Chapter 25: Gentle Currents and Rough Tides
After a small eternity of panicked stillness, Hinata's heartbeat gradually slowed from a frantic drumming to a nervous flutter. She realized something was off. Besides the waterfall's endless roar, there were no other sounds. No splashing, no movements of someone bathing.
Cautiously, she peeked out from behind the tree.
The sight that met her eyes banished her embarrassment, replacing it with pure astonishment.
There, directly under the crushing force of the waterfall, stood Naruto. His body was braced against the relentless torrent, the water slamming into his shoulders and back with enough force to bend a sapling. He was fighting to stand on the water's surface, his feet skidding and adjusting, chakra flaring visibly as he battled both gravity and the waterfall's immense pressure. He wasn't bathing; he was pushing his body and chakra control to their absolute limits.
Hinata watched, transfixed, as he slowly, stubbornly, found his equilibrium. The confusion on her face gave way to a dawning understanding, and then, to a deep, quiet admiration. This was his dedication. This was his path.
For over an hour, Naruto held his position. The strain was immense, a full-body workout that taxed his muscles and drained his chakra in a way simple running never could. Knowing the point of diminishing returns, he finally stepped out from under the deluge, his body trembling with fatigue, and collapsed onto the soft, sun-warmed grass by the poolside to recover.
It was only then he remembered his observer. A small, fond smile touched his lips as he lay back, gazing at the sky through the canopy. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, a peaceful counterpoint to the waterfall's fury. He wouldn't disturb her. This quiet moment, this shared, unspoken space, felt right.
When his strength returned, he sensed her chakra signature had moved away. Gone to get lunch, maybe? His stomach agreed with the thought. He was about to head into the village when hurried footsteps approached.
"Naruto-kun!"
He turned. Hinata was there, slightly out of breath, a carefully wrapped bento box held in her hands. Her face was a charming shade of pink, but she met his eyes. "I… I saw you training. I thought you might be hungry…" Her voice was soft but clear, a monumental effort of courage.
Naruto looked at the bento, then at her—the slight sheen of sweat on her temple from her run, the hopeful light in her pale lavender eyes. A genuine warmth spread through his chest. She'd run all the way back to the village and back for this.
"Thank you, Hinata." His smile was easy, grateful. He took the bento.
Hinata released a breath she'd been holding. The hard part was over. Now she just had to figure out what to do next. She stood there, fingers twisting in the fabric of her shorts, a picture of adorable awkwardness.
Naruto's heart softened further. He couldn't let her stew in her nerves. "Hinata," he said gently, reaching out to take her hand. Her skin was cool and smooth. He guided her to sit beside him under the shade of a large tree. "You don't have to be so nervous around me. I understand."
Hinata's brain short-circuited. He understands? Understands what? My feelings? Her face flamed anew, and for a terrifying second, she felt the familiar dizzying wave of a faint coming on. She fought it back, clinging to the solid warmth of his hand.
Seeing her overwhelmed but holding on, Naruto found her even more endearing. He opened the bento, revealing a simple but lovingly prepared meal. "You haven't eaten either, have you? Let's eat together."
"T-together?" The concept was so intimate, so wildly beyond her daydreams, that it was the final straw. With a soft sigh, Hinata's eyes fluttered shut, and she slumped gently against the tree trunk, unconscious.
Naruto stared, then chuckled softly, shaking his head. Some things never change. He settled in to wait, guarding her and the now-lukewarm lunch.
Two hours later, Hinata stirred with a soft groan. The first thing she saw was Naruto's patient, smiling face. Relief washed over her, followed immediately by a loud, traitorous growl from her stomach. She blushed furiously.
"You're awake. And hungry, by the sound of it," Naruto said, his tone light and teasing. "The lunch got cold. How about I treat you to something in town? I can't have my lunch-delivery person starving."
He stood, offering his hand. Hinata took it, letting him pull her up. Her hand stayed in his as he began leading her back toward the village. This time, though the blush remained and her heart danced a frantic rhythm, she didn't faint. The feeling of her hand securely in his, walking beside him in the dappled afternoon light, was a sweetness so profound it overrode her panic.
The meal was a quiet, happy affair. For Hinata, sitting across from him, sharing food and occasional shy smiles, was a fragment of heaven. When they parted at dusk, with Naruto heading back to train and Hinata needing to return home, she found a new boldness.
"Naruto-kun… next time… can I come watch you train again?"
"Of course," he replied, his smile bright in the fading light. "But next time, how about you train with me?"
Hinata's eyes went wide, then shone with determined joy. She nodded firmly. "Yes!"
Over the next few days, a new routine formed. Hinata would appear at the waterfall clearing, a bento in hand. Naruto's training advanced; his body grew denser, tougher under the waterfall's punishment, and his chakra control refined under the dual pressure. And Hinata's presence became a comfortable, warm constant. She was no longer just an observer; she began her own gentle exercises nearby, her shyness melting into a companionable silence or soft-spoken encouragement.
On the final day of their team's leave, Naruto was deep in his meditation under the falls, his mind clear, his body thrumming with effort. He was anticipating Hinata's arrival, the meal they'd share. He'd grown fond of this quiet interlude.
The voice that broke his concentration was not Hinata's.
"Naruto! There you are! I've been looking everywhere!"
Sakura burst into the clearing, her pink hair disheveled from running, her face etched with urgent worry. She skidded to a halt, staring at Naruto, who was soaked and wearing only shorts, standing resolutely in the pounding water. "What in the world are you doing? Never mind! Put your clothes on, quick! It's an emergency!"
Naruto's relaxed mood evaporated. He stepped out of the waterfall, water streaming from him. "What's happened?"
Sakura flushed slightly at his state but her anxiety overrode it. "Get dressed! I'll explain on the way!" She turned, pacing impatiently.
Naruto didn't hesitate. He pulled on his clothes with swift efficiency, his mind already shifting into mission-mode. "Talk."
As they hurried toward the village gates, Sakura spilled the story. "It's Sasuke! I ran into her in the market. She had a mission scroll—a B-rank! I don't know where she got it, but she said she was going to take it on. Alone! For 'training'! I tried to stop her, but she just… she left. She looked… determined. And reckless."
A B-rank. Alone. Naruto's jaw tightened. Sasuke's pride, stung by his performance against Masamori and fueled by her new Sharingan, had pushed her into a monumentally dangerous gamble. This wasn't training; it was a potential suicide mission driven by a desperate need to prove herself.
The peaceful interlude by the waterfall was over. The rough tides of their shinobi lives had returned, threatening to pull one of their own into the depths. Naruto quickened his pace, his thoughts already racing ahead to the village gates and the dangerous path Sasuke had chosen. The team, it seemed, was being tested once more, not by an external enemy, but by the volatile flames of a teammate's ambition.