Yes, any nitpickers who're ready to pounce; I am fully aware that, since only 2 per cent of the population of Japan is Christian, Christmas isn't widely celebrated there. However, at what point was it ever stated that Konohagakure is in Japan? Please just grant me enough creative licence to have Christmas in Konoha, and enjoy the fic. Or call it an AU, whichever makes you happy.
Set before the 'rescue Sasuke' arc, and after the Chuunin exams. Short story, NaruHina pairing. Please enjoy!
Rubbing at one eye sleepily, Hinata pulled open her bedroom curtains, gazing at the world outside. Once again, all that greeted her was frosted grass, icy paths and grey skies – still no snow. This was the coldest December she could remember in Konoha, and she had been hoping that this year, they might get a white Christmas. She heard the adults in the village talking about the white Christmases from their youth around this time every year, and had always been fascinated by the romance and beauty of the idea, but she couldn't remember having ever seen one.
Even now, three days before Christmas, with the weather as cold as it was, with grey skies looming overhead day after day, her wish still didn't look like coming true. With a soft sigh, Hinata turned away from her window and began to change out of her pyjamas and into her usual day-to-day outfit, remembering to set a sweater down by her coat to make sure she didn't forget it when she went out later. It may have been toasty-warm in her room, but she was under no illusions as to what the temperature outside was like!
As she pulled her clothes on, Hinata's thoughts drifted to the same topic that occupied her for at least a small while every day – Naruto. This year, she'd specifically set money aside from what she normally spent on her family's presents, in order to ensure she could get one for him too. She'd managed to break down several barriers this year – getting noticed by him and talking to him a little more often being the two most noteworthy – and giving him a personal gift would be the perfect way to round the year off, if she were to set realistic goals. She didn't suppose for one second that she'd be able to sit side-by-side with him on top of the Hokage monument to watch the sun rise for the New Year, but a gift was a nice enough 'second place' choice, she reasoned.
The trouble was deciding on a gift to give him. Firstly, she wanted it to be something unique – something that no-one in the village was giving to anyone else. That immediately reduced the few things she could think of dramatically. As far as she could tell, his favourite things seemed to be missions, training and ramen. She couldn't give him a mission, obviously, and she was sure that kunai and shuriken were being bought in abundance for the other ninja in the village. A scroll containing a jutsu powerful enough to be of interest to him was out of her range financially and inaccessible to her anyway, so that only left ramen on the list, unless she found something that really screamed to be bought for him… but ramen was hardly a good present at this time of year, was it?
Sighing again, glumly eyeing the bundle of vouchers she'd bought from Ichiraku's ramen stall just in case she couldn't find a better present, Hinata left her room to join her family for breakfast. She'd promised herself she'd give him his present before Konoha's Christmas party – Christmas Eve – but at this rate, she'd be lucky to even find something worth giving him by then.
What she'd give for a flash of divine inspiration today…
The Genin ninja teams had been offered the week leading up to Christmas off, if they wanted to take it, so that they could have time to prepare their presents and attend any family gatherings that they may be summoned for. Some teams, like Kakashi's team seven, had chosen to continue training anyway – Naruto, Kakashi and Sasuke didn't have any family to worry about, after all – but the majority had welcomed the break gladly, training just enough to keep their skills sharp before hurrying on with whatever their families roped them into doing.
In Hinata's team's case, they had trained as usual for the first few days – though Shino had found his bugs disliked the cold weather immensely – before being told that from today onward, they were being left to their own devices, since Kurenai-sensei had to visit some relatives who lived some way from the village. Because of this, Hinata now found herself wandering around town, searching for her teammates as well as that elusive 'perfect present' for Naruto.
"Ramen…" she mumbled quietly to herself, drifting past many other last-minute shoppers almost unnoticed in the hustle and bustle. "Naruto-kun must like something more than ramen…"
In truth, the thought of giving him the vouchers almost upset her a little. Granted, she was sure he'd be happy to have them, but it just wasn't what a present should be. There should just be something more… more heartfelt about it.
"Ramen…" she mumbled again, before suddenly perking up as something hit her. Of course! She could-!
"Yo!" a voice called, though there was almost no enthusiasm to it. "Chouji! Ino!"
Hinata found her thoughts derailed as she turned to follow Shikamaru's voice. The Chuunin – the only one to make the grade during the exam – ambled lazily down the street to catch up to his two teammates, apparently trying to hide something behind his back. If Hinata's guess was right, he was about to…
"Here," he stated almost nonchalantly, pulling his hands out to reveal what he'd been concealing. "Merry Christmas."
A squeal emanated from Ino as she took the glass vial Shikamaru offered to her, while Chouji settled for an appreciative grunt as he took the envelope offered to him with the hand that was occupied by holding his snack. "Oh, Shikamaru!" the girl cooed as she fawned over the gift. "This is my favourite! How did you know?"
The Nara boy shrugged half-heartedly. He couldn't see what the big deal was – he'd half-expected her to tell him off for just tying a bow round it, instead of wrapping it properly, but apparently she'd overlooked the presentation side of it. "My mother told me it's quite a popular scent," he replied simply. "And I know girls like that sort of thing."
"Hey," Chouji grunted, holding up his present. "Thanks for this."
"No problem," Shikamaru replied with a lop-sided half-smile. He knew Chouji wasn't prone to fits of enthusiasm quite as open as Ino's, but the look on his face satisfied him that his teammate appreciated his present.
Chouji's gift had been five vouchers for all-you-can-eat meals at the barbecue place they regularly ate at with their instructor, and while Hinata was too far away to make out the specific details of this, there was no doubting that it was vouchers he held in his hand. Her heart sank as she took this in, remembering her back-up plan for Naruto. 'So if I want to give him something unique, they won't work either…' she noted with a small sigh. 'Thank goodness I had that other idea…'
With that, Hinata turned and hurried her way off to the village's pottery shop.
It was quite an easy link, now that she'd thought about it. Naruto liked ramen. Lots of ramen. From what she heard (and, for that matter, had occasionally witnessed), he frequently had two or three bowls at a time. So what could be more fitting than a specially made extra-large ramen bowl, so that he didn't have to keep making seconds at home?
Hinata could already see in her mind's eye what it would look like. A nice, deep-blue bowl, with his name hand-painted on the side in that same fiery orange as the jump suit he always wore. On the other side of the bowl, there could be a small picture – maybe a decorative spiral, or Konoha's leaf symbol. She could perhaps even add those last two details herself, as a personal touch!
Feeling her excitement beginning to grow, Hinata picked up her pace a little as she approached the store, almost jogging by the time she reached the entrance. Reaching out for the handle, she gave a sharp squeak of surprise as the door opened toward her, hopping back just in time to avoid getting hit in the face by it.
"Oh! Sorry Hinata!" a familiar voice called with a roguish laugh. "I didn't see you there."
"It's… It's alright, Kiba-kun," she replied, smiling partly in greeting and partly in relief that she'd managed to avoid an injury. "Why're you here?"
"Christmas shopping," a deeper voice replied plainly from behind Kiba.
Hinata gave her other teammate, Shino, a smile and a small nod in greeting as he emerged from the door, letting it swing shut behind him. Before she could say anything in reply, Kiba explained for her. "It's for Akamaru."
Hinata suddenly realised that, for the first time in her memory, Kiba's pet wasn't with him. But then, she supposed, it was like shopping for a child – you'd have to not let them see it when you bought it.
"He's outgrown his old food and water bowls, so I went and had some specially made for him for Christmas," her teammate added. "See?"
As Kiba pulled the protective wrapping away from around the bowls, Hinata felt her heart sink for the second time that day. Under the paper were two ornate bowls, both a soft tan colour with 'Akamaru' painted on the sides in a rich shade of blue. While she was happy that Kiba even thought of his puppy at Christmas, she was disappointed that her plan had gone to waste. 'So now I'm back to having no idea what to get for Naruto-kun…'
"Why are you here, Hinata?" Shino enquired. "Did you want to buy a present for someone too?"
"A-ano… I just heard you were here, so I decided to just come and say hi," she lied, averting her eyes. The last thing she wanted was to tell Kiba that she had been planning to get Naruto the same present as a dog was getting! "D-demo…" she continued. "I do still need to buy one more present… I'm just not having much luck."
"Hinata…" Shino intoned in his usual steady voice. "Perhaps you're just thinking about it the wrong way."
The Hyuuga girl blinked a little uncertainly at this. "What do you mean?"
"You're thinking about what that person likes, I'm guessing," Shino reasoned, though he sounded almost as if he were reciting from a book. "You should think more about what they want instead. Take Kiba…"
He turned to face his friend. "You know that Akamaru likes going for walks with you, playing with you, and sleeping, correct? By that logic, you could have bought him a lead or a new bed. Instead, though, you picked something that he would recognise as being his and his alone, and that only you could have gotten him – which is what he really wants."
Kiba nodded at this. He hadn't really thought about all that, but it did make sense. Maybe he thought it without realising it.
"So…" Hinata began. "You think that, rather than thinking about what they like and have now, I should look at things that would really make them happy, because it's different?"
"If it being different would make them happy, yes."
Hinata remembered Ino's delight at being given a perfume that, by the sound of things, lots of people would be getting. Like Akamaru, her delight was at the gift itself. "So…" she began, trying to think how she could correct herself. "I don't have to go for something I know they like now, if it's something personal, because that's what counts?"
Hinata could have sworn, for a brief moment, she saw Shino smile behind his tall-collared jacket. "As long as they won't dislike what you give them."
"So, Hinata," Kiba enquired, dropping a friendly arm round her shoulders and grinning impishly. "Who's the one last present for?"
"Uh… uhm… ano…"
Hinata's stutter suddenly came back to her with a vengeance at this question, and she felt her cheeks flare bright red. "Uh-uhm… n-no-one in particular…"
The two boys gave each other a knowing glance, and Shino spoke again, ready to impart one final piece of advice. "Hinata… if it's for him, say it from the heart. You can already offer him exactly what he wants."
Hinata felt her breath catch at this statement, before swallowing thickly and nodding. "I'll… I'll try…" she eventually replied, before bowing deeply. "Thank you both," she added, before making an excuse and dashing away.
"That was some deep stuff you came up with there," Kiba remarked to Shino with a little awe in his voice once Hinata was gone.
"…" was Shino's reply. Between the two of them, that was enough.
"Think she'll manage to find something?"
"…let's hope so," Shino eventually replied.
That afternoon, Hinata had rushed straight home, chanting under her breath, "Not what he likes, what he wants," again and again. She had gone to her room immediately, barely even taking the time to let her family know she was back – not that it mattered, she later reasoned – and had dropped down on her bed, running that mantra over and over in her head, trying to remember what it was that meant so much to him – what he wanted most of all.
Then, in a sudden spark of wisdom, it had hit her.
"Urusei! One day I'll become Hokage, and I'll make you all acknowledge my strength!"
Acknowledgement. That was what he wanted. To be seen; to be accepted; to have his strength realised, and to feel as cared for as everyone else in the village.
'You're right, Shino…' Hinata had realised with a small smile. 'I can show him that…'
With that, she had gotten to work on his gift immediately. It was such a simple little thing, but she'd embroidered it herself, using the most careful, most precise, neatest stitching she could. With each stitch, a small voice in her head had reminded her why she was doing it, and she had poured all she could into that single piece of work.
She had hardly slept that night, almost trembling with excitement when she imagined his eyes lighting up at the sight of her gift. She didn't for one moment think it'd suddenly make him fall in love with her – even at Christmas, miracles like that didn't happen – but if she could make him happy, and make him smile a genuine smile, she couldn't have any regrets.
And now, she was hiding in the distance, watching team seven meeting at the bridge where they always did, the present clutched tightly in her hand as she waited for a chance. As she'd feared, her resolve was slipping away now that she'd reached the point where she actually had to hand the gift over… but maybe she could catch Sakura's eye so that she could pass it to Naruto. Or Kakashi-sensei – he seemed nice enough too.
She couldn't right now though – it looked like Sakura was handing out her presents, so she'd have to wait a while.
"Here," the pink-haired girl said with a bright smile as she passed the neatly-wrapped packages out. "Merry Christmas Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Sasuke-kun!"
"Wow! Thanks Sakura!"
"Naruto!" Sakura yelled as the sound of paper being torn came to her ears. "You're not supposed to open it 'til Christmas Day!"
"Huh?"
Naruto looked a little guilty as the last of the paper fell from his present. The truth was he'd just been caught up in his sudden excitement, having received very few gifts over the years, but he realised that didn't really excuse breaking tradition. "Oh… sorry, Sakura-chan…"
Sakura sighed. "I guess you two may as well open yours too," she conceded, glancing at Sasuke and Kakashi.
Naruto, in the meantime, was standing awe-struck as he stared at his gift. "S-… Sakura…" he breathed softly. "Is this…?"
Her earlier anger forgotten, Sakura gave Naruto a smile. "It's my way of acknowledging your Ninja Way and your strength," she explained with a smile. "I made it myself."
Naruto held in his hands a picture frame, which had some embroidered cloth inside it. In large characters, his name was written across the top, and underneath it was the motto he'd used so many times before that day: 'I never go back on my word.'
"…thank you…" Naruto uttered in a soft voice, a single tear welling up in one eye. "Thank you so much, Sakura-chan…"
A loud rustling sound suddenly reached the group, breaking the mood, and Naruto immediately ran to the source to investigate it, leaving the other two to admire their gifts.
"Thanks," Sasuke stated with a small smile – quite an effort, by his standards. He too had an embroidered piece, but his had his name in large characters to the right of the picture frame, while the left had the Uchiha family crest on it. While he didn't outwardly show it, the look in his eyes told Sakura everything she wanted to know – her gift had truly touched Sasuke.
"Oh? No embroidery for me?" Kakashi enquired, holding up his gift.
"I thought you'd appreciate that more," Sakura returned, folding her arms. "I flatly refuse to buy your perverted books, so I thought you could yourself with that," she added, gesturing to the book voucher Kakashi held in his hand.
"Well, thank you very much," the Jounin replied, his one visible eye crinkling a little as he smiled good-naturedly. "I'm glad my students know me so well."
"Ne, Sakura-chan… you didn't make two, did you?"
The pink-haired kunoichi turned to face Naruto, who had just rejoined them, with a slight frown on her face. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"I just found this over there…"
In Naruto's hand was a small piece of cloth, with his name embroidered in tight stitches in one corner. In the middle of it was an almost cute 'cartoony' version of Naruto, and below the illustration were the words 'I never go back on my word.' Below that, in smaller characters, whoever had made the piece had added 'True strength.'
"No, that's not mine…" Sakura admitted. "But it's obviously for you, ne?" The pink-haired girl gave her teammate a brief smile. "I guess I'm not the only one who acknowledges you."
Unknown to the group, at that moment in time, a teary-eyed Hinata was pushing her way through the trees almost blindly, desperate to get away from what she had just seen – her gift, the one perfect gift, that she thought only she would give, had just been snatched away from her.
Please review!
Note for my regular readers; I'm putting this ahead of Polyhazardous Ways, since there's only one chapter remaining here. However, Chapter 8 of PW is with my betas at present, and this is skipping beta'ing entirely - so with any luck, there'll be no disruption to service!