A/N: I want to say a quick thank you to everyone for the positive reviews I got for the birthday chapter. That one was the most fun chapters to write and I was glad that everyone enjoyed reading it as well.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Naruto woke up and stared about his room knowing that this would be the last time he would be waking up in his comfortable surroundings for a while. Today he would be leaving the village for a few weeks to go with Tenten and her new team. The Hokage had told him that the mission had a B rank, and with the team still getting to know their new sensei she wanted someone there to back Tenten up if things got tough. The team's old junin had been hurt protecting one of the genin and she was afraid that they might not be completely over that trauma. He would be making the decision as the senior junin on the mission, but Tenten would have final say with anything involving her genin directly.
He still thought it was funny how Baa-chan had promoted him from genin to junin after the end of the war saying that he had more than earned the title by his actions. None of his old teammates had protested the sudden leap in his rank, but he still felt that since he never passed the chunin exams that he did not deserve the title.
After eating a quick breakfast he got ready for the mission and made sure that he had packed enough gear. He really wasn't excited about leaving, so he actually took his time and made sure everything was in order before heading out towards the main gate. He really did not want to leave on a mission today or really any day in the near future, but he is a shinobi that is what shinobi do. They go on missions away from home, sometimes far away and for a long time, without being able to see the people they care about.
As he left his apartment he felt her presence before he actually saw her waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. They share a shy quiet smile before they both turn their heads away in embarrassment. Hinata falls quietly into step beside him as he heads towards the main gate and his new mission.
The last few days had been different for them after the goodnight kiss on her birthday. Their training had gone on normally and both of them made progress, but they had yet to talk about the events that occurred on the night of her birthday. They have been avoiding that subject and focused all their attention to their studies. They would both make sidelong glances at each other when they thought the other was not looking only to find the other meekly glancing over at them.
Shikamaru had basically told them that he was glad the mission was happening because he really needed a break from their drama, which just made them blush brightly and sit even more awkwardly beside each other.
Tinico had taken a much more firm hand and had hit them with her stick each time she caught one of them trying to glance over at the other. By the end of the first day both of them would flinch each time they stole a glance at the other, but even the threat of that stick which would hum like a bird just before that sharp crack would sound and leave a mark, could not keep them from looking over trying to find the right words to say. Yesterday Naruto must have been staring a little too long, or intensely, because she smacked him with just enough force to snap off the tip of the stick. At that point, in exasperation, she asked Hinata to leave the room while they finished. Hinata had meekly complied and just watch him sadly with her byakugan through the walk and noticed that he kept glancing towards the door she had just walked through. It had nearly broken her heart to see him looking over at the door with such sad disappointment on his face.
Naruto was embarrassed that he had been a terrible kisser and he really didn't know what to say to her except that he had been caught off guard by her actions. 'If I had known she had wanted a goodnight kiss I might have been prepared to give and receive a real kiss, but it was a first date and I read somewhere that girls don't kiss on the first date. So I was not expecting there to be kissing involved.'
Now she won't even look him in the eyes and he was too ashamed of himself to fuss at her for breaking her promise. 'I know I could do better if she would give me another chance, but why would she want another bad kiss. I mean it's not like I have not kissed anybody before and they didn't run away like she did. Unfortunately Hinata is stuck working with me every day when I am not on missions and she is just too nice of a person to say anything about how bad it was and hurt my feelings. I bet it is so weird for her and she just doesn't know what to say, maybe I should talk to Baa-chan when I get back and get Hinata released from this assignment? Then we can just go back to being friends again and try to put this all behind us.'
Hinata too was a bundle of nerves and had been since she had run away into her house after kissing her Naruto-kun on the lips. It had been her very first kiss and she had taken that kiss, on a first date, and not waited to receive one like a proper woman. 'Naruto-kun does not even complain when I don't look him in the face. He must have thought better of me and now is ashamed of my actions. I promise you Naruto-kun that I won't be so brazen again if you will only look at me and give me your special smile.' She was also ashamed that she had run away after their kiss, but she could feel herself getting ready to faint and knew if she stayed that she would have passed out there on her doorstep leaving him to explain to her father what had occurred.
After she had run into the house things had only gotten more complicated. Her sister had been using her byakugan to spy on their special moment, against one of the Hyuga clan's most important rules regarding privacy. Being the victim of such a violation she now fully understood why the law was put into place and why her father strictly held to that tradition.
Only one other time in her life had she ever felt that angry and only the shock of what that event had done to her most precious love had kept her from attacking Sakura that night. She had searched for him at the usual places he went when he was hurt to try and offer some sort of comfort. Unfortunately, he had not gone to any of them and by the time she had found him the fight had already started and the ANBU had arrived. She had tried to go and help stop the fight, but Kiba and Shino were there and had held her back fearing the ANBU would misinterpret her actions and treat her as a hostile as well.
She had to force herself to stop thinking about that night because she did not want him to see her crying before he left. So she thought about how she had chased after Hanabi after she had caught the girl spying on one of the most precious moments of her life.
FLASHBACK
The chase had gone through the main house and out onto the training field where Hanabi had stopped running and faced Hinata like a Hyuga. They stared at each other for a moment taking measure of the other sister's stance and their chakra flow, trying to anticipate the others first move. She had been about to make her attack against Hanabi when their father's voice broke the silence.
"Stop, why are my daughters racing through the house like wild beasts and now I find them facing each other like enemies? I demand answers, now!" Both girls turned to see their usually passionless father standing there anger fully visible, being flanked by half a dozen other members of their clan ready to defend against anyone who would dare to attack the clan in their homes at night.
Hinata had turned and bowed deeply to her father. "Otou-san, my apologies for our rude behavior, I am sorry if our actions has disturbed your sleep."
"That is an apology Hinata. I asked for an explanation!" The annoyance in Hiashi's voice could be felt. He turned to the other gathered clan members and dismissed them with a gesture and when he turned back to look at his two daughters the anger in his eyes washed over them like a wave of heat.
Hinata spared a glance over at her sister and could see the worry in the young girl's eyes. Their father was in a terrible mood and his punishment for breaking clan rules would be very severe when he is told what she a done that night. Hinata gave her sister a gentle smile and nodded. The surprise on Hanabi's face was all she needed as both girls raised up their heads and looked at their father.
"Training otou-san!" They both said together.
Hiashi's eyes narrowed in disbelief at the lie his daughters had chosen to tell him, and both girls knew by his expression that he did not believe them. "I am supposed to believe that my two daughters decided to have a late night training session on my eldest daughters 19th birthday?"
Hanabi was the first to speak. "Yes, otou-san, me and Hinata-chan had been talking the other day about what happened to the Uchiha when we were little and how the whole family was wiped out down to two in a single night. What would we do if an assassin had somehow made it past our guards and into the compound attacking us when we were at our most unprepared? So I thought that surprising Hinata just as she came home from her date with Naruto-san would be the most opportune time to catch her off guard. She did really well and only hesitated a moment before going into full fighting mode." She looks over at Hinata with a proud smile.
Hiashi looks over at Hinata his eyebrows cocked at a curious angle and when he finally spoke his voice seemed unsure. "Date, so am I hearing correctly that you are now dating the Uzumaki boy? I thought tonight was just a casual dinner for your birthday?"
Hanabi just looked over at her sister with a smile on her face that said 'I just told the biggest lie of my life and the one truth in the story is what he focuses on, I am so out of trouble now. Now it is time for you to dig yourself out of the hole I just made for you sister.' She looks back to her father and almost feels bad for telling him about Hinata's date. 'Poor father looks like I could knock him over with a guppy net.'
Hinata felt her face go flush and knew that she must have an epic blush covering her face. She takes a deep breath and somehow holds her gaze steady with her father. "Y-Y-Yes, when Naruto-kun picked me up tonight he handed me some lavender roses and said they were for our d-d-date." She could not help but smile as the word date escaped her lips. She allowed the inner Hinata just a moment of celebratory dancing before returning her focus on her father.
She watched as her father's eyes seemed to be filled with conflicting emotions and all he did was nod and say, "A date… I see." He turns walks away back towards the main house without another word, his head slightly bowed as if in deep contemplation.
Hinata looks over at her sister in confusion. "What just happened? I can't tell if he is really mad that Naruto did not formally ask permission to take me on a date, or is just surprised by the news."
Hanabi just shrugs her shoulders. "Let's just hope it is shock and will last till after breakfast, because I plan on heading out to meet with my team before he starts acting normal again and comes up with some sort of punishment training for waking him up."
Her anger now somewhat subsided, Hinata points an accusing finger at the girl. "Just because I did not tell our father about what I caught you doing does not mean that I have forgiven you for spying. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Hanabi stares at her for a few seconds before her head tilts to the side. "Are those earrings your birthday present from Naruto?"
Hinata reaches up and caresses her gift gently and smiles. "Yes, aren't they the most beautiful earrings you have ever seen?" She looks up at the pale moon and bathes in its gentle glow as Hanabi comes for a closer look.
"Can we go to your room so I can get a better look? Wait, are those blue and lavender stones?" Hanabi starts dragging her back towards the main house.
"Yes, jade and topaz with a diamond center." She gushes with excitement as she says the words.
They gathered the gifts Hinata had dropped at the main entrance and spent the next few hours together in Hinata's room eating mochi as she told the story about her first date with her Naruto-kun. The next morning though she had privately reminded her sister that she had not forgotten the betrayal of privacy and she would be requiring recompense in the future.
The breakfast with her father the next day had been the most awkward morning in her life. She had grown up after her mother's death with her father glaring at her with disapproval over nearly everything she tried to accomplish, but now his expression seemed so subdued, almost sad or was that concern. She had wanted to say something, but what do you say to the head of the clan who was also your father, and has the final say in every aspect of your life? If he ordered her to not date Naruto again would she have the right and the strength to say no? So they had sat there quietly, even for members of the Hyuga clan this had been a quiet breakfast, and they had said nothing to each other beyond the required pleasantries.
Thankfully things had returned closer to normal by this morning as Hanabi was preparing to leave for her mission. She had been telling them that Naruto had promised to show her a few things while they were away on the mission to help her be better prepared for the chunin exams coming up in the spring. Hinata decided not to remind her that due to events out of his control that he never actually passed the chunin exams.
Hanabi must have sensed Hinata's depressed mood at the thoughts of Naruto leaving the village and had apologized if her words had made her feel sad. Hinata had thanked her sister for her concern, but she told her that she was happy they were going on a mission together so that they could protect each other and both come home safely. It was when the subject of Naruto leaving the village for a while came up that Hinata noticed that her father seemed almost relieved that Naruto would be away for a while.
END FLASHBACK
She looked over at him and noticed that his shoulders were a little slumped and there were bags under his eyes. "Naruto-kun, you seem very tired this morning, are you okay?"
He gave her a tired, but happy smile. "Yeah, I was up late last night getting stuff ready before I had to leave for the mission. Luckily it will take us a couple of days before we get there so I will try and get into bed on time tonight."
"I would have helped you if you had said something. I know the Hokage has really been putting a lot of extra paperwork on you the last few days, but you should not exhaust yourself before a mission." Now that the silence was broken things were starting to get back into the comfortable rhythm they had developed before their date. Maybe dating was not destined for the two of them and to preserve what they had they need to just stay friends or risk losing everything. 'I need to stop thinking such depressing thoughts or I will just end up crying the whole time he is gone.'
He just shakes his spikey blonde head. "No, I was up late doing something that I wanted... uh needed to accomplish by myself. Besides, I knew last night was your meeting with your father to discuss the topics of today's meetings and I did not want to interfere with your duties any more than I have lately. I would rather not have your father mad at me, if you know what I mean." Finally, he gave her that special smile she has been missing for so many days and would be for the next few weeks.
Hinata giggles at seeing him smile. "Yes, father can be quiet fearsome when he wants to be, which is most of the time. Now that I am taking part in my father's duties as the leader of the clan I think it is the stress of being the head of the family that has weighed upon him all these years. Tinico-san once told me that father had not always been so serious and says that Hanabi reminds her of father at that age."
"Wow, I can't imagine sweet little Hanabi ever growing up to be so serious?" He shrugs and puts his arms behind his head.
Hinata just stares at Naruto in disbelief. "Sweet little Hanabi? I can say many things about my sister but rarely would I ever use the term sweet. Don't let that quiet exterior fool you Naruto-kun. My sister is a very shrewd and calculating person that is not above taking advantage of a situation to help her gain what she wants."
Having fought many matches against her sister growing up Hinata had seen firsthand how Hanabi had taken advantage of the growing rift between Hiashi and his eldest daughter to get more of his attention. At first Hinata let it go because Hanabi was the youngest and required more attention, but as they got older and Hanabi had come to realize what fate awaited her as the younger sibling she had become more demanding of the father's love and attention. Hanabi is her sister, and no matter what, she would do whatever she could for her only sibling, as long as those desires did not interfere with the only thing that Hinata wanted in her life.
"Well, speaking of the little devil, look who is waiting on us at the gate." Standing there at the main gate was Tenten, along with Hanabi and her teammates Inuzuka Ookami and Umino Shimata. Naruto had been briefly introduced to them a few days ago, but beyond that quick chat he had not seen them again till today.
Ookami is a member of the Inuzuka clan and a cousin to Hinata's old teammate Kiba. Her boisterous and confident attitude reminded both Naruto and Hinata of Kiba. Her short black hair is the same color as the fur of her ninken, Maku.
Shimata is a quiet boy with spikey red hair and large dark green eyes. He uses a pair of tantos sticking out above his shoulders, and from what Naruto was briefly told, the boy used them in a dual wielding kenjutsu style. For some reason Naruto took an instant dislike to the quiet boy and after the initial hello he has avoided talking with him.
"So look who finally decided to get out of bed and drag himself to the front gate." While her words were accusatory, her tone was full of humor. "I swear you get more like Kakashi all the time. Before too long we will be seeing you hanging out with your nose stuck in one of Jiraiya's old Icha Icha books."
Naruto just laughs at Tenten's little jab at his connection to the old pervert and Kakashi's obsession with those books. "I'm sorry I am late, but Baa-chan had me working late on paperwork last night and then I was up half the night getting more important stuff finished before I could leave." He looks at assembled genin. "Are the three of you ready to hit the road?" They all nod and he gives them a big smile.
He turns to look at Hinata, who was looking sadly down at her feet, and places a hand under her chin so their eyes would meet. "You promised me you were going to work on that bad habit." As he looks into those pale eyes he realizes there is so much he wants to say to her, but there is just not enough time to put into words these strange emotions he has been feeling lately when she is around. 'Baa-chan could tell something was up last night when we talked about Hokage stuff, maybe I should have said something instead of shrugging when she asked. I really do need to talk with somebody about what is going on with me lately, but who do I know that can truly understand what I have been through and can help me understand what I am feeling now? But there is something I need to say to her first.'
Hinata looks up and feels those butterflies begin to stir inside her body. She has to restrain herself from wrapping her arms around him and begging him not go away from her again. Before he leaves she needs to apologize
"I'm sorry…" They start talking at the same time.
"About what?" Again in unison.
"Will the two of you just kiss already, we have a mission to do and I would like to leave before its gets dark." They both blush deeply and turn to see Tenten standing there smiling with her hands on her hips. Hanabi and Ookami are both giggling in their hands while Shimata just rolls his eyes and walks away.
"Fine, here take this and get going. I need to talk with Hinata before I leave and I will catch up with you shortly." He throws Tenten a kunai that has some strange seal written on the handle.
Tenten just shrugs and walks away and her team follows her through the gate. "Fine, just make sure that all you two do is talk. I don't want Hinata wearing you out so much that we have to camp early tonight."
Naruto and Hinata stare at Tenten in complete shock as she heads towards the gate. They turn to look at each other and then quickly look away when they see the other's blushing face. Each of them was trying not to let the other see the intimate thoughts that passed through their minds at Tenten's accusation. Looking away does not help much as they notice that some other villagers had also heard Tenten's insinuation and were now looking at the blushing couple with knowing smiles and more than one sharing whispers with their neighbor.
Naruto grabs Hinata's hand and takes her someplace away from all the attention they were now getting. He starts to speak but Hinata stops him with a shake of her head. "Please Naruto-kun I need to apologize for running away the other night. I could feel myself beginning to faint and I did not want to ruin our date, so I got scared and ran away."
Hinata grabs his jacket and puts her forehead on his chest afraid to look into his eyes. "I am so sorry, please don't hate me for being so improper and kissing you instead of waiting for you to ask to kiss me like a proper woman should." She feels his hand reach down and caress the side of her face before lifting it up to look into his eyes.
"I could never hate you. Please, don't ever think that I could hate someone as wonderful as you are Hinata." Somehow his face looked gentle and serious at the same time, either way the combination of his eyes, words and touch just made her melt into tears of relief and joy.
Hinata's heart felt like it was going to burst from exultation at the word he just spoke. 'Wonderful, Naruto-kun thinks that I am wonderful.'
He pulls her into his arms and just holds her till she can regain control of her emotions. "To be honest I am relieved to hear why you ran away, because I was afraid you didn't like the kiss and ran away to keep from hurting my feelings." Inside Naruto was mentally slapping himself for not even thinking about her fainting problem. 'I guess since we have been working together so much lately and she hasn't even acted woozy that I had stopped worrying about her fainting.'
She looks up at him their faces inches apart. "No, I thought that it was wonderful. I've never felt anything so amazing before in my life." Realizing what she had confessed Hinata gave out a little 'eep' and buried her blushing face in his jacket.
He smiles down at her happy to know that all his fears over the last few days were just him being stupid. "Really?" She nods her head against his breastbone. "Would it be okay if I kissed you this time?"
"Yes, I would like that Naruto-kun." Her eyes go wide as she realizes what he just asked and she takes a step back to try and calm her suddenly fluttering heart. "You said this time? Do you mean… like right now, this time?"
"Yeah, I mean… if it's… okay?" He starts touching his index fingers together nervously in a very familiar fashion. "It's just… that, you know, I'm… leaving for a mission." His right hand starts rubbing the back of his head while his left begins nervously plucking at the buckle of his backpack. "So… I thought you might, you know… want to… I mean, like to… you know, have a… goodbye kiss." His face turns a light shade of pink and looks down at the string he just pulled off his backpack strap.
Hinata watches the whole thing amazed to see the confident person she has fallen in love with become a nervous wreck over asking her for a kiss. 'He is so cute when he blushes. Does he think the same thing when I act like this?' She steps forward intending to tell him she would love to be kissed by him, but as she begins to move his eyes look up and meet her own and her stomach begins to quiver nervously. "A kiss… nice… would be... before... go you do." Her brows furrow in confusion at the words she just said and Naruto cocks his head to the side as if trying to decipher them as well.
"That was a yes, right?" Naruto asks and once she nods, not trusting herself again with speaking, he steps closer and reaches over to put his right hand upon her waist, but she chose that same moment to reach up and place a hand upon his shoulder and by doing so blocks his attempt. So he tries with his left and is accidentally blocked by her again.
Hinata mouths an apology in reply to the confused 'what the...' look upon his face and she clasps her hands together in front of her face, slightly biting one of her index fingers. Naruto, understanding her intent places both hands on her tiny waist and draws her in closer. He leans down and gently kisses the index finger that she had been biting.
In response she unclasps her hands and reaches up, placing them on either side of his neck. As her thumbs gently caress the whisker marks on his cheeks her fingers are finally able to do something she has dreamed about since she was a little girl, she lightly brushes his hair with her fingertips. She closes her eyes and tries to focus on the texture of his hair and how they along with the marks on his face feels, committing the sensations to memory, instead of how her heart rate seems to keep increasing as the distance between their lips decreases.
Instinctively their heads turn to the side as their mouths draw nearer to each other, and finally the two pairs of lips meet ever so gently. For both of them it was like the birthday kiss all over again, as all of the emotional explosions and butterflies of the birthday kiss come back as if this was truly their first kiss. It wasn't a long kiss, by anyone's standards, and it did not involve excessive lip movements or a burst of passion. This was a gentle kiss, a timid kiss, an almost chaste kiss that spoke to the other's heart all of the things they could not seem to express with words.
As the kiss was over she put her head on his shoulder. "Please don't go, tell the Hokage that you can't go and it is all my fault for being selfish." She wrapped her arms around him in a desperate embrace. "I am willing to suffer any punishment as long we are not separated from each other."
"I don't want to go either, but I would never allow you to get into trouble over me Hinata." He reaches up a hand and strokes her long dark hair. "I gave my word that I would help Tenten on this mission and I promised you that I would protect Hanabi. You know I never go back on my word..."
"It's our nindo." She finishes his sentence. She steps back out of his embrace and pulls out a small package. "I made a lunch for you to eat today while you are on the road." As he starts to peek she gently slaps his hand. "Don't look till its lunch time and think of me when you do have lunch."
He reaches in his pocket and hands her a small scroll. "I made something for you too. Wait to open it if you start to miss me after I am gone."
She gives him a sad pouty face which for some reason he finds to be amazingly cute. "We've been working together so much lately that my days are going to be so confused. It's not going to take long before I miss your presence."
"I know, I feel the same, but I hope you keep up with your affinity training while I am gone. I'll be gone for a couple of weeks at the most and I expect to see some amazing progress when I get back." He gives an excited fist pump that makes her giggle.
"I plan on using the morning time I had been working with you to train, so that I will be doubling the time I had been spending on the training ground."
His smile turns serious for a moment at her announcement. "Just don't overdo it Hinata. I would really hate to find out you ended up in the hospital because you were working too hard. Try to enjoy some of your free time too. I know that Kiba and Shino would love to see you by the way Kiba was complaining the other night."
She gives a little frown at the mention of her teammates. "I guess I have been neglecting them lately. Maybe I'll go spar with them and show off what I have learned so far with my affinity training." Her face turns somber and she places a hand over his heart. "I guess you need to go. Thank you Naruto-kun for letting me be a little selfish before you left."
Naruto looks at her with a strange smirk on his face. "Before I leave I wanted you to know that I am very proud of you Hinata."
Unable to help herself she returns his infectious smile. "Why, what did I do to make you so proud of me Naruto-kun."
Naruto just chuckles at her question. "I think we may have been spending too much time together." Seeing her expression turn confused he waves both hands back and forth. "I am not meaning that in a bad way Hinata. It's just that I was stuttering earlier when, you know, but you on the other hand did something amazing."
Hinata just looked at him confused and shook her head having no idea what he is referring too.
"Hinata, you touched me and kissed me without any sign of fainting." Naruto could not seem to stop smiling.
At the realization of what he just said hit her, Hinata covered her mouth with both hands in complete shock. The feeling of his hair against her fingers and the warm softness of his lips suddenly flooded back to her threatening to overwhelm and knock unconscious. It was the sound of his voice speaking her name softly asking her to stay awake or he would have to take her to the hospital that pulled her from the abyss.
"See, I knew you could do it. I guess spending so much time together lately has rubbed off on each other."
"Does this mean that I might start running into battle without any sort of concern for my safety?" Hinata says with a chiding smirk.
Naruto gives out a loud chuckle when she asks about his propensity to run headlong against an opponent. "Yeah, you just might, so you might want to warn Kiba and Shino that you might start going berserk in battle soon."
"No, I think I will let that be a special surprise for them when it happens. The look on Kiba's face will be priceless." Hinata covers her mouth and giggles at the mental image of Kiba standing there in shock.
"Oh, I have to be there to see that. How about you try and control yourself until we can run into battle together? That way I can see the look on the mutt's face too." Naruto laughs so hard that he has to wipe a tear out of his eye.
The image of her dream of them fighting an opponent together side-by-side makes her smile back happily. "I would like for that to happen very much, Naruto-kun."
Naruto sighs unhappily. "I guess I really should be going or Tenten is going to tease me for the entire mission." He steps closer and gives her one last kiss, a much longer kiss, an almost desperate kiss as if he was trying to commit every detail to memory. Even though this was their third kiss, and yes she is keeping count, the emotions it conjures have not faded, but seemed to only strengthen with each new kiss.
He steps out of the embrace with a touch of sadness on his features. He gives her a small, sad smile and in a flash he is gone.