Memories {NaruHina}

{Chapter 9}

{Chapter 9}

"I see. So apparently, there's something going on in the Hidden Grass Village that none of us Kage knew about," Kakashi noted, after Hinata, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura had showed up back at his office, and Hinata had thoroughly explained the situation they had recently figured out. "This is very worrisome indeed."

"Could this cause the villages to turn on each other again?" Sakura asked, concern evident in her voice.

"If we don't figure out the root of the problem, I'm afraid it could. If someone is developing weapons powerful enough to replicate the rasengan and other powerful jutsu, then they may even be able to put up a front in a direct attack against the Leaf Village. This could certainly jeopardize the peace among the Allied Nations, too, if it turns out that the Hidden Grass officials knew about this and didn't say anything."

"So what do we do now?" Naruto questioned.

"Now, you leave this to me. I'll summon a Five Kage summit soon, so that all the leaders are properly informed about this situation. I believe it's still early enough to get to the bottom of this while avoiding any violent confrontations. Good work everyone," Kakashi said, as they were officially dismissed.

On their way out of the Hokage's office, Sasuke announced that he had some business to attend to outside the village, and that he'd be leaving now. Before Naruto or Hinata could say anything else, he waved them goodbye and Sakura offered to escort him, effectively leaving Hinata and Naruto on their own, accompanied only by the singing of the crickets in the night.

Hinata didn't need a mirror to know she was blushing. She still hadn't really sorted out her feelings about Naruto, so the last thing she wanted was to spend even more time alone with him. However, she also knew that there was something about that boy that drew her to him, inexplicably. As if there were some sort of invisible string tying the two together that prevented her from drifting away from him.

"Hey, it's kind of late, you know. Without your ninjutsu, it could be dangerous. Would you like me to walk you home?"

This took Hinata by surprise, and she couldn't stop it from showing on her face, with her pale eyes widening. She didn't want to seem weird or anything, so she quickly regained her composure and forced a calm smile as she nodded and accepted his offer. "Sure."

It didn't take long for her to regret her decision. Being alone with Naruto stirred up all kinds of butterflies in her stomach, and the ruling silence made it much worse. She had to fight the constant urge to look at him while he was distracted: his mesmerizing blue eyes were almost too much to resist. But the worst part was having to pretend that she didn't want him to reach for her hand and never let go of it.

"So... Have you remembered anything else yet? You know, aside from the attack," Naruto said, making her gulp loudly as she tried to avoid looking into his eyes at all costs.

"No. And honestly, it's getting very frustrating. Apparently, I have this amazing life, with great family and friends who care about me, and even a boyfriend, and I can remember none of it. I feel so ungrateful. Well, maybe not all of them care about me that much, anyway," Hinata couldn't stop herself from snorting sarcastically, earning a surprised look from Naruto.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, my friends and family have been here for me the entire way, even though I've been such a burden. But my so-called 'boyfriend' hasn't had the decency to even show his face around," she could no longer control the pacing of the words leaving her mouth, as she allowed herself to feel angry for the first time in a while. "I mean, honestly, I was kind of disappointed when I realized that Sasuke wasn't him. Not because I like Sasuke at all like that, but because it means that I can't remember him at all and he doesn't care enough to come check up on me. I don't care how busy you are, can't you spare a few minutes?! What's his deal, anyway?!"