Disclaimer: I own neither Avatar nor Naruto nor any of their characters.

Hinata stood bent over with her hands on her knees, panting from the exertion. In front of her, a nearly destroyed wooden post was about to fall over, full of numerous holes and pieces chipped off. Sweat poured from Hinata's brow, a testimony to her hard training.

It's still not enough. I need to get even stronger.

With that thought in mind, the girl went back to her flurry of palm strikes against her wooden opponent, putting more effort and power in each strike though her body protested every movement made. With one final, devastating strike, the kunoichi slashed the wooden post in half. The top of the post keeled over and just before it hit the ground, Hinata threw three shurikens and one kunai at the log. The pieces of sharpened metal flew like the wind, burying each metal tip into the middle of a previously made hole.

Her goal accomplished, the exhausted girl dropped to the ground in an instant, relishing in the moment of just laying in the grass and doing nothing after hours of doing much. Her body was wracked in sweat. Briefly, she debated on removing her heavy sweater, but finally decided against it. Taking it off would leave her feeling vulnerable, exposed and self-conscious.

Hinata sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the gentle breeze of the wind brushing against her lavender hair. Dimly, she thought of Naruto. She had been so excited when he had returned to Konoha. It seemed like he had only just come home when he was sent back out on a mission.

Naruto-kun... I hope he's alright.

The young girl's thoughts then returned to her own troubles. She had grown in the two years since the Chuunin Exams, yes, but she still couldn't muster up the courage of talking to Naruto without stuttering or blushing like crazy. And even though everyone assured her that she had grown stronger, she still felt like a weak little girl when forced into the spotlight of prodigies like her cousin, Neji. It was because of that reason that she trained so hard, pushing herself past her limits time and time again.

In her efforts to prove herself a capable ninja of Konoha, Hinata had also taken to reading as many jutsu scrolls as she could get her hands on. Recently, she had obtained her clan's Summoning jutsu scroll. The scroll, which could only be opened with the blood of a Hyuga, lay sealed inside of her book, waiting to be released.

Deciding that she had spent enough time laying around, Hinata pushed herself to her feet and stretched. With a long sigh, she took out her book and released the Summoning scroll inside. Wincing slightly, she bit down on her finger to draw blood. Swiping the blood across the paper, the scroll unraveled to reveal a series of marking and seals.

Yosh! Hinata thought. I can do this!

With practiced motions, Hinata made the necessary seals for the Summoning, unaware at first that she had accidentally messed up on a few of them in her haste and nervousness. Only after she had completed the seals did she realize her mistake.

Oh no!

Her realization came to late and she was blown backwards by a small explosion. Shakily, she lifted her head to see a large amount of smoke. Coughing lightly, Hinata rose to her feet and let her head drop in shame.

I guess I'm still not good enough.

Then she heard the muffled sound of someone groaning.

Eep!

The smoke cleared to reveal a young man, probably close to her own age, in green and brown robes, holding his head. His somewhat short, shaggy, raven black hair stuck up on the edges at the front, almost like it was naturally spiky. Strapped to his back was what looked like a single sword, though her sharp eyes were just barely able to make out a distinctive slit running down the middle of the hilt. He wasn't overly tall, maybe about 5'9" or so, but he had a presence that demanded respect, like a general or a king. It was like an aura of royalty that surrounded the man completely, despite his modest looking clothes or the scowl that covered his face.

His face.

She didn't notice it at first. He had been standing with his side towards her so she only saw one side of him. That side was smooth and without blemish. It reminded her of Sasuke in a way. They both had that same kind of face that was undoubtedly popular with women. The one eye of his that she could see was a bright shade of gold that seemed to shine with a spark of intensity that was absent in Sasuke's indifferent and cold one's. Though the scowls were definitely similar. Still, the man was very good looking and, despite herself, Hinata found herself blushing at the way his golden eye locked onto her own.

The man had apparently noticed Hinata for the first time, and turned to face her fully. In doing so, Hinata finally got a good look at the other side of the man's face.

Or, at least, what remained of it.

Gasping loudly, Hinata took several steps back in fright. It looked like the man had been in an accident with fire, and a pretty bad one at that. The whole left side of his face looked like it had been melted away in the blast. An angry looking scar inn the shape of a comet was all that remained. It didn't look like a recent wound, either. The scar was faded and seemed like it had settled a long time ago. With sadness Hinata realized that he must have gotten that scar when he was really young, at least a few years ago.

I wonder if he can still see out of that eye?

However, a closer look revealed something even more horrible. The scar was limited to only one area. While she wasn't an expert in burns or explosions, a blast that terrible shouldn't seem so precise. It was almost as if someone deliberately burned the boy.

That can't be right! Who would be so horrible to burn someone so young!

Unknown to Hinata, the man's scowl deepened even further when he saw her reaction to his scar, thinking that she was reacting to his hideous face instead. His piercing eyes bore into her own pupil-less eyes as he thought back on what had happened.

Zuko had been obediently serving customers in the teashop where he and his Uncle had been employed back in Ba Sing Se, only blowing up at customers every once and a while. He had just finished his shift and had gone to the little apartment he and his uncle shared to change and strap his swords to his back. Then, he set off into the city to have some time to himself. Eventually, he found himself in a secluded alley where he closed his eyes and leaned against one of the walls for support. He started to think back on all of his past mistakes, all his failures.

In the middle of his brooding, he felt something strange pricking at his senses. Opening his eyes, he saw strange markings forming on one of the walls near him. Moving closer to get a better look, Zuko touched the markings and instantly experienced a feeling of severe displacement. His mind felt like it was spinning and his body felt like it was being torn apart, and then reassembled piece by piece by agonizing piece. Vaguely, he remembered fainting several times.

When he finally came to and regained his bearings, he found himself in the middle of a clearing being stared at by some weird girl with purple hair. Purple hair? Yes, purple hair. This girl is weird. Turning to face her, he was about to ask her what was going on when she gasped at his scar and backed away.

Normally, Zuko would brush off such a behavior. After over three years, he was used to the usual looks of horror and disgust. He didn't care. His scar may have been his greatest shame, but he was still a Prince of the Fire Nation. He still had his pride and he'd be damned if he were to try and hide his mark out of shame. Besides, horror and disgust were fine by him. It's not like he gave a damn about some peasant's opinions about him. No, the only thing he couldn't stand was pity. As if he needed the sympathies of some backwater country folk. He was a Prince! Albeit, a banished one, but still a Prince nonetheless.

So while he normally wouldn't have given much thought to the girl's blatant display of horror towards his facial disfigurement, Zuko was in a bad mood. That is, he was in a worse mood than usual. He marched over to the girl with confident steps and glared down at her.

"What do you think you're staring at?" he growled.

Jumping at the sound of gruff voice and his suddenly close proximity, Hinata panicked and did what any rational girl would do in such a situation. She screamed and attacked.

With instinctive movements, she activated her Byakugan and attacked his chakra points, completely disregarding the strange features surrounding his chakra in her fear and rush. In her haste, she also happened to attack the pressure points in his arms and legs, causing his hands to fall limp at his sides and for him to fall over onto the ground on his face with a heavy thud as he was rendered completely immobile.

The boy was not happy.

"What the? How dare you, peasant! Do you have any idea who I am? Fix this immediately!"

Realizing what she had done, Hinata tried to console the irate young man. "I'm s-s-sorry!" she apologized. "I-I-I didn't mean to hurt you!"

Her apologies fell upon deaf ears. "You think I care about that? Just fix this you wench!"

Hinata bowed her head in shame. "I can't."

The man fixed her with a glare. "You can't? What do you mean you can't!? You're the one who did this to me... so fix it!"

The girl was near tears from Zuko's yelling. "I'm s-sorry. It s-s-should go away in a f-f-few hours."

That was not what Zuko wanted to hear. "WHAT!? You expect me to stay like this for a few hours! Don't mess with me, girl. I demand you fix this NOW."

The man continued to yell and shout at the poor girl when Neji appeared. "What's going on here? Hinata-sama, who is this man?"

"I don't know." Hinata was ashamed that she had forgotten her matters and hadn't introduced herself first. "My name is Hinata Hyuga. It's nice to meet you," she greeted, bowing low.

The man seemed taken back. "Huh? What the hell are you doing? Never mind that, just FIX THIS!"

After enduring the man's constant yelling and demands, Hinata was ready to cry. Shrinking down into her shirt, she continued to mumble apologies. Neji, not liking how this stranger was treating his cousin, glared. In an instant he closed the distant between himself and the fallen man. Taking out a kunai, he grabbed a hold of the Zuko's hair and lifted the knife to his neck. "I suggest you cease your insults now, trespasser, unless you wish to leave this life permanently." The man glared at Neji, but shut his mouth. "Hinata-sama," Neji called.

"H-hai!" replied the girl.

Neji lifted the immobile man and hefted him over his shoulders. "Come on. We're taking this man to see the Hokage."

"O-Of course, Neji-san."

Neji took one last look at the glaring man strapped to his back. "She can decide on his fate."

Author's Notes:

Well, this should be interesting, a Zuko x Hinata pair. Both the eldest children of a powerful line, both trying desperately to prove themselves, and both disappointments in their father's eyes.

For all the Naruto x Hinata fans, don't fret too much. Hinata is still going to be completely infatuated with him for a long time. It takes more than a sudden appearance to shake her admiration after all. To be honest though, I have a feeling that Kishimoto is either going to have Naruto end up with Sakura (hinted to several times in the manga and the anime when his mom appears), or he's gonna end it without any conclusive pairings. Just a feeling.

Still, this should be an interesting little love pentagram. Zuko in love with Hinata who's in love with Naruto who's in love with Sakura, who's in love with Sasuke who hates everyone. It won't be immediate though. Zuko is not the type to just fall for someone right away, I think. Ah well, it's something different I hope.

I see a lot of Naruto fics all the time and there's nothing wrong with that, I just find it redundant sometimes. Especially when he ends up becoming like a god in the end or the beginning or even somewhere in the middle. He's powerful, sure, but not that powerful, not on the level of surpassing a god. Besides that, I like to see something different every now and then. Scoping out strange pairings that could work and all has always been appealing to me for some reason. Not too sure why, but ah well.

Despite the rant, I hope you guys do enjoy this fic. I'll try to be consistent with updates and all, but life is unexpected. I'll try not to keep the wait to long though.

Let me know what you think with a review. I like to read them and see what you guys think. I apologize beforehand if the pairing offends the diehard
Naruto x Hinata fans, but try to keep an open mind. I hope you enjoy it!