There was no clearing where the broken figure was. Trees that were darkly colored, absorbing the white snow that had fallen upon them, and were bare of their leaves and fruits. The white covered the ground in a fluffy, sparkling blanket, chilling to those that walked through it… The figure that sat upon it, her thick purple and crème colored coat her only weapon against the cold.

The girl wept silently, her shoulders shaking. Her head was tucked into her arms which rested upon her knees that were pushed against her chest. Crying against the large oak tree that was practically miles into the forest that was found around her small hometown of Konoha, she was lost and heartbroken…

Mostly heartbroken.

Her purple hair was long all about her, reaching beneath her shoulder blades in a graceful straight cut, and her bangs cut short above her eyes. Her lilac eyes were red from tears and the pale skin of her cheeks was stained with the sorrow as well. Her pretty, small mouth was open in the wrenching sobs that escaped her.

The boy she had loved since she was 11, the same one she could hardly speak a word to without stuttering or fainting, had finally gotten her friend to go on a date with him. Her pink haired friend, with grass green eyes, had accepted a date from him. Despite knowing her crush for the blonde, the pink haired girl was going to Ichiraku's on an official date.

Her crush, Naruto, had blonde spiky hair, sky blue eyes, and a sun tan complexion coupled with three whisker tattoos on each of his cheeks. He was loyal like any faithful dog and protective of all of his friends. He always told them to do their best, and was such a goof… Hinata had loved him before he had ever came into his inheritance, which none of them had known he had had… Including the blonde. Even now, he acted as if he didn't have it, still dressing in his orange jumpsuits and his ratty tennis shoes… No fashion sense at all… But his heart was as golden as ever as well. The ridiculously large amount of money he had been given was being split so he could live comfortably, as well as give a pretty sum of it to funds and donations.

It was only now, now that Naruto had that money, that her pink haired friend, Sakura had become interested. No, of course Sakura wasn't a gold digger… She was actually very loyal and sacrificing… But money and power attracted her. She had once believed she was in love with a raven haired boy that had once went to their miniature high school, who had been cold, rich, and infamous within the town borders.

The purple haired girls sobs grew in sound, her small, neat hands clenching the loose maroon material of her pants. She was a heiress of the Hyuuga fortune, and had known of it her entire life. Even when Naruto had been poor, however, she had loved the goofy, oblivious blonde. Everyone had loved him!… Now, everyone that hadn't respected him before were holding onto him as if they had always been there.

She wanted to hate Sakura, she truly did… But she didn't have it in her. Her shy, mousy affections, didn't extend to hatred and grudges… No matter how she felt betrayed.

"Why are you crying?"

She gasped in surprise, her face shooting up from where they had rested, her eyes wide with shock. She hadn't heard anyone come near her, and she was always very aware of any company!…

Her tear filled eyes only widened further when she saw who was keeping her company.

Before her, a small, doe-like horse stood, it's head bowed down to meet her at eye level. It's body was long and feline like, a pearly white shade of color that blended in with the freezing chill. It's large, circular eyes were obsidian, looking at her curiously. It's tail, which swished behind it, was braided to the end, the same shade of white as a snowflake. It's mane as well was just as white, evenly curving along it's graceful neck in a short cut. What awed and shocked the girl was the pristine horn coming out of it's forehead.

"Y-you're a-a-a unic-c-corn!"

The creature tilted it's head in acknowledgement, blinking it's large obsidian eyes.

"Yes… Why are you crying?"

"Unicorns d-don't exis-s-st!"

She was beyond disbelief into denial. One of the unicorn's ears twitched backwards, then the creature sighed, a soft snorting like sound.

She blinked, putting a hand before her sensitive lilac eyes, as a bright, white light glowed from the creature. She blinked when the light suddenly dissipated, peeking through fingers to see if the creature was still there or had truly been a vision of her imagination. What she saw was much more embarrassing, causing her to squeal as she hid her face once more.

"You're n-naked!"

She didn't see the creature frown, it's expressive eyebrows drawing together in bewilderment, as it looked down upon itself. Clearly, the creature was male, as shown by the… well, the sex of it. He was slender and a pale shade of peanut butter. His hair was a long braid down his back, a startling raven feather shade when having been faced with the silky white it had been. He was kneeling before her, remaining level with her eyes, as he tapped a finger to his chin. He looked back to the girl uncertainly.

"Does it make you uncomfortable?"

"Yes!"

"Oh…"

The creature looked about himself, humming under his breath as he thought of what to do. He smiled apologetically as he came up with nothing.

"I am sorry, but I can not see anything to cover myself up with."

Instead, he sat himself down on the ground and modestly placed his hands over his private areas so she would not see them. His nudity did not bother him much, being an animal. However, he did, if just barely, remember that humans were not as open.

She peeked again, blushed a fiery red, then took a deep sigh as she began bouncing her pointer fingers against each other, her eyes turned away, as she faced the creature once more. It would have to do.

"A-aren't you cold?"

The creature shook his head, smiling happily.

"No, my fire of youth burns too bright for the cold to invade my senses! If not for the snow, I would believe it to be a wonderful spring day!"

Her eyebrows drew together in distress, then her fingers began toying with her coat.

"What a-are you doing here?"

The creature giggled, hunching his shoulders in humor.

"I live here! When I felt you crying here, I had to come to your aide and assist you back into the light of your youth!"

"The light of m-my…? W-well, thank you, but I-I would like to be alone, p-please…"

The creature frowned, sadness entering the sparkle of his eternally dark eyes.

"No, you do not… I can see it… Your eyes are very beautiful, yet they are so heartbroken… What has doused your fiery flames so, child?"

She sputtered, startled by the observation, then began sobbing anew. The creature removed one hand to pull the girl into his arms, holding her loosely so she wouldn't be pressed against him, but close enough that he shared his warmth with the chilled girl. Instead of fighting, or blushing once more, she gripped his shoulders with hands that were numb from the cold, a purple red with it.

"It is alright… Speaking of your troubles will make you feel all the better!"

She blubbered, sobbed, then finally managed to squeeze out her story of her best friend dating her crush, stuttering and crying all the while. He gasped in surprise with what she told him, then became upset when she got to why her friend had decided to date him.

"Why… that is hardly love at all! Such a child as yourself is much more deserving of his love…"

Then he chuckled sadly, stroking her long purple as she looked up at him with confusion.

"Then again, it is not the one who loves best that love comes to, but to who fights for love the hardest… You can not gain his intimate affections by standing aside and hoping for him so see you on his own. You must step forward and announce yourself!"

Her gaze was simply horrified, her lilac eyes impossibly wide and her hands limp on his shoulders.

"B-but I can't e-e-even speak to h-him without s-stuttering! I w-would faint if I tried to b-be forward!"

The creature smiled gently, patting her head as he nuzzled her forehead. She blushed again, clutching her hands to her chest.

"Do not do anything that fills you with discomfort, child. Merely ask to be his… friend, to begin the relationship you wish to have with him! Every everlasting relationship begins with a first step. That first step is a loyalty and comfort of being true companions!"

She blinked, considered it, then began smiling, the small expression beautiful as it made her red face glow.

"You're right… But we are a-already friends… A-at least, he says s-so…"

"Then you are ready for the next step!"

She looked into his happy black eyes with bewilderment.

"What's the n-next s-step?"

He tapped her nose with a finger, smiling secretively.

"That is up to you, my child!"

He released her, and, in another shower of glowing white, was a distance of three trees away from her, his braided tail swaying in the winter breeze as he twisted a long graceful neck to look at her over his feline like back. She blinked, taken aback by the true form once more, before she accepted it. She sighed, and smiled thankfully, holding her hands to her chest.

"Thank you… I'm sorry, but I never caught your name."

She smiled apologetically as the unicorn laughed softly, sounding like a nicker, as his obsidian eyes closed for a moment in amusement.

"My name is Lee. What is yours, child?"

"M-my name is H-Hinata…"

"Well, Hinata, it was wonderful meeting you. I must return to my lover now, he is waiting quite impatiently for me!"

She blinked, then blushed a fiery red, the heat of it eliminating the winter cold.

"H-he? B-but you're a-a…"

As he tilted his head curiously, waiting for her to finish, she smiled in farewell, her shoulders relaxing, as she waved him off. It wasn't her place to judge who the creature loved, especially with the help he had given her.

"Th-thank you again, L-Lee… I h-hope to s-see you once a-again…"

The unicorn bowed it's head, then she blinked. When she opened her eyes once more, she was entirely alone within the clearing, only the clover like footsteps left behind and the dip in the snow before her showing that she had ever had company.

She stood up, balancing for a moment as she tried to shake the numb feeling from her limbs, before a new horror descended upon her. She spun back to where the unicorn had disappeared.

"W-wait! I'm lost!"

She heard a sound, something like a flute being sung with an after tune of a neigh, and then something more guttural, something violent and dangerous howling after it. For one moment, she was terrified, her heart beating an uncontrollable beat in her chest as a fear fell upon her that the unicorn had met trouble.

She spun back around when a strange sound of rustling pebbles met her ears, just to see the strangest sight… There was what appeared to be sand crawling over the snow, pushing and shoving the white away from the ground. Behind it, a path of green leading away from where she stood showed itself. Taking a chance, she stepped upon the green grass it revealed, took a deep breath, and began running along it, throwing only one more look behind herself in concern.

Watching her from afar, the same unicorn laid within the circle of a dragon's tail, it's scales the color of spilled blood, it's long folded back wings the color of the sand it controlled, swirls of blue over layering the thin leather like skin. It's eye were darkly shadowed, as if the scales around it had been burned, just as the mark above it's left eye, an ancient symbol meaning 'love'. The eyes themselves were colored a strange, unique shade of blue-green, fixed upon the path the girl was walking on, the same one it had created. It's frame was four times larger than the unicorn against his side, dwarfing the creature pressed against him.

The unicorn nickered, pleased with what he had talked the dragon into doing, before turning his face up towards the large and intimidating dragon…

Not that he was intimidated. In fact, he was amused. He nuzzled the scales lining the dragon's throat, nickering softly. The dragon hissed long and low, allowing it's companion to do as he wished.

It wasn't as if it didn't like the affectionate touches.

Hinata giggled once more, holding one of Naruto's hands in her own, sitting on his lap, as they laughed at a joke their dog loving friend, Kiba, told them. He had a red, upside down triangle on each cheek, a canine grin upon his lips. By him, their other friend, a distant, silent boy with prescription sunglasses upon his nose and the collar of his sweater pulled up high enough to cover his mouth, sat languidly in his seat attached to the cafeteria table. His name was Shino.

It was their senior year, which meant that Hinata and Naruto had been dating for four months now, having gotten together a month or so before the end of their junior year. Hinata had taken the advice given to her four months before dating Naruto and ran with it, going with what had felt right… if not awkward…

Seeing as how she had almost screamed her love for the blonde in the middle of the hall between classes, her eyes squeezed shut as she finally got herself to say it over a whisper so her crush could hear. She had been horrified, but Naruto had been startled. The next day, Hinata had opened her door to find a blushing, sheepish blonde, asking her if she'd like to go on a date.

From there, it was happy history. Sakura had apologized to Hinata for what she had done, then had moved to sit with Ino and her two men and one woman group. True, all of the separate groups were actually a part of the large gang they were all in, just a bunch of friends that loved to hang with each other, but they still had their own small cliques in school.

She blushed a scarlet red as Naruto kissed her jaw gently, then went back to joking with Kiba as if nothing had happened. She met- well, she thought she met- Shino's eyes, and smiled happily. She was as happy as she believed was ever possible. She was surrounded by friends and Naruto loved her!

She looked away, her eyes looking over the lunch room, and her jaw went slack as her eyes widened in shock.

Entering the room, a boy with large eyebrows and a long black braid down his back walked next to another boy that was a redhead with no eyebrows. The redhead, she had never seen before, even as his blue-green eyes focused knowingly upon her, but she recognized the other. His obsidian eyes found her over the distance, and smiled, even as his mouth opened, showing off pearly white teeth. He raised one hand, his skin colored a pale peanut butter, and began waving frantically.

"HI, HINATA!!!"

Everyone at her table stopped talking to look curiously at the two, then Naruto leaned over Hinata's shoulder to meet her eyes.

"Hey, do you know that guy?"

Hinata blinked, then looked back as Lee smiled once more and began walking away, the redhead beside him scowling. After a moment, she smiled, her expression soft.

"Yes… He helped me learn a valuable lesson not too long ago…"

Getting together with her crush had helped to stop her stuttering. She waved back to the boy, giggling under her breath when he waved frantically back once more, than had his hand captured by the male who walked beside him. The redhead held Lee's hand captive, not releasing it even after they came back out of the lunch line with their food.

Behind her, Naruto frowned when he realized something.

"I think they're gay…"

She blushed, bouncing her pointer fingers against each other.

"Yeah…"

"Well, let's tell them to sit with us!"

She squealed as Naruto sat her down beside him, then stood up and jogged to their side, smiling largely as he gestured for them to come over. The redhead stared blankly at Naruto, but if he had any objections, they were stopped when Lee nodded his head animatedly, hugging her boyfriend, then began walking their way with Naruto and the redhead in tow.

She laughed at her boyfriend's surprised expression, then wore the same one on her own face as Lee released them in favor of lifting her out of her seat and giving her a bone crushing embrace.

"Hello again, Hinata! I see you entered the spring of your love!"

He whispered the last part into her ear, so no one else could here, then dropped her back down onto her seat, standing proudly.

"Hinata! You did not get to meet my lover! Hinata, this is Gaara no Sabaku, Gaara this is Hinata!"

The redhead met her eyes solemnly, then sat down, done with the introductions. Lee was instantly there by him, laying his head on Gaara's shoulder as he giggled, meeting Hinata's eyes teasingly.

"He is quite the… dragon…"

He winked, smiling secretly.

"of a man!"

For a moment, she didn't catch on, even as Naruto and Kiba took it in a perverted sense and scowled, saying, almost in unison, that they didn't need to hear that while they were eating.

Lee could tell when she caught on, her eyes widening as her gaze snapped towards the redhead. After another minute passed, she smiled welcomingly.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, finally…"

In her mind, one thought went through.

'So that's what happened between the unicorn and the dragon…'

Abrupt ending!… Mah, I had this idea running through my head for a while, but it wasn't all that much like it came out… bugger it. What I had stuck in my head was that Lee was kind of like a unicorn and Gaara was kind of like a dragon… I ended up with this. It is so poorly written… Now I know I have writer's block!

Well, tell me what you thought of it anyway, please. It makes me sad when I can have a story up for months, but no one ever comments on it…