Naruto and Hinata walked around Konoha. Hinata had been shocked when the blond had requested for her to come with him for his scouting. He didn't say anything really, just the occasional small talk, but Hinata didn't really mind. She just loved being near him, and she was really happy and content that he'd asked her for something. It was interesting to her that he had really started relying on her. It wasn't obvious, but he would ask her to do something with him if he felt bothered about something. The previous day, Naruto and Tenten and them had gone out scouting, and come back looking troubled. Naruto had promptly gone to Hinata and asked if she would go on a walk with him. He'd even gone so far as to admit that she made him feel at peace. She comforted him. Today Naruto had gone to talk to Tsunade, as she'd requested a week ago. It apparently hadn't gone well, as he'd appeared in front of Hinata an hour ago, seemingly sulking. She didn't bother asking, knowing Naruto wouldn't say anything; just grabbed his hand and asked him where they would be going.

She would never know how much Naruto appreciated it. It seemed Hinata was becoming the person who understood him best. But it scared Naruto, since so many times he almost told her what he shouldn't tell anyone. He didn't think Hinata could hate him for it anymore-well, not much anyway. She didn't seem to hate easily, but it still scared Naruto. What if she did hate him? What if he lost her too? And even with that thought, he was aching to tell her his life. Like, he wanted her to understand, to tell him nothing was his fault. He needed her to tell him that; that it was understandable. He wanted her to again tell him he wasn't a monster. That she would never hate him. Naruto would never ask her that, though.

"Sorry for making you come with me," Naruto said, dropping any attempts of small talk. Hinata didn't deserve that, and it just made everything more awkward.

"Don't apologize. I enjoy things like this," Hinata said, smiling slightly at him. "And I'm just glad you've been coming to me when you feel troubled."

"So, could I wake you up in the middle of the night, and you would still be happy?" Naruto asked, feeling kind of childish.

Hinata thought about this. "I don't think sleep is as important as helping someone. If you felt troubled, or something was hurting you, I would rather you wake me then think about it alone." She again smiled and Naruto felt something odd in his chest.

"Were you ever afraid? Did you ever want to wake someone in the middle of the night?" Naruto had often wondered what she felt inside. The only emotion he remembered ever seeing on her face till recently had been embarassment. Now, in the last few weeks, he'd seen anger, sadness, happiness, pride, and pain. He'd seen more than that. But he now wanted to know how intensely she felt things, what thoughts ran through her mind. He wanted to know more than emotions. And the feeling was scaring him. Naruto didn't recall ever feeling like that.

"Oh, of course I was afraid," Hinata answered honestly. "I was painfully shy back then. Still am. But a few years ago, everything scared me. Yelling, my cousin, bugs, wind. I was so timid. I sometimes wanted to wake Neji or...someone, and tell them of my cares. I was always afraid of people rejecting me, though, so I never did. I don't want anyone to feel like that. I want to be the type of person someone can wake up whenever and tell their troubles to them. I want to be a strength."

Naruto studied her face and smiled. "You've gotten stronger. You've become a strength, Hinata."

"How can you know for sure? What is a strength truly? I want to know for sure that I can help someone. I want them to show me, so its obvious. I want a sad person to grow cheerful. I want to see it."

"Well, right now I don't know if I can help with the cheerful part, but Hinata, you've become a strength for me. I want to tell you so many things. I haven't been this happy in a while. You're my strength, Hinata."

At that, Hinata smiled, tears glinting in her eyes. And in that moment, Naruto thought she was truly beautiful.

Okay, I need everyone's opinions. I've pretty much got this one fully planned, so it won't be that hard to write, so I wanna move onto another story. Anything any of you want me to write about especially? I'm totally open for any type of request. Also, I wanted to try something new. I'm thinking about a One Piece fanfic, since that's my current phase. Would anyone be interested in reading one? Oh, and what I write could be anything- a story line you like or anime fanfic-as long as I've watched it.