Chapter 8: Shinobi should always spy!

Hinata remembered what had happened after Zaraki clans young master had left. She was left there alone to ponder what he had said.

In the end she returned home, with a slight hope that what he had said was true.

If it was true.. then her father did really care about her even if he didn't show it.

After returning she appeared outside of her father's office. She raised her fist to knock but in the end she couldn't. Just as she was about to leave her father called her in, scaring her.

When she entered the room neither spoke for a few minutes.

"Don't... think too deeply about what you heard." Hiashi said, that was the best way he could show his worry.

Had it been before that young clan head... No, Oden had spoken to her, she would have assumed that her father said those words to tell her that it didn't matter what she felt or thought as he was the one to decide her future, so it's better for her to not fight his decisions.

But now, she interpreted it differently, as if he was telling her that what she understood wasn't necessarily what his intentions were, and that she shouldn't feel hurt.

One way of understanding it is cold and heartless, the other is warm and filled with worry.

She couldn't help but allow a simple smile to creep up the ends of her lips.

"Oden..." She whispered.

"What did you say? " Hiashi didn't hear her.

"Was his name Oden? She spoke a bit louder, her eyes averted from his.

"Yes, his name is Oden Zaraki, clan head of the Zaraki clan, fifteen years old and a genius of his time... I think... he's a good candidate as your husband." Hiashi said, his worry for her showing slightly.

Seeing her face and eyes averted, Hiashi thought that she hated the idea, but he also knew that her fate would end up horribly if she stayed in the clan.

"Think about it before deciding." Hiashi said in the end, not being able to force her, even though he wanted to, Hinata might have been too hurt by what she heard before so he didn't have the heart to hurt her more, even if he knew it would be good for her.

That was her meeting with her father after Oden had spoken to her.

So her mind had been preoccupied with their meeting and the idea of marrying him... and how handsome he was, although the last part was more subconscious.

Hinata finally found the courage to once again activate her Byakugan, she found that he had closed his eyes and was napping.

Luckily he was hidden behind leaves and couldn't be easily spotted.

Just the fact that he was sleeping made it easier for her to examine his face.

His hair was the darkest shade of black she had seen. It looked pretty. His nose and chin were sharp.

Without her noticing it, almost half a hour went by before Iruka, their teacher ended the class.

Everyone started walking out.

Iruka noticed that Hinata had kept her head down for the last third of the class, and she still hasn't stood up from her chair.

Thinking that ahe was sleeping, he walked up to her.

"Hinata-chan, wake up." He said with a cough, making Hinata jump slightly.

"Normally I would have given a student a hard time for sleeping in class. But since it was you, I didn't say anything. You must have studied hard the last few days for the exam. Don't worry Hinata, with your talent and intelligence I'm sure you'll do well, make sure you rest at home and don't overwork yourself!" Iruka said kindly as he saw her stand up in worry.

"Y-Yes, thank you sensei." She said as she left hurriedly.

When she arrived outside the academy, she walked towards the tree where Oden was sleeping, then when she noticed that she had walked there without thinking she hurriedly turned around and left for home.

But she couldn't walk far before a few thoughts crept into her mind...

'What if he falls down... no what if he becomes sick because he slept outside?' She felt like she would be a bad person if she didn't take care of a fellow citizen.

She walked back again and stopped under the tree.

'Wait, what if he learns that I was watching him?' She thought and started panicking.

In the end she had walked to and from the tree multiple times, before she finally gave up and sat down beneath the tree, picked up one of her books and started studying.

Oden woke up as he heard the birds chirping.

'Oh right, the academy!' He thought as he looked inside the classroom. He realised that he must have fallen asleep for a while since it was empty.

'Time to go back home then.' He thought as he jumped down.

"Yeep" He heard from behind as he landed. It sounded like a deer that got frightened, but he recognized the voice, which made him freeze.

Slowly turning around he found Hinata sitting under the tree, with her face hidden in a book. But her ears were in sight and they were completely red, as if she had been caught doing something bad.

Even Oden's face was awkward. How could he explain why he was here, he couldn't say that he was curious about the main characters of a manga he read in his past life right?

But considering what had happened between them yesterday, she would probably assume that he was here for her...

'But wait a sec.. why is she sitting here though?' This thought confused Oden even more.

Seeing that she was refusing to lift her face from the book, refusing to talk and refusing to acknowledge the awkward meeting between them... he felt like he had to take charge.

"Do you... want to walk back together?" Oden said, feeling slightly awkward.

She didn't respond at first, but then suddenly she stood up, put her book in her bag and looked down as if waiting for him to walk first.

Oden chuckled then started walking towards the Hyuga district. Shouldn't he at least walk her home since he was caught spying? At least that's what he felt.

Hinata would have escaped a long time ago, but considering that he had caught her spying on him, she should at least walk with him... at least that's what she felt.

Every now and then Oden would turn back and look at Hinata to see that she was still walking with him. As he was much taller than her, his strides were longer so he had to slow down a bit.

And every now and then Hinata would glance up at his back, to make sure that she hadn't lost him.

Somehow Hinata found his back very familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.