A/N: SUP?! To whoever left that anonymous guest review: don't be jelly I got more game than you. No need to get mad that people like my stories and not yours. Slow your roll and find your niche, no need to be an asshat. Anywhosamawhatser, how you lovely people doin?

Broken.9: I thank you sir, for all your praise. Unfortunately, my father cannot accept the wishes you grant him. He passed into the World-Soul several years ago, but he would appreciate the thought. Best luck in Boot Camp! HOORAH MOTHERFUCKER!

Alright, I obviously need help. I have ideas for more and more stories, and I desperately want to write them, but I have too many to work on already! If one of you could tell me I'm crazy and to calm down and focus on what's already on my plate, honestly I'd probably ignore the advice, but hey that's just me being a stubborn jackass. Like, lately I've been playing ALOT of Fire Emblem: Awakening, and have ideas for three different stories with different pairings, but AAAAAAHHHHHH I NEED TO FINISH ALL MY ALREADY STARTED STORIES FIRST BUT I NEED TO VENT THE IDEAS AND I THINK I'M GOING TO EXPLODE! I have ideas for stories for Fable, Fire Emblem, Brutal Legend (BEST. GAME. EVER.), the Coldfire Book Trilogy (I haven't even finished book one yet), Digimon (specifically Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth), the list goes on! GUYS I GET INSPIRATION TO WRITE A STORY ABOUT A FUCKING CAMEL EVERY TIME I GRAB A CIGARETTE.

HELP. ME.

Anyway, enough of my minor mental breakdown, let's get rollin'!

Chapter 45: Hinata's Inner Beauty

In a massive plume of smoke, several of Naruto's Kage Bunshin were dispelled as Hyuga Hinata bent over, pouring sweat and gasping for breath.

"Stand up stright and put your hands over your head," the Real Naruto instructed from where he lounged against a tree, drawing in a sketchbook. Hinata obeyed, and walked over to him. "You're making good progress, Hinata-chan. All of those clones were high Chuunin level individually, but mid-Jounin together. I'd say you're ready to take on Neji."

"I...hate...you..." the blunette panted as she leaned against the tree, her hands linked over her head.

"I get that a lot, but trust me, my methods do wonders for training. You'll thank me for it." the duo lounged in silence for several moments as Hinata caught her breath, then she leaned over to see what the blond was drawing, and was surprised to see it was a portrait of her from the shoulders up, but slightly distorted. It showed her with a fierce look on her face, and a manic gleam in her eyes. She was stunned by the detail in the portrait, as well as the look she had.

"What is that?"

"It's you."

"No it isn't."

"Let me rephrase; it's you as I see you," the Blond said without looking up as he continued to work. "Despite your caring and kind nature, there's a lot more to you than you even family puts you down, but you're still able to get as strong as you are. Do you know why that is?"

"I don't give up?" the lavender-eyed princess asked uncertainly.

"Exactly. In spite of everything that's been done to you, you never lost your spirit. You don't give up on things simply because others tell you it's impossible. I should know, you got it from me. This is how I see you everyday- taking on the world with determination. You're timid, sure, but I've never seen you back down from a challenge. You realize the regular Jyuuken wouldn't work for you, so you adapted it, uncaring if people would get mad about it. You knew you weren't strong enough to take on Neji- by all accounts a prodigy in your family's arts- so you busted your ass so you could. There is a beauty to you do that goes far beyond your physical appearance. Honestly, whoever you end up with will be lucky to have you at their side." Hinata blushed prettily at the praise from her friend. In truth, she still liked him as more than a friend, but had accepted that he would remain distant from her in that regard simply because of his reputation. Naruto was just kind that way.

"What about you?" she asked, trying to fight down the blush.

"What about me?"

"No-one special?" Naruto snorted in response.

"The only person I can think of that would like me in a romantic sense is you, and we both know how that would work out."

"I don't know," Hinata said with a sly grin, ignoring the fact he hit the nail on the head with her feelings. "That Haku girl seems pretty enamoured."

"Haku doesn't have any interest in me," Naruto firmly denied. "She only really cares about serving Zabuza, so she teams up with him when we spar. That's about as far as it goes."

"Doesn't look that way to me," Hinata said with a sigh, knowing how Naruto viewed himself. "I know for a fact that she's been trying to spend time with you away from Zabuza." Naruto quirked an eyebrow and looked at his companion side-long with his right eye. Hinata was always mesmerized by his purple-ringed orbs.

"How would you know that?"

"Because I ran into her yesterday trying to find you."

"I wasn't in the village yesterday."

"I'm well aware of that. But who else wasn't in the village?"

"Uhhh... Kakashi?" Hinata leveled a mild glare at the teen. "Fine, I get it, Zabuza was with me, so he wasn't around, big deal."

"Naruto, you're an idiot."

"Oi!"

"If Haku was looking for you and Zabuza wasn't around, what could that possibly mean?"

"That she's trying to pay their rent money?"

"No you... wait, what?"

"I'm their landlord."

"Oh... I didn't know that, but it didn't look like she had any money on her."

"You'd be surprised. She can hide a lot of stuff in that damn robe of hers." Hinata grinned at him teasingly, causing him to scowl in return.

"Oh go fuck yourself, Hinata. Sakura searched her when we first met them and found a ton of shit that shouldn't have fit."

"I'll do that later thanks," She replied nonchalantly, causing the former ANBU to choke on his spit. "What? You thought just because you have no alone time that no-one else does?"

"Hinata, that is way more information than I wanted, or needed, to know about what you do in your free time." Hinata laughed at how uncomfortable and fidgety her companion had gotten.

"Awww, does wittle Naruto get uncomfortable when sex is brought up?" she teased lightly, only to see him turn bright, cherry red. "Whoa, holy shit, he actually does."

"Screw you."

"Well if you insist," Hinata smirked. Naruto groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Why does this make you so uncomfortable?" she finally asked. "I mean, yeah I'm not exactly the most open about that kind of stuff,"

"All evidence to the contrary," Naruto replied drily.

"This is different, right now, I'm just teasing you. As I was saying though, even I don't get that red when the subject comes up."

Naruto muttered something under his breath, twirling his pencil quickly between his fingers, just another display of his incredible dexterity. Hinata thought for a moment about how they'd feel inside her, before banishing the thought quickly to stay focused.

"What was that?"

"I said I never had time to adjust to other people my age in that way."

"Bullshit."

"How often was I around when you and Ino started actually flirting with people?"

"Uhhhh..."

"How many Sex-ed classes did I attend in Academy?"

"Those were all first year classes."

"Exactly."

"So you're telling me that you basically grew up in a sexual vacuum?"

"Essentially. I went into ANBU when I was eight, Hinata. I was never sent on seduction missions, because I was too young. I never learned much about it outside the basics, and I never felt comfortable asking about it."

"I... that... huh."

"So you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little stupid when it comes to the subject."

"So you're obviously still a virgin."

"No shit."

"Have you ever kissed a girl before?" once more, Naruto became fidgety, tipping Hinata off that the answer was a resounding 'no'. She grinned as an idea started to form in her mind.

"I know that look, Hinata. It's not happening."

"What ever do you mean?" she asked, cutely tilting her head to the side and feigning ignorance.

"If we ain't datin', we ain't kissin'," Naruto said as he turned back to his sketchbook and turned the page, putting pencil to paper once more.

"Oh come on!"

"No. I'm not going to kiss someone just for practice or sate their curiosity. I'd rather go in and look like an idiot."

"That is so stupid," the blunette pouted, crossing her arms under her already ample bosom. Naruto, to his credit, did not even blink or look over.

"Deal with it."

Hinata sat in silence next to her friend, now denied the chance to ah... Educate him in the arts of kissing and seduction. As much as she disliked it, she knew how stubborn he was. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable though, so she began thinking of another scheme, this one involving a certain ravenette.

She only wanted her friend- and crush, but that was technically a secret- to be happy.

She had her work cut out for her.

A/N: So, Hinata is playing the scheming matchmaker. *waggles eyebrows* Let's see how this goes, eh?