Southside (Another Songfic)

Hinata sighed, listening to yet another one of her father's lectures on why she wasn't strong like the rest of the Hyuuga members and how upsetting it was to have a branch member, ie, Neji, best her better than someone from a main house member. He sent her to her room, which dwelled on the third floor of the main Hyuuga household and gave her the prettiest view of Konoha. She sighed, walking out onto her balcony. She looked down, seeing a very familiar face staring up at her. She blushed, waving at Naruto who stood just outside of the estate that seemed to close out the rest of Konoha. She rested her head on her hands, sighing a little more before he took a running leap, three stories up, landing on her balcony railing with a soft grunt.

"Oi, Hinata-Chan! What's wrong?"

"N...Naruto-Kun...! You shouldn't be here...!"

Naruto ignored her sightly and looked around her room. It was decorated with wall scrolls of various flowers and smelled just as sweet. This was actually the first time he'd been in her room and he knew that if her father caught him, it would be her last time. He sat down on the railing he was standing on, smiling at her.

"Wanna go somewhere?"

"Wh...what?"

"You know, a date. I'm leaving with Jiraiya-Sensei for a training mission and I don't know how long I'll be gone, but..."

Hinata's eyes widened and she blushed, looking down at her feet.

"Wh...why would you tell....tell me this, Naruto-Kun...?"

Her eyes widened when she felt his hand on her face slowly lift her chin up. Her powder-blue eyes met with his intense blue eyes. Was she dreaming? She HAD to be dreaming!

"Because...I don't wanna leave without saying goodbye..."

"But....but Naruto-Kun, my father..."

"I'll take you someplace he won't find us."

She hesitated before taking his hand and before she knew it, she was jumping three stories down with Naruto's arm around her waist.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lloyd/Naruto:)

Tell ya daddy stop his hating
Cuz I be wearing braids and rockin jerseys daily
But that dont mean im thuggin though
He dont want me with you
But I aint try to hear it though
Not try to hear it though

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Hinata looked around, making sure she wasn't dead from the fall. Naruto smiled, taking her hand and leading her through the sunset-painted road of Konoha. She blushed, completely disbelieving what was happening right now. But it didn't matter if she was dreaming or not...Naruto had come for her just like he had in her dreams. She also knew her father would kill them both if he saw her with him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

(Ashanti/Hinata:)

But I know that if he knew you
He would understand ya
Know that your my man and
He would never hurt me no
Let me come and see you
So that we can be alone, alone

(L/N:)

(Baby I know a place that we can go to be alone)

(A/H:)

As long as you make sure that you safely get me home

(L/N:)

(Don't worry baby)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~*~*~

They first place they stopped was a small, illuminated ramen stand. Go figure. Naruto and Hinata sat down in front of the merchent who smiled at his frequent customer.

"Naruto-Kun! Oh...!"

He smiled happily when he saw Hinata Hyuuga by his side. He may have been a merchant, but he heard his earful of rumors...The main one being that Hinata had something for him. He fixed up a big bowl of ramen for the two and Hinata blushed. She was actually sharing a bowl of ramen with Naruto-Kun! Maybe...she just enjoy herself this night. Naruto wasn't too concerned...He'd told Shikamaru, Kiba and Chouji to keep a watch out for Hiashi.

~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*

(Lloyd/Ashanti-Naruto/Hinata:)

Meet me at the southside
Get you home by midnight
Make sure that your daddy just don't know
I'll put you in the hoodbug
I know what I'm doin cause
That's where we'll be eating on the low
Meet me at the southside
Baby we can go hide
Knowin that my boys goin have my back
Only at the southside girl
Southside

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~**~*~

Once they'd finished, he took her hand, leading her through the darkened, yet active Konoha roads. They stopped to look a small animal shop where tons of mice, hamsters and birds were fluttering in their cages. Hinata spotted a pinwheel she liked in another clerk's window. Naruto instantly bought it for her and Hinata could only blush and thank him. He put his arm around her shoulder and she settled into the crook of his arm as they walked. She felt safe and happy and Naruto wondered if things could still continue to be like this with the young Hyuuga Heiress when he left...

~*~*~*~~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lloyd/Naruto:)

Girl I'll know that we can make it
Cause we won't let him break it
I don't care who with it
Its you and me against the world
Tell me those three words that
Let me know you're still my girl
Oh Baby, yeah

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

As they walked, they noticed the nightlife starting to get more and more active. Pretty soon, it'd be mostly adults and people heading to the 'Red Light District'. Naruto looked around for a moment and smiled, taking her hand. Hinata looked into those blue eyes and knew whatever he was about to suggest, she'd follow along with the plan. She knew she'd follow him to the ends of the earth.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Ashanti/Hinata:)

Oh I swear I'll never leave you
People have lied to you,
But by your side I'll show you,
The way a girl needs to roll
You don't need a lot of money
I'm ready come pick me up (pick me up)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

By the time Naruto had spoken, the sky was filled with stars and the town of Konoha was blanketed in a beautiful midnight blue color.

"Let's go someplace...quiet, nee, Hinata-Chan?"

Hinata blushed, looking at her feet. Quiet? With Naruto-Kun? Was he trying to get her alone?

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lloyd/Naruto:)

(Baby I know a place that we can go to be alone, yeah)

(A/H:) As long as you make sure that you safely get me home

(Don't worry baby)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hinata could only nod and before long, she and Naruto were walking hand-in-hand toward the city's more quieter border where there was nothing but grass and a hill in the distance. The stars were as bright as they could have possibly shined, with no lights to hide them. Even the city far in the distance didn't seem to deter their natural beauty. Naruto led her up the hill with a small smile. He laid down on his back, stretching out and staring up at the sky.

"Hinata-Chan, you'd better get comfortable or you're going to miss the show!" he grinned.

"Mi...mis...miss the show, N...Naruto-Kun?"

He pat the soft grass beside him and with a large blush, Hinata laid down, folding her hands over her shoulder. From where they were laying, it felt as if they were so close to heaven, they could touch the stars. Her eyes widened at the phenomenon taking place. At first, there was only one, but soon, one shooting star turned to several ones. Hinata had a front-row seat to the most stunning sight in her life as Hinata's eyes widened and Naruto could only smile in satisfaction at the look of pure awe and happiness on Hinata's face.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lloyd/Naruto-Ashanti/Hinata:)

Meet me at the southside
Get you home by midnight (midnight)
Make sure that your daddy just don't know (oh, no-no-no)
I'll put you in the hoodbug
I know what I'm doin cause
That's where we'll be eating on the low (eating on the low, oh)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The shooting star spectacle was still taking place when Naruto sat up, looking at Hinata who was smiling as happily as possibly.

"This is so wonderful, Naruto-Kun...! Domo arigato gozamasu!"

He rested his hand on her own, causing her to sit up in surprise. She didn't wince, nor, did she jerk her hand away as he expected. He blushed, as did she.

"Hinata-Chan...Thank you for all you've done for me."

"N...Naruto-Kun, I...I really haven't done much..."

"That's not true! You've been there supporting me when I needed it. I told you, Jiraya-Sensei is taking me away for a while. I'm not sure how long, but, it's to train better so I can bring back Sasuke..."

There was a great sadness in his eyes. Hinata swallowed nervously, surprising Naruto when she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"It'll be alright, Naruto-Kun...Thank YOU for everything you have done for me tonight! I real...really, really ap...appreciate it. It means a lot to me and..."

Naruto wrapped his arms around her as the two sat there, both sighing. Hinata held him a little tighter, suddenly feeling the sting of tears.

"...a...and I'll be here...when Naruto-Kun....returns. I...I want to wait...for Naruto-Kun if...if Naruto-Kun will let me..."

Naruto held her tighter, inhaling her sweet scent. He'd learned of Hinata's secret crush when Shikamaru had let it slip, calling Naruto an 'oblivious idiot'. Naruto wondered when Hinata had first started to like him, but the more he thought about all the things she'd done for him, it really did make more sense. He'd invited her out tonight simply as a way of apologizing for not acknowledging her feelings sooner, but as he held her, he started feeling something for her as well. No, he reasoned with himself, he'd only seen her as a good friend...until he realized it was her dancing beautifully in the lake that fateful night when they'd gone to search for Sasuke. It was more than anytime before, that she had the promise of a beautiful, maturing young woman. That same beautiful, maturing woman had overcome her extreme shyness to embrace him in his time of need and it made Naruto wonder if maybe her 'crush' on him was more than a simple crush. How could he make it up to her, even though these feelings were new to him? He pulled back a little, looking at her with a blush.

"I...uh...Hi...Hinata-Chan...I want...you to know that it...it really does mean a lot to me...so...when...I come back,"

He turned his head to the side, his eyes narrowed a little.

"W...will you be my...you know, girlfriend?"

Naruto was pretty sure Hinata would have fainted had she not gone into such shock.

"N...Naruto-Kun's no...kanojo...?" she barely stuttered.

He nodded and smiled at her, almost on the verge of grinning.

"Yeah. Let's try it. You're really smart and you're pretty and sensei has always said I should find a woman who will be there for me in my time of need! I think you'd be a great girlfriend when I came back from training because then, you'd be a lot stronger and so would I! We'd be more mature too.."

Hinata could only look down at the grass. Isn't this what she wanted? How long would he be gone? Days? Weeks? Months? Would that be enough for her to mature into a great kunoichi? Could she transform herself into a woman worthy of Naruto-Kun? She looked at him, joy escaping her face in the form of tears down her cheeks.

"H...hai, Naruto-Kun...I'll become stronger and...and I...I'll...pro...prove to...you...I can be a...a good...worthy...woman."

Naruto smiled softly at her. He made her the same promise of being a great shinobi on the path to being Hokage when he returned. He'd be stronger, but he also promised her that if they only still had little crushes that weren't going anywhere, then they could remain friends. It was almost two-am when Naruto leapt up an insane height to Hinata's balcony window of the enormous Hyuuga estate, with Hinata in his arms. Hinata felt a little dizzy from the change in altitude, but she recovered quickly once he'd sat her down. The two stood on the balcony for a moment and Naruto grinned.

"So, when I come back, I'll make you my girlfriend, okay? We'll have to keep it quiet and stuff, but I'll be your boyfriend and protect you."

Hinata nodded, a smile and blush on her delicate face. Naruto jumped in the balcony railing, preparing to jump off. He felt her grab the sleeve of his orange jacket and ask him to wait. Naruto turned around, looking at Hinata who was blushing as red as a tomato.

"Eeto...nee...Naruto-Kun...I...I was wonde...wondering if...be...before you leave...if you...if you..."

Naruto smiled leaning forward and giving her a kiss on her lips. Hinata's eyes were wide with shock, but then closed. His lips were very soft and she was so happy she was finally receiving her first kiss. Especially with Naruto-Kun. When he broke the kiss, both of their eyes were heavy, both of them were blushing. Naruto smiled.

"H...how was that?"

Hinata could only smile and blush.

"T...thank you, N...Naruto-Kun..."

He hugged her and she, returning the embrace once she was in his arms.

"Come back safe, Naruto-Kun..."

"Hai, I promise, Hinata-Chan."

Naruto leapt on the balcony and just like that, he was gone. When morning came, Hinata had received word that Naruto and Jiraiya-Sensei had left. Hinata began her intense training afterwards, remembering the promise they'd made to one another. At nights, Hinata would look out towards the borders of the city, seeing the hill where they'd made that same promise...She only prayed Naruto would return soon and they could once again meet on that hill. Next time, as boyfriend and girlfriend.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

(Lloyd/Naruto-Ashanti/Hinata:)

Meet me at the southside
Baby we can go hide
Knowin that my boys gonna have my back (we can go hide babe)
Only at the southside girl (yeah-eeh-yeah)
Southside, southside girl (southside)...