Future fic! In this chapter, unless said otherwise, italicized parts are words that Naruto once said to Hinata. Go NaruHina!

Disclaimer: I neither own Naruto or the characters or anything else associated with this manga/anime! This story is purely for the sake of appeasing my need for NaruHina pairings! Likewise, neither do I own the song Hinata sings, "Soulmate", by Natasha Bedingfield. I had an AMV done to that song on my NaruHina playlist on youtube and it struck me as a good summary for their relationship. I'm glad it did, because I wanted to make this chapter longer and it greatly helps. Natasha Bedingfield, for the sake of this story, you exist in the Naruto universe and Hinata likes your music!

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Hinata fell to her knees in shock, tears pouring down her pale face. She had held up in the front of her family, kept her cool. Lately she had grown stronger, which had earned her respect in the eyes of the family council. Even her father had started to be proud of her. All of this was thanks to the support of the one few who truly believed in her, Naruto Uzamaki. He had suddenly decided one day to help her train, recognizing that she wanted to be stronger.

"I understand how that feels. And I know for a fact that you only need one person to truly believe in you and to help for that to happen. So let me be that one person."

That's what he had told her, so long ago, almost a year ago. And she had accepted his help gladly, both for the sake of getting stronger and for the chance to get over shyness around him. A chance to get to know him, to find out the kind of girl he liked was the chance of a lifetime. And she had even gotten to the point where she wasn't passing out around him and could talk straightly without stuttering!

"But what good is that now?!" Hinata sobbed to herself, hugging herself tightly. She had come to a spot deep in the forest around Konoha, where no one would find her. Now she kneeled on the wet part of a cave floor. Naruto had often taken her to do meditation and chakra control exercises, since he knew that her skill was in chakra control.

"Just think about it! You're pretty well rounded in your skills. And your chakra control is not only your best skill, but what's necessary for a lot of your family taijutsu. Even if you don't have a monstrous amount of chakra like me, if you're good enough with your control you could be deadly!"

"Naruto," Hinata cried, hating her weakness and inability to confess to Naruto.

It was too late for that now. Naruto had died while on a mission with Sakura and Kakashi. Hinata had not seen him for three weeks and she was planning on welcoming him home. They had come back from their mission without him, Sakura doing her best to look strong. All that they could bring back was his bag of supplies, as his body had been incerated by a deadly fire jutsu. Kakashi looked hunched over in gried. Sakura had been trying to obey one of the shinobi rules, as Hinata had done in front of her family council. Iruka had drilled them into their minds in the academy.

"Remember!" Iruka barked, tapping his pointer against the board emphatically where he had written out the rule in large letters. "Shinobi rule number 25: Shinobi never show their emotions."

But even if she was a ninja, she was still human. She had a heart, feelings. She hated, hurted, grew attached, and loved. And the love of her life she had never confessed to was now dead. Alone, she could trust herself to show her feelings.

"Naruto, I'm sorry, for my weakness, my cowardice. I let you down," Hinata called out. She suddenly remembered a promise the two of them had made four months ago, in this very cave.

"Hinata, we're ninja, so we're bound to have dangerous situations. We may even die while on a mission. Let's promise that we'll always be there for each other. And also, should one of us die on a mission, we won't be sad for too long. We cry for a little while then move on, always remembering the fallen in our heart, being strong their sake. More than anything, we won't seek revenge for each other. I can't stand to see another Sasuke again."

She put on a determined expression and stood up, wiping her tears away. She would keep that promise to him. One of the details of that day stuck out in her mind, one she had not actively noted. He was blushing for some reason. "Could...he have been having growing feelings for me?" Hinata wondered. "Maybe we were meant to be soulmates after all."

Unbidden, a song came to her lips, and she sung it, her soft alto voice bouncing pleasantly off the cave walls.

Incompatible, it don't matter though
'cos someone's bound to hear my cry
Speak out if you do
You're not easy to find

Is it possible Mr. Loveable
Is already in my life?
Right in front of me
Or maybe you're in disguise

Who doesn't long for someone to hold
Who knows how to love you without being told
Somebody tell me why I'm on my own
If there's a soulmate for everyone

Here we are again, circles never end
How do I find the perfect fit
There's enough for everyone
But I'm still waiting in line

Who doesn't long for someone to hold
Who knows how to love you without being told
Somebody tell me why I'm on my own
If there's a soulmate for everyone

If there's a soulmate for everyone

Most relationships seem so transitory
They're all good but not the permanent one

Who doesn't long for someone to hold
Who knows how to love you without being told
Somebody tell me why I'm on my own
If there's a soulmate for everyone

Who doesn't long for someone to hold
Who knows how to love you without being told
Somebody tell me why I'm on my own
If there's a soulmate for everyone
If there's a soulmate for everyone

Now truly feeling better, she turned to leave the cave. She would feign tiredness after a long day and go to bed early.

As she turned to leave the cave, she was shocked to find Sakura and Kakashi waiting outside the cave. Kakashi's amused grin could be faintly seen from under his mask. "Hinata, come with us," Kakashi ordered. "It concerns Naruto. It's very important." Sakura held out a piece of paper to Hinata, and she took it with trembling hands.

Hinata,

If you're reading this, I am not dead! We're extremely close, so I know once you're told of my "death", you'll be crying. Please don't. I'm a bit injured, but fine. I faked my death to complete a top secret mission. I know you'll want to see me, and I want to see you, just to convince that I am actually alive. Kakashi-sensei and Sakura are not playing a cruel joke on you.

The truth is I'm not confident that I can complete my mission on my own. So I was curtly told by Tsunade-baa-chan to pick a partner and she would arrange for that person to be free. I want you to be my partner for this mission. I have faith in your abilities, and know I can trust you with not only my life, but my soul, as well as my deepest secrets. You're free to refuse this. If you accept, follow Sakura and she'll take you to where I am. Kakashi-sensei will take word to Tsunade-baa-chan that you're accepting.

If not, put a brave face on and pretend to deal with my "death". I won't be able to see you until after the mission ends. I'll be hoping for a hero's welcome, so wait for me. Either way, I hope to see you soon. I'm sorry for deceiving you. But this is necessary. For now, I can't say more. Hinata, either way, I swear to you right now that I will return. You have my word on that. And you know I don't go back on my word.

Yours sincerely,

Naruto Uzamaki

"That idiot," Hinata swore softly, tears leaking out once more. "Of course I'll accept this mission. We'll go the distance together." Sakura smiled.

"Then follow me," Sakura instructed. "He's not far. Oh, one more thing. This must not go beyond us. In other words, a S-class secret. Is that understood?" Hinata nodded solemnly. "Good. We're clear to continue then." Kakashi returned to Konoha to tell Tsunade that Hinata was accepting.

Sakura led Hinata deeper into the forest in the meantime. "We're here," she said at last. "Kakashi-sensei will arrange for your absence. This mission has a lot of requirements, so you won't be able to go home for awhile. We'll get you everything you need."

"I-I understand," Hinata stammered.

"Naruto, we're coming in," Sakura called into cave they had come to. "You stay where you are. If I find that you moved in your condition, I swear that I'll punch you into the wall!"

There was a load groan from inside the cave. Hinata giggled. She had heard that groan several times when she had been training with Naruto. "Wha?! Hinata?!" Naruto cried out.

"Come on." Sakura gently pushed Hinata into the cave.

"Naruto," Hinata gasped, relieved. He was sitting up against the wall of the cave, his shirt removed. Bandages wrapped around his torso and right shoulder. His left ankle was propped up, his pants leg rolled up. "Thank goodness. You really scared me." She went to his side and sat down next to him. "How are your injuries?"

"Fine," Naruto insisted. "We had been planning to fake my death. The fire jutsu wasn't part of the plan though." Naruto grimaced. "But we still had a safe place prepared here, so they brought me here just the same."

"We couldn't very well have a supposedly dead guy alive and recovering in the hospital," Sakura huffed.

"Well, you both played your parts splendidly," Hinata stated, complimenting them. "Kakashi-sensei looked really genuine, with how he hunched up his shoulders. Really good acting."

Sakura turned to glare at Naruto. "It wasn't acting," Sakura grated. "That boy is heavy. Kakashi-sensei knew an invisibility jutsu and placed it over Naruto so we could sneak him into the village. Naruto had to hold on his own and keep quiet." Naruto laughed nervously. "Thankfully his injuries were mitigated though. The reason the fire jutsu didn't completely incerinate him was that he had just gotten completely soaked."

"Brr.." Naruto said. "That water was cold. First extreme cold, then extreme heat. All within a few seconds." He shuddered.

"The extreme opposites one after another stunned him, resulting in his ankle injury," Sakura explained. "It's only a serious sprain, and it's almost completely healed. Two more days of rest and you two will be starting your mission."

Both of them were fine with that. They fell asleep knowing that soon they would be on their own, but they would have each other. They could get through anything with that on their side.