neji took advantage of Hinata’s distraction and lashed out his hand at her neck, stopping suddenly a hair-length away from his mark. She gasped again and widened her eyes, not daring to move. Neji leaned in closer and whispered in her ear…

     “He said… W-what will Hanabi say when… when she finds out how incompetent a ninja her older sister has become?”

     Naruto grimaced and fisted his hands onto the banister. “I swear, Hinata, I swear… Your family will be proved wrong. They’ll realize how lucky they are to have you, and then we’ll see who has all the dignity!”

     Drawing a deep breath, Hinata sighed. “Thank you… I-I hope you’re right.”

     Naruto unexpectedly wrapped his arms around Hinata, and she couldn’t help but jump a little. She was now even more anxious of the fact that so much of her skin was exposed. The shock and embarrassment made her uncomfortable, at first, but she slowly relaxed in his arms. Naruto’s shirt felt slightly cold… he must have walked to the party in the rain.

     However long they stood there, Hinata wasn’t sure. Everything seemed so hazy, as if they were in a dream. Talking to Naruto like this, so intimately… it was just so different. Unreal. She was glad they could share words like this, but… she wanted it to end, at the same time. It was unnatural for her, which meant it was even more unnatural for him. Bad events just really seemed to screw up everyone’s personalities.

     Eventually her legs got tired and Naruto seemed to sense it. Pulling her with him, Naruto headed over to the chair and set her on top of his lap. Hinata could feel her cheeks burning. “Is this okay?” Naruto asked, softly.

     “Yeah…” Slowly, Hinata leaned back and rested the back of her head on his collarbone. The contact was so foreign to her, but it all felt so good. Naruto wrapped his arms around her waist in response. They settled in, once again looking out at the city and sky.

     Hinata didn’t want to ruin the moment, but something had been nagging in her mind for a while now. “N-Naruto… can I ask you something?”

     Naruto lifted one of his hands and ran it through some of her silky hair. “Anything.”

     Taking a deep breath, Hinata began. “Back when Tsunade was briefing us on the mission, she warned me not to let you get too angry. And when you were fighting Sasuke, I don’t remember much, but… you were g-glowing. Glowing red. Your hand even b-burned me a little. Those two events… They’re connected, aren’t they? I’ve been so worried.”

     Naruto paused for a moment in his playing with her hair. When he spoke next, his voice sounded gruff and slightly raw. “You really are much smarter than you think.” Hinata waited for the answer. This was about him now, not her.

     “The answer to that… May change your views of me. In fact, I know it will. I… I can’t force you to talk to me if you decide you don’t want to anymore. But… I do need to tell you. It wouldn’t be right for you not to know anymore.”

      Hinata was shocked. Had she really brought up a topic so serious? She had never before heard Naruto have such trouble talking. All she managed to say was, “I-it’s okay…” She was somewhat glad that Naruto couldn’t see her face from her position on his lap, because despite herself, Hinata was terrified.

     “So… many years ago, the nine-tailed demon attacked Konoha. The Kyuubi. Many were killed, and no one knew how to stop it. My father, Minato… knew of a way. One last hope. He figured a way to seal the demon inside a child.” Naruto waited for that information to sink in. He couldn’t see the expression on Hinata’s face, so he continued.

     “Scoot forward a little.” Doing as she was told, Hinata pulled herself away from Naruto’s chest and sat on his knees. She then looked back at Naruto, apprehensive, but still firm somehow.

     Naruto seemed to gain courage from something in Hinata’s gaze. Lifting his shirt a little, Naruto revealed a toned stomach. Hinata couldn’t help but blush, until she took in the sight before her.

     Blazoned on Naruto’s honey skin was a strange series of symbols shaped in a circular design. It almost looked like a summoning design… or a seal.

     Her heart suddenly pulsing loudly in her ears, Hinata hesitantly brushed her fingers against the seal. She traced the circle, committing it to memory. “The demon’s seal…” She softly murmured. Lifting her eyes to Naruto’s face, the blonde ninja held such a look of pleading in his eyes that it made Hinata’s eyes water again, even though she should have far exhausted her ability to cry by now. She didn’t really know what to say. A surge of emotion filled her, none overpowering the others… Pity, fear, sadness, disbelief…

     Naruto held his breath and tried to keep his emotion hidden. He didn’t want to put any pressure on Hinata. Her decision had to be one hundred percent her own.

     When Sasuke left, it was bearable. But if Hinata left now…

     I’ll be broken.