STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIED


W i s h M e M y P e r f e c t C h r i s t m a s


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Naruto would do anything to become Hokage; that was, anything within his limits.

He'd take on any mission, no matter how boring! He'd complain slightly, of course, but he'd still be taking part, right? And, besides, missions meant meeting new people; he'd go off on a mission with Sakura and Kakashi, and he'd come back having met thousands of new friends.

Sakura thought it was amazing.

Maybe he gave out this signal which basically said 'come over here, look at me! I'm tragic, yeah, but not an ass like Sasuke-bastard. I'm the epitome of all things happy and orange; smiling is my forte! Come, let me make you laugh!'

Then again, that didn't matter. At first, she'd hated him passionately, out of spite instead of reason (he'd stolen Sasuke's first kiss and he'd gotten more attention from Sasuke!), but then she'd realised the world didn't revolve around Sasuke.

…She realised that when he left.

And who was still with her? Who was working hard to get Sasuke back, pushing himself as far as he could go? Who was the one who smiled at her and told her he'd do it? And then, granted, came back all bloody and beaten up?

Naruto.

…But if Sasuke-ass did come back, she'd still jump him.

Seriously.

And Kakashi?

Kakashi just thought Naruto was a 'good kid'. The blonde was definitely powerful, Kakashi acknowledged that, and he had crazy stamina, but he talked too much. He was good on a mission and could be very focused, but he attracted far too much attention.

They both loved him.

But they weren't blind.

"Naruto, what are you doing at Christmas?" Sakura asked, leaning against the ramen counter and smiling at her friend. Her emerald green eyes were warm and happy and, for a second, Naruto wondered if Sasuke had come back.

"Nothing much," He admitted, flashing a boyish grin. "I'm just going to do some missions and then treat Christmas like one big holiday! All the ramen I want!"

"Just going to do some missions? I've heard Tsunade has a mission for you; in fact, Kakashi told me to tell you," A big grin. "Off you go then."

"Really?! That's great!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air, before beaming at Sakura. "See you soon, Sakura!"

The pinkette simply nodded, watching the blonde run off. Her expression softened as she watched; the sunlight bounced off his hair, making it seem as though his face was framed by a halo of gold. He'd grown, she knew that, and improved; he'd become smarter, stronger and faster.

But he hadn't changed.

"Hey, Naruto! You haven't paid the bill!"

A sigh.

Nope, he definitely hadn't changed.

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First Wish
Buy the Perfect Christmas Tree!
The Hyuuga House was terribly bland and very un-Christmas-like. And what was said 'Christmas' more than a Christmas tree?


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"Hey, Tsunade-grandma, you wanted to see me?" Naruto panted, leaning breathlessly against the door, his face flushed with joy.

The Hokage rolled her eyes, twiddling a pen uselessly in her hands, before grinning. "Come on, Naruto! It's Christmas! You shouldn't be so happy about missions. You could be out merry-making with Sakura, or someone."

Naruto's grin flickered. "Nah, Sakura's probably got family and stuff to see. I'm fine with Christmas on my own this year."

Tsunade blinked. With a small sigh, she linked her fingers together and gazed directly at Naruto. She stared at him for quite a while, until the small blonde began to feel uncomfortable and, even then, she didn't stop.

There was an awkward silence.

"Uh, grandma…? Are you going to tell me my mission or not?" He asked, waving a hand worriedly in front of her face.

"What…?" Tsunade paused, arching an eyebrow.

"You were off in coo-coo land," Naruto pulled a face, signalling that she was, in fact, quite insane.

The bastard.

She glowered darkly at him. He let out a feeble 'eep' and jumped back, away from her desk.

"Your mission, right?" A small nod. "Right then…" She paused, ruffling through some papers until she found the right one. "Ooh, you got lucky, Naruto! A simple D-ranked mission, so there's nothing to worry about. Let's see…"

She scanned the paper quickly, before nodding to herself and murmuring something under her breath.

Naruto blinked, nervous.

The curvaceous blonde stood up, slowly, and then pointed one manicured nail at the unsuspecting boy. Her brow furrowed, she pursed her lips, and her other hand swung instantly to her hip.

"Mission; fulfil Hyuuga Hinata's twelve Christmas wishes! Rank: D!"

There was silence.

"…" Naruto blinked. "…Hyuuga Hinata…? But that's-! Why Hinata?"

"Because her father requested this mission," Tsunade answered, coolly. "You are not allowed to mess this up. Understand, Naruto?"

"…"

"Understand?"

"…Yeah." A grin. "I can totally do this!"

"That's the spirit."

"It'll be a piece of cake!"

"That's my boy."

"Yeah-!"

"…"

"…"

"What, Naruto?" Tsunade sighed, tapping her forehead.

"How long do I have?"

Tsunade's eye twitched. "Starting today, you'll have twelve Christmas wishes to fulfil. One for each day. Therefore, you'll have twelve days, the last wish being fulfilled on Christmas itself. Does it make sense now?"

"Yup!" Naruto smiled, stretching and scratching the back of his neck. "I can do this without messing up!"

"Good." Tsunade nodded, reasonably happy with his answer. "Off you go."

Naruto flashed a quick final grin, before racing out of the door. She listened to his footsteps until they finally faded away before turning to the window. She glanced swiftly from side to side, decided that there was no one there, and then rapped swiftly on the glass.

The window opened slowly and two figures appeared. They slipped silently into the room, indifferent, and then gazed at the Hokage.

"Was that convincing enough for you?" She asked, folding her arms, a small smirk tugging at her lips.

"Yeah! Hinata'll never guess it was us!"

"It is obvious," The second figure murmured.

"No it isn't! Stop bein' such a Scrooge!" A grin. "Hinata deserves the best Christmas ever and I think Naruto's the only one who can give it to her."

"Should you really be playing matchmaker?" Tsunade asked, coldly.

"Should you really drink that much sake?"

A pause.

"I think we both know the answer to that one," The first boy smirked cockily, before grabbing the other's arm. "C'mon, we've got work to do."

The second boy bowed his head in respect, before leaving the room. The first stuck his tongue out childishly.

Tsunade rolled her eyes.

"Why doesn't anyone ever treat me with respect?"

"…"

"And I do not have a sake problem!"

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"I wonder where Hinata is, anyway…" Naruto murmured, scratching his head as he gazed around him. Where would he be, if he was shy and quiet and didn't really talk to anyone at all?

(He'd have stayed at home.)

He sighed, kicking a nearby stone out of the way. It rolled and rattled across the floor, skittering down the path; he watched it with his eyes, pouting slightly as he tried desperately to come up with an idea.

(…Stayed at home...)

Silence.

"…"

The stone came to a slow, hesitant stop.

"This isn't helping at all!" Naruto cried, whacking his forehead with the palm of his hand, in a half-hearted attempt to clear his head.

(…At HOME...)

The blonde took a few sad steps forwards, hanging his head in shame; what type of shinobi was he if he couldn't figure out such a simple fact? What would become of him if he couldn't complete his mission? And where the hell was Hinata?!

Sigh.

"I'm such a failure."

(…)

"An absolute idiot."

(….)

"No wonder Sasuke left."

He ran his hands through his hair, glanced gloomily about him, and then paused. His eyes widened; his mouth formed a familiar 'o'-shape and he staggered slightly as realisation slammed him in the face.

"She's at her house!" Big grin. "Why didn't I think of that before?!"

He gave the stone one final kick, laughed, and then raced down the road, heading directly for the Hyuuga house.

(…Idiot.)

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Knock, knock.

Silence.

Knock, knock.

Silence.

Yawn.

Knock-.

"What?" The door flew open, revealing a shirtless Neji, his hair damp from an earlier shower. His lilac eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Naruto's grinning face and he sighed. "Naruto."

"Neji! What took you so long?"

"…I was showering." It was a blatant lie, but he knew Naruto would eat it all up.

"Cool!"

He'd actually showered an hour ago, but he hadn't dried his hair. If you were to peek into his bedroom, at that precise moment, you'd see a wide-eyed Tenten lying on his bed, her top buttons undone; Neji was actually rather relieved that Naruto had chosen that moment in time to knock on the door.

Tenten had been halfway through seducing him and she'd been succeeding.

Much to his embarrassment.

"…Did you want something?"

Say 'yes', damn it!

"Yeah, I did. Is Hinata around?" Naruto's grin seemed to grow wider.

Oh. The good-for-nothing cousin who'd wandered into his room, seen Tenten lying on top of him, and then backed hurriedly away- even though he'd been about to explain it all, deny all the facts.

Neji frowned.

"She is."

"Can I see her?"

Uh-oh. Hyuuga-branch protective instincts kicking in.

"Why?"

Naruto blinked, before bursting out into laughter. "Ah-ha, that's funny! Are you worried about her? That's hilarious!"

Scowl. "…"

"Anyway, I've just got to talk to her. Can I see her now, Mr Over-Protective?" Naruto teased, a smirk flickering across his face.

Scowlscowlscowl.

"…She's in her room. Go up the stairs, turn right, and go into the second room." Neji paused. "If you go into my room, I will kill you."

Naruto looked somewhat startled, before nodding. "Sure, Neji…" He beamed at the stoic Hyuuga and then brushed past, darting straight up the stairs and out of sight. Neji waited to hear Hinata's door shut and the thud of her fainting, before making his way back up to his room and his possible downfall.

He pushed open the door.

"…"

There was no one there. Had she gone…?

"…"

No, Tenten never gave up that easily. Maybe she was…?

He realised his mistake far too late for his own good. Someone kicked his legs out from beneath him and he fell to the floor; Tenten sat on his back before he could stand back up.

Her voice cut through the awkward silence; it was silky-smooth and somewhat seductive. "Are you having fun yet, Neji?"

His hormones would have been raging and he would have found the entire experience somewhat sexy, if he'd been sitting upright.

As it was, the Hyuuga prodigy was lying on his front with a mouthful or carpet.

'Naruto, if you walk in now, I'll kill you really slowly.'

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"…'ata…?"

Ugh. Who was that annoying person, persistently calling her name when she was trying to sleep?

She opened her eyes slowly, her vision blurred and distorted, as she turned her head slightly to the left. Her pale pink carpet was warm and fluffy beneath her skin; that was funny. Why on earth was she lying on the carpet? She'd been sat at her desk a few seconds ago.

"…Hinata…?"

She blinked twice and slowly sat up, shaking her head as though to clear her vision. With her face still turned to the floor, she glanced to the right-.

And her heart froze.

"Hinata?"

Oh-no. It was all coming back to her.

She'd been writing in her diary, sat at her desk, when someone had knocked on her door. She'd expected it to be Neji, angry at her for walking in on his little moment with Tenten, and she'd been ready to apologise.

"Neji, I-."

"Hinata!" A familiar grin. Familiar golden-blonde hair, which framed his face like a halo; familiar heavenly ocean-blue eyes, interesting and unique, crinkled with laughter and happiness.

"N-Naruto…?"

A familiar thud.

So that's why she was on the floor.

"Hinata, are you okay?"

She glanced up at Naruto, a dark red blush rising to her cheeks and promptly averted her gaze. Oh, he was gorgeous. She adored him, it was true.

Another quick peek…?

She glanced up again and watched his anxious expression dissolve into its usual lopsided grin. His hair trickled across his forehead protector (it was longer now, she noted, than it had been before) and the whisker-like marks on his cheeks stood out. His blue eyes scanned her over and, at that moment, she knew she could die happy.

After all, Naruto was in her room, crouching down next to her and looking way too cute for his own good.

A comfortable silence filled the air.

It was broken only by the manly wail from Neji (what were they doing in there?), muffled by the wall separating the two rooms.

"Hinata…?"

"I'm f-fine, N-Naruto." She smiled quickly and hesitantly.

"Great!" He offered his hand out to her, as though to help her up; she took it, blushing, and the pair stood there, holding hands.

If Neji were to walk in then, they'd be the ones that looked like lovers.

Hinata snatched her hand away, immediately cursing herself for doing so, and then smiled at Naruto. "S-So, what a-are you doing h-here?"

"I've come here to fulfil all of your Christmas wishes!"

You've already done that.

Blush.

The blonde leaned forwards, until their noses were practically touching, and tried to look as serious as he could. "You get twelve wishes; so that's one for each day until Christmas and one at Christmas! I've got to make sure I fulfil each one to make your Christmas as perfect as it can possibly be!"

Hinata nodded. "When d-does it start?"

"Today!"

Blink, blink.

"O-Okay then," She paused, trying to think of something she'd like. Glancing about her bedroom and searching for inspiration, she paused. The Hyuuga House was terribly bland and very un-Christmas-like. And what was said 'Christmas' more than a Christmas tree?

"C-Could you h-help me buy the p-perfect Christmas t-tree?"

Naruto grinned.

"No problem!"

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"Hinata, what about this one?"

"T-Too big, N-Naruto." The Hyuuga shook her head sadly. "It won't f-fit in through the d-door."

"Oh…"

Naruto smiled, stretching slightly as he gazed back at his friend. She blushed slightly and smiled back at him; she was very pretty, he reasoned, when she blushed. Even if he didn't know why she blushed, she was still pretty.

Her hair fell down her shoulders, as black as ebony, and her wide lilac eyes were framed by long, dark lashes. A faint pink blush tinted her pale cheeks and made her seems so much more alive; she hugged her arms around her, cold despite the fact that she was wearing a jacket.

It was actually quite cold, though. The sun shone in the sky and a wind whistled and whipped through the air, but there was no warmth whatsoever. It was slowly becoming more and more like winter.

He pointed at another tree, attracted by its beautiful green needles, and grinned. "This one looks good, Hinata!"

She nodded, smiling. "It is b-beautiful, but it's v-very small."

Now that she mentioned it, the tree was small; he was about as tall as it. He grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck, and wandered over to another tree.

"This one?"

"The n-needles are g-going brown. I-I think it's d-dying."

Another tree.

"And this?"

"It's t-too w-wide."

He grinned and darted back over to her, standing beside her and staring around at all of the trees. She blushed as his shoulder touched hers; he barely noticed.

"There are so many to pick from! I wonder which the perfect tree is."

"S-So do I…"

Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and tugged her forwards; he found himself whirling around to catch her as she fainted. He paused, gazing down at her body and found his eyes resting on her dark blush.

"…Whoops?"

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Hinata opened her eyes, yawning slightly; it took her a second to remember what had happened and she shot upright. She wasn't surprised to find herself lying on her bed, with Naruto staring at her in concern.

"I f-fainted again, d-didn't I?"

Naruto grinned. "Don't worry, I caught you!"

"I-I'm so s-sorry, Naruto…" She sounded sad. Why? He'd found the perfect tree, after all.

"Forget about it, Hinata! Look at what I found!" He sounded so pleased with himself. If only she hadn't fainted, she would have been able to share his joy earlier.

He raced out of the room; she listened as he dragged something back in, huffing and puffing as he did so; she stood up, ready to help-.

-And then gasped in amazement.

"Great, isn't it, Hinata?"

"Oh, i-it's…"

A Christmas tree stood proudly in front of her, its dark green needles glowing in the light; Naruto had already placed it into a polished red plant-pot and decorated it. Golden tinsel sparkled magnificently, wrapped around the majestic tree which almost touched the ceiling- almost. Red Christmas lights flashed cheerfully, reflected a thousand times by twinkling glittery baubles. Her heart thumped happily as she glanced from Naruto to the tree and back again.

"I-It's…"

"What? Do you like it?"

"I-I love i-it." Her smile softened. "It's s-so beautiful."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "Christmas wish number one accomplished!"

Hinata watched him, blushing faintly but smiling softly.

"W-Well done, N-Naruto…"

More cheering.

A whisper.

"This i-is going t-to be the b-best Christmas e-ever."

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"Argh, no-! Tenten, get off!"

"No, Neji! Why don't you listen to me?"

"Listen to me, damn it!"

"But I love you!"

"…."

"See? Admit your feelings for me!"

"…!"

"Admit them!"

"…I would- mff- Tenten, but you're kind- urgh- of squashing my face into the- oof!- ground."


Author's Note:

I'm really sorry for not elaborating on the Epic Picking of the Perfecto Christmas Tree, but I had to cut it off short.
Due to the fact that I have homework to do.
An entire music project.
20 pages long.
DUE IN FOR MONDAY!

Argh!
Break-down!

Review, nonetheless.
I have to update each day!
Project or no project!
Mucho love to my reviewers.

xxx
She Who Must Not Be Named
xxx