Today was going to be the day. It was such a simple ploy, foolproof really. Hinata kept reminding herself of that. There was absolutely no cause to be nervous and fidgety. She just had to make a simple casual remark.
"Naruto—I seem to have foolishly prepared far too much ramen. Do you think you could help me eat it?"
That was all she had to say, and then she would have him to herself for a while. Maybe then she could work up the courage to say something more.
Checking herself in the mirror one last time, Hinata felt a valuable surge of confidence. She was presenting herself in the best way a teenage ninja girl knew how. Her brand new, and perfectly fitted, chain mail was polished to mirror like sheen. Underneath that she had a newly modified black sports bra. It revealed just a hint of cleavage—as much as she dared. Her usual black capris were extra tight; revealing the perfect glutes that were a welcome side effect of her constant training. The big fur-trimmed coat would stay at home. She had nothing she needed to hide.
A glance at her face induced a rare self-confident smile. Hinata wore no makeup, few women in her vocation did, but she was one of the lucky ones who didn't really need it anyway. Her unusual Hyuuga eyes, which she had at one time sought self consciously to hide, were now a source of great personal pride, and not just because of the special abilities they gifted her with.
After all, there were few other girls who could boast such an exotic and, dare she say it, feminine feature. It didn't make any sense that the clan referred to their special characteristic as "White Eyes". Oh it was a pale hue for sure, but in truth the color was best described as lavender. Hinata could understand why the consistently male headed clan had so egregiously misnamed its unique trait. After all, what man—what man who fought for a living—would want to flaunt such an un-masculine physical characteristic.
She supposed it wouldn't be very good for striking fear in the hearts of one's enemies either. If you told a group of s-rank criminals that the "purple eyes clan" was coming to get them they would probably burst into raucous laughter.
The initial epiphany had come when she overheard Tenten remarking on how "cute" but "girly" she thought Neji's "purple eyes" looked. It had helped her greatly in dealing with her stern and overbearing father. Now when he went into one of his tirades—something that used to make her want to cry—she could just think about how effeminate his lavender eyes looked. Sometimes it was all she could do to keep from giggling.
Gradually Hinata had come to realize that, when the boys had trouble maintaining eye contact with her, it wasn't due to repulsion as she had once feared, but was more akin to the overwhelming feeling she had when she gazed into Naruto's deep blue eyes.
Naruto. At least now when she stood before him she could hope that the effect she had on him was similar to the one he had on her. Yes, Hinata was ready. There was absolutely no reason to be nervous or fidgety.