Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Tis the Season
It was always quite clear that people had always preferred the holiday Christmas above all others. There were the festivities; the feasts held by families; the game of catching frosty snowflakes on one's tongue, and of course, the tradition of exchanging gifts.
The Village of Konoha had always been particularly festive this year. Citizens were in the highest of spirits as they thought of their plans to celebrate the holiday. Most citizens, anyway.
The Hyuuga Clan seemed to be an exception. There was no cheer, no joy, no gifts, and for as long as Hinata could remember, it had always been that way. Which was all well and good, the young girl reminded herself as she walked down the snow-covered streets, her gloved hands in her pockets. She could barely picture her father being in the spirit of the season, and imagining Neji-nii-san acting warm and joyous was far too unrealistic. Still, she always enjoyed watching how happy families were this time of year.
She snapped to attention as she collided with something orange. Surprised and confused, she shielded her head with her arms as about two dozen packages of ramen rained down on her. Then, she slowly turned her gaze to the ground where a young, blonde ninja was sprawled out on the ground, dazed. She knelt down and gently shook his arm.
"N-Naruto-Kun! I-I'm so sorry; a-are you all right?"
"Eh" Naruto looked up at her blankly, before registering what was happening. "Hi Hinata! Sorry about that." He grinned as he began picking up the fallen ramen packs, before continuing to speak to her.
"So, what're ya doing out here? Are you going Christmas shopping for you family? 'Cause if you ask me, I think you should put rocks in Neji's stocking this year."
Hinata sadly shook her head as she helped him gather up the food. "No…m-my family doesn't celebrate the holiday…"
There were several thuds as Naruto dropped the ramen he had just picked up. He was staring at Hinata with a mixture of shock and horror on his face. "Whaaa?!?! How can your family not celebrate Christmas?!? Is it some dumb Hyuuga thing, like with Neji's mark?", he asked, failing his arms wildly.
The girl looked away as she handed him the packages she had collected, before bending down again to pick up more. "W-well…m-my father just thinks of it as a waste of t-time. We never have any celebrations, or exchange gifts. It's just how our family has lived…Naruto-Kun…?"
The boy had frozen in mid-action of picking up another ramen package. He seemed to be deep in thought, and didn't respond until Hinata had called his name another three times.
"What? Oh, sorry Hintata. Well, I have to go. C'ya around!", he told her hurriedly, before taking the few remaining packages from her and rushing off.
It had been about four days since she had bumped into Naruto on the sidewalk, making it Christmas Eve. Every time she had seen him walking around the village carrying even more packs of ramen than usual, (if that was possible) along with several large boxes of ornaments and other sorts of decorations, he would simply mutter a hello and be on his way again. Hinata couldn't help but wonder that maybe her family's decision to not celebrate the merry day has caused him to find her odd for some reason. Odder than he already thought her as, that is. It wasn't as if she was very sociable to begin with; she was quite shy and withdrawn, and she was definitely not ninja material. If that was the case, she had given him even more reason to find her strange.
She sighed softly, her silvery eyes filled with sorrow as she slowly began to walk in the direction of the woods. As long as she was in the area, she should at least practice training. There was plenty of improvement in store for her before she could even come close to becoming a top ninja.
She jumped as she heard a light snoring sound. Snoring…? Who in their right mind would sleep outside in the heart of the woods, and in the dead of winter, none-the-less! She received an answer as she glanced. Leaning against a tree, fast asleep and most certainly not in his right mind (at least not completely), was Naruto.
Hinata sat down beside him and gently shook his shoulders. "Naruto-kun…? Y-you shouldn't be out here…"
Naruto's eyes shot open . Still half-way in dreamland, he began panicking. "No, it wasn't me Iruka-Sensei, I swear!"
"N-Naruto-Kun?!?"
"It was all Sasuke's fault, honest- oh." He gave a lopsided grin as he realized who it was. "Hey, Hinata."
Hinata blinked in confusion. "Naruto-Kun…what are you doing out here? It's freezing, and-"
The boy cut her off. "Oh! There's something I want to show you! Come on!" He grabbed her by the hand and proceeded to drag her further into the woods. After a few minutes, he halted in the middle of a clearing and pointed, before turning toward around expectantly. "Well? What do you think?"
Standing before them was a large pine tree, covered in various decorations that Naruto had obviously created and put on himself. (The fact that some of them were chopsticks and ramen noodles were a dead give-away.) A smile lit up the Hyuuga heiress' features. "Naruto-Kun…I-is this what you were doing for the past few d-days?"
Naruto laughed in a way only he could. "Yup! You said your family doesn't exchange presents or anything, so I wanted to decorate a tree for you as a gift. And believe me, it wasn't nearly as easy as you'd think." He smiled sheepishly as he pulled his left hand out from behind his back. Hinata giggled as she realized his thumb and middle finger were stuck together. "I had some trouble using the glue…"
Hinata's pale face glowed happily. "Thank you, Naruto-Kun. This is so kind of you."
The ninja chuckled. "No problem!" He faced her and grinned happily. "Merry Christmas, Hinata!"
A/N: This is probably the first story I'm actually satisfied with. And yes, I made up the thing about the Hyuugas.Well, I hoped you enjoyed it. Merry Christmas! (And it would make Kuro very happy if all of you wonderful readers out there left a review. :D )