The Last Chinoike [A NARUTO LOVE STORY]

Surprise

After dinner, Naruto and Hayami stepped outside and began to walk along the dimly lit roads of Konoha. The sky above them was littered with multi-colored lanterns and string lights, easily simulating a sky full of stars.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Hayami spoke, her voice gliding easily over the other noises present.

However, Naruto wasn't looking at the lights. They were in his line of sight, sure, but he had his blond head turned fully to the side to gaze at the brunette. Naruto was viewing her side profile, staring quite lovingly at her features. The strong lights that seemed to wrap around the couple illuminated the girl and made her appear as a vision. "I feel like I've never seen the Leaf Village look like this, ya know." Naruto was thinking about the brunette. "It's beautiful."

Out of her peripheral, Hayami could easily see the young man looking at her. She smiled while keeping her eyes straight ahead; Hayami currently had no desire to make the boy blush that stunning and alluring deep scarlet that he often did whenever he was found out to be caught staring.

The two walked at a leisurely pace, commenting on the families who continued to mill around and the children who weaved through and around the walking teens. Naruto began to subconsciously lead the purple-eyed lady toward a place at the edge of the village. Before Naruto could focus again on where his feet lead him, she spoke up from a few paces behind him.

"This is a pretty charming lake, Naruto." Hayami sped up a few more steps and stood side by side with the blond man. There, just underneath the small hill that the two were perched on, was a pretty bountiful lake with a short dock and plenty of surrounding trees. 

"Huh?" Naruto snapped himself out of his thoughts and quickly took note of where his feet had led him. "Oh yeah, I remember this place."

"Let's go sit on that dock and dip our feet in, if you don't mind." Hayami lightly laced her arm around Naruto's and pulled him down the gradual slope of the hill. "It's been an exhausting day and, it's not a hot spring, but it'll be relaxing nonetheless."

Naruto brightened up and led the girl toward the small dock. The wooden surface was just the right width for both Hayami and Naruto to sit together comfortably. Well, despite requiring them to be close enough to have their hips and thighs touching. But that's what seemed comfortable for Naruto and Hayami.

Hayami and Naruto both reached down and unlatched their respective set of sandals. They set them down behind them and slowly dipped their toes into the water. Naruto, the bold young man he is, plunged his feet in without a second thought. He only shuddered for a moment at how cold the water was, but the light ripples soon began to tickle his skin and feed him a soothing sensation.

Hayami on the other hand had opted to curl her toes in toward the soles of her feet, almost afraid of how the water might sting. Upon noting Naruto's fearless plunge into the frigid water, Hayami unfurled her toes and dipped them each into the water until her feet were completely submerged in the, no longer frigid, liquid.

Naruto glanced down at the water, watching his and Hayami's reflections ripple along the slight disturbances in the water. He smiled, longing to keep Hayami close to him and protect her for as long as he could. However, memories of the person he saw on this dock all those years ago soon reared its disgruntled head. Sasuke Uchiha was Naruto's best friend, and the knucklehead couldn't help but think of how he had yet to get him back. 

In turn, he thought about how Sasuke changed after the loss of his family. Naruto thought about how Hayami and Sasuke were the same, how they were both lonely and how well Naruto truly understood each of them. Even though all three were lonely, Naruto had a much easier time at reaching out to the girl who sported purple eyes.