Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Naruto, I Just Love It
A/N
I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Originally I wasn't even planning to write a Naruhina story but I heard this really beautiful version of What Makes You Beautiful by the 1975's (which I recomend you check out) and first it made me think about Kushina x Minato but then i'm like no, i'm not writing another story about those two because I already have the story, Worth The Trouble about that lovely couple and little Naruto (which I also recommend you check out, if you haven't already). So then I thought about Naruto x Hinata and it inspired me to write this story.
Presence of the Dark Night Sky
Walking through the recovering streets of Konoha, just as the village clock struck twelve. Naruto looked up at the dark night sky admiring it in its entirety. He'd always been intrigued by the night sky, even as a kid, it was hard to put to words but he saw something beautiful in it. He loved how the big white moon and the little stars illuminated the sky for everyone, saving them from falling into complete darkness and he loved how vast and endless it seemed, he couldn't explain it but to him it felt as if it held all the secrets of the world.
Hearing a loud sound, coming from the forest Naruto swiftly leapt through the trees pinpointing exactly where the sound was coming from.
"Hinata?" he said surprised to find her out at midnight in the middle of the forest "What are you doing here? It's really late".
Hinato broke her focus from whatever it was she was doing and looked towards Naruto, her face flushing with color as she took in his handsome silhouette before he stepped out of the trees and moved closer towards her.
"I'm training" she uttered shyly.
"In the middle of the night?"
"I'm trying to perfect a new technique that my father was trying to teach me".
"You look tired Hinata, why don't you practice more in the morning" Naruto suggested sounding a bit worried, "I'll walk you home".
"No" Hinata cried out, surprised by how loud her mellow voice had sounded. It even echoed throughout the trees creating such an eeriness to the atmosphere, that it caused a slight shiver to spread throughout her body.
"You're cold" Naruto said softly, surprisingly observant tonight as he shrugged off his orange and black jacket and draped it around her shoulders.
It smelt like him and she smiled feeling comfort in that familiarity and it was warm, so warm that it was only until she felt that warmness on her skin that she realized how cold she had actually been, "Thank you Naruto" she whispered gratefully.
His face broke into a light hearted smile, making her heart melt as he said, "No problem, Hinata, I don't want you to catch a cold."
"What about you?"
"Oh I'm fine, I have this kyuubi in side of me" Naruto said jerking his thumb towards his chest "I think that's why I don't seem to get sick from things like the chilly air."
Sitting down on the grass, Naruto rested his back comfortably against the huge oak tree trunk, and then grabbed Hinata's hand causing her heart to flutter maddeningly as he gently pulled her down with him."What's the matter Hinata? How come you don't want to go home?" he asked her concernedly, his big blue eyes staring into her lavender hinted white ones.
"It's not that I don't want to go home" Hinata said softly, "It's just that I want to perfect this new technique before I go home, I need to".
"What technique is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"It's called Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm. It's like a way to use gentle fist from afar. Basically you have to pinpoint the enemy's vitals using Byakugan and then release a high-speed palm thrust which travels from your palm to your opponent from a distance." Hinata said trying to put it simply, since she knew Naruto didn't like to process lengthy and intricate detail on techniques, he was more the hands on type learner.
"So basically it's like a flying gentle fist" Naruto said, condensing her explanation even further.
"Yes basically" Hinata replied, a small amused smile coming through on her face.
Though that smile disappeared as she began to quietly say, "My father was teaching it to me and Hanabi, my younger sister. I trained hard, trying to do it well and I thought I did pretty well but when it was time to show our progress, it was clear to my father that mine wasn't as strong as Hanabi's. He gave me, such a look of disappointment and annoyance for wasting his time on me. Then he went off with Hanabi to train further and told me, to practice on my own until I could do better than what I had showed him."
"I'm sorry" Naruto said thoughtfully "I know how it hurts when you put your all in something and it's still not enough for someone..." Pausing, he looked at her and asked, "How long have you been out here practicing Hinata?"
"I came here around midday" she responded meekly.
"Hinato, you've been out here 12 hours! Isn't that enough, you should really get some rest and replenish your chakra and energy."
"My father thinks I'm weak" Hinata said quietly, "Just this once I want to show him that I'm not, that I can be strong, that I can work even harder and do even better, that I can improve. I've advanced with the Vacuum Palm since this afternoon but I want to shock him, so I need to perfect it just a little more, that's why I can't go home yet. First thing in the morning I want to show him and for once I don't want to see the look of disdain on his face when he looks back at me."
Moving his hand closer to hers Naruto tentatively reached out for it, and once he got a hold of it, he looked into her eyes oblivious to how red he'd caused her to go and earnestly said, "Hinata, I don't think you're weak, I think you're plenty strong. You have a subtle strength to you, a quiet one but it's definitely there and I'm sorry your father doesn't realize that. But just because he can't see it, it doesn't mean it's not there and it doesn't mean you can just forget or undermine your strength. Believe in yourself Hinata."
"Naruto" she uttered, taken aback by his earnest forthrightness.
"You know Hinata, everyone's calling me the hero of the village for defeating Pain but I couldn't have defeated Pain without you. You saved me, you jumped towards Pain and fought him bravely and fiercely, displaying such strength and determination. You were amazing out there. If your father had seen you out there I bet he'd take back what he thinks about you."
Hinata shook her head, "My father would say I was being reckless and silly running towards death and would have found it pathetic that I could barely last a few minutes."
"Well then I have to say, you're father's a bit of an unreasonable man, who doesn't seem to know the real you, the Hinata I know and respect. You really did save me out there, Hinata and I don't think I ever said thank you, so thank you."
"Well we're even then" she murmured feeling flattered.
"What? What I have done?" he asked confused.
"Naruto" she said softly yet adamantly, " It's because of you that I can be strong! As a kid I saw you, I saw displays of your strength, determination, bravery and resilience everywhere and it inspired me to train harder, it inspired me to be strong and to never give up".
Naruto smiled widely, "Really?" he asked sounding excited, proud.
Hinata nodded her head, "That mentality saved me because if I didn't try to be more like you in that respect then I would have given up a long time ago and I honestly don't know where I would be now."
Pausing she looked back up at him, before she gently said, "For you Naruto, all those things come naturally but for me it's different, for me I have to remind myself and urge myself everyday and the thought of you makes me want to push harder."
"I never knew that Hinata, but thank you for telling me, it makes me really happy" Naruto said as he stood up from the oak tree letting go of her hand in the process but then clasping onto the two of them as he hoisted her up from the ground.
"You said you want to perfect the Vacuum Palm, so I'll wait for you, I won't leave your side until it's how you want it." he kindly stated.
"Naruto, you don't have to do that", she said feeling flustered.
Naruto chuckled slightly, then casually said, "I know but I want to, I want to cheer you on while you perfect it and I want to compliment you when you do, so you don't feel like your hard work was for nothing and feel sad if your father doesn't compliment you like he should. And it's late and you've been training for like half a day, I want to stay here and make sure you don't collapse from exhaustion or anything. I care about you Hinata so I'm staying, okay?"
Hinata's faced flushed velvet red and there was a pause as she tried to find her voice and will herself to look up at his face "Okay, thank you Naruto" she whispered, as a genuine smile, directed at him flashed across her face and a warm feeling spread throughout her body.
Naruto smiled back an almost embarrassed look on his face as he awkwardly put his hand behind his head and scratched it.
"I-I umm, I guess I'll show you now" she said quietly, as she took off his jacket handing it back to him before she gracefully positioned her body into the Hyuga stance, channeled her chakra and performed the Vacuum Palm against a tree far off in the distance.
"Wow, that was awesome" Naruto said, his eyes sparkling excitedly like a little kid watching his favourite superhero's special move.
Running to the tree which had been hit by it, he observed the damage it had done. From doing her Vacuum Palm, he could see a firm imprint of Hinata's hand, against the smooth wood of the tree, her move having destroyed the bark surrounding it.
Hinata running up behind him quietly said, "I've finally managed to get the distance as far as this and I'm glad about that because when I first started I could only do half the distance. But the impact still isn't strong enough, it needs to be harder."
Placing her hand a couple metres from the tree she quickly performed a moderate gentle fist right next to her imprint from the Vacuum palm."
Look" she murmured pointing out the differences, "I need the Vacuum palm to hit at least as hard as this gentle fist would, I need it to leave this deep rough imprint in the tree before I show my father."
Naruto looked at her then nodded his head, enthusiastically saying, "Well let's make that happen then".
Hinata nodded her head, listening as he said, "I'll stay here by the tree, so that I can tell you your progress without you having to tire yourself out running back and forth. And I'll shout all the way from here encouraging you on. You'll have that hard impact within no time."
Hinata nodded her head meekly, reminding him not to stand too close to the tree before running back to her starting point and trying again and again and again, until around an hour later she heard Naruto's loud cheerful voice shouting at her that she'd done it and to come have a look.
"Wow" she murmured, her voice breathy from exhaustion as she looked at the tree and sure enough found the hard impact she'd managed to make.
Naruto smiled widely at her, as he threw his strong arms around her, hugging her in his excitement, "Well done Hinata, that was amazing!"
Hinata's heart thumped furiously against her chest and her whole face turned the color of a tomato.
Naruto kun is hugging me, Naruto kun is hugging me, Naruto kun is hugging me, that was the one and only coherent thought she held and kept repeating in her head as she felt his toned body against hers, felt his warmness envelop her skin, and heard his steady heart beat against her chest.
It felt amazing, he felt amazing, she thought to herself dreamily as her body, tense from her startled shock, slowly began to relax in his arms.
"Hinata, Hinata" Naruto called out worriedly as he felt her body go limp in his arms.
Holding her carefully in his arms he looked down and realized she had fainted.
Must be from exhaustion he thought practically as he lay her down gently beside the tree, sitting down next to her.
What to do, he thought. He didn't think it was serious and as he lowered his head down to her chest to check her heartbeat, sure enough it was beating strongly and steadily, if anything a bit too fast.
He figured she just needed some time to rest so he didn't want to overreact and take her to the hospital. But the thought of sneaking into the Hyuga residence and somehow getting her settled on her bed did not seem like a good idea to him, and neither did knocking and handing her over to whoever opened the door, because something told him they wouldn't be happy about her showing up so late, unconscious and in a boy's arms.
That settled it then, he'd just wait here with her until she woke up. Come to think of it, she had fainted a couple times around him when they were children and it was never long till she had woken up again.
Thinking about little Hinata made him smile, she'd come a long way from her child self, she was no longer so timid anymore and though she was still quiet and shy at times, like he had told her, she had a strength to her, a resilience now. She had really grown, he thought looking towards her endearingly, she was a skilled kunoichi now and she had blossomed too, in more ways than one.
Peering down at her face, he looked at her, subconsciously seeming to admire her, though he didn't completely realize at the time. He found her to be beautiful, she held such a serenity to her, it was calming.
As he looked at her in all her stillness he couldn't help but compare her to a precious porcelain doll with her smooth white complexion and silky raven colored hair and as he looked at her under the dark night sky something compelled him to reach out to her and gently touch her hair; it felt good, smooth but he didn't allow himself the pleasure for long and quickly, and guiltily he retracted his fingers.
Hinata's eyes slowly fluttered open a few minutes later, and she smiled affectionately seeing Naruto staring up at the night sky.
"Naruto" she whispered.
Naruto's gaze instantly fell back on her and he sheepishly uttered "I'm sorry".
"For what?" she asked nervously, he couldn't possibly know that she fainted from his touch... Did he?
"I-I ummm" Naruto began blushing, "I-I"
Gah" he shouted out loud as he shook his head furiously clearly not handling nervousness so well, "I touched your hair", he blurted out truthfully, the rosy pink color on his cheeks deepening into red.
Hinata eyes widened in surprise, and she sat up blushing before she bashfully said, her voice hardly above a whisper, and her eyes looking into her lap "I don't mind if you touch my hair Naruto, you can touch it whenever you like...I'm just glad you like it."
"I do it's lovely" Naruto replied sweetly before he looked at her and kindly said "Are you sure you're okay Hinata? I can carry you home if you're still exhausted."
The thought of Naruto picking her up in his arms and walking her home, nearly sent her delicate mind right back to unconsciousness but luckily she held on to her stability and shook her head, slowly standing up and softly said, "I'm fine now Naruto".
"Alright, well the least I can do is walk you home" he said standing up and brushing off the dirt from his pants.
"You've wasted enough time on me, you really don't have to Naruto, your house is in the opposite direction" she uttered demurely.
Naruto shook his head, "What are you talking about Hinata, this wasn't a waste of time, this was lovely, I'm glad I stumbled across you here." he said passionately.
Pausing he looked at her and said, his voice no longer loud but tempered, "Anyway, I like walking and I like you".
Hinata's breath caught in her throat and she found it hard to keep his gaze.
He drove her heart crazy when he said things like that, she could never tell, he said it so simply, so calmly, and she couldn't figure out if he meant it romantically or if he meant it in a platonic type of way.
Was this whole evening just him being the kind hearted Naruto she knew? Or was it something more on top of that, did he feel something for her like she felt for him?
"I like you too Naruto" Hinata murmured having used every ounce of her strength and willpower to push those words out of her shy mouth.
Hinata waited, her heart beating madly against her chest, making breathing hard as she waited for a bigger reaction than the warm smile he sent her but it never came and she felt her heart deflate as she realized, that what he said he meant as friends and how he heard her confession he took as the same way.
Tasting the bitterness of her disappoint, she willed it down to settle on her deflated heart as they began walking through the forest to get back to the village clearing, ignoring the sharp pain she felt within.
Naruto suddenly stopped and shouted "Wait, hold on I'll be back I forgot my bag."
Hinata nodded her head as she waited, thankful to get a moment alone to herself and her troubled heart. She needed it, it was painful walking beside Naruto when he was so oblivious to how she really felt.
Within minutes he was back by her side, with a small white plastic bag in his hands, that she didn't even remember him coming with.
"I couldn't forget these" Naruto said gleefully as they continued their advancement.
"What is it?" Hinata murmured, trying to make light conversation to get her mind off her disappointment.
Naruto took out a box of rainbow flavoured cake mix from his bag, and happily said, "Cake".
Hinata shook her head slightly, amused by his childish happiness over something like that.
"What, don't you like cake?" Naruto asked, poking her playfully on the arm.
"Of course" she said softly "but I like real cake"
Naruto laughed lightly, "This is real cake"
"It's just so synthetic" Hinata replied guilelessly.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and simply said, "True but it's sweet and sugary just the same and I don't have the patience or skill to make a real cake."
"I would make you a real cake, Naruto", Hinata uttered, the words naturally slipping out of her mouth before she had time to process what she'd offered, but once she had, she shifted her gaze away from him, willing herself not to blush.
Naruto smiled widely, "I would love that, you're the best Hinata, thanks".
Hinata slowly looked up at him, smiling, as she heard him say, "And we could eat it together".
Nodding her head, she tried to ignore the warm stream of excitement and jitteriness she felt at the thought of eating cake with Naruto. It's not what you think she had to keep reminding herself, they were just friends, nothing more and hopefully nothing less.
"Oh and these" Naruto exclaimed as he took out a package of triple chocolate chip cookies and cheerfully said, "My favourite cookies, they're the reason I was out late, I had a craving for something sweet and chocolaty and not even midnight would stop me from getting them."
That sounded just like Naruto, Hinata thought amused, as she lightly said, "Well sorry I distracted you from getting those in you then"
Naruto just chuckled and replied "It's fine, these cookies are delicious, so delicious that I just gobble them up so quickly that they hardly last, but you...well you're better than these cookies, you're well" his tone lost his playful mirth, though his voice was still warm and light " you're special, I wouldn't just gobble you up, I'd... take care of you."
There he went and did it again, how cruel it was of him to so carelessly throw things out there like that, it was breaking her heart. She hated herself for falling for it and for reacting to it despite the truth but it didn't matter how much she willed her cheeks to stay white or breath to steady, it didn't matter how much she urged her heart to remain unmoved, he had a hold over her and she couldn't shake it.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that" she whispered quietly.
"Do what?" he asked confused.
Her voice began to wobble as she quietly said "Say things like that to just anybody. You don't tell just anybody that you like them or that you would take care of them. You just don't do that, you're going to fool that persons heart and make it break" she said as a single teardrop gathered enough moisture in the corner of her eye and silently and slowly dropped down from her eye.
Naruto watched as the tear slid down her cheek agonizingly and he wanted to kick himself for being so stupid for making her cry. He felt awful inside for being so heedless.
"I"m sorry" he murmured sadly as drew Hinata closer to him, his hands gingerly grasping onto each of her arms, so that she wouldn't turn away from him, "I've been an idiot".
"You're not just anybody to me Hinata, I've been confusing you and I'm sorry for that, but I guess it's because I was confused myself. I've always cared for you, there was always something I liked about you, even as kids. I knew that but I... I didn't know what had changed, I only knew something had. When I looked at you, everything felt right in the world, when I touched you I felt so warm inside and your smile, when you smiled at me I felt so happy as if ten bowls of ramen had appeared in front of me. I found you special, I think that's why l feel an innate need to protect you and to make you happy. But I didn't know what that feeling was or why I had it and I didn't figure it out as quickly as I should have. I think that's why when I was with you tonight all those things I said could slip out so naturally, because it came straight from my heart without going through my brain, which still hadn't processed what I felt... I don't know if that really makes any sense but I guess what I'm trying to say is that I like you, like really really like you. "
Hinata finally averted her tearful eyes upwards and into his sincere blue eyes and as the last word slipped across his tongue she felt herself shaking from his heartfelt confession and an overwhelming since of dizziness over took her. It wasn't until she saw his handsome face slowly blurring through her vision that she realized she'd been holding her breath all that time and slowly drew in a jagged breath, her plump cheeks stained with a fierce red blush.
She wanted to say something, to tell him what she thought, but her throat felt dry and her voice unreachable, he'd rendered her speechless.
The innocent bliss she felt continued to play over Hinata's body surging her into leaning into Naruto's body lifting her face up to his and brushing her sweet delicate lips against his own.
His eyes widened in pleasant surprise and as she drew away the kiss lasting mere seconds, he wasn't quite yet ready to let go of the piece of heaven he'd found so he pulled her closer to him cradling her face as he leant down and placed his lips against hers. Their locked lips fit perfectly and seeking entry, Hinata slowly obliged giving Naruto entrance to her mouth.
Beautiful, that was the one and only coherent thought, that flashed through both their minds as they relished in the feel of each other's lips on their own.
They kissed slowly and passionately savouring every second of their first kiss. His lips were warm and his kisses tender while her lips were sweet and her kisses gingerly. But it was perfect, a perfect kiss and a perfect beginning.
Slowly pulling away with shallow breaths and flushed faces, they stared into each other's twinkling eyes lovingly.
"I'm glad my first kiss was with you Naruto" Hinata murmured tenderly, as her fingers flew up to her lips, as if trying to find evidence of his lips having been on hers.
Naruto smiled as he reached out, and tucked a stray strand of her silky raven coloured hair behind her ear, "I felt everything you felt for me through your loving lips, it was beautiful."
Smiling back at him shyly she slipped her gentle hands into his strong ones, loving how good it felt and how perfectly they fit together as they continued walking towards the Hyuga residence.
No more words were spoken and a peaceful silence transpired between the two new lovers until they finally got to their destination, stopping just outside the residence.
"I'll go from here" Hinata said softly, pausing she looked at him and tenderly said, "Thank you for staying with me to perfect my technique and walking me home".
Naruto nodded his head as he said, "I hope it goes well with your father in the morning and if it doesn't then don't blame yourself or think of yourself as weak, you did all you could and more."
Hinata nodded her head meekly and Naruto looked at her and earnestly said, "I'm serious, you have a subtle strength to you, as well as determination and resilience. You're strong Hinata and... like our first kiss you're also breathtakingly beautiful."
"You're really sweet" she murmured softly with flushed cheeks.
"I hope you don't mean the synthetic kind of sweetness." Naruto said playfully.
Hinata shook her head adamantly, "No, you're the real deal" and more she thought to herself.
Naruto smiled widely, as he warmly said, "Night Hinata, sweet dreams".
"Good night Naruto" she responded shyly, before turning around and slowly opening up the gates to her residence and walking through, but then she stopped abruptly and ran back through the gates calling out Naruto's name.
Naruto heard and ardently ran back towards her, stopping just a few centimetres away from her, wondering what she wanted to say.
"I umm, I'll make the cake for Saturday, I can bring it round to your house." she said nervously.
"Sounds great" Naruto replied smiling, melting her heart once again as she looked into his azure blue eyes.
"What should I make, what's your favourite cake?", she questioned.
Naruto shrugged his shoulders and lightheartedly said, "I like all cakes and I have a special feeling that whatever you make I'm going to love the best, so make your favourite."
Hinata nodded her head, as she heard him excitedly say, "Oh I just thought of a great idea, I'll bring some ramen from Ichiraku on Saturday so we can eat it together."
"I'd love that" Hinata said affectionately.
"Alright then, it's a date" Naruto said bashfully, feeling a nervous excitement rush over him; his first date with Hinata, he couldn't wait.
Neither of them could, they didn't know then but that would be their first of many dates and the beginning of a promising future shared between the two of them.
As Naruto contently walked home, looking up at the dark night sky he finally realized what it was he found so intriguing about it, it was the presence he felt from it, quiet beauty, silent strength and serene affinity, much like Hinata Hyuga the women he was falling in love with.
I really hope you enjoyed this story, please comment/review, i'd love to hear all your opinions =D
Truthfully, i'm not a huge Naruhina fan, I kind of waver between her and Sakura but in Shippuuden there seems to be some really touching scenes with Hinata and Naruto, like the Pain fight and there was another sweet moment in one of the recent episode's, ep 364 I think it was. I don't want to say what happened in it, in case people aren't up to date but near the end of that episode, a really sweet moment happened between the two and I guess now, i'm leaning more towards Naruto x Hinata
In regards to this One Shot, i'm thinking about maybe writing an epilogue to go with it, but I don't really know yet so I guess tell me if you want me to in reviews.