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On any other day, you could ask Uzumaki Naruto what he planned on doing that night, and he would tell you he was going to Ichiraku.
But tonight was different. Tonight, he had a date. A date with Hyuuga Hinata. At first, he was a little reluctant to believe it was an actual date, considering he'd went out a had dinner with Hinata and some mutual friends dozens of times before. Whether it’s Ichiraku after a long mission away from the village, or meeting up for dumplings on the rare occasion that Team Kurenai and Team Kakashi had the same day off, there never seemed to be any shortage of nice moments with his friends.
But nice, friendly moments within your group are not dates, as it had been brought to Naruto's attention by a fiercer-than-usual Sakura.
"A date is different." She told him sternly. "If you're going on a date with Hinata, you can't just go out for ramen like you would after a mission or with Iruka-sensei. You've got to put some thought into HER interests, like what kind of foods SHE likes, places SHE enjoys."
"You don't think Hinata likes Ichiraku?" Naruto brought his thumb to his chin, his trademark Thinking Pose. "I can't imagine why not, it's the best ramen in the village."
"Idiot." Sakura heaved a sigh, her pink hair moving swiftly across the shoulders as she shook her head. "Maybe you ought to cancel, rather than embarrass yourself."
"No way! I asked Hinata out for dinner and I plan on keeping my word! That's my-"
"Yeah, yeah I know, it's your ninja way, I get all that. Keep your voice down and don't get so worked up, people are staring." Naruto took a look around and noticed that several patrons of the dango shop he and Sakura sat in were giving him strange, curious looks. He didn't realize he had stood up in his exasperation. With a nervous chuckle, he sat back into his seat, his hand finding the familiar spot behind his head that he liked to rub when he was embarrassed.
"If ramen isn't okay, what kind of foods does Hinata like? I know she likes sweets, damn near everybody knows that. Do you think she'd like Yakiniku Q? I've been there with Choji and Shikamaru a couple of times, and it's pretty good."
"Don't ask me, Naruto. This is what I mean, you need to think about what you know about Hinata if you want to have a good date." With that, Sakura placed some ryou on the table and left, knowing Naruto had a lot to think about.
xxxx
"What are you so nervous about? It's just Naruto, he's probably gonna take you to Ichiraku. We've been to Ichiraku a million times." Kiba attempted to reason with a very flustered Hinata, who found herself nervously clinging to the sleeves of her jacket. "I doubt he even knows there are other restaurants in the village."
"It may be illogical to make assumptions." Shino adjusted the dark glasses over his eyes and furrowed his brow from his spot at the edge of Kiba's bed. "Both negative or otherwise. The reason is, Naruto himself asked Hinata for her company, an action many would consider improbable, based on the assumption that he has been ignorantly oblivious to Hinata's predilection for him."
"Alright, maybe. But it's still Naruto we're talking about. That knuckle-head couldn't tell the difference between a romantic dinner and Cup-O' Noodles."
“I-I’m don’t mind ramen..” Hinata managed to sputter out, her face flush red. “I’m just worried I’ll mess something up, and Naruto-kun might not want to see me again…”
“Don’t be like that, Hinata. Anybody in Konoha would be happy to spend time with you, especially now, with the whole war hero thing going on.” Kiba grimaced as Hinata's face took on a new shade of red. "It's him you have to worry about, there's no telling what kind of bone-headed night he has planned."
Hinata sighed. As much as she loved her teammates, they're not always the people she needs to talk to about these kinds of things. With a polite bow towards her team, she made her way out of the Inuzuka compound. Maybe Kurenai-sensei can help calm her nerves.
xxxx
Naruto shuffled slowly down the familiar dirt path towards the Konoha Ninja Academy. He had been meaning to stop by and see his old instructor for a few weeks now, but with the seemingly endless amount of work that comes with the end of a war, he never quite found the time to do it. " But I know if there's anybody I could count on for advice like this, it's Iruka-sensei. " He thought, his mind made up. His sensei won't let him down.
Before he knew it, he was rounding the corner of the wooden halls to Iruka's classroom. He pressed his ear up to the door. If he's in the middle of teaching a class, his sensei would never forgive him if he barged in and caused a scene. However, all that could be heard was Iruka's familiar humming. With a wide grin, Naruto flung open the classroom door. "Hey, Iruka-sensei!"
With a thud, Umino Iruka was on the floor, along with the pile of papers he was arranging at his desk. His startled face searched the room frantically until his eyes met with his former-problem-student-turned-hero's gleeful gaze. "NARUTO! HOW ABOUT A KNOCK NEXT TIME, HUH?!"
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei!" He grimaced before bending over to pick up a few loose papers that landed near his feet. After a moment, he and Iruka had returned the mess of pages to a neat stack on the desk.
With a small sigh, Iruka gave his student a gentle smile. "It’s great to see you, Naruto. What can I do for you?"
Naruto scratch the back of his head, unsure of where to start. “I’m not really sure how to put it.”
“Do you wanna talk about it over ramen?” Iruka pushed a few things around on his desk and retrieved his wallet from under a complicated-looking mathematics book. “It’s my treat.”
Naruto’s eyes lit up. It was always something when Iruka-sensei offered to pay for their ramen.
The walk to Ichiraku was calm and peaceful. The mid-November air held just enough chill to keep Naruto and Iruka focused on moving forward, rather than catching up. Once they arrived at their favorite ramen shop, they were greeted warmly by the restaurants owner, one Ichiraku Teuchi.
“Iruka! Naruto! Long time no see, boys! Sit down, settle in! I’ll be right there to get your order!”
“Hey, old man! Thanks!” Naruto grinned and sat down, with Iruka right on his heels. The deliciously aromas behind the counter filled their noses and sent a warming jolt through Naruto’s whole body. “Ahhh…” Naruto let out a content sigh. “This place sure doesn’t gets old.” Iruka just smiled.
After a moment, Teuchi appeared before them and took their usual orders: a large bowl of miso ramen with extra pork for Naruto and a regular serving of miso ramen for Iruka. Turning his attention towards Naruto, Iruka raised an eyebrow. “So, Naruto.” He flashed a small smile at his student. “What did you want to talk to me about.” At the mention of his dilemma, Naruto visibly tensed.
“Well... Sensei, do you know anything about dating? What are you supposed to do on a first date? Is there some sort of dress code? ‘Cause I only have one outfit!” Naruto’s voice rose in volume as his barrage of questions went on, causing Teuchi-jii-san to look up from his steaming vat of broth.
“Woah, hold on. Calm down, Naruto. One question at a time. Do you have a date coming up soon?” Iruka set his elbows on the counter and cradled his head in his hands. How did he get stuck with the dating talk?
“Yeah, I’m taking Hinata out tonight.” He paused. “But I have no idea where to go, or what I’m supposed to do! I’ve never been on a date before.”
“Hinata, huh?” Iruka let out a low chuckle. “ It’s about time. ” He thought to himself. “Well, let’s start with ‘why’. Why did you want to ask Hinata out tonight in the first place?” He nodded politely to Ayame, Teuchi-sama’s daughter, who had peaked her head out from the kitchen to wave at the duo and turned back to Naruto.
“Well, back during all the fighting in the war, Hinata was the one who gave me the strength to keep fighting. And when it was all finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. What she said, or how I felt when she said it.” Naruto sighed. “I’ve always admired Hinata, her strength and her will to push forward. But it’s different, ya know? It’s like I’m really focused on it now, after everything that’s happened. So I thought, you know, maybe we should spend some time together.”
Iruka stared at his student wide-eyed. He had heard about some of the events of the war, but none from Naruto. Looking at him now, the way his face seemed to age ten years as his thoughts brought him back to that time, his recollection of treacherous bloodshed caused his bright blue eyes to take on the look of vicious stormclouds. He brought his left hand up to his right forearm and traced the folds of its bandages with his fingers.
“Hey, Naruto.” Iruka reached over and shook Naruto’s shoulder, snapping him out of his haunted haze. Naruto looked up and met his teachers sad gaze. “Your ramen is gonna get cold.”
Naruto dropped his stare to the counter in front of him. Sure enough, a hot bowl of his favorite ramen sat in front of him, steaming with delicious perfection. His dark thoughts forgotten, he snapped open a pair of chopsticks. “Itadakimasu!” He and his teacher exclaimed together, and they dug in. It was after they had finished their meal before Iruka spoke again, this time his thoughts on the subject much more collected.
“I don’t think you need to worry so much about the ‘how to act’ bit, Naruto. I don’t have to tell you to chew with your mouth closed, listen to what she says and be respectful. Hinata’s not going to scrutinize you if you’re not the perfect gentleman, especially if you’re not up to the Hyuuga standard.” He scowled at the thought of Naruto with the same stick up his rear as Hiashi-sama. “But don’t be a jerk about it, either.”
“I’m not gonna be a jerk about anything! I want to take Hinata out on a nice date! That’s why I asked you for advice in the first place!” Naruto frowned. As far as he could remember, he had never been cruel or a jerk to Hinata before, so why did Iruka-sensei think otherwise?
“I know, I just thought you could benefit from the little bit of advice I can actually offer.” Iruka gave him a half-hearted shrug. “Just be yourself, Naruto. Hinata wouldn’t have agreed to go on a date with you if she didn’t like you for who she already knows you to be, so it won’t hurt to just act casual.”
“Casual. Okay, I can do that.” Naruto relaxed a bit. Maybe this whole thing wasn’t gonna be as hard as he thought.
“Now,” Iruka counted out some ryou and placed it on the upper portion of the counter. “What time are you supposed to go out tonight?”
“I’m supposed to meet Hinata outside the Hyuuga compound at seven.” Naruto raised his eyebrow at his sensei’s question.
“Okay, so we have some time.” Iruka stood up from his stool and gave his favorite knuckle-head a thumbs up. “Let’s go find you something nice to wear.”
Naruto gulped.
xxxx
"Why don't you run me through what's going on in your head right now, Hinata?" Yuuhi Kurenai spoke, her eyes settled on her former subordinate. "What are your exact worries about this date?"
"I've never been on a date before, Kurenai-sensei. What am I supposed to say?" Hinata pinched the bridge of her nose, the stress of her thoughts causing her head to pound. Surely dating isn't supposed to be this stressful?
Kurenai smirked and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, what are the kinds of things you'd normally say to Naruto?"
"U-um. Well, normally when we talk, it’s about something we're doing, like if we're on a mission or meeting up with our teams."
"Alright, that's a start. From those conversations, what are his interests? What are some similar interests of yours?"
"Well… I think he has a potted plant in his apartment named Mr. Ukki, and I like to grow flowers from Ino's parents store between missions… Do you think he has more plants to talk about?"
"That’s… one thing to talk about, I suppose." Kurenai reached over and firmly place a hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Hinata, listen. You and Naruto both have already done so much in your lives, enough to fill a whole lifetime of conversations. I'm sure once you actually get together and start talking, you've have no issue carrying a conversation. You're stressing too much over this."
Hinata sighed. " Stressing too much over this. " She thought. " Where have I heard that before? " "Thank you, Kurenai-sensei, I'm sorry to have bothered you with this."
"None of that, Hinata. It's my job as your sensei to be there for you, no matter how you need me." She gave her a reassuring nudge. "Is there anything else that you're concerned about?"
"Well… I'm mostly worried that I'll mess something up, and Naruto-kun won't want to see me again… or think I'm uninterested…" Hinata blushed a couple different shades of red and seemed to try to disappear into her jacket at the thought of disappointing her date. Kurenai had to stifle a chuckle.
"Naruto asked you out, didn't he? I don't think there's anything you can do to deter him. He asked you out because he wants to spend time with you. Quirks and all, kiddo."
Hinata repressed a scowl at her sensei's use of the word 'kiddo'. Sure she's always going to be her sensei's junior, but she's also almost seventeen years old. Kiddo's don't go on dates.
Kurenai gave her student a quick look-over and patted her shoulder. "So." She leaned in close, a wide smirk growing across her face. "What are you gonna wear?"
xxxx
After a few long hours of trying on what Iruka deemed to be 'nice clothes', Naruto left the fancy dress store just after the sun had set. Despite how good Iruka claimed he had looked in his new clothes, Naruto couldn't help but feel like he was overdressed. He wore a white button up shirt tucked into black dress pants, with a black dress vest and a bright orange tie to finish off the ensemble. "Monkey clothes." He muttered under his breath. As he made his way toward the Hyuuga compound, he realized just how horribly his new outfit was suited for the cold November air. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he picked up the pace.
Once he reached the Hyuuga compound, Naruto could just barely make out the two branch-family guards standing on either side of the open gate in the pale moonlight.
“Hey there, I’m here to pick up Hinata-chan for a date. My name is Uzumaki Naruto.
“Hello, Uzumaki-sama. I shall inform Lady Hinata that you have arrived.” The taller of the guards spoke before walking through the gate and into the compound.
After a few minutes, Hinata came walking out and Naruto let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t the only one who dressed up.
“Good evening, Naruto-kun. Hinata bowed at Naruto, who attempted to mimic the same in return. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Don’t worry about it!” He beamed, taking a good look at Hinata. She wore a long-sleeved dress that flowed halfway down her calves with bright, shimmering accents at the collar and cuffs of the sleeves. “Wow, Hinata. You really make that dress look good.”
“Th-thank you, Naruto-kun. You look very handsome as well.” Hinata blushed, thankful that the darkness outside could help conceal the shade of red her face was turning.
“You like my new monkey clothes?” Naruto spread his arms out wide to emphasize his new outfit. “Iruka-sensei helped me pick it out. He said the orange tie was ridiculous, but he couldn’t stop me!”
Hinata stifled a giggle. “I think it’s very nice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without some orange on you.”
“Y’know, I don’t think most people have. Except, maybe my pajamas.” Naruto brought his hand behind his head and chuckled. “I never really thought about it before, but I guess I like orange!”
With a smile, Hinata stepped closer to Naruto. “Do you, um, have something in particular that you’d like to do this evening?”
“Oh, yeah! I was thinking we could go to this new place, I think it’s called Moritake. Shikamaru told me he took Temari there a week ago, and he said it was good. I think they do kaiseki. Is that alright with you?” Naruto awkwardly outstretched his bandaged right arm in an effort to offer his hand.
“Yes, kaiseki sounds wonderful.” Hinata gave him a small smile and took his hand in hers.
“Don’t mind the bandages.” Naruto sort of shrugged before they started down the road. Luckily, it was only a short walk from the compound to the restaurant district of the village.
xxxx
Moritake was a relatively small establishment that prided itself with serving only the nicest, and seemingly the most expensive dishes available. As Naruto and Hinata found a table with relative ease, a young man brought them a list of their kaiseki options, as well as a list of beverages. Naruto looked at them like they were written in a new language.
“Hey, Hinata?”
“...Yes?”
Naruto pointed at the list of food items and stuck out his upper lip in a mock pout. “Do you know what any of this stuff is?”
Hinata giggled to herself. “Most of these dishes are some combination of meat, fish and vegetables. I can explain them to you if you’d like.”
Naruto sagged in defeat and gave her a sheepish smile. “Yes, please.”
Hinata picked up the menu and began going over each item, what the dishes specifically included and how they were prepared. By the time she had finished, their waiter seemed eager to finally take their orders. Hinata ordered a simple menu of miso soup, a seasonal sashimi dish and a seasoned pickled vegetable dish, along with a bottle of sweet potato Shochu. Naruto, still not completely sure of how the menu works, ordered the same thing, except with a bottle of Sapporo beer. By the time the waiter left with their order, Naruto thought he was going to pass out from holding his breath.
“Heh… sorry about that, Hinata. I’ve uh, never been to a place like this before.” He rubbed the back of his head.
“It’s alright, Naruto-kun. I’ve been to many places and had many formal meals with my clan, I don’t mind explaining, really!”
“Oh yeah, that’s right! I forgot how diplomatic the Hyuuga are. You must have had loads of different foods from all over the place, haven’t you?” Naruto leaned forward in his seat and raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.
“Well… I wouldn’t say loads… But I supposed I’ve had a good number of interesting dishes.” Hinata blushed at Naruto’s sudden attentiveness to her words. “When I was younger, a representative of the Land of Lightning’s feudal lord visited the compound on official business, and his entourage included his personal chef. He made my family some meals I didn’t even think could be food.”
“Really? Like what?” Naruto nodded politely to the waiter as he laid two bowls of miso soup in front of them, along with their drinks. “I’ve been to the Land of Lightning before, but I wasn’t there long enough to eat anything.”
“Well, the first thing we had was pickled snails.” Hinata almost laughed out loud as Naruto’s face dropped to a grimace in pure disgust at the mention of eating snails. “And then there was roasted yamaimo.”
“That gooey stuff in Okonomiyaki? Oh, gross!” Naruto chuckled. “I could never eat any of that stuff. How did you do it?”
“It wasn’t so bad. Most of the time the food wasn’t gross, those are just some bad examples.” Hinata sighed comfortably and lifted a spoonful of miso soup to her lips. The light, warm broth sent a soothing heat through her still-chilled body.
Naruto rolled up his sleeves and dug into his own bowl of soup. Despite having warm miso ramen just a few hours before, the light flavors felt like fireworks on his tongue. “Mmm… Teuchi-jii-san better watch out, this place is good!”
Hinata let out a giggle. “Oh, Naruto. I don’t think Ichiraku-sama would be very pleased to hear you say that.”
“Heh, yeah, you’re probably right.” Naruto relaxed in his chair. After a moment, he looked up at Hinata and noticed she was fidgeting in her seat. “Is something wrong?”
“G-gomen, it’s nothing, Naruto-kun.” Hinata felt a hot blush creep up her neck. For as worried as she was before, this isn’t going as bad as she would have thought. Maybe she could push her luck a little bit. “Naruto-kun?” She asked as the waiter brought them each a plate of extravagantly cut sashimi.
“Yeah? What’s up?” Naruto picked up the chopsticks laid out in front of him. He had never had sashimi before.
“Have you ever been on a date before tonight?”
“Nope!” He chuckled nervously. “I guess that explains why I’m so bad at it, huh? Sorry about that, heh…”
Hinata’s eyes widened in surprise. “No, no Naruto-kun! I-I didn’t mean it like that! I’m having a wonderful time! You’re not bad at it at all!” She shook her head frantically, as if trying to shake the idea out of her mind.
“Yeah... Yeah, I’m having fun, too.” Naruto met her gaze, his cheeks flush red. With a small, reassuring smile, he drew his attention back to his meal.
After a few moments of Naruto and Hinata staring at everything in the room but each other, the waiter cleared their empty dishes and brought a small bowl of pickled vegetables for each of them.
“What the hell is this?!” Naruto stuck his tongue out at the strange pink vegetable he held in front of his face. “I’ve never seen something pink and… well, see-thru!”
Hinata covered her mouth to conceal a giggle, ignoring the looks the people around them were giving them. “I think it’s a pickled red onion, Naruto-kun. They’re very traditional with kaiseki meals.”
Naruto dropped the onion back into his bowl and pushed the bowl away from him. As it turns out, he doesn’t like pickled vegetables very much.
xxxx
As their dinner concluded, Naruto and Hinata made their way out of Moritake and back out into the cold night air. Looking up at the sky, Naruto grimaced.
“I’m sorry to keep you out so late, Hinata. I didn’t think dinner would take so long, but I think I lost track of time. Your dad won’t be too mad that you’re out late, will he?”
Hinata shook her head in disagreement. “No, everything should be fine. Father knows I went out tonight.” Beside her, she could hear Naruto sigh in relief.
“That’s good. I’d hate to get on his bad side.” He thought back on Iruka-sensei’s words about the ‘Hyuuga Standard’ from earlier and shivered. “That dude’s scarier than Captain Yamato.” Naruto took a few steps forward and turned to meet Hinata’s eyes. With a wild grin, he bent over almost completely overtop himself in an obscenely low bow. “Can I walk you home, Lady Hinata?”
Hinata curled over herself and let out a breathy laugh. “Yes, Uzumaki-sama, you may.” She reached out and gripped his hand in her own. As they walked, Naruto made a big show about walking with his back straight as a board and taking defensive poses at every strangle that walked by. By the time they finally reached the compound, Hinata was in stitches. Naruto stopped a few meters away from the gate when he noticed the same guards from earlier peering over at them.
Naruto let go of Hinata's hand and gave her another one of his absurdly low bows. "We have arrived at your destination, ma'am."
She giggled out loud. "Thanks to you, Naruto-kun. The Hyuuga clan shall never forget this great deem of yours."
Naruto let out a heavy chuckle and reached for the back of his neck. "Thank you for coming out with me tonight, Hinata. I know I'm not really good at the whole dating thing, but I still had fun making a fool out of myself all night."
"I wouldn't say you made a fool out of yourself, Naruto-kun. I had a wonderful time just being with you tonight." She beamed, staring up at him. Tonight really was more fun than she could have imagined, even if it was awkward a few times. She bit her lip, a question still burning in her mind. Was now really the time to be brave and ask? "Um, Naruto-kun?" She asked, apparently it was. "Why… did you ask me to come out with you tonight?"
Naruto dropped his gaze to the space between them. After a moment, he met her eyes again, his expression serious. "I just couldn't stop thinking about what you said."
Hinata raised her eyebrow. "What I said..?"
"You know, back during the war." Naruto gripped his bandaged arm with his left hand. "Back then, when you told me that you wanted to stand beside me, to fight beside me. You gave me the strength to finish what we started, what thousands of people sacrificed everything for. What Neji…" He bit his lip, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall as his mind took him back to the fighting a month before. "What Neji died for. I couldn't get your words out of my head. And after all this time, I still can't stop thinking about it, ya know? And before I knew it, I guess I realized that… that I want stand beside you, too. I want to fight beside you, Hinata." He gave her a weak smile.
In a second, Hinata closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his torso, her face buried in his chest. Naruto closed his arms in around her and stroked her hair.
"Hinata… can I ask, well, I guess I am asking. Will you see me again? Do you want to go out with me?"
"Y-yes Naruto-kun." She said after a moment, pulling her head out from his chest and wiping away a few tears. "I'd love to go out with you again."
"Sweet." Naruto said with a wide grin. "Do you want to get ramen for lunch tomorrow? At Ichiraku?"
"Absolutely. I love ramen." Hinata gave him a shy smile and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Naruto closed the distance between them once more and leaned into her, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss.
What the hell had Naruto been so nervous for?