On the first draw, Hinata had ended up in the closet. But she had to go into the closet before the second person would be chosen. She waited quietly, nervous as Ino giggled wildly. "This will be great!" Ino laughed, walking down the hallway with a second set of footsteps following her.

"Close your eyes, Hinata!" Ino said, just before opening the door to the closet.

Hinata did as she was told, but she could see a bit through her eyelids - the red as bright light spilled across them, and the darker colors as a shadow passed over her eyelids. Then the shadow broadened as the door closed. The footsteps that came in sounded right for a person around her age walking in. She couldn't tell who it was.

She opened her eyes slowly, allowing them to adjust to the dark. The earlier light on her eyelids had set her eyes back somewhat in their adjustment to the dark, but with her innate ability to see so much, she adjusted far faster than the average person. Ino had turned off the light in the hallway though, so there wasn't any light coming in underneath the door anymore, making the room too dark for ordinary eyes to see. She would have to use her Byakugan to see who was in there with her.

She could hear soft breathing... someone sounded nervous. But she still couldn't tell who. And it would be rude to reach out and touch them. Perhaps it would also be a bit rude to just use Byakugan to see their face. It would be unfair... the other person knew who she was, but couldn't see her face. He would only be able to hear her voice. It seemed rude to watch his face without him being able to see her. But she still had to know who it was.

So she asked. "Who's ther-"

"So, um, Hinata..." the other voice asked, starting at the exact same moment she had. She recognized the voice immediately - it had a distinct creaky, hoarse sound to it. It was Naruto. But he'd stopped part-way, because he realized she was also trying to speak.

"Naruto," she said, her voice quivering as it always did with him. She could feel her adrenaline spike. She fought to calm her heart down. It was beating so loudly she feared she wouldn't be able to hear anything else he had to say.

She couldn't see it in the dark, but Naruto reached a hand behind his head and rubbed his hair nervously, smiling. "Yeah, it's me." He ended the statement with a nervous chuckle. "I, uh, hope that's okay."

She was silent for a moment, trying to pull together words from the jumble inside her head. Naruto began to sweat - wondering if the reason everyone said she acted strangely around him was because she didn't like him.

"Naruto, I..." - she began shakily - "I'm happy, that it was you."

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't dislike him. Perhaps she did like him, if only a little. Then his thoughts moved forward... it was the guy's job to initiate the kiss. She sounded interested... interested in what was expected from this sort of game. She was probably waiting, in that silence, in the darkness. He gulped. He'd never really kissed a girl before. What if he was horrible at it?

What about a hug, then? Maybe he could start with that. He'd had a few of those before. He started to reach forward in the dark, and then stopped. He didn't know exactly where she was in the room. What if he... accidentally touched her boobs?!

He pulled his hand back and rubbed the back of his head again. With a nervous chuckle, he asked, "so Hinata, um... where exactly are you in here?"

"I'm... right here." She reached forward to where his voice had been coming from, about shoulder height. Since he was a guy, she could reach forward at that height with no fear of grabbing anything taboo. Her hand brushed against some of his clothing, and she froze there, the realization that she was touching Naruto seizing her with its full force.

Naruto felt a hand land on his chest. With her hand there, he could just follow it to the rest of her. He grasped it, but froze briefly while he was holding it. Wouldn't it be a gentlemanly thing to do... to kiss a girl's hand? It was something else he'd never done before, but far less intimidating. Moreover, it wasn't really possible to be bad at kissing someone's hand. Hands didn't notice as much as lips did.

Hinata quivered as Naruto's hands took hers, raising it higher. He'd grown taller while during those years when he'd been out training, and she had underestimated his height. Then... warm lips landed just behind her knuckles. The quivering stopped and she froze again. The second adrenaline rush nearly caused her to pass out.

Naruto traced one of his hands back up her arm, and let his hand rest just behind her shoulder. She had started to quiver again - and with his hand on her shoulder, he now knew it wasn't just her hands that shook a little. It was all of her. Maybe she was afraid... or she didn't really want the things that he was expected to do in this sort of game.

"Hinata, are you okay?" When she didn't answer right away, he dropped the hand from behind her shoulder. "We don't have to do anything if you don't want to. I even can tell them whatever you want me to when we go outside, so you aren't embarrassed."

"No, Naruto." Her voice quivered, and she struggled to get the words out. "I want... I want you to do what you came in here to do. There's no one I'd rather end up in here with. I... I've wanted to be with you for a long time." She reached forward with her other hand (he still held one) and set her hand on the side of his waist, blushing furiously in the dark as she did so.

Naruto closed his eyes and smiled gently, although his expression was lost in the dark. Perhaps that was why everyone said she behaved differently around him - instead of disliking him, she liked him a lot. He liked her, if only a little. But he'd been stuffing his feelings into a corner because he was afraid she didn't like him. It hurt when Sakura rejected him, and he didn't want to go through that again... but now, having some reciprocated feelings... it was a dizzying thought. He put his hand back behind her shoulder and stepped closer, reaching further across her back as he moved forward. He gently set his other hand behind her head, losing his fingers in her hair. He hugged her.

As he moved in to hug her, Hinata trembled, trying to stay conscious. But once caught in the full embrace, she hugged him back, without even thinking. It felt right. It was what she'd always wanted. Automatic responses overcame the nervousness, and she relaxed, leaning into him and holding him tightly. She rested her head on his shoulder, face turned inwards towards his neck. She didn't know how long they stood like that.

Naruto had been nervous before, but the way she hugged him back reassured him. It was going to be okay. It wasn't bad to touch or hold. No bloody noses, no bumps on his head just for asking. Instead, it would be someone who really liked him, holding him back.

But if she liked the hug that much, she probably wanted a kiss, too. That's what they were supposed to do in the closet. And he hadn't done that yet - not a real kiss, anyway. What if she stopped liking him after the kiss? What if it made her stop liking him?

He'd already taken a risk at each step so far, and she'd gladly returned affection. But a kiss was a big deal. It could be the last time he touched her if he did it wrong.

And if he didn't kiss her... she might be upset with him. If the others found out, they might make fun of him. Then again, she wasn't the type to go around talking about that sort of thing to other people... at least, he didn't think so. But the fact remained - even if nobody else knew, she probably wanted a kiss.

He pulled away slightly and moved his hand to cup the side of her face, so he had a good idea of where her lips were. He would have to bend over just slightly to meet her lips. As he bent forward, he tried to tilt his head back so that his forehead didn't bruise hers.

Hinata's heart seemed to stop. His nose and lips brushed up against her face, searching for her lips in the dark. She turned her head slightly to deliver what he was looking for. When their lips touched, she held still, closing her eyes, saving the memory, making it last. His lips grabbed her upper lip. She returned the kiss, gently holding his lower lip. One of her hands slid slowly down the front of his chest, coming to a rest on the front spur of his hip bone.

He jumped at the touch of her hand, surprised by the sudden rush of endorphins. Eyes popping wide open, he broke the kiss.

Hinata quickly pulled her hands away from him, worried that she'd done something wrong.

Naruto chuckled softly, grabbed her hand, and set it back where it had been on his hip. Then he held her and kissed her again, this time gently licking at her lips.

She pulled him close, pressing her body against his, and mimicked the more open-mouthed kissing. She pushed herself up on her tip-toes to allow them to hold each other more closely while kissing.

Both of them reveled in the rush of pleasure as previously un-used neural pathways came alive, soaking up every moment of newness and enjoyment. Later, they might want more, but for now - in this very second - this was more than enough. All that Hinata had hoped for. And something Naruto didn't believe would ever feel so amazing, with someone he didn't believe would ever have such an interest in him.

The kiss faded quietly, and the let their faces rest against each other, noses side by side, her eyelashes brushing against his face just beneath his eyes.

Her ankles were tired, and she lost her balance as she set her heels back on the floor. Naruto's arm around her shoulders steadied her.

"Naruto..." she began quietly. "I've wanted to tell you... that I love you, for a long time now."

He was quiet for a bit, trying to sort through what to say - as well as how he felt. "Hinata, I've really liked you too, but I never thought you'd like me back. I'm glad you do. After... understanding... the way you feel for me, it makes me able to feel the same way for you."

She balanced on her toes to kiss him again. The kiss was shorter this time, but as they kissed, Naruto moved his hands down around her waist.

As she eased her heels back on to the floor - much steadier this time - he grinned and chuckled. "I guess this means we're dating now, huh?"

She nodded, then realized that he couldn't see her face in the dark, and gave an audible "mm-hmm!"

"Wanna go out to dinner tonight?"

"Mm-hmm!"

His frog wallet was reasonably fat, since he'd just gotten paid from his last mission. "We can eat anywhere you want tonight."

Knowing how much he liked ramen, she said, "Ichiraku's!"

He grinned and chuckled.

Ino opened the door at that moment, standing there with a camera. She lowered it once she realized the scene. Naruto and Hinata were just standing there, talking. "What? You guys didn't do anything?" Ino whined.

Choji peeked over Ino's shoulder. "How'd it go?" he asked the two.

Naruto grinned so wide his eyes closed, and said "Great!" Without another word, he grabbed Hinata's hand and strode proudly out the door. Hinata followed behind, blushing wildly.