Chapter 2

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked around. Recognizing where he was, he groaned. He hated it when this happened. The room he found himself occupying had open pipes running along the ceiling, water on the floor, and a huge cage directly in front of him. He was in his mindscape; specifically, he was just in front of the seal that held the Kyubi. It was rare for his dreams to bring him here, but it did happen once in a while, and it was always annoying. Naruto sighed deeply. And here he was hoping maybe he'd meet Hinata in his dream again. He was about to go see what the fox wanted when he saw something that made his heart stop.

Hinata was sitting against the wall not far from the cage that was the seal. As Naruto looked at her, she was just opening her eyes. Hinata looked around, confused, and she didn't seem to see Naruto at first. Naruto felt bad for the girl, but he had to admit to himself she was adorable waking up like that. Naruto smiled and took a step forward.

Hinata saw him. "Naruto? Where are we?" she asked. Naruto sighed. Why did she always have to ask the hardest questions?

Trying his best to smile so Hinata wouldn't be afraid, Naruto answered, "We're in my mindscape. I was afraid this might happen. I hope you can still accept me after what you see here tonight, Hinata." That said, Naruto moved over to stand between Hinata and the cage. Hinata could just barely see the bars behind Naruto. "Show yourself," she heard him whisper seconds before she got the biggest shock of her life.

A huge fox head became visible behind the bars, followed by the rest of its body and nine tails. Hinata eeped and stumbled backward a bit. Naruto lowered his eyes, not wanting to see the looks of fear, rejection, hatred, and anger he was sure Hinata would turn on him. Hinata felt his fear and took a step toward him. She was afraid of the fox, yes, but she was more afraid of Naruto being upset or turning away from her than she was of the beast.

Reaching out, Hinata cupped Naruto's chin in one hand and forced his eyes up to hers. She smiled and looked into his eyes. Naruto was surprised to find nothing but love reflected on him in her eyes. He could even feel her love for him in that moment. He had to smile; this was certainly reassuring. Naruto pulled Hinata into his arms and held her. Hinata, surprised, couldn't do anything but return it. The Kyubi was not amused. From behind Naruto, both youngsters heard the huge fox snarling.

Reluctantly, Naruto took his arms from around Hinata and turned to look at the fox. Hinata, surprising both of them, linked her arm with his. Naruto smiled at her. She just looked up at him, a small smile on her face. Not a word was spoken between them throughout, but the message was heard loud and clear. Naruto knew Hinata was there for him, that she would help him, and that, given the choice, she would face every enemy he had, now and forever, at his side. As for Hinata, she couldn't help but smile when she felt the fierce protectiveness Naruto was feeling for her. Both turned and glared at the Kyubi.

Kyubi leaned down and laid his head on the "ground" of his cage. Turning his gaze upon the two preteens in front of him, he gave a feral grin. "You intend to protect this one, eh, kit?" he said to Naruto. Naruto simply gave the fox a determined glare and squeezed Hinata's arm, eliciting a second "eep" from the girl. "Well, you do realize you'll need my power to protect her, don't you? After all, what can you do on your own? You couldn't even master that Summoning Jutsu on your own, and you would have died without me!"

Naruto gave a snarl, then nodded slightly. "Yeah, maybe so, but you know what? It wasn't you that defeated that snake in the Forest of Death. That was ME! AND I did that after the stupid thing ATE me! I don't need your help you stupid fox, but you'll still give me your chakra when I want it, as I said before, you owe me rent for being in my body!"

Hinata would later swear she saw the fox raise an eyebrow at the boy, who seemingly was trying to stare the fox down. Then something neither Naruto nor Hinata ever expected happened. The fox looked away! Naruto had actually stared the Kyubi down! Naruto grinned. Kyubi commented, "All right, kit, I'll give you my chakra, just hope you can control it." Chuckling, the fox curled into a ball and seemingly went to sleep.

Turning to Hinata, Naruto gave a small smile. Hinata felt her heart flutter as he did; it was a sincere smile, which always made her melt when it came from him. She smiled back. "Well, Hinata, now you know my deepest secret," Naruto said, gesturing at the cage behind him. Hinata just smiled. "So, what's yours?"

Hinata gasped. Naruto wanted to know about her? This was a dream come true! Oh, but he would have to ask that wouldn't he? Her deepest secret. Well, other than her feelings for him (which she was just not ready to tell him about yet), there was only one thing. "I'm...afraid of bears," she said.

Naruto gave a small smile. He wanted to laugh, but something told him doing so would hurt the girl's feelings. "Bears, huh?" he asked. Hinata just nodded.

Naruto came over and wrapped his arms around her gently. Hinata looked up in surprise. "Naruto?"

"I'll protect you, Hinata," he said. "You don't have to be afraid of anything as long as I'm here. I promise." Hinata smiled and blushed deeply, then wrapped her arms around Naruto and buried her face in his chest. She knew if Naruto promised to protect her, he'd do it. Between that and being in his arms like she was, Hinata had never felt safer in her life than she did at that precise moment, which was rather ironic really, considering the proximity of the Kyubi.

Naruto was surprised at how at peace and how relaxed he felt holding onto Hinata like he was. He felt like he had finally found something he'd been looking for for years without ever knowing what it was. He smiled, deciding to simply relax and enjoy the feelings he was experiencing, many of them for the first time in his life. Hinata, sensing how Naruto was feeling at that moment, had to fight with all her being not to faint as she realized Naruto was beginning to love her!

Hinata reluctantly pulled away from Naruto and moved to the wall where she had been sitting when she "awoke". She sat against it and gestured for Naruto to come with her. He came over in front of her and sat down as well. The two sat together in companionable silence for a short time, then Naruto, who had been thinking about how he was feeling for the shy girl in front of him, decided to talk to her about it.

"Hinata?" he said, his voice hesitant. Hinata smiled at him and nodded for him to continue. "I was just thinking. This feeling I'm having...I've never had it before. I was kind of hoping maybe you could help me understand what it is."

Hinata blushed. "I'll d-do my best, Naruto," she said, her eyes sincere. Naruto couldn't help but give her a smile at that. "What is it that you're feeling?" She thought she knew, but still, better safe than sorry.

"Well, when I look at you, I want to smile. When I think of you, my heartbeat quickens. When you smile, my heart jumps and I can't help but smile back. When you're hurt, I want to destroy the one who hurt you. When you're scared, I want to take you in my arms and hold you until you're not afraid anymore. And when you're in my arms, I feel more at peace, more complete, than I ever have in my entire life," Naruto said, not bothering to stop and think about what he was saying, he was just saying the things he'd been thinking of before he'd spoken. He looked at Hinata and was surprised to find her blushing furiously, obviously embarrassed if the feeling he got from her was anything to go by, and tears filling her eyes. "Hinata? What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

Hinata shook her head. "No, Naruto, not at all, I'm just happy, that's all," she said.

The blond pondered that a moment. "So you know what it is I'm feeling?" he asked. His eyes were so full of hope it made Hinata's heart swell to know she could help him...and, in a way, herself as well.

"Of course I do, Naruto," she said, blushing again. "Everything you just said...that's how I feel about you, it's how I've felt for a long time."

"So...what is it?" he asked, blushing, his voice somewhat afraid.

Hinata blushed, then pushed herself off the wall, and, wondering to herself as she did when she got so nervy, planted herself on Naruto's lap. Naruto was surprised, but he didn't push her away; as surprising as this was, he was far from averse to it. Hinata leaned up and whispered into Naruto's ear, "It's love, Naruto."

Naruto was surprised. He looked at the girl in his lap and gave a hesitant smile. "So, these things I'm feeling...they mean that...I love you?" he asked. Hinata blushed furiously and thanked every god ever that this was a dream; if it wasn't, she knew she'd have fainted just then. She slowly nodded. Naruto pulled her to him, his arms around her, and whispered into her ear, "Then I guess I love you, Hinata."

Hinata put her arms around Naruto's neck and whispered back, "I love you, too, Naruto." Naruto shivered; in that moment, he realized that every dream he'd ever had, to be accepted, to be loved, to be seen, every single one was made real in the form of the girl on his lap. He smiled, then buried his face into her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her more tightly. Hinata blushed yet again, then held Naruto tightly. Both of them slowly closed their eyes.

Upon opening their eyes, Naruto and Hinata were both surprised and more than a little disappointed to find themselves awake, Naruto in his bed in his apartment, Hinata in her hospital bed. It was only remembering that the dream they had just had was real, not just a dream, that allowed the two to not be too disappointed.

Naruto heard Hinata's words in his ear again and smiled. "I love you, Hinata," he whispered, trying out the words. It felt right, and it felt good to say it. He focused on his love, as he now knew it to be. He felt Hinata's resulting embarrassment as she felt his love and chuckled to himself. Then he felt her return her own love and sighed deeply; it felt so good to have someone feel that way for him. With a smile, the blond began his morning routine; he had training today, after all, so he'd better get ready.

Hinata smiled as she concentrated on letting Naruto feel her love for him. She felt his happiness in return and blushed slightly. "He said he loves me!" she thought to herself. "He really said that. This is the happiest day of my life!" As she was thinking this, a medical ninja entered her room.

"Ah, Lady Hinata," the medic said, smiling. "You're awake. I'm so glad you're not like most of our patients, it's so easy to get you to rest."

Hinata blushed slightly. "I find that my sleep is very pleasant these days," she said, hoping the ninja wouldn't question her. She sighed in relief when her comment was taken at face value and she was left alone again.

She laid back down in her bed, hoping Naruto would come visit her that day; she wanted to talk to him about their dreams and try to figure out what had happened to cause this. On the other hand, she didn't want to distract him from training, so she just relaxed, letting her body rest and hoping he'd come see her of his own accord.

Hinata eventually dozed off, to her surprise. When she awoke, she found that it was almost dinnertime. Sitting in a chair along the wall of her room was Naruto. "Oh, Naruto!" she said, surprised to find him there.

Naruto looked up at her voice. "Oh, hey, Hinata," he said, smiling. "I'm glad you're awake."

Hinata blushed. "Have you been waiting long?" she asked. Naruto shook his head. "Oh good. How was your training with Master Jiraiya?"

Naruto chuckled. "It was fine. Here," he said, pulling a small container from behind his back. Hinata was surprised to find it filled with cookies. Naruto took the lid off, and she saw they were oatmeal cookies and had an odd brownish tinge to them. "I made these myself," Naruto said.

Hinata blushed deeper. "Oh, did you make them for me?" she asked.

Naruto nodded, then pulled something else from behind him. A bouquet of flowers! He put them in a vase on her stand and smiled. "I got these for you, too," he told her. Hinata looked at the bouquet closely, blushing again as she noticed a single cactus flower near the bottom of it. Then again, given the first dream they shared, that one shouldn't be too much of a surprise.

Hinata took a cookie. "Thank you, Naruto," she said. She nibbled at the cookie. Surprisingly, the cookie was the best she'd ever tasted! She greedily ate the first one and reached for a second.

Naruto smiled. "That good, huh?" he said, a foxy grin on his face. Hinata blushed, then nodded and ate her second cookie, much more slowly than the first, but still rather quick. "I'm glad you like them, Hinata."

"Where did you get the recipe for these?" she asked.

Naruto chuckled. "I went to talk to Kakashi-sensei, Iruka-sensei, Kurenai-sensei, and Pervy Sage to ask what I should get for you. I got a recipe for cinnamon rolls from Kurenai-sensei and one for cookies from Kakashi-sensei. I combined the two, more or less, and got these," he said. "I was hoping they'd turn out well." At that, he took one himself, and less than ten minutes later, the cookies were gone.

Silence reigned for several moments. Hinata looked at Naruto. "I'm glad you're here, Naruto, actually. I wanted to talk to you about the dreams we've been having and all that," she said.

Naruto stood up, an odd grin plastered on his face.