Author's note: From this chapter on I will change the way I write thoughts. I will now use ' ' instead of ( ).
***
Sighing heavily, Toru wondered to himself how it had come to this, for at this moment Hinata was clinging to his arm tightly, leaving no chance for escape.
But he was to blame for being in this situation, after all he had agreed to have this little date night. Although to know how all this started, you have to go back a little in time, just when Hinata approached Toru after being hidden behind a wall for a long time.
Just at that moment, the wind blew a little, making Hinata and Toru's hair dance to the rhythm of the wind.
No doubt this scene brought back memories for Toru, memories of the first time Hinata and he exchanged words. They were only six years old when that happened, it had been quite a long time from a child's perspective.
Right now, in Toru's eyes, Hinata was becoming a very beautiful girl.
'Things change, and so does Hinata it seems.'
Sighing again, Toru looked Hinata in the eyes, hoping that she would be willing to let some words out.
"Good afternoon, Toru-kun..."
"Hinata, what a coincidence."
With a slight smile on his face, Toru thought that this was the most convenient coincidence that could have happened to him, although something like that couldn't be called coincidence, after all this girl was secretly spying on him, which made his mind think of some explanations for this occurrence, obviously he found nothing, after all this was beyond his intelligence.
"What brings you here, Hinata?"
Toru asked his question returning to his poker expression as usual. In response to this, Hinata felt a little nervous, after the assassination mission, she hadn't been able to look him or Ino in the face, after all, she thought these two were now in a loving relationship. Obviously this was something that made her feel uncomfortable and strangely sad, even if she had misunderstood everything that happened that night, but it was certainly something sad, since she had no way of knowing this unless she asked Toru himself.
"I... well, I was... I wanted to know if you... I wanted to know if you want to talk, just a little bit... with me..."
Cheeks slightly flushed, Hinata looked down at the ground as she fiddled with the sleeves of her sweater.
Something like this made Toru raise an eyebrow with some doubt in his mind.
Such it seemed that Hinata had become bolder when it came to talking to others, especially him.
So, Toru raised his arm and looked Hinata in the eyes, placing his hand on her hair, stroking gently, making this girl raise her head and look him in the eyes as well.
"You shouldn't ask that, we're teammates. You can talk to me as many times as you want."
Feeling his heart warming up, Toru felt at ease with this situation. It was obvious that he felt something for her, just like with Ino, but he didn't know how to explain it, he didn't quite know what he was feeling, since he never had a similar experience in his past life or in his current life.
'So this is love, huh...' thinking about this, I observe Hinata's bright white eyes, which made her beauty strangely mystical, just like the moon.
In the past, he thought Hinata was a quiet and calm girl, someone who prefers to isolate herself in her own world, leaving no chance for any intruder to dare to enter her heart. However, right now that intruder was in front of her.
"...Thank you."
As the sun began to set, hinting that the gloom of night would soon descend upon the land, he gazed with neutral eyes at the sky and sighed. This feeling was something very mysterious, something that was steadily increasing, leaving him no chance to think clearly. Besides, seeing this adorable girl thank him with such an innocent facial expression made him feel like hugging her. Obviously he was not going to do it, that would be sexual harassment, however, just by looking into her eyes he felt at ease.
"Well, if you want to talk to me , first we should find a comfortable place, do you still like ramen?"
"Um... yeah, I guess..."
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."
With a quick movement and without giving a concrete explanation, Toru took Hinata by the hand.
At that very moment, when their fingers intertwined, she felt as if she was transported back in time, to that time when Toru used to hang out together with her.
***
Snow was falling, filling the ground and the roofs of the houses with the color of winter. Toru's scarf danced to the rhythm of the cold night breeze, while Hinata's eyes looked at him without understanding what he was feeling. That memory still lingered in her mind, imprinted in her brain. This was... a warm, cold winter memory with this mysterious boy.
Their hands were intertwined, sharing warmth as they made their way to "Ichiraku Ramen".
She kept silent as Toru continued walking, holding her hand so as not to lose her.
Due to the low temperatures of that time, Hinata's cheeks had a slight pale pink color. The same could be said for Toru, but unlike him, who had an emotionless expression, Hinata had an innocent expression as was typical for a girl her age.
'Why is he so different?'
She felt confused, still unable to understand why this boy was taking the trouble to hang out with her. However, from that moment, no, even before, she began to look at this boy in a different way.
***
"Is something wrong?"
Opening her eyes slightly, Hinata looked at Toru, who at the same time looked at her with a relaxed expression, something very different from the expression Toru had at that time.
"No, nothing..."
She ducked her head to hide the slight smile that had formed on her lips. Although things had changed, it seemed that everything was still the same between the two of them.
A boy and a girl, walking together holding hands, as the sun slowly set on the horizon, painting the sky that beautiful fiery golden color. Almost at the same time, the wind lifted the dry leaves from the trees.
'It's as if what happened that night was part of my imagination... yet I know that it was all real. Toru-kun and Ino-san are now...'
Sadness returned to her heart once again, leaving that feeling of emptiness present, causing the expression on her face to change slightly.
"Hinata, we're here."
"Huh?"
While she was deep in thought, Toru took it upon herself to guide Hinata, so they arrived at Ichiraku's restaurant in less than five minutes.
Seeing this, she felt relieved for a moment, she felt like she was overthinking things, however, this thing she was feeling....
"Come on, we have to order something."
She looked Hinata in the eyes and then sat down on one of the chairs in front of the counter.
"Hm... yes."
Following Toru's words, she sat down on the chair next to Toru's and placed her elbows on the counter.
"Welcome, what are you going to order?"
A pretty brown-haired girl appeared in front of Toru and Hinata while holding a spoon in her hands. She had her apron on, as this was a requirement to work in this type of business.
This girl's eyes widened as she recognized these two children, which caused a slight smile to form on her face. Although it was a vague memory, she could see it clearly, these two children who came to this restaurant more than four years ago.
"I don't know, this is a ramen restaurant. Should I order a bread with fruit filling?"
"Hahaha, what a good joke. I shouldn't have asked that, I guess it's habit."
She got Toru's joke instantly, which was good, since then this guy wouldn't sound like a jerk walking down the street talking sarcastically.
"I work in a restaurant, asking that's the normal thing to do. So, with that in mind what kind of ramen will you order?"
The girl looked at Toru with a smile as she waited for the latter to answer. Meanwhile, Hinata watched all this in silence, with a confused expression on her face.
So far, as far as she remembered, Toru didn't know how to make this kind of jokes, moreover, most of the time she spent most of the time with her eyes on her drawing book, in total silence. So this was strange, but what changed Hinata's attitude the most, was to see how this girl looked at Toru.
She felt uncomfortable, for some reason she didn't want other girls to look at him that way.
"What will you order?"
The brown haired girl walked over and looked Hinata in the eyes. She didn't know what to do, but after a second of being reconnected with the world, she sighed and ordered.
"I guess something normal... if it has meat on it..."
Hinata looked at her hands as she spoke. At the same time, the girl smiled slightly, as this little gesture this girl made seemed adorable to her.
So she nodded her head, and then started preparing the food.
'Hm... this reminds me of things... it's a good feeling...'
Years had passed, the houses around this restaurant were still the same, the atmosphere and the voices of people talking was much like that of that time. However, considering that Orochimaru attacked the village recently, hearing the carefree voices of the inhabitants of this place made Toru raise an eyebrow.
It wasn't very normal that after an attack of that magnitude, people would maintain the same energy as usual. People had died, yet...
'From my point of view, people are very rare. But I guess that doesn't matter much, there are people who make that feeling go away...'
Looking to his side, he put one of his hands on the table and looked Hinata in the eyes, those eyes that shone like the moon in the middle of the night.
On the other hand, unlike Toru, who felt comfortable, Hinata looked at her hands with a thoughtful expression.
Again and again, her mind wandered with the same thought in her mind.
That night, tears welled up and she felt something she had never felt before. It was like being betrayed, a needle-like feeling piercing her heart. Seeing Toru and Ino, their lips together sharing their first kiss. That wasn't fair, at least that was what she thought.
'I was the first..."
She couldn't quite understand this feeling. The two had met when they were six years old, two little souls who had barely made it in this world. Neither of them knew how cruel the world was.
However, even if they did not know each other, this boy was able to be close to her. He didn't feel repulsed at the sight of her eyes, he told her he wanted to have the same ones after all.
'My eyes...'
Slowly, after thinking about it for so long, after seeing him from afar for so many years. She knew what she felt, still she couldn't find a name for this feeling.
"Here it is, I hope it's to your liking."
The pretty waitress appeared once again with two plates in her hands. She quickly placed them on the table and continued working, obviously Toru and Hinata said thank you before this girl continued with her work.
"Itadakimasu."
Toru and Hinata said in unison.
Already having the plate of ramen in front of him, Toru took the Hashi and separated them. For a few seconds he looked at the contents and then began to taste.
Hinata looked at him with attention.
This boy always looked calm, with an expression that showed no emotions. Every time she looked at him, she felt as if the world was more colorful.
'Toru-kun and Ino are now...'
Reminding herself of what happened that night, she realized that she could no longer be around this boy. Now he had a 'girlfriend', so being together with him would cause a lot of misunderstandings.
But after being away from him for so long, she felt sad. Now that she could finally be by his side, together as a team, it seemed as if he was moving away again.
'I don't want to be away from Toru-kun..."
Staring at the plate in front of her, still holding the same strangely sad expression, Hinata took the Hashi and pulled it apart.
Her eyes widened as she watched the two chopsticks separate. They couldn't be together anymore, the connection between the chopsticks was broken, they couldn't get back together.
'Not to be together again...'
Hinata ate the ramen in silence. At no time did she look at Toru, she didn't speak, she simply ate the ramen without saying a word.
***
Each one finished eating, Toru paid for the two plates of ramen without saying anything else, and seconds later left for home.
Right now, two children were walking in the darkness of the night, separated, one farther from the other while the night breeze made their hair dance to the rhythm of the night.
Leaves from the trees came loose, falling to the ground and causing a small rustling sound. Hinata watched this and sighed as she thought.
'Separated...'
Far away from each other, farther and farther away, that's how Hinata was looking at Toru right now, moving away from her and getting lost in the darkness.
*Drip*
This thought reminded her of more things from the past along with the things she experienced being in team 11. Seeing Toru smile brought her happiness, seeing Ino become strong also made her happy. Even her sister, who was training with Toru learned new things.
Everyone felt happy, didn't they?
* Drip*
The sound of Toru's footsteps was what could be heard, however, an unseen sound began to echo. Drops began to spill out, falling and dissolving on the ground.
Tears...
'I don't want to get away from him...' Hinata thought.
This feeling was consuming her. She didn't want to be away from Toru, she wanted to keep walking beside him, as a team, helping each other, trusting each other.
Together...
She wanted to be together with him, but the moment she saw Ino kissing Toru, she felt that this could no longer become a reality.
'I won't be able to walk beside him...'
Other tears ran down her cheeks, finally disappearing in the endless sea of sadness that filled her heart.
'I don't want this...'
She raised her head and looked at the boy walking in front of her.
Slowly she moved closer, reaching out her hand as if trying to reach for a star in the vast night sky.
"Hm...?"
Toru looked to his right with a neutral expression.
This girl... she was clinging tightly to his arm. She had no intention of letting go, she wasn't going to, no matter if the moon crashed into the earth, she would never let go.
Even at this moment, Hinata looked up and her eyes met Toru's.
She felt a little ashamed of what she was doing, but this was necessary, so he would never walk away, never leave her alone.
Her eyes, white as the bright moon looked into the silver eyes of this boy. Slowly, as if she couldn't control her body, her face began to approach Toru's face.
Their lips were so close that they could feel each other's breath, but....
Toru knew what was about to happen, if he accepted this kiss, this girl's life would be in danger. Just like with Ino, he could not accept her feelings.
'I'm sorry, Hinata...'
He sighed heavily as he looked at Hinata. This story was repeating itself again.
"Do you want me to walk you home?"
Toru put his hand on Hinata's head and gave her a tender smile he had never shown anyone before.
She opened her eyes realizing what she was about to do, however, instead of being embarrassed, she smiled back at Toru, clinging to his arm.
"Yes..." Hinata replied with a few small tears peeking out of the corners of her eyes, adding a cute smile.
'How cute...'
How adorable this girl could be was not normal. Toru felt like hugging her and never letting her go, but apparently the one doing that was Hinata herself.
Still, he couldn't complain. This girl, even if she didn't say it in words, Toru could tell that their feelings were mutual.
'But, at the moment, I can't accept them. I can't accept Hinata's feelings, because right now, I have possible enemies that will soon emerge from the darkness. Besides, I must concentrate on discovering the truth about the night my clan was exterminated.'"
Orochimaru and Itachi, the two have already shown their faces, apparently neither knows their weaknesses nor the secrets of the "Shigan", so it's best to keep it that way. However, there's still bastard who sends ninja to spy on him.
'Love, uh...' However, he couldn't concentrate much being so close to this girl.
Stroking Hinata's hair, Toru sighed, these feelings he had never felt before made him feel Happy?
***
"Ahhhhh!!! my arms!!!"
The man's cries of pain could be heard throughout the forest. There were no words to explain the pain he was feeling.
"Orochimaru-sama..."
He sighed while being hidden behind the trees.
Kabuto could feel his master's pain, however, he couldn't do anything until he found the person who can cure a curse, but, to his good fortune, the location information about the third Sannin was already in his mind, so he was planning to leave this place together with his master in the morning.
"Ahhhhh!!! Damn Sarutobi!!!"
Orochimaru spat out a curse as he screamed in pain.
This caused Kabuto to cross his arms as he adjusted his glasses.
"You'll be able to get your arms back soon, Orochimaru-sama, but you have to be patient..."