So, this is my first ever Naruto fic, and it'll probably be around maybe ten chapters or so. The song Glorious by Muse inspired me to write this fic, and a few other Muse songs inspired me to write other Naruto fics. Guess Muse is just an awesome inspiration. ;) For those of you that are strict with the Narutoverse, I'll go ahead and say that I took some liberties with this story just as an fyi. I absolutely love reviews, so please feel free to leave them, and I'll state now that I do not own Naurto or any of the characters from the series that are trademarked. There, now please enjoy and drop a line -even if it's to say that you didn't like it!


'Touch my face,
A hopeless embrace'


He swore he could feel her fingers running through his hair, like phantom kisses to his scalp. Combing through the long tendrils and braiding them loosely as her off key humming overwhelmed all else. It was those rare moments when all else ceased to matter, when the world was nothing more than her grand stage to act upon without a ploy. His eyes shifted then, the colorful blurs intensifying and tracing outlines before him as he quietly wondered –was this the part of life that he was to remember? They always said that when Death was upon you, you had a flash of your entire life come before you, and while he was most certain that his life was coming to a close, he couldn't help but be slightly amused that that was the only thing he had to show for it. That one moment, however fond, was the only thing that zipped through his slowing brain cells.

Faintly, he could hear something tickling his eardrums, and while his sight still wasn't the sharpest, he knew that she stood before him. She was watching him, her gaze piercing through his flesh and blood and right into the very soul that she had unknowingly completed. He grimaced, straining to lift his arms so that he could pull her to him, have her closer than he had ever allowed himself. Closer than even his dreams would allow, but his limbs refused him as if to say that this very moment was why all things should be said and done in the present instead of the future that none could guarantee. He slowly breathe, focusing his dwindling chakra so that he could use his remaining moments to do what he felt needed to be done.

It worked.

He focused upon her as he spoke quietly to Naruto, his gaze never relenting as he memorized her every feature. Drinking in her disheveled, battle worn appearance; the way her hair fell around her frame like dark ink, the way her matured physique swayed obliviously with her grief. He was utterly surprised, however, the way her tears fell in such open rivulets. His heart ached more than it did from the gaping hole within it, and soon enough his lips ceased to move as he watched her near him. Watching her cry for him was far too much, like a pain that even his current critical condition couldn't hold a point to, but he could not look away. Like a moth to a flame, if he was to leave this world then she would most certainly be the last thing he saw.

His head never touched the ground as the blonde laid him down, and although he was certain Naruto had gone on about a med nin, he was more concerned with the way she had pooled his hair around him like a halo and began to stroke his face. Was he breaking her? Was he going to be her undoing after she had bloomed so beautifully since their initial meeting? He wanted so desperately to touch her, to finally give in to that insatiable desire that had eaten away at him for years. He wanted to kiss her until she took his very breath away, to hold her and make her heart the only melody he'd hear, to tell her everything he hadn't the courage to tell her before.

How he loved her, and always had.

How that love had made him hate her in the beginning because of its ferocity and his inability to cope with it.

How she was the only person able to get under his skin and into his bones.

How her relentless need to suffer in silence fueled his loud passion to punish others.

How he wished to hold her hands so that they would never cover her face again.

How awful and unfit of a lifelong partner he thought Naruto would be for her.

How much potential she had coursing through her veins if only she'd be selfish for once in her life.

These things and more he would like to vocalize, but the taste of copper made him rethink attempting to speak, he would rather not soil her anymore if he could. His eyes softened as his Byakugan deactivated, and slowly he realized that it was now or never. Summoning his remaining strength, his fingers found their way around the slightly tattered remains of her sleeve, tugging as forcefully as he could. "Y-you shouldn't m-move," Her stutter had returned for the occasion, he thought with an almost sarcastic amusement, "cons-serve y-your ch-"

"Hinata-sama."

His voice was barely audible, but powerful nonetheless, and as pale eyes connected, his last dying thought was that she knew.

She knew.