With You in the Future

Jealousy (Part 3)

Crap!

She should have known they were going to find her. Even when a shinobi was hiding his chakra, they still could rely on his tracking insects or on their keen noses to follow any track. After all, team eight's speciality was tracking.

As soon as she turned towards them, a huge and white ball of fur yapped, licked her fingers and happily jumped around her. She took with both hands Akamaru's head to give him the caresses he was asking with energy.

"Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, what a surprise!"

Arms crossed on their torsos and eyebrows nearly raised to the sky, the two shinobi looked at their teammate giving them a shy smile, her soft eyes traduising her joy to see them.

"Aren't you supposed to be at home?" Shino asked.

Standing up again, she nodded, her cheeks growing red. They really just caught her red-handed.

"It's not like you to not follow the rules."

This time, she shook her head, ready to explain herself, but Kiba bent, lips pinched together.

Was he trying not to smile?

"Are you looking for Naruto?"

At his words, it wasn't only her cheeks that were red, it was her whole face. It must be glowing with the snowy scenery all around. She could feel it, even the tip of her ears was burning.

"K-Kiba-kun, y-you're too loud" she murmured while praying no one was paying attention to them.

"Oh come on, everyone saw you both smoothing the other day." He mimed as he spoke in front of a Hinata turing scarlet, "Then, you both hold hands and-"

"You're just jealous because women are rejecting you, Kiba."

"I'm not jealous and I can have all the women I want!"

As Shino was teasing Kiba in his own way, Hinata tried to calm them down but...

...she felt him before she saw him.

His presence was almost nonexistent, but she could recognise his warm and bright chakra anywhere. She looked in his direction and her heart finally exploded in her chest when she saw him turn at the corner of the street.

He wasn't alone.

As they were getting closer, Naruto's guts squeezed and his heart was beating stronger than it was the step before.

Their destination was closer than earlier and yet, it still seemed far away. Furthermore, his two companions were really taking their time.

"Konoha is really vast."

"And it's just the beginning!" Lee bragged Shion, leaving Naruto alone.

Well, alone?

Not really, he could feel the whole team guarding the priestess hidden somewhere around them. He'd thought Kakashi would've asked he and Lee to be bodyguards, but his friend's request was something else, touching yet surprising.

"Now, I would like to see the gift shops." Shion came back to him. "I heard they created cards of you two for this children game."

"Cards of us? Do you hear that, Naruto-kun? Our youth conquered the heart of the fans!"

"By the way, where are all of your fans? Don't they usually run after you?"

Laughing nervously, Naruto scratched his cheek while Lee was shaking his head.

"They know when we're in duty, we can't be distracted."

"So, all of this is just a mission for you, nothing more?" she asked, eyebrows frowned and arms crossed. "So I guess I'm just a client."