I decided it was time for me to do a nice light-hearted Naruot/Hinata romance. I'm a huge fan of the series and I've been reading the manga for years. I'm a big fan of this pairing and of Hinata in general.

I've taken a few liberties with the story, so this might be considered slight AU

Kakashi became the 7th Hokage. Tsunade eventually awoke from her coma, but has effectively retired to focus on her medical work. Madara (aka Tobi) and the remaining Akatsuki are the main threat at the moment- so the five Kages are busy with the "Great Ninja Alliance" in case war breaks out.

CALL IT A DATE

Part I:
"The Invitation"

Hinata Hyuuga was on her way back home from her latest mission. The dark-haired kunoichi felt pleased- things had gone surprisingly smooth for the group. With Kurenai-Sensei on maternity leave, Hinata and her two teammates (Kiba and Shino) had been lead by various stand-ins.

However, efforts were being made to get them a more permanent leader- as it was likely that Kurenai would not be coming back for some time... Especially when considering that her child had the blood of the Sarutobi Clan in it. Still, they had been fairly shocked to find out that their new captain was in fact Anko Mitarashi!

The former exam proctor-turned Cell Leader had something of a reputation... Though thankfully, she had proven to be a competent (if not somewhat eccentric) leader. The four of them had been assigned to act as bodyguard for a messenger with a special diplomatic message that was to be delivered to the leaders of Sand.

Hinata blushed, recalling what had happened when they first found out. Anko had walked up to Hinata and stared at her for a moment with a strange look in her eyes. Then, she hooked and arm around the shy girl's shoulders and leaned in close to her.

The strange Jounin then looked downward- directly at Hinata's chest, then back up at her with a creepy grin on her face. Anko then whispered the words that had made her turn dark red...

"Lucky! I wish I'd had such nice breasts when I was your age!"

Mercifully, her two male teammates hadn't heard the remark. Still, that hadn't made it any less embarrassing for her! After that, Anko began their mission briefing as if nothing odd had happened. Hinata guessed that it was her tendency to say things like that that had delayed her transfer for as long as it had...

"How could such an unorthodox person like her have become a Jounen...?" Hinata wondered silently to herself as she walked along.

Hinata then reminded herself that Anko had been one of the many people victimized by Orochimaru when she was younger... Yet she never used the curse mark as a crutch- she stood on her own feet and became stronger!

"Yes, that was why she was a Jounin!" Hinata thought, suddenly feeling a sense of pride in having Anko as their leader.

By this point, Hinata was almost back to the Hyuuga Estate... when she heard a familiar boisterous voice calling out to her.

"Hinata! Hey, Hinata- wait up!"

She turned around in time to see Naruto sprinting towards her with a big smile on his face. Well, he was almost always smiling, but that was beside the point. She came to a halt, allowing the orange and black clad ninja to close in on her.

He stopped before her and folded his arms behind his head. "So Hinata, I was wondering..."

.o.o.o.

Naruto Uzumaki had just returned from his mission...

Konan, now the acting leader of the Rain Village, had promised to help Konoha in any way possible against the Akatsuki. Rain signed a treaty with Leaf... and as a gesture of goodwill, Konoha sent supplies and equipment to help strengthen the Village. Aside from a few minor attempts by some cut-rate bandits, there hadn't really been any serious trouble along the way.

The real issues was having to get used to working with their 'Other Captain' again... Since Kakashi had been talked into becoming the Seventh Hokage, Yamato had started leading them again- though this time, it was on a more permanent basis...

It wasn't as if he had anything against Yamato-Sensei. The guy was certainly more punctual than Kakashi had ever been. And he was nice enough. (except when he broke out his "scary face"!) It was just weird getting used to the idea that the guy who had led them since the inception of Team Seven wasn't there any more...

Naruto paused and shook his head. "No... we haven't technically been Team Seven since I was thirteen... and that was almost four years ago... wow!" Naruto thought to himself.

Aside from himself (a Toad Sage who specialized in shadow-clones and Wind-style attacks) and Sakura (a Medic who also happened to be able to knock down trees with her bare hands), there was Sai (former "Root" Operative who fought with his unusual Ink-Style) and Captain Yamato (a former ANBU who possessed the First Hokage's trademark Wood-Justsu).

...So only two out the four originals remained. Still, he couldn't obsess over the past forever. And it wasn't fair to his new teamate and Captain to view things through a misty lens of nostalgia.

Besides, he needed some serious advice... from a another guy... preferably an older guy with some experience... and most importantly, an older guy who's experience extended beyond the realm of the Icha-Icha series!

After they got back from the mission, he'd asked Yamato if the two of them could talk in private... He'd even gone so far as to say that it was a "guy thing" and he needed some advice. Yamato had been silent for a moment, then agreed!

.o.o.o.

Yamato had been taken back by Naruto's candid request. So much so, that he hastily agreed to talk with him about it... The former Black-Ops turned Cell Leader made his way towards the spot he'd agreed on with Naruto. He wasn't even sure if he was qualified for this sort of things... but Naruto had appealed to him as a fellow member of the male gender, so he felt that it was important that he do his best!

Yamato touched down near where Naruto was- seated on a rock near a tree. The dark-haired man steeled himself as he began. "So, Naruto... what do you want to talk about?" He asked, making sure to sound as much at ease as possible.

Naruto looked at him with a surprisingly somber expression. "Yamato-sensei, there's something I wanted to ask your advice on..." He began. The older ninja could discern the unease in both his voice and body language. "...You see, there's this girl... and I thinking about asking her out..."

Yamato didn't know weather to feel relieved or even more worried. On one hand, this wasn't a life-threatening matter. But on the other hand... it was a much more sensitive matter than he would have expected from the blond teen. Still, he knew that it was important to build up a proper rapport with the three youths under his command...

Yamato had sat down beside Naruto, who then explained what had transpired between him and Hinata during his battle with the Six Paths of Pain...

Yamato was silent, mulling over what the teenager had told him. Naruto had been surprisingly open about the whole thing. Incidentally, the most shocking revaluation (Hinata's confession and then her seeming death at the hands of the "Deva" Path) also explained what had triggered the activation of his six-tailed form!

"Wow, that was quite an ordeal to have been put through..." He began. "It sounds like Hinata really is in love with you to have tried to defend you against Pain." Yamato paused for a moment and then looked at Naruto again. "I guess the real question here is how you feel about her." He reasoned.

Naruto sighed and looked off into the horizon. "I feel really stupid... She was always there, cheering me on and telling me how much I had inspired her..." He began. "...And I was just so oblivious the whole time..." He paused.

Yamato listened intently as Naruto continued. "I mean... she's a really nice girl, and I do like being around her... I sort feel at ease with her." He reasoned. "I don't have any thing to compare this too... I mean, it never even occurred to me that there was a girl who likes me- let alone Hinata Hyuuga!"

Naruto stopped and turned to look when Yamato placed his hand on his shoulder.

The brown-haired Jounin smiled at him. "You never struck me as the kind of guy to let lack of experience stop you." He said. "You perfected the Super Rasengan, and then learned the Sacred Sage Arts... You accomplished those things on your merits- so I don't see how this is any different."

The youth suddenly perked up. "Yeah, you're right- I can't let this get me down... I gotta go for it!" He exclaimed, rising to his feet.

Naruto then turned to look at his captain and smiled at him. "Ya know, Yamato-sensei... You're a pretty cool guy." He remarked, rubbing the back of his head. "And well... I just wanted to say I'm glad that you're our leader."

Yamato watched as Naruto quickly bolted off- towards the village. "...Would that it were romance was this simple for everyone..." He thought with a sigh, blushing slightly. "Still, at least this proves that not all girls go for the silent aloof types..."

(An image of Kakashihad appeared briefly as he said the last part.)

He smiled and rubbed his chin. "Heck, maybe I should look into finding myself a girlfriend..."

.o.o.o.

The raven-haired kunoichi was silent as Naruto stood before her- smiling, but with a slightly nervous posture. The blond ninja had to cast his gaze to the side... her pale eyes were distracting him from his objective!

Naruto crossed his arms behind his head as he spoke. "So Hinata, I was wondering... if you wanted to go out sometime?"

Hinata's heart skipped a beat and she blushed. But after a moment, she managed to compose herself enough and offered him an equally flustered smile. "...o-of course, I... I'd love to Naruto." She managed to reply.

Naruto beamed when he heard the answer, his broad smile causing the marks on his cheeks to look even more like whiskers. When this was combined with how his (semi-closed) eyes were arched upward, he really did look like a fox! Luckily, Hinata happened to find this cute!

.o.o.o.

Lord Hiashi stood in the doorway of his estate with his arms crossed- watching as Naruto Uzumaki asked his eldest daughter out on a date. He sighed. "I'm still not totally sure about this boy... are you certain he's reliable?"

Neji smiled and nodded respectfully as the elder Hyuuga turned to him. "Yes Uncle," He began, maintaining eye contact. "Despite how rough and unorthodox he may seem, Naruto possesses a very rare ability."

"Really now, and what exactly is that?" He asked in a casual tone. Hiashi knew of Naruto's many accomplishments in terms of raw skill and how highly regarded he was by many of the people of Konoha. Still, he was curious about this 'other' ability that his prodigal spoke of.

Neji nodded. "Naruto has the ability to move the hearts and minds of others- to help them aspire to better themselves, to become more than they are."

Hiashi smirked slightly and looked back outwards. "Well, for such praise to come someone as highly regarded as you... then perhaps it's true." He remarked.

(- End of Part I -)

.o.o.o.

Author's Notes: While reading the most recent manga, I've found myself scratching my head. Hinata's confession was a VERY crucial moment in the series... but it was never addressed again. I mean, Naruto went ape-shit when he thought she'd been killed!

Also, Sakura's "confession" felt very contrived to me. It seemed like is was just a way to drop her into the the Senshu vs. Uchiha plot-line. Sakura is too smart to have thought she could fool Naruto or that she could kill Sasuke. (I think this is due to Kishimoto having to cope with so many plot threads.)

I hope I got Yamato right- I wanted to show him being a positive figure in Naruto's development without making him seem too preachy. The scene between Hiashi and Neji was another part where I had to think about it. I tend to be more positive, so I felt that he would have maid an effort to make amends with Neji.

I hope you guys enjoyed reading this. Reviews and feedback are always appreciated! And I hope to have the next chapter out soon.

-Bojack727