Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters.
Chapter 4: Getting to Know Each Other
A rapping at his door woke Naruto the next morning. He looked at the clock next to his bed through blurry eyes and saw it was a little after 9:00.
"SHIT!" he yelled as he dashed out of bed. He threw on a pair of pants and ran out of the room tripping over several things in his rush to get to the front door. When he pulled it open Hinata stood there in her usual ninja garb raising her hand to knock again.
"Sorry, Hinata-chan! I must have overslept. I hope you weren't waiting long. Do you want to come in?" Naruto said in a hurry. He looked at her for a moment and realized she was blushing furiously for some reason and wouldn't meet his eyes. When he looked down he realized why. He had pants on, but no shirt. "Oh, oops. Why don't you come in and I'll finish getting dressed." He stepped out of her way as she mutely crossed into the room and removed her shoes. "Uhh, have a seat. Can I get you anything? I think there's some milk in the fridge." She just shook her head and mutely sat down at his dining room table. He scratched his head nervously. "Well, I'll be back in a minute." As he made his way back to him bedroom he rapped himself on the head. 'Why to go, Uzamaki,' he silently thought to himself.
Back in the living room Hinata finally let out the breath she had been holding and tried to get her blushing under control. If they were going to be sparring partners she would have to get used to seeing him without his shirt on. She might have to do some minor first aid for instance, but she hadn't been prepared for that. She blushed again. He was sooo buff. Not that it was surprising. He was a ninja after all, but she had never seen a boy with his shirt off before, much less Naruto. Sure, she had fantasied about it, but the real thing was much more detailed than anything she could have thought up. The way the muscles moved as he had reached up and scratched his head, or the way his chest moved up and down slightly with his breathing. It made her want to wrap her arms around him and listen to his breathing, his heartbeat. Maybe even see how fast she could make that heartbeat go. She started to blush again. She rapped herself lightly on the head. 'No! Bad, Hinata! Calm thoughts. Pure thoughts.' She took a deep breath and thought about her list of chores for the day.
While she thought about slightly less embarrassing things a fully clothed Naruto walked back in the room. He smiled at her timidly as if asking her forgiveness. She smiled back at him and he relaxed noticeably.
"Sorry about that. So, what do you have planned for us today?" He pulled up another stool and sat across from her. His smile softened as he looked at her and she was pleased when it didn't make her blush, but instead filled her with confidence for some reason. She sat up a little straighter.
"Its not many things, but they're time intensive I'm afraid. We have about 30 invitations to deliver all over Konaha, we need to speak to the caterer about the menu, and finally pick out the floral arrangements from the Yamanaka flower shop. Sorry, but I don't know if we'll have a lot of time to train today."
"Don't worry about that. Work first, play later, right? Plus I can deal with all the invitations easily enough! Do you have them?"
Hinata furrowed her brow in confusion. "No we need to pick them up first."
"Well, lets get going then!" he grabbed her hand and ran out the door with the poor blushing girl in tow. "Lead the way!"
When they finally got to the shop Hinata went inside while Naruto waited outside. She came outside with a large box full of addressed envolopes. "Ok, Naruto. How exactly are you going to take care of all of these easily enough?" she asked with curiosity.
He just smiled and made a handsign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He yelled. With a puff of smoke the street was suddenly filled with Narutos. "Ok, everybody! Take and invitation and deliver it to the address on the envelope! This is really important! NO messing up! If you don't know the address don't be afraid to ask for directions!" The mass of Narutos all yelled "Understood!" and grabbed one invitation each out of the box and disappeared in various directions running down the street or up onto rooftops. Once they were all out of sight the real Naruto turned back to a startled Hinata and smiled. "One down two to go!" She couldn't help but laugh. They started up the street toward the next item on their list.
Two hours later they left the fourth and last restaurant on Hinata's list. Naruto sighed in releif. "I never knew how much goes into planning a wedding! And that was just the food! Man, your dad must be going all out," he said smiling over at Hinata. She blushed lightly in response.
"There will be several important foreign guests and the Hyuga's have a reputation to uphold. Sorry that took so long," she finished sheepishly.
"It's no problem! Its good experience for whenever I get married," Naruto said before thinking. Hinata blushed again and looked over at him just as he realized who he had just said that to. Hinata was startled to see him blushing, too. Maybe he was thinking about Sakura she concluded, but she had heard he was over his long time crush on his teammate. Was there some new rival she didn't know about. After a quick internal battle of wills she decided to go for it.
"And who would the lucky girl be?" she asked as teasingly as she could. Her heart was hammering as she waited for his response. He stumbled a little and when he righted himself his blush had deepened to a bright red.
Naruto quickly went over his options. He could just come out and confess, but that might scare her off and things were going so well. He could lie and say someone else, but quickly discarded that as just plain stupid. He finally decided to play coy and dance around the subject giving her a few clues, but nothing that would give it away. "Tell you what, I'll answer one question about her other than her name until the wedding and you can try to figure it out for yourself in a week."
That had not been what she was expecting. She thought about it for a moment confused as to why Naruto of all people was being coy. He would usually just run around yelling his feeling to anyone who would listen. Or at least the boy she had known would have done that. Maybe he had grown in more ways than just his height while he was off training with Jiriya-senin. Still it was worth the effort to figure out who her competition was. She smiled slyly at him and put out her hand. "Deal. But what if I can't figure it out by the end of the week?" she asked pulling her hand back as he reached up to shake it.
He grinned at her widely. "Then I'll tell you after the wedding. Just one question a day. And if you can't figure it out you have to do me a favor to be named at a later date." He kept his hand raised expectantly. She studied him then smiled and reached out her hand and took his formally sealing their deal.
"Deal," she said smiling shyly. Naruto's eyes sparkled at her. There was something there she couldn't read like she had just made his day. It made her smile even broader. "Well, then lets see. Can I ask my first question now?" she asked.
"Go for it!" Naruto yelled punching the air. She giggled at his exuberance.
"Hmmm, is she a Konaha konochi?" she needed to get the basics out of the way first she decided. For all she knew he had met someone on his three year training sabbatical.
Naruto grinned. "Yes, she most certainly is a Konaha konochi. And a damned good one I might add," he added with a wink. His eyes sparkled at her again before he cracked a grin and said, "Well, lets get over to Ino's family shop and pick out those flowers!"
"Yes, lets," she said following him down the street.
When they walked into the shop a bored looking Ino looked up from the counter and greeted them. "Welcome to the Yamanaka flower shop. Oh, hey Hinata, Naturo. What brings you here today?" Ino looked from one to the other and a cheshire grin broke out on her face. Hinata knew Ino knew about her longtime crush on Naruto and could sense she was about to say 'So you two finally together' or something equally reveling and embarrassing. Before she could give anything away Hinata spoke up.
"I'm here to pick out the floral arrangements for Neji-niisan and Ten-Ten-san's upcoming wedding. Naruto has been kind enough to help out with the wedding arrangements." She hoped Ino could see in her eyes how much she wanted the other konochi to keep quiet about anything that wasn't directly related to the flowers she was selling. She seemed to get the message and shot Hinata a knowing smile.
"Of course! We have a number of flowers that are perfect for weddings. What is the color theme?" Ino asked getting right to business walking her over to a row of brightly colored flowers.
"The theme will be the traditional black and white, but I would like to add some soft pinks and possibly baby blue shades."
"Good taste, Hinata. So mainly whites with a few lighter accenting colors. Hmm. The stephanotis is a popular flower for weddings. It symbolizes happiness in marriage. The orange blossom is also a good one. It symbolizes eternal love, marriage, and fruitfulness." Both flowers she picked up to show Hinata were delicate little white flowers. "As for something with a little color roses are a favorite." Hinata shook her head.
"I specifically want to stay away from roses. They're a little overdone in my opinion." Naruto made a mental note of that while waiting in the background looking their selection of house ferns. He kept it to himself, but really liked keeping a small fern garden in his apartment.
Ino smiled at Hinata. "I have to agree. Then how about blue violets? They represent faithfulness." She picked up a vibrantly blue little flower. "It's a little brighter than what you mentioned, though." Hinata smiled while looking at it.
"It's perfect. I was also looking at the pink calla lilies. They symbolizes beauty, right?"
"Right you are. You would want them to be a centerpiece with some greenery to go with them. How about bells of Ireland? They would set each other off well and their meaning fits the wedding theme. They stand for good luck." Hinata's smile widened.
"Yes. They complement each other well. I think we'll do two separate arrangements then. One with the calla lilies and the bells of Ireland and another with the blue violets, orange blossoms, and stephanotis. We'll take 10 of each in the largest settings you do and 20 of each in smaller table settings. Also, I'd like to order about 50 feet of ivy to decorate with."
Ino put her hands on her hips looking impressed. "And ivy for wedded love, fidelity, and affection. You sure know you're stuff, Hinata. It would be our pleasure. When will you need the order filled?" she asked walking back up to the front of the shop. She slipped behind the counter and got out a ledger book.
"The wedding is this Saturday, so that gives us 6 days including today. I hope that's not too short notice. And if it's not too much trouble could you put together two sample arrangements and have them delivered to the Hyuga estate today?" Hinata asked.
"Of course. No problem at all. Shall I send the bill with that delivery?"
"That will be fine. Thank you very much, Ino-san." Hinata bowed slightly. Ino just laughed and waved it off.
"Hinata, how many times do I have to tell you, Ino is just fine. And you're welcome. Send my congratulations to the happy couple."
"Of course. Thank you, Ino," she said with a smile. She turned to Naruto who was leaning over a pot of pink and purple flowers. "Ready, Naruto-kun?" He looked up and smiled.
"Sure, in a minute. Hey Ino, what are these flowers called?" he asked.
She looked up surprised at his interest. "Those are spider flowers. If you give those to a girl you're asking her to elope with you." She cracked a grin at his reaction.
"You don't say. Thanks, Ino. See you 'round." He waved as they left the shop together. Ino's cheshire grin came back. She had expected him to look mortified at the suggestion of eloping with anyone, but he had only looked mildly surprised and possibly a little intrigued? She would have to pay close attention to those two in the coming weeks. Naruto was the most impatient person she'd ever met, yet here he was waiting for Hinata while she talked about flowers. And what was he doing helping with Neji's wedding preparations? It was all so un-Naruto like. But the way Hinata had looked at her when they walked in made her think they weren't an item yet. Was Naruto the one trying to put the moves on Hinata then?! Oh, this was just too good! She picked up the phone and dialed Sakura's number at lightning speed.
"Hello? Haruno residence."
"Hey, billboard brow, you will not believe what just happened. Are you free?"
"Oh, hey Ino-pig. Yeah, I'm not busy. What's up?"
"Stop by the shop. I have the juiciest piece of gossip."
"Oh really? Sure, sure. I'll be by in a few."
As she hung up the phone she leaned on her hand and wondered idly if there would be another Hyuga wedding before the end of the year.
As they left the flower shop Naruto's stomach growled noisily. He blushed and chuckled. Hinata smiled, too.
"Are you hungry, Naruto-kun? We could stop for an early lunch before heading to the training grounds."
"Yeah, that would be great. I kinda skipped breakfast. Where do you want to eat?"
"Wherever you would like is fine with me." She knew exactly where he would want to eat, but the Ichiraku ramen stand was on the other side of town.
"Hmmm. Well, Ichiraku's isn't really on the way. What about this place?" She followed his gaze and smiled. It was her favorite tea house. They severed light fare and some of the best imported and local teas in Konoha. He noticed her reaction. "Well, that settles it. Lets go eat!"
They went inside and were seated at a table close to the window. Naruto offered her the seat with a view of the window. She wondered when he had become such a gentleman. Once he was seated and they had ordered he just sat there looking at her from across the table with his chin resting on his palm. He had the same soft expression in his eyes she had seen in his apartment. It made her blush lightly this time.
"So, do you come here often? You seemed to know exactly what you wanted without looking at the menu," he asked.
"Yes. This is my favorite tea house in Konoha. They have the best Wu-Longs I've ever tasted. The Iron Goddess of Mercy blend is my favorite, but it might be a little pungent for this early in the day, so I got us a Sencha Green instead. That blend is much more delicate and relaxing. Perfect for the late morning."
Naruto's eyebrows went up. That was the most he had ever heard her say at once, outside putting together menus and floral arrangements. Kiba hadn't been lying. This girl certainly did have a thing for tea. "Well, I'm sure you know best. I don't know the first thing about tea. We'll have to come back so you can further my education."
"Of course, anytime you'd like," she said shyly, but Naruto could tell she was happy with the suggestion.
"It's a date then," he said with a wink. She blushed and her eyes went wide, but was saved from having to respond when the tea arrived a second later. She poured for them, then lifted her cup and inhaled the aroma deeply letting out the breath in a content sigh. She blew a little on the tea and took a small sip.
From across the table Naruto just stared. As she sipped her tea she looked so relaxed, so at peace. The worry lines that she usually wore when she was around him had smoothed out reveling an even more beautiful young woman. Her smile was light, wholesome, and content. It made him blush. He decided he would have to make it a habit of bringing her here. She looked up at him and tilted her head in question. He blushed even harder at being caught. He quickly picked up his tea and took a tentative sip.
"Hey, this is pretty good! You really know your tea." She smiled as he took another sip. Their food arrived several moments later. Naruto made small talk while they ate and started to get to know the real Hinata. He found out little things about her past and her likes and dislikes, such as her weakness for cinnamon buns and that she couldn't stand squid. She told him what she remembered about her mother and her early childhood. He took in every little detail. When the bill came he insisted on paying for their meal saying it was to pay her back for introducing him to the possibility of tea being good. That had gotten a giggle out of her. Her laughs made it feel like his heart was expanding. It was a wonderful feeling.
Naruto and Hinata trained for the rest of the day. As the sun started to sink toward the horizon they stopped. Naruto asked if he could walk her home and she accepted with a shy nod of her head.
"I'm so impressed, Hinata-chan! You've gotten so much stronger. Thanks for going easy on my with your Jyuuken, though. I remember how I felt after my fight with Neji in the chunin finals. You were dodging the really painful chakra centers, weren't you?" he asked as they walked down the street.
She looked up at him startled. "We were only sparring, Naruto-kun. I wouldn't do anything that could actually hurt you. The Jyuuken is a dangerous style. It can cause real damage if intended. Neji-niisan was in a real fight with you, but I still don't think he should have attacked any of your vital chakra points," she finished softly. "But he was a different person before that fight with you. I never thanked you for standing up to him and helping him change the way you did. Thank you for that Naruto-kun." She looked up at him and met his eye before she shyly looked down at the ground again.
It took a few moments for him to find his voice. When he did he said, "It was nothing. He just needed to see that he was the only one limiting the possibilities that were open to him in the future. I'm glad I could help him see that. He's too talented with those eyes of his to be so blind to something so obvious." Naruto stuck his hands in his pockets and looked off into the distance.
Hinata looked up at him as he looked into the past. When had he gotten so wise? When had that little prankster that she had fallen in love with turned into the man walking beside her? She longed to reach out and hold him. Her heart ached for it, but she clamped down on that feeling as she remembered the girl Naruto was planning to marry. Plus, she didn't want to ruin the friendship they were just starting to form. If she couldn't have him, she would treasure that friendship forever. While she was lost in her thoughts he looked down at her.
"We're here," he said softly. She blinked and looked up seeing her home in front of her.
"So we are. Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?" she asked looking back at him.
"I would, but I don't want to impose. Thanks for training with me today, Hinata-chan. I learned a lot. See you tomorrow?" She smiled and nodded. "Great! I'll try to be ready this time." She giggled as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He looked down at her in the twilight with that same soft look in his eyes. She wished he would lean down and kiss her at that moment. There was a moment of silence where, unbeknownst to her, he wanted to, too. Instead he smiled broadly and said, "Good night, Hinata-chan!" And took off down the street.
She watched his retreating figure in the growing darkness as she whispered to the night, "Good night, Naruto-kun." She sighed deeply and put her hand over her heart.
"And where have you been all day, Hinata-sama?" Hinata let out a little 'Eep!' and turned to find a very smug looking Neji leaning against the front gate watching her.
"Neji-niisan! You scared me." She blushed at being caught off guard.
"Was that Naruto?" he asked with the same smug expression. Her look hardened. He was teasing her.
"As a matter of fact it was. I told you he was interested in helping out with the wedding. He helped me run errands today, then we spent the rest of the day training together if you must know." She gave him a hard look daring him to laugh at her.
Instead he chuckled under his breath and walked over to her a warm expression replacing his smug look. "I'll have to thank him for helping out. You're just in time for dinner. If you hurry you should be able to catch a quick bath. I'll let Hiashi-sama know you've returned and will be ready in say 20 minutes?"
She gave him a quizzical look at his sudden change in demeanor. "Thank you. A bath would be wonderful. See you at dinner, then." She hurried into the house.
Neji watched her go with his arms crossed and an amused smile on his face. "You certainly move fast, Naruto. And there are already noticeable improvements. Well done, my friend." He chuckled softly to himself and followed his cousin into the house.