Hinata placed a slender hand into Akio's and let Akio place a hand on her waist. "Are you nervous?" he asked as they began to move to the music.

"What gives you that idea?" Hinata replied, confused by his statement.

"You're squeezing my hand." Was his response and she blushed, immediately lessening the grip. "Is it me?"

"No," Hinata answered, not wanting to offend the man. He was kind and the nervousness was not his fault. "It's not. I-"

Akio smiled. "You don't need to explain. Why don't we talk about something else?" Hinata stayed quiet. "Naruto is very lucky."

"Thank you."

"Your reaction to my statement about your father- He can be cold, can't he?"

Hinata shook her head. "It's different between us. Recently, he's changed- for the better but he…" It was difficult for her to explain. "Never mind. How did you come by this job? When that deal was made, you must have been about-"

"It was my father that made that deal. Just a few years ago he passed away and I took over. Your father doesn't tell you much, does he?" Akio wondered before realizing what he said. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said-"

"That's okay," Hinata interrupted with a smile. "So you took over when your father died?"

"Yes, it was sudden and I had other plans. You see, I was to marry this girl that month. Everything was planned and ready… When my father died, it sort of took a toll on me and the engagement was over."

"What? Why?" Hinata asked, curious why anyone would break it off with such a handsome man.

Akio sighed as he reminisced. "I was very close with him and I had become depressed. Yumi thought I was being immature trying to put the marriage off a little longer so she… left."

"I'm sorry. You must have loved her very much."

"Ah, it's alright. That was years ago and her doing that just showed me that she was just in it for the money. It's hard finding someone to love when all you have is money."

Hinata stole a glance at Naruto. He was staring intently at her and looked away when she saw. She faced Akio again. "It's not as hard as you think. Sometimes you're just looking in the wrong places. If I were you, I would look for your other half."

"My other half?" Akio asked, raising an eyebrow.

Red dusted her cheeks and she bowed her head, looking up again. "For example, Naruto is everything I'm not. He's brave, brash, speaks his mind, doesn't care what other people think of him, he stands up for others…." Hinata wasn't going to mention how he could be a little slow. "Whatever you're not, your… partner should be."

"So like you?" Akio wondered. Hinata bowed her head when she felt herself turn red. "Oh, no, I mean she should have a lot of things you do?"

"What kind of man are you?"

"I've never thought about it. Kind, smart, quiet, strong-"

"You need someone more like Naruto. If you want, I'll keep an eye out." She laughed, stopping when he twirled her around.

"That's alright! I think I can take from here." He smiled as she fell back to his chest. The music stopped and they pulled apart. "Thank you for the dance- and the advice. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." He bowed and glanced at Naruto. "I won't lie: I envy him."

Hinata flushed pink. "Well, um, you're welcome and I hope you enjoy the rest of your night!" She made to run but he grabbed her hand, halting her and making her look back. She shrank back, eager to get to Naruto.

"Before you go, may I?" Akio wondered as he lifted her hand to his lips. "I don't mean any harm, I promise."

"I…" Hinata's thoughts wandered to Naruto and what he would think. 'No, it has to be me that decides. What do I think? It's a nice gesture but what about Naruto? Naruto has feelings too- But it's just a kiss on the hand. It's not like it's the lips or-' "If you'd like." Hinata allowed, feeling her blush deepen with the gentle and meaningless kiss. She walked away, thanking him for the dance, and met up with Naruto.

"You looked like you were really enjoying that." Naruto commented.

"I… It was enjoyable." Hinata admitted. "We had a nice conversation, that's all."

"That kiss said otherwise." He replied as he began to purposefully frustrate.

"It was just a kiss on the hand!" Hinata paused, smiling. "You know, I think you would be perfect."

"Perfect? For what exactly?"

"Oh nothing… Akio was just explaining to me how there aren't any good guys out there and told me I was very lucky to have you."

"Really!? Akio complimented me, you, whichever?" Hinata nodded. "I'm going to have to-" He stopped speaking, suddenly aware of what Hinata had told him. "Wait a minute… He- He's gay? Hinata-" Naruto turned around and walked stiffly to a table, holding onto it to keep from falling. "Why would you do that?" he moaned.

"Oh yes," Hinata lied, enjoying how upset he was. "And as I was telling him about you, he became very interested." She laughed.

"But-But Hinata- I have to leave!" He stated, scared.

"Are you-" She wondered.

"No! It's just that he likes me! I can't be around him!" He tried to run but Hinata, seeing how ridiculous Naruto was acting about this, pulled him back.

"He isn't gay. I was messing around to get back at you for earlier." Hinata admitted.

Naruto scowled but it turned into a smile. "You're a good kidder." He paused. "What were you really talking about?" he asked with squinted eyes.

She rolled her own. "I offered him some relationship advice. He was telling me his ex-girlfriend broke off their engagement and everything because he wanted to put their wedding off a little longer. His father died that same month and because they were really close, he was down in the dumps- if you know what I mean."

Naruto nodded in understanding. "What did you tell him? I'm assuming he liked it."

"Sort of like how opposites attract." Hinata answered quickly as she twirled her hair. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It was just a dance. And a kiss. It didn't mean anything."

"A kiss on the hand." Hinata corrected. "Men used to do that and Akio asked me." She could feel her voice rising with how jealous Naruto was. "Yes, I enjoyed the dance. Yes, I liked the gesture. And yes, I think he's good looking," Naruto stepped back only for Hinata to follow. "But Naruto, I love you. I don't get why you're so jealous-"

"Look at yourself Hinata!" he exclaimed quietly. "You're beautiful and smart and amazing! You should be with Akio. He's handsome, smart, kind, and I bet he even treats his girlfriend right! I don't know why you're with me! I'm not what you deserve or need."

Hinata kept a pout on her face, her eyes set into a glare. "Are you done?"

Naruto's frustrated look lessened a little and he gave a quizzical look. "What?" he responded.

"I said, are you done? If you think Akio is so perfect for me, then leave. I'll just spend the rest of my night with him. You can have this," she motioned to the outfit. "Back too."

He stayed where he was. "I'm not going anywhere." He sounded adamant about his decision and Hinata could see the determination in his eyes when they met. "I want to be where you are, I want to go you go, I want to be with you. Can you… exempt," he shrugged lightly in hope. "My misbehavior so far?" he asked as they held hands.

"You act like it's so much worse than it really is. Of course I can," Naruto grinned excitedly. "But there's something you have to do."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Is there now? I didn't know that's how it worked."

"Do you want me to put this on your record or not?" Hinata half demanded, half joked as she put her hands on her hips.

"You're little miss bossy now? ...Okay, fine, what do you want?"