A/N: Ok, so it wasn't Valentine's Day when I wrote this, but to be fair, how many holiday fanfics have you actually read on their respective holidays. I myself have read a number of Christmas fanfics months after Christmas came. Anyway this is a one-shot I thought up, so enjoy and review.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Happy Valentine's Day Naruto
"Alright class. Today is Valentine's Day!" Iruka told his class. "Can anyone tell me it's origin?"
Only a handful of hands were raised, one of them being Sakura of course, who sat next to Ino. Iruka called on her and she stood. "Years ago, before the establishment of the hidden villages, a saint named Valentine would secretly wed couples from rival clans. He was caught, however, and executed. We celebrate this day to honor his belief in true love." She said that last part looking at Sasuke.
"Correct, and today we're gonna do something special." This caught everyone's attention. Even Naruto and Shikamaru listened. "You see, there's a reason I separated the boys from the girls." Earlier, when class started, Iruka had the class separate by gender, much to Ino's dismay, as she managed to snag a seat next to the Uchiha. Iruka held up a pile of pink paper hearts. "I'm going to hand each of you one paper heart. You will then write the name of the person you want to be your valentine." Iruka started handing out the papers.
Sasuke left his blank, while Naruto, who was sitting next to Sasuke, wrote Sakura's name on his. When everyone was done, Iruka then said, "Alright, now you're gonna give you heart to the person whose name you wrote." Everyone look surprised, especially Hinata. She thought they would just write the person's name and just keep it. "Ladies first."
Immediately, all but one of the girls rushed over to Sasuke. Naruto was saddened when Sakura gave his rival her paper heart, but he wasn't necessarily surprised. After all, everyone knew she was one of the biggest Sasuke fangirls in the class. When the dust settled, Sasuke had a huge pile of pink hearts in front of him, not that it interested him. All the other boys glared at him.
Only one girl had yet to give her heart, Hinata. 'I, I don't think I'm ready to let him know,'she thought, sporting a pink blush on her face.
"Hinata, your the only girl who hasn't given her paper heart to their valentine." Iruka said. "Is there no one you wish to give it to?"
"N-no. It n-not t-that. I just…" Hinata tried to answer.
"Come on Hinata. Don't so shy." Ino said, trying to encourage her. Hinata stayed in her seat for a few seconds, before slowly getting up and making her way to her crush's seat.
Naruto watched as Hinata approached where he and Sasuke were seated. 'Hinata too? Guess she was a secret fangirl. Why does that teme get all the girls? He's not that great.'Naruto looked at the window, grumbling about annoying emos, not noticing that Hinata passed right by Sasuke, much to many people's surprise.
"Um, N-N-Naruto." Hinata stuttered, her face as red as Kushina's hair. Naruto turned and was surprised to see the young heiress holding out her paper heart. "H-h-happy V-V-Valentine's d-day."
Naruto reached out and grabbed the heart, but before he could thank her she rushed to her seat. Naruto sat there holding Hinata paper heart with his name on it, surprised and confused. He didn't hear Iruka tell the boys to give away their hearts, till he shout, "Naruto, are you listening?"
"Huh?"
"It's time for the boys to give their hearts, and despite that, err, unusual jutsu of yours," Naruto chuckled as he remembered showing Iruka his Sexy Jutsu, "that includes you."
Naruto nodded and was about to stand up, but then looked at his heart, which had Sakura's name written on it. He looked at said girl, who was eyeing Sasuke, someone else who hadn't moved from his seat. Naruto then looked at the heart given to him, and then his own. He grabbed his pencil and erased Sakura's name and replaced it with another's.
Hinata had just thanked Kiba politely, as she had the other boys who gave her their paper hearts. It was nice that some boys were interested in her, but what she wanted most was for Naruto to come up and make her his valentine. 'I know it won't happen today, since he has that huge crush on Sakura. But one day, maybe.' Hinata was driven out of her thoughts as she saw Naruto approach her, paper heart in hand.
"Hey Hinata! You know, you left before I could thank you."
"Oh, s-sorry." 'He's only here to thank me. I bet that heart has Sakura's name on it. Lucky girl.'
"So, uh, thanks. And this is for you," Naruto said, holding out his paper heart with Hinata's name on it.
'For me? Naruto wrote MY NAME on it?! Oh god, don't faint! Don't faint! DON'T FAI…' She fainted.
"Huh? Hinata, are you ok?" Naruto grew concerned about the unconscious girl in front of him. "Hey, Iruka-sensei! Something's wrong with Hinata."
"Hmm? What happened?"
"I don't know. I was just gonna give her this and suddenly she passed out. Should I take her to the nurse?"
Iruka managed to suppress a small laugh trying to escape him. He was well aware of why Hinata had fainted. "She's alright Naruto. Return to your seat, I'll wake her up."
Naruto return to his seat, while Iruka woke Hinata up and began the lesson for today. But Naruto was too lost in thought to pay any attention. He kept staring at the paper heart in his hand. It was the first time he was given something by someone his age, and a girl no less. 'It's comforting that not every girl is obsessed with Sasuke. Of course, she could have just done this to be nice since that teme got all the other hearts, but still, she chose me. I wonder why.'
"She gave you that because she likes you, dobe." Naruto turned toward Sasuke, who strangely enough, was speaking to him unnecessarily.
"Huh? Were you reading my mind? And what do you mean she likes me?" Naruto asked.
"Please, someone like you doesn't have a lot of thoughts going on in their heads." Naruto sent a glare, but the Uchiha ignored it. "And as for Hinata, she has a crush on you."
"And how would you know that?"
"Because it's so obvious. She's always blushing around you and when she speaks to you, her stutter gets worse. Plus, she's always staring at you, like right now."
At that last comment, Naruto look at Hinata to see she was indeed looking at him. She turned away blushing. He began to recall all of his previous encounters with the young Hyūga and suddenly, the way she acted started to make sense. 'He's right! How'd I not notice!'
"I'm gonna say something I never thought I'd say, and if you tell anyone I said this, I'll deny it." Sasuke sighed. "I envy you."
Naruto had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing out loud and drawing Iruka's attention. "You envy me?!"
"Only in this regard!" Sasuke defended.
"Wait, so you like Hinata?" Naruto asked calming down.
"No! I mean the fact that you someone who cares about you like Hinata does."
"Um, Sasuke? Have you forgotten all those girls begging for a date with you?" Naruto asked.
"Those fangirls like the image of me they see, not the real me," Sasuke clarified.
"Oh, is that why you ignore them. I thought it was because you were gay."
"Then let me clear this up for you, if I had to choose between being with a woman, and being with a man, I'd pick a woman in a heartbeat. I don't like people saying I'm something I'm not."
"Alright, alright. Geez, not need to get testy." Naruto said, snickering.
"But like I said," Sasuke said, getting back on track, "they see me as some kind of fairy tale prince and believe I can guarantee a happily ever after."
"Well, maybe Hinata is the same."
Sasuke's stoic demeanor nearly broke upon hearing that. "Naruto, you have no heritage, no bloodline, you're the deadlast, unpopular, and a baka. And everyone knows it." Naruto sent Sasuke his strongest death glare. "However," he added, "she's still wants to be with you. That means she sees something the rest of us don't. Something that makes up for all your flaws." And with that, Sasuke left Naruto to his thoughts.
'As much as I hate to admit it, Sasuke makes a good point. But… I like Sakura. I mean, she's smart and pretty…' Naruto turned his gaze toward said pink-haired girl. He then diverted his gaze toward Hinata, whom he caught staring at him again. 'Although, upon closer inspection, Hinata is really cute. Cuter than than Sakura even… But Sakura is nice, except for all those times she insulted me and even hit me. In fact, I don't remember Hinata ever being rude to me at all. She's only ever been nice. Plus Sakura's always rejecting me so...'
Class continued until it was time for lunch and everyone went outside. Hinata sat alone on a bench, holding Naruto's paper heart close to her chest. 'I know he only gave this to me as a thank you. I can see Sakura's name faded on it. But that doesn't matter. I'm on Naruto's radar. He even looked at me twice during class. Some maybe one day...'
"Hey Hinata!"
Hinata look up, surprised to see her crush right in front of her and turning red. "N-N-Naruto! W-what b-brings y-you h-here."
Naruto smiled. He like the way he affected her now that he knew the reason why. "Oh, nothing much. I was just wondering if you'd like some company."
'Naruto wants to keep me company? Oh please don't let this be a dream!' "O-of course, N-Naruto. I'd l-love it if y-you'd spent lunch w-with me."
The two sat and ate lunch together, Naruto having instant ramen and Hinata eating some chicken teriyaki. They engaged in conversation, which was mostly Naruto talking about his training or some of his pranks. Finally, Naruto decided to ask the question that was on his mind. "Hey, Hinata, can I ask you something?"
"S-sure Naruto," Hinata answered, wondering what he wanted.
"Why'd you give me this?" Naruto asked, holding up the paper heart Hinata gave him. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you did. I'm just curious why you choose me out of all the other guys."
"W-why wouldn't I?" Hinata asked, trying her best not to give a direct answer.
"Well, I can't find a reason you would. But I also don't know why you would." While he now realised the girl next to him liked him, he want to know why she did. What was it that attracted her to him?
Hinata was bright red now. She could no longer avoid the question. 'This is my chance to tell Naruto how I feel. I just hope he doesn't reject me.' "W-well, uh, I've a-always admired you Naruto." She said, her stutter lessening. "Y-you work hard and when you fall, you have the strength to get back up and keep trying. A-and you're always s-so kind, even when people treat you poorly. T-that's why…" Hinata took a deep breath. "That's why I truly believe you'll be a great Hokage one day!" Hinata finished, meaning every word she said.
Naruto was shocked to hear her praise him like that. Even from the people closest to him like the Hokage and Iruka, he never heard such praise. And the way she believe in him without a doubt. Naruto may not be as adept as some at detecting deception, but he'd be willing to bet Hinata meant what she said. And so, Naruto gave her the biggest smile of his life.
"Thanks Hinata. That really means a lot, ya know." Hinata smiled happily, knowing she had made her crush's day. And even if she didn't come outright and tell him she wanted to be his girlfriend, at least she let him know that there was someone who truly appreciated him for who he is.
The bell rang for the end of lunch. Naruto got up to return to class, but first turn toward Hinata. "Um, one more thing."
"Y-yes?" Hinata stutter returned.
"Want to join me at Ichiraku's after school. You know, like a uh, like a date, maybe?" Naruto asked. After hearing what Hinata had said about him, he decided to give her a chance. After all, it's not like he was getting anywhere with Sakura anyway, and a part of him hoped to feel for her the same way she feels for him.
Hinata was speechless. The last thing she expected today was to be able to hangout with Naruto as a friend, let alone be asked on a date. Recovering from her shock, she replied, "I, I'd l-l-like t-that N-Naruto."
"AWESOME! It'll be great, believe it!" Naruto shout. Hinata giggled at his antics and went with him back to the classroom for Mizuki's lesson, both of them unaware that Iruka had been watching the entire thing.
"Well, I guess your plan worked, Lord Third," Iruka said aloud. Behind him, the Third Hokage emerged from the shadows. "But don't you think those two should have been able to get together without our interference?"
The Hokage took his pipe out of his mouth and let loose a puff of smoke. "I've no doubt those two would have gotten together eventually. However, between Naruto's oblivious nature and Hinata's shyness, who knows how long that would have taken. So I wouldn't call what we did interference. We were merely speeding things along."
"As you say, Lord Third," Iruka said. He watch as his favorite student dragged the young Hyūga into the classroom while blush furiously and tried not to faint.
-
One Year Later
Hinata had just come back from a C-rank mission with her team and now stood by the swing at the academy when she felt a pair of familiar pair of arms wrap around her waist. She smile as she turn and her lavender eyes met blue eyes. "Happy Valentine's Day Hinata!"
Hinata look at the arms around her waist and saw he had a present in each hand, a red rose and a heart-shaped cinnamon bun, causing her eyes to widen. "Aw, Naruto, you shouldn't have."
"Hey, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't get you anything?" Naruto said. "Besides, it was no trouble at all!"
"Well I have something special for you too. Now close your eyes." Naruto did as he was told. A few moments passed before Hinata told him to open his eyes again and he squealed.
"Is that the premium ramen only available in the Land of Water?!" Naruto asked excited.
"The very same. I know ramen is your favorite thing in the whole world."
Naruto shook his head. "Actually, there's one thing I love more than ramen."
"Oh, and what would that be?" Hinata asked, anticipating his answer.
And she wasn't disappointed when he responded in the form of a kiss, which she immediately returned.
-
Here's a list of who the Rookie 9 gave their hearts to.
Naruto - Hinata
Sasuke - No one (He threw his away.)
Sakura - Sasuke
Hinata - Naruto
Ino - Sasuke
Kiba - Hinata
Shino - Some random girl in the class
Shikamaru - Ino (Since Temari isn't in the class)
Choji - Ino
-
Alpha: My first one-shot, done!
Naruto: Why'd you make a Valentine's Day one-shot… in May!
Alpha: The idea popped up and if I didn't write it down, I'd lose it. Look me in the eye and tell me you wouldn't have forgotten too.
Naruto: sighsAlright, good point.
Sasuke: I'm kinda surprised you made me help the dobe.
Alpha: I won't always make you a villain.
Hinata: Well I like it.
Alpha: Thank you. And it's good if you'll excuse me, I need to continue my longer story.