"What do you think a suitable punishment will be Naruto?" Tsunade questioned, glaring at the blonde over her hands.

"Um…Not go to the dance?" he asked hopefully please, please, please, please, oh please don't make me go to that dance!

"Oh, really? You seem very eager not to go to the dance." She observed, leaning back in her leather chair.

"Uh, uh…No! Of course I want to go!" he yelled, hoping his ploy would work.

"Don't lie to me Gaki," she warned him, "I can see it written all over your face. Why don't you go to the dance?"

"Well, the thing is…Idon'tknowhowtodance." He mumbled, blushing slightly in embarrassment.

"Speak up," she urged him.

"I-I don't know how to dance." He admitted.

"Well, then I have a solution for that," she smirked, sending a chill down Naruto's spine. This couldn't be good…

He watched cautiously as she picked up the phone on her desk, holding it to her for a moment before pressing a single button on the receiver. Silence.

"Ah, yes, Shizune—"

"No, I don't need more sake and—No! Of course not…I was getting to that…can you send me Hyuuga Hinata…yes that will be all…No!" with an aggravated sigh she slammed the phone on the receiver.

Hinata-chan…What does she have to do with this? He thought in confusion.

Now here he was, leaning against one of the rows of stacked desks in an empty classroom, waiting for Hinata to show up. After Hinata had arrived Tsunade had picked for him the cruelest punishment of all, dance lessons and even worse he would and Hinata would have to do a solo dance in front of everyone at the dance if going wasn't bad enough. He groaned in frustration, jamming his hands into the pockets of his baggy jeans. He was truthfully quite surprised when he'd learned of Hinata's ability to dance. I had no idea… he thought, sighing as he recounted all the memories he'd acquired with her over the years. Now a senior there was one thing of which he was certain, he'd fallen for Hyuuga Hinata.

It was at that particular moment that the object of his musings appeared through the classroom door, closing it silently behind her before turning to face him, hair fanning out as a slight breeze blew through one of the large open windows.

"Ohayo Naruto-kun," she greeted him with a friendly smile, long gone were the days of her fainting and stuttering; an accomplishment she was quite proud of due to her shy nature.

"Ohayo Hinata-chan," replied, watching her as she set down a small stereo on one of the empty desks.

"Oh, Naruto-kun," she spoke up as she tied her hair up with a small purple elastic.

"Hai?"
"Please don't try to skip out on practice anymore." She teased him, referring to how their first lesson was fail because Naruto had decided he'd take the time to spend in the downtown part of Konoha's village.

"Hey, don't doubt me like that Hinata-chan," he pouted, crossing his arms in front of his chest stubbornly.

She giggled slightly at his antics as he leaned back on one of the desks behind him. Even though she'd managed to overcome stuttering and fainting her signature blush refused to leave her. She could feel the heat spreading on her cheeks as he suddenly turned his focused blue gaze to her. The gaze she'd loved since she'd first seen him; of course he hadn't known it was her at the time.

"So, Hinata-chan, what are we going to learn exactly? I mean I know we're dancing and stuff, but…"

"You want to know what we're learning?" she finished for him as she joined him by the desks.

"Hai," he admitted lowering his eyes from her pale lavender ones.

"Naruto-kun," she started softly, causing him to turn back to her, Oh my gosh, he's looking at me with those eyes! She screamed in her head, trying her hardest to fight the oncoming blush.

Unfortunately it seems that luck was not on her side that day; as soon as their eyes made contact she was at a loss for words and her cheeks were dusted with a rosy pink. Almost subconsciously their faces began drifting closer together until they could feel each other's breath on the other's face. Hinata fought down the urge to close the gap and kiss him, luckily for her she was far too shy to do that, besides, she though miserably he doesn't like me that way… Biting her lip to keep back an onslaught of tears she turned her head away from him, shielding her eyes with her bangs.

"W-we should get started," she whispered, fighting to keep the sadness out of her voice.

"Yeah," he whispered sadly.

"Alright," she stated, dusting her hands and trying her best to put up a cheerful expression, "let's get started; first I'll teach you a basic move."

"What do I do, Hinata-chan?"

"Come here for a second," she told him, watching as he obediently complied, "Alright now, place your hand here," she instructed, doing her best to place his hand on her upper back, "and your other hand will hold mine like this."

She looked down at their feet for a moment before looking back up to his face, they were close now, not as close as they had been moments before, but still enough so to make Hinata infinitely nervous. She smiled at him gently before they began to move.

It had been three hours since they started and the sun was beginning to set, bathing the classroom in a golden glow as the two young students gazed out over the school grounds. The ocean shimmered in the distance giving the campus an almost unreal glow as it swallowed the sun. Naruto, however had his fixed on, what to him, was the most breathtaking sight of all; completely dwarfing the sky in front of him. No, his eyes were for one only. His gaze was riveted to Hinata's face, the way her eyes were closed in contentment as the sun's fading glow caressed her face while she sighed in contentment. A slight breeze brushed her face making leaves float past them in the fall air. It was perfect, she was perfect. She was everything to him. She turned her face to him, opening her eyes halfway to give her face a dreamy quality that almost made him stop breathing.

He reached forward, gently brushing a few stray strands of hair from her face. As his hand pulled away he noted the surprise and want lingering in her eyes as she switched her focus to his face. Once again they felt an undeniable force bringing their faces closer together; only this time they didn't fight it. Breathing…shallow and deep as the moment built…eyes…closing in preparation…lips…drawing closer to…

"NARU-CHAN!" the obnoxious call sounded through the building.

Both teens jumped, pulling away and blushing in embarrassment as the footsteps grew louder, accompanied by a loud crash.

"NARU-CHAN WHERE ARE YOU!" it called again.

"I'd better go see what she wants before someone gets hurt," he chuckled, his voice and eyes thick with sadness and disappointment.

He turned, grabbing his bag from an empty seat and slinging the black backpack over his shoulder as he sighed sadly. She couldn't let him go, not like this…

"Naruto-kun," she whispered bravely.

"Hai, Hinata-chan?" he asked, turning to face her.

What she did next, neither would forget as long as they lived. She kissed him. It wasn't long or passionate or anything what either had imagined their first kiss to be. It was short and sweet, almost like a peck, before she drew away, blushing and smiling.

"M-meet me by the fountain tonight?" she whispered, not daring to meet his gaze, almost turning completely into the old Hinata.

Naruto, however, was still completely stunned at the action and could only to manage a dumb nod and a mumbled 'Hai'.

"THERE YOU ARE NARU-CHAN!" a female voice cried enthusiastically as the door to the classroom was slammed open to reveal a red-headed girl from their grade.

Her brown eyes lit up hungrily as she spotted the tall blonde, looking at her with a mixture of fear, dread, and disgust. Suddenly Naruto's number-one fan-girl lunged forward, meaning to latch onto him before he moved out of the way.

"Oh, Naru-chan," she exaggerated the suffix in his name to make it sound sickeningly sweet, "I've been looking for you for ages. Iruka-sensei and were so worried when you weren't at your room."

He groaned in frustration as the parasitic girl refused to relinquish her grip on his arm and shot a helpless and pleading look at Hinata, only to find she was already halfway out the door.

"I'm fine Toshiko," he grumbled to her, "I was just about to walk Hina-chan back to her dorm."

"Naru-chan, she can do it herself, besides," she pouted her lips to him a batted her eyes at him, "what about me?"

"Eh, Wait up Hinata-chan!" he called after the indigo-haired girl as he ran to catch up with her.

"N-naruto-kun?" she asked in confusion as he appeared next to her, the over-bearing red-head nowhere in sight.

"Just go with it," he pleaded her.

She nodded in consent as they headed out of the building.

The two teens stood outside of the girl's dorm, gazing at each other softly. Anyone who wandered across the scene would've said it was the sweetest thing in the world. They stood facing each one hand entwined with the other. He ran his fingers through her hair as she leaned her cheek into the tender embrace. Then he leaned forward and planted a kiss on her cheek before whispering a few words that resulted in her eyes widening, tears of joy forming in their lavender depths. He pulled back grinning at her before he turned at started down the tree-lined path.

Not trusting herself the girl raised a shaking hand to touch the spot on her cheek as tears began to cascade down their rosy surface. His words still sounded in his head as she watched him leave…

Aishiteru my Hina-hime…

The wind seemed to whisper it continuously as it blew a few stray locks into her face. She smiled to herself as she turned to open the door of the dorm. One thing she knew for certain, she couldn't wait for midnight…