A/N: Merry Christmas, everyone. Made this one shot in roughly twelve hours, so I apologise if it's a bit lacking, but I was too busy to fully write evey thing I wanted to and started this last night. I hope all of you enjoy it nevertheless. As far as other projects are concerned, being busy with multiple things in life takes up a whole lot of time, but I'm trying to write as often as I can. That being said, I wish all of you once again a Merry Christmas and hope to see all of you in one piece again next year.
Now on with the story!
Your Santa
Christmas time had arrived in Konohagakure. It was a rare sight, as the usually green village was covered in pure white snow.
It was quite cold, but nothing too unbearable.
On her way back home from another day at the Shinobi Academy, Hinata was lost in her thoughts.
"Tomorrow's Christmas...What should I do?" The young Hyuuga girl wondered as she paid little heed to the road in front of her, yet managed to walk straight towards the Hyuuga compound.
She was plotting a plan or at least tried to come up with one.
"I already failed on giving him a birthday present, so I have to succeed on making sure he has a merry Christmas." Hinata thought as she burried her face deeper into the white scarf she was wearing that day.
If most of her female classmates could hear her thoughts, they'd think she was thinking about this year's number one student, the quiet and distant Uchiha Sasuke. However, unlike her female classmates, Hinata had found her own number one student, Uzumaki Naruto.
While he didn't get the highest grades or performed as good as most other students, she knew how determined he was to become a full-fledged shinobi. Hinata always rooted in silence for the blonde whenever they had to reverse jutsu in front of the class.
She wished she had more courage to actually shout out to him and cheer him on, but she was too scared and too shy.
Not to mention that most girls seemed to dislike Naruto for some reason.
Hinata knew that she was most likely the only girl in their entire class to like Naruto, despite him being a good looking guy. Secretly, Hinata was glad that none of the other girls seemed to have an interest in Naruto.
However, that wasn't something she had to worry about right now. The only thing she had to think of right now was what she should try to give him for Christmas.
Hinata knew Naruto's situation quite well.
He was living on a sum of money he received from the Hokage each month because he was an orphan. Naruto therefore usually ate ramen at the Ichiraku Ramenstand or just cups of instant-noodles he bought himself.
"That's right...Naruto-kun's Christmas plans..." Hinata tilted her head slightly up and noticed she had arrived at her home.
She figured that he would most likely spend some time at Ichiraku Ramen on Christmas Eve, with or without their teacher, Iruka. However, other than that, he would probably have little to do and just stay at home.
"Maybe I could cook a meal for Naruto-kun...But, I'm not very good at cooking...I can't ask him to come over for Chrismas...Father would never allow it..." Hinata slightly frowned and stopped in the middle of the courtyard.
Snow began to fall once again.
Hinata tilted her head back and stared at the sky for a while.
"What would make Naruto-kun happier than anything else on Christmas?" Hinata whispered to the sky as snow flakes kept floating down from it.
As if longing for an answer from the sky itself, Hinata stood silently in the middle of the courtyard.
A snow flake landed on the tip of her nose and Hinata lowered her head again.
"I better head inside before I catch a cold..." Hinata thought as she began to move once again, still having found no answer as to what she should give Naruto for Christmas.
Ignoring her father's meditation chambers and the rooms of the rest of her family, Hinata headed straight for her own room. Once she was there, she quickly took off her coat before sitting down on her bed, grabbing her pillow and pressing it tightly against her body.
Hinata bit softly on her lower lip, "There must be something that only I can give to Naruto-kun..."
The door of her room then slid open and her father entered with a stern look on his face.
"Hinata, is everything all right? You didn't stop by my chambers to greet me like usual." The head of the Hyuuga clan asked without even blinking once.
Despite him actually caring to a certain degree about his offspring, he always kept that stern look on his face. Hinata didn't exactly understand or know why, but it was only on rare occasions that her father displayed any type of emotion of his face.
"Y-Yes, father, I'm all right. I was just lost in my thoughts..." Hinata nearly whispered the last part.
"Ah...I see. Don't forget about your training." A typical reply came from the head of the Hyuuga clan.
"Training?" Hinata didn't and couldn't forget about that, but her mind was simply occupied right now with things that mattered more to her, "Ehm...Father?"
Hiashi, who was about to leave the room of his eldest daughter turned his head back around, "What is it?"
"What...e-ehm...What was the first thing you ever got from mother for Christmas?" Hinata asked as she fidgeted.
Her father stared at her for a while, not even showing a single sign that he intended to reply.
It was as if time had frozen in the young Hyuuga heiress's room. When time finally seemed to resume, Hiashi closed his eyes and spoke up.
"A merry Christmas." He said before leaving the room.
Hinata stared out in front of her with wide eyes as she repeated her father's words inside her mind, "A merry...Christmas? That...that..."
"That's it!" A wide smile appeared on the girl's face, "That's what I wanted all along and I actually can give Naruto-kun a merry Christmas! At least...I think I can..."
"But what could I possibly do for Naruto-kun that will give him a merry Christmas...?" Hinata fell back down on her bed and stared at her ceiling.
"Maybe I should just get a normal present..." Hinata muttered, "But I really want to give Naruto-kun a Christmas to remember..."
She knew that he would appreciate the thought, no matter what she bought, but then she had the problem of actually giving it to him herself as well.
"I probably don't even have the courage to directly give Naruto-kun a present..." Hinata sighed and frowned slightly.
The gears in her head were spinning at maximum speed. She needed to come up with something and she had to do it fast.
"What if I could put the present in Naruto-kun's home without Naruto-kun noticing me?" Hinata wondered, "I...I don't really want to break into Naruto-kun's home, but if he never finds out then it should be all right...right?"
"Though a single present doesn't really give Naruto-kun a christmas to remember...Nor is it something to get overly excited from..." Hinata closed her eyes, "What if...Naruto-kun woke up tomorrow morning and there were loads of presents in his house?"
Hinata formed the image inside her mind of Naruto sitting up in his bed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Huh, what is this 'tebayo?" He'd say as he'd notice the presents in his home, "Presents? And all of these...are for me? Wow! This is the best Christmas ever, hehehe!"
Hinata smiled softly. She liked the sound of that.
The young Hyuuga heiress sat up in her bed, "Alright, I'll go for that."
"Now I just have to find out what I should get Naruto-kun..." Hinata muttered as she got off her bed and put her jacket back on.
With a smile on her face, she ran out of her room. She didn't stop running until she reached the courtyard, where her cousin and his female teammate were training.
"Maybe...Just maybe Neji-niisan could help me out..." Hinata thought as she looked at the training session.
"Tenten, we're going to take a short break." Neji said and Tenten lowered her weapons.
The kunoichi threw a look towards Hinata and smiled.
"Ah! Hey there!" She waved energetically at Hinata, who shyly waved back at her.
"Hinata-sama, is there something wrong? With all due respect, you are interrupting my training." Neji spoke his last few words with a sense of annoyance.
"Ah...uhm...I wondered if you could help me, Neji-niisan..." Hinata gulped. Her cousin's stern looks were worse than those of her father.
The Hyuuga branch-member remained silent for a while and then finally replied, "With what can I exactly help you, Hinata-sama?"
"E-Ehm...Do you know what would be a good christmas present?" Hinata asked with a smile on her face.
"No, I do not." Neji replied without hesitation.
"Neji, what kind of reaction is that? Your cousin is honestly asking you for help and you act like that?" Tenten scowled.
Neji turned his towards his female teammate, "I merely spoke the truth. I do not know what would make a good christmas present."
The kunoichi sighed, "Fine, I guess I'll try to help her out then."
"Y-You will? Thank you very much." Hinata thanked the girl as she walked towards her.
"So, who are you getting a present?" Tenten asked as she smiled at Hinata.
"J-Just someone I know..." Hinata blushed and looked away from the kunoichi's eyes. She didn't want anyone else to know she was going to buy christmas presents for Naruto.
"Ah, I see..." An almost devlish smirk appeared on Tenten's face, "Well, I take it he is either an academy student or a shinobi already, right?"
"Y-Yes." Hinata gulped and kept avoiding eye contact.
"Well, then I've got just the thing. Take a look at this!" Tenten exclaimed cheerfully as she presented the young Hyuuga heiress with a rolled up cloth and quickly rolled it out.
"A kunai set...?" Hinata blinked at the metalic objects strapped onto the inside of the cloth.
"This isn't just any kunai set. This is the latest, Konoha Holidy Special kunai set!" Tenten's smile widened.
"A-Aren't they just normal kunai? They don't look all that special..." Hinata wondered out loud.
"Are you kididng me?" Tenten stared at Hinata as if she had spoken the most blasphemous words ever.
"Just look at how fine the blades have been folded. They practically scream sharp! These babies could cut you to pieces if you just throw a glance at them, that's how sharp they are. Not to mention their beautiful shine. Oh, and they even give you a white painting kit so you can make them camouflaged for the winter! They're so perfect and beautiful." Tenten said with stars in her eyes.
"I...I see..." Hinata replied, "She must really like kunai..."
"Tenten, that's enough. Let's continue training." Neji said as he walked up to his female teammate.
"Not so fast, my eternal rival!" A voice shouted and then something crashed a few meters in front of Neji, clearing all the snow at that spot and moving it on top of the rest of the snow.
"What are you doing here?" Neji asked the boy in green that had appeared in front of them.
"I, Rock Lee, sensed that you were neglecting your training, my eternal rival! So I focussed all my power on getting here faster than ever before and challenging you to a fight!" The shinobi named Lee exclaimed.
"You're stalking me?" Neji stared at the green clad boy.
"No, but that doesn't matter right now!" Lee exclaimed and then turned towards Hinata, "I couldn't help but overhear that you were looking for a Christmas present. You have to look no further!"
Hinata blinked at the boy as he gave her a thumbs-up and a smile, "R-Really?"
"Yes!" Lee replied and pulled a scroll out of his kunai pouch, "It's called Gai-sensei's training manual! This super secret book contains all the secrets to leading a youthful life, filled with brave adventures and extreme training schedules!"
"W-Well, thank you..." Hinata said as the boy handed her the scroll.
"Lee, what kind of present is that? No one other than you would want to have that." Tenten stated, "My kunai set is a way better present."
"Lies! Tenten, please don't speak such untruthful words! Everyone wants to follow Gai-sensei's springtime of youth training schedules!"
"Tsunade-sama never followed Gai-sensei's schedules and she's one of the Legendary Sannin." Tenten retorted.
"Tenten, give it a rest. Lee, get the hell off my...I mean, the Hyuuga property." Neji commanded his team mates with a stern look on his face.
And that was Hinata's cue to leave as well. She didn't want to end up getting dragged into some argument about training schedules.
"Well, at least I have my first present..." Hinata thought as she looked at the scroll in her hands, "And I guess I'll buy that kunai set for Naruto-kun as well. I'm sure that he wouldn't mind having a new set and they're the best according to Tenten-san..."
It took Hinata a while before she found the shop that sold the kunai set, but when she finally did, she also received a huge red woolen sack that she could use to put all the presents in.
The store owner told her that a lot of shinobi bought different presents there for other shinobi and that they wanted to hide presents as good as they could and hence the shop gave huge woolen sacks with each purchase. Hinata was glad that they did that, for now at least no one, especially Naruto of course, could tell exactly what she was buying for christmas.
"What else should I get for Naruto-kun...?" Hinata whispered to herself as she continued walking down the street of Konoha.
The Hyuuga heiress looked around, seeing if she could find an interesting shop.
"Ah, Hinata. You're shopping for Christmas gifts?" Hinata heard someone call out from behind her.
Hinata turned around and found a classmate standing behind her, "K-Kiba-kun. Good afternoon. Yes, I'm looking for things I could give as Christmas presents."
"I see. Me too. Found anything interesting yet?" Kiba asked nonchalantly.
"U-uhm...Nothing special, I guess...To be honest...I don't really know what I should get for..." Hinata cut herself off before she uttered Naruto's name.
"Ah, really?" Kiba blinked and then bend towards the Hyuuga girl so that he could whisper to her, "I'm going to buy a new ball for Akamaru. It's something we both can have fun with and he's been wanting a new one for a while now. Don't tell him, though. It's a surprise."
"Arf!" Akamaru, who sat on top of Kiba's head, barked.
"What do you mean 'if it's a surprise then don't talk about it'?! You shouldn't eavesdrop when people whisper, Akamaru!"
"Arf, arf!" The little pup barked again.
"Hey, you were the one that told me that you wanted a new one in the first place. Don't assume I'm doing this because I enjoy playing with the ball as well!"
Hinata giggled at the sight of the argueing dog and it's master. For some reason, it made her feel like she should get a ball for Naruto as well.
"Sorry, Kiba-kun, but I've still got a lot to do, so I'll be on my way now." Hinata bowed slightly and then quickly headed on.
"A-Ah ok." Kiba replied as she walked off, "Damn it, Akamaru. You scared her away."
An hour or two later, Hinata's sack of presents was getting pretty full.She had run into quite a few of her classmates and asked most of them for advice on what she should get.
"I guess that should do it..." Hinata said to herself as she sat down on a bench in one of Konoha's parks.
She smiled as she looked at the sack and hoped from the bottom of her heart that Naruto would be happy when he found each of them present in his room.
"Time to eat up, my little friends. You shouldn't stay out in this cold for too long."
Hinata turned her head around and found another one of her classmates behind her.
"Shino-kun?" Hinata blinked.
"Hyuuga Hinata, good afternoon. I hope you're enjoying the weather more than my little friends are." Shino replied.
"Y-Yes, I am, I guess..." Hinata replied.
"That's good." Shino stated without turning around to face Hinata.
After a little while, Hinata turned her head back around as her classmate remained silent.
That was until he suddenly spoke up again, "Christmas shopping, is it huh?"
"Y-Yes. I've bought quite a few presents." Hinata said with a small smile on her face.
"That's good." Shino replied.
Hinata slightly frowned. She wasn't quite sure how she should conversate with one of the most silent guys from her class. If she wasn't mistaken, he was the second best student this year, being only bested by Uchiha Sasuke.
"Uhm...Shino-kun?"
"If there's something you wish to ask me, there's no need to hesitate."
"Th-then...What do you think is the best present you could get for someone this Christmas?"
"The best gift this year is without a doubt..." Shino turned around and his shades sparkled as he held his hand out, "...this."
"That's...a bonsai tree?" Hinata slightly tilted her head, "I didn't even know we had those available for sale here in Konoha."
"That's right. This is the absolute best gift you could get anyone. A piece of nature. A piece of tranquility. Something that brings peace. That, along with a lot of other symbolism, is presented by this bonsai." Shino's shades sparkled again, "That's why this is the greatest gift of this year's Christmas."
"I have to say...it has something to it." Hinata said with a smile on her face and then looked up at her classmate with a look of confusion, "But...why are you carrying a bonsai around?"
"That..." Shino said as he placed the bonsai along with a box on the bench Hinata was sitting on. His shades sparkled again as he looked into her eyes, "Is this year's Christmas's greatest mystery."
Hinata stared at the second best and most mysterious student as he turned around and walked off.
"See you at school in two days." He said as he left, not even bothering to get his hands out of his pockets to wave at the Hyuuga heiress.
She shook her head, picked the bonsai up from the bench and smiled, "That's another present for Naruto-kun then."
On her way back to the Hyuuga compound, Hinata was formulating the rest of her plan to give Naruto a merry Christmas.
"I'll sneak out tonight and break into Naruto-kun's apartment. All I have to do is place all the gifts and leave without being noticed by Naruto-kun. ...What if he does notice me?" Hinata lifted her head up and her eyes slightly widened.
"He might get mad at me. O-or I might get too embarrassed to explain everything to him. Wh-what should I do?"
"I...I need a disguise..." Hinata muttered and then looked at her red woolen sack, "A Santa costume?"
Hinata smiled, "Naruto-kun...I guess I'll become your Santa tonight."
"Though where do I find a Santa costume? I could use Henge no Jutsu, but there's a chance I won't be able to maintain it..." Hinata brought a finger to her lips and mused.
"I guess I'll just have to look for it." Hinata muttered and brought her hands together, "Byakugan."
Her field of vision expanded beyond anything a human without the Hyuuga bloodline limit could ever hope to achieve. While she could practically see far and wide as she pleased, the bigger the radius of her vision became, the harder it was for her to process every thing.
Luckily, she could narrow her field of vision down, allowing her to see things that were straight in front of her, yet far away. And after she did that, it was only a matter of turning her head in order to scan the area.
"I've found it." Hinata smiled and turned her Byakugan off again. After pulling her red woolen sack over her shoulder, Hinata headed off towards the store she located with her Byakugan.
However, once she had finally reached the store, Hinata was surprised at what she found.
"This is...a Santa costume?" Hinata tilted her head slightly and blinked a couple of times at the mannequin in front of her.
It had the red Santa hat, it was mostly red withwith fluffy white edges, but it wasn't what Hinata had in mind.
"Won't you catch a cold while wearing something like that?" Hinata wondered as she looked at the red top and the quite short red skirt that went along with it, "Not to mention that it's even more embarrassing to break into Naruto-kun's home dressed like that..."
"What should I do...? I didn't see any other shop with a Santa-like costume, but this is..." Hinata bit on her lip as she stared at the costume in front of her, wondering if she should or shouldn't buy it.
"Ohohoho...Are you still doing Christmas shopping, Hinata?"
Shaken out of her thoughts, Hinata turned around and found a familiar person standing a few meters away from her, "H-Hokage-sama?"
Hinata quickly shook her head and bowed in front of the head of the village, "G-Good afternoon."
"Hm, hm...Good afternoon to you too." The old man nodded a couple of times, "Looks like I came just in time."
"Wh-what do you mean?" Hinata looked surprised at the Third.
"You've been running around the village all afternoon finding gifts for Naruto, haven't you?" The old shinobi asked her.
Hinata's eyes widened, "H-How did you..."
"Ohohoho...I'm the Hokage, I know a lot of things that others don't. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." The Hokage replied and smiled gently and Hinata.
"Ah uhm..." Hinata felt her face flush bright red and she was at a loss of words.
The Third walked towards Hinata, keeping his eyes fixated on the mannequin wearing the Christmas costume, "To be honest with you, I think you're a bit too young to wear something like that. Perhaps in a few years, however..."
"U-Uhm...Hokage-sama?" Hinata hesitantly spoke up as the Hokage kept staring at the mannequin in silence.
"You need a Santa Claus costume, don't you?" The Hokage asked her.
"Y-Yes, b-because..." Hinata fidgeted with her fingers. She wasn't very comfortable with talking about her feelings for Naruto to anyone, especially someone like the Hokage.
"Then, I shall arrange that for you. Follow me back to my office." The Hokage stated and started to stroll back towards his office.
"A-Ah...Thank you very much!" Hinata quickly bowed her head again and then followed the Hokage, "B-but...how do you know that the costume will suit me?"
"Ohohoho...Hinata, I may be old, but I'm still the leader of Konohagakure. If I wanted to, I could find out exactly what you and your family ate today, how many times you went to the toilet today and exactly what Iruka has been teaching to you and your classmates." The Hokage said with a content smile on his face.
"H-Hokage-sama...could it be that...you're the real Santa?" Hinata asked.
"Now what makes you say that? Kids these days, really...Ohoho...ho..." The Hokage suddenly fell silent for a moment, "Hmmm...I see...Too bad I don't have the right type of beard or the huge belly."
"I...I think you'd still make a great Santa." Hinata replied honestly.
"Sadly, it isn't within the village's budget to buy everyone presents, ohohoho." Sandaime laughed.
After receiving the Santa costume from the Hokage, Hinata headed back home and hid the presents along with the costume in her room. Now all she had to do was wait until the right time arrived for her to head to Naruto's apartment.
The rest of the day continued on as usual for her. Training, which was followed by dinner which in turn was followed by studying.
However, as the hours past, Hinata grew more and more restless.
She knew she had to wait until it was around midnight, for she figured that even Naruto wouldn't be up at that hour, but nevertheless she had the urge to put on the costume and head to Naruto's apartment.
When the lights went off in the Hyuuga compound and it was time that the majority of the Hyuuga clan went to bed, Hinata lay wide awake in her bed. She didn't dare to close her eyes, fearing that she might fall asleep and not wake up in time to deliver Naruto's presents. Hinata looked at her clock every once in a while. Time seemed to pass by slower than ever before.
A few hours passed before Hinata heard her father go to his bedroom. She waited a bit longer before getting out of bed.
Her costume consisted of three pieces of warm, woolen clothing.
A pair of red boots, with the necessary white fluff on it. A pair of red pants, which naturally also had the white fluff and a red shirt with a hood. The Hokage had suggested that her costume should have the hood instead of her wearing a Santa hat, so that she could at the very least hide her face.
When she had put on all the items of her disguise, she took the sack filled with presents out of it's hiding place and threw it over her shoulder.
She walked over to her window and placed her hand on it, "It's cold..."
Hinata carefully opened her bedroom window and crawled out of her room.
With a soft plof, she landed on the snow covered ground. She made as little noise as possible as she ran past the wall and made her way out of the Hyuuga compound.
The streets of Konoha were practically deserted and most of the lights were dimmed out as well. Nevertheless, the snow provided Hinata with enough light to navigate her way through the streets with ease.
It didn't take her too long to reach the district in which Naruto lived, but the cold made it seem that much longer. Hinata hid in an alley and placed the sack on the ground for a moment.
"Naruto-kun's apartment is over there." Hinata said as she looked at Naruto's home from the corner of her eyes. She blew out her warm breath against her cold hands a couple of times before picking up her sack again and heading on towards Naruto's apartment.
Jumping up to his balcony went easier than Hinata had thought.
"I was afraid the cold might have made it more difficult to safely get up here, but..." Hinata thought as she moved to the door that led to Naruto's apartment.
On her way up to his balcony, she had already noticed that Naruto was lying in his bed, so she figured she had little to worry about now.
All that was left, was getting inside and placing the presents in his home. Hinata placed her hand on the sliding door's handle and softly pulled on it.
"It's still open." Hinata smiled and pulled the door further open.
She quickly entered and closed the door behind her. Everything was going perfectly.
Hinata walked forward while crouching, trying to hide herself as much as possible.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Hinata gasped and slightly turned her head, "N-Naruto-kun!"
"If you think you can come in here and steal my stuff, guess again!" The blonde shouted as he charged at Hinata, his fist held ready to unleash more than just a decent dosis of pain.
"I-I'm bringing you presents!" Hinata let out as fast as she could before flinching from Naruto's incoming fist.
However, the fist never reached her.
"What...did you just say?"
Hinata carefully looked at Naruto from the corner of her eyes, trying to hide her face as much as possible, "I...I'm bringing you presents...fo-for Christmas..."
"Huh?" Naruto let out in surprise, "You're...Santa?"
"S-Sort of...I...I guess I'm somewhat your Santa this year..." Hinata whispered the last part and blushed.
"Wow...Santa's a girl?" Naruto blinked a couple of times.
"Y-Yes. I-I mean, no. Y-Yes, I...I am a girl, b-but I...I don't think..." Hinata gulped.
"Ah...ehm...I'm sorry about trying to punch you." Naruto said and cleared his throat, "I thought you were some kind of burglar, so...ehm...this doesn't affect what I'm getting for Christmas, right?"
Somehow, Hinata felt a bit more relaxed and caused her to smile.
"No, it doesn't." She replied honestly.
"Then...I'll just lie back down in bed and let you do your...ehm thing?" Naruto said and headed back to his bed.
Hinata nodded and began taking the presents out of her sack and placing them in Naruto's apartment.
The entire time, Naruto lay silently on his bed, not saying a single word. Hinata checked multiple times if he had fallen asleep, but each time she looked she could see him quickly turn his head away.
The thought that Naruto was watching her every move made her blush, but she continued distributing the gifts across his apartment.
It wasn't long before the sack was entirely empty.
Hinata stood straight up, only bowing her head slightly to make sure that Naruto couldn't see her face, "Th-that's all of it..."
"These are all...mine?" Naruto blinked in disbelief.
Hinata shyly nodded once, "I...I had some help picking all of them out, but...I...I hope you like each and every one of them."
"Uh...Santa, I don't want to sound ungrateful, but..." Naruto paused for a moment, "Why are you doing all of this for me?"
Hinata let out a gasp and remained silent for a moment as her heart started to pound harder and faster.
"Because I love you, Naruto-kun..." Is what she wanted to say, but she knew she didn't have enough courage yet to say such a thing, "B-Because I want Naruto-kun to have a merry Christmas..."
"Then...Would you mind I asked you one..." Naruto paused for a moment and then grinned widely, "No, two more things I'd like for Christmas?"
Hinata rose her head and stared with wide eyes at Naruto, "O-Of course. If I can get it for you, then I definitely will. Th-though it would have to wait until tomorrow...I can't get anymore presents tonight..."
"To be honest, while I like getting presents..." Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "I'd much rather want to spend Christmas with a friend, any friend at all, instead of receiving all of these presents."
Hinata let out another gasp and then nodded, "I...I will make sure that you'll have someone to spend Christmas with."
"Haha, really?" Naruto laughed and grinned widely, "Man, being Santa, you must be able to do just about anything, eh?"
"I wish that was true, but I'm too afraid of even lowering this hood for you, Naruto-kun..." Hinata thought and remained silent for a moment, "Th-then..What was that second thing you wanted for Christmas?"
"That Konoha had more girls like yourself, Santa." Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "Your way kinder than most girls I know."
Hinata blushed bright red and moved towards the balcony door again, "W-Well...I...I don't think I could do such a thing..."
"You're leaving already?" Naruto's questioned caused the young Hyuuga heiress to freeze in her steps.
"I-I delivered all of Naruto-kun's presents, so...there's n-nothing left for me to do here..." Hinata gulped.
"But it's freezing outside and I'd like to talk to you some more." Naruto clutched his fist, "As future Hokage, I have to take a rare chance like this to talk to Santa."
Hinata took a deep breath. She wanted to stay. She would love to stay here in Naruto's apartment and talk to him all night, but she knew that Christmas morning was only a couple of hours away.
She straightened up and turned towards Naruto, "Naruto-kun, I...I'd love to, but you should get some sleep or you won't be awake to spend Christmas tomorrow with your friend and...we can't have that, can we?"
Hinata tilted her head slightly and smiled gently.
"Ah man...I guess you're right, Santa...It's too bad." Naruto fell back down on his bed with his hands behind his head, "You're such a nice person. I like people like you."
Hinata's face brightened once again and she was starting to wobble a bit on her feet.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, even though it sounded more like a whisper.
"You know, I think I know a girl just like you...Though I can't seem to remember exactly who it was...Do you know who-?" Naruto cut himself off as he felt a cold wind run over his body.
The blonde shinobi sat up and noticed that the person who he believed to be Santa was already gone and left his door open.
"She left, huh?" Naruto muttered and jumped out of bed.
He walked over to his balcony door, stuck his head out of the door opening and shivered, "Could it be that Santa's a kunoichi? She disappeared so fast..."
Naruto shrugged and closed the door before heading back to bed.
Hinata sat on the rooftop of Naruto's apartment for a moment. The cold winter night wind blew softly against Hinata's face, rapidly cooling her down. Once the diziness inside her head had completely faded, Hinata stood up and smiled.
"Then...I better go home and get some rest." Hinata told herself, "In a few hours, I'll be spending Christmas with Naruto-kun."
That thought made her feel warm and fuzzy and kept her warm on her way home.
The following morning, directly after breakfast, Hinata prepared for the rest of the day.
She didn't go through extremes to make herself look extra good. After all, she should look like she just happened to visit Naruto for Christmas and not like she knew that Naruto was expecting someone.
"I'm heading out." Hinata stated as she hastily passed her father's chambers, not even bothering to wait for his reply.
After all, she wanted to spend as much time with Naruto as she could.
Hinata left the Hyuuga compound and followed the same route as she did a few hours ago, only now she was greeted with smiling faces of every citizen of Konoha. Upon reaching Naruto's apartment, however, she stumbled upon a surprise.
In front of the building, three of her classmates stood and seemed to be waiting.
"What are Kiba-kun, Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun doing here?" Hinata wondered as she watched the trio from a distance.
"Everyone! Sorry for the wait!" Naruto shouted as he ran towards the group.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata whispered.
"Alright, let's get a move on then." Shikamaru stated and the group headed off.
Hinata gulped, "They're leaving..."
She bit her lip for a moment and then started to run after them.
"Naruto-kun! Everyone!" She called to them with a smile on her face.
The group stopped and turned around, each of them looking rather surprised at the Hyuuga girl.
"M-Merry Christmas." Hinata managed to utter when she caught up with them.
"Hinata? What are you doing all the way out here?" Shikamaru asked.
Kiba grinned widely, "I bet she came here to give Naruto a present. She was buying Christmas presents yesterday."
"Really?" Naruto blinked at the Hyuuga heiress.
"A-Ah, th-that is..." Hinata slightly blushed and avoided Naruto's eyes.
"Thanks, Hinata. I already received a lot of presents, but I'll gladly accept yours as well." Naruto grinned widely, "We're heading out to have fun together, just us guys together. Ah...You can come along as well and we promise we will try to be gentle, ehehehe."
"Naruto, since when do you receive a lot of presents on Christmas?" Chouji wondered out loud.
"Hehe, since this year, I guess. Santa personally delivered them to me last night." Naruto placed his hands on the back of his head and his grin widened.
"Are you serious?" Shikamaru perked an eyebrow.
"Yeah, of course." Naruto nodded once and then turned to Kiba, "Hey, Kiba. I bet you didn't know that Santa is a total babe."
"Eh?" Hinata let out and her face began to flush red.
"Huh? Wait what? Santa? A babe? Are we thinking of the same Santa here?" Kiba blinked at Naruto.
"I met her last night!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly and everyone, but Hinata, stared at him in disbelief.
"She's an absolute beauty. Not to mention that she has this cute voice and sweet ass..." Naruto coughed, "personality."
"I want to have whatever you put in your ramen last night." Chouji remarked.
"Naruto, you do know that there's no such thing as Santa Claus, right?" Shikamaru added
"You sure you weren't dreaming?" Kiba raised an eyebrow.
"Hey! I've got the proof in my apartment! Look at all the presents there! And I'm telling you, a girl that's hot enough to melt the snow under our feet brought them to me!"
A loud thud drew the attention of all four academy students to one spot.
"Hi-Hinata?!" Kiba let out in surprise.
"Oi, get a grip!" Chouji added as the four of them gathered around the Hyuuge girl.
"This is bad..She's burning up." Shikamaru stated his diagnosis, "We need to get her to a hospital as soon as possible."
"Leave it to me." Naruto said and picked Hinata up from the ground
"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata muttered.
"Hang in there, Hinata. You're going to be alright." Naruto said as he dashed through the streets of Konoha.
"M...Merry Christmas." Hinata said before she lost consciousness and let her head slump on Naruto's shoulder.