Don't own Naruto!

She watched them.

Blond hair sparkled in the sun and his wide smile greeted her eyes. Naruto swang his arm around Konahamaru," So what do you think?"

The young boy, just smiled at his friend and said, " I don't know Naruto, ramen again?" Naruto actually gasped, and his big blue eyes widen.

"Again!" He removed his arm and began to make wide gestures with his hands, " Do you know what you eat when you are a mission?"

The younger boy shook his head. It gave Naruto the perfect opportunity. She saw him open his mouth and an explosion of words spilled from them.

"Bugs!" He said, " Or some animal you are able to kill. Nothing has flavor. NOTHING. And then you have to eat it, because to be a great ninja you need to be strong and to be strong you need to eat and if you have to eat, then you eat what they give you because you can't cook and it is times like those that you wished you knew how to do, or at least learned to make noodles on the road and if not noodles, then at least some meat that didn't taste like road kill, but NOOOOOOOOOO, you have to wait until you get back in the village before you have anything even remotely edible, and ramen is the BEST, because it tastes great and it is cheap."

The boy wore the same expression Hinata knew graced her face: dumbstruck. How could he have had enough air to spew all that out in one go! Konahamaru blinked several times at Naruto, who just stared down at him, his expression fixed.

"Hum, okay." The boy said, taking, what Hinata thought, was the best course of action against Naruto's "why ramen is the best," argument.

Naruto responded just as she imagined. His gave Konahamaru a huge smile causing his bright eyes to squint.

"Now, " He said, leaning in to whisper something to the boy. Konahamaru became tense and looked up at Naruto, his eyes big and vulnerable. "Really?" His voice filled with awe.

Naruto straightened and crossed his arms, then nodded.

Just like the Naruto she remembered as a child, Konahamaru jumped up into the air, punching it with his fists, "YAY!"

Naruto smiled and a bit of Hinata's heart clinched. He looked so much older at that moment, looking down at the boy. What was he thinking about? She wondered. Wishing for a moment, she could understand what could have brought such a serious and thoughtful look across his handsome face.

Pathetic, a voice sneered in her head, you just look at him as if he was some lost puppy just waiting to be picked up. She sighed at herself and the voice, knowing it was right. After everything that happened, you would think she would be able to see him and walk up to him without her heart fluttering around her chest like a caged bird.

The Caged Bird. Again, she felt her skin grow cold and her heart beat in a loud thumps against her chest. The possibility of it being placed on her had become a more distinct reality after her antics during the Pein attack. Her father, while slightly more interested in her since the Chuunin Exam, seemed to revert to his pervious position and now often gave her the look. The look denoting all which was wrong in the world and all she stood for: a failure. And yet, when she saw Naruto smiling down the street and his blond hair lighting up the way, she could not feel bad about what she did nor what she said.

What she said. The old Hinata would have had a coronary just being in the same space as Naruto and yet, somehow, deep down where desperation and determination both resided, she found the courage to tell him her feelings.

Since that day, she had seen him from afar. Partly because of the chaos which issued after the fight and because it suited her not to talk to him outright. Maybe it was fear, strange after the bold way she spoke to him, or maybe because she didn't feel the need to have to speak to him. As she had told him that memorable day. She was a selfish girl and she wanted to tell him. She gave no thought of what the knowledge of her feeling would do to him or how he would respond. She only knew she had to tell him. Especially if she was going to die.

She shook her head. Enough, she thought. It was time to train. She grabbed her bag and headed towards the forest, trying not to sneak other look behind her towards her human sun.

oooooooo

Her leg flew high into the air, slicing it like a shuriken. The sole of her foot hit the wood target with a solid thud and she felt it vibrate up her leg and hymn around her hip.

It felt good.

Feeling the drops of sweat rolling down her face and melting inside of her clothes, Hinata felt alive. While she may never be a really effective ninja, she wasn't not going to stop trying; and she had to admit she had learned to love training. Something about the routine of it, the physical and mental energy required made her want to come back the next day. It was also where she came expel all of her problems.

Just yesterday, her father had spending a good portion of the day, reminding her of her duties as the heiress and how, as she was currently, not strong enough to shoulder such a responsibility.

It was moments like those, Hinata longed for her mother or maybe a change of name.

It smothered her.

The pressure of the clan and her father. How could Naruto do it? All the pressures he had to endure and he did it with a smile, as wide and bright as a cloudless day. Thinking of him, a new surge of energy infused her and she returned to her starting stance, and preceded to follow through her routine for the sixth time that day.

At the end of the motions, Hinata took a deep breath,enjoying the steady but accelerated beat of her heart. She closed her eyes and allowed all the sounds of the forest seep into her skin. Her ears becoming her eyes and she allowed them to sharpen, the sounds of the birds, the rustle of the leaves been tossed around by the cool breeze, somewhere in the distance she could hear the waterfall by the mountain. She took another deep breath, this time trying to slow down her heart and letting it fade into the background. She formed a picture in her mind, to her left, the wooden targets hammered into the ground. The battered timber showing the marks of many kicks, punches and kaunis. The once freshly painted enemy face, now resembled more a tattered mess of gashes and sticks. She turned her mind's eyes towards the front of her and saw the open circle created as the training field, but also filled in thick line of trees lining its edges. The sky filled the empty space above, a light blue, almost painful to the eyes with small puffs of clouds.

When the scene became firm in her mind, Hinata shifted her feet, pushing them together and tilted her body to the left, allowing herself to fall towards the ground. Right before she was expected to hit, she braced herself with her hands and used her body's momentum and a bit of chakra to propelled herself off the ground.

This part was her favorite.

Feeling the world vanish from under her fingers, and her body becoming enveloped by the air. The freedom of weightlessness, seduced and called her. She twirled in the air, performing a series of complex twists and then curled into a ball, falling to the earth into a crouch. When her feet touched the ground, she repeated the process and pushed chakra through her legs, allowing her to push up back into the air. The breeze whipped through her hair and she gave out a small laugh. She completed a flip, landing again, and continued her elaborate dance, deadly and beautiful.

oooooooo

He hadn't never seen anything like it before.

Hinata flew into the air, not like a bir, A bird, was too delicate to describe what he was witnessing. She moved with the grace of a dancer. A blush crept on his face, just remembering where he had seen said dancers. Jiraiya had insisted one night for Naruto to come with him to see a troupe of dances in the the village they had happened to wandered into that night.

The way the women had moved, made Naruto question where they had bones, but also, their suppleness and provocative dances had made him think of other thoughts. Thoughts which should have only belonged to the Ero-Sensei and not him. Not that Hinata was like any of those girls, but it amazed him to see her move that way. Her hair streamed around her. Unbound and twirling like a fan around her head has she completed another complicated move.

He stumbled upon her training ground, one of the more secluded of the fields, a few weeks ago. He had come here, much as he assume she had as well, to find a place removed from the village where he could be alone. What he found instead was a vision of Hinata flying in the air, her body taunt and absolutely beautiful.

Again he blushed, but part of him could not deny that simple fact. It wasn't a physical attraction, but more of an appreciation of a beautiful animal or piece of art, like the Third Hokage had always tried to show him in books. He had seen many people fight over the years. Had admired many of their style and passion and abilities, but never had he actually felt humbled by the experience.

The first time he had seen her, she had been practicing the usual moves he had remembered her doing. Steps of her clan and those taught to her by Kurenai-sensei. He had been about to come into the clearing and speak to her when she went iron rod still and closed her eyes. He could see her slowing her breath to the point he could barely see her chest move, and then it started.

The dance.

What he saw that day took his breath away. He had seen nothing like it and while he was sure it could be deadly-the kicks she threw and the punches against the air, all seemed to have power behind them, he knew the dance was not meant to kill. This dance, she performed served another purpose, one only Hinata knew. He also could tell, this dance, was entirely of her creation. No one had taught her to move this way, and yet, here she was, creating her own style and her fluid motion.

It suited her. And because it seemed so personal, he knew she would stop the moment she knew someone was watching. Naruto could bet a hundred ramen dinners, no one, not her sensei, not Kiba, Shino or her family have ever seen her this way.

The knowledge he had, gave him a strange feeling in his heart; one he could not give a name to, so instead he remained still. Nothing would make him break her concentration and rob her of this moment.

The girl twirling in the air was the real Hinata, not the shy girl often stuttering in his presence, not the girl with the downcast eyes and soft voice.

The girl in the air was the same girl who stood in front of him, facing Pain, telling him calmly of her feeling, facing death with utter stillness and confidence.

Just like the girl dancing with the leaves on a summer day.

It was like seeing Hinata for the first time.

oooooooo

Her hair settled down as she finished her last turn and her feet landed on the soft dirt. It felt good. The breath of cool air seeping down her lungs into her body. It was moments like these where she felt alive and whole. Totally herself, not Hinata the heiress or Hinata the kunoichi, not a sister or a daughter, not a friend or a failure. She was just herself, with the wind slowly sweeping across the land like a lazy cat straightening awake, she was alright.

She closed her eyes again, and as if saying her thanks to the world around her, smiled and gave the field a slight nod. Then she opened her eyes and picked up her equipment thinking of the meeting with her father and how she wished something would interfere, derailing the meeting. A meteor would be nice, or maybe an attack of rabid wolves. Anything would be better than having to sit down with him staring back at her with his eyes trying to find fault with everything she did.

Lately moments like those caused a anger to rise up her chest and pooled in the throat.

She wanted to tell him to go to hell She wanted to tell him to be a real father She wanted to tell him to disown her She wanted to tell him no one will ever love him

But instead she just sat there, letting the anger lick its lips and whisper all sort of things in her ears. Speaking so loud she often had to come out here to dance for a while before the calmness returned and she could trust herself again.

Thank heavens for this patch of land. And the Pain attack.

As she walked back to her clan's compound, she thought of that event again. While she had not spoken to Naruto since, it was fine. The single moment taught her a number of things. Things, which helped her move from begin a child to a young woman, and she knew in time to the woman she was meant to be. In that single moment she had found her stillness, her calmness. All the voices of her past and present, her father, her own fears, the expectations she echoed in her mind, the doubts playing symphonies almost constantly, were silenced in that singular moment.

All she heard when she confessed to Naruto, had been the beat of her heart. Strong and steady.

Afterwards, during the reconstruction, she stumbled on the abandoned field, and allowed herself to truly be, what had emerged from that, was the style she now developed with each session.

And each session brought her close to the stillness she felt all those months ago.

The leaves of the trees called out to her as she approached the village. The last six months, while full of trials and tribulations (the arrest of Sauske, Naruto returning the the village, the rebuilding of Konoha,) the progress made in such a short time still amazed her.

Most of the main buildings, such as the Hokage tower, hospital, banks and businesses where repaired and back at work. Most of the residents were back in their homes-as much as it was possible. While there was still a great deal of work to be done- whole sections of the town where still inhabitable, the citizens of Konoha all came together to resurrect the body of the village.

Hinata let the smile on her face linger when she noticed Ichiraku Ramen Bar. Normally she avoided passing by the shop the last couple of months, usually a blond fixture would grace on the of the seats and she didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable by sitting next to him.

Now though, he was not there and her stomach must have read the sign because it started to growl. She then remembered she had picked at her breakfast this morning. It had been shrimp with rice. She hated shrimp. but none one in the house cared, since it was her father's favorite dish.

She sat down and waited for Ayame to come out of the back. When Ayame saw her, she gave Hinata a huge smile.

"Well hello there stranger." Hinata felt the blush.

But she smiled anyway and said , "Hello Ayame-san, how are you?"

Ayame laughed, "Ah, you are always a proper one, Hinata-san. What can I get for you? Maybe a blond?" It was a good thing Hinata had not drank some her water or she may have spewed it across the counter. In stead she took a deep breath, "No, thank you Ayame-san, may I have a Miso ramen."

The girl smiled back at her, and said with affection, "of course Hinata-sama" and disappeared in to the back.

When the curtain fell behind her, Hinata looked to her left at the empty stool. He usually sat there. His elbows on the counter, practically leaning into the kitchen, desperate for the first taste.

A small, soft smile adorned her face she and looked down at her glass of water.

Naruto-kun. He must be so confused when it came to her. Not once after the event had she tried to talk to him. And he, unable to make sense of why she had done what she had done, avoided her as well.

If she counted the number of words spoken to the other since the "event", she would have five.

Once, he said "Hello," when she had been in Kiba and Shino's company. He quickly disappeared down the road towards the Hokage's tower.

A few weeks ago, they had stumbled into the other in the middle of the street and before the other could collect their barrings, Ino came storming out her flower shop with a large ladle in her hand and a fierce look in her eyes.

"NARUTO!" She cried out, cutting through the air with the ladle. Naruto only spared Hinata a look and said with a muted voice, "I am sorry."

The last word happened not even two minutes before he met up with Konahamaru earlier today. She had been about to turn the corner and when she dropped one of her shuriken. A large hand picked it up. She noticed light, almost translucent scars, laced his hand as he handed it back to her. His blue eyes normally so cheerful, now looked solemn and serious. Their power made the air in her lungs cease for a moment.

All he said was, "Hinata-" Whatever else he was about to say was lost with the sudden cry from Konahamaru as he saw Naruto from across the street.

She swore she saw a hint of frustration in his face, but instead he gave her a light sigh and stepped away from her. She grabbed her shuriken and watched him join Konahamaru.

A hot steaming bowl of ramen appeared in front of her face and interrupted her musings. It would be nice if he would be here, but she knew that would make the situation worse for him. How could she tell him, that while she will always love him, she didn't need an answer from him? Her intention in telling him, was purely for her own selfish gain. She was certain she was going to die that day. So certain, the stillness overcame her and allowed her to speak her mind, and stand her ground without a single afterthought.

How could she tell him, how much she had changed, not only because of him, but because of the opportunity to love him? How looking up to him and wanting to be near him, only made her that much better? How could she explain that need to be around him, did not require anything on his part?

He didn't have to tolerate her, or love her, or be with her. He simply needed to exist to make her happy. She did not require anything from him and yet, she knew the knowledge of what she said weighted down on him.

That singular weight placed on his shoulders by her words caused an ache in her heart. How could she ease his discomfort? Outside of actually talking to him about it, she did not know of anything that may be able to help.

The Hyuga heir gave a uncharacteristic sigh and ate her ramen. She didn't want to, but the course action was becoming increasingly clear.

She would have to speak to Naruto.

And she would have do it soon.