NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42: Stalker
Disclaimer:
Naruto and all of its characters belong to Shueisha and Masashi Kishimoto.
I own nothing but the original characters I create.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 42: Stalker
Naruto shifted the weight of the box in his hands to hold it with one arm while pulling a kunai with his now free hand.
It would have been better to leave the heavy box on the ground, but it was very likely that the contents of the box were their real target.
He could not take that risk.
Naruto could clearly see part of the feet of the person hiding behind the post.
This clumsy behavior showed that this was an amateur, or... a distraction, meant for him to lower his guard.
"Show yourself! I can see you there!" He never expected that to work...
"W-Wait!"
He heard the nervous voice of a young girl before she stepped into the dim light of the lamp.
"You are…" He realized that he knew this girl. He had a few memories of her and had even seen her very recently.
"Hyuga Hinata?"
"Y-Yes!" She gave him a polite bow. "Good evening, Naruto."
He did not relax the grip on his kunai after seeing who this was. His ears and nose were still on full alert, trying to detect if someone else were to approach.
Despite her innocent look and nervous attitude, this was a ninja, so it could all be a lie.
And there was no doubt that she had been following him for a while.
"Why are you following me?" He decided to be direct.
"Eh?... well… I…" The girl's cheeks became bright red as she began to mutter words in a low tone of voice.
"Who sent you to spy on me? What are you after?" Naruto's eyes narrowed in a frown, and he began to get closer to her.
"Sent me? N-no one!" Hinata exclaimed. "I just… I j-just wanted… to see you…"
Naruto was carefully observing her as her flushed face went through a dozen different emotions.
'This girl just graduated from the academy a month ago. Her acting can't be that good…' Naruto considered the possibilities. He had no sure way to detect lies at this moment, so he had to trust his instincts.
Either Hinata was a once-in-a-century genius actress, or… she was not acting at all.
The fact that he could not detect anyone approaching after all of this did help her case.
'Let's go with a different approach then…' Naruto stored back his kunai.
"My apologies, Miss Hyuga. It appears that this has been a terrible misunderstanding." He made use of his years of experience dealing with noble ladies from powerful clans.
Those women were always easily offended if you did not mind your words and actions.
"Miss Hyuga?" She made an expression of such pain that any bystander would think she just had her guts stabbed.
Naruto wondered what he could have possibly done wrong already after only saying two words.
'Should I have used the term 'Lady' instead of 'Miss'?...' It looks like I'm still lacking when it comes to interacting with these noble fairies…
In his previous life, he could have been called 'lucky' when it came to interacting with powerful ladies. He always ended up offending them sooner or later.
"Is it true then?... the rumors about your memory loss?" Hinata asked him after a moment of hesitation.
"My memories?...my memories are... fragmented. I still remember a few things but…" Naruto then thought about something.
"Were we close?" That would explain why she got upset after being called in a formal and impersonal manner. After all, she did refer to him by name.
"Close? Like?..." Her cheeks became red again, and she used her hands to cover her face.
"No no! We were just classmates!"
Naruto stared at the girl. It didn't take a genius to know there was more than that.
"I understand. I am still sorry, but I have just a few memories of my academy days." He decided to tell her the truth.
"That's…" There was a hint of sadness in her voice. "But it's not Naruto's fault!" She hurried to say. "You were attacked, and… I'm just glad you are okay."
"How did I use to call you?" He asked.
Hinata was a bit surprised by the question but still answered it. "We never talked that much, but you would always call everyone by their names."
Naruto had a much better understanding of the situation now that he had a chance to observe this girl for a bit.
It was obvious that she liked him, or at least the past version of him. She was also extremely shy and had not dared to approach him directly to ask how he was.
If this was some random girl, he would just say his goodbyes and forget about the whole incident.
But this was the heir of one of Konoha's most notorious clans. Having a positive relationship with someone like that could only be beneficial to him. So he decided to try something.
"Say, Hinata…"
"Yes?" She looked at him with interest.
"Are you free tomorrow night?"
"Eh? Yes?..." Hinata appeared to be confused by the sudden question.
"Excellent, then what about having dinner with me? My treat."
"What?!" She almost shouted. She could not have heard that right.
"You know, as compensation for the misunderstanding. I mean, I pointed a kunai at you… paying for some food seems like the least I can do. So what do you say? I know a good place that sells ra—"
Hinata collapsed on the floor.
Naruto stared at her for a few seconds. She was clearly unconscious.
"This has never happened to me before…"
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