NaruHina: Consequences

The Second Date

He came to see her again a week later.

Hinata had just finished teaching the last of her class and rushed home to change, knowing she looked disheveled because she'd finished later than she'd expected.

Her students that day were all beginners and they'd asked more questions at the end of their lesson. Hinata hadn't wanted them to lose their interest in ikebana so she had patiently answered all their questions.

She heard her younger sister's laughter as she walked into the house.

"You do have a point, Hokage-sama!" Hanabi was saying. "I think I agree. My job would be so much easier if I were shinobi."

His husky laughter echoed throughout the living room, causing Hinata's heart to flicker and miss a beat.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" Hinata said breathlessly as she rushed in.

They both turned to her with a smile. "Nee-chan! The Hokage was just giving me pointers on how to use chakra to climb a tree."

Hinata smiled and looked at her sister with pride.

Hanabi was smiling up at Naruto, her face cheerful. Her long, dark hair was gathered into a loose ponytail, but it was all kept neat under the cover of a blue bandana.

Hanabi's job included climbing up trees to prune unwanted twigs and carefully shaping branches to fit the aesthetics of the Hyuuga gardens. As one of the youngest and the few females in her profession, Hanabi had made a splash when she'd followed in her father's footsteps and made her own debut as a niwashi—a Japanese gardener. But she wasn't merely a gardener, she was an artist, a landscape architect. Her creative eye had built upon the gardens that their Hyuuga ancestors had started, bringing the ancient park into more modern times by updating it to fit the more contemporary style of the day.

Hinata was very proud of her sister, who was now coming to meet her with a hug. Hanabi was dressed in her usual attire, the familiar blue happi and outdoor tabi splattered with dirt.

"Well, I'm headed back to work," she said. "Have fun on your date, Nee-chan!"

She turned to Naruto with a smile and a wink. But she bowed a greeting for him, too. "Hokage-sama."

Then she was off. Naruto came to stand next to Hinata and they watched as Hanabi walked out the entrance, the kanji for garden 庭 on the back of her jacket disappearing behind the door.

"She's adorable," he murmured, and Hinata felt the compliment for her sister in his tone.

Hinata wholeheartedly agreed and nodded.

But a brief flare of dread spread through her before she could stop it, reminding her of comparisons another man had made between her and her sister.

A long time ago.

It disappeared, though, when Naruto leaned over and pressed a kiss to her temple, reminding her that she needed to get changed for their date...but she still didn't know where they were heading.

As if reading her thoughts, he laughed.

"I'll wait, Hinata, if you need time to get ready."

"Thank you," she said gratefully.

"Actually, I need time to figure out where to go. I still don't know where to take you," he admitted. "Do you have any ideas? It's been years since I've tried to woo a woman, so I'm extremely rusty."

She blinked at him in startled surprise. "Years?"

He flushed. "Ugh. Forget you heard that."

"Oh, no! Naruto, I'm sorry!" she gasped. "I'm not making fun of you. I just didn't think somebody like you would ever be able to remain single all this time without getting attached to a woman?"