Enchanted

"Just because you're not paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you."

~Colin Sautar

Chapter 4: Family Date

His restaurant's atmosphere felt … awkward.

Teuchi, the proud restaurant owner of Ichiraku's Ramen, nudged his daughter in the side, keeping his smile in place. "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" the old man murmured to Ayame, "I'm old so maybe I'm seeing things."

"I see the Hyuuga Head and his youngest daughter in our restaurant along with Naruto and Hinata… Like some group outing… Maybe I'm seeing things… It's been a while since I've been to the doctor…" the brunette whispered.

"Maybe we both should schedule an appointment tomorrow?"

"Yes… Yes, that would be best."

Ayame was confused. Just how could she approach them? They all seemed so wrapped up in their own little worlds...

"So who's gonna take their order?" asked Ayame.

Before Ayame could hear her father's reply, she felt a breeze. Her father was gone. "Man's a ninja sometimes, I swear," she muttered under her breath.

This was going to be difficult.

The Hyuuga Head was seated at the far right, when Naruto came in he tried to sit next to Hinata but Hiashi grabbed him and set him in between himself and his youngest daughter, and then Hinata was beside her sister. Naruto was looking down at the table, trying to will away the glares both Hiashi and Hanabi were boring into his skull. There seemed to be some killing intent on their side… But on Hinata's side, the girl was perfectly calm, observing the ramen posters on the wall, remaining completely oblivious to the dark atmosphere to her right.

Luckily, Hinata solved her dilemma right on time. The heiress retracted from her thoughts and turned to the brunette.

"Oh, sorry to keep you waiting!" Hinata apologized in her highly adorable voice, "May I have miso ramen, please?"

"Certainly!" Ayame chirped. The brunette waited for the others to order… but they didn't.

Hinata followed Ayame's gaze to the three beside her. "Hm? Hanabi-chan, Tou-san, Naruto-san, will you not order?"

Naruto sighed as the two Hyuugas diverted their attention away from him for a second. But all he needed was a second. In a blur of clumsy movements, Naruto escaped their clutches and ran to sit beside Hinata, much to their disapproval.

Naruto latched onto Hinata's arm, nearly startling her with his sudden movements. "Naruto-san?"

"Why did you move?" Hiashi asked calmly, knowing very much why Naruto went running for the hills.

"U-Uh,… I figured that Hina-chan would be uh… Lonely! … So I, uh, decided to, um, move here!"

Before Hiashi could say anything, Hinata smiled at the blond grabbing her arm. "That's so sweet!" Hinata turned to her family, "Right, father, sister?" Hinata patted his blond head, "Always thinking of others…"

Hiashi and Hanabi frowned. No matter what they did, they couldn't compete with Hinata. She was too… innocent… too "Hinata". So they withheld a sigh and said 'yes'.

Naruto sighed in relief. Hinata really saved him there… Naruto smiled smugly. Hinata was the key! The key to not being shredded to bits by her family, that is! He just had to stick with her and he'd be safe…

"Pork ramen, please!" Naruto ordered happily.

"As usual," Ayame murmured. She then turned to her first time guests, "A-And for you two?"

"We'll have what Hinata is having," said the two Hyuugas at once.


As soon as Ayame disappeared, the Hyuuga Head and his youngest daughter slowly spun their heads in Naruto's direction, glaring.

The blond was sweet talking his way into their precious flower's innocent circle. And that was absolutely not acceptable in any way possible. He was not worthy of her.

The way she laughed politely at his nonsensical antics made them sick. A lady such as her deserved someone equal to her level. Naruto was thousands of feet away from her level. Maybe millions.

Ayame came back with their orders, placing them before their owners.

After they said their thanks, the trio began to eat their ramen. Trio because only the Hyuugas were eating the ramen as civilized people should.

The idiot was slurping his noodles, sending the soup flying left and right, allowing it to stain his outfit and face.

Hinata was giggling at the childish manner he ate in, not seeming to be bothered by it. However, Hiashi and Hanabi were disgusted by it.

"Boy," came Hiashi's deep and powerful voice.

Momentarily stepping away from his ramen paradise, Naruto felt the chill of the glare Hinata's father gave him. "Y-Yes sir?"

"You are in the presence of two young ladies. Stop eating like a wild beast and slow down."

"Father," Hinata whined. Hanabi held back a laugh.

"Right, Hyuuga-sama… However, I only see one lady… and that's Hinata… the other's a she-beast."

Hanabi went rigid and this time Hinata held back a laugh by coughing into her ramen.

"I'm kidding though," Naruto quickly said before anyone could beat him senseless. He ate his ramen slower and mumbled into the noodles, "the other's just a beast."

Hinata, being the only one that heard, hung her face over her ramen, allowing her long locks to cover her giggling face. She pursed her lips together as her shoulders trembled and little quiet laughs escaped from her mouth.

Naruto grinned cheekily and the two stern-faced Hyuugas frowned… deeply.

Their flower was growing some new petals. Petals they did not like at all.


The dinner continued on the same. Naruto made an extremely rude remark about Hanabi, Hinata struggled between laughing like an idiot and keeping quiet out of respect for her sister, Hanabi strained to hear whatever it was that had Hinata acting so strange and when she did, she'd send chakra slap coming Naruto's way and Hiashi, like now, was questioning the boy as if he'd committed murder.

"How old are you?"

"18."

"Do you drink?"

"No… But never ever give Bushy Brows sake!"

"Where do you live?"

"Apartment complex B, room 42C."

Hiashi made a mental note of that. He would visit the blond one day… "What's your ranking?"

"…Genin…"

"What do you have for breakfast?"

"Instant ramen!"

"What do you have for lunch?"

"Ichiraku's ramen!"

"What do you have for dinner?"

"Which dinner? 'Cause I have dinner twice, one now and the other at midnight. Gotta have my ramen needs fulfilled."

Hiashi's eyebrow twitched. "What do you eat?"

"Ramen, ramen, and more ramen! Oh yeah, and I sometimes eat…" Naruto hushed his voice as he whispered this, "Sakura-chan's gross soldier pills," he raised his voice again, "… But only when she's watching me eat it, otherwise I throw them into the nearest bush I can find! Uhhh and I once had Hinata's onigiri! It was delicious!"

"Onigiri?" Hinata repeated, confused.

"Mhm! When we were smaller you made me one and gave me! It was so cool 'cause it was like my face was on it and stuff but you were all shy when you gave it-"

"I was shy?"

"Yeah! And REEEAAALLLYYY quiet! You could hardly ever spea-"

Hanabi jumped over Hinata and placed a hand to Naruto's mouth. She gave Naruto a glare with evil glints in her eyes. "Say anything about my sister's past and I'll kill you. Got it?"

Naruto nodded briskly.

Hanabi sat back down and Hiashi continued his flow of questions. "Can you cook?"

"Yup!"

"What?"

"Instant Ramen!"

The Hyuuga sisters sighed. Hinata gave Naruto a weary smile. Why was her father asking him so much questions?

"What's your goal in your petty life?"

Naruto walked around the insult and grinned, "To become Hokage!"

"Hn. I highly doubt that someone like you would become Hokage."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Hm? But I'm gonna become Hokage next year. Baa-chan's handing me the position! Besides, when we were having the Hokage candidate nominations I clearly remember you voting for me."

"Do not lie in my name boy!"

"But you said that I was a strong, confident, and respectable young man…"

"As if one lie wasn't good enough, but two! Two lies to the Hyuuga Head! You make me sick! What scu-… Oh wait. I did say that, didn't I?"

Naruto nodded, Hanabi and Hinata slumped forward.

Naruto dropped his chopsticks and grinned like Cheshire cat. "Hyuuga-sama," he sing-songed in a dark voice, "You have to apologize to me now."

"Never," the man said flatly, activating his Yamato face.

Naruto looked behind him then spun his head around slowly and mechanically, his ghoul-eyes expression on and his Cheshire cat grin remaining in place. "Never … say… never," he whispered eerily.

Hinata chilled, Hanabi felt self-cautious and Hiashi fought back a cringe. The blond idiot's intimidating face was surpassing his.

Hiashi intensified his glare and deepened his frown. "I said never."

Their match of the scarier faces continued until Naruto's 10th bowl of ramen came. The three Hyuugas were still on their first.

"Have you ever thought about marriage?"

Naruto brought his chopsticks to his lips. "Hmmmm. Ero-sennin said that if a woman asks me that I should turn tail and run to another village, change my identity and stay out of the public for three months then go back home…But you're a dude so I guess that doesn't apply..."

Hinata and Hanabi nearly choked on their ramen.

He called me a… dude. This boy shall not live to see his 19th birthday.

"So I don't think I've ever thought about that… I'm still not sure what it is…"

Hiashi visibly cringed. The boy was a blubbering idiot… and blond! "What kind of qualities do you look for in a potential woman to ensue a relationship with?"

After rearranging Hiashi's complicated words to easy ones, Naruto answered,"Oh! I want a girl that's pretty, sweet, kind, loves to make me ramen and won't hit me so much… I've had my fair share of hits during my lifetime… I deserve some kind of relief…"

Finally, Hiashi sighed mentally, a sentence from his mouth that isn't putrid.

Oh, Hiashi. He was wrong. Very wrong.

"Oooo yeah! And Ero-sennin said that I should add this to my list! She should be very, very soft and nice to feel. She should have big bazookas and nice wide hips too! Oh yeah and she should be shaped like this!" Naruto made a coca-cola bottle shape in the air, with his tongue sticking out at the side of his mouth from fierce concentration.

Hinata coughed up her ramen and fainted, Hanabi fell right next to her sister and Hiashi unsheathed his sword.

"U-zu-ma-kiiii," Hiashi drawled in a dark, menacing tone. Evil glints sparkled within his eyes and a twisted grin etched its way onto his face. "You shall die. Right here. Right now."

"Oi! Oi! Oi!" Naruto cried as Hiashi lunged at him with the sword, "You're freakin serious! What the hell did I say!"

Hiashi drew his sword from the wall and pointed it at Naruto who was on the other end of the restaurant, clutching his ramen bowl and still slurping noodles from it.

"Idiot boy! Put the food down now and meet your doom!"

Naruto shrieked as Hiashi came at him again.

The two continued their game of run- and- slash- the- ramen- hugging- blond inside the restaurant until they both took it outside and into the Konoha night air.

Ayame came out with Naruto's 11th bowl of ramen and sighed. The restaurant was trashed and Hinata and Hanabi lied on the ground unconscious.

"I'm definitely not cleaning this up."


"That boy is no good for my sister at all!" Hanabi fumed as she paced about her father's study.

Hiashi sat in his seat, bouncing his sword on one leg and holding onto the handle tightly.

"We have to keep him away from her. He is a bad influence." Hiashi agreed.

"He is not worthy of her."

"She nearly died because of him!"

"We will not forgive him."

"The likes of him to just parade into her life like that!"

"And someone like him, no less!"

"The godforsaken hair color upon his head!"

"Blond," Hanabi sneered, "It's too bright, too cheery… too much urine-looking."

"That orange jumpsuit he calls an outfit!"

"He has the fashion sense of kelp! Our robes are much better than what he wears!"

"And does he eat anything besides ramen? The boy has had not one decent meal!"

"The ruffian he is!"

"But, putting aside all his faults," Hiashi sighed, calming down, "There's one thing that'll make us reconsider getting rid of him…"

Hanabi sat down and crossed her arms. "What's that?"

"He makes her happy… much happier than she's ever been."