Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, but i did think up of the plot ^^

Well, I had this story stored away in a page of one of my many notebooks. Therefore, in order to give myself a short break from my fanfic, I decided to try my hand at this one-shot. Let's see how it goes.

Note 1: I really like how I wrote the beginning. I felt like I was putting a lot of emotion in it and I started to feel like my writing had improved. I was really inspired when I began writing this. But then I got tired (started writing this late at night) so I went to bed. Many days later I decided to write again (also at night . ) so I'm worried I lost the inspiration and initial plot for this. I'll do my best though. I won't submit it till I'm completely satisfied with it.

I hope it will be one of the best things I've ever written (I really feel good about this story J )

Note 2: This night, I feel like I've lost it. I don't know where this is headed. I don't know what to write. I'm almost thinking of deleting most of it and starting over. Well, it's late, so I'll just save it and come back when I'm less panicky.

Note 3: Last night I managed to write the part close to the ending. I decided not to delete anything and instead see if I can work with what I have. This was not what I had originally thought of but it seems this is the direction it took. In truth all I've been doing since the beginning is write what my fingers type. (it's the best way I write)

All I can do is trust my instincts.

I've decided to only write at night (preferable after 11 pm)

It's around the time I wrote the previous parts so I'm going to believe it has to be this way. Otherwise, the story will not be written well. At this time it is when my brain will turn on and the words will magically pop from my head and produce a masterpiece XD (as crazy as that sounds, I think it's true)

Oh great, it's getting late and I'm getting sleepy. Seems I wasted my hour just writing this note. Must hurry and finish up the end.

Ok, ending done. Kinda weak but it's what my hands wrote. I'll read the whole thing from start to finish tomorrow and post my last note on what I think. Last minute changes will be done. Nite!

Note 4: Okay, last day and I finished reading it. I think this is the best I got right now so I'm going to submit it as is.

Hope I don't disappoint!

No One

Night had drawn, as a blond young man stood atop the Hokage monument. He let out a sigh as he observed the village he lived in. His thoughts consuming him.

He had been told by his team to take a break from training for a short while. They could tell his mind was elsewhere. For some time now, he had not seemed quite like himself.

His usual spunk and cheerfulness were gone, replaced with a serious face. His pink-haired teammate had prodded him countless times, but failed to get anything out of him. The blond boy would just put up a fake smile and assure her things were okay. Sometimes he would even change the subject or flat out leave. Whatever was bugging him, he was determined to keep it to himself.

Many of his friends had approached him to see if they could get him to talk.

The firsts to try had been his teammates as well as his teacher Kakashi. Afterwards they had asked Iruka and Jiraiya to give it a try.

Iruka had been close, having the right idea of taking the blond out for some ramen. Their close bond had proven to be strong when Naruto almost let it all slip out.

With a sigh, the blond had parted his lips, "Lately when I…" Quickly catching himself the teen ceased speaking and wolfed down the huge bowl of ramen in front of him. Then, he stood up, thanked Iruka for the meal and left before Teuchi and Ayame had their chance to talk to him.

The two tried again when the boy came over for dinner. However, not even free ramen had tempted the boy to speak.

Jiraiya's approach was unsuccessful as well. His offer for teaching the blond a new jutsu was met with a half smile, as he shook his head and asked for a rain check. In a last attempt, the pervy sage offered the boy a chance to join him in a new bathhouse that allowed mixed bathing. The reaction he received was unexpected.

Instead of the boy's usual remark of calling him a pervert while he angrily waved his arms in the air. The white-haired man was just given a menacing glare. Somehow, the remark had hit a nerve. Which, although it really didn't shine a light on the blonds' dilemma, it did provide them with a clue. A vague and confusing clue, but a clue nonetheless.

After that, one by one, they were sent to talk to Naruto.

Lee's bright and cheery approach managed to add another clue to the matter. As the blond had reacted to Lee's enthusiastic announcement that "Whatever the problem was, Naruto's burning flame of youth and passion would help him find the solution!!!" This in turn, caused the said blond to hastily make his exit. Lee was not able to see the teen's face too well, but he was almost certain he had seen Naruto's face turn completely red.

And so, the list of friends went on.

By the time it came to Kiba's turn, Naruto had decided to avoid everyone's pestering by staying in his room. However, the wild teen decide to try his luck anyway. Shouting form outside Naruto's apartment, he decided to go over some topics the others had not covered. The Inuzuka man had even gone so far as to ask the blond if he had impregnated some young lady.

It has taken some restraint as Naruto had come close to opening his apartment door and beating the snot out of Kiba. Nevertheless, his problem proved to outweigh his embarrassment as he shouted a no and headed to sleep.

All the possible clues were gathered as the last of their friends had their try. But in the end, they could not put the pieces together. What could be bothering their friend? Almost everything they could think of had been covered. Except for one thing that was tossed out with a laugh. There was no way that could be the issue; they knew the boy too well. If that had been the case, they were sure he would have made it obvious to them in no time. Little did they overlook the simple fact that, maybe one key piece was not in the village.

So there stood the blond-haired young man, mind full of thoughts he could not shake. Yet, he didn't want to tell anyone. It was nobody's business but his and someone else. He had no need for his friend's help. For now, he would just wait for the chance to speak. The chance to talk with someone. A certain someone.

Naruto glanced one more at the village where he grew up, various memories appearing in his head. Bad memories and good memories. Painful memories of his past and healing memories that recently occurred. One memory he had often thought of loomed in his head. It was a simple memory though it held a lot of importance. For it was the memory that changed the young Uzumaki's life forever. It had opened a door the young ninja never knew was there.

It was a memory he had with a certain friend of his.

As he recalled, the memory itself held no special moment. What made it special was that it made him realize something he might have always known in the bottom of his heart.

Naruto came back from his thoughts, deciding it was time to head home.

Making his way through the all too familiar streets, he inadvertently collided with a familiar friend.

The young teen quickly regained balance as he locked eyes with the figure in front of him.

"Ah, I-'I'm sorry," the shy heiress began, letting out a soft squeak as her pale eyes caught the image of her longtime crush. "N-naruto! I-I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and I…" she trailed off; unable to form a sentence as the blond's powerful blue eye's pulled her into a trance. Her face burned red as she tried to break free form his spell.

"It's okay Hinata," the teen said warmly, "I'm glad to see you're back."

"O-oh yes, my father decided to return earlier than expected." Hinata smiled, not seeing the tiny blush that came to the whiskered teen's face. "I was just on my way to report to the Hokage. Now that I'm back my team can be assigned to missions again."

"Ah, you can talk to granny tomorrow morning," Naruto grinned, "Besides, by now she's probably passed out from the sake, snoring loudly with her head on her desk."

"I-I see, w-well then I better get home b-before father get's upset." the shy Hyuuga made her way to turn when a hand gently pulled her to a different direction.

"It's only eight Hinata," the blond called from in front of her, "You've still got some time to hang out with me."

Hinata nodded, a blush on her face, as she followed behind the young man. It had been a while since she last saw him, for some reason it seemed something about him had changed.

The two made their way to a quiet and secluded area; a perfect place to catch up on what they'd been doing without any interruptions.

Plopping himself on the ground, the blond signaled for his companion to have a seat next to him. Hesitantly, the dark-haired female took her place beside him, careful not to sit too close.

It was silent for a moment until the blond let out a sigh.

"Lately, everyone's been on my case!" the blond huffed, "They keep asking me if I'm okay and they constantly pop up wherever I go. It's getting really annoying."

"Oh, w-well I-I'm sure they're just concerned about you Naruto." the shy heiress explained.

"Ha, I think they're just being nosy. Besides, that pervy sage just wanted any excuse to go see the women at the bathhouse." Naruto grumbled. "He doesn't care about my troubles."

"W-what troubles d-do you have? Hinata innocently asked.

Naruto's eyes widened, 'Oh man, did I say that out loud?'

"Naruto?"

"Don't worry Hinata, it's nothing." the blond said, waving his hands in front of him. "Nothing at all."

The blue-haired girl looked down sadly, "But it is." Turning, she spoke with more force, "It is something. It's something very important. I can tell," she paused, "ever since I ran into you, you're not your usual self. Something's wrong."

Naruto looked at her with a shocked expression, amazed that she could tell so quickly. Then again, it was just like Hinata, for some reason she could always read him like a book.

"Naruto, I-I know you haven't told anyone but, m-maybe you can tell me what's bothering you?" Hinata said hopefully. "I-is it about someone close to you?"

"Kind of," the blond said nervously, "You see…" he gulped, trying to find the strength to continue, "Lately I've been feeling strange around someone I know."

"S-strange?" the heiress looked puzzled.

"Yeah, you see…" turning he found himself gazing at his friend's eyes, almost entranced by them. Hinata could only blush a deep red as the blond stared at her intensely. Lucky for her, the young man was able to snap himself out of his trance and turn away. With a cough and a slight blush the boy continued on, "you see, a while ago I noticed something about this person…"

The heiress nodded her head, compelling the boy to go on.

"I…" the blond chocked on his words, "I… never thought this would happen Hinata, never." Naruto sported a sad look as he turned to the heiress, "at least, not to me."

Hinata was growing more anxious by the second. What on earth could have happened to her crush for him to look the way he was? It was almost like he was trembling in fright. "N-naruto…"

"Someone cares… someone actually cares for Me." he breathed out, as if the words had been suffocating him. For a moment, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Finally, after so long, he had finally been able to say it.

"Oh," Hinata looked at the blond, "b-but, w-we all care for you Naruto. I mean, d-don't you know you have friends all around you who care for you?"

"I know that, but…" he paused, trying to find the best way to put it in words. "Not like this. The way this person cares for me is different, I just know it." Naruto had a far away look in his eyes as he recalled the fond memory.

Hinata watched the young blond, her heart tightening as she tried to speak the following words, "A-a-are you talking about a g-g-girl?"

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts, a blush plastered on his face. With a shocked face he turned to the young Hyuuga, "H-how did you-"

"I-I j-just figured that, t-the way you spoke…" Hinata trembled. "S-she must be really important to you."

"Uh well, y-you could say that." the young man fumbled with his words, "but I mean, it's not like… you see… really I just…"

Despite the situation, Hinata couldn't help but find her crush's antics to be amusing. She stifled a giggle before she spoke, "S-so, how did you realize she cared for you in a special way?"

Naruto dispelled his previous nervousness as he brought a smile to his face. "When we went on a mission together I saw it. The way she tended to my wounds, the way she cared for me. Anyone could say it was just something a typical friend would do but, I felt something different. It wasn't the gestures so much as her expression. In her eyes, I saw her genuine concern for me. Sure I've seen her concerned for her other friends too but, I've never seen her look at them like she looked at me." the blond scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly at the heiress, "I dunno, maybe it's wishful thinking on my part. I mean, who would believe a girl would actually like me like that."

"S-so, you could tell that she liked you Naruto?" Hinata asked nervously. For a minute she wondered if he was talking about Sakura.

"Well no, not really. I mean, I could tell she cares alot for me but, I can't say if she likes me in that way." the boy looked away, a sad look in his eyes. Silently he mumbled, "Though I really wish she did."

"Naruto?"

Turning red the boy chuckled nervously, "It's like I said Hinata, no girl would ever like me. I'm just clinging to an impossible dream."

"T-that's not true Naruto." Hinata spoke in a louder than usual tone. "Y-you have may qualities that a-any girl would find a-attractive." the heiress stumbled for a second, blood rushing to her face, half surprised she had actually said that.

Naruto looked at her wide-eyed.

But before he could say a word, Hinata spoke once more. "Y-you really shouldn't put yourself down so much, I-I for one don't find it that hard to believe that someone could like you. Y-you're an amazing person. Y-you're strong, b-brave, c-caring, reliable and many many more things. So um…" the heiress halted in her words. The last of her confidence used up by her little speech. With cheeks burning red, she shifted her gaze to the ground below her.

The blond teen merely stared at his female friend in awe.

A long silence encompassed the two until the young male opened his mouth to speak. "Thanks Hinata, I'm happy to hear you say that."

Surprised, the young Hyuuga hesitantly gazed up at the cerulean-eyed boy. A grin was plastered on his face as she felt herself smile as well, her cheeks now covered in a pink blush.

Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It all came down to this. His past nervousness had been put aside after Hinata's words. He couldn't back down now, not after Hinata had spoken so well of him.

He took one last moment before speaking.

"You know, every time I hear you speak so kindly to me, I get this funny feeling in my chest," the blond said with a smile.

"Huh?" the heiress blushed.

"And when I'm feeling really depressed, you always manage to cheer me up."

"I…" Hinata felt at a loss for words. Just what was he trying to say?

"I can't explain it but, lately… I don't feel the same around you anymore."

The blue-haired female felt her breath caught in her throat. "Na…"

"After our mission together, I couldn't stop thinking about you. When I went home I kept wondering why you cared for me so much. I racked my brain trying to figure it out. The next day I even tried to ask you about it but you had already left with your father. All this time, I've done nothing but think of you, Hinata."

The shy heiress felt on the verge of tears, everything she was hearing felt like a dream.

"Everyone's been trying to get me to talk, to tell them why I was acting so strange. But, the only one I wanted to talk to was you. Only you could answer my question."

Hinata's face turned redder and redder as she gazed at the blond-haired teen next to her. She shifted slightly. Somehow, he had managed to inch himself closer to her during his talk.

"So Hinata, can you answer my question?"

Biting her lip nervously, the shy heiress gathered her courage to speak, "W-what q-question I-is that N-naruto?"

Naruto produced a sly grin as he brought his lips to her ear. "I want to… no, I need to know." Hinata's face grew red; she could feel his warm breath tickle her ear. Every word that left the blond's mouth made her heart skip a beat. "if you…"

The blue-haired heiress tried to calm herself down. She could not be a nervous wreck right now.

"If you think Ichiraku's is still open right now?"

The Hyuuga heiress nearly collapsed in disbelief. He sure lived up to his title as the number one most unpredictable ninja around. "W-what?"

Naruto brought a hand to his mouth, trying to suppress his laughter. "I'm sorry Hinata, but I just couldn't help it. The look on your face was too much for me."

"N-naruto, t-that w-was mean." Hinata pouted.

Two arms reached out to her and wrapped themselves around her neck. "I'm sorry."

"Huh?" the heiress was taken back by the teen's action. Her cheeks burned brightly.

"Truth is; I chickened out at the last minute." Naruto whispered.

"H-huh?"

"I was prepared to ask you my question but, after seeing you look so nervous I changed my mind." Naruto tightened his hold around the shy girl. "I didn't want to cause you any problems so; I decided to ask a stupid question instead."

"But then," Hinata bit her lip, "w-what was your question going to be?"

"It doesn't matter," the blond grinned, "It was dumb."

"Naruto…"

"Forget about it Hinata, it's getting late, let me walk you home." Naruto released the girl from his grip and stood up. He reached out his hand, offering it to his shy friend.

However, the Hyuuga would have none of that. "W-what was you question Naruto?" she repeated.

Nervously, the teen shifted his hand behind his head. "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I-I just don't want you to be troubled anymore." Hinata glanced up at her crush with sad eyes. "You said something's been troubling you for a while now. I-if I can help you out in any way, then please tell me."

The young ninja stared down at the heiress, her pleading eyes were too much for him. "Why do you care so much Hinata? Honestly, most people would have dropped the subject by now!" Naruto flinched, he wasn't annoyed, but his tone could easily be misinterpreted as such. He glanced down, expecting Hinata to be sad. Boy was he surprised.

The blue-haired heiress merely stood up and grabbed the boy's hands. Both teens blushed by this action, but Hinata looked up at the blond with a serious face. "I-I care b-because I'm your friend. Because you matter to me, you're important to me, b-because I…" Hinata looked down sadly, even after all that, she still couldn't tell him.

"You're important to me too Hinata. Now more than ever."

"Naruto…"

"When I saw that you cared a lot for me, it made me realize that…." he gulped, "Well I can't lie to you Hinata. It made me realize that, I wanted you to care about me more than anyone else. I know it's absurd but, for some reason, I wanted you only to think of me."

Hinata lit up brighter than ever before. Could it really be her longtime crush that was saying this?

"I, I really like you Hinata." the blushing teen scratched the back of his head, "You know, like like. I think I've always sort of liked you but, I guess it took until know to realize how much."

Time became silent as the blond awaited a response. But the young heiress merely stood there, hands close to her chest, with a look of shock on her face.

Naruto grew nervous. He had expected his shy friend to nervously reject him and walk away. But this?

The silence was broken after a minute as the trembling Hyuuga parted her lips, "I-I…"

This was the moment of truth.

"I…"

There was no avoiding it now.

"…um…"

After this, there was no turning back.

Timidly, the blue-haired heiress stared up at the blond and smiled. "I-I, I really like you too Naruto."

Naruto widened his eyes in disbelief. Had he actually heard her right?

"Um," Hinata shyly moved closer to the blond. "I-I've liked you f-for a long time now but I… I never had the courage to tell you."

This could not be real. Sure, the Hyuuga teen had said he possessed many good qualities but, to actually like him. How could that be possible?

Hinata could see Naruto's doubt. "You're a wonderful person Naruto, despite what you or anyone else may think." Hinata gently spoke, looking up tenderly at the boy of her dreams.

That was all the blond needed to know she was being honest.

Slowly, Naruto embraced the blushing heiress, "Thank you."

Hinata happily returned the hug, a single tear escaping her eye.

After all that waiting, the young teen had finally found his answer.

Aww man, I so wanted to end this with a kiss or a joke!!! But my hands decided against it. And there's no arguing with them *pout*

Oh well, they're right. This ending best fits them. I guess this is more of a 'Naruto just realizes his feelings story'

But not to worry, by tomorrow they'll probably go on a date, be official girlfriend and boyfriend, and end the day with a kiss or two.

So what do you think? Maybe it's the fact that I'm tired that the ending wasn't very romantic?

It may not have been very good (like I had originally hoped)

But it did make me want to draw it out.

If I do draw it out I'll be sure to put a link on my profile.

Comment if you want. (comments make me very happy J )