A/N: I present my first ever attempt at writing. It is not canon compliant and will be AU since I will be manipulating the timeline as i wish. English is not my first language. Constructive criticism is welcomed but don't be rude. I am writing for fun and hope you enjoy as well.

I don't own Naruto and never will.

"Emphsis"

characters thinking/a simple narration

AN IMPORTANT PART

"characters speaking"

Pay attention to the chapter names as they sometimes signify a deeper meaning...

Since i was not able to update for the last 3 days, i wrote a bigger chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 8: Someone unexpected

"Naru-chan listen you need to sleep and rest sometimes. Even with Kurama, you don't have infinite chakra reserves. He will also get tired at some point." scolded Hinata.

"But Hina-chaaaaaaaan, we all need to attend the meeting that Tsunade-baa-chan has called for right now." she whined

"No Naruto if you take even a single step out of this tent, I will close all your tenketsu points, even the ones that let Kurama's chakra circulate!" She said with an edge in her voice because she knew she won't be able to do that if Naruto did not allow her to.

"Listen to her kit, she is right you know? You have already been working your body overtime and it also needs rest without my chakra enhancing it time and again" Kurama said in her mind.

"What if Tsunade-baa-chan has an idea, to how we can save more people and end this terrible war once and for all?" Naruto asked hopefully to both her friends.

Kurama kept silent because he knew his Kit's childhood friend will answer her properly anyway.

Oh Naru-chan always so cheerful, always so optimistic, a manifestation of Hope itself. Hinata's eyes lost her sternness and her voice lost the edge.

"Maybe i should tell you this before we lose our chance to talk again-" her eyes widened when Naruto stumbled looking as if she has just been slapped hard across her face.

"naru-chan-" Hinata said.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!" Naruto shouted.

"You are going nowhere, you hear me? We will get plenty of opportunities to talk again? Okay? Promise me!" She pleaded.

"Naru-chan I..." she let out a deep sigh filled with resignation and sadness "i can't and you also know that, with the war raging as it is...

She stopped when she saw Naruto on the verge of a panic attack. She ran quickly and hugged her friend, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

After few minutes when she calmed down, with her voice muffled on Hinata's shoulder, Naruto asked "Please assure me hina-chan, that at the first point of danger to your life, you will retreat from engaging anymore."

Hinata waited for Naruto to say something else but when she didnt, Hinata hummed and said "Okay Naru-chan i assure you i will try my best to do as you say okay? So please believe me now and hear what i have to say."

Naruto nodded "ok i believe you for now" she doesn't believe her, not even for a second, and she knows that Hinata knows that Naruto doesnt believe in hinata in this scenario as well because:

"Those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum." (They thought together)

"Now listen here Naruto," Hinata got serious, and Naruto straightened up and looked at her friend's beautiful white eyes (which are always tinted with lavender if someone looks close enough, resembling kindness like the sunlight itself peeking from the clouds in her dark, dark world)

"The moment you appeared in my life was the day i was saved, not only from those bullies but even from myself. You inspired me to become a better version of myself every day from then on Naruto. At first i thought i was in love with you," she laughed when Naruto blushed at that statement "- but Hina-chan you are clearly not because you are with-"

"Now now Naruto, even if i am with him, that doesn't mean i love you any less," her eyes oozed such warmth that Naruto felt her breath hitch when it was directed towards her "- remember Naruto there are many different kinds of love, saying that you are my friend or like a little sister would be seriously understating the love i have for you. So, after many years of thoughts and spending time together with you, it made me realize that, you are my soulmate Naruto." She confessed and smiled when she saw the innocent and frankly adorable blue eyes, bluer than sky itself looking at her with something akin to wonder.

She continued "It was startling because, then i got to know that soulmates do not need to have romantic love, they just love each other unconditionally. So my dear Naru-chan, my one and only soulmate, I love you with all my heart and i want you to take care of yourself even if i am not there to do that for you."

Her throat closed up and she had to blink once to make her thoughts coherent and not roll Naruto in a blanket and hide her away from this war raging world "-and I never want you to ever give up on our shared dreams of peace and ending the cycle of hatred but at the same time i don't want you to forget who you truly are. Rest well, sleep well, and eat well Naru-chan, that's all I ask for. Would you do that for me?"

Feeling too overwhelmed to say anything, she settled for a nod instead. With the sudden onslaught of Hinata's feelings, all her thoughts were jumbled up. Oh she knew Hina-chan loved her but she didn't quite expect it to this extent.

And just like that a memory flashed before her eyes, a set of very determined eyes, ready to protect and defend Naruto on her life if need be "because I love Naruto" . Naruto gasped when she remembered, her heart aching and filled with love at once. Hinata had fought for her against Pein.

They never got the time to discuss her self-sacrifice did they? But now she understood, and she laughed and cried at the same time because why the hell not, she had a soulmate all this time and she didn't realize at all. She has a life partner and a soulmate and they are both different people. Maybe in another life or in a parallel world, she will have Hinata as her life partner and "him" as a soulmate who understands her better than anyone.

So she lays down heart full and breathes in deeply for the first time in a long while and sleeps with a smile on her face.

x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x—x

The sun was already up high, she could hear the birds chirping. She would get up if not for Hinata's warning of closing all her tenkentsu points if Naruto does not get enough sleep. She thinks she is having a deja-vu because she clearly remembers waking up to hina-chan's kind eyes where are they?-

and just like that a piercing headache blooms from the base of her skull as if someone had hit her there. She realizes with growing dread that she does not remember what happened afterwards. (She doesn't understand that she is experiencing is a memory block where her mind has suppressed the most painful memories herself to continue functioning normally.)

When she senses snakes, her eyes fly open, all cold and sharp and alert; no sign of sleepiness present at all except the starting signs of hysteria creeping at the corners.

"Hey-" she turns her head towards the snake "-inform Sasuke and Anko to send you guys in search of Hina-chan okay? I will be sending my toads as well, come on hurry up, poof away, we don't have time, who knows what happened to Hina-chan with those thrice dammed white Zetsu roaming around."

She bites her thumb, forms hand seals "summoning-"

"Interessssssssssting" someone interrupts.

"What are you doing here Orochimaru?" she snaps, dammit I don't have time to talk with him right now her back facing him as she recognizes his Chakra signature, but something is different, it is not as slimy as it used to be.

She whirls around and points a finger at him.

"Hey what are doing here, shouldn't you be holed up in your lab with working on finding the solution to reanim-" (reanimation jutsu) She felt her eyes widen when she saw what he was wearing.

"what in the actual fuck happened to you for you to dress up like that?" she motions her hand up and down towards his outfit, the leaf headband, the jounin jacket and regular pants and all his clothes, apparently. He notices dryly.

What she cannot really understand is why is he looking at her so curiously (and a little creepily if she might add) as if he is meeting her for the first time.

"What an interesting specimen" he takes a step forward,

"Tell me child can you really summon toads?" he takes another step "How did you recognize my chakra signature, because as far as I am aware I don't go near children long enough for them to memorize my Chakra," he steps forward again "how did you know that this snake was a summon" now he is looming over her "Are you Anko's friend? But i haven't given her the summoning contract yet, so why did you call out the summon as if you knew it could only be hers and this Sasuke person? I believe you called him? Who is he? Or better yet who are you?" he tilts his head as if a predator scrutinizing his prey deciding whether the prey was worth the effort of hunting or not.

Sasuke's name on his tongue still makes her blood boil but she doesn't have time for the petty fights they engage into, so she calms her breathing and cranes her neck to look into his eyes-

Wait what when did he become so tall?, her eyes widened, after hitting her growth's spurt she got quite tall herself, although she was still short in comparison to boys, she remembers raising her eyes but not craning her neck to look at Orochimaru.

And that's when her surroundings became clear, the fog lifted and she recalled yesterday's incidents. Her body automatically went into battle mode as she jumped back and took a fighting stance, eyes apathetic towards him, while her brain was scrambling for any excuses to make for her blunder.

"What will you do if I don't answer any of your questions?" she asked with forced calm.

As if reaching a decision, Orochimaru smiled and stepped towards his prey.

What he did not know then was that Naruto, never was and never will become a prey.

TBC

A/N: So how was it? Did you expect this encounter? Answer me in the comments section.

Signing out

Yuki Race