"Greetings and good evening in the name of his imperial majesty..." Getting my Bob Marley on as I set out on my attempt to write my first fan fic. I am not sure what to expect as I am not generally very good at writing anything but poetry. However I feel very strongly about this pairing, it is a fascination and (probably unhealthy) obsession of mine (I am sure some of you know what I am talking about). I am writing it for me first, you second. Meaning I am going to try and write the same sort of thing that I like to read: romantic fluff with very little ninja-anything.

Well, here it goes... Reviews are appreciated!

P.I. (Post Intro): The story is set after the death of Jiraiya, and before the invasion of Pain. This means that Hinata has not yet confessed to Naruto, I don't want to have to deal with the logistics of that... I am also going to take the liberty of extending the time time between Jiraiya's death and the invasion of Pain. Basically, I am just not going to worry about the impending invasion right now... everyone is just going about their everyday business in Konoha, there is no state of emergency, there is no state of despair... just Konoha, and no Ero-Sennin.

I do not own Naruto or any of the other characters described in the fanfic. I wish I did, as sakura would have been killed off long ago, and Hinata would have taken her spot by Naruto's side.
-x-x-

The blonde's face crinkled into an exaggerated display of confused concentration, making the intense level of focus quite apparent to the silent onlooker who stood behind a tree just outside the clearing. The sunlight streaming in from the blue sky overhead, basked the young orange-clad ninja in a golden glow as he bent over an open scroll, pen sitting motionless (save for a slight and recurring twitch) at the top of the blank page. With an exasperated sigh the ninja flung his head backwards, it landed with a thud on the pillow he had made with his hands on the grass. Now looking towards the sky, the ninja gazed at the white celestial puffs that floated over the woods, over Konoha, and over the entire Land of Fire. I wonder if ero-sennin ever had this much trouble when he was writing...

From behind the tree the young Kunoichi watched the blonde sit back up in place with pen once again in hand, motionless. If only there were some way I could help. Help. Help, damn, I was supposed to help Shino tend to his colonies today, he always needs a hand around mating season, keeping the wild insects away from his breeding nests...

A snap pulled the blonde back to reality. Damn I almost had an idea that time too. He looked in the direction of the noise to see a quick stream of indigo disappear behind a tree fifty feet into the woods, in the direction of Konoha. Enemy Ninja...

With a kunai in hand the blonde started slowly towards where he had seen the glimpse of color. Silently, the ninja approached the location in question, discovering a small grassy ridge that ran alongside one of the many paths heading towards the village. On all fours he crawled through the brush and up to the edge of the ridge so that he could get a concealed look down the path; it would be good to have an idea of the enemy's looks when he reported the intrusion to Baa-Chan.

The ninja needed only look a short distance down the road to discover the intruder: a teenage girl with long, raven-color hair that gracefully flowed down her back, over a loose fitting lavender-colored sweatshirt. It all but hid the womanly features lying below; the narrow waist that spread into a cute and squeeze-able butt, before narrowing again to form robust hips and legs. The enemy walked briskly towards the village, clearly very intent on carry out whatever plot they had devised to catch the Leaf off-guard in their seemingly-endless period of weakness and repair. The enemy carried no visible weapons, though looks can be deceiving. The enemy appeared to be alone, though thats not a reliable predictor of power. The enemy looks an awful lot like... Hinata?

That blue streak, was it her in the woods? What was Hinata doing in the woo- wait, was she watching me write? Curiosity piqued, the blonde stood up and stepped over the ridge onto the path, and with feet falling lightly on the padded dirt, slowly began following the kunoichi.

Am I being followed? Sensing a slight presence she gently tipped her head to the left, hoping to steal a quick peek of the road behind her. The blonde ninja she had just been watching from the trees was now slinking along the side of the path where she had just been walking, still partially concealed by the overhanging branches. Right away her eyes met his, deep blue against soft purple. Deep blue won out, and the soft purple quickly darted straight ahead, as if pretending they had never looked back to begin with. Her heart quickened as the realization hit her: He must have seen me watching him.

The blonde watched the girls hands slap stiffly to her sides as her pace suddenly quickened. With a start the blonde broke into a run and chased after the fleeing girl. "Oy! Hinata, wait up!"

The kunoichi's feet halted immediately as a rosy pink blush flooded her pale cheeks. She was barely able to stay on her feet, managing to fight off the impending faint that would have landed her in the approaching blondes' arms. Is he angry with me?

"Ne, Hinata, what were you doing back there in the woods?

"Ano...", she looked down at her index fingers which were lightly tapping against each other, "Ano... I was watching you write... gomen...gomen nasai". The girl apologized before blurting out, "But I wanted to help!". Her mouth closed with a little 'eep' and she looked back down at her hands.

"I dont think its something you could have helped with anyways", he sighed as a slight shadow spread across his face. It was the truth, though he was also trying to mask his surprise at what the girl standing before him had just said. Why does she want to help me?

Not sure whether to push for information, Hinata reluctantly whispered, "Ano... what were you writing... Naruto-kun?"

He sighed and locked his hands behind his head, looking towards the sky. A sheet of imposing grey clouds was slowly crawling across the blue expanse from the east. "Its nothing".

Her eyes dropped to the dirt beneath her feet. A small pebble rested just in front of her foot, she focused all of her attention and strength on its matte round edges. Naruto-kun, I'm sorry... I want to help so badly. It's grey body was speckled with small black dots, how insignificant it must seen to the rest of the world. How insignificant I must seem to him. She nudged the stone a little with her foot. "Ano... I think if you talked to me about it, I... I could help".

"Huh?" He smiled and ruffled the hair on the back of his head. An innocent laugh escaped from his chest. "Truth is, I don't know what I was writing yet. Or rather, I don't know what I am going to write. I just figured, you know because Ero-sennin was always writing, maybe I should give it a try too!".

She looked up at the young man, his blue eyes shining so brightly, his smile unaffected by all of the grief and hatred in the world. I love you Naruto-kun. "I... I think it is a very good idea".

"Thank you Hinata! You were right, you were a huge help. Its always good to have people like you around!". He watched the side of her lips curve up and her eyes flash at the compliment. Her apparent happiness was contagious, it radiated off of her being. A strange feeling lit at the pit of his stomach, a fluttering heaviness, a warmth that connected his heart and his mind in a euphoric bliss. A stupid grin that he had no control over plastered itself across his face. What is this feeling?

Did he really just say he liked having me around?! The need for physical contact was overwhelming, she needed to reach out and hug the boy with the childish grin that was standing in front of her, the burning pillar of sunshine and determination and kindness.

She caught herself, maybe it was better not to push her luck and ruin the moment. A small bead of water appeared on her cheek and waltzed around her lips before collecting on her chin. Her head tilted upwards, another drop hit her forehead, and another the tip of her nose. The blue sky had been almost entirely blanketed by the grey mass of clouds, a light sprinkle was tickling the grass and trees around the path, a warning of a harder rain to come.

"We are pretty far away from town, lets find shelter in the woods somewhere." The blonde took her hand and pulled her off into the woods, still quite curious about the new sensation he had felt in his chest.

Hinata followed, hoping her face wasn't as pink as it felt.