(A/N)Okay here goes, this is my first fanfic so please review and tell me what you think!

Also quick disclaimer, I don't own Naruto in any way. I'm just a humble Aussie telling a tale.

Chapter 1: Identity

Hinata ran.

Her sandals barely touched the grass as she streaked across the open plain at top speed. The young Chuunin ducked and weaved as she sped towards the only cover in sight; a patch of trees, the only break in the otherwise empty horizon line.

Hinata mentally berated herself for finding herself in this position as a senbon needle grazed her cheek, numbing the left side of her face. How had things gone so badly in the first place? It was supposed to be a simple mission. Al l she had to do was deliver a sealing scroll to the village hidden in the Grass, but before she could even get there, she was attacked by three rogue ninja. And to make matters worse, it was her first solo mission as a Chuunin, that meant no back-up. Hinata was on her own.

The Leaf Chuunin came to a stop, something was definitely wrong. The veins around her eyes bulged as she turned her Byakugan on the three shinobi behind her. Hinata began to worry, the rogue ninja had slowed to a casual walk and were talking freely amongst themselves. The masked men wore cloaks coloured with tall bars of camouflage green, making it seem as though they were part of the landscape. Hinata's Byakugan was the only thing that had alerted her to their presence in the beginning, such was the skill of the rogue ninja chasing her.

What are you up to? Wait . . . what's. . . going on?

The Hyuuga heiress staggered and lost her footing, landing on her behind with a soft thump. The numbness had spread from her cheek to the rest of her body, Hinata's arms dropped as she began to lose control of her motor functions. She fumbled awkwardly for one of her antidote jars, but only succeeded in falling over completely. Rolling over, Hinata tried to push herself back up, but only succeeded in using up what was left of her strength as her pursuers slowly closed the gap between them. The raven haired kunoichi looked up at the three shadowy figures that had appeared above her, her vision blurred as one of the shinobi drew a kunai and knelt down beside her. Hinata flinched as the cold steel was pressed to her throat, sharp enough to draw blood.

This is it then . . . I'm so sorry . . . Naruto.

The last thing Hinata saw before the darkness of unconsciousness was a blue orb of chakra striking the rogue ninja above her.

"Rasengan!"

The pair of shinobi picked up their pace as they saw the young kunoichi fall. The elder prepared a quick set of hand signs and launched himself into the air, arms stretched downwards, palms parallel to the ground.

"Summoning jutsu!"

A large toad appeared in a puff of smoke and lunged forward with the old shinobi on it's back, speeding towards the helpless kunoichi. The younger dropped to all fours, his canines lengthening into fangs and pupils thinning as red chakra began to form around his racing body.

The younger shinobi was still twenty metres away when he saw the flash of a steel blade pressed up against the neck of the paralyzed girl. The blond ninja launched himself at the group of enemy shinobi. He threw his right arm back and began to focus chakra in his hand. With his other he made a hand sign and a shadow clone appeared next to his right hand, adding its own chakra to the steadily growing orb. The rogue ninja looked up just in time to take the concentrated ball of pure energy directly in the face.

"Rasengan!"

The blue orb exploded, sending the cloaked ninja spinning across the field to crash into the ground over fifty metres away. The second rogue ninja was crushed when the giant toad landed directly on top of him, the last tried to run until something slammed into his back and hammered him into the ground. The stunned shinobi pushed himself up, only to have a hand clamp over his throat. He coughed up blood as he was lifted of the ground by the blond shinobi, he tensed as the kid drew back his arm and prepared to punch him.

"NARUTO! THAT'S ENOUGH!"

Naruto turned to face his sensei, the fire drained from his blue eyes and he dropped the enemy ninja.

"Aw calm down Jiraiya sensei, I was only showing him who's boss."

He gave the groveling ninja a look just to emphasize his point.

The old man sighed and crouched before the unconscious kunoichi.

"Naruto, you might want to take a look at this young girl, she looks like a member of the Hyuuga clan."

"Hmmm."

Naruto put his hand to his head as he tried to pick the identity of the kunoichi laid out in front of him.

"Looks familiar. . ."

Jiraiya pulled the scroll from his back and let it drop to the ground before releasing his summoning jutsu, the toad next to him disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"I've got it!"

Jiraiya looked back to the blond shinobi.

"Got what?"

Naruto jumped up and pointed a finger at the girl at his feet.

"Its Hinata!"

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, focusing on keeping her breathing at the same rate as she regained consciousness.

Damn it, still can't . . . move.

She could hear voices behind her and focussed on them, her Byakugan was still disabled by the poison that had laced the senbon and she was forced to wait until she could move before she could attempt her escape.

"Jeez pervy sage, don't you ever stop writing those dumb books? It's not like anyone actually buys them. Well apart from Kakashi sensei that is."

"You just don't appreciate good literature kid, just you wait, one day you'll be begging me to write more books just so you can keep reading them. Eh, Naruto."

Naruto?

Hinata felt herself grow hot.

It can't be him, Naruto hasn't been seen for over two years. Not since . . .

She had to find out either way, but how? She couldn't even move let alone speak to get their attention.

"Ahem."

The tiny squeak of a cough was the best she could manage, but to the trained ears of a shinobi, it was as clear as a shriek in an empty room. Hinata didn't have to wait long before her vision was obscured by the silhouette of a face.

"Hinata?"

The Leaf kunoichi blinked as the face gained more clarity; hair turned blond, eyes became blue and whisker marks appeared on the cheeks of the shinobi leaning over her.

"Naruto?"

The blond ninja smiled. Hinata blushed a deep red when she noticed how close their faces were, her lips, only thirty centimetres from his . . .

(A/N) Such suspense! XD seriously though, please give your thoughts.