Winter Romance
A/N: I'm new to this, so bare with me! This is a story I wrote, I will continue whether you like it or not. Pretty much what it's about is that after a mission in America the Naruto cast learn about Christian holidays, seeing that they'd be cool to participate in, decide to celebrate. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, dammit.
Who's Your Secret-Santa?
December 20th, team 7, 8, 10, and Gai, all return from their missions in America. All excited about Christmas. The previously mentioned were at that moment standing in a room in the academy, the students were called in by their teachers for a meeting. The teachers were leaning on a desk at the front of the room while the student were standing in front of the desks similarly to how many of them did in the first episode during a test for transformation jutsu.
"Seeing how everyone here has decided to celebrate this new found holiday-"
"-We will be having a very youthful party celebrating it!" Gai-sensei interrupted Kakashi-sensei's declaration with his own.
"The party will be held at the academy, there will be a tree, decorations, eggnog, dancing, and gift exchanging from our Secret-Santa drawing." Kurenai-sensei continued to tell the Genins as Gai-sensei rambled about his rival's coolness, youth, and other such things that make Gai, well, Gai.
Some Genin cheered, some smiled meekly, some didn't change the expression on their expressionless faces, some shouted, "Oh, youthful holiday!" some attempted to not fall asleep (and were failing miserably), while some continued eating. Asuma-sensei began to pass around a hat with all the Genins names in it for Secret-Santa.
Who everyone got,
Uzumaki Naruto: Haruno Sakura
Haruno Sakura: Uchiha Sasuke
Uchiha Sasuke: Yamanaka Ino
Inuzuka Kiba: Hyuuga Hinata
Hyuuga Hinata: Uzumaki Naruto
Aburame Shino: Nara Shikamaru
Nara Shikamaru: Rock Lee
Yamanaka Ino: Akamichi Chouji
Akamichi Chouji: Hyuuga Neji
Hyuuga Neji: Tenten
Tenten: Aburame Shino
Rock Lee: Inuzuka Kiba
Pretty much everyone was happy with who the got. Help from above possibly?
"The party will be held on the 24th, entry is determined on whether or not you have a gift to give or not, doesn't matter if it's home-made or store-bought." Kurenai-sensei said, she dismissed the young shinobi after they each got a slip of paper and read their gift receivers.
The Perfect Gift
'What to get? It must be perfect. It must express my feelings, without giving them away, and be something he'll like, without me being too nervous to give it to him.' She was so lost in thought she was completely ignoring her teammates conversation, until...
"HINATA!!!" Kiba called out to his team member, completely waking her from her daydream and snapping her back into reality. "Hinata-chan, I've been trying to get your attention for the past 3 minutes! Are you okay?" He said the last part honestly worried.
"Thank you for the concern Kiba-kun, but I'm alright. I was trying to figure out what to get for my person in the Secret-Santa drawing." She looked down, fairly embarrassed that she was so oblivious to Kiba calling out to her. She didn't stutter for she felt comfortable around her teammates, her closest friends.
"That's actually what we were talking about."
"I must give a present to the Nara boy." Shino stated completely monotone. "I was considering the option of a nice book. What is your opinion on the matter?"
"Maybe a pillow. He keeps falling asleep!" Kiba joked, Hinata smiled and nodded. " I gotta give a gift to a girl. Maybe some perfume? I could find some real good stuff!" Kiba sniffed and Hinata laughed, which was exactly Kiba's intent. He loved it when she laughed, how delicate it was, how innocent it sounded.
He loved everything about her. He, well, he loved her. Of course he would never admit it to her. Sure he could handle rejection from other girls, especially with Hinata there to console him, but it would be completely different telling her. If she liked him back (which was a pretty big "if" considering that the only one that didn't know she liked Naruto was Naruto) it would be heaven on earth for him, and he would make sure it was for her, too. But if she didn't, which was by far more likely, he would be crushed, with no support system, and it would destroy their friendship. He couldn't let that happen, so he never showed any slight suggestion of his inner most feelings. Or so he thought.
"I g-got Na-naruto-kun." Hinata whispered. She stuttered at even at the thought of the boy.
"What?!!" was all Kiba could say. It wasn't that he didn't understand her, far from it. It was an exclamation of shock, excitement for Hinata, and dread for himself.
"I recommend something sentimental, something that proves you truly understand him. Something other than ramen, or anything ramen related. Anyone could think of that." Shino advised his female friend. Hinata began to daydream and wandered towards a store. She left behind her teammates with their own task at hand, to find the perfect gift for Naruto, her love.
It was getting late; Hinata was on her 27th store, Mimi's Merchandise. She hadn't lost a single ounce of determination to find the perfect thing.
"Hinata-sama." Came the voice of her elder cousin (who acted more as her elder brother), Neji Hyuuga. "It is very nearly time for Hyuuga curfew. I am here to escort you home."
"Wh-what time is it?" She had not noticed the time pass so, she was to focused on finding the perfect gift.
"Late." I'm pretty sure that means... Actually I have no clue what that means.
"I'm s-sorry Onii-san, I must h-have lost track of t-time. I h-have been searching r-rather unsuccessfully for a gift to g-give to Naruto-kun," Hinata admitted to her cousin.
"Hn" Neji... hned? "Finish quickly if you can, but in 15 minutes, no matter what, we're going home." Hinata smiled, thanked her cousin, and returned to her search.
Approximately 10 minutes later; Hinata was in a different store, she picked up a stuffed animal, it was a fox.
"This is it!" Hinata whispered to herself. It was perfect; it had the same goofy grin as Naruto and the whiskers matched perfectly. If Naruto was a stuffed animal, he would be this one.
"Perfect. Let's get it and go home. We should barely avoid punishment." Neji said as he put his hand on his cousin's shoulder and began to lead her towards the cashier. Hinata snuggled the stuffed creature.
"Are you going to purchase that, dear?" the cashier asked Hinata.
"Y-yes." The young Hyuuga heir said determinedly. "This i-is exactly what I w-want. It's p-perfect" She gave her present a quick squeeze and handed it over to the cashier.
What I See... What She Is...
It's our poor Hyuuga prodigy's turn to be driven mad.
He was sitting on his bed in a meditative position, but the exact opposite was happening. Wars of thoughts were raging in his mind, Power vs. Femininity? What the F**K?!?!
Actually, it was all for his "Precious Flower", Tenten. 'Stupid Lee-kun and Gai-sensei.' He had to figure out what to get her for Christmas. He was worried to get the wrong thing and, completely, offend her something weapon related, she might think you're denying her feminine side. Give her something "girly"; she'll think you're calling her weak. It's not that he couldn't tell which she might do; he knew she would just as likely do either one.
Some might describe Tenten as; hormonal, indecisive, PMSing, youthful (?), even neurotic. But not Neji, he chose words such as spontaneous, or even whimsical (wonder why... 3).
'Get her a practical joke! She loves pulling them!' offered inner.
'No! Our Precious flower must receive a youthful present she will remember forever!' Lee told Neji (Lee's invaded Neji's brain! Run!).
Neji hned an angry hn and left the compound to go on a search. 'Maybe I'll know it when I see it.' Neji thought (well he's getting his hopes up. But maybe he'll get help from above).
It was December 21st, 8:30 am when he began his search. 'Hinata-sama got lucky, maybe I can, too.' the sad love sick (even though he won't admit it) man thought, still using honorifics in his thoughts. He wandered the stores aimlessly in search of something passable to give to her. But nay, to no avail. When...
She started walking towards him. By "she" I mean, she. By "she" I mean, Tenten. By "Tenten" I mean, Tenten out of nowhere starts walking right up to Neji, for no apparent reason! A surge of emotions wash over lover boy, till, he sees, Lee, walking beside Tenten. Thus, thankfully removing unwanted feelings, and also sadly trashing others.
"Yo, Neji-kun." Tenten greeted."YOSH! Greetings my youthful teammate of youth!" Lee... annoyed (for lack of a better word).
"Hn." (You should know by now)."We both gotta shop for your cou- I mean, "Hinata-sama's" teammates. So we were wondering, you probably got some clue what we should get. We can't even tell who's who. Help, please." Tenten asked the man that loved her, "We know it's late, but if you help us get this over with, I promise, we will spend any spare time we have helping you buy something for whomever you have." Tenten begged with big, brown eyes and a large lower lip (completely unneeded by the way).
"That is unnecessary, for I have everything under control." (Liar!)
"Sweet! So you'll help us and we don't haveta pay you back!"
"Yosh!" Lee agreed.
"You'll pay me back, but some other way." Neji very lightly smirked to himself. Or was it a smile? It's hard to tell with this guy.
They began their search at 7:45 pm. After a few hours the Chinese shinobi had gotten their gifts to give. Tenten purchased hers to Shino at a candy store, while Lee bought his to Kiba (and Akamaru) in a pet shop.
Neji was left alone, still on his own search. Over another hour passed, it was nearing curfew. Neji figured he'd look for 30 more minutes, go home see if Hinata-sama was there, and if not go get her.
Approx. 3 minutes before Neji would leave for the compound; he saw it. Or was it them? He wasn't sure, neither am I. It was technically multiple objects, so did that make it plural? But it came together, so did that make it singular? But he knew he must buy the thing/s. It expressed how he felt, it would make her happy, it ... it, well honestly, it wouldn't get him in trouble.
He returned home with what he bought. He greeted Hiashi, Hanabi, and, nearly everyone else, he was in a very good mood. He walked down the hallway, when he stopped. There was a noise. 'A sewing machine?' Neji stopped at Hinata's door, gave a slight knock, and walked in, and there she was; Hinata, heiress to the Hyuuga clan, sitting at a sewing machine.
"Pardon me for asking Hinata-sama, for it may be out of my place to inquire, but, what are you doing?" Neji asked his relative.
"I'm working o-on Naruto-kun's pr-present." She held it up, "Do y-you think h-he'll like i-it?" Hinata asked barely to anyone in particular, in a very small voice.
"I should think so, especially with all the effort you're putting into it.""I r-really hope s-so." Hinata said worriedly."He will." Neji assured her. Neji smiled lightly at his cousin, whom was as precious to him, and more, as a sister. He placed a hand on her shoulder, letting her know it'd work out. She smiled meekly. 'He better.' He thought to himself, not wanting anyone he cared about to get hurt.
"Speaking of liking presents, I want to run by you what I plan on giving to Tenten-chan..." his voiced trailed off as he pulled out the proof of his love to his very most precious Tenten (so maybe I'm over exaggerating).
Hinata's eyes widened immensely, any bigger and they would've fallen off her face (or she'd star in a Disney movie). "She'll love it." She said, sure of her statement.
"I hope you're right." Neji added, suddenly losing all his confidence. Females still confused him.
It was now Hinata's turn to reassure her cousin, "She will." Hinata lifted Neji's face as so that he looked at her. She repeated herself, "She will." and smiled.
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Much love,
Writer of Random