What is Love?

Chapter 10

Naruto whistled to himself as he spiked up his hair then put on his jacket.

This was a new one that he had bought a few days ago since he had outgrown his old orange one.

This one was all black at the shoulders and mid chest and back…the rest of it was orange and his matching pants had a black stripe down the inside and outside of the legs.

For some odd reason he felt like the outfit was missing something and he went to the closet and looked inside and found a black belt with metal studs decorating it.

He had forgotten that he bought this some time ago. As he took it down from the closet he felt the studs and turned it over in his hands a few times.

With a strange smile he pulled the belt through the loops then fastened it. Looking in the mirror he had to admit…he looked good. He hoped Hinata would think so too.

"No worries pup. I am sure she will treat you like a fresh kill."

Naruto grinned then frowned right afterwards as he thought about that. "Thanks…I think."

Naruto jumped and ran down the stairs when he heard the doorbell. Stopping three steps from the front door he composed himself then opened it.

"Hey Naruto! We didn't know you were back in town until today when Kakashi told us he saw you walking out of the ramen stand with Hinata. How you been dirtbag?"

Kiba walked past Naruto and into his house followed by Shino who bowed slightly to Naruto at the front door.

Naruto shrugged off the insult. Kiba always had something smart ass to say, and sometimes went a little to far, but on a level it made Naruto feel uneasy today.

"Um, everything is cool. I just got back a little over three weeks ago. Where have you guys been? I've been by the training grounds a few times since I got back and I haven't seen any of the old gang there."

Kiba flopped down in one of Naruto's bean bags then shrugged. "Missions galore. The new Hokage has made a lot of changes and she has kept us busy…nice digs you got here…better then that dump you used to live in."

Naruto frowned at Kiba's tone. It started to annoy him, but he was about to go on a date with the most beautiful woman in the world so nothing was going to disturb his groove! Naruto shrugged as he let out the breath he was holding. "It was home. Now this is home. I found myself able to afford my own place finally so I figured what the hell? It is cozy and has the features I wanted. That is all that matters to me."

Shino looked between Naruto and Kiba, a frown starting to develop on his face. His hive started to become agitated in conjunction with the feelings he was starting to have. Kiba seemed to be deliberately goading Naruto. Shino hoped he was wrong, but he had seen Kiba do this on several occasions to enemies on missions. He hoped he was wrong, but if he wasn't…

Kiba grinned as he pushed the hood back from his coat. "I'm sure. So when you gonna start being a ninja again, or are you to going to stick around this time? I'll have to be honest baka, I always knew you were a true blond, but I never thought you were a coward too…well I take that back…"

Naruto's blood pressure had started to spike, but he paused as Kiba did.

Kiba looked at him, the grin still plastered across his smug face. "I knew you were a coward from our match at the chunin exams, I had just forgotten how much of one you were."

Naruto bared his teeth as his anger spiked. He turned fully to face Kiba even as Fana tried to get him to stay calm. This time though, Naruto wasn't having any of it. "Look Kiba, I don't know what crawled up your butt, but I do know that whatever it is you better keep it to yourself or stay the hell away from me!"

"Calm down pup…do not let him stir your hackles."

Fana said this as he unsheathed his claws and bared his fangs. Obviously he wasn't pleased either.

Kiba jumped to his feet, but Shino stepped in between the two, an ominous buzzing sound coming from within his cloak.

"I did not come here to fight with you Naruto but it appears Kiba had ulterior motives. I do not wish any problems, so I will say welcome back, and take my leave of you. Kiba I suggest you do the same."

Kiba opened his mouth to say something but Shino tilted his head down and looked at him over his sunglasses and Kiba paled slightly. Shino was always kind of creepy what with bugs living inside of him...but for the most part he was a pretty nice guy to his friends and companions.

Naruto had heard though that if you pissed him off...you regretted it for a long time.

"Yeah…I need to go pick up Akamaru from his vet visit anyway."

Naruto nodded to Shino but opened the door just as Hinata was about to knock on it.

Shino stepped past her and smiled. "Hello Hinata, it is good to see you again." Shino then turned and walked up the path to the fence opening and stopped. "Kiba?"

Kiba stood there for a moment staring at Hinata, which irritated Naruto more then the earlier conversation. So Naruto did the only thing he could think of at the moment. He stepped into Kiba's line of sight and leaned down and kissed Hinata on the lips.

Fana laughed as he sheathed his claws and settled down again.

"Smart move pup…worthy of a kitsune."

Naruto chuckled as he gave Hinata's side a little squeeze. "Not at all Fana, I'm just doing as you would do…marking my territory."

Hinata accepted the kiss and smiled before waving to Shino and stepping into the house past Kiba.

"Hello Kiba, how is Akamaru?"

Kiba still stood there dumbfounded as she walked past him. Naruto stepped inside and held the door. "Shino is waiting for you Kiba…Time to go."

Kiba snapped his head around to Naruto then growled as he stomped out the door. "This isn't over."

Naruto smiled, but it was the smile of the fox. "Don't make me finish it Kiba."

Kiba frowned then waved his hand once in dismissal and stomped away from the house and Shino gave a last wave as Naruto shut the door.

Hinata came over and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What is wrong Naruto-kun? Did Kiba say or do something?"

Naruto nodded then shrugged as he let the rest of his anger go with a sigh. "Yeah, but it was nothing new. I should be used to it by now but…it still sucks sometimes."

Hinata placed her other hand on his other shoulder then leaned her head into the hollow of his back. Her voice came to him barely above a whisper, and shocked him a little. "I am sorry…it is my fault."

Naruto frowned then turned and hugged her. "No…Kiba is still a jerk from when we where in school…that's all."

Hinata shook her head and looked up at him. "No Naruto-kun. Kiba is upset because I left the team. But not just because I left the team, but because I left the team for you."

Naruto blinked as he looked into her eyes, disbelief warred with concern as he looked at her. "Y…you left your team? For me? I thought you left so you could learn medical jutsu."

Hinata nodded as she turned and wiped her eyes. "I did…but Shino and Kiba asked me to come back when my training was done, and I told them I couldn't."

Hinata turned to him and anguish was clearly written on her face. "I knew that one day you would come back…and if I was on the team with Shino and Kiba still the chance for us being team mates was slim at best.

So I took a risk and left them and devoted myself to training again, and waiting for you."

Naruto backed up until he was pressed against the wall. No one had ever been that dedicated to him before. On one level it was a little scary…she focused her entire life to being with him. A stalker in the making it would seem.

On the other hand it was one of the most beautiful things he could think of because again, she devoted herself to being with him. No one had ever treated him so well or sacrificed so much for him before. Another knot inside of him loosened and fell away, and as it did he felt more at ease then he ever had before.

I wonder what she would have done if I didn't want to be with her or I didn't return?

After his initial shock he smiled at her then chuckled. "Well that explains why Kiba is pissed at me. Shino is taking it good though."

Hinata went and sat on the couch and looked at her hands as she began to wring them in worry. Naruto watched her and wondered why she was still agitated. "Well Shino understood. He has always been, "if that is what you must do then you have my blessing" kind of guy.

Kiba on the other hand had another reason to hate you and I guess he hasn't gotten over it."

Naruto came over and sat next to Hinata on the couch. "Another reason? But I haven't even been around to piss him off. Is he still butt hurt about me beating him in the exams? Jeez talk about holding a grudge!"

Hinata frowned as she wrung her hands together harder, causing the coloration to change. "I do think he is still upset about that but not as upset as he is about this. Kiba came to me after I resigned from their team and he told me that he…liked me."

Naruto blinked as he thought about it then nodded. "I see. So he blames me for you and him not being together."

Hinata nodded, and Naruto felt the instinct to rush over and hold her against him, but he could see she still wasn't done. "I tried to be nice about it…Kiba was nothing more then a friend to me, I never liked him that way. Even if I did have feelings like that he killed them the same day when he told me. I worried over his words and he came over and hugged me. I took it as a friendly hug at first…but then he grabbed my…denbu."

Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata blushed deeply and looked down again. Naruto walked over and sat next to her and rested his hand on hers to help calm her. "What happened Hinata-chan?" Hinata took a deep breath and let it out slowly before looking up at Naruto, a look of deep pain on her face. "I slapped him. It must have been harder then I thought because he spun around and crashed into the garbage cans and spilled trash everywhere! Then I got mad and screamed at him. I don't remember what I said…but the look on his face was odd. Like he couldn't believe that I would do such a thing to him…like he was perfectly within his rites. After that day, I never really talked to Kiba again, and knew as long as he was there I couldn't be on their team ever again.

Hinata didn't say anything else for a while, he just held her hands and offered her all the comfort he could. Hinata looked at him again and forced a smile. "Well that was the main thing that turned me away from Kiba…but to be honest, he grossed me out. Akamaru usually smells better then he does."

Naruto started laughing, lightly at first. He remembered a few days in the academy when Kiba didn't smell as the commercial says, "not so fresh". He laughed harder as he imagined Kiba approaching his mother and telling her that, and then he laughed so hard he almost fell off the couch.

Hinata frowned deeply and smacked his arm. "Stop it Naruto-kun…it isn't funny." After a few minutes Naruto was reduced to giggles as Hinata glared at him and he regained his composure but as she was about to talk he went into a new fit of hysterics.

Hinata smacked his shoulder harder. "NA-RU-TO! I'm serious, Stop laughing!!"

Naruto tried hard but he imagined Akamaru in the house washing himself in a bath tub with soap and sweet smelling colognes, and Kiba outside rolling around in filth! It was too much for him!

Fana sniffed at him seeming a little peeved.

"There is nothing wrong with rolling around in the peat once in a while…it is good for the coat."

This should have never been said because this time Naruto did fall off the couch and could not move as he held his belly in his hands, braying uncontrollably as he couldn't get the images out of his head!

Hinata tried her best to be angry at him but his laughter became infectious and she giggled a few times as she watched him lying there. Despite the way she felt about the previous encounter with Kiba, Naruto's laughter made her feel better about everything…he could always make her feel better. After a few seconds she grinned down at him then jumped on top of him and began tickling him. "Oh, stop, No!"

Naruto already overwhelmed by laughter could not help himself as she tickled him so he just did his best to deflect her hands until she lay down on top of him and sighed. "Oh Naruto-kun…what am I going to do with you."

Naruto's arms came up and encircled her waist and held her against him as he kissed her. When he looked at her again he just smiled and shrugged. "Love me?" It was meant as a joke...one of those cliché things you hear on television or in a movie.

Hinata's eyes got moist as she traced his lips with a finger. "Silly fox…I already do." He smiled, but did not think she was serious, even though her eyes held more emotion at this moment then he had ever remembered seeing before. Fana chose that moment to huff loudly, but Naruto ignored him.

As they lay there on the floor, he started running his fingers over her back and he stopped as he got to her mid back and shoulder. He frowned then pressed a little firmer as he ran his fingers over her back again.

Wait…she's not wearing a bra…

Naruto's mind went into over drive as he started to think about that and then of course…hormones took over and he blushed as he tried to desperately think of something else.
Hinata closed her eyes and moaned slightly and rocked against him making him sigh also.

His eyes locked with hers and his hands went to her hips against his will, and guided her movement downward, more against him. Hinata rocked down with Naruto's guidance and her mouth opened in a silent "O" as a very sensitive part of her made contact, and her eyes glossed over and closed slightly, just before her eyes snapped open and got big. While the sensation felt incredible, she was always taught that "nice girls" do not do those sorts of things, and she was suddenly scrambling to get off of him! Hinata stumbled and almost fell as she put the coffee table between herself and Naruto a fire now burning low in her belly that she desperately needed to put out before she boiled over as she so often had in the past in response to Naruto.

Naruto scrambled up at the same time and stayed on the other side of the coffee table as he tried to not look at her. "I'm sorry Hinata-chan…I didn't mean to…I don't know why…I couldn't stop…"

And he made the mistake of glancing at her and saw her in the dress she picked out for the evening for the first time.

It was light purple with green vine-like designs printed on it in random places.

The problem was this dress was tight in all the right places…or in this case in all the wrong places.

Naruto stood with his hands covering his crotch and he tried hard not to stare at her but he couldn't help himself. His pants had become painfully tight, and it didn't matter anymore what he tried to think of all he could see was his Hinata. She was beautiful, and he wanted nothing more then to touch her right now…but that wasn't the real problem.

You see...in Hinata's mad scramble to avoid what was happening her dress had come up just high enough to show a little more then she would have wanted.

The light in the room was bright enough so that Naruto could see hair and a slight hint of the treasure beyond, and it made him hungry in a way he had never hungered before. Fana perked up slightly as his nostrils flared the aroma of that familiar musk and her jasmine perfume, mixed providing him an erotic sense of mystery. But he knew he shouldn't be able to see her like this so he forced his gaze away and took a shuddering breath.

"Hinata, your dress…I..I can see your hoo ha..."

Hinata looked down at herself and screeched while doing her best to manhandle her dress hem down to its normal height.

After she got it down she turned to the wall and Naruto could see her shoulders shaking. Immediately he felt horrible because he knew that this was all his fault. So since he knew it was his fault, he had to make it right. Naruto walked over and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hinata I..." She turned and looked at him, and he silently closed his eyes as he waited for the slap to fall. He deserved it, he was no better then Kiba at this point.

He wanted to apologize...but he was sure she would hate him now. Well…at least someone did care about me, even if it was for a short while.

And then she started laughing?

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her and tears were running down her face but she was laughing, and it was a full on belly laugh that made her put her hand on his chest to support herself lest she fall. It took a few minutes, but eventually she calmed enough to speak again. "Oh that was so embarrassing!"

Naruto chuckled lightly then shook his head. "I thought you would be mad…that you would hate me…"

Hinata got a mischievous look in her eye and blushed lightly as she reached down and lifted the hem of her dress until her secret treasure was revealed to him. The hair was neatly trimmed, and appeared to be brushed in one direction making it look very well groomed. "Would I do this if I hated you Naruto-kun?"

He flushed deep red and his hands went straight to his crotch, trying to cover his shame, to no avail. "Hinata..."

She smiled before pulling her dress down again, blush still in place, but she didn't look upset or hurt in any way. "Well...I have seen yours so it is only fair. And no Naruto-kun…I do not hate you. What you did was instinctual. It felt good so your subconscious acted on it. What Kiba did was on purpose. I know there is much more innocence in you then there ever will be in Kiba, and that makes me love you more."

Finally after a long, uncomfortable silence which made her begin to feel self conscious, he blurted out, "Hinata-chan…you're beautiful."

Hinata blushed deeply then smiled at him, taking a step closer to her man. Surprising him, Hinata grasped his hands gently and put them at his side.

"Do not hide it, I told you it is nothing to be ashamed of. I know it is not your fault. It just surprised me again. It seems to be popping up more and more." She thought about what she said and giggled again, but Naruto just look frustrated and flustered.

Naruto tried to pull his hands away from hers but she clung to him tenaciously. "But…it embarrasses you…and it embarrasses me."

Hinata leaned forward and kissed him on the lips then looked at him and he could see the honesty in her face.

"Yes it does, but I have to get used to it or it will always embarrass me. I do not want that, and I do not want you to be embarrassed by it either. It is something natural between a man and woman, fiancés, boyfriend and girlfriend, and man and wife. Eventually I hope that neither of us will be embarrassed by something so natural." She looked thoughtful for a minute then looked at him shyly. "Perhaps I will share one of the things that shamed me for a long time too so you will not be so self conscious."

Naruto looked at her and wanted to cry. "Hinata-chan…" but there was nothing else that needed to be said. He put his hands at his sides then smiled sheepishly. "Well if you keep dressing like that then it will happen around you a lot."

Hinata gasped then smacked him on the shoulder and he laughed before taking her in his arms and kissing her. "Shall we go? I remember something about dinner and a movie?"

Hinata laughed then took his arm in hers. "I think we should."

O

Next Episode: Phase plasma rifle in the forty watt range…