1745.

Japan.

The ancient Hyuuga Mansion.

Hyuuga Hinata, the Heiress.

She was sitting at the table, reading through some papers that referred to clan arrangements.

The document she was studying dealt with her arranged marriage and the possible suitors. Only one of them had been chosen for her. Uchiha Sasuke. Heir to the Uchiha West Imperium.

She closed her eyes and tried to think of something else. Concerning herself with Uchiha Sasuke was pointless, since he had already told her to stay away from him. He didn't want her. He only wanted the money and the imperium that his family was occupying.

Moreover, she had no interest whatsoever in him. To be honest, she wasn't even ready to marry a person she didn't know, let alone govern the country. She was only seventeen.

Her father thought otherwise. To him, she was not only more than ready to marry, she was also able to be a silent and obedient wife. This related more to personal hatred than to belief in her skills, but Hinata was not going to protest. She was not allowed to contradict her father. She was only his instrument, after all.

Sighing quietly, she arranged the pile of papers in a neat order and slowly stood up to dress up for dinner. The light-blue kimono lay ready on her bed; it would suffice for dinner. Hinata slowly reached for it and gently stroked the soft material. It reminded her of the sky. And something else.

"It's me."

Gasping, she let the fabric drop and turned around, searching for the voice. A young man greeted her, leaning against the windowsill and watching her silently.

Recognizing him (how could she have not?), she relaxed visibly and studied him. His skin was as tanned as always, which was evident, after all he was always outside, unlike her, who did not leave the house at all. The blond hair was unruly and unkempt, and it stood out against the dark, only illuminated by the moon. Blue eyes (that the kimono had reminded her so much of) looked at her seriously, although there was something else in his glance that Hinata did not recognize. He unbuttoned his cloak and revealed his simple clothes; he couldn't afford kimonos or exclusive cloth.

Leaving his cloak in the corner of the room, he slowly strode over to her petite form. He kept a little distance as he came to a halt before her and simply looked at her.

When the silence became unbearable for her, she finally took a deep sigh and looked anywhere to avoid looking at him. "Sasuke-sama is not happy with the marriage." she whispered quietly.

"What did he say..?" he asked, his tone deep and masculine.

"'Stay away from me. Don't bother me again. I will not marry you, not even if your father wishes for it.' After that, he just left me alone" she quoted.

"And are you sad about this rejection?" She could guess what he meant.

She shook her head. "On the contrary", and now she dared to look him in the eye, no matter how impolite it was, "I was more than satisfied with his decision. I had feared he would agree to father's request. Although Sasuke-sama has not been kind to me in the past, I have to be grateful to him."

His eyes were narrowing. "He's just doing that to inherit the country on his own. You know he doesn't want to share it with anybody. Not even if it is a wife."

"I know, but still it is really relieving to know that I don't have to marry him." she responded quietly. "I am sure that father will find a new suitor as soon as possible, but in the meantime I am content not to be engaged with anybody. Until then, I can - "

Suddenly, his arms were around her. He was holding her against him. "Until then and after that, we'll be together. . . right?" he murmured.

His voice resulted in her getting goosebumps. "N- Na. . ." She couldn't even manage to avoid her stutter.

"Hinata. I'm sure it's not that easy, especially not for you. It's just that. . . I want to be with you, no matter what." He gently pushed her away from him, to keep a little distance between them so he could look at her eyes.

She was smiling a little. "I feel the same way like you do. But we can not forget the circumstances. Sometimes I wish we could just. . . I don't know, maybe be some other persons and live someone else's life. Many things would be easier." Her eyes glanced over to the window, taking in the dark sky and the moon, glowing endlessly in the black night.

It was with a tenderness she only knew of him that he bent down and lightly brushed over her lips with his own.

She couldn't refuse the blush that crept over her cheeks as their faces parted. Looking up at him, she thought that this was all that she wanted.

"So do you want to change it?", he whispered sorely and started to kiss her chest.

"No." she answered,her voice hoarse, as she put her arms around his neck.

She could practically feel his smile as she softly stroke his hair.

She had to remember that there were only twenty minutes left until dinner.


He was laying beside her as she looked at the ceiling of her room, spotting nothing but darkness. It was long after midnight, and she was comfortably lying in her bed.

With him.

He had made sure to come back in the night, just as he had promised. He always kept his promises.

She snuggled a little deeper into his bare chest, inhaling his scent deeply.

He stroked through her hair, taking in the softness, her sweet scent and the regular sound of her breathing. He could tell that she was not sleeping.

"Hinata" he murmured, his eyes still closed.

She didn't answer.

He tried again, but she still didn't answer.

It was not until he noticed the quiet sobbing and the wetness against his chest that he realized she was crying.

Suddenly alarmed, he moved a little backward to look at her completely.

"Hinata. . . what's wrong?" he asked gently.

She only muttered something imcomprehensive.

"Hinata. Please, look at me. . . Hina – look at me!" he urged tenderly, gripping her shoulders and staring down at her.

After another sob, she finally looked up, the tears still in her eyes. A light blush was on her cheeks, because of her apparent embarassemenr. "I-I'm sorry" she started, her stutter returning, "it's just that. . . I don't want this anymore. I don't want us to be a secret anymore. I want to be with you, but we can't continue like this. . . " she whispered.

He hugged her tightly and kissed her hair. "It's going to be okay, I assure you. We'll manage it, you don't have to marry some stranger. . . and we can be together at last." he said, not competely convinced himself. He was sure not to let her notice.

He continued to whisper comforting words in her ear and to kiss her passionately and to console her as best as he could. He had never wanted her to be so desperate.


"Let's run away together."

She turned around to face him, assuming he was already gone, and looked taken aback.

"What?" she whispered.

"You recall the conversation we had a few weeks ago? About how this isn't going to work much longer like that?" She could tell he was fighting to blush. "Well, I have the solution. We're going to run away. Leave everything behind us. Hide under false names, always travel around to avoid recognition. . . but always be together." He was blushing now.

After seeing her still shocked look, he smiled a little, already losing hope. "Doesn't sound good. . . ?"

He was expecting her to tell him to leave, to break up with him, to scream at him for even daring to voice such a possibility.

What he was not expecting, however, was her stroding up to him and kiss the daylights out of him.

She just released him to whisper a quick "Gods, I love you so much, Naruto-kun. . . thank you" before she envelopped him again in a passionate kiss.

He took this as a yes. And returned the kiss just as eagerly.

This night, they made love for the first time.


Exactly one week later, they were gone.
A/N.: Well… I finished this really quickly, although I've had this idea in my mind for ages. I still love the plot… but Sasuke wasn't supposed to come off as the bad guy, he was just used for the role. (Sorry Sasuke) Whatever, this is going to be a small collection of Naruto-stories with NaruHina as the Main Pairing, but I will also include others… until then, you can also request pairings or ideas for stories! I'm going to go to bed now. Love - cherrizii