Hinata finds herself caught in a game of cat and mouse with Naruto. Only it's not clear who's the cat, and who's the mouse. Commence stalker being stalked. NaruHina, Rated T, Fluff

I don't own Naruto. If I did, this would be canon.

Cat and Mouse

猫とネズミ

It was midnight. It was always midnight. She would open her eyes, seemingly of her own will. But it was too much of a coincidence.

It started last week. She would open her eyes without a stir, as if her body were on a timer that went off at exactly midnight. Granted, she was never fully awake, but awake nonetheless. She would look over and sigh at the bold, red letters across the room. 12:00...

It seemed that, no matter what time she went to sleep the night before, this would be the number that would greet her eyes when she first woke in the middle of the night. It was never different. She had tried to sleep once at 4pm, and woke at midnight. So she tried 7pm the following evening, midnight. Just last night, she had tried 10pm, and here she was again - half-awake, staring at the 12:00 atop her dresser. She dared not try a later time than last night, afraid it would throw off her schedule. It just wasn't worth it to test this inane theory that for some reason or another, her body was telling her to wake up at exactly twelve every night. And even though that seemed to be the case, she couldn't understand it. So she would lie in her bed, in a hazy state of awareness and recollection, waiting. Waiting for the something or the someone that insisted on waking her up in the middle of the night every night.

She would last about five minutes, before her mind grew bored and pictured a sated blonde beside her. The imagined male would just lie there and look at her through half-lidded eyes - seemingly just as tired as herself - occasionally caressing her skin. It always ended the same, in the moments before falling back asleep. He would embrace her head, holding gently onto the side of her face, and nestle his nose against her earlobe, leaving tender kisses at her jaw line. It had left her feeling too good, too happy, and she could never last long before she was waking up later in the morning, thoroughly pleased with her wonderful dreams. She always missed any words the man had to say.

He was there every night. He wasn't sure why, or even how, but he realized how quickly it was becoming an obsession.

But he couldn't help it. He was so intrigued by her. And she was never around in the day for him to gauge and study and observe. She was never to be found, which only added to the fire. And to think it had started out as a tiny little flame.

Whenever he went to ask anyone where she could possibly be, he always got cryptic answers like 'I'm sure she's around...' or 'Why don't you check under your nose?' He couldn't understand why anyone couldn't just tell him. Then when he asked the one person he was sure he'd get a straight answer from, she had called him an idiot and muttered under her breath something about not understanding what some girl saw in him. He wasn't sure whether 'him' met him, but she didn't even answer his question! Not one to tempt Sakura's anger, as she already seemed to be in a bad mood - his question only making it worse - he chose to ask her about it later. But then his days activities had been moot. All for nothing. Because he couldn't find her, and she was no where to be seen. If it weren't for the occasional bumping in to her, and the occasional person mentioning something about her, he would have started to wonder whether she truly existed, or if she were a mere figment of his imagination meant to drive him insane with curiosity.

So that brought him here. To the Hyuuga compound. It was his last hope in being able to learn something about her.

He would never be able to tell someone how he managed to sneak in - after all, only his apprentice was privy to his tricks - but he wasn't sure himself. It was quite the feat, and yet he had no idea how he did it. He'd been riding on instinct. He supposed he had those years of pranks and sneaking in and out of the academy under his belt to thank. But then there was barely any trick involved, and he seemed to have been led to her window by sheer luck. Really, it was more coincidence than anything. He had just been crouching in one of the trees high enough to reach the roof and, during his survey of the compound, he had turned around and was suddenly looking into her bedroom.

He couldn't believe his luck. It could have taken him hours upon hours of sneaking and peering in to find her, but there she was - on his first try! Not even, since he hadn't really been trying to find her just yet. He grinned, appeased by his seemingly good fortune, allowing his ego to inflate just a little.

He wasn't able to make out much, being a cloudy night, but what little moonlight there was cast into her private quarters and onto the bed against the far corner of the room. There was a silhouette, obviously of a young voluptuous woman, but all he could really see of her was her hair. So he decided to add that first on his observation list, admiring the long tussled locks of violet draped across her sheets. Admiring how they seemed to glow in the ethereal light of the moon.

He had been able to study a lot about her in his nightly visits. Especially since, as of late, she'd be more or less awake once he arrived. He couldn't have timed it more perfect - thus why he made a point of showing up at exactly midnight - how she would open those unreal lilac eyes of hers just as he was looking in. She was usually on her back, and always looked over to his left. He still felt a pang of panic jolt through his body whenever she did that, because he had always irrationally thought she somehow knew he was there, but it left quickly once she started staring at the ceiling. And then he was excited, and waited for it. That smile. That unbelievable, entirely uninhibited, approving smile. At first, all he wanted was to see it once more. Then he decided that he wanted to see it one day looking at him. If it managed to show itself because of him, that would just be a bonus. It was small, and dazed, but it was beautiful. It engulfed him every time. Slowly, of course, in the way a snake digests as it eats. Only it wasn't like that, because that was gross and completely unlike the way it swallowed him, but it was the only way he could think to describe it. But that was beside the point because that smile was right there, as powerful as it was stunning, dancing slowly across his skin, leaving him with goosebumps and tingles that took his breath away every time.

And before he knew it, she was back asleep. That smile becoming a mere ghost of its former self, but still one of the most incredible things he had had the privilege to see. He tried not to stay too much longer after she fell asleep, recognizing the fact that there was only so much he could observe once she was no longer awake, but sometimes he couldn't help himself. There was something about her, on her face, as she slept, that he could never put his finger on, but it drove him positively mad every single time. So, sometimes, he would stay there for a few more minutes, upwards to thirty, to try and figure it out. And knowing himself better, he knew he could never figure it out if he weren't looking at her as he tried. There was just no way, because memory and imagination just weren't as good as the real thing. There was just no way he could replicate in his mind how subtle her lips were formed in that delicate smile of hers, and yet formed a pout. No way he could replicate the way her eyelashes twitched gently across the skin of her cheeks. Or the way her brows lifted and tensed just enough to insinuate she was dreaming. Just no way. He couldn't do it. He tried. He tried on multiple accounts, but it was never as good as he'd seen it. And every time he witnessed it in person, he knew it never could be.

She began to feel more and more restless. The only time she was getting decent sleep were in the hours after midnight, when she was dreaming about Naruto. In passing, she wondered if maybe it was worth it, to be able to have so many wonderful dreams about her secret love, but when she realized it was beginning to damage her performance in training, she knew it had to stop. But she didn't know where to begin. She didn't have a clue. And even though she had more than good enough reason to do away with it, what had offended her the most - and had been the final straw - was that it was infringing on her abilities to watch Naruto from afar. She was so out of it today, she somehow ended up at the women's bathing spring, and was depressed for the rest of the day when she couldn't find him anywhere afterward. He wasn't in any of the spots she had known to be his favorite.

She had decided that the only thing she could do was to stay up and wait for midnight to see what happens, despite her previous concerns at toying with her schedule. But since it was already infringing on her performance, why not her schedule, too? She had to do what she had to do, in hopes that this will finally end and she can finally get some rest.

It was much harder than she thought it would be. By 10:30, she was already dozing off. Trying to wait for the clock to strike midnight on her bed wasn't going to cut it. It was far too comfortable, and she was far too tired to risk it. Too exhausted to even sigh, she dragged her body to the opposite side of the room, and sat in the shade underneath her windowsill, to the right of her dresser, her back resting against the wall. Wanting that 12:00 to show up on her clock had never been so desired.

Naruto was more than determined to get a good observation tonight. It was terribly disheartening how he still couldn't seem to find her during the day. He tried everywhere - everywhere. He had even tried the local girls' bath, in hopes to find the indigo head, but all that got him was a good beating and a bunch of tossed insults.

Still slightly sullen over the petty jabs he'd gotten from the scandalized women - when he had just been innocently searching for Hinata - he was utterly depressed to find that said woman wasn't where she was supposed to be. He didn't know where she was, again. And her sheets were practically untouched. Was she not even in bed yet? At this time of night?

Feeling hopeless, frustrated, and like he'd just had his chain yanked particularly hard, he huffed aggressively. He was done with this game of cat and mouse. He felt like a cat who kept getting caught in traps, never able to find or catch that danged mouse, and he was fed up. Sick of it. He leaned in just enough to rest his head on the glass of her window, feeling defeated. And just as he was feeling a defiant burst of energy - for Uzumaki Naruto was never defeated, and never gave up - he noticed something peculiar. The window wasn't locked.

He tested the window then, wondering if it would creak loudly in protest, or open smoothly, allowing him access. He would let that be his answer on what to do next. And before he knew it he was crouched, head leaning into the room, on the windowsill, eyes scanning the room swiftly, before leaping into the room with a soft thud. When his mind caught up with his body, he was wedged in the throes of wonder and fear. He was in Hinata's room. In her room, and just a few feet away from where she slept, lay awake, and smiled at night. Nights in which he watched from outside her window in admiration and curiosity. And here he was, elated in his success, and fearful of any possible consequences.

He had heard a shifting behind him, possibly even a mumble, and turned in curiosity. He fell out of his crouch by her bed in the process and felt his soul leave his body, just for a second, when he saw something slowly crawling towards him from out of the shadows underneath the windowsill.

"I'm so happy you showed up," he heard. Despite the friendly, playful tone, he couldn't recall ever feeling quiet so terrified. In fact, he was sure that tone was even scarier than if it were mean and horrible-sounding. Was this a trap? Would this be the last one the cat found itself caught in? He briefly thought, in relief, that if it was a trap of some kind, and it were meant for Hinata, that at least she'd be safe.

But by the time the figure made its way over to him, exposing itself to the moonlight pouring inside, he realized that it was Hinata. Those gorgeous violet tresses could be no one else's. She was glowing in that ethereal way of the moon, bathed in its light, in a way only she could manage. And then there was that smile. Oh Lord, that smile. It was looking at him. Facing him. Completely and entirely for him. It felt even better than he thought it would. He was enchanted, unable to look away, and only barely able to recall her hand reaching out to him.

"You're so dressed. You're even wearing your shoes." She giggled. Giggled. Was he dreaming? Somehow fell asleep, didn't wake, and now he was dreaming?

"Are you here to help pass the time?" She whispered, to which he suddenly noticed there was no stutter to be heard. And she was draped over him, just about glued to him. He didn't know how to process or take any of it in. He couldn't believe it was really Hinata. Be... Because Hinata was the stuttering, shy, beautiful young woman who twiddled her thumbs, blushed, and nearly passed out anytime he interacted with her. Not that that was very often, but only because he couldn't ever seem to find her.

"You're so warm, Naruto-kun..." He practically jumped out of his skin at first, hearing his name called so pleasantly - he was far too used to hearing it in frustrated, yelling, screaming tones - and then at how close it was to his ear. And then he realized his face was being held onto, gently, delicately, lovingly, in a way that had his heart swelling. He was nervous, just a little sweaty, and entirely uncomfortable. Did Hinata know what she was doing? Who she was doing it to? Sure, she'd said his name, but... it didn't make sense. People didn't treat him this way. They just didn't. Not that that didn't make him sad, or anything, because it kind of did... but it just made no sense!

She was cuddling his neck, still holding onto his face, though her right hand strayed to the back of his neck, tangling itself in his blonde hair, moving up and down in calm, soothing strokes.

He felt light headed. On a cloud. He was either going to pass out, or be pushed off. Surely, she would wake up - truly wake up - realize what she was doing, and blame him for it. Followed by some sort of un-called for beating. That was how Sakura would react, or any girl for that matter. That was how he was used to being treated.

But she didn't stop. Just kept on stroking the back of his head, as if she were trying to soothe away any hurt he felt, any pain his heart just couldn't let go of by itself, and before he knew it, he found himself feeling vulnerable. Vulnerable in a way only she had ever seen him. But that was ok, because she was there again. She could protect him... when it was supposed be the other way around.

He didn't know that he had been holding onto her possessively, as if protesting she ever let him go. He didn't know he had leaned back into the side of her bed, bringing her with him. He didn't know his eyelids had closed of their own will, before he slowly slipped into the best night sleep he'd ever had - Hinata soon following.

She had had just the most wonderful dream. So she had failed to stay up until midnight, that's alright. At least she had slept the whole night through, whatever strange phenomena that was there to wake her at 12:00 never showing up. And there was that dream. That dream. It had felt so... real. Like he was really there. Like she was really able to hold him, touch him, his hair, speak to him - no stutter, no blush. It was the most incredible feeling in the world. It was the love she had for Naruto plus utter liberation. It felt so free, so right. She wanted to feel that way again, and again. For forever and on, till beyond her time in this life was up.

The part of her that wasn't protesting the notion of staying asleep - to get back to that wonderful and rare dream - couldn't wait to start the day. She was positively warm and aflutter inside, focused on finding Naruto as soon as possible to start the day right, when she stirred awake. Her first intelligible thought was to check what time it was. She hoped it wasn't too early, or there was no way Naruto would be up yet, but stopped all line of thought when something under her stirred as well. She froze at the undeniably Naruto-blonde hair in her line of sight. Mind sinking in irrational thought, she was briefly horrified that somehow in the night, she must have cut off strands of the golden mane and brought them back with her.

But then a moan met her ears - literally. The warm breath that followed the sound tickled the flesh of her ear. The blush that overtook her body was one of which strictly reserved only for moments in which Naruto was ridiculously close to her. So why? The information connected, and she threw herself back in reflex.

To her extreme mortification - and hysterical joy - Naruto was sitting against her bed. In her room. With her. Completely asleep. Can't be happening. The deep red hue dominated her normally pale body. She was doused in it. She couldn't think, yet her mind was racing. In an incomprehensible stutter, she called out to him, only for him to shift in response.

This couldn't be happening. Was impossible. No way. She dared not move, nor look away from the unaware man at her bedside as he opened his eyes.

It was a long moment of agonizing silence. For her, at least. She wished she could have just left the room. Or run out her window. Anything to get out and away from his line of sight as it fell on her. But she was frozen.

He was looking directly at her, through sleep-glazed eyes. After a yawn, and languid stretch - the fact that it was against her mattress effectively engraving itself into her brain - he smiled at her. But not his typical, teeth and all, show-off of a smile, that was probably better named a grin. No, she absolutely loved that smile, but this one... This one was smaller, gentle, vulnerable even. It took her breath away and had her irrationally believing it was somehow reserved exclusively for her. After all, she couldn't recall ever seeing it before, for anyone else. So it must be hers.

"Good morning, Hinata." She froze up again, not sure why he was talking to her. He wasn't supposed to see her, or acknowledge her. That wasn't the way things worked. He would greet other people, and she would watch him and hope that one day he would do it to her. But it never actually happened. It didn't work that way. She had long since accepted that. And he wasn't allowed to say her name. Not like that. It wasn't fair.

She heard him sigh, and she crawled further into herself, a part of her fearing he had grown tired of her silence. It was rude of her to just ignore his warm greeting. But it was something she had waited so long for, that it was just too much when it was suddenly delivered in the most unlikely of ways, at a completely unexpected time, in a place she would never dare dream of. She attempted a response of some sort - she figured anything would do at this point - but she could only manage a weak, stuttered 'uh... um'.

He chuckled quietly to himself, and her blush doubled in power. She didn't think it had ever been this bad. But then, she wasn't usually in this situation, so it would make sense.

He began to make his way over to her, and she slowly inched away, freezing up every now and then when she caught sight of that defenseless smile. A small part of her, in the back of her mind, was saddened by the fact that there was no time for her to enjoy or admire it.

She gasped quickly, in terror, when her back touched lightly against the wall. Now she was defenseless. There was no where for her to go, and he kept on coming. In a lame means of defense, she held her hands tightly in front of her, as if they would morph into a wall of sorts and separate herself from him, allowing her to disappear. He was a mere few feet away from her when a wonderfully shy smile met her eyes - something in which boggled her mind entirely on its own - and he looked at her tentatively, "Promise you won't pass out, ok?"

She could only wonder what he meant for a few seconds, before he was leaning in and bringing her into him in a whole-hearted, friendly hug. Her mind was swimming in feelings and thoughts she couldn't entirely process.

He pulled back just enough to stare into her eyes, a smile lifting his lips. Her blush darkened at their proximity. And just as she thought she had the swaying temptation of escape under control, he touched her cheek with his lips in a light peck.

"A-Ah! You can't pass out," he said sternly, pointing a warning finger at her after noticing the slight sway to her posture.

She gripped harder onto her hands, trying very hard to obey his words. But how was it possible, when he was suddenly hugging and kissing her so willingly and openly - in her own bedroom, of all places - and causing all sorts of things to rush through her head so fast that it was sure to make her faint? It was a terribly unfair thing to ask of her.

He sighed again, and ran a hand through his hair, glancing over her once. "Ahh, I'm sorry, Hinata. It's just that, well, last night... I guess I just wanted to.. er thank you, or something..."

Her heart leapt to her throat as she squeaked a soft, curt, scandalized "What". Her skin bristled like never before, and the hair on her body stood on end at the horrifying implication that last night wasn't a mere dream, but reality, and really happened. That she really threw herself at him, held him, caressed him, and spoke to him in a flirty haze thinking he was the common figment of her imagination because she was half-asleep. She could just die.

His following words were nothing but an incomprehensible hum, being overpowered by the pulsing blood in her head, rushing through her ears and drowning out the possibility of hearing anything else.

He was thoroughly amused. Though a part of him felt bad at how utterly embarrassed she was, he quickly justified himself believing that once she was over it, she would be deeply thrilled by his show of gratitude. If last night were anything to take into consideration. And he knew it was. He had had dreams all night long that pieced together any and all interactions he had had with her, coming to the realization of why she had acted so seemingly out of character. But it had clicked for him then, with the help of his subconscious, that that was the real Hinata. The one she kept trying to bring out, to show to him and to others. But he liked to believe mainly him.

He had woken up with the firm resolution of helping her. When he saw her basically flat out on the floor a few feet away from him, frozen with a delectable blush choking her skin, he couldn't help but begin right away. She would need a lot of help. Nightly help, perhaps, he thought in a sly frame of mind.

And then she suddenly wasn't listening to him anymore. He cursed quietly to himself, wondering where he went too far. He shook her gently to stir her out of her coma-like state, and briefly thought of how long it would take to get her to the point she was at last night. Her body jerked underneath his arms, and he smiled again for her. As if to say 'I'm not going to hurt you.' He was pleased to see her gaze back up at him, thrown by the wonder, embarrassment, and slight fear swirling within.

"How about you meet me later at Ichiraku, hm? We can talk then, if you want... about everything - if you want! Ahh, and sorry for kind of swinging all this on you," though he kind of wasn't really, "I know you just woke up, and are confused as all hell, but.. I can explain, kind of. But you have to meet me for ramen later today, ok?

He watched his words sink in and admired the way her eyes seemed to expose her mind processing the information. When he eventually got a slight, dazed nod, he grinned victoriously and let go of her shoulders. "Alright! So," he glanced around the room, noticing the bold, red 9:00 on her dresser, "How about we meet up in an hour?" He figured it was good enough time for her to collect herself and her thoughts... and recall last night. He definitely wanted to bring that up. His insides fluttered at just the memory of it.

Getting another nod in response, he grinned once more before lifting himself to leave her in peace for another hour. He was giddy inside, as he hopped onto the windowsill. And with one more fleeting glance at the dumbstruck indigo-haired beauty frozen to the spot on her bedroom floor, he was gone.

Sakura sighed, thinking back to the question Naruto asked her just over a week ago. "Sakura-chan, do you know where Hinata is?" She was shocked, at first, to hear that he seemed to know the girl existed - let alone the fact he was actively looking for her. But then she was upset. Upset at him and Hinata and at him. Looking back on it, she felt a little guilty. She should have told him, or a least gave him a hint that the shy, hopelessly-in-love girl was likely following his trail. She didn't know what to do to help the poor girl. She wanted to somehow help guide him towards her. Actually, she wanted to just smack Naruto in the face and scream at him for not realizing Hinata has been in love with him for far longer than he deserved. And then she figured she should find him and do just that - but then she remembered Hinata and sighed in frustration.

She had been looking for him everywhere. She finally found him practically floating down the street towards Ichiraku. She had decided she was just going to tell him where he could likely find her, depending on where he was, and be nice, but she couldn't help but feel the all-too-familiar itch in her fist at the too-happy boisterous buffoon in front of her as he walked dazedly into the ramen shop.

She sucked in a breath, pushing her temper down, and walked toward him.

"Hey Naruto, any luck in finding Hinata?" She was only very shocked to see that he hadn't gorged himself yet in the bowl of ramen before him. Instead, he was staring off into nothing like a complete idiot, with his hands holding onto a pair of unbroken chopsticks midair. Her eyebrow scrunched in irritation and question.

Laced with hidden meaning, he replied, "Oh, yes. Yes, I found her," before sighing dreamily off into the nothingness he stared into.

- - - - - - -End.

A/N: I was thinking earlier this morning, once I woke up, and I realized something. I'm the type of person that would stalk my stalker. And then I started laughing, thinking how Naruto would totally do that (only entirely different and not nearly as creepily as I would), and poof. There was this.

I seem to enjoy those types of situations in which Naruto will say or think something that makes complete and total sense, but because it applies to him too, becomes utterly hypocritical of him. I just love it.

Thank you so much for reading! Reviews are very much appreciated :)

Sidenote: Took my car to get washed today, as a way of taking a break from this, and then I started questioning myself. Is it sad that I consider getting my car washed a break? Isn't that typically a chore or errand to people? Why is my life like this?