Daen: Back to fanfics I see?

James: I wanted to try something new so I chose to do a Naruhina fic.

Edan: Hey… cool, fan fiction… mind if I hang out and help?

Daen: What the… Edan… no, you cannot stay… It's crowded enough with James here.

James: Sure, you can stay Edan… and if Daen doesn't shut up then you can take his place.

Edan: Cool.

Daen: -grumble grumble-

James: Anyway… I don't own Naruto but if I did I'd definitely put a scene just like this into one of the episodes… but such is life. Enjoy.

The full moon shone brightly over Konoha. The night was warm and the sky was clear. A breeze drifted in from the east, carrying with it the smells of cherry blossoms, tiger lilies and lotus flowers; but not all was peaceful this night. A distant cry could be heard coming from the Forest of Death, a cursed forest full of foul beasts and ancient flora. The cry was one of battle, a focusing scream containing all of the rage, frustration, and determination of a young, blond boy dressed all in orange.

That boy is Naruto, the young "knuckle-head ninja" of Konohagakure. This night and many others before, he's been coming to this befouled forest to train. Always sick of being second best to his friend Sasuke, Naruto has been training hard in order to finally defeat his long time ally and rival. But he was not the only one training in this forest tonight. Not far, a young girl trained in the water of a large stream, her faint grunts of effort drowned by the sound of the rushing waterfall nearby. She was a young, pale girl named Hinata and, like Naruto, she too was tired of being looked down upon.

Throughout her life, young Hinata had been forced to face her family's noble name. She was never able to live up to it, though. Always shy and timid, she had never been a great fighter and was always a source of disappointment to her father. But one thing always kept her going.

For quite some time now, she has watched another who, like her, had always been a failure. But he never gave up. His determination was absolute and it was his example that brought her out here tonight. He has given her many things: hope, courage, determination. And so she trains, for him. The boy, of course, is Naruto, the same knuckle-headed ninja training only a few dozen yards away.

Faster and faster she spun, dodged, and struck against the current of the water, her clothes lying on the shore, discarded. Her pale skin glistened in the light of the moon. She didn't care anymore if anyone saw her, or what they thought of her. Her only thought was to become stronger, for him. With every scream of determination she heard from Naruto her own determination grew.

Suddenly, a very different cry broke the calmness of the forest and a flock of nocturnal birds roosting nearby took flight and vanished into the starry sky. It was Naruto; but instead of the now familiar battle cry, this new cry was one of great pain and fear. Hinata froze, her heart thudding in her chest.

Another scream of pain split the air and now she could hear a terrible snarling coming from where Naruto was training. The ice cold hand of fear gripped her pounding heart as she realized what must be happening. Naruto was in pain and dire peril. In a flash, Hinata was off, not even stopping to grab her clothes or weapons as she sprinted over the roots of the great trees in the forest. Seconds felt like eternity as she listened in horror to the snarling and growling of what she realized must have been many many wolves. Her suspicions were confirmed as she came to the clearing in which Naruto trained.

There, standing in the center was her beloved, four of his shadow clones standing beside him. He was bleeding and his left arm hung limp at his side. Wolves surrounded him on all sides. Several lunged forward, going for the kill, but Naruto and his clones managed to hold them off, but at a great cost. Now his clones were gone and Naruto was down, his chakra completely drained. Hinata knew that if she didn't do something fast, her idol would become dog chow. So without a single thought to her own safety she jumped into the middle of the fray, standing protectively over her Naruto. It was only then that she saw just how large and vicious the wolves really were. Each was as tall as she was, if not bigger and each sported long, curved claws and sharp teeth. For a moment the wolves were taken aback at the arrival of the newcomer. But they were hungry and they had the strength of numbers to boost their confidence. All at once they rushed in for the kill, not even noticing the veins popping around the young girl's eyes. Naruto could only watch, his vision blurred by sweat, pain, blood, and exhaustion, as Hinata came to his rescue. He could not see who it was saving him; all he saw was a vision of beauty and grace standing over him and bravely facing the dozens of hungry beasts that was surrounding them.

"L-leave Naruto alone!" she shouted as the wolves drew in for the kill. Naruto's heart skipped a beat as he watched them come. He was certain that both he and the angelic girl were as good as dead and he cursed his body for failing him. But just as he began to lose hope, just as the wolves were about to rip the girl to pieces, she exploded into action. Her moves were grace personified and with her bare hands she swatted the wolves away. Naruto's heart beat quickens as he watched the girl, her hands darting this way and that, appearing to be everywhere at once. He watched as she spun and twisted and, for the most brief of instants, her pale white eyes met his and his heart stopped cold. Naruto tried hard to remain concious, wanting to watch the silver-eyed goddess before him and bask in her brilliance, but his wounds proved to be too much and his last thought as his consciousness slipped away was,

"I've never seen so much determination in those eyes before..."

Hinata's heart skipped a beat as her eyes met Naruto's, as it always did. But this was not the time to feel embarrassed as she well knew. Her fight was not yet over. More wolves came and she soon found herself hard pressed to repel them. Faster and faster she spun and struck, her chakra pouring from her hands to cut like blades into the beasts' hides. On and on they came and more and more fell to her gentle yet deadly touch. Soon those that were left turned and ran, their hunger forgotten in their fear of the small, fearsome girl.

The battle was finally over. Relief stole the strength from her limbs and the victorious girl slumped beside her inspiration. One look at him though and she knew that she couldn't rest just yet. He was badly beaten and wounded, his chakra was all but gone, and he was unconscious. Wearily, she lifted him and half dragged, half carried him back to the village and to his house to wash and tend his wounds.

She had only just finished bandaging his injured arm when Naruto stirred and, with a groan, opened his eyes.

"What... where... am I?" he mumbled, wincing as he tried to sit up. He heard a gasp from beside him and looked to see Hinata staring down at him, her face etched in worry. Gently, she placed her hand on his chest, forcing him to lie back down.

"D-don't try to move, Naruto... you were badly injured." she said hesitantly. With hands like silk she tended his other cuts and bruises, gently rubbing the soothing medicine she carried with her into his skin. Naruto smiled up at her and chuckled wearily.

"I'll be fine, Hinata... I've been hurt worse than this... I think..." he said, but he didn't sound too sure. Hinata smiled at Naruto's spirit as she concentrated on dressing his wounds and tried hard not to think of his muscled chest, bare before her. But then Naruto said something that made her heart catch in her own chest.

"It was you, right?" he asked, his voice low. "You came to my rescue back in the woods didn't you Hinata?"

Hinata's heart thudded in her throat and all she could manage was a weak, "Mm, hm..."

Naruto was silent for a moment, his face was turned away from her then and she couldn't see his expression but his next words filled her heart with burning joy.

"You were... amazing. You saved me, Hinata... and with such an amazing technique!" Naruto's words were filled with awe and shot straight to Hinata's fragile soul. "You're strong, Hinata... and your technique was beautiful... I wish I could be like that."

Hinata was certain that Naruto could hear her heart pounding out a rhythm against her ribs and she blushed, stammering incoherently at such complimenting.

"Naruto... I... I just...um..." Her feeble try at words ended however when Naruto looked at her with that smile of his. She watched as he opened his mouth to speak and waited with baited breath for the words she only ever dreamed he would say. But instead what she got was, "I was wondering though... why you are naked?"

It was then that Hinata realized that she had left all her clothes on the bank of the stream. With all the excitement she had forgotten that she was still naked. And now, here was Naruto seeing her in all her glory.

"Um... I... and... Um..." she muttered, her face turning a bright and violent red. Naruto grew concerned and reached for her forehead, to check her temperature.

"Hinata? Are you o-" he began to say but never got to finish as Hinata let out a mighty shriek and bolted from the room in tears. With a wince of pain, he sat up called out for her to wait but like lightning she was gone.

Naruto sat in silence for several moments, his mind racing and his thought centered on one single subject: Hinata. Never before had he noticed how beautiful she was, and as he thought about her he felt his heart grow warm and knew that Sakura would never seem so pretty again.

Daen: Dude, ni-

Edan: -interrupting- Dude! Niiiiice!!!

Daen: … -glare- It was ok, I guess.

James: Thanks guys… hey, you… person who reads this… tell me what you thought. And don't be afraid to say it needs work or tell me what I did wrong to the characters.

Edan: Just remember though that this is AU…

Daen: Yeah… basically, this is after Hinata's little moonlit dance by the waterfall but Naruto is no where near as powerful as he should be…

Edan: Yeah but now Naruto actually sees her naked and recognizes her... and I bet he is starting to realize that it was her then too… I wonder how Hinata will take it. Y'know considering that the world's biggest loudmouth just saw her naked… I bet her dad won't like this…

James: Ok, dunno if this is going to be a one-shot or if it will expand or not… it might. But for now I will label it a one-shot.