Chapter 1: The Last Night

A NaruHina Songfic

Hey there, this wasn't originally planned to be my first fanfic, I'm in the midst of writing the draft for a really long one, but while doing this I heard this song and thought how much it suited, or could suit if you look at the NaruHina relationship in a different way. Anyway, I was still planning to wait with this, but then Japan got hit hard, its really terrible, so I thought I would complete it quick and put it up as a tribute for them. Hopefully it can bring a little happiness? There can always be hope, even when everything seems desolate…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did I would be making NaruHina a reality NOW for the people of Japan (hint hint Masashi, NaruHina is the most popular pairing at the moment (I think? At least I'm pretty sure) so you should do it to cheer up the Japanese). I also don't own the song 'The Last Night' by Skillet or I would be pimping chicks and looking for a girl like Hinata (I'm a guy btw) or whatever rock stars do, even not that famous ones… anyway, enjoy the story, its not all doom and gloom, and no, I don't see Hinata as emo.

For the song parts, the normal writing is the guy singing and the italics is the girl singing, you can look at it as Naruto and Hinata if you want.

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Hinata knelt in the secluded gardens of the partially rebuilt Hyuuga estate, clutching her bleeding wrist, shivering uncontrollably. A dejected kunai lay on the grass by her knee, her blood splashed along its length. She looked at the gaping red wound in her wrist. The blood from her artery pumped out, soaking her other hand that was desperately squeezing her wrist, then running down to soak into her trousers before finally blossoming out onto the grass.

For several blessed moments, she forgot everything, her only thought the pain emitting from her spasming wrist. Before long though, she felt a niggling sensation slowly grow in her forehead, underneath her blue black fringe. It slowly grew into a bloom of pain that quickly set its sights on rivaling that from her wrist. They were calling her.

It all came back in shocking finality. Her confession to Naruto on the battlefield that had once been her beloved village, her fight to near death against the corpse-like man named 'Pain', which caused Naruto to lose control of the demon residing within him.

Then, after that, Naruto's avoidance of her for the few weeks that had passed. It felt like a stab through her heart. To add insult to injury, her father, when he returned home from his mission with her younger sister, had quickly found out what she did. In his anger, he had come to a final, terrifying decision. The curse mark of the Hyuuga clan, the Caged Bird Seal, had been branded into her forehead, etched there for the rest of her life. She was a new Branch Member, at the will of the Main Family. A slave.

She gently touched her shaking fingers to the rough seal, her final degradation, and yet, the beginning of a whole new ordeal. But the physical pain she was in now, it was nothing compared to that in her heart.

"Naruto-kun, he doesn't even want to be near me now" she whispered into the unresponsive garden. 'All my life had been leading up to that moment, when I finally laid myself open for him, when I finally confessed to him. And he ignores me. He doesn't even acknowledge what I told him.' Her despairing thoughts echoed around her head.

'I should just end it now' she thought bitterly.

The kunai was snatched from the ground, her shaking fingers digging furrows in the sea of green blades, pulling it away from the clutching hold of the grass. The grass, without a care in the world, didn't seem to want to let go of it, didn't seem to want it to cut into her soft flesh any more. It was almost like it was trying to keep the blade away from her self hurting fingers. The kunai slowly rose in a shaking fist, pointing towards her bared throat, just above where her hitai-ate hung.

'Choke to death on my own blood?' she thought absently. She then lowered it, to press it quivering over her heart. She dimly felt the small prick as it pierced her jacket.

'Quick and painless?' she again questioned herself, uncaring. 'My heart has given me nothing but pain so far.'

She went to thrust the rough blade the rest of the way through, but despite her resolve, she knew she did care. At least about one thing; and she knew she couldn't do it until she got a solid answer. Not before knowing, for sure, what he thought.

She threw the kunai into the ground amidst the pretty red roses surrounding her, her bright maroon blood that soaked the blade made it blend in, just another rose that burned out to quickly. She took her eyes off it, reaching into her hip pouch, procuring a small roll of bandages. With this, she quickly wrapped up her wrist, stemming the flow of liquid life, and fled the Hyuuga grounds.

She was careful not to let anyone spot her, Main or Branch family alike. No-one did, just as no-one witnessed her valiant struggle through the forest. As she grew more distant from the estate, the curse seal flared, working to bring her back to her masters. The pain grew with every step she took, eventually bringing her to her knees. Tears welled in her eyes, falling like tiny crystals to the forest floor. Those little sparkles of beauty that were only ever seen in the midst of terrible suffering, these too nobody saw. Not even their owner, whose eyes were squeezed shut against the pain.

Still, she crawled forward. While the pain intensified, she could feel it growing more distant, until finally, after over an hour of crawling hopelessly, covering no more than a hundred meters, she gained the outer barrier of the seal. She broke free of the pain with a small cry of joy and achievement. Relieved, she set off on her final mission, to see the one she loved.

.

Naruto flopped onto the grass, exhausted from a day's hard training. His teammate Sakura had left hours ago, while he had opted to stay, pushing himself until he collapsed, trying to sort out the torrent of emotions flooding his mind. As they had for the past few weeks!

He couldn't stop thinking about one very beautiful girl, ever since he had first started to notice her as who she really was, just those few weeks ago. And no, she didn't have pink hair. No. She had long, dark, graceful hair that glided down to her lower back, that; he remembered, in the heat of battle got all tousled up and fell over her shoulders in a tangled heap. This girl had strangely beautiful, light lavender eyes, that; while being devoid of a pupil, showed more emotion than anyone he had ever seen.

He remembered; when he started to fully notice her, just a few weeks ago, that love and pain dominated these emotions. He remembered, as he had so often during these past few weeks, her eyes brimming with tears in her valiant struggle to cross the gap between them, before the end came. This thought dominated his mind, as it had for weeks. He couldn't get her out of his head.

'Hinata Hyuuga'.

Her name plagued his mind, hiding in every nook and cranny, flowing gently through his spirit. But, when ever he saw the object of such passion, he choked up and ran away before he said anything stupid. He just didn't know what to say to her, and it hurt him to see the hurt in her eyes when she witnessed his avoidance. He knew he was killing her inside, and by doing that, killing himself.

"Arggg! Why am I not doing something!" he shouted to the empty field, berating his idiocy. She had done the nicest thing anybody in his entire life had done for him, she had, unconditionally, loved him.

She had been willing to put her life on the road before him. She stood there as a barrier he couldn't cross, halting his path to death. For that love. His thoughts again turned to self loathing. 'A love I've never returned' he thought bitterly.

He heard soft footfalls approaching him, and slowly sat up. No doubt it was one of his teammates, come to force him home. He did have a mission tomorrow and no doubt they wanted him to be well rested for it.

He looked up, to see the girl walking through his mind walking towards him in reality. Her head was down, and just by looking at her, he saw she was in a downcast mood.

This made him hesitate a second, before his inner idiot took over and he started panicking. He looked for a place to hide, but there was nowhere out on the immense sea of green that was the field he had been practicing in. He shot up to run away, like the coward he thought he was, but was halted by her softly lilting voice.

"Naruto, please don't run."

Only her voice was different to every other precious moment he had had the privilege to hear it. It was strange of her to leave out the ever present honorific 'kun', which hinted to him about her overall attitude at the moment, but what really gave him pause was the tone of her voice.

While still soft, hesitant, and lacking self confidence, there was missing from it the wealth of emotion that normally weaved its way through her speech. This time, it was different, it was just, uncaring.

"Hinata?" he asked. Her plea and change of attitude had rooted him to the spot as she closed the distance between them.

Then he noticed her bandaged wrist, blood still wet and seeping slowly through the pure white cloth, a symbol of her innocent spirit that was being corrupted by the pain others brought to her. She stared at her feet. She hadn't even glanced up since she'd entered the clearing, having not dared to look into his cerulean blue gaze.

Before he had a chance to ask it, she answered his question of obvious worry. "Tonight will be the last night" she whispered gently, and looked him full in the face.

"I just came to say goodbye". Her voice carried clearly across the small distance between them, the only noise in the whole field, as she stared straight into his eyes.

.

"You come to me with scars on your wrist

You tell me this will be the last night feeling like this.

I just came to say goodbye

I didn't want you to see me cry, I'm fine.

But I know it's a lie."

.

"Hinata, what's wrong?" Naruto's voice drifted through the clearing, full with the somber tones of dreadful worry. There was something seriously up with her.

"I'm fine" she murmured simply, looked at him one last time, an unspoken, desperate plea in her eyes. When she saw he made no move, she turned to leave, resigned to go back to her fate. As she spun around, her fringe flicked up a little in the small breeze. In that moment Naruto caught a glimpse of what he had never wanted to see again, ever since Neji had shown it to him so many years ago.

'What is that doing on Hinata!' he mentally screamed, inner terror getting the best of him.

"Hinata!" he shouted, having not been able to come up with anything more useful. He caught her arm before she could get too far.

She turned to him with that desperate look infecting her face. He slowly, carefully lifted her silky fringe with the back of his hand, and gasped involuntarily.

There, etched into her perfect porcelain skin, a mar to a perfect sculpture of beauty, was the mark of a slave. The Caged Bird Seal. On Hinata's forehead.

"This, this cant be" Naruto stuttered in shock. "W, Why?" was all he managed to choke out after that.

"Its nothing" Hinata said simply, but he couldn't miss the dejection in her voice, no matter how dense people thought Naruto was. She again tried to leave, but Naruto's grip didn't slacken.

"That's a lie" he said softly, blatantly bringing it into the light. "Why would they do this?" he asked, full of dread.

Hinata resigned herself to explain. "I,I didn't want you to see me like this Naruto. I'm sorry, I was too weak to stay away. I had to see you one last time. They sealed me because of my actions with Pain. I caused you to r,release what resides within you, and by doing that, I put the whole village in danger. I shamed the Hyuuga clan with my actions. It was unforgiveable."

For the third time, she tried to leave; she just couldn't stand the pitying look in his eyes.

'Don't pity me, Naruto-kun. Love me.' she thought in desperation. She was again stopped.

"Hinata, what happened to your wrist?" he whispered.

"N, Nothing" her words stumbled under the intensity of his gaze, and the lie came out blatantly obvious.

Naruto looked into her eyes, and he knew. She had done it to herself.

Why had he avoided her all these past weeks? Why had he not spoken to her, why had he left her alone, even after all she had done for him? He could have made her so happy, could have protected her from her family, from the seal! Why did he be so stupid! Now, he saw the results of his ignorance. He saw what had become of the gentle, kind girl that had laid her heart out to him. He saw what became of her when all her dreams, every thing she had ever dared to hope for, came crashing down around her.

For the fourth time, she tried to leave, to escape his now liquid blue gaze, but this time, instead of halting her with a hand clenched around her arm, he enveloped her in both of his.

.

"This is the last night you'll spend alone

Look me in the eyes so I know you know

I'm everywhere you want me to be.

The last night you'll spend alone

I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go

I'm everything you need me to be."

.

Hinata sank desperately into his embrace. The tears she had been holding back now flowed freely, soaking the shoulders of his jacket with there crystalline touch. The wetness spread from where she rested her head. It was so warm, so comforting, there in his arms, that she could almost forget everything.

Almost.

She finally worked up the courage to look up, up into his eyes, and ask a single word.

"Why?"

Naruto looked down at the fragile heart in his arms.

"Hinata, I'm so sorry for what I've done to you" he said solemnly. "You're one of my best friends, my precious people, and it hurts me to see you like this."

Hinata's heart sank. Why had she even dared to hope again when he hugged her? That was it; she was still just a friend. And that had been enough for her over the years, but now, after she had finally laid her heart open for him, completely vulnerable, he hadn't even acknowledged her love. And that was too much.

She started to pull away but he hugged her tighter, putting his head next to hers so he was whispering in her ear.

"But I've come to realize you're more than just a friend, and its killing me to see you in such pain." The cords and notes of his voice, despite Hinata's efforts, strung that hope deep in her heart. She couldn't help it, she didn't want to be broken again, twice in a few seconds, but her heart just wouldn't let her give up.

"Look at me, Hinata" he said quietly.

She slowly, fearfully looked up and was locked into his gaze, drowning in a sea of blue.

"Nar…" she started, but was cut off by Naruto pressing a single finger to her lips.

Her usual self screamed in the back of her mind, to blush, to turn red, to faint, anything, but the gravity of the situation and her broken spirit drowned this out.

"Hinata" Naruto said "You are the only person who saw me for who I really was back then. You never, ever, looked at me like I was some kind of idiot or monster, you never laughed at me, you never degraded me, all through the years I've known you. You've always been nice to me. Even when it would have been so easy to pick on me along with everyone else, to get back at someone for your families abuse, you never did. I don't believe you ever even thought of it. All this, it should have been enough, but I really was an idiot. It took you to put your life on the line for me to realize it. While everyone else cowered in the rubble, when I was about to be captured and killed, the whole world put at threat from what they wanted to turn me into, you stepped in. You protected me; the quite Hyuuga girl that no one thought would amount to anything. You, Hinata, put your life on the line for me. That is the single nicest thing anyone has ever done for me. You told me you always just wanted to catch up to me, just to walk next to me, to be there, with me. You said… you loved me." He paused for several seconds from his speech, holding her gaze, lost in the moment.

Naruto whispered the last words with finality. "And, I've come to realize, Hinata… I love you."

Silence reigned in the clearing.

Neither figure moved, nor did their locked eyes. They stared into the depths of each other, exploring, adventuring in the new promise. Finally, it was surprisingly Hinata who broke the silence. By; unsurprisingly, fainting.

She slipped from his arms, the sudden lack of support from her leg muscles catching him off guard. She fell with a soft thud into the grass. Naruto, after his initial shock of not catching her, smiled and sat down next to her. It was good that at least one aspect of the Hinata he loved had returned.

He moved his hand to gently brush some strands of her longer hair out of her face, but this accidently brushed her fringe, revealing the curse lurking underneath. His hand recoiled involuntarily, and he gritted his teeth, a terrible rage boiling up inside of him. He set his hand softly over the mark.

'What did they do to you?'

.

"Your parents say everything is your fault

But they don't know you like I know you they don't know you at all.

I'm so sick of when they say

It's just a phase, you'll be ok, you're fine.

But I know it's a lie."

.

Hinata slowly opened her eyes, to find Naruto leaning over her. Still.

Reverting back to herself for a few seconds, she leapt out of his hold.

"Umm, h, how long, was I, er, out?" she stuttered, her familiar habit of fiddling her index fingers together before her face coming back.

Naruto smiled to see her, at least for the moment, back to her incredibly cute self. "About an hour" he said nonchalantly. "Oh" Hinata got out before he stood up to where she was, only inches away.

"Hinata, d, do you remember what I said?" he stuttered slightly, hoping he wouldn't have to repeat his whole speech. It had come straight from the heart, and he was certain he wouldn't be able to do a repeat.

Hinata gulped, and gave an infinitesimal nod. Naruto gained confidence in this.

"It was true. Every word of it. I love you."

He closed the distance between them. Hinata stood stock still as he inched ever closer. They were now mere centre-meters apart.

Then, his lips brushed hers.

The feeling was indescribable, the fulfillment of her lifelong dream, sealed with Naruto's sweet kiss.

Ecstatic tingles galloped up and down her spine as she started reacting, pushing back slightly. Now that it had finally come to her, she put everything into that kiss. She felt Naruto's arms wrap around her shoulders, and she in turn clutched his lower back as the kiss lasted longer and longer. Both shinobi, growing more passionate opened their mouths, exploring each other in new, tantalizing ways with their tongues.

This was pure bliss. Hinata's eyes were closed. She was floating in heaven, living every dream she could ever imagine, and at the same time the only thing that existed was here, with the man of her dreams.

The kiss easily lasted ten minutes, but when they finally broke apart, she felt like it was cut way too short. They stared at each other for an eternity, before Naruto gently brushed her fringe away from her forehead, revealing her new curse.

"Why did you get this?" his voice was husky, quite. "It wasn't your fault, me losing control, and even so, it was what caused me to break free, and win the battle! It very well could have been that your actions saved the village! Those Hyuuga bastards, they blame everything on you, but they don't know you like I do. I know your strong Hinata. Stronger than them. Stronger than this curse. I know you'll never be their slave."

Hinata looked away. Her soft voice lilted out. "I try to oppose them, I really do." She murmured. "But they quickly bring me to boot with the curse. Th,they say this, this rebellion is just a phase, that I'll settle down, get used to being their slave."

Tears fell again as she remembered her first meeting with Hiashi after the sealing. The Curse Mark Sealing Jutsu being used on someone who had almost fully grown was near lethal; it had been the most painful thing she had endured through her whole life. The seal was also more difficult to place on a grown Hyuuga, so it had taken a long time. The aftermath of this was that she was still shaky as she entered the small room and knelt to have lunch with her family.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Hiashi's cold voice echoed harshly through the room.

"F, Father?" she said questioningly.

"Don't you dare call me Father!" he exploded. "You were not worthy of being my daughter! You are weak, pathetic, stupid! You are the shame of the Hyuuga!"

The unexpected words cut deep into Hinata's innocent soul, but still he continued.

"Only by your kekkei genkai are you associated to me, if it weren't for that heritage needing protecting you would be banished!"

Molding his chakra, he brought her to her knees before him. The newest branch member's scream echoed out of the open room and throughout the halls of the estate, causing branch and main family alike to shudder. The pain consumed Hinata's head, blocking out all coherent thought.

She vaguely heard her ex-father continue. "You need more disciplinary methods to sort out your misbehavior." He said coldly down to the girl writhing by his feet. "If you act up much more, do not think we will avoid using lethal force to put you down."

With sweet mercy, he increased the pain, and Hinata started to slip into oblivion. Her vision remained for several more moments as she witnessed him kicking her out the open doorway and slamming the door in her face. Then she blacked out, the pain a distant reminder.

"Is it hurting now?" Naruto's soft question brought her out of her flashback. She saw concerned lines dominating his features.

"N, no" she said. "I'm out of range now, th,they don't care about me enough yet to come after me."

Naruto hugged her in relief, then, leaning back, he softly kissed the seal.

"I love you, seal or no seal" he said solemnly, then reactivated his hug. "You're not going back there tonight. I won't let you" he said, whispering into her ear.

He kipped up a bit, a sudden thought having entered his mind. "You're staying at mine tonight!" he said excitedly, brightening up at the idea of spending the night with her, even if she was in a seriously messed up state at the moment.

Leaning down, he again captured her soft soft lips with his. After separating from an enchanted looking Hinata, he took hold of her hand and led her home. To his home. It would be her new one.

.

"This is the last night you'll spend alone

Look me in the eyes so I know you know

I'm everywhere you want me to be.

The last night you'll spend alone

I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go

I'm everything you need me to be.

The last night away from me."

.

Naruto sat on his old, torn up couch. While his house was usually dreary, dusty, and looked like it was continually forgotten, it seemed lit up tonight. He was content, holding Hinata's hand in silent solace, just sitting there, admiring how much she lit up the room. Closing his eyes, he wrested his head on the back of the couch, a smile lingering on his lips. He perked up at a sudden thought.

"Hey Hinata! You wanna go get some ramen?" he asked, eager to share his favorite meal with her. Hinata sadly accepted the end of her peaceful moment of bliss, but put on a fake smile, just for him.

"Y, yes Naruto-kun, I'd like that" she lied.

She was feeling more and more like herself with each moment that passed in his presence, but she was still unsure of what she would do once this night was over. Could she stand to live with the curse seal?

Her depressing thoughts were scattered when Naruto leapt up and tugged her out of the door in enthusiasm. They ended up at Ichiraku Ramen in no time, Naruto quickly pulling her inside. If it could be called an inside, it was only closed off by the small head height flaps of weighted cotton.

A smirking Ayame greeted them. "Sooo, Naruto, who's your girlfriend? I think I've seen her in here before." She teased. She was on late shift, a long, boring, lonely time, and was eager for some company.

"She's not my-!" Naruto started in instant retaliation, but then remembered their kiss, their deep understanding of each other, and Hinata's vulnerable state. He smirked, but try as he might it erupted into a full faced grin.

"YEA she's my girlfriend!" he burst out, shouting it to the world, pulling said blushing girlfriend into a hug. "Her names Hinata Hyuuga, and she's the nicest, cutest, gentlest, strongest, awesomest girl in the Leaf Village!" he proudly announced his girlfriends qualities to, again, the world.

Ayame smiled at the obvious intense love he had for the poor, blushing girl. "Well, what can I get you?" she said, getting down to business.

Ten bowls of ramen later Naruto leant back in his chair and let out a huge burp, as was his habit. Suddenly remembering his company, he looked over sheepishly, but Hinata was pretending it never happened. Focusing intently on her bowl while her ears burned, she blew carefully on her chopstick full of ramen before putting it in her mouth.

Naruto blinked, and then gawked. One. Two. He slowly counted the bowls piled up before her. 'SIX!' She was on her sixth bowl now, and was showing no sign of stopping.

'Wow' Naruto thought, looking at her in awe. 'She's AWESOME!'

He looked at his girlfriend with newfound respect and undisguised love, causing her to blush a deep crimson when she noticed, putting her face closer to her bowl in order to try to hide her features.

Even though they had officially been a couple for only a few hours, their love for each other was deeper than most couples achieved in years of being together. This was a result of their childhood stories together, growing from the academy, to genin, and now to Hinata being a chunin and Naruto being the 'Hero of the Hidden Leaf'.

Ayame gazed at the couple across the counter. The way Hinata blushed whenever Naruto showed affection, they were so cute together! She couldn't help but giggle.

When Hinata finished up her bowl and saw that Naruto had finished, she signed that that was her last one. Naruto smiled and pulled out Gama-chan, his friendly little frog wallet, who looked to be bulging, and started pulling out notes. Hinata procured her own small lavender purse from within a deep jacket pocket, and mimicked his movements.

She sadly only counted a few bills there though. This was the last of her money, nowhere near enough to foot her share of the meal. Nevertheless, she pulled out what she had and offered it over.

"I, I'm sorry Naruto-kun" she said sadly. She hated relying on others for stuff like this. "I, I don't quite have enough" she said, blushing in embarrassment. Still, she held out what she did have to him. "I promise I'll pay you back" she added in compensation.

"Nah, it's good" Naruto replied, pushing her money back at her, and emptying his frog pouch to an evilly-greedy looking Ayame. Realizing something, he turned to his girlfriend.

"Hey, aren't you like, rich or something, being a Hyuuga and all?" he asked innocently, not implying any guilt trip, just being curious. He mentally cursed himself when he saw her downcast demeanor. She quietly explained to him.

"M, My funding was stopped as soon as I joined the Branch Family" she admitted sadly. "I have to rely solely on missions now."

Recently, she had been in no state to carry out missions, so her funds had suffered. Naruto looked guilty for bringing up the tender subject, and so thanked Ayame and led her outside. Hinata's gaze was now fixed to the ground beneath her feet in depression.

"Sorry Hinata." His hand found its way to the back of his head, where he absently scratched his blonde hair. "Uhm, lets go back to my apartment for now" he said, turning to head back.

Hinata didn't move, causing him to turn back round with a questioning look. She stood there, head down, finger to lip in her submissive posture, completely vulnerable standing there on the side of the road.

"I, I should really head back" she said quietly. She turned to leave, but was stopped by Naruto's serious voice.

"Hinata, I'm not going to force you, but please, please don't go back there. I couldn't stand to think of what you have to go through in there."

He raised his hand, stretching it out to her, willing her to take it, to take life. Emotions raged through Hinata as she stared at his outstretched hand with liquid lavender eyes. Naruto was there, offering her everything she ever wanted. Why did she hesitate? Why did she feel she had to go back to the estate? To what? Torture? Degradation? Sadness? Why? Probably just to end her own life? Why would she do that, when everything she ever wanted stood on the footpath before her, laying out his soul for her in the simple gesture of offering her his hand.

Shakily, her own rose. Inch by inch, it closed the distance. Finally, firmly, her slender hand clasped his. He grinned his wolfish grin that made everyone like him, and pulled her into a kiss.

.

"The night is so long when everything wrong

If you give me your hand I will help you hold on.

Tonight

Tonight."

.

The new couple once again sat on Naruto's couch, but this time Naruto had procured a tub of ice-cream from the depths of his fridge for desert. He had checked it over dubiously, confirming that it wasn't past its expiry date like most of the other foodstuffs in his house; it had to be top quality for Hinata. Said Hinata loved ice-cream. Especially the Goody-goody Gumdrops flavor they were now devouring.

A single tub sat between them on the couch, both eating out of it with their own separate spoons. It brought back memories of when Hinata had used ice-cream and a good movie or book to help her through tough times. When her family really got to her, or when it was just her time of the month, she remembered struggling to keep her cool and be the kind Hinata the people that knew her loved, and so various times she had taken time out and just relaxed with ice-cream, to dissolve some stress.

She was content now, sitting alone with Naruto, ice-cream and a movie distracting her from darker thoughts.

But no amount of ice-cream could protect her from what happened next.

There came a solid knock on Naruto's glass sliding door leading out to his balcony. The teens whipped around at the intrusion. Hinata gasped when she saw who it was. Hiashi, the leader of her clan; and who she still thought of as her father, stood beyond the glass.

Her gasp was quickly choked off by the crippling pain that bloomed in her forehead, sending jagged blasts of raw agony through every cell in her nervous system. She crumpled to the floor, screaming incoherently. And Hiashi was not letting her black out. The agony went on and on, each second seeming like an hour. The ice-cream slowly seeped into the carpet, having been knocked there, forgotten, when Hinata fell off the couch. Her throat was getting raw from all the screaming, but she couldn't stop it, the pain was too intense to think of anything else.

Hinata's screams tore at Naruto's heart, every time he heard her shrill voice cry out in agony, he felt a part of him die. He desperately shouted at the Hyuuga head.

"What are you doing!" he cried, half crazed with worry. The cold hearted bastard looked at him emotionlessly.

"I've come to retrieve a runaway branch member." He said and proceeded on smashing his way through Naruto's door, entering the room in a shower of glass.

One last pure, agonizing scream ripped through the apartment, echoing through the streets outside, as Hiashi obviously turned up the pain threshold. Thankfully, Hinata collapsed gratefully into blessed, pain free unconsciousness. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her prodigious chest still rising and falling slightly. She was still alive.

He turned back to the object of his hatred. "She's not a branch!" he yelled in the impassive Hyuuga's face. "She's your daughter you sadistic freak!"

Hiashi's face twisted in anger. "If you don't hand her over, I will be forced to kill her." he grinded out.

"How could you do that? She's your frickin' daughter!" Naruto replied in denial that anyone could be so cold. So heartless.

Hiashi scowled again, it had not been the insult that had infuriated him.

"She's not my daughter!" he spat out. "She was never worthy of being my daughter! She is weak and pathetic, the shame of the Hyuuga! She was never my daughter!" he cooled visibly. "No" he said more calmly, a sadistic grin gracing his features.

While common knowledge was that Hiashi really was a 'cold hearted bastard', he had not been originally. The things he had done to his daughter, though having started off with just words, had gotten worse and worse to this point in time, and because of this, had slightly unhinged his mind.

"She's just a rebellious branch member, new to the family, putting the secrets of the Byakugan at risk with her childish actions. If she can't be put in place, she will have to be put down. She will be exterminated."

Now it was Naruto's turn to really explode.

"Stop talking about her like she's some kind of livestock or insect you want to squish under your boot! She's a human being!" he raged, growing even angrier when he saw Hiashi's reply. A large smirk.

'This guy' he thought. 'I'm gonna beat some sense into him, whether it's the last thing I do!' He was brought up short by his own thoughts. 'But Hinata, he could kill her in an instant'.

He saw she was awake now, struggling valiantly to regain her feet. Blood trickled from her nose and ears from the aftermath of the seal, and from her mouth, having screamed her throat raw and bloody. Her legs shook uncontrollably as she pushed herself back up with them. Just as she stood straight and tall, Hiashi brought the pain back. She held her ground against it for a few precious moments before he turned up the threshold even more, and she instantly crumpled, writhing in agony.

Such disregard for humanity, something snapped inside Naruto. He forgot all admonitions.

"You mother fucking bastard!" he screamed, charging with his full might, everything he could muster without the Kyuubi. He was having trouble suppressing it, it seemed to react all too quickly when Hinata was involved, but he ruthlessly kept it in check, even through his maddening anger. Such powers unleashed in the confines of his home would definitely hurt Hinata, and with her being unable to move or defend herself, he knew he could very well finish what Hiashi had started.

Hiashi turned to meet him, ignoring the screaming branch member, and slipped into his Gentle Fist stance. He smirked at the youths uncontrolled charge, his skill at taijutsu was nothing compared to the head of the most prodigious taijustu clan in Konoha.

He stepped in to meet the demon boy with a simple but deadly strike to the heart. To his surprise, the Naruto he hit exploded into smoke. Shocked, he activated his kekkei genkai just in time to see a fist crash into the back of his head, sending him smashing unconscious into the wall across the room.

"Such arrogance will always be his downfall" Naruto muttered, the rage filtering out of him. Still, he stalked over to the prone form, Rasengan in hand; intent on making sure he never interfered with Hinata's life again.

"N,N,Naruto-k,kun" Hinata murmured, slowly standing up now that the pain was blessedly gone. Its aftereffects still lingered though, making her stutter her words more than usual between short gasps for breath, making just talking coherently a grind.

"P,please, don't k,kill h,im" she pleaded. Naruto turned to her, a strange look on his face.

"Why? He's done nothing but make your life miserable." He looked into her eyes, and somehow, though he didn't believe how it was possible; her heart must be seriously something else, but he somehow knew the answer before he had even asked it. Definitely before she spoke.

"Because, despite what he says, h,he is still my father, to m,me at least, a,and I still l,love him."

She confirmed in a wavering voice.

Naruto shook his head in wonder. "I'll never understand your capacity for kindness" he said, but nevertheless abided her wishes. He dispelled the Rasengan, picked up the unconscious leader of the highest clan in Konoha and biffed him out the window he had come in. He soared over the balcony, landing on the street below with a dull thump, for someone else to find him and take him to the hospital.

"I'll do anything you want me to, Hinata." He looked her in the eyes and smiled. "I'll be everywhere for you, everything you want me to be." With that heartfelt promise he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his arms.

.

"This is the last night you'll spend alone

Look me in the eyes so I know you know

I'm everywhere you want me to be.

The last night you'll spend alone

I'll wrap you in my arms and I won't let go

I'm everything you need me to be."

.

Naruto went into the kitchen, coming back with a paper towel with which he softly, gently caressed the blood from Hinata's nose, ears and mouth. Basically, her whole face since it had been smeared everywhere from her contact with the carpet. He smiled when he finished and kissed her full lips. They broke with giggling grins on each side.

"I love you so much" Naruto said.

Hinata beamed, she had wanted to hear him say those words to her for years, for so long she would have given anything for it, and now he had said them to her five times in one day.

"You don't yet know how much I love you too" she said, wrapping herself around him, closing her eyes and burying her head in his shoulder. A beautiful smile graced her face. Eyes closed, she was content, breathing in his musky scent.

Naruto smiled and led them towards the bedroom. Hinata gasped in surprise when they fell onto his bed together, alone in his room, after all that kissing and hugging. Maybe he thought they were ready for that already. She was way too tired from the stress of the last few weeks to resist him if he tried something. She knew she couldn't, wouldn't do anything to stop him. She instantly scolded herself for thinking such things about Naruto. She knew he would never, ever take a woman by force. Not that she would resist, but she knew he knew she was in no condition to do that.

Proving her fears wrong and her belief in him right, he didn't start undressing her, but gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his warm embrace, looking into the depths of her eyes.

"It's alright Hinata" he whispered. "I won't let you go."

With that, they fell into loving silence. As the night wore on, despite her best efforts, Hinata's eyes drooped, and eventually she fell asleep in his arms. The last thing she saw were his loving blue eyes, expressing all the emotion he felt for her. She hadn't fallen asleep with human contact since her mother's death so many years ago. This simple gesture meant so much more to her than Naruto could see. This was the best night she could ever have imagined. No, better.

Naruto watched her eyelids hide her beautiful lavender eyes, her breathing slowly even. "I won't let you go Hinata" he whispered again.

He held her through the night, to make sure she didn't leave, didn't go back, to end it all. He lay there, drinking in every little detail of her face. Her sculpted eyebrow, perfectly curved lashes, cushiony soft lips, her face was like a work of art. He gazed upon this masterpiece all night long, until finally, in the early hours of the morning, he drifted into slumber, dreaming about the shy, quiet girl he held in his arms, who had despairingly appeared before him that afternoon.

.

"I won't let you say goodbye

I'll be your reason why.

The last night away from me

Away from me."

.

Hope you enjoyed, I really did writing it, felt kinda like poetry. Sorry for the one bad swearword by the way, I don't really like swearing that much and don't do it a lot in real life, but Naruto was that pissed. Does anyone willing to give a review know how to do those lines that separate bits of the story. I just used full stops. Look out for my long story as well, it focuses mainly on Hinata, is NaruHina, so yea, awesome.