Unfortunately for Hinata, even if her opportunities to meet up with Naruto in places other than the graveyard were limited, he soon became a very frequent visitor in her dreams.
Most of the time, they were doing totally innocuous things: training, eating ramen, eating cinnamon rolls, visiting Neji nii-san's grave.
Most of the time.
Sometimes, the dreams would enter strange and unfamiliar waters. Sometimes, she would be holding his hand, or running her fingers through his blonde hair, or…other stuff. She didn't want to think about it because it was deeply mortifying.
She wondered why her dreams were taking such a bizarre turn and did her best to banish them from her waking memory. It was difficult, though, when her mind would whine unhappily every time she and Naruto parted ways.
Why was she being so greedy? The worst part was, she wasn't sure what she was even greedy for. It wasn't like Naruto wasn't spending time with her. On the contrary, they were now closer than ever.
Then what…?
"Well then, I'll see you later, Hinata!"
Naruto raised his hand in farewell. Hinata grabbed it before he could pull away.
"Naruto-kun, would you like to come visit my house?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"The Hyuuga compound," Hinata said. "I've just realized that you've never been there before."
Naruto blinked.
"Do you...not want to?" She inwardly cringed. Of course he didn't, he was probably busy and it's not like her house was interesting anyway –
"Sure!" Naruto beamed. He didn't let go of her hand. "Ya know, I've always wondered what your house might be like, I mean, I've been to some of the other clan compounds and they're all so massive, and maybe yours is too? Do you guys have a big garden?"
A slow warmth spread through her body from her head all the way down to her toes. She squeezed his hand tightly and they began to make their way out of the graveyard.
Naruto's hand was so big and warm. It was smooth and soft too, now that she thought about it. She chanced a glance at their intertwined fingers. It seemed that none of the years of ninja training and missions had shown up in his palm. She supposed that it had to do with the Kyuubi's healing powers.
Her hands, on the other hand, were as rough as sandpaper, calluses ringing her fingers – everyone in her clan had such hands, a product of their Gentle Fist fighting style. Forget her clan, almost all ninja had weather-beaten hands. But Naruto's hand was the most unique that she had ever beheld in this regard. In a way, it was almost like Naruto himself – warm, gentle, and comforting, unblemished despite life's hardships.
They had already reached the Hyuuga compound while she was musing.
Naruto looked at Hinata expectantly. She smiled and pushed open the wooden doors.
A pleasant breeze ruffled their hair. Hinata looked about as she led Naruto into the compound. It didn't seem like too many people were around today. Hardly anyone was milling around in the corridors. Maybe they were in the open courtyard in the center of the compound?
Her eight-year-old second cousin Niko smiled at Hinata, who responded with a smile of her own. Then Niko's eyes alighted upon their guest.
"Oh...my...God." Niko rushed towards Naruto at light speed. "Are you Naruto-san?!"
Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Um...yeah."
Niko let out a high-pitched squeal. "You...you're like….Konoha's Number One Super Ninja! And you're here! In our house!"
She giggled and jumped up and down on the balls of her feet. "Can I call you nii-chan? Naruto nii-chan?"
"...Sure..." Naruto looked at Hinata as though waiting for an explanation. Before she could respond, Niko pounced on Naruto, grabbing his hand and pulling him along, leaving Hinata to sprint after them.
Niko wrenched open the door to her nearby room, not relinquishing her death grip on Naruto for a second.
By the time Hinata had reached the room, Naruto was sitting down on the tatami mat flooring while Niko was pulling apart her drawer in a desperate search for a mystery item. Naruto spotted her at the doorway and started gesticulating at her.
What's going on? he mouthed.
I don't know, she mouthed back. It was all so strange. Niko was usually a solemn and silent girl. Most Hyuuga did not openly show such excitement.
"Ta da!" Evidently, Niko found whatever she was looking for – apparently, a pen and paper. She bounded towards Naruto.
"Nii-chan, please, sign this for me!" She thrust the objects at Naruto, who laughed awkwardly.
"I have really bad handwriting, ya know. It's gotten worse since I can only use my left hand now, and Sakura-chan says I have to keep practicing until it doesn't look like chicken scratch anymore and – "
"I don't care, nii-chan, just sign it!" Niko yelled impatiently. She was still bouncing as though springs were attached to her feet.
Naruto finally acquiesced, scrawling his name in uneven strokes. He was right, Hinata noted. It really did look like chicken scratch. Not that Niko cared. She jumped up and down and wrapped her arms around Naruto's torso. He smiled and patted her dark brown hair, causing her to giggle and hold him tighter.
"Is it true that you defeated the Kazekage Gaara with a single punch? And that you can summon toads? And how was training with Jiraiya-sama like? And did you really convince Tsunade-sama to become the Godaime? And did you really outrun the Yondaime Raikage and beat the Sandaime Raikage and the Nidaime Tsuchikage and meet the – "
"Calm down!" Hinata chided. "Let Naruto-kun breathe a bit. He only just got here!"
Niko turned her awestruck eyes on Hinata. "Nee-sama, how do you know Naruto nii-chan? Is he your friend?"
"Yes," she said, giving a very amused Naruto a sideways glance. "We were classmates at the Ninja Academy. We've known each other since the age of five."
"You've known him for thirteen years?" Niko asked.
"Yeah," Naruto responded. "What's your name?"
"Niko. I'm your number one fan! My dad was on duty on the Island Turtle, and he told me how you and Killer B-san broke through the barrier to fight in the war!"
"Oh, yeah?" Naruto asked.
"He said that you were glowing like the sun when you activated your Kyuubi Chakra Mode. Is that true? Did you really glow?"
Naruto nodded, scratching his head again, though his eyes sparkled.
"That's so awesome!" she yelled, punctuating each word with a fist pump.
Naruto, finally in his element, beamed at the ecstatic child.
"You want to see?" he asked.
He flared into his Bijuu Chakra Mode – his eyes becoming slit-pupiled, magatama markings ringing his neck, and his body becoming cloaked in a warm, soothing golden chakra.
He extended one of his nine chakra tails and playfully tickled Niko's chin. She squealed in delight and tugged on the bushy tail as he wrapped it around her.
"More, nii-chan, more!"
Naruto launched a tickle attack on Niko with all nine tails. Niko became hysterical, thrashing about and flailing her limbs in delight, calming down only minutes later after he turned off the Bijuu Mode.
Niko lay still after that, clutching her sides as she wheezed. She glanced at Naruto with adoring eyes. Then she slowly rose to her feet.
"Well, see you, nee-sama, Naruto nii-chan. I have to go practice my jyuuken with Kenji now!"
She ran out of her room towards the courtyard, pausing only to wave at Hinata and Naruto.
Hinata shook her head. "That Niko...she got so excited that she forgot to lock her room door..."
They both stepped out of the room as Hinata latched it shut. Naruto was still beaming.
"That kid was really cute, you know….I wasn't expecting your clan-mates to be so...bouncy," he said.
"She usually isn't," Hinata assured. "I have no idea what came over her today. I'm sure Giichi oji-san and Tsumugi oba-san would be appalled."
"What about you?"
She shook her head, smiling.
"Anyway, would you like to see my room, Naruto-kun?" she asked.
"Yeah, lead the way, Hinata!"
They made their way to the far end of the Hyuuga compound, passing through the beautiful garden lined with peaceful ponds and large, shady trees. They finally arrived at Hinata's room, situated in the innermost corridor of the house.
Hinata turned to glance at Naruto. He flashed her a radiant smile.
She felt her heart almost stop. Being the person at whom his smiles were directed was quite an overwhelming affair.
"Wow, Hinata, your room is awesome! It's way nicer than mine!" Naruto exclaimed.
He was admiring the lavender drapes, the polished wooden flooring, the neat little dresser and cabinet...then he went right ahead and plonked down on her bed.
Hinata was internally screaming as she tried her best to keep externally calm.
She plastered a smile onto her face.
"Your house is nice, your room is nice, your clan seems to be nice. Actually, I always thought you guys were really uptight and angry all the time! Except for you, Hinata, you're perfect."
Her heart had gone from nearly stopping to doing jumping jacks.
Naruto confiding in her everything that had happened in the war.
Naruto keeping her company at nii-san's grave.
Naruto gently massaging her eyes after a long day of Byakugan use.
Naruto's soft blonde hair.
Naruto playing with Niko, drawing out laughs of delight from her sullen cousin.
Naruto's sweet smile. A smile that always saved her.
And now Naruto thought she was perfect.
It was all proving to be way too much for Hinata.
That night, Hinata was mobbed by eager clansmen. Apparently, Niko had told everyone that Naruto had come over to their compound for a visit.
Who knew that gossip could pass through the Hyuuga grapevine so thoroughly? Hinata didn't even know that the clan had such a huge grapevine – her shy and reserved nature meant that she never participated in the gossip and especially not if the gossip was likely to be about her. There were only so many times you could bear hearing about what a failure you were in the eyes of the Hyuuga – although her reputation in the clan had improved greatly after the Pain attack and the Fourth War.
"Hinata-sama, I heard from Niko that Naruto-san came to the compound. Can you introduce me to him next time?"
"I heard from Hotaru that you've known him since the age of ten, but Kaori says you've known him since you were five. Which is true?"
"Can you get his autograph for me, nee-sama?"
"Are you Naruto-san's best friend, Hinata-sama?"
"What's Naruto-san's blood type?"
"Does he glow when he turns on his Bijuu Mode?"
"If I get him tickets to that new movie, will he be my friend?"
Not just preteen fans. There were a lot of middle-aged, seasoned shinobi in the crowd too. Since when did Naruto develop such a huge following among the Hyuuga?
Hanabi stomped her feet, forming a protective stance around her older sister.
"All of you, stop! Just stop. Nee-sama will answer your questions tomorrow. Right now, please let her sleep!"
They all grumbled but turned and filed out of Hinata's room. Hanabi slammed the door shut.
"Okay, spill, nee-sama!"
"Not you too." Hinata groaned. "Why is everyone acting so strange lately?"
"No one's acting strange, nee-sama. We all just want to know the juicy details about Konoha's Number One Super Ninja."
"Where did that nickname even come from?" Hinata asked.
"Neji nii-san's teammate – you know, the one with the massive eyebrows – "
"Lee-san," Hinata corrected.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. He and Neji nii-san's other teammate, the weapons lady – "
"Tenten-san."
"They were here for some training one day and Lee-san was talking about nicknames for Konoha's Number One Super Ninja – "
"Naruto nii-san," Hinata said automatically.
Hanabi quirked her eyebrow. "Nii-san?"
Hinata's eyes widened as her brain finally caught up to her mouth.
"Well, um...he's older than you, so you should call him nii-san," she defended rather unconvincingly.
"So are Lee-san and Tenten-san, but you didn't ask me to call them nii-san or nee-san."
"Well...that's – "
"Whatever, nee-sama. Anyway, you should bring Naruto nii-san over tomorrow. I also want to know what his blood type is..."
"B positive," Hinata blurted out, then clapped her hand over her mouth. Why was she giving Hanabi more ammunition?
Hanabi's smile became positively devilish.
Tomorrow was going to be...interesting, wasn't it?
Niko clapped her hands and squealed in delight.
"More, nii-chan, more!"
Naruto obliged, launching a furious tickle attack on the little Hyuuga child. Hinata watched the sight with a smile.
Naruto...was really good with kids, wasn't he? Despite being an orphan, or maybe because he was an orphan.
He turned to Hinata, and, to her surprise, he wrapped a Kurama chakra tail around her and playfully tossed her into the air.
"Naruto-kun!"
He let her down, smiling gently all the while.
She didn't know what was brighter, the cloak of the Kyuubi or Naruto's smile.
Niko faded away and the Hyuuga compound melted into a park.
Neji nii-san and Hanabi were watching them, but how silly of them to think she wouldn't notice.
It was a beautiful summer day and the only thing more beautiful was Naruto's smile.
She leaned her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes.
She felt like a sunflower facing the sun; only the sun was Naruto's smile.
Naruto's smile…
"You changed me...your smile saved me!"
"...Because I love you."
…
"I kind of like...people like you."
"Except for you, Hinata, you're perfect."
Hinata woke up with a dull ache in her chest. She didn't know why.
A/N: I see evil/nasty/snobbish Hyuuga clan members who dislike Naruto in many stories, but I feel like they would admire him. He is the hero of the village. I'm sure he had a Hyuuga fan following too. :)
Also, Naruto really calls himself Konoha's Number One Super Ninja or something like that in the Naruto Ninja Storm video game, when he's showing the Mizukage around town. :) Just search for it on youtube and you can find it.
Thank you El Publicano, Iwik and Lila08 for the reviews!