Hey, everybody! Sorry for that long period of hiatus, but my goddamn piece of junk computer crashed. I kicked it and broke it, which didn't help much. Well, at least it worked as an outlet for my anger. Anyway, I finally got to post up the latest chapter. To make it up to everyone, I will try as hard as I can to update every other day for the next couple weeks. I hope that you will like this chapter after the long break. Again, I am sorry for the long delay (bows deeply).
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I think that much is pretty obvious….
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, getting an in-your-face view at Hinata's cleavage.
"AAAHHH," Naruto screamed in surprise and tried to erase the picture from his mind. Its not that he didn't like it…it was quite the opposite, actually. It was just that he was surprised to see something like that first thing in the morning. That, and it was also getting a little warm "down there".
Naruto covered his mouth, forgetting that Hinata was still asleep. He slowly started to crawl towards the tent door; trying not to make a sound-until something caught him.
"Naruto-kun…," Hinata murmured in her sleep as she wrapped her arms around Naruto's body.
Naruto was caught. He did not know what to do in this kind of situation. Damn it! Should I wake her up? Should I just stay here?
Hinata's cool, gentle breaths and the rising and falling of her stomach interrupted Naruto's thoughts.
Maybe…I should stay like this for a while…
Naruto started to settle back into the sleeping bag when one of his cold feet accidentally touched Hinata's leg.
Hinata jolted a wake with an "Eeek!"
"Umm…good morning, Hinata," Naruto said awkwardly.
Hinata looked at Naruto, and then she noticed how she was holding onto him. She broke away from the hug/cuddle with a raging blush.
"G-Good morning, N-Naruto-kun."
Naruto looked around, as if he was looking for an excuse to escape the awkward situation he was in. "I-I'll just go take a bath, Hinata. I'll also bring back breakfast."
And with that, Naruto madly dashed out of the tent. Hinata watched him eagerly run off, and sighed. I wish I could hold Naruto-kun…for just a while longer…
Naruto arrived at the riverbank and quickly stripped down to his boxers. He needed a nice, cool bath more than anything. Without even taking a breath, Naruto cannonballed into the icy water.
"AHHH! C-C-COLD!!!" Naruto cried out loud as he re-surfaced. He was madly thrashing hi limbs about as a futile effort to warm his body up. Naruto forgot how cold it was, it did rain last night, and it was also the middle of fall, one of the colder seasons.
Naruto quickly swam a lap and caught a couple fish before he jumped out of the water, eager to start a nice, roaring fire. Naruto changed into his dried clothes, sighing warmly to himself, and ran back to the campsite.
"Hinata! I have breakfast!" Naruto shouted as he paraded back into the campground with his catch held high above his head. Naruto was happy to see that Hinata already made a fire.
Hinata giggled. She could not help but think about how much they looked like a married couple.
Within the hour, Naruto and Hinata sat silently and contently around the fire with a pile of fish bones scattered all over the ground. Naruto looked up at the sky and estimated that it was about ten o' clock.
"We should head over to the Land of Rice about now. We'll have plenty of time before the mission."
"O-Okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said as they both go up and continued their walk towards the Rice Country.
The two ninja arrived at the Rice Country around noontime. They were surprised at how busy the small village was. Colorful and bright decorations hung from booths lined along the narrow roads. Festive lanterns hung over the streets between rooftops.
"Wow!" Naruto gasped in amazement as he took in the festive atmosphere.
"I-It looks like a f-festival, Naruto-kun," Hinata said. Hinata was both overjoyed and disappointed at the same time. I can't believe that there is a festival in this village! I just wish I brought something prettier to wear…
"I wonder what the festival's for," Naruto wondered out loud as the two ninja walked through the crowded roads.
"It's in commemoration for the birth of the Land of Rice," answered a nearby vendor, who obviously overheard Naruto. "You two should stick around. The festival really kicks off in the evening."
"Thanks," Naruto said as he inspected the vendor's merchandise. He was selling cute little plush bears with the kanji for rice sewn on their stomach.
"Awww, how cute!" squealed Hinata as she picked one up and gave it a hug.
Damn, thought Naruto as he watched Hinata. Hinata sure can be cute….
Naruto looked from Hinata to the bear. That's when he noticed the price tag.
"What!?! 3,000 yen!?!" Naruto shouted. "For that little thing?"
Hinata winced at Naruto's outburst. Sure, she really wanted the bear, but she would never force Naruto to waste money on her.
"Well, get used ta' it, kid," the vendor said with a sigh. "Pretty much every damn thing here is overpriced."
"I-It's okay, Naruto-kun," Hinata said with a fake smile. "I d-didn't even w-want the bear."
Naruto sighed and scratched the back of his head. He could tell that Hinata actually really wanted the overpriced plushie. Damn, he thought. I guess there's no helping it…
"Let's check out the rest of the festival, Hinata-chan," Naruto suggested as he led Hinata to a nearby bench. "We should check out the rest of the festival so we can find something better to buy (and at a lower price). Besides, we need to find a hotel so we can put our stuff down, and I need to use the restroom on top of that," Naruto finished, adding a little dance for emphasis on the restroom part.
Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics. "I-I'll go get us some hotel r-rooms, and you can use the r-restroom, Naruto-kun."
"Yeah," agreed Naruto. "Let's meet over her when we're done."
Hinata nodded as they both ran off to do their various tasks. Soon enough, Naruto and Hinata met at the same bench.
"Well, we have about four hours until six," said Naruto as he and Hinata began to walk around and enjoy the festival. "I still cannot believe that baa-chan gave us this mission. Feels like a date setup to me."
Hinata face flushed a deep shade of red at Naruto's astute observation.
"Lately, I've been feeling that the Pervy Sage has been trying to set me up on a date," Naruto rambled on.
Hinata's face flushed an even darker shade of red, if it were possible.
"Oh, well," Naruto said at last. "I'd go on a date for a mission anyday."
As soon as Naruto finished his sentence, he heard a gasp and a thud. Hinata fainted.
Not again, groaned Naruto inwardly.
A couple minutes later, Naruto managed to wake Hinata up.
"You feeling okay?" asked Naruto. "If you don't feel good, we can go back to the hotel."
"I-I'm fine, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata stammered. "I w-want to enjoy the f-festival."
Naruto smiled. "No complaints here. What are we waiting for?"
The hours began to pass like minutes as Naruto and Hinata basked in the festive spirit of the Rice Country. There was always something going on- whether it was street performers, unique vendors, parades, or games. Naruto and Hinata both had some overpriced dango (luckily, Naruto saved up a lot on missions) and saw some interesting street performers. How often do you see some dude wearing a kilt and playing a bagpipe on a street corner? One of Naruto's favorites was the man who drank a cup of milk and shot the milk he drank out of his eyes and back into the cup, to drink it again. The man also put a large glob of chocolate syrup in his mouth, gargled, and shot out chocolate milk from his nostrils.
"Cool!" yelled Naruto enthusiastically, along with half of the audience (mostly male).
The other half of the audience, including Hinata, was disgusted. Ugh, I don't think I will ever drink chocolate milk again!
Naruto and Hinata also heard an amazing performance by the beautiful and talented pop idol known only as Sheryl Nome. Naruto even got her to autograph one of his kunai daggers and his cheek after the concert backstage. Hinata couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. She would give anything to have Naruto ask her to sign her name on his cheek.
Who am I kidding? I'm not nearly as talented or beautiful as Sheryl Nome, thought Hinata.
Luckily (for Hinata), Naruto's cheek was rinsed clean when some guy bumped him on the docks of one of the Rice Country's lakes, causing Naruto to fall face-first into the ice-cold lake. Naruto was out of the water in a flash and yelled at the guy for washing away his 'precious autograph'. The small fight ended with Naruto walking away, shivering from the cold.
Naruto and Hinata ended up going back to the hotel so Naruto can change his clothes before he caught a cold. At the hotel, Naruto pulled out a small plush bear from his jacket pocket and handed it to Hinata.
"Here you go, Hinata-chan," said Naruto as he gave her the bear. "I got it for you earlier when I said I had to go."
Hinata was overjoyed. "N-Naruto-kun! B-But it was so expensive!"
Naruto just smile handsomely. "Nothings to expensive for you, Hinata-chan."
In the heat of the moment, Hinata tackled Naruto with a big, warm hug. Hinata didn't even realize what she was doing until Naruto returned the hug. Her face went red and she fainted.
At around five, when the sun was beginning to set, the Rice Parade started. Naruto and Hinata decided to check it out before they went out to eat. Naruto and Hinata were simply amazed at how detailed each float was decorated. The dancers were also a sight to see, casting a hypnotic sensation with their fluid movements and long, flowing, rainbow-colored robes.
Each float in the parade had a different color to it, and along with the color, it had a theme. Naruto's favorite was a grand float which represented summer. The color was orange, of course. The float was carefully made out of pedals of orange lilies. A giant orange-yellow orb hovered above the float, which represented the sun. Below the orb, dancers in casual-looking orange kimonos danced happily and excitedly, like kids rejoicing that school is out. Naruto laughed as he saw a completely white float pass right after, which represented peace and tranquility. It looked like a big, fluffy cloud.
Heh, Shikamaru would love that one, Naruto thought as he watched the float pass by.
Hinata's favorite was a purple-colored float made of lavender lilac pedals. It represented elegance. The dancers on the float wore extravagant and beautiful ceremonial dresses and masks, and danced with elegant and posh movements. Hinata just loved the dresses.
The parade caused Naruto to lose track of time.
Damn! Thought Naruto. Almost six!
"Hey, Hinata!"
"Y-yes?" answered Hinata as she turned her attention away from the parade, which seemed to cast an entrancing spell on all the viewers.
"Time to go! We're going to be late!" Naruto said as he grabbed Hinata by the arm and led her to the fancy restaurant. It was like a dream to Hinata-to be able to spend the whole day with Naruto. She and Naruto actually looked like a couple from every angle. The waiter certainly thought so.
After a long day, Naruto and Hinata both crashed in the hotel after a long day of fun and festivities. Hinata was disappointed that it all seemed to end so soon.
The next day, Naruto and Hinata both arrived back in Konoha before noon. No sooner did the two ninja take two steps through the gate before Hinata's sister, Hanabi, interrupted them. Hanabi ran straight into Hinata's arms and was crying profusely.
"Wh-What's wrong?" asked Hinata as she tried to wipe the tears away from Hanabi's eyes.
"I-It's daddy," Hanabi managed to choke out between her tears. "H-He's dying!"
Well, that's the fifth chapter (finally)! Review the story if you liked it (and even if you didn't, I guess). I'm also deciding whether or not I should make this story have some kind of plot with action or just keep it this way: lotsa NaruHina fluff with not a lot of worries. Feel free to tell me what you would like. I'm always open for suggestions.