DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF ITS CHARTERS!!! SO BACK OFF!!! Lights flamethrower

Winter in the Woods chap 3

Hinata walked back with her father. They hadent said a word since leaving Tsunade's office. Hinata longed to go find Naruto. She wanted to talk to him about training before they go. "Fa…father?" The head Hyuga looked at his daughter. "Speak," he commanded. "Ma…may I go train with a fr… friend?" The lead Hyuga scorned at his daughter. "Do as you wish," he said and headed back to their house. "YES!" she whispered.

Naruto parted the curtains at the ramen shop and walked in. "WOOT!" he yelled as he entered. The cook turned around to see his best costumer taking a seat at the bar. He guessed that Naruto had just signed up for the Jonin exam thing. The cook grabbed a bowl and began to make the ramen. He said over his shoulder, "This one's on the house." Naruto cheered at this statement.

He heard the curtains part and turned around. A shy looking Hinata stood there. She sat down next to him and smiled. "Hi Naruto," she said. The cook noticed this new arrival and changed the bowl to a size larger. He had know for a long time that the heir to the Hyuga clan had always like the outcast.

FLASH BACK:

Naruto and Iruka sat at the bar with two bowls of ramen. Naruto had just graduated because of his battle with Mizuki. Of course the Hyuga girl had watched the battle. Hinata walked into the shop and sat down beside Naruto. "Co…congratulations on graduating Na…Naruto," Hinata had said. Her face was a bright scarlet. Iruka had noticed during class that Hinata had always looked at Naruto with a red face. He knew that the heir to the Hyuga clan had a HUGE crush on the boy who failed everything. "Thanks Hinata," Naruto said, placing his hands on the back of his head. Iruka nearly passed out. Naruto had a lot of body odor after his fight. Hinata nearly fell off the stool. Iruka quickly shoved Naruto's arms down. If he hadn't, he and Hinata would be on the floor gasping for air. It was that bad. Hinata regained her breath and said, "Maybe we will be on a team together." Naruto smiled. "That would be nice, but I want to be with Sakura." Iruka had already made the teams out. If he had known what would happen in the future, he would have problem rearranged the teams. The cook gave Hinata a ramen on the house after watching the whole incident. He thought Hinata would eventually have her way.

The stove steamed with the freshly cooked pork. It had also cooked the noodles and steamed the vegetables. The cook gathered it all and placed it into one, big bowl. He placed it on the bar and slid it down. Naruto had noticed that the cook had made the bowl larger when Hinata had walked in. He grabbed two pairs of chopsticks before catching the ramen. "Hungry?" the boy asked, offering the sticks. "Ye…yes," Hinata answered, taking the offered chopsticks. They began to eat. Naruto ate slower than normal to give Hinata something to eat. The chopsticks both grabbed a piece of fish at the same time. The two Chunin blushed. The boy let the girl have it. Hinata blushed at the fact that she was eating from the same bowl as her Naruto-kun. A few strands of noodles wrapped around both pairs of chopsticks. Not knowing they were attached, the owners of those sticks began to eat. Naruto looked at Hinata and saw they both had strands of noodles connecting them together. Naruto remembered something like this happing in a movie he saw once about two dogs. But instead of ramen, it was spaghetti. Birds flew off the roves of nearby buildings at the exclamation, "HINATA! DID YOU FAINT AGAIN?!"

Hinata opened her eyes and then closed them again. She was coming back from a dream world. She had been there when she had fainted before. It was a wonderful world in which she and Naruto ran around doing nothing. When they ran, his hand held hers. When they sat, her head on his shoulder. Also, almost everywhere they went, her lips were on his.

Hinata saw two faces above her. One she recognized as Naruto and the other as the cook. "You gave us quite a scare Lady Hinata," the cook said. He gave her some discolored water and told her to drink. She did and felt a warm sensation run through her veins. "You scared us really bad," Naruto added. Hinata had a sudden rush of adrenalin ether from the water or from the recent faint. She then did something she thought she would never do. Hinata reached up and hugged Naruto. Naruto was so startled at this display of affection he fell over on top of her. He rolled over and lay there for a minute with Hinata's arms wrapped around him. She released him, and the boy with a scarlet face stood up. Naruto offered a hand to help the Hyuga up. Hinata took the hand and was pulled up. The cook walked back around the bar shaking his head. He had known this was coming. Naruto and Hinata sat back down and finished the ramen. Hinata was still red when they left the shop.

"Na…Naruto?" Hinata stammered as the left the shop. "Hmm?" Naruto answered absentmindedly. "Do you want to take a walk around the river?" the red-faced Hyuga asked. "Sure!" Naruto answered with his regular energy. Naruto was thinking about what had just happened. Had he dreamt it? What would Sakura think if she had heard this? Did he still like Sakura? Or did he like the girl next to him? Questions swarmed his head. They were all stopped, however, when his had brushed against hers. Hinata had not kept her hands up in the position she normally kept them in when she was around Naruto. She had just let them hang beside her like any other person. They both blushed. The next pass by, the two hands connected. The two ninja blushed redder than the trees in the fall. They walked this way for a while. "Hinata, lets sit down for a minute," Naruto suggested. Hinata nodded. The sun was sinking now. Beyond the village, the mountains lighted up. They sat on a patch of grass as the sun began to set. Hinata did another bold thing. She rested her head on Naruto's shoulder. She blushed at her boldness. Naruto sat there watching the sunset, with a girl resting her head on his shoulder. Today, he was experiencing his first affection from a girl. He too, blushed. He rested his hand on hers. The sunset was the most beautiful thing they had both ever seen. Hinata keep her head on his shoulder. She was surprised when a hand rubbed her head. She looked up and saw Naruto running his had through her hair. Hinata smiled. Naruto-kun was showing her some affection.

Naruto and Hinata stood up. "We need to get home before your dad kills me," Naruto said. "Yeah," Hinata agreed. They started walking towards the Hyuga clan section of the city. "Oh God," Naruto said, "We have to go faster." After he said that, Naruto picked up Hinata and began to walk faster. Hinata blushed. The person she loved was carrying her. They got to the section a little after nine. He walked her to the main door and knocked. Lord Hyuga opened the door instantly. "Come in come in before you catch sickness," he said motioning them in. The two ninja walked inside. The winter was coming earlier than normal. They bowed as they entered. The three walked into an open chamber and the two Chunin sat on the floor as the clan leader took a seat in a big strait-back chair. "I have one question for you," Lord Hyuga said. "What were you all doing?" he asked. "We…" Hinata began. Naruto finished, "We were walking beside the river. We also watched the sunset." Lord Hyuga had figured this. His runt of a daughter had always liked the outcast. Even when he had told her of the demon that rested inside of him, Hinata didn't care. "Very well," Lord Hyuga said. "I was thinking of something along those lines. You may leave," he said. Naruto and Hinata bowed as he left. Naruto was just ready to open the door when he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. "Thank you Naruto," Hinata whispered. "Anytime Hinata," Naruto replied with a grin. "I was wondering if we could train tomorrow. I mean, we are the only ones taking the exam thing so I was thinking we could get a little practice in," Hinata asked. Naruto smiled, "Sure." Hinata released him and Naruto made his way out.

Naruto thought about Hinata and Sakura as he walked home. Did he like Hinata or Sakura? Did Hinata do what she did today because she wanted to or because she really did care for an outcast? Naruto pondered these things and many more as he unlocked his apartment. He took a shower and got into bed. "What will I do with Hinata tomorrow?" he said aloud before falling asleep.