Glancing down at his appearance, he wrapped his hands in his sleeves and swiped at the burrs, only to come away with palmfuls of them.

Throwing his head back, he growled in resignation.

He's been coming here after school for the past two years, ever since they moved from the prefecture north of Hi no Kuni's capital.

This particular sight, though familiar and ordinary, has evolved inside his mind. Once a green ocean to frolic across, the large sports field now resembles an emerald moat around a castle of a high school.

He sprinted across the grass, up the slope and onto the dirt path lining the perimeter. Bypassing the wash sink and the enormous gymnasium, he dashed into the outside corridor between buildings and entered the main school.

From there he made a beeline inside, his black Randoseru bouncing against his back with every step.

Here and there were older kids, boys in their black slacks and buttermilk yellow sweaters, girls in their black skirts, black socks and yellow sweaters. Some wore their red ribbons, others wore their loose or completely undone, or none at all.

Gone were their curious, mirth-filled gazes and amused whispers. Well, for the most part.

"Hey bud, you look like you'd been swimming in sea urchins." said one boy in passing, pointing his finger.

"Yeah, yeah! I know!" Naruto hurried along, his lips fluttering with an exaggerated sigh.

That aside, these teens they paid him no mind, as if he were one of their own.

Because they knew exactly where he was headed.

Naruto reached the Staff Room and pushed the slide door open. Instantly he attracted the eyes of the other teachers, their faces lighting up at his presence.

The first one to greet him was a woman with a brown bob parted from the center, with dark kind eyes and purple eyeshadow.

"Oh, Naruto-chan's here! My day is officially brightened!" said Nohara-sensei, one of the Home-Ecs teachers.

"Hey, what about me?!" interjected an Uchiha her age as he gaped at her in betrayal.

Nohara-sensei's smile remained unchanged.

Adjacent from Uchiha-sensei at the foot of the combined faculty desks, the silver-haired Hatake-sensei greeted him with a two-finger salute, his bored gaze glued to a thin book laid atop his stack of graded assignments.

Amongst these three were four other teachers, one of them being his dad.

"Naruto! You're early today!" His father said matter-of-factly as he spun halfway in his desk chair.

"Yeah! That's because--"

"Excuse me, Namikaze-sensei?" Her voice twinkled like the dreamy dulcet tones of the Kalimba, the air playfully plucked with each clear syllable.

Time slowed down, yet his heartbeat jumped and ran off, like a spooked horse after getting spanked in the buns.

The reason why he's early… The reason is...

His father's attention shifted a foot over his head, a cordial smile taking place. "Oh, Hyuuga-san! Those are the propositions for our Culture Day theme?"

"Yes, Sensei." The owner of that voice crossed the threshold, her gaze falling over him for a moment, and when she smiled at him the world grew quiet beneath the swishing of blood in his ears. And when she beheld him, her eyes curved as though her cheeks were swelled with love, and the only colors that existed were hers.

Hyuuga Hinata circled around the island of desks to hand in the stack of papers, and Naruto watched how his father interacted with one of his beloved students, and how she interacted with him.

Of course his father didn't act the way he does with his wife around his student, but somehow Naruto had to make sure.

And his father was a popular man no matter where he went, no matter where he worked. It never took very long until a new Namikaze-sensei Fanclub established itself, so Naruto had to see if she wasn't one of them.

They spoke and spoke but the topic never strayed and their eyes maintained the same friendly regard.

And yet, wordlessly, in the back of his mind he wondered.

If he stared hard enough, would she look his way again?

She excused herself with a small bow and with delicate precision, she strode towards the door, their business completed.

But as she left the Staff Room, she did not look at him again.

Naruto squeezed the straps of his Randoseru, the aches growing stronger around his chest.

"Naruto," His father called out to him. "I'm afraid I'm still going to be here awhile longer. What did you need?"

Naruto flattened his lips together then transformed his chagrin into a cheery beam.

"I just wanted to see you, Dad."

His father furrowed his brows and hummed questioningly, inciting Naruto to conjure a new excuse.

"Also... there's a new figurine I want." He rubbed the back of his head for extra credulity.

"A figurine? You haven't played Gashapon since you were ten." Even so, his father began to dig around for spare coins in his pants pocket. "What changed?"

Naruto wove around to approach his father. Minato furtively surveyed his son's appearance, the frown pretty much saying 'I've told before to stop going through the bushes', but it was faster for him, the walk to the front entrance taking him an extra ten minutes if he did.

Presenting his empty palm, Naruto accepted the coins and idly counted them to give himself more time.

It looked like just enough for a can of 200% Sweet Café Au Lait, rather than a vacuous plastic figurine.

His father was still waiting for an answer.

"Uhh," Naruto pocketed the coins into his back pants pocket. "I just found one that I really, really want, that's all."

Rin watched Naruto exit the Staff Room, her smile broader than before.

"Naruto-chan is getting cuter everyday." She mused.

"Hm? What is that supposed to mean?" said Obito, a trace of a whine still in his voice.

"Did you see his face when Hyuuga-san arrived?"

Minato lifted his head up from his paperwork, trepidation and intrigue washing over him like a chilly waterfall.

"I know exactly the meaning of that face," Rin continued, her gaze sliding over to Obito whose ears reddened knowingly. And Minato was beginning to connect the dots, though he didn't want to. "Naruto-chan is lovestruck."

_____________________________________

Later that night over dinner, Minato was quiet. Which wasn't particularly unusual when his beloved wife and son always had so much to say.

He loved their vivaciousness, how they seemed to boil over with attitude and excitement at even the smallest source of happiness, never dimming, never tiring. He loved listening to their stories.

"-- And the ball bounced off the goal and smacked Sasuke in the back of the head, and he face-planted the grass!"

"So that's what happened!" Kushina was in tears. "Mikoto called me asking if anything happened at school today."

"What did he say?"

"He told his mother he lost in a fight against three older kids!" Kushina clasped a hand over her mouth, he features scrunching up as though her laughter could escape from her eyes, and Naruto broke down into laughter with her.

Minato's gentle smile pulled up higher, and yet that familiar warmth in his face and thumping in his chest suddenly came with pangs.

But now Minato was looking at his son as though he were shining at a brightness never witnessed before.

Like a TZO hybrid star.

This love that he felt for Kushina hasn't changed since their middle school days.

And with great melancholy Minato imagined that these same feelings were growing inside his son.

_____________________________________

This was one of their rituals.

Minato washing the dishes while he handed them off to Kushina to dry.

It was an easy way to speak amongst themselves like two lovers.

"Is everything alright?" Kushina said as she wiped down a plate and added it to the drying rack beside her.

"Naruto likes someone."

"Huh?! No way! How could he not tell me?!"

"Shh!" Minato threw a glance out the kitchen entryway which lead into the living room. Naruto's blond head could be seen beyond the couch where he sat by the low table, transfixed by the prank show on tv. "He didn't tell me at all. Rin figured it out."

Kushina's shock quickly curled into a sly grin. "Did she now? Well, I wonder who it could be."

Minato grimaced. "She figured that out, too."

"What?! How?!"

Indeed, how? Rin had no business in any other school but theirs. Had Naruto being crushing on a fellow classmate instead, Rin's obtaining of knowledge would certainly be more interesting than the knowledge itself.

Minato propped his elbows against the sink and slumped forward, his hair nearly grazing the froth of dish suds.

Minato couldn't bring himself to say.

It wasn't so much respect of his son's privacy than it was his inability to accept the situation.

"He's growing up too fast."

A beat of silence hung between them before Kushina responded with loving circular strokes along his back.

Minato was the last person you would ever hear gripe nor whine, so this was rather serious.

Kushina then grasped her husband's shoulders and pressed herself against his back and held him.

He slowly angled his head towards her, temple kissing temple and they breathed in their mutual resignation that, yes, Naruto would soon no longer be a child.

No more childish fixations and hobbies, no more innocent observations that made him laugh, no more boundless curiosity where he had all the answers not the internet, no more theatrical 'labor strikes' in demand of an increase of allowance or a trip to the waterpark because Sasuke made it sound like a paradise.

None of that.

He could begin working as early as fifteen if he so desired.

He would afford his own fun, possibly sneak around when his sense of curiosity matured.

Rather than the reward of sharing and impressing his dear old dad, he'll be seduced by the appeal of secrecy and keep things to himself.

He won't desire his father's opinion on anything. At that age, teens believe they know what's best, so they trust themselves above everyone else.

Independence like that is inevitable.

And whoever in the future accepts his feelings, they'll have every part of his son that he’s lost, and Minato isn't ready for any of that.

Kushina chuckled lightly before giving him another supportive squeeze.

Wait. Would it still count as a fetish if she found that particular body part extremely sexy and distracting on only one specific person?

Sitting in the back seat of her chauffeur driven customised Maybach, Hyuuga Hinata could not take her eyes off of the large manly hands of her bodyguard who was sitting in the front passenger seat. Her nipples puckered and rubbed against the lace of her bra under the short black dress, as flashes of those very same hands skimming over her body, played through her mind. Especially how his long fingers had pinched and thrust into parts of her anatomy that had made her scream and tremble in toe curling pleasure. Involuntarily, her thighs clenched together at the reminder. 

She had to force herself to look away from the man who was absolutely unaware of how his mere presence was wreaking havoc on her mind and body. Not even the constant chatter of her relatively new, chirpy assistant Matsuri, who was sitting right beside her, could pull her thoughts away from the self destructing path she was seemingly on.

Get over it, get over him, she told herself.

Uzumaki Naruto did not want her. He had made it clear. That one particular night, exactly nine days back, had been etched, engraved and embossed into her brain, was supposedly a slip-up on his part. A rare moment of weakness, was how he’d labelled it.

He was her bodyguard. Nothing more, nothing less.

So why did her body yearn for him? Had she imagined the explosive chemistry they had shared in bed? Was she not his type?

The whole world assumed that being a young famous singer-songwriter, she had more men in her life than she could handle. But little did they know that all through her existence, she had been left sorely disappointed by the men who truly meant something to her.

-

As soon as she entered her suite at the hotel, she flung her crystal studded killer heels to the side and made a beeline for the well stocked mini bar. 

She had only had a few cocktails at the lavish and exclusive birthday bash of a world renowned, award winning artist, at his sprawling mansion in the outskirts of the city. Usually, she preferred to be in control of her senses at these events. She absolutely hated the idea of other people witnessing her in a weak moment.

It was probably one of the very few traits she had inherited from her now-estranged father. Her already precarious relationship with her only living conservative parent blew into smithereens when she decided to pursue her dreams. 

But that topic was a terribly sore spot for her, and she did not even want to think about it. The only thing she wanted was to drink herself to numbness, now that she was back in the security of her room. Just so that, she could stop feeling unwanted and unrequited emotions and just drift off to sleep.

She could hear Naruto stepping inside the suite, but she willed herself to not glance back at him. He would sleep on the sofa bed in the living room like he had done the night before.

He had been hired by her label’s President to protect her. After she had, apparently, irked quite a few psychopathic, batshit crazy fangirls of the famous rockstar Sabaku Gaara. Just because they had casually dated for a few months last winter. They went especially haywire when the man had written an entire song about her and had openly admitted to it in an interview.

Their relationship ended prematurely, but the threats became progressively scarier and outrightly morbid. That’s when Naruto was taken on board from an elite security organization. He was to protect her, accompany her everywhere for the foreseeable future and always stay within reach. 

Lucky her.

Hinata picked out a small bottle of red wine on impulse and carried it to her room. She shed down to her lacy underthings and poured out a generous amount of the merlot into a bulbous glass.

Taking it to her ensuite bathroom, she began wiping off her makeup in preparation for bed. The process had become so common for her, she was lost in her musings while doing a perfect job of stripping her face bare. 

Refilling her glass again, she lifted it to her lips, when it was snatched away. The harsh tug of Naruto’s fingers made her gasp and spill some wine on her chest. She had not seen him enter her private bathroom.

“What the fuck are you doing?!”, she snapped at him. “You spilled wine on me!”

His gaze flickered to her wet cleavage before he looked away. With his jaws clenched, he poured the drink into the sink and looked at her with a less than pleasant expression.

“You should know better than to drink irresponsibly. Matsuri has already reminded you that you have an early morning meeting with Mr. Senju. The last thing you need is a hangover.”, he uttered those words with a straight face. He tried his best to seem unaffected.

She forced a smile on her face. “I can’t sleep without getting myself drunk. Unless you can think of another way to tire me out. That might just help.”

She was shamelessly coming on to him, but at this point she could care less. Or it was probably just plain ol’ liquid courage.

“Go to bed, and count sheep, for all I care.”, his voice was steady but she could see the inkling of desire in his azure eyes.

She wanted to egg him on, and brought her hands to the front clasp of her bra. “Oh, come on, help me out a bit. Just one more time.”, she was almost playfully begging him now. And she knew she would take whatever he would throw at her. It probably went against feminist ideals, but she was never this weak for another man. She needed him like no one else. Why did he not get that?

“Don’t you want me again?”, she propositioned him and unhooked the wet lace bra to tempt him further.

But before he could get an eyeful for her naked heaving chest, he turned around to walk out of her bathroom. She could only laugh, while her heart squeezed painfully inside at his outright rejection.

“You’re such a pussy!”, she commented mockingly to goade him further.

And lo, behold, it made him stall at the door. His fists were clenched at his sides, but he did not retaliate with words. Just when she felt a sliver of doubt that he would walk away, he swung around and marched over to her, capturing her burgundy stained lips under his hungry ones. 

She moaned audibly at the surge of passion in their liplock, it positively made her giddy. His hands pulled and pressed her body against his, before cupping her perky round bottom and lifting her up against him.

Hinata squealed into the kiss at the sudden change of altitude, but she did not dare break away from him. She needed him so badly that she grasped at his short hair desperately to gain leverage and rub her core against his hardening length.

She heard him groan out loudly and then he pulled away from her lightly bruised, swollen lips, as he joined their foreheads and continued what she had started. Holding her from her bottom, he pushed her against the nearest wall and started thrusting upwards for some desperately needed friction. The silk of her panty was really thin and flimsy, and the ridges of his jeans gliding over her most sensitive point was delicious.

“Yes!”, she cried out. “Naruto… Please!! Don’t stop…!!”

Her hoarse pleading made him curse out loud. Abruptly, he her away from the wall. But instead of taking her to the bedroom like she had expected, he stepped into the large glass walled shower.

Unceremoniously, Naruto pulled the tap handle and the shower sprayed them with really cold water. She screamed as the icy water fell on her skin, instantly cutting off the heat of their encounter.

“F*ck! What the hell?!”, she scrambled out of his grip and out from the chill of the water. “What was that for?”

The cold spray had drenched Naruto, by the time he turned the supply off.

“That was me trying to act on the shred of rationality left in me.”, Naruto said seriously while rubbing a hand across his hair. She shivered and wrapped her arm around her naked chest.

“Oh, for f*ck’s sake, do you have to be so rational all the dam* time?!!”, her voice echoed against the walls. “What’s wrong with you??!!”

He slipped out of the shower cubicle and threw the nearest dry bathrobe at her. She quickly pushed her arms through it to cover herself. Doing what he did was humiliating enough, especially after she had literally begged him to take her.

“Call me old fashioned, but I prefer my women sober in bed…”, he replied with a snort.

“Oh just stop with that holier than thou attitude… I’m barely tipsy… You’re the one who’s got his panties in a wad for no reason.”, she let her frustration speak through with zero filter. “Seriously, have you ever let yourself get carried away by your instincts? Instead of being so dam* uptight 24/7?...”

“Oh, I’ve tried it… Look where that got us…”

“You say it as if it was bad for you…”, she followed after him into the bedroom.

“That is beside the point… You, Miss Hinata Hyuuga, are my employer… It is inappropriate for us to sleep together...”

“It’s a little late for worrying about appropriateness, don’t you think?!...”, her voice was laced with sarcasm. “Surely you realise that or have you lost your memories while perched on your moral high horse?”

Naruto gritted his teeth and glared at her with icy blue eyes. “I haven’t forgotten anything… But I have more self respect and pride than repeating my mistake of being your rebound hookup.”

She felt hurt by his accusation. “Is that what you think? A rebound?... Gosh, Naruto... I have been over Gaara for months...”

“Well then, what else is it??”, he demanded.

She was tongue tied by the abruptness of his question. What was it? 

She was crazy attracted to him. She cared for him. She wanted him to do unspeakable things to her. She wanted to do similar things back to him. But that was as far as she had thought.

Seeing her speechless, he nodded curtly. “That’s what I thought.”

He moved away from her before her muddled brain could make a sense out of the deviation their conversation had taken. Naruto picked up his wallet, blazer and keycard before walking towards the main door.

“Get some sleep… Please… I will be right outside.”

Hinata could not utter the right words to stop him. Even if she desperately wanted to. 

-

By eight o’ clock next morning, Hinata was seated in an upscale rooftop restaurant that was famous for its breakfast menu. Mr. Senju was notorious for being an early riser, and he believed in using as much of the daylight as possible to conduct profitable business.

Clad in a flowy lavender maxi skirt, a white lace crop top and a pair of comfy birkenstocks, Hinata was half heartedly listening to Mr. Senju. Her mirrored sunglasses provided her the perfect ruse to hide her tired eyes and also to frequently glance over at Naruto, who stood a few feet away, where he had the perfect vantage point of the whole setting.

Matsuri sat beside her, jotting down important points that were discussed. By the end of the meal, Hinata had agreed to lend her voice to a character of a big budget animated movie that would be produced by Mr. Senju. Few remaining details would be ironed out by her label before she would sign the contract.

“Then I’ll see you back in the city in two weeks, Miss Hyuuga.”, Mr. Senju shook her hand. “It was a pleasure meeting you. Have a good day!”

Hinata smiled widely and bid him goodbye.

“Wow… That was definitely worth losing a few hours of sleep…”, Matsuri commented.

Hinata nodded listlessly, and nibbled on the poached eggs. She would have certainly liked Naruto to join her at the table, but he had maintained the cool aloof demeanour from last night. Like they only worked in a professional capacity.

Hinata could not openly make any grand gestures towards him because the restaurant was decently filled with posh clients.

From behind her shades, she had even noticed more than one woman staring in the direction of the tall figure of her bodyguard. And it lit her with jealousy. It was absurd. She had no claim over him, but she wanted to gorge the eyes out of any woman who so much as second glanced at him. Curiously, she had never felt this possessive about any of her past boyfriends. Not even Gaara, who the craziest female fandom their music industry had ever seen.

Speaking of the devil.

Gasps and murmurs filled the air, as Gaara Sabaku waltzed into the establishment like he owned the place, with his manager right behind him. Most patrons were affluent enough to not stumble out of their seats to approach celebrities for an autograph or selfies. But there were quite a few heads turned and much interest shown, when the red haired rockstar made a beeline for her.

“G-G-Gaara!”, she squeaked and flushed uncomfortably. Hinata was amused to see her so flustered. Especially, when she was quite unaffected by the famous actors and singers at last night’s bash.

Hinata got up from her seat to greet her ex-boyfriend.

“Hinata… What a pleasant surprise to see you here…”, Gaara spoke fondly as he engulfed her in his arms.

Hinata was a little taken aback by his enthusiasm, but she let it slide. There was nothing wrong with acknowledging an old friend or acquaintance with a genial hug. But she noticed the way Naruto had become stiff and alert, standing a few feet away from them.

“It’s nice to see you too Gaara… Weird running into you here… What are you doing so far off from the city?”, she asked him casually.

“Same thing as you. I made it to the party a little late last night… My flight got delayed on my way back from Seoul… By the time I got there, you had left…”, he explained.

“Ah, yeah…I was feeling a little tired…”, Hinata replied. She felt a little uncomfortable by Gaara’s attention, so she deviated from their conversation. “Gaara, this is my new assistant Matsuri… Matsuri, this is Gaara… You might know him….”

Gaara nodded at her nonchalantly before focusing back on Hinata. “How long are you here for?”

“Umm… Just for tonight.. We will be driving back to the city tomorrow morning…”

“That’s great! We must have dinner together tonight. Especially when we are both staying at the same hotel.”

Hinata was quite surprised at his invitation. She could see from the corner of her eyes, Naruto got closer to them and stood behind her protectively.

Was he jealous? Or was this a part of his job?

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea Gaara…”

“Come on, it’s just dinner… I won’t try to kiss you or anything… Unless you want to, ofcourse!”

Hinata fixed him with a mocking glare. She had separated from him on amicable terms. He was not keen on her suggestion of breaking up. But as a free spirited musician himself, he loathed the idea of binding her to him against her wishes. So he let her go. Now, even the thought of having dinner plans with him seemed to hold no attraction for her. Deep down, she realised the reason why.

“Haven’t we had enough problems because of our past? Being seen together again in public would be asking for more trouble.”, she tried to reason with him.

“Fine, if that’s your worry. How about you come over to my suite? We can have a private dinner where no one can see us.” Gaara glanced at Naruto and added, “You can even have your guard installed outside my door to keep an eye out for you.”

She really wanted to decline his invitation without seeming rude or uptight. But it seemed a little difficult now, with Gaara being insistent and the eyes of other patrons of the restaurant on the two of them.

She lowered her voice and replied, “How about I think about it and text you back?”

Gaara smirked and nodded. “Okay. Remember, I will be hoping for a yes.”

He flicked her chin lightly, like he used to do when they were back together, and moved towards his reserved table.

With that, Naruto suggested they make a move out. He trailed closer than ever before, and kept a light protective hand on her back while the few paparazzis outside clicked furiously. She wondered if Gaara’s invite had spurred this extra protective and possessive streak in him. The idea of making him even more jealous appealed to her. But she absolutely hated toying with people to play games like that. She wanted him to want her back without any underhanded tricks in play.

Once back inside the car, Matsuri asked incredulously, “You are not seriously thinking about going out with him, are you??”

Hinata rested her head back and watched Naruto for any sign. He did seem a little stiffer than usual, even as he was busily texting someone on his phone.

“Technically, it’s not ‘going out’... More like ‘dining in’... But I haven’t made a decision about it. Yet.”

A full minute later, her phone pinged and she took it out to read the new text message, thinking it might be from Gaara.

‘For your eyes only. Make sure no one is peeking into your phone.’

It was from Naruto. When she raised her head up, she saw Matsuri trying to inconspicuously peek at the text. She understood that Naruto might be trying to communicate with her without Matsuri knowing about their recent past.

“Who was that?”, she asked nonchalantly.

“Uh, no one.”, Hinata lied easily.

Seconds later, another message popped up. This time she was careful about not letting wandering eyes stray over to her phone.

‘I have to warn you about something. But what is most important is for you to NOT panic. Matsuri has a carving knife in her bag. She picked it up from the restaurant. Beware. Do not engage her in any conversation about Gaara. I have alerted the police, we will get you to safety soon. Just keep calm. You will be fine.’

Hinata grew pale as she finished reading the text. Why would Matsuri pick a knife? Slowly, the pieces fit together, and she realised that her new assistant was one of the psychopathic fans of her ex-boyfriend.

“Was that Gaara?”, Matsuri’s suspicious voice broke her trance.

“Umm… No…”, she replied faintly and looked outside the window to hide any signs of distress on her face.

“I think meeting Gaara again would not be good for either of you.”, her assistant kept talking.

If Naruto had not warned her, she would have snapped back at Matsuri and given her a piece of her mind. And that would have been disastrous. She looked to the front and found Naruto looking back at her. He gave her a small reassuring nod.

“If he thinks-“

Naruto interrupted her just as she spoke. “We’re almost here. It will be ideal for both of you to discuss this in the privacy of the suite, while I run a small errand.”

Soon the car stopped, Naruto jogged out to open Hinata’s door.

“You did good. I am here with you, don’t worry.”, he muttered close to her ears.

Hinata felt safe in his presence and she had to stop herself from leaning into him. The trio moved through the hotel lobby that seemed quieter than usual. Matsuri did not suspect a thing, but she raised an eyebrow at him when he joined them in the elevator.

“I thought you had an errand to run.”

Hinata understood that she was trying to get rid of Naruto to confront her in the suite.

“I do. I just need to grab some papers from my suitcase.”, he lied easily.

As soon as  they entered the suite, they were confronted by the police who were waiting for them. Matsuri turned vicious when her plan was foiled. She tried attacking Hinata even with so many officials around, but she was easily tackled by Naruto.

“Stay right where you are!!”

Soon, she was handcuffed and dragged away, but she kept hissing and cursing at Hinata.

“B*tches like you don’t deserve any love!! You f*cking wh*re!!!”

Hinata was aghast watching the complete switch in her personality. It was chilling to realise that someone who harboured ill intentions for her was kept close.

Her sight turned blurry as she stood rooted to her spot. Whether they were tears of relief or shock or exasperation, was anyone’s guess.

Naruto dealt with the police officials quickly before he went up to her. Wordlessly, he gathered her in his arms and hugged her tight.

“I don’t know why I am crying… I am not a crybaby…”, her words were muffled by his suit jacket.

“It’s okay… It’s okay to feel the way you do...I’m right here for you.”

But she shook her head and looked up at him. “How did you realise…”

Naruto explained his observation of Matsuri’s expression when Gaara came into the restaurant.

“It was somewhere between shock, awe and fanatical lunacy… And when he kept his attention solely on you, she looked vengeful… Both of you were too busy chatting to notice the stark change in her demeanour…”

“Oh…”, she pondered over the events. “So, that was why you stood close to me… Because of Matsuri… Not because you were jealous?”

Naruto sighed and lifted her face up to him. “I was jealous. Extremely so. But even in that moment your safety was my priority.”

Hinata looped both her arms around his neck. “Oh Naruto….About yesterday-“

“Don’t worry about it.”

“No… Let me say it… When you asked me about what you meant to me… I was unsure of how I could put my feelings into words… It might not be love yet, but you are so much more than a rebound… No, actually let me rephrase that… You are nothing like a rebound… I feel very very strongly for you…Honestly, I always keep thinking of you, my eyes keep looking for you... So much so that I’m afraid it might turn into an obsession.”

He smirked and leaned his forehead towards her. “Are you sure that’s not the after effects of the traumatic event talking?”

She grabbed him by his lapels and mockingly glared at him. “Don’t make fun of my feelings for you. I know what I want. Besides, I would hardly call this encounter traumatic. It was shocking and a little scary, but I can get past it. I’m stronger than you think.”

Naruto nodded and looked away from her gaze. “And you are sure you don’t mind that we have almost nothing in common… I mean, you could do much better than me.”

Hinata rolled her eyes at him, “You sure like doubting yourself for someone with so much pride and self respect.”

He just shrugged, “Just putting it out there… Fair warning… I am not easy to get rid off… So I just want to cover my bases…”

“That’s strange…”, she replied with a frown. “I was going to give you the same warning.”

“There’s one thing common between us then.”, he commented before asking. “Shall we seal the deal with a kiss?”

“Only a kiss??”

-

Over the next few days, Naruto and Hinata received several phone calls informing him about the development of the case against Matsuri. She had confessed to all accounts of threats and intention to harm but pleaded not guilty citing mental instability.

x