All that could be heard was the sounds of cries. The air was thick with smoke; fires were blazing the nearby villages. Then, there was an explosion. Many were caught in the blast, but many others survived and fled. They kept running away, hearing the desperate pleas of help from their companions who were stuck treating the wounded, or fighting off the enemy. The youth in front landed on a thick branch of a tree and signaled for the girl behind him to stop. They hid amongst the shadows, trying to catch their breath.

"I-I think were s-safe here—"

"Look out!" She pushed him out of the way from a barrage of arrows. They both fell to the floor, the girls back heavily wounded, blood gushing out of all the cuts. He reached out and held her until they hit the ground, she on top of him, her face contorting in pain. Her pale face had become even paler from the amount of blood she's lost during the entire thing.

"Hinata!" He tried to pull the weapons out, but that was rather difficult to do, seeing as one of his arms was broken. He glared around the surroundings, looking for the ones responsible for her injuries. They were standing on the trees, and even though they were wearing masks, you could still hear their laughing and see their sneers.

"Aww… his girlfriends all cut up. What's he going to do about it?" They laughed maniacally, failing to notice the changes on his face. The anger and pain cloaked his consciousness, and he began to run on raw instinct.

"D-Don't d-do it Naruto!" She pleaded, blood still erupting from the wounds and running down her mouth and chin, a sure sign of internal injuries as well. She tried to stand up, trying to ignore the pain shooting up from her leg.

"Hinata, don't! Your injuries..!"

"It's nothing..!" The men finally stopped laughing and they each pulled out an arrow, pointing them at the teens.

"Tch. Still breathing, huh? Not for long!" One group of them shot the arrows. She pulled out her sword and tried to deflect the attacks, but some still managed to penetrate her defenses. She gasped in pain and hit the floor. She began to cough up blood, and again she tried to get up. He looked on, a pained look in his eyes. He tried to plead with her, but it was no use.

"I'm sorry, but I can't back down. I want to protect you, even if it costs me my life." She gave his a weak smile before getting ready for another attack. "And… because I don't want to live if you die." She got into her signature stance and the men attacked, some in every direction. The next few moments went by so quickly, all you could see was a flurry of white. They lunged at her. She used her sword to deflect all of the attacks. She hit them in all the vital points in their body and then, just as quickly as it had started, it ended. They all fell to the floor, dead, half-dead, or unconscious. She closed her eyes and smiled one last time before her body gave out and she fell to the ground. Before she hit the ground however, he managed to catch her. All of the pain and anger and sadness finally burst through, forming tears and falling, mingling with the blood on his cheeks.

"…Why…?" He said quietly.

"…because… I always… loved… you…" He froze. The shock and regret flowed into his being as held on to the girl. Something hit his nose. He looked up and saw the beginning of rain. As the rain fell, so did the tears. He shifted her cold body onto his other shoulder and brushed away her bangs. Thanks to the rain, the blood was starting to wash away, and for the first time in all the years that he's known her, he noticed how beautiful she was.

'When did she change so much?' He thought as the rain came down harder than before, showing him all of the cuts she had on her face and hands, not to mention the ones on the rest of her body. He didn't know how long it was, but a medical team with his friends Sakura and Ino in the lead rushed to them. Sakura gasped when she saw the injuries her friend had and began to do an immediate medical response on her.

"Ino, go help Naruto." She motioned for her to go. He shook his head, worry still etched in his face.

"Please… just help Hinata…" He pleaded to Ino. She saw his expression and nodded, shifting to face the other girl. Sakura wiped the sweat off of her forehead and shook her head in distress.

"It's no use… She's lost too much blood. Someone go and inform Lady Tsunade!" She yelled at one of the medics. They ran off to do as she had told him to and Sakura began to bandage up Hinata with Ino's help. Carefully, they shifted Hinata onto a stretcher and Naruto followed behind, Sakura helping him around. Soon, they arrived at the hospital. Tsunade, her assistant Shizune, and Sakura rushed into the emergency room, Hinata right in front. Ino and Naruto stayed outside, Ino being the only person there that could keep Naruto calm enough to not barge in there and start yelling out threats if they didn't save her. After what seemed like hours, Tsunade and Sakura walked out to go and talk to him. One look at their face was all Naruto needed to know that it was looking grim.

"If she doesn't get a transfusion soon, she will die due to the lack of red blood cells." She crossed her arms over her chest, clearly worried about the girl as well.

"Isn't there anything we could do?"

"One way. We need to have a blood transfusion, but almost all for the reserved blood is already being used on other patients. And everyone else who shares her blood type is either away or cleaning up after the fight last night."

"Then… use my blood."

"No." Sakura vetoed the thought.

"Why not?!" He shot at her, the wounded girl still in his mind.

"Because you may die if we do it incorrectly." She crossed her arms and frowned.

"Then do it correctly!" He pleaded, his gaze going back to Tsunade.

"No!"

"ENOUGH!" Tsunade stepped in and glared at her apprentice. "Go tell Shizune to get another bed in there for him. Now!" Sakura sped off. She was terrified of her teacher when she was angry. Tsunade smirked and said in a calm tone,

"You like her, don't you?"

"What are you talking about?" He asked, knowing full well what she was saying.

"You know who I'm talking about. Now spill it."

"I…I don't know... rather, I'm not sure… Right before she passed out, she told me her feelings, but I don't know if I feel the same about her…" Tsunade messed up his hair and started to talk.

"Think of it this way. All she ever wanted was for you to look at her, not just as a warrior, but as a girl too. When you left, I saw an amazing growth in her. And she did it all to show you that she's not a pushover anymore." He chuckled at the thought of the girl he saw today and the girl he knew.

"I saw that myself today."

"Lady Tsunade, everything's ready." Sakura said from the door.

"Well then, let's get started."

Okay, so I came up with this one for my creative writing class, just changed the characters. I hope you like it, and part two is coming out soon, I hope.

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE PLOT!!!

Signing off,

Hinata-chan16~