The bus was as full as always and Naruto's head bobbed back and forth in the rhythm of the bumpy roads. The rays of the sun had heated the inside of the vehicle to a temperature, where Naruto tried his best to not get in direct contact with anyone else, since his own sweat was uncomfortable enough to bear. It was unusually quiet for a public transport, as it seemed like the summer weather sucked out peoples' energy.

Four times a week he had to take the bus downtown, where he currently worked part-time at a ramen shop to payoff his tuition fees. His general love for the soupy delicacy had led him to this job, which he was, without any complains, all round happy with. No work appeared to be better than the place where he would be surrounded by the scent of his favorite dish all the time.

A few weeks ago though, Naruto had found another delight for his workdays, which was the person he couldn't help but constantly glance at right now.
She had long dark hair and under her bangs a pair of oddly fair eyes, which were busy with their observation of outside. Somehow she had been able to keep the pale color of her skin despite the gleaming sun when in contrary Naruto's had become remarkably tanned over the course of the summer.

It was strange how often he had seen her but how scarce the amount of information was, he had gathered about her.
He knew that she was at the same university as him, because he had seen her in the dining hall twice but he had failed to find out which major she studied. He also knew that she worked at a dango shop, as it was across from the place he worked at.
They would silently greet each other with a light bow of their heads and a mute smile at any time their eyes locked, without ever uttering a word.

Over the time Naruto had become eager to find out more about her. He wouldn't call it attraction yet, the feeling he had towards her, but rather curiosity. From the way she treated her customers she seemed like a kind and likable person and trying to hide the fact that he thought that she was very pretty would be in vain.
He wanted to learn her name at least but the longer he delayed it, the weirder it felt to ask her. Thus he was caged in a circle of interest but with the lack of action to break out of it. Even though he was usually a very energetic kind of guy.

When he noted that he had sunken into a stare, he averted his head, persuading himself to concentrate on something else than the girl's absent gaze and the way she played with her fingers on her lap.

A good portion of people got off the bus and Naruto moved closer to her seat and turned around, since he thought that the advantage of distance would lure him into another stare.
Naruto sighed; he was sure that if anyone could witness his state he would easily get labeled as miserable.

Once he centered his attention on the road again he noticed that it wouldn't take much longer until they arrived at the city center - what was relieving. The sooner he could leave the unbearable stuffiness of this hell hole the better.

But when the bus drove into a sudden sharp curve all occupants shifted sideways. Naruto was taken aback and tried to find his balance, reflexively stepping aside, his hands searching for something to grab to help himself.
He couldn't manage to get a hold on one of the poles and fell.

His head hit the window with a thud, causing a burst of pain. One of his hands had desperately grabbed the seat next to him.
Naruto's limps tensed up when he realized that he had landed straight on the girl's lap with his bottom. He dared to make eye contact with her, but regretted his decision right after doing so.

Her eyes were widened to an extent that made him wonder if it should be possible for them to attain the size they did. Her mouth was agape and she had rose both her arms into the air while her hands formed frail fists. She had backed away with her upper body as much as the seat allowed her to; surely it wouldn't be enough.

As Naruto's brain processed the events in a felt sluggish speed, he gradually discovered traits of her face which he never had the chance of viewing before. Her lashes were long and her lips round. Her milky skin was bathed in sunshine and appeared to glow in the light.
The rosy color, dusted on her cheeks, seemingly darkened every passing moment.

His facial expression changed into a shocked one after he fully grasped the situation he was in.
He stood up hastily, shortly struggling at the beginning.

"I'm so sorry." Naruto lifted his hands in an apologizing manner. He sensed the giggling of the passengers around but couldn't really mind them as the girl in front of him had all his attention.

He tried to reduce the flush on his face but the red of his ears were enough evidence of his embarrassment.

"I-it's okay." Her soft voice was barely hearable in the mess of the situation and his inability to think straight.

"It was an accident, believe me," he pleaded unnecessarily, gesturing with his hands on the side.

"I understand." She seemed like she tried to recover her composure but failed to get rid of her sheepish look and the nervous compression of her lips.

This was definitely not the way he wanted their first conversation to be like.

A loud groan escaped Naruto's throat, that earned him a judging glance from his boss Teuchi, who was busy mixing a steaming broth behind the boys back.
The shop owner had known Naruto for too long to be surprised by his antics but still never missed a beat to question his behavior.

"What's wrong?" His deep voice echoed in the void of the shop, as there was not a single customer to serve. The silence only accompanied by the noise of the fan's spinning petals, hanging from the ceiling.
Although Naruto sweated all over the body, he had gotten used to the heat. The fanning was ineffectual anyway because of the hot dishes, which were cooked in this sparse place.

"Nothing, I'm just bored," Naruto muttered, which was half the truth. He had planned to distract himself with work but had forgotten that the majority of people disliked consuming hot soup while the sun blazed down with all its might. Once the air got fresher in the evening the shop would be more lively but until then he had nothing else to do than wipe the counter for the dozenth time.

Naruto interrupted his line of thought when the girl from the bus this afternoon stepped out of the dango shop on the other side of the street to serve two customers some beverages.
He had free view on the welcoming smile she gave them since the two shops were quite close to each other and the street between them was anything but busy.

He straightened his rear and watched her moving back towards the store but not without accidentally meeting Naruto's eyes.
He sensed an odd tingling sensation in his stomach mixed with the overall urge to quickly look away but somehow he couldn't. Despite the distance he noticed the widening of her eyes before she turned around, her ponytail swinging greatly when she did so, and hasted inside again.

Her vanishing so suddenly was a staggering blow and Naruto's head made acquaintance with the surface of the counter. Its wetness felt cooling against his skin and once more, after drawing in a deep breath, he grunted loudly.

He wasn't that surprised by her behavior, as he thought that it would have been much weirder if she had smiled and bowed her head like she usually did when she saw him.
Still he was disappointed in the way things had turned out; his optimistic nature had already bid goodbye.

"Naruto." Teuchi patted the boy's shoulder. "How about you stop your moaning and do me a favor."
But Naruto refused to raise and instead just turned his head towards the man, his cheek remained pressed against the counter. The distorted mien he made wouldn't drive the shop owner away.

"Take this and bring it to Anko, would you?" The man handed him a tray with two bowls of ramen, finally leading Naruto to lift his head. "She often forgets to eat something else beside sweets and her employee is probably hungry too." Naruto nodded understandingly as he remembered that the only thing he had ever seen that woman eat was the dangos from her shop.

"Wait, you want me to go over to her shop?" It seemed like his mind was still a mess since it took him some time to comprehend what going over would mean from him. Naruto shook his head excessively. "No old man, I can't go over." He then looked away, as if that would be enough for the man to withdraw his request.

"And why can't you?"Teuchi narrowed his brows.

Because it would be embarrassing, Naruto thought. He would have to face the victim of his clumsiness and from the way she had turned away earlier he was ensured in the assumption that she would like the idea of stalling their next encounter as far into the future as possible.

"Wouldn't it be better if you went over yourself. It would also be a good workout for you." Naruto stroked Teuchi's stomach playfully. "You're getting a little chubby there."

"Naruto, I may have known you since you were little but I'm still your boss and I can fire you whenever I want." He thrusted the tray into Naruto's hands. "Now go."

Hesitantly he walked towards his destination but he stopped when he had already reached the few little tables and chairs, that were positioned outside the dango shop. Right now there was no big difference in the amount of customers compared to the ramen bar and Naruto blocked out the two that eyed him.

This is not how his character should be. Where did this cowardly behavior come from? How was it possible for a girl, who wasn't much more than a stranger, to crush his self-confidence like this.

But when certain girl appeared in front of him again his head emptied immediately, proving him that she hadn't lost the effect she had on him.
She looked surprised and confused about his appearance yet didn't utter a word.

"I-… He-…," Naruto stammered before he rose the tray with the soup as if he wanted to show her evidence that there was a good reason for him to be there. "I was told to bring this over for you and your boss to eat."

"Oh." She took the plastic tray and glanced at the ramen, the trace of a frown on her face. "Thank you."

Naruto just realized that this was the first time he had heard her voice. The time in the bus didn't count, since he hadn't been able to pay enough attention to it.
Her voice was calm and gentle, it suited the image he had of her. He wanted to complete the puzzle of her. So many questions already gathered in his throat, making him incapable to decide what to say first.

"Is there something else you want to say?" she asked, while she presented him a curious look.

Say something. Anything.

"No. Sorry. Nothing." He turned around. "See ya."

Naruto was much pretty sure that the best word he could describe himself with was "failure". He hadn't even been able to ask her for her name. The task sounded so simple but he didn't manage to pull it off.
Where did his big mouth go? His ability to talk and talk without anyone able to stop him. The trait that made it possible for him to ask things that might be embarrassing for other people.

A simple crush made him like this, even unable to stop thinking about his misery on the next day to work. Loudly sighing he stood at the bus station, with dull eyes and slacking shoulders.
Like on every other day he would probably meet her in the bus again, only did he want to prevent that with getting in casually and finding a seat placed so, that he wouldn't have to look at her.

Maybe he should just go up to her and try to say something again. He would probably say something very stupid, that was how his mouth worked when he was nervous. He was no master of talking to girls and at this point he was aware that he never would be. That dream was too far away to be fetched.
He resounded with another sigh evoked by his indecisiveness while the bus already approached from afar.

Some more people gathered around Naruto at the border stone.
It wasn't as hot as yesterday, as a soft wind occasionally passed and a few clouds had formed on the sky to cover the sun from time to time. Still he felt uncomfortable with the sweaty arms that rubbed against him, when the people piled up around him to get a good seat.

The bus stopped and Naruto stepped in. He immediately found her after barely having passed the driver.
She sat in one of the seats in the middle of the bus. Even while just looking out of the window she looked gorgeous. Her hair was put in a ponytail, exposing her slender neck.
He stopped for a moment but the passengers behind him pushed him further as if they wanted to trigger the confrontation a little faster.

The girl looked up right at that time. Their eyes met and exchanged gazes that felt longer than just the instant they were but it made his heart pound a little harder.
He turned around and wanted to sit down at the seat to his side but a voice called him and he froze. "Naruto."

He had heard that voice just once but he knew that it was hers. He knew it but was still surprised at its resounding.
Naruto looked at her and she looked back at him. She had placed her hand on the seat next to her and patted it a little to draw his attention to her gesture.

"You can sit here," she said in her sweet voice. And no matter how nervous Naruto had been before he didn't waver in walking up to her. Because it felt like she approved of him being there. The fact that she didn't avert her eyes until he sat down and her gaze lingered seemingly making sure that he stayed in that seat made him feel better and achieved in making his lips bend.

"Thank you," he answered, relived that his voice didn't crack or did other possible stunts.

The bus took off and for a while Naruto was too afraid to move as his shoulder brushed hers and he could feel her skin. It was different than with the other passengers before, whose hot sweat he had tried to avoid.
He liked her arm touching his, no matter how warm it was, he didn't want to pull away.

From the corner of his eye he could see how she fidgeted with the strap of her bag when a sudden thought struck him, making him forget his nervousness for a moment and blurt out the question as bigmouthed as he normally was.
"Wait, how do you know my name?"

He boldly looked at her but she didn't turn her head straightaway even though he was certain that she had heard him as she stopped to fiddle her bag.

"Uh?" She finally looked at him and their arms didn't touch anymore. It was weird that her face being so close to his didn't feel odd. He was too curious about her answer. "I… I just do."

More than her reply it was the pink color of embarrassment that made him smile. His eyes roamed over her face, dwelling on each her features he could capture.

She stayed silent for a bit, in which both their bodies shifted to the movements of the bus and the noises of their surroundings felt a little more vivid.
The sun behind her was blending him but he didn't want to look away because it felt like he would miss something gravely if he averted his eyes for even just a second

"What's your name?" Strangely that question fell so lightly off his lips.

She smiled. "Hinata."

Hinata. He let that name melt on his tongue.
Naruto had found another piece of the puzzle he was eager to complete.

(There'll be a part two with Hinata's point of view.)