NaruHina: Duty

Chapter 18: Boy with Love

"So are you going out with Naruto?"

Sakura was confronting her. They were standing on the sidewalk. Hinata had been on her way to pick up her uniform from being repaired and had run into Sakura in town.

Hinata blinked in surprise. "Is that what he and I doing? Going out?"

"I don't know!" Sakura gasped. "That's why I'm asking you."

Hinata struggled for something to say.

"Right," the medic said as she watched the puzzled expression on Hinata's face deepen.

Sakura looked at her watch. "I have to go see Tsunade-sama right now but do you have time to finish this conversation today? Can you meet with me in an hour? At the zenzai place? I'll treat you!"

Hinata had nothing else planned so she agreed to it. She wanted to know, too, what was going on. What was happening between her and Naruto. If Sakura could help her, then that would be a good thing.

An hour later she met up with not only Sakura, but Ino and Tenten as well.

She frowned. "I thought it was just you and me, Sakura?"

"I know, but I need reinforcements," Sakura replied apologetically. "I don't think I can handle this conversation by myself. We're talking about you and Naruto here."

Ino smiled at her. "Plus, Hinata, I think you need a lot of perspectives to help you figure this whole thing."

Tenten laughed. "Me? I'm just curious and just want to gossip with you guys. But I was on a team with Neji for a couple of years working together, remember? I just wanted to see what this is all about."

"Fine," Hinata said doubtfully.

A few minutes later, though, she wanted to massage her temples because she had a headache. The girls were relentless. As soon as they'd sat down and given their orders, there was a barrage of questions.

"Where'd you guys go on your first date?"

"Did you ask him out or did he ask you out?"

"How long have you guys been dating?"

So she told them everything, not holding anything back. After all, they only wanted information. She told them about their last mission together, how he'd confessed, their time together with her family and at the Inuzuka's, and how she'd knocked on his door a couple of weeks ago.

She answered their questions unflinchingly, without embarrassment, even as she watched expressions of surprise, concern, and horror cross their faces.

The silence that greeted her when she finished talking was puzzling.

"What?!" came Sakura's sudden screech when she could finally process the information she'd just heard. "You guys are already having sex?! And you haven't even gone out on an official date yet?!"

"Shh! Sakura, keep it down," Ino said as she glanced around at the other customers who were staring at their table.

Tenten laughed. "Ooooh, Neji's not going to like that."

"Have you met his family? Has he even introduced you to them? Not Sasuke, of course, but Itachi? His father? His mother?" Ino asked.

Hinata shook her head.

Sakura rubbed her temples, still trying to understand. "So he confessed already, you guys had sex, but no proper date. You guys messed up the order! You're supposed to do it the opposite way."