Uhh…" Naruto tried to sit up in his bed in the hospital room. He clenched his stomach—it hurt. At least there were soft pillows behind him which he could use for support.

"Man, I would've expected that from Choji, but not from you, Naruto." Kiba leaned backwards with his chair and put his hands on the back of his head as he said that.

There were several people gathered around him. The nurse had just brought wooden chairs for them all, so they didn't have to stand up.

"Too bothersome." There was no doubt as to who might've made that comment.

"Yeah," Ino agreed. "I thought you in particular were immune to over-eating."

"If anything—" Naruto flinched. "If anything, he's the immune one!" he pointed at Choji, who had just attacked the next bag of chips. The chubby boy offered some to Shikamaru.

"I wouldn't have believed that if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes." Kiba grinned. "Civilization as we know it is coming to an end; for Naruto ate too much ramen, and now he's sick because of that!" He shook his head. "That is crazy. That is soo crazy."

At that moment, the door opened again and Sakura and Sai came in. They both looked around, seeing that Ino, Shikamaru, Choji and Kiba had gathered around the blond unpredictable ninja.

And he sure was unpredictable. Who would've thought that there might be such a quantity of ramen in the entire world that could make him sick! Sakura couldn't imagine how many bowls it must've taken to finally overstuff him.

"It's true, then," she said, rubbing her eyes in disbelief. "Naruto ate too much ramen?!"

"Yeah, yeah." He was hearing it for the umpteenth time, and he was getting sick of it as well.

"But…" Sai blinked in confusion, a thing that didn't happen too often. "I thought you could eat unlimited—"

"Well, obviously not," Naruto snapped and then pouted. Until recently, he had thought so too.

"Is that some kind of a joke?" they heard a new voice. The speaker was still in the hallway, and it was a woman. She was getting closer to the door, judging by her footsteps. Naruto sighed because he had recognized that voice. It was Tsunade.

The blue wooden door opened again to reveal the current Hokage, dressed in her usual green blouse, with Shizune and Tonton behind her. She entered, but stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing Naruto in the hospital bed. Her eyes widened as she scanned the entire room and met Sakura's and Sai's looks of disbelief, a reflection of her own amazement.

"You really got sick because of ramen?!" she raised an eyebrow. It was still extremely hard to believe.

"Yes," he said through gritted teeth.

"I—I can't believe it!"

"Too much of anything isn't good for you," Ino said, speaking in a "I-told-you-so" tone and giving the boy a triumphant look. "And he's the living proof."

"Oh, shut up, will ya?" Naruto had had enough. He was in an extremely bad mood. It wasn't enough that he had gotten sick of his all time favourite food, but he also had to put up with lectures from his friends. So, when Ino gave him a vicious look, he stuck out his tongue at her.

Tsunade walked over to him and put her hand on his forehead. She then shook her head, still in shock.

"How much did it take to get you sick like that? Did you eat the whole of the ramen shop's noodles?"

"I told you you had to eat something else for a change from time to time. Some healthy food." It was Sakura's turn to be wise. "Not that junk."

"Hey!" He shot up again, and gritted his teeth. His stomach had protested against that sudden move most severely. "It's not junk!"

"Yeah, right." Kiba laughed. Naruto growled at him. "What was your bill anyway, Naruto? For the tons of junk food you ate?"

The blond ninja lay down again, an angry expression still on his face.

"Or did you swallow the bill with the rest?"

Choji grinned, hearing that.

A nurse entered.

"Visit time's over boys. Now give him some rest—he needs it." She stopped, seeing Tsunade. "Oh… Hokage-sama. I didn't know you were here."

"That's alright, I was just leaving. Come on, boys and girls, you heard her. Now clear off."

The door closed behind them and the room was now empty. Naruto sank deeper in the numerous pillows and blankets the hospital staff had provided him. He was depressed.

He had never imagined that ramen could do him bad. Perhaps Sakura was right after all, he needed some change, at least for a while. Until he was ready to go back to the "food of the gods", as he called it. No one else appreciated the beauty and grace of the noodles and toppings, nor the fine art of making ramen soup. It was the perfect food, with enormous variety of flavours and infinite possibilities for mixtures. And yet…

"An apple a day keeps the doctor away," he mumbled under his breath and snickered. He needed no apples—all the vital ingredients he could possibly need were in ramen; and besides, if he overate with apples, the consequences would be far worse… or so he thought.

He rolled over, so that he was now facing the window. The sun was shining brightly outside and because the window was open, he could hear people down on the street laughing, shouting, running…all completely oblivious to his personal disaster. That depressed his usually very cheerful self even more. What could he possibly do now?

No ramen for two weeks at least! That was what the doctor had said. Was that a joke? How could he survive with no noodles for half a month?

Some time had passed. The day was coming to its end, and there would be only two hours before the sun set. But he had to spend here the night as well. Now that was boring! No anime to watch, no manga to read, no… he sniffed loudly…ramen to eat…

He had dozed off, when there was another knock on the door. It opened and he turned around, wondering who that might be. All of his friends had long ago left.

Long dark hair swished, caught up by the wind coming through the open window. After that, Hinata's face came in view. She blushed, seeing that Naruto was staring at her.

What's with her always going red in the face? he wondered, slightly irritated by that. At any other circumstances, he wouldn't have minded, but now he felt angry at the whole world for what had happened to him. And most of all, he wanted to be left alone.

"Oh… Hinata, hello." He greeted her in a rather cool and distant fashion. "You've also come to ponder over the fact that I overate with ramen? If so, don't bother. The others left a while ago, otherwise you could have made a good laugh with them."

"N-no… I came to see if you were alright…" she put the tray she was carrying down on the cupboard beside his bed and began twiddling with her fingers out of nervousness. She really needed to kick that habit.

"Well, thanks for asking, I'm fine," he responded in that same flat and emotionless tone and rolled over with his back towards her.

"I-I brought this for Naruto-kun…" she managed. Hearing that, he felt a sparkle of hope—it might be ramen. "It's food, if you're hungry…"

"Food?" Hearing that word, he eagerly turned around again only to see that it wasn't noodles. It was fruit. "Oh… I'm not hungry."

"P-please… Naruto-kun should at least eat one apple…" she was scared to confront him in that way, but she had to. It was for his own good.

Something in her tone made him feel a sting of guilt for how he had treated her earlier. Hinata was a nice girl and she was only trying to help him—he had no reason to be that grumpy. He slowly reached and picked up an apple. He sniffed it suspiciously, trying to see how that thing could be healthier than a bowl of ramen.

Correctly interpreting his hesitation, she picked up an apple as well and took a bite. She smiled shyly and showed it to him.

"See, Naruto-kun? It's…ummm, tasty…"

He started eating his own apple too. After a minute he was finished and he took a peach this time. Well, it wasn't that bad. It couldn't compare to ramen, of course; but it was a food he could like.

That particular thought brought him back years ago, when he had fought that match against Neji. He had met her at the training grounds and she had encouraged him. He had been a little surprised himself that he was opening up to her in such a way, but she had helped him that day. A lot.

Yes, Hinata was indeed a good friend.

"Ummm… Did Naruto-kun like it?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "Yeah, it was pretty good."

She smiled, hearing that. Of course, her blush deepened as well and she was now bright red. Naruto wondered again for the reason that she always did that around him, but he pushed that question aside. It could wait.

His gaze now once more floated to her, and he focused on her face. She didn't notice that however, because she was concentrated on an apricot she was eating. From that point of view, he saw something that he had missed entirely before, but it just stood out when he was lying down. Height wasn't the only thing that was bigger about her in comparison to before. His cheeks turned pink, although he had never been the one to blush before, and he quickly looked away, instead taking notice of a few rather peculiar spots on the ceiling.

"Umm… Naruto-kun?" Hinata had caught that last movement. "I-is something bothering you?"

"No, no!" he hurried to deny. "No, there's nothing." He didn't want to look her way again, so he didn't meet her gaze when he responded. She pondered for a moment, and then her face changed its shade from bright red to dark red as realization hit her. She felt her head swaying.

"Hinata-chan?" he asked, concerned about her. He had caught sight of her face with his marginal vision and she didn't look well at all.

"I…um…" she had taken note of the suffix –chan and that left her feeling even more uncomfortable. "I'm fine…"

"No, you're not. You're burning!" he sat straight up and put his hand on her forehead. That brought their faces dangerously together and it just came as too much of a shock for Hinata to handle with. At least, until she was conscious.

"Oi! Hinata!"

She had fainted, but this time Fate had given her a little push forward and she fell directly over Naruto in his bed. His voice was muffled by her hair, and he whole body was pressing against his.

"Uh… Hinata! Hinata!" No use. She didn't wake up.

"Hinata! What the—"

He slowly lifted his hands, trying to find an appropriate spot to touch her so that he could get her off. Unluckily for him, there were only a few such places.

"Damn…Uh…okay…"

He put his hands on her waist, lifting her up slowly. He blushed, imagining the situation from another viewer's point.

"Damn, that is not the right time…" He managed to sit up straight, and push her along with him. His face was burning. "Okay, almost there…"

But Hinata chose that exact moment to wake up. Her eyes widened when she saw Naruto's face and felt his hands around her waist. At this moment, maybe for the first time, both their faces had the same colour.

"H-hinata-chan…" he was stuttering for the first time in his entire life. "You—you fainted…" he tried to explain. "And I…"

The door flew open.

"Hey, Naruto…" Sakura stopped, seeing them two in such a position she would've never imagined was possible without Hinata blacking out. For a few moments she just stood there, blinking rapidly, unable to believe her own eyes.

"Hi… Sakura-chan…" Naruto grinned foolishly. "It's just… It's not what you—"

"NA…RU…TO!" Right now, her face could have been worthy of comparison with Tsunade at some of her scariest moments. "You pervert!"

She marched towards his bed. Hinata was wise enough to stand up and get out of her way. Pulling him up by his collar, Sakura raised a fist glowing with chakra to punch him. That would have been his end, had Hinata not been quick enough to shout, "No! Wait, Sakura-san!"

That had the pink haired kunoichi divert her attention to Hinata. The murder intent floating in the air dropped by a few degrees.

"It was my fault…I tripped and fell over him… He has nothing to do with it."

Sakura turned around again and her eyes, glowing with red sparks, faced Naruto once more. A sweat drop made its way down his cheek as he gulped.

"He's still a damn idiot and a pervert…" Sakura hissed. "Did he do anything to you?"

Hinata shook her head vehemently, a pleading look in her eyes.

"No, Sakura-san… Please, it was my fault, he did nothing…"

Sakura's nostrils flared. "If I ever catch you doing this again… I will apply my medical jutsu in such a way… that I will cripple you horribly for your damn entire life!"

She let go of him and stormed out of the room, muttering something under her breath.

"Phew…" Naruto whipped out his forehead. "I thought I was done for. Thanks, Hinata-chan!"

But Hinata was still panting heavily, her cheeks red from the encounter with Sakura and the embarrassment of being caught in such a position with a guy. She grabbed hold of the railing of Naruto's bed to stabilize herself.

"Hey, Hinata?" Naruto's concerned voice brought her to her senses. He eyed her, worried. She wasn't going to faint again, was she?

"Ah… yeah…ummm…"

"I was just saying that Sakura would've killed me, if it wasn't for you." She nodded her head. "That was a relief!" He grinned again, but he could see that Hinata had suddenly turned her attention to something else. What could she be thinking about?

"Hey, Hinata? Are you sure you're alright? You're not going to pass out again, are you?"

Hearing that, she smiled faintly. "No… I actually wanted to ask you something…"

"Huh?" he raised an eyebrow. She wasn't going to ask a favour in return, right?

"Would… would you mind…" She stopped and took a deep breath. Looking him in the eye, she started over again. "I mean… would you like…to go out…with me tomorrow? Maybe we could eat, or watch a movie…" she blurted that out so quickly that Naruto was barely able to catch it. He furrowed his eyebrows, wondering where that came from.

"Going out… you mean hanging out as friends?"

She sighed.

"Uhh… you see… I hoped…"

What was up with Hinata? She was acting really strange now. If there was a reason why, he couldn't see it.

"I hoped…"

She hoped for what? And why was she suddenly blushing even more?

"…that is would be more like…"

Naruto was still completely clueless. He had understood the part about hanging out as friends, but couldn't see what she meant by the other stuff. And, for some unknown reason, he couldn't help but feel as if he was missing something obvious.

"…more like a date…"

He almost fell off the bed, hearing that.

"A date?" he mouthed slowly at last. But it didn't make any sense at all. Why would Hinata want such a thing? There was something that he had overlooked, he was sure of it now.

"Y-yes." She pressed her hands together. "Because, you see… I do… I am…" She had brought things so far, but couldn't go on.

Naruto's mind was working hard, trying to figure out what was going on. There were some pieces of the puzzle, coming together—the dawn of realization…

"Wait…You mean that… You mean that you want to go on a date… with me?"

She couldn't use her voice any more, so she simply nodded.

Certain things started making sense now. The way she acted around him… But still, despite that, Naruto's mind was a tangled mess. There was silence for a couple of minutes.

"I… I can't…" it wasn't Hinata stuttering, this time. It was Naruto. He normally wasn't the one to blush, but he did then. "I mean… I would like to go out with you."

He barely finished the sentence, when he felt his head spinning.

"Huh?" His voice now sounded distant and muffled to him.

All of a sudden Hinata said, "Wake up, Naruto!

Darkness was surrounding him.

"Naruto, wake up!"

He slowly opened his eyes. He was in the hospital room, and Sakura was leaning over him.

"It was just a dream…" he muttered and rubbed his eyes. Yes, he had gotten sick because of ramen. But Hinata's visit, as it turned out, had been just a product of his imagination.

"What was?" she asked.

He waved his hand and sat up. "I had a really funny dream. Hinata came to visit me and… uh… said some things…"

"What things?" Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"Huh? Ah, never mind." He looked around and saw a basket of fruit. "Who brought these?"

"I did. I thought you needed something to eat."

"Yeah, I do! Thanks!" Despite his bad experience with his ramen breakfast, his appetite couldn't be defeated so easily. He grinned and took an apple. "So, why'd you come?"

"Just to check if you were alright." She smiled vaguely and waved her hand. "But, obviously, you are. And I wanted to bring you something else to eat, except junk food." She sighed and stood up. "Okay, gotta go. Bye."

"Yeah, bye. See you later."

Naruto sighed, while chewing on the apple. The realization that Hinata's…confession had been just a dream brought him a certain dose of relief. But he was also a little disappointed. He would welcome such a thing, and especially since lately he had begun noticing girls a bit more and Hinata looked… cute. He smiled nervously, remembering what had happened in his sleep—her falling over him. But there wasn't any chance that the other things she had said were true in the real life. He frowned. It would've been nice for someone to feel that way about him.

Suddenly the door slid open and in view came dark long hair, dancing in the wind coming from the open window. Next appeared Hinata's face and a basket of fruit she was carrying.

"Hi… Naruto-kun…"

The blond ninja rubbed his eyes. He thought he was dreaming again.

"Oh, hi, Hinata!"

She put down the basket and her cheeks turned pink.

"I…I just came to see if Naruto-kun was alright…"

"Yeah, I know." He grinned. What if the rest of his dream came true as well? If it was happening so far…

Hinata looked around. There was another basket next to hers and she couldn't help but wonder who else had come up with the same idea.

The white-eyed girl clasped her hands together and came closer to his bed. But she tripped over something on the floor and fell directly over him.

Well, she didn't faint this time. But Naruto could've boiled water on her face—it was burning red. She tried to stand up, repeating excuses under her breath and stuttering from embarrassment. He wasn't as surprised, though—after all, it wasn't happening to him for the first time.

Skipping ahead of the events, he took her hand in his own. It had been just a dream, so what? It wouldn't hurt him trying.

"Yes, I will go on a date with you." He grinned widely.

Hinata blinked. She was too shocked to even pass out.

"S-sorry?"