First Day 2

What can I say? My brain spits out more stuff, I write it lol

The five shinobi stood proudly before the Hokage. Shikamaru, Sakura, Sai, Hinata, and Naruto. Naturally they were all pleased - they had just saved the world, after all. That feeling only increased when Kakashi told them that the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had awarded them a sizeable bonus on top of their usual mission pay. Due to the unusually crucial nature of the mission, the meeting had a few more attendees: Hiashi Hyuga was there, given his own experience with Toneri; Shizune was there to attend the Lady Tsunade and Tsunade was there because she said so. Kakashi rose from his desk to speak to his shinobi individually.

"Shikamaru. Your leadership was exemplary on this mission, especially your work dragging Naruto to his feet," he said, glancing merrily at the blonde ninja who pouted silently. He wouldn't hear the end of this for a while.

"Sakura. Your dedication to your team is a credit to you and all medic-nin in Konoha. You saved Naruto and, by extension, saved the mission, and even talked a bit of sense into him while you were at it!" Sakura smiled gratefully. Naruto sulked.

"Sai. Your role as support in this mission proved to be invaluable. You had your team's back and I could ask no more. Well done." Sai only smiled politely, if tiredly. He really had begun painting immediately on returning home, inspired by Naruto and Hinata.

"Naruto. I know you had personal problems on this one... but, with your friends' help, you got back up and got the job done. Toneri was very powerful and extremely dangerous and I don't know if he could have been defeated without you." Naruto grinned at the praise. Kakashi stepped in front of the last member of the team.

"Hinata. You have impressed me most of all," he said, causing Hinata to blink up at him. "You went with Toneri even given your... exchange with Naruto. Separated from your team, you played along and gathered intel on your own, even moving to destroy the enemy's weapon. Even though that attempt failed, you led Naruto to it and then the two of you succeeded. And, even after all that, you managed to educate Toneri and make peace, despite all he had done to us and you personally. Well done, Hinata. Very well done." Hinata blushed a little under the gazes of everyone else.

"It was the only way I could think to get close to Hanabi... I did it for her, Lord Hokage," she said, perhaps feeling a little undeserving.

"I know that," Kakashi said. "And when you found her with her eyes removed, you kept your head and did your job. If you hadn't already located the Tenseigan, you and Naruto might not have found it in time to save us. You were all in a tough spot and you all came out the other side so don't think too much about what you could have done differently." The shinobi all smiled down at the floor - it was rare for Kakashi to praise people so openly. "Okay, that's enough, you're all dismissed." They all smirked - that was much more typical. The five young ninja started to file out, followed by Tsunade and Shizune, though Hiashi stayed behind to talk more with Kakashi about his own encounter with Toneri's puppets. As they walked, Naruto reached out and offered his hand to Hinata but, just as she went to take it, Tsunade's voice rang out behind them.

"Hinata? I'd like to speak with you, if I may?" she asked. Which, as everyone knew, was the same as a command for Tsunade, even if she was retired. Hinata dutifully stopped and waited, though Tsunade glared at the still-present Naruto. "Alone," she insisted. Naruto opened his mouth to protest but Sakura appeared behind him and covered it with her hand.

"Let's just wait outside, okay?" she said, unwilling to encourage her mentor's temper. After they were gone, Tsunade escorted Hinata to a small, vacant office and shut the door with Shizune waiting outside. Hinata was understandable nervous. On seeing this, Tsunade smiled.

"It's okay, this isn't anything bad. It's just... necessary," she said. Now Hinata was more confused than apprehensive. "You know, I attended your father personally in the hospital," she explained. Hinata bowed.

"Thank you for taking care of him," she said, earnestly.

"Which means... I was in the room next door to his when you visited. I heard everything. Everything," she said. Hinata blushed, desperately trying to remember if anything incriminating had been said. "Hiashi said something to Naruto as you all left, something every father likes to say to every suitor. He threatened him," she laughed. Hinata's eyes widened.

"Father threatened Naruto?! But... why?" she asked. Tsunade looked askance at her.

"You can't think of any reason why?" she asked. Hinata gulped and, after a moment, nodded.

"To protect me?" she said with a smile. Tsunade grinned and nodded.

"Exactly. And that's why we're here, though it seems moot. Still, it must be done..." Tsunade said before leaning in close. "Naruto is precious to me, Hinata..." she said, the threat remaining unsaid.

"I... I will treat Naruto well!" Hinata squeaked. Tsunade smiled again.

"I don't doubt it... but be patient with him as well. You've already waited a long time for him so I understand wanting things to go quickly, but Naruto's never dealt with feelings like this before. I know him and he would never want to break your heart, but it might take a few bruises along the way when he stumbles," she said. Hinata nodded thoughtfully as Tsunade leaned in with a suggestive leer on her face. "You might even need to take the lead, so to speak. You know, encourage him to... explore (wink) when the time is right." Hinata's blush almost outshone Tsunade's bright and amused smile. Almost.

Outside the Hokage tower, Naruto waited impatiently while Sakura watched in amusement.

"They're taking too long... what's Granny Tsunade doing to Hinata, anyway?" he grumbled.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Sakura insisted. "Lady Tsunade actually likes Hinata." Naruto snorted.

"Of course she does! Everyone likes Hinata," he crowed, a faint pink dusting his cheeks, getting a chuckle from Sakura. He glanced at her before smirking evilly. "I never asked: did you see Sasuke last night? Did you get to go all mushy over him? Oh Sasuke, you're my hero! Oh Sasuke, you're so cute and OW!" Naruto rubbed at his nose where Sakura had just flicked with her finger, fortunately without employing her great strength.

"Shut your stupid face, Naruto! I didn't see him" she fumed (and lied!) before calming down. "And I wish you wouldn't call him that."

"What, cute?" Naruto asked, his voice pinched as he massaged his nose. Sakura folded her arms and frowned at him.

"No. My hero. He's come a long way... we've come along way but we're not at that point. I don't know if we ever will be. After all, he's got a lot catching up to do," she explained. Naruto tipped his head in thought.

"Catching up? Someone else is your hero?" he asked. Sakura shook her head at him.

"You really don't know?" she said to Naruto who, as a boy, had rescued her from Gaara of the Sand and hadn't boasted of it. He hadn't even told her! She had to hear it from Sasuke. She saw the youth she had cried out for when Pain destroyed Konoha, and who had then appeared and beaten their attacker. She saw him see through her false confession before rescuing her from a disturbed Sasuke. She saw him dying on a bed of Gaara's sand as she kept his heart beating with her own hand, knowing how much they needed him. How much she needed him. She watched him fight the seemingly unbeatable and win and she saw him attempt the supposedly impossible and succeed. And now she watched him wonder who she might consider her hero.

"Uhhh... Kakashi?" he tried. She smiled and chuckled.

"So dense..." she sighed as he started thinking again, though that line of thought didn't last long.

"Naruto!" The blond brightened on hearing the voice.

"Hinata," he breathed as she approached, giving him a quick, tight hug around the waist before releasing him and taking his hand instead. "I missed you," he said, grinning down at her while she giggled.

"Naruto, it's only been a few minutes!" she insisted. He closed his eyes and nodded sagely.

"Then that is exactly how long I missed you. Hinata... let's go on a date!" he said, his eyes open and filled with determination.

"A d-date?" Hinata squeaked.

"Yeah! Nothing too fancy, maybe just get some food or go for a walk or something. Just spend some time together, you know?" he said, excitedly. "We could go to... I mean, where do you want to go?" he asked. Hinata and Sakura both blinked at him, certain he had been about to suggest his favourite ramen stand. Hinata beamed up at him.

"How about ramen at Ichiraku's?" she suggested, eliciting an equally radiant smile from Naruto. Sakura stifled a giggle - they were too cute!

Suddenly, there was a cloud of dust as someone leaped from a nearby rooftop and landed with a thud before them. Instinctively, they all braced themselves for combat, though they quickly relaxed when their visitor turned out to be Ino.

"Hey, guys! I can't stay, I'm telling everyone!" she babbled. Sakura shrugged.

"Telling everyone what?" she asked.

"We're all here! Your teams, my team, Lee and Tenten, we're all here. With the state of emergency, missions were put on hold and we all came home. They resume tomorrow so tonight is our only chance to get together. Choji's already gone to book us in at Yakiniku Q at seven. Don't be late!" And with that, she was gone again, off on her quest to reunite the Konoha 11.

"B-but we were gonna... and she's gone," Naruto sulked. Hinata took Naruto's hand and squeezed it.

"It's alright, Naruto. Ino's right - with everyone here it's too good an opportunity and I'm sure everyone needs to unwind after a call that close. In fact, I might see if I can intercept Choji and include Hanabi. I suspect a distraction might do her good. I'll see you later," Hinata said, standing in front of him now. Naruto brought his other hand and held both of hers, his expression uncertain and his eyes wandering as he struggled to express the sentiment in his heart. He was happy to meet up with everyone when he thought about it. He was happy for Hinata to go and look after her sister... but at the same time he wanted them all to just go away. He wanted to be with Hinata and he wanted everyone else to just leave them be. Hinata just smiled at him - she had felt that way once or twice when she had spent time with Naruto in the past. She let go of his hands and stepped into his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her head on his chest. Naruto sighed and hugged her back, gently pushing her away so he could plant a kiss on her forehead before tipping her head up with his finger and following it with a lingering kiss on her lips. Dazed and blissful, Hinata stepped back, shook her head and leapt away toward Yakiniku Q. Naruto watched her go with a grimace.

"Crap," he grumbled. Sakura chuckled at him.

"Don't feel too bad Naruto, you two have plenty of time," she tried.

"I just... I need to do it properly, you know?" he said.

"What, be a boyfriend? You're doing pretty well, I'd say. After that goodbye, I think she forgot I was even here!" Sakura laughed. Naruto smiled but remained serious.

"I just want to do all that stuff: dates and presents and flowers. I want to get it right. I want... I want to fall in love with everything about her," he said, blushing, but he couldn't think of another way to say it. Sakura grinned at him, nudging him with her elbow, but she picked up on his anxiety.

"Ha! You big sap. I don't think you give yourself enough credit - you know Hinata pretty well already. After all, you've been close for a while, right? Maybe closer than you realise," she suggested, getting a frown from her friend.

"What do you mean by-"

"What's Hinata's favourite food?" Sakura said, ignoring his protest.

"Cinnamon rolls or zenzai," he answered without hesitation. "And she likes ramen, as it happens. She hates seafood, though. But what does that have-"

"What does Hinata like to do?" Sakura said, interrupting again.

"If you mean hobbies, she likes to press flowers," he said. His hand patted his pocket and he grinned. "And she knits. Where are we going with this, Sakura?"

"What's my favourite food, Naruto?" she asked him, pointedly.

"Uh... nothing spicy," he ventured. Sakura smirked.

"You're right that I don't like spicy food... but you don't remember, do you? That's fine, it isn't important. When did you learn about Hinata's likes? Her hobbies?" she said.

"Well, after the war we sometimes met up at Ichiraku's and I guess she told me all that stuff," he muttered, his cheeks flushing as he realised just how much time he had spent alone with Hinata since the war.

"Remember the moment when the Infinite Tsukuyomi caught the Allied Shinobi Forces? When everyone got wrapped up by the Divine Tree?" Sakura asked, the change of subject blindsiding Naruto.

"Of course I do. You don't forget something like that," he answered.

"You know, Sasuke told me you almost left the protection of the Susano'o when that happened. He seemed to think you were planning on rescuing someone until he stopped you," Sakura accused. This had, in fact, come up in conversation with him last night, given Naruto's new relationship.

"Well... I..." he struggled.

"Were you going for Hinata?" Sakura asked, quietly. Naruto gave her an odd look - he hadn't thought about that moment for a long time.

"I think maybe I was," he whispered. "So what, you're saying I liked her all this time and didn't realise it?" Sakura shook her head.

"No, not that. I'm just reminding you that she's been important to you for a long time. Very important," she said. Naruto thought back to those days, remembering the look in her eyes when Neji died. She had saved him then, even as she wiped away her own tears. He remembered the memorial for the fallen, standing at her side and feeling helpless. Her eyes, normally so bright, had been different that day: diminished and numb, tracks on her cheeks telling of tears shed in private. He had stayed with her for Neji, partly out of some sense of duty and partly because the memory of his passing linked them together, no matter how painful it had been. He had walked her home, the pair of them lagging behind the rest of her family as her father guided a still-weeping Hanabi. She had turned to him when they reached the gate... she hadn't been able to smile at him. She thanked him sincerely, her voice cracking, and she turned from him just as the tears began to fall again. The Hyuga were the most powerful and the most private clan in Konoha - it seemed right that their grief should be behind closed doors.

"There's a woman I work with in the hospital, a retired medic ninja. Her name's Oyu," Sakura suddenly said, shaking Naruto loose of his musings.

"A woman you... huh?" he said, once again lost as Sakura changed subjects on him.

"She told me about her own team, once. They weren't exactly like us, nowhere near as much drama!" she laughed. "But they went through some tough scrapes, some close calls. They were good friends. One of them, a boy called Jubei, was her best friend. They even ended up doing a few missions as a two-man team . Anyway, on one of these missions, they took shelter in a merchant town and, for the first time in weeks, got to sleep in a bed. Thing is, they only had enough money for one small room with one small bed. It didn't bother them, though, they had shared worse. Now, this is the interesting part - she fell asleep with her best friend... but woke up with the man she loved." Naruto was lost.

"What? Where'd her friend go?" he asked. Sakura laughed.

"Nowhere, Naruto! It was Jubei, but they'd ended up holding each other in their sleep. She woke up and saw what they'd done and... and it changed things for them. She fell in love with her best friend in that moment. For some people, like Ino, Shikamaru and Choji, or like Hinata, Kiba and Shino, their friendships are like family. But for others, like Oyu and Jubei, it's only one step away from something else, something romantic. Oyu took that step when they shared that bed".

"What happened to them?" Naruto asked. Sakura smiled sweetly.

"Jubei confessed the moment they got back to Konoha. Practically proposed, in fact. They got married, had a son, Oyu transferred to the hospital and Jubei got stationed in Konoha as a sentry. A happy ending," she said, leaving out the part where Jubei had lost an arm during Orochimaru's attack during the chunin exam. He worked in the tower now, managing shift schedules and mission classifications.

"You're saying Hinata and I are like your friend?" Naruto asked softly.

"Not exactly. After all, Hinata's loved you for ages, right?" Sakura asked, rhetorically. "No, I'm saying that you just took that step. I'm saying that, even though it's only a few days old, your relationship already has a solid foundation. Don't panic about 'doing it right' or 'falling love with everythiing about her'. I'm not saying don't have dates, you should absoloutely do that... but don't let anything get in the way of you both just enjoying the feeling of it all. Just be together, Naruto. Just be Naruto and you'll be fine." Naruto stared back at his friend and, under his gaze, Sakura flushed a little - she hadn't meant to talk so much. She only hoped she had helped him feel less overwhelmed.

"Thanks, Sakura. I get it. No trying to do things 'properly', whatever that means. Hinata loves me, so I'll do things my way. I'll see you later, okay?" Naruto said, waving his hand as he left. Sakura smiled after him. As he walked, he reflected on some of Hinata's habits: the fidgeting (rare these days), the blushing (less rare), the way she stacked her empty ramen bowls so tidily next to his own haphazard pile... given their changed relationship, the old memories elicited new, warm feelings. Huh...maybe he already loved everything about her. He grinned...

He was going to enjoy making sure.

Well, this went a different way than I had planned. Whatever, I haven't the heart to delete it and it doesn't change the direction of the story, which I have apparently decided to continue. Hope you enjoy! ^_^

-Jack