Konoha's No. 1 Most Unpredictable Ninja

[CHAPTER 25]

There was barely any small talk between the two genin. Hinata is known to be quiet but Teuchi really wasn't expecting Naruto to stay silent. Although, Naruto is generally a very quiet person too, especially when he has no idea what to say.

This is so awkward. Naruto groaned. But what if I say something embarrassing? Hinata wouldn't wanna hang out with me anymore.

The nine tails scoffed. And to think not so long ago you were being a complete asshole to your own teammates.

But this is different! Naruto thought. I'm stuck with those idiots whether I like it or not. The only reason I could be stuck with her is if she wants to be stuck with me.

That expression really didn't flow as smooth as you expected huh? The kyubi said, making fun of Naruto's nervous banter.

Shut up fox. The Uzumaki scowled.

"Naruto, are you done?" Hinata asked softly. "Should we start heading over to the training fields?"

"Yes we should." Naruto replied quickly as he was caught off guard by her questions, being too invested in his conversation with the kyubi.

Naruto paid his bill and Hinata's bill, becoming nearly broke because he didn't even realize how many bowls of ramen he had eaten in such a short amount of time. They both thanked Teuchi for the food one last time and set off to the training fields.

"Do you know Neji, Naruto?" Hinata asked, as a way to break the silence that had been hanging over them.

"Yeah, I used to train with his team when we were still at the academy." Naruto said, thankful that there was finally a topic that he could talk about without embarrassing himself. "He's a great fighter and friend."

"I'm glad you know him so well." Hinata smiled. "Usually he isn't that nice to strangers so I didn't know how he would react when seeing you."

"Yeah he was pretty mean to me when we first met." The blonde chuckled. "We warmed up to each other though, especially when we both agreed that morning training before breakfast was the worst."

The Hyuga princess laughed at the story of her grumpy, serious cousin. It was like she was getting to know another side of him.

As the two continued walking they entered the Hyuga compound. It was fairly big, having a huge main building of two stories. There were many other houses surrounding the main building and then past the houses were the pristine training grounds of the Leaf's strongest clan.

"Lady Hinata!" Neji waved from across the training field. He jogged over to his cousin and friend to properly greet them. "I now seem to understand why you came late. Naruto didn't cause you too much trouble, did he Lady Hinata?"

"Oh no!" Hinata blushed. "I just met him at Ichiraku and asked if he wanted to come. It's not his fault we were late."

"You're still too quick to place blame Neji." Naruto held out his fist and bumped it with Neji's outstretched fist.

"Well since you are late for training Lady Hinata," Neji shifted his focus to his cousin, "let's start warming up right away."

"Um, what about Naruto?" She asked. "Would you like to warm up with us?"

Naruto had sudden flashbacks to Neji's intense warmup routine, such a waste of energy and it was really specialized for the Hyuga fighting style.

"I'll warm up in my own." Naruto awkwardly laughed.

"Well then, we'll be heading to training field 3." Neji pointed to the mountain in the distance. "It's on that mountain, perfect for a chakra control practice."