chapter 21

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The Sandaime was enjoying the peace and quiet that had prevailed in Konoha for the last month. There had been a noticeable drop in the amount of paperwork he had been receiving as of late, no major crises had occurred recently, and, best of all, there were no loud, blonde ninja destroying his eardrums daily.

"OJISAN! WE'RE BACK!" Scratch that last thought.

Naruto walked into the Hokage's office at the head of a group consisting of his team and two individuals the old man had never seen before. He had a feeling this would be an interesting mission report.

It turned out to be an interesting report indeed. Throughout it, various people would leave the room at various times to make sure various secrets remained secret. Nearly two hours later, the only people in the office were the Sandaime, Naruto, Haku, and Inari. "Now, the question remains of what to do with you two. The biggest problem would be finding a place for you to live, but-"

"I can make room in my apartment, Ojiisan. It's not the nicest place, but it should do."

"Yes, Naruto, I was just about to suggest that. Also, as for you, Haku, since you are not a registered ninja anywhere, you will have to start as a genin. Unfortunately, there are no openings on any of the current genin teams. When one shows up, you will be at the top of the list to fill it. And Inari, I can assume you would like to start at the Academy next year. Before that time comes, you should continue our training to catch up on the years you've missed."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama"

"Thanks, Ojisan"

Apparently the young boy was already taking after his idol. At least the older nin knew the meaning of respect.

"That is all. You are dismissed."

Naruto leapt up from his seat. "Yes! Finally! Now to go get some RAMEN!" And with that, the blonde dashed from the room, the other two following, Inari close on his heels and Haku moving at a more sedated pace.

Ichiraku ramen was crowded that afternoon. In addition to Naruto, Inari, and Haku, all of teams 8 and 10 were present, as was Sakura. Sasuke had only been to these "rookie meals" twice, so his absence was no surprise. Naruto's friends were happy to meet the two newcomers, and most of them, especially Kiba, were shocked to learn that the brown-eyed boy was, in fact, a boy.

The blonde genin regaled his comrades with stories of his exploits on the recent A rank mission, with Sakura and Haku correcting him whenever he exaggerated too much. In between devouring bowls of ramen, he would look over at his friends and ask how they had been. Team 10 had so far done nothing but training and boring D-ranks, but team 8 had gotten a C-rank last week to deliver a letter to someone in the capital of Fire country.

Hinata and Kiba took turns describing the huge, bustling city and their journey there. Naruto absently noted that each genin concentrated on using sensory impressions from their respective heightened senses, with Kiba focusing more on the smells and sounds of the place, while Hinata stuck to visual descriptions.

As the Hyuuga heiress talked, the blue-eyed boy found himself unable to take his eyes off her. That same confused feeling that always came into his mind where Hinata was concerned was again clouding his thoughts. But now it was slightly less confusing and some part of it seemed familiar from somewhere else. But from where? From where else had he felt, or sensed in someone else, a similar feeling?

Naruto's eyes shifted down the counter briefly, to where Haku was telling Sakura about various herbs she had not yet learned of from her med nin instructor. That was it! It was like the emotion he got from Sakura when she thought about Sasuke, and what he had felt from Haku whenever Zabuza was concerned.

He turned his clear blue eyes back to Hinata-chan's white ones. But was it true? Did he really... love her? At that thought, his mind went numb briefly, and he heard himself blurt out something along the lines of "Hinatachanyouwannagoonadatewithme?"

Utter silence followed the blonde's exclamation as everyone, Naruto included, tried to figure out what he had just said. Once they all did, the silence seemed to become even deeper as the blue-haired girl turned a bright shade of red and promptly fainted. Naruto barely had the sense to catch her before she hit the floor.

Hinata felt herself waking up from the loveliest dream she had ever had. Naruto-kun had asked her out on a date. She had dreamt of it happening before, of course, but this one seemed so much more real somehow. They had all been sitting around at Ichiraku's when he just shouted it out with no warning. It was just such a Naruto-kun type to thing to do.

That was when she realized she wasn't in her bed. No, in fact she wasn't even in her room or the Hyuuga manor at all for that matter. Then she noticed someone kneeling over her in concern. It was Naruto-kun.

"Hinata-chan, are you all right?" Even the concern in his voice was overflowing with kindness. She felt a pair of strong, warm hands gently lift her and carefully place her on her feet.

"You okay, Hinata-chan? You just kinda fainted when I blurted out about asking you on a date." The Hyuuga girl was in shock. It... it hadn't been a dream. Her Naruto-kun had really...

She was in such a state of bliss that she didn't even know what she was doing as she threw herself at the orange-clad boy, wrapping her arms tightly around his warm, strong body and enveloping his lips with her own. For a fraction of a second, he was too surprised to do anything, Then she felt him reciprocate the gesture, and she felt his muscular arms hold her tightly as he deepened the kiss.

She had no idea how long they stayed that way for; it felt like an eternity, but it could have only been a couple seconds for all she knew. On separating, they both just looked at each other for a moment before simultaneously blushing. He looked so cute with his whisker-marked cheeks slightly red like that.

"Umm... So... I guess that's a yes, then?" It took the girl a moment to remember just what he had asked.

"O-of course. Where and when were you thinking?" She was glad to see him respond with a small smile. That little smile always conveyed a much deeper emotion than the wide grin he normally used.

"Well, Haku and Inari are going to be living with me, so I need some time to get them settled into my apartment, then I'll need a bit more time to get ready... Say around six outside the Hyuuga compound?" It was already four in the afternoon.

At this point, they were both forcefully reminded of their friends when Ino interrupted. "Naruto, you idiot! A girl needs more than two hours to prepare for her first date, even if her friends are helping her. She'll meet you at seven thirty in front of the Hokage tower. Forehead girl, we need to take Hinata here on an emergency shopping trip."

Sakura stood up and helped her friend/rival to drag the Hyuuga off. "You're right, Ino-pig. And that big fluffy jacket will be the first thing to go. Then we'll need to head over to a beauty parlor and..."

The three girls were already out of the ramen stall and heading down the street, lost in the crowd.

For his part, Naruto wasn't quite sure what had just happened. He just knew that this was the hapiest day of his life so far. All the boys plus Ayame-neechan were just staring at him. The ramen stand girl was the first to speak. "Naruto, make sure you treat her right, or, even if I do think of you as a little brother, I'll never forgive you."

Then the blonde noticed Shikamaru collecting money from the other remaining rookie genin. "What's that about?"

The lazy boy sighed. "It's troublesome, but at the end of your first year at the Academy, we all made bets about how much longer it would take you two to get together."

"You... bet... on when we would... get together?" Naruto was shocked. Had it been so obvious to everyone but him?

"Yup!" This was Kiba, with Akamaru barking agreement. "I said it would be before graduation, Shino said never, Chouji guessed it would be after at least a year of being ninja, and Shika, the bastard, told us it would happen after the first few months."

"I... see." The blue-eyed genin was beginning to get nervous. He had no idea of the proper way to treat a girl on a date. That was when he had an idea. Before saying goodbye and showing Inari and Haku to his apartment, he made a pair of kage bushins, one to talk to Ayame-neesan about how to treat Hinata-chan, and the other to find Iruka-oniisan and ask him for advice on being a gentleman. Naruto himself took Haku and Inari to his apartment.

Naruto opened his apartment door. "Welcome to your new home, you two."

The other two boys stepped into the front room. The small room was crowded with furniture and appliances and appeared to be a mix of living room, kitchen, and dining room. From the entrance, he could see two open doors, one leading to a small washroom, and the other appeared to be the entrance to the bedroom. That brought a question to the brown-eyed boy's mind.

"Naruto-kun, what are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?" There would obviously only be one bed.

The blonde thought for a moment. "Well, Inari, as the youngest and least comfortable to uncomfortable sleeping, should get the bed. You can take the couch, Haku, and I'll put something soft on the floor."

The youngest of the three began to object. "But Naruto-niisan-"

"No buts, Inari. I've slept much less comfortably for a lot of my life, and since you two are guests until we can find better living quarters, I want to make sure you're treated as well as you can be." He gave the boy a stern look, silencing any future arguments.

Haku had wandered into the genin's bedroom and was perusing his shelves of ninja scrolls, most of which, he noted, were on seals. "You seem to be extremely interested in the art of sealing, Naruto-kun."

The blue-eyed boy turned his attention to his other friend. "Yeah, I have something of a gift when it comes to seals. Most of those scrolls I don't even need anymore. If you want to borrow anything, go ahead."

"Thank you for the offer, but I'm fine." He returned to skimming the shelves. "It looks like most of what you have here is theory. A few wind jutsu scrolls, and I see a kenjutsu manual there, but you haven't got much in the way of genjutsu, and I don't see a single taijutsu scroll."

"Well, wind is my dominant element, and I want to wait until I've developed my other affinities to a good level before trying to learn any other elemental jutsu. Where genjutsu is concerned, my chakra is a bit... strange, and it makes me need to put a whole lot more control than normally required to do even the simplest illusion. I still have to concentrate to make a regular bushin." He grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck. "And with taijutsu, my brain and body seem to be incapable of adapting to any style I've tried."

By this time, he had moved into the bedroom along with his friend. "And hey, while we're on the ninja subject, I just realized that with missions and whatnot, I won't have as much time as I'd like for teaching Inari. Would you mind helping me out?"

"I would be delighted, Naruto-kun. Inari-kun seems to be a very talented young boy."

"Yay! Now I've got two awesome senseis!"

Naruto turned to look at the black-eyed boy. "You most certainly do, Inari. Haku is a great ninja and I'm gonna be Hokage someday, so you're getting personal training from two of the best!" He gave a huge grin, before being interrupted by his stomach growling in hunger. With everything that had happened at Ichiraku's, he only been able to have fourteen bowls of ramen. "Since I'll be gone tonight, I should probably start dinner early."

"You can cook, Naruto-niisan?" Inari asked in wonderment.

The blonde grinned his huge grin. "Of course I can cook! And if my friends are to be believed, I'm a damn good chef, too." With that, he made a pair of kage bushins who quickly got to work.

Haku smiled. "Well, I was going to ask if you needed help..."

Naruto somehow managed to make his grin even wider. "Thanks, but no need to bother yourself. There's more than enough of me to go around. Now, what do you guys think I should wear to my date?"

For his date with Hinata-chan, Naruto had decided to forego his normal bright orange and wear something more fancy and suitable. He had chosen to stick with simple clothes and was walking toward the Hokage tower wearing a plain black robe that faded away into a pair of loose, equally black pants. Also, he had moved his forehead protector to around his neck, as Haku and Inari had insisted that he looked better when he let his hair flow freely.

Upon spotting the Hyuuga heiress, the blonde stared in amazement. She was beautiful. Hinata-chan was wearing a whitish-silver sleeveless dress that fit her snugly and draped about three-fourths of the way down her legs. She also had on matching high-heeled shoes that put her exactly on eye level with him. To top it all off, her pearl-white eyes were radiating happiness, and she wore a perfume that smelled like a mix of all the most beautiful flowers.

"H-hello, Hinata-chan," he stuttered out. Great, now he sounded like an idiot. The blonde could even feel himself blushing.

"Oh, hello, Naruto-kun. You look handsome tonight." Good, she approved of his choice of clothes.

The blue-haired girl looked like she was waiting for him to say something. "Thank you. You look beautiful in that dress."

Her cheeks took on a red tint as she blushed at the compliment. She giggled lightly. "Oh, thank you. Ino and Sakura picked it out for me after lunch. What did you want to do tonight?"

And there came the question. Apparently, boys on dates usually took girls to fancy restaurants, but that wouldn't work, as all the fancy restaurants kicked Naruto out on sight. Iruka-oniisan had suggested a movie, but there wasn't anything good playing at the one theater that took the demon container's business. And Ayame-neesan had threatened his ramen supply if he didn't show her a good time. In the end, he had been left with only one option.

"If you don't mind, I was thinking I'd show you some of my favorite places in the village." Please say yes. Please say yes.

"Oh, that sounds wonderful, Naruto-kun!" On hearing that, he felt himself glow with happiness.

"R-really? Thank you, Hinata-chan! We're going to have to hurry, though, if we want to see them all before it gets too dark. At least sunset is late today." And he led her across the rooftops, in the direction of the main village gate.

Hinata had never known just how beautiful Konoha was bathed in the soft orange light of the setting sun. She had also had no idea that the boy she loved had such a deep appreciation of natural beauty. From the roof of the guard tower, one could see the village spreading out for miles below them, from the residential districts, to the clan compounds, to the wide expanse of training grounds. And all of it overshadowed by the carved stone faces of the four Hokages.

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Naruto-kun." She felt tempted to kiss him again, like what had happened in the ramen shop, but she was too nervous. He had spent the past half-hour showing her progressively more beautiful and scenic locations throughout the village, and she had been content to just stand or sit alongside him, feeling the happiness radiating from his whole body.

Naruto-kun was the most expressive people she knew, and it was one of the reasons she loved him. Whatever emotions he was feeling, one could sense just by being near him, and those emotions were infectious, especially when he was happy. Whenever he smiled, it seemed like everything was perfect in the world and there was nothing to worry about.

And he had helped her so much over the years. When she first met the blonde, she had been shy and timid, prone to bouts of silence and extreme nervousness. But Naruto-kun had taught her to stand up for herself and helped her by listening as she talked about her problems. He had also helped out greatly with her ninja training, and the Hyuuga heiress was sure that, had it not been for him, she wouldn't be even half the kuniochi she was today.

Speaking of ninja training, she was one of the few people to know just what the blue-eyed genin was capable of. She would sometimes use her byakugan to watch him as he trained, and the things he could do were amazing. His skills were well above those of most chunin, let alone their genin friends. And his chakra stores were so large as to be incredible. The amount of chakra in his body was over eighty times greater than her father's, and it grew at a substantial rate. She felt safer around him than she did in the middle of the Hyuuga compound. And safety had always been important to her, with the kidnapping she had been through on her third birthday.

Naruto spoke up, disrupting her train of thought. "There's one more place I want to show you, Hinata-chan, and this one's my absolute favorite."

And so he led her once more into Konoha.

The view from the top of the Hokage monument had always inspired a sense of awe in Naruto that nothing else could match. Especially at sunset. He had greatly enjoyed taking her around to all his favorite places, especially since he could tell that she enjoyed it. Staring down as the village spread out in every direction in front of them, he suddenly had an idea, and a mischievous smirk appeared on his face.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, remember that prank I pulled the day before graduation, where I painted the Hokage monument and covered the streets in orange?" He was happy to see her nod.

"Remember how the paint all suddenly vanished?" She nodded again, still obviously having no idea where this was going.

"Well, the truth is, it's still there." He saw her eyes widen as his smirk increased in size to a devious grin. "I imbued the paint with my chakra and, using a variety of seals, am able to sorta fade it in and out of visibility. It hasn't rained a lot since then, plus I made sure to make it resistant to washing away. You remember hearing about the random stripes of orange around the village?" She nodded once more.

"they weren't really random." The blonde went through a long string of handseals, and the words "UZUMAKI NARUTO IS THE GREATEST NINJA EVER" appeared on the village in bright orange. Hinata-chan just gasped. Exactly ten seconds after the paint reappeared, a collective shout went up fron thousands of villagers simultaneously. Naruto laughed at hearing his name shouted in anger and annoyance by so many people all at once. He waited about ten seconds more before returning the paint to its invisible status.

"So, what did you think?" he turned to her, grinning.

Hinata-chan turned to face him as well. "Naruto-kun, you're a genius!"

His mouth fell open at the compliment. But even more so at the admiration he could feel pouring from the Hyuuga heiress. The blonde regained control of himself, and then the two just stood there, staring at one another. He couldn't help but notice that they were only inches apart, or that she was blindingly beautiful, or that the perfume had worn off throughout the night, and her natural scent, which was pouring into his enhanced sense of smell, made him want to forget everything in the world except the girl in front of him. Before he knew what he was doing, he had swept her up in another kiss, even deeper than the one they had shared that afternoon. The feeling was one of pure bliss and ecstasy, and Naruto hoped it would never end.

But it did, of course, and it left him simultaneously satisfied and wanting more. By her expression, it was clear that she felt the same way. So they kissed again, this time with Naruto actually lifting her off her feet and twirling around with her as though she weighed nothing at all.

By the time they had settled down from their kissing spree, it was nighttime, and the sight of Konoha all lit up, coupled with the star-filled sky, was stunning. The two twelve-year-olds sat there, their feet dangling over the edge of the cliff face between the faces of the Nidaime and Sandaime, just holding hands and being together. Hinata-chan was the first to break the silence. "Naruto-kun, why do the villagers hate you so much?"

Damn! He had hoped she wouldn't ask that yet. Not on their first date. He should have seen it coming, though, as it was hard to miss the glares thrown his way by every person he passed in the street. He wasn't ready to tell her about this yet, but neither was he willing to lie.

He thought about his answer for a moment before sighing deeply. "It's a long and complicated answer, Hinata-chan. And sad too. I want to keep tonight as a happy night. I'll tell you some other time, I promise, okay?"

She looked down in shame. "All right, Naruto-kun; I'm sorry. I won't bring it up again."

The blonde leaned forward and shifted his head around to look her in the eyes. "You have nothing to be sorry about. I'll tell you sometime, I just don't feel up to it tonight." Then he got to his feet. "Speaking of tonight, it's getting kind of late. Want to head home?" It was approaching midnight.

She got up and looked at him with her pear-white eyes. "Yes, let's head home."

"Do you want to take the long way or the short way?" Naruto gave her a mischievous smirk to make sure she knew what he meant by the short way.

The Hyuuga heiress was clearly feeling a bit adventurous tonight. "The short way." She grinned.

And before she could say anything about it, he had scooped her up bridal-style. He went back two hundred yards from the cliff face to give himself a good running start, deactivated his seals, and dashed forward, using chakra to increase his speed to the max. At the edge of the cliff face, he leapt up, facing the direction of the Hyuuga compound, and using a burst of chakra to enhance the strength of his leap. They were in the air for over twenty seconds before landing lightly and silently at the gates to the Hyuuga compound. Their time in the air hadn't been so silent, though, as Naruto shouted "WOOHOO!" at the top of his powerful lungs and Hinata-chan screamed.

She looked up at him from her position in his arms. "Can we do it again?" The Hyuuga heiress was smiling like a child in a candy shop, or Naruto in a ramen shop.

He set her on her feet. "Not tonight, Hinata-chan. Let's get to bed. Goodnight, I had a great time."

"Me too, Naruto-kun." They smiled at each other before sharing one last kiss, then both headed to their respective homes to sleep and have wonderful dreams.

Naruto arrived at his apartment to find both Haku and Inari awake. "What're you guys doing still up? It's past midnight already." The blonde was puzzled. He would have thought they would have been in bed hours ago.

"Well," the brown-eyed boy smiled at him sweetly, "we were sleeping peacefully, until some idiot decided to shout at the top of his very loud lungs while flying halfway across the village.

Naruto gave a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. "Oops..."

"Oops is right, Nauto-niisan, but how did your date go? Did you kiss her again?"

"It went fine, but you should know it;s rude to ask questions like that, and if you do it again, I'll... I'll..." He was too tired to think up a good threat.

"Stop him from ever eating ramen again?" Haku suggested.

The blonde looked aghast. "That's too cruel, Haku."

"Make him run fifty laps around the village wearing hot pink spandex?"

"Yeah, that sounds good. Why don't we all go to sleep now?"

"Good idea," said the other two, Inari preparing to have nightmares about hot pink spandex.