Blonding

Chapter 10 : Hinata Uzumaki

Hinata Uzumaki set her pen down with a small sigh, shaking her head at the fleeting thoughts that flew through her mind as she sat at their dining room table, papers spread all across its surface like some sort of hastily-procured tablecloth.

She let out a small yawn, before pushing the chair back away from her, standing as she did so. It made no sense to sit and try and work when nothing was happening.

Sometimes, she wished she was a more creative person. If she told anyone that, they'd immediately launch into a massive diatribe defending the contrary, referencing her cooking skill, knitting ability, and general kindheartedness as sources. But Hinata couldn't shake the feeling that it was more like a court hearing anytime she told anyone her deeper insecurities, so she simply tended to keep quiet about it until pressured to do so.

Usually, it was Sakura that was doing the pressuring. After the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, the pink-haired kunoichi had taken a strong liking to Hinata for some reason - a reason that took Hinata years to finally figure out.

There was no ulterior motive, or master plan. The girl had simply wanted to be her friend, and genuinely cared about her.

Her and Naruto.

She smiled brightly at the thought, gathering the papers together in a large bunch in her hands and cramming the pen inside the small pocket on her light jacket. With a sweeping motion, she moved from the dining room of their house into the kitchen, setting the papers down on the countertop with a small thump. She glided across the room and began to rummage around in the pantry towards the far end of the kitchen for a light snack.

As she took out a jar of grape jelly and some wheat bread from within the pantry's confines, she heard the subtle click of their front door unlocking, swinging open, then softly closing with a thud.

'That's odd,' she thought with a frown. 'Boruto should be taking the first test of the Chuunin Exams right now, Himawari should still be at school, and Naruto's at work; who in the world...?'

Instantly, she became alert, quietly setting her food on the small dinette in the middle of the room, before activating her Byakugan silently.

It never hurt to be overly cautious - even if there was a contingent of ANBU hiding in the shadows around their front lawn. Her husband was the Hokage; she was always at risk of being a political bargaining chip.

But being a Hyuuga by birth, Hinata knew all about the risk that came along with living in a ninja village such as the Leaf. She had to admit that things had gotten exponentially better since the earlier days of her life, where she was constantly at risk of being kidnapped by rival villages or missing-nin. Luckily, after the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, there were no more rival villages - and the world was at peace.

That didn't mean there still weren't missing-nin running about, however.

She blinked, focusing her eyesight through the walls of her home, until a figure appeared.

She let out a sigh of relief when she recognized the intruder's chakra signature.

A big smile graced her face as she rounded the corner, about to envelop her husband in a big hug, just like she always did.