NaruHina: Consequences

Another Impulsive Date After Some Weeks

The night of the gala opened the floodgates to the Hokage's personal life. The masses' attention focused on their relationship and Hinata found herself reeling from the reality of dating a public figure.

The weeks that followed the event were a blur for her, and she spent it mostly trying to avoid everyone's scrutiny. Since that day, the cameras had followed her around, and Hinata's life was constantly disrupted by reporters screaming impertinent questions about her and Naruto's love life. Not only that, she had to deal with the flashes that blinded her every time she stepped out of the Hyuuga gates.

Naruto did his best to shield her from the public's eyes, but it was difficult because the media loved it whenever he swooped in protectively around her.

On one occasion, a male reporter had gotten too close, brushed against Hinata's body, and had grabbed her waist to prevent her from falling. Naruto had seen it and hadn't been able to prevent his instinctive reaction at seeing her so roughly handled. His snarl of rage had startled everyone, but of course, the cameras had been quick to capture his angry reactions.

Nobody had been surprised to see his face splattered all over the newspapers the next day.

Besotted Beast! The Hokage finally tamed! screamed one headline underneath the large photo of Naruto's enraged face.

Hinata sighed as she glanced at it sitting so prominently at the newsstand she passed on her way to her school. Today, she'd managed to slip away from the reporters under the not-so-clever disguise of her dark sunglasses and her long hair tucked underneath a cap.

That, and Hanabi had volunteered to be the decoy to distract the reporters while Hinata had quietly slipped out of their home.

The smell of fresh flowers greeted her as soon as she unlocked the classroom.

With the additional attention that the community was giving her, she found her school flooded with new students. Hinata became busier, accommodating the genuine ones who'd come to really learn about the art of arranging flowers and also firmly turning away the fake ones who'd come to snoop around her school.

The interest in ikebana flattered her, but the interest in her puzzled her. Just the thought of continuing to date the Hokage and being constantly photographed made her even more anxious. She didn't like everyone staring or whispering about her.

It made her feel even more awkward and unsure, always wondering about what they thought about her and her relationship with Naruto. What she feared most was people thinking she was unworthy to be with such a great man, how a small nobody like her could ever grab the attention of somebody as amazing as he was.

She'd run into Haruhi once, and the two of them had just decided to grab coffee at Emi's shop. There were the usual customers, their neighbors, and so the two felt comfortable enough to talk openly about what was happening.

Haruhi was the perfect person to talk to about the unwanted press about her and Naruto. As a geisha, Haruhi was aware of how different and how special her role was compared to the rest of society.

"So what? People are entitled to think whatever they want about you and him. In the end, they're just thoughts and opinions. Don't let it affect you too much. Just learn to brush it off," she said in answer to Hinata's question.

Hinata stared at her cousin, disconcerted. "I guess, but how exactly do I do that?"

"Just focus on the Hokage and everything will be okay."

Hinata blinked. She hadn't expected to hear that answer. "Just focus on Naruto?"

When put that way, it didn't seem so bad. She could focus on how attentive he was with her, how lovely their dates were even though they spent it mostly at each other's homes recently because they were trying to lie low from the media.