A/N: Well, here we are. The Holiday Dinner at the Hyuga clan compound is finally upon us, and I hope you all like what I have wrote.
Disclaimer: Also, I do not own Naruto.
At the gates outside the Hyuga clan compound two guards stand watch while the festivities for the Winter Holiday are about to get started. Being a guard on this night has been a position of honor for the family for generations and has always been filled by volunteers who see it as their duty to protect their family so that they can celebrate in peace and comfort. Through the night at least one guard has their byakugan activated and scanning the entire area around the compound watching for anyone who might take advantage of this night and attack the clan.
The guards were aware of his presence long before the lone figure would have visible been to most other shinobi. The guards had been made aware of the boy's invitation for night's dinner, but that did not mean they would break from protocol. "Halt, identify yourself and your purpose for being here at this late hour."
The young blonde ninja stopped suddenly surprised at the strength of the challenge from the guards. Part of him hoped that Hinata's father had recanted the invitation and that he could go home and sulk, his favorite activity lately, but he knew that if he did Hinata's feeling would have be hurt and he would not do that to a friend.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I was invited by Hyuga Hinata to have dinner with her clan tonight." He did his best to remember what Shizune had told him earlier today about controlling his temper. She said that he could embarrass Hinata not just in front of her father but the whole clan if he lost his temper which could hinder her ascension to becoming the next clan leader. To ensure that he would not embarrass her he had asked Kurama to give him a hard mental poke if he allowed somebody to anger him and the Kyubi had said that he would be more than happy to give him a smack if he got out of line.
The guard pulled out a scroll and glanced at its content even though there was only one name written inside. "Yes, I see your name here on the list. Your attendance has been expected and I was instructed to escort you to the main house." He nods the other guard who opens the door for them and gestures for the young man to enter.
Once the gate closes behind them Naruto looks over at the guard and smiles. "I wanted to say thank you for mentioning to me last night that Hinata's birthday was coming up soon."
He bows to the boy. "You are most welcome Uzumaki-san."
Naruto holds out a hand to the guard. "Please call me Naruto."
The guard hesitates for a moment at then takes the hand. "Hyuga Kodi." He can't help but to return the boy's large smile.
When they reach the house Kodi bows deeply to Naruto, bids him goodnight and opens the door to the main house for the family's guest.
Naruto bows in return but his attention is quickly drawn into the house. He has been inside Hokage's tower many times, but that building was constructed for function. The Hyuga home was built to remind visitors of the family's strength and importance in the village, but not be gaudy in its display of power. Had Naruto been schooled in the arts he would have been impressed with how not even the smallest detail had been overlooked in the layout and construction of the building. The boards used were selected for their uniformity of grain structure and color to draw the viewers' attention down the hallway and into the formal meeting hall. The meeting hall was an open room with support pillars carved from single pieces of timber that were also uniform with the others in the hall.
Currently the room has been decorated with fresh ribbons and garland that fills the room with their evergreen perfume. A long table has been set the length of the room with seating for each member of the family attending the dinner plus one guest. As he reaches the end of the hallway he stops and looks about looking nervously for a familiar face and sees Hinata talking with a young girl that could only be her younger sister. The young girl sees him first and tugs at Hinata's sleeve and points her in his direction.
"Look Hinata I think your friend has arrived." Hanabi points towards the entrance with a big smile and cannot help but watch how her sister's face lights up when she sees the young man standing there looking nervous and the same shade of pink that decorates her cheeks when she talks about him begins to make its appearance. Hanabi walks beside her sister to try and understand why she only reacts this way only when she thinks about this strange looking boy.
Hinata's heart flutters as their eyes lock and his face brightens with a broad smile at seeing her. She cannot help but think how handsome and mature he looks in his kimono. She had to admit she was a little worried that he might come in his normal clothes and would have looked out of place with the rest of the people here tonight. 'Now father has one less thing that he could use as an excuse to not like Naruto-kun.'
Naruto watches Hinata walking towards him and he cannot help but feel in awe at how beautiful she looks. She is wearing a furisode style kimono with long flowing sleeves that nearly touch the floor as she walks. The material is made of dark blue silk that matches her hair with a pattern that looks like a field of white flowers blooming on a mountain meadow at the height of spring. The white fluffy clouds in the light blue sky above the field match the perfectly with the pure white of the flowers below. Her obi matches the bright yellow of the circle around the Hyuga house symbol while the obiage and obi jime match the red of the clan symbol. As she reaches him he can't help but bow his head in respect to the young woman in front of him and hold out the gift he brought in stunned silence. He can't help but wonder when did the shy, awkward little girl who watched him train and fought beside him in the War become such a beautiful woman.
"T-t-thank you Naruto-kun for coming tonight you honor us with your presence." She gently takes the gift from his hand making sure not to touch his hands for fear of fainting. "I-I-I cannot wait to give you the gift I have gotten for you, I really hope you will like what I got for you as a present." Any further words are cut off by the sudden appearance of her father who came up right behind her and stared down at the young man with whom she is talking. Hinata knew he was there by her sister's change in body language.
Naruto was about to make a reply when he saw the serious face of the Hiashi Hyuga come up behind his friend and decided to use another lesson that Shizune drilled into him earlier today. "Lord Hyuga, my name is Uzumaki Naruto and I want to thank you for allowing me to attend tonight's celebration." He bows, pulls out another gift from his sleeve and hands it to the clan elder.
Hiashi had to admit he was not expecting such respect from the youngster given that the reports he had read that told of a young man with no respect for authority. He formally takes the gift and opens the box and had to mask his surprise at seeing a bottle of expensive sake inside. Was this a fluke, did the boy just buy the most expensive bottle on the shelf, or did he actually put some thought in the purchase. He decides to see how the rest of the night goes to determine if the reports he has been reading may be exaggerating some of the boy's flaws.
Hiashi returns the boy's bow. "Welcome to our home Uzumaki Naruto. You seem to have good taste in sake. I hope your time with us will be enjoyable." Hiashi turns to his eldest daughter. "Hinata, I leave our guest in your capable hands."
She could not hide her pride in how wonderful Naruto had handled the situation with her father. "Yes father." She bows deeply before he walks away. Turning to Naruto her smile was so big the room seemed to brighten around her. "That went very well Naruto-kun. I think father really liked your gift." Feeling the intense gaze of her sister she turns to the young girl at her side. "I would like to introduce you to my sister Hanabi."
Resisting his normal urge to make a loud introduction he bows to the young girl. "It is an honor to meet you Hanabi." When he straightens up he gives the girl one of his classic fox grins.
For some reason looking into the strange boy's large blue eyes and seeing the big friendly grin made Hanabi feel strange. Her face suddenly feels warm and her stomach swirls like she had just swallowed a swarm of butterflies. Suddenly she has the overwhelming need to avert her gauze from those twin blue pools or her knees might betray her and she would start stumbling around like a klutz.
For Hinata it was odd to see the reaction she has felt so many times reflected in her own sister's face. Seeing the blushing face and the sudden aversion of the eyes in the young face so similar to her own she can now understand how everyone knew about her feelings for Naruto. The reaction also brought about a sensation that she had only felt when Sakura was around, jealousy. Was her sister showing an interest in him? A small voice, deep inside her heart, wanted to reach out and shake her sisters asking her just what did she think she was doing and what her intentions were towards Naruto.
Seeing the girl's reaction Naruto rubs the back of the head and his smile, if possible gets bigger. He thinks to himself about how much she reminds him of Hinata at that age. 'I guess all of those times Hinata's face got red is just something normal for the women of the Hyuga clan. Strange, but kind of cute too.'
The more meek part of her personality regains control and Hinata looks back towards Naruto. "Let me show you where you will sitting tonight." After he nods in agreement she shows him to the cushion she had assigned him for the dinner. She stands at the head of one end of the table just behind her cushion and nods to one of the servants.
A bell is rung to let everyone know that the meal is about to begin and the gathered clan members begin to take their assigned seats. Hinata and her father kneel first onto their cushions followed by the rest of the clan and their guest. Several servants begin bringing out food and placing the platters out onto the table.
Naruto is amazed at the feast displayed down along the table. The feast included: chilled soba noodles with the choice of savory or sweet and spicy dipping sauce, grilled eel, bite size pieces of meat and tofu that had been deep fried in a light batter, several types of sushi, lightly grilled vegetables, and each person is given a bowl of miso soup on their right and a bowl of rice to their left.
Hinata puts her hands together and everyone follows suite and together they all say, "Itadakimasu." Once she has taken a sip of her soup everyone else begins to eat.
The meal goes quietly with only minor chatter but as people start to feel full they begin to strike up conversations with those seated nearby. During the meal Naruto would occasionally look over at Hinata or glance over to Hanabi to smile and received a blushing smile in return. Each time he would see the blushing face his big grin would change to a gentler smile.
At the far end of the table sat Hiashi, who would did not miss the girlish smiles both his daughters were giving the young boy. It was moments like this that he truly missed his wife, knowing that she would have been able to advise him on the changes he was seeing in the girls and how best to handle the situation. As a leader concerned with the future of the clan he sees the boy as a potential problem if he was to return Hinata's infatuation and begins to see himself as potential suitor for her hand. Should he stop this now before it becomes an issue or give the boy a little more time to mature? His behavior so far tonight has been much better than reports had led him to expect, so maybe there is some potential for the boy. He had been raised as a street rat with no guidance or discipline. He had to admit to himself that the mixing of the boy's bloodlines with that of the Hyuga's could potentially produce a quality heir. His father Minato had been an exceptional shinobi and if he had lived he might have been a truly great Hokage, but the boy had taken his temper and lack of focus from his mother, and those would not be a desirable traits to pass on to a potential Hyuga heir.
As a father he could not help but see how his daughter bloomed like a flower in the spring whenever the boy's name was even mentioned. He would be lying if he said that watching the shy little bird spread her wings like a falcon did not fill his heart with pride. What to do?
Hinata was finishing the last of her miso soup and was sitting down her bowl at the same time as Naruto was reaching over to pick up his napkin when their hands brushed. He looked over in surprise and she smiled meekly at him. As he picked up his napkin she raised her little finger ever so slightly to brush the back of his hand. The sensation of his skin sliding past her fingertip made her heart flutter and making her want more. Naruto, feeling the light touch looks down to see her raised finger and was about to say something when Hanabi's voice broke the moment.
"Naruto-san, I heard that you recently spared with the Kazekage Gaara and actually broke through his defense." Hanabi asked the question like a child talking to a hero.
He smiles and scratches the back of his head. "Well, to be honest I did not completely penetrate Gaara's defense, but I did unfortunately hurt him which is no easy feat and something I am not proud of doing." He holds up his chopsticks and draws a circle in the air. "You see Gaara has an amazing defensive ability and it really is the absolute defense. There are two layers; one is the shield of sand that surrounds his body to protect him automatically from attacks and the other is his armour of sand which is a layer of sand that covers his body like a second skin. Getting through both of these layers and doing any damage at all is extremely difficult and you still have to deal with the large amounts of sand that he is controlling for offense."
The three of them did not notice that the conversations nearby had slowly begun to die down as people began to focus on the young man's story.
He gives the young girl a smile. "Gaara and I are friends and he is one of few people I can spar with that I feel like I can really push my abilities and he feels the same way about me when we spar. Don't take me wrong I am not bragging, but if I tap into Kurama for chakra or go into sage mode and let go with everything I have it can get really dangerous even for me if I am standing too close. That is why I developed the rasenshuriken to be able to have an attack at range and not put myself or my teammates into danger."
"So you used a fully powered rasenshuriken against Gaara?" Hanabi asks.
Naruto shakes his head. "I would not use the rasenshuriken against a friend even in a practice fight because if it hits them I could sever their chakra pathways and render them unable to use chakra ever again. I would never take that kind risk with my friends."
Hanabi puts her head down embarrassed to have asked a stupid question. He reaches over and touches her hand and gives her a big smile to let her know that the question was okay. When he pulls his hand away she blushes as she unconsciously rubs the still tingling spot on her hand that he touched.
"Now I have used a wind release: rasengan against Gaara and it did knock him about some but it did not completely break his defense, but in the incident you are asking about I used something new. Growing up in the desert Gaara, who has an affinity for wind like me, is used to windstorms so my wind release: rasengan only has a limited effect on his sand defense. I had to come up with something new so I began working on trying to infuse my rasengan with a different elemental chakra. I summoned a bunch shadow clones and had sets of them work with each of the other nature types to try and learn a new transformation. Lightning would have been the best choice against his earth based defense but I still haven't got the knack of that one yet. I did learn water transformation pretty easily, but unfortunately water is weak against earth type so I had to find a way to make it work. I spent weeks training to infuse water chakra into my rasengan and I finally came up with a new jutsu."
Everyone nearby leaned closer to hear the boy talk about the new jutsu he had invented. Hinata just looked at him with pride while her sister just looked at him with awe that he could come up with an all new jutsu in just a few weeks.
"It is similar to something that Yamato and I were able to do once, but instead of a barrier I was able to turn it into an offensive technique. I call it a rasenbomb, at least for now, I might be able to come up with something cooler to call it later. I form a wind release: rasengan and since air can be compressed very tightly it will expand with great force when the compression is released. So I surrounded the core of a swirling wind release: rasengan with a shell of swirling water. Now we all have been caught in a storm and felt the wind blowing against our skin, but when you add rain to the wind it can really hurt. The rasenbomb is the same concept and does it pack a hit." He shakes his head from side to side as if remembering something painful.
"Gaara and I were sparing in the deep desert a long way away from anyone who might get hurt and we were both smiling at each other from the sheer joy of being able to cut lose. He also gets an advantage there since there is all that extra sand and almost no water so it makes for a better workout for me. We had been going at it for a while and the sun was beginning to set so I decided that it was time to use my new attack. Now I have used a lower powered version against softer targets like trees and the occasional boulder, but I went into sage mode and put a good amount of chakra into the attack and was able to use my speed and dodge around his attacking sand waves when I threw the bomb. Gaara must have been raising his arm to control his sand when the explosion happened and the shockwave from what he told me blew away a large portion of his chakra infused sand and broke his left arm in two places."
By now the rest of the room had gone completely quiet by this time and Hinata looked at Naruto with a worried expression. "W-w-what about you Naruto-kun? D-d-did you get hurt from this new jutsu?" She could tell from how he described the damage done to Gaara he was feeling guilty and there was something else.
He looked over at her with a smirk. "I guess I can't hide much from you can I Hinata?" She blushes at his question. "Yeah, Gaara was protected by his sand from most of the explosion but I got caught in the backlash real hard because I was too close when I threw the bomb. That is the weakness of this attack at the moment, because of the power it destabilizes and explodes quickly. So the next time I will use a shadow clone to deliver the attack. They said I flew for over a half a kilometer before I hit the ground and bounced several times before ending up half buried in a dune."
Both Hyuga girls covered their mouths in shock and Hinata felt a knot form in her stomach at the thought of him being hurt. Others in the crowd just listened with a grim expression.
"If it had not been for Kurama suddenly protecting me with his nine-tails cloak I would probably have died on impact, but even with that I was knocked out for two days. When I woke up Gaara was standing at the nearby window with his arm in a sling and he told me about the explosion and how I nearly died that first night. The wounds had healed over but I had sand seeping out of my skin for days afterwards because the blast had embedded chucks of Gaara's sand deep into my body, damaging bone and tissue. We talked a lot over the next two days and I was called home not too much later, but we parted as friends and he said that I was always welcomed to come back and spar with him anytime I wanted." He smiles at mentioning Gaara as a friend and sparing with him some more.
"Wow, so you have a second nature transformation already." Hinata tried to talk about something else other than Naruto getting hurt because thinking of him unconscious in the hospital made her want to cry.
"Yeah." He says proudly. "I am trying to work on my third. Someday I hope to be able to use all five types like Kakashi-sensei. After seeing how the rasenbomb worked I have been thinking about trying to learn earth transformation next and infuse sand into the attack to add even more mass. How about you Hinata? Have you done any work yet on your nature affinity?"
She feels a little self-conscious as most of the eyes in the room look towards her and waits for her answer. "N-n-no, n-not yet. Kurenai-sensei did not work with us on that during our time on her team." Her old sensei had been a genjutsu expert and had worked with them to recognize and block such attacks along with expanding their sensory capabilities, but the training had not gone into nature affinity before the war broke out.
"I am not an expert, but if you ever want to train together I can try and help you work on your nature affinity."
Her fingers touch together in the old gesture when she was nervous as she thinks about the two of them spending time together training. "I-I-I would like that very much."
"What about me? I want to work on my nature affinity too." Hanabi pipes in excited about learning something new and spending time with this amazing boy she has met.
He smiles at the eager look in the girl's face thinking about how he was at that age when the chance to learn a new jutsu was possible. "You are going to be in the spring chunin exams right?" After she nods he continues. "If it is okay with your father and your sensei after you become a chunin I will work with you in figuring out your nature affinity."
Hanabi looks down the table with an excited face towards her father. "We can talk after the chunin exams, so I suggest that you focus more on your studies till then." She was just happy that her father did not say no and made a mental note to start early with the exercises that Neji had taught her years ago.
"I wonder what your affinity might be Hinata? With your byakugan the possibilities are amazing. Combining fire affinity with your attacks would make a devastating taijutsu attack. Or earth affinity combined with your defensive abilities would make you a really tough opponent. Wow, we could talk for hours about the possibilities, but I guess it would be best to figure it out and work hard." As he mentions the affinities other members of Hyuga clan that are within earshot and use those nature affinities nod in pride at his praise. Those watching and listening carefully heard no deception or attempt at flattery just another ninja's honest assessment of her potential.
Finally noticing that Hinata was being her shy self again and trying to not look down the table he finally noticed that he was the only person talking. He turned away from the two girls and looked down the table with a nervous smile especially towards Lord Hyuga himself. "I am sorry; I guess I was talking too loud. I apologize if I have been a distraction to your dinner party." He bows and hopes that he properly said the words Shizune made him memorize just in case this very thing happened.
Hinata also looks down the table at her father trying not to look like she was pleading for him to not be angry, but her desperate plea was written so clearly on her face.
He saw the look, but allowed no emotion of his mental state to show through. "It is quiet alright Uzumaki Naruto, we are a clan of shinobi and we do like to hear tales of others exploits, so be at ease." His eyes look towards his daughter as if to say, 'This is my gift to you my daughter, I will be a gracious host to this boy you seem to hold so dear, for tonight at least.' He turns and looks at all of those gathered. "I do believe though that the time is getting late so maybe we should exchange our gifts."
Everyone stands, retrieves the gifts they brought and begin exchanging with the other family members. Hinata, saving Naruto's for last, opens her gifts thanking each person for their generous gift. Finally all the gifts, each of them a small token of loyalty, were opened and Hinata reached over handed a package to Naruto and then picked up his gift for her. "Please open your gift first. I really hope you like what I got for you."
Naruto, whose throat had suddenly gone dry, swallowed hard and took the package gingerly. 'Wow, my first gift from a girl and it's from Hinata.' Wanting to savor the moment he slowly unwraps the gift and opens the box. "Wow Hinata these are amazing." He holds up one of the kunai and examines it carefully looking at the craftsmanship and balance. "I can't think of a better word than amazing Hinata, thank you." He gives her a smile and has to fight back the tears that are beginning to cloud his vision. "I really hope you like the gift that I got for you." He is nearly overwhelmed with a feeling of gratitude at just being allowed to be part of a family's celebration and then to be given something obviously expensive by the craftsmanship of these kunai.
"I know I will Naruto-kun, but first let me tell you something about those kunai. They are made from a special material that absorbs the wielder's chakra and can transfer that stored chakra into their attacks, just like chakra blades Sarutobi Asuma used." She nearly begins to cry herself as he looks down at the kunai again and a tear drops down into the box. Not wanting to embarrass him she starts opening his gift and her breath catches in her throat as she lifts the lid and looks inside.
Hanabi leans over and looks into the box. "Wow, nice choice."
Hinata stands up and lifts the garment out of the box allowing it to unfold completely. Holding the komon style kimono up against her body she looks down and admires the dark blue material. The garment is decorated with an alternating pattern of purple and red flowers. Hinata cannot help but to twirl around with the garment and giggle happily. She stops when her sister comes up and touches the kimono to admire its beauty and quality. She could not contain the excitement she felt at holding a gift from Naruto, but he could have given her coupons to eat ramen and she would have been happy. The gift was amazing and really showed that he had cared for her enough to put some real effort into the gift. It must have cost him most of his savings to buy something like this kimono.
Hearing her laughter Naruto discreetly wipes the moisture from his eyes before looking up at Hinata. He knew when he saw her twirling there with such a beautiful smile, with the kimono he bought, that the image would be burned into his soul forever. In all the time he had known her he could not remember ever seeing her smile like she was doing now and deep inside a part of him wanted that smile to never fade.
At the other end of the room another man was thinking the same thing about the smiling girl. Hiashi was watching his daughter dancing about with her gift and his mind was thrown back many years ago to a time when Hinata's mother danced about after she told him the news of her pregnancy. On that night he smiled and vowed to try and always make her happy like she was at that moment. Had she been here tonight he was sure that his wife would have been right up there with his daughters admiring the kimono.
Naruto stands as she comes over to him. "Naruto-kun, this is so beautiful, thank you so much for my gift." She wraps her arms around the boy and gives him a hug before she realizes what she is doing. Time seems to stand still for them both as their minds slowly register the sudden physical contact and whose body they had within their arms. At first Naruto held his arms open in surprise at the unexpected contact but instinct takes over and his arms wrap around her small frame drawing her closer. The embrace brings her head close to his face so he closes his eyes, inhales and is rewarded with the sweet smell of flowers.
So excited with happiness, Hinata had done what is natural and gave the source of such happiness a hug and with any other person this embrace would have been the most innocent of things, but with him an embrace of any kind meant so much more. As she feels his arms encircle her frame the first thing she notices is the warmth that radiates from his body and how comforting that sensation feels. His warmth feels like it penetrates all the way to the core of her body. A familiar feeling of falling starts to overwhelm her, but she reaches out and digs her fingernails into her arm. The sharp pain jolts her senses and overrides her body's usual reaction to pass out.
As he stands there holding Hinata the memory of the only other time he ever held a girl like this comes unbidden to his mind. It had been before the war and he, Kakashi and Yamato had been tracking Sasuke and ended up in the Land of Snow at the time of the Five Kage Summit and She had come to him and lied. Why could he still not even think her name without flinching? She had hugged him and lied to him that she was no longer in love with Sasuke and was in love with him instead. It had been a lie and he knew it then and tried to ignore how much it hurt to hear that lie come from her lips and had just thrown himself deeper into his promise. Not too much later he stopped Sasuke from killing her and still she forgave Sasuke and now seemed to love him even more. Naruto had hoped that just hearing her say those three words just once, even as a lie, would have been enough to sooth the desire in his heart but he had been wrong.
Hinata could feel a sudden tension in his body and leans back nervously to see what has suddenly broke the warmth she was feeling. She looked up into his eyes and thought she could see the same sadness that had been consuming him, but it was suddenly gone and his lips began to move ever so slightly. Seeing him freeze like this brought back memories of his breakdown from last night and the fear of that happening in front of the entire clan brought tears to her eyes as she began to nudge him and gently call his name.
Naruto has been drawn deep into himself where Kurama resides and the Nine-Tailed Fox was standing in front of him his hackles raised in irritation. 'DAMMIT BOY, IF YOU DON'T STOP THIS SULKING ABOUT WHAT IS THE PAST I AM GOING TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT LIKE. YOU HAVE SOMEONE IN YOUR ARMS THAT HAS NEVER LIED TO YOU AND HAS EVEN PROFESSED HER LOVE FOR YOU IN FRONT OF THE ENTIRE VILLAGE. STOP ACTING LIKE A BRAT AND BE A MAN.' The intensity of Kurama's irritation jolts Naruto and for a moment he stands there looking at his friend in shock.
'Not you too, I know that she said she loves me, but we both know why I could not act on her confession after Pain's attack was over. I could not lie to her and tell her that what she had said meant nothing, because knowing how she felt meant so much to me but if I had acted on that and allowed myself to love her back she would have been in danger. Hinata was not on my team so I could not protect her like I could… you know, and with her sensei out of action due to a pregnancy she was vulnerable. Kiba and Shino are like brothers but they are too weak to protect Hinata from the people who were after me and would have used her to get to me. I could not allow something like that to happen to Hinata so I pushed my feelings deep inside to protect the knowledge from being found by anyone. Now that it has been so long, and I acted like I never heard what she said, I don't know if she still feels that way about me and I don't know if I am strong enough to try and open my heart again.' Even to himself the excuse sounds pathetic.
'HAVE YOU EVEN TRIED YOU LITTLE COWARD?'
'But what if once she gets to know me, not the guy I let everyone see but the real me, and does not like the insecure little kid hiding deep inside? She might decide to move on and that would break my heart so much more.' His voice sounds week and childish in his mind. 'It happened to me before and I don't know if I could stand being rejected by someone like Hinata.'
'YOU MOVE ON TILL YOU FIND THE RIGHT MATE, IT IS NOT THAT HARD REALLY. MY PREVIOUS HOSTS ALL HAD HAPPY, BUT TUMULTUOUS RELATIONSHIPS. YOU MORTALS HAVE SHORT LIVES AND SPEND TOO MUCH TIME CONCERNED WITH THE SMALL DETAILS AND FORGETTING TO ENJOY WHO YOU ARE WITH IN THE NOW. UNTIL RECENTLY YOU AND KILLER BEE SEEMED TO BE THE EXCEPTIONS TO THE NORM, BUT YOU HAVE BECOME LIKE THE REST OF YOUR KIND. BESIDES IN ALL THE TIME SHE HAS BEEN WATCHING YOU DON'T YOU THINK SHE HAS SEEN THAT PART OF YOU BY NOW.' Kurama's voice changes to a more jovial tone. 'BY THE WAY YOU MIGHT WANT TO WAKE UP; SHE IS STARING AT YOU ALL CONCERNED.'
He blinks his eyes and as the real world comes into focus he can see Hinata shaking him gently and calling out his name with tears forming in her eyes. As he looks about and his other senses start working he could see other members of the Hyuga clan looking in their direction. "I'm okay, Kurama was being a jerk and had some comments."
"So is everything okay with you and the Kyubi?" She could not hide the real concern she was feeling.
He smiles and rubs the back of his head. "Yeah, we are friends now and we talk quite often and he just likes to make a comment or remind me of things I am forgetting. Before I came over tonight I asked him to give me a good hard poke if I started to forget anything important and I nearly had forgotten something." He starts trying to think of anything to get himself out of this without telling Hinata what he and Kurama were really discussing. He pats his shirt and remembers something that might just do the trick.
"What sort of comment was he making?" She really hoped the Kyubi was not making fun of their embrace.
"I forgot in all the excitement of the dinner that I had also gotten you a birthday present and he was reminding me not to forget something so important." He reaches out a box the size of his fist. "It is coming up in a few days, right?"
Somehow she managed to smile and blush at the same time. "Yes, it is in a few days, but tonight was also supposed to be a birthday party for me as well." At hearing him mention that he knew her birthday was coming soon she wanted to just dance around the room again, but was just too shy to allow herself another public display of joy. Staring at the small box her mind began to wonder what could be inside.
"Wow that looks like a jewelry box and it's about the right size for a ring." Hanabi comments as she stares at the box.
Remembering the engagement ring he nearly purchased this morning Naruto's face goes red.
Seeing him go bright red, and the look of fear in his big blue eyes at the mention of a ring, Hinata's jaw drops and her trembling hands cover her open mouth.
"It's not a ring, okay." Naruto turns to Hanabi and speaks with a nervous squeak in his voice. Seeing the young girl jump at his pronouncement he bows his head. "I am sorry Hanabi."
"It's okay; I should have just kept my mouth shut since it is not my birthday present." She backs away and lets things unfold without her interference, but not so far that she could not get a good look at the present.
With the shock over, and a little disappointment setting in, Hinata looks at Naruto with a gentle smile. "Since it is not officially my birthday yet why don't you give it to me in a few days when it is properly my birthday?" Hinata was thinking that this would be a perfect way for them to have some real alone time like last night. 'We could call it a date, couldn't we?' She wanted to say but the words just failed to come out of her mouth.
"That sounds like a good idea." The request sounded reasonable since it really was not her birthday yet and it would give him an excuse to see her again. "When would you like to meet so I can give you the present?"
Bringing her index fingers up into her normal display of nervousness she decides to be bold and hope he says yes to her request. She is also hoping that she will not faint before she hears his answer. "Could we meet for dinner? I could wear the new kimono you gave me tonight."
"That is a great idea Hinata I think that you will look really nice wearing that to dinner. Since ramen can be a little messy, why don't you think about where you would like to eat for your birthday and that is where we will go for dinner."
Unable to say anything at the moment she just nods. That is the moment when they both looked around and noticed that the servants had nearly finished clearing the tables and many of the clan members had begun to leave. That is of course except for one clan leader that had been watching most of what had transpired out of the corner of his eye while discussing other business matters with various members of the clan.
Naruto looks back to Hinata and smirks. "I guess it is time for me to go home." He holds up the box with the kunai she gave him. "I really want to thank you for the gift, these are awesome and I can't wait to try them out."
"I feel the same way about the kimono. Would you mind if I walk you to the main gate?" After he agrees the two of them exit the main building and slowly make their way towards the gate. As the gate comes within sight the wind speed increases and the biting winter wind sends a chill through their bodies.
"We should have gotten you a coat before we stepped outside." He puts an arm around her to donate some of his warmth to her and this time the memory that threatens to arise again is easily pushed away.
She snuggles into his embrace the last few meters to the gate and knocks to let the guards know that their guest is leaving. The two of them share a quick 'see you later' and he makes his way home in the lightly snowing night. Little did he know that she stood in the cold of the night and watched him with her Byakugan till he was safely at the door to his home before she went to the comfort of her own room and danced happily around the room wearing her new kimono.