Hey, only point I'm gonna make is that this is set just after the Bikouchuu filler arc (148-151) in the anime, so some very minor spoilers I guess. Apart from that, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto is not my property, and no copyright infringement is intended.

Naruto walked aimlessly around Konoha. He was taking some free time off from training himself; he didn't feel like he was really progressing. He needed Jiraiya to come back so he could head off and maybe learn some awesome new techniques. He'd managed to trap the annoying bikouchuu that had been following his b…that had been following him around under a glass back at Ichiraku, so that'd buy him some time.

He sighed. It had been such a good plan. He could be helping track Sasuke down right now, if only he hadn't screwed things up. Sakura was being a great sport about it, only chasing him around the rooftops for a day or two. He really felt that he'd let her down. 'Next time we'll bring Sasuke back for sure,' he swore to himself. 'And I won't mess things up this time…'

Naruto looked up and saw where his amblings had taken him; Konoha lake. Across at the other side was the empty Uchiha section of the village, a little pier jutting out into the middle of the water. He realised why he'd walked over here, his mind was still somewhat preoccupied with the ultra pretty girl he'd seen at the waterfall during their mission. She'd been so graceful, and the way the water had swirled around her as if it too was dancing…

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts when he heard a gentle sound coming from behind a tree. Moving with uncharacteristic quietness, he slipped over towards it. Behind the tree sobbing quietly, was Hinata. He marvelled at how different she looked from the determined girl who had faced down the Kamizuru clan members with her awesome jutsu. Here she looked frail and sad, far more in keeping with the quiet girl he remembered from the academy.

"Ne, Hinata, what's wrong?" the girl leapt to her feet and spun round in surprise. When she saw that it was only Naruto, she visibly relaxed, but turned her head away from him. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and she didn't want anyone, let alone Naruto, to see her like this.

"It's…nothing. I'm fine."

Naruto shook his head disbelievingly. "Come on Hinata, it's obvious that you aren't. What made you cry?" He realised that he was being far pushier than he needed to be. "Come on," he went on, less aggressively. "It's okay to be upset sometimes. It doesn't make you any less strong."

At this, Hinata turned to look at him. She was clearly conflicted about confiding in him, but eventually she began to speak, albeit haltingly.

"It's just that…well, last night, I had a…" she trailed off and looked like she was going to start crying again. Naruto moved closer and, stretching out his arm, placed his hand on her shoulder. Her head jerked up in astonishment. Naruto just grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up.

"Don't worry," he said, smiling. "I promise I won't tell anyone, and I don't go back on my word."

Hinata smiled a little at this and nodded. She continued on from where she'd left off. "Well, last night I had a…nightmare." She blushed, embarrassed that something as trivial as a bad dream had caused her to cry and sneaked a peek at Naruto's face. To her surprise, he was no longer smiling but his face was now very solemn.

"What was the nightmare about?" he asked. She could see that he was very serious, so she continued.

"Well, it was to do with my father…and Neji. I'd been called down to training and my father had told me that I'd be sparring with Neji. I-I did my best, and used Shugohakke Rokujyuu Yonshou, but…" Tears started running down her face again. Naruto gently squeezed her shoulder to encourage her. She wiped away the tears with her sleeve, and carried on. "Afterwards, my father said he was really disappointed in me, and that even after he'd taken me back in, I'd shown that I was still weak. All I wanted was for them to acknowledge me…"

At this, she began sobbing again. Naruto looked on unhappily; there wasn't anything that he could do to cheer her up. He understood how she felt, probably more so than anyone else. When she seemed to have calmed down again, Naruto made an attempt to cheer her up.

"Hinata, I know how awful that must have felt. You just need to realise that you aren't weak. Your jutsu is really cool, and really strong, and you made it up by yourself. Being able to do something like that is amazing, and you should be proud of yourself. Even if you can't beat Neji, that doesn't mean you're weak. He's really strong and talented, but you're good at different things. And, um…yeah, that's pretty much what I wanted to say."

He rubbed the back of his head, somewhat sheepishly, as he'd finished pretty lamely. When he looked at Hinata, however, her eyes were glowing. He couldn't know how she felt about him or how it had made her feel to here him saying all of those things, but she knew, and his acknowledgement was more important to her than anyone else's. Suddenly, he had a thought.

"Oh yeah! I think I've got something that could help you. Stay right here, I'll be right back!" With that, Naruto ran off, leaving behind a bemused, yet elated, Hinata.

Ten minutes later, Naruto reappeared once again. Hinata had washed her face in the lake and was generally looking much happier. Curious as to what Naruto was holding behind his back, she walked over to the beaming Genin.

"Naruto-kun? What have you got-" As soon as she got into range, Naruto pulled his goofy faced night cap down on to her head. Temporarily stunned, she then reached up and felt it on her head. When she did, the realisation that Naruto had given her something of his in such a personal manner kicked in, and she blushed madly. Naruto interpreted this incorrectly, and his grin turned into a worried frown.

"Don't you like it? It always helps me get to sleep, but if you want I'll take it back…"

Hinata shook her head forcefully, her face still very red. "No, I really like it. Thank you so much!"

Naruto smiled again, relieved. "I'm glad you like it. It helps stop me getting bad dreams, so I hope it does the same for you." He walked over to the water's edge and sighed. Hinata watched him, goofy hat still on her head. That was a point; she didn't know why Naruto had come to the lake in the first place. She decided to open up a bit more to him; after all, he'd already helped her become the person she was today.

"Naruto, what made you stop by the lake today? I always come here when I'm feeling lonely and I find the water relaxing, but what's made you come?"

Naruto turned towards her, looking around furtively before speaking. "Remember on the mission when I told you guys that I saw a really pretty girl by the waterfall?" he said, speaking in a whisper. Hinata could feel the blush climbing back up her face again. Naruto rubbed the back of his head again.

"Well," he said, with an embarrassed grin, "I guess I'm kinda hoping I'll run into her again."

Hinata smiled shyly at him. "Who knows, maybe you will someday." She looked at her watch and gave a little gasp. "Oh! I'm supposed to meet Kiba and Shino in 5 minutes! I'll be late if I don't go now." She bowed at Naruto. "Thank you so much for cheering me up, and thank you again for the night cap!"

Naruto started to say "Don't mention it," but Hinata had already run off, taking off the cap but clutching it close to her chest. He smiled at her retreating back. He may not have run into the waterfall girl, but Hinata was pretty special herself. 'She is definitely someone I could really like,' he mused to himself.

And that's that. I hope you enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it, and that you leave a review. Inspiration from it came from a comic, which you can find by googling cinnamonstars, as I don't get how to post links. Be warned that there are some spoilers for the manga though. Enjoy!