Kunoichi Love
Part One - Chapter Three
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Moving forward...
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-Hinata-
“Why are you here?!” Hinata screamed, glaring daggers into the pink haired girl. “Are you here to tease her some more? Mock her? Call her trash like you always used to? Or are you going along with your new little torture of making her think she has a chance just because your precious Sasuke is gone?! Well?! Which is it?!” she shrieked. Sakura, wide eyed and mouth agape, took a few steps back.
“Hinata I...”
“Shut up! I've seen the way you've treated him and you should be ashamed of yourself! All he ever wanted was for someone to love and accept him and you could have easily given that to him. But no, you laughed at his feelings, laughed at his loneliness, and laughed at his desperation! You knew he was in love with you and you used that to make him feel even worse... and then you did something even more despicable...”
“Hinata, what... what are talking about? Sakura... she's always been my...” Naruto started, tears in her eyes. Hinata shook her head and ignored the blonde, taking a few slow steps toward the pink haired girl.
“You started to like him... You saw Naruto-kun's amazing strength and determination, saw how wonderful he was... but still you treated his feelings like they were garbage. And for what? Someone who obviously never felt the same about you! Sometimes I wonder if you and Ino were ever really serious in the first place...” She fell to her knees and clutched at Sakura's shorts. “You had someone so wonderful all to yourself and you did nothing. You could have ended his pain if you'd just given in to your feelings... did what I was too afraid to attempt... but you didn't.” Hinata went quiet for a long while before she spoke again, so quiet that it was barely audible. “I... I saw what you did at the hospital,” she murmured, tear filled pale eyes glaring up at the stunned girl.
“That was just...” the words died in Sakura's throat as Hinata's words echoed through her mind. She turned away.
“Naruto-chan deserves someone that loves her completely... someone better than you.” At this she collapsed onto the floor and curled into a ball, all her nerve having been spent. 'Naruto-chan... please don't hate me...' She could hear a few muffled words pass between the two followed shortly by a door opening and closing. The tears came all too easy as the fear that she'd just ruined the best thing that had ever happened to her consumed her heart. The last few days with Naruto had been like a dream. With the blonde in her new form it had been easier to keep her nerves at bay. She'd even found herself growing attached to the look and feel of not only the girl's body, but her personality as well. “I'm so...” The words caught in her throat as a pair of strong arms slid beneath her and lifted her off the floor.
“You did nothing wrong, Hinata-chan,” Naruto whispered, carrying the girl over to the bed and setting her down gently.
“Naruto-chan... I thought you'd left,” Hinata murmured. The blonde smiled, leaning down to place a light kiss on her forehead.
“Thanks for standing up for me like that, feels good to know you care about me so much. I mean, I'm sad everyone's feelings were hurt and all but... I learned something really good,” Naruto said, giggling mischievously behind her hand.
“O-oh?”
“This really cute girl has a crush on me,” she said, a rather fox like grin appearing on her lips. Hinata's heart fell.
“Oh... you didn't know Sakura had started to like you?” she asked miserably. Naruto moved her face in real close, causing the shy girl to swallow nervously.
“I wasn't talking about Sakura,” she whispered, kissing the near trembling girl on the cheek before pulling back and grinning.
“Naruto-chan...”
“Wait, you do still like me even though I got these things, right?” she asked, pointing at her breasts and bouncing a little. Face aflame, she managed to nod. “Good! I guess that means we should do it like the girls in Ero-Sanin's books then? Do you want to be the naughty nurse or the busty teacher's assistant?” the blonde asked, fiddling with the straps of her bra behind her back.
“Naruto-chan!”
-Naruto-
Naruto let out a long sigh as she wandered the streets of the city in the early morning. The night before had ended up great, talking and even crying with Hinata long into the night and eventually drifting off to sleep together. It was the first time they'd shared the bed and it gave her butterflies every time she thought about the feeling of the shy girl's arm draped over her waist like it had been when she'd woken up. Hinata had awakened too, not long after, and in her adorable sputtering and blushing way, took off in a hurry to Kurenai's house to report something. The sigh was soon replaced with a frown as the happy thoughts drifted into memory.
“So strange,” she muttered to herself, lifting her thin, smooth hand up to her face to caress her equally smooth cheek. It felt so different, so alien, and yet... so comfortable at the same time. The changes to her body were just scratching the surface too, the other things were much more confusing. She knew she'd always been sensitive to how others treated her but having spent a large portion of the night before crying over the things Sakura had done to her really put it into perspective. The newfound sensitivity and, even more surprisingly, the comfort that came with it were definitely confusing, but welcome all the same. It almost felt like she didn't need to hold back anymore, like she could say and do as she pleased and enjoy it. Her time spent with Hinata had definitely shown her that much.
'Hinata...' Irritably, she kicked a can that lay in the road in front of her, pausing for a moment when she thought she'd heard a yelping sound come from the other side of the bushes where it had sailed. Not hearing anything else, she shrugged and turned onto the main street. 'If only I knew how crappy you had it too... maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much time on...' She shook her head to clear away the angry thoughts. Unfortunately the image of the pink haired girl returned to her mind. 'Damn Sakura...' She felt herself sniffle a few times. 'Maybe I should slap her once for all the mean things she did to me... but then she has been really nice to me lately, even if it was for shitty reasons...' She pulled at her twin tails in frustration, thoughts of Hinata and Sakura swirling together into one big confusing mess.
“Naruto?” a voice questioned from the side. She looked up to see that her pacing had taken her to her favorite Ramen stand. “I'll be damned, it is you! Come and have a seat my boy... err.. girl!” She couldn't help but smile.
“Hey Ossan, surprised you recognized me,” she said, taking her usual seat.
“The Fifth told me all about it, hard to forget my best customer. How you getting on?”
“Not too bad actually, got someone teaching me how to do things. It's a pain in the ass getting used to some of the stuff but I think I've got through worse.”
“Good, good. So, what'll you have?”
“I'll take the usual of course but with double meat!” she said excitedly, reaching for her waist pouch only to curse upon realizing she'd forgotten to bring it with her.
“Forgotten your coupon again?” the old man asked with a laugh. She scratched at the back of her head with her trademark grin for a moment before the memory struck her. Unzipping the front of her jacket a bit she began fishing around in her bra, retrieving the coupon she stashed there and holding it in front of her like it was some kind of treasure. The man looked at it skeptically for a moment before bursting into laughter. Blushing furiously, she tried her best to glare at him.
“Oh shut up, they're good for more than just looking at!” she said, recovering from her embarrassment with a grin. The man took the coupon and turned around to go to work preparing.
“Oi, where's Ayame at today?” she asked, thumping idly on the counter in anticipation.
“That girl's been holed up in the basement for a few days, won't tell me what she's doing either... but I'm not too worried. Last time she did this she came up with the Diet Ramen and business was great!” An image of Hinata scolding her about her eating habits suddenly popped into her head and she rubbed the back of neck nervously.
“Um... ossan?”
“Something wrong?” the man asked, glancing curiously at the suddenly nervous girl.
“Could you switch my order to a Diet Ramen?” The bowel the man had been holding fell to the floor with a crash. The man, ignoring the shattered bowel, leaned out over the counter to look up into the air.
“Oi', what the hell are you...”
“He's probably checking to see if the sky is falling,” a voice Naruto had been dreading to hear called out from behind her. Slowly, she turned to see Sakura standing there with her hands behind her back, a sad smile on her face. “It's not every or... any day really that you hear Uzumaki Naruto order a diet meal.”
“Sakura-chan...” The man seemed to pick up on the tension and promptly ended his gag to go about cleaning and preparing the order.
“I know I'm probably not your favorite person right now...” she said, lowering her eyes. “The way I treated you... I'd like to say I was just young and stupid but there's really no excuse for it.” She took a few steps forward and pulled a long box from behind her back. “I know it probably doesn't mean much considering... but I really am sorry for what I've done and I'd like to start making up for that.” Naruto took the box from the girl's trembling fingers and opened it to reveal an expertly crafted flower arrangement. A flicker of a smile crossed her face as she sat the flowers down but was gone by the time she returned her gaze to the pink haired girl.
“You really hurt me, Sakura. I was in love with you... I would have done anything just to make you smile at me and you treated me like crap because of it.” The girl stood so the two of them were face to face. “You really think some flowers are going to just make up for all that?” The pink haired girl flinched as if she'd been slapped. Naruto's narrow eyes softened after a moment as she leaned in to kiss the girl's cheek. “They're pretty and all but you know I'd rather have some good food any day!” Sakura turned, eyes wide to take in the blonde's grinning face.
“Oh, Naruto!” she shouted, leaping forward to wrap her arms around the girl, pressing her face into the blonde's neck. “I'm so sorry, Naruto, I really am!”
“I know Sakura-chan...” the blonde said quietly, rubbing the sobbing girl's back. “You know, this really emotional stuff isn't so bad. Even an idiot like me can get the hang of it.” Sakura laughed a little and pulled away, wiping at her face with her hand.
“You're going to make a wonderful Kunoichi, Naruto.”
“I've got a kick ass teacher, ya know.” Sakura's smile faltered for a second before returning.
“Hinata's a wonderful girl... she... she really opened my eyes last night. Do you think you could thank her for me?”
“Sure thing, but why don't you...” She shook her head.
“You've still got a lot to learn. It'd be best if I gave her some space for a while.” The blonde frowned, but nodded.
“If you say so.”
“You'll understand soon enough, I'm sure. Just... be good to her Naruto, don't waste good friendship like I have,” Sakura said somberly, a faraway look on her face.
“You want some Ramen? I only had one coupon but I'll split it with you.”
“No thanks, I should probably get going. I've got some stuff to do now and then I'm going out with Ino later. I'll... see you later I guess,” she said backing away a few steps before turning and jogging off down the street.
“Here's your order,” the owner called out from behind her.
“Going out...” she mused as she turned and sat down, disappointment filling her at the sight of her meal. “Ossan... what's this? Where's the meat?”
“You asked for Diet Ramen.” She groaned as she poked through the skimpy portion of thin noodles that lacked all of her favorite toppings.
“Forget everything I said... getting used to this is going to be freaking impossible!”
-Hinata-
Blushing bright red and practically trembling with embarrassment, Hinata made her way from Kurenai's home to Naruto's. It wasn't the first time she had stumbled upon her surrogate mother in an embarrassing situation but seeing as she'd been coming from her own it had all mixed together to become doubly unnerving. Still, it was heartwarming to see how happy the simple pleasure of company could make someone. Even she had gotten a small taste of it during her days spent with the perky blonde, especially this morning when they had woken up together. The pale eyed girl felt her cheeks burning even more as the memory drifted through her mind.
“Naruto-chan...” she murmured, knees beginning to quiver as she recalled how smooth and soft the other girl's stomach had felt beneath her hand. She chewed her lip as an all too familiar urge began building up in the depths of her stomach. Being in such close proximity to the object of her affection was taking a terrible toll on the shy girls reserve. She was beginning to change and she knew it. Slowly but surely she was becoming more and more daring with her affections and the blonde had been nothing but welcoming to them. In the end she didn't know what scared her more, the idea that she might actually be able to work up the courage to express her feelings, or that they may very well be accepted.
“Hinata-chan, is that you?” a voice that was burned into her heart called out. Looking around herself she realized that she'd been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed she'd made it back to her temporary home.
“Um, I just got back from Kurenai-sensei's...”
“Everything okay?” the blonde asked, stepping from the bathroom wearing nothing but a much too small towel. Hinata's first urge was to blush and turn away but the days she'd spent with the girl had given her enough willpower to keep looking, the blush was simply unavoidable.
“Yes, I just...” the words faded as the girl pulled off the towel and used it to rub furiously at her soaking hair. “Naruto-chan... you should... you...”
“Hmm?” the blonde murmured, continuing the motion unheeded until satisfied, only to toss the towel back into the bathroom behind her instead of putting it back on.
“N-Nothing,” the pale eyed girl murmured, trying to look at anything but the beautiful naked blonde in front of her, which proved difficult as Naruto not only did nothing to seek cover, but walked straight up her and stood with her hands behind her back.
“Umm, Hinata-chan... I've been thinking and... well... do you wanna go out tonight?” All breath left her lungs as she stumbled back against the door.
“G-Go.. o-out?” she managed to stammer after a while. The blonde seemed to be enjoying the reaction she'd created and stepped a little closer, placing one hand on the door and leaning in real close.
“You know, the two of us, spending some time together outside. We've been cooped up in here long enough, don't you think?”
“Naruto-chan...” She leaned in closer, so close that the pale eyed girl could feel their chests pressing together and smell the scent of the soap on her skin. “Naruto-chan...”
“Hmm?” Naruto murmured suggestively as her thoughts scrambled to keep up with the situation.
'How... how does she know how to do this to me! I... I can't... so embarrassed but.. I...' The next thing I knew a pair of surprised bright blue eyes were mere inches from mine. 'Oh no... oh no oh no oh no!' My thoughts went rampant at the realization that I had leaned forward and kissed her. No accidental bump caused by a springy bed, it had been me that did it. 'What am I doing?! I can't be kissing her... so soft... I'm supposed to be the shy one... so warm... the one that never does anything... so perfect... the one who's always alone...' I pulled away, lips trembling as nervous tears streaked down my cheeks.
“Hinata-chan...” I sidled around her and made a beeline for the bathroom, slamming the door behind me and bracing my back against it. I pressed my fingers to my lips, unsure whether I should cry out in joy or just plain cry. I couldn't hear it over my heart beating in my ears but I could feel the knocks she placed against the door. “I'm confused Hinata-chan...” My heart stopped, the fear that I'd done something so wrong seizing me. “That was a yes, right?” Her words struck me in such a strange way that I did something I never would have expected given the situation. I started to laugh. “Hinata-chan?”
'I did promise that I'd try to be a little bit braver... didn't I... Kurenai-sensei?' I leaned my head back against the door, an unfamiliar calm washing over me as I remembered seeing how happy the only woman I recognized as my mother had been because of the simple pleasure company could offer... and how I'd felt much the same waking up next to the beautiful blonde that had held my heart for so many years. I stood, and turned, taking a deep breath before opening the door to take in the nervously smiling girl.
“I'd love to...” I said, lowered my eyes, blushing, and pressing my fingertips together, “...go out with you... Naruto-chan...”