AN: So I looked up the 50 Shinobi Challenge, and when I saw #22, I heard the whisper of a muse imploring me to do this. Added one-shot, for the sake of my sanity. Enjoy, all of you who wanted another chapter! It barely counts, though...
The wedding had ended five hours ago. Everyone had left, except him.
He sat contemplatively in a pew near the back. For the wedding, he'd stood beside his best friend, grinning, as the girl he loved had said "I do" to someone else. He had seen it coming. Maybe he'd always known. It didn't make the pain any less, but when he saw her smiling at her husband, he knew this was the best for her.
So here he sat, doing nothing. He had grown since they'd first met, he mused. His blonde hair was roughly the same, as were his blue eyes, but he had grown stronger, both physically as well as mentally. He was much taller; he had just gotten his bachelors degree in history; he had lost Sakura to Sasuke.
Sighing, Naruto shifted in the pew; it creaked beneath him, old wood groaning in protest.
The church was one of those ancient ones, with stained glass windows and high, arching ceilings and incense, walls and ceiling draped with white, gold and yellow for the wedding. A balcony perched over the back of the room, where the voices of the choir were able to float down serenely, like heaven itself opened for the matrimonial ceremony of several hours ago. The altar stood in the centre of the front, raised; directly above it was a circle of stained glass in the roof, and so light filtered through it in yellows and blues and reds and violets and oranges and whites, illuminating the altar in a sea of colors.
Naruto had always wanted to get married in a church like this.
Behind him, he heard the creak of the double doors leading to the sanctuary. Then, quiet but quick shuffling ensued, and soon Naruto made out the form of a young woman around his age. Her shoes padded lightly down the path leading to the altar, flats barely clicking against the polished floors. Her dark hair was neatly separated into braided pigtails on either side of her head, and when she kneeled in front of the altar, the stained glass set her hair aflame with all the colors of the rainbow.
Naruto held his breath until she crossed herself and stood; then he let go of his breath and made to stand. Perhaps, he figured, he should leave; she wore the same white robes the altar servers from the wedding had donned, and if she were here, then maybe they needed to begin preparations for a later mass.
And then she turned around.
She was pale, almost as pale as Sakura's white dress, and Naruto instantly decided against leaving. He cleared his throat and settled back down again, putting his hands together.
Did she glance over at him, or was that a trick of his eyes?
It couldn't be; no, because now she was hurrying towards the lobby area (or at least, that's what he equated it to - he wasn't sure whether fancy churches called parts of their churches different things). He sighed again, wondering if maybe she had only come in to pray. It was plausible, but then why the robe?
His question was answered when the girl hurried back in holding a long stick with a flame at the edge of it; she again kneeled at the altar for a few moments, then proceeded up the steps and lit the two white candles on either side of the altar. She waltzed down the steps again, kneeled, and left the sanctuary again.
Naruto stood and followed, curious. So she was definitely getting ready for something else later... Now what?
He walked out to the lobby in time to see her black hair disappear inside a room marked for clergy. Naruto did his best impression of Sasuke and tried not to look suspicious while standing in the lobby.
He admitted it, he probably looked really creepy, but he was curious. What was she doing, without any help from other altar servers?
The door she had gone into clicked open, and Naruto saw her walking out with a number of candles rather precariously balanced atop each other. Just as the top one began to wobble dangerously, and the young woman let out a small "eep!" of worry, Naruto crossed the distance between them in a few large strides and relieved her of the upper half of her load.
Which was at least five candles. Just like the ones she'd lit inside, they were tall and large, and Naruto couldn't fathom why she was doing this all on her own.
The girl seemed to give a double-take at him, and then blushed, averting her gaze to the floor.
"Th-Thank you," she mumbled. Naruto grinned, nodding.
"No problem," he replied easily, shifting the candles in his arms. After a moments hesitation, the girl spoke again.
"D-Do you mind helping me...?" she asked.
"Sure!" Naruto volunteered, curiosity getting the better of him. He followed her as she approached the double doors; pushing with her hips, she flung one open, and leaned against it to let him pass. Then she practically dove down the aisle toward the altar, and it was all Naruto could to keep up with her. In a flurry of movement, the girl darted about, placing the candles on either side of the altar's steps. Then she approached Naruto, took the candles from his arms (after an awkward moment of hesitation in which she'd just stared at the wax) and put them down as well.
Naruto looked on contentedly as she did this. Her movements were a bit nervous, but they were quiet and carried a grace he definitely imagined an altar server at such a pretty church would possess. Every time she kneeled to put a candle down, her braided pigtails and white robe caught the colored light from the stained glass.
She looked like she belonged here.
When she was done, she turned back towards him.
"Th-Thank you," she said softly. She didn't meet his gaze, which puzzled him a bit, but he didn't bring it up. If there was a reason behind it, it wasn't his to know. It wasn't what he was curious about, at any rate.
"Eh, it was nothing," he said dismissively, smile growing. He put his hands casually behind his head.
He couldn't contain his real question any longer.
"So, what are the candles for?" he asked. She glanced over at the altar, then faced him again. "Is it for a service?"
"U-Uh," she mumbled, "They're f-for Adoration."
Naruto blinked.
"What?"
"A-Adoration," she repeated. She fidgeted with her fingers, and after a few moments of silence, Naruto decided to move on.
"Okay," he said.
Pause.
"What is that, exactly?"
The girl inhaled deeply.
"A-Adoration is an hour of co-co-contemplation and worship of th-the consubstantiation of the body and b-blood of Christ," she said. It seemed recited to Naruto, but sincere at the same time.
Naruto blinked innocently. He didn't understand, but he pretended he did, nodding as if in understanding.
"Makes sense," he lied. The young woman nodded, and then met his eyes.
"I..." She trailed off, biting her lower lip, and Naruto interjected.
"I'm Naruto," he said, smiling at her. This seemed to calm her a bit; she smiled tentatively back, and gave her hand when he extended his.
"H-Hinata," she said in reply.
"I usually don't come to churches," he admitted to her. "I was here because my best friend got married."
Was that a trick of the light, or did her eyes light up a bit?
"S-Sasuke and Sakura?" she asked.
He blinked.
"You know them?" he asked. The girl nodded.
"Sakura's one o-of my h-high school classmates," she explained. "W-We're still good friends."
Ah. It made sense now. This WAS Sakura's hometown, after all. It made sense that someone here would know her.
"So you were at the wedding, then?" Nauto asked. She nodded, and he shrugged. "Eheheh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "Guess I must've missed ya, then..."
It was her turn to shrug. She shook her head, smiling softly.
"I-It's okay," she told him. "I-I'm used to it."
Naruto pointed to the candles.
"So, uh... Are you gonna stay for the Adoration?" he asked. It was a silly question (why else would she be setting up?) but he felt compelled to ask it anyhow.
She shook her head.
"I have to go to the party," she said. "S-So I decided to set up a bit b-before I go, so the others won't have s-so much to do." Then she frowned. "A-Aren't you going? To the p-party?"
Naruto slumped.
"Well," he replied. "I don't have anyone to dance with." At her startled expression, he laughed. "I always competed with Sasuke when we were younger." he explained. His mind flashed back to the many canoe races they'd had at camp together as kids. "He's gonna be dancing with Sakura, see, so..." He shrugged, laughing again. "It's dumb, I guess," he said. "But I don't wanna break the tradition."
For a bit, Hinata said nothing.
"I don't th-think it's dumb," she said quietly.
His eyes snapped to hers.
"Really?" he asked.
She nodded.
He looked on, a bit taken aback, and then - very slowly - grinned.
"Heh." He closed his eyes, throwing his arms again behind his head. "Thanks!"
And then his eyes opened as something (which he decided was surely a stroke of pure genius) came to him.
"Hinata," he began.
"Hmm?"
"YOU should dance with me!"
There was a pregnant pause, and then the next thing Naruto knew, she was sprawled across the floor, hair reflecting glass colors.
He yelped and kneeled down to pick her up.
"Hinata!" he cried, warily holding her in his arms. What had happened? He checked her forehead; nope, no fever. Her pulse was a bit fast, but not erratic. And her breathing was evening out...
There! Her eyes opened with a fluttering of eyelashes, and she groggily looked up at him.
"Hinata!" Relief coursed through him. "Thank goodness, I was worried about you, do you need to go to the hospital? I can-"
"Y-Your hair!" Eyes wide (they were white eyes, he noticed), she stared up at him.
"Eh?" He reached up and ran a hand through his blonde spikes; nothing seemed amiss. "What?"
She blushed.
"A-Ah," she said, "I-It's just..." She pointed to the ceiling. "The-The colors look... P-p-pretty... In your hair..." She trailed off.
Naruto grinned, helping her stand.
"They look pretty in yours, too," he replied. Her face turned even more red.
"I-I need to l-l-l-light the ca-candles," she said, and pulled away from him. She hurried down the aisle toward the lobby.
"Wait, Hinata!" he called. She paused, turning toward him, hair flying over her shoulder from the sudden movement, robes swirling around her.
"Y-Yes?" she asked.
His grin grew.
"See you later?"
She hesitated, blushed, then smiled faintly, nodded, and hurried out of the sanctuary, a flurry of robes and dark hair and stained glass colors.
A/N: IT IS HAPPENING, Y'ALL. SANTA'S BRINGING US A PUPPY. NAMED IGGY. I love him so much already.
Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Years, and a wonderful break!