Ok folks this is a two shot because otherwise the chapter will be inordinately lengthy and kind of convoluted (I'm using big words today!), of course if it doesn't get loads of reviews I may have to leave it unfinished... hint hint!
I do not own Naruto!
Shoving his hands into his pockets Naruto walked jauntily down the street, he'd just been hanging out with Hinata and it always made him unusually cheerful. They'd been having lunch together quite a lot and whenever one of them returned from a mission the first thing they would do was seek the other out. It felt so good to have someone so happy to see you, Naruto had never really had someone to come home to before. She had even visited him when he was in hospital, and brought flowers. She had brought her favourites, daffodils, she had also apologised, afraid they might seem girly but she had no idea how touched he was to receive them, girls with flowers usually visited Sasuke.
Today whilst talking about movies with her the conversation had led to him inviting her to see a film at the cinema that weekend. In reality he ought to be ashamed of himself, it had taken him three months to finally get up the courage to ask her and even now they were only doing it as friends.
Still it was a step in the right direction.
With any luck by the time Kazuhiko returned in nine months time he would have gotten up the courage to actually confirm they were dating and that would be enough to keep the guy away. As he continued his stroll he noticed Ino and Ten-Ten leaving a shop, they were too caught up in discussing their purchases to notice him and for some reason he was glad of that. He didn't want to see them right now, he didn't know why but he suddenly felt very secretive, if there was one person in the ninja world with the ability to, not only sniff out a personal secret but also get it out of someone it was Ino.
Ducking out of sight he dropped to one knee and began untying and retying his shoelace, if they noticed him he didn't want them to think he was hiding from them... even though he was.
"If I don't find a better skirt in twenty minutes I'm coming back for that blue one."
"It was cute! Did you know that Hinata is at the hospital again? She's there right now, why's she there so often?" Ino's voice was clear as she and Ten-Ten stood chatting outside the shop.
"I don't know, Hanabi doesn't know, Neji doesn't know, he daren't ask Hiashi because Hiashi hasn't noticed yet and you know what he's like." Ten-Ten sighed audibly as she thought about it
"Yeah, Hinata's the weak one and all that bull..., if it weren't against the rules I'd sneak a peek in her files."
"She'll tell us when she's ready, it's been months so at least she can't be pregnant."
"Ten-Ten!" shocked by her friend's suggestion Ino laughed loudly.
"What!?! That Kazuhiko was hot, I wouldn't say no and neither would you!" laughing the two girls began to walk out of Naruto's hearing.
Still crouched down Naruto began to wonder about what Ino and Ten-Ten had been talking about, he remembered that his entire pursuit of Hinata had begun when Sakura had remarked that Hinata had been at the hospital a lot.
'STUPID!'
How could he have been so stupid?
Hinata was not so much of a mystery to him now but he had never even thought to ask her why she was at the hospital. Of course according to Ino she was there now, if he went there he could actually ask her, she'd be cornered and have to answer... of course if he did that he ran the risk of her hating him for it and sending him away...
No, Naruto was determined to find out what was wrong with Hinata! No one seemed to know what was wrong with her, Ino Ten-Ten and Sakura seemed to be the only female friends that she had and they didn't know, Hanabi and Neji were the only family she had that cared and they didn't know. Really by forcing her to tell him it might do her some good.
Before Naruto even realised it his feet had taken him to the hospital, he found the front desk unmanned, as stealthily as possible he walked around the desk and discreetly tapped Hinata's name into the computer system. Quickly scanning the information it pulled up he found her room number but no information about her condition. As he whipped back around the desk he was just in time to avoid a nurse heading towards the desk. Luckily he was well known for visiting Sakura at the hospital a lot so she didn't find it too odd to see him there.
He was on the third floor and on his way to her room in seconds, he wandered around the corridors for a while before finally finding the right place. Room 342
Raising his hand he knocked nervously on the door. There was no response.
"Hinata?" twisting the door handle Naruto entered the room, Hinata wasn't there, walking in he closed the door behind him. His eyes locked onto the chart at the end of the bed and he was about to head for it when he heard a toilet flush in the bathroom beside him, then a tap turned on. Hinata must be in there he told himself with a smile, putting the chart back down he looked around the room again. He'd wait for Hinata to come out and talk to her then. It was definitely Hinata's room, that was her coat on the chair... and her trousers... and her top... damn she might be naked!!
Panicking Naruto grabbed the nearest door and wrenching it open jumped through.
It wasn't the best move ever as he ended up inside the cupboard but at least Hinata wouldn't think he was a weirdo... unless she found him hiding in here... now he thought about it she was probably wearing one of those hospital gowns.
God he was an idiot.
He was just considering leaving the cupboard and getting out the room in order to re-enter later when he heard a door open. Holding his breath Naruto tensed up.
"Hinata?" Damn! It was Tsunade! He was in so much trouble when he got caught.
"Just a second" Hinata called and soon another door could be heard opening.
"Well I'll say this, you're the only person I know that can pull off the hospital gown with style."
"You've just seen me in it too often" Hinata replied with a smile.
"Ok, down to business, let see that Byakugan in action" he heard Tsunade suggest, biting his lip to force himself not to protest Naruto knew he was done for. The moment Hinata used her 'all seeing' eyes she'd know he was here.
"Ok" Hinata's quiet voice sounded nervous, Naruto could practically see her in his minds eye, of course in his mind she stood shy and sweet with a light pink flush on her cheeks. "Byakugan" Naruto was cut from his daydream and reminded of his danger when Hinata spoke again.
He waited for Hinata to point out his hiding place, to shout out to him, or announce to Tsunade that there was some pervert hiding in the closet.
She didn't
No mention of his hiding place was made.
"Well?" Tsunade asked eagerly.
"St-still no different" Hinata muttered sounding tearful
"What? No difference at all?"
"None."
"I don't see how that's possible, that last course of treatment was..." Tsunade seemed angry "Argh" there was an angry yell followed by a crash, grinning briefly Naruto couldn't help but wonder what Tsunade had smashed this time but his mind stayed on one very big question 'Why hadn't Hinata seen him?'
"It's reall-lly quite alright" Hinata tried to comfort Tsunade her voice fearful.
"No it isn't, I will solve this Hinata, I will make it alright"
"It's too late Tsunade" Hinata whispered "My father already suspects that something is wrong, there is no time for further treatment and no guarantee of success. Besides, I am ready, I know what I must do and I can do it. I am not afraid of what's going to happen." Cold fear gripped Naruto's heart, something was wrong, really wrong.
"There may be other ways to..."
"No, I've got to learn to live with this. Getting my hopes up is a bad idea."
As Hinata spoke there was a knock, it sounded like someone was at the door to her room.
"Who is it?" Tsunade snarled, a door opened and quickly closed again, brief silence followed before the Hokage spoke again "I've got somewhere to be, you wait here, I'll be right back." Once the door had opened and closed again Naruto correctly guessed that Hinata was alone.
Part of him wanted to remain in hiding, he didn't want to be thought of as a pervert or for Hinata to think he was spying on her... even though technically he was.
Finally he raised his hand and opened the door. Hinata was standing with her back to the closet and didn't notice his odd entry to the room. After a moment or two of indecision Naruto decided there was only one thing to do.
"Oh" jumping at the sound of someone clearing their throat Hinata turned to see Naruto standing behind her. "Naruto?"
Ok so it wasn't the best plan ever but he wanted to talk to her and he wanted to do it now.
"Hey Hinata"
"H-how did you get in here?"
"I was kinda... I was kinda in the closet"
"Kind of in the closet?" Hinata repeated nervously.
"Yeah" Naruto nodded scratching the back of his neck.
"Why?"
"I was trying to find out what was wrong with you. You wouldn't tell anyone but I knew something was up, then I found out what room you were in so I snuck in but you were in the bathroom and your clothes were there and I didn't want you to think I was being a pervert so I hid in there..." pointing to the cupboard Naruto explained the situation breathlessly, as soon as he was done he asked the pressing question "Why didn't you see me?"
Hinata frowned "Because you were in the closet."
"Why didn't you see me with your Byakugan?"
"Oh" Hinata nodded her eyes nervously darting to the floor "It's a long story."
"I've got time"
Slowly Hinata walked over to the bed, placing her hands on the bed she lifted herself to sit on the edge. Naruto watched as the young woman's shoulders hunched over and she seemed to become even smaller than she really was. He wanted to go forward and embrace her, wanted to comfort her and tell her she didn't need to tell him but..., he was worried, he really needed to know what was going on.
"It happened over a year ago" she admitted with a sigh "We were on a mission it was supposed to be simple, we were in a neutral area... we got into a fight, it escalated. The people we were facing knew how to manipulate light, they managed to blind us, we all had to keep our eyes closed but that left us pretty unprotected. Luckily I found that by using my Bykaugan at odd intervals I could avoid being completely sightless. There wasn't much I could do except move us all to a safe distance. Once we were away I thought that would be an end to it but a few months afterwards I began to notice that my Byakugan didn't stretch as far as it used to. I went to see Tsunade, she ran some tests and noticed that there was some damage." She paused poking her index fingers together in a gesture Naruto hadn't seen in a long time.
Walking forward Naruto took Hinata's hands and pulled them apart placing them gently on her lap "Keep going."
"It was that mission, I had noticed that every time I used my Byakugan it hurt but what else could I have done? Anyway, over the last year it's gotten slowly worse until..." Hinata paused and activated her Byakugan "I can see you now, your chakra pathways but if you were to take but one step back then..." she pushed him away gently "Then there's nothing, just you, just Naruto. My eyes see nothing more, just two weeks ago I would have been able to see it all, two weeks ago I would have seen you properly, like when you were closer." Hinata sighed placing her hands in her lap again "You're one of the first people I've officially told, Kiba and Shino know, as does Kurenai. They needed to know especially as I'm not allowed to do dangerous missions anymore."
"Why haven't you told anyone? We're your friends we..."
"I couldn't" Hinata spoke desperately "my father doesn't know yet and I'm nervous to tell him, the council will have a field day, my sister will need to become the new leader, she's not ready for the pressure, I may still get sealed, I did want to tell my friends, I wanted to tell everyone especially you but I felt..."
"Especially me?" Naruto interrupted smiling at the admission.
"What?" Cut off from her rambling speech Hinata didn't realise what she had said to make Naruto so happy.
"You said you wanted to tell everyone especially me. I asked, why especially me?"
"Uh... Did I?" Hinata asked suddenly feeling even more nervous.
"You did" Naruto nodded watching her face carefully, she was flustered again, before as she had told him the story she had remained calm, almost serene but now she was her usual stuttering stumbling self. "Why did you want to especially tell me?"
"Because...because I love you!" Hinata told him honestly throwing caution to the wind and just allowing the truth to come out "There's no other way of explaining it, I've liked you for a long time, I thought maybe I'd eventually get over you but it's just gotten stronger. I know that you and I are just friends in your eyes but I really do love you. I know that this isn't what you expected to hear when you asked me to be honest with you but, it's the truth, and I wanted you to know it. I know you're a g-good guy and I promise that I'm OK with us just going back to being friends after...," worried that Naruto was still saying nothing and that she couldn't stop babbling Hinata raised her head to look at the man she had finally made her declaration to. "Naruto?"
He was just staring at her, there was an odd vague smile on his face that made Hinata feel almost scared. Cautiously placing a hand on Naruto's arm she shook him gently "Naruto?" Hinata questioned again, still no response, Hinata began to really worry now "Naruto... are you ok?"
With a swift movement Naruto grabbed Hinata's arm and pulling her towards him pressed his lips desperately to hers. Surprised Hinata made a stifled protestation causing their first kiss to fall short but moving to wrap his arms around her Naruto was quick to remedy the first failure. The second kiss was just as sudden but as Hinata was now aware that it was going to happen she made no move to stop it, instead she clung to Naruto unable to believe that it was really happening. Vaguely she wondered if Tsunade had slipped her some morphine, which would certainly explain this wonderful dream.
It had been a completely spontaneous action when Naruto kissed Hinata, he hadn't planned on doing it, he hadn't really known he was doing it but, there was one thing Naruto was known for, his spontaneous behaviour, he had a reputation for allowing his mouth to engage before his brain had and this time it was especially true. Usually when Naruto did the first thing that entered his head it would end up being the worst thing he could have done but this time, with Hinata's lips on his and her arms slipping easily around his neck he knew that it was probably the best impulsive action he had ever made.
Breathless the two of them pulled apart and stared at each other, Hinata was wide eyed and flushed, Naruto was grinning and for once totally calm. After a few moments of staring at each other Naruto raised his hand to caress her cheek before moving in again to take possession of her lips. It was a heady sensation like drinking sakѐ, but without the negative side effects, slowly their lips opened and the kiss became more intense. Naruto couldn't get enough, pulling her closer he actually pulled her to her feet in order to get their bodies closer and to press them together. He'd never really noticed how much shorter Hinata was but as he lifted her off the ground to keep their kiss going he realised that she was very small and light. It was the perfect moment, nothing could ruin it...
The door opened.
"Right Hinata I've managed to..."
Stunned Tsunade stopped as the young couple jumped apart stuttering excuses and flushing red. For a few brief seconds she let them stew, she watched as they avoided her gaze and each others before breaking the silence and asking
"Would one of you like to tell me what's going on?"
There was silence.
"I'll take that as a no then, Naruto would you mind going outside for a moment?"
"Um..." Naruto looked over at Hinata who stared determinedly down at her feet "sure" he took Hinata's hand and brought it to his lips kissing it tenderly before walking to the door. "I'll be right outside" he informed them as he left the room.
Smiling Tsunade walked forward and took hold of Hinata's wrist, gently she led the trembling girl to a chair and sat her down.
"Now Hinata, do you want to tell me what's happened?" Tsunade asked pulling and instrument form her pocket and shining a light into the young Hyuga's eyes.
"N-not really." Hinata muttered wishing she could go back to staring at the floor, unfortunately with Tsunade examining her eyes it appeared to be a bad idea to try and look away.
"I see." Tsunade moved away putting her torch back into her pocket "Well I was just coming to tell you that I've managed to score an appointment with Novello our top optician next month, he'd going to study how far the damage is likely to go and see to what extent you will lose your vision. If you are lucky it will only be the Byakugan that's affected"
"Lucky?" Hinata asked with a wry smile "A Hyuga without the Byakugan, how lucky can that be? As far as my family are concerned I am nothing, I have nothing to offer"
"Do your family really matter so much? Surely you only have to care about what a certain young blond concerns himself with." Tsunade fought the urge not to laugh at Hinata's startled face and flushing cheeks.
"Pl-please Tsunade I cannot... I shouldn't have..." Hinata sighed feeling very miserable, she faked a smile as she looked at her doctor "He probably didn't mean it."
Tsunade was not at all fooled by the smile on her patients face and feeling oddly motherly knelt in front of the girl "Hinata, I may not know you very well but, I do know Naruto and he wouldn't have kissed you unless he meant it, he may be thoughtless and slapdash but when he does something he does it because he wants it to happen."
"He was just showing pity to a poor girl who has nothing else left in this world" Hinata remained miserable shaking her head "No, even though we all know that Naruto seems to be over his crush on Sakura he still idolises her, he still see's her as the ideal, the girl of his dreams."
"I doubt that" Tsunade said with a smile "in dreams you don't feel any pain, Sakura hits him so often he would never feel like he was dreaming with her!"
Hinata laughed despite herself but again shook her head "You're being very kind but it's not like I can be fooled and... I can't do it... I can never be with Naruto knowing he wished to be with someone else."
"I understand that but..., maybe you need to talk to Naruto about this. I'm pretty sure he'll be able to allay these fears of yours"
Tsunade smiled down at her patient, she had a sneaking suspicion that Hinata would be good for Naruto and vice versa. She was a calming but encouraging influence, she would have total faith in Naruto and he would respond well to that sort of encouragement. She had never seen Naruto and Sakura as a viable couple, she was too dismissive and he would spend all his time feeling the need to get her attention which would drive her crazy, it would result in a surlier Sakura and a noisier Naruto. It was the thing of nightmares.
Still, there were more important things to think of "Actually... I do have an idea about how to help you Hinata"
--
Naruto stood outside Hinata's room smiling broadly. Once the initial reaction of embarrassment because of the interruption was gone all he could do was smile. Hinata loved him, ok so Kazuhiko had told him about it, ok so he had heard Ino and Sakura talk about it but to actually hear her say it... Naruto felt like cart-wheeling down the hallway, he hadn't felt this good in ages, with her loving him he felt as though he could take on the world and win!
It was an odd feeling for Naruto, most of his life he had felt like it was him alone against the world and though he had vowed never to lose he suddenly felt like... a winner. He wanted to tell someone, the urge to just grab someone and tell them how good he had it was overwhelming, luckily the corridor was empty, he didn't want to embarrass himself. He had known that he liked her for ages, he had even known that it was probably love but the moment she had confessed to him he had known how he felt. And boy did it feel good.
He could barely stand still as he waited for Tsunade to leave the room and allow him back in.
Remembering Tsunade made him think about why Hinata was here, why Tsunade was examining her, why he had finally kissed her. Internally Naruto had to admit that when Hinata had admitted why she was in hospital it had worried him but the almost immediate admittance that she liked... no, loved him, had distracted him from the subject.
How could Hinata be a ninja? She was strong but she was greatly dependent on her bloodline limit. For once Naruto was glad he didn't have anything like that to depend on... just a crabby demon imprisoned in his gut, of course he was more of a hindrance than a help.
The door opened, looking up Naruto smiled nervously at Tsunade as she entered
"Hey Lady Tsunade"
"Respect? Well if this is the result of you kissing Hinata I recommend you do it very often!"
"C'mon" Naruto moaned feeling embarrassed "can you please cut me some slack?"
"Alright, you can go in there... in a second" Tsunade placed a restraining hand on Naruto's arm "There is something I wish to discuss with you first."
"As long as you're not gonna tease me"
"I won't" she agreed and Naruto turned to listen to what she had to say "I want Hinata to go back to Coron, the town where she had that mission" Tsunade informed him "Though it is not a shinobi town the people in that town know a lot about manipulating light and they may be able to teach us something important about how it has affected her."
"She could get hurt again" Naruto argued looking worried
"I will be sending Kiba and Shino with her but... I would like to send someone else, it's a c rank mission and we usually send three active shinobi for that. As Hinata is no longer active..."
"I'll go" Naruto had known she was angling for him to come but for once he didn't mind falling into the trap.
"Good. Hinata will need to be protected at all times, there's no time for any emotional stuff so, you have to go in there and sort out what just happened with you two."
"Yes ma'am." Naruto nodded cheerfully
"Good, and just so you know..., I'm happy for you!"
Smiling Naruto walked into Hinata's room. As he walked in Hinata turned to face him, she was now fully dressed in full Hinata regalia consisting of dark blue, white and lilac.
"Hey" Naruto smiled nervously at Hinata "So.... Tsunade told me the plan"
"Yes..." Hinata suddenly found her sandals very interesting "So... I'll be out of town for a few weeks"
"Me too!"
"What?" Hinata looked up her eyes wide and panicked
"Tsunade was telling me about it and I wanted to come." He said as casually as possible.
"You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean... I understand that what you did probably didn't mean anything to you so I guess I was just..."
"Hinata" Naruto took hold of her shoulders firmly before staring into her eyes "I care about you. I don't have time to prove it before we go on this mission but I swear, when we come back I'm gonna make sure you know how much I care about you. Until then..." Naruto placed his hand on her cheek and leaned to place the lightest of kisses on her lips "I'll be thinking about you."
As he exited the room Naruto left behind a very unsteady version of Hinata. She just stood staring at where he had been until a nurse came in to remake the bed.
--
Dressed in civilian clothes, carrying a light rucksack and leaving his forehead protector at home for once Naruto was ready to leave for his latest mission in no time. He was really looking forward to it, he'd get to spend some time with Hinata and though it put their movie date on hold he was pretty sure that it wouldn't affect them too badly.
She had been the first one there and Naruto had been the second, Hinata was extremely shy as she greeted Naruto, not for the first time she was very glad that there were people guarding the gate. It meant she didn't have to be alone with him, she didn't even known how to greet him properly, was she supposed to hug him? Kiss him?!? Being in love was just too damn confusing! He wore a simple white t-shirt, grey jacket and black trousers and looked like the perfect tourist. She wore similar clothes, more feminine of course, her trousers were light blue and her top white, she wore a light yellow jacket, she looked suitably casual but no one would know how she had agonised over her choices. It had been even worse packing for this as she could only really take one bag and it had to appear light.
If Kiba and Shino, when they joined them, noticed that Hinata seemed a little distracted they didn't comment on it as the four humans left their home village. Kiba seemed a little too caught up in the fact that he'd had to leave Akamaru at home to really notice any thing and Shino... well he was Shino, you never really knew what he was thinking. Naruto was annoyed though, he was never alone with Hinata and she barely looked at him, it was like they'd gone back to their academy days, or life before lunch with Kazuhiko, he needed to break the ice again.
They arrived in the small village of Coron after a mere two days travel, and were surprised to see that the quiet town had become a bustling hive of activity.
Confused but wanting to blend in they found the nearest hotel and set about booking room.
"Hello you lovely young people!" the hale and hearty voice that welcomed them made them all feel like running for the door but years of training had readied them for this and they stood their ground.
"Welcome to my humble hotel! I am Galen the proprietor of this hotel. Now you lovely young people must be here for the celebration!"
"Of course" Hinata agreed not wanting to blow their cover "We just need some rooms"
"You are lucky, I have had some cancellations... not that a beautiful young woman like you would have been made to sleep on the streets" Galen smiled down at the nervous Hinata who flushed and made some sort of ineloquent noise. Immediately Naruto came to her rescue slipping an arm around her waist and saying
"I'd never let anything like that happen to her." He said dangerously, behind him Kiba and Shino watched as Hinata blushed but leaned awkwardly into his embrace.
"Of course. So... two rooms?" the still grinning Galen asked looking at the group in front of him
"Of course" Naruto nodded in agreement
"Two rooms, one for each lovely couple!" Galen announced before heading to the desk
Realising what Galen had said, and what he had assumed Kiba and Shino were Naruto and Hinata exchanged a painfully entertained look as they tried to contain their mirth.
"What did he say?" Kiba asked through gritted teeth
"He would appear to have assumed that you and I are in a non-platonic relationship." Shino informed him calmly.
"I think I'm going to go jump off something tall." Kiba muttered angrily as he stormed towards the doorway "If he was here Akamaru would be leaving a little present for that guy when we left this dump!"
Behind him Hinata and Naruto shared a giggle, the ice was broken.
--
"So what exactly is this festival?" Kiba asked as they walked around the marquees and stalls that had been set up.
"It's based around the legend of how their town was founded" Hinata informed them reading from the guide book as they walked along.
"How can you read and walk at the same time?" Naruto asked rather surprised that Hinata was successfully avoiding many hazards that she should have walked straight into
"It's a gift, now shush! The Cornian town was founded by seven families many years ago, they had left their native home in a time of great upheaval and wanted to find a more secure place to raise their children, their aim was to return to a more uncomplicated and pure way of life, away from crime, wrongful education, wrongful sexuality, divorce, extortion, religion and what they considered other dishonest ways of life. They found these grounds and began to build a town."
"I'm willing to bet they don't like ninjas, good thing we're undercover" Naruto interrupted
"You don't say" Kiba interrupted
"Shush, having no religion or laws the family elders set about making the rules for the town. The two eldest children had fallen in love and wished to marry."
"I'm hoping for the parents sake that the two eldest children were a boy and a girl" Naruto muttered earning a laugh from Kiba and a 'shush' from Hinata
"They had no laws for marriage at that time and so that the couple would not consider living in sin the parents wrote the laws quickly. The couple were married by the eldest person in the village, at midnight on what was coincidentally Valentines days for the rest of the world. Unbeknownst to the family on that night when the moon hit the mountains the entire valley would light up as though touched by starlight. As the young couple said their vows the entire setting changed and from that night forward the anniversary of the first marriage to ever take place in Coron. That how the town got it's name too! His surname was Coron so they just kept it. The rules have relaxed since then but they still take lawbreaking very seriously."
"I wonder if it really does light up" Kiba wondered as he looked around, the mountains surrounding the village were white stone and it was believable that if the light hit it right the place would look amazing.
"I guess we'll find out at midnight." Hinata told him still looking down at the book "Oh look, they have seven couples perform the ceremony each year, one for every family that started the town."
"People actually get married at this thing?" Kiba asked surprised, it all looked a bit showy for him.
"Not at all" Galen's voice intruded on the conversation, the four shinobi all held in a groan as they turned to face him. Galen had proven to be a most conversational landlord and it was driving them crazy. Even lunch hadn't been an escape as he turned up at the restaurant they had chosen and insisted on joining them "most of the couples in the Coronian nuptial ceremonies are actors, the ceremony is a tourist thing though it does..."
"GALEN!" They were saved from anymore lengthy explanations by an unknown woman who called away the hotel owner, he apologised to them and they were suitably, though falsely, sorry to see him go.
"I need a burger!" Hinata moaned as they walked past a nearby food stall the scent caused both her and Naruto to stop and turn.
"Not me" Shino said looking disgusted "I'd prefer something a little more nutritional, I believe I saw a suitable repast as we entered, I shall head over there."
"Yeah I saw a place selling stuff that Akamaru will like at the front as well, I need to get a gift to apologise for leaving him behind. I'll go with Shino, we'll see you two later." Kiba announced patting his partner on the head
"Ok" Both Naruto and Hinata readily agreed but as they walked away Kiba grabbed Naruto's arm and pulled him back.
"We want to see you tonight"
"Why Kiba this is all so fast" Naruto teased "and I thought you and Shino were so strong!"
"Just behave yourself, and come visit us before you go to sleep tonight."
"Ok but I don't swing that way!" Shrugging the restraining hand off Naruto jogged after Hinata who had arrived at the food stand and was tuning back to look at them. She watched as Kiba and Shino walked back towards the festivals entrance, they both turned back occasionally as though planning on keeping an eye on them the whole evening.
"What was all that about?" she asked the moment he arrived "He wasn't doing the big brother bit again was he?"
"Just a bit, don't worry about it, I don't scare that easily" Naruto smiled as he linked their arms together "so, what are you having? My treat"
"You don't have to do that." Hinata mumbled turning and keeping her eyes fixed on the menu board.
"It's a romantic celebration I think the men are expected to pay for their partners... I wonder how Kiba and Shino will swing it." Naruto smirked grateful that Hinata had laughed at his joke "Come on, I rarely offer to pay, make the most of this."
"I eat a lot"
"I can afford it."
"Fine! Don't say I didn't warn you. Double cheeseburger, with bacon, a side of chips, and onion rings, and those chicken things" Hinata pointed excitedly.
"Is that all?" Naruto asked surprised that she was eating at all, most girls he knew (Sakura) were always on diets.
"For now!" she told him "Naruto you're gonna have to get used to my eating habits, I could probably out eat you!"
"Now that's a challenge!" Naruto agreed, he smiled down at Hinata as she leaned into him, raising one hand he ran his fingers through her hair
--
"I can't believe you ate so much" Naruto said with a smile as, holding hands he and Hinata walked along chewing on a cookie each. It seemed unreal how quickly and easily they had slipped into this girlfriend, boyfriend, thing. It felt nice, comfortable.
"It's gross isn't it" conscience stricken Hinata suddenly realised she must have looked like such a pig, she was normally so proper but when on missions with Kiba and Shino she always lost her prim Hyuga ways and began to eat exactly as she wished to. It was a hard habit to break.
"No, it's cute" Naruto told her bringing their walk to a stop and leaning in to kiss her on the cheek, "and I love you... just the way you are."
"You do?" Hinata smiled shyly up at him and soon both biscuits fell to the ground forgotten as Naruto wrapped his arms around her and began to kiss her gently. The two of them were totally unaware of an audience as they held each other close, for once both of them forgot about the people around them and remained embracing each other.
"Isn't this perfect?" Galen asked turning to the woman beside him
"Absolutely perfect." She agreed smiling at them "introduce me."
"Gladly... oh Naruto! Hinata!" Galen dragged the woman forward towards the young couple who were pulling apart exasperatedly.
'Talk about bad timing' Hinata whispered feeling annoyed
'You hold him, and I'll punch' Naruto muttered before leaving Hinata's embrace and turning to greet Galen "Hello!"
"Hello Naruto, Hinata, meet Lorna.... listen." Before the couple had time to greet the new woman Galen had continued talking "We've lost one of the couples from the ceremony" Galen told them mournfully "Now there will only be six couples standing on the stage when it happens. It'll be the first time in over a hundred years that there aren't seven couples on the stage."
"As it's not real can't you just rope someone else in?" Naruto asked looking puzzled
"Actually..." the young woman said with a smile "That's exactly what we're doing, Galen told us that you were a couple and all you have to do is stand on the stage, say you love each other, is hold hands..."
"You want us to do it?"
"Exactly" Lorna agreed grinning "Hasn't Galen explained that it...?"
"Yeah!" Naruto cut in "He told us that it's just for show but..."
"Exactly and you and your girlfriend will be in the place with the best view of the valley lighting up."
For a split second Naruto stood on the brink of indecision but he knew that Hinata had been looking forward to the moment when the moonlight hit the valley and he wanted to make sure she had the best view. "Fine!" Naruto agreed not knowing what else to say.
"Really?" Hinata asked surprised that he would be willing to go through with such a cheesy display.
"Don't you want to get the best view?"
"Well yeah but... Really?" Hinata smiled and slipped her arms around his waist.
"Of course, so we go through some silly ceremony, it's just us being honest after all."
"Excellent, this way" Lorna took hold of Hinata's hand and began to drag her away, Hinata sent Naruto a desperate look as she held tight to his hand afraid that he would get lost on the way. Naruto merely returned the look with a panicked expression of his own. The two of them laughed together as they got dragged through the crowds and over to the stage that had been set up in the middle of the town.
They were dragged towards a stall to join six other couples who were all standing arguing with each other. Confused Naruto and Hinata turned to Lorna hoping for a response.
"They're all actors" Lorna explained "We didn't have any real couples volunteer this year, and for some reason, this year none of the actors we chose seem to be able to get along! You guys are the only ones up here that will actually mean it when you say you love each other tonight, you're the only ones that actually like each other! Now, if the two of you just follow their lead. Everything will be fine!"
Before either Naruto or Hinata could ask any more questions they were being led up onto the staging with the others. Whilst Hinata seemed to find the whole thing amusing Naruto felt embarrassed. He could see Kiba and Shino standing in the audience and Kiba looked ridiculously amused by what was happening.
They were standing above the crowds on a circular stage that meant everyone could surround it. He could tell that Hinata was less than comfortable as everyone stared up at them.
Finally the town elder appeared on the stage and he walked slowly to the middle of the platform. All the couples turned to face him and bowed (Naruto and Hinata were a little slow as they really had no clue what they were doing)
"Does each couple declare their love for each other?" the town elder asked
"I do" everyone repeated as one (Naruto and Hinata's voices trailed behind the others a little as they 'followed everyone else's lead')
"Do you pledge to be faithful to one another?"
"I do"
"And do you swear upon all that you hold dear, that you will remain together until death?"
Hinata's eyes widened a bit at this but both she and Naruto obediently said their 'I do' along with the others
"Then I confirm that you are joined, you may kiss"
That was it?
Only just holding his laughter in himself, Naruto could feel Hinata giggling as he embraced her and leaned down to kiss her, the other couples on stage had looks of such distaste on their faces that it was hard to believe they could ever be hired as actors.
"Quit laughing" Naruto whispered as he buried his head into the crook of her neck
"I can't help it" she whispered back "it's all so silly and..."
There was a loud explosive sounding crash from around the mountains and suddenly all the lights form the festival went out. Instinctively both Naruto and Hinata reached for the hidden kunai at their belt but were stalled when white light swiftly began to surround them.
Silvery light shone down from above reflecting around the mountains and casting a heavenly light over the crowds. Naruto couldn't believe how amazing everything looked, it was like looking at a totally different village. Soon his gaze travelled to the young woman whose hand he held, he gasped as he stared into her eyes. They Hyuga eyes were always mysterious, but here, bathed in the silver light, they positively glowed. Feeling his gaze upon her Hinata turned to him her face lit up with silver light and a happy smile.
"Not laughing anymore?" he asked running his hands through her dark hair that shimmered in the moon light.
"Suddenly it doesn't seem so silly"
--
"Why did you let me eat so much?" Hinata moaned unhappily as she unlocked their bedroom door. Naruto could barely believe that she had said that. After the ceremony he had rescued her from the gossipy Galen
"If all the couples would please wait one moment..." Galen had started to say but Naruto and Hinata didn't stick around to listen as they decided to escape as soon as possible
"Are you sure this is alright?" Hinata had asked as they snuck away.
"Of course" Naruto shrugged it off as they jumped off the back of the stage and away "Well that's over with... what do we do now?" Naruto asked looking around
"I dunno, I'm full and I don't really fancy any of the games"
"Me either"
"Well we could just... ooh! Ice cream!" Hinata's suddenly exclamation surprised Naruto as she began to drag him over to an ice cream stand
"I thought you were full?"
"It's ice cream" Hinata told him as though that somehow explained everything. Oddly enough, to Naruto, it did.
"If I'd tried to stop you you'd probably have bitten my hand off" he told her remembering how she had managed to consume two ice creams and half a candyfloss after the 'nuptial ceremony'.
"I wouldn't!" Hinata told him with a smile "You have nice hands"
"Thank you" Naruto smiled down at her watching as she yawned cutely "You go in, I told Kiba and Shino I'd stop by their room before we went to sleep."
"Ok, don't let them freak you out... good night" standing up on her tip toes Hinata pressed her lips to his in a sweet but sleepy kiss. Naruto smiled at her happily as she slipped into their room closing the door behind her.
Yawning as he went Naruto walked along to the others room, he was just raising his hand to knock when the door opened and a hand shot out to drag him into the room.
The door slammed shut behind him and two very threatening males.
"Um... you wanted to see me?" Naruto squeaked nervously
"We just maintain a small number of ground rules about sharing a room with Hinata to put into place..." Shino explained as Kiba smiled menacingly.
--
Sighing happily Hinata looked up at the ceiling, she had slept extremely well last night zoning out the moment she crashed on the bed. She didn't even remember Naruto coming in but she could hear his breathing beside the bed. They had been given a double bed and he had been a real gentlemen setting up blankets on the floor in a makeshift bed. She was tempted to roll over and look at him she also didn't want to. Last night had been so much fun but it was also very dreamlike, she wasn't really sure what sort of ground they stood on. She needed him to confirm that he wanted to be with her.
"Are you awake?" Naruto's voice seemed to cut through the silence of the early morning as he sat up to peek at Hinata.
"Good morning" Hinata whispered as she rolled over to face him, she felt strangely happy to be waking up to him, even though he had slept on the floor. It felt strangely matrimonial. "Did you sleep ok?"
"Perfectly, you?"
"Fine, but I was in the bed"
"I'm a ninja, I've slept on worse surfaces"
"Of course" Hinata sighed at her own stupidity "I guess I was being stupid"
"I'm glad you care so much." Naruto told the blushing girl "How hungry are you?"
"Starving!" Hinata groaned sitting up in her bed.
"I love a girl that can eat." He grinned jumping to his feet, she blushed even more as she processed his comment. "Come on I think I hear Shino and Kiba moving about and the last thing I want is for them to barge in and drag me out accusing me of stuff."
"Good point" Hinata agreed as she went to change in the en-suite, she was surprisingly quick at changing and Naruto was in and out in almost the same amount of time. They left the room together and were immediately set upon by two very overprotective male team-mates
"We didn't do anything" Naruto stated holding his hands up
"We know you didn't" Kiba stated and Shino obviously agreed.
"How do you know? Were you spying on us?" Naruto asked disgusted
"No, it was merely deduction on our part" Shino explained "the warning we gave you last night was sufficiently clear enough to ensure that Hinata's virtue wouldn't be damaged when you shared the room."
"What he said." Kiba agreed with a smirk.
"Leave us alone" Hinata rebuked her team mates "come on Naruto" she slipped her hand into his and together the group made their way down for breakfast. Enjoying the attention he got when he played the demoralized and downtrodden card Naruto kept it up, all the way downstairs Hinata was saying nice things to him and kept her arm securely linked with his.
Annoyed at Naruto's behaviour Shino turned around to tell Hinata "He's doing it on purpose."
"I know, I kinda like it" Hinata responded cheerfully making both Shino and Kiba grunt in disgust.
"Ah, hello you lovely young people!" Kiba groaned audibly as they were greeted by Galen, it was too early for this sort of cheerfulness "And to our newest official couple. Congratulations" Galen said cheerfully as Hinata and Naruto entered the dining room.
"We didn't do anything" Naruto defended himself whilst Hinata came close to passing out, such a discussion was alright with her friends but with a man she had only met yesterday...
"I meant the ceremony yesterday" he responded confused by Naruto's behaviour.
Ceremony?
"Ceremony?" Hinata voiced the question Naruto was thinking.
"The Coronian nuptial ceremony?" Galen informed them
"Oh" they both laughed as they understood what he meant "That was just a joke"
"Joke?" Galen asked "No the ceremony is real..., you two are married."
The looks on their faces would have been comical to Kiba if the situation weren't serious
"What?"
"Th-they said it was just for show. YOU said it was just for show!"
"Wasn't it explained? I was sure Lorna would explain it. The Coronian ceremony is just for show but when a couple spend the night alone together it becomes valid"
"But we didn't do anything" Naruto argued again.
"Nothing is in the rules about... that. The way you spend the night is entirely up to you. My cousin got into a long game of Monopoly with the woman he went through the ceremony with, it wasn't until they saw the dawn light that they realised what they had done. A few people have been caught out that way. Luckily the two of them actually liked each other and their fairly happy now, sometimes the actors they team up hate each other, as you would have seen last night...."
"Well perhaps you ought to warn other people!" Naruto yelled feeling suddenly terrified, what had he done?
"Didn't you at least hear my warning at the end?" Galen asked surprised "I reminded everyone to not stay together tonight... didn't you wonder what I meant?"
"We kinda missed that bit, we weren't listening properly" Naruto muttered dishonestly.
"Oh dear" Galen sounded apologetic "well there's nothing that can really be done about it now..."
"I'm so dead" a chalk faced Hinata muttered dropping to a nearby chair and covering her face with her hands. "I'm so dead."
Silence fell on the group as Naruto stared down at his terrified girlfrie... wife and tried to work out if he was really as mad as he made out he was, there was a small part of him that was thrilled by the development. He was married to Hinata, the sweetest kindest girl he knew was his wife!
Hinata sat in her chair trying to work out just how much trouble she was going to be in when she got back, first she'd have to tell her father she was useless as a Hyuga and then she'd have to tell him she wasn't a Hyuga, she was Hinata Uzumaki... a childhood dream come true.
Shino and Kiba looked down at the 'newly weds' unsure what to do, after a moment or two Kiba turned to Shino asking "As we were there do we have to get them a gift?"
Heh heh! Well in the next chapter they will return to Konoha and try to deal with all this plus Hinata's problem will be addressed. Any compliments will be greeted with a small party and advice or complaints will be taken in consideration!
I hope you enjoyed this, I think the end feels rushed but I will complete this as soon as possible.
Please R&R
