Lord Cynic: "Y'know, that title's a bit off."

Mashu: (sighs) "I know, I know. But it sounded good at the time… I can't change it now."

Lord Cynic: "Why not?"

Mashu: "It won't budge. Don't ask, it just won't."

Lord Cynic: "Okay, okay. Let's just do this."

Mashu: "Hello, everyone. As suspected, I wrote this. It was a spur of the moment idea, and I managed to follow through with it. The original plan was actually made to be longer than this, but I didn't want to bore everyone any longer. There's bound to be some mistakes, inconsistencies and OOCness, for which I'll apologise in advance. Now that this is finished, I'm going to experiment with ideas for Atelier Iris. I haven't enjoyed a game like that since Tales of Symphonia… I love games with voice acting…"

Lord Cynic: "You're missing something."

Mashu: "What? Oh, right. This fanfic was more of less just an excuse to practice (crappy) poetry. You have been warned – as it should've been mentioned in the summary anyway."

Mashu: "I don't own Naruto. So put the kunai away."

Denser than water

It is a normal afternoon in Konoha. The streets are bustling with activity, from carefree children frolicking about aimlessly, to impatient adults shuffling to their destinations with resignation. The afternoon sun is beating down ceaselessly on the inhabitants of the Hidden Leaf village, its orange-reddish rays projecting an almost incomparable shine. Its radiant colour is rivalled only by the outrageous outfit of a young blonde youth ducking and weaving through the crowds.

The blue-eyed, vivacious youth grins confidently as he navigates along the busy path. If the spiky hair or whisker-like marks don't give him away, his shockingly orange clothes do. Uzumaki Naruto is instantly recognisable anywhere he goes, which assists him in his life-long endeavour for attention, respect and acknowledgement.

But right now, there is one person he hopes will notice him. The rolled-up piece of parchment clasped in his right hand is his ticket to success. Written (or scrawled to be exact) on it is, he believes, his finest piece of literary work. He spent a lot of time (three minutes) at home after training, meticulously choosing the right words to express how he feels about the person. While there are several failures littering the floor of his apartment, the fruit of his labour rests in his clenched and somewhat capable hands.

Only to fly out of those capable hands as he collided with another figure. By now he has emerged into an empty part of the street, so no one important sees the accident. Both people fall to the ground and yelp in unison, Naruto rubbing his backside upon impact.

When the pain subsides, he raises his head to yell, but stops when he realises who it is. His irritated scowl instantly transforms into his trademark grin as he gazes upon the dark-haired, coat-clad girl.

"Hey, Hinata-chan!" he all but screams. Even Sasuke, who is training on the other side of town, can hear him.

"Stupid dead last," the black-haired Uchiha mutters, causing said 'dead last' to sneeze.

"Damn Sasuke," Naruto mutters.

Sneeze. Insult. Another sneeze. Another insult. Ad nauseum and boredom.

Meanwhile, Hyuuga Hinata has recovered from her shock. She is watching the comical episode of Naruto cursing, then sneezing after a pause, and then cursing again. Her face is already scarlet upon realising who she bumped into, and only when Naruto realises he's not alone does her face literally feel on fire.

"Sorry about making you fall, Hinata-chan," the boy offers casually but sincerely. He climbs to his feet as Hinata responds in her typical stuttering fashion.

"N-No, it's my fault," she whispers. "I-I should… have been watching where… where I was going. I-I'm sorry."

"Now, that won't do," Naruto objects. He stretches out a hand to Hinata, who resists the urge to faint before taking it gingerly. "I was the one who bumped into you."

Hinata's functions almost cease at hers and Naruto's close proximity. "B-But, Naruto-kun…"

Naruto winks at her as he pulls her to her feet, sending her stomach fluttering beyond control. "Let's keep this behind us, okay?"

Words almost fail the poor girl, and she replies with a meek "Yes." It has its intended effect on Naruto, whose grin widens with satisfaction. Hinata drifts into her own fantasyland as a result.

"Great! Listen, I gotta go somewhere," Naruto announces abruptly, remembering his engagement. He turns to Hinata to apologise, only to see that her pale eyes are glazing over (somehow). He shrugs casually. "Strange girl," he says to himself before dashing off.

Hinata remains in her mental fantasyland for a while longer before realising that Naruto's presence is missing. She is knocked out of her (totally innocent – really) daydreaming as a result, and her expression drops in disappointment. The boy of her literal dreams is once again out of her reach because she hesitated. Coincidentally, a refresh of those same dreams provokes the overly shy, compulsive finger-poker to blush considerably.

'Me… and Naruto-kun… holding hands,' she recalls with a smile on her face. She begins to walk towards her house when she notices a scroll on the ground. She counts herself lucky she didn't step on it as she picks it up.

'What's this?' She unfurls the scroll and reads it. One quick analysis of its contents is enough to return the embarrassed crimson mask to her face. 'This is… by Naruto-kun…' She suppresses an uncharacteristic squeal as she rolls up the scroll before returning home with her new possession.

Meanwhile, Naruto finally reaches his destination: Ichiraku. He enters the premises, which reveals a very impatient pink-haired girl waiting. He greets her with a typical grin only to receive a glare. He scratches his head apologetically.

"Sorry, Sakura-chan," he says as he sits on his usual stool.

"Whatever," Sakura mutters as Naruto orders a bowl of pork ramen. "What did you want? I'm kind of busy."

"Oh…" Naruto's expression dwindles briefly before it recovers. "Oh yeah, I've got something for ya!" To his dismay, he realises that he lost the scroll he was carrying. "That's weird, I can't find it…"

"What's that?" Sakura inquires curiously.

"Um," Naruto begins, chuckling nervously, "I think I lost it. Sorry."

"You what?" Sakura exclaims, before sighing. "It figures… you are so – Sasuke-kun! Sasuke-kun, wait up!" She runs after the Uchiha, who glares at her and Naruto before walking faster, as the blonde boy's order arrives.

"Ramen! All right!" Naruto turns in his seat to discover that Sakura has already left. "Sakura-chan?" He turns to the owner of the ramen stand. "Hey old man, did you see where Sakura-chan went?" The man shakes his head, and an expression of loneliness flickers in Naruto's eyes, but when he blinks, it disappears without a trace. "Oh well! Itadakimasu!" He chows down on the first of eventually five bowls of ramen, subconsciously wondering where his scroll is or if someone has found it. And what they might be doing with it.

Hinata Hyuuga sits in her private room in the Hyuuga estate. Naruto's scroll (as she had discovered) is spread out before her. Her complexion is a healthy pink at its contents, which read:

Roses are ('pink' is written but scribbled out) red,

('Violets are… are' is scribbled out) The sky is blue,

I hate Sasuke's guts,

But I really like you.

It is painfully easy to recognise this as Naruto's work. Besides its mistakes and its simplistic style, only the blonde ninja would blatantly lash out at his dark-haired teammate and eternal rival. Only Hinata would be touched by the less-than-fancy poetry, and touched she is. But now what should she do? Should she respond? How should she do it? Will Naruto notice her feelings for him if she does?

Hinata takes a moment to compose herself. She reluctantly stashes Naruto's scroll somewhere safe before retrieving a blank sheet of paper. She pauses to contemplate her response, her writing apparatus hanging over the writing surface. A sudden burst of inspiration and confidence rises within her at this moment and she writes in a delicate frenzy.

Hinata's preoccupation prevents her from detecting an outside presence. Her cousin Neji is standing outside her room, frowning slightly. He has an idea about what she is doing, and he doesn't like it. He (along with others) doesn't understand why Hinata-sama likes the loudmouthed brat, and he definitely doesn't like him. However, he only observes from a distance, since it doesn't affect him in any way. He figures that Naruto will finally realise the wall he ran into if his cousin's courage holds out long enough for her to follow through with her personal mission.

If he doesn't, well, Neji knows Naruto's an idiot who's dense enough to sink in water. And who can walk through solid walls without being any the wiser.

It is nighttime as Naruto wanders the considerably empty streets. His appetite is satisfied and his stomach is delightfully full from his meal and now he is keeping himself busy before returning home. Normally he will train in secret, but an unshakeable feeling to explore the village overwhelmed him. It has to be strong to tempt him from an opportunity to surpass that damn Sasuke, and he wonders exactly why it came at all.

His answer conveniently arrives in the form of the slightly shorter than he, more nervous than usual Hyuuga Hinata. As luck would have it, she had avoided awkward confrontations after leaving her house and was on her way to meet – well, Naruto. Her own scroll for him is clutched shakily in her hand, which she wants to give to her not-so-secret crush. Written on it are the words that should reveal her feelings to Naruto. Now she just has to give it to him. It should be that easy, right?

"Hey, Hinata-chan! What are you doing here?"

"A-Ah! N-Naruto-kun!"

Maybe not, since Hinata nearly drops the scroll at the sound of Naruto's booming voice. She barely manages to regain her composure (and avoid dropping it onto the ground) as the 'whiskered' boy approaches her. She mentally scolds herself for showing weakness (a definite no-no in Hiashi-otousan's and Neji-nii-san's eyes), which makes her eyes narrow and her face scrunch. It is quite a comical sight for anyone else, but Naruto merely raises his eyebrows in confusion.

"Hinata-chan?" he asks cautiously. "What's wrong with your face? Did you eat something nasty?" He shudders slightly upon remembering something as he adds, "Or did you drink expired milk?"

Hinata realises what she is doing and squeaks, blushing heavily once again. She makes to prod her fingers together, but the item in her hand prevents at least one of her compulsive habits. She is aware of Naruto's inquisitive gaze but cannot raise her eyes to respond.

To her relief, Naruto notices the object in her hand. He goes as far as to point at it blatantly, giving Hinata an excuse to look at it as well. She allows herself a small smile as she holds it out to him.

"This… this is for you," she says with rare audacity.

"For me?" Hinata nods and Naruto takes it from her outstretched hands. "Hey, do you mind if I read it now?" Hinata nods again and Naruto rolls the paper out to read the contents. He shifts towards a light so he can read it properly.

My heart beats fast whenever you're around,

Your words of courage keep me from feeling down.

You're strong, you never quit and you try really hard,

That's why in my night sky you are the brightest star.

I find strength only when I think of you,

I know you like ramen, but I hope you'll like me, too.

Hinata watches in trepidation as Naruto slowly reads the scroll. His eyes widen with every line, and after he finishes it, he lowers it and gawks at her. Her stomach flutters as she is fixed with a bewildered stare.

"Hinata-chan…"

Hope envelopes Hinata in a warm embrace…

"Did Sakura-chan write this?"

… only to abandon her like a cruel joke. Her shyness temporarily forgotten, she stares at him incredulously, without blushing. He is oblivious to the expression on her face as he grins eagerly, waiting for her answer. Nerves almost fail Hinata, but she knows the only way to make him see the light is to first dash his hopes.

"N-No, Naruto-kun, Sakura-san didn't write it."

Naruto is surprised at this revelation, to say the very least. 'I have an admirer, but it's not Sakura-chan?'

"Um, Naruto-kun?" Normal Hinata has returned, because she is poking her fingers together and avoiding eye contact with her companion. Her head is bent and she is forcefully gazing at the ground beneath her feet. "I… I know who wrote it."

The obvious should be noted before I forgot: if there is an inner Hinata like there's an inner Sakura, she won't let the Hyuuga girl be a messenger girl for something like this. On the contrary, if another girl were to ask her to give Naruto a love letter, she would take over and stab at it repeatedly with a kunai before setting it aflame. In private, of course, so that her vessel wouldn't look… well, psycho. Pretty much every person in Konoha knows of her crush on Naruto – except him, of course, which can be painful to watch sometimes.

With that in mind, Hinata's face reddens deeper as she confesses… somewhat.

"Sh-She…" She struggles to choose her words carefully. "She's always… been watching you. She looks up to you and… and admires you." Hinata's stuttering lessens conveniently for her sake. "You… You are her inspiration. She knows that she's… she's weak… so she is working harder. She hopes that… you will acknowledge her."

Acknowledge… there is that word that sends a strange tingle through Naruto. But Hinata isn't finished yet.

"She hopes that you will acknowledge her… because… she acknowledges you."

Naruto is surprised once more, and it shows for the briefest moment on his face. He recovers swiftly enough for Hinata to only imagine she saw it.

"How do you know this?" he asks curiously. "Is she someone I know?"

"Y-Yes," Hinata barely whispers. She swallows hard and decides to take the plunge. "Naruto-kun, I lo -"

"Hey, it's gotten pretty late," Naruto comments, effectively ruining the mood. Hinata mutters an uncharacteristic and colourful curse, but Naruto doesn't notice. That's probably a good thing, too. "We'd better go home. Are you able to go back by yourself?"

"Yes," Hinata sighs, resigned to her bad luck.

"Okay, see you later, Hinata-chan." Naruto turns to leave, but pauses. "Hinata-chan?"

"Yes?"

"That girl… do you think she'll be able to meet me tomorrow? After we're done training, maybe?"

"I… I think so."

"All right!" Naruto pauses again. "You know, it would be funny if you were that girl, Hinata-chan. You're weird (an invisible block with the word "weird" lands on Hinata), but you're really nice. Well, see you later."

Naruto departs for his apartment, a cheesy but genuine grin on his face. He leaves Hinata behind, while she struggles with the invisible and blunt weight. An almost inaudible cry of despair is the only sound for several minutes, until an inhuman scream and an odd explosion fills the otherwise vacant air.

Somewhere in an undisclosed location, a pink-haired girl smirks at a black-haired boy. He promptly glares at her, only to receive a wider grin in return, and he reluctantly retrieves a small sack of money from his pocket.

"Told you that would happen," Sakura says triumphantly. "Hinata-chan is stronger than she looks."

Sasuke grunts. "Yeah, yeah, fine. Don't rub it in." He scowls as he folds his arms in contempt. "Stupid dead last."

Half a second later, inside Naruto's apartment, a violent sneeze is heard, followed by a malicious curse.
The next afternoon, the scene is set. However, word travels fast, because (for lack of better things to do) the other kids are concealing themselves around the rendezvous spot. A few of them were more or less forced to cooperate (Kiba, Shikamaru, Sasuke), but nonetheless they are here… somewhere.

Shikamaru is about to mutter, "how troublesome" yet again, when Naruto arrives. He is wearing his idiotic grin as he finds himself a place to stand. He rocks back and forth impatiently, whistling a random tune while he waits. Typically, he doesn't notice everyone else's presence, in his enthusiasm. That's just as well, because Kiba is already busting to leap out and beat him to a pulp, with the help of his dog Akamaru.

Only Hinata's (well-timed) appearance prevents the blowing of his cover. It's even better timed that it seems, because in his boredom Naruto had whipped out several kunai (Lord knows where he got them) and was about to throw them in random directions. Naruto is surprised that she has arrived by herself.

"Hey, Hinata-chan," he starts, confused, "why did you come by yourself?"

Somewhere, the Hyuuga girl and the Uzumaki boy think they just heard several bodies hitting the ground. They awkwardly try to dismiss it, and Hinata starts poking her fingers together."

"Um, well," she stammers, "I was lying… last night."

"You weren't? But you said the girl is someone I know."

"Y-Yes, that's true." Hinata's heart starts beating faster. "Y-You see… she is… that is…"

"Ohh! I get it!" Hinata raises her head in anticipation. "But, I thought Ino had a thing for Mr. Smarty Pants Shikamaru?"

Hinata's gaze falls to the ground, and she and Naruto swear they just heard a chorus of "What?" It is ignored as the blonde boy observes the dark-haired girl's reaction to his comment.

"It's not her?" Hinata shakes her head. "It's not Sakura-chan, it's not Ino… maybe someone from Ichiraku? I go there a lot."

Hinata's eyes widen slightly at Naruto's deducing skills. They widen further when Sakura springs out of her hiding spot (behind a bush) and violently throttles the denser than water Uzumaki. The rest of the party – the sighing and slightly red Ino, the scowling Kiba, the nonchalant Shikamaru (somehow unaffected) and Shino, the chip-munching Chouji and the smirking Sasuke – emerge from their camouflages immediately. To Hinata's dismay, they merely stand around and watch as the enraged Sakura continues to strangle Naruto to within an inch of his life.

"Sak… u… ra… chan?" he chokes out.

"S-Sakura-san?" Hinata stammers helplessly.

The pink-haired girl releases her captive, albeit seething and heaving slightly. "Do you open your eyes at all?" she yells at the source of her (and a lot of people's) frustration. Everyone conveniently neglects the irony of that statement. "Hinata, just what do you see in this numbskull?"

Naruto has recovered from Sakura's unexpected assault, and he and Hinata stare at each other wide-eyed. Sakura sighs and ceases her tirade, stepping aside for either of the two to reinitiate conversation.

"Hinata-chan?" Naruto speaks up at last. "You wrote that? And the things you said were about…"

"Y-Yes," Hinata replies hesitantly. "It's all true… I acknowledge you."

"Acknowledge…" The familiar tingle again. "But why?"

"Naruto," Shikamaru interjects, "while you may be the best at seeing the good in people, you are truly a troublesome person when it comes to their feelings. Hinata, just tell him."

"But…" Hinata gazes around uncertainly. The group give her firm (if reluctant for some) encouragement. She takes a deep breath and faces the utterly confused Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun, I acknowledge you, because I like you. I always have, for a long time."

"Oh…" Naruto takes a long time to register and digest the information. The tingle is coursing through his body like wildfire, but is leaving him with a pleasant feeling. He closes his eyes briefly, and when they reopen, a wide grin is plastered on his face. "Well, at least now I know why you act weird around me."

"Um…" Hinata blushes brightly as she pokes her fingers together to everyone's amusement. Her face goes from pink to scarlet as she remembers what happened the night before, and when to whole new levels when Naruto places a hand on her shoulder. She looks at him timidly.

"You know," Naruto begins, "I know I said it would be funny if the girl was you. Now that I think about it though, I'm glad she is."

"Naruto-kun?"

"I don't care much about what Neji and your family think. If you can stand me, would you like us to, well, go out? Together?"

Everyone, including Naruto, is surprised when Hinata embraces him in what can only be termed as a glomp. After a moment, she realises her impulsive action and releases the boy instantly, blushing madly. The group laugh politely, and Naruto takes charge.

"All right, to the ramen stand!" he cheers. Everyone bar Hinata groans quietly, but agree nonetheless.

For some odd reason, no one points out that he's walking in the wrong direction. Oh well, he may be denser than water, but Hinata will be there to keep him from sinking.

The End