BH: NaruHina2020 has begun! This is my submission for January! This is going to be a three chapter short story, so no worries, I'm not getting distracted. One of the themes is 'Firsts', and I have adapted this from an abandoned doujin I started a decade ago on my old deviantart account.

This isn't nearly as detailed nor as deep as my usual stuff, but maybe I can dig deeper in the final two chapters.

Hope you like!

Territorial

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Chapter One

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The three of them had made a pact: No boys until their high school graduation.

The rule was to devote themselves fully to their studies, their future and to each other.

Such a promise seemed more for Ino and Sakura's sake, lest their boy crazy ways dissolve their sisterhood like a sand castle against the incoming tide.

Puberty certainly hit some of them like a tsunami, in other areas than emotional.

Hinata definitely caught the physical brunt of it, and the event had yet to calm down.

She was looking forward to keeping her metamorphosis away from the eyes of her male peers, that was her main objective to getting away from the co-ed environment.

It was much too embarrassing.

But as she sat at her desk, acceptance letter in hand while Ino and Sakura squealed happily at their own letters, Hinata's attention drifted towards the windows where one golden sunshine of a boy sat in the sill.

He made insensitive remarks at Uchiha Sasuke's expense, laughing off the dark-haired boy's irritation until Sasuke got him back good, then it was his turn to sputter and fire back.

But then, due to his overly emphatic finger-pointing, he lost his balance, and Hinata shot up in her chair, her breath catching and her skin flushing cold.

They were only on the second floor, but still!

He clutched at the window sill for dear life.

Shikamaru and Sasuke grabbed him by his shirt collar and hauled him onto the classroom floor, face first. They berated him while he sheepishly laughed it off, his hand behind his head.

Hinata eased back down into her seat, heart hammering a little slower now.

Sakura and Ino made snide remarks about his clumsiness, attributing it to total stupidity, but Hinata was simply grateful the moment had passed.

Everyone has different ideas of wonderful, and her ball of sunshine perfectly encapsulated every bit.

It's fine if they don't see what she sees.

It's selfish, but it might be her only saving grace.

She gazed at her acceptance letter with all the heaviness and reluctance of a permanent contract.

Uzumaki Naruto doesn't know who she is. And for the next six years, he never will.

She doesn't have the stomach to approach him.

She doesn't have the right words to say.

The Lioness joins her sisters to form a new Pride.

Hidden Garden was meant to be an oasis of purity and classic femininity.

It wasn't.

Pads and tampons are passed along during class as freely as snacks.

Girls tweeze their leg hair during lectures.

Friends flap each other's skirts during the sweltering summer heat to cool off.

The ignorant virgins joke as perversely as one's drunk, dirty uncle, with nothing but their imaginations to fill in the blanks.

And Phys Ed is a violent banshee battleground that even the most burly of men will not tread.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and in the absence of boys, the latent testerone of the female gender found its way out.

For example, the sailor-mouthed Tayuya in all her abrasive, tomboy glory, had quickly earned the infatuation of her girlish underclassmen who liked themselves a 'tough guy'.

The beautiful, wispy Karui had all the adrogynous appeal of those Takarazuka Revue theatre actresses, and she was a ferocious opponent in kendo tournaments. Her fire and finesse sent little shockwaves of thrill down to the quivering core of her most ardent admirers.

And then there was Ino, neither boyish nor princely, she gained admirers through her kindness, charisma and ballsy attitude alone.

Every girl wanted to be a bit more like Ino.

Just outside the classroom, her fanclub stood herded together, eagerly peering inside to catch a glimpse of her. But then an uncombed head of dark pink barged through their formation, her brown eyes dead set on Hinata.

Tayuya took the empty seat in front of her.

That was Sakura's seat.

Who was late.

Unusually late for a class representative.

Hinata made a point not to look up from her notebook. Tayuya's visits were becoming more frequent. Why? Who knows. She had no desire to ask.

Tayuya stared at her, resting her chin atop her folded arms as she sat in Sakura's chair backwards. She even sat with her legs wide open. Wider than most girls.

"Paizuri-tan," That's what Tayuya calls her, often alternating between 'Pillows', 'Fun Time', and 'Cups'. "You gonna help me study or what?"

Hinata tightened her grip on her notebook. The teachers don't believe sexual harassment occurs between two girls, but that's not the point, is it? It's how she feels that validates what's going on. Still, Hinata endures and doesn't cause a scene.

Because a single glance in Ino's direction reveals that intervention is steadfast on its way. Hinata's savior arrives in the form of petal pink hair and disparaging green eyes.

Sakura clears her throat as she stands aside, arms crossed and hip jutted to the side.

Tayuya flips her off and asks Hinata again: "When're you coming over to my dorm room?"

Sakura briefly touched her brow, muttering to herself, "I can't believe this," She grabs Tayuya by the back of her collar liek she were a bad dog. Tayuya grabbed Sakura's offending wrist like a wolf sinking its teeth around a bone, and they glared at each other. "You better stop pestering my friend, you bitch."

"You better let go of my threads, trash."

Sakura leaned in closer. "I'll go over to the nearest all-boys school and tell them you blow for free. You're a flautist. They'll love that."

Tayuya's face turned white.

She let go of Sakura's wrist and hastily brushed passed her. She stomped out of the classroom, causing Ino's admirers to scatter out of the way.

Sakura reclaimed her seat with an indignant sigh.

Hinata released the death grip on her notebook along with her withheld breath, and she looked up at Sakura gratefully.

Her green-eyed friend smiled and winked at her before turing to face the chalkboard.

As the class settled in, their teacher Kurenai-sensei arrived, prim in her dark pantsuits. She always wore a scarlet red silk dress shirt, matching her eyes and her lips.

She leaned against the chalkboard as she crossed her arms.

"The time is arriving. Have any of you considered what theme to do for the cultural festival?"

Ah, yes. The cultural festival. A nationwide event that begins on the first Friday of every November. Saturday their classrooms are open to the public, but Fridays are for students, faculty and family members.

Something about this is bothering her.

This will be their first High School culture festival. Saturday will be momentous. Complete strangers, even other boys will show up to check out what they're school and their classrooms have to offer, whether it's a play, a haunted house or a cafe. And surely there will be a draw for a cafe full of 'cute girls'.

Sakura appears distant as they study across from each other in the library. She has her smartphone in her lap, based on the occasional glow that lights up the bottom of her blouse, and Hinata knows she's talking to someone.

"The kunoichi cafe theme sounds like it's gaining popularity." Sakura states offhandedly.

Hinata nods absently, because her attention is taking a walk beyond these walls, tracing her way back to their old neighborhood, all the way to Konoha North where Naruto is surely attending right now.

"But the girls are butting heads over the length of the yukatas. Some want the hems to stop at the top of their thighs, which I think is crass."

Hinata's face warmed at the image of Naruto seeing her in a mini-yukata and thigh-high fishnet stockings.

"M,Maybe to end the deadlock, our c,classmates can choose what they want to wear."

Sakura sighed thoughtfully through her nose. "I thought of that, but then wouldn't that cause some sort of inequality or hard feelings? The modest girls might be more popular than the immodest ones, or vice-versa. It could breed resentment."

Hinata understood what she meant. If there are any girls among them that are 'getting it' outside of school, then that isn't anyone's business, nor should they be shamed or bullied for it. Same for the modest girls much like herself. She wouldn't want to be targeted for being a 'prude' when she's more self-conscious than anything else.

"H,How about a sheer fabric for the extra length?" Hinata suggested, earning Sakura's full attention. "The hem can be th,the minimum length, but then an extra t,two or three inches of mesh can satisfy the modest girls' needs?"

A proud smile slowly bloomed across Sakura's face. "That's brilliant. That might just work, Hinata."

No one was truly prepared for the hell that preceded Culture Day.

Between painting signboards, designing banners and pamphlets, deciding a menu and making sure the food and tea would be up to snuff, getting the measurements of thirty girls and sewing together their outfits, then redecorating their entire classroom to look like a feudal teahouse, they had no time to rest before the big day.

But that's what Saturday was for. The opportunity to visit other schools and their culture festivals.

But their pact was like cement hardened around their feet as they watched their fellow classmates excusing themselves to roam about.

Hinata wants to leave.

She really wants to fly out of here, too.

But then her one and only wish comes to her, and it's simultaneously a torture and a godsend.

Hinata stands there frozen beside the tea stand, the menu mercilessly crushed in her grip.

Naruto-kun's here. He's here. He's here. Oh god.

He didn't come alone. Sasuke is as roguish as ever, wrapped in trendy street clothes like he's god's gift to the world. The other girls are gawking and whispering as expected.

Hinata could care less.

Her skinny love isn't so skinny anymore, nor is he shorter than her like before.

He's dressed down in athletic wear, black joggers and a navy blue pullover that reads in varsity font, 'KONOHA NORTH RUGBY TEAM', and he's got the butterfly stitches to prove it. A thin red cut is healing along his left brow bone and there's purple discoloration under his left eye.

She hates the idea of seeing him hurt, or anyone hurt for that matter. But she can't help visualizing his determination on the field, his aggressive drive to win.

They get seated in the middle of the room.

A deliberate choice so that no matter where the girls were in the room, they'd always get a good look at the pretty Uchiha.

Hinata's body flushes hot when Naruto's blue, blue eyes pause over her. Her right hand instinctively moves to cover her cleavage, while her left hand tugs down her skirt.

"'Scuse me, Hinata." say Sakura as she emerges from behind. Sakura heads towards the tea set and begins to pour a drink.

Hinata glances back in Naruto's direction and he's not looking at her anymore.

She follows his gaze and her heart drops through the floor.

He's looking at Sakura.

And so is Sasuke.

So then… which one is Sakura looking at?

She's in pain.

It's been two weeks since she's seen his face, and she's in pain.

Like how the flowers miss the sun. How the earth forgets its warmth. Even the grass loses its luster, steadying yellowing to a sickly sallow.

The days are getting shorter and shorter, and it doesn't help.

Hinata emerges from a steamy bath, her towel wrapped around her body as she idles herself on Konoha North's social feed. She's looking for any info she can find on his rugby team. Even a team photo will get her through.

A black-maned male has wandered recklessly into the Lioness' den.

"Shit. Wrong room."

Hinata drops her phone. She freezes up, heart hammering her breathless.

There in her dorm room is Sasuke.

Not only is it way past curfew, but boys aren't allowed on their premises.

She can't find her voice.

His black eyes are boring through her skin like cigarette burns.

Her hands come up to shield her chest.

All she can manage is a squeak.

"Can you tell me where Sakura's room is?" He says while shamelessly ogling her.

Hinata doesn't know what to do.

Giving him the right answer will make him leave.

Giving him no answer will, what, cause him to wander around helplessly?

Either way, Sakura is in deep shit for this.

"Y,Y,You n,need t,to get out."

"That's fine. But I was invited into Sakura's room. I swore she told me it was number 110."

No, it wasn't. It's 105. How did he mishear 105 for 110?

"You need to get out-"

"I came here for something-"

"Get. Out. Now. I,I'll tell her you were in no hurry to leave while I,I was in this state! Get out!"

Sasuke sighed and threw up his hands with a shrug.

"Fine, fine, fine. Unbelievable. And here I thought you were looking at me earlier today. Weird."

He turned away and headed for her door. Turning the handle, he slipped out and closed the door none too gently, and she jolted at the sound.

Why did he do that?

What if someone sees him leaving her room?

That conceited bastard, of course he would assume every girl must be looking at him!

Hinata shivers in revulsion, the flame of her ire still flickering.

She hugs herself tighter and hangs her head in lament.

It's not fair.

Naruto was supposed to be the first one to see her in a towel.

The icy mid-November rain drums along her clear umbrella, her ghostly teruterubozu charm bobbing with every step. Hinata walks alongside Sakura and Ino through the shopping avenue, enjoying a normal weekend.

Sakura isn't like herself and Ino, in the sense that her mother is a file clerk and her father is in sales.

She doesn't have the luxury to shop to the max like Ino. Luckily for her, Hinata is more into simple accessories, or aesthetically-pleasing functional items like a gorgeous bookmark of a classic painting than she is about the latest trends.

It's in Hinata's modesty that Sakura doesn't experience not fitting in. Hinata knows that discomfort full well, and she knows Sakura is more sensitive to that pain than her.

A harsh breeze cuts through their clothes, halting them in their tracks.

They can feel their eyes water, their ears and the tip of their nose burn as well.

"Let's get out of the cold, guys." Ino says, and they follow her lead into a nearby eatery.

It's a ramen shop.

"Irasshai!" Greets the entire kitchen. There's a middle-aged man, his daughter and three line cooks with them.

The comforting scents of savory pork broth, grilled pork chashu and fresh noodles warms them quicker than the steam emanating from the kitchen.

The bar is to the left, consisting of ten seats, while five sets of tables are to the right.

They close up their umbrellas and slot them into the adjacent rack beside the entrance. Then they pick the bar and sit side by side, their shopping bags crowded just below their feet. Easier this way than at the tables.

A pale-maned male now enters the Lioness' den.

Suddenly the kitchen erupts into the same greeting, and Hinata freezes up.

How does this keep happening?

Sasuke, Naruto and a boy she's never seen before show up. This newcomer looks like he was drawn on paper and given life. Compared to his black his eyes, hair and clothes, his skin is stark white.

Hinata is dismayed to be sitting on the far left as she watches Naruto take the seat right next to Sakura.

"Hey, this is cool, huh?" Naruto laughs. "It's like a reunion. Y'know, it was kinda hard to properly talk at your guys's festival. You two were so busy."

'You two'? 'You two'? As if she wasn't there? As if she doesn't exist?!

It's not his fault, it's hers.

He never knew her to begin with.

Ino makes a pointed effort not to speak to them.

Sakura, too, despite the secret language between her and Sasuke's furtive glances.

Nothing's changed, then. Hinata internally sighs in shameful relief.

Her friends still don't recognize Naruto's wonderfulness. She hates seeing him so put-off as he settles down into his seat and starts a conversation with the owner's daughter. But she's thankful nothing's changed.

They don't know what they're missing, and yet she hopes to keep it that way.

Three weeks have passed since the 'reunion' at the ramen shop.

The rain has given way to snow and Cuffing Season is ramping up as the holidays near.

And Hinata discovers that Sakura has a problem.

Her petal pink friend is curled up on her mauve bean bag, while Hinata sits on her bed and hears Sakura out.

"You know that hanger-on Naruto-baka, right?"

Hinata's lips compressed together hard. Two things in that sentence did not sit right with her. Nonetheless, she gave a stiff nod.

Sakura rocks on her ankles, the bean bag shushing and crinkling from her shifting weight.

"Well, he won't leave me alone! No matter where I go, he's there too!"

Hinata's fingers curled into fists in her lap.

"How so?" She bit out. Of course she knows 'how'. If anything, Naruto may not be trying all that hard to bump into her if she's the one deliberately bumping into Sasuke.

Sakura looked off to the side, blowing a raspberry as if mustering the words was nearly impossible.

"Beats me. Not supposed to talk to boys for two more years."

Hinata can feel her inner fire crackling. She's not mad at Sakura. She is mad. But not at Sakura.

Maybe she should be, though.

No, even if Sakura wants to break the pact, her personal life is no one's business. Not hers, and not Ino's.

If Sakura gets caught, that's her fault.

Hinata decides to leave it all up to fate.

"He's going to get me in trouble." Sakura says and Hinata tilts her head in confusion.

Naruto is going to get her into trouble, but Sasuke isn't? Riiiiight.

Sakura never liked her sunshine to begin with, so who's going to go pointing the finger saying 'You broke the Pact! You're talking to a boy!'. No one, that's who.

In fact, no one was ever more annoyed with Naruto than Sakura.

Is that supposed to be appealing from his perspective? The fact that he got all those reactions out of her? Did any of that really give him hope?

"Turning him down doesn't count as talking to him," Hinata says. "If anything, it's a last resort, no?"

Sakura leans back and observes her thoughts formulating along the ceiling. She then nods resolutely, but it's not entirely sincere. "However… You know what would be even better than turning him down directly?"

Hinata blinked rapidly at Sakura's defacing of proper logic. There cannot be anything 'better' than respectfully turning someone down in person. Hinata was afraid to hear Sakura out on this one.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you do it for me, then in a way neither of us are talking to him." Sakura peered at her from behind the round of her cheeks.

Wait, Sakura was sending her out? To break Naruto's heart in her place?

That's awful!

"I,I'll do it."

This was so embarrassing.

This was so embarrassing.

This was too embarrassing!

Hinata sat alone in the last table inside the Ichiraku, waiting for her sunshine to light up her world. She dressed up for the occasion too, as disturbing as that sounds.

A lavender sweater dress and her thick hair pulled into a ponytail. She hopes she looks cute. Mainly approachable, but still cute.

Somehow Sakura had relayed information to him asking to meet up here. It must've sounded romantic to his ears, because when he showed up, he took a look around.

Then he asked Ayame if she'd seen a really cute pink-haired girl.

"Like, really, really cute! You remember?"

Ayame chuffed in amusement. Her gaze then flicked in Hinata's direction, a hint of pity in her warm, dark eyes.

But was that pity more for her? Or more for him?

"There's a cute one here right now, Naruto-chan."

Hinata stiffened. Her eyes burned with the threat of tears. She frightfully watched for his inevitable disappointment.

He stared at her in muted confusion. But then his eyes lit up in recognition. And his mouth opened with a gasp.

Then there it was: The sulk-inducing, confidence-killing disappointment.

"You're one of her friends." He said. He stayed right where he was. He wouldn't sit with her.

Of course he wouldn't.

He already knows where this is going.

Hinata nods solemnly.

Naruto looks away, not letting his sadness go on full display.

"I see. It was too much to hope for," His dull blue eyes swept towards the bar where his gaze hovered over the laminated menus lining the counter. "Hm. Think I lost my appetite."

He turns around.

He's beginning to leave.

This isn't fair.

He can't just walk away from her just because someone else turned him down!

Hinata slaps the table as she shoots up in her chair.

"H,Hold on! N,Naruto-kun!"

He halts mid-step. He pauses to hear her out.

"N,Naruto-kun… S,S,Sakura-chan… S,She told me s,she… doesn't like…" you. But that isn't what she wants to say. "That is... I,It's too embarrassing t,to say here."

She hangs her head in defeat.

But then his footsteps draw near.

And he takes the seat across from her.

"What doesn't she like?" He murmurs.

Hinata's face burns. Even a whisper is too much.

She leaves her seat and approaches his side. She cups his ear and answers him in a quick breath. "V,V,Virgins."

She prays to the old gods and the new gods and everything unknown in between, Please, please, please tell me he hasn't been someone's first!

"Huh." He says.

Hinata removes her hands from him and places them against her chest. She wrings her fingers like a wet rag, her heart is beating so fast she can barely breathe.

"S,S,She w,wants a m,man with experience."

She can't look at him anymore.

This situation, this conversation; it's a matchstick light away from self-immolation.

"So… you're saying I have a chance? If I get more… experience?"

Hinata nods so hard and so fast her scrunchie nearly dislodged from her ponytail.

"I,I,I'll help!" She squeaks. Oh, someone kill her now, please!

"Why?"

Oh, what a question. What a magnificent, terrible, humiliating question.

Hinata summoned all her courage, all her breath and said: "B,Because I,I hate to see you sad."

Liar, liar, light her on fire.

Well, it wasn't untrue, but it sure wasn't the reason why.

She stood there, stooped over her own aching humiliation as she waited for his inevitable rejection.

He might call her out.

He might call her 'loose', 'opportunistic', a slut.

He's been quiet too long!

Hinata dares a peek from beneath her bangs and everything just stops. He's staring at her, but not in disgust. He seems more surprised, awed even. It's been four years, and even in the six years they spent as classmates in elementary school, she's never seen this look before.

She just admitted that he has importance, didn't she? Importance to her, at least. And he doesn't hate it. Even though she's not Sakura, he obviously doesn't hate it.

He is important.

Has he never considered the possibility?

"You'll really help me?" He says so quietly.

Hinata sniffles and nods fiercely.

She can almost see the dark clouds overhead begin to part. She can almost feel the warm, white beams of sunlight pour down onto her skin, and hear the melodious herald of birds.

Her one true wish is within her grasp.

She could faint right then and there.

His face reddens as he looks off to the side. "Uhm… S,Should we go?"

He wants to go now?!

Hinata nods so emphatically her scrunchie slips loose and whips off in an unknown direction.

She's so dizzy right now. So delightfully lightheaded and floaty.

Is love a thing that makes you drunk?

She's never had a taste of alcohol but she imagines it might feel exactly like this.

The Lioness has broken off from her sisters and accepted a mate.

She thought she'd follow him straight to Love Hotel Hill.

Instead she found herself following him up two dozen floors in a huge apartment building.

No, no, no, no, no, wait. This is too soon!

She can't be going to his home right now, can she?!

He opens the door.

She follows him in.

And he doesn't say 'tadaima'.

It's dark inside.

She takes a look around the genkan and there are no other pairs of shoes. Even the indoor slipper rack is lonely.

On pair of green frog-faced slippers and nothing more.

There's no one else here, is there?

It's just him.

He removes his shoes and forgets the slippers. She realizes they are a few sizes too small, and quite childish. Perhaps they serve a keepsake now.

Hinata gingerly removes her shoes and steps up into the entryway.

She's beating her brain like a Yakuza shaking someone down for protection money.

Had she ever seen his parents during the Parent-Teacher meetings?

She isn't sure, and she isn't happy with herself for not knowing.

Entering the entryway, she doesn't see any family photos lining the wall, and the question mark in her chest is growing too large for her to contain.

Reaching the end of the hall, she peers left, finding the den, then the kitchen beyond it.

She turns around and heads down the opposite entryway.

His bedroom door is ajar, the interior is dimly lit. As she draws near, she can see him sitting there on his bed.

Waiting for her.

His elbows are perched on his knees and he's twisting and wringing his hands.

She hovers in the doorway, eyeing the little details that make him him.

Left of his bed is his closet and his desk, which is crowded with half-complete homework sheets and snack wrappers. There's also a speaker system, a green frog-faced pencil cup, and a black desk lamp.

Up on the wall above his desk is a white and red pennant, in varsity font it reads 'TKU'. Tokonoha University. Does he want to go there? There's a necklace with steel beads and three blue crystals hanging from a picture nail as well. It's rather… incongruous to everything else and she imagines it has significant meaning.

Panning her gaze to the right, she sees the window with its blackout curtains drawn tight. He has a plain modern dresser. Atop it is a bulky television, then beside it a thick black gaming console, various video game cases strewn about. And in the narrow empty spaces atop his dresser, a slew of loose change, balled receipts and chewing gum wrappers have claimed their territories, making it seem impossible for anything else to coexist with them.

Beside the dresser is a hamper overflowing with dirty clothes with their caked on stench. If she breathes in too deeply, that stench will cake along the surface of her sinuses as well.

"S,S,So I suppose… the first th,thing would be k,kissing…" She murmurs.

"Then get over here."

She thought she'd never hear his voice like that, husky and so thick with apprehension.

She inched forward until she's finally standing in the gap between his knees.

He reaches up, his fingers brushing along her elbows. His eyes are fixed on hers, as if he's diligently looking out for any hint of disapproval. Running his hands up her arms, a shiver overtakes her, and her ears swish with blood.

She bends down. She lowers her eyelids closed.

Her nose brushes his.

They bump by mistake, dull pain emanating around her bent cartilage.

She tilts her head to the side, and after a beat he copies her.

Their lips meet in a hesitant poke, as if they weren't sure how their mouths would fit together, and when they pull away just enough to get a good look at each other, she can see that he feels the same way.

That wasn't a true kiss.

But it was nice.

"You're really red." His voice breaks, belying his own nervousness.

Hinata suppresses her giggle, because he's also red.

"Uhm," He looks away. "Maybe you should sit on the bed with me."

Hinata eyed the empty space beside him, her heart yearning to join his side, to be closer to him, to lean against him.

Or to be pushed down by him.

She steadies her breath and scoops her passionate desires into a mental lockbox.

"N,Not so fast. T,Today's lesson i,is just kissing."

He scratches the back of his head, his bottom lip jutting in deep thought.

He gets up and faces her. "Trade spots with me. It feels passive if I'm the one sitting."

Oh, right. He's the one who's supposed to be getting something out of this. He's supposed to be initiating.

Hinata nods and takes the space he had left. It's so, so warm. She then closes her eyes and tilts her head back. Seconds pass before she feels his rough fingers smooth along her pale cheeks. He cups her face and holds her still.

She can't help but smile, like a love-drunk dope, before the warm flesh of his lips press against hers, and she mewls.

He's going all in, as expected of her Naruto-kun. He's firm, like he's saying 'Here I am. Take it and appreciate me'.

And she will. For forever and a day, she will appreciate him and this very moment.

He's her first kiss.

She's his.

The revelation rings in her head like a bell, like the crystalline note from a tuning fork.

Utter perfection.

He releases her. They both suck in air and stare. Lidded eyes glued onto one another's intoxicated expression.

"Was that good?" He asks, sounding a bit surprised himself.

Hinata licked her lips. "More."

His eyes widened. "'More'?"

Hinata nodded, feeling quite dazed. "Sakura-chan is very popular. She's got... f,five other boys chasing after her." She can't believe she's saying these things. But somehow she thinks it could be true. Sakura already broke the pact. Who knows what's real anymore?

Naruto becomes crestfallen, his gaze dropping down to the side. But then he looks thoughtful. He doesn't look depressed for very long, in fact.

She knows he's made up his mind.

He's never backed down from what he wants, even if the desire to give up is tempting, possibly even cathartic from all the stress ambition tends to bring.

He really wants Sakura, doesn't he?

Hinata closes her eyes lest his sweet face inspires tears.

"Alright, let's keep going." He says, and her heart squeezes and her eyes ache.

But she smiles anyways.

She'll take what she can get.