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Valentine's chocolates were supposed to come from the heart. She could have bought chocolates, but wouldn't that have defeated the purpose? On the one day when a girl was supposed to be able to freely express what was in her heart, shouldn't she offer a homemade gift to show her love and sincerity? She had heard one of the other girls put it that way, explaining why only homemade chocolates would do as a gift.
But no matter how she thought about it, Hinata's hands shook. She wasn't about to drop the precious box of chocolates that she had tried so hard to make perfectly, but she certainly couldn't give them to anyone trembling like this. Surely he would think her far too forward anyway. Would he have gotten something better from some other girl already? Would he laugh at her nervous shakes?
She couldn't do it.
Hinata pulled off the little tag with his name that she had tied to her box at the last minute. Naruto wouldn't want chocolates from her. Maybe next year, or the year after, when she felt a little more confident. Or at least when she was sure she could cook something a little better.
"Neji-kun," Hinata addressed her cousin softly. "Would you like these?" Even if she didn't have the nerve to give them to Naruto, maybe someone could still enjoy them. That would be better than nothing, right?
Neji looked down at the box, instinctively quelling his irritation before it became obvious. These weren't made for him, so why was she giving them to him? Was he nothing more than a fallback when some other boy rejected her?
No, Hinata hadn't been rejected. He could tell that much just by her posture when she had offered them to him. She hadn't been directly hurt, just painfully nervous. Neji saw enough of her to recognize the difference, and even if he couldn't it would have been easy to guess that she would back out of something at the last minute from nerves.
Besides, the name-tag that he had seen her remove was proof that it wasn't his present. Who then? Was it someone who turned out to be too rowdy for her to approach? They could have also been too mellow, or too popular to get close to, or a hundred other things.
Neji didn't really care. He didn't understand girls, and he especially didn't understand his cousin. All he cared about was the fact that he was not fond of sweets, and he was not prepared to enjoy the chocolate Hinata had given him.
She wasn't looking at him, her whole attention seemed focused on someone in one of the front rows. Neji turned just enough to offer the box to the boy sitting behind him. "Here," he said in a low voice.
Instead of taking them, the boy gave him a wide-eyed look of confusion and held up his hands to block the box Neji was trying to give him. "I couldn't." He didn't yield when Neji pushed the box against his hands.
Neji didn't argue. He just dropped the box, knowing the other boy would catch it rather than let it fall.
Turning his back on the quick, instinctive movement as the boy caught Hinata's box in both hands, Neji mentally declared himself free of his problem.
"But, but, but. . ." the boy kept saying, though he was too polite to just chuck the box at the back of Neji's head.
Neji ignored the utterly confused sounds coming from behind him. He could feel the look that was being aimed at the back of his head, but unless the boy actually did something about his confusion and irritation, Neji was perfectly happy to pretend that he wasn't even there.
Rock Lee slowly shifted the box Neji had shoved at him from his desk to his lap. He didn't even bother to rub at the spot where he neighbor had elbowed him to tell him to hush. After seeing Hinata give the box to her cousin in the first place, he didn't know what to think. She couldn't have asked Neji to pass this on to him, could she?
Lifting the lid just enough to look inside, Lee found chocolates, which made sense considering what day it was, and a note. Lee delicately snagged the note, giving his neighbor a brisk return elbow-to-the-ribs when he sensed him leaning over his shoulder to read it.
Naruto, I've always wished-
Lee quickly crumpled the note to keep himself from reading any more. These chocolates were obviously not meant for him. In fact, it seemed that the intended recipient had rejected them. He wouldn't have expected Naruto to be the type to trample a girl's feelings like that, but it explained the way Hinata and Neji had both wanted to get rid of the box.
He couldn't blame them. Lee didn't want the chocolates either, knowing this. It was too sad to accept someone else's rejected feelings, and it was much too sad to further reject them. He couldn't throw them out or carelessly give them away, having some idea of the amount of emotion and effort that must have gone into them. At the same time, he certainly couldn't eat them, knowing that they weren't meant for him.
Before Lee could come to a decision about the chocolates, he realized people were getting out of their seats around him, and dispersing for lunch. Lee automatically got up along with the crowd, taking the box of chocolates with him.
Lee was normally quick enough on his feet, but today he was looking down at Hinata's chocolates, trying to decide what he needed to do about them. He was so focused on his own problem that he bumped right into someone rushing past him.
Instinctively, Lee reached out to catch the girl who had jostled against him as she stumbled. He looked up, but it took a few seconds for his mind to jump successfully from 'girl' to. . .
Sakura. Lee was so busy with the fact that he had nearly knocked Sakura over, and that he had his arm around Sakura's waist, and the general lightheaded not-quite-real feeling that accompanied those facts, that he was barely aware of the red box that went flying out of her hands.
Before Lee could even ask if she was alright, she was shaking off his arm and hurrying to pick up her box, and the chocolates that had spilled out onto the floor.
"I'm so sorry!" Lee knelt next to her and tried to help her pick up the chocolates one-handed. "Sakura-san, I- are you hurt? -didn't mean to bump into you like that. I'm really sorry I made you drop this I know how important it must be!"
Sakura stopped, refusing to look at him, strangely tense. Lee finished picking up the chocolates for her, got them into the box, and replaced the lid. Sasuke had been written on it, in a fancy, flowing script. He looked away from it quickly.
More importantly, Sakura looked pained. The only thing Lee could think of was to at least try to replace what he had ruined.
"You can have this," Lee told her, offering the box that he had managed to hang on to, without thinking of anything beyond the fact that Sakura looked so upset. "I'm really, really sorry for ruining your chocolates, Sakura-san, but please accept this as a replacement."
She shook her head, but her hands closed automatically around the box when Lee pressed it into them. Their fingertips brushed, and Lee thought it would be worth it, even if he was helping her win another guy, for the sparks that he could feel up and down his arms from that accidental touch. It would serve him right, anyway, for bumping into her so carelessly.
"Thank you," she said softly.
Watching as she got to her feet and hurried out of the room, Lee realized that she hadn't even looked at him the whole time he was talking to her. She must have been really mad, or upset.
Lee picked up the box she had left behind, only thinking that it was wrong to leave something that precious on the floor. It occurred to him that it was odd that she had been rushing out of the room, since she normally sat close enough to Sasuke that she shouldn't have had to rush after him.
Especially since he was still in his seat, Lee realized. Seeing Sasuke talking to Ino, putting his hand to his head as if she was giving him a headache until she took back her own gift, Lee realized what must have happened. He had been too preoccupied to see the rejection itself, but now he knew that Sakura must have been rushing away from Sasuke, not rushing to meet him.
At least Ino walked out with her head up, not looking hurt. What was wrong with the boys in his class? Did none of them know how to consider a girl's feelings?
Lee looked down at the box Sakura had left behind. He knew that applied to him too.
Sakura was determined not to cry, but it had been a near thing for the first few seconds, and again when she had dropped Sasuke's present. She wanted to not care about it, those stupid chocolates. If he didn't want them then she didn't care what happened to them.
What was she supposed to do with this, anyway, she thought looking down at the box in her hand. There was no one other than Sasuke she wanted to give a present to, and she didn't want any sort of pity gift, not now.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw that someone had carelessly left their locker unlocked, so that it was hanging open slightly. She shoved the little box that boy had given her into the open locker, and resolved to forget about it.
That boy? She had only seen his face for a second, out of the corner of her eye, but she knew him at least in passing. It took a minute to match the face to a name: Rock Lee. She had tried to at least not be rude to him, even though she never seemed to be able to think of anything to say to him.
She didn't want to feel guilty now for brushing him off. Shouldn't a heartbroken girl be able to feel sorry for herself for a little while? Feeling selfish for wanting to focus on her own hurt feelings only made Sakura's original bout of heartache worse.
Outside, she paused for a moment. She could go get her lunch, and find somewhere to eat where she wouldn't have to watch her classmates awkwardly pairing off and enjoying themselves. She tried to tell herself she wasn't hungry, and that she shouldn't break her diet just because her feelings got hurt, but her success was limited.
Someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Ino standing behind her. She was still holding her present to Sasuke, which made Sakura stand up a little straighter. If he had rejected Ino's present too they were still even, stalemated over him. It was better than a complete defeat.
"Boys are just stupid sometimes, aren't they?" Ino smiled at her, that same friendly, conspiratorial smile Sakura remembered from when they were younger. Back when Ino had helped her turn being teased around, into a joke that couldn't hurt anymore. "Some of them just have to be educated. Did you throw your chocolates away or something?"
"Yes." Sakura didn't quite trust that smile. She couldn't compete honestly against Ino as long as they were friends, so why was she being so friendly now? "What do you want?"
"Even the bitterest rivals can nurse their wounds together, right?" Ino looked oddly sincere for a moment. Sakura thought it was just pity until the next words slipped out, "Besides, you're the only one who would understand." She tried to shrug it off, but not before Sakura realized that she meant it. "All the other girls just give up on him after a while."
"Let me go get my lunch." Sakura managed a smile, though it felt a lot shakier than Ino's had looked. She was right, after all. They might be rivals to the bitter end, but at least that meant they had something in common.
"Great!" Ino held up her own rejected present. "We can share this, then."
The first thing Naruto expected was for the box to be some sort of booby trap. He poked it cautiously and sniffed it. Nothing exploded at him, and all he smelled was a trace of chocolate. Well, it was Valentine's day after all. Naruto grinned and hugged the box to his chest. He hadn't expected anything like this.
There was no to-from tag, and no note, but Naruto immediately decided that whoever had put it there must be a cute girl, and also endearingly sneaky. If something sprung out at him, that would just be a plus. It would mean she had a sense of humor!
Naruto took the box outside to open it, in case his surprise included sleeping gas or a spring-loaded fire-jutsu. Instead, all he found was chocolate. Well, chocolate was good. Chocolate from a girl was like a little slice of heaven and he was not complaining. Only, there was still no note, no sign of who had sent it to him. Maybe it was a test? He was supposed to work out her identity!
Or maybe it was a joke. It took a minute, but Naruto realized that one side of the box was crumpled in, as if someone had shoved it forcefully into his locker. That could be a hint to his secret admirer's identity, or it could mean someone had decided to use his locker as a trash can.
It was too much trouble to try and work it out from just staring at the chocolates. Naruto picked one up, sniffed it for traces of poison, and put it in his mouth. Chocolate was definitely more fun to eat than to analyze.
It definitely didn't taste bad, and it didn't make him sick either. Maybe some picky guy, like Sasuke (Naruto couldn't stand how he got so much admiration and didn't seem to care), would have rejected them, but Naruto was on cloud nine. Not only did he get a surprise present, but from someone who could cook! He was wondering if she could cook a good bowl of ramen before he could remember that he was getting a little ahead of himself.
First he had to figure out her identity. All he knew now was that she must be effectively sneaky and had enough of a sense of humor to play games. Two qualitites that Naruto already considered good points.
Looking up, as if he might find his mystery girl peeking out at him from somewhere, Naruto only spotted Hinata. No one else was hanging around, and it seemed that she hadn't even noticed him. She looked completely lost in her own thoughts.
Whatever she was thinking about, it couldn't have been too happy of a subject, because she looked miserable. Her head was down, her eyes fixed on her feet. She was leaning against the wall behind her as if she wanted to disappear. Naruto was a little startled by how miserable and lonely she looked.
He wished he could do something to cheer her up. Even as he thought that there was probably nothing he could do, he looked down at the box in his hands. It had become precious to him almost instantly. It had made his boring and slightly irritating day into something wonderful. Maybe he could pass that feeling on.
And, well. . . maybe if he found his mystery girl he could get chocolate again next year, while Hinata needed cheering up right now.
Naruto practically bounded up to her, gave her his best grin, and held out the slightly crumpled box. (He momentarily wished it hadn't sustained that damage, a girl like Hinata was probably used to getting presents that hadn't been thrown around first.) It was still open, so that she could see the chocolates, and know that it wasn't some sort of joke. He was so happy, he was sure the feeling must be at least a little contagious.
"I want you to take these," he told her.
Hinata looked slowly from the box Naruto was holding out at her to the smile on his face. Was he making fun of her? How had he even gotten. . .
Suddenly Hinata remembered the note she had left inside for him. She had forgotten to take it out. Neji must have found it and passed her chocolates on to Naruto without telling her. At the thought of her own confession, and the fact that not only Naruto, but her own cousin, had read it, Hinata couldn't even begin to stop the blush she felt rising in her cheeks.
"Are you okay?" He wasn't smiling quite so broadly now, though he seemed to still be happy about something. "You don't want them? They're really good, I promise."
"But. . . they're yours."
"Yeah, but you look like you could use something nice today." He reached up and rubbed sheepishly at the back of his neck. He kept talking, explaining that Iruka-sensei had promised him a snack later, and someone had just shoved it in his locker, after all, so of course she could enjoy the chocolates if she wanted them.
Hinata began to get a little lightheaded from the feeling that he was trying to be kind to her. He didn't seem to know that the chocolates had been from her in the first place.
"But today-" she started, trying nervously to explain.
"Who cares? A guy can give a girl chocolate if she needs cheering up!" His determined voice made it hard for her to argue.
Before Hinata knew it, he had gotten the box of chocolates into her hands. He gave her one last grin, and turned to go with a quick wave.
"Wait," Hinata called after him. Before she'd had time to think over what she wanted to say and let her throat close up in nervousness, she managed to get out, "We could share them."
"Okay!" He actually sounded like he liked that solution.
He plopped down happily next to her. He gave her another of those disarming smiles until she sat on the ground next to him. He held out the box for her to take the first chocolate.
"I already had one," he pointed out before she could protest, "I know they're good."
Hinata took what she thought was the smallest chocolate and put it in her mouth, feeling completely awkward with Naruto watching her.
Naruto apparently had no qualms about taking a chocolate once he was sure she was enjoying hers. The euphoric face he made (unconsciously, so far as she could tell), made happiness bubble up inside of her so quickly that she was surprised at herself. She smiled, putting her hand, her fingers curled shyly, in front of her mouth to hide it.
He didn't seem to think she was laughing at him, at least, but he gave her a quizzical look. "Why do you do that?"
"I'm sorry." Hinata had no idea what she had done wrong. "What?"
Not even seeming to hear her apology, he pointed to her mouth and asked, "Why do you hide it when you smile?" He picked up another chocolate, and hesitated with it halfway to his mouth. "And after I've been trying to make you smile." He popped the chocolate into his mouth immediately after he finished, as if to forestall having to say anything more.
It would have been impossible for her to keep from smiling at something like that. Hinata somehow managed to drag her shielding hand away, so that Naruto could see all of his efforts were not in vain. He still seemed perfectly happy, which made her a little less nervous.
She was about to try again to tell him that she had made the chocolate and he was free to have the rest and she was just happy to know he liked them. Before she could even open her mouth, she was interrupted.
"Hey!" He was suddenly distracted, waving at someone on the other side of the schoolyard. "Iruka-sensei! Remember you promised me ramen today!"
Hinata followed his gaze and saw Iruka-sensei just leaving the main building. He raised one hand, either greeting them or acknowledging Naruto's shouting or both. With that, the moment was broken. She couldn't just tell him now.
Naruto jumped up, leaving the box of chocolates behind with her. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Hinata got to her feet as well. "Don't forget these. I wanted you to have them!" She held out the box, feeling that her face must be terribly red by now. She felt ready to melt from the heat of her own blush.
Naruto opened his mouth to protest, closed it again, and studied her for a moment with a strangely intense expression. He finally took the box from her, his hands closing around hers for a second as he did. Hinata wondered how long he would have kept holding her hands around that box if she hadn't pulled them away.
"Thanks," was all he said, his cheerful grin returning full force. "I'll get you something for White Day, I promise!"
Then he was off and running, calling to Iruka-sensei to wait up, before she could even say goodbye.
Hinata waved, watching until he actually turned and waved too, just before running out of the schoolyard after their teacher. Somehow he seemed to have realized she had been trying to give him those chocolates the whole time, and he had still accepted him. She was trembling a little again, but this time it was from pure happiness, she didn't feel nervous at all.