Hello there dear readers. I am truly sorry for the wait! I was a little stuck...Plus.. I'm in college now and barely have time to write anything.

I hope you enjoy!

We should be nearing the end very soon :)

By the Way Just wanted to give a quick THANK YOU to all my reviewers and hitters and whatever everyone passing by! I really appreciate you reading my story! Much Love!

"What do you think about? When you're not in a mission you mean." she asked innocently. Her mind told her this was dangerous, to be this close to him, to here him breathing beside her. Her instincts were wary, yet a feeling in her heart kept her there, anchored, lying on the ground next to him. There was something about this boy, something she knew maybe in the back of her mind, buried in the depths of her heart, that drew her to him. Somewhere in her subconscious, she knew why; she could just feel it. But a memory of a sharp blade piercing through her very body made her shudder and thus forbade her mind from exploring a connection between Naruto and herself.

Naruto grunted and rolled over onto his stomach. He thrust his arms behind his head, looking at her with a smug, but cute look on his face. "What are you saying, Hina-chan?"

"For example, when you look up at clouds, what kind of figures can you make out? Sometimes what you see is what you normally seek, sometimes it is what you typically think about."

"Hm," he grunted again, grinning. "I think if I were to answer this question properly, I might have to do research first, then."

"Research?"

"Yep." He looked up at the sky, a few clouds polka dotting the crystal blue canvas above them.

"I see...a toad over there!"

"Where?"

Naruto scooted closer to her, his head next to hers. He pointed to the cloud, "Right there. It's big and rounded with lots if bumps on it's back. And it's going after a fly," he pointed to another cloud to the left of it. "As usual."They laughed together.

"There's a kunai! Ah wait, sorry. No ninja stuff...uhm. There's a tea kettle. And oh, a fish. A fish...and a dragon over there. See the mouth? It's open and the teeth are curved an pointy. Ooh look! That round one. The lines around it look like days; it's the sun! Two suns in the sky. Wow!" Hinata smiled warmly as her eyes darted around, keeping up with him. "What do you see, Hinata-chan?" He left his arm suspended in the air, but his eyes fell to meet hers.

This surprised her and his face turning to hers with his blue eyes staring intently into her pearl ones surprised her more. "Uhm..." She couldn't look away and left her mouth slightly agape, forgetting it was open. And the moment that their eyes locked lasted an eternity and a half.

Suddenly Naruto's mouth twitched, his cheeks pinking, and his lips formed a smile. He lifted a hand and brushed a few locks off of Hinata's face, his fingers brushing against her cheek. A shudder ran up her spine. She bit her lip so hard in an instant that it started to bleed. She could taste the bit of blood seep onto her tongue yet remained still. Naruto saw the blood drip past her lip. He took a napkin out of his pocket and took her face in his hands, wiping the cut lightly. "Hinata-chan..." he said dismally. "Did you see?" He helped her sit up. He held her gently around her wrists. "Did you see? That one's a ramen bowl! Right there!" he said excitedly, pointing once again to the sky.

Hinata looked from Naruto to the clouds and back again with the same, fish out of water face. And then she laughed and continued laughing. Naruto laughed with her but his eyes refused to lighten, remaining serious. He did notice it. He didn't know how yet but he was going to help her. He needed to stop Hinata from hurting herself, somehow. It was hurting him too. An unbearable hurt; he hadn't felt something like this in his heart in a long time, maybe around the time Sasuke left.

But it was a different type of hurt, a hurt that stung in his chest. It was familiar, yet something he had never experienced before and all he wanted to do was make it better. It was something that made him want to cry; he wanted to always see her smile. He wanted to protect her, even if it meant from herself.

"Your smile saved me."

Naruto smiled sadly; with a soft bump, Naruto's forehead fell to meet Hinata's in a sigh. Hinata's eyes bulged. The girl's body stiffened and a sudden dizziness struck her, a fleeting sense of dejavu also hitting her. Something was definitely familiar about the sensation. With a gentle laugh, Naruto's blue irises peered with a childlike curiosity into hers.

"Feeling a bit faint, Hina-chan?"

"Eh..n-no..." She squirmed a bit uncomfortably but couldn't take her eyes away yet again. There was most definitely something too intriguing about Naruto, so much so that she felt like she could never look away again. "I just...I-I'm fine!"

Turning his head slightly to look more directly at her, Naruto got a faint scent of vanilla that emanated from Hinata, perhaps the sweet aroma was from her lotion, or maybe from her conditioner, her dark hair falling past her shoulders to frame her face. Whatever it was, Naruto was intrigued and decided he didn't care about specifics. Hinata just smelled real nice, such a 'nice' that it could draw him to her side from miles away.

"...Naruto-san?"

He blinked. "Yes?"

"A-are you alright?" She looked so damn cute like that, her cheeks slightly pink and her eyes wide in concern. She seemed genuinely worried, probably because he hadn't answered her when she had spoken his name many times. Taking her hands in his, surprising her further, Naruto nodded without breaking eye contact. He felt his heartbeat quicken in an instant when she gave him a soft smile back.

Maybe...he had fallen in love with her. If this was what falling in love was. He couldn't think of anything else it could be; being around her made him feel so elated and giddy, safe and comforted. She was more open than he had ever seen her, so maybe she was comfortable around him too. Well, at least he hoped. Sure, she still stuttered. And she blushed and could become reserved at times. But there was something about the silences they had shared when they weren't just talking about anything, there was something about the smiles she gave him. There was something about the absolutely wonderful feeling he felt in his heart when he saw her, or heard her laugh.

Yea. He had fallen in love with her.

But there was still that.

"I'm going to help," he said.

"Hm?"

"I'm going to help you."

"Naruto-san...I...I don't understand."

Before Naruto could respond, there was a loud rumbling, everything around the two became shadowed. They two ninjas looked around and up at the sky, the clouds they had just been gazing at moments ago were a threatening dark gray. A cover of darkness stretched across the once blue sky in a matter of minutes. The pair stood up in a hast, though not releasing one another's hands. A drop of water hit Naruto's cheek. And that was it. They should have expected the sudden downpour.

There you go. When I have a school break I will write more soon! SOOONNN 3 luv u all.