Hiashi gave Hinata some money, as well as pretty gift wrapped in wood paper.
"A Hyuuga does not allow others to pay for them" he had said, his arms crossed, after she had told him about Iruka-sensei paying. She nodded, pocketing the money and looking at the gift with curiosity. "It's a scroll on basic ninjutsu. It will be useful for his training. It's actually just a thing I had lying around. Nothing too ostentatious."
Hinata smiled, hugging it to her chest. "I-It's alright, father. I'm sure N-Naruto-kun…"
"No stuttering" he interrupted. Hinata bit her tongue, her body tensing. "You have to control that, Hinata. It is unbecoming of someone of your position."
"I… know. I apologize, father" she said, talking slowly to prevent another relapse. Hiashi nodded, and a small silence formed between the two. Hinata bit her lip, standing up carefully. "Thank you for… allowing me to go, father. And the gift."
"Have fun, Hinata. I'll be sending Ko for you in two hours' time" he informed, before returning to the scrolls on his desk. Hinata bowed, thanking him again from the bottom of her heart, before leaving his office.
Outside she found Ko waiting for her, who looked at her with a wry smile. Hinata knew he didn't agree with her outing that day, but since the clan leader had allowed her to go, there wasn't anything he could do about it. So he settled with accompanying her to the restaurant. Hinata just hoped he wouldn't wait for her the whole two hours her father had given her to enjoy with Naruto.
"Shall we go, Hinata-sama?" he asked, and she nodded. The two walked the almost empty streets of the village, only finding a few people outside, sweeping the leaves in front of their houses, or walking to other places with haste. The air was chilly, but still bearable. In what felt like no time at all, they found themselves in front of a small shop with its roller shutter door pulled down. Ko knocked confidently on the door at its side, and soon it opened, revealing a smiling Naruto that greeted them with a "Hinata-chan's here, Iruka-sensei!"
"You don't have to yell" the haggard teacher sighed, placing a hand on Naruto's head to prevent him from running over to glomp the poor girl like he seemed about to do. He gave her a smile. "It's nice having you here, Hinata. I promise we'll take good care of her" he added, this time looking at Ko.
The man nodded, though he looked a bit unsure as he spared a glance towards Naruto. Iruka frowned, instinctively standing in front of his student, something that seemed to catch Ko's attention. He cleared his throat, before bowing slightly. "I'll be leaving Hinata-sama in your care. I'll be back to pick her up in two hours."
"Eh? Only two hours?" Naruto whined.
"Naruto! It's already good enough Hinata was allowed to come so don't be so greedy! I'm sure her family doesn't want her to be out so late" Iruka chastised Naruto, who crossed his arms and pouted, but didn't complain anymore, though he looked like he wanted to.
Hinata smiled shyly, seeing the respect Naruto had for Iruka in that small action. She walked towards them slowly, before presenting him with the gift, "h-happy birthday, Naruto-kun… t-this is…"
"A gift!" he exclaimed, taking it from her hands enthusiastically and ripping the paper in the same action. Iruka tried to stop him, telling him he should open it inside, but by then the deed was already done, and Naruto was looking at the scroll with his head tilted, puckering his nose. "Is this something to study…?" he asked rather flatly.
Hinata bit her lip, playing with her fingers. "I-It's a scroll a-about ninjutsu, a-and…"
"Oh! So ninjutsu! That's cool!" he said, glancing at it with new, sparkling eyes. "I'm gonna learn new techniques!"
"What should you say to Hinata, Naruto?" Iruka crossed his arms and stared at him strictly. Naruto grinned, as if caught, and then looked at Hinata and shouted a very loud and very happy thanks!
"I-It's nothing, N-Naruto-kun. I'm g-glad you l-like it" her father had chosen well. It was good she had asked him about it. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked up, she found Ko's face peering down at her with a small smile.
"I'll take my leave now, Hinata-sama."
"Y-Yes. T-Thank you for bringing me here, K-Ko-san" the man shook his head, smiling brighter.
"It was no problem. Now, I think it would be better if you get inside the restaurant now. The weather is a bit chilly and I don't want you to get sick."
"You're right" Iruka agreed, before turning to the two children, "it's better if the two of you enter before you catch something" he ushered them towards the door, and Hinata turned to look at Ko a last time before it closed behind her. Once inside, she glanced around, finding the place to be a bit small, with a long counter and six stools in the zone for the clients. An older man greeted them cheerfully, his eyes getting bigger upon seeing her.
"Lo and behold, if this isn't Hiashi-sama's heir! Naruto didn't tell us it was you he was inviting over" he took out his white cap and gave her a small bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Hyuuga-san."
"H-Hinata's alright!" she quickly corrected, flustered, moving her hands up and down frantically. She felt the heat of a blush on her cheeks upon being treated with such respect by someone older outside her clan. She just wasn't used to it. Luckily for her, the man chuckled and nodded, putting his cap back on.
"Alright, Hinata it is. My name is Teuchi, and this" he signaled to a small girl standing beside him, that Hinata had not noticed before, "is my daughter Ayame. She helps me out when she has free time from school."
"It's a pleasure to meet you" she greeted, smiling. The girl seemed to be around thirteen years old, and looked nice. Hinata smiled back, murmuring a small greeting as well.
"Alright! Now that introductions are over, how about you take a seat, huh?"
"Finally!" Naruto yelled, hopping on a stool. "I've been waiting since yesterday! Hinata-chan! Take a seat too!" he patted the stool next to him. Hinata blushed as she obeyed, daintily sitting next to her crush that looked almost ready to explode from joy. "This is so cool! I can eat ramen on my birthday, and I even got three presents from Iruka-sensei, Hinata-chan and the old man and Ayame-neechan, and…!"
"Who are you calling an old man?" Teuchi frowned, but Naruto ignored him.
"I'm gonna start with one miso ramen!"
"Really" Teuchi shook his head, turning to prepare the order. Ayame giggled, pinching one of Naruto's cheeks, much to his embarrassment.
"You're lucky you're cute, otherwise dad wouldn't be so obedient" she said with a wink, before going to help her father. Hinata looked at her go with big eyes, while Naruto touched his cheek, murmuring something about being treated like a kid.
"So, what do you want to eat, Hinata?" the girl turned to look at Iruka, who had taken a seat on Naruto's other side. She bit her lip, unsure. She had actually never eaten ramen before in her life, so she didn't know what to order. Fumbling, she looked at the small menu plastered to the side of the wall and asked for a tonkotsu ramen, while Iruka ordered a shoyu ramen.
The orders were ready in no time at all.
"So, what do you think, Hinata-chan? Pretty good, right?" Naruto asked with his mouth full of noodles, earning a scold from Iruka for talking with his mouth full. Hinata giggled a little, nodding.
"I-It is pretty good… I like it a-a lot" she said this time looking at Teuchi, who smiled.
"Glad to hear it. If you want another one, just tell me, don't be shy!"
"I want another!" Naruto exclaimed, raising his now empty bowl.
The first hour continued like that. Hinata was rather amazed at how much Naruto could eat, watching him happily as she ordered a few more bowls, because it really was tasty. Meanwhile, conversation was light and happy, ranging from topics like academy work to their favorite types of ramen.
Until Naruto brought up a certain topic.
"And this guy just shoved me even though I wasn't even in his way! Why do villagers all seem to be so on edge in this day in particular?"
Hinata felt the tension rising in the room. She too, was shocked at this, because as much as she knew people didn't particularly liked Naruto, for some reason, she had never heard of them being violent towards the poor boy.
Iruka sighed, putting down his bowl and exchanging a glance with Teuchi, before looking at Naruto with a sad smile. "You know what happened nine years ago, don't you, Naruto?"
"I know. The Kyuubi attacked the village, and then the fourth Hokage defeated it and became a hero. That's what they taught us at the academy, right?"
"So you do pay attention during class."
"I always pay attention!"
Iruka gave him a look, "anyway, you're right. The attack of the Kyuubi happened this day, nine years ago. Because obviously you were still so little, you don't remember, but it was a terrifying event that devastated a lot of the village. Many people died, and not only ninja, but civilians as well."
"It was indeed terrifying. I took Ayame with me to the refuge in the Hokage mountain in time, so we were safe, but I can still remember the screams of the people, the sound of buildings collapsing, and the roar of the beast. I don't think I ever lived something so scary in my life" Teuchi nodded, crossing his arms.
"The Kyuubi was defeated, but the casualties were many. The people that survived, and especially those that lost someone important to them, become very on edge during this day."
"So you're saying that's the reason they are like that?" Naruto asked, tilting his head. When Iruka nodded, he frowned. "Have someone ever shoved you or hurt you during this day, Iruka-sensei?"
It took a while for Iruka to answer, "…sometimes."
"That's pretty bad! I understand being sad but that's no reason to be so mean with others!" Naruto complained, asking for another bowl. "Hey! Iruka-sensei! Did you lose someone too?"
Hinata gasped, looking at Naruto and wondering if he realized he was asking a too sensitive question, but he only glanced at her with confusion, not understanding why she reacted like that.
"I lost my parents that day, Naruto" Iruka said, stirring the noodles with his chopsticks.
"And have you ever tried to hurt someone on this day because of that?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why do the others do it?"
Iruka had no answer for that. Naruto started eating his new bowl of ramen despite the tension in the room.
"I'm sorry you lost your parents, Iruka-sensei" he swallowed, before turning to look at him with a sad expression. "I don't have parents either, so I know how it feels. You know, sometimes I wonder if they also died today. Maybe that's the reason they aren't around. Or… maybe they just didn't care about me and abandoned me. I don't know. I never asked Hokage-jiichan because I was afraid that might have been the case."
Hinata glanced down, playing with her noodles. She wanted to say something to comfort Naruto, but was unsure of what. She had lost her mother too, but the experience was completely different to what Naruto was living. After all, she at least knew her mother while Naruto had never even met his parents.
Luckily, Teuchi spoke, placing a hand on Naruto's head and making him glance up. "There's no way your parents abandoned you, Naruto. I'm sure they loved you very much and would have never left you alone if they had a choice."
"But… how do you know?" he asked, blinking rapidly to try and keep the tears at bay. The older man smiled.
"Just a hunch."
"That's right" Iruka chirped in, smiling as well. "Even though my parents died, I know they loved me very much. It must be the same with yours. They wouldn't want you to be sad for them; instead, they would want you to live to the fullest."
"I-I think the same" Hinata said, blushing when Naruto looked at her, "if t-they're Naruto-kun's parents… then there's n-no way they abandoned you. I-I'm sure even now, they're l-looking out for you" at least, that's what she felt about her mother.
Naruto thought about it for a second, and then, a big smile appeared on his face. He chuckled while scratching the back of his head, a bit of color staining his whiskered cheeks. "You must be right then. I wish I could have known them but… but this is fine too" he looked at all of them, before raising his bowl. "Another one!"
"Huh? When did you manage to finish?!"
After that, they talked about other, simpler things, and when it was time to leave, Hinata discreetly approached Iruka and paid him back the money he had spent on her.
"You don't have to, Hinata. I'm fine paying for the two of you" Iruka tried to push away the money, but Hinata shook her head vehemently.
"F-Father wouldn't be happy… if I-I didn't pay for my own f-food" she explained, voice firm. Iruka looked at her for another moment, troubled, before sighing and taking the money.
"Fine, just this once as I don't want you to get in trouble with your dad" Hinata beamed, just as Naruto ran up to them, after his lengthy goodbye to Teuchi and Ayame.
"Whatcha talking about?"
"Nothing important" Iruka smiled, thankfully keeping the secret from the boy, who would no doubt complain and insist that Hinata didn't need to pay for anything. Ko arrived a few minutes later, and Naruto and Iruka waved her goodbye as she left.
The day, despite the small moment of tension, had been a good one.