(A/N: First NH Oneshot. R&R. Sorry if some characters are OOC. Oh, and the "Enchanted" AMV at the side? I just thought it fits the story. The phrases "Please don't be inlove with someone else, please don't have somebody waitin' on you..." that is. .w. Excuse my randomness.)

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 The blue-eyed blond Hokage sat silently in his office. He doesn’t have anything to do for the day since it was declared that this day was a holiday in Konoha. He was even advised by his former Team 7 teammate to take a break for the day, but he said that she should just go ahead and have fun. He just wanted to stay in the silent office for a while and think – when and where would their class reunion should be held since his former classmates took different paths, which missions should he send the next-generation genin, and what should he say on the festival later evening, including thinking of a reason why he feels like he has a heart problem whenever he’s with the former Hyuuga heiress. Gosh, he never thought that being a Hokage was this hard. Yes, this might be his dream ever since he was little, but he was never the responsible type and could be still regarded as ‘the color-blind idiot’.

 After a few minutes of thinking, he shouted, “GAAAHHH! MY HEAD ACHES DATTEBAYO!!!” which echoed around his lonely office. This was too much for his eighteen-year-old mind to handle. And besides, he’d be doing this for the rest of his life.

He finally decided to go out of the building and go to his favourite shop, Ichiraku’s, to eat his favourite food, none other than ramen. So he took off his hokage hat and cloak then put on his red robe with black flame designs at the bottom. Even if he's the hokage, he still wanted to live normally like he did even just once for a while.

 On his way towards the store, heads turned towards his direction and greeted him with wide smiles and cheers, contrary to how people treated him when he was younger. He even saw a male long-haired Hyuuga walking side-by-side with a brunette who has her hair up in two Chinese buns.

 “Hey Neji, look! It’s the Hokage Naruto!” Tenten, tugging Neji’s arm, almost shouted and pointed at Naruto.

 “Hn,” Neji responded emotionlessly, looking at the idiotic Hokage.

 Avoiding Neji’s stare, Naruto replied, “Uh, hi, you two… What are ya up to? A date?” which was supposed to be a teasing guess, only if Neji didn’t look away with his face flushing a little and if Tenten’s cheeks didn’t grow pinker.

 “Um… yeah,” they both replied in their own kind of shyness - which was simply out of their characters.

 Naruto’s eyes widened. “WHAT?! YOU TWO ARE – !!!“

 Neji punched him powerfully in the face before he could even finish his really loud sentence which made people look at them with curious looks in their face wondering why the snobbish Hyuuga punched the Konoha’s Hero and Hokage. Was he against the hokage or were they just doing one of those unusually usual stuff?

 “That’s just their way of greeting! Don’t worry about Hokage Naruto, people! He’s stronger than anyone y’all know! It’ll take him more than a punch to take ‘im down!” Tenten announced to the people just so that they won’t start beating up her date thinking that he’s against the highly respected Hokage. People shrugged it off, continuing what they were doing.

 “WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” Naruto almost shouted at Neji. He had enough sense not to attract attention but, well, it wasn't really effective.

 Neji glared. “Shout at me again like that and you’ll get much more than that,” he said in his normal annoyed tone.

 “Guys, calm down… You’re causing commotion in here,” said Tenten, trying to separate Naruto and Neji by pulling Neji the other direction Naruto is going. Neji followed obediently, but before that, he looked back at Naruto and said, “Uzumaki.”

 “What?!” Naruto responded in the same angry tone he had earlier.

 “Make Hinata-sama cry again and you’ll die,” Neji warned with an intimidating glare before taking Tenten’s hand and leaving off with her, continuing their date.

 ‘Again?’ Naruto wondered. ‘Did I ever even make Hinata cry? That's unthinkable! I'd never make her cry,’ he thought to himself as he walked towards Ichiraku’s.

 As he walked, he encountered another couple – the sky-blue-eyed white-blonde female and the droopy-eyed lazy bum who was ironically the first one to be promoted into a Chunin in their batch.

 “Naruto!” Ino called out to him, waving, as he seemed absorbed in his thoughts about the threat the Hyuuga gave him earlier. He looked at Ino and Shikamaru.

 “Oh! If it isn’t Ino and Shikamaru! What are you guys doin’?” he asked with a grin stretched on his face, guessing that they are also dating. Why else would two people of the opposite genders be together on a holiday?

 “Dating,” Ino admitted proudly. Well, it was obvious. She was wearing expensive-looking make-up and simple but shiny accessories. Shikamaru simply looked away, his cheeks growing in an almost unnoticeable shade of pink.

 BINGO! He was right twice in a row! This was the day the idiotic him turned into a psychic-genius!

 “Pffft!” Naruto forced to hold in his laugh out of excitement of his superb guessing skills.

 “What?!” Ino glared at him, taking the laugh he’s holding in as an insult. “Are you thinking that this date won’t be a success!?”

 “N-No! I-I’m just glad my guesses are right! Honest!” he stammered, waving both of his hands in front of him frantically, fearing that another punch would be taken from this couple. There’s still a lot of pain left on his face from the Hyuuga’s punch. Plus, he was way too hungry to even think of fighting.

 “Good. I don’t want to be caught dead beating up the Hokage,” Ino laughed jokingly which seemed half-meant. “Besides, we still have a date to finish,” she added, clutching Shikamaru’s arm with an enthusiastic grin on her face.

 “Hn. Troublesome,” Shikamaru mumbled softly though his lips slightly curved upward.

 “Well, I’m heading off to Ichiraku’s. Wanna come?” Naruto invited, though he was quite sure they’d decline.

 “Naruto, a date isn’t a date when there are three of you,” Ino pointed out. “Right, Shikamaru?”

 Shikamaru just shrugged in response. He didn’t really care much as long as he’s with the blond female.

“Uh, yeah. See you guys later,” Naruto continued walking, waving to the couple with a grin on his face as they walked to the opposite direction, continuing their date.

 He arrived at the store, finding out that the four seats were taken. He sat at the fifth seat, next to the female who has dark knee-length hair which he presumed was about his age, only then that he realized that the four who occupied the seats were none other than the jounin with the very familiar silky indigo hair and lilac eyes and her three twelve-year-old students - all in the genin rank.

 The second he realized it was Hinata, his heart started beating in a loud and a fast pace. ‘What the heck is this weird feeling?’ Naruto thought to himself. Of course, thinking was never his cup of tea. He put it aside of his mind but the weird feeling lingered in his chest. It's not like he didn't want it, but it was simply uncommon.

 The shop owner noticed him. “Oh, it’s my best customer! What’ll it be today?” he asked with a smile on his face.

 “How ‘bout Soy Ramen?” Naruto ordered, not loud enough for Hinata to realize it was him.

 “Right away.”

 “Hinata-sensei. It’s the Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto,” informed Hinata’s emotionless purple-eyed female student who placed another bite-sized crab stick into her mouth using her trusty wooden chopstics after talking.

 “Huh? That’s not a funny joke, Yumi-chan… I-It’s not like you to joke like that,” Hinata’s face flushed a little upon hearing the name that started with the letter N. The owner of the name simply had large ties to her past.

 “But it IS the Hokage, Hina-sensei!” pointed out the mischievous spikey-blue-haired  student before shoving an octopus slice to his already full mouth.

 “I concur, Hinata-sensei,” the good-looking male student agreed to the other two after swallowing the noodles he took in.

 Naruto chuckled, loud enough for the jounin to hear. Wait... does Hinata don’t want to see him that much that she doesn’t believe her students? Did he do something for her to dislike him that much or was he just thinking too much once again?

 Hearing the chuckle, Hinata turned pale. Did he just witness what happened? Slowly turning her head to face the loudmouth, she smiled sheepishly. “Oh… It’s you… H-Hokage-sama…”

 She’s too polite! He sure missed her calling him ‘Naruto-kun’ with that shy and cute little voice of hers.

 “Hey, Hinata-chan! How’re ya?!” he answered with a wide grin on his face, trying to give her the message of quitting her formality and calling him the way she used to.

 “I… I’m fine,” Hinata replied with some unease obvious in her voice before her eyes fell on the half-finished ramen in front of her. With her chopsticks, she gracefully put a cluster of noodles into her mouth like a fine lady would do.

 “Hinata-sensei,” the genin called Yumi caught Hinata’s attention. “Are you free later night?”

 Hinata nodded then tilted her head, wondering what was up. She swallowed the noodles then answered, “I don’t have anything planned for tonight.”

 “Then would you please do me a favor?” Yumi asked with the same emotionless tone and face despite the question she just asked.

 Hinata smiled gently. “Anything for my student,” she replied gladly. Yumi rarely asked requests to anyone since she had always been lonesome and independent. The only people she kind of opened up to was her team.

 “Onii-chan wants to ask you out for tonight but is too shy to do so. Could you please meet him on Konoha’s main gate and go with him to the cherry blossom tree in the outskirts of town?” Yumi told Hinata her request concerning her older brother who’s also the same age as Hinata.

 Hinata’s face was then tinted to a shade of pink. Sure, she did turn down some guys asking her out. But Yumi’s big brother – Yuuto, was a close friend of hers. He knew some of her secrets. He's also very dependable and a good person to talk to when Kiba and Shino weren't there for her. And besides, she never learned to say ‘no’ to the requests of people close to her, which include friends, students, and teammates.

 The sensei was about to reply when she realized that the guy she had admired for years was there, eating his favourite food and maybe listening to their conversation. Wait, he never responded to her confession, right? So there wouldn’t be any problem with her going out with someone else. It’s not like they’re in a relationship or something. And she had formed a special kind of friendship with Yuuto.

 “Okay,” Hinata replied with a smile on her face then sipped some soup of the ramen she’s eating.

 “Great. Thanks, Hinata-sensei. Meet him later, at 5:30 pm, sharp.”

 Naruto, on the other hand, was really listening to the talk, making it as unobvious as he could. 'A date with just going to a cherry blossom tree? That’s cheap! The former heiress deserves more than that.' He wanted to butt in and criticize the plan but it would seem very un-hokage-ly and he also wouldn't want to look bad in front of her.

 “Ne, ne! Isn’t it that when someone confesses by twilight near that sakura tree, he or she would be bounded with that person he or she likes for life?!” the hyper student informed them with a wide grin on his face, his mouth still full of food.

 “Makes sense, Shiro! Yuuto-san seems to really like Hinata-sensei!” the handsome student in his batch added. He glanced at the girl called Yumi, who caught him looking at her. He winked. She rolled her eyes then averted her gaze to their demure teacher.

 Hinata’s face flushed more, as Naruto and the others noticed. 

 ‘… confesses by twilight near that sakura tree… bounded…for life…’ ‘… really like Hinata-sensei…’  The words echoed in Naruto’s mind. He started to get nervous though he didn’t exactly know why. Why did it seem like it mattered so much that … that … Hinata would be bounded for life with some other guy? A small similar feeling similar to anger swelled up in him. Hinata deserved someone else, not Yuuto. The again, why was he feeling these weird emotions? Well, he did care for Hinata like a good friend would. That may be it. He decided that it was the reason for the uneasy feeling he’s currently having.

 “So Hinata-chan has a lover! Aw, how sweet!” Naruto teased her a little, making it seem like he’s unaffected with the fact that Hinata’s going to go out with some guy he’s not much familiar with. Of course he did give him some missions, but he’s not familiar with Yuuto unlike he was with his classmates.

 “Yeah! And they could be together forever!!!” the student named Shiro added to the teasing, though Naruto didn’t feel like he liked the idea.

 “And maybe Hinata-sensei could be my sister-in-law,” Yumi added, still with that expressionless face.

 “N-Now, now... Everyone’s done eating… M-Maybe we could go to the hot springs? My treat,” Hinata changed the subject stutteringly, bashfulness obvious in her voice.

 “Yeah! Let’s go, Yumi, Ryuuki!!! See ya, Hokage-sama!!!” Shiro pulled his teammates towards the direction the hot springs was located after bidding an energetic goodbye to the blonde hokage.

 Hinata stood from her seat and then paid the shop owner. She smiled shyly at Naruto and said, “See you, Naruto-kun.” Then she walked away and followed her students.

 Naruto’s heart again started to beat like a drum – loud and fast. A wide grin formed on his face like it couldn’t be removed for a long period of time. He suddenly felt like the happiest guy in Konoha when the Hyuuga smiled at him even though he doesn’t know what’s with the irregular beating of his heart. Does he have a heart problem or something? He’s gotta have a check-up with some medical nin.

 He finished off his ramen then paid the owner. He was about to leave when he saw a certain cherry-blossom-haired medical nin and a chicken-butt raven-haired Uchiha walking by with their hands intertwined. Well, it wasn't much of a surprise. They're offically a couple.

 “Teme! Sakura-chan!” Naruto called out, waving his left arm to catch attention. Two heads turned to his direction.

 “Oh, it’s Naruto,” mumbled Sakura as she and Sasuke walked towards the blonde. Sasuke just followed her lead.

 “How are you two doing?” he asked. He’s now guessing that they’re in the middle of their date too.

 “It was fine until you appeared, Dobe,” answered Sasuke with his expressionless gaze, intentionally annoying Naruto.

 “HEY! IS THAT HOW YOU’D TALK TO THE HOKAGE!?” Naruto shouted, obviously pissed with what the Uchiha told him. Even if he's the high and mighty hokage, he still got the same treatment from his rival.

 “Nope, but that’s how I’d talk to an idiotic nin,” Sasuke replied nonchalantly with a smirk which annoyed the hell out of the new hokage.

 “WHAT?!”

 Sakura giggled. “Just like old times…”

 “So what do you want, dobe? You’re interrupting us,” said Sasuke with his cold icy stare.

 Naruto coughed and snorted, “Interrupting your date?” then coughed again. Deep inside, he was laughing his heart out. He couldn't wait to witness a blushing or an embarrassed Uchiha whose pride left him!

 “What did you say?!” Sasuke said, glaring right into Naruto’s eyes. This wasn't the reaction he wanted to get.

Naruto almost turned pale. He wasn’t ready for another punch in the face, especially from the Uchiha nor the Haruno. “N-Nothing! Anyway, Sakura-chan, I need you to – “

Now, Sakura shot him a fiery glare. If looks could kill, he's absolutely dead that second. “Are you forgetting that Sasuke and I are together? Plus, someone else’s waiting for you!”

 ‘Waiting for me? What?’ Naruto thought. “Uhhh… Who’s waiting for me?” he asked, dumbfounded.

 “Tch. Idiotic Naruto…” Sakura mumbled. “Figure it out yourself! You’re too ignorant!” she remarked after starting to walk away with Sasuke.

 “Wait! Sakura-chan! I need a little health check up!” Naruto called out to Sakura, chasing after them. He had that desperate look on his face. What if he's got an illness?

 Sakura turned to face Naruto with an eyebrow raised. “Why?”

 “My chest feels weird.”

 Sakura sighed. “What did you feel?” she said with some concern in her voice, walking towards Naruto, with one of her hands still holding Sasuke’s. Sasuke still showed a stoic expression though he felt worry deep inside of him for his friend.

 “My heartbeat was abnormally loud and quick minutes ago, before you two arrived.”

 Sakura looked at Sasuke. “Just a sec,” she said softly before performing a few hand signs as bluish chakra surrounded her hands. She placed her hands on Naruto’s chest, checking if everything is normal or if something is really wrong. She took a step back to link her hand again with Sasuke’s once her little check-up is done. Since she didn't seem worried, anxiety also left the Uchiha.

 “Everything’s normal,” she said as a result of what she did earlier.

 “You sure I don’t have a heart problem? People die because of it!” Naruto replied, panicking.

 “Yep,” Sakura nodded. She thought for a while, wondering if what the cause was. Then an imaginary light bulb appeared on the top of her head as her lips curved up into an excited grin. “Did you saw someone pretty or beautiful earlier?” she asked Naruto enthusiastically. Sasuke looked at her with curiosity. He knew she was up to something.

The Uzumaki remembered the angelic princess-like Hyuuga he sat with while eating ramen. His face flushed a little then answered as he looked away, “U-Um yeah…”

 Sakura’s smile widened and her eyes sparkled. “Was it a female? Hinata-chan, maybe?”

 Naruto’s eyes nearly popped out of their places. “How did you know?! Are you developing a psychic jutsu or something? Teach me, then! I gotta know what the other kages are thinking for the next meeting!"

“Baka,” Sakura giggled. “Nope. Isn’t it that when you’re scared, nervous, or excited, your heart rate is like how you felt?”

 Naruto nodded slowly, like a little kid being taught by someone older.

 “The reason somewhere between those,” said Sakura with a smile. “Well, it’s up to you to figure it out. Sasuke-kun and I are going to continue our … uh … " She glanced up at her partner to confirm if she would tell Naruto.

“Date,” the dark-eyed male continued the pinkette's sentence possesively without any sign of hesitation or any sign of his pride decreasing. She gave Naruto too many smiles already; as Sakura's boyfriend, all of those smiles were supposed to be only his. In other words, let's just say that our high and mighty Sasuke was kind of jealous of Dobe.

 “Right,” Sakura nodded with a smile. Deep inside, her inner fangirl self was  screaming with delight. She noticed the possesiveness in his voice and how he spoke the word 'date' so coolly.

 “Sheesh. Why is it that everyone is dating today? What’s this holiday called? ‘Date Day’?” Naruto complained, after discovering that his guess was right. He encountered friends who are in the middle of their dates thrice in a row. If he’d encounter Hinata with that Yuuto guy, that’ll be four times. But he was hoping he wouldn't, actually.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as his brows furrowed and shook his head. “Hn. Who in the world gave the idea of making someone as clueless as Dobe to be the Hokage?” he insulted. “Even someone like me who was away from Konoha for years knows about this holiday.”

 “Ehehehehe!” Naruto laughed sheepishly, completely clueless about the holiday. “S-So what’s the holiday really about?”

 “Well, legend has it that when couples get to be together this day, they’ll have a good life together! Though I don’t really know what is its connection with the death of that great heroine,” Sakura answered in her unusual girly tone then leaned the right part of her head sweetly on Sasuke’s shoulder.

“We have a date to continue, if the idiotic hokage won’t mind,” Sasuke said impatiently as he towed  his girlfriend by the hand gently to make their leave.

As they walked to the opposite direction, the female medic-nin looked back at Naruto. “Oh, and Naruto, you have an S-Class Mission for today. Figure out what’s up with those feelings of yours before it’s too late,” she said then walked beside Sasuke towards the park.

 Naruto was left there, standing and thinking over and over about what his teammate said. ‘Too late? What the heck did she mean?’ he thought, scratching the back of his head. He accidentally touched the part where the serious Hyuuga punched him. “Ouch!” he exclaimed. Then that reminded him of what Neji told him before taking his leave. ‘Make Hinata-sama cry again and you’ll die,’ he remembered the Hyuuga giving him a deadly threatening glare. ‘What’s with people these days?! Sheesh!’ he thought as he walked towards his house, deciding to take a little nap.

 When he got into his quiet, lonesome house, he took off his orange clothes then changed into his comfortable pajamas. He went straight to his bed by a window and lied down with his head on his soft pillow. But there was a problem. Words kept echoing through his mind. ‘Figure out what’s up with those feelings of yours before it’s too late.’ After praying that he’d get the answer soon and forcing himself to free his mind from the clutches of his thoughts, he finally fell into deep slumber.

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 He was pinned on the ground by dark-colored chakra pins of the Rinnegan-using Pein. He was in his Sennin Mode yet he can’t move. The chakra pins were restricting his movements. Deva-Pein was starting to take the power of the Kyuubi inside him. He didn’t know what would happen next, if he could even defeat Pein in his situation now.

 That’s when the bashful girl with her Byakugan activated attacked the orange-haired invader as it left an enormous hole on the ground. Of course, being a skilled ninja he was, Pein avoided the attack.

 “I won’t let you hurt Naruto-kun again!” she shouted to the Akatsuki member, anger and protectiveness dripping from her voice.

 “Reinforcements?” the invader questioned with an indifferent gaze.

 The sight of the back of the silky indigo-haired female made fright fill him. He doesn’t want to see her get hurt in front of him as he promised himself that he’d protect this kind of person he liked. “WHY’D YOU COME OUT HERE?! GET AWAY QUICKLY! YOU’RE NO MATCH!!!” he shouted to the girl.

 “I know. I’m just being selfish,” Hinata answered in a serious tone.

The blonde didn’t understand. “What are you talking about?! Don’t put yourself into danger like this!” He just got to get Hinata out of there. He didn’t feel like he could just watch her get hurt while he just lied there, pinned to the ground, with nothing he could do.

 “I’m here because I want to be,” Hinata replied simply. 

 ‘WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO FIGHT!? GET OUT OF HERE!!!’ Naruto felt like screaming his thoughts to her but he didn’t get the chance when she continued talking.

 “This time, I’m going to save you, Naruto-kun…”

 ‘DON’T! YOU DON’T NEED TO! I CAN’T WATCH YOU GET HURT!’

 “I was always crying and giving up without trying… I made the wrong turns many so times… But you helped me find my way and correct my path, Naruto-kun…” she paused. “I always chased after you… I wanted to catch up to you… I wanted to walk beside you all the time… I want to be by your side always… ”

 ‘… Why would you … want to be with an idiot like me…?’ he thought after hearing the former Hyuuga heiress’ words. He didn't feel like he deserved to walk beside her - a kunoichi of high standing and elite bloodline. Compared to her, he had nothing to offer. 

 “You changed me, Naruto-kun! Your smile is what saved me! That’s why I’m not afraid to die… if it means I could protect you!”

 Naruto’s eyes widened with shock. ‘Die… protecting me…? Why?!’  The idea made him shiver. He would never want her to die! He'd rather get killed instead of seeing her save him and pass away! 'No... Don't!' 

 “Naruto-kun… It’s because… I love you!” the Hyuuga confessed with a gentle smile as the breeze blew her silky dark hair then placed it back to the way it was.

 Naruto couldn’t believe his ears. ‘Love…?’

She frowned then shifted into her fighting stance, glaring right into the Rinnegan eyes with her Byakugan-activated ones. She looked back to Naruto then at Pein. Pein took out one of his pins from his Akatsuki cloak. Hinata swung her foot towards one of the chakra pins, breaking it and deactivating the movement restriction on the body part which that pin is placed. She was about to use her other foot to break another pin when Pein used his repulsive power, making her get thrown away.

 ‘No… you don’t want to see this… you know what happens next…!’

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 Naruto rose quickly from his bed, sweating and panting heavily. It turned out that it was just a nightmare – a nightmare consisting of one of his dark memories that he both wanted to forget and wanted to keep as long as he lived.

 Wait… it seemed like he was getting the pieces together for the puzzle he’s been trying to finish!

 “Isn’t it that when you’re scared, nervous, or excited, your heart rate is like how you felt? … The reason is somewhere between those… it’s up to you to figure it out…”

 I got it, Sakura-chan!

 “I don’t mind dying … if that means I could protect you!”

 I’ve always wanted that it would be me who would protect her… that’s why I didn’t want to see her protecting me as she gets hurt… And it’s because…

 “It’s because… Naruto-kun… I love you!”

 I’ve fallen for Hinata… the kind of girl I’ve always liked… without even me noticing it…

 “Naruto, you have an S-Class Mission for today. Figure out what’s up with those feelings of yours...”

Mission Result: Success.

Feelings: Love

 Waiiit a sec… with ‘before it’s too late…’

 “Onii-chan wants to ask you out for tonight but is too shy to do so. Could you please meet him on Konoha’s gate and go with him to the cherry blossom tree in the outskirts of town?”

 “Meet him later, at 5:30 pm, sharp.”

 “… confesses by twilight near that sakura tree… bounded…for life…”

CRAP! Some guy is gonna take Hinata out and he’ll be confessing under that legend tree. Panicking, Naruto checked the time.

It’s 5:45 pm.

He did what he always did ever since: act without thinking or even making up a strategy. He put on his red cloak and rushed towards Konoha’s main gate. Once the sun would set, it’ll be all over. His success on the S-Class mission would be deemed useless.

 He ran as fast as he could, not even minding those people who waved and greeted him. He just got to get to the gate! Hoping that either Hinata or her date would be late, he took the last turn before getting to the meeting place. He stopped, panting heavily. He looked up to see if Hinata or Yuuto would be there…

 There was no one. They had left for the sakura tree.

The sky glowed in a darker shade of orange, coloring the sky with a lighter shade of the said color. Tears crept from his eyes and flowed on his cheeks as he fell to his knees. He felt all that adrenaline leave him and take away more of his strength and energy. It’s over. He lost her.

If only his idiotic mind figured out his feelings sooner. If only he responded to her confession years ago. If only he had recognized her efforts to walk by his side. If only he realized that he has mutual feelings for her earlier, she would have been his. Now she’s gone. She'll be in the arms of a guy he hardly knew. The person who might've been there when she needed Naruto the most.

Wait, this can’t be right… he can’t stop now! What happened to his motto of never giving up and never going back to his word?! His nindo!? His ninja way?! He reached his hokage dream with these! He made it clear to his mind that he would confess to Hinata this very day, whether she’d be forever with that guy or not! It doesn't matter anymore if she would even return his feelings. He could wait. He will make her fall for him all over again. 'But this time, I'll never make her cry.'

 He got back to his feet and ran towards the cherry blossom tree, relying on the little hope that she still has feelings for him despite the fact that she had confessed to him years ago.

 “Make Hinata-sama cry again and you’ll die.”

 “Someone else’s waiting for you!”

 He stopped in front of the cherry blossom tree. In front of it stood two shadows - one feminine wearing a yukata and  one masculine holding the hand of the female's. Sweat mixed with tears dropped from the hokage's chin.

 “Hinata-chan,” he called for her, panting.

The female was dressed her best lavender kimono with embroidered flowery details. She also looked like she took her time to get ready and be beautiful for the person who was holding her hand. Her hair was up in an elegant bun pinned by a sparkling flower ornament, her cheeks and her lips were tinted with a light shade of pink, and her eyelids were colored with a pretty gardient of wisteria and pale pink. She was gorgeous. Turning around, she faced the owner of voice with lilac eyes filled with shock and curiosity. “Naruto-kun…?”

 “C-Can we talk…?” he asked in his unusually stammering voice as his heart raced faster than it commonly did. 

 Hinata looked at her good-looking auburn-haired companion. She didn’t need words to convey what she wanted to say. She knew he understood what her look meant, and he did. He nodded with a smirk, allowing a disturbance in their date.

 “Sure…” she consented, still not leaving her special friend's side. She simply gripped on his hand tighter. The male kept quiet.

 “G… Great…” Naruto walked towards them after wiping off his tears. “Y-You see I… h-have something to… to tell you…” Hearing the loud beating of his heart ringing in his ears, he forced himself to calm down to no avail. He was then wondering if the persons in front of him could hear the drum orchestra in his chest.

 “I’m… listening…” the female said shyly yet reasurringly as much as she could. She still held her friend's hand, who in turn held hers. 

 “I… I-I just… a-about you… I… I-I… I think I… w-want to… thank you… W-Wait, no! It’s not that… I… I’m – “

 “Why don’t you just say it already, Hokage-sama?” Yuuto interrupted with impatience obvious in his manner of speaking.

 “GAH! WHY IS IT SO HARD TO TELL YOU THAT I’M IN-LOVE WITH YOU DATTEBAYO!!!???” the Hokage exclaimed, which is not exactly how he wanted to say it. He just got annoyed at how he could stutter so much, how he couldn't say things direct to the point as he always did, and how the Yuuto guy got quite on his nerves for interrupting him. But somehow he could understand why; it's him who's interrupting the date, not Yuuto.

Upon realizing that he just shouted what he wanted to say, he felt both disappointed and gleeful; disappointed because he wasn't able to confess in the most romantic way possible which most girls would like to have, and gleeful because he finally got to say it. Hesitantly, he looked up to the Hyuuga to see her reaction.

 “W-What?” the surprised Hinata asked, not believing what she just heard. She looked at Yuuto who responded with a small smile then gestured to listen to the hokage again.

 “W-When I heard your voice when I asked your team to join me… I felt thrilled that… I could see you again after a lot of years… It’s just that… I had always liked you though I wasn’t aware of it… I-I’ve always wanted to protect you … and… a-about your confession… y-years ago… I didn’t know how to… take it since… I’m unsure of my feelings… S-So… I’m sorry i-it took me s-so long to… realize that… I’m in-love with Hyuuga Hinata… and now… I know that i-it’s too late… now that… Yukimura Yuuto-san confessed…” Naruto explained as if all his self-confidence were sucked out. He knew he was hopeless. He could see how close Hinata and Yuuto were and how they held hands in front of him which could already mean one thing: they're already a couple and Hinata returned Yuuto's feelings.

The Yukimura male chuckled. “Don’t worry Hokage-sama. I haven’t even confessed yet, not like I’m planning to. If you only knew, Hina-chan here had always been waiting for the time that you would say those things to her, even if she was quite sure you’d never fall for her. She kept telling me that every time I asked how it went with you. Peace, Hina-chan! Don’t kill me after this!” He grinned ear-to-ear with his hand formed into a peace sign.

 “Y-Y-Yuuto-kuuun!!!” Hinata complained sheepishly, letting go of his hand. The hit him on his shoulder gently as she stomped her feet like a spoiled princess. “I-I thought you promised you wouldn’t tell anyone!” She placed both of her hands on her face to cover her crimson cheeks. Yuuto chuckled as he said, "Sorry~"

 “I-Is that true…?” Naruto asked, hope and happiness filling his once depressed chest. He was starting to smile, replacing the hopeless expression on his face.

Slowly placing her hands in front of her chest then starting to fidget, Hinata looked down, her face blushing. She looked at Naruto for a second then looked down again. She looked to the side then finally looked up to Naruto’s questioning blushing face. She smiled shyly then said, “I-It is…”

 He couldn’t believe his ears. She did wait for him! She’s still had feelings for him! He couldn’t stop smiling as tears of joy continuously dripped from his cheeks. Without thinking, he threw himself to the beautifully-dressed female as he enveloped her in his arms automatically.

 “Thank you… Hinata…”

 “N-Naruto-kun…”

The kunoichi’s face reddened with surprise. After a few seconds of realization, she finally hugged him back with a thankful smile on her face. She had waited for this moment years ago, even if she knew she was hopeless for the person she liked had someone else in his heart. If this was all a dream, she wished she’d never wake up. But then, she felt Naruto’s warm tears on her shoulder, proving that everything was in the realm of reality.

 “Well then, my job here is done. Please excuse me, Hokage-sama and future Konoha’s First Lady, if I may.” The Yukimura male bowed in respect to the hokage then started walking away, a victorious smirk stretched on his face.

 “W-Wait, Yuuto-san!” Hinata let go of the hug to call her friend. Naruto frowned slightly, maybe due to the fact that their moment was finished or because Hinata let go due to her curiosity. Was it jealousy? “What do you mean with ‘job’?” the Hyuuga asked.

 “Weeell… I lost a game against Yumi so she dared me to do this. At first, I thought Uzumaki-sama doesn’t have any interest to Hina-chan so I thought it was a stupid order. But then… when I saw Uzumaki-sama beside Hina-chan when the five of you were eating ramen, it seems that it wasn’t so stupid after all… So everything was a plan. I never thought my sister was this smart!” Yuuto explained and grinned. “Anyway, I’m glad to get to help with the Hokage’s cute confession under the cherry blossom tree!”

 Hinata giggled. “Well… that’s what to expect with my team’s strategy maker… B-But I never thought this was also a plan… T-Thank you… Yuuto-kun…”

 “Yeah. Thanks a lot, Yuuto-san!” the hokage thanked him with a grin.

 “Much obiged, Hina-chan and Hokage-sama. Anyway, Uzumaki-sama, if you don’t mind, could you please finish this date by going to the festival with Hina-chan tonight?” Yuuto asked.

 Naruto smiled widely. “Gladly! You didn’t have to ask!”

 “And one more thing, Hokage-sama, why don’t you change into uh… appropriate clothes before going there? If I’m not mistaken, you’re wearing your pajamas under your cloak.”

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 And so, the new couple spent their first date in the summer festival, since it’s held on the same night. Of course, Naruto followed Yuuto’s tip. He changed into clothes that would match perfectly with Hinata’s. They enjoyed the festival, while holding hands, as they also had bought couple shirts and gifts to each other. Later, they went walking near the bridge, as fireflies flew around, giving the quiet area a quite magical feel. That was also the night when they first shared their first kiss surrounded by the glowing fireflies, under the silver light of the luminous moon and the twinkling stars.

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Please comment and tell me what you think. I posted this first in my account at FF.net, just FYI. 

Sincerely yours,
Eru-chii. :3