Hey guys!

After Pein's attack on Konoha and after a lot of rebuilding things are back to normal and Christmas is just around the corner. With a couple of days until Christmas Hinata is trying her hardest to get Naruto to notice her. Naruto is unsure of his feelings towards his lavender-eyed friend. Amidst the frantic pace of the holidays will Hinata get the one thing she wants?

This story is going to be very Hinata-centric, and it will only switch to Naruto's PoV occasionally when it's important. For the most part it's told in third person, from Hinata's PoV.

I know it's weird to right a Christmas story in July, but I thought it might be fun! So here it is,

Hinata-chan's Konoha Christmas

Despite its name, the Land of Fire could be quite cold in the winter. It was just one of those things no one really thought about, not questioning the snow that lazily drifted down to the newly rebuilt village. The residents of the Konohagakure no Sato were grateful to have homes again in time to combat the harsh bite of winter. Although it was much warmer than in some other countries, the chill in the air could still be harmful.

The sun was hidden behind a thin layer of clouds but it was still quite bright, reflecting off the thin sheet of ice crystals that littered the ground. The light twinkling on the ground was reflected in the pale lavender eyes of Hyuuga Hinata, who sat alone on a bench near her clan's compound. She smiled briefly, a slight blush tinting her cheeks, as she thought of how the eyes a certain blonde-haired shinobi were like that when he smiled.

She huddled inside of her jacket, which she wore at all times, to combat the cold. She sat, not really paying attention to anything, a thoughtful expression on her face. It had been little over a month since she had confessed her love for Naruto, and although they had still talked he had never brought it up. 'Naruto-kun probably forgot about it, or he just doesn't want to hurt my feelings' she thought sadly, while unwittingly brushing her long, bluish hair from her face.

She continued to think to herself, oblivious to the people walking past. 'Why would Naruto-kun want to be with me? He could be with someone better, like Sakura-chan.' The blonde shinobi's infatuation with the pink-haired kunoichi was well-known. 'As long as Naruto-kun is happy, then that is good enough'

Hinata was broken from her mental reverie when suddenly she felt someone sit beside her on the bench. She looked to the newcomer and found herself gazing into the two bright blue eyes she had thought of constantly.

Naruto flashed her a smile, causing her face to go red, before loudly exclaiming "Oi, Hinata-chan!"

Hinata's face was on fire as she shyly said, "K-Konichiwa, Naruto-kun" She inwardly cursed her stutter.

"Hinata-chan, I was wondering what you wanted for Christmas…" Naruto began to scratch the back of his head "I figure I owe you something after coming to help me and all."

Hinata began to feel light-headed, 'Naruto-kun wants to get me a present?". She was silent for a moment, only speaking when she saw Naruto's growing discomfort with the quiet. "I-I don't really know w-what I want." Except for you to be mine "B-but that's okay, you d-don't have to get me a-anything."

Naruto shook his head, "Hinata-chan, it's the least I could do." Hinata was slightly entranced by how the light caught his hair when he moved. She blushed as she snapped back into focus, but couldn't think of how to answer.

Naruto quickly opened his mouth to speak. "I got it! How about you come over to my place Christmas Eve and then I can take you to pick something out!"

Hinata thought she was going to faint. Naruto-kun's place? Although she was nervous, she was also kind of excited. Maybe it could be like… a date? "S-sure." She smiled at Naruto, noticing him pause. She smiled more when she realized that Naruto was staring at her, although her cheeks began to heat considerably.

Maybe it was just her eyes playing tricks, but did Naruto blush as well when he realized what he was doing? He scratched the back of his head again smirking a bit, saying "Well, I guess I'll just go get something to eat then. Sayonara, Hinata-chan"

As Naruto stood to leave Hinata began yelling at herself internally, 'Say something!' Hinata, her face bright red, quietly spoke up. "Um… N-naruto-kun, I h-haven't eaten yet… m-maybe we could g-get something t-together?" As the word 'together crossed her lips Hinata thought she was going to faint.

Naruto looked surprised, but then he grinned widely at her. "Sure, Hinata-chan! Do you like ramen?"

Hinata slowly got up to stand next to Naruto. "R-ramen sounds g-good."

With Hinata walking next to him, Naruto began to walk to possibly his favorite place in Konoha; Ichiraku Ramen. He was kind of embarrassed about how he had been staring at Hinata; he had never noticed how nice her smile was. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her, that same smile on her face. And since when had her eyes been that pretty? Naruto shook his head, what was he thinking? He'd never thought about Hinata that way; he'd always been so enamored with Sakura. Maybe it was just because of what she said when he was fighting Pein?

Although he had still talked to Hinata, Naruto was a bit unsure about her words. How could she have loved him without him noticing? Still, he wasn't really sure how to talk about it… although as they were walking in silence he figured that maybe they should.

Hinata felt a bit awkward walking with Naruto in silence, but she still couldn't help but grin thinking that they were going out to lunch together… even if it was only friendly. She looked around at the snow which still fell to the ground to cover everything in a white sheet. She turned, hoping to say something and break the silence when Naruto spoke up, a somewhat… worried?...expression on his face.

"Hinata-chan I think we have to talk about what happened with Pein."

Hinata was dumbstruck by Naruto suddenly wanting to talk about it. She blushed as she remembered her confession to Naruto. "O-okay. Um..." she began to tap her index fingers together out of nervousness.

"Did you really mean what you said?"

Hinata looked him in the eyes now, determination in her voice. "Naruto-kun, I meant everything I said and I'd fight Pein again a hundred times to protect you" She didn't stutter once.

Naruto was shocked by the confidence and vindication in her voice. "Wow… Hinata-chan… I… um…"

Hinata felt her cheeks flush while inside she started to be overcome with sadness. Naruto-kun can't even say anything… is my love that appalling? "N-naruto-kun, I understand th-that you don't l-like me that w-way. I k-know how m-much you like S-sakura-chan and…" Her speech started to dwindle away into silence. Hinata glanced at Naruto, to see how he was reacting. He actually looked concerned.

"Hinata-chan it's not that…. Well… "He scratched the back of his head nervously "You're really nice Hinata-chan, and I like talking to you, just I'm not really sure how I feel right now… Maybe if we just wait a bit we might see how things go?"

Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. Did Naruto-kun just say that he might go out with me? She began to smile and quietly said "S-sure." Full of hope Hinata began to think feverishly. What do I do? Do I say something? Do I hang out with him more? Do I… I'll have to ask Sakura-chan!

The rest of the walk was pleasant, the tension broken. They talked about most everything that came to mind. Cooking; Hinata enjoyed cooking when she was nervous or wasn't training with her team, Naruto practically lived off of ramen so he had almost no cooking skills. Music; Hinata liked slow songs and love songs, Naruto didn't listen to music that much. Instructors; Hinata loved to talk with Kurenai, who was like a mother to her. Naruto started to complain about always having pervy teachers, besides Iruka-sensei.

They finally arrived at Ichiraku Ramen as Naruto was telling a story about 'Ero-Sennin' and his exploits, which made Hinata blush furiously. As she and Naruto walked toward the bar to order some food Hinata saw Sakura out of the corner of her eye. She looked at the pink-haired kunoichi, who was giving her a grin and a thumbs-up. If Hinata wasn't already blushing she would be. She looked away from Sakura and took a seat next to Naruto.

The blonde shinobi was grinning ear-to-ear as he spoke up "Oi, old man! Two bowls of ramen!"

Without looking the owner of Ichiraku Ramen just said back "Naruto, I'm not going to start you off with two bowls; one at a time, even for our favorite customer! You know the new rule with a lot of people still going hungry; I have to have enough on hand to feed anyone who-" He turned around to be caught by surprise "Naruto! You didn't say you weren't eating alone! Two bowls it is." He cast them a grin and began to prepare their food when a girl, probably the old man's daughter, walked over with a mischievous look. "So, Naruto, who's your girlfriend?"

Hinata's recently cool cheeks were blazing all over again while Naruto started stammering an answer, "Ayame-chan, Hinata-chan's not my girlfriend, we just… uh… decided to grab some lunch while we were talking." He grinned nervously while Ayame laughed and walked away.

Thanking Teuchi for the ramen, Hinata began to slowly eat her meal while Naruto devoured his in a matter of seconds. Naruto was about to ask for more when he looked over to see the now-giggling Hyuuga. Naruto felt embarrassed for a moment, but he gave her a large smile. She had a really cute laugh…

Hinata eventually reigned in her laughter and then continued to eat her meal with Naruto in comfortable silence. She was ecstatic at having got to spend time with her love. This is great! I get to spend time with Naruto-kun and he even said he might ask me out! If she wasn't so shy she'd be shouting her joy to the world.

Teuchi returned with two more bowls, even though they hadn't requested any. Through a big smile he said "I know I shouldn't do this, but a round on the house for the lovely couple!" Hinata couldn't help but giggle again at Naruto's excited expression. That was one thing she loved about him; his enthusiasm. She was amazed by how much effort he put into things and how much excitement he got from them, despite his lonely childhood. She was so distracted by Naruto, who himself was distracted by the ramen, that they didn't notice Teuchi's implication of them dating.

She and Naruto both reached for one of the bowls at the same time, their hands brushing against each other before they both quickly pulled them away. Hinata blushed bright crimson and Naruto's cheeks were also tinged red. Hinata pushed the bowl towards Naruto before grabbing the second one. After finishing their ramen, which Naruto paid for, they left Ichiraku and walked together a short way before either one spoke.

Naruto, unsurprisingly, was the first one to speak. "I had a great time, Hinata-chan! It was nice talking with you." He gave a brief wave and a "Sayonara!" before turning to leave.

As Hinata watched him go she started to feel giddy. I can't believe that I just went out to eat with Naruto-kun! She had barely taken two steps before Sakura ran up to her with a grin. "So, Hinata-chan... How was your date with Naruto back there?"

Hinata blushed, "It w-wasn't a date... w-we just went out t-to eat."

Sakura wouldn't let up. "Come back to my house and tell me everything!" With that Tsunade's apprentice grabbed the other girl and dragged her to her home, giving only a brief greeting to her mother before continuing into her bedroom.

As the door slammed behind them Hinata looked appraisingly at Sakura's room. It was now painted with more muted colors, varying tones of beige and light green, and a new carpet covered the floor underneath. Assorted ninja gear was placed around the room, looking as if it could be gathered at a moment's notice. She wondered if the change in decoration was because Sakura wanted it, or because her parents wanted it; her previous room had been destroyed along with the rest of the upper floor. She gave one last gaze around the room before she felt herself being yanked onto the bed.

Sakura's eyes gleamed as she opened her mouth; she loved gossip. "So, Hinata, what were you and Naruto doing?"

Hinata blushed a little as she thought of Naruto. "H-he came up to me w-while I was s-sitting by my family's c-compound, and asked what I-I wanted for Christmas…"

Sakura grinned. "Why? Did he say he was getting you something?"

Hinata nodded, "I said t-that I didn't know w-what I wanted, and that h-he didn't have to g-get me anything."

"And?"

"H-he told me that I should g-go to his place o-on Christmas E-eve and he would t-take me shopping." Sakura began to shriek excitedly as Hinata went on. "H-he was about to walk a-away to go e-eat, and I asked i-if I could go."

Sakura raised a questioning eyebrow but waved for her to go on.

"O-on the way there h-he wanted to talk about… w-what I said when I protected him from Pein…"

Sakura's one raised eyebrow turned to a look of shock; Naruto had brought it up? He was so dense she had figured he'd forget about it. "And what did you say?"

Hinata blushed a bit as she recalled her words. "He a-asked if I m-meant what I said, and I s-said that I t-truly meant it and that I'd f-fight Pein a hundred t-times to protect h-him…" Her volume was dwindling as she went on, in proportion to the increasing redness in her cheeks.

Sakura looked excited now. "Hinata, are you being bold?" Hinata's blush darkened even further. "Anyway, what did he say?"

"I-I said that I u-understood that h-he didn't l-like me, but h-he said… he said that I was r-really nice, and that he liked t-to talk to m-me, and that h-he just needed to f-figure out his f-feelings… and th-that if I w-waited a b-bit we'd "see how things g-go"."

Sakura shrieked again in excitement. "So Naruto said he might go out with you?"

Hinata slowly nodded, feeling faint all over again. "H-hai… S-sakura-chan, I w-was wondering if y-you could h-help me w-with Naruto-kun."

Sakura nodded fervently. "Anything to get it through the baka's thick head." She paused for a moment, a thoughtful look on her face, before she nodded as if having decided something. "Okay, I have a plan to get you your man by Christmas."

Hinata blushed at Naruto being called 'her man', but nodded for her to continue.

"Today's the twentieth, right? That gives us four days to work." Sakura put on a serious face. "Okay, S Rank Mission; Get it through the Baka's skull, is in effect. I'm going to outline your objectives." Sakura said this in a serious tone that sounded like Tsunade, but the edge of her mouth was lifted in a small smirk. Hinata began giggling like crazy.

"Day One; spend the day with Naruto and talk with him. Bump into him on the street or something. Target eats more than anyone should and hasn't decorated his apartment yet; suggested tactics are to take him somewhere to eat or offer to help decorate."

Hinata was still lightly giggling at how Sakura was assigning the 'mission', but was committing everything she said to memory.

"Day Two; start getting flirty." Hinata blushed, her cheeks turning pink then red. "I'll tell the baka to get you some flowers from Ino-pig to thank you for Day One. You will act surprised when he gives them to you, and kiss him on the cheek." That did nothing to help Hinata's blushing. "You will then ask him if he'd like to join you for a walk in the park. Hold his hand, if the baka allows it. After your walk, have him bring you home."

Hinata was suddenly afraid as she thought how her father might respond to Naruto walking her home to the compound, but she snapped out of it as Sakura continued.

"Day Three; Christmas Party. I'm going to tell Naruto about the Christmas party that Ino-pig and I are throwing, and will not-so-subtly hint for him to ask you to go. I know the baka doesn't have nice clothes, so you will help him shop for some. This isn't part of the mission but please don't let him get something orange."

"Day Four; Sealing the Deal. Go to Naruto's apartment early and ask if you can just hang out there. Suggested tactic is to watch a movie, so you can snuggle up to him." Hinata's blush came back full force, having finally faded. "Go out shopping like you're supposed to and buy him something he'll like without him noticing. Instead of doing what he intends, have him buy you something and say you'll love whatever he gets. Be sure to say "love", that's important. Then ask if he can give it to you at his place, because you're kind of cold. To succeed in your mission you have to ask if you can stay there, and have the baka agree. If you've done everything right, you should wake up on Christmas with a knuckle-headed present to greet you."

Hinata managed to pale and blush at the same time by the end of her plan. Stay with Naruto-kun? Sakura knew how shy Hinata was, and wasn't surprised in the slightest when she fainted.

Hinata was only out for a few seconds before waking back up. She was still shocked that Sakura had told her to stay at Naruto's apartment, but… what if Sakura's plan really could win over Naruto? "Th-thank you, Sakura-chan. H-how did you come u-up with that s-so quickly?"

Sakura grinned, "What can I say? I'm good at that sort of thing. Besides, I've been thinking of plans to get you and the baka together since I figured out you liked him… if only to get him to stop bugging me."

Hinata blushed furiously… again. I need to stop blushing… "Th-thank you for the h-help, Sakura-chan. I'll t-try to do what you s-said."

Sakura nodded. "Just remember Hinata-chan, more than anything just be yourself." Sakura stood, beckoning Hinata towards the door.

Hinata began to meander toward the exit. "H-hai. I c-can do that."

Hinata walked away from the Haruno's home with a noticeable bounce in her step and a grin on her face. Some people were surprised the usually shy, reclusive Hyuuga so outwardly happy, but thought nothing of it afterward.

After a short while, Hinata arrived at her clan's compound and went immediately to her room to think. She did this most all of the time she was home, and most of her family members left her to her business… except for Hanabi and Neji; they often would enter her room to talk to her when they passed by. As she sat on her bed, deep in thought, she heard a soft knocking on the door followed by her sister, who opened the door before Hinata could respond and went to sit on the bed as well. Hanabi and her sister got along well, yet her sister could not grasp the concept of being courteous to people other than Father and the clan elders.

"What are you doing, Hinata-nee-chan?"

To most people this would seem rude, but Hinata knew it was just how Hanabi was. "I'm j-just thinking." She liked Hanabi but she didn't want Father to possibly get wind of her plans to win over Naruto.

"About what?"

"J-just something th-that happened earlier… it's n-not important, r-really."

"Nee-chan, don't lie to me. If it isn't important you wouldn't think about it."

Hinata put on a less-than-genuine smile to try and dissuade her younger sister. "Hanabi-chan, i-it's not s-something you need to w-worry about."

"It's about Uzumaki Naruto, isn't it?"

Hinata blushed, "N-n-no!"

Hanabi grinned at her sister's denial. "Oh, nee-chan! Did he ask you out?"

Hinata reluctantly went on. "H-he asked me to go to his p-place on Christmas E-eve to take me shopping f-for a gift."

Hanabi looked excited. She loved two things besides her training; gossip and romance. Of course Father didn't know about any of that, he only saw the perfect, proper Hyuuga. "Anything else?"

"He took m-me to get some lunch and s-said that we should wait a bit while he figures out his f-feelings, th-then see how it goes."

"Okay, but lunch was a while ago. What did you two do next?" Hanabi wanted to know everything, like usual.

'W-well, he left after we ate. Then S-sakura-chan asked me about it, and… "She had been lightly blushing before but now her cheeks were on fire! "c-came up with a p-plan to h-help me get N-naruto-kun by C-christmas."

Hanabi squealed excitedly. She was like Sakura in some respects. "Okay! I'll make sure Father doesn't hear a word of it, just go get him!" Hanabi smiled as her older sister blushed even deeper.

"Th-thank you, Hanabi-chan."

As her sister began to walk away, excitedly mumbling to herself, Hinata's thoughts returned to a certain blonde-haired shinobi.

The sun had long since set on the Konohagakure no Sato as Naruto lazily crawled into bed, pushing empty ramen cups aside as he nestled into a comfortable position. Not for the first time since he saw her, Naruto thought about his shy, lavender-eyed friend.

At first he was shocked that she loved him… no one had ever said that to him. Not only did she say she loved him, she risked her life to protect him. That meant a lot to him; he started to think that maybe they would have a chance… but once she recovered he had never brought it up because he was afraid she would take back those words that made him feel alive. If he just had some way to be absolutely sure that she meant it, then maybe…

He had never felt this nervous or worried when he thought –no, knew!- that Sakura would reject him, why did he feel this way now? Well… Hinata was special to him.

Hinata, although he had never really thought about it, had always been there for him. She had always believed in him and cheered him on. She was the nicest girl he had ever met, always worrying about others despite whatever happened to her. She persevered when people put her down, and tried at what she did. And although it wasn't why he liked her… she was very pretty.

But what about Sakura? She was his teammate, and they had gone through a lot. She was… loud… arrogant… violent towards him… She had rejected him many times… As the thought about Sakura in comparison to Hinata he suddenly realized he'd been trying for the wrong person. He would have to ask Hinata out. But… that lingering doubt still remained. What if she wouldn't be with him, especially if she found out about his… tenant?

As if sensing the mention, which it possibly did, the Kyuubi no Yoko's voice resonated through his mind. Kit, if you truly care about –or are even thinking of being with- this girl, do as I say. You must not be afraid to drive away those you care about if you wish to be closer to them.

Naruto sent a query to the fox-demon with his thoughts, Kyuubi, why would you try to help me?

The nine-tailed fox replied in full honesty, or at least as far as Naruto could tell, Kit, If I must spend the rest of your short life inside your mind, I do not wish to hear your incessant whining and loneliness.

Naruto smirked a bit, Kyuubi, that was harsh!

When there was no reply from the demon Naruto drifted off to conflicted dreams of a certain dark-haired girl. Whether or not he would take the Fox's advice remained to be seen.

So, tell me what you think! I know Hanabi might have been OOC, but I think it works for this story. Also, I'm a white guy with virtually no experience with the Japanese language, so if I got it wrong please just tell me so I can fix it. All-in-all I had fun writing this, and if you guys had fun reading it then I'll be sure to continue it! (Also, although I'm not a big fan of Sakura, there won't be any Sakura bashing in this fic.)