Chapter 10

Ayame waved as the pair walked closer. "Morning!"

Naruto waved back as Hinata scooted closer to his side to avoid Lee.

"Feeling better Hinata?

Hinata turned towards her pink-haired friend. "Yeah, I'm all better. This happens from time to time, it doesn't take me very long to bounce back."

Naruto bowed to Sakura. "Thank you so much Sakura for helping me out. I'm glad to have friends like you guys."

Lee put his hands behind his head and kicked some dirt. "Damn, and I was going to visit Hinata-chan if she was absent today… You should really be more thoughtful."

Naruto arched an eyebrow. "What's up with that Lee?"

Sakura elbowed Lee in the side. "Yeah, just listen to yourself, it's like you didn't want her to get better!"

Lee started getting flustered. "Well, that isn't exactly what I meant…"

The four laughed and walked past Lee, leaving him behind to run and catch up. They were walking to school, with Sakura, Ayame, and Lee at the front leaving Hinata and Naruto at the back a few steps behind.

"So about that trip to the beach…"

Sakura sighed. "I'm assuming you still want to play beach volleyball right?"

Ayame and Sakura shook their head as Lee started ranting about the benefits of getting sun in a swimsuit.

Hinata looked over at Naruto, who seemed to be staring at the ground deep in thought. She walked closer to him and grabbed his arm, locking it in with hers and resting her head on his shoulder. Naruto looked down at the contact with the girl, then looked up at the group ahead to see Sakura and Ayame looking over their shoulder with warm smiles on their faces. Naruto chuckled nervously and shrugged his shoulders.