Another update today. Yay.

Disclaimer: Dont own anyone besides Makoto, Mikoto, Matsuri and the name for Hina's grandpa, because it is omitted in the original series. And some other antagonists I'll introduce later.


When Hinata finally stirred, there was a pounding in her head and her body was freezing cold. A quick glance around and she saw a small fire heating her up as best as she could, and draped over her body was a warm jacket. She smiled at the warmth that was around her until she gasped. It was Naruto's jacket over her. She blushed and curled up under the jacket as she noticed that the only thing she was still wearing was her mesh tank top and her training shorts.

She was still trying to figure out what happened as Naruto walked into the clearing, carrying branches, a few logs, and a bag of fish. His face brightened as he saw his companion awake.

"Hinata! I'm so glad you're awake!" She turned a bright red when she heard him, but then her face fell when she remembered what he said earlier.

"How long was I out, N-Naruto-kun?" She asked, sitting up and wrapping his jacket around her small frame. "And where are my clothes?" She asked, hoping that he hadn't seen her in what little she had on. He tilted his head to a wire he had hooked to two trees and on it was her kimono and all her other things, dripping onto the forest floor.

"Well, it was a little past noon that we started our journey…" He began to ponder the question, blushing as he remembered how Hinata looked when he got her out of her clothes. "Then I'm guessing we got attacked sometime around… 4 in the afternoon. You've been out for a few hours now." Hinata glanced up at the trees and gasped as she saw that the sky was dotted with stars and the moon.

He cleared his throat. "Anyways, I'd better get started on the fish…" He was about to pull them out when Hinata's pale hand stopped his from moving. He looked up at her blushing face.

"Let me, Naruto-kun. Y-You've already done m-more than enough for the night…" She took the bag from him, but then she was the brightest red when his eyes were right in front of her, their lips only centimeters apart.

"Hinata, are you sure you're okay? You're pretty warm…" He stated with soft eyes, their foreheads pressed together as he checked it. She didn't even move, but gave him a short nod.

That nod was more than enough. Her lips collided with his and she would have died happy right there. Naruto himself was shocked that they were kissing, and he pulled away slowly, as if somehow his body didn't want him to leave her lips. She pulled away with her burning cheeks and bowed apologetically.

"I-I'm so sorry, N-N-Naruto-k-kun…!" She said, trying her hardest to both forget the feeling and have it engraved in her memory forever. Naruto was red too, but he just nodded at her apology.

"D-Don't worry about it Hinata! I-It was a-an accident…r-right?" Hinata nodded furiously and rushed off to the river nearby. She found it and knelt by the bed before thrusting her face into the water, hoping it would cool her off.


Naruto was an entirely different case. After the kiss and the departure of said girl, he laid back and looked up at the sky as he tried to think about things. After all, he had never seen her in a romantic light, but after what he saw that day…

Let's just say, he wasn't so sure.

He rolled around a bit and glanced up at the stars, anything to get his mind off of Hinata, but the feeling of her lips was a recurring thought.

'They were warm… and really soft… I wonder if it's just hers, or if it goes for all girls…?' He sat up, red and shook his head out of those thoughts. Just then, Hinata came up, her face and hair wet but with the fish prepared. She took a few of the branches he brought and stuck the fish on them. She set them carefully around the fire and curled up to keep herself warm and to take in the scent of Naruto's jacket.

'I wish I hadn't done that… I-It's going to be so awkward now…' She thought, staring into the fire. At first it seemed to be a regular fire, nothing particularly special. But after another look, there were people running around in it. She gasped and stared at the fire more intently.

It was a scene. A large fire, somewhere familiar to her. There were people running out, trying to save themselves from the flames. In a small group, there were two girls on the floor. One was either on the verge of dying, or dead. The other was crying and yelling something to a third girl who was standing over both their bodies, although she seemed more distant. Between them, a boy stood. His arms were out, as if to shield them, knives and stars in his hands. He seemed charred, even a bit burnt but otherwise okay. It was all unreal, but Hinata knew that if she were to touch it…

"Hinata, what the hell!" Naruto yanked her back from her stupor and into his arms. She had been just about to burn herself with how close she was getting to the flames. She blinked and then her eyes welled up in tears, but she refused to cry as she clung to him, trembling. Naruto wasn't sure what happened, but all he could do now was hold her and hope that she'd share her pain.

When the girl finally stopped, she pushed her friend away, but he kept her in his arms. She looked up at him with wet eyes and he just cupped her cheek.

"Not leaving until I'm sure you're okay." She nodded silently and buried her face in his shirt once again, forgetting about their dinner. After a few more minutes she sighed and looked up at him, almost losing herself in the deep oceans that were his eyes.

"N-Naruto… I-I saw… I saw something i-in the fire… S-Something… something horrible…" She pulled away from his grasp and grabbed their dinner, handing him one of the cooked fish. He took it and kept one arm around her as if to provide her with some kind of comfort, the other holding their dinner. Hinata nibbled on her cooked fish.

"It was like a vision, almost… There were four or five people there… two on one side, one between the two groups, and then the other group of two. One of them seemed just about to die, while the one between the two groups was protecting them." She trembled a bit and Naruto pressed his hand a bit harder on her shoulder, as if to comfort her. "It just seemed… so real… Like if I touched the flames I would see this clearly…"

She sighed and finished off her fish before tossing the stick into the fire. Naruto did the same and pulled his arm away. She noted the loss of warmth from her shoulder, but she didn't mind. She knew that they probably wouldn't get much closer than they were now.

'But that kiss said differently~' Her inner Hinata stated, laughing softly. Hinata ignored the voice and poked the fire, her eyes glazed as she thought about things.

"Hinata, I'll take the first watch. You get some rest." She heard his voice and looked up at him. He was already standing and stretching, a comforting smile on his lips.

"Are you sure? I feel like you need it more than I do." He grinned and nodded.

"Yeah. I don't know how Neji will take it if I return the Hyuuga heiress tired."

Again.

She felt that dropping sensation that she had felt earlier when Naruto told her about how the mission was a waste if he lost her in the explosion. She stubbornly stood up and shot him a look that, in his opinion, looked like an ice-cold glare.

"The same goes for you Naruto-kun. Don't underestimate me." She said coldly and began a search of the fields around them.


"Ugh… Why did I do that?!" Hinata wanted to take a kunai (even though she didn't know where her holster was) and just cut herself. It was just after their little 'fight' and she was completely upset. When she looked back up, her face looked hurt.

'Now he must hate me…' She rubbed her stinging eyes and jumped as she heard the rustling of leaves behind her. She turned and saw her comrade stepping through the leaves, an embarrassed look on his face.

"Hinata… C-Can we talk..?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck in his sheepish look. She saw the look and nodded, stepping back to their campsite and avoiding his reach. When they were seated around the fire once again, it remained quiet for a while until he finally broke the silence.

"Hinata, listen." She looked up as she heard her name being spoken. There was something in her expression that made him want to run and hug her, and make all the things that make her hurt go away. But for the moment, it was one thing at a time. He took a deep breath and spoke.

"I-I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to say anything to offend you, and if I did, don't hesitate to hit me. Sakura always does anyways." She felt that sinking sensation again before she shook her head.

"It was also my fault Naruto. I… I-I guess I was just upset and even a bit jealous…" She said in a soft voice, blushing and looking at her hands in her lap. He looked at her, confusion written in his eyes.

"Why would you be jealous? There's no one around…" Then he remembered the princess and how it seemed a bit easy and a bit hard to talk to her. Once he thought he saw Hinata's face in the window of the carriage and a flash of sadness and even a hint of envy for the two of them outside.

"Wait… Was it about this afternoon?" He asked her cautiously. She made a face and sighed before nodding, a few tears on her cheeks.

"I-I try to not let stuff like that get to me, but sometimes I just can't help it!" She wanted to beat herself up for feeling this way. Instead, the tears flowed out and she finally broke down in all the emotions she absolutely hated.

Naruto had no experience comforting a girl, but he did what his body said to do. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and held her against his chest. She cried softly into his chest and after another moment, she pulled away, her tears stopping.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't be telling you things like this." She got up and stretched before heading off to her watch, but something stopped her.

When she looked down, his hand was wrapped around her wrist and his eyes were hidden from sight by his bangs.

"Hinata, don't worry about crying on me. I'll always let you do it, so if you can't tell anyone else, I'm here for you." He pulled her down to him and kissed her. Hinata was shocked and tried to pull away. Unfortunately, Naruto seemed to have other plans. He tugged her down into his lap and it wasn't until Hinata slapped him that he regained control of his senses.

Hinata quickly got up and rushed out of the clearing, tears in her eyes.

'W-Why did he kiss me like that?! I mean, it's all I've ever wanted from him, but why when he hasn't even asked me out on a date?!'


Elsewhere, Naruto was stuck with problems.

1. He had just kissed a girl who wasn't Sakura.

2. He lost control of himself and wanted more.

3. He actually wanted more.

4. HE KISSED A GIRL! Not the dumb kiss with Sasuke. Not a close encounter with Sakura. HE KISSED HINATA.

5. HE GOT SLAPPED FOR KISSING THE GIRL!

6. SHE WAS THE HYUUGA EMPRESS! This would be so bad for her if word ever leaked.

He looked up at the sky, his lips still tingling from the passion that he put into the kiss. He didn't even know what made him do that. All he knew is that he wanted to comfort her, and his mind shut down the minute their lips connected.

He rubbed his stinging cheek and looked up at the starry sky before falling asleep. As he drifted off, the only thing he could think about was Hinata.


Hinata stood guard for a few hours, trying to calm down from all those kisses that the two of the shared. As she did, she realized that she had her own set of problems.

1. SHE KISSED A BOY. Naruto, her all-time crush, was her first kiss.

2. She wanted more.

3. She SLAPPED the boy for giving her the type of kiss that she always wanted.

4. SHE WAS THE HYUUGA EMPRESS! This would ruin her family name even more than before if word ever leaked out.

She watched the sky, praying to her mother's soul for any guidance, and then stayed nearby the warmth of the fire for a few hours until it was Naruto's turn to take watch.

All she did was shake him, tell him it was his turn, then turn around to flee any type of confrontation on the subject of kissing.

As she settled in for sleep, she only had two things on her mind. One; Naruto (obviously) and two; how long the mission would be if things like what just happened kept happening.


Lol. Sorry, couldn't help it. It got all serious in the middle, then it turned to humor. I wanted to end it on a high note, so here it is.

Night all (it's 1:36a in Cali as I type this)

CagedBird17