The Last Chinoike [A NARUTO LOVE STORY]

A New Home

"Tell me about the Leaf, Naruto." Hayami asked him, sitting next to the young man. They were both leaning against a giant tree. The leaves and branches were casting an even darker shadow which prohibited copious amounts of moonlight from shining down on them. However, moonlight did peak through to shine on sporadic and random parts of the two shinobi.

Naruto sighed. All he could think about was what would happen when they returned to the Leaf. Would he really have to say goodbye to someone so special that he just met? 'No way, Granny isn't THAT cruel. She may be an old hag but even SHE has a heart.' Naruto thought. 

He sighed and grabbed her hand, resting their intertwined fingers back on the ground. "Huh? You still wanna hear about the village?" Naruto asked, secretly hoping to get off the topic. He liked hearing her talk and was hoping she would do most of it at this moment in time.

While Naruto was dreading discussing the topic, Hayami wanted nothing more than to talk about it. She just wanted to talk about anything she could think of that wasn't about her clan. The hurt and pain that seemed to start coming at nighttime, when there would be no noise or responsibilities to distract her, was creeping into her mind again. She wanted to hear all about the Leaf. Hayami liked listening to Naruto talk so she could learn all about him, all about his friends, his senseis, his everyone and everything. And besides, maybe once she got to the Leaf, she might stop having these dreadful nightmares.

"Well yeah, I've only lived one place before and well..." Hayami looked up into Naruto's eyes, making him form a lump in his throat. "I just want to know all about it, what's it really like there?" Her big purple eyes were looking hard into his bright blue eyes.

'Oh man, I can't NOT talk about the Leaf when she asks like that- I MEAN C'MON.' Naruto thought, looking deeper into her eyes. He let out a sigh with a small smile falling on to his lips.

"Well, let's see..." She broke the gaze between the two, catching Naruto off guard who, in turn, felt a pang in his heart. But what she did surprised him even more and made his face turn a deep and vibrant red. She nestled up closer to Naruto and rested her head on his right shoulder. She didn't lose her grip on his hand and brought their interlocked hands to her lap. Their hands were resting casually on her thigh. His face could not have been any more red than it was right then. He tried hard to regain his thoughts and composure but his mindset started fumbling. "Err-uh, well, what exactly do you want to hear about?" He tried his best to seem like he wasn't bothered or flustered by what just happened.

"How about... oh! Can you tell me about some of your friends back home?" She suggested, leaning slightly closer to him.

Naruto's flustered state of mind subsided as he relaxed and smiled. He leaned his head down to rest on top of hers which was still on his shoulder. "Well, where to begin..." He spoke to himself. "Well there's Shikamaru and Choji and Ino. They're all on a team together. Shikamaru is really crazy smart, an actual genius, but he's lazy as can be. There's Choji who's pretty much always hungry! And Ino is on their team too, she and Sakura used to be really obsessed with Sasuke. Just like everyone else in the village pretty much. Oh and of course there's Sakura, too, ya know! She's one of my best friends and I'm totally in love with her!"

A flash of disappointment crossed her face. 'Wait, why the fuck do I care so much. Get it together, Chinoike.' She mentally scolded herself before shrugging it off and lifting her head off of his shoulder. 

"Why do you love her so much?" Hayami looked away as she made a face of worry. 

'OH GREAT NOW I SOUND LIKE AN AWFUL PERSON...' She relaxed and undid the intertwinement of her and Naruto's hands, suddenly feeling silly for holding his hand.