The Nature of Love

It was a quiet night, the moon hanging ominously overhead, the sun casting a serene red glow as it set in the distance. Several insects chirped as the creatures of the night began to prowl. One such creature was larger than the others. It was by far the strongest in all the forest. The other animals knew and respected that. And when it made claim to something, they all knew to stay away. Fast as the wind, silent as the shadows it sped towards its target. Rapidly it approached a human dwelling, it licked its lips in anticipation, knowing that it would sat its hunger yet again.

It paused for a split second before vanishing in a flash of orange; if one listened carefully they might have heard the sound of padded feet landing on carpet, and a quiet poof of smoke. The beast's orange coat glinted in the light. Its blue eyes searched the room, before settling on its desire.

"Naruto-kun" The voice was hushed and gentle. Pale lavender eyes gazed at the man before them. A slender hand reached out to cup a whiskered cheek.

"Hinata-chan" The voice was full of mirth and joy. Energetic azure eyes gazed at the woman before them. No other words where necessary, both could feel the love the other held for them. Hands entwined and lips met lips, the sounds of muffled passion was masked by the singing of insects.

The dogs of the Inuzuka clan let out a howl as the two lovers worshiped each other's bodies, their souls connected. Blue flickered back and forth to red as the pace increased, gasps and moans elicited from frantic throats as hungry tongues sought the others mouth. Two more voices joined the chorus in a crescendo of passionate fervour. The sotto voce filled with promises of undying love and devotion before a poco a poco dim enveloped the city, succumbing to al niente, and the world knew silence once more. The only noise a quiet panting as the two fell asleep in each other's arms, an eternal embrace of affection.

As the moon began to set the blonde started to move, only to be halted by a hand clutching at his bare arm.

"Mmm, Naruto-kun, onegai, stay a little longer" She looked up at him with pleading eyes. She smiled at her and lay back down.

"Okay then, but only for a little while" They lay there, enjoying the moment of serenity before the blonde felt the need to speak.

"Ne, Hinata-chan…"

"Nan desu ka?" She replied sleepily.

"Have I ever told you how the kitsune got their name?" He asked, jovially.

"Iie, how did the kitsune get their name?" She asked, her eyes wide and attentive, her lover always told the best stories. He laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Once, there was a man named Ono. Ono was but a simple farmer, working the fields with his loyal dogs. However, Ono would always spend the seasons longing for what he perceived as the ideal woman.

One day, when harvesting his grain for the harvest festival, a beautiful women walked out from the forest, clothed in flowers and leaves, she had a narrow face, and close set eyes, her cheekbones high and her hair a brilliant red, like the rising sun. He fell in love instantly and invited her into his house." He let out a growl of contentment as she began stroking his hair, before continuing.

"She stayed with Ono for a long time, they married and she eventually fell pregnant. When she gave birth to his son, Ono's dog also gave birth, to a strong and loyal pup. However, as the pup grew older, it grew more and more hostile to the lady of the forest. The lady begged and pleaded for Ono to kill it but each time he refused. At last, one day, the dog attacked her so furiously she panicked and fled, resuming her vulpine form. Ono saw this and called out to her

"You may be a fox, but you're the mother of my child and I love you. Come back when you please; you will always be welcome."

So every evening she would slip into his bed and sleep in his arms, only to leave again the next morning." He opened his eyes and looked at his beloved.

"Because the fox returns to her husband each night as a woman but leaves each morning as a fox, she is called Kitsune. In the old tongue, kitsu-ne means come and sleep, while ki-tsune means always comes. So she was called kitsune, after her promise to always sleep in his arms"

"That was beautiful," She said, yawning in a way that he found adorable.

"Shh, go back to sleep." He whispered, stroking her hair as he laid her down to rest. Planting a single, soft kiss on her delicate, rosy lips.

Slowly, as not to disturb her, he got up and moved towards the closed window.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Koishii"

There was a poof of smoke, and a flash of light. A bright eyed, orange fox leapt away from the Hyuuga estate, the rising sun causing him to seemingly glow a scarlet burgundy, giving the appearance of something otherworldly. Preparing to hunt for its morning meal. It's bright blue eyes where filled with mirth. Birds sang out as they caught sight of him, singing praise for his patronage, for the Kyuubi was by far the greatest beast in all the lands, and they where grateful for its protection.

Perhaps that was why loyal canine Akamaru now growled a warning whenever a certain Inuzuka Kiba tried to make an advance on Hyuuga Hinata, he knew better than to take what belonged to the Kyuubi no Youko.

Perhaps it was also why Aburame Shino felt the need to sing every night for over a year.

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A/N: Consider this a peace offering to all who wanted NaruHina in 'The Right Choice', I told you I'd do some more oneshots.

Why Shino? Kiba had already been mentioned and perhaps since he was the only Aburame with any connection to Hinata, only he felt the urge.

On a side note, they're 16-17 in this.

The story of Ono I found on and edited slightly, as I have no idea what a vast moor is.

Originally this would have been a scene from my next fic, but I realised I had no-where to insert it. That will probably be the origin for a lot of my oneshots.

R&R, otherwise they'll pull the plug on my life support.

The following are terms in music dynamics

Cresendo –becoming louder

Sotto Voce- in an undertone (literally "beneath the voice")

Poco a poco dim- bit-by-bit, getting quiter

Al niente- to nothing

Also, check out Lacking Sight by Lifethane, trust me if you like NaruHina