Zeyu, who had left on his own, returned to Konoha's gate and ran into Kurenai Yuhi's team just as they were coming back.
"Hinata!" Seeing her up ahead, Zeyu called out and hurried over.
The others were walking ahead. Hearing someone call Hinata from behind, they stopped and turned to look.
"Ah, Zeyu, you're here." Hinata looked at him, her little face turning red.
"How did it go? Was everything all right on your end? Did you get hurt?" Zeyu circled around Hinata, inspecting her for anything out of the ordinary.
Hmm, nothing unusual—except she's unusually cute. Hehe, Hinata. Finding nothing wrong after a full inspection, Zeyu was delighted.
Hinata clutched the hem of her clothes with her right hand and pinched her collar with her left. Head lowered slightly, her cheeks rosy, she said shyly,
"I'm fine, Zeyu. Sorry for making you worry."
Relieved, Zeyu smiled and asked Hinata,
"Hinata, do you have anything else to do later? Are you hungry? Let's go get something to eat."
Hinata looked a little troubled. Kurenai had been planning the same thing: a meal to celebrate the formation of their team.
But she didn't know what to do.
Head lowered, she pinched the hem of her clothes and murmured, "Um, well..."
Kiba and Shino, who had been watching the lovey-dovey scene, knew they ought to say something. Kiba reached out and was just about to tell Hinata not to worry about them when Kurenai clamped a hand down on his head from behind and spoke first.
"Hey, Zeyu, we're planning to have a team dinner. If you don't have anything planned, why don't you join us? It's on me."
Zeyu had been grinning, but when he heard Kurenai, he suddenly remembered the dinner. He realized his invitation might have put Hinata in a difficult position.
The adorable girl wasn't good at turning people down. She tried to consider other people's feelings, often neglecting her own.
His mouth twitched. Scratching his head, he said to Kurenai, "Teacher Kurenai, our team hasn't made any plans. Maybe we forgot. How about I go back and ask? Perhaps our two teams could have dinner together."
Then he lowered his head and leaned close to Hinata's ear, speaking softly.
"Sorry, Hinata. I didn't think it through and put you in a difficult position."
Hearing that, Hinata relaxed. She pressed her lips together, then looked up at Zeyu.
"It's all right, Zeyu. You don't have to apologize. I should have explained things properly. I'm the one who should apologize..."
Before Hinata could finish and say that she was the one who should apologize, Zeyu put his index finger to her lips, signaling her to stop.
Hinata stared at him, her face red. Zeyu gently shook his head and said,
"Hinata, I was at fault too. You don't have to take all the blame yourself. It makes me worry about you."
He drew his hand back, paused, then continued,
"And if you ever feel uncomfortable, just tell me. I won't blame you, Hinata. I'm a bit slow, so if you don't tell me, I might not notice. Hehe."
After he spoke, Zeyu scratched his head and gave Hinata a sheepish grin.
"Zeyu..." Hinata was touched by how considerate he was.
The three watching nearby were equally stunned.
Is Zeyu a player or something? He's so smooth, Kurenai thought, raising an eyebrow.
When are we eating? I'm hungry, Kiba thought.
They're so close, Shino thought.
Just then, Nana appeared with Megumi and Shota.
"Zeyu, wait a moment!" Nana waved as she walked over.
Everyone turned at the sound of her voice.
"Hey, Zeyu, let's go have dinner together. My treat, to celebrate the formation of our team." After saying that, Nana leaned closer and spoke quietly. "I heard what happened. Don't hold it against those two. Make sure you get along, okay?" Then she went over to greet Kurenai.
Zeyu was speechless. He rolled his eyes.
Hinata had heard everything.
She clutched Zeyu's clothes with a little hand and looked at him with concern.
Feeling Hinata's gaze, Zeyu leaned close to her ear and whispered,
"It's nothing serious, Hinata. I'll tell you about it on the way later."
"Mm." Hinata felt a little reassured and smiled.
Just then, Hinata's stomach let out a loud growl.
Zeyu heard it and froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
Hinata's face turned bright red. Clutching the hem of her clothes, she said shyly,
"Zeyu, don't laugh at me."
As she spoke, she puffed out her cheeks. With her flushed face, she looked adorable.
Looking at the adorable Hinata, Zeyu stepped forward and took her hand.
"Sorry, Hinata."
"You're so cute when you're mad."
Hinata grew even shyer. A puff of steam seemed to burst from the top of her head.
Zeyu pressed his advantage, stroking her cheek as he said,
"Let's hurry and get something to eat. My Hinata's hungry."
With that, he led Hinata by the hand toward the others, who were still chatting.
Flustered by his teasing, Hinata was too dazed to think about it and simply followed along.
When they reached the group, Megumi glared at Zeyu, her face full of disdain.
Nana gave Megumi a look, and Shota noticed too.
Seeing his sister do nothing but turn her head away and sulk, he stepped forward and came to stand in front of Zeyu.
"Um, Zeyu, we were wrong earlier. I hope you won't take it to heart. I apologize. I'm sorry."
Zeyu looked at Shota, then at Megumi behind him, and thought, What a doting big brother.
He sighed and said, "It's all right. I forgive you. I was in the wrong too. I think we can get along from now on, so let's put this behind us."
Shota finally felt relieved. "All right, Zeyu. No problem. I heard you're really good. I'd like to learn from you sometime."
Megumi clicked her tongue behind him. "Tch."
Zeyu heard her but didn't feel like engaging. He'd rather get along with Hinata than argue with a kid. He rolled his eyes at Megumi, then turned back to Shota.
"Sure, Shota. I'll teach you a couple of ninjutsu sometime."
Shota was thrilled. "Really, Zeyu? That's great!"
Seeing that things had settled down, Kurenai called everyone over to go eat barbecue.
On the way, Zeyu draped an arm around Hinata and told her what had happened after the bell test. Their faces were very close.
But Hinata barely took in a word. She spent the whole way blushing and steaming.
At the barbecue restaurant, they ran into Asuma's team. The three teams ate together, filling the place with lively chatter and laughter.
Zeyu ordered a lot of meat, but hardly ate any himself. He gave almost all of it to Hinata.
I have to say, Hinata can really eat. How does she still have such a great figure? Zeyu thought, watching her devour meat beside him.
In the corner across from them, Megumi watched Zeyu. No one knew what she was thinking.
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways.
It was getting late, so Zeyu walked Hinata home.
As they chatted along the way, time passed quickly.
Soon, they arrived at Hinata's door.
"Bye, Hinata. See you tomorrow," Zeyu said.
"Mm, Zeyu. See you tomorrow," Hinata replied.
Before Hinata could go inside, the door opened. Hyuga Hiashi stood behind it, hands behind his back and a stern look on his face.
"Ahem. Hinata, you're back."
Hinata hadn't expected Hiashi to be there. She panicked a little, quickly straightened up, and clasped her hands in front of her.
"Yes, Father. I'm home."
Hiashi asked, "And who is this?"
Hinata moved aside and raised a trembling hand slightly.
"This is my friend. We just had dinner together."
Seeing the situation, Zeyu could tell how intimidated Hinata was. Hiashi was so strict with his own daughter. But he kept that to himself and smiled.
"Hello, sir. My name is Zeyu Nichiro. I'm a good friend of Hinata's. It's nice to meet you. I'm sorry I didn't bring a gift." He bent forward in a light bow.
Hiashi glanced at Hinata, then asked, "Has Hinata caused you any trouble?" As he spoke, he fixed his gaze on Zeyu.
Beside them, Hinata kept pinching the hem of her clothes, afraid to move too much. She lifted her eyes slightly to look at Zeyu.
Hearing that, Zeyu thought, Wow, this old man is really fierce. No wonder Hinata's so timid. She must have been scared into it.
But aloud he said, "No, sir. Hinata's wonderful and has never caused us any trouble. It was a little late today, though, and I kept her out. Please don't blame her."
"Mm," Hiashi replied softly, closing his eyes.
Then he said, "It's late, Zeyu. I won't ask you to stay. Thank you for walking Hinata home. You should head home too."
"Thank you for your concern, sir. I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye."
Then he gave Hinata a look and left.
Hinata saw it and couldn't help smiling, but she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, afraid to make a sound.
Hiashi noticed but didn't call her out. He told Hinata to go to her room, then followed her inside and closed the door.
Once he saw the door shut, Zeyu doubled back and left a Flying Thunder God mark by the entrance.
On the way home, he thought, That old man is a tough one to deal with. I'll win Hinata over sooner or later and make you furious.
Already seated in his room, Hiashi took a sip of water and thought, That boy's not easy to deal with. There's nothing wrong with the way he talks. Sigh.