Because You Asked For It: Naru/Hana version

I hope you all enjoy what you are about to read.
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The Kit, The Puppy, And The Cherry Blossom Part 3!

For the past few weeks, Naruto had been experiencing that singularly creepy sensation one always experiences when being watched. The short sunny blonde hairs at the back of his neck stood on end on more than one occasion, usually when he was doing something of a private nature… like bathing, and a few other more embarrassing things that most teenaged males indulged in when alone.

However, the feeling was even more frequent when he was out and about doing normal things, like eating at Ichiraku, or spending time with Inuzuka Hana, whose hands had healed up rather nicely, proving that his first-aid skills, though nowhere near the level of the other ninja’s he knew, weren't all together lacking. Even the Old-Hag had said he had done a good job of preventing infection from setting in.

What did he need first-aid for anyway? His squatter wasn't about to let him die anytime soon, as it would mean an end to both their existences. Still, he had to admit, it was a useful thing to have under one’s belt in his line of work.

But, back to the point, he was being stalked, and it was a bit disturbing.

His stalker hadn't tried anything though, so maybe it was just Konohamaru brushing up on his stealth skills. Though that didn't explain why he hadn't felt the presence leave during what- if one were to be polite about it- could only be termed private moments. As a matter of fact, the idea of Konohamaru witnessing him in such a state disturbed him even further than the fact that he was being stalked.

... Or maybe (he really hoped this was it)... he was just being paranoid?

Yeah, that had to be it. Shinobi got paranoid from time to time; it was a hazard of the job. Like the time when Neji had gotten it into his head that someone had somehow broken into the Hyuuga estate, and had been switching his conditioner. When, really, what had happened was the manufacturer had changed the labels, so that the type for normal hair was now red, and the type for treated hair was now blue.

With that thought firmly in mind Naruto went about forgetting his earlier stalker related anxieties, and instead focused on an entirely new set of personal dilemmas... or rather, one large dilemma.

He was once again low on cash, and he didn't have any missions until the next day at the very soonest. So how was he supposed to eat? He could have attempted to make something for himself, but he had run out of instant ramen, and everything in his refrigerator (what little that was) was passed its expiry date.

He'd learned his lesson about spoiled milk back when he had first become a Gennin, and he was pretty sure that vegetables weren't meant to be fuzzy, or have strange bluish-grey splotches.

He could stop by Iruka's and hope that the older man would feed him, but Iruka's next paycheque wasn't due for another four days. And, contrary to popular belief, Naruto was very aware of how much money it cost to sate his hunger. Only an Akimichi could match- and probably best him- when it came to the consumption of food; another option lost to him.

Another option was Sakura, she had been pretty friendly as of late, even coming out to lunch with him on a few occasions, but she was working a shift at the hospital until later that night, and he was hungry now.

Mentally he ran down the list of other people he might be able to mooch off of, and finally his mind settled on Hana. Of course, he wouldn't call it mooching exactly; he'd make the offer to repay her by taking her out sometime later in the week, providing they were both in the village. He'd done the same for Sakura once, and it wasn't as if Hana would mind. She'd done it before; paid for his meals that is, just like he had paid for hers, and sometimes they even split the bill.

Smiling, the blonde went off in search of the veterinarian.

Finding Hana had been remarkably easy, as all he had to do was open the door of his apartment. Hana stood on the other side, hand raised to knock.

"Hana-chan!" the blonde grinned.

The Inuzuka girl offered him a smile of her own. "Are you headed out?"

It would seem a stupid question, but Naruto knew what she had meant by it. He had a bad habit of leaving on short C ranked missions with only the clothes on his back, and the weapons he could carry and conceal on his person. "Nope! I was coming to find you."

"Oh!" the older girls smile widened, her fangs showing. "I'd thought you'd forgotten."

Forgotten? Naruto didn't voice his question out loud. He had forgotten something? Well that much was obvious, but what had he forgotten exactly? He searched his mind for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything.

"You did forget," Hana's eyes widened, and she let out a loud, not-unpleasant, laugh. When Naruto opened his mouth to apologize, she shook her head and continued to speak, "It's okay Naruto-kun," her smile was honest, Naruto could tell that much. "I knew you would. You don't have the greatest memory when it comes to this sort of thing."

Naruto rubbed at the back of his neck in a way much too cute for a teenager, and grinned sheepishly, allowing himself to be led out of his apartment, through the hall, down the stairs, and out of the building to the street. As they neared his favorite ramen stand, his memory began to kick in.

The previous week, before Hana's hands had finished healing, he had agreed to meet her for ramen- her treat. Of course, Naruto had been called away on a mission, and they hadn't been able to go, but he had left a note on the door of the veterinary clinic asking if they could postpone their ramen date. When he'd gotten back, Hana had been out of the village on a mission of her own, and so the date had been postponed again.

It looked like the blonde would get something into his stomach after all.

Hana, Naruto noticed, was a surprisingly delicate eater. He'd seen her eat before of course, on missions, and when he'd helped her to eat because her hands had still been too swollen and sensitive to use chopsticks, or any other eating utensils properly, but this was different. Her hands were graceful as they raised the noodles to her mouth. He found himself staring, as he slurped up his own meal.

Naruto didn't quite know why he found the sight of Hana eating to be so interesting. Somehow, he just did. Her movements were fluid, and her mouth opened only slightly when she brought the food to her lips, in a very ladylike manner that reminded him of Hinata, or of one of the women Jiraiya wrote about...

Bad comparison he realized, as he very nearly choked on his noodles. He shouldn't be thinking that way about the Inuzuka; he wasn't a pervert! No, of course he wasn't; the village already had enough perverts- Kakashi, or Ebisu for example.

Still, he couldn't seem to stop the thoughts from rushing through his head. The scene was very similar to one he had heard Jiraiya mumbling about during their travels. The old man had been jotting down notes in a little book, with lined pages, and muttering about a brunette woman at a ramen stand; the story centered around the woman, and a slightly younger man- the cook's son, if he remembered correctly.

Finishing off his third bowl without even realizing it, the blonde continued to watch his companion eat her meal. He very nearly whimpered when a droplet of broth clung to the older girl's lower lip, making her lick it away with her tongue.

He may not have been a pervert, but he was a hormonal teenaged boy, who had spent the better part of three years with a writer of soft-core pornography. The sight of Hana's pink tongue darting out to catch the droplet of broth had him once again thinking of the story his former mentor had been working on several years ago.

It wasn't until he felt a gentle pressure against his lips that he realized he had been doing more than simply replaying the scenes in his head. He had been acting them out! His mouth was currently moving over Hana's eagerly responsive one, breaking apart only at the sound of a familiar voice calling his name.

Sakura had managed to find Naruto rather easily, after all ramen and Naruto were like porn and Kakashi, though the position she found him in left much to be desired.
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Hugs and Oreos
Iyou