Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters within. I also can not perform the Rasengan, nor do I have the Byakugan. Damn!

-

Sisterly Aid

-

'So that's him...'

Hanabi Hyuga watched as she noticed the cheeks of her elder sister, Hinata, flush with a light shade of pink. The reason was at seeing one particularly loud, hyper-active, knucklehead ninja in the distance at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. The two Hyuga sisters had just finished an afternoon of training and decided to take a walk out on the town when they saw the scene. He was currently talking to Iruka, or more like yelling at him about something. Hearing him from all the way where they were what had gotten the attention of the Hyuga sisters, Hinata in particular.

"Naruto..."

It was a whisper, but Hanabi heard it clearly. It was no secret to her that Hinata had a crush on the orange-clad ninja. His name was whispered often from the lips of her older sister, at one time, in her sleep. When she confronted Hinata about it, her sister just turned into the same shade of red she did now and answered...

"He makes me feel...that I can be more..."

This caused the youngest member of the Hyuga clan to wonder about Naruto. From what she had known of him, everything that he was nicknamed was true. He was loud, hyper-active, and a knucklehead. Even now, his antics made him look ridiculous. Yet, she also remembered him from the Chunin exams and how he had managed to defeat Neji, a fighter she knew personally to be one of the fiercest and powerful in their clan (her father being the greatest of course). Not only that, but her sister somehow became more determined and stronger since that time, a fact she had noted from their training today. Hanabi may be a child, but she had a sharp eye to notice things like this (and we're not even talking about the Byakugan).

'I wonder what kind of person he really is.'

Seeing as how now would be a good time to find out, she took a step toward the Ramen shop. But looking back, she saw her sister in her nervous stance, shyly looking down at the ground with her fingers pointing together. Hanabi sighed to herself. She loved her sister, but there were times when she just couldn't believe they were related. Hinata was quite different from every other Hyuga she knew. In the reverse to their near-arrogant confidence, Hinata was pain-staking shy. Hanabi sighed again and then smiled in thought.

"Hinata? Can we get some ramen, please?"

Hinata blinked and looked down at her little sister, who gave her an innocent face. Hinata wasn't buying it, but saw there was no reason to reject it either.

"Sure. Okay."

The two sisters walked over to the shop where they saw Naruto lower his head with a dejected look on his face. Noticing the two girls, the blond haired ninja perked up a bit and waved.

"Hey Hinata. How're ya doing?"

"Oh...I-I'm...fine." she replied, the blush on her face refusing to go away. "H-How...are you?"

"Okay, I guess." he shrugged. "Iruka-sensei was supposed to treat me for ramen today, but he got called away on a mission at the last minute."

"I guess...it couldn't be helped." A tap to her side caused her to look over at Hanabi and realize that she hadn't introduced her yet. "Oh! Naruto, this is my sister, Hanabi."

Turning to the younger girl, Naruto smiled. "Hey Hanabi."

"Hello Naruto." she replied with a short bow.

"So are you guys here to get some ramen?"

Hinata answered. "Y-Yes. W-we just finished training, so we thought to take a break."

"Would you like to join us?"

Hinata blinked at her sister's sudden question, and the possibility of sharing lunch with Naruto caused her to grow a deeper shade of red. Naruto was oblivious to this however and grinned.

"For ramen? You bet!"

--

In the Hyuga clan, each member was taught to be proper and pristine. Even in missions and combat, they were to maintain a quiet dignity wherever they went. So it was quite to her dismay and amusement to watch as Naruto literally inhaled large quantities of ramen and when he wasn't eating, he was telling them stories on some of his missions (although knowing him, some of it was probably exaggerated).

Despite his obvious lack of manners, Hanabi could see why her older sister would like him. Besides being fun to be around, he seemed to possess a confidence about him. It would seem like boastful bragging, but you could see that he really believed what he was saying. So much so that after awhile, you'd start to believe it too. Unknowingly, he seemed to share his confidence with others around him.

Just what Hinata needs...

Speaking of which, the elder Hyuga girl sat on the opposite side of Naruto, quietly eating her ramen, but her glances seeming to shift from Naruto to Hanabi to the ramen and so on and so forth. She watched silently as Naruto told Hanabi his stories to which the younger sibling seemed to enjoy. A dark gloom began to come over her features and her blush began to fade away.

'Am I feeling...jealous...?'

Hanabi noticed this and smirked inwardly. 'So far, so good.' Returning her attention back to Naruto, she continued talking with him.

"I still can't believe that you beat Neji. He's considered to be a genius ninja, even among the Hyuga clan."

Naruto grinned. "Well, when I set my mind on something, nothing can stop me. Besides..." Pausing for a moment, he gave Hinata a glance, which caused the girl to break out of her gloom. "I made a promise to win. And I never go back on my word. That's my nindo, my ninja way."

Hanabi smiled. "Hey Hinata, isn't that your nindo too?"

Both Naruto and Hinata blinked. "Huh?"

"Your ninja way." Hanabi replied, keeping her gaze on Hinata. "You told me before that it was. That you never give up and you never go back on your word."

"Really, Hinata?" Naruto asked, his gaze becoming fixed on the girl.

"Uh, well..." Naruto's staring at her was causing her brain to short circuit, but she managed to get out a meek... "Yes. It is."

At this, the blond haired ninja's face suddenly lit up. "That's so cool! So I'll guess we'll both become super awesome ninjas, right?"

"I...guess." she smiled in return.

His eyes then drifted upwards in thought. "Of course, since I'm going to be Hokage, you'll have to be something great too. I just wonder what."

"I...don't really..."

"Maybe she can be your wife." Hanabi replied, almost innocently.

The reaction was immediate. Upon hearing those words, Hinata fainted and fell backward. Naruto, seeing this, quickly jumped out of his seat and caught her before she could hit the ground. Hanabi looked back, seeing the scene before her with a secret smile as Naruto shook Hinata lightly in his arms in an attempt to revive her.

"Hinata...Hinata, are you okay?"

The girl's eyes soon opened to see the worried face of Naruto in close proximity and to discover that she was in his arms. Needless to say, her face was reaching a new shade of red now.

"O-oh...I'm...fine..."

"We should head back now." Hanabi said calmly, rising from her seat and acting as though nothing happened. "Father will be expecting us."

"Y-yes. O-of course."

In truth, she really didn't want to leave this position, as Naruto was still holding her in his arms with worry in his eyes. But to stay longer would only invite further embarrassment. Already people were starting to gaze in their direction and she didn't want to embarrass Naruto like this. Straightening herself from his grasp, she gave him a curt bow.

"T-thank you, Naruto, and take care."

"You too." Hinata turned away, but then Naruto continued speaking. "Hey Hinata?"

"Yes, Naruto...?"

"I wouldn't mind if you did become my wife."

Hanabi watched, expecting Hinata to pass out again, but to her surprise, she just hid her ever growing blush by bowing to him again and turning around to meet up with her sister. As they walked back to their home, Hanabi looked at the smiling face of her sister. As ridiculous it sounded, Naruto may be the best thing for Hinata. Who knows? Maybe she will become his wife. Of course, the chances of that happening are probably about the same amount of chances that Naruto has for becoming Hokage.

'Maybe...it's not so ridiculous...'