Strawberries and Cream
"The person is richest whose pleasures are cheapest."- Henry Thoreau
Hinata rolled out of bed at the small explosion. One hand held a dagger that had been removed from underneath her pillow, the other charged with chakra. Her Byakugan activated, and she was surprised to see the familiar blue and red chakra signature of Naruto. Getting closer. He was coming up the hidden hallway, his chakra fluctuating in clear annoyance.
The Hyuuga bit her lip nervously. Would he be angry with her? Should she have told him about the connection between their rooms? Was that why he seemed so upset?
Hinata lowered her weapons as her ears caught mutterings beyond the wall. "Stupid Sasuke. Stupid 'holier-than-thou' attitude. 'Look at me! I had a bad childhood! My brother's crazy!' Bah. At least he had people to look after him. Bastard has no clue how awesome this house is. It would be a great place for hide and seek." The voice paused as if in thought. "Oh. A handle. Guess this means no Rasengan…"
The door slid open with a bang, how that was possible on oiled and sliding panels designed to remain silent was anyone's guess. Hinata turned off her Byakugan before she was tempted to look too closely at some things.
"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stuttered. The blonde boy turned to her, nose flaring as his eyes sparkled.
"Yes! Found it!" He exclaimed, thoroughly confusing the girl. She was taken by pleasant surprise when the demon vessel suddenly jumped over to her, his hands combing through her short locks. Hinata moaned. It felt soooo good. "Your hair smells like strawberries, Hinata-chan. Why?"
The Hyuuga felt herself melt against her idol, inhibitions lost to the amazing massage that was being administered. Naruto didn't seem to mind her leaning against him. He simply sat down and basked at the glory that was Hinata's hair as she sat in his lap.
"Mhhhh."
"Why does your hair smell like strawberries? Huh? Hinata-chaan."
With extreme effort of will the girl processed the question. It was Naruto-kun after all. Strawberries? I never noticed… "It might be my shampoo. I think that's strawberry scented." Hinata slurred half-asleep. Naruto was warm, and she felt completely relaxed in his hold. It was strange, normally he would send her into near hysterics but now…
"Can I wash with it? I really like how it made you smell. It's just…" Naruto trailed off with a small chuckle as he buried his nose in her dark mess of hair.
A warning ping shot off in her head. Hinata felt her face heat. Something, however small, had depressed Naruto. "W-what's wrong Naruto-kun?"
"I know what strawberries smell like but I've never had any that smell as nice."
"Why not?"
"They old fruit lady only gave me 'leftovers'. Sometimes there was fuzzy green stuff on the stuff that tasted bad. I didn't like it."
"Well, she's dead now." Hinata uttered darkly. She knew that the old bat had hurt her love. She had witnessed the spitting and the claims that Naruto's 'demonic' influence would ruin her grapes, but she hadn't realized it was the woman's fault he disliked vegetables. So much made sense now! Ramen from Ichiraku's was probably the freshest thing he ate. No wonder he loved it so. "N-Naruto-kun, will you d-do something for me?"
"Yeah?"
"Every week, let's try out a new fruit or vegetable. I'll pick them out, j-just to be sure they a-are the best."
His hands stopped their work, frozen at the thought of ingesting the recommending food. Ever since he was little he had hated fruits and vegetables with a passion. Plants were evil. "No thanks." He said with a grimace.
"B-but…" Hinata trailed off. She was slightly worried about her crush. Didn't everyone need a balanced diet to grow properly? Naruto was shorter than average, and she didn't think of him any less for it, but some things needed correcting. "It's important. I worry about you…please?"
"Ahhh. Don't look at me like that." Naruto mumbled at her. She blushed, and moved back while her index fingers twiddled around each other in nervousness.
"Um. If you try it just once…I'll give you my shampoo." She uttered, banking on her loves newest obsession.
Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. Hinata is nice. She's really, really nice. (And she smells good.) Her eyes are kind of appealing… "Okay. But lets to try strawberry first! Like you!" He smiled as Hinata felt her eyes widen and blood still. It wasn't quite sure which way to go. "On the condition you taste whatever first."
"T-there's s-s-some in the f-fridge." She walked to her fully stocked kitchen in a daze. Naruto followed close behind, savoring the aroma that was Hinata.
The short haired girl nervously pulled out a bowl of strawberries, but before she could close the door to the fridge Naruto poked his head in over her shoulder. "Hey! What's that stuff? I haven't seen it before."
An innocent container of whip cream stared at her. Hinata didn't remember why she had that. Was I planning to make pudding? "It's whip cream."
"I heard Sakura talking about that once. It's supposed to be sweet right?" He reached past her and grabbed the bowl. "Let's mix them, that way if the strawberries are bad it won't be too terrible."
"Naruto-kun!"
The blonde demon vessel easily popped the lid and swipped some plump red fruit from the bowl in Hinata's hands. The girl attempted to take the now thoroughly pink mixture from the boy, only to find herself pinning him to the ground and a spoonful of sweet fruity goodness in her mouth.
Ten minutes later, Hinata sighed happily despite the bits of red and white decorating her form. Her dreams had plenty of material to work with now. Naruto was lying down, his head resting in her lap as she dropped the small fruits into his mouth. It was bliss, and she could have stayed that way forever.
Naruto hummed to himself between strawberries. Distantly, he remembered a fantasy similar to what he was now experiencing only it was Sakura who was supposed to be handing him food. And ramen. There was ramen in place of strawberries.
A small blast of Kyuubi chakra shook him from thoughts of her. The pink haired witch that served only the bastard traitor didn't deserve anything. (That's right, boy. You keep thinking that…)
On the wall, an antique clock chimed to announce another hour. The blonde listened to the crystal dings, counting them absently. After completing their proclamations, something clicked in his head. Naruto shot up, head swiveling about. "Aww man! I promised Kiba I would meet him at the gate for morning patrol."
Hinata pouted slightly but didn't protest. Several of the hidden villages had been sending 'spies' to gather intelligence on Konoha and only the informal patrols Tsunade and Jiraiya had set up kept anything vital form being learned. At the moment the training of the civilian populace was still a secret, and for some reason Tsunade and Shikamaru wanted to keep it that way.
Naruto ran toward the still open passageway, but skid to a stop. He turned abruptly, eyes boring into Hinata's. "Hinata…"
"Y-yes?" His bright blue eyes took on a mischievous tint. Her heart fluttered.
"You have some cream on your cheek." Faster than she could follow he swooped down, tongue brushing against her cheek. Seconds later he disappeared back into the passageway, cursing about picking up unsavory habits.
Hinata raised one hand to her cheek, a small trickle of blood coming from her nose.
Neji smiled knowingly from his vantage point in the hallway. He leaned against the wall facing a door bearing a sun shaped plaque with Hinata carved into it. His original plan was to fetch his cousin so they could go over the training schedule of the remaining branch Hyuuga, but the new development prompted re-thinking.
For years he had known that Hinata-sama liked one of the boys in her class, but he had assumed it was Sasuke Uchiha. After the chuunin exams he realized his error, but now were the affections being returned?
He shoved his hands in his pocket and walked off, making a mental note to find Ino. The girl probably still had wedding magazines from her infatuation with the Uchiha. He would need some of those. All I have to do is get it though his thick head.
END.