The moon shone brightly over the Fire Country as the stars twinkled in comparison. Being a cloudless night, the light from the two sources traveled down over Konoha and its surrounding Forest of Death.
Somewhere, in that forest, there lay a small cliff that was full of lush green grass and a lone large stone sat in the middle of it all.
And on that stone sat none other that Hinata Hyuuga, her long hair cascading behind her and the moonlight reflected in her pearl eyes. Her lavender jacket and dark pants were dirty in some spots, but she never took her mind to them.
The only thing her heavenly lavender orbs were focused on was the full moon and the occasionally blinking stars, both clear in the dark velvet sky. As she stared, however, her mind was elsewhere in the depths of her memories.
FLASHBACK
As a 5-year old Hinata sat on an old wooden swing, shiny wet tears fell from her closed eyes to the ground as she tried to muffle her sobs.
Nearby, a boy with blond hair and bright blue eyes heard Hinata's quiet cries. He soon saw her and ran to Hinata.
"Hey, are you alright?" the boy asked the crying girl.
Hinata shook her head vigorously.
The boy frowned and sat next to Hinata on the swing. He put an arm around her and Hinata cried onto his shoulder.
"So what's wrong?" the boy asked, worry clearly being reflected in his blue eyes.
"My father…he keeps pushing me so much…yet I always fail…no matter how hard…I try…" Hinata managed to say.
The boy nodded his head.
"I'm sure you'll be fine!" he reassured.
Hinata only began to cry more.
"He said…that I was a failure…that I wasn't worthy of being heiress…and then…he slapped me…" Hinata said, while failing to hide her falling tears.
The boy then clenched his fists tightly. Hinata lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him with her red puffy eyes.
"That man…he shouldn't be leader if he's even cruel to his own daughter!" he said angrily.
Hinata looked at him with awed eyes.
"I promise you that when I become Hokage I will show your father how a real father is supposed to treat their daughters!" he said, giving Hinata a thumbs-up and a grin.
Hinata gasped happily and hugged the boy tightly.
"Thank you so much…What could I ever do to repay you?" she asked in happiness.
The boy stayed still for a moment, thinking hard. Then he looked at the girl hugging him.
"I want you to keep me a promise." he whispered into her ear.
Hinata pulled away and looked at the blue-eyed boy in the eye.
"What kind of promise?" she whispered back.
"Well, I think I like you…"
Hinata blushed brightly at the sound of these words.
"And I want you to promise me that you'll save your first kiss for me until we grow up." the boy said, his cheeks growing into a soft pink.
Hinata looked at the boy in shock and a bit of happiness. He then lifted his pinky finger towards Hinata, and then looked at her intently.
Hinata looked at the boy's hand, then to his face, and then down to his hand again. Then she raised her hand and linked her pinky finger with his. Hinata looked at the boy's face and smiled as a small blush crept onto her face. The boy smiled back and hugged her.
Hinata let out a small surprised gasp, but still managed to hug him back. Then, she remembered something.
"I want to give this to you." Hinata said, reaching into her pocket and pulling out two necklaces.
The boy looked closely at the objects hanging from the two necklaces. On the end of one necklace was a small silver key. It wasn't the size of an average key, but it glistened more beautifully than anything that the boy had ever seen before.
On the other was a diamond heart locket. In the middle of it was a keyhole big enough for the key on the other necklace to fit in and open. The many diamonds shone brightly as the sun's rays hit their smooth surface.
Hinata looked at the boy's amazed face.
"My mother gave them to me. She said, 'Give one to the one that you care for the most.' So I want you to take one." Hinata said.
The boy looked at the necklaces with his curious blue eyes, trying to decide on which one to take. After a while, he picked the key necklace.
"I'd rather you not wear it often, people might think that you stole it." Hinata advised him.
The boy nodded and put the necklace on, taking care to cover the key part with his white shirt.
"I've got to go now, but remember that I'll always love you." and with that the boy disappeared into the afternoon sun.
It wasn't until the boy was long gone did Hinata realize something as she tightly clutched the diamond locket.
"I don't even know his name…"
END FLASHBACK
Hinata sighed. The reason she fell in love with Naruto was because of his determination to never give up. But she knew her heart belonged to that boy she had met long ago. Likely he had already forgotten about her, it had been ten and a half years ago, after all.
The Hyuuga girl reached into her lavender jacket's pocket and pulled out a silver necklace with a diamond heart locket. It still glistened like it had all those years ago, the stars in the dark sky glittering in comparison. The empty keyhole was clearly visible; it was like the big gap in the middle of her heart.
Hinata sighed once more as tears came to her eyes. That boy…he literally had the key to her heart…
.Elsewhere, close by.
Branches snapped from pressure as a figure weaved through trees in the darkness of the forest. The black forehead protector wavered like two thin flags behind the figure's head. He stayed hidden in the darkness, dodging the moonlight rays that managed to hit the floor of the Forest of Death.
'I don't usually come here, but I feel the need to today.' he thought as he stopped at a row of bushes. His eyes then widened.
'Someone's already there…I'm going to see who it is.' he thought as he emerged through the bushes into the clearing.
His blue eyes widened.
"H…Hinata?"
The girl gasped and spun her head to look at the owner of the voice. Tears were streaming down her slightly pick cheeks as she had quickly hid the necklace by clenching it in her hand tightly.
"N…Naruto-kun?"
The two stared at each other as a soft breeze blew by, a once crying, now shocked, girl whose gaze was stuck on an also shocked boy who was frozen as he stayed slightly crouched on the green grass.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" they asked the other simultaneously.
They then both flinched, but Hinata spoke first.
"I…come here when I just want to be by myself." she said softly. "What about you, Naruto-kun?"
"Same here, but I don't come here very often. Today, I…had and urge to come here." Naruto replied.
"I see…" the girl said as she adverted her gaze to the ground. She closed her eyes and her tears glistened as they fell, making dark spots on the ground.
Naruto slowly stood up and walked to Hinata. He sat next to her on the rock and put his arm around her. Hinata started to cry into Naruto's jacket, for she was too troubled to be embarrassed.
"Hinata, what's-" Naruto cut off.
Hinata slowly looked up and saw Naruto staring at the diamond heart necklace that was now dangling from her open hand. She noticed that Naruto's eyes were glazed and his mouth was hanging open in shock.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata quietly said.
"Hinata, where did you get that necklace?" Naruto immediately asked.
"Oh this? My mother gave it to me when I was about five years old. It's really special to me." Hinata said, grasping the glittering locket in her fist and bringing it to her heart.
Naruto looked at her in amazement as a few tears started to trickle down Hinata's cheeks once more.
'It looked just like her necklace…' Naruto thought in alarm.
"Didn't that locket come with a key charm?"
Hinata looked at Naruto in surprise.
"Yes, how did you know?"
Naruto reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out something that made Hinata widened her eyes and gasp in dismay.
A necklace.
A necklace with silver key charm dangling from it.
"Wh…where did y…you get t…that?" Hinata whispered as her pearl eyes reflected pure shock and surprise.
"A girl, who kept me a promise, gave it to me…" Naruto said.
Hinata looked into Naruto's eyes and saw feeling of sadness and longing. But she was pretty sure that behind all that she saw flickers of hope and love.
'Naruto is reminding me of that boy…and that key charm looks just like the one I gave to him as well…' Hinata thought in amazement.
"What was her name?" she asked.
Naruto closed his eyes.
"I forgot to ask her when I met her…"
Hinata looked at Naruto's troubled face and frowned. Then, she gently took the key charm and put it in the keyhole of her diamond heart locket.
A faint click was heard and Hinata gasped. Naruto opened his eyes and gaped.
They both stayed frozen, like statues with their gaze still on the diamond heart and the silver key inside it.
Hinata slowly came to her senses and gently took the key out of the keyhole. She opened the heart-shaped locket and gaped as she saw what was inside.
Naruto soon came to his own senses and peered into the heart. He saw some words in the diamond locket and gasped as he read them.
Love grows stronger with distance.
In this case,
It's the memories.
Suddenly, the words faded from the metal engraving in the locket. Both Naruto and Hinata looked at the now blank space in confusion. Then, as if answering to a call, new words appeared into the locket. The two began to read these words:
As one's heart feels empty,
A lost one holds the key to happiness.
As the two join together,
Both find happiness and love.
The two stared at the newly etched words for a long time, before turning to face the other. The moon was still shining brightly and the stars were still visible in the silky sky. If you listened very carefully, you would hear the crickets chirping somewhere in the unknown darkness.
"You were that girl/boy…" the two said in a somewhat kind of dazed voice.
They stared into each others eyes; Hinata saw the same brightness in his cerulean eyes that she remembered from long ago, and Naruto saw the same innocence and kindness in her pearl eyes that he knew from ten and a half years ago.
The two slowly leaned their together, until their lips touched. As they did, fireflies burst into the sky like a fountain from the bushes and filled the air with their small yellow lights.
Naruto and Hinata were still in their own world, as Hinata had wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck and Naruto had snaked his arms around her waist. They stayed like that for an eternity before they parted on looked into each other's eyes.
"I hope…you kept...your promise…Hinata." Naruto said as he breathed.
Hinata smiled as she tried to catch her breath.
"Yes, I have Naruto-kun…But unfortunately for you…you didn't."
Naruto raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"Don't tell me you've forgotten about your kiss with Sasuke?" she said.
Naruto widened his eyes. He was about to retort until Hinata cut him off.
"I'm kidding, okay?" she said with a serene smile.
Naruto smiled as his cheeks turned an invisible pink from embarrassment.
"You know I never meant for that to happen, the kid behind me-" a pair of lips cut him off.
Hinata kissed him for a few moments before pulling away and looking at Naruto's surprised face. The Hyuuga girl giggled and turned to look at the fireflies as the boy snapped out of his daze.
The two necklaces remained by the couple on the rock, heart still open revealing words to the world. The two objects glistened and glittered soothingly as the light hit them lightly.
Naruto wrapped on arm around Hinata and Hinata leaned her head onto Naruto's shoulder. The couple looked at the fireflies for a few minutes before Naruto spoke.
"I love you, Hinata."
Hinata turned her head to look at Naruto's sky blue eyes and smiled.
"I love you too, Naruto-kun."
Naruto smiled back and kissed Hinata's forehead. Hinata blushed slightly and snuggled herself into Naruto's body.
The two stayed together like that for the rest of the night, watching the fireflies flit aimlessly in the air as the moon continued to shine brightly and the starts twinkled endlessly in the sky.
Oneshot dedicated to hyuuga's pale rose and celeste57612, for being such great reviewers and friends to me. I hope you two liked it!!
Now you people review please!