What We Never Said

Chapter 8: Here I am

After a long shower, Naruto and I were walking toward the Hokage tower. I was walking much slower than normal, and Naruto had to walk shorter strides than he normally did to keep up with my pace. He knew that I was dreading this, even with the confidence I attempted to show.

I couldn't even convince myself that I was not the lame girl that I once was.

I wanted to be anywhere else at this moment.

This conversation could be about anything: which terrified me of the possibilities. There were endless ones- and thinking about what scared me the most was destroying the little confidence I had a few moments prior.

Naruto gave me a soft nudge with his shoulder, as I realized I was walking with my head down. I was watching each painstaking step I was taking.

I glanced up at his bright, smiling, face. He was trying to fill me with the confidence I had back at my house before I got ready. The shower was what changed things- because it allowed me to relax and really get into my head. To realize that the lack of knowledge was going to eat me alive. I had no idea what was going to happen when we talked to Tsunade. I had no idea what was to come of Sasuke and I. And I had no idea where Hiromi was in the equation of Sasuke.

I glanced down at my shoulder, with the coat that was now clinging to my frame. Reminding myself that I was taking some steps in the right direction: starting by taking care of myself. Something that I had been neglecting a lot recently.

As we walked, I noticed Hiromi sitting on a bench just inside the entrance of the tower. She was wearing a warm jacket, a big puffy one, that hid her smaller frame. I never found myself observing the girl so closely, as I was at this moment.

Hiromi Kobayashi.

The girl that was known for being trapped behind my shadow. Her dark hair was wrapped in a tight bun on the back of her head. It was a dark shade of brown, the kind of brown that would look black in the right lighting. Her brown eyes were examining, or what I assumed was pretending to be, a notebook in her lap.

She always gave a presence of being on high alert at all times. Her posture was perfect as she sat there, her back sitting up straight, her neck bending just enough so her eyes were level with the notebook placed in her hands in her lap. I believe it's a way to have others believe she is confident and intelligent. That she knew, at all times, she was where she was supposed to be.

Which I believe is utter bullshit.

I had observed her in the past when she was working alongside Tsunade when she first arrived almost two years ago.

She always watched, and spoke up when Tsunade looked to me for answers to her quizzing. This was a time when Hiromi had first arrived in the village and was trying to figure things out and shadow the training that Tsunade was going to provide her. Instead of watching and observing, she started by trying to prove that she was supposed to be here.

She would interrupt the chance I had to give Tsunade an answer and would answer, more with the appearance of asking if what she thought was correct.

Sometimes she would impress us with the right thought process and would need some more information given to her so she could paint the bigger picture, or would be corrected immediately by myself.

That obviously didn't give me any brownie points with her. She would appear to take the information I gave her to correct her answer and appear to be thankful for my corrections, and as soon as Tsunade turned away, would glare in my direction.

I would pretend not to notice. I wanted to think better of her. I wanted to pretend that she was nervous and anxious over this new experience she was being given.