Chapter 20: Moiré

Tokyo

"You are not wearing that on your date with Naruto!" Hanabi yelled.

They were at home after Hinata had stopped by after work to tell her family that she was going to be away for the night and wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Her father had smiled at her and nodded. Neji was working late so he wasn't there.

Now, she had an angry little sister to argue with before she left for her date.

Hinata frowned at sister then looked down at her outfit, her regular black turtleneck and jeans. "What's wrong with this? Naruto doesn't care what I wear."

Hanabi glared back. "I'm still mad at you for looking like a schlub when we'd gone to the Uzumakis for dinner!"

"Hanabi, give me a break! Nobody said anything about my clothes that night."

Hanabi paused for a second and tried to find the right words. "Yes, and I thought that was very gracious of them. I just think maybe you could make an effort for Naruto's sake? He's been going through all the trouble to impress you. Maybe you could do the same for him? What do you think?"

Hinata tilted her head to the side, face screwed up into a puzzled squint. "You think so?"

Hanabi sighed with relief. "Nee-chan, I know so."

"Naruto!"

He whipped around so fast to see her panting and running to meet him.

"Hinata? I—"

But she was already in his arms and was burying her face in his chest. Since they've started dating, this seemed to be a habit of hers. She'd told him earlier that she liked pressing her cheek against the buttons of his shirt.

"Sorry I'm late," she was mumbling now into the fabric, feeling the warmth of her pressed lips all the way to his skin.

He smiled into the top of her head. "You didn't have to rush. I just got here, too."

When she looked up at him, the imprint of the button on her cheek was clear to see, and he couldn't help it when his grin spread.

"Cool," she said with another happy laugh. Then she stepped back and did a slow twirl. "What do you think?"

Her long hair was in a simple ponytail. She was wearing a turtleneck, but she'd switched back to the long-sleeved version because it was cooler now that it was fall. What struck him the most was that it wasn't her normal black. This one was a dark maroon color, still body-hugging and still accentuating her curves. Instead of her usual black jeans, however, she was wearing a khaki brown pencil skirt that came down to just below her knees. She was also wearing a fashionable pair of flat pumps.

Hinata was grinning at him expectantly.

The fact that she'd worn something different just for him tugged at his heart. He recalled again her words of not wanting to change her old self, but here she was in a different outfit because she thought it was something he wanted.

He smiled at her. The compliment came out naturally because he meant it. "You look beautiful, but you always do, Hinata."

If anything, the smile on her face shone even brighter. She laughed and tried to brush it off, though, when she said, "Thank you! I borrowed this outfit from Hanabi so we can thank my little sister for having great fashion taste."

"She does." Naruto agreed. "But you don't have to change anything about you if you don't want to, Hinata." He cleared his throat and hoped that she understood what he wanted to say. "I think you're wonderful just as you are. You don't have to do anything extra to impress me."

She seemed to understand what he was saying because Hinata leapt up and flung her arms around him again. "Oh, Naruto!" she cried out.

Then, uncaring that they were in public, in front of everyone at Shin Toyosu Station, she pulled his head down for a kiss.

He flushed because he knew everyone had probably seen them, but he didn't stop her because she was so happy—and was enthusiastically using her lips to make him understand that she appreciated him saying those words to her.

Her grin was unrepentant and unembarassed when she finally let go of him. "You've made me so glad I dressed up for you tonight!"

They smiled at each other.

Then she tucked herself against him and hugged his arm. "So where are we going today?"

Tonight was his choice because the last couple times they'd gone out, Hinata had asked if it was okay for her to decide where to go. He readily agreed, unbothered that she'd taken the lead. Besides, he was interested in whatever she suggested because he was slowly finding out the things she liked to do.

Their first date, she'd been craving Chinese food and she'd dragged him to Yokohama to get some authentic xiaolongbao, those steamed buns she seemed to enjoy a lot.

"I'm paying!" she'd exclaimed when they'd met after work. And he'd gladly accepted seeing as the places they visited didn't take e-money. Plus, every time she whipped out her little frog purse to pay for their food, he couldn't help but smile at it.

When she saw him smiling at her purse, she lifted her brows in question. "What?"

Hoping she would say yes, he asked, "Can I touch your purse?"

She laughed and chucked it at him, which he caught deftly. He held in gingerly, feeling the soft fleecy fabric and the lovingly embroidered eyes and mouth.

"I still can't believe your sister made this," he said, and he knew he'd struck gold with his compliment when she beamed back at him. "Your sister's really crafty. This is incredibly well-made."

"Hanabi would love it if she heard that."

Naruto also knew about her desire to become a politician. "If she ever changed her mind about politics, she could definitely start making and selling these.

"Hmm, I doubt that very much." She held out her hand to take her purse back, but he held on to it a little longer.

But then he grinned crookedly at her. "Sorry, I'm fascinated by it. I just never had anything hand-made, you know?" He laughed. "Can you imagine my mom making something like this?"

He'd meant it lightheartedly, but she strangely became silent and shook her head. Instead, she reached over and hugged him, the frog purse crushed between them. Then the moment of seriousness lifted, and she grabbed her wallet back, smiled at him and then said, "Not your mom, maybe, but I think your dad could do it."

Which made him grin. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Her responding smile was impish when he handed her back her froggy purse. "It's not too late to ask them to make you one of these, you know."

She continued paying for everything that night at the restaurant that served the best mabodofu he'd ever had. Besides, since they were now together, Naruto knew he would have other opportunities to contribute financially to the relationship.

That night, they snacked their way through Chinatown, eating moon cakes, egg pies, and finally getting some bubble tea.

And if Hinata was changing for him, then he, too, matched her energy and had fun exploring activities he'd never done before.

The following date, they'd met up after work again. She'd wanted to watch the latest movie in the Avengers series. He normally preferred dramas and documentaries, but Naruto wasn't surprised to know that Hinata loved loud action movies. It seemed fitting for someone like her. He sat next to Hinata and watched the superhero blast a villain to bits while a series of explosions blew out his eardrums in that theater. All the while, he was aware of her sitting at the edge of her seat, eyes glued to the screen while she licked the salt off her fingertips from the tub of popcorn they'd shared. Those times she wasn't eating, though, she'd absently rested her hand on his thighs and he'd held it, loving how natural everything felt between the two of them.

On another date after that, they'd caught dinner together but later met up and went to karaoke with Sasuke and Sakura, who'd jumped at the chance to get to know Hinata better. Naruto sat quietly smiling in their private darkened booth while the three of them animatedly discussed and then sang the latest pop songs charting the top of Billboard Japan.

Sakura had enthusiastically lent her support to their relationship, immediately commandeering Hinata that night so they could chat. Sasuke, ever loyal to Naruto, was harder to win over. He couldn't easily forgive Hinata for giving his friend so much grief, which made him a little leery to be celebrating so openly. Still, his wife was a good judge of character, and if Saukra liked Hinata, then he would throw his support to the couple.

Naruto was just glad that everyone seemed happy for him and his new relationship with Hinata.

Even though he'd been out of it for a year, dating Hinata was easy, he realized. She was game for anything, which was why she'd probably been so fearless as a wildlife photographer. She was also easy to please. He didn't have to do anything much to get her to laugh or smile, or exclaim loudly with excitement at anything he would suggest for an outing, which tended to be things he found relaxing. She agreed to everything enthusiastically and without complaint, explaining, "I'm not a person who bores easily, and I'll try everything once. Plus, I'm just happy I get to do all this stuff with you."

Tonight, though, he was slightly uncertain because he wanted to do something even more quiet and he wasn't sure how she would take that.

He glanced at Hinata, who was still waiting expectantly for his answer to her earlier question. "Do you mind hitting up an exhibition?"

She stopped in her tracks, but she was grinning. "I would love to!"

He breathed a sigh of relief. "It's the newest teamLab ex—"

"What?! teamLab?! I love their stuff! Yes, of course I want to go see it!"

Naruto shouldn't have worried. She was an artist, too, and on the surface, though they appeared to be polar opposites, their love for the visual medium was the same.

He smiled at her. "I'm glad. I was hoping you wouldn't mind because your idea of fun is a little different from mine."

She laughed then squeezed his arm. "I may not look it, but I actually like museums and going to exhibitions, too. I just gotta be in the mood for them, though. They're not exactly those let-loose kind of places where you can blow off some steam."

"Oh," Naruto said as they continued walking in the direction of the exhibition, suddenly hit by apprehension when he heard her response, wondering whether he was the cause of that steam she needed to blow off. Maybe there were things about him that were causing her stress? Maybe there was something he should be doing more?

His heart started pounding, anxious that he was going to hear something he didn't want to. "Is there a reason you need to blow off some steam?"

Hinata was looking around at the area, but then she grinned playfully up at him. "No reason! But I'd rather do it with you. I was kinda hoping that would happen later—on your bed."

Her tone had dropped suggestively, making him realize that he wasn't causing her stress and that she had no problems with his quiet personality.

He flushed first, but then he laughed with relief. "Okay, you're on."

That night, they walked through the teamLab museum, entering a magical world of mirrors and lights, dark, dim, flashing, gently exploding. They weaved through planes filled with colors swirling through fog and haze, of mystical elements that confounded the senses and opened their eyes to wonder; of soft, pliant, gauzy, stringy, substances to feel, of alien objects silky to the touch. The panels of brilliant glowing hues that moved and followed them, deceiving, illuminating, and fascinating.

When they were done, this enthrallment of the senses continued in his apartment, Naruto experiencing the never-ending thrill of making love to Hinata, her sighing against his mouth while his fingers skimmed over her skin, finding their way between her legs, stroking her until she shuddered and cried out, holding him close, her arms around him. Another wave caused her to lose her mind, and she pressed her lips against his skin, his cheek, his neck, to prevent herself from screaming, but he felt every gasp of pleasure, those smothered moans she fought to contain, spurring him to make this even better for her.

"Naruto… Naruto!" was all she kept mumbling whenever she was coherent enough to make sense.

But even that wasn't enough.

Her hands were clutching at his back, and he felt her tighten around him as he slipped into her, her hard nipples rubbing against his chest with each thrust into her body. He balanced on the edge of the bed, her sitting atop him on his lap while he continued to grip her waist, anchoring her body to him, rubbed and ground his hips into her until she gave up and finally groaned aloud, withholding nothing any more, making him feel like he was a conquering hero.

He kept up the steady pace, kneading the soft, supple flesh of her butt, bouncing her up and down over himself with the strength of his thighs and hands. Eventually, he caved in to his own needs, sighing her name into her neck when he finally stopped, buried inside her, his body briefly taut then convulsing, even as her hands continued caressing him, smoothing over his shoulders and back.

A little while later, steam completely blown off on Naruto's comfy bed, Hinata yawned and burrowed closer into his warm, naked chest.

"Naruto, do you want to join me and my siblings this weekend?" she asked sleepily.

"Hmm?"

"I want you to meet my brother."

His relaxed mood evaporated, his stomach dropping and his heart suddenly beating loudly against his chest. He'd heard a little bit about him from Tenten, but the information about Neji was not encouraging.

Tenten had had a catlike grin on her face when, after going out on her date with Neji, she'd said, "He's like a bear that I want to poke—and continue poking."

Whatever that meant.

And seriously, what's with the sudden animal comparisons from the women in his life?!

Tenten refused to elaborate further despite Naruto's attempts to get her to tell him about what had happened on their date.

"Um, your older brother Neji, right?" he asked Hinata.

"Yeah."

Inwardly, he sighed. He'd dreaded this meeting, but Neji was a very important part of Hinata's life so it was unavoidable. He had no choice but to meet him. At least she was doing it slowly, introducing him to her family. First her sister, now her brother. He refused to think about that inevitable meeting with her father.

He hugged her and tried to hide his nervousness. "Okay."

"Awesome!"

"What are we going to do this weekend?"

She laughed. "Have lots of fun."

That did not sound good at all.

The following weekend, Neji and the girls got to Akihabara station. He was impatient to go and he couldn't understand why Hinata was stalling.

The reason became clear, however, when he heard Hanabi squeal, "Isn't that Naruto?!"

Hinata grinned at her siblings. "Yup!" she said before she excitedly ran forward to fling herself at Naruto, who awkwardly hugged her and then patted her on the back when he placed her back on the street.

When the couple walked back to Neji and Hanabi, Naruto was met with a cool stare from a man slightly older than them but who shared the same lavender eyes as his sisters.

This was even more intimidating than he thought. Naruto swallowed and was about to greet him, but Neji suddenly looked at his sisters and abruptly said, "Hyuuga Huddle."

The girls looked at Naruto first before Hinata apologetically smiled. "Wait here. We're just going to have a little meeting but we'll be right back."

"Sure?"

But they didn't hear his response because they were already walking away from him to where they couldn't be heard.

"What the hell is he doing here?!" Neji hissed furiously when he was certain he was out of earshot.

"I invited him," Hinata replied.

"What?! And you didn't bother to tell me or Hanabi?"

"It's totally fine, Neji-nii-san," Hanabi chirped excitedly. "This is great! Now we can play more evenly!"

Neji acknowledged that with a twitch in his left eye. "I don't mind him joining us, Hinata. I just wish I'd known he was coming."

Hinata sighed. "Look, Neji. With you, it's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission."

Hanabi rolled her eyes and snorted with feeling. "Nee-chan's favorite tactic."

Neji's gaze was cool. "What makes you think I wouldn't have agreed to invite him if you'd asked?"

Hinata poked him on the chest and matched his snarky tone. "Um, the fact that your face is scrunched up so tight and you've been glaring at him the entire time I've been speaking."

Hanabi laughed. "She's got you there, Nii-chan!"

Neji grunted. "You guys know I don't like surprises." He folded his arms and transferred his gaze to Hinata, his eyes narrowed in anger. "Plus, you're still on my shit list for the stunt you pulled with Tenten."

"Neji, come on! That was weeks ago! It ended up okay, right? I bet you had fun but you just won't admit it, you stubborn fool."

He nodded grudgingly. "She's not bad."

"And? You never said anything about that date," Hinata fired back.

"It's none of your business."

"You're not going to tell us anything?!"

He humphed. "Serves you right for being such a nosy matchmaker."

Hanabi grinned at him. "You're just being petty with your revenge."

He raised a brow. "I can be petty and right at the same time."

Hinata abruptly looked at her watch and glanced at the two of them. "We can continue debating this or go play. We're booked for the first hour, right?"

Knowing he'd already lost the argument, Neji sighed with frustration. "Come on, then. Let's go."

They walked back to Naruto, who'd waited for them patiently but nervously.

He glanced at Hinata first to gauge her reaction and was relieved to see her beaming at him. Hanabi's expression was just as reassuring. He was still afraid to look at Neji.

"Everything okay?" he asked Hinata.

"Yup!"

"I'm Neji," came her brother's disgruntled voice, and Naruto finally met his gaze, not reassured by Hinata's brother's intimidating gaze.

"We can get to know each other better later," Neji added ominously. "Right now, we have to get somewhere fast."

"This is what we do for fun," Hinata said, pointing to their destination: A large building in the middle of Akihabara that catered to all kinds of games and sports. The outer facade of the building was garish, decorated by giant images of characters Naruto recognized from various video games and anime.

They entered the building and went up to the top floor. But on the way, Naruto saw and heard the noisy arcades and squealing teenage girls taking pictures at the purikura photo booths. A sudden burst of frightened screams erupted and he glanced at the customers hooked up to the VR machines, their faces covered by large, technologically advanced goggles. They were running in place, suspended in air, but still howling with fear, chased by demons only they could see.

Naruto took in everything while he wondered exactly what they were doing here. He hadn't been to an arcade since…forever. The last time probably was when he was a child.

They came to an area blocked off from the rest of the game center. At the counter, Neji registered everyone and got a whole bunch of coveralls.

He handed one to Naruto, still being mysteriously cryptic and didn't say anything besides, "Here."

"Thank you," Naruto said as he accepted it.

Neji nodded, turned around, and headed for the changing room.

"Just so you know, Nii-chan's not mad at you," Hanabi explained, looking at her brother's departing back. Her gaze when she brought it to him was apologetic. "He's mad at Nee-chan for springing this so suddenly on everyone."

The sinking feeling inside him deepened.

Of course.

He should have known, but Naruto didn't say anything to Hinata, who nonchalantly shrugged it off. "Don't worry! He'll get over it eventually. Besides, he knows we need you."

Naruto was still hesitant. "I guess."

He was overdressed again, Hinata noted with a fond smile. "I forgot to tell you to dress down for today."

"Oh, but I did!"

Hinata looked at his expensive designer clothes with the brand names she could never pronounce properly and shook her head, hiding her amusement.

"Lucky for you I have an extra t-shirt." She dug into her backpack then brought out a black t-shirt with the word Jinchuurikis across it. Naruto looked more closely at it and saw the face of a young Jiraiya staring back at him. He and his other idol group members winked at him while wearing what Naruto could only describe as white Elvis Presley jumpsuits.

"Don't worry, I have a lot more of these shirts at home, so it's okay if you completely dirty this up."

"Oh." He didn't realize that today's activity would get that messy.

She grabbed him and pointed to the changing room, the same one Neji had walked into.

"Wear the shirt under the coverall you just got. Sometimes the paint leaks through and I don't want it to get into your expensive clothes. It's just something that's going to take the brunt of the mess. Don't worry. It's just for the game. Later, you can shower and change back into your regular clothes."

Still confused and unsure about what they were doing here, Naruto came out of the changing room dressed in the same coveralls that everyone was wearing.

Everything became clear, however, when they walked into the closed off area. Inside seemed to be a small battle space, with walls of various heights. There were low ones and high ones, thick ones and thin ones. Naruto finally understood what they were going to play when he saw one could hide behind those walls. What stood out the most was how colorful everything was, the residual paint left over from the games others before them have played. The area was cleaned after every use, but some of the paint still remained.

Hinata beamed at him. "Think of it as a mix between dodgeball and paintball." She then handed him a harness that she helped him put over his head. On his chest, three circular targets gleamed brightly.

Naruto nodded his thanks and then turned to Neji when he started explaining the game.

Neji held up a couple of colorful balls, each one the size of a tennis ball. "Okay. Here are the rules. These are our weapons. Each person gets ten balls." He then pointed to the harnesses strapped to their chests. "Your goal is to hit these three targets that we have on our bodies. Once a target is hit, the light goes off. Teams are Hinata and Naruto vs. Hanabi and me. First team to hit all six targets, three per person, wins. Got it?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

"We usually play girls against boys," Hanabi added with a smile. "So far Neji-niisan has the lead with 5 games to me and Nee-chan's 3."

"But today, I brought my secret weapon!" Hinata yelled, ever-ready to shit-talk her siblings. Her eyes gleamed. "Naruto and I are going to crush you two!"

Neji and Hanabi exchanged a look, their faces suddenly became serious and fierce. Naruto noticed it while Hinata remained oblivious. He knew before Hinata did that their team was going to be annihilated.

Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and walked over to their designated spot. "With you here, it should be a little even. I just know we're going to win!"

The game commenced, both teams lobbing small balls at each other. They were pliable enough and fit in the palm of the hands so they were easy to throw. Each time they hit something, the paint inside them exploded and spattered in a glorious, spectacular mess. Naruto and Hinata used the walls for protection and tried to dodge whatever came in their direction. Hinata put up a good fight, her enthusiasm more than made up for her terrible aim. She laughed every time she missed, and hearing her joyful screams of excitement made him feel elated.

Naruto was actually having fun, forgetting his usual reserve and getting into the spirit of the game. He already knew that Hinata was a fierce competitor, but she was there every time he missed his target and would offer him an encouraging pat on the back while she continued taunting her siblings.

"Neji, hahaha! You suuuck! That's all you guys got?!"

But even with Naruto's martial arts training, though, their team didn't stand a chance.

Simply, he lacked the killer instinct that Hinata's siblings had. Hanabi and Neji were relentless and had accuracy on their side. Hanabi was just as competitive, and as the baby of the family, was always trying to prove something to her older siblings.

Meanwhile, Neji was an engineer, his work the perfect outlet for his ruthless dedication to precision and efficiency. He was disciplined and meticulous with every little plastic blob he threw in the air. Neji managed to hit three of the targets with just six shots.

Plus, despite his feelings for Hinata and being carried away with the chaotic fun of the game, Naruto was not willing to piss off her older brother by winning. Today was still officially their first meeting.

When they finally stopped and surveyed the paint splattered on the walls, their clothes, and on the floor, they all grinned at each other through the colorful mess. Neji and Hanabi's team had won, but looking at the Hyuugas smiling back at him, Naruto felt victorious. It was made even sweeter when Hinata came over, looped an arm around his shoulder and pulled his mouth down for a kiss.

"We'll get them next time," she said, wiping the smudge of paint off his cheek.

While they waited for Hinata and Hanabi to finish cleaning up in the ladies' shower, Naruto sat with Neji outside the building. They'd gotten cleaned up quickly and were together on a bench located on the side of the facility. He congratulated Hinata's older brother, who nodded silently.

Suddenly, though, Neji took out a cigarette he'd managed to procure from somewhere. He lit it and then took a long drag of it. Just as slowly, he let the air out of his mouth. With that one puff, he was done. He took the cigarette and crushed it underneath his sneaker, reached over to the side of the bench, and disposed of the butt in the trash bin reserved for such items.

He glanced at Naruto. "Just so you know, I don't smoke."

Naruto was not going to disagree with anything Neji said. "Okay."

"How do you know Tenten?"

Naruto smiled. "I've known her all my life. We went to elementary school together."

Neji pursed his lips and then his eyebrows rose. "I bet this was no ordinary elementary school."

Naruto's cheeks started to heat up but he admitted, "You're right. It was a private school." He shrugged uncomfortably, knowing that Neji probably understood that it was an extremely exclusive one. "My mom was already in politics at that time so she didn't want me going to a regular public school. Tenten's mom's a CEO of a software company."

"Hmph. Explains a lot. No wonder she's so…assertive."

Naruto had to laugh. "You're right. She's very confident."

Neji was quiet but then he glanced at the direction where the girls were still inside.

"Listen. There's a story about Hinata that I think you need to hear," he abruptly said.

Startled, Naruto responded, "Oh, sure."

Neji glanced at the trash bin where he'd disposed of his cigarette butt earlier. "Shit, I should've kept that for a second drag, but too late now."

He laughed to himself, but then he looked at Naruto, his face solemn.

"This happened when she was eight and Hanabi was two. I just moved in with Hiashi and the girls because my parents had just died. I was twelve years old at the time and I've never lived with other girls except for my mom. Neither have the girls—lived with a boy outside of their dad. So it took us a while to get used to each other and become comfortable as siblings. I mean, I was an only child up to that point, so you have to take what I say with a grain of salt. I was going through a lot at that time."

Naruto nodded with sympathy.

But Neji continued with his story. "So one day I came home from school, and Hinata always volunteered to do laundry because she wanted to. I couldn't say no because it was their house even though I wanted to wash my own clothes. But that day, I caught her trying on my boxers—after they were washed and dried, of course. She thought they were regular shorts. I was embarrassed as fuck, but she didn't think anything of it."

Naruto smothered his laughter, and even Neji grinned, remembering it so clearly.

"Hinata said she liked the color and the design and she'd always been curious about them. Like I said, they're girls and they obviously didn't have that kind of underwear." He slanted another glance at Naruto. "Don't laugh, but they were Doraemon undies."

Naruto laughed.

"I said don't laugh!"

But Neji was smiling, though, as he continued speaking. "My mom got them for me, you know? I couldn't throw them away. They were like mementos of her. Besides, they still fit me so I still wore them even though I should've graduated to briefs or something."

Naruto's expression was tinged with compassion.

Neji continued to smile. "I'm telling you, it was the stupidest shit ever, like Hinata had them all the way up to her chest, pulling them up. But I just started laughing because she looked so fucking ridiculous."

Neji laughed and Naruto had to laugh, too, picturing Hinata doing that exact thing. It was so easy to see it in his mind's eye.

"She's weird and she always did outrageous shit like that. But you know what, I realized that was her way of trying to make me feel better, of making me forget my sadness. And even though we were laughing, it suddenly came out, all the tears I refused to shed for my parents death. I was keeping everything in, my grief. But in that moment, because I was laughing and wasn't holding anything back, it kind of exploded when Hinata was clowning around."

Both Neji and Naruto were quiet for a while, neither of them wanting to add anything.

Neji glanced once more at the building and shook his head wondering why it was taking the girls forever to come out.

"Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. Hinata dealt with the death of her mother by being funny and crazy. She's been like that ever since. That's usually her approach to 'help' people. She did it with me and my grief with my parents. Same when Hanabi didn't make it to her college of choice, when our dad didn't get that promotion he wanted."

"I think I get what you're saying, so thank you for telling me that story."

Neji nodded. "She's just got this strange knack for exposing everyone's fears."

"You think she's going to dig out some problem from my past?"

"Maybe." He slid Naruto a sideways glance. "Do you have any unresolved issues?"

Naruto frowned while he thought seriously about it. "None that I can think of."

Neji snorted with a quick sarcastic laugh. "Oh, she'll find it."

Naruto smiled politely, taking everything that Neji said as a warning. "I'll treat her gently, I promise you. I don't plan anything bad against her."

Neji smiled, too, but his expression was grim. "You misunderstand me, Naruto. You think I told you all this to protect her from you?"

Naruto squinted with surprise. "It wasn't?"

"Nope." Neji shook his head. "It's the opposite, actually. I'm just telling you to brace yourself because you're in for a whole lot of shitstorm."

Naurto could only stare at him.

"You've been warned," Neji added ominously. "I hope you're ready."

With that, he abruptly turned around and left Naruto looking after him with his mouth open.

Luckily, the girls finally came out of the building and walked smilingly towards them.

They had to part ways at the station. He said goodbye to her siblings, who walked away and gave them privacy.

"Thanks for today, Hinata, it was really fun."

"Oh, I'm so glad." She grinned at him appreciatively. Since the Jinchuurikies t-shirt she'd lent him was still looking pristine, Naruto had decided to wear it instead of changing back into his regular clothes.

Looking at him in something other than a button-down shirt made her giddy. Besides the fact that he still looked as handsome as ever, he seemed willing to change for her, too.

"What?" he asked as she kept smiling at him.

She shook her head and pointed to young Jiraiya's face. "Like I said, I have more of those if you want another one."

He looked down at the shirt and laughed. "I might take you up on that offer. This t-shirt is really comfortable."

"I can just imagine your closet, with all those designer clothes, and a couple of Jiriaiya's t-shirts mixed in!"

"You don't have to imagine them. Just come over anytime you want and you can see them in my closet." His smile was tentative—but hopeful.

She hugged him in reply. "Okay." Still with her arms around him, she looked up and asked, "Will you join us again next time? I know it's not what you normally do but I was hoping you'd want to do it again?"

His eyes were grateful. "I'd love to. And I really mean it, I had a lot of fun."

"Good. Next time maybe we can beat them."

They laughed and kissed.

"I guess I really need to let loose some more, huh?" he asked, his expression wry.

She shook her head and beamed at him. "Nah, that's not it. I don't want to change anything about you. I just thought maybe you're missing out on some exciting stuff in life. Plus, this was just the perfect opportunity to introduce you to my brother."

Naruto's smile was genuine. "He's awesome."

Hinata's smile was filled with love. "I know."

After one last kiss, Hinata said goodbye and joined her siblings while Naruto descended into the subway station and headed home.