This is my first fanfiction. I have been wanting to write one for Naruto for quite a while, but decided to wait until the series was finished. I know that some (or all) of my story might be totally nonsensical after The Last comes out. Until then, enjoy! Comments and critiques would be amazing! - Noniway
It began snowing in the early hours of morning, the first day of December. Large white flakes drifted down to land on tree boughs and power lines alike. The snow fell steadily and silently even into the light of morning and early afternoon. By the time that Hinata woke up, several inches covered everything outside her window.
She lazily pulled herself up off her pillow. With all of the villages still focused on their own internal repairs, and the cold weather, there hadn't been many missions. Hinata had irresponsibly fell into an unusual sleeping schedule. While the rest of her family woke up with the sunrise, she would sleep well past morning training into lunch time. Nobody really cared. The war was still fresh on everyone's mind. Konoha had taken on a new mission; that of healing. All shinobi who played major parts in the ending of the war were encouraged (and sometimes forced) to take some time off to recuperate.
Kiba spent time with his family and Akamaru, "strengthening bonds within the pack," as he had put it. Shino was around, but quiet and reclusive as usual. Lee spent all of his time tending to Gai-sensei, and TenTen had decided to set up a weapon shop. Hinata had tried to spend time with her, but it seemed that Neji's death still weighed heavy on her heart. TenTen seemed to avoid Hinata whenever socially appropriate. Kurenai-sensei was the person she spent most of her time with, helping with the baby and training when there was time.
Choji and Ino spent a lot of time together, and there were rumors of them dating. Shikamaru, of course, frequented visits to the Sand Village as an 'ambassador'. Sai had buried himself in his art. Sasuke had left on a personal journey to find himself. Sakura was trying to make the best of his absence, but was clearly trying to distract herself by working as much as allowed at the hospital. Although Hinata couldn't understand why Sakura was so devoted to the man, she understood what it felt like to love someone like that.
Hinata pulled her legs close as she thought of Naruto.
"I can't even last a few minutes after just waking up without thinking about him…" she scowled.
Normally thoughts of the boy put a smile on her face, but currently she was frustrated. She felt like they had made a connection during the war. Even during the aftermath, he stayed close to her. He stood by her during Neji's funeral. Naruto had even held her hand while she mourned. Hinata really felt like she was starting to get close to him. Sometimes he would stop her in the street to chat, or offer to spar with her. There was the time he had asked to join him at Ichiraku for a bowl of ramen. It had been an especially cold day of October, just a couple months previously. Just cold enough to push her to accept the invitation. They ate quietly with some light conversation. They were so comfortable around each other that Hinata openly laughed at his jokes without feeling self conscious. A pretty big victory, in her book. A perfect night… that quickly became less-than-perfect with a sudden fall storm.
Near-freezing rain pummeled the streets, while the wind whipped Ichiraku's noren in and out of the doorway. The two stood by the door, their stomachs warmed by the miso broth. Hinata glanced outside, not looking forward to the walk home.
"Oi, Ayame-san, is it okay if we wait out the storm-ttebayo?" Naruto asked the woman behind the counter.
"Naruto-kun, you've been our most reliable customer. Stay as long as you'd like!" She winked and then made her way into the back kitchen, leaving the two alone.
Naruto smiled, embarrassed by the compliment. "Thank you!"
Hinata had no problem waiting out the storm. It wasn't particularly late, and she enjoyed the sound the rain made against the roof of the shop. She hummed lightly to herself and closed her eyes, content. Even with her Byakugan deactivated, she sensed Naruto come up beside her. Her heartbeat fluttered, and she tried to fight back the blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Thank you for dinner, Naruto-kun…" she said quietly, avoiding eye contact.
"Of course! Eating with a friend is always better than eating alone! I'm just sorry that the weather turned bad…" he frowned, "I really wanted to do some night training..."
"I really like the rain…" she said, not wanting him to feel bad about the weather. "It's nature's way of telling everyone to take a break."
"You know, I never thought of it that way. Well, if nature is forcing us to take a break in a ramen shop, what should we do?"
"Well….. we already ate….." HInata would have been content to just sit and enjoy the presence of the rain and the boy beside her, but Naruto was already getting impatient and fidgety. He was looking around the shop for something to do besides wait.
His eyes roamed around the room, but only found the booth and stools. It wasn't a restaurant, just a ramen stand, and wasn't equipped for extended stay. What to do when you don't have much to work with….
"Oi! Ayame-san! Do you have some string back there?" He called.
Hinata was startled by the sudden outburst, but recovered quickly. She watched as Naruto approached the booth and craned his neck to see into the kitchen. Her eyes took the opportunity to take in the muscles in his arms as he propped himself on the counter, up to his shoulders, down his back and downwards to his very enticing….
He suddenly turned to face her, "Let's play ayatori, dattebayo!"
Hinata made eye contact with him and froze. She felt the blood rush to her face, and stammered out, "S-sure!"
Naruto smiled and beckoned her to sit at the booth with him. "You always look like you're thinking of something, I wonder what it is..?" he teased. Her face got even redder.
"U-uhhhh… I-I… ahh…." she couldn't think of a single thing to say.
"Geeze Hinata, I was just teasing. I'm sure someone like you probably thinks of smart things, like new ways to use the Byakugan or something." Naruto felt a little bad for making his friend uncomfortable. He wasn't oblivious to Hinata's social awkwardness, and attributed it to her life in the Hyuga clan. They seemed like they valued quiet and thoughtfulness. In fact, one of the reasons he had asked her to dinner was that he enjoyed the calm that her presence brought. Sometimes he wondered what caused her to make a slight expression, or a quiet noise. He was most intrigued when he caught her glancing in his direction...
"N-Naruto-kun…?" Hinata's voice shook him out of his thoughts.
"Heh, your thinking is contagious!" He chuckled, glad to see a smile back on her face.
He took the two ends and tied them, making a large loop. Naruto then wove it between his fingers and stretched the string between his two hands. Hinata glanced at his right hand with a tinge of sadness. Although Kurama's chakra had sped up the healing process, Naruto's new arm was still incomplete.
"Hey!" He warned, "Tsunade said I need to lightly exercise my new hand, don't worry!" Naruto recognized her look. Many people were unsure of how to handle his new impairment. He himself didn't feel too bad about it. In his opinion, missing an arm for a few months was a small price to pay for Sasuke's change of heart.
"I haven't played in a while so I'm probably not good…." his words trailed off as he noticed that Hinata's mood had changed to that of serious concentration. Her hands deftly picked out two portions of the string that overlapped. Their skin brushed as she expertly took the string out of his hands and onto her own, forming a new pattern.
Naruto looked up at her face and caught her gaze. Was she… smirking? Hinata's facial expressions were subtle, but his competitive spirit stirred.
"That's what I'm talking about! Give me your best!"
The two of them took turns snatching the string from the other's hands, trying to create a new and more complex pattern. Neither of them could say they didn't enjoy the closeness of the activity. Hinata still tried to avoid touching Naruto's bandaged hand, but that inevitably made it harder not to make contact with his left fingers. Whenever they touched her fingers would leap off his. That was until….
"Hey! Hinata I felt that! You cheated!" Indeed, Hinata had used her Byakugan to subtly manipulate Naruto into messing up his move. She giggled.
"I'm sorry Naruto! I'm used to playing with Hanabi…" She half-lied. Hinata had played the game with his sister before. However, her actions were completely premeditated.
"Yeah, right." he replied, unsure whether or not it had really been intentional. Lately Hinata seemed more outgoing. The pause in the game lead him to look at the clock on the wall.
"Ah, Hinata! It's getting pretty late. We've been playing for a while now." he looked out the doorway to see that the rain had let up some.
"Let me walk you home!"
Hinata's heart jumped. Naruto wanted to walk home with her… but the weather was bad, and he lived much closer to Ichiraku than she did.
"Naruto-kun… you live between here and the Hyuga Complex… I wouldn't want to trouble you…"
"Well then, why don't you walk me home?" He countered. Hinata couldn't find a counter argument, and she really wanted to spend more time with the boy.
"O-okay!"