Yes, I'm ALIVE!!!! But this is actually a late b-day gift to my best friend. It's a NaruHina two-shot, so I'll post the second chapter as soon as I can!

Naruto and all other things ninja-like belong to Masashi Kishimoto!

Light fluffy snowflakes fell lightly from the starlit sky as Christmastime in the Hidden Leaf Village drew near, and the infamous "last- minute shopping" had reared its ugly head; rampant little boys threw icy snowballs at each other, innocent little girls stared with admiring eyes at their "future playthings," while the older citizens crowded the shops, surviving a mad-dash to get that last thing on their lists! But in all that, one person had managed to actually get through all of that.

Hinata Hyuga, age 15, strolled past the luminous shop windows, glancing at the many objects in the windows. Glimmering jewels connected by thin strands of gold, assortments of hot mouth-watering sweets and food, along with many more.

However, there was only one shop that, to her, made all the others seem insignificant: the pet shop. Hinata watched in awe as adorable pets started to shift their eyesight to her; puppies stood on their hind legs against the window, while tiny kittens staggered curiously to it as she brought her face closer to the window.

'Oh, how cute!' Hinata though as she smiled at the adorable little things. ' I'd really like to have one, but Father keeps reminding that Hanabi is allergic to cat and dog fur....' She stepped away from the window, even making sure to wave a timid goodbye to the pets.

As she walked around the town, she couldn't help but see all of her other friends enveloped in the holiday spirit. Shikamaru was seen lugging Ino's shopping bags that looked like they were full of bricks, while watching her drag him on to the next store; Also, Sasuke, who had finally returned, was seen walking hand-in-hand with Sakura Haruno. Hinata couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the navy-haired shinobi trying to hide a slight rosy blush with his slight arrogance.

Hinata sighed. "They look so happy together at this time of year... which just makes me miss Naruto-kun more since he left. He told me that he had something important to do and that he'd be back as soon as he can... but where could he have possibly gone?"

Meanwhile, deep in the forests of outside of Yukitsune Village, 16 year-old Naruto Uzumaki swiftly and (surprisingly) quietly skittered through the snow-blanketed pine trees. The mission was simple: "Find the polar bear that had been killing all the villages pet arctic foxes and get rid of it." Unfortunately to Naruto, completing this mission was like getting a hedgehog through a balloon factory.

"Oi, this sucks!" Naruto groaned. "Why couldn't the bear be, oh I don't know, EASIER TO SEE?!?!?" As the demon ninja sailed through the trees, still making sure to keep an eye out for his target, he began to think about the main reason of why he took this specific C-rank mission.

–Flashback, about 4 hours earlier–

Ichiraku Ramen, place of the most delicious ramen noodles that you could imagine, and Naruto's 'home away from home,' especially since that's where he was right now. As he sat down slurping up the hot noodles, he started to read over his list aloud.

"Let's see; the Christmas edition of 'Icha-Icha Paradise' for Kakashi-sensei, a jade necklace for Sakura-chan, special justu ninja scrolls for Tenten, one week's vacation to Crescent Moon Island for Shikamaru and Ino, and 'Book of 1000 Exotic Recipes' for Chouji. Yup, that's everyone!" Naruto said as he put the list away in his pocket. As he continued to chow down, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto couldn't help but notice that Hinata was walking by him.

"Oi, Hinata-chan, over here!" Naruto waved.

Looking up from the ½ snowy ground, Miss Hyuga saw him and started to blush. "Oh,h-hello Naruto-kun! I almost didn't see you there...."

"Ha ha, I guess I was pretty quiet, huh!?" Naruto laughed. He really did like Hinata a lot, but he was just too stubborn (and kind of shy)to say it to her face.

"I g-guess you could say that!" Hinata said, letting out a cute giggle. Suddenly, she nervously started to search through her pocket. "I'd almost forgot; I g-got you a Christmas present!"

Naruto looked embarrassed, his whiskered cheeks turning a rosy shade. "Aww, you didn't have to get me anyth-" But he stopped when he suddenly felt something smooth and, considering this cold weather, bizarrely warm in the palm of his hand. And then he saw it– a piece of red obsidian carved into a spiral, gracefully strung by a thin chain of silver.

Naruto was awed. "Hinata... t-this is incredible!" He held it up to the light to get a closer look, whilst the necklace glimmered in the faint sunlight. "Thanks!"

Putting down the pendant, Naruto quickly reached over and gave Hinata his trademark bear hug. Being the bashful girl that she usually is, Hinata's face quickly got redder and redder by the second. Somehow seeing this as a chance to give him a slight peck on the cheek, Hinata slowly started to move forward.

In all this excitement, however, sudden realization hit the knuckle headed ninja silently in the skull: He'd forgotten to get something for his dear Hinata. Trying to think quickly, Naruto's slitted blue eyes wildly looked around for some sort of clue as to what he should get. Suddenly, he saw it- a poster signaling for someone's help. As he squinted closer, he saw printed words way at the bottom- "SPECIAL REWARD WILL BE GIVEN!!!"

'Perfect!' Naruto thought as he jolted up. Unfortunately for Hinata, this sudden jolt had made her fall flat on her face in the powdery snow. "Whoops! Sorry Hinata-chan, I just remembered that I had to go do something really important, so I'll catch you later, ne?"

Hinata, struggling a little to get up, looked slightly saddened. "Oh, but N-Naruto-kun....."

But she couldn't finish her sentence, as Naruto had already started running towards the Leaf Village's entrance. Looking back, Naruto put on his confident smile and shouted back, "Don't worry; I'll be back before you know it!"

–End of flashback–

The snowfall started to pick up as Naruto dismissed this memory. Clenching the familiar amulet, he kept on moving forward.

"Hang tight, Hinata-chan; a promise is a promise!" Naruto exclaimed as he dashed further on into the dark snowy forest.