The Bliss of Christmas: Chapter 2

In the forest near the Hyuga Residence, the cold and semi-arctic weather had affected the many trees surrounding the area reducing their branches to no life at all.  The winter season had not only affected the flora and fauna of the Fire Country but also establishments and houses: the windows of the Residence had bonded with the outside mist making it look as if they were glazed, thermostats had been switched to a warmer temperature to allow the inhabitants some degree of heat, and the brittle surface of the floor made it unbearable to walk barefoot.   In fact even Neji Hyuga who was notorious for his cold stare had to wear some heavy clothing.

Walking through the collection of sliding doors, Hanabi Hyuga arrived at her sister's doorway which was white and outlined with some polished wood. Shaking her head to check if anyone saw her, she quietly slid the door sideways to gain access to the inner sanctum.  Hinata's room was beautiful was beautiful in appearance; her chosen preference for her wallpaper was a lavender color complete with flower patterns, a massive wooden bed with lavender sheets lay in the room, two adjacent balcony windows made it possible to see the outside world, and numerous decorations of paintings hung on the walls of her room.  Hanabi shook her head and entered the room with a sneaky smile leaving the door closed behind her.

With her small frame, she sneaked underneath the giant bed hoping to catch her sister off guard with her sudden ambush, and lay there for several minutes. Unfortunately, for every child, patience was not a virtue for Hanabi, and she was constantly shifting position as she waited. Come on! Hinata, you couldn't have spent so long in the shower! I got out just before you! Hanabi thought.  As if the world granted her a wish, the door slid open to reveal a causal Hinata strolling right into her bedroom.  Sighing, Hinata sat on the bed, and looked at the ceiling for several minutes.  

"Hey sis! What's wrong? Didn't your boyfriend Naruto give you a Christmas present?" Hanabi voiced from under the bed.

Hinata's pale face appeared over the bottom edge of the mattress with a smile and her eggplant hair hanging downwards.  Hanabi rolled out from underneath the bed with a graceful gesture and leaped on top of her sister in a playful manner.  She could see her sister's pale eyes grow whenever she talked of Naruto, and as a result, Hanabi teased Hinata about it every second of everyday.

"Naruto is not my boyfriend! He's just a kind person who helps me from time to time. Its peculiar since I haven't seen any of my team or him around Konoha at all!" Hinata explained as she pinched her sister.  

Hanabi recoiled with mock pain and rolled away messing up the lavender sheets of the bed, however, she dropped a decorated card on the top of the bed.  Instantly, Hinata's hand shot out and stuffed it under the pillow to avoid her sister seeing it.  When her annoying sister left the room, Hinata with careful fingers read the card which had a cake with candles for a cover,

"Dear Hinata,

Go to the Hokage's Residence for a special surprise! We'll be waiting! ?

Naruto
PS: Ino and Sakura will kill me if you don't come!"

This is very strange! How did Hanabi get her hands on this card and why is it written to me? Hinata pondered. Looking around her room for inspiration for a possible answer, her gray eyes caught the calendar on the opposite lavender wall which had a marked date with a red circle in it. Suddenly, a huge realization entered her mind as she closed her eyes, lay on the bed, and hugged the card with all her might.
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In front of the Hokage's Residence, a lone male stood guard watching in the rapidly increasing snowstorm for any signs of a moving human figure. Naruto stood like a stone statue, squinting his hardest through the dense fog to see Hinata walking through it, and sometimes he feared the worst in his heart. I wonder if she even got the card! Hanabi, you darn little girl, I knew I shouldn't have believed you would give it to Hinata! Damn…. If she doesn't come, Sakura and Ino are going to punch me all the way to Sunagakure! Naruto thought.   In accordance with Naruto's fear, the snow began to increase in density making it even harder to see!  Finally, after a long time, he could see the outline of a slim woman wearing a lavender coat for protection against the incoming cold.  Naruto signaled with a wave of his hand and Hinata signaled back.

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"Okay! Here we go, nice and easy Hinata, don't trip over anything…" Naruto said as his warm clamps clamped over Hinata's eyes.

Standing just outside the Hokage Residence, Naruto's warm hands had been placed over Hinata's eyes with some hesitancy from the female.   Bending closer to the back of her face, Naruto's breath warmed the nape of her neck, and he began crooning soft words about what was going to happen in a few moments.  Hinata rotated around to face Naruto directly in the eye much to his dismay; both were in an awkward position as she forced herself to stand still.

"Before we go in… I just wanted to say thanks for everything…" Hinata whispered in Naruto's ear.

Truly it was a romantic moment; the snow falling combined with Hinata's pale visage caused her to adopt an angelic appearance, as her skin and gray eyes glowed with some light.  Her eggplant hair glittered in the air much to Naruto's bewilderment and her coat made her look incredibly cute.  Over time, it was either the cold or the momentary loss of control over his limbs that caused him to stutter for a good response…

"Well… I was going to save this for the end of the party but seeing as I can't… Happy birthday and Merry Christmas, Hinata" Naruto whispered back in a hushed voice

Drawing her closer, Hinata's eyes flashed for a moment as she wondered what he meant. An instant later, Naruto's lips brushed against hers in an attempt to kiss her, and she recoiled backwards out of her grip. Realizing his mistake, Naruto grew red and buried his head downwards into his coat, and with a heavy heart of shame began to walk away from the Residence. I'm such an idiot! What was I doing?! I can't be here… I need to get out of here; I can't even look at her anymore. She hates me now, oh god… Naruto thought.  He began to run away breaking from his shameful stride and didn't look back, ignoring the calls of Hinata who desperately chased after him.  It was too late for he had disappeared into the snowstorm that was building up and frozen tears began falling to the winter's ground that had so much guilt.