CYPHER ~ Naruhina

Chapter - 15

"Hinata?!" A wave of emotions swirled inside the young blonde's head, as he recognised the sobbing voice on the phone.

"Y-Yes, it's me, Uzumaki-kun."

"What happened? Have you been crying?" 

"I... I-I'm scared." Her weeping grew a little louder. "M-My landlord is saying he'll k-kick me out in fifteen minutes, a-and there's someone stalking me, s-so I can't go out... What should I do?"

Naruto's face grew stiff when he started hearing her wheezing for breath while crying out of fear.

"I-I am scared of going out now... Some stranger h-has access to my number, and... And Maeno-san isn't e-even listening to me wh-when I am trying to e-explain-"

"Hinata." A solemn voice phonated from his end. "Lock your door. Stay on the line with me. I am coming over, so don't budge until then." He said, resolutely.

"Yes." She nodded like a child huddled in fear. She slowly got up and locked the door as he said, went over to sit on her bed, and used the blanket to wrap herself up. "H-How long will it take?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Don't worry." He convinced her. "I'm already in my car."

"I'm sorry for troubling you so late at night, Uzumaki-kun." She apologised woefully. "I just... I was v-very scared, and didn't know w-what to do..."

"Hinata, I'm so glad you called me." His voice brimmed with sincerity. "Calm yourself down. We can handle this easily together. Just don't hang up on me, okay?"

"Y-Yes." 

"And don't open the door either."

"Ye-" Her words were suddenly interrupted by a series of loud bangs on her door. Naruto could hear her gasp. "I-It's Maeno-san... He... He's at the door. He's asking me to open up."

"Stay where you are. Don't say a word to him."

"Yes. I'll d-do as you say, Uzumaki-kun."

As Naruto's jet-black vehicle tore through the dark streets, his mind circled in desperation and worry. He was swept up in a turmoil of emotions. When he first heard Hinata's voice on the line, he was ecstatic. She had finally called him! But as he recognised her pained whispers and her cries for help, he was thrown into a pool of anger. Who? Who is it that made her cry so much?  When her whimpering voice slowly started telling him hazy details about what was happening to her, it only fuelled the flames of fury inside him. When he heard her say that she was scared, in such a helpless tone, his chest tightened in excruciation. Who made her feel like that? Without any second thoughts, Naruto had rushed out of his office, without even bothering to change out of his suit. He didn't stop to answer Haku's questions, nor did he care about the time. He just had to get there, before Hinata felt even more cornered. An imminent sense of urgency burdened his heart, as he got into his car and started driving after plugging the phone in.

He was in no way making her feel even more pain than she already was. It broke his soul to picture her crying in the corner of her room, while people around her walked all over her. Whatever it was, he had to get there, and more so because she had trusted him with her struggles for the first time. Usually she would just withdraw into her shell, refusing to share any of her hardships, and live in an isolated bubble. Naruto had even once suspected whether their friendship meant nothing to her. But he had decided to give her time. Time to trust, time to heal, time to start forming bonds again. It was what she needed after going through so much in her life. And it was working. Naruto felt thankful that she was finally trusting him enough to ask for help.