NaruHina: High School, Chapter 11

Chapter 11: It feels... nice.


Her hands shook lightly. In her left hand, she held Naruto's note. In her right was her cell phone she barely used. It felt like her stomach ached from the sticking pain every time she moved. Okay, she didn't really know why she was so nervous about calling him, but she knew she had to. She typed the number and looked at it... for a long time. Her thumb going up and down above the green calling button. 'What am I so nervous about, anyway?' she thought and pressed it.

The tune sounded three times before someone picked up. "Hello?" Naruto said annoyed in the other end. "What now?"

Hinata hesitated. "Oh, eh, should I call again later?" she carefully asked. It was a moment of silence in the other end. "Hello? Naruto?" Confusion pleaded her voice as she felt the pain build up again. She carefully placed a hand on her bruise and inhaled slowly through her teeth.

"Hinata?!" Naruto finally realized. "How are you? Are you okay?" She understood that he waited for an answer, but right then she wasn't able to talk. It felt like a big animal chewed on her waist. But then she made the mistake of letting a weak but clear squeak escape her clenched teeth.

"Oh no... Hinata, listen; is there something I can do for you?" he asked determined.
The pain shrank a little, making it easier for her to speak. Hinata had changed back to the cloths she came with, dark jeans and a white shirt, and stood at the parking lot next to her motorbike. She stared at it longingly. It was a dark purple, high-tec cycle with blue engravings and decorations. Her bike was the most decorated and beautiful thing she had. It drove smoothly as if you were ice-skating, almost made no sound and it was fast. VERY fast. "Um... well, you see... eh… I can't drive home in this condition… but I can't leave my motorbike here either."

He thought for a bit. "… You're still at school?"

The Hyuga nodded, forgetting he couldn't see it. "On the parking."

It was some rustle noises in the other end. "Stay there, don't move one centimeter," he ordered her, making Hinata freeze at the spot.

But for some reason, she got the urge to look around and make sure she was alone. "Why?"
More strange sounds. "I'm coming."

That made her blink at first, but then she smiled a little. She blushed lightly and a silent giggle could be heard from her. It's been a long time since she had felt this way; like someone cared for her. 'So this is how it is to have real friends. I can get used to this,' she thought with a brilliant smile on her face. "Naruto?"

"Yeah?" he replied heavy breathed.

"...Thank you... so much..." she whispered, not knowing what else to say. The growing warmth appeared in her chest again. She kept smiling.

He laughed shortly. "Don't thank me yet."
"No... I mean it. Thank you," she kept whispering to him.
He didn't reply right away. "I'm soon there." He hang up.

"Up you go!" he said tried to place Hinata on the bike while not touch her injury. That wasn't an easy task. Naruto had convinced himself that Hinata couldn't climb up on the bike by herself so he had to carry her. "You know, you're not very heavy, even for a girl." He then accidently touched her bruise. She gasped and curled herself a little in his arms. Naruto carefully placed her on the ground while apologizing.

"It's fine. Why don't I just climb up myself?" She didn't wait for an answer, just went over to the bike and slowly placed herself on the backseat. Naruto sighed frustrated. "Can you drive?" she asked him.

Naruto smirked. "Yeah, but the police is keeping mine hostage since I kinda broke the law a couple of times." He chuckled of the thought and climbed on in front of her. "Whoa, this IS a beauty," he said in disbelief as he studied the dashboard.

Hinata found her helmet and brought it into Naruto's eyesight. "You should wear this, since you're the one driving."

Naruto looked at it. "No way! What will you use then?" he protested. "You're already enough injured!"

She made him take it. "Don't worry." She locked her arms around his warm waist. "I'll hang on tight," she said and blushed while smiling secretly.

Naruto paused everything he was doing for a moment. "Okay, fine," he said and put the helmet on. "'Smells like girl in here..." Hinata giggled. "Oh! That's right; since you haven't seen much of Konoha, shall I take you on a guiding trip?" he suggested while starting the bike.

"Um... A short one maybe? I have a thing I got to take care off before it's too late today," she said.

"I'm on it," he said and started driving out of the parking and away from the school.  


If it wasn't for the wind in her face, Hinata would never believe they were actually moving. Naruto drove right through the town (in legal speed, actually) and headed to the more distant part of the state. The town Konoha was surrounded by beautiful woods, meadows and fields. It was a wonderful day with a cloudless sky and a warm summer breeze, perfect for a short trip to wherever Naruto was planning on taking her. As soon as the trees left her sight, all she could see was two gigantic meadows full of gorgeous yellow flowers surrounding the road. The breeze caught many petals, making them swirl up towards the clear blue sky sometimes. It looked... magnificent. Hinata had, at some point, placed her head at Naruto's back. When she realized that she was about to back away, but... it felt nice and it didn't seem like Naruto bothered, so she kept it like that. She hugged him tighter, feeling his body heat and heart beats. It caressed her cheek and she smiled sweetly while taking in the image before her.

"It's so beautiful..." she said aloud, disbelief pleading her voice.

She heard Naruto sigh so she looked up at him, her hair flying wave a-like behind her. "...yeah. It is," he whispered, looking forward. It was something more about the way he said it... longingly? She didn't know.

She buried her face in his black t-shirt. The wind felt like a mother's caressing on her cheeks... How much she missed her mother... Naruto interrupted her thoughts.

"Hey Hinata! Look over there! A castle!" he said and pointed at a huge white-like building with a lot of floors. It had gigantic, crescent-shaped windows elegantly placed on the walls. The building sat on the top of a huge bump in the field, making look pretty castle alike. "I don't know who lives there, probably no body, but I can always remember to have seen it." It was giant walls surrounding the so-called 'castle', blocking it from the rest of the world. "It's pretty amazing isn't it?" Naruto asked her.

Hinata trembled. She stuttered. "N-Naruto?" Fear. She was afraid.

"Yeah? Are you okay, Hinata?"

"... how f-fast can you drive?" she asked while staring in horror at the white building.
Okay, Naruto didn't have a clue on what she meant by that, but he speeded up, leaving the 'castle' behind the woods as they hit the forest. Hinata cling on even more than before, but she was shaking from fear this time. Naruto knew about a place not far away, a place where no one else lived close by. He took a sideway to the right, Hinata didn't seem to notice as he felt her soft face pressed against his back. He parked in the end of the sideway where a river was. It was a small area with only grass and one tree close by. A small quiet spot in the middle of nowhere.

"...Where are we?" Hinata asked him. As an answer Naruto got off the bike, picked Hinata up from the seat and carried her to the three. He carefully placed her by the three, her back against the trunk, and stared at her with worry. Hinata blinked of the sight and looked away, but it was hard since he was right up in her face.

"Do you know that place?" he asked her determined.

Hinata's heart jumped. He was close... VERY close. Their noses were only centimeters apart. She forgot about what just happen, because all of a sudden her mind only focused on Naruto. Her expression was somewhat puzzled as Naruto waited for her to answer, unaware that she had forgot about it.

"Well...?" he asked her, snapping Hinata back to reality.

She glared at the ground between them. "Yeah... that place... is the Hyuga estate," she whispered to him.

Naruto blinked. He was partly startled by that. But something bothered him. "But why were you so afraid? Isn't it your family who lives there?"

Her nails sunk into her skin in her palms. It wasn't really a secret... she just never had told anyone about it. "...yeah, some family I got..." she mumbled to herself. "It isn't really my family I'm afraid of... it's my father."

Naruto sat down beside her. "Why your father? What have he done to you?"

She looked up at him with saddened eyes. "He haven't... done anything in particular..." 'That's a lie and you know it,' she growled to herself mentally. 'Why don't you just tell him? It's not like it'll help, but you don't need to lie to him. He's your friend!' Hinata took a deep breath. Naruto listened closely. "I don't think Father have ever been much of a parent to me, nor my sister. Ever since our mother... ehh... disappeared, he has only cared about one thing. It's just something my father forces me to do... I would never do it myself, but for some reason I'm good at it. You might as well call it a secret talent. The only reason he sort of cares about me is because I have this 'talent' and he wants to use it... like all other Hyugas. They're just... greedy." She felt like crying, but held it back. "...and no matter how much I want to, I can never... be able to... stop him from using me, nor my sister as a... tool."

Her view was foggy; probably because she was about to cry. She could feel the darkness build itself up in her chest again, heavy as ever. But it disappeared completely when a pair of arms embraced her tightly. The heiress' face landed on Naruto's chest. She didn't know why but the sound of his heart beating made her feel like she was home. In a real home. Still, she couldn't stop the tears.

"You don't need to tell me more." Naruto's voice echoed in her head. He hugged her tighter. "Not when it pains you like this. I can't stand making my friends hurt." He said it like he's done something horrible to them in the past...

Hinata didn't want to bring it up, because she was sure Naruto wouldn't like it, but it was just as private as asking why she hated her own father and had left her home. Still, she prayed he wouldn't get mad at her. ...Or worse; sad. "...Naruto, can I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure," he said with his face buried in her hair.

"I hope it doesn't offend you, but... I was just wondering how your parents were like?"


To be continued...