NarutoxHinata 1- Nice Weather

Chapter 1:
Nice Weather


The battlefield was covered. There was no clean place to put your foot down without getting it messed with gore. There was a moment of silence following the instant the last of the enemy fell to the ground, dead. Then, everyone who was fit enough raised their fists and cheered in victory. Among these stood Naruto Uzumaki.

* * *

Naruto was at his favorite ramen shop. He was lazily slurping his noodles when a figure passed behind him. He was lucky enough to be staring out in space to his right and see the figure out of the corner of his eye. He gulped down the rest of the soup and ramen still in his bowl. He threw the payment down on the counter, calling over his shoulder "Keep the change!" The shop owner picked up the money and smiled after the boy. What change? He thought. Your still owe me $1.50.

"Hinata!" Naruto called out. The navy haired girl turned. Her face turned a light red at the sight of the person who called her. "Hey," he said. Crap! I just ran out of there without thinking. Now I'm stuck here without anything to say. "Uhh… nice, uhh, weather, huh?"
'Nice weather?' Man, you must be really lost. Or desperate. Hinata looked up at the clear night sky anyway. "Yes," she said. "It is nice out tonight." Just then, someone knocked into the boy. He stumbled forward, landing right on top of Hinata. He was too shocked to do anything but look down at the girl he had almost knocked over and sputter a feeble apology. They looked into each other's eyes for a long moment before Naruto came to his senses and stepped back, blushing slightly. Hinata, on the other hand, turned a very deep red. "Oh… well, see you around," she said in a hurry. She turned and walked off more quickly then she had spoken her goodbye. Naruto stared after her, still recovering from what had just happened.

He turned and started walking in the direction of his house. He got to the door, taking care not to make it creak. After the war, there had been an overflow at the hospital, and the staff, including Sakura, was asking around for anyone who had enough space to keep a few patients until they had room. When Sakura asked him to take in an elderly man who she thought shouldn't be fighting in the first place, Naruto had graciously agreed. He was now in the living room, snoring up a storm. He climbed into his bed, staring at the ceiling for nearly an hour, thinking over the incident with Hinata. Finally, he simply smiled, turned on his side, and fell asleep in a matter of minutes.

* * *

Naruto woke up covered in sweat. He sat up, trying to calm his nerves and slow his breathing. He started to go over his dream, but it had already left his memory. All he knew was that it was about him and Hinata…. He shook his head clear and walked into the kitchen. Whatever the dream was about, it left him starving. When he got there though, the man he had brought in for the hospital was rummaging through the refrigerator. "Old man!" he said, startled. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?" The man looked at him. "Well, I'm hungry! And I can't get anything to eat lying down, now can I?"  Naruto just looked at the man for a moment. Then he sighed and said "Fine. But as soon as you eat, you're lying right back down,"
"Deal."
Soon enough, he had two separate bowls of instant ramen on the table. They both sat down to eat. The old man was slurping it down, but Naruto was just staring at his bowl. "What's wrong, son?"
"I've got a problem."
"What kind?"
He hesitated, and then sighed. I can't believe I'm doing this he thought. Then it all came spilling out. Everything about Hinata. How he had knocked into her the day before, how she liked him, and how everyone said it was obvious. When he finally finished, he felt exhausted. The man stared at his nearly empty bowl. Suddenly, he looked up at Naruto and asked "Well, do you like her back?" He stared at the old man with wide eyes. At that moment, someone knocked on the door. It took a second series of knocks to snap Naruto out of it. He hurriedly opened the door for whoever was there. It was Shikamaru and a few medic ninjas. "Hey, Naruto. We're here to pick up the… whoa. Man, you're a mess. Anyway, we're here to pick up the old man." He called around him "Hey Pops! Time to go!" The man was past Naruto the next moment. As they where walking away, he looked over his shoulder and said to him "Think about it. Then you'll know what to do."
"Hey! Come on!" The man turned back again and walked all the way to the hospital without looking back. Naruto stared at him until he disappeared from sight.

He turned back to the table which still had the unfinished ramen. He walked over to it and started to collect the bowls and chopsticks, all the while thinking about what the man had said. Suddenly, he froze. Tears started to burn in the back of his eyes. A few seconds later, they spilled over. He tried to stop them, but it was no use. It was true. He did like Hinata back.

He abandoned the dishes and wandered into the living room. He collapsed on the couch and brought his hand to his forehead, resting his elbow on his knee, while deciphering exactly how much he liked her. Did he just like her? Or was it more then that? Was it more complicated? He brought both his hands over his face, muffling the racking sobs that escaped his parched throat as he realized how much love for her had grown inside him.

* * *

Naruto wandered around through the streets, his hands stuffed in his pockets. With his feelings uncovered, he felt them more strongly then ever. Now, what used to just like to be around her now was more like a necessity. He had to see her, make her smile. He did so rarely see her smile. He had to hear her sweat voice. Make her laugh, hold her hand. He had to bee around her.

He went to all her favorite shops, hoping she would be there. But no luck. Next, he went to all her favorite restaurants. She wasn't in any of them, either. A hallow ache started in his chest. When was he going to see her again? He felt like if he didn't catch sight of her soon, he was going to lose it. Giving up, he let his feet take him where they wanted to go, which was to the ramen shop. He sighed. It seemed that no matter what, he always ended up there. He looked up and nearly tripped over his own feet. There she was. Hinata was leaning on the wall of the shop, right next to the opening. Relief spread throughout his entire body. Her hands were grasped behind her, her slender fingers entwined. Her large, round eyes were staring of into space and her expression was blank. What seemed to be her ever-present blush was gone, reveling what a beautiful shade of pale her skin was. He just stared for a moment, wondering how he had missed all the beauty her slight figure possessed. "Hinata!" he called. Just saying her name gave him the chills. She turned and her blush returned. "Yes?" she asked. He was speechless, so he just asked "What are you doing here?" She flushed a deep red. "I, uhh, wanted t-to, umm, tell you something and I'd figured you'd be here at some point, so…" She trailed off. He took advantage of her hesitation. "Perfect," he said. "I have something to tell you as well. Come on." He grabbed her slim wrist and started leading her into the space between the ramen shop and the building next to it. A sensation he couldn't name ran up the length of his arm at her touch.

They traveled down the alley for a few yards, where it was certain that no one could hear them. The only light came from the stars overhead and the faint glow from the street. "Here's good," he said. He turned to her with a serious expression on his face.

"Ok," he began. "Everyone used to say that you liked me and that it was obvious." Her entire face went a beat red in embarrassment, but he just kept on talking. "And I used to never believe it. I would always just think to myself 'no way' or 'that'll never happen'. But now… now I am starting to believe it. Now I think you really do like me like that. And I think what happened yesterday was an example of that. You left in such a hurry. I didn't know what to think. Maybe she was running late for something. Maybe she had just remembered that she had to get something for someone. I would have thought of anything but that she was embarrassed of something. But this morning… You know the man I had staying in my house? He said something that completely turned my view on everything upside-down. He said 'Well do you like her back?' It took me a while to figure out what he meant, and a while longer to get the answer from myself. And the answer is… yes. I do like you back, Hinata. No. More then that. Hinata, I love you. I love you with all my heart. More then anything. I love everything about you. I don't know when those feelings started, but I do know what they feel like now. And because of those feelings, I don't want to stay away from you for a second longer."

He waited for her answer, but she just stared. The blush had left her face, leaving shock. He waited and waited, but no answer came for a few minutes. He did not change his posture at all, which was, at this moment, sturdy, ready for anything, although his heart was anything but. Small at first, but steadily growing, a smile was blooming on her face. Tears began to gather in her eyes. Pretty soon, they were practically water faucets. Her reaction softened his outer shell and he relaxed his bearing. Suddenly, she threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He caught her and she started wailing. His shirt was soaked through in no time. Tears of his own sprang up in his eyes and soon spilled over. After a few seconds, he was sobbing right along with her. Her arms got tighter and tighter until it hurt, but he didn't care. He was with her and that was all that mattered then. Eventually, Hinata calmed down enough to say something in his chest, but it was too muffled for him to make it out. "What?" She lifted her head and smiled at him, looking directly into his eyes. "I love you," she said. A new wave of tears washed over his face. He bent down and pressed his mouth to hers. She was still for a second before removing her arms from around his waist and grabbing handfuls of his hair, pulling him closer. He gladly leaned into her. After a while, he pulled away, looked into her eyes and smiled. She smiled back. "Nice weather, huh?" she said. His smile broadened, but he didn't bother looking up. On a night like this, it had to be beautiful. "Yes. It is nice out tonight." And he was kissing her again.





To Be Continued