Hinata's Embarrassing Day (Part 2)

Hinata's Embarrassing Day:

Hinata was snapped back to the present by a loud splash from the other side of the fencing that divided the men's and women's baths. She heard the sound of Kiba and Naruto laughing and Akamaru barking playfully. She eased herself over to the fence and rested herself comfortably against the warm wood, pressing her left ear against it's surface to better hear what they were saying.

Kiba (shaking the water out of his hair): Haha! Take it easy Akamaru, you keep jumping in like that and there'll be no water left for the rest of us!
Akamaru: Aroo?
Kiba: fine, but only once more.
Akamaru: Arf! Arf!
Kiba: Go on so.

Akamaru climbs out of the water and jumps up onto the largest rock next to the bath. He lets out one excited bark before leaping off the rock into the water. Splashing both Naruto and Kiba with a spray of warm water.

Naruto (shaking his head like Kiba): Haha! Akamaru sure loves to play in the bath doesn't he!
Kiba: Yeah, when we were younger my mom used to punish us for dragging dirt around the house, forgetting to bathe or being late to family gatherings by tossing me and Akamaru in the river by our house...
Naruto: No offence but your mom's a scary lady!
Kiba (with a Humorless laugh): Hah! Try living with her, she ain't no lady! Anyway, during the winter, a few years ago, My grandparents came to visit us. My mom was really mad at me, because I'd spent most of the time they were with us out in the woods playing with Akamaru. So I'd missed my bath, tracked dirt into the house AND was late for a family gathering...
Naruto: It was into the river so, I guess....
Kiba: Naturally, but the problem was the water was ice cold, the shock of the cold hitting me caused me to panic a little, it took me longer than  usual to get out. When I managed to get out, Akamaru was freezing cold and barely conscious. Luckily my sister was able to warm him back up in time, he spent most of the night soaking in warm water. He's enjoyed being in warm water ever since.
Naruto: You're lucky your sister is a vet! But shouldn't your mother have realized how dangerous it was to throw the two of you into the icy water?
Kiba: When she's really mad she doesn't always think things through... Guess that's where I get that habit from... But my sister gave her quite an earful afterwards, she can be pretty scary too when put in a bad mood.
Naruto: She's pretty brave to stand up to your mother like that!
Kiba (laughing): As the vet in the family, she has a certain degree of immunity from mom's wrath. She DOES keep all the Inuzaka clan hounds fighting fit!
Naruto: Lucky her!
Kiba: Yeah!

(Kiba and Naruto laugh together for a minute then settle down to quietly enjoy the warm water. Naruto is thinking about sharing the ramen coupons with his friends when the memory of how flushed Hinata was at the end of the mission popped into his mind).

Naruto: Hey Kiba, did you notice something strange about how Hinata was acting at the end of our mission?
Kiba: You mean stranger than usual?
Naruto: Kiba, I'm being serious, she looked pretty flustered when we got back, and in granny Tsunade's office I thought she might drop at any second.
Kiba: Hey, yeah now that you mention it she didn't seem her usual self. Even Akamaru was sticking close by her during the last stretch of the journey, and he usually only does that with someone other than me if it's a friend that's not feeling too well...

(The two boys thought for a moment, both of them thinking back over the areas they went through and what they had eaten while on the mission).

Naruto: Hmmm... We all ate the same things and none of the rest of us are feeling ill, maybe some of the terrain we passed through had something venomous?
Kiba: As far as I can remember there were very few animals at all on our route, and the plant life was pretty sparse too, and what little there wasn't the poisonous type... all the mushrooms and berries were safe, but we didn't eat any of them anyway.
Naruto: Actually the only thing I remember Neji eating with us were those fish we caught yesterday, he kept to himself at meal times.
Kiba: What's your point?
Naruto: Well We don't know what specifically Neji was eating, if he was eating that much to begin with, I've heard he's a picky eater.
Kiba: So, I still don't see your point.
Naruto: Well Hinata ate the same rations as we did, but you and I... well lets just say our eating habits have given us tougher stomachs, we wouldn't realize it if our rations were a little bit off, but Hinata... she...
Kiba: She wouldn't be so lucky... It's possible, but remember Neji had us all check our gear before we left, all our food was well within date, not even close to spoiling...
Naruto: Oh yeah!... Damn.... thought I had it there!

(They rattle their brains for a bit but still can't come up with any reason for How Hinata could be sick. Hinata Is still Listening, she's deeply touched by their concern, especially Naruto's; she want's to say they have nothing to worry about, she's perfectly okay, but then they'd know she was eavesdropping).

Naruto: I dunno, hard to say what it could be. I mean, she could have had something to eat before she left, but we were away from the village for five days and there wasn't even the slightest sign of nausea or fatigue from Hinata, not until we started arguing.
Kiba: Hmmm... I wonder...
Naruto: What?
Kiba: Well we kinda went at it over power and strength and all that... Hinata might have been upset by it. She does get a little flustered when embarrassed or upset.
Naruto: Dattebayo! She's worked so hard to improve herself and we go off on how we're so powerful... I'm such a baka!
Kiba: Damn, we really gotta be careful not to get to such swelled heads! I'm just as big a baka!

(Naruto and Kiba dip their heads in shame, reflecting on how much Hinata had struggled to improve her powers and all the opposition she had to face trying to make her family and friends believe in her. They slowly raise their heads and look each other in the eyes).

Naruto And Kiba: Baka!
Akamaru (head resting on the edge of the bath): Arf?...
Kiba (patting Akamaru's head): Don't worry Akamaru, you did nothing wrong.
Hinata: None of you did anything wrong! I'm fine really!

Hinata's hands shot to her mouth. Too late for that to help. It just slipped out. She couldn't stand them feeling guilty when they did nothing wrong! She urged herself to run, to hide her embarrassment, but she was frozen where she stood. "Now they know I was listening!", she thought to herself, "Oh, how mad will they be?"

Naruto: H-Hinata?
Kiba: That you?
Hinata: Yes... It's me...
Naruto: You sure you're okay?
Kiba: Yeah, really? 'Cos if it was us we'd rather you tell us.
Hinata: Thank you for your concern Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, but really I was just tired.
Naruto (skeptically): Tired, eh? Why didn't you rest up when we stopped earlier on then?
Hinata: I just... I just wanted to get back here was all.
Kiba: Was the rocky terrain we camped in last night to uncomfortable or something?

Hinata knew she had to come up with something quick. Naruto and Kiba were made fun of for being hot-headed and foolish, but Hinata knew that when it came to dealing with a friend's problems those two would relentlessly pursue a point until they found out the problem and did everything they could to fix it. It was that strong, "never give up, never look back" way that Hinata loved Naruto for, he never let doubt get in the way of helping those he cared for. Hinata disliked the idea of working the angle that came to mind, but it was the only way she could think of diverting the subject away from her.

Hinata: It's just...  was worried...
Kiba: Worried?
Naruto: About what?
Hinata: The Akatsuki. They're still out there, That's why that was the only mission we've been on since the attack on the village.
Kiba: Yeah... Ever since the attack on the five Kage summit... we've been on a war footing, preparing everything we can. Myself, Choji and Lee have been asked to move the food supplies arriving tomorrow.
Hinata: I'm to help Sakura-chan and Ino-chan with making an inventory of medical supplies, we're to go between the hospital and the Nara clan's medical stores to find what we need, Tsunade-sama plans to send a group out to gather fresh supplies when the inventory's complete. How about you Naruto-kun?
Naruto: Well, i haven't been given anything yet, but Kakashi-sensei told me I'm to see granny Tsunade tomorrow about an assignment, but that's as much as I know! Dattebayo!

(Kiba and Hinata hear the irritation in his tone).

Kiba: What's wrong? You hate having nothing to do, now you're getting something to do.
Hinata: You- you're the hero of the village, Naruto-kun, they wouldn't leave you out!
Naruto (sighs): Hopefully, but with the Akatsuki after the tailed beasts, I'll probably be confined to the village from now on...

Hinata was glad to have taken the focus off herself, but didn't want Naruto to brood over the Akatsuki, he'd suffered enough because of them, she only wanted to shield him from that pain.

Hinata: N-Naruto-kun? I'm going to drop some of my things off at home, and see if Neji-kun will want to join us, when do you want to meet at Ichiraku's?

(Naruto's mood brightened up the second Hinata mentioned his favorite restaurant ).

Naruto: I'm gonna stay here a few minutes longer, then there's stuff I wanna sort out as well... Hmmm... We'll meet up at... Lets say six o'clock.
Hinata (cheerfully): Okay Naruto-kun!
Naruto: Hey Hinata!

(Hinata froze, she was halfway out of the water. "Did he catch how I deflected the subject earlier?", She thought to herself).

Hinata: Y-yes?
Naruto: If you bump into Sakura-chan, Shikamaru, Choji, Bushy-Brows or any of the others tell them they're all invited too.
Hinata (breathing a sigh of relief): I will.
Naruto: Thanks Hinata.
Hinata: N-No problem N-Naruto-kun.

(Hinata leaves to dry off and get dressed. Naruto, Kiba and Akamaru remained in their side of the springs, enjoying the water for as long as possible.

Kiba (still idly scratching Akamaru's head): Hey Naruto? What's up with inviting half the village, Ichiraku's not big enough for all of us, Barbe-Q would be smarter wouldn't it?
Naruto (rolling some of tension out of his neck): I want to treat all my friends to one last get together, with all the work going into rebuilding the village and the main resupply efforts starting tomorrow, this might be one of the last chances for us all to hang out, but unfortunately I don't have coupons for Barbe-Q, and I can't afford to book it for all of us.
Kiba: Huh, makes sense.
Naruto: I would have booked at my own expense, but Sakura-chan found out that I hadn't replaced my clothes that were destroyed with my home, so she dragged me about the new market, making sure I got plenty of new clothes...
Kiba: Could have been worse...
Naruto: Ino showed up.
Kiba: Oh...
Naruto: Yeah.. first she joked about us being on a date. I thought Sakura was going to demolish the shop... she looked so mad...

Kiba knew how how much Naruto liked Sakura, it had been obvious to him since the academy days. Everyone knew how Sakura felt about Sasuke, it must have broken Naruto's heart to see her always after Sasuke, but Naruto never showed any sign of it, always happy to help Sakura. Even when Sasuke left the village, Naruto promised to bring him back, no matter what. When he came back he was so depressed that he couldn't keep his promise, and even though Sasuke nearly killed him, he wouldn't give up. Kiba remembered Naruto's injuries after that battle... they were pretty bad, he was covered head to toe in bandages and his right hand had been pretty badly burned. Looking back now, knowing about the Nine Tails fox demon in Naruto and it's healing powers, The battle must have been more intense than he had ever realized for Naruto to still suffer from such injuries... Still, he'll bring Sasuke back to the village, back to Sakura... No matter if it costs him his life...

Naruto: Kiba?
Kiba (shaking his head clear of the past): Sorry, the image of an Ino on Sakura screaming match got stuck in my head... They scare me, not as much as my mother, but still... pretty scary...
Naruto (laughing): Yeah, well when Ino let the subject drop, she proceeded to try and take over...
Kiba: Huh?
Naruto: She said.. how did it go?.. oh yeah.. "If you wanna end up with a pink nightmare of a wardrobe, stick with billboard-brow here, but if you want style take my advice!".. that didn't go down to well...
Kiba: Oh, I bet, what happened?
Naruto: the worst thing imaginable!
Kiba: what?!
Naruto: I opened my mouth...
Kiba:... You baka....
Naruto: Dattebayo, I said, "I'm sure you'll both be able to help me".
Kiba: That sounds pretty fair...
Naruto: Yeah, so did I, but when they rounded on me they said that even thinking that they shared any opinion on fashion was insulting.
Kiba: And then?
Naruto: Then two fists came flying at me and I woke up a few minutes later in the shop across the street.
Kiba: Well... at least they stayed shopping with you.
Naruto: You've never been punched by Sakura have you? That tag-team punch put me through the walls of both shops.. I only stopped because Choji caught me... he helped me finish the shopping.
Kiba: Wait! Then why do you still wear the same orange and black over and over if you have all these new clothes?
Naruto (pouting): It's my signature look! (His features sadden a little) And it's one of the few things I have left that the Pervy-Sage gave me.

(Kiba Suddenly remembers that it was master Jiraiya who had bought him those clothes when they were training away from the village for those few years.)

Kiba: Oh, yeah, sorry.
Naruto: it's alright.
Kiba: So how're we gonna get everyone fed at Ichiraku's?
Naruto: I have a plan.

While Naruto and Kiba talked, Hinata dried herself off, got dressed and neatly folded her towel and robes and placed them in the basket to be washed. As she walked out of the women's changing room she heard  familiar voices coming from the men's changing room... but she just couldn't place them.

Voice 1: Come on, they'll be out soon!
voice 2: Don't worry, brother Naruto always takes his time in the baths!
Voice 1: I hope he doesn't get mad.
Voice 2: Udon, brother Naruto is the father of pranks in the Hidden Leaf, he'll love this one.
Hinata (whispering): Udon? then the other must be-
Udon: Konohamaru! You say things like that all the time but we still end up getting in trouble...
Konohamaru: Relax, this will be fun!

The two boys came running out of the men's room, Konohamaru was carrying something. He ran straight into Hinata before she had a chance to dodge.

Konohamaru: Ow! Watch it!
Udon: Sister Hinata, we're so sorry!
Konohamaru: Sister Hinata?
Udon: Are you okay?
Hinata: I'm fine, what were you two up to?
Konohamaru (realizing that Hinata was wise to them): Nothing, just looking for big brother Naruto, but I'll talk to him later we've got to be somewhere now!
Udon: what do you me-

Konohamaru grabbed Udon's arm before he could finish his question and dragged Udon out of the building. Still sitting on the ground Hinata rubbed her head. "What was that all about?", she thought. Suddenly Naruto's voice came roaring from the men's changing room.

Naruto: WHERE THE HELL ARE MY CLOTHES?!?!?!
Kiba: calm down, they've gotta be here somewhere.

Looking down at her lap Hinata's hart nearly stopped dead. There, sitting on her lap, was a basket. In that basket there were clothes. Very distinct orange and black clothes.

Hinata (quietly to herself): Oh...no... he'll think I-I.... that I'm some sort of pervert... Oh Konohamaru! what have you gotten me into?

{END OF PART 2}