Chapter Text
A few weeks later, they left again for Kiri, but this time, the train left on schedule, and Hinata found the ride much more enjoyable than her first trip.
As before, she sat on his lap, but this time, she didn"t hold back from freely indulging in her desire to keep running her fingers through his hair while they talked about their engagement that was no longer in their control.
The plans for a masquerade ball had pushed through, and both Hinata and Naruto had been horrified to know that the entire freaking village had clamored for it, had even begged for it to happen.
It had taken on a life of its own and they"d been unable to stop the momentum of the event growing far larger than what they"d wanted their engagement to be.
His family, along with the Sarutobis, had volunteered to organize everything, and the two of them had washed their hands of the event, neither of them particularly looking forward to getting dressed up for a ball.
His cousins had come out of the woodwork and taken time out of their busy lives to wish him happiness and to meet Hinata. They"d immediately loved her and approved of the way she traded insults with him, and Naruto was glad to be taking her out of the Hyuuga clan and folding her into his own family.
Hanabi had recruited her husband and his family to take the reins and worked with the Uzumakis to organize the entire ball. Naruto could still hear the piercing screams of delight that Ino, Karin, and Hanabi kept letting out whenever they brainstormed ideas.
"Out!" he yelled at the three of them when they"d gotten too carried away. His ears were ringing. "I don"t care about any of the decorations, the food, the drinks, or the music! Go talk about this somewhere else. Don"t make me sic Hinata on you three. You know she"s going to lose it if she hears of you guys coming into my office to bother me with this stuff. You"re clearly breaking her rules."
The girls had run out of there quickly, but he could still hear them squealing in the hallway.
Hinata, meanwhile, had used the excuse of her promotion to Shikamaru"s deputy to hide from taking part in the planning. She wasn"t completely lying, she really was busy and didn"t have time to think about the details of the ball. She"d agree to show up with a costume on the appointed time and day. That was all she was willing to concede.
"I think Hinata would look good in one of those scanty, leather witch outfits," Ino was saying, comfortably sprawled on the sofa. Last week, Hanabi and Ino had barged into Naruto"s home to discuss costumes with Hinata and she"d been unable to kick them out. They"d brought samples of cake to test out before approving them for the ball. She"d been unable to resist the call of dessert.
"Oh, I think she"d be smoking hot as a sexy witch, too!" Hanabi had cried. "But that"s what she is in real life, so it wouldn"t be much of a costume, though."
"Hanabi," Hinata growled threateningly, rubbing her temples. The sugar rush from the cake was disappearing. Her patience was waning.
Ino laughed. "Then how about a fairy? It would still be formal enough for a ball. A nice floor-length gown in sea green? And she could wear those sparkly little wings and twirl a little wand. We can go for something cute instead of sexy."
Seeing the sudden mutinous set to her sister"s mouth, the continued irritated twitch of Hinata"s left eye, Hanabi abruptly stopped Ino from describing more of what they wanted her costume to be.
"Ino, drop your hand right now and take one slow step back!" Hanabi hissed dramatically. "Don"t make eye contact with my sister. She"s frothing at the mouth right now. Just smile and don"t make any sudden moves."
Ino pressed her lips together and looked at Hinata"s face, which was now darkening with anger.
Hanabi suddenly started gathering up the magazines and catalogs of costumes from the table and packed them in her bag. Ino did the same and they stood up.
"She said she"ll do it and she won"t back out. That"s good enough for me. Let"s not bother her anymore because she"s going to bolt if we force her to get more involved," Hinata heard her sister whisper to Ino when they"d left the house after they"d gotten her promise to attend the event.
"Hanabi, really?" Ino"s voice echoed outside. Hinata had finally kicked them out of Naruto"s home, but the two of them were still talking at the doorstep.
"Yes, Ino!" Hanabi said. "This girl ran away when she found out she had to wear a formal kimono for her Coming-of-Age Ceremony. She got caught at the gates and got dragged back home."
Ino giggled.
Hanabi continued, "And now that she"s her own woman, I"m scared she might not show up to her own engagement party."
Hinata had breathed a sigh of relief that the ball was out of her hands—until two days ago.
Shikamaru had caught her in the Anbu locker rooms that day, scratching her scalp with exasperation and frowning at a piece of paper next to her on the bench.
Grinning, Shikamaru asked, "What"s the matter?"
Hinata took the paper and held up a picture of a woman in a beautiful floor-length ball gown, light blue, with a very puffy tulle skirt. The model in the picture had a sparkly tiara on her head.
Horror written plainly on her face, Hinata said, "Hanabi is making me wear this to the masquerade."
"Bahahahahaha!" came Shikamaru"s sympathetic response. "You in a princess costume? That"s hysterical!"
But the most surprising thing about the ball was that the Hyuugas had agreed to foot the bill for the entire affair. Not only was it an engagement party for one of their own to the Hokage, it was also a way for the clan to honor the newly-crowned heiress.
Neji wouldn"t stop gloating about it. He sighed when he was at the office—after making sure the two guards at the door had signed off and made sure he really had an appointment with Naruto and his future wife.
"Did I ever say thank you?"
"So many times, Neji!" Naruto grumbled.
"I feel like I should get you guys a gift," Neji mused as he looked at the couple.
"No!" Naruto burst out. "I don"t need any more gifts, goddamit! Everything everyone wants to do for us for this freaking engagement is just a pain in the fucking ass!"
"Naruto, don"t call Kubikirbocho a pain in the ass!" she argued. "He"s a wonderful gift!"
"Hinata! It"s not a person! It has no feelings. You are really pushing it with that damned thing! And it"s not even the real one!"
"He is to me!"
"Hinata! I swear to god, I will take it back to Kiri and return it to Mei next week on our trip."
"No! You wouldn"t do that! You know how much I love that sword. You can"t be that heartless!"
"I am!"
"Naruto…" There was a pout on her face.
Naruto sighed and then slapped both palms over his face. He rubbed them angrily over his eyes, but he gave a defeated chuckle and shook his head at himself.
"Fine, I won"t take it back to Mei."
When they settled down, Neji saw Naruto reach out and take a hold of Hinata"s hand. She squeezed his back, but her face eased into a serene smile. The Hokage, meanwhile, looked at Neji with his eyebrows raised.
Her cousin folded his arms and continued smiling quietly at the two.
"In any case," he said. "I"ve convinced the clan elders to apologize to you, but you"re going to be waiting for it for a while, Hinata. I suspect they"ll only come do it when you"re actually married, when the wedding contracts are actually signed, and there"s nothing they can do to change your fate."
She grinned at him suddenly. "I"m prepared to wait just to see them grovel at my feet. To be treated as a second-class citizen by my own clan! I think the wait will be worth it. But now that you"re not heir, Neji, what are you going to do?"
"Travel!" he said with a joyful laugh. Then he smirked at Hinata. "Who knows? Maybe I"ll even come back to Konoha engaged."
Naruto shuddered. "I don"t recommend it."
She ripped her hand out of his and activated her byakugan. "Say that again, darling, because now that I think about it, I"m a little bit rusty. I need to practice hitting your tenketsu points first before I can help Yagura during our trip to Kiri."
Naruto laughed and reached for the hand with his mother"s ring on her finger. He brought it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, his eyes slanted up to hers in apology.
"Hinata, you know how much I treasure being engaged to a shrew like you."
She deactivated her byakugan. "That"s good, Naruto, because I do appreciate you making me laugh like the clown that you are."
When they arrived in Kiri, Mei was at the platform waiting for their arrival. Her advisor was missing.
As soon as they stepped down the train, Hinata ignored Naruto, strode up to her, and when she was finally before Mei, bowed low to show gratitude for the Mizukage"s gift. When she raised her head, the older woman was smiling, a genuine one filled with amusement.
"I take it you liked my gift?"
"Yes. I loved your gift, and from the bottom of my heart, I am very grateful to you for sending it to me—er, to us. Mizukage-sama, you have excellent taste," Hinata murmured.
Mei laughed softly and then flicked an appreciative glance at Naruto. "So does your groom-to-be."
Hinata basked in her compliment, steeled her heart, and pretended she didn"t see the Mizukage"s slow perusal of her fiancé"s body—remembering Kubikiribocho settled so lovingly over the mantle of the fireplace of Naruto"s house.
She studiously avoided Naruto, refusing to meet his eyes. He was frowning at her, his expression accusing, one brow lifted, questioning why this time, his fiancée wasn"t defending his honor and protecting him from Mei"s lascivious gaze.
Hinata shook her head subtly.
Sorry, Naruto, she thought, but you"re on your own. It"s a sacrifice I"m willing to make.
He sighed and bowed at Mei. She bowed her own greeting and kept her professional mien afterwards.
His voice hard, Naruto reminded Mei of her promise. "Remember that all of this is done according to how I want it. And that includes Hinata. If you or Ao don"t want to follow her instructions or refuse to do what she says, we"re back on that train to Konoha."
"Of course, Hokage-sama. Ao understands and will cooperate fully."
Mei led them to the training field where Ao was waiting with Yagura. All around them, for precaution, several shinobi were on standby. Naruto noted the seal keepers and the alert way they hovered around the boy.
"Has he been practicing the tips I told him last time?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama," Ao answered. "He"s been diligent."
Naruto nodded.
Yagura came to stand before Hinata and Naruto and bowed a greeting, which surprised Naruto. "More polite this time? Something changed?"
The boy actually smiled. "I"ve been feeling better. The Sanbi isn"t torturing me like last time."
Inside Naruto, Kurama growled with approval.
"Let"s begin," Hinata said without preamble, her byakugan was already activated. She turned to Ao, her smile challenging. "Show me what you got."
Ao took off his eyepatch and tucked it into his pocket. He held up two fingers, gathering chakra.
"Yagura, come here," Hinata said gently. The boy came next to her and she placed a finger right above his collar bone. "Ao will touch you on this spot. This will lessen Isobu"s power by half, if you ever feel overwhelmed and it gets out of hand."
Then she glanced at Naruto. "If you can ask Kurama to tell the Sanbi to rise up, please?"
Naruto nodded and placed a hand on his stomach. The message was relayed, and Yagura was suddenly glowing, purple chakra surrounded him, but the boy was shaking. Naruto reached over and squeezed Yagura"s shoulder reassuringly.
"Don"t worry, Hinata knows what she"s doing. She won"t let Ao hurt you."
Yagura smiled tentatively at him.
Hinata eyed Ao. "Proceed."
Ao stepped forward and pushed at the spot she"d indicated. There was a flicker but the power didn"t fade.
Hinata frowned and her voice hardened. "Again."
But no matter what Ao did, he couldn"t do it properly.
"No! Concentrate! Use force, but it"s not supposed to hurt!" she muttered angrily when she saw Yagura flinch from Ao"s touch. She then suddenly reached up and hit the point above Ao"s collarbone. He gasped in surprise.
"Here, this spot. You"re off by two centimeters! If you don"t get it precisely, you"re useless."
Ao thought he had it and followed her instructions, pressed a couple of fingers to Yagura"s neck. The boy frowned at the slightest touch.
"Wrong!" Hinata growled as she slapped the older man"s hand away from the jinchuuriki. "He"s already feeling the pain even before you graze his skin. The byakugan doesn"t work that way!"
She took her fingers and hit Ao again on the neck.
"Feel the difference," she said, and she watched as Ao winced from the pain. "This is how you"re doing it."
Then she did it more gently, releasing the block on him, easing the pain. "This is how a true Hyuuga does it. It shouldn"t hurt."
Ao nodded when she released him.
She walked over to Yagura and demonstrated again, and Ao watched attentively as Yagura stood still and let Hinata hit him. Isobu"s power faded, but the boy didn"t show any pain.
She glared at Ao. "See?" She pointed to the spot again. "Now do it one more time."
Ao tried again, but Hinata"s voice rang out when she saw Isobu"s chakra darkening, which meant he was doing it wrong.
"Dammit! You just completely aggravated the Sanbi!" she yelled then attacked Ao, hitting him in the arm, which made the advisor stiffen, his body frozen. "Hold still, I need to see deep into your network to find out why you"re messing everything up. I thought you said you can use the byakugan?"
"I thought I did," he answered.
Frowning, Hinata inspected him from head to toe and found out the reason why he was so ineffective. "Here"s the problem, you"re not efficiently using your chakra. Don"t gather the chakra in your hands. It"s a doujutsu, a visual skill, so you have to concentrate your power into your eyes."
She raised her brows at him, and in a voice filled with contempt, said, "When you took the byakugan, you just assumed it would be easy, didn"t you? You never figured all the years we Hyuugas had to work hard to master it, the years of training just to use it properly."
Ao"s mouth tightened, but he said nothing.
She snorted and then relented a bit. "You don"t have the genetics for it, so you have to work even extra hard at it. You have to strengthen the veins around both your eyes, not just the one byakugan. There are exercises for that. I"ll show you how to do them."
"Understood," Ao said.
"Here, let me show you where on your body. You"re not touching Yagura any more. We try all the moves on you first before you try it with the boy. Once you get it perfect, I"ll allow you to do it."
And Hinata, with her byakugan fully activated, proceeded to hit the tenketsu points on Ao"s body, explaining what each touch did. She did it methodically, steadily, and even though Naruto could see Ao flinch and become breathless from the intensity of each hit from her fingers, he bore it all with stoicism.
"Hokage-sama," Yagura whispered as he stared at Hinata. "Please don"t take this the wrong way, but is she really going to be your wife?"
Naruto looked down on Yagura and then glanced back at Hinata, who was continuing to show Ao the tenketsu networks on his body, hitting them relentlessly in succession, making the man finally double over in pain.
Naruto was smiling. "Yes, she is."
"Are you sure?"
"Look at her, don"t you think she"s hot, beating up on Ao?"
"You"re right, but I just think it"s really weird that you"re together." Yagura winced and took a step back, expecting Naruto to hit him again for being fresh.
Naruto only laughed. "You"ll understand when you"re older."
Yagura kept his lips shut, remembering the last time he"d mouthed off. He wasn"t going to push it. Plus, he doubted he would ever understand.
"Okay, if you say so."
The day of the dreaded ball finally arrived. Naruto was still at the office, but he"d sent a message that he was going to be a few minutes late. Hinata arrived at the ballroom with her sister and her husband, but they"d left her alone to go socialize.
She was standing by the dessert table debating on which one to get when she felt Naruto arrive by her side. She was relieved to see him, her partner in crime for this event.
She was glad they would be both miserable together.
She looked up and waited expectantly for his kiss, which he pressed down on her eagerly, a small peck that made her disappointed by how chaste it was, but she stepped closer to him and hugged him. His arms wrapped reassuringly around her, but he was frowning.
"Where"s your mask, Hinata?"
Hinata sighed with frustration then pasted a fake smile on her face. "This one"s mine: I am smiling while wearing a frilly dress. I think that"s enough to fool everyone."
He laughed. "You"re right. It"s a good mask."
They were standing together, and because he wasn"t wearing his, she saw everyone looking at him. Naruto looked particularly handsome tonight in his tux for this formal event. His golden hair and his height were unmistakable, and many women kept slanting their gazes at him, not even bothering to hide their interest because the masks they wore hid their identities.
She didn"t like that so she glared at him. "Where"s yours, Naruto?"
Naruto frowned and grunted with disgust as he held up the white mask in his hand. He"d refused to wear it but he figured he"d bring it along in case everyone asked him the question.
Hinata burst out laughing when she saw the comically sad eyes and ridiculously large red nose in the middle of the clown mask he was holding up.
"Yes, I know," Naruto said drily. "My father"s a comedian, too. I should have known he was being a troll when he"d offered to help me with my costume."
With so many things to worry about, Naruto hadn"t had time to go look for a costume for Ino"s masquerade ball. He"d looked at his father gratefully when Minato had offered to get him one. He"d forgotten all about it until the package had miraculously arrived exactly on the day of the ball, this afternoon, which had left no time for him to get a new one when he"d opened the box and seen the clown costume his father had picked out for him.
He smiled ruefully at her. "I ran into Ino and she said there were some extra ones, more appropriate ones to match my tux, that the hotel had on stock in case people came in without masks."
She frowned at him. "Are you really not going to wear yours?"
He stared in horror at the mask in his hand and shook his head. "Hell, no!"
"What about the ones Ino mentioned?"
He shrugged, not promising her anything.
"I really think you should, Naruto."
"You"re not wearing one, either, Hinata."
"That"s different!"
"How?!"
Aware that their rising voices were attracting everyone"s attention, Naruto grabbed her hand and dragged her to a set of double French doors. "We need to talk somewhere where it will be quiet."
They walked outside into the balcony, the only one in the fancy hotel where this ball was being held.
"Naruto, when you go out into the party, I"d really like it if you wore your mask," she started.
"You"re not wearing yours, so I don"t want to wear mine."
"I don"t have one, my costume requires none."
Naruto glanced at her costume, admiring the fairy-like drapes of light blue fabric clinging to her shapely body, the delicate corset-like contraption of the dress pushing up her gorgeous breasts so alluringly that it made him itch to touch them. He started reaching for her.
But he stopped himself when he realized something. With a breathless gasp, he asked, "Hinata, honey, don"t tell me you have a kunai underneath that?!"
"What do you think?"
He was already reaching for the hem of her costume. "Alright, let"s do this. Lift up your skirt, so I can check."
She slapped his hand away and took a step back. "Naruto, no!"
"Are you being a tease again? I just want to peek."
"I"m not teasing you! I"m trying to do my job for this party," she said with an angry huff. "I don"t want to ruin this dress in any way. I don"t want you touching it because you"ll probably rip it off me. And I don"t want to go through that again, having all those women help me put a costume on and then messing with my hair. I just know my sister will find a way to get me to wear the backup costume she"d picked for me!"
"Which is?"
"A white dress!" She shuddered. "That is supposed to make me look like an angel."
He laughed. "Hanabi is a savage."
"Yes," Hinata said simply.
"Though I would love to see that angel outfit and then see your thigh with a kunai strapped to it. Now that would make you such a tease."
"If I were being a tease, I"d remind you that there"s a new memory foam mattress we"ve just ordered that still needs to be broken in," she murmured. "Don"t you want to go home and tussle with me?"
He laughed and pressed a kiss on top of her head. "Don"t tempt me! But we still have a duty to do."
"I know," she said, her voice full of rancor and irritation. She sighed then looked up at his face. "But we"re being sidetracked from our conversation." She reached up and touched his cheek. "You really won"t wear your mask? To cover up your face?"
His eyes were puzzled by her insistence. "Hinata? I know you never liked the idea of this masquerade, but it"s too late to back out now."
That got her all irked again. "I"m not backing out! I just want you to cover up your face!"
He frowned at her, not liking her tone. "Too bad! Look, I didn"t want to do this, either, but I refuse to put on a mask. Why are you so worked up about it, though? Everyone knows who we are anyway, we can"t hide behind costumes and masks."
She huffed. "Without the mask, everyone will be staring at you."
"Everyone always stares at me. I"m Hokage."
"No, I meant the women. Naruto, you"re too handsome without it!"
He was startled, and he started smiling, but she yelled, "I hate it!"
"What?!" he gasped.
Then she stamped her foot and pointed to his chest. "And you look gorgeous in that tux!"
His eyes were gleaming, understanding this jealous fit of hers, but of course, he wanted more. "Thank you, Hinata, but why the hell are you yelling?"
"I"m not yelling!"
"You are."
She blinked and then shrugged. "Okay, Naruto. Maybe I was—for a moment. But I just hate all of these things. It"s so tiresome! Then I realized that I"m going to have to keep doing this in the future, which makes it an even bigger pain in the ass."
He folded his arms, a cantankerous expression suddenly crossing his features. "Hinata, I"m sorry, but you said you knew what you were getting into when you agreed to all this. Part of being engaged to me, of being the Hokage"s future wife, was doing things we don"t like for the sake of appearances."
"I did! And I don"t regret promising that at all. I"m still willing to do all of it!"
"So why are you still yelling?"
"I"m not!"
"Hinata, honey. What"s the matter, really?" his voice was quiet.
Something about his calm tone set her off because she was feeling a little bit overwhelmed by this burst of emotion inside her. "This dress, this tiara, this night: I just realized I"m doing all these things I hate because I want to please you!" she admitted impetuously.
"Oh?" Naruto said calmly, but his heart beat a loud staccato in his chest.
He could see the panic in her eyes, the pulse beating furiously at her neck. His normally cool, level-headed warrior-fiancée seemed to be getting overwhelmed by her emotions. Luckily for her, he knew exactly what to do to push her over the edge so that she would finally admit her feelings for him.
"You want to please me, Hinata?" he asked. "But you know, there"s no reason to be scowling at me. I can already see the wrinkles forming around your eyes. Don"t strain yourself too much trying to make me happy."
As expected, her face only scrunched up into a tighter frown. "Yes, dammit! Because even though we"re both miserable at this party, when you smile at me and look happy, I forget everything and feel happy, too."
His heart leapt hearing her words. He wanted to pick her up and hug her, but it wasn"t enough for him. His smile was gentle even as he continued to goad her. "You"re such a liar, you don"t really mean that."
"What?! I don"t lie!" She shot him a dirty look. "I"ve always been honest with you from day one."
"Really?" he drawled. "Because I disagree. You"ve been lying to me all this time, you know. Ever since we came back from Kiri the first time, when you agreed to stay engaged to me. You"ve never said anything about how you felt about me."
Her startled eyes widened, but she protested loudly, "That"s not lying!"
"Oh, but then you admit to hiding your feelings?"
"What?! No!"
"You are such a tease, Hinata. You know you have deeper feelings for me. Why not just admit to it? You know you want to."
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. "Naruto, is this really the place?"
He laughed. "Hinata! We"re announcing to the entire world that we"re getting engaged! This is the perfect time and place!"
She flushed, but he still had his smug smile on his face. "Come on, Hinata, what is it that you"re feeling for me right now? Do you want to kill me? Gouge my eyes out? Slap a mask on my handsome face? Kiss me? Rip off my tux and jump my bones? All of the above?"
Hinata was about to rake her hand through her hair but she stopped herself because she belatedly realized she still had a beautiful tiara on top of her head.
But then his maddening laugh echoed again. "Hinata, this is so unlike you! You"re being such a coward, you don"t even want to admit it."
She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes at him when she realized what he was doing. "You are such a bastard. Naruto, I can"t believe you"re trying to provoke me into confessing how I feel about you!"
"Because that"s the only way to get you to do it. You need to be poked and prodded into it. Well?"
"Fine, dammit! I freaking love you!"
He shrugged nonchalantly. "But that"s already a given, Hinata. We"ve already long established that I"m simply irresistible. I told you before you couldn"t help yourself and I guess it"s my job to keep reminding you. But really, must you yell it?"
"Argh!" she yelled, but she was laughing now.
Then suddenly she leapt forward and launched herself at him.
He caught her in his arms and crushed her to him, kissed her with the same ferocity as she had when she"d confessed her love for him.
"I love you, too, Hinata," he murmured against her mouth and she felt him lift his lips into a teasing smile when he added, "See? It wasn"t that bad, right?"
She chuckled, but she didn"t say anything, only curled her fingers against his jacket and raised her lips to kiss him again. With a low groan, his arms tightened around her and his hand went to her lower back to press her body harder against his.
But Sasuke suddenly intruded when he walked onto the balcony and put a stop to the madness.
"Next time, make sure there are no open windows when you guys decide to have a "private conversation,"" he said drily.
Hinata and Naruto broke apart. They looked around and saw that Sasuke was right, that the windows to the hotel were open, and through them, they could clearly see spectators who"d come to watch them fight.
Despite the mask he wore and the dark tux underneath the black cape, Shikamaru was still recognizable with his long hair and the familiar evil grin on his face. He was standing at the window closest to them and was avidly listening. He shot Hinata a thumbs up.
Hinata frowned. She was pretty sure he was giggling quietly to himself again.
Standing next to Shikamaru, Minato was also in formal wear, his arms folded, but his blond hair was unmistakable. His blue eyes were beaming up at them behind the silver mask he wore. He nodded at them and his merry grin, so similar to his son"s, deepened when he saw Naruto"s face pinken.
And there was Hanabi, in her sexy witch outfit but still recognizable with her mask. Her tall husband with brown hair was at her side, a hand possessively clasped around her waist. He wore a mask, too, but Hinata could see his blue eyes and his loving smile aimed at his wife. Her sister was smiling at her, waggling her fingers, unrepentant at being caught.
The others at the window, Hinata couldn"t recognize them underneath their masks and costumes, but she was surprised to see so many people who got curious enough to listen. At least there were smiles on their faces, and she realized that she and Naruto had probably provided them with entertainment for the night.
"And don"t forget that the balcony is above the entrance to the hotel. Everyone passing through could hear you guys," Sasuke added.
Hinata and Naruto glanced sheepishly at each other and then at him.
The advisor gave a deep, resigned sigh. "So, everyone appointed me the messenger because they all heard you screaming at each other and became worried. I was sent in to check: Are you guys still engaged?"
Hinata looked up at her fiancé, a fierce light in her eyes. He was meeting her gaze with equal intensity.
"Because if you are not, then I"m going to have to send everyone home and cancel this party," Sasuke was still continuing to explain.
Naruto grinned at her, and Hinata finally smiled at him.
"Yup, we press on with our engagement. I told you before Sasuke, there"s nothing to break."
Sasuke humphed, but a smile was on his face. He walked over to the doors, his hands at the knobs, he looked back at the two of them.
"You guys ready then? Time to make everything official now."
"Yes," Hinata said resolutely, reaching for Naruto"s hand. "I will be his wife."
"Unless she kills me first before the wedding."
He said it just as Sasuke opened the doors to the couple. And their night as an officially engaged couple didn"t begin with a reassuring sight. She was glaring, while he had a smug smile on his face.
"Smile, honey," Naruto murmured when he felt everyone"s eyes focused on them. "You shouldn"t look so miserable when you"re going to be married to me."
Hinata finally did—a huge one because she can finally get her revenge. "Naruto, we"re stuck out in public now. For the next few hours, there"s no way we can hide from everyone."
Still with the loving smile on her face, she reached up and whispered tantalizingly just for his ears only: "The skirt of this dress is so puffy…it makes you wonder about kunais…"
And Hinata gloated, basking in the knowledge that he was going to be eaten up by his curiosity the entire night and he wouldn"t be able to check.
She was rewarded by the tightening of his hand on her lower back, his blue eyes darkening with desire and amusement.
"Touché, Hinata," he murmured, his tone proud.
Then in front of everyone, he suddenly cradled her jaw and kissed her. She clung to him, didn"t resist even though she could feel everyone staring.
Ino"s amused voice finally called out, "And with that, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you our Hokage and his future bride!"
Notes:
Okay, I really am done this time :) Thank you so much for reading!
I hope Chapters 6,7, and 8 were a good enough continuation of the story and that still kept their original characterization from the previous chapters.