Disclaimer: Dude, does it look like I own the rights to japanese tv show/manga? If so, then why the hell am I writing fanfiction?
Anyway "Myzticmoon" asked a question about which scene in the movie or anime did I consider to be Naruto and Hinata's first canon meeting. I think both the summer and winter events should be considered canon. I believe the winter one with the scarf was the first time Naruto saved Hinata from those bullies, and the whole thing with Ko just happened later that same year in summer. So they are both canon, the movie scene just happened first.
Well that's all from me, now onto Part 2!
~The Date! (Part 2)~
"7:30, right on time," announced Naruto as they reached the doors of the establishment.
"After you, my lady," he cockily said, opening it wide for Hinata with a sweeping bow.
Hinata breathlessly laughed into her hand, "Well thank you kind, sir," and gave him a wink as she walked in.
Naruto quickly hurried in after and placed a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Table for two for Uzumaki," he confidently stated to the hostess.
"Of course," she politely replied and pulled out two menus. "Right this way."
The couple followed the woman to a secluded booth located at the far back of restaurant.
Naruto unwrapped his arm around Hinata's shoulders and motioned for her to go in first.
Instead of taking the seat directly across from his girlfriend, Naruto decided to scoot in right next to her.
This caused Hinata to shyly blush, having never seen Naruto actively go out of his way to be so close to her before. The blonde in turn also became a little red as he realized he may have embarrassed Hinata with his silly like actions.
The hostess tried her best to cover the amused grin stretching across her face with the menus.
Meanwhile as the young couple was distracted, the rest of the Konoha 12 (minus Sasuke and the pair of course) tumbled into the restaurant and quickly took a seat at one of the empty booths at the front. They all quickly grabbed a pile of menus and tried to act as naturally as possible.
Needless to say, the rag tag group stuck out worse than a soar thumb.
Kurenai-sensei dramatically sighed as she thought, "Honestly, am I the only one in this whole village that actually acts like a real ninja?" And with that, she cast a camouflage genjutsu over the group so they would simply appear to be a bunch of random strangers.
"So!" the hostess then said in an effort to once again gain the pair's attention.
This momentarily startled the love birds as they both jumped away from each other in surprise.
The woman tried her best not to laugh as she placed the menus down in front of them.
"Your server will be with you in a moment," she said with a smile and quickly made her way back to the front, all while thinking to herself, "Ah... young love."
Naruto nervously fidgeted in his seat as he tried to think of what he should do next.
Hinata bashfully glanced away also uncertain of how to proceed. The dark-haired woman finally settled on picking up the menu and starting to read.
"Oh yeah! Food, ordering, duh!" thought Naruto as he resisted the urge to smack himself and simply picked up the menu as well.
The blond looked skittishly around the restaurant, he was totally out of his element. The only place he'd ever really eaten out at was Ichiraku's Ramen. That is, until he went on his journey with Jiraiya-sensei. But even to this day, he still couldn't bring himself to eat in any other of Konoha's establishments. They all just brought back too many bad memories.
This thought made Naruto frown as a sad look entered his eyes. He stared vaguely at the menu, trying to remember what Choji had told him was good. But the man just couldn't concentrate. It was like, he was suddenly back to being that lonely unwanted child again.
"N-Naruto-kun?" questioned Hinata hesitatingly as she felt him tense beside her. "Are you alright?"
"H-Hai," answered Naruto with a bit of an uncertain stutter, "I just... I don't know. Feel kinda odd eating here when... well-"
The blond didn't even have to finish. Hinata simply reached out and lovingly grasped Naruto's real hand.
"I understand," she said sincerely, staring into his bright blue eyes, "It reminds you back to that time, doesn't it? We can leave if you want. Honestly Naruto-kun, I've never minded eating at Ichiraku's. I've always loved spending time with you there."
"I- Hinata..." whispered Naruto deeply touched by her words, "I- no, it's fine. That was a long time ago and the village has changed. I shouldn't let my past affect my choices now."
Naruto then gave her hand a little squeeze of assurance before letting go. "But thank you for saying so... That means a lot to me..." he said trailing off and then decided to try and hide his blush behind the menu.
"You're welcome," replied Hinata sweetly as she too, nervously glanced back down at her menu.
Meanwhile back at the surveillance table, Kurenai was positively gushing over the electronic speaker they were all listening to.
"Oh! It's everything I had always hoped it would be!" she declared excitedly. "They are both so completely adorable."
"More like vomit inducing," Kakashi commented with a glare. "Didn't Jiraiya-sensei teach you anything, Naruto? I swear you're worse at romance than Minato-sensei!"
"Hey," countered Kurenai angrily, "Just because they aren't what you define as 'romantic' doesn't mean they are bad at it. They just function differently than you do!"
"Oh, this is so boring!" exhaled Ino frustratedly, "Make out already! Push her down into the booth, start nibbling her neck, rub her shoulders- just do something!"
"Ino-pig!" growled Sakura brandishing her fist again. "What did I say about all that earlier?!"
"I'm with Ino," agreed Kakashi with a bit of a pout. "At this rate, I'm totally going to lose my bet with Gai. Those two move slower than Tsunade's slugs."
"Wait a second," said Kurenai looking confused. "I thought that before you had bet that it would take drastic measures to get those two together. So why did you now bet they were going to suddenly sleep together on their first date?"
"Because I lost the last time," grunted the ex-copy ninja. "I thought now that Naruto was in love, his perverted instincts would have kicked in!"
"I thought you said that your hunches were rarely ever wrong?" asked Shikamaru with a condescending smirk.
"Hunches? Yes," replied Kakashi with a defeated air, "Bets lately... have been a different matter entirely."
Choji put some beef on the sizzling grill as he teased, "Sounds to me like Tsunade-sama's luck with gambling may have been passed on to you now that you're Hokage."
"Wait, what?" asked Kakashi in horror as he realized that the boy just might be right.
"Choji!" exclaimed Temari in surprise. "Where the heck did you even get that?!"
"From the kitchen," answered Choji with a confused blink. "What? I was hungry!"
Kurenai simply tried her best to contain her laughter in her hand as she thought, "Oh just wait until I tell Tsunade, Iruka, and Gai! They are going to have a field day with this!"
"So... since I've um... never been here before," said Naruto warily as his eyes skimmed over the menu. "W-Why don't you order for us both, Hinata?"
The dark-haired woman looked at him surprised, "A-Are you sure Naruto?"
"Yeah, why not?" decided the blond as he placed his menu down. "I'd like to find out more about what other kinds of food are out there."
"Well... alright, if you're sure," answered Hinata hesitantly as the waiter returned with their drinks. She then told him their order finishing with, "Oh! And if you could add a miso glaze to the pork and the beef that would be wonderful! Thank you."
She then turned back to Naruto shyly as she caught him staring at her.
"I-uh... you really do look pretty Hinata-chan," admitted the blond awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.
"A-arigato," she thanked him softly while unconsciously starting to play with her fingers.
"So..." they both said at the same time again, making two of them giggle.
Naruto recovered first and asked, "What other stuff do you like to eat?"
"You know, besides ramen," he added on with a teasing grin.
"Oh! Yes, well..." said Hinata as she put her index finger up to her chin in thought. "I like lots of things. Red bean buns... cinnamon rolls..."
"Cinnamon rolls?" inquired Naruto with a sly foxy grin.
"Cinnamon rolls are warm and gooey," she explained with a gentle laugh, "They are fun to pull apart and dip back into the icing. And back when I was a child, they were the only time tou-chan would let Hanabi and I make a mess!"
"Really?" asked Naruto incredulously.
"Hai," she replied happily, "I used to make them with my mother. It's one of my fondest memories of her."
"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to-"
"It's okay, Naruto," reassured Hinata quickly, "I enjoy talking about her now. I try my best to hang onto all of the good times as much as I can. I miss her... but I still love to remember her..."
"Hai," agreed Naruto as he smiled remembering the few precious moments he had with his own.
"So you making a mess, huh?" he teased lightly. "I find that hard to believe."
"I-well-" said Hinata with a light blush, "It wasn't a large mess I mean-"
"I know, I was only joking," Naruto explained to her with a smile. "I... think it's really sweet."
This just made poor Hinata turn all the redder.
"I've also noticed that you really like to make things with your hands, why is that?" asked the blond with genuine interest.
"Well since everything is made or done for me at the household," admitted Hinata readily. "I like to do as much as I can for myself."
"Huh," said Naruto as he listened with a smile.
"I find it relaxing to bake or create. Giving the people I care about something that really came from... me, I just love doesn't seem personal to me if I just buy it from ahigh priced store. Hanabi says it's silly but... that's just my way of looking at it," the dark-haired woman concluded with a small shrug.
"I think that's wonderful, Hinata," Naruto said with a heartfelt sigh. "I love when this side of you comes out."
"Side?" asked Hinata, confused at what exactly he was referring to.
"When your shyness finally slips away and I can really see who you are as a person," whispered Naruto with a goofy love drunk grin.
The two then simply sat there for a long moment staring into each others eyes.
And just as they had moved to lean in for a kiss.
"Alright, here's you order!" said the waiter as he placed a plate of raw vegetables and food on the table.
"NO!" screamed Ino as she stood up at table in the front. "Not now, Damn you!"
The others were quick to grab her and push her back under the genjutsu barrier.
This made the waiter glance to the front of the restaurant and comment, "Huh... that was odd."
Naruto and Hinata just gave each other a significant look, but said nothing as they helped arrange the food plates.
"Oh, yes. Please, right this way," said the hostess at the front as she escorted in a large party of people who had just arrived.
The massive group was then seated right in front of Naruto's table, completely blocking the view of the irate stalkers.
"Damn it," said Sai annoyed at himself. "I knew I should have set up cameras as well."
"Well why didn't you!" exclaimed Ino as she gave his arm a smack. "Now we can't see a dang thing!"
"Come on beautiful, you know how expensive that equipment is," replied Sai calmly. "I was trying to save money for our date next week."
"Oh, really?" chirped Ino happily as her eyes lit up in excitement. "Then you are forgiven! Where are we-"
"Back to the matter at hand," interrupted Kiba as he tried to see around the crowd. "Our view is still blocked. And right now that perv could be doing anything to Hinata!"
"I could attempt to send in another surveillance bug," suggested Shino, "but since Naruto is now aware of it, he shall be more observant."
"Well we still have sound, so there really wouldn't be much point," added in Sakura.
"Yeah, but there's not much we can tell from that because they're going to eat now," grumbled Ino annoyed.
"Hai, it is rather disappointing," agreed Lee as his eyebrows sadly drooped.
"Ain't that the truth," commented Tenten along with a nod.
"You know what!" exclaimed Temari as she snapped her fingers with an idea. "We've been meaning to try this out."
The blond then reached into her pocket and pulled out a complex looking walkie talkie.
"Come in 'Great Tanuki!' Come in 'Great Tanuki!' This is 'Kagura's Blades,' I've got a favor to ask of you..."
"Here you go, Naruto," said Hinata as she held up a freshly grilled piece of beef, green onion, and mushroom with her chopsticks for Naruto to take a bite.
The blond opened his mouth and eagerly accepted Hinata's offering.
"Hmm... HMM! Oh my gosh! Hinata-chan! That almost tasted exactly like ramen, except without the noodles!" gasped Naruto in complete shock.
This made Hinata laugh breathlessly into her hand.
"Well all those ingredients are found in ramen, Naruto-kun," she explained sweetly. "I thought starting off with something familiar would be a good way to ease you into trying something different. So do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it Hinata-chan!" exclaimed the blond as he started piling the raw elements onto the grill to make more. "Thank you so much!"
Hinata simply blushed a little and replied, "You're welcome."
Naruto then made up a little batch and held it up with his chopsticks for Hinata, "Here you go, your turn."
Hinata giggled as she opened her small delicate mouth and took a big bite.
"Mmmm!" exclaimed the dark-haired woman happily as she covered a hand over her lips and swallowed. "It is really good!"
"Pork cheeks and tripe, compliments from the Akimichi clan," said the waiter as he swung by their table again.
"Really? Wow! Thanks!" declared Naruto as he set more of the food onto the grill while Hinata nodded her head and agreed, "Indeed, Arigato!"
The two love birds were so busy that they failed to notice the creepy sand eyeball that had just floated up behind them.
A few moments later, a certain fox demon decided to once again make his presence known.
"Hey, Naruto," Kurama growled in his head, "Cut the lovey-dovey crap and bed your vixen already!"
"Fox-teme! Stop talking about her like that or I swear-"
"Yeah, yeah whatever..." grumbled the ninetails. "But seriously, I'm bored to tears here. The poor kids watching through Gaara's eyeball probably are too."
"They're what?"thought Naruto threateningly as he just caught the sand eyeball ducking behind his seat out of the corner of his eye.
"Thanks for the warning Kurama," thought Naruto as he glared back over his shoulder.
"No prob, welp back to my vacation," replied Kurama with an evil laugh.
"Naruto, is something wrong?" whispered Hinata as she saw the blond tense-up.
"Nawh, just kinda getting annoyed-" said Naruto as he violently jabbed his chopsticks into the floating eyeball as it tried to peak around his shoulder. "At our rather, unwelcomed audience."
Back in the sand village, Gaara irritatedly rubbed at his eye socket and exclaimed, "Damn it, why does everyone do that!"
"We lost 'Great Tanuki,'" confirmed Temari as she hung her head in shame. With a sigh of defeat she answered back, "Thanks though, little brother," and shut off the walkie talkie.
The rest of the group let out a defeated groan.
"Hey, don't be so hard on yourself," insisted Shikamaru, "it was a good plan."
"Really?" asked Temari with a skeptically raised eyebrow.
"Of course," he reaffirmed, "you're a very intelligent woman."
The rest of the group froze and slowly turned toward the pair.
"I- uh-" stammered Shikamaru momentary as he realized what he had just said, "you know- that is-"
"Yeah, yeah I know what you meant," brushed off Temari with a wave, but the all encompassing grin stretching across her face said otherwise.
"G-Good, good," croaked the Shadow-user as he cleared his throat. "Glad we cleared that up..."
"Right..." thought everyone else, as they continued looking at the pair with attentive stares.
"What the hell are you all staring at?!" snapped Shikamaru as Temari's perceptive gaze remained solely trained on him.
The rest of the group immediately turned away and miserably attempted to appear ignorant of what had just occurred.
Hinata sighed and took another bite of their food. She and Naruto had been aware from the very beginning of their nosy entourage. I mean really, hide from a person who can sense Nature chakra and the other with the byakugan, please.
"They're just worried about us," stated Hinata diplomatically. "Try not to be too mad at them, Naruto."
"I know, I know," replied the blond as he popped another piece of food into his mouth. He then stretched out his left arm and wrapped it tightly around Hinata. He pulled her warm body lovingly close to his own. The dark-haired woman let out a sigh of contentment, and rested her head securely on his shoulder.
And so the two cuddled together like that until the check came.
As the pair left the the restaurant, Naruto was gradually getting more and more irritated. Every time he'd do or say something he'd hear a whispered "Aw!" or a"Gasp!"
"Hmm..." Hinata commented as she looked at the sky. "It's become cloudy. We might actually be in for a little snow flurry tonight."
"Cool," replied Naruto as he still distractedly glance back over his shoulder, "maybe we can make some snow angels before I take you home."
"Oh that does sound fun," agreed Hinata as a hushed voice could be heard behind them commenting, "Honestly Naruto, she can't do that. Her dress will be ruined!"
And at that very moment, Naruto finally reached his limit. The man unwrapped his arm from around Hinata and bit hard into his thumb.
"Naruto, what are you-"
He slammed his hand on the ground and out popped a small orange toad.
"Yo! Oh- Hi, Naruto! What's up?"
"Hinata, I would like you to meet Gama-chan" introduced Naruto politely as he motioned toward the little toad. "She is Gamakichi's daughter."
"It's an honor to make your acquaintance, Hinata-chan," said the cute amphibian with a bow.
"Gama-chan?" asked Hinata with a confused blink.
"Hai," confirmed Gama with a sweatdrop, "What can I say? If you had a thousand or so kids every year you'd run out of names to call them too!"
"Anyway, back to the topic at hand," grumbled Naruto irately. "I want you to find wherever Sakura and the others are spying on our date from and tell them to piss-off! And if they don't take this warning seriously, I'm going to sic a freaking clone on them next time!"
"Wait..." said the little toad with big eyes as she turned to Hinata, "Are you the Hinata who declared her love for Naruto during the battle with Pain?! You helped save the Great Sage Toads from his wrath! Forgive me Hinata-sama! This truly is an honor!" she finished with another bow.
This just made Naruto slap his forehead and Hinata's face turn crimson as she stuttered, "Y-You know about t-that!"
"Of course!" exclaimed Gama with a croak. "When Pain launched Shima away, she had not yet lost consciousness and overheard the whole thing! All the summoning toads know the legend of your heroic sacrifice. It's actually quite the popular tale among our female population."
Hinata let out a squeak of embarrassment as she brought her hands to her cheeks in shock.
"It was just so romantic!" gushed the little toad with stars of hope in her eyes. "So it's finally happened? You two are actually together now!"
"Oh wait until I tell the others! They are all going to flip out!" Gama thought happily.
"H-Hai," answered Hinata with a mortified whisper.
"Grr... GAHH!" yelled Naruto as he grabbed his hair in frustration. "You know what? FORGET IT! I'll just deal with them! YOU! Just -GO HOME!"
"But I-"
"I SAID GO HOME! POOF! SCRAM!" demanded Naruto at the top of lungs as he shooed the little creature away.
"Alright, if you insist," Gama conceded with a small pout. "Nice to meet you once again, Hinata!"
And with that the little toad Poofed! back to Mount Myōboku.
Naruto just let out a long laboring sigh and slumped defeatedly next to his date.
"I'm so sorry Hinata," he apologized sadly. "I never meant for this all to go so badly. "
"Naruto..." replied Hinata breathlessly as she wrapped her hands around his left arm. "I've had a wonderful time tonight. Nothing's been spoiled or ruined."
"Really?" the blond asked with a sad sniff.
"Really," comforted the dark-haired woman as she led them back onto the pathway so that they could continue their walk.
Meanwhile back behind the magical genjutsu bush.
"What the heck was that all about?" asked Sakura to Tenten and Ino.
The two girls just gave each other a look and shook their heads.
"Not a clue, seemed like Naruto was mad at something though," said Tenten worriedly.
"Well he'd better not get aggressive with Hinata!" growled Kiba threateningly as he punched his fist into his opened hand. "Or I'm going to over there and teach him a lesson!"
"Yeah, sure. Whatever, Kiba," replied Ino condescendingly with a roll of her eyes.
"Everyone," addressed Lee sagely, "I believe Naruto may be acting out because our efforts have not been as ...beneficial as we had hoped."
This made everyone freeze for a moment in thought. Could Naruto actually be angry at them?
"NAHH!" quickly dismissed everyone in the group, that was just a stupid idea.
"That's it!" suddenly declared Kakashi as he rose to his feet. "I've had enough of this! I am not turning into Tsunade-sama! And there's know way I hell I'm going to let Gai win this bet!"
And with that the Hokage took a vicious bite of his thumb and slammed it onto the ground.
"Hey, Kakashi, what's up?" asked Pakkun with his gravely voice.
"PAKKUN!" commanded Kakashi loudly. "Naruto is on his date."
The Sixth Hokage's eyes narrowed menacingly as he finished with, "You know what to do..."
Pakkun simply gave his master a salute with his paw and POOF! He was gone.
Naruto gradually began to feel the tension and anger leave his body as they continued on their route.
He leaned his head against Hinata's and contently sighed. Naruto loved having her next to him. For the majority of his life, he had been starved for love. All he wanted for the rest of his days, was to hold Hinata forever. But would telling her that be too forward? She didn't seem to mind when they had been on the moon... but they had only juststarted dating. He really didn't want to scare her with all his issues and emotional baggage just yet...
But Naruto had a funny feeling that she already understood all that... in some ways better than he did.
It was then that the couple passed by the rebuilt Ninja Academy.
"Wow, would you look at that," said Hinata in awe as she stared at the illuminated building. "It's so... big."
"I know," agreed Naruto with a laugh, "It's nothing like the old place... honestly I kind of miss it."
"Really, Naruto?" asked Hinata in surprise. "Even with the way everyone used to treat you?"
"Yeah, well..." explained Naruto shyly. "It was were all of our friends got to know each other and grow up."
This made Hinata smile as she followed Naruto over to a large tree.
"And while most of my memories of the place weren't what I'd call... pleasant," Naruto said with a sigh as he suddenly stopped and smiled. "There were some very special ones, that I still treasure to this day."
Hinata walked up behind him and smiled at the small swing hanging from the branch of the tree. The little board of suspended wood happily swayed back and forth in the breeze. Almost like it was welcoming them home.
"That reminds me of your old swing," commented Hinata as she leaned down and gently brushed off the snow covered seat. "You used to sit on it for hours."
"You... remember that?" inquired Naruto softly.
Hinata nodded in confirmation and said, "Hai, there were so many times I'd watch you... lonely swinging back and forth... and I'd try so very hard, to work up the courage to speak to you."
Tears began to fill her gentle eyes as she finished, "...to let you know that you weren't alone," with a hushed whisper.
"Hinata, oh please don't cry. I hadn't meant to make you sad," protested Naruto as he wrapped his strong arms protectively around her.
"But if I had only-"
"No," he whispered and gently place a kiss against her soft hair. "I was the fool who didn't notice that you were hurting just as much as I was. If only I weren't so-"
"Wait, please don't," interrupted Hinata as she pushed away from his chest a little so she could look him in the eye. "We need to stop this. The past is in the past. Besides, we can make all the happy memories that we want now, right?"
"Hai," agreed Naruto with a smile as he nervously released Hinata from his embrace. "So... would you like a ride?"
"Huh?" questioned Hinata confused.
"On my swing!" exclaimed the blond as he gestured at the object. "Well technically this isn't the same swing. And really it was never mine to begin with. But still... I always kinda wanted to share it with someone! So do you want to?"
Naruto looked every bit like his ten-year-old self again in that moment. His bright blue eyes begging her to play with him.
It made Hinata breathlessly giggle at his antics. She loved these rare times when Naruto's inner-child would pop-up out of nowhere and have a little fun. It'd remind her all over again why she fell in love with Naruto.
"I'd love to," she said with a smile. Naruto extended his hand to her. Hinata gently took it. He then led her to the seat of the swing. She sat down on the small wooden board and looked lovingly back up at Naruto.
He then quickly slipped behind her and asked, "Ready?"
Hinata raised her legs and nodded. The blond then gave her a big push and off she went! They laughed merrily in the cold night air as pure white snowflakes began to drift down from the sky. The two were so thoroughly enjoying the moment that neither of them noticed that they were no longer alone.
It took the music finally reaching their ears to give the pair pause.
"What the hell?" asked Naruto as Hinata skidded the swing to a stop with a startled, "What?"
One of Kakashi-sensei's ninken sat a few feet away dressed in a barbershop quartet outfit singing, "Bow-wow- wow. Bow-wow-wow."
Naruto and Hinata glanced at each other in confusion as two more ninken suddenly appeared and started to howl right along with the first.
It was then that the rest of the canine ensemble burst into existence, all wearing their barbershop outfits and started 'singing' in harmony.
Naruto felt his eye begin to nervously twitch just as Akamaru decided to pop up from behind the genjutsu'd bush and join in.
"OwWOOO!" he howled.
"Get back down here you crazy mutt!" growled Kiba as he reached up and pulled the dog back under cover.
Both Hinata and Naruto sweatdropped seeing this and had the exact same thought of, "Ehh... what the heck is going on?!"
A spotlight then burst to life and shined down on Pakkun, who was now standing in the middle of the barbershop group with a top hat and cane.
"Aaaand now my dddear Hin-ata we would to ask youuuu!" sang Pakkun gratingly off-key as Naruto and Hinata shared a look of "WTF?!"
"Ooon... behalf of Nar-utoooo... if youuu... would like tooooo!" continued Pakkun completely undeterred.
The dog suddenly tapped his cane on the ground and started thrusting his hips back and forth. Pakkun then passionately sang, "To be my lover, baby! You wanna be my l-over?" in his gravelly smoker voice.
*BAM!*
Pakkun went flying though the air and twinkled out of existence.
Naruto breathed heavily as he cracked his knuckles. He then advanced on the rest of the cowering ninkens.
"ANYBODY ELSE WANT TO SCREW WITH ME TONIGHT?" yelled the enraged blond with an inferno burning in his eyes.
"Amateurs! You ready, Pa?" called out an elderly voice.
"Ready, Ma!" confirmed the other in return.
An odd sound then seemed to ripple across the landscape. Suddenly, Naruto and Hinata found themselves floating in a rowboat in the middle of a lake in springtime.
"Oh, no!" groaned Naruto, immediately figuring out what was happening. "Fukasaku and Shima must be here. When the Great Toad Sages sing in harmony they create a really strong genjutsu. There's no way we can break this!"
The blond then started banging his head on the side of the wooden boat as Hinata tried to comfort him, "Oh, Naruto..."
"Now this is how you set the mood!" declared a familiar voice from off to the side.
Naruto instantly saw red. "Gamakichi! You freaking traitor! When I find you, I'm gonna kick your wart covered ass!" yelled Naruto, shaking his fist at his friend hiding in cattails at the lake's edge.
"La-la-la-la-la-la!" sang the toads along the shallows. "Me-oh-my!"
"WHY?" lamented Naruto to the heavens as Hinata shook her head next to him.
"Awww! Looks like dee guy is shy! He ain't gonna kiss dee girl!" sang Gama from atop her father's head.
"I'M NOT FREAKING SHY!" roared Naruto as he stood up in the boat, nearly causing it to flip. "I'LL KISS HER WHEN I WANNA KISS HER! THIS IS MY DATE, DAMN IT!"
Hinata squeaked as she almost fell in, "Eek! Naruto!"
"Sorry..." he quickly apologized, but unfortunately the toads simply continued with their big musical number.
"Whoa-whoa! La-la-la-la-la-la!" they merrily croaked while jumping along with the music. "Dude, don't bee scared! Dee mood's all prepared! Come on and kiss dee girl!"
A crow then decided to swoop down and screech, "CAW-CAW-CA-WAAA!"
"Kiss dee girl!" stressed the animals. Some started making pucker noises while others swam around the boat, spitting water out of their mouths like a display fountain.
"GO THE HELL AWAY!" screamed Naruto as he frantically swung his arms around trying to catch and strangle the stupid summons creatures. Gama-chan managed to hop up and land on Naruto's spiky blond head. She simply laughed from her perch and watched as Naruto tried to catch the others.
This made Hinata breathlessly giggle into her hand again.
It was then that the remaining ninkens and several of the ninja stalkers came out of hiding and started singing along from the lake's shore.
"TRAITORS!" Naruto roared as he waved his arms furiously at them.
"Whoa-whoa! La-la-la-la-la-la! Hey now, don't take all day. What do dee music say? You gotta kiss dee girl!" proclaimed the entire starry-eyed group. The toads then started to swim closer while still trying to avoid Naruto's reach.
"Kiss dee girl!" everyone sang in anticipation.
The blond then let out a defeated sigh and turned toward Hinata with a forlorn glance.
Hinata simply reached up and took little Gama-chan off his head.
"Kiss dee girl!" encouraged the toads eagerly as the couple looked at one another, "Kiss dee girl..." Naruto and Hinata started to lean in and- "KISS DEE-"
*POOOOOF!*
"WHOA-WHOA" bellowed Gamabunta as he violently burst into existence thereby expelling Fukasaku and Shima's genjutsu. Toads, smoke, and snow went flying everywhere.
"Damn it, Boss!" berated Gamakichi. "We almost had them!"
"WHAT? I THOUGHT THAT WAS MY CUE TO COME IN!" he yelled back at his spawn. "HEY WAIT A SECOND, NARUTO YOU'RE OVER TWENTY NOW, RIGHT?!"
The blond had actually just dug himself and Hinata out of the snowdrift when the mammoth toad asked.
"Yeah? Why?" he called back at the giant while offering Hinata a hand to help her up.
"THEN WHERE'S THE SAKE YOU PROMISED ME AS A KID YOU LITTLE RUNT?!" demanded the Toad Boss angrily as he glared down at the couple.
"I-I! Um...!" stuttered Naruto in terror as he tried to push Hinata protectively behind him. "I kinda... sorta... maybe forgot about that?"
"WHAT?!" exclaimed Gamabunta in shock, "YOU GAVE ME YOUR-"
"ENOUGH!" yelled Naruto at the top of his lungs, having finally come to the very end of his patience. A familiar spinning blue orb appeared in his hand as he called out, "RASEN-"
But before he could finish his attack, a pink and red figure suddenly burst onto the scene.
"CHAAA!" screamed Sakura as she launched herself into the air. The pink-haired kunoichi then wound up and punched the enormous toad right between the eyes.
And with that one massive blow, Gamabunta POOFED! back out of existence sending toads, ninja stalkers, and ninken alike literally flying through the snowy winter sky.
"Ahh! We're blasting off again!" cried Kakashi, Temari, Kurenai, and the rest of the Konoha 12 as they wheezed by.
All the summon animals launched into the air and exploded with a PHEW! and a POOF! It was quite the demented firework show. The whole affair was rather bizarre to behold.
Naruto instantly used the distraction to his advantage. He grabbed Hinata's hands, held them to his chest, and asked, "Hinata-chan, do you trust me?"
"I-What?" she said still reeling in shock from all the randomness.
"Do you trust me?" inquired the blond with pleading eyes.
"Always," answered back Hinata with all the love in her heart.
Her steadfast reply made him smile.
"Then follow me," Naruto said with confidence.
And with that, the young couple quickly ran off and escaped into the night.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: *Mists looks back at her Icha Icha Tea joke from the disclaimer of chapter 6*
Huh...
*Clicks pen and writes on piece of paper*
Note to self, change that side effect to 'common.' Anywhoo! *Throws paper away*
Another chapter down. That took me forever to edit but I think I finally got the whole crazy thing to flow well.
Anyway, next time the romantic climax!
*Ino looks at Mists expectantly with stars in her eyes*
Ew! No, not that kind of climax, Ino! Anyway, all this and more, next time!
Oh, and on my profile I added a whole lot of my fav Naruto/Hinata AMV links along with some others from You Tube. So feel free to check them out if you have free time.
And please remember to read, fav, and review! I love hearing from you guys!