Midnight Sun

Side; Naruto VI

Naruto takes her to the nearest uniform shop for Konoha. He watches as she looks through the blouses, blushing at the thinner fabric and short tulip sleeves, baring her arms. And although the front looks similar, it has less buttons, leaving the collar open. Hinata stares at the mannequin wearing it before looking at him with wide eyes, as if asking him 'seriously?'. Moments like this are what reminds him of her young age.

He smiles at her and she pouts back, before looking at the mannequin once more. As she moves on, probably to look for alternative, his smile slips off his face. He knows that Hinata has body image issues but he didn't know that it goes that deep. He also knows that she tended to stutter when she lies or when her emotions run high. He knows that she hates it when it happens but he didn't realize just how much. When she reaches up to claw her throat or mouth, his hands moved without thinking.

Sometimes he catches her staring at the mirror but her face will look uninterested, like she could not recognize the girl in the mirror. She will always look sad after that. It is not the image of a girl obsessed with her look, like Ino, but something else. He understands now that even though Hinata is happy with him, her self esteem is so low that she doubts her reality. It cannot be helped that she is using girls around her as ruler to compare to what she has. Being in a relationship is so new to her that she's trying to see what else she can do to make it more permanent.

But she's using the wrong ruler.

Some guys get annoyed at girls that can't be satisfied or happy just being with them. But not Naruto. He's new to relationship too but he's not ashamed to ask his mom on how to help Hinata. His pride is not worth her happiness. He understands after many counseling with her that Hinata is young and mentally damaged. She reminded him to not wallow in guilt and instead be there for her in any way that she needs him.

When he ask his dad what to do, as a man, the King only tells him that a man's duty is to endure. Take on her pain and endure it along with her. As she heals, so will he. They are Soulmates after all. Even though being Soulmates would not solve all their problems, it helps to follow his instinct on how to help her.

He straightens his posture when Hinata returns to his side, asking as while she worries her nails, scratching at the peeling paint, "Do I have to wear t-that?"

Naruto pats her head, "I mean, it's only going to get hotter,"

She whimpers.

Cute.

Taking a deep breathe, she turns around and starts looking for her size. Since she don't have her own income in Makai because of the difference in currency, she's reluctant to buys a lot. As usual, she's too nice.

He grabs three of the blouse instead of just the one, "This will do," Before she could argue, he grabs the matching summer skirts. They have the same pattern, except these ones are thinner and lighter. He will have to be extra intimidating with the boys. Summer skirts are lighter than the usual skirts so that means the flips up more often when the girls do some activity with wide movements.

Once purchased, he looks at her, "Want to see clothes?"

She freeze for a second before looking at him, "Clothes?"

He smiles, "I want to see what you like and see if I can compromise that with what I like," He rubs her cheek, "I won't force you to wear things that I'm more familiar with. Like my mom always said; 80% of looking good is confidence. 10% is your compatibility with the clothes you're wearing. 10% is comfort,"

She hums, "...that's a tall order,"

He laughs, "Come on. Lets do it! I'll wear them along with you if it'll make you feel better, dattebayo!"