Sorry for the bad grammar and mistakes! You all should be used to it.

The night was dark and silent. No clouds littered the sky, making the blackness of the sky sharp and clear. Only one-quarter of the moon exposed itself, doing very little to light the empty streets of Konoha. Everyone was in their beds, dreaming out to their subconscious desires; everyone but a blue-eye boy.

His desire is what kept him awake. His desire confused him, marveled him and haunted his thoughts constantly. His desire was in the form of a woman who berates herself, shows infinite kindness and hides her beauty.

'Hinata.'

He wants to be with her, even if it's in a friendly way he wants to be in her presence. To soak up that calming aura of hers that relaxes him more than any remedy would ever do. To catch that smile of hers that brings such unbridle joy to his heart. To look into those eyes that echo each and every emotion, thought inside her.

'I think I'm falling for you.'

His desire was no longer desire, it was need.

"Neji-sama."

The long-hair shinobi paused in mid-attack. Lowering his arm that had been striking the post, he turns to see one of the servants, Chihiro, standing at the door to the training dojo.

"Hiashi-sama wishes to see you."

The Hyuga gives a nod of acknowledgment before Chihiro sets on her way. Taking a towel from his pack he wipes the sweat from his brow before he begins walking toward the other side of the complex.

He always found it quite erroneous the way the servants addressed him. They didn't add the horrific until after Hiashi began his personal training. Sure he's a genius. His Byakugan has the greatest distance range and accuracy than any of the other members. But that does not make him a main house affiliate. He still bores the curse seal on his forehead.

The curse seal…

The memory of his father and his death will always be bittersweet. But he learned long ago is that what his father did was his choice and that he should respect what his father died for by protecting the family he cared about. Once those gates opened he was able to see the Hyugas in a different light. He got to know Hiashi and his daughters more and gathered that life in the main house doesn't fair much better. Instead of caring the burden of the life of the Hyuga clan leader, they must shoulder the weight of the entire clan and the Byakugan itself.

He was able to gain a new respect for Hiashi, not one filled of resentment. His young cousin Hanabi became something to protect even if she wasn't the one he was assigned to guard. And Hinata…with her forgiving and understanding nature she somehow weaseled her way into his heart.

Out of his entire life he was never more gracious to anyone than to that knuckle-head Naruto. With his promise to change the Hyuga, Neji began taking a different path to life; one where the Hyugas are not his only duty to live. He thought he was repaying the blonde by training him for the jounin exams, but the man insisted that he needed to return the favor someday.

The trouble with that is that there is nothing wrong with his life. He was, dare he say, happy. The past was the past, family was here in the present and he has the most kick-ass incredible kunoichi by his side to face the future with him. The only thing he could think to ask of Naruto was unethical.

He couldn't tell him to not break his cousin's heart.

If he did then he would be forcing the blonde to say things that he might not truly feel. His cousin deserved to be loved and not played on. He knew she was going to start acting on her feelings the moment she told him that she had asked Naruto to spar. Pride filled him but also a feeling of dread that she would get heartbroken.

So, what to ask of him now?

The Hyuga halted in his steps. His thoughts had kept him so occupied that he arrived at Hiashi's office sooner than calculated. He stepped into the brightly lit room, bowing to the leader at his desk once he was inside. The young man thought this would be another quick update on his status, so he was stunned with what the older shinobi said.

"Close the door and take a seat Neji."

He did as he was told, sitting right across from his uncle. When he saw the slant of his jaw, he knew Hiashi was not pleased. The seriousness of the situation began to settle in.

Sweat dripped off his chin, muscles ached and his every breath brought a sharp pain through his chest. He wasn't aware of the tired state his body was in. His thoughts controlled his mind making his form act on autopilot.

It had been four days ago when he was named jounin, three days since his dinner with Hinata. The pale-eye beauty was on a mission at the moment, leaving him to train solely; leaving him alone to his thoughts.

He was having trouble sleeping, trouble getting his mind off the girl who was catching his heart. He kept replaying that moment at dinner in his head over and over again.

'You too.'

It had been said so softly yet he couldn't mistake the sincerity in her voice. What did she mean by that? Why would it be convenient that he's single, unless it was for the obvious reason? That she wanted to date him. It was only one option to the many other reasons why she said what she said. But with his recent realization the other night, that small unproven clue gave him enough courage to consider something.

What if he asked Hinata to be his girlfriend?

When he first realized his attraction to her, he had been so afraid about it ruining their friendship that he didn't even think about what she might feel. What if she liked him too? It was farfetched, but the idea had him captivated.

The crutching of leaves awoke his ninja senses. In less than a second he was position for an attack. The assailant didn't even flinch.

"Yo."

Naruto relaxed his stance when he noticed the familiar mask and orange book.

"Geez Kakashi, don't sneak up on me like that."

The silver-hair shinobi gave no great indication that he heard his former student other than a brief glance from his visible eye.

"You know, Tsunade-sama gave you guys a break to rest, not train even harder than before."

Blue eyes glanced at the older man and a smile adored his features.

"Since when have you known me not to train?"

Kakashi gave a slow nod, saying without words that he heard. The ramen-lover began to pick up the various kunai scattered on the ground from his exercise. Bending over, he stilled from grabbing the metal weapon when he heard the knowing voice.

"It's too bad your training partner isn't here, Hinata Hyuga I believe her name is. Yeah, too bad she isn't here."

Blue eyes shined with suspicion as they narrowed.

"Why?"

The masked man raised his shoulders in a shrug. Naruto's eyes tighten further, studying the man with skepticism. Kakashi only gazed at the young man.

"You know!"

One eyebrow rose at Naruto's outburst but said nothing.

"How did you find out? Did Sakura tell you?!"

The former sensei seemed to lose interest in the blonde's actions as he began reading his book once again. But he answered the question none the less.

"Naruto, I'm a highly skilled jounin. Do you think I need to query someone in order to obtain information?"

The new jounin began to relax slightly when he recognized the reasoning in what Kakashi said, but he still remained mostly tense.

"I guess that makes sense."

"Hn."

A tan hand roughly ran thru blond locks as Naruto tried to gather his wits.

"I just don't know what to do. I mean, I know what I want to do but I'm afraid that things might not turn out so well."

"That's not like you."

Naruto looked at the older man in confusion.

"What?"

The silver-hair ninja casually turned a page before explaining.

"You usually go after what you want; the consequences don't even faze you. You rather take the risk and see what happens. Something about 'fighting for what you believe in'."

"Yeah…but this is different."

"Is it?"

Blue eyes began to glaze over in thought. The masked shinobi detected that the man needed to be alone so he took his leave. As he left, he momentarily thought about what Naruto said and wondered what he had been talking about. He let the issue go as he returned to his novel.

He'll investigate it later.

Sliding the key into the slot, a pale hand turned it to hear a click. Opening the door, the kunoichi was greeted by a single bed, a chair, table and a closet in the corner. Taking a step into the room that was paid for one night, the tired girl dropped her pack on the floor.

She had just completed her mission. Chouji, Sai and herself had been assigned to escort one of the governors of the Marsh Country home. Tonight they would sleep in one of the inns of the country and head back to Konoha in the morning.

Not bothering to even unzip her jacket, Hinata fell backwards unto the bed. Staring at the ceiling she thought about the man who has always been on her mind since she was eleven years old. She didn't get a chance to say goodbye to Naruto before she left five days ago. The mission sprung up on her. By the time she gets back, it will only be a few days before the holidays.

The holidays…

They had made it a tradition to meet up on Christmas Eve for a get together. The rookie nine and team Gai would talk and play games while eating the food they brought. Hinata always looked forward to the celebration. She got more excited about seeing her friends than spending Christmas with her family; mainly because her family never got into the holidays and would spend the day just like any other.

Shaking off the negative thoughts, she reflected about the upcoming party and how it would be the perfect time to continue with making Naruto her boyfriend. The next step of the plan was supposed to demonstrate the depth of their relationship.

Give him a gift that only he would appreciate.

It was supposed to show him how much she knows and understands him. Make him feel special in only a way a girlfriend can. But the question is what?

What could she possibly give him?

Tomorrow is Christmas.

Which means that today is Christmas Eve and the annual party is about to begin. Decorations adored the hallways and rooms of Konoha Academy. Streamers, garland, flowers and even cards from the students were everywhere. Food was being set up as people began to come.

It was always fitting to have the celebration at their old classroom. Classes were cancelled for the holidays and Iruka was happy to open the school to see his old students again. Mostly everyone was there. Shikamaru, Temari and Hinata had yet to come.

Naruto took an uneasy breath. The question of should he go after what he wants and reveal his true feelings to Hinata had coursed through him for the past two weeks. He was going on his first jounin assignment tomorrow and it was supposed to last a few months. This was the only chance that he was going to spend with the pale-eye beauty for awhile.

He had made a decision.

A bit out of breath, Hinata walked into her old classroom to find that everyone was already there. A smile lit her face when she saw all her friends talking, eating and having a good time.

Lee was trying to get Sakura to dance, despite that the music playing was not made for dance. Shino and Shikamaru were engaged in a game of shogi, while Ino and Temari were by the food table, chatting and drinking. Every once in awhile Ino would scold Chouji who was sitting with them for eating too much, the husky man ignoring his girlfriend's words.

Neji and Tenten sat in the corner away from everyone in deep conversation. The only sensei's to show were Kurenai and Gai, who was trying to show her son how to stand and reach for the stars of youth! Hinata gave a little laugh at the disbelieving look on her former sensei's face. This was why she looked forward to this day it was just full of fun and good times with loved ones.

Looking around she spotted the man of her dreams. Naruto was currently in a competition with Kiba to see who could eat the most chocolate pocky, Sai was sitting with them and apparently taking notes. Probably noting the competitive nature of male friends, Hinata thought.

"Hello Hinata, good to see you've come."

Turning around the Hyuga was met by brown eyes.

"Oh Iruka-sensei! I'm sorry I was late-"

"That's alright Hinata, I'm just glad you came. And don't call me sensei, it makes me feel old."

The indigo-hair girl immediately felt at ease in the presence of Iruka's smiling face. He was always such a great teacher. Caring, smart, patient yet could carry out disciple when need be, all the things that make a good sensei.

"Alright, Iruka."

He was four pockies away from kicking Kiba's ass, when he noticed the new occupant of the room. Then he blanked. He knew he had missed the pale loveliness known as Hinata, but it wasn't until he saw her that the pain of loneliness he had felt was nil to what he felt now. Beautiful, charming, sweet, kind, smart, funny, he couldn't seem to find enough words to describe the girl he longed so to be with.

'I really am in deep.'

"Woo! I won!"

The blonde shinobi showed no visible response to Kiba's victory. This caused the artist to raise a dark eyebrow. Sai wasn't an expert on social conduct, not having any friends until recently, but he knew that this wasn't a typical reaction from Naruto. Following the blonde's line of sight he got an indication to why he acted this way.

"Yeah I won! How about that Narruuto!"

The victor grin began to slip away from Kiba's face when he didn't see that Naruto was visibly upset. In fact it looked like he had stopped working.

"Naruto? Hey man what's wrong?"

Whatever daze that the boy was in, he was abruptly pulled out of it.

"Huh? What were you talking about Kiba?"

Said boy scrunched his face in suspicion.

"Man, what's wrong with you? I just totally beat your ass and you space out on me."

"I did?"

Kiba was starting to get a little freaked out about Naruto's odd behavior and was about to voice it until Sai's voice interrupted.

"That was understandable."

Both the brunette and blonde looked at each other not understanding until the dog-lover questioned.

"Understandable?"

The pale boy looked indifferently as he replied.

"I have read that most of the time when a woman of great attraction walks into a room, a man will stare at her for an inappropriate amount of time. I believe it's called ogling."

Naruto's cheeks turned instantly red from embarrassment and his mouth could not seem to form any words. The Inuzuka meanwhile decided to check to see who Naruto had been ogling. He felt an amused grin come to his face when he saw Hinata talking to their former teacher by the door.

"Hinata?! You were checking out Hinata!"

The blonde's cheeks burned and got very annoyed by the dog-lover's laughter.

"Shut up! I was not checking her out!"

"But your eyelids were half-closed, a clear indication of lust."

Although Sai's statement was said in an innocent tone, it did nothing but further fuel Kiba's loud laughter and Naruto's irritation.

"Sai," threatened the blonde, "shut it. I was not ogling Hinata okay. I just spaced out for a second, that's it. And what did you mean by great attraction?"

The red-tattooed boy was able to keep his laughing under control long enough to choke out a comment.

"Oh this is great! You even act like a jealous boyfriend!"

That statement stopped Naruto and he had trouble trying to stutter out a retort.

"I do not!"

Kiba's laughter started once again, as Sai began explaining the characteristics of a jealous boyfriend. That's when he recognized Hinata and Iruka's conversation had ended and silently prayed she wouldn't come over. But he knew all was lost when she started to walk his way.

The dark-hair girl made it closer to the trio. Hinata wondered why Kiba was laughing hysterically and why Naruto was blushing but figured she really didn't want to know. Who knows what kind of crude remarks they made.

"Hello Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun, Sai-kun."

"Greetings Stutter-sama, perhaps you can enlighten us to Naruto's behavior when-"

"SAI!"

The Hyuga heiress was startled by Naruto's angry voice. His fist was tightly clenched and it looked like he would jump the other boy any second.

"Come on Sai, let's leave these two lovebirds alone."

Hinata was glad that Kiba pulled the black-hair boy out of Naruto's reach but was embarrassed by what words he used. When blue eyes met pale lavender ones there was an awkward moment, it lasted until the blonde gave a nervous cough and spoke.

"How about we go someplace else, it's…kind of crowded in here."

Not trusting her voice, Hinata nodded and followed her love out of the room.

They entered one of the vacant classrooms. Both were still discomforted from the events before, but the giddiness of being alone together was surfacing. Naruto, who was leading, walked over to the closet on the furthest wall. The pale-eye beauty stopped in front of the teacher's desk and watched in silent question as her blonde scrutinized the small space. After a couple of seconds, Naruto closed the wooden door and started walking towards Hinata with his arms behind his back.

"I know we're not supposed to get each other gifts, but I couldn't resist."

As the words were said, the ramen-lover revealed what was behind his back. The rectangular box was covered in pieces of wrapping paper and mass amounts of tape, obviously hand-wrapped by Naruto himself. The heiress let out a gasp of surprise.

"Naruto-kun, you didn't have to-"

"I wanted to. Go ahead, open it."

Gently taking the box from tan hands, Hinata took her time to unwrap her gift. When the wrapping paper was discarded, she began to remove the object from its cardboard covering.

The present was…gorgeous.

It was a lavender vase with silver paint trimming. On one of the sides was the kanji symbol for family and on the other was for love.

"I know it's cheap, but I thought you could use it when you take your flowers to your mother's grave."

The container was light obliviously made from a cheaper form of material, but that did not stop the tears that threaten to spill from Hinata's eyes. Never before had she gotten such a thoughtful, considerate gift. It truly made her feel special and cared for.

"It's beautiful Naruto-kun."

Blue eyes shone with brilliance and pride.

"Really?"

Afraid that her voice would crack, indigo locks shook as Hinata nodded her head. Setting the precious present softly onto the desk, she took time to gather her emotions. Her heart clenched of joy and gratitude from the boy before her. It made her feel silly the kind of gift she got him, but she must give it to him. He deserved at least effort.

"Actually Naruto-kun, I got you a gift too."

The whisker-boy blinked.

"Really?"

The girl unzipped her jacket half-way and reached into her inside pocket. Slowly, a neatly wrapped present escaped from the confines of Hinata's coat.

"It's not as lovely as your gift, but I hope you still like it."

Taking the square paper-covered item from pale hands, Naruto looked at it in wonderment. He very rarely got presents, so anything that was given to him was cherished. But to get a gift from the woman who now holds his interest…he was nearly bursting with bliss. Smiling, he ripped the paper to see what was underneath it.

It was book. A brown, typical sized piece of folded cardboard with a stack of paper in between. But the gold words on the front cover made him immobile.

'The Sixth Hokage'

"Hinata-chan, what is this?"

The pale-eye beauty was nervous. She wasn't sure what to interpret from the blank expression on Naruto's face. Did he hate it? Was this not the right thing to do?

"It's an encouragement book. Everyone who believes that you will be the next Hokage signed that book. I gave it to you so you'll never forget about those who believe in you…"

The blonde cautiously opened the book, afraid of what might be in there. But after flipping through a couple pages, he found that they were not blank. There was even a supporting comment here and there. Friends, teachers and even people he never met had their names marked on the pieces of paper. After looking through a few pages, he glanced at the first page which did not have signatures but a paragraph of writing.

It went on and on about how fitted he was to become Hokage and how the village truly cares for him. He knew the writing style was Hinata's and the signature on the next page confirmed it.

She was the first one to sign the book.

"I wanted to let you know that you're not alone."

Hinata was beginning to feel stupid. Her love had shown no signs of liking the gift; he just kept staring at it. For three days, Hinata had run over the entire village getting as many loyal signatures as possible. It had gotten to the point where there were no pages left to sign. Even she was surprised by how many people believed in Naruto. Whenever she gave the book to someone to sign they would recommend one or more other people for an autograph. Some people she's never even heard of.

But it seems her efforts were in vain. She should have bought something for him rather then run around like a manic. At least he didn't show his open dislike, it made her feel less humiliated.

Just as she was about to apologize for the crummy gift, Naruto pounced on her. Wrapping his strong arms around her petite waist, he brought her into a bone-crushing hug. After coming over the shock, Hinata retuned the embrace by enclosing her arms around his neck.

"Thank you."

His gratitude was muffled because his head was buried in her neck, but she heard it. Smiling, she ignored the blush and racing heart and tightens her grip.

"You're welcome."

Not letting go of each other, the blonde lifted his head. Blue eyes met pale lavender ones. Unaware, they were only inches away from each other. Their body heat seeped through their clothes and into the other skins. Their breaths mingled, heat beats racing in time with each other. All they can see is the other's eyes, their soul, their being. They were being intoxicated by the other. Draw in like an addict to a drug.

They could not get enough of the other.

Neither one knows who first moved, but what matter is that the second followed. And in the longevity of a few seconds, eyes closed and lips met.

Notice: I know I'm horrible for leaving it like that, sue me. Sorry if you thought a kiss is too soon, but their in love and was in the moment, so again sue me. This fic is looking to be 28 chaps. They still have not told each other of their love and there's also the Hyuga problem to deal with, which you'll find out soon. Thanks to all who've read this far! You rock!

Next Chapter: A Change in the Winds

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Everyone knows that.