Chapter 7 – Show Him You Care
After the floating hearts had either been captured, destroyed (popped, really), or swept away by one of Tsunade's janitors (cause she sure wasn't going to keep her office neat), the festival continued as scheduled with only 30 minutes before the fireworks start. Everyone went on with their business and, thankfully, Lee was calmed down (sort of) when Maito Gai had arrived. However, people were given a different reason to stare, when Lee and Gai did their usual dramatic, tear-jerking hug.
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GAI-SENSEI!"
"LEE!"
"GO HOME!" That was Sakura, by the way. It was hard to tell who she was yelling at, but either way it wouldn't matter to her. She decided at this point that going alone would be better off then going with Rock Lee and hoped with every fiber of her soul that Ino was having a worse time than she is right now.
Actually, considering that most of what Shino said somehow related back to insects, Ino wasn't having a half bad time. Over at some random table, they had been having deep conversation about their missions and, partially, their personal lives. Earlier, Shino had bought Ino a pinwheel, which she stuck into her still-short hair, which was tied in a bun. Despite his eyes still being hidden behind his sunglasses, Shino looked like he would throw up if Ino mentioned Sasuke one more time.
"Oh, my Sasuke!" Ino shouted to the heavens, causing Shino's face to turn a pale green. "I would gladly give up my moving parts if only it would bring you back to me!"
Naruto and Hinata stared at her, both at a loss for words. Hinata was munching on some sort of pastry food while Naruto was still admiring how she looked in her kimono. Man oh man. I still can't believe I'm seeing this. I never thought Hinata would be so…pretty! Wait… Naruto stopped to scratch his head. Why am I thinking like this? Because it's the truth! That's why! Naruto shook his head. Oh, snap out of it, you idiot! You said you're gonna be Hokage, right?! You can't let something like this freeze you up! Say something! ANYTHING!
Hinata looked at Naruto as he struggled with his thoughts. "Naruto-kun? A-are you all right?"
"Huh?" He snapped back to reality and looked at Hinata. He never noticed before, but up close, her eyes were really pretty. Like big white pearls. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Listen, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?" Naruto noticed that Hinata had some icing on her cheek as she turned to him.
"You know you've got a little…uh…" Naruto reached over and wiped some icing off her face with his thumb, causing her to blush again. This blush was only amplified when he stuck the icing his his mouth. "Mmm…not bad. What are those you're eating?"
"Oh…um…Th-these are cinnamon rolls," Hinata responded. "They're really sweet…" Just like you…Naruto-kun…
"Let me try one of those." Hinata handed him a warm, particularly gooey cinnamon roll. Naruto wasn't sure how to get around the stickiness of the thing, but decided to bear with it and bite into it. His eyes widened as he chewed and swallowed the first bite before finishing the rest of it.
"D-do you like it?" Hinata asked.
"Do I…like it?" Naruto responded, while clenching his fists. "I LOVE IT! THESE THINGS HAVE GOTTA BE BETTER THAN RAMEN! BELIEVE IT!"
And that's when the Earth exploded. I'm kidding! (Better than ramen? Please!)
Hinata stared at him wide-eyed before giggling softly. That's another thing Naruto thought of. Of all girls, she's the only one who seems to laugh with him and not at him. Why? And why in the world is he thinking about this?
"By the way, that's not what I wanted to ask you," Naruto said, after clearing his throat.
"Mm?" Hinata said briefly before having some water.
"Why me?" Hinata stared at Naruto, trying to figure out his question. "Why would you ask me to come with you?"
It was at that point, Inner Sakura sensed something and smacked the real Sakura in the head. "Come on, ya idjit! We gotta go!"
"Lee, I've got something to take care of," Sakura said. "I'll be right back."
Lee watched as "darling Sakura-chan" went to go get Ino and drag her away from Shino. Shino did his best to hide his relief and only let out a deep sigh when Sakura and Ino went away.
Hinata did not expect this question. She looked down at her hands to figure out how to put her words together. "It's just…well…I guess…" Naruto couldn't exactly tell he instantly put her on the spot with just that one question. "…I just wanted…to be closer to you."
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"
"I mean," Hinata tried hard not to make herself sound like an idiot, "since Sasuke left our village, the number of missions has increased dramatically. And w-we barely have any time for ourselves anymore…"
"Yeah, that's true," Naruto said, putting his hands behind his head. "I barely have the time to train anymore myself."
Hinata didn't realize that Sakura and Ino were listening from behind the bushes, nor did they realize that Lee was eavesdropping on their eavesdropping. "I figured…it would be nice…if we could…spend some time together. And…"
Naruto squinted again. "…?"
"And…" Hinata put her hands to her chest, "even though the fireworks haven't started yet…I'm…" At this point, she stared straight into his squinting eyes. "…I'm having so much fun with you, Naruto-kun!"
Naruto opened his eyes and smiled. "I'm having fun with you too, Hinata." And in an unexpected move, he quickly hugged her. As he held her, he noticed she was wearing a scented perfume. He didn't know what kind, but he thought it was still nice. And Hinata, of course, was blushing like crazy, all the while repeating in her mind: Don't faint. Don't faint. Don't faint.
Back in the bushes, the girls sighed as their work was finally done.
"So that's that," Sakura said, wiping her brow. "Although, I gotta admit, seeing Hinata with Naruto, all nice and neat like that…makes me feel a little jealous."
"What's this, now?" Ino asked with a smirk. "I thought this was your idea to hook them up in the first place."
"You need not worry, Sakura-chan!" Lee suddenly piped in, making the girls nearly jump out of the bushes. "I promise, with all the youth in my veins, to be a good boyfriend to you, no matter what!" He gave Sakura his "nice guy pose" as his sincerest form of a promise. If only Gai-Sensei could see his gusto. He would be so proud! Sakura and Ino, of course, were a different case.
"What are you doing here, Lee?" Sakura asked, a little disgruntled. "Were you spying on us?"
"Actually, I went to get you because the fireworks are about to start! And I believe," Lee added for Ino, "that Shino is looking for you as well."
"All right. We're coming." Sakura and Ino got out of the bushes and Ino went back to find Shino. And true to Lee's word, in about three minutes, the fireworks began. Blasts of various colors filled the night sky and added into the clouds ("That's actually really nice," Shikamaru said). There were lots of greens, blues, and yellows intermingling in the sky. Naruto thought he even saw a particular blast of red which strangely seemed to have nine tails. He stopped looking at the sky when he noticed Hinata was clinging to his arm and smiling sweetly.
"Thank you…Naruto-kun."
THE END
Hinata: Is it...really?
Stay tuned for the Epilogue!
Naruto: SWEET! There's more! Believe it!
Shikamaru: This whole thing is such a drag.
