Dreams are Dreams
Chapter XI
by swt-angel-babi3
Disclaimer: I don't own it.
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"Come on, let's go Hinata-chan!" urged the vivacious shinobi. His puffy orange jacket was already on, slightly askew.
"Where are we going?" Hinata asked timidly, putting on her boots quickly. Her dark purple hair was slightly messy from the rush. Hinata glanced at Naruto, waiting for him to answer her hanging question.
"You'll see when we get there!" he exclaimed happily, already opening the door. The after air was fresh and of course cold. Naruto moistened his slightly dried lips. He impatiently waited for Hinata to get her coat on. He urged her out the door, giving her a gentle push. "Hurry!" he cried out.
Her arm ached from all the pulling from Naruto. "Why do we need to hurry?" she questioned him, slightly out of breath.
Naruto's cerulean blue eyes lowered for a while, his brain thinking hard. "We're gonna be late!" he gasped. Hinata escaped a small giggle, Naruto never seemed to answer her questions directly, his answers were always off-topic.
Hinata sprinted after Naruto, their hands painfully clasped together. Their footsteps left prints in the white snow. They continued running down the sparkling snow-white path, the cold stinging their cheeks.
Hinata gave a small gasp as her eyes laid on a beautiful brown mare attached to a red sleigh. They walked attentively to the sleigh; her hand swinging back and forth in his swiftly.
Excitement weaved through her heart as Naruto helped her up on the sleigh. She sat comfortably on the wooden bench beside Naruto.
"You know what's the best part of this is Hinata-chan?" he questioned her, eagerly.
She pondered for a moment, and then shook her head. Wasn't this already the best part?
"The best part is that I paid for it all!" he boasted loudly. Hinata blushed; she knew how Naruto was about his money. She sighed happily and felt tears well up in her eyes and the wind stung her eyes. She leaned closer to Naruto and closed her eyes dreamily, swaying back and forth from the moving sleigh.
A few moments past and Hinata opened her eyes again and stared at Naruto's cerulean eyes. Naruto noticed her gaze and smiled down at her. He brushed a few strands of violent purple hair off her face.
"I love you." he whispered to her quietly, so she could only hear.
Hinata gave him a sincere smile. "I love you too Naruto-kun." she whispered back, her eyes shining happily.
Ino brushed through her shoulder length soft hair. She sighed and placed down the comb. She was so lonely; Hinata, Ten Ten, and Sakura where all out, leaving her alone. She leaned back in her chair petulantly, her eyes met the mirror, her azure eyes stared back at her, blank.
There was a knock on the wooden door, Ino's head shot up at the sudden noise. "Come in." she called nonchalantly.
Shikamaru walked in, followed by Chouji. Shikamaru scratched his back. "We're going skiing. Would you like to come along?"
"Who's 'we.'" she questioned him.
"Eh… Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Rock Lee, and I" he told her tiredly.
"Mm… okay." she told him uncertainly. "Are we going now?"
"In about five minutes or so."
"Okay, I'll be ready by then."
'I sure hope so.' thought Shikamaru sarcastically. He observed the bland room briefly, eyeing the clothes and objects strewn across the rich-brown wooden floor. 'God they're messy.' he thought, antagonized by the thought. He watched Ino bustle around the room quickly, gathering her belongings she would need for their little ski trip.
He silently left the room and joined the others who were already waiting outside. Shikamaru leisurely wrapped his black scarf around his neck several times, keeping him toasty warm.
"Yo, Shikamaru." greeted Kiba with a raise of his hand. Akamaru's beady eyes turned to Shikamaru; his tongue rolled out happily and gave a small bark.
"Konnichiwa minna-san." he greeted everyone back. He glanced back at the lodge. "What's taking her so long?" he muttered with gritted teeth.
"Well, you know how girls are." Rock Lee smirked.
The others nodded and agreed simultaneously. It was cloudy, not a trace of the beautiful blue sky in sight. He could hear footsteps behind him, he glanced at Ino, who was finally ready. Her blue eyes sparkled, her hair beautifully tamed. He watched her put on a furry pair of earmuffs. Shikamaru was mesmerized by her beauty.
Ino glanced at Shikamaru; there was a look of puzzlement her face. "Are you okay? You're looking at me funny."
Shikamaru snapped out of his daydream. "Huh?" he questioned her stupidly.
Concern washed over Ino. Shikamaru was the last person on earth that she'd expect to ogle over her. Ino sighed and turned her back towards him.
"Lets go!" she faked cheeriness into her voice. 'Why can't we just get moving?' growled an aggressive voice in Ino's head.
They walked down to the ski rentals with the animated chatter of Rock Lee and Kiba with a few occasional barks from Akamaru.
Ino walked beside Shikamaru silently, not really listening to the conversation between Rock Lee and Kiba.
Shikamaru glanced up and relieved to see that the ski rental lodge was near. Hopefully there the awkwardness between Ino and him would break. He uncomfortably sneaked at Ino. She stared straight ahead, not looking his way. 'She's awfully silent today…'
The painful silence continued between them. Ino bit her lip hard. She never really looked at Shikamaru this way. He was her comrade for everyone's sake! Just a friend… nothing more.
Sure he was funny, nice, slightly sensitive, and pretty good looking. All the qualities she looked for in a guy. However, he was lazy and well…Shikamaru.
Ino was startled. He was Shikamaru. How could she have feelings for Shikamaru! She had fallen in love with a genius, an extremely lazy shinobi, someone who didn't show affection, someone who annoyed the hell out of her.
Ino shook her head in frustration and once more gritted her teeth. Shikamaru glanced up at her sudden movements. He watched the blond kunoichi for a few moments. She'd be tearing out her hair soon.
"Calm down will ya?" he asked her irritably.
Her head shot up. She had forgotten that he was there. She painfully plastered a smile on her face. "Sure."
'Stupid stupid stupid!' the voice in her head shrieked. 'You must have looked like a FOOL.'
Ino gave a long sigh, suddenly; her heart gave a sudden lurch. They had finally arrived at the ski rental lodge. At least the awkwardness would be suspended for a little while.
Ino solemnly followed Shikamaru into the door. He didn't even allow her to walk in first. Ino gave a small pout, but quickly retained to her usual self, hoping that no one noticed.
Shikamaru snuck yet another glance at Ino. She had a small pout on her face. God he hated that annoying face. He kept his face straight and continued walking. The stepped into the ski rental lodge. The room smelt strongly of used shoes. His nosed wrinkled.
"May I help you?" asked an elderly woman by the counter.
"Ah… we'd like to go ski—" he was cut short by the women.
"-yes, what are you sizes?"
-Half an hour later-
Finally they stepped out of the ski rentals. They took in a deep breath of air, glad to be free of the used-shoe smell of the ski rental.
"These skis hurt my feet." grumbled Ino irritably as she rubbed her feet sorely.
"Hm… let's go downhill skiing today." suggested Kiba, ignoring Ino's comment completely. Akamaru gave a small high pitched bark.
"Yes, lets go!" exclaimed Rock Lee excitedly.
"We're going to get on the right ski lift this time." muttered Shikamaru, remembering his last incident with Ino. It hurt when he fell of that damn ski lift. Didn't hurt much, mind you, but it hurt all the same.
They began to ski over to the ski lift. "I'd love to learn how to snowboard." said Rock Lee abruptly as he watched a couple whiz past them on a snowboard.
"Then learn." said Ino.
"Need to find a sensei to teach me first though." Rock Lee muttered. "Since Gai-sensei doesn't snowboard very well, I don't know who can teach me."
Chouji chuckled. "Just don't ask Kakashi-sensei." he said between mouthfuls of chips.
They vaguely got on the large ski lift. The air was stuffy in the ski lift. They felt a small jerk and they began moving. Ino gingerly looked down the window. They were now above the large fir trees. She took a deep breath, she always had had a small fear of heights. Just a small fear.
"Aren't the clouds pretty?" said Shikamaru dazedly, gazing at the large purple orange clouds ahead.
Rock Lee glanced up. "Look at the sun!" he cried out. The orange fading sun was awfully large from their view, slightly covered by the clouds, dimming it.
"The sun's huge from here." commented Ino. She glanced at them and saw Shino give a curt nod. Does the guy ever even talk!
They were almost at the peak of the large snowy mountain. "Nearly there." Rock Lee breathed.
The ski lift stopped and they quickly piled out. It was far colder than the mass of land below them. "We should have a race to the bottom." smirked Kiba cockily.
"Sure." said Chouji as he finished the last of his chips.
"Let's stay up here for the while and enjoy the view." suggested Ino.
"Hm… okay, let's just not stay here too long, or we'll freeze to death." replied Chouji.
A small curve of a smile appeared on Shikamaru's lips. The view was awesome. They could see as far as the eye could see. Dark green fir trees sprinkled below them, covered in an icy sheet of snow. Further down was a large city littered with yellow glows of the street lights, and a blur of red from the taillights of the cars far away. The sun had already set, leaving them bathed in the moonlight.
Shikamaru glanced at Ino quickly. Her eyes reflected the moon, giving them a bright shine.
They sat there in silence, enjoying the short spur or calmness, piece, quiet, and the view.
"Well," said Ino, breaking the silence. "We should go now.
She got a few mute nods in response as they broke their trance.
They lined up symmetrically. "3, 2, 1 go!" exclaimed Rock Lee.
They sped down the hill, the wind slapped their cheeks and their eyes watered. Ino blinked her tears away as she sped down the hill. It all ended too soon. She was already at the end of the massive hill and was beginning to slow down. Her speeding heart slowed down as she took a few breaths of air after the thrilling ride.
"Ah… it was pretty close." said Kiba loudly.
"Yah." muttered Shikamaru absently.
Chouji's stomach grumbled loudly, causing everyone to stare at his belly. He shrugged. "I'm hungry. Is there a restaurant nearby? I'm not really in the mood for ramen again."
Ten Ten stood in front of Neji's room and gave a hesitant knock on his door. "Come in." came a muffled reply.
She turned the doorknob and consciously stuck her head in. "It's Ten Ten." she told him. He didn't answer. "Um, since no one else is in the house" she hesitated. "Do you want to go… sparring?"
Neji's ears perked up. He hadn't been training much since he had gotten on the damn mountain. "Sure." he said monotonously.
Ten Ten smiled. "Okay, I'll meet you by the door in seven minutes then." she told him happily. It was extremely lonely in the house. Sakura had already left for her special date with Aniro, and Naruto and Hinata were still not back from their sleigh ride. She had no idea where Ino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino were. All their sensei's had gone snowboarding, and Sasuke had gone out to train… alone.
She walked back to her room and pulled out her suitcase underneath her bed and gingerly took out a bundle of weapons that were carefully wrapped in a thick ragged cloth. She untied the sturdy twine and stored some shurikens and kunais into her weapon pouch that was tied around her leg securely.
She undid one of her messy bun, allowing her long brown hair flow down her back. She tightly tied it up again and reached for the elastic that she held in her mouth. She could hear Neji's footsteps in the hallway.
"I'm almost ready." she called to him, tying her hair steadily together.
A few moments of shuffling was heard. "Nn." replied Neji.
She swung open the door. It appeared that Neji was already gone. 'Probably already waiting outside.' thought Ten Ten vaguely. She rushed down to the front door and yanked it open. Sure enough, Neji was already there, stretching out his muscles, preparing for their 'big' sparring match. He tensed up slightly as he acknowledged her presence.
"Hey." she whispered quietly. The night was dark, though the sky was clear, allowing all the stars to shine brightly.
His white eyes gleamed in the moonlight. He shifted his weight to his left foot. "Lets go." he muttered.
She followed him to a clearing nearby, their footprints covered the fallen snow as they sparred continuously. Ten Ten threw a kunai at Neji. His eyes widened as he saw the five hidden kunais that followed.
Shit, I should have trained while I was here. I'm off.
He blocked the kunais with his own. He smirked as he threw a shuriken at her. Ten Ten immediately jumped aside. 'Not fast enough!' thought Ten Ten frantically as the shuriken brushed her arm. Her eyes widened as blood crept out under her skin.
Neji abruptly emerged beside her. He glanced down at her deep wound. 'Good, she's still standing.' he thought. "Sorry about that." he murmured as he took a roll of gauze out of his weapon pouch and quickly wrapped it several times around her wound.
Naruto unlocked the door to the lodge with Hinata gently clinging onto his arm. He pushed the heavy door open. His eyes met darkness. "Eh… we're home." he said to emptiness. He shrugged. "I guess no one's around."
He ushered Hinata into the house. "I'm really hungry, would you like some ramen?" he kindly asked the black-haired girl.
Ramen again! Hinata forced a smile. "Sure." Anything for him though… She took off her boots and hung her coat up on the coat rack and followed Naruto to the spotless kitchen. She watched Naruto pull out numerous instant noodle bags from the cupboard. Hinata then found a large cooking pot underneath the stove and filled it a quarter way with tap water and turned on the stove.
"Today was fun." sighed Naruto as he watched the stove element turn red.
"Nn." agreed Hinata as she remembered the sleigh ride and the long conversations they had.
Hinata grabbed a large white teapot firmly and placed it town on the counter. "I'm going to make some tea. Do you know where the tea cabinet is again?" she asked incuriously. She began to give the teapot a good rinse.
"I think it's in the drawer by the sink." Naruto told her, still watching the boiling pot of water. "I hate this part, waiting for the water to boil. It's worst than waiting for the long two minutes of waiting for the ramen to cook."
Hinata quickly found the drawer that contained the bags of tea. "Do you prefer any type of tea Naruto-kun?" she asked kindly.
"Um… not really." he wasn't really a big tea drinker. Green tea was good; he never bothered to try the other types of tea.
"Okay, how does blackcurrant sound?" she asked him kindly, as she fingered the teabag.
"Black-what?" asked Naruto doubtfully.
Hinata glanced at him, slightly startled at his questioning face. "It's tea Naruto-kun."
"Ah…" he answered back. "Sure Hinata-chaaan."
Hinata gave him a small smile and began boiling a kettle of water. She glanced over at the impatient shinobi. He sat down on a wooden chair, with a infuriated look on his face as he glared at the pot of water. After a few moments, a few wisps of steam emitted from its side.
"Finally it's done!" cried Naruto as he hastily put three packages of instant noodles in the pot. He took out a pair of chopsticks and separated the noodles, allowing it to cook faster. He added the powder for the soup and stirred it around a few times. He took a deep breath of the swirling scent of ramen.
Ahh… it smells so good." he breathed.
Hinata gave a smile but didn't say anything; she was still in wonder of how someone could like ramen so much. Her ears perked up as the low whistle of the kettle began to ring in her ears, slowly getting louder and louder, the shrill whistle echoed around the room. She took the kettle off the stove and began brewing the tea. The sweet aroma of the fruit tea surrounded the room.
"Smells good!" exclaimed Naruto happily as he placed the ramen into ceramic bowls. One for Hinata, two for him.
"Yeah, it does, doesn't it?" laughed Hinata as she set the table for the two of them. "It's so weird, it seems so quiet, everyone's gone." she whispered.
Naruto shrugged. "It's always like this when I'm home." he muttered.
Hinata bit her lip, she probably shouldn't have said that. She busied herself pouring the tea into the delicate teacups. She handed one to Naruto. "Here, try it!"
Naruto gave her a wide grin. "Thanks." he took a sip. He was shocked by the taste. It was bitter. Not just bitter, but really bitter. The tea was far too strong. The scent of the tea sure smelt good, sweet, like candy. It wasn't quite the same when you actually drink it.
"Do you like it?" asked Hinata.
Naruto faked a grin. "Yah! It's really good, Hinata-chan."
"It's my favourite." she smiled.
Sakura fiddled with her fingers nervously. It felt so wrong to be with Aniro, guilt spread over her, making her skin crawl. She silently observed Aniro, his eyes fleeting over the menu. Sakura gave a sigh and took a deep breath, the aroma of food surrounded her warmly. She couldn't wait for Sasuke anymore. Years after years, the same words haunted her. 'You really are annoying.' Sakura cringed at the memory of the words that haunted her.
A wave of infuriation washed over her. Despite all those years wasted from chasing Sasuke, she still loved him. 'Stupidity.'thought Sakura spitefully. She couldn't figure out why. Why after all those pathetic years she still loved him. 'But it isn't love. Love isn't when you chase after a heartless cold avenger who doesn't give a damn about you; and love doesn't involve with Sasuke. Uchiha's don't love. Right Sasuke?' she thought bitterly.
"Are you okay?" asked Aniro sincerely, cutting Sakura's infuriated thoughts short.
Sakura gave him what she hoped was a believing sweet smile. "I'm fine."
AN: Another chapter though! This chapter was so fluffy. I nearly gagged when I was proof reading the Naru/Hina scene. Thanks so much for the reviews, I probably wouldn't be here if you hadn't encouraged me. I'm not great with fight scenes, sorry about the badly written sparring scene.
Joann, Kagome1015, warprince2000, cyberwing: thanks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
JoecoolHaha, you're lucky if you're singing in the snow! I'm sorry about the slow update!
animEvivvErz: It's freezing cold and it's not even snowing! That sound like where I live! I swear, it's freezing, and I sit here freezing, writing this chapter, and it NEVER snows! Well it does, but it never snows on Christmas, never. It's snowed on Dec. 27th last year though. (No, we probably don't live in the same state, 'cuz I don't live in the states.) Thanks for the review!
Irukapooka: umm… it's just a bunch of stores around where I live. o.O I've only saw the Naruto figurines in one of six stores that I visited lately though. They're sold out, so I can't even get them anymore. (
Brokenangel,Forgivendevil: Haha, I hope you liked this chapter, because I neglected Sakura. She only has this tiny section at the end.
Redlotusnin and icehunternin: Yup, I think you can use the random date thing. It was really my beta's idea, but I'm sure she'll say yes.
jai0rOku: It's actually not good timing. I started this story last year. Last December. I'm just slow really.
Again, much thanks to my beta, wun-liddo-babi