Here is chapter one! Just remember that the countries are different situated then in the manga/anime for my own convenience.

And thanks to those who left a review, it was surprisingly good for my motivation :)

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DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!

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Chapter 1: The Devil's Arriving

The wind made the pages of her book turn and blew strands of black hair in her face. She smiled and searched for the page she was reading before the winds of the Land of Fire had interfered. She read the last sentence of the passage again:

'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.'

She stared at the words for a while which composed such a beautiful sentence. Subsequently her eyes traveled to her right hand where a small golden ring adorned one of her fingers and with a small sigh she wished she couldn't sleep well…

Determined she closed the book and decided that no matter how lovely the phrase was, it didn't necessarily had to be true. Dr. Suess probably wasn't even a real doctor anyway, she mused while looking at the name of the writer, although he was a good author. More strings of her hair were blown in her face en she shut her eyes for some seconds to enjoy the simple touches of nature against her skin. She liked it when the elements got a little rough and therefore made her senses more aware of her surroundings. Strange as it sounds, it made her realize that she was alive then and there, that she was part of the world around her.

She opened her eyes again, rose from the big tree she had been leaning against and took a deep breath while taking in her surroundings. From the fresh green grass that seemed to grow everywhere on the hilly landscape, to the strong old trees which were scattered over the hills and formed a forest on the other side of the Naka river down the small hill. She loved the landscape surrounding Konoha, it was alive, fresh and she felt at home here.

Turning she saw someone walking towards her from the direction of the village. From this point of view, she was able to see a part of the heavy south wall protecting Konohagakure and the rooftops of the first houses. The figure however, who was looking up at her and waving, was distinctly clear by the energetic way he walked and his outer appearance. It was Naruto Uzumaki. Her heart fluttered slightly and at this point he wasn't only waving, but also calling her name, even though it must have been obvious she had already spotted him. "Oi, Hinata-chan!", her fiancée yelled to her.

Though Konoha has a long and rich history, there isn't a lot to tell about the village itself. It is a calm and peaceful village, ruled by the village elders and has been loyal to the Uchiha Family, the Immortals who rule the Land of Fire, since the settlement. Konohagakure, also nicknamed the Hidden Leaf Village, was settled in the forest near the borders of the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth and is often considered, as the nickname suggests, hidden since it's so hard to find if one doesn't know the way. In historical events it's often a returning occurrence that Konoha couldn't be found in the maze like forests by marching army's of the enemy.

The village wasn't very well known in its country, not for its fine, although few, ninja's, not for its wild nightlife (it doesn't have any, only one modest brothel which closes during daytime on weekdays to sell fabrics and wool), nor was or has it any political, tactical or industrial importance. Konoha's prosperity is mostly dependent on the agriculture which is scattered around the village and has a reasonable responsibility to ship the harvest to other parts of the country with the help of the earlier mentioned river.

Hidden so well in the woods, the residents of Konoha weren't frequently visited by people outside the village. There were mostly the acquainted merchandisers and the annual delegates from the ruling Uchiha Family to discuss this year's taxes, harvest and briefly notify the village elders on the political policy on the ongoing war with the Sabaku Family of the Land of Wind. Though Konohagakure had little to do with the latter, since the village's main concern was minding its own business.

It was in this setting both Hinata and Naruto were born and raised, although their life's hadn't been easy. She looked at him while he sat next to her in the grass, telling her a story of what happened to him the other day. Whenever Naruto talks his entire body talks with him, she thought, he's so full of energy and spirit. Hinata suppressed an affectionate smile, she always wished she could be more like him.

Even with the harsh fate of being an orphan, he practically raised himself and always retained his on foolishness bordering optimism. Nobody had really paid any attention to him and it wasn't until both her parents had died that she truly saw him and the strength and determination that ruled him. It was her acknowledgement of the importance of his existence that started a cautious friendship to bloom between them and led to a profound admiration from her side.

Naruto almost knocked her out of her pondering when he started to wave his arms frantically trying to personate just how upset the ramen-owner had been. "And then Hinata-chan, he turned all red and kept screaming: 'My ramen! My ramen! Stop that dog!', but the dog just ran Hinata-chan and then', he squeezed his eyes a little bit shut because of the laughter that he held back and leaned in as if to let the tension rise, 'everybody started to chase the dog and…' he started laughing, '…and nobody was able to catch him and everybody just fell on everybody…', he laughed even louder, '…and the dog … the dog just jumped out of the window and walked away!'

Naruto was lying on his side now, holding his belly and laughing with all the energy he had. Hinata pressed a hand against her mouth and giggled along with him, more because of Naruto's infectious laughter then the quality of his story.

Slowly Naruto came to himself and he sat up while staring in the distance appearing to think about something . Suddenly his face changed to one of earnest, "Still, it's a shame of all the ramen", he said with a serious tone.

Hinata didn't know how to respond to this and his sky-blue eyes looked at her from the side while his mouth slowly changed in a grin. "So what have you been doing Hinata-chan?" he asked loudly. Hinata shrugged and replied with soft tone: "Not much Naruto-kun, just enjoying the weather and reading a bit."

She showed the book she held in her hand and Naruto looked at it as if it was an object he had seen before, but never really knew what to do with exactly. He nodded, "Oh yeah… sounds like fun" he said unconvincing.

Unconsciously she traced with one of her fingers the golden ring, which symbolized a step in their relationship which she slowly had found out, they weren't ready to take. She saw him looking at her hands and stopped the fiddling. They stared at each other and an uncomfortable silence their friendship hadn't known before descended.

Lately it had passed her mind, that maybe, unlike she always had thought and ferociously had hoped, they would never be ready to take this step. Could it be that the feelings she considered to be love, were no more than profound admiration combined with friendship and an superficial teen crush of a naïf, day-dreaming young girl longing for love, security and affection? She sighed silently, she wished she wasn't so insecure about everything all the time.

Hinata felt a minor blush form on her cheeks out of confusion of it all, which reddened even more when Naruto suddenly sat closer and started staring anywhere but her way. His breathing had quickened a little, "Hinata-chan, I…" his mouth made some movements, but no words came out, he obviously was lost for words.

"This... This whole situation," he waved his hands between the two of them, "I am… it's not...", he sighed frustrated, "it's not really what we thought it would be, right? I mean this arranged marriage thing…" He scratched his head and looked up at her sheepishly.

Hinata started to feel a little light-headed, they had never really talked about this even though it's been a big, uncomfortable issue between them and they both know that the other knows it is so.

"Yes, it's not what we expected to happen when we were younger", she shot him a nervous smile. "Do y-you…" She hesitated and collected some courage, "Would you l-like to go to… to the elders to break o-off the engagement?" She hated her stutter, it was something she had developed after her parents died, but had overcome the last couple of years, with the exception of situations in which she was nervous or scared. She looked at Naruto from between her black eyelashes to gauge his reaction, she knew what she offered was an impossible option.

Even if they both agreed on ending the engagement, it would never be approved by the elders nor the residents of Konoha. Not only was it seriously frowned upon to break off an engagement (people get engaged and either get married or they die), it was absolutely out of the question when said engagement was arranged by the village elders.

The elders thought it was a very clever commitment from their side by coupling the poor orphan boy with no social status with the hopeless orphan girl with a small inheritance and a good family history. The elders thought they gave the both of them what they needed to integrate in society and at the same time the gossip about their questioned friendship would be invalidated. It never occurred to them once to ask the opinions of Naruto and Hinata, that's the way things are; the elders decide in Konoha.

He looked at her with a furrow between his eyebrows, "First of all, I would never do that to you Hinata-chan". He referred to the fact that people would mostly judge her since she's the girl and that they would question her character and virtue. Breaking off the engagement, would in all likelihood result in her becoming a social paria.

"Second of all, I know we aren't… you know…" He again looked everywhere but her way and his face had turned into a very tomato like color. "… I mean," he continued awkwardly, "I mean we're not… but I do think you… you know…" He sighed as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders, "I mean, when I saw you in the temple the other day, I realized…" His voice had softened significantly at this point and Hinata came a little closer as not to miss a thing he said. Though she wasn't sure where this was going, she would hate it to ask him to repeat his incoherent sentences, since it obvious caused the both of them so much stress and awkwardness.

"… I realized that I think you're really nice and that I can talk to you very well Hinata-chan" He flashed a quick look at her, "and I think you are very pretty." Those last words came out so quietly that Hinata barely was able to make out the content. She felt her cheeks heat up even more and stared at her feet while listening intently to the rest of Naruto's tangled monologue.

"You have pretty eyes, I like their soft lavender color," he spoke a little louder now, though he was still mumbling a bit, "and you have pretty skin and… and beautiful hair." He looked sideways at her and came a bit closer. "it looks so smooth and it shines beautiful in the light," he came even closer and one of his hands reached out to grasp a strand of hair close to her face. Naruto let it slide through his fingers looking a bit dreamy at it, "it's dark black, but in the sun" , he came closer until his lips touched the strand, "in the sun it turns blue."

He audible breathed in and looked her in the eyes, all Hinata could do was sit there and look at him. It was as if she couldn't move anymore. She looked at his flushed cheeks with the whiskers, his sun blond hair and those blue eyes that showed the beginning of a longing she couldn't place.

"That day I saw you in the temple", Naruto continued in a hoarse voice, "I realized that maybe I could love you eventually like a husband loves his wife, and maybe", he swallowed and looked down her figure, "maybe you could eventually love me, you know, like a wife loves her husband."

For a second Hinata was stunned, she felt several things at once and everything only added to the state of confusion she found herself in. On the one side she felt sort of nervously excited about Naruoto's current closeness. On the other side she was relieved that Naruto said these things, because this gave way for possibilities in their future that didn't include the both of them being unhappy. On the other side, she felt guilty and desperate, for didn't she recently come to the realization that her supposed love for Naruto perhaps isn't love at all? If so, and she was becoming fairly certain it was, she didn't think she could give him the love he talked about at the moment.

"Naruto…" Again she could only look at him, it would be so much easier if he wasn't so close, it was a serious breach of etiquette on his part. "I…"

"I know it's a bit sudden", he laughed a bit sheepishly and unhappy if that's even possible, "I uh… I'm just trying to say that maybe things can work out for us eventually." He looked at the ground, "Just saying I think you're a nice girl…", he raised his head to look at the sky, but decided the ground nevertheless was more interesting and stared intently at the grass again.

Hinata could only stare at him, "You really think that Naruto-kun?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "You think w-we can have a happy future together?"

His face looked uncertain, "It's a possibility, isn't it? Just think about it Hinata-chan." After that Naruto sat really still and when he looked up again, Hinata could feel the mood between them shift.

"Hinata…" He breathed her name softly, "don't move, I… I want to try something." Carefully he leaned in closer until their noses were almost touching. Oh Kami, he's going to kiss me, was all she could think. Hinata saw him close his eyes and bridge the last centimeters of space between their lips.

She felt his lips press against hers softly, trying. It felt soft and warm. Hinata closed her eyes as well, hadn't she dreamed about this moment almost for years? All she could feel was her heart beating overtime and she heart her blood rushing in her ears.

Naruto withdrew a bit and just when Hinata thought she could breathe again, his lips were back with more a bit more vigor. When she felt the tip of his tongue gently stroke her lips she felt a jolt of surprise pass through her body. She didn't know what to do or how to react. Emotionally she felt confused, but physically it wasn't a bad feeling. It actually made her feel warm inside and now she thought about it, there was an exciting tingle in her lower abdomen she hadn't felt before. Unconsciously she pressed her legs a bit closer while they slowly let their now lubricated lips slide against each other.

Naruto made a moaning sound and withdrew again. After a couple of seconds she opened her eyes. Naruto didn't look at her and instead had is head a bit lowered and his hands pressed in his lap. His posture seemed strained and she could see black dots starting to appear around him.

When he looked up, his expression suddenly changed in one of concern. "Hinata-chan, you're turning blue!" He looked at her in astonishment and then yelled:

"Breathe Hinata! You have to breathe!"

It all went black from that point and the last thing she remembered was wondering why the earth was falling towards her.

It was only seconds later her body remembered how to inhale and fresh air streamed in her lungs. Sweet, cool, fresh air filled with delicious oxygen. From a distance she could hear Naruto scream at her and when she opened her eyes she saw his worried face floating above her.

Why is he still so close to her? It doesn't make the breathing-thing more easy at the moment… She slowly sat up, "Are you okay Hinata-chan?"

She nodded, "Y-Yes, I-I am now Naruto-kun, I'm s-sorry for-for making y-you w-worry." She looked up at him and felt a heat spread over her cheeks. Naruto seemed to relax a bit and he smiled a crooked smile, "Oi, you had me really worried there Hinata-chan."

"I-I'm sorry", Hinata apologized again, bowing her head in embarrassment.

"Oh, don't worry, I just must be that good of a kisser no?" He laughed loud at his own joke, but when their eyes briefly met and he realized what he had said, he fell quiet mid laugh and suddenly seemed extremely interested in the south wall of Konoha in the distance.

Hinata looked at his reddened, uncomfortable looking face and wasn't sure what to say to break the uneasy silence. So they just sat there for a while, thinking about what they had done and being awkwardly conscious of the other one sitting next to the other, both knowing they were both thinking about it and both knowing the both of them knew nothing to say.

But Naruto wouldn't be Naruto if he could sit still for more than ten seconds and soon he was repositioning. A couple of seconds passed before he decided to sit cross-legged. His eyes looked at the surroundings then at her, then the surroundings again and back to her. Hinata just sat there steeling glances of him unless he was looking at her, then she tried to avoid his gaze.

It was obvious Naruto wanted something to be said and they started to talk at the same time.

"Do you-"

"What is-"

They tried again:

"I'm sor-"

"Sorry wha-"

They fell silent and looked at each other. Hinata could feel a giggle come up and gave in, while at the same time Naruto laughed his loud laugh.

Next it was quiet again, their laughter hadn't cleared the air up as much as she hoped it would have. It was just awkward, when she looked at him it didn't feel right that they just had kissed (she blushed again at the thought of it). Naruto was a friend and, even though the kiss had felt nice, at the same time it had felt very wrong to do it with Naruto. Hinata was the first to speak again.

"Do you think anyone saw us?" She asked timid. Naruto inspected the area in a flash and shrugged, "No, I don't think so."

He bit his under lip, this is something she hardly sees him do and it indicates there is something of more serious matters on his mind. "Actually, there are some strange rumors and I think people will stay indoors more for the moment."

Hinata frowned, strange rumors? She hadn't heard anything yet. Naruto looked up looking like his usual self again, "That's way I came here Hinata-chan! To tell you to watch out a bit."

"What kind of rumors?" She asked, Naruto shrugged again, "Just rumors, something about the war coming closer." Hinata laughed surprised, "The war? Coming closer to Konoha?" She laughed again softly, "The Devils are barely halfway the Land of Earth, what could bring them to Konoha, assumed that they can find it?"

The Sabaku Family were referred to as The Devils in the Land of Fire, because of their defy of the real Gods, the Uchiha Family. Hinata pressed her index and middle finger gently against her lips and after that against her forehead in a practiced sign to bless and thank the Immortals Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha, the kings of the Land of Fire, their Gods.

She smiled confidently at him, "Don't worry Naruto-kun, those are just rumors."

"I know", he responded, "but I mean, there is more than that. This last week there have been some strange things going on across the border of the Land of Earth." He was silent for a second as if he was pondering to continue, "I heard it has even made Lord Danzo wary."

Lord Danzo, one of the village elders, is what popularly is called a half-breed, it means one of his ancestors was an Immortal and it is said, that far away in the past, there are ties with the Uchiha Family. There are however many generations between him and his alleged ancestor, since he hasn't got any Immortal like features beside the fact that he's a lot stronger and faster than a normal human could ever be.

Hinata wouldn't know whether it was true or not, since she only has caught glimpses of Lord Danzo in the past and she never met any other half-breed or Immortal for that matter.

Hinata reflected on this new piece of information, but decided to be optimistic. "It's still just rumors Naruto-kun, besides" she continued with soft voice, "Lord Itachi and Lord Sasuke would never let anything happen to loyal inhabitants of the Land of Fire."

"Hnf…" was Naruto's reaction, he seemed to hesitate, "that's not what one of the merchandisers says", he looked at her reaction, "he said humans are just pawns for them-"

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata interrupted him with an appalled voice, "You can't speak like that about our Gods!"

"Whoa!" He screamed, "I'm just repeating what the other guy said!" He looked away defensively.

"Lord Itachi Uchiha has ruled the Land of Fire for hundreds of years, he's a fair and justice God", Hinata repeated the words she had heard the priest say many times.

"Yeah well" Naruto looked rebellious, "apparently some people think all God does, is watch us and kill us when we get boring." He looked at her mockingly serious, "I guess we must never, ever be boring." She found this an unexpected profanity, especially coming from Naruto. When Naruto noticed her poorly concealed shocked astonishment, he took her completely by surprise for the second time by suddenly blurting out:

"I can grow up when the time comes Hinata."

There was something in the way he said it, in the mature tone of his voice or the sincere way he looked at her, that touched something in her. She realized once again what a special person Naruto really was and that even if she couldn't really love him, she would try so with all her might.

…

The man ran as quick as he could in the dark night, there it was! He was relieved he found it so fast and quickly walked around to locate the servant entrance at the side of the house. He knocked as loud as he could.

"Open the door! This is an emergency message for Lord Danzo! Open the door!"

It took less than half a minute before the door opened and the sleep drunk head of a young man appeared. "Wha…", he moaned, "What's the emergency?"

"I need to speak to Lord Danzo directly!" When the servant didn't react quick enough, the man pushed him aside and barged inside, ignoring the protests of the servant. "Where's his Lord Danzo's room?"

"It's up the stairs on the left, but what… hey, wait! What's going on?" The man sprinted up the stairs, "I said wait! You can't just burst inside, you need to wait!" The servant was completely ignored and stumbled behind the man the servant-boy had finally recognized as a ninja of Konoha.

The ninja knocked on the door three times, when he heard noise coming from inside he entered immediately and fell on one knee. "Lord Danzo, I apologize for disturbing you at this hour, but we-"

"Grha… WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Lord Danzo's angry voice interrupted him, the ninja looked up and saw the elder sitting up in bed. "I'm sorry Lord Danzo, but there is need for immediate action-"

"JIRO! What's going on here?" The servant walked in at that precise moment and bowed for his livid master while mumbling excuses.

"LORD DANZO! Please listen to me!" The ninja practically begged and Lord Danzo stopped screaming insults at his servant long enough to finally notice the complete distress which held the ninja. "Sir, Konoha is surrounded by the army of King Gaara No Sabaku and he threatens to completely destroy Konoha if we don't open the gate within the hour in complete submission."