Gray rain clouds obscured the sun and a gentle downpour darkened the sky over Konoha. Ai loved this weather. He didn't know why, he just did. And at the moment, it fit his mood. He slowly made his way down the street, going nowhere in particular. He had no reason to be unhappy. Akatsuki had been defeted and the world had returned to a fairly peaceful state. Or at least as peaceful as it could be with opposing nations of shinobi. Konoha's shinobi had continued to take missions, and Ai had made quite a lot of ryo with the last one he had completed. He was a chunin, and was very busy most of the time with missions and paperwork, but at the moment, he had nothing to do. So he was wandering the streets, paying no attention to the rain , lost in thought.

She was all he could think about, all he could ever think about. Ever since they were in the academy, he had loved her. His thoughts were always one her, even when he was on a mission. What was she doing? Was she happy? Was she sad? These questions were always running through his head. He wanted nothing more than to have her return his feelings; unrequited love was hell. But it would never be. She loved someone else. Ai saw how she looked at him, and he knew he was out of luck. She was always staring at him, and whenever she was near him, she would always get nervous and loose her ability to speak correctly. It was heartbreaking.

Ai passed shop after shop, house after house, lost in his misery. Why was he so miserable? Naruto was with Sakura now. They had been together since the last fight against Akatsuki, so he was out of the way. But why was he so unhappy about it? Was it because she was unhappy about it? Or was it because she still loved Naruto, even though he was with Sakura? Either way, he was depressed.

Ai came to the training grounds. He could see the wooden posts used as shuriken practice. He came to a stop as he saw the person sitting at the base of one of the posts. It was her.

"Hinata!" he cried as he walked over to her. At the sound of her name, Hinata Hyuga looked up with tears in her pale eyes.

"A-Ai-kun, what are you doing out here in the rain?" she asked, quickly wiping the tears from her eyes and rising to her feet.

"I should ask you the same thing," he said. The sight of her always left him breathless. Her long, raven hair fell quietly around her shoulders, the smell of lavender wafting off it. And her eyes! Oh, how he could loose himself in them if he wasn't careful. "You shouldn't be out here in this weather, you'll get sick."

"I-I'm fine. I just came out here to clear my head," she said.

"Naruto, right?" but he didn't have to ask.

"Y-yes," she answered. Her timid side had always been one of her most attractive qualities, at least for him. She was so cute, even when she was upset. And her pain pained him more than any kunai could. "I'm happy, really I am. I've never seen Naruto-kun so happy. It's just, it's just..." she said as new tears formed in her eyes.

Ai wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her, to never let her go, but he couldn't. "It's okay Hinata, you really care for him and it's normal that you're upset that him and Sakura are together. The fact that you're happy for him is very admirable."

"Th-thank you Ai-kun," she said with a small smile that warmed his heart. He smiled back as a small ray of sunshine peeked out from the clouds. The rain had stopped and the clouds were starting to disperse. Ai sat down against one of the posts and looked up at the sky. The sun was going down and soon it would be night. Hinata sat down beside him and looked up at the sky as well.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Ai asked. "There's something about a sunset that is truely marvelous. The way the sky turns from blue to red then to purple, it's incredible."

"Y-yes, it is." she replied.

They stayed like that for a long time, niether saying very much. Finally when the sun had completely gone down and the stars and moon shone in thier full glory, Hinata spoke up.

"Ai-kun, th-thank you for keeping me company, I feel much better now, about Naruto-kun I mean."

"It was no problem, Hinata. What else are friends for?" he replied with a smile.

"You are a good friend Ai," she said. She let out a big yawn and placed her head on Ai's shoulder. His heart skipped a beat as the smell of lavender reached his nose.

"H-Hinata..." he tried to say, but she was already asleep. Without waking her, Ai slowely picked her up and began walking her home. He reached the Hyuga house in no time and leaped up to her bedroom window. He set her down on her bed and pulled the blanket up over her. As he knelt there, inches from her face, the scent once again overpowered him and he leaned in closer. She was so beautiful, he couldn't stand it, and the moonlight only made her more beautiful. He leaned in closer and closer, till thier lips were almost touching, then he stopped. No matter how much he wanted to kiss her at that moment, he knew he couldn't. She loved Naruto, and if he did what he wanted to, it would only ruin what he already had with her.

Standing back up and making his way to the window, he turned back and looked at her. She was the most beautiful thing in the world, and he didn't care who knew it.

"I love you Hinata," he said, and climbed out the window.

"I love you too, Naruto," she replied, never waking.

Feeling worse than ever, Ai jumped down from her window and began walking home.

A/N: the first chapter of my first fanfic

its not as long as i would have liked, but i like how it turned out, sets the mood for the rest of the story

plz review, i thrive on them, if i dont get reviews, i feel that nobody is reading and i wont write more and that makes me a very sad panda