Hello. This is my first fic, so probably will suck. It's was a fluffy soul mate AU, inspired in the beautiful Providence of SouthSideStory, so it's similar, I'm sorry.

I hope this end well. I hope it ends.

English is not my first language, so corrections are welcoming.

I don't own Naruto, if I do Himawari will be the protagonist of the anime.

Chapter 1

Hinata took a deep breath and looked the mark in her wrist: an orange sun contrasted with her paled skin, and continued crawling slowly in the narrow ventilation tunnel. She felt in a cage.

She was in the middle on the mission, her first rank C. She had retrieved the scroll with the evidence that Hokage-sama needed to frame a well renowned company, which had suspicious deals with the mafia. And she wouldn't fail.

She had promised it to Kiba-kun and Shino-kun. She had promised it to Kurenai-sensei, but she ruffled her hair and told her that she didn't worry and took it easy. She had promised it to herself: This time not, she repeated herself, I won't fail.

A few days ago, Kurenai-sensei had got this mission, with hesitancy, after the endless complains of Kiba and the silence impatience of Shino. All the genin of Konoha had listened how Team 7 had cleared an A-rank mission in the Land of Waves (the rumors said they defeat a S-rank criminal ninja, the infamous Demon of The Hidden Mist) and, obviously, they couldn't wait to have one and doing the same (or better) and demonstrated to all that they were better than the star boy and prodigy of Konoha: Uchiha Sasuke.

So, when Kurenai-sensei brought this infiltration mission about a (presumed) criminal's hideout in the Capital, Kiba was exalted like a dog with a new toy, Shino nodded indifferent but his glasses shone with a new light and Hinata swallow all her fears and promised to her team that this time she won't fail: not like the mission in the woods of the Naras or the mission with the Daimyo's wife or when she stumbled in the middle of persecution of the cat and lost all the day trying to catch him because she was so so… useless.

"Don't Hinata, don't", murmured to herself, and continued crawling in the dark, narrow and suffocating tunnel, carefully, following the bug Shino had left to her, trying to do the less noise possible, keeping her chakra low as Kurenai-sensei order to do, expecting that Kiba and Akamaru were waiting for her in the other side of the tunnel, to take the truck that will carry them to Konoha and mission accomplished, everything will finish and she finally was going to go home, to her bath, and food, and her sister and her garden and him…

Hinata heard muffled noises below her and instinctively activated the Byakugan. She saw, through the metal and walls, the signature chakra of two men. They were talking to each other but they didn't seem to notice her. "The alarms aren't ringing", she though, "their chakra looks so strong but probably Kurenai-sensei can…"

Kurenai-sensei…

Oh… no.

No, no, no.

And Hinata remembered Sensei's words: "Keep it low Hinata, they have ninja bodyguards with them and can detect you" and quickly deactivated her kekkei genkai and she stopped in that small metal cage, still, heart pound wildly, trying to control her breath, touching anxiously her mark, hearing something, voices, steps.

One minute. Please go away please go away please please please.

Two minutes. The voices was heard muted, she didn't understand what they were saying. Eyes closed and pray: please go away please don't look please.

Three minutes. The voices shut, the steps were fading and now the only sound she was hearing is her heart like a drum in her ears.

They've gone.

She took another breath, and continued taking the last curve of the tunnel. She saw the end of the tunnel and the blinding light of the freedom.

Hinata put her head out of the tunnel. Kiba was waiting for her and she smiled. The boy took her hand and pulled her out.

"You did it! I knew ya could, Hinata!" said Kiba. Akamaru was wagging its tail, happily. "Hey, It's wasn't so difficult, and you are so quiet, it was perfect for you"

Hinata blushed.

"Good job, Hinata. I'm sure Kurenai-sensei will get us new C mission or an A and we will be the best tea…uoaaaaaaaahhh" the ground quaked, Kiba stifled his words and they fell down.

Two men were approaching to them, Kiba and Akamaru took positions to fight, Hinata activated her Byakugan and recognized the chakra. "Oh n-no," murmured, "t-they saw me."

"What?" said Kiba

"W-when when I was in the tunnel, I-I used the Byakugan, it- it was a-an accident, a-a-an-d I-I think t-they didn't b-but…"

"They do," finished Kiba, "Don't worry Hinata, I'm the strongest ninja of the Inuzuka clan and Akamaru is with me," the dog barked, "We take them down and, hey, if this aren't happen, this mission won't be awesome" grinned the boy

"K-Kiba-kun, watch out!" cried out Hinata.

A mound of mud attacked them and they have been separated by a wall of soil and dust.

"Kiba-kun, are you ok? W-where are you?" said Hinata through the dust.

"Take the girl and the scroll," she heard "I take on the brat and the pup."

"Yes, sir" said the other shadow and he approached to her with a kunai in his hand. "What pretty eyes you have, ojou-san." He greeted her "And if you wanted to conserve it, give me that scroll and I won't hurt you."

"Hinata, run!" shout Kiba from the other side of the wall. "GATSUGAAAAAAAAAAAA"

Hinata was trembling and her legs didn't move. She looked her sun and took the first instance of the Gentle Fist. "N-No!" but all her bravery she has was faded away with her stutter.

"Be a good girl, and give me that scroll" said the man and assaulted her from the left. She blocked him with her arm and tried to hit him with her palm. The man dodged her and kicked her right leg. Hinata fell down and the pain started to spread in her body. When she was getting up, the guy landed another hit in her left side. Hinata found an open and deliver a hit with a Gentle Fist. He stepped back in pain and came again for her with his kunai in the hand. Hinata didn't avoid it and felt the cold blade in her left shoulder, she swallowed the pain and with her both palms dealt a hit, closing all the tenketsu of his arm.

"Fucking Hyuuga," he said and when he was stepping to attack to her again, his face distorted in terror and the man was immobile. Kurenai-sensei appeared on a tree next to him.

"Hinata!" she yelled and approached to her, "Are you ok? Oh God, you're bleeding. Come on, I'll heal you right now."

"I'm sorry, sensei, I-It's my fault," she apologized, "I used my chakra and I got detected, I'm sorry."

"No, no its okay, Hinata, don't worry. Come on, let me see this, ok?" and helped her to stand up.

"K-Kiba-kun… Kiba-kun is in danger we have to go with him, sensei, please…"

"Don't worry, Hinata, that's not necessary. Why? Because I helped him," said Shino in the most casual tone and next to him was a dirty Kiba with Akamaru in his arms.

"We are fine. Shino hit the guy with his bugs. Hey, that was scary, dude." Shino shrugged "The fucking douton hit Akamaru, he's ok but I wanna Hana-nee see him" said Kiba.

"Are you okay, Kiba?" asked Kurenai. The boy nodded. "Okay, I'll carry Hinata" and before Hinata started to protest she continued "you have the scroll, don't you?"

"Y-yes" said Hinata.

"Good, keep it with you. Kiba, Shino let's go before someone see us and alert the others, the truck is waiting for us in the other side of the street. Keep quiet." They nodded and ran.

"Come on, Hinata, let me. Right now you're wounded, and we have to go now." She told her with a scowl, Hinata climbed onto her back, trying to not stain her clothes.

"Ok, let's go out here."

And they get into the night.

...

Hinata opened her eyes and all she saw was the moon, pale and ghostly. She got up slowly, the pain in her shoulder was humming but she was good. All the nerves and exhaustion washed away in her dreams.

Kiba and Shino were sitting next to her. Kurenai-sensei was standing, alert.

"Morning," said Kiba "Are you okay, Hinata? That wound was a pretty awful and you were bleeding a lot, ain't hurt ya now?"

She shook her head, "Mm no, I'm okay. It's hurting a bit but I'm sure that I'll get better." She stayed immobile and after the pause, she touched her mark and bowed her head. "S-Sensei, Kiba-kun, Shino-kun, Akamaru: I'm sorry, I used my Byakugan and got detected I broke the promise and failed again, I-I'm sorry I-I-I…"

"Hinata, please stop. It's okay. You didn't fail," cut in Kurenai, a bit irritated for her attitude, the girl did it very good in her first infiltration mission but she always blamed for all those little details. "The mission has been accomplished, we have gotten the information to incriminate these bad guys, your teammates are fine and unscarred and you did your duties even with all the complications and errors. It was your first time, I'm sure you will do better the next time, okay?"

Hinata nodded.

"Nobody is perfect." Continued Kurenai "And I said this again: Perfects mission don't exist but it's our duty as shinobi to do it close to perfection. And in these imperfections we find the motivation to get stronger. Just stop to worry. The worst part was your wound," sighed Kurenai, "but you said you are fine. When we arrive in Konoha I'm going to take you to the hospital, okay?" she smiled and Hinata blushed, Kurenai-sensei was so kind…

"The three of you had done a great job," said Kurenai, "and your teamwork is very good. Shino, you did very well with your bugs, I'm impressed with your infiltration. Kiba you didn't get anxious waiting and protected your teammate, I'm proud of your progress." The boy grinned bashfully "And your recompense tonight is…" she put off three scrolls and gave to them. "I'm going to nominated all of you to the next chuunin exams."

"Yes!" Jumped Kiba. "We are going to be chunnin, and the best team in Konoha. I'll be the next Hokage in no time!" Akamaru barked happily in his master arms. Shino smiled proud while he was reading the scroll. Hinata simply nodded happy at her teammates.

"Kiba, be quiet" scowled Kurenai. "Or I don't praise you again".

The truck stopped in the gates of Konoha. "Oh, we had arrived."

Kurenai-sensei kept to the promise and the first thing they did when arrived was going to the hospital, where the nurses disinfected, bandage and gave Hinata some painkillers.

When they went to the Hokage's office and found Asuma-sensei there, the jonin teacher of Team 10. He was lying in the door, smoking relaxed and grinning more and more widely with every step they came closer to him. Kurenai-sensei glared at him with a mix of pout and smile and Hinata didn't know if she was angry or happy or both.

"Yoooo! It's late for kids to stay away from the bed. Everything's all right?" Asked Asuma-sensei, his tone was nonchalant but the relief in his eyes was too evident for them.

"Of course. Mission accomplished, we have the proof to accuse the Torii's corporation was implicated in business with Gatou," answer Kurenai in her most professional tone, "But I don't have to inform you this" and turn around to her team, "it's time to you to go home. I'll inform Hokage-sama about the mission. Tomorrow we are meeting in Ground 3 to train for the exams, same hour as always. Good job everyone."

"Good job, sensei, and had a niiice night" teased Kiba and left them, running to his home with his dog in his head.

"Good night, sensei" said Shino and disappeared in a buzz.

"Good night, Kurenai-sensei, Asuma-sensei and thank you" bowed Hinata and went away. And when she turned around a bit, she spied how Asuma-sensei was holding Kurenai hand, interlacing her fingers and matching their soulscars.

On the way of home, Hinata couldn't stop to think about the soulscars, like every time she saw one. It was like she was obsessed with that, and maybe it was true.

Shino-kun has one in his left elbow, a small green butterfly. Kiba and Hinata had a long fight with him to see it. After that, Shino was blushing and it was the only time Hinata saw him like that. Kiba-kun, who loved dog more than anything in life, has ironically a blue cat in his right shoulder. When they were children, everybody in the Academy knew it and he was always annoyed for that.

Kurenai-sensei and Asuma-san have two red circles in their palms. The gossips had said that they met in their younger days of the Academy and they have been together since then, even when Asuma-san had left the village for a fight with Hokage-sama. For Ino, they were cute but a bit boring: where was the drama and the passion and all the cheesy things she read in the novels?

They'd met and they had been friends and now they were together. Simple. But for Hinata they were close to perfection, yes they were typical but they were real and happy and she loved that, the no drama. And she felt, every time she looked at them like this night, that she found their beautiful secret: even so if they hadn't had the mark, if they hadn't had the destiny on them, if the soulmark hadn't exist, they would have loved in the same gentle way.

And she couldn't stop to think about her one soulscar, the beautiful orange sun in her left wrist, the supposed mark of the fate and love ("The most difficult part is found the match", said a gentle voice in her head) and the person who matches her, Uzumaki Naruto.

The best thing of Naruto-kun was that he was everything that Hinata wasn't.

When she saw him for the first time, she smiled a bit of the obviousness of the mark because he was the orange sun: the boy was brave and bright with his golden hair and his blue eyes like the summer sky, and his skin was tan and his smile wide and he had a cute little marks on his cheeks. He was rude and rash and maybe a bit obnoxious, but she admired his stubbornness and like he stood up and never gave up, never. No matter how many times he failed. Not like her.

Probably in her mission, he'd never be nervous in that tunnel like her and probably he'd punch the man with the kunai and would help Kiba and Akamaru wouldn't be hurt because Naruto seems someone to protect his teammates and the people who he cared. She had the proof when she saw (spied) him with Iruka-sensei or the Hokage's grandson or the owner of the ramen stand. He was kind, so kind.

And his freedom, she was ashamed to envy his freedom: he could do anything he wants: he has no rules and chose to be a ninja because he liked it and because he wanted to be the next Hokage and he will (sorry, Kiba-kun). He weren't part of a clan or part of anyone. And he was bold and loud and always saying that he thinks, without stutter and no matter what the people would think. (And all the people of Konoha were so harsh with Naruto, but he's never ever got down because this.)

He was so free that even he was able to choose love… And Hinata stopped to think.

Because it was her fault that Naruto don't have love or a soul friend in his life. Is her fault that Naruto, the bright and beautiful Naruto, was alone. And if Hinata wasn't Hinata, she could do something to fix it, to make him smile more, to share his loneliness with someone, to make him happy and loved.

But no.

Hinata has be a Hyuuga, to be the first born, to be her. A meek, weak and cowardly girl who couldn't say no to her family because it was her duty with them.

Of course for the Hyuugas their blood, that carry their precious Byakugan, the eyes that can see everything, one of the most unique kekkei genkai, a relic from the past and the only one which have Konoha (if they didn't count the last Uchiha), was more important that fate and love. The half of her family was always matching secretive to make it remain and the other half was marked to guard it. Her uncle died to protect it. Her cousin hates her for that. And her sister feared for that. And, of course, her father obviously said no to an orphan boy who has nothing but freedom and dreams.

And Hinata couldn't do anything, only obey.

Sometimes, like today, she remembered all the things her cousin says to her and sometimes when the despair wins, she knew that Neji-niisan was right: destiny is indeed a cruel thing.

Hinata took a deep breath and looked the mark in her wrist, an orange sun contrasted with her paled skin, and continue walking slowly to her home. Her big home that felt narrow like the tunnels she went through that afternoon, like a cage.

Edit 22/08/18: add a few phrases, monologues and typos.