Pleasant Dreams, Hinata
This takes place after Tsunade became the 5th Hokage and before Sasuke left with the Sound's shinobi to go to the Hidden Village of the Sound. Well, the timeline isn't that important anyway...
Hyuuga Hinata walked briskly toward the Konoha town square, her heart thumping wildly in anticipation. She clutched a somewhat heavy basket tightly with both hands. She was smiling shyly, basking in the humid evening air and the azure light cast by the crescent moon.
Tonight was going to be a great night. In an effort to strengthen the bonds between genins, there was a get-together night set by the current Hokage, Tsunade-sama. The reason behind this is that genins need to be more comfortable with each other, as they have to undergo more difficult missions now that the Hidden Leaf is weak and spread out in human resources. Anyway, the genins drew lots and were then assigned partners, and were to take their partners out on dates on this night.
Hinata was looking forward to this night so much, because, off all people, she had drawn her beloved as her partner. Uzumaki Naruto was to be her date tonight, and it made her heart flutter ever so slightly just thinking about it.
As she walked to their meeting place, she saw a lot of the other genins also starting to get together. At one part of the square, Rock Lee was having trouble with his crutches, so Haruno Sakura was helping him to a seat. Yamanaka Ino was just leaving from their flower shop with Nara Shikamaru lagging behind. To her astonishment, she passed by her relative, Hyuuga Neji, and found that he was supposed to meet with his teammate, Tenten.
The night's still young, but she could no longer wait to see Naruto. Ever since the day of Naruto's main match with Neji, she hasn't been able to see him yet. Tonight, she will have an opportunity not just to see him, but to share some time with him as well.
Finally she reached the part of the square where she and Naruto were supposed to meet. This was the part with the stone benches, where the trees posed as much a purpose for ambience as for shelter. The scene looked romantic, what with the moon shining directly on her spot just now, and the heavens neither too bright nor too dark. It was perfect, except...
Where's Naruto-kun?
Her heart was still racing, for she had not yet seen her date. She was well hoping that she could find comfort in seeing Naruto's smile again. She looked around, but there was no sign of that sugoi orange jumpsuit, or the blond hair, or anything resembling Naruto at all.
She sat down, catching her breath, still clutching the basket in her nervous hands. A minute turned into five, and then ten, then half an hour passed...
Maybe he won't show up... aw, I even prepared food for us and all...
Just then, a very cheerful voice boomed across the square, startling Hinata slightly. She jumped up a bit, and turned to look...
"Oi, Hinata!!"
She smiled, and she saw hime there, waving at her.
"Naruto-kun!!" she exclaimed, waving back at him.
"Gomen, Hinata, I, uh, got tempted by the Ramen special offer for tonight... you know, half-price and all... Really sorry. Wooh! Am I full..." Naruto was rubbing his stomach unconsciously.
Hinata frowned.
"O-Oh... I see... it... it's really okay.. N-Naruto-kun..." she said as she looked down a bit, gazing at the basket of food and snacks she had prepared.
Naruto noticed the basket, and apparently realized his mistake.
"But hey, you know, uh... I think I'm in the mood for more food! That is food, isn't it?" he commented, pointing at the basket.
Her face brightened quite a bit, and motioned for them to sit down.
"Hai! I made them myself... I hope they're okay..."
Just after Hinata had laid out the blanket and afterwards the food, Naruto proceeded to 'execute' on of Hinata's chicken fillet and veggie sandwiches, leaving the special Konoha sylvanas, some scrumptious-looking enchiladas, and some other mouth-watering snacks for a later time.
"This is real good, Hinata! I wish I have this kind of meal everyday!" said Naruto, between bites. Hinata blushed, playing with the front edges of her hooded jacket.
"I... I could make you sandwiches everyday if... if you want..."
Naruto stared at her, then laughed cheerfully.
"That would be nice! But of course I can't let you do that... you have lots of other things to worry about besides me... and there're missions, too..."
"It won't be too much trouble..."
"Know what, since you made us some real nice food here, I'll treat you to ramen later!"
"Th-thank you, Naruto-kun..."
So they continued to eat, and afterwards went back to the old man's stall to get some ramen. They returned to the benches after eating, both of them feeling full and just wanting to sit down and take a breather.
They were both silent for a long while, neither deigning to speak a word [maybe Naruto was just too full]. Finally, Hinata opened her mouth to speak...
"N-Naruto-kun...?"
Naruto looked at her with a puzzled look, and she found that he looked cute with the pale moonlight bathing his face with an azure glow.
Suddenly, her eyes widened, and gestured something to Naruto. She tried to hold him down, but it was too late...
"Naruto-kun! Look out!!"
Even before she had finished her sentence, something hurtled toward Naruto at breakneck speed. Something big. It crashed into Naruto, instantly knocking him out. When all the dust had settled, Hinata immediately sought Naruto, and there he was, lying unconscious on the ground, the rubble of a shattered bench lying beside and beneath him.
"Sorry 'bout that... I was just fooling around.."
It was Akimichi Chouji, the heavyweight teammate of Shikamaru and Ino. Shikamaru, user of the Shadow Imitation technique, was chiding him.
"Ah, I told you not to be too forceful. You can't control your direction! You knocked out Ino, then this guy too?" He looked at Hinata. "Oi, oi... sorry about this... sorry for ruining your date... uh... we could take him to the hospital for you..."
Hinata shook her head.
"It's okay. I'll take care of him from here," she said as she prodded the two to go despite an are-you-absolutely-sure kind of look on their faces. When they had left, she lay Naruto on an undamaged bench, and watched him.
"Naruto-kun," she whispered. "Oh, I was supposed to tell you how I felt tonight... and this had to happen..."
She kept talking in a whisper, afraid that even in his unconsciousness, Naruto might hear and wake up.
"I guess... I guess this is the only way... the only time you'd listen... and the only time I could be brave enough to... to say... that..."
Naruto moved a bit, but Hinata was relieved to see he was still unconscious. She gazed at his face, still cheerful in sleep.
"Naruto-kun... I... I lo... I love you..."
-----------------------
"Really now, Hinata?" came Naruto's voice.
Hinata sat up quickly, wondering how she was lying there with Naruto all of a sudden. She had a shocked and baffled look on her face, and she was blushing like there was no tomorrow.
"N-Naruto-kun! This, just now... did you..."
He laughed cheerfully again, and said, "Well, Hinata, it seemed to me you were having a good dream... I wasn't going to wake you up, but you were fidgeting so much..."
"Me? Dreaming? H-How... What..."
"Er, first I gotta say I'm so sorry for arriving late; I checked on Sakura-chan and Thick Brows for a while... then, when I arrived here, you were sleeping... no, dreaming... and boy! Was it hard to wake you up!"
"Ah! Gomen nasai, Naruto-kun..."
He waved his arms, dismissing her apology.
"Don't say sorry; it was my fault. Thanks for waiting, by the way. And I helped myself to a sandwich..."
"Th-that's okay, Naruto-kun..."
Just a dream... all of it... siiiigh...
"Ne, Hinata... what were you dreaming about just now?"
Hinata blushed, and Naruto laughed.
"It's okay! You don't have to tell me. Whatever it was you were dreaming about, it looked like a pleasant one... C'mon, it's getting late; I'll just walk you to your place."
"H-hai... you can have the basket, too... Thanks, Naruto-kun..."
"Yosh!"
They got up and left, Naruto holding the basket in his hands, Hinata by his side, simply wishing this walk could last forever.
Yes, Hinata thought. It's a good night, Naruto-kun... and one day, I'll be able to tell you how I feel... and it won't merely be in a pleasant dream.
Well, that's it for my first NaruHina fic... hope you guys enjoyed it... thanks in advance for all those who have read and reviewed this particular fic of mine... Arigato, minna! Special thanks to Yuni-chan... thanks always.
Ciao!