Hinata And Naruto: After The Kiss

Chapter 18

Kakashi looked at the clock on the wall. They where late. Very late. Naruto he could understand. But Hinata? Hinata was never late. If anything she was usually early. The two were supposed to have come to give their mission report at ten. Kakashi had shown up at 10:10 with neither to be seen. He had waited for a few minutes thinking maybe they where off together and had lost track of the time. But when 10:40 rolled around with still no sign of them he began to worry a little. When an anbu popped in saying it was time for his next meeting he decided that the two needed to be found. He walked out of his office towards the meeting room and luckily passed someone in the halls. Ino.

"Hello Kakashi-sensei." Ino said pleasantly. "Hello to you too Ino. I have a quick job for you if you aren't busy." Ino immediately started to focus more. "I need you to go find Naruto and Hinata. They where supposed to give a mission report close to an hour ago and they never showed." Ino's eyes sparked. "So they haven't been where they are supposed to be. Together?" The last part wasn't really a question but Kakashi could see the wheels spinning in her mind. "Just find them please and tell them to come report." "Yes sir!" Kakashi sighed as he walked into the office meeting and greeted the men he was meeting with.  What force had he just unleashed on the young couple?

It was not often that Ino did little favors for the Hokage like this. Luckily this was pretty straight forward. She walked around town for a while just looking to see if the two had been out and just forgotten. Unlikely, but it was a starting point. After confirming that no one had seen either of the two about today she decided to start at square one. The Hyuga compound.

Ino had visited Hinata at the Hyuga compound a few times for fun and for sleepovers and the like. She stopped at the main gate and then went to talk to the first person she found. The first person she ran into was Hanabi. Hanabi seemed surprised to see Ino. She looked around. Not seeing Hinata with her, she formed a question on her lips that Ino answered for her. "I'm looking for Hinata. She never showed up to Hokage tower this morning."

A brief look of concern, worry, and then annoyance crossed Hanabi's face. "According to the few people that where awake, she left early this morning. Taru says that she seemed like she was in a hurry to go somewhere so no one stopped her." Ino nodded. At least she now knew Hinata left of her on will. That possibility had been extremely small but after what happened a few days ago, she had worried. She said her thanks to Hanabi then left the Hyuga compound. Where should she look next? She made a lost on her head of people to visit and started there.

Sakura:
Hasn't seen Hinata since before they left. Saw Naruto last night as he was walking home. She had been saying goodbye to Sasuke when he walked past.

Tenten:
Hasn't seen either since they got back from the moon mission. Said that the last time she had spoken to Hinata was when they had run into each other at Neji's grave a few days ago.

Choji:
Hasn't seen them either. He was at a restaurant with a girl Ino didn't really recognize. She wanted to gather more information on that but she had a job to do.

Shikamaru:
Wasn't even in the village at the moment. Had left on a mission to the Hidden Sand yesterday. She smirked when she heard this. So predictable.

Sai:
Hadn't seen Naruto since he had come to ask Sai about dating advice books. That tidbit had surprised Ino but she dismissed it in light of the bigger issue. He had kissed her cheek as she left and told her not to worry to much.

Lee:
Hadn't seen them but offered to check the training grounds as he ran past them. According to Lee, "The spirit of youth may have compelled them to train their might!" Ino had waved to him as he ran off. On his hands.

Shino:
Hadn't seen either since before they left. Told Ino that if need be, when she found them that Kiba and he had made Naruto a promise that warranted a lot of pain if Hinata was hurt.

Kiba:
Hadn't seen them but said Hinata's trail was heading across town. It was from early in the morning but he had still recognized it as he had gone around the town. He pointed and Ino set off that way.

Akamaru:
Hadn't seen them but licked Ino's face when she petted him before leaving in the direction Kiba pointed.

Teuchi:
Hadn't seen the two since their date before they left. Told Ino to tell Naruto that he and Hinata could come back anytime they wanted.

After that Ino just talked to random people as she made her way in the direction Kiba had told her Hinata went. A few people had seen a purple clad figure with long black hair run past early in the morning. They had been running on the rooftops so they were sure if it was Hinata but Ino was pretty sure it was Hinata who had run through here. By this point it was nearing one in the afternoon and she was getting hungry. She gabbed some rice balls from a shop and then kept walking, eating the rice balls along the way.

She eventually came to Naruto's house. If they weren't here who knows where they where at this point. She walked up to his door waving to his neighbors. She knocked. No answer. She tried the door knob. Unlocked. Strange. She opened the door and walked in. She took of her shoes and walked right into Naruto's living room. It actually wasn't to bad. She spotted two ramen containers in corners. But that wasn't the main thing that caught her attention.

They were both asleep on a couch. Not separate couches. The same couch. Naruto was leaning back against the arm rest of the couch with Hinata on his lap. They where chest to back and solidly asleep. She heard soft snores coming from Naruto. She smiled at the scene. Was she shocked? Not as much as she probably could have been. They weren't in the middle of making out and they were fully clothed. They literally looked like it was the most natural thing in the world for them to be asleep together.

Now Ino was faced with three options. One: Wake them up and see what happened. Two: Let them sleep and just leave and not tell Kakashi where they where. Three: Leave them asleep and the go tell Kakashi and see what he would do. As she was walking out the front door she decided that she could just say she never found them. They looked like they needed the sleep.