#kakashi ends up giving them the money just to stop sasuke from stressing naruto out bc thats all sasuke loves to do

[yutamayo]

[quirrrky]

bet

secret lovers (tumblr thread | fanfiction.net)

Chronological One-Shots / Post-War / Pre-Last 

After the Fourth Shinobi War, Naruto’s huge crush on Hinata gradually surfaces and the whole village of Konoha knows it…Well, aside from him. 

entry eleven

Prompt: Their senseis made a bet on whether who would be the one to profess first between the two

/bet/ an act of risking a sum of money on the outcome of a future event

It was a warm summer night when they agreed to meet.

Team 8 volunteered to look after Mirai, so that Kurenai can attend this get together. Meanwhile, it was Kakashi's first social night-out since becoming the "Hokage", a position he was still trying to deny. Much to Tsunade's, relief, she would be getting a break from the hospital and her other duties.

And because it's summer, the kids were on vacation leaving Iruka-sensei vacant. Gai, on the other hand, was already adept at utilizing his wheelchair and this would be a first for him as well.

The savory aroma of their ordered dishes surrounded the air as their glasses were filled-up with Sake.

"Ugh, can you quit the 'I'm not yet the Hokage' thing Kakashi. They already have your face on the monument. Do you just expect them to wipe it out that easily, once you just suddenly decide against the position?" Iruka commented that made the silver-haired man sigh.

"I'm not really certain about this. I'm still taking over several matters at hand."

"Hmmm… How about the brat?" Tsunade asked as she downed her alcoholic drink.

"Well, his studies are faring well, and upon Shikamaru's request, we have started to introduce him to Hokage duties by giving him some scrolls and paper works to file. His diplomatic skills have also improved. I believe it is evident during his efforts to redeem Sasuke from the council." Kakashi reported casually.

"Well, I guess you, Iruka-sensei and Shikamaru have been dealing with a lot lately, but you don't look too stressed out at all compared before." The godaime said with a curious tone and drank another of her sake.

Kakashi, not knowing how to explain without sounding like his pink-haired female student, rubbed his nape embarrassedly. "About that..."

And it was his brunette friend who came to his rescue, "I actually counted Hyuuga Hinata in as well everytime Shikamaru would be sent on a mission. Surprisingly, Naruto behaves well around Hinata. He's starting to learn some etiquette and formal speech through her."

"What a good strategy Iruka-sensei! Hinata's upbringing and knowledge is truly a big help for the boy and her reserved nature must have been influencing Naruto in one way or another." Gai said affirmatively, remembering how wise and dignified his deceased student was. Neji.

"I think it's not only Naruto who has been influenced. Hinata is getting more confident these days. Must've been because of the same reason." Kurenai interjected and took a sip of her sake.

Iruka sighed and nodded in agreement.

Gai scoffed and stared down Kakashi, "Oh, the wonders of youthful love, isn't that right Kakashi?"

In return, the silver-haired man immediately waved-off embarrassed and said in the middle of chuckle, "I don't really know anything about that!"

He was lying and everyone knew that.

"Oh, really, Kakashi? Is that why Shikamaru was always on diplomatic missions recently?" Gai argued trying to grill his rival.

"Oh, so that's why Hinata is vacant of missions lately." Kurenai commented that made the man in-question inwardly blame Sakura for whatever pressure he was experiencing.

Chuckling quite stiffly, Kakashi retorted, "It's not like something can happen at all."

Iruka and Kurenai instantly scowled at him with an incredulous look on their faces.

"Naruto might be slow in learning these academic stuff and might know nothing about girls, but he's a socially-open kid." Iruka commented defensively and Kurenai followed,

"We all know that Hinata is a sweet girl and she…" The raven-haired woman hesitated, until it was Tsunade who continued,

"And she admired the brat since I could only remember when."

Kurenai nodded in agreement and Gai added, "I also heard news that the war brought them closer."

The blonde woman closed her eyes in a pleasing manner as she recalled the dear moments with her passed beloved, "So they aren't together yet? I thought Sakura told me that during Pain, Hinata…"

Kakashi closed his eyes, trying to analyze the situation until he remembered that event with Naruto and the priestess, "You know Naruto, Tsunade-sama…"

Iruka abruptly defended, "The war followed shortly afterwards. I don't think he can process those things easily, given his upbringing. Even I, still don't know much about these things."

Shizune butted in and interjected, "I heard from Sakura-chan that she and her friends are planning to get those two together. They were really hands-on, I guess."

"So they think those two are unsettling too, huh? Well, who wouldn't be? Just hearing stories from Sakura was enough to make me feel bothered." Tsunade chirped tipsily as she swung her bottle.

Gai rubbed his hand on his chin, "Yeah, I've been seeing Naruto hanging out a lot with Team 8 recently. I really thought that in this springtime we'd get to witness a blossoming love!"

"But Hinata-chan is really shy." Shizune sighed.

"And Naruto…" Kakashi murmured with a shake of his head.

"Well, we might not know the odds. Hinata is getting more expressive lately," Kurenai added as Iruka rebutted,

"And Naruto is naturally outspoken."

Tensed silence followed afterwards. All of them, with the exception of weirded-out Shizune, watched each other like an enemy on the battlefield, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Since the war ended, things had been getting quite dull and stagnant with the villages already maintaining their peace and although they weren't really into meddling with their former students' lives, there were times when they couldn't help but argue on their hypotheses, especially during a night-out like this. Right now, it was Uzumaki Naruto's love situation.

Tsunade chugged her sake and heavily placed the bottle on the table, "I think the question here is not whether they will or will not happen. Their friends are meddlesome enough to wing over. Let's quit dancing around!" With groggy eyes, she spun the empty bottle.

It had begun.

They gulped in nervousness with a bit of excitement. They must be all buzzed to agree with this kind of set-up, but they couldn't help but feel exasperated as well.

Naruto was forthright, truly if he wanted to say something he would say it right away, especially if it really meant something important, however the boy was as dense as Earth and it might be obvious for everyone to see that he's taking an interest towards the sweet girl before he even does. On the other hand, we have the shy and unassuming Hinata, who loves the boy since she was a child, but still can't regain the courage to profess to him.

Both personalities were quite frustrating to tie together, but once linked it was a right kind of balance like Yin and Yang. However, these two needed an intervention and the question of who's going to cave in first was nerve-wracking.

All their eyes watched the bottle warily as its spinning gradually slowed down and pointed at…

The blonde woman laughed loudly. "And who would've thought it would be me? Anyway, I was the one who started this in the first place." She settled down and rested her chin on top of her curled fingers.

So who would be the first one?

Tsunade thought carefully of what she knew of the two. Since she was still busy examining the brat's prosthetics and training Kakashi as her successor, she got little to no time to have substantial basis aside from the events at the hospital and stories from Sakura.

However, from a woman's perspective, she knew ever since, that the affection her apprentice held for the brat was just the same as how Tsunade valued Jiraiya. And it was different with Dan. The way he complemented her. The way he served as the quiet wind to her tumultuous storm.

Just like the gentle Hinata and the rambunctious Naruto. Tsunade never really saw the boy calm down without the use of coercion or reprimand from her or from Sakura, until she witnessed the soft-spoken girl did so without any effort in many circumstances, which reminded her of that one night a few days after the war, while the brat was still at the hospital…

Sakura was reporting Naruto's consistent nightmares and the older woman decided pay him a visit. The room was dimly lit by the moonlight and not a single sound can be heard. However, as soon as she was near Naruto's room, she could hear frustrated mutterings.

Tsunade hurried, however she stopped and hid quietly at the door frame.

Hyuga Hinata, with traces of tears on her cheeks, moved from the chair beside the window and sat on Naruto's bed.

"N-Neji… Wait, stop!" Naruto morosely pleaded on his sleep as the girl shed a tear, which she immediately wiped away.

Tenderly, she cupped his cheek. "It's okay. Everything's going to be alright." She forced out, trying to fight her tears from falling.

Tsunade looked closely as Naruto's disgruntled mumbling stopped and he muttered,

"Kaa-chan…"

Hinata smiled, tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear and leaned in closer to the boy's ear, whispering something that made him calm down. And from what Tsunade can make out of it, she knew it was those words the girl couldn't say when the boy was awake.

Tsunade smirked.

She believed in the strength of the girl's affections and she knew that Hinata just needed a time to sort things out and gain the confidence. As a girl, who knew love that, at least, was what she could tell.

"I'll go for Hinata!" Tsunade said proudly, although she knew she was bad at gambling.

Kurenai smiled delightfully, while the others nodded their heads in consideration.

The bottle was spun again and all of them stared at it in anticipation except Kakashi, who was in deep thought.

"Iruka-sensei!" The blonde announced as soon as the bottle pointed out the brunette.

This must be a tough choice. Iruka inhaled deeply. He needed an evidence. He wanted to believe in his student. He wanted to believe that Naruto can do it himself, that he would man up and actually realize his own feelings without the girl's confession.

Recalling all his interactions with the two during their classes,

Naruto was naturally energetic, but it was different around Hinata. His smile was gentler, he looked more comfortable and his eyes lingering whenever he'd look at her. Iruka wasn't really paying attention at it before, but now that he was placed in a position to choose, he must assess their every interaction.

The side glances, the way he called out her name, the way he beamed at her, the moments when he would just fell silent whenever she would tell him something amazing. He never saw Naruto acting like that in front of Shikamaru nor towards his teammates as well.

Ever since their class started, Iruka sensed that there was something special about the shy girl that he couldn't really figure out until they talked about the situation a while ago.

Then, he remembered the last time he ate ramen with Naruto…

"Hmm… So is our Hinata on a mission?" Teuchi asked behind the counter.

"Yup! I'm still about to show her my progress with my left hand."

"Awww…It must be boring without her here, isn't it? How about you go here for ramen when she returned?" Ayame teased as she served their bowls.

"Of course! Of course dattebayo!" The blonde said dreamily.

"Wouldn't you miss Hinata's care when you already get your prosthetics, Naruto?" The girl asked now without a trace of joke, while Naruto stopped from slurping his noodles with a pout started to appear across his face.

"Well, I couldn't heavily rely on Hinata always and I don't really like worrying her so, err, uh… Plus! I really miss being right-handed –ttebayo!"

Iruka could feel the sincerity in the blonde's words, however he didn't miss the sadness that came with it. At first, he thought it was because of the boy's concern of burdening his friend, but seeing things a bit clearly now, he realized that Naruto would actually feel just as how Ayame stated it.

Looking back, things started to get its color now, of how Hinata brought out the best in Naruto. And if he would tell his student's life like one of the stories he discussed in his classes, Hinata would be one of the vital factors that drive his development.

Consequently, he was brought back during his most recent encounter, when he told Naruto that he passed for the Quarter and impulsively hugged Hinata—squeezing their cheeks together causing the poor girl to blush deep red. Good grief, she didn't pass out, but from the looks of it she was about to.

Yes, that's right. Naruto's impulsive and if he really find out or realized something, Iruka knew that the boy will react or even act out immediately.

Although Iruka's familiar on how gullible Naruto could be, he must trust on how much he knew the boy. He was unpredictable. And if there's one thing unpredictable in the scenario, it was if Naruto would profess first.

He already made up his mind.

Iruka sighed. "I think we all know that I'm going for Naruto."

"Actually, no." Kakashi commented, "If you focus closely on Naruto, you'll know that he was-"

"Whatever, Kakashi. I know Naruto enough to go for him." To be honest, he was a bit reluctant, but this was just a friendly bet anyway.

Kakashi was about to add something when Iruka started to spin the bottle again.

"Wow, we've got a close fight in here. 1-1 for Naruto and Hinata." Shizune stated as the bottle chose its next victim.

Tsunade beamed as soon it stopped. "Looks, like I have another on my team now!"

Kurenai smiled as she was sure she was going to put her trust on her student.

Kurenai had been hearing different stories from her team about Naruto and Hinata's budding friendship. She had also seen the two while grocery shopping or as she went to take her daughter for a check-up. The most recent she'd heard of the two was during Team 8's last visit.

It was just the mid of summer—a few weeks ago, when Team 8 paid her a visit. They helped keeping Mirai entertained and aided her with some of the household chores.

Mirai was asleep, when they all decided to eat dinner. They shared few stories and Kiba shred his new discovery.

"Ah, Kurenai-sensei. Haven't I told you that Hinata here has been asking Naruto out?"

The pale-eyed girl blushed and choked on her food. "Tha-that's not true! What are you talking about Kiba-kun?"

"Kiba, Hinata didn't exactly asked Naruto out, because she asked them at her home."

Kurenai looked at her student, who was frantically denying everything, "It wasn't like that, Kurenai-sensei! N-Naruto-kun asked if we could study more so…"

"So you bring the stupid boy to your house. Way to go Hinata!" Kiba teased, which earned him a glare from the girl.

Their sensei laughed at them softly and asked, "So Naruto was invested in his studies now, isn't he?"

"Why? That's because Naru-"

"Pfft. That idiot just probably want to spend more time with Hinata." Kiba remarked followed-by Shino's complaint.

"That's not actually what I'm about to say. Naruto was always encouraged at Hinata's presence, that's why."

"Nah, he was just actin' tough around her. That's it. And our Hinata here is using the opportunity to ask him out."

"It's not a date Kiba-kun, besides it was just in my home-"

"No, Hinata. What Kiba meant was the time you treated Naruto for ramen, when he passed the Quarter."

"See, Hinata was getting the bravado now and that Naruto was acting like a chic being treated with ramen."

At that moment, even though Hinata couldn't speak in embarrassment, Kurenai saw that she was getting happier as days passed. And one day, Kurenai knew that the girl would actually realize that at some point her teammates were right. The boy she was admiring for a long time was beginning to see her in a different light, if she'd only believe that she was actually earning it.

"I will, of course, go for Hinata." She declared as they spun the bottle, which chose Kakashi.

He gulped heavily and thought of an excuse to be exempted but their looks on him told him he couldn't escape out of this. He was the one arranging their schedule anyway and it was all because he was conniving with Sakura.

"Let me think about this for a while can I?"

Intuition or Intellect? That's what Kakashi kept on asking himself. He always knew that his hunches were right and his hunch was telling him to go for Naruto even if it seemed odd.

Why was his guts telling him so?

Well, his former student was a stuttering blabber mouth. In one way or another, if Naruto would feel something about Hinata, Naruto would let it slip from his mouth considering how reckless he can be in letting out details. And with the amount of time the two were spending with each other plus the efforts their friends put to get them closer, Naruto will eventually realize what he felt for Hinata.

That, was what his guts were telling him. If he was to follow his intellect, it would be the other way around.

It was evident that the once shy girl, Hinata, was starting to be more expressive. He knew of this one summer afternoon, when he was reading an installment of Icha Icha by the lake and saw the two talking to each other.

"A picture?" The blond asked with his high-pitched voice as the girl nodded,

"Yes, Naruto-kun, if you don't mind. I got this new camera they just released and-"

"Of course, I don't mind Hinata!" Naruto announced and Kakashi noticed Hinata inched closer to the boy as they took the photo.

"What will you do with that Hinata?" The blonde curiously asked as they sat on the grass.

The quiet girl blush and softly stated, "I will treasure this, Naruto-kun."

If he would follow his intellect, he would opt for Hinata. She was aware of what she felt, had already tried to tell him about it and was constantly being more assertive.

"What now, Kakashi? You're making us wait just like your residency as the new Hokage, when we know you'll definitely not choose Naruto." Tsunade announced as the silver-haired man chuckled embarrassedly.

"Well, you're right, I guess."

"So there it goes, 3 for Hinata and just Iruka-sensei for Naruto." Shizune informed them as Gai scoffed.

"Well, if Kakashi, my rival, goes for Hinata, I'd definitely go for the other option! I'll vote in for Naruto."

The rest sweat-dropped at his competitive nature, but little did they know that he had a further reason for his choice.

It was during their team's training with Team 8 and Naruto when Gai first saw the boy got jealous. Gai knew that cliché scenario from the novels he shared with Kakashi.

Lee was convincing Hinata to be their new member on behalf of Neji and being the kind girl she always was Hinata replied,

"I know how much you value Neji-niisan in your team. That's why I think his place is irreplaceable even if I would to take it. But don't worry, Lee-kun, I will support you and Tenten-chan like a teammate from now on."

The boy was delighted to hear this and gave the girl a friendly hug as tears fell from his eyes, when the blonde separated the two away.

"There's really no need for hugging dattebayo!" Naruto said as he grabbed Hinata's hand and distanced her from Lee.

The latter curiously looked at his other friends and they gave him a knowing look. Soon, understanding came across him.

What followed was the Inuzuka's comment, which made Gai's speculations true. "Tch. No need for hugging, but he's holding her hand."

Kakashi thought it was just because of their rivalry, but he never knew that Gai got something up his sleeves.

"So 3 for Hinata and 2 for Naruto." Shizune announced as they all nodded in agreement, when Tsunade made her declaration.

"I'll bet on behalf of someone."

They all turned to her with curiosity as who else would dare hop on their bet.

"To make things even, I'll bet for Jiraiya. I know he is no longer here, but if he was, he would definitely believe that his student will man-up and be the one to move the relationship further, so I cast Jiraiya's bet on Naruto."

All of them agreed on this bittersweet reality, if Jiraiya would be there, they knew he would be choosing the same option.

"Let's reconvene again, once the two have finally gotten together to decide what we are going to do with our bets." Kurenai suggested.

"It's going to be a long time." Tsunade sighed.

Their evening was continued by more arguments about the two, about their own relationships, Kakashi's denial in his position and just everything they needed to catch-up to with the war and all.

Kakashi sighed as he exited the restaurant, thinking to himself that perhaps he drank a bit more than necessary to be included in that bet or even about the decision he made.

"Oh there, you are!" He heard the familiar voice of his blonde and boisterous student ringing from somewhere near.

"Naruto-kun?" It was Hinata's.

"Sakura-chan told me you were from Kurenai-sensei's place to look after Mirai-chan."

"Yes, that's right."

"Are you tired? Are you hungry? Do you want ramen?"

The girl giggled and said, "It's late at night now Naruto-kun, I should be heading home."

"Oh, okay then. Say, do you eat ramen for breakfast, Hinata?"

"L-Let's just grab ramen for breakfast tomorrow then Naruto-kun."

"That would be great…"

The volume of their voices minimized as they walked head-on leaving Kakashi with regrets.

He must have known, his hunches were always right.