"I never figured you to be a fan of ramen," Naruto commented happily as he and Hinata strolled down the central marketplace of Konoha. Several of the shop owners eyed Naruto warily, while many of the mothers pulled their children behind them, giving Naruto and Hinata a wide berth. Out of the corner of her eye, the Hyuuga girl noticed these strange actions with a mixture of indignation and sadness. Having watched Naruto since she was little, she was familiar with the bizarre coldness that the village adults displayed towards the young man, but in no way condoned it. Naruto chose to ignore it all, smiling brightly at everyone, and waving whenever it struck his fancy, regardless of the suppressed hostility he received. Hinata wished she could have the same inner strength he displayed on a daily basis.
"Hinata?" Naruto asked in a puzzled voice. Hinata realized that she had been so busy observing him, that she had forgotten to speak.
"Oh, um… Sorry Naruto-kun," she said softly, "I don't normally eat ramen, but I know it's your favorite… so…"
"Huh? How'd you know it was my favorite?"
"Um… I think everyone knows, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a shy smile. Naruto grinned widely and slapped her on the back, his eyes twinkling with mirth.
"Is it that obvious? Man, I need to vary my routine a little! How am I going to keep up my reputation as Konoha's number one, most unpredictable ninja?" Hinata giggled and shrugged her shoulders, eliciting a laugh from Naruto.
"Wow, I think that's the first time I've heard you laugh, Hinata! Things sure have changed since I've been gone."
"Yes," she said with a firm nod, "We've all been working very hard."
"So I've heard," Naruto replied brightly, "Congratulations on becoming a Chuunin by the way! I heard everyone made Chuunin while I was gone…" His smile wavered slightly as he trailed off. Hinata frowned with concern.
"Naruto-kun… If someone like me could make Chuunin, I'm sure you would have made it too. The only reason you didn't, was because you were away training on your own. You're probably even stronger than Neji-niisan… Definitely stronger than me."
"Hinata," Naruto scolded, "No more talk like that! You're way stronger than you give yourself credit for. Not only that, you're probably the nicest person I know." Hinata sighed to herself. It was great that Naruto was trying to cheer her up, but being called 'nice' wasn't exactly the sort of compliment one wanted to hear from the object of her affection.
"Plus," Naruto said cheerfully, "You've gotten a lot more pretty! Your hair's gotten longer, and your bre – um… I mean that is… eh heh… looks like we're here," he said lamely, pointing at the Ichiraku Ramen stand." Naruto was blushing furiously and looking at the ground now, sweat pouring down his face. Hinata knew she should have been offended, but to hear the compliment, clumsy as it was, gave her strength.
Pretending she didn't hear that last comment, she timidly put her hand on Naruto's shoulder, which caused him to stiffen up and look at her. Seeing that she wasn't about to slug him like Sakura or Ino tended to whenever his mouth got ahead of his head, he breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.
"Thanks Hinata. I'm really an idiot sometimes."
"You're a proud idiot, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a smile of her own, "And you learn from your mistakes."
"Hinata, you're really someone I could like," Naruto declared before he realized what came out of his mouth. This caused both of them to blush and look away for a moment, before the owner of Ichiraku called out to Naruto enthusiastically.
"Hey, sonny! Who's the lady? I didn't know you had a girlfriend." Naruto and Hinata both began to fumble over their words as they tried to respond, which caused the owner to grin with amusement.
"Okay, I get it. It's like that, huh? Alright, why don't you and your non-girlfriend have a seat and place your orders?" The old man chuckled to himself as he began to prep his ingredients. It was only 8 in the morning, but he had anticipated the appearance of Konoha's number one connoisseur of noodles, and his best customer. Gratefully, the two took a seat and began looking at their menus. Naruto enthusiastically chattered away, pointing out some of his favorite dishes, while Hinata merely nodded and listened appreciatively.
"Hey Gramps," Naruto yelled out, "We're ready to order!" The owner sent his granddaughter, Ayame to take their orders. The pretty, brown haired girl finished tucking her hair under her cap and smiled at the two.
"Curry pork ramen for me!" Naruto nearly shouted.
"I'd like the miso pork ramen and a side of gyoza, please," Hinata said politely. Naruto gave her a thumbs-up.
"Excellent choice, Hinata! I didn't realize you liked gyoza so much… Your appetite sure is healthy these days." Hinata fought back the urge to smile. The way Naruto was gesticulating and shouting every other sentence, he was beginning to resemble Lee. This is the passion of youth, she thought with a mental shrug.
"Actually Naruto-kun, the gyoza is for you. I know your appetite is always healthy." Ayame laughed to herself as she collected their menus and walked back to place their order. Naruto continued to talk enthusiastically, regaling her with stories from his training, and the misadventures his current teacher had gotten them into. When the food arrived, there was a lull in the conversation, as Naruto began to enthusiastically devour everything in sight. Hinata soon was too full to finish her bowl, and Naruto happily took up the charge of finishing off her bowl as well. She could tell he was tempted to order more, but stopped himself out of deference to her company.
"So Hinata," Naruto finally said, "What's been going on with you? How are things with your folks?"
"Much better, thank you," Hinata replied after taking a sip of the green tea Ayame provided for them, "Father has agreed to let Neji-niisan train with him at the Main House with Hanabi and me."
"Awesome," Naruto said with a grin, "I noticed you and Neji seem to be getting along better these days, too! He's being nice to you, I hope." Hinata giggled at the fierce protectiveness in Naruto's eyes, but had to admit he had reason to be concerned. A little less than three years ago, her older cousin had almost killed her during her first Chuunin exam, and had expressed a seething animosity towards her. However, thanks to the words and deeds of the hyper-active shinobi sitting next to her, Neji's whole mindset had changed, and he became the cousin she'd always longed for.
"Yes, he's been more than nice to me these last two years… Neji-niisan has truly become an older brother to me, protecting me whenever he can."
"Yeah, well… Just remember, I was the one who stood up for you first," Naruto said in voice that sounded distinctly petulant. Hinata was startled by his sudden, bitter expression, and set her cup down before resting her hand on Naruto's shoulder. He looked at her, an unsure expression on his face.
"Naruto-kun, you'll always be the one who I see as my hero," she said softly, "You're the only one who saw me for what I could be, and not what I was." Naruto felt his throat tighten, and he nodded before leaning over to murmur back.
"And you were the first one to see me for what I could be… maybe even before I did."
"But I never… I never was able to let you know how I felt…I never stood by you when I saw…" Hinata trailed off, her voice thick with regret. She was shocked when Naruto put his arm around her awkwardly and gave her a slight hug.
"But you saw it. You believed in me," he said firmly, "It doesn't matter if no one else knew… You had faith… I never got a chance to tell you how much that means to me…. Thank you Hinata."
"You're welcome, Naruto-kun," she said lamely, enjoying the warm embrace he was giving her. She wished the moment would go on forever, as she relished the comforting acceptance. It was an acceptance she had not experienced since her mother had died many years ago. Growing up with the overwhelming expectations of the Hyuuga legacy, Hinata was denied the love and compassion common in so many other families. In some ways, she envied Naruto. He never knew his family, and could fantasize about the tender moments they might have shared together. Hinata had a real family… a real family that had chosen to reject her. Sighing to herself, she chose to banish such thoughts, and enjoy this one moment with Naruto, before the harshness of reality would have to resume.
"Wow, Naruto with his arm around a girl… this has troublesome written all over it," a wry sounding voice commented, causing Naruto and Hinata to both gasp with surprise and pull apart. Turning to the source, they were astounded to see Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru standing just a few feet from them, grins plastered on their faces.
"Naruto, you pig! What are doing with Hinata!" Ino yelled out mischievously, "Are you paying her to hang out with you?"
"Did you buy her lunch?" Choji asked as he munched on a bag of potato chips, "If you wanted company, you should've told me. I'll hang out with you anytime, if you're buying."
"Feh," Shikamaru said with scowl, "Is that the only reason we hang out, Chouji? 'Cause I buy you lunch?"
"Of course not, Shikamaru," Chouji exclaimed, "You also buy me dinner if we spend too much time watching the clouds while we're hiding from Ino."
"So that's where you guys are all the time!" Ino exclaimed as the three of them took a seat next to Naruto and Hinata, "You keep telling me you're doing special training with Asuma whenever I ask you guys to go shopping with me."
"Dammit, Chouji," Shikamaru said as he rubbed his face, "All right Ino, the next time we're free, we'll go shopping with you."
"What a wonderful coincidence," Ino practically purred, "Asuma said that we get the rest of the day off since we completed our mission in record time this morning!" Shikamaru and Chouji exchanged glances and sighed with resignation.
"Don't make those faces," Ino said gleefully, "Shikamaru, I saw the perfect pair of pants to go with your Chuunin attire! It won't do to wear those silly shorts now that you've got the flak jacket… and Chouji, there was this new health food store that opened several blocks down! I want you to buy some healthier snacks from now on… since you're a Chuunin too, you have to think about your health more seriously…"
Naruto surreptitiously kicked Hinata under the counter softly, and nodded towards the alley. Catching his hint, she took her money out to pay, and the two of them stood to leave as the other three continued to bicker.
"Hold on a minute," Ino called out with a predatory grin, "Where do you think you two are going?" Naruto winced visibly and turned back to smile at them innocently.
"Well, uh… you know… I don't want to get in the way of your bonding… so I thought I'd walk Hinata home…"
"Walk her home at eleven in the morning?" Shikamaru asked sardonically. Misery it seemed, really did love company. Naruto mentally cursed and swore revenge upon the shadow jutsu user.
"It seems like your date was only getting started," Ino mentioned with a wink at Hinata, "Why don't the two of you join us for some shopping. I'll even tell you exactly what to buy for her, Naruto. What do you say?"
"Well, I would… but you know how strict Hinata's father is," Naruto began with an apologetic smile, "She's a very busy person, and I'm sure--"
"I've been given the day off!" Hinata practically shouted, "I'd love to go shopping, Naruto-kun." Naruto's face fell with shock, and Hinata felt herself blushing at her own brazenness. Ino and Shikamaru wore impish grins on their faces. Chouji just snorted with impatience and began to eat Shikamaru's noodles, which had arrived before his.
"Oh… ah ha ha…" Naruto said weakly, "Well then… um… if you wanted company, you should have just said so, Hinata! Uzumaki Naruto would never leave a young, pretty – um… pretty strong person high and dry if it meant that much to her."
Hinata simultaneously fought to keep from blushing, and from laughing. Naruto was such a transparent liar… and on top of that, he had called her 'pretty!'
"Thank you very much Naruto-kun," she said graciously, "I would love to have your company."
"Troublesome doesn't even begin to describe the situation," Shikamaru commented glumly, snatching his bowl of half-eaten ramen back from Chouji.