[December 31. Konohagakure 19:35. Reign of the 3rd Hokage (2nd term)]
Konohagakure was surprisingly quiet in anticipation of the New Years Celebration. Shadows wavered as the winter breeze disturbed the trees. The altering weather had no affect on his body. The breeze soon became a gust and brought with it, a temperature that chilled Naruto unlike anything else.
Naruto welcomed it more than tabooed it. His body was overheated anyway. Come and get the bait suckers. He thought, referring to his doppelgangers. A twig snapped just above his head. The orange-clad ninja executed his maneuver flawlessly. Naruto grabbed the calves of his enemy and tugged. At the same time, his heel kicked the ground and Naruto went vertical. Quickly, he spun 180 degrees and drove his shin in a downward angle at his doppelganger's throat.
When Naruto saw the attackers face, he realized this was no attacker.
Kurenai felt the chill of winter seep into her bones. Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. The right half of her body felt unusually cold due to the absence of Kakashi's body heat. How could he do this to me? She thought.
"H-Hinata?!" Naruto stammered, mortified and felt like doing nothing but hanging himself. Hastily, Naruto stood up and pulled Hinata to him. He brushed her coat off and straightened her shining, raven hair back in its original placement.
"I am so sorry. Anything I can do to make this any better, I'll do it." Naruto looked at the floor and closed his eyes, unable to bear the shame. He had almost crushed the windpipe of the girl who had a crush on him.
"If anyone should be sorry, it's me." Hinata blushed ever so slightly. Naruto looked up.
"You've been spying on me again haven't you?" He had a grim tone that made Hinata feel no better. "Well I guess that we're both sorry."
There was a very awkward silence. Damn it. Why don't I know what to say? Naruto felt a frog in his throat form.
I'm such an idiot! Hinata thought. Only an idiot would come out in a situation like this without a plan. Abruptly, she began twiddling her fingers. Naruto seized the opportunity, forcing down the frog. He forced a chuckled.
"Why do you do that anyway?" It was a stupid question. She was obviously shy. It was the only way he could get a conversation in motion. "Well it's not like it's a bad thing you know." He added in a hurry.
"I-I really don't know. It's like a-"
"Habit?" Naruto finished her sentence, knowing he shouldn't have
Hinata felt like an open book. "Umm, actually yes." Her stark, white eyes drifted to the floor.
Naruto knew that face. He decided to get a conversation going at any cost to get this over with. The last thing he wanted was a raven-haired girl standing in front of him doing nothing. She was taking up training time.
"So why were you spying on me?" he pried, knowing he had to choose words carefully.
"Ninja's
intuition?" Hinata knew it wouldn't fly. However, it relieved the
tension floating in the air. To her surprise, he laughed, and it
wasn't fake.
When he finished laughing he turned and sat on the
hillside, bracing himself. He patted the vacant space to his right.
"Hinata, I have to ask you something very serious."
The white-eyed teenager took the seat, timidly. "What?"
"Would you think of us as.... you know.... together."
The question came out of absolutely nowhere. It hit her like a freight train. She lost her breath and felt dizzy.
Sarutobi heard the footsteps long before they reached his door, nonetheless, when his door burst open, he was surprised. Some one he didn't expect came through. Kakashi was partially out of breath. He must have run really hard.
"Hokage-sama!" the Jounin skidded to a halt.
"Kakashi, your intrusion aggravates me, but I'm a forgiving man." The Hokage set his hashi on his plate. "Now tell me, what is-"
Kakashi grabbed his village hero by the shoulders; a very bold move. "Hokage-sama! Itachi is back!"
After four seconds of recuperation, Hinata still felt short of breath. Her chest tightened, making her feel insecure and uncomfortable. What could have brought this question about?
"Would you?" His voice lingered in the air.
"I-I.... really.... I...." she opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out. It was like being strangled. She couldn't breathe or answer a question which she held dear. Her throat tightened which made breathing like running a marathon.
Naruto's cerulean eyes bore into her. Hinata felt empty as his gaze intensified. Time seemed to increase threefold. The arms she was propped up on shook weakly.
The world around her was muffled by the bating of her heart resonating in her ears. Naruto was asking again, but his voice was muffled to a mere murmur.
Before Hinata could do anything, a strong but soft hand grabbed the back of her neck and turned it slowly to the boy next to her. In an instant, Naruto pulled her closer and kissed her.
The kiss was seemed to be a sedative. Suddenly she felt slack and drowsy. A warm wave of blood flew to her face. Her heart sped away to unfathomable speeds.
Slowly, with a shaky voice, she uttered the words "Yes I would."
hashi=ohashi