Sweet Bites

Today I knew would be another one of those 'worst-days-ever'.

"Why?" you ask?

Today is a very dreadful holiday.

Valentine's Day

A.K.A: The Day Naruto Uzumaki Is Being At His Most Annoying Level
Every year, ever since we were little, he has been crushing on me. It's actually pretty scary really. Personally, I prefer to just accept the chocolates and gifts from the boys and go eat them somewhere where I won't be bothered.

Unfortunately, Naruto always has to follow me and just doesn't know when to accept rejection and leave a girl alone. Matters are even worse since he's on my squad and lives only a street away and that my parents will sometimes invite him over for dinner. My parents think we'd be a 'cute couple' a 'perfect match'. Yeah, yeah, whatever! Sometimes I wish he would have a crush on someone else...maybe Sakura so he could drive her crazy.

But sometimes...I don't know, but...sometimes...I actually find myself staring at him. And the weird thing is, is that when I do...I can feel my heart begin to speed up. At first, I thought it was just because the sight of him made me angry.

Don't get me wrong! Naruto's a really great guy--really! It's just...he can be pretty dense, y'know? Besides, I always saw myself with someone who could make me laugh, isn't shy [but not cocky and way out there either, knows how to treat a lady, is strong, smart, passionate, a little romantic, and can always bring a smile to my face.

Naruto...well, he's none of those things.

Anyways, my fifteenth Valentine's Day--when I woke up, was the exact time my day totally went down the drain.

"Amaya, wake up..." I heard a familiar voice, followed by a shaking on my arm, "Wake up, sweetheart, you have a visitor."

I rolled over, now facing towards my mothers voice. "Who is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes to get all the sleep-crust out. Once I opened my eyes and looked up towards my 'visitor' I screamed and fell off the other side of my bed.

"Oh, look how happy she is to see you, Naruto." My mother clapped happily, a giant grin on her face. "I'm going to go make a delicious Valentine's Day breakfast." She skipped out of the room, closing my bedroom door behind her.

What kind of mom leaves her daughter alone in a room with a boy!? WITH THE DOOR SHUT!? I thought furiously, peering over my bed towards the door.

"Hm?" I felt the presence of someone staring at me. "AHH!" I screamed, finding the 15-year-old boy squatting down next to me. "Don't do that, you idiot!" I stood up, pointing at him accusingly.

"Oh? I'm sorry," he laughed, "Didn't mean to scare you. Oh!" His eyes widened as if he remembered something important. "Here,"--he shoved vibrant, multiple colors of hibiscus flowers mixed in with some tsubakis, momos, and a rain flower in my face--"I got these for you!"

I stared at the flowers. "Uh..." I then noticed something. "That rain flower in the middle is plastic." I touched the petal of the flower to prove my point. I looked up at Naruto, his grin getting bigger.

"I know. I did that because it's a rain flower. Your name means 'night rain' so I thought I'd get a flower that had something with your name in it." He pointed out as if he were the smartest kid on earth.

"But, that still doesn't explain why it's plastic." I was beginning to think he was even more of an idiot.

"Well..." he blushed, scratching the back of his head, "when I was in bed last night, I suddenly woke up!"

My eye twitched as he jumped in my bed and began playing out the scene of his story.
"I had a great idea, y'see? It was that I'd get you fifteen flowers since that's how old you are and each flower represents something I like about you." His blushed darkened slightly.

I raised a brow, blushing slightly. I turned to look out my window to hide my blush from him. "Okay, then tell me...what are those fifteen things, huh?"

"Huh? Uh...well--uh...o-okay." Naruto gulped. He sat up, facing his back towards me. "Well, I like how smart you are, your pretty eyes, how strong you are, your sense of humor, how you're fun to be around, how you're so nice to others, you like ramen, believe in me, you have a pretty smile, you're really beautiful, uh...hot body," he whispered the 'hot bod' part.

"WHAT!?"

"You have soft hair," Naruto continued, ignoring me who was fuming, "nice lips, and you make me feel happy."

I raised one hand to my chest--trying to tell my heart to slow down--and the other to my beet red face. "T-that's only fourteen." I pointed out. "What's number fifteen?"

Naruto was quiet for awhile, a little shocked I was actually counting. He gulped and began to speak. "The fifteenth flower is the plastic one. It...i-it r-represents t-th-that my l-love for y-you will never w-wilt a-away."

At the same time, the two of us turned--now facing one another. My heart was racing while my head was blank.

Is it just me or is it really hot in this room?

I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by the call of my mother.

"Amayaaaa! Narutoooo! Breakfaaaast!" She called in a sing-song voice.

The two of us just sat there, staring at my closed door. "Uh...COMING!" I finally managed to yell. Walking over to Naruto, I took the flowers from his hands. "Here, I'll go put these in some water." He followed me out of my bedroom and into the kitchen.

"I like your P.J's." He said as we walked down the stairs.

I suddenly stopped, forgetting I was still in them. Naruto bumped into me--of course, I didn't notice since I was too occupied by looking at my PJ's.

I was wearing a light green tank-top that had a turtle with a large, goofy smile and long baggy white PJ bottoms that had a bunch of pink and red hearts printed all over it.

I sighed in relief. I thought I was wearing something revealing. Thank goodness. I glanced back at Naruto. He stared back, wondering why I had stopped suddenly on the stairs.

"Uh..." I began laughing nervously. "Still a little tired, y'know? I just...had one of those short dreams where you feel like you're falling but you're really not and it gives you a headache afterwords because you were just freaking out for a second there--thinking you were falling but then you wake up and you're not! Weird, huh?"

Naruto blinked a few times at my ramble. I sweat dropped.

"Yeah, just forget I even sa-a-a-aaaa-What are you doing!?" I exclaimed when he scooped me up in his arms.

"Here, this way you won't feel like you're falling because I'll catch you, see?" He smiled goofly. I blushed. Now, I was actually happy he was carrying me because I knew that if I was standing up, I would have fallen. "Huh? Are you okay?"

"Wha?" My eyes widened, falling out of my daze. I shook my head, "No, no. I-i'm fine! Let's just get to breakfast." With out another word, he carried me to the kitchen.

I frowned deeply as I sat at the chabudai [Japanese table]. My parents smiled on the other side, pretending that they didn't notice how they planned on Naruto and I to sit on the same side with each other.

"Oooooh," Naruto drooled, looking hungrily at all the food, "it looks so good..." he said in a dazed voice.

My mom smiled, happy at her work. "Thank you, Naruto. I'm glad you like it. Well, dig in."
Naruto and I broke our chopsticks and began to eat. After awhile, I stopped, noticing my parents staring at the two of us with their creepy big smiles. I glared at the two.

"I'm full." I declared and stood up.

"'Full'? But you just started eating." Naruto pointed out.

"Gee, am I supposed to eat your food?" I said with a sarcastic tone, turning on my heel and headed up to my room to get ready for the horrible Valentine's day, knowing that my parents were going to do everything in their power to make sure Naruto and I spent the whole day together.

"Wh-wh-whaaa? She already at it all!?" I heard Naruto exclaim as I headed up the stairs.

What can I say? I'm a ninja. I'm supposed to be unnoticed and sneaky. XP

I was right. 100% right in fact. My parents were making Naruto and I spend the whole dreadful day together.

"There's a celebration dance tonight. Do you want to go to it?" Naruto asked with his usual giant smile.

"I'm not interested in dances." I said flatly.

"Well, how about we go for...the treats!" Naruto brightened up, finding something else that would probably get me to go to the dance with him.

"Nah, I think I'm already going to be full from all those treats those guys gave me when we got out of the house."

Naruto scoffed irritably, recalling the memory of the boys crowding around me right when we stepped out of my house.

"They're all just like a bunch of vultures looking for a piece of meat." I said in an irritated voice. I sighed, "Men just don't know how to treat women right."

"That's not true," I turned my head to face him. He now had my attention. "Not all men are like that. I mean, I know Pervy-sage is kinda like that, but...well...I'm not."

I stopped walking. Naruto stopped as well. Now that I think about it. I've never once seen Naruto treat a women badly. I mean...he has his Sexy Jutsu but...that's more of funny than offending. Hm...I guess he really does know how to treat a lady but...

"Prove it."

"What?"

"Prove it. I want to see you treat a lady. Take your pick. I'll be observing." I began looking around for someone to pair Naruto up with so I could see him 'treat' her.

"Okay, but let me pick the girl."

"Yeah, yeah, sure." I nodded, waving my hand.

"Okay, let's go have a great day!" Naruto said, grabbing my hand.

"Wait!" I tried to pull out of his grip. "We have to pick a girl!" He stopped, looking back at me.

"I've already chose the girl I want to take on a date." He smiled at me.

"'D-date'! I never said 'date'!" He began pulling again.

"C'mon, we'd better get our date started before the day is over, Amaya."

"IT'S NOT A DAAAATE!" I screamed, still being pulled along.

I was surprised when Naruto took me to the Valentine's Day Festival that was going on here in Konoha. I couldn't help but smile at all the rides, food, and games.

First, we rode all the rides until we were sick to our stomachs. My favorite one was the one where it spins you while you're being flipped upside down and all around. Every ride seemed to tickle me and make me laugh. I have to admit, this 'date' was going pretty well and...well, I was actually enjoying it.

"Step right up! Step right up! Win your date an adorable Valentine's Day fox!" A man at one of the game stands called, looking for a gamer to come play. "Hit the bark with these five shuriken and win the big fox!" His eyes then landed on Naruto. "How 'bout you, young sir? Win a lovely fox for your date?" He winked at me.

Naruto nodded. "Alright! Noooo problem. I'm a ninja, right? This will be easy." Naruto payed the man and took the five shuriken. "Watch this, Amaya."

He threw the first: miss. Second: miss. Third: miss. Naruto started to get aggravated. Fourth: miss. He turned to smiled nervously at me.

"I'll get this one! For sure!" He threw it. Miss. "WHAAA?! This game must be rigged!" He was shocked he didn't even hit one.

I giggled. Typical Naruto.

"Here, let me have a try." I held out money for the man.

"No, no. Today is Valentine's Day. All women are free of charge." He smiled while shaking his head.

"Really?" I smiled, putting the money back into my wallet. He handed me five shuriken.

"Sweet. Here I go."

Naruto's jaw dropped as all five of my shuriken each hit a log directly on the targets.

"My, my. Great shot, young lady. Here's your prize." He handed me one of the giant foxes.

"You two kids have a nice day, ya hear?" I nodded.

"We sure will. Thanks!" I turned to Naruto, holding the fox out to him.

He stared at it with a confused expression. "Uh...?"

"I want you to have it. Y'know, as a Valentine's gift?" I looked to the side, blushing slightly.

"For...me?" He pointed at himself. I nodded. He took the large plush toy from my hands, squeezing it tightly to his chest.

A gift from Amaya! This is the best day EVER! TT-TT

"Are you crying?" I asked, noticing how his eyes were watering.

"N-no!" He turned away. I followed to look in his eyes. He kept turning, me following. This continued for awhile until I 'accidentally' tripped him.

"You are crying! Tell me what's wrong and I can probably help fix it."

Naruto jumped up. "Nothings wrong! I'm just so happy because today's the best day ever!"

I giggled at his facial expression. It was a mix of nervousness, happiness, and determination. Naruto raised a brow, wondering what I found funny. I looked up at the clear, star and moon lit night sky.

"Woah! It's night already?" I never even noticed how quickly time was passing.

"'Night'?" Naruto suddenly gasped, "We're going to be late for the couples competition!
C'mon! Let's go!"

"Wha? But we're not even a couple!" I was once again by Naruto pulling me towards the couples competition.

I think he's the very first guy who has been this persistent. I smiled with a light pink blush.

"On your mark...get set...GO!"

Naruto and I ran as fast as we could with my right leg and his left leg tied together. The two of us fell a few times but not as much as the other couples. Every time we fell, we just
laughed it off while the other teams seemed to be getting mad at their partners.

Winner of tied foot race: Amaya Nichino & Naruto Uzumaki

The second competition was where one of the partners on a team had to get an apple from a barrel of water and then run over to their partner and pass the apple to them from their mouths and then run, jump, and climb over the obstacle to get to the other side and pass the apple to a horse...by the mouth.

Winner of apple pass: Amaya Nichino & Naruto Uzumaki

"Allllright, ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer's voice rang loudly in his microphone.

"This is your final race! The race that will decide the winner!"

"I don't see why it can't be who wins the most races." The girl next to me thought out loud.

Hm...good point. I agreed with her.

"In this last competition, the couples will toss these fragile glass hearts,"--he held up a glass heart that was about the size of a baseball--"to each other all the way to the end of the field. The only rules in this competition is that the glass heart cannot touch the ground or be carried with your hands."

"Let's win this Tamaki!" The girl next to me said to her boyfriend, "Or else I'll break up with you and never talk to you again!" Tamaki frowned.

I looked to Naruto, who looked from the couple to me. "Let's just have fun, okay?"

"Right!" He smiled with a nod.

"On your mark...get set...GOOO!"

Naruto and I shot of, passing the heart to one another in a steady rhythm. Then, just as Naruto and I were 1/3 of the way down the field, I lost grip on the heart as I threw it--meaning it wouldn't go as far as I had planned. Instead, it was planning to land right in between the distance of Naruto and I.

"I GOT IT!" The two of us shouted, both running towards the falling heart. We heard each other but still kept running, thinking the other one was going to back down and let the other catch it. "I GOT IT! I GOT IT! I GOT IT!" The two of us kept shouting as we came closer and closer towards the center.

Okay, Amaya, just let Naruto catch it. He'll catch it. I wanted to slow down, but my legs just wouldn't allow me. I was going too fast. The same went for Naruto. We're going to crash! Naruto and I closed our eyes, preparing for impact.

I then felt something press against my lips. Cold, smooth...defiantly not skin. Naruto and I opened our eyes, finding the glass heart right between our lips.

"HMMMMM?" I exclaimed, not believing we caught it...WITH OUR LIPS! Naruto was just as shocked as I was. The two of us stood there like idiots while the other teams were almost to the finish.

"RUN YOU IDIOTS! RUUUUN!" The announcer shouted into his mic. Naruto and I snapped out of it and began sprinting sideways towards the finish line, the heart between our lips.

"AND WE HAVE A WINNER!" We heard the announcer shout when Naruto and I were only a foot away from the finish.

"YEAH!" The girl, the same one who was next to me earlier, pumped her fist in the air. She then turned to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around his neck, pouncing on him and leaving lip marks all over his face. The guy came up with a dreamy look in his eyes.

I smiled at the two. I can't believe he can tolerate how snobby she seems. Hm...guess love does odd things to a person. I looked at Naruto, taking the heart from between our lips.

"Nice catch, Naruto." I complemented.

"Me? Ha ha. You were the one who caught it." He nudged my shoulder with his elbow.

"Naaaaw! You were the mastermind behind this plan." I nudged him back.

"Noooo. You were." He said, his voice getting higher in the baby-voice.

"No, no, no, you silly-willy." I shook my finger also speaking in a baby-voice. "You were the one who caught it."

"Oh, my goodness. Shut them up!" The girl next to me plugged her ears. Her boyfriend hugged her.

"Aww, they're just in love." He said to her before kissing her cheek--making her smile.

"'In...love?'" My eye twitched. Naruto just stood next to me, smiling widely.

"Hey," Naruto and I looked over to the announcer...who was still talking in his microphone.

"Since these two won most of the competitions, we're going to provide them with an all-you-can-eat-one-day-certificate for ramen at Ichiraku's!"

I smiled from ear to ear, happy I was getting some ramen. Naruto's eyes sparkled as if he were in heaven.

"Thank you!" Just as I grabbed the certificate, Naruto grabbed my hand and sped off towards Ichiraku's.

"See, daddy? Didn't I tell you one day Naruto and Amaya would get together?" Ayame gloated to her father, who only nodded--busy cooking up another two bowls of ramen.

"Okay, Naruto. This is our last bowl then we have to go get to that dance." I said just as Teuichi set down our bowls of ramen in front of us.

Naruto's eyes sparkled at me. "Reeeeaaaly?" The tone of his voice was high with delight.

"We're reeeeaaaly going to the dance together? Reeeeeaaaaaaaaly?"

I nodded. "Mm-hmm. I've decided that you really do know how to treat a girl. Therefore, your reward is me going to the dance with you."

"YES!" He surprised me by embracing me in a hug. Right at that moment, I realized something. All along, Naruto had those characteristics I liked in a guy.

√ Romantic (The whole roses and 'catch you when you fall' thing.)
√ Passionate (Wants to protect the village and loved ones and become Hokage one day.)
√ Can make me laugh
√ Not too shy and not too cocky
√ Strong (Mentally and physically)
√ Smart (...well, sometimes...but I still love how he's not a genius like Shikamaru or something.)
√ Can always bring a smile to my face.
√ Knows how to treat a girl

There were also so many other characteristics I loved about him too. So many that I don't even know where to begin or how many they are.

"Naruto..."

He stopped eating and looked at me. "Hmm?"

"Uh...you know how every year you ask me to be your girlfriend?" I looked to the side,
blushing a light shade of pink.

He began choking on his ramen. He pounded his fist against his chest to help it go down. "Y-yeah...why do you a-ask?" He stuttered nervously. He too blushed.

"Well, I was wondering if you were going to ask me this year."

He was taken back by my question. "Uh...well, only if you want me to..." It was silent for awhile until I finally broke it.

"No, I don't want you to ask me this year."

Naruto slouched in his chair, frowning. "O...o-oh. Okay...then I won't ask you this year."

I looked at the disappointment on his face and smiled. "That's because I want to ask you instead of you asking me."

Naruto brightened up again. His eyes then narrowed suspiciously at me. "Really? I mean, you're not joking, right?"

I raised a brow. "Of course I'm not joking! Why would I be joking?"

"I doubt she's joking, Naruto." The two of us jumped, just barely noticing Teuichi and his daughter leaning on the counter--listening to our conversation.

"H-hey! Don't eavesdrop!" I said, putting my arms out in front of me in a defense position.

"Yes."

"Huh?" I looked over at Naruto.

"I said 'yes'. I'd love to be your boyfriend." He smiled.

I screamed with joy. Unconsciously, I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him fully on the lips. After about two seconds, I pulled away, noticing my actions. "Uh...heh heh heh." I laughed nervously, blushing like crazy.

Naruto was blushing head to toe. "YES!" He shouted out of no where. He ran out of Ichiraku's and began yelling at random passers. "YES! SHE ASKED ME AND I SAID 'YEEEEEES'! YES! YEAH! YEAH! WOOO! YEEEES! YEAH! WA-HOOO! YEAH! YEAH! YEEEEEEEEESSSS!"

"Amaya," Ayame sweat dropped, "I think you better go stop him before he gets himself killed by one of those people. I looked at the person who Naruto was yelling a bunch of 'yeahs' and 'yeses' into. The guy looked pretty ticked...even more ticked since he didn't look like he had a special someone to be his valentine.

I sweat dropped. "Yeah, you're right." I walked out of Ichiraku's and tapped tugged lightly on Naruto's collar. "Settle down boy. C'mon, we're going to be late to the-" I was cut off by lips pressing against mine. My eyes were wide once I realized they were Naruto's. (No duh.) Hardly able to keep my balance, he wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer. I smiled as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed back.

Little did I know my parents (who had been following the two of us the ENTIRE day) watching from a distance with the biggest, most goofiest smiles in the world.

"Awwww! My little girl!" My mother squealed.

"It's such a nice feeling to see my little girl in love." My father sniffed.

I learned a lesson that Valentine's Day. That lesson was that you shouldn't judge a person before actually paying attention to their personality and characteristics. You might just find you can become the bestest of friends or even more.

For me, I was always thinking of the type of person I liked and what characteristics I liked in them. Unfortunately, I never opened my eyes to the obvious and saw the person standing in front of me who had all those characteristics I liked.

So here's some advice: Look past a person's interior and into their soul. Open your eyes and see their personality. You never know, if you just open your eyes, you just might find something you like. OH! And beware if you have stalking parents too!