A/N: This story is part one of what I'm thinking will involve three parts total so its a little long compared to the stand-alones. It was fun to write. I hope you enjoy.

FIVE: Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

"Naruto, we can't do that!"

Hinata was absolutely appalled that her subconscious would come up with such a dream: Naruto and herself in a lake of chocolate. She knew without a doubt that she was naked and she had a sneaking suspicion that the boy of her dreams (literally) was naked as well.

She couldn't verify it however because she refused to look at him lest she risk fainting and drowning.

"Why not?" Dream Naruto asked with an adorable pout. He swam closer to her, which naturally forced the flustered Hyuga to retreat in a panic.

"B-Because we're in a lake of chocolate," she reasoned, perturbed that she was even having this conversation, "and I refuse to have sex in food. It's not proper." Hinata sincerely hated dreams like this. Nothing made sense and she usually woke up feeling very frustrated and bothered. With an exasperated sigh, she turned and made her way to the chocolate cake shore.

"Aw, Hinata, don't be this way." Somehow Dream Naruto managed to get incredibly close to her, wrapping his chocolaty arms around her waist. She squeaked in mortification. "We're all alone. We can do whatever we want." He started nibbling on her ear to emphasize his point.

"Naruto!" Hinata turned to face him but suddenly remembered her own nakedness and the hyperactive ninja's close proximity. She flew from the lake, desperate to put some distance between them and calm her nerves. Her feet sank slightly in the spongy texture of the shore as she searched near frantic for her clothes. Surely, she had clothes around here somewhere. Perhaps behind the whip cream bushes?

"I thought this was what you wanted," Dream Naruto said slowly, suddenly standing before her in all his naked glory. Hinata thought she might die. She could feel the nose bleed coming on.

She bowed her head to maintain the boy's modesty. "You're not real," she said quietly, sadly. "None of this is real."

"Does that matter?"

"Yes, of course it does," she answered, looking at him but then quickly turning away. "Th-" It started raining sprinkles.

Sprinkles?

Hinata took a moment to appreciate the bizarreness of the dream. Perhaps, she mused lucidly, the crash diet has gone too far. "The real Naruto would not want me like this. He wouldn't see me in…that way."

"Hina-"

"No, stop it!" she shouted, covering her ears because she didn't want to hear his voice talking to her in that tone, as though she was the most important person in his world. It hurt because it wasn't true. "It's not going to happen so stop asking me!"

"Hinata?"

"No means no, Naruto!"

"Hina-chan!"

A different voice. Not Naruto's. Hinata's snapped opened her eyes to find herself in her bedroom with Hanabi staring down at her with a worried expression. She sat up abruptly. "Hanabi? What are you doing here?"

"It's time for breakfast. I came to wake you," Hanabi replied, sounding a little put out. "Don't concern yourself with thanking me or anything."

Hinata gave her sister an apologetic look as she rose from bed and proceeded to get herself ready. The dream left her feeling out of sorts. She hoped she didn't talk in her sleep.

"Hina-chan?"

"Yes, Hanabi?"

"What's wrong with chocolate?"

Of course she should know at this point in the eighteen years of her life that hoping for anything remotely good was an exercise in naïve stupidity. Apparently, she was born solely to amuse Fate…and she was a bitch, Hinata conceded despairingly.

Her face was burning hot with embarrassment and she was pretty sure an eloquent response will NOT be forthcoming given she was prone to stumbling nervously over her words when put on the spot. Fortunately, she had her back turned to her sister so the young Hyuga couldn't see her face, which no doubt was the color of a tomato. "W-Why do you ask?"

Hanabi shrugged indifferently. "Oh, I don't know. You were talking about how you wouldn't do something with chocolate. I was just wondering what that could possibly be. I think chocolate is pretty awesome!"

'Breathe, Hinata. Just breathe.' "It was just a dream, Hanabi. I was talking in my sleep."

The young Hyuga eyes lit up. "You were dreaming about chocolate. That is so cool. I only dream about training and monsters chasing me all over the place. Tell me the dream. I want to know!"

"I-I-I don't r-remember." If only the floor would open up and swallow her whole. That would be a great help.

"God, can you at least try to put in some effort when you lie," Hanabi rolled her white eyes unimpressed. "I think you just insulted my intelligence."

Hinata blushed again. "Can we just leave it alone? It was just a dream."

Hanabi, being the little sister that she was, began to pout obnoxiously. "But I want to know," she whined dramatically. She threw herself on the bed and threw an arm over her eyes, one, because it was early in the morning and Hanabi was never a morning person and two, to add a little flair to her impending rant. "What were you doing with chocolate that you don't wan-"

Suddenly the young Hyuga got a sly look on her face and bolted upright staring at her sister knowingly. The change in attitude made Hinata very anxious. She clutched her training gear protectively in front of her and once again cursed Fate for having her grow up with a group of people that 'had no blind spots.'

"It was a sex dream, wasn't it?"

Rather than answering (because really, what was the point), Hinata fled the room mortified, followed immediately by Hanabi who was now acting very un-Hyuga in her glee.

"I'm right, aren't I?" Hanabi shouted after her. "You animal! I didn't even know you had it in you."

"Hanabi, I must insist that you drop the subject right this moment," Hinata cried out, running, not walking, to the main dining hall. It was probably the only time in her life where she was eager to sit with her extended family for any length of time. Anything—anything—than what she was enduring right now.

"Hinata, you have nothing to be ashamed of. Who was it? You can tell me!"

Hinata was having a hard time believing her sister's ability to be discreet considering she was currently screaming at the top of her lungs. The strange thing amidst this nightmare of a morning was that Hinata understood that Hanabi had the sincerest intentions. The young Hyuga probably saw the opportunity for sister bonding and was getting carried away. They hardly spent any time together since Hinata started taking more missions.

Cursing her empathy, Hinata stopped suddenly and turned to face her sister who almost plowed right into her. The older sister grabbed the smaller girl firmly by the shoulders and shook her slightly to be certain she had the girl's attention.

"If I tell you, will you promise to stop this atrocious behavior?"

"Yes, yes. A thousand times yes." Hanabi was practically bouncing with anticipation.

Hinata narrowed her eyes. "And if you tell anyone I will kill you. I will come into your room and smother you with a pillow, so help me, I will do it and I will not rest until the job is done."

"Okay, okay."

"Hanabi."

"OK!"

"Alright," Hinata firmly placed her hand over her sister's mouth and checked the halls quickly before pulling them both into the nearest vacant room she could find.

"Why are we in the broom closet?"

"I didn't want to talk about this in the hallway where anyone and everyone could see us…and… I didn't realize this was a broom closet."

"Hina-chan."

"What is it?"

"We're Hyuga. We live with other Hyugas. They can see us."

"…Do you want to hear about the dream or not?"

"Sorry. Please proceed."

Hinata took a deep breath and then went into the details of the bizarre sex dream, mentioning the chocolate lake, the chocolate cake beach and the raining sprinkles. She glossed over the nudity and exhibitionism because she was still coming to terms with it herself and it was difficult to put into words.

When she was finished, Hanabi was nodding in appreciation. "Nice, although I must say that crash diet is making you crazy."

"I know."

"It's alright to have a sweet every once and a while."

"Says the person who has no weight problem whatsoever." That was another issue Hinata cursed Fate over. Apparently, she was the only person in the entire clan to inherit the fat gene. It was a never ending, demoralizing battle to keep her weight under control.

"Whatever," Hanabi muttered dismissively. "So are you going to tell him?"

"Tell who what?" Hinata blinked at the sudden change in topic. Her sister had peculiar habit of doing that. It gave their father and Neji fits.

"The guy in your dream that you like him. Unless he was some figment of your imagination."

Hinata fumbled desperately for words.

"Ok, he's not a figment of your imagination. Got it. God, you are such a terrible liar."

"Don't read too much into it, Hanabi, it was just a dream." Hinata pushed her way out of the broom closet and blushed furiously when she ran into a very perplexed housekeeper. The day was not starting off well at all. She was feeling the vague onset of illness. One can only take so much embarrassment before breakfast.

"But Hina-chan," Hanabi said earnestly, following behind her sister, "You do realize that your subconscious is trying to tell you something, right? You must acknowledge your sexual passions or they will stay pent up inside you until you explode—"

"What? Wait a minute," Hinata was now staring incredulously at her baby sister. "Since when did you become the expert on pent up…anything?"

Hanabi chuckled softly at her sister's embarrassment but then shrugged her shoulders. "I found Aunt Hiriko's romantic novel stash. It's very insightful."

They reached the entrance to the dining hall. They could see that they were one of the last to arrive. Everyone was already seated and eating, which meant that an inconspicuous entrance was not likely. Hinata sighed. "You shouldn't read such material. It'll rot your brain."

"Says the person having the kinky sex dreams."

Hinata resisted the strong urge to bury her face in her hands. Now that she was amongst family, she had to keep up appearances. Instead she made a beeline towards the main family table, thankful that her father wasn't present.

"Father is in a meeting," her sister supplied helpfully as she sat herself across from her sister. "The council is pestering him about something or another."

"The trade talks, Hanabi," Hinata admonished gently. "You need to pay better attention to such things."

Hanabi rolled her eyes but otherwise gave no comment. At these moments, Hinata sensed that her sister was holding back. She didn't know what was stopping her because she imagined that Hanabi holding back on anything caused her great physical pain and discomfort. But Hinata had the strong sense that Hanabi was…disappointed whenever she reminded her of her responsibilities; responsibilities that, by birthright, were her burden to bear.

Hinata sighed and shook herself out of her morose thoughts. She would dwell upon her inadequacies later. For now, she simply requested the grapefruit and poached salmon for her breakfast.

"You know you need to watch out for Freudian slips and all that," Hanabi commented casually when the servant left to fulfill Hinata's request.

Hinata stared at her sister for a few seconds before she gave up on deciphering the strange comment. "What?"

"Your sex dream," Hanabi reminded encouragingly.

"We are not having this conversation."

"Fine. Don't come crying to me when you're talking to Father and instead of saying tax exemption you say penis."

"You're wretched!"

"And you're horny. But I'm not judging you. We live in a repressed culture."

Hinata decided then that appearances can be damned and she buried her face in her palms. "For the love of god," she pleaded in utter mortification, "please just be silent."

"I'm just looking out for you, sis," Hanabi replied nonplussed, smiling when the servant brought their food. "These issues can manifest themselves without rhyme or reason. We wouldn't want to compromise missions, would we?"

Hinata lifted her hands out of her hands and looked at her sister confidently. "I assure you that there will be no need to worry about that."

When she's later standing in the Hokage's office next to Naruto receiving mission orders that would require her to travel alone with the hyperactive ninja for a week, Hinata remembered that Fate had it out for her.

Naruto turned to her then and gave her one of his shy, big smiles, complete with a hand absently rubbing the back of his head.

It was quite charming.

Hinata's face flushed noticeably.

"Oh, dear."

TBC