This started out as my entry for the "Summertime Love" contest sponsored by the NaruHina Fan Club in Naruto Forums. But the rules say PG-13. Since this story took on a mind of its own and decided to march into "M" status, this will probably be just for laughs.
Thank you very much to my beta reader Doll-Fin-Chick. You are amazing, helpful and very quick!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Naruto Shippuden or any of their characters. But that doesn't mean I'll stop trying to steal Sai!
Believe It
He spent all night pacing. How did he get himself into this? What was he going to do when he had to face her?
She was the most beautiful girl in the world. His personal angel. Naruto didn't know how he got so lucky.
But now he finally asked Hinata out on their first date. What if he makes a fool out of himself? What did he know about what a guy usually does on a date? The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off.
When she confessed during the fight with Pain, he was blown away. But he still felt awkward about his next step. What should his response be? Would it be good enough?
He decided to stop worrying about it when the sun rose the next morning. The past is in the past. She agreed to the date, so it was time to move forward.
Hinata was always very kind and polite. She was everything he wasn't. And she could outsmart him every day of the week. But she never wanted to. She always wanted to make him feel good about himself, no matter what.
Even when he was unsure, she was always there to lift him back up. He could still remember her words before he fought Neji during the Chunin exams: "I think you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto-kun. Because you're not perfect. Because you fail, and have the strength to get back up. That's what I think true strength is."
He didn't deserve her. Or at least in his mind he didn't. This was the first time in his life that something had come to him that he hadn't worked his butt off for. It was somewhat unnerving.
He picked Hinata up from the Hyuuga manor. Her father gave him a deathly glare before they left. Naruto nervously rubbed his neck and assured Hiashi that he would have Hinata back in a couple of hours.
She had packed a picnic lunch. She offered, and Naruto really appreciated the gesture. He asked her on the date, so he should have been the one to provide for her. But Hinata was always going above and beyond for everyone she cared about.
Plus, knowing how good Hinata's cooking was, Naruto couldn't refuse the offer. Why would he pass on something like that?
She brought a large, lavender blanket for them to sit on at the park. They found a flat surface of green grass, and Naruto spread out the blanket. As soon as he was done, Hinata took out all the food from the picnic basket.
She had prepared those Naruto rice cakes again. They were delicious and it was so cute that she put that extra effort into it. Sure it was creepy to take a bite out of a rice cake that looked like him. But he didn't mention it to her.
She had also brought a large thermos of ramen and two soup bowls. It was a hot day, and soup was probably not the best choice. But she knew Naruto, and evidently, she was always prepared in any type of situation. It was like when she gave him the homemade ointment at the Chunin exams. She thought of everything, and obviously, there was nothing that she couldn't or wouldn't do for him.
After he was done eating, Naruto sat back with his arms against the grass, propping himself up. He was full, and very content. It was nice to be taken care of.
He wondered what it would have been like to have a mom that did stuff like this for him. Hinata would be an excellent mother. That's for sure.
His hand brushed up against a fluffy, white dandelion. He looked back and when he saw it, he plucked it from the ground and handed it to Hinata.
"Make a wish."
Without hesitation, she blew the white seeds from the stem.
"Hinata, you didn't even think about your wish. Didn't you wish for anything?" Naruto asked with disappointment in his voice.
"It already came true." She blushed, but didn't turn away. She looked straight at him with those beautiful lilac eyes.
When Naruto caught on, he grinned like an idiot.
How can one person be so good for my ego?
Hinata was the whole package. She was beautiful, kind, talented… and she loved him. He really couldn't ask for any more than that.
On the way back, they passed by a swing set at the park. Naruto stood for a second to look at it. It reminded him of the lone swing which faced the academy. He spent many hours on that swing. His childhood was sad and lonely, but that swing did provide the least amount of comfort during those hard times.
Hinata noticed his expression. And judging by her reaction, she seemed to know what he was thinking.
She took Naruto by the hand. "Let's go swing."
He shook his head. "No! No we can't. We're too old."
"Who cares Naruto-kun? We're only as old as we feel. And today, I want to feel young again."
"Really?" He couldn't help but smile. Being a ninja meant that everyone he knew tried to grow up too fast. He kind of wanted an excuse to feel like a kid again.
A happy kid.
They both jumped on the swings and actually had a competition of who could go higher. Naruto won, but he thought that Hinata let him win. She was always kind like that.
The date ended too soon. Naruto walked her home, but tried to make the trip last as long as possible. They were side by side, holding hands, almost like it was a natural thing for them.
Naruto hoped that it would become a routine.
She had such delicate hands. They were soft and warm and held onto him with such affection.
He didn't ever want to let her go.
They did eventually make it back to the Hyuuga manor. When he dropped her off at the entrance to the estate, he kissed her on the cheek. Then he held her face with both his hands and gazed into those lilac eyes of hers.
"Thank you Hinata."
She looked confused. "For what?"
"For being you."
She blushed. She turned and gave him a backwards wave.
He wanted to walk her up to the door. But they both saw Hiashi standing at the doorway. He was watching their every move.
It was better to drop her off where he did.
He walked home with a spring to his step. He never knew dates could be so magical. It was a real shame that he had been missing out on this for so long.
But why did he miss out on it for so long? Why didn't he know how Hinata really felt?
He didn't sleep the night before, and he should have been exhausted. But his body must have been running on adrenaline. He went out and trained for as long as possible, then he went home and still his mind raced.
He thought about all the different memories he had of Hinata. He realized that she had given him all the right clues. She liked him from the very beginning. And he was just too oblivious to see it.
All those years were lost. He could never get them back. They could have been together. She could have been there for him, and he certainly would have been there for her. Just the thought of it was tearing him apart.
Dear, sweet Hinata. She was there for him… even if he didn't see it. Hopefully he could make up for lost time.
At the crack of dawn, Naruto went out to the third training ground. He remembered finding Hinata there before his match with Neji. She had been timidly hiding behind one of the tree stumps.
Outwardly, she didn't seem strong. All of her actions conveyed a frailty that was unlike all the other ninja. But her words were something totally different. Evidently there was a strength within Hinata that was hidden. Whereas, Naruto had always hidden his weaknesses behind a façade of bravado.
The two of them were evenly matched.
Then Naruto remembered how Hinata fought Pain. That girl can really kick butt! That Twin Lion Fist move was awesome.
She had really come into her own since the days of the Chunin exams. She obviously trained her tail end off to get to the level of where she is now.
She would never give up. She would never go back on her word. It was their ninja way.
It was hard for him to concentrate on his daily training routine. All he could think about was the sweet young girl that he never got to know.
Until now.
He was thoroughly exhausted and not thinking straight. He wandered off to the outskirts of the training ground to find a tree to sit under. The bright sun was bearing down on him, and he wanted to relax for a bit in the shade. At the base of the tree, he found another white, fluffy dandelion. It was just like the one that had been so close to Hinata's sweet, tender lips.
Lucky flower.
He sat down and picked up the dandelion. He had asked Hinata what her wish was. Well, what would his wish be?
Everything seemed to be coming together. War was over. Tsunade wanted to groom him to be the next Hokage. He met his mother and father. And now he was dating Hinata.
What could be better?
Maybe it would have been better if he could have spent his childhood knowing that Hinata liked him? That would have been nice. They could have gone to the park and played on the swings as kids, instead of doing it for the first time as young adults.
Maybe he should wish for smarts? Nah. His being the most unpredictable ninja had saved his tail end on more occasions than he could remember. Wishing for smarts could endanger his life! Besides, he was friends with Shikamaru. That guy had enough smarts for both of them.
Maybe… if Hinata had more of me in her? Then she would've told me how she felt! If she had always wanted to be with me, then she could have just said so! That's right! And she would have pursued me until we got together. Now wouldn't that have been something!
Who wouldn't benefit from a little Uzumaki Naruto in their system? If everyone was more like me, then this world would be a better place!
"I wish that Hinata had a little bit of me in her. That way I would always know how she felt, and we would have always been together."
Naruto blew off the white seeds from the dandelion stem and watched as the little white parachutes wandered off in the lazy warm breeze.
He smiled as he twirled the bare stem between his fingers. He couldn't wait to see Hinata again. She was his personal earth angel.
Oh shit! I fell asleep.
Naruto wondered what time it was. He was supposed to meet Hinata at the pool at noon. He ran home to jump into his long, orange boxer swimsuit and headed toward the community pool on the edge of town.
Some of his friends were there. Sakura and Sasuke were laying side-by-side on two full length pool chairs. Sakura was interested in what Sasuke was doing, while he wasn't interested in anything at all.
Sai and Ino were together. He was sketching a picture of her face, and she loved the attention. She was giggling up a storm.
Naruto peered over at the right hand corner of the pool deck. He could slightly detect Shikamaru and Temari under the shade. He didn't know exactly what they were doing, but it looked like they were up to no good.
But Naruto didn't see Hinata.
That's strange. She's never late. Maybe I got my information crossed?
He claimed two full length pool chairs beside the pool, which were next to Sakura and Sasuke. Sai and Ino were a few chairs down. Naruto preferred it that way. He didn't need any of Sai's observant remarks today.
There was a food stand at the far end of the pool. There was only one person in line. It was a young woman with long, dark hair like Hinata's.
His heart was pounding. He got up and noticed what she was wearing. She had a light blue cover-up that spanned her body from head-to-toe. But the problem was… it didn't cover up much. It was see-through.
What he saw underneath the covering was a small lavender bikini. The bottom of which barely covered up what it needed to.
Naruto continued to walk up to the girl. It can't be her. Hinata never dresses like that. She is always dressed very modestly. Even at the pool she wouldn't wear that.
And then she turned around.
KABOOM! Where in the hell did she get those?
"Are you checking out my ice cream?" She purred in a deep, taunting tone.
Naruto looked up, and yes, Hinata did still have a face. But this one had an evil grin on it.
"Ice cream?" Naruto squeaked.
She lifted her hand slightly and revealed a chocolate ice cream cone.
"Oh, well no. But it does look good." Naruto tried to regain his composure.
"I'm sure it does." Hinata kept her eyes steady on Naruto, but then slowly licked her ice cream from where it met the cone, to the tip top.
He gulped, and was struck speechless. What has come over her?
But his eyes wandered back down to the twins. Crap! I haven't seen a rack like that since…
"Baa-chan!"
Just then, Tsunade decided to show up.
"Stop calling me Baa-chan, Naruto." She was wearing a one-piece magenta swimsuit, but that swimsuit was having trouble containing all of her assets.
"I'll stop calling you Baa-chan if you start acting your age!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I'll act my age when you act yours." Tsunade started to walk away. But not before she thrust out her chest for even more effect.
Naruto turned his head away from Tsunade, just to be blinded by the slightly smaller set of breasts on his other side.
Has the whole world gone boob crazy? What is going on?
Then Naruto scanned the pool area and found Sakura and Ino. Phew. Still flat-chested. What a relief!
Then, his eyes went back to the girl at his side. Damn, she is hot!
I am never, ever going to do the Sexy no Jutsu again. Because all I would be able to imagine is Hinata. And I don't want ANYONE seeing what I am imagining right now.
One thing hadn't changed about her. Hinata still seemed to be able to pick up on what Naruto was thinking. Her long, slim legs took steps toward him.
"Would you like to taste my ice cream, Naruto-kun?" She drawled out every last syllable of his name. Naruto didn't know why, but his own name sounded so weird rolling off of her tongue like that.
But before he could figure it out, he noticed her movements. She was like a feral cat. She sauntered toward him and slowly licked the ice cream all the way around the base of the cone.
And those spine-chilling byakugan eyes were still focused on him! When did her eyes get so frightening?
"Are-are we still talking about ice cream?" Naruto stuttered as he backed away from her.
"What else would we be talking about, Naruto-kun?" She kept walking toward him.
"I… um…" And then Naruto fell backwards right into the pool.
Hinata shrugged, tossed the ice cream cone behind her, and dove in after him.
A few seconds later, she emerged. Naruto was in her arms, bridal-style, with his eyes wide open.
"Hinata, you can stop grabbing my ass now." He looked up to see her evil grin.
"Fine, I'll move my hand."
Naruto relaxed for a second, before he remembered a few items near his butt where her hand could move toward.
"No, that's okay!" He jumped out of her arms.
"Suit yourself." She stepped out of the sparkling water and peeled off the light blue cover up.
Then, she started shaking her head to get the water out of her hair. It was like it was in slow motion. Drops of water scattered as her hair flew in the wind. And long portions of wet hair decided to stick to the lily white skin above the tiny top of her bikini.
Damn she's hot. But she scares the hell out of me!
Naruto followed Hinata to their pool chairs. She laid down her wet garment, and when she turned, Sai was standing there with his fake smile.
Oh God. Kill me now.
"Hinata, I can't help but notice that you're interested in Naruto."
She glared at him. "Mmhmm."
"So I wanted to warn you about his package."
I'm going to kill him. But first… I faint! That should be first.
"Don't worry about his package. Worry about your own."
Good for Hinata! She's not going to take any of his crap.
She turned to Naruto. "Besides, his package is just fine."
Naruto screamed, "What? How do you know?"
His hands shot down to protect his private area.
"Those hands won't save you." Hinata said coolly. Then a well manicured finger-tip pointed to her eye. "Byakugan."
And I just died a little.
Before Naruto could totally process what was going on, Hinata turned back to Sai. "And as for you, isn't it true that a penis fluctuates in size depending on the situation?"
Sai nodded with his fake smile.
"Then isn't it fair to say that I might see it at a different size than you would?"
Sai shrugged, and then nodded again.
"In that case, I'm sure it will rise to the occasion when necessary."
"Very well then." Sai turned and walked away. But the fake smile never left his face.
Hinata flipped her wet hair back in a defiant manner.
Oh my God. Hinata just won an argument with Sai…regarding penises! Now I know I'm dead.
"Hinata, keep those byakugan eyes away from Sasuke." Sakura shouted out.
Hinata smiled. She turned that evil grin toward Sakura and placed her hand on her hip. "Do you really think I would want to peek at big head?"
"Big head?" Sakura shrieked.
"I wasn't referring to that. I meant that he's conceited as hell. Honestly Sakura, have you seen the size of his chakra sword?"
"Yes." Sakura answered.
"Shouldn't that tell you something?"
"What?" Sakura was blushing.
"He's obviously compensating."
Sakura gasped.
"Hn." Sasuke muttered. He didn't even exert the energy to deny it.
"And who would want to see that?" Hinata asked.
"Every girl in the village!" Sakura answered defensively.
"No. Not every girl in the village. Because I never would."
Wow. I do have to hand it to horny Hinata. At least she's still loyal.
Hinata suddenly faced Naruto. It was almost as if she could read his thoughts.
Yikes! Can she read my thoughts?
Oh yeah, that's right. I'm dead. Maybe this is hell? What did I do to deserve to go to hell?
Without turning back, she announced, "Sakura, you concentrate on helping resurrect the Uchiha clan. I'll handle the same with the Uzumakis."
She took a step closer to Naruto. "Starting now."
Naruto whipped his head from one side to the other, trying to find an escape route. But Hinata was a ninja, and a pretty good one. She would find him eventually.
"H-Hinata… can we t-talk about this?"
"I like it when you stutter for me, big boy." She kept heading toward him.
"M-maybe we could talk in private?" Naruto begged.
"Not necessary. I don't care who sees."
Ack! I do!
She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down. Then she captured his lips.
The kiss wasn't altogether bad. She had soft lips that seemed to form to his perfectly. Her soft, voluptuous body melted against his.
But the emotions weren't there. Her movements were animalistic, rushed and urgent. They weren't sweet and caring like when he was with Hinata the previous day.
The kiss didn't give him goose bumps. It just wasn't the same.
He pulled away from Hinata. "I'm sorry. I can't do this."
"Why not, Naruto-kun?" She drawled with a deep voice as she stared at him with those all-seeing eyes.
"Because you're nothing like the Hinata I know. I just can't believe that you're acting this way."
"Believe it, Naruto-kun."
Believe it?
Oh, damn. I got my wish. This isn't what I wanted! And being more like me doesn't make someone horny.
Unless… their dream was to be with me. In that case they would do everything in their power to achieve their dream.
Oh hell!
Naruto grabbed Hinata by the shoulders. "Please. Please Hinata! Please go back to the way you were. I didn't mean to make such a stupid wish."
Hinata's evil grin appeared again as she slowly licked her bottom lip. "How did you know I liked it rough, Naruto-kun?"
Yikes!
He quickly let go of her shoulders. This wasn't going to get him anywhere.
Naruto turned away from her with a sad expression. "I'm sorry. I ruined everything. I'd better go."
He started to walk away, but then he felt her soft hand brush against his shoulder.
"I'm sorry Hinata. I guess it just wasn't meant to be."
"What wasn't meant to be, Naruto-kun?" Her voice had changed. It was high-pitched and squeaky like it had been before.
He shook his head and opened his eyes. Hinata was sitting right in front of him!
He reviewed his surroundings. He was sitting under the tree at the training grounds and the bare stem of the dandelion had been discarded beside him.
Hinata was completely dressed! And the evil grin was replaced by her normal soft expression.
He still appraised those byakugan eyes with distrust though.
"Naruto, it seemed like you were having a bad dream. What happened?"
How could he tell her? That stupid dream was brought on by an even stupider wish. If he didn't feel dumb before, then he certainly felt that way now.
"Nothing Hinata." Then he looked up at the sky. The sun had moved. A lot of time must have passed while he was dreaming.
"Oh my God. Did I forget a date? Were we supposed to go swimming?"
Hinata blushed. "N-no, Naruto. We didn't have anything planned. But I knew you would be training. So I came by to ask if you wanted to go to Ichiraku's."
His eyes lit up. "You betcha! But this time I treat."
Hinata giggled. "If that would make you happy, Naruto-kun."
Wow. I really like this Hinata better.
Naruto scooted over so that he was beside her. "I want to try something, but I don't want to embarrass you."
Hinata cocked her head to the side. "Embarrass me?"
Naruto rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. You see, I would like to kiss you Hinata. Is that okay?"
Her cheeks flamed crimson. "I-I guess so. If you really want to."
His mega-watt grin adorned his face. "I want to."
He leaned over and his lips brushed against hers. It was the slightest of touch, but even so, it sent an electrical current straight through him.
His one arm wrapped around her waist, as his other hand found the base of her neck. He pulled her closer to him as the kiss intensified.
A moment later he pulled away. He looked into her eyes, and found himself in them. The goose bumps that he missed from the kiss in his dream had finally arrived.
He leaned his forehead against hers and sighed. "That was much better."
Hinata was red as a tomato, but after his statement, she looked curiously at him.
"Better than what?"
Shit!
"Oh well, um," he rubbed the back of his neck. "Better than kissing you on the cheek."
She giggled. "I'm glad."
Wow. How much has the look of her eyes changed? I love looking at them now. They're not the least bit creepy.
But…
"Hinata, have you ever used the byakugan to check me out?" Naruto asked with a very serious expression.
"Eep!" That high pitched squeal was all he heard in response. She blushed and looked away from him.
He didn't want to ruin the moment. He took Hinata in his arms and whispered in her ear, "Don't answer that. Just promise me you'll never change. I want you just the way you are."
He tilted his head so that he could see her face. She had such a cute smile. He wished that he could have a picture of her expression at that very moment.
"I'll never change. And please promise me the same thing."
Naruto laughed, and he flashed his giant grin. "I'll always be the most unpredictable man you've ever met. Believe it!"
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Hinata nuzzled up against his chest. Naruto wrapped his arms firmly around her.
She was so soft and warm. And this little angel loved him. He was the luckiest man alive.
Just like Hinata, his wish had already come true. But he was just too blind to see it. Love comes in its own divine timing. Rushing will only ruin it. And sometimes, we have to learn the hard way.
Naruto nestled his chin against her dark hair. He was so happy that he learned his lesson by a dream rather than real life.
Because that would have really sucked!
Please review! :)
Poor Sasuke. I got that idea from a Sai fanart from toontwins on Deviantart. I laughed, and I hope you did too.
And did you really think you would read this story and Sai wouldn't pop up somewhere? (insert evil laugh here ...) :P