Naruto, on the other hand, couldn’t

Naruto, on the other hand, couldn’t decide whether to be glad or sad that she had fallen back, not forward. Had she fallen forward, her face would’ve no doubt landed on the steaming ramen bowl. He figured he could live with the lump on her head, which would eventually go down, as opposed to having that flawless, beautiful skin of hers marred with burns.

Wait… did he just think the word “beautiful”?

He frowned as he crouched at her side and cradled her petite body against his as he looked at her features with admiration. Now that she had blacked out, the eternal redness that seemed to always adorn her face disappeared and was replaced with such a tranquil expression, it literally blew him away. He immediately came to the conclusion that if Hinata wasn’t as shy as she tended to be, and perhaps made an effort to look at ease, or even confident, for that matter, all the guys in the village will be trailing after her like lost little puppies hopelessly in love.

He suddenly smiled. Would it be a crime to get to know her better? He did feel kind of bad that his interest hadn’t been piqued until he saw her so relaxed, but then again, he defensively thought to himself, better late than never.

So her physical features were breathtaking, that much he knew. Now it was a matter of finding out if her personality was just as intriguing. He only hoped that curiosity didn’t kill the fox like it did the cat… and the mouse… and the fish… yeah… he could go on….

He carefully lifted her like a bride and watched as she unconsciously burrowed her face into his chest like a little child. Somehow, he managed to sit on his barstool and then look at her angelic features. He dared to move one of his hands to her face, and brush away a few wild locks that managed to stray when she had fallen. His hand, however, lingered longer than necessary and boldly dared to caress her cheek tenderly. He watched as she took what seemed to be a contented sigh. He couldn’t help but to grin.

“Well, what do you know? This girl is actually kind of cute!” he said like a total goof as Teuchi and Ayame grinned from ear to ear and sighed in relief as they watched the scene unfold before their very eyes.

“Finally!” Ayame exclaimed.