A Mistake Not Meant to Bear Fruit [Naruto x Hanabi]

Chapter 11: Confrontation

"N-No! Of course not!" Hanabi denied. 

If only she knew what her heart had in store for her.

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The atmosphere was now silent for the group in Yakiniku Q. It wasn't because a somber topic was brought up or because someone was offended or anything like that. It was mainly because everyone there (besides Naruto) knew what was currently happening between Hinata and Hanabi. 

They all knew of Hinata's feelings for the blonde and had only now realized their mistake, which was calling Naruto and Hanabi cute together and saying that they would be a good couple in Hinata's presence. They currently didn't know how to handle this type of thing, since it had never happened before. 

No one in the Konoha 12 had ever had feelings for Naruto other than Hinata, meaning Hinata never had any rivals. To make things better, everyone was rooting for Hinata to finally confess her feelings to Naruto. Naruto also never had any sort of romantic partner before, so when he had finally introduced one to them, they were all happy for him. 

Everyone knew of Naruto's old love for Sakura and his loyalty to her. So when no matter what, she always decided to chase after Sasuke, they felt bad and were also rooting for him to find another person that he could care about romantically. So when Naruto showed up, saying he had a girlfriend, they were happy that the blonde was finally able to find someone.

This naturally was a problem to Hinata's situation (which they were also rooting for). So by expressing their happiness for him, they momentarily forgot that Hinata also held feelings for Naruto, and had to watch the whole thing transpire. It also didn't help that the person Naruto had found was none other than her younger sister. So yeah, that couldn't have been easy to watch. Honestly, the whole situation was just exhausting.

Tonight was supposed to be a night of fun. The war was finally over, Toneri was stopped, and Konoha was finally in a time of peace. They should've guessed that just because there wasn't a major conflict going on meant that everything would now be perfect. So, they all basked in the awkward silence. The only thing being heard at their booth was the constant sound of Choji munching on his food. 

Of course, Naruto with no tact had to break the silence. 

"So, what do you think they're talking about?" Naruto asked.

'You.' They all thought. But no one else said anything, leaving Naruto with no answer. They all thought that it was really annoying how dense Naruto was. If he wasn't so dense, this wouldn't have been a problem in the first place. Since the atmosphere was so awkward and ruined, it didn't take long for everyone to leave.

They didn't blame each other, they were just disappointed that the night had turned out this way. It was just supposed to be a night where everyone could relax and catch up with each other, but it ended up being a waste. So, they all made a mental note to not plan another event like this until everything was figured out. Not 30 minutes later, Naruto was the only one left in the restaurant. There were nearly no other patrons in the restaurant. The only reason Naruto was staying was because he wanted to wait for Hanabi since it would be disrespectful to ask someone out then leave them. Naruto wasn't that kind of person. 

While Naruto was waiting, he couldn't help but think that everything was his and Hanabi's fault. If they decided not to come, none of this would have happened. Naruto honestly thought that all of their problems were solved. Hanabi left her clan and had nowhere to go, so Naruto offered to have her stay with him. That should've ended all of their problems right then and there. 

It probably wasn't any of his business, but he wondered what Hinata wanted to talk to Hanabi about. It didn't look like Hinata was happy either. If Naruto knew that Hinata had a problem with her younger sister, he probably wouldn't have decided to bring her, as rude as it sounds. Naruto knew that the siblings hadn't had what you would call a healthy relationship, but he thought that they had fixed whatever problems they had with each other. He figured that there was something that he didn't get, something big. And he would definitely try to find out what it was.

Before he knew it, he had been thinking for about an hour and was now the only one left in the restaurant. Just as he was about to get up to leave, two people entered the restaurant, those people were Hanabi and Hinata. Hanabi's eyes looked more relaxed than usual as if she had recently come to a revelation, and her eyes were glued to the floor. Hinata no longer looked shy, but determined. Their faces turned to one of surprise once they looked up and saw only Naruto there. Sensing their incoming question, Naruto answered it in advance.

"Everyone left." He said.

"W-Why? We weren't gone that long were we?" Hanabi asked, surprised. Not wanting to make the two feel guilty, Naruto decided to lie.

"Y-Yeah, you guys were gone for a while. By the time we were, done, you guys were still gone so they left." Naruto probably could've worded that better, because they still felt guilty, but he figured that their guilt would be increased had he told them that they ruined the mood.

"R-Really? I'm sorry, it's my fault! If I hadn't asked to talk with Hanabi, you wouldn't have had to wait this long." Hinata apologized. 

"Don't worry about it, there will surely be more times like this in the future." Naruto added.

"I still can't help but feel guilty, I-I can take you o-out for Ramen if you'd like, to make it up to you." Hinata offered. When she decided she'd finally do something about her love for Naruto, she meant it. Though she still couldn't help but stutter.

Hanabi though, knew why Hinata said what she said, and she didn't like it for some reason. She imagined that she would be happy for Hinata when she finally decided to do something. But now that the time came, Hanabi strangely wished that Hinata never did anything. Unfortunately for Hanabi, Naruto couldn't resist Ramen.

"Sure!" He said with a smile on his face, much to Hanabi's displeasure. 

"So, are you ready to go home?" Naruto asked Hanabi. Hanabi nodded, and the two left, leaving Hinata to go home on her own, not that she minded. She was taking her first steps towards confessing her feelings.