Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Naruto characters. (Although I wouldn't mind owning Gaara… hee… hee)

A/N: ((…)) means thought

Heart of a Lioness

Chapter 1: Good-bye

The sun was setting in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Hinata looked across the landscape. The sky was painted in an array of pinks and oranges. Off in the distance she could see the giant portraits of the four great Hokage peering out of the massive rock cliffs that encircled the village. Shadows moved across their faces as the sun began to sink deeper into the earth, creating deep creases in their expressions. To Hinata they seem to be frowning at her, as if even they too knew what a failure she had become.

Hinata bit the bottom of her lip and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. She could still hear her father's cold words echoing through her mind and piercing her heart.

…Flashback…

Hiashi Hyuga stood on the balcony of the Hyuga mansion, staring at the pools of stars that spread across the night sky. As usual his posture was stiff and his expression grim. Hinata gazed at her father's back, wondering why he had summoned her to his quarters. She stood rigidly, trying not to fidget too much or else revealing her nervous state.

Father had never called her to his quarters before; in fact he hardly acknowledged her very existence. She knew what he thought of her, the whole family did. She was nothing but a weakling in his eyes, a poor heir to the great Hyuga clan. She couldn't stand the look of disappointment in his eyes whenever he glanced in her direction. No mattered how hard she tried nothing ever seemed to be good enough for him… she would never be good enough.

Hinata took a deep breath and waited quietly for her father to speak. She'd been standing there for quite some time and her feet were beginning to ache. She wondered if he'd forgotten she was there.

"Hinata. You're probably wondering why I have summoned you."

Her father's words cut through the air like daggers, causing her to jump.

"U-um…yes, sir."

Despite her attempt to stay calm she began to fidget in place. Hinata was thankful that her father was still turned away from her so that he couldn't see her loss of nerve.

Oblivious to his daughter's anxiety he continued. "I feel that your time spent in Konoha has been utterly useless for your training and for that I have decided to send you abroad."

Hinata's heart lunged in her chest. She stared at her father in shock as the color in her face drained away.

((He was sending her away? Away from Konoha, the only place she had ever known!))

"F-father, but… but why?"

Her father turned and fixed her with a steely glare. "I was hoping that with your training under Master Kurenai you might have improved your skills as a ninja, but I'm afraid I was sorely mistaken. I have now realized that the schools and instructors here in the Hidden Leaf are to soft by letting their pity get in the way of real progress."

Hinata stared at her father in shock as the realization hit her.

((So it was true… they really do pity me. Master Kurenai, Kiba, Shino… all thought of her weak but were too kind to say anything.)) She remembered the look of regret in Kiba's and Shino's eyes when they trained together and Master Kurenai's expressions of sympathy whenever she failed a mission. Kiba and Shino would always run ahead of the danger while making her stay behind in Master Kurenai's protection…

Hinata bent her head and tried to prevent the tears that where now forming in the corner of her eyes.

Hiashi frowned at his daughter's display of emotion. He turned around to face the night sky as the feeling of disgust began to fill his stomach. "I am sending you to the Land of the Wind. You will be trained in the Village Hidden in the Sand by instructors who don't subside to frivolous emotions such as pity and are not so lenient when they come across ineffectual students. Hopefully there you might make something of yourself." He looked at his daughter, his silvery eyes piercing into her own. "You will be leaving tomorrow night. I have arranged for you to travel with a merchant caravan who will take you into the Land of the Wind and to the Village Hidden in the Sand. Pack light; you will be traveling on foot. Once you've arrived at your destination you will situate yourself at the Suna Ninja Academy and begin your training as a proper ninja." He gave his daughter one last look before turning around. "That is all."

Hinata silently bowed and fled her father's quarters. Her heart felt as though it had turned to stone and sunk to the bottom of her chest. Everything she had ever known, everything that was familiar to would be lost to her forever. Tears welded up her eyes, blurring her vision. She sucked back her sobs as she roamed through the halls of the Hyuga mansion.

Her mind was so distraught that she didn't realize there was a small figure walking towards her until she was but a few feet from her. Hinata glanced up to find her sister Hanabi staring at her at the other end of the hall. Hanabi was wearing her training garb and looked as though she had just returned from the sparring grounds. Although her hair and cloths were disheveled she didn't look exhausted at all. Instead, she stared at Hinata with an indifferent expression on her face.

Hinata quickly looked away from her sister, weary of the intense predatorily light that shown through her eyes. Hanabi and Hinata were once close, but when Hanabi began her training as a ninja her attitude towards Hinata began to change. She began to look at her sister not as a friend but as a competitor. It wasn't much sooner before Hanabi realized she could surpass Hinata in her ninja skills and found her sister to be incompetent and unworthy of the Hyuga clan.

Hinata quickened her pace and passed Hanabi without saying a word. She went straight to her room and collapsed onto her sleeping pallet where she stared at the ceiling and felt nothing but emptiness.

… End Flashback…

Hinata wiped the remaining tears off her face with her sleeve. The sky was starting to get dark; she would have to leave soon. She looked across the landscape one last time, trying to burn the image into her memory.

Her father had already taken it upon himself to inform Master Kurenai of her departure. Despite Master Kurenai, Kiba and Shino's words of objection she knew that although they might miss her they really didn't need her. Her Byakugan technique came in handy from time to time but she knew deep down that she was holding them back. Kiba and Shino deserved so much more. Not only because they were her teammates but also because they were the closest things to friends she'd ever had.

Hinata sighed as she noticed the first few stars breaking out of the darkening sky. There were many things she was going to miss about this place, but most of all she was going to miss him. Her heart skipped a beat when an image of the young rebellious blond ninja popped into her head.

((Naruto…))

Hinata clasped her hands together tightly.

((I have to see him before I go. I… I have to let him know how I feel.))

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.

((Okay, this is it. My last chance to say good-bye.))

Hinata made her way towards the academy's training grounds, hoping to find Naruto in his usual spots where he liked to practices his ninjutsu. But he wasn't anywhere to be found. She began to sweep through the village, searching for the orange clad ninja.

She looked up anxiously at the sky. The darkness was increasing and her time was running short. What if she couldn't find him in time? Her panic started to build as she frantically ran through the village.

"Tell us again boss! You're the greatest!"

"Ha! You got that right. One day you'll refer to me as the Great Hokage!"

Hinata froze as she turned a corner. She could recognize that laugh from anywhere. She looked over to her left and spotted him sitting at a ramen booth with three little kids. All three of them were listening intently to Naruto as he told them one of his heroic tales of his life as a ninja.

Hinata peered at him from the shadowy street. The overhead lights of the ramen shop reflected off his golden hair and orange jump suit, making him appear as if he was glowing. She felt as though they were two creatures of different worlds. Her pale moon eyes and rich midnight hair belonged to that of the somber night while his radiant inner light that shown through his sky blue eyes claimed him to the energetic day.

She stood there and watched him, the one she admired the most. How she longed to be like him, to have his strength, bravery and will to never give up. She closed her eyes and tried to take hold of her fear.

((I can do this...))

Slowly she crept from the shadows into the light of the ramen shop.

"N-Naruto?"

Her voice barely came out in a whisper. Naruto continued telling how he manhandled 20 ninja at once, completely oblivious to Hinata's presence. Hinata gulped and tried again.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?" Naruto looked up. "Oh. Hi Hinata. Didn't see you there." He flashed her a wide grin.

Hinata smiled shyly in return.

"Um… N-Naruto… I… I just want to say that … I want to tell you that I…" Hinata's words got caught in her throat. Her face began to turn red when she noticed that everyone was staring at her.

Naruto looked puzzled. "Huh? What was that Hinata? Didn't catch it."

Hinata looked down at her feet and began to fidget with her fingers. "W-Well… I wanted to tell y-you that I… that I like…y-"

"Hey Naruto!"

Everyone at the ramen booth turned their attention towards the outside. Sakura was waving at them from across the street. Naruto immediately perked up as he spotted the pink haired ninja.

"Hi Sakura, what's up?"

"Master Kakashi sent me to find you. We have a new mission and he wants us to meet him and Sasuke at the bridge."

"What! A new mission? I'm ready for anything!" He leapt from his set and ran after Sakura.

"Alright boss!" the three kids cheered, running after their idol.

"Naruto?" Hinata called after him.

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "See ya, Hinata," he called as he ran down the street.

Hinata stood in the silence as she watched him disappear around a corner. She looked up at the sky. The moon was now high above her, spreading a soft light over the village.

Her time was up.

She took one last glance in the direction Naruto fled before she retreated to the somber shadows of the night.

((Good-bye, Naruto…))

End of Chapter 1