Hello everyone! This is my first fic so please be nice. No flames welcome. Enjoy! Sadly…I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Chapter One

Hinata gazed up at the pure blue sky with longing eyes. Not a single cloud marring its perfection. A hawk and her mate soared aimlessly through the sky, one never straying far from the other. The pair didn't seem to have any deliberation or definite purpose to their flight; they lacked the usual intensity of a predator searching for its prey and instead seemed to fly for the simple sake of being able to do so.

What a beautiful freedom they have. So untouched by the world, with nothing, no one, no duty that must be fulfilled, to tether them to the Earth. Oh, to fly whist the wind may take you with not a care in the world.

Hinata Hyuga was a quiet girl, barely eighteen years old. She was never noticed by the out-spoken ninja, her comrades and friends, of the Hidden Leaf Village that surrounded her her whole life. She has always willfully blended herself into the background. When you are a weak fighter and a disappointment to your clan, as Hinata is, it is usually easier to do so than not. Hinata was the heiress to her clan and would one day be called to fulfill her duty and lead them as her father has before her.

As Hinata stared at the pure blue sky, she suddenly felt like Atlas, the weight of the world bearing down on her shoulders. Unlike Atlas, though, Hinata felt that she may not be able to bear the pressure.

Hiashi Hyuga, current leader of the Hyuga clan and Hinata's abusively strict and demanding father, has called a clan meeting that is to take place as soon as the sun has completely set and the pink hues, that are only now beginning to enter the sky, have completely faded away, leaving only darkness in their wake. Hinata already knows that the meeting is about her because just this morning, Hiashi pulled Hinata aside, his icy gaze bearing into Hinata's sheepish silver eyes, as he sternly commanded, "Do not disappoint me. Your future will begin tonight. Do not embarrass me, child."

A small glistening tear rolled down Hinata's porcelain cheek.

My future will begin tonight….Why can't I just fly away with those hawks and make my own future?

Hinata regretfully pulled her body up from the soft summer blades of grass she had been resting on, and could possibly have wished to have rested on, for the rest of her life, listening to the soothing murmurs of the wind whispering through the leaves of the trees surrounding the training ground. She takes one last wistful look at the darkening sky when reality sets back in and she realizes…She is running late!

"Hn…Naruto?" Sai asks between his uneven breaths, a result of their just ended sparring.

Neither of the boys had noticed the indigo haired girl whirl past them moments ago, nor had she taken any notice of them.

"Have you spoken to the Kazekage yet?" Sai asked.

"No! OF COURSE NOT YOU BAKA! GARRA LIVES IN SUNA! WHEN THE HELL DO YOU THINK I HAVE TIME TO GO TO SUNA!" Naruto replies in his uniquely loud voice as he and his monotone teammate head back into Konoha for some much needed rest.

"I just assumed you would have…..The two of you are… friends… aren't you?" asks Sai, still not truly comprehending the meaning of "friends", even though Naruto and Sakura had attempted to explain it a thousand and one times.

"YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT!" Naruto shouts once more with great enthusiasm.

"Oh….." is Sai's only reply. This made the wheels in Naruto's head start turning. After a few moments of silent pondering, Naruto asks his teammate, "Why do you ask if I have talked to Gaara, and what does it have to do with us being friends?"

"Well…Everyone in town has been wondering why the Kazekage decided to pay a visit to Konoha…I thought perhaps he had come to see you…. But if you haven't seen him yet, then I must have been mistaken."

Naruto's eyes popped out of his head. "WHAAAAAT? GAARA IS IN TOWN AND I DIDN'T KNOW?"

"I saw him arrive this morning with the blonde girl and the boy with the painted face that are always following him around."

"This morning? HOW DID I NOT KNOW?" So many emotions were racing through the blonde. He was confused, excited, and a little hurt that one of his best friends was in town and hadn't even bothered to say 'Hello'.

Sai just shrugged his shoulders. "This is my building. I'll see you later Naruto." They had already reached Sai's apartment building and Naruto didn't live much farther away.

As Naruto meandered down the street to his own building, the sun now completely set and the stars beginning to open their twinkling eyes , he couldn't help but wonder what the very busy Kazekage could possibly be doing in the in the Hidden Leaf Village. And why didn't it involve him?

Hinata struggled to maintain her composure as she stood beside Hiashi in the grand hall of the Hyuga complex, facing her entire clan. She had only just barely made it to the meeting on time, after being pulled and tugged into perfection by the maids of the Hyuga family. Her usual lavender jacket and cropped pants had been replaced with soft pink tradition robes and her usually free flowing indigo hair had been tied up into a tight bun with a pair of emerald chopsticks.

On the outside, she was stunning, but on the inside, she was quaking with fear of these people in front of her, of the people whom she was to one day lead, but who looked as though they could tear her limb from limb with no more than the twitch of a pinkie. Hinata looked to her cousin, Neji, who stood in the front row, searching for some sign that everything was going to be alright. Unfortunately, his face was stone, lacking any emotion for Hinata to pull some reassurance from.

"Members of the Hyuga clan, Hinata physically jumped when Hiashi began to address the clan in a tone that could shake mountains. "I have called you here today because the heiress of the Hyuga clan has now passed her eighteenth birthday and it is time for her to fulfill her previously arranged marriage…."

Hiashi continued his speech, but Hinata had stopped listening. She felt her hart pick up pace. It took every inch of her will to hold back the faint that threatened her consciousness.

Fulfill my arranged marriage? This can't be happening…

If this thought frightened Hinata, the next would surely send her frail heart into palpitations.

"One week from today, Hyuga Hinata, heiress to the Hyuga clan, will marry the Kazekage of the Sand, uniting both our peoples and our villages!"

The Hyuga clan erupted into applause at their good fortune as to have their future leader married to a Kage. Hiashi then uttered a parting speech to his clan members and as they filed out, shaking hands with Hiashi, Hinata stood frozen in place.

Me…marry…Gaara?