Hey everyone! Sorry this took so long to post! My subscription to Microsoft word ran out half way through a chapter. Anyways I am really happy with the way this story is turning out! Only 3 chapters and almost two hundred reviews. However I posted a chapter to Sunflowers a few weeks back and I only got a minimal amount of reviews… I was very disappointed. Please review as much as you can! I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Please remember to review!!!! And I would like to personally thank each and every one of you who have taken the time to get to know me personally. It really helps inspire me to write. Thank you for all the support and for your appreciation. And by the way I was rereading my last chapter of Love Hinata and the last paragraph or so really confused me. I introduced Sakura and Ino into the story without even saying that Naruto and Hinata had left the house. So I am going to redo the last bit of chapter 3. And All naruHina fans now is the time to celebrate! Yay manga chapter 437!!! If you don't read the manga I wont spoil anything but…. It's a dream come true! And now on with the chapter!
"Put your shoes on. We are going out." Naruto said as he set Hinata back on the ground.
"O-Out? Like out-out? Like a d-d-date?" Hinata's voice trembled with a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and surprise.
"I guess you could call it that… Yeah! A date! We are engaged right?" Naruto said with a slight blush on his face.
Hinata nodded, her face also lighting up in a deep crimson blush. "Y-Yeah. We are. I kinda forget sometimes."
Naruto laughed as he and Hinata walked out the front door. "Me too. It feels like some crazy dream and I'm going to wake up in my old bed, but that never happens. I just keep waking up beside you in our new house. And… I ….like it."
Hinata gasped silently. Maybe he does really like me!
"I mean… you have such a huge family… and I have never had one… and now I am part of yours. It's all so confusing, but I think I like it.
Hinata's shoulders sagged. Oh… So he just likes having a family… that makes sense… I guess I'm nothing special after all…
"But that's not the only thing I like. I like you, Hinata." Naruto said quietly.
Hinata gulped. She could feel her heart hammering away in her throat. H-He does l-like me?
"You were the only girl in our school who wasn't chasing after Sasuke. I always respected you for that. I know I never really paid attention to you in school, but that's why I'm happy this marriage thing happened. It gave me the chance to get to know you. You are such a kind and generous girl, Hinata. I noticed that when you gave me that medicine in the Chunin exams. No one else had ever done something like that for me."
Hinata's face burned a darker shade of crimson and she broke her gaze from Naruto and stared at the ground. "Naruto… I don't know what to say… I have always admired you… You were so strong and you never gave up. You were the complete opposite of me. But when I'm around you, I feel like I'm strong too! Like I have the strength to change into whatever kind of person I want to be." Hinata's emotions were all spilling out of her. She felt tears fill up in her eyes and she tried blinking them back. It was time to tell Naruto how she felt!
"Naruto… I l-lo…"
"Hey Naruto! Hey Hinata!" A voice shouted from behind Naruto. Hinata looked over Naruto's shoulder and saw Sakura and Ino walking towards them. Hinata looked down at the sparking engagement ring on her hand and had one thought.
Uh oh.
"Hey Sakura… What are you doing?"" Naruto asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Hinata blushed and quickly hid her ring hand behind her back.
"We were just on our way to catch something to eat. Wanna join us? Or are we interrupting something…" Sakura said with a coy grin.
Both Naruto and Hinata blushed. "N-No! We… um… met on the way. We are heading to Ichiraku's." Naruto said.
"That sounds good. Let's all go together!" Sakura said with a bright smile.
Hinata silently cursed Sakura. This was supposed to be a date! Why did she have to come along and ruin it? But she put on a false smile and continued walking with Naruto towards Ichiraku's.
Moments later, they were seated at Ichiraku's with Naruto sitting in between Hinata and Sakura and Ino sitting to the right of Hinata.
"It sure had been awhile since we did something together, huh, Naruto? What have you been up to?" Sakura said.
Naruto glanced at Hinata and gulped. "Uh… Mostly training with Jiraiya." Naruto said, praying that Sakura would believe the lie.
Sakura laughed. "I'm not surprised." Naruto sighed with relief. "But you have to remember to take it easy every now and then. I have seen the way you train, Naruto. You won't stop until you can't even stand up anymore. You could really hurt yourself that way." Sakura said laying a hand on Naruto's shoulder.
Hinata was overcome with jealousy. She glared at Sakura's hand, silently wishing she could be as bold as Sakura was.
There was a moment of awkward silence as Sakura's hand drifted gently down Naruto's shoulder and across his cheek. Sakura suddenly withdrew her hand and blushed. There was another moment of awkward silence before Tenchi finally brought out three steaming bowls of ramen.
"Let's chow down!" Naruto exclaimed happy as he broke apart his chopsticks and dug into his favorite food. Hinata allowed herself a slight giggle before reaching for her own pair of chopsticks. However, as her outstrectched hand caught the sunlight, a stray beam of light caught Ino's attention.
"Oh my... Hinata? What is that on your hand?" Ino said as her hand flew to her agape mouth. Ino quickly grapped Hinata's left hand and brought it closer to her face. "Hinata? Why do you have an engagement ring?"
Damn you.... Hinata thought to herself. Hinata thought fast and quickly threw a false smile onto her face and faked a blush. "My father arranged a marriage for me to serve our clan's best interests."
This caught both Ino and Sakura's interest. "What!?" They shouted in unison.
"Oh my God! Who is the guy? Do we know him? Come on, Hinata! You have to tell us everything!" Ino said bursting with excitement.
Hinata was overcome with questions. The blush on her cheeks was real this time. "N-No... well...uh...y-yes... H-He is... um..."
"Do you love him?" Sakura asked.
Hinata gave a small "Eeep!" and her face exploded in color. Meanwhile, Naruto, who was in the middle of slurping down noodles, started violently coughing and spraying soup everywhere. Ino and Sakura paid no attention to Naruto and focused intently on Hinata.
Hinata, however, wasn't exactly strong under pressure and she began to swoon faintly. Ino and Sakura caught her before she fell and carried her out.
"Sorry, Naruto." Sakura said as she slung Hinata's arm over her shoulder. "We are going to take Hinata into town for some....uh... girl business. Help yourself to our ramen." She then walked off with Ino, Hinata in tow.
Naruto stared after Hinata's unconscious body. Throughout Naruto's life there had been many adjectives he would have used to describe Hinata such as quiet, shy, weird, dark, and awkward. However, in the past few days, Naruto's opinion of Hinata had begun to change. He had several new adjectives to describe Hinata such as kind, soft, and trust worthy. However, looking upon Hinata's red, unconscious face, Naruto could think of only one word to describe her.
Cute...
Tenchi frowned as he realized Naruto was not even touching his ramen. He seemed to be really deep in thought. "Hey Naruto! What's up with that face!"
"Father! Naruto clearly is worried about his girlfriend." Ayame said elbowing her father in the side.
"Actually...she isn't my girlfriend. She is my fiancee." Naruto smiled brightly and walked out leaving Ayame and her father with their jaws touching the ground.
Meanwhile, Hinata was just starting to regain consciousness. She looked around frantically, realizing that she wasn't with Naruto anymore.
"Finally waking up?"
Hinata sat up and tried to identify the voice. It was Ino. Suddenly everything made sense. She had fainted and Ino and Sakura had carted her off to.....
"...Um... Where a-are we?" Hinata asked. There were alot of clothes around her, but nothing seemed familiar.
Ino smirked and tossed her hair back. "We are in one of the most expensive clothing shops in town. And it just so happens that this store is quite skilled in making beautiful wedding kimonos."
Hinata gasped as Sakura walked up to her with a red and lavender wedding kimono. "I'm sure this would look beautiful on you, Hinata."
Hinata backed away from the dress as fast as she could. "N-N-No! You don't u-understand! I c-can't... uh... I m-mean... My f-father already has a dress picked out for me. It would be rude of me to wear anything else." Hinata lied.
Sakura put the kimono back and smiled. "That's fine. I almost forgot you were part of the Hyuuga clan. I bet they probably have everything already set up."
Hinata faked a laugh. "Yeah. It's almost like I don't have a choice."
Ino and Sakura laughed. "Well, I'm sure we could go get some dumplings since we skipped out on our ramen." Sakura suggested.
"That sounds great! Besides I want to hear all the details of this engagement." Ino said as she pulled Hinata out of the store and towards a dumpling stand.
Moments later, the three girls were seated at a table and eating their dumplings. Except for Hinata. Her dumplings remained untouched. Her stomach was doing cart-wheels and Hinata really didn't think she could hold any food down. She wasn't sure she could handle these intensive questions any longer.
"Come on, Hinata! You haven't told us anything about this guy! We want to know all the dirty details!" Ino said with a giggle.
Hinata blushed slightly as the image of her standing naked in front of Naruto popped into her head. "There isnt that much to tell..."
"Don't be like that, Hinata! Are you engaged to that Neji kid?" Ino asked with the common sense that only a blonde can have.
Hinata spluttered and coughed. "N-Neji is my cousin!!"
Ino smirked. "Oh, so it's a forbidden love. Don't worry, I can keep a secret." Ino said with a wink
Sakura kicked Ino in the shin. "You idiot! Hinata is not engaged to Neji! But... are you at least being married to a Hyuuga?"
"N-No... He isn't part of m-my clan..." Hinata said as her cheeks burned with color.
Both Ino and Sakura did a double-take. "Wait... I thought you had to be married to a member of the Hyuuga clan? Isn't that a rule?" Sakura said as her face contorted in thought.
Hinata smiled softly. "Normally that is the tradition. But this is a... special case."
Ino squealed with delight. "Ooooooh! Now I am even more curious! You have to tell us who this guy is! Come on!"
Sakura grabbed Hinata's left hand and examined her ring. "This really is a beautiful ring. This guy must really care for you."
Hinata blushed and pulled back her hand. She began to nervously tap her fingertips together. "D-Do you...really t-think so?"
Sakura and Ino nodded. "It's obvious. Now tell us who this guy is!" Ino whined.
"I-It's... um... N-Na...Naru..." Hinata's voice began to tremble with embarrassment. Part of her wanted to keep their engagement a secret, but Sakura and Ino's constant badgering was weakening her fortitude.
However, Sakura put two and two together and her jaw hit the floor. "No way.... Is it Naruto?"
Hinata gasped and her face turned a violent shade of crimson. Her fortitude had been completely destroyed. She abruptly stood up and ran off without saying a word.
Ino turned back to Sakura and smirked. "I'm assuming that is a yes."
"Definately." Sakura said as she stood up.
"Are we going to follow after her?" Ino asked as she stood up as well.
"Definitely. I am getting a bit curious myself." Sakura ran off with Ino right behind her.
Meanwhile, Naruto was wondering around town wondering what he could do to make Hinata happy. Jiraiya's words bounced around in his head. It was true. What had he done to make Hinata happy. She had given him a house and family and he had done nothing for her. She did seem to enjoy cooking... maybe she would like it if he cooked her a home-made dinner. But... Naruto had never made anything besides ramen in his whole life. Maybe Joe would have some ideas.
A bell rang as Naruto walked into The Setting Sun. "Well, hello Naruto! How are you doing? Did you enjoy the food I gave you yesterday? Joe asked with a warm smile.
"Yeah! Me and my....uh... friend made pancakes! They were really good, but they made my hands sticky."
Joe roared with laughter. "You dunce. You have to use a fork!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Fork?"
"It looks like a miniature trident. It should be in one of those packages I gave you."
"Oh...Anyways, I was wondering if I could ask you something?" Naruto asked nervously. Joe seemed like a really nice guy, but no store owner had ever helped with anything before.
"Of course!" Joe replied with a big grin.
Naruto could almost feel the warmth emanating from Joe's smile. This man really seemed to care."I was planning a special dinner for my... uh... friend and I was wondering if you had any ideas."
"I have just the thing. It is a special I brought with me from France. It's called escargot"
"Sounds good. I'll take it."
"Just follow the instructions on the side of the box." Joe said as he placed a large box into a bag.
"Got it." Naruto said as he grabbed the bag from Joe.
Moments later, Naruto was back home in his giant kitchen. He was a bit disappointed when he saw Hinata wasn't home, but at least he would be able to surprise her with dinner when she got back. Naruto carefully followed each instruction on the box. He wanted this dinner to be perfect.
Suddenly, he heard a faint noise near the front door. He quickly threw open the door expecting to see Hinata. However, no one was there. The noise was coming from the heavy rain that had just started to pour down.
"Hinata..." Naruto hoped she was okay. Quit your worrying! Hinata is a ninja! She isn't going to be bothered by a little rain! Naruto headed towards the bathroom. The box said to leave the food in the oven for 30 minutes so Naruto figured he would shower real quick. He stripped off all his clothes and jumped into the shower, without realizing there were no towels hanging on the rack.
Moments later, Hinata stepped in through the front door. Her hair was dripping wet and it clung to her face. Her clothes were drenched. She headed upstairs in desperate need of a hot shower.
Sorry for that cliffhanger guys! And Im really sorry for posting such a short chapter. I had a whole other part in mind to add to this but im packing for Christmas break at this very moment and there will be no Internet where im going so i posted a little bit early. Anyways i promise that as soon as I get back I will post the second half of this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed this half and i hope everyone has a merry holiday! Please remember to review!!!