It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining bright above the sky, the birds flying and chirping and everyone just going out to enjoy their day. No matter if they were working in the fields or just working indoors with fabric. It was a day that anyone would love to be outside to enjoy it, yet, for a little girl? She had to travel back to her mansion with her father after they had gone to another land to speak about recent demon attacks.

For months now, the attacks from demons have been going out of hand. Yes, there were the odd time when a demon would attack, yet now? The attacks seemed relentless and almost, violent in a way. Yes, attacks tend to be that way, but, at least a demon used to just make it simple. Killing the target in a swift and painless way. Now? It seemed like they were slowly ripping the person to shreds while they were still alive and screaming out from the pain as they begged for it to end.

That alone, was enough to make the young princess cry out in fear and sadness.

The carriage ride back home though was quiet. She hadn't bothered to say a thing since they had left to be on their way home, too deep in thought which was rather troubling for a little girl at the age of five. She had no idea what to do, what she could do to help her people and those in need in a time such as this. Yet, what was a child to do?

"Hinata?" came a man's voice, causing the little girl to look up at him. Her short blue hair swaying from the motion as she turned. Her pale lavender coloured eyes looked up at him with confusion. "I know that this is a lot to take in, but one day you will have to endure this and bring hope to the people when you are to rule over these lands in my stead."

"I-I know father but, isn't there a better way to stop the attacks?" asked Hinata.

Her father, Lord Hiashi was a powerful man, no doubt. He had a habit of being rather cruel when needed, but otherwise, he was a kind man and a wonderful lord. Yet, the look in his pale eyes told her that these attacks were also taking their toll on the lord. His long brown hair was pulled back in a low ponytail as he gave his daughter a tired smile. "I wish there was. I don't know why the attacks are happening like this. Though we will find a way to end it and so you and your sister can live in peace."

"Okay father." Hinata whispered softly before looking back out the carriage to watch the scenery as they rode by.

What was she to do when she and her father returned home? There wasn't much that she could do other than her studies to be the next Lady of the land when she was older, yet before any of that she would have to marry. Letting out a soft yet sad sigh, Hinata couldn't help but prop her head on her palm, elbow resting on the window sill as she just gazed out at the outside world.

For as long as she could remember in her short life, Hinata never really got to enjoy the finer things in life. All she ever did was travel, meet other lords and ladies of the lands but, she never got to really be a kid. She was never allowed to play, never allowed to interact with other children because they all thought that she was too good for them. It made her sad, even her father tried to find her some friends, other children that were her age for, as for now, her sister was only a baby. So, once more she was alone.

Blinking her eyes slowly, Hinata couldn't help but wonder what she could do with her life. There had to be something, anything that she could do to entertain herself yet no matter what, it just wasn't fun to play alone. Yet, she hoped and prayed with all her heart and soul that she could find someone who wouldn't care that she was a princess. Someone that would want to play with her and spend time with her no matter what. Who would care for her wellbeing and always want to be there for her no matter what happens.

'That is nothing but wishful thinking…' thought Hinata with a sad frown on her face before looking away and turned to stare at her father for a moment. He just gave her a small smile at her, which Hinata returned gently. Moving to the other side of the carriage, she just gazed out and couldn't help but stare at the flowers as they rode past. Flowers, the only kind of beauty that she ever got to really experience of the outside world thus far. Honestly, she didn't think that she could really do anything more than to look at the flowers, even if she had her own secret garden in her home, she had to be careful not to get herself dirty because it was unbecoming of a princess.

"Father, what will we do once we return home?" asked Hinata softly.

"I have to contact with the other Lords and make sure that they are faring well in these times. You though, you shall return to your studies. I'm sorry, I know you hate them but, it is for your future Hinata." Lord Hiashi said with a hint of sadness in his voice. At least her father knew that she hated her studies though, it was for her own good was what he said.

Blinking tiredly out the window, Hinata was about to drift off until something caught her eye. Eyes widening, she shouted "Stop the carriage!" Just like that, they came to a halt, Hinata throwing the door open as she rushed to the trees that lined the side of the road. She ran as fast as she could, her father yelling after her as she made her way to the bushes near the treeline as she knelt down and saw the body of a boy.

From what she could see of him, he was only a little taller than her. Blonde spikey hair sticking up everywhere, and covered in dirt, bits of dried mud and… blood? Gasping to herself, she flipped the boy over carefully, and pressed her palm against his cheek. He still felt warm, though more so than he should be. His skin was a little pale, much too pale for her liking though. As she gazed at him, she saw that he had three whisker marks on his cheeks, though he had a scratch on his right cheek, no, not a scratch… it looked like a claw mark?

His clothes, orange robes, torn and dirty, she couldn't tell if they were the clothes of a royal or a peasant. "Please be okay." Whispered Hinata as she placed her hand under his nose, wanting to make sure if he was even still breathing. He was, thank kami that he was still breathing!

"Hinata!" shouted her father as he rushed to his daughter. "What are you doing?" He knelt down next to his daughter, seeing the small boy who was covered in dirt, mud, and blood. Frowning a little, Hiashi whispered "Is he still alive Hinata?" Seeing his daughter nod, Hiashi carefully lifted the boy in his arms as he said "Let's get him back to the mansion, we'll have him treated and find out where he is from."

Hinata nodded her head, watching as her father carried the wounded boy to the carriage, she couldn't help but wonder who he was. Though, she couldn't help but wonder… what had happened to him to have caused this? It had her curious though she knew that she had to do something to figure out what had caused this to him. For now, she'd have to wait for him to wake up.

Hinata stayed by the boy in the medical wing of the mansion for days. They had managed to clean him of the dirt, mud, and blood and had dressed him in a simple white robe. He slept throughout the entire time he had stayed here. She saw that he looked peaceful as he slept, though at the same time he would twitch in pain here and there at the same time. Though that was due to the high fever that he had, she had no idea how he had survived to be honest.

Letting out a soft sigh, she couldn't help but remember the words that the healer had told her, and her father. While they were cleaning him, they noticed her had two odd symbols. One, was on his stomach, from what the doctor had describe to her and her father, it was a swirl with four symbols above and below the symbol. The other, was on the back of his left hand, it resembled a nine tailed fox.

Even now, she could see the fox on his hand. It was a proud standing fox, its nine tails almost seemed to sway out behind it. The design of the fox, it almost resembled fire and swirls of wind. At least to her it did.

Reaching out carefully, the young girl gently held his left hand, only to lift it from his palm pressing against hers as she lifted the symbol as she examined it carefully. There was something else hiding within the symbol, though she couldn't really tell what it was. It was too small and the rest of the mark was covering it, preventing her from seeing what it was.

Taking a deep breath, Hinata knew that she had to be careful with him. He was still weak, still running a high fever from however long he was out in the elements. It still puzzled her, what attacked him? Who was he? Where did he come from in the first place?! Shaking her head, the young princess knew that she would have to ask him of that when he woke up. When he woke up anyway.

Breathing deeply, Hinata looked at the boy as she whispered "Who are you?" Tilting her head a little, the young princess lowered his hand before she was about to push herself up to go and tend to her studies. Until a soft groan caused her to stop in her tracks. Staring at the boy, she reached him as she said "Hey, you okay?" Her voice laced with concern as she stared down at him. "Are you waking up?"

Her answer was a simple groan before his eyes cracked open a bit. Only to squint shut tightly as he turned his head away for a moment. "Hey, it's okay, you're safe here." He turned back towards the princess, his eyes slowly starting to open slowly. Blinking a few times, squinting as he looked up at the princess and his eyes adjusting to the light that surrounded him. "Hi." Hinata said with a smile on her face.

The boy just stared at Hinata for a moment before he turned his head away, his eyes wandering around as if he tried to figure out where he was. "You okay? Who are you? Where are you from?" She asked gently. The boy turned to stare at her, now, she noticed the bright blue eyes that he possessed. It was enough to make her stare in shock at such an eye colour. They reminded her of the sky, so open and free.

He just stared at her for a moment. Trying to think of what to say, at least that was what she was thinking of anyway. The boy though he frowned up at her, a faint tint raising to his cheeks before he looked away from her. "Where am I?" asked the boy, his voice sounding so small and quiet.

"You are in the Sacred Lands. A lands sworn to protect people in both health and protecting from harm. You are safe here." Hinata said with a smile on her face. The boy just stared at her for a moment before she gave him a gentle smile. "What's your name? Mines Princess Hinata. But, if you want you can just call me Hinata."

"My name is… is…" the boy frowned a little as he tried to think of a name. Of any name that would come to his mind. Frowning a little, the young boy bit his lip in deep thought. The boy sighed softly, reaching up his left hand and rubbed his forehead as he tried to think of a name that just seemed to shout at him. Until he whispered "I think… my name is Naruto."

"You think?" asked Hinata with a frown.

"I don't really remember. 'Naruto' just seemed to shout at me." He answered softly before turning to Hinata and blinked innocently at her. "That is the only thing that shouts at me."

"You don't know where you're from?" asked Hinata.

A shake of his head.

"Who your parents are?"

"No."

"Anything at all?"

"I'm sorry."

Hinata frowned a little at this. How could anyone not remember who they are? Crossing her arms in confusion, the young girl tried to think on what she should do, on what she should say to him. What could she do to help him in something such as this in the first place? Taking a deep breath, the young girl let out a soft sigh as she said "Well, for now just rest. You had a very bad ever and you still haven't recovered. The healer said you need lots of water and food in you!" She smiled at him happily before pushing herself up.

Only to hear him weakly say "Please stay a little longer? Please?" Turning back to him, Hinata frowned as she saw the slightly scared look on his face. Maybe he was scared to be in such an area, it was unknown to him and he had no memory of anything other than a name. What could she do in a situation like this?

"Okay." Hinata stayed of course, stayed to comfort a scared boy who had no memory of his own.

Over the weeks of Naruto's recovery, Hinata had missed most of her lessons to check up on the boy. He was still nervous around others right now and he insisted that when the healer was there to make sure that he was recovering properly, that Hinata was with him. Even if he had to remove his clothes, she would turn around so she wouldn't be looking at him while unclothed. Yet, he still wanted her to be there, needing someone his own age to get over the fear of being surrounded by strangers.

Even though she, herself was a stranger to him, he still wanted her around.

Naruto would talk with Hinata for hours without stopping, he seemed to be filled with energy now that he was almost well again. He asked her many questions about her lands, about the kind of people that lived here and what had been going on while he was asleep. Though, when she mentioned the demon attacks increasing, that seemed to confuse Naruto a great deal for some reason.

"But, demons don't attack people." Naruto said with a frown.

"Not before no, but the last few months they have. Every day we either lose someone or one is just badly injured. The attacks are getting worse and worse and we don't know what the cause of it is." Hinata said with a frown. Mostly saying the words that her father had said many times before. Though it did confuse her too if she thought about it. The demons hadn't really been this bad, something must have happened over the barrier to have caused them to act such a way. "Wait, how do you know if demons would attack people or not?" asked Hinata with a frown.

"I don't really know. Just, a feeling I guess." He answered honestly. Hinata just frowned at him, curious as to why he would say such a thing in the first place but, for now she'd have to let it go. Maybe he was just over thinking things or unless it was one of those odd things that people sometimes spoke about when they forgot their memories but not their feelings? She had no idea. Though, she wouldn't hurt his feelings because of what he felt.

"Okay." Hinata answered with a smile on her face before looking at his left hand again. It was the mark that the healer had been looking over since Naruto's stay here. No matter what, they couldn't find what it meant, and just assumed that it was an odd birthmark that no one could ever really figure the meaning of. Normally, birthmarks that take shape have some kind of meaning, this though? This was a mystery to the young girl. A mystery that she didn't think that she would ever think of.

Naruto smiled brightly as he went back to his questions, and Hinata wouldn't have had it any other way. Honestly, she really enjoyed talking to him, it just seemed to be nice. Talking to someone who was her own age and not someone who only pretended to be her friend only to think she was a snob for being a princess. Naruto, he treated her like a person instead of a princess and that brought a joy to her heart. It would be sad when he recovered and her father brought him to a family that could take care of him properly.

Even as Naruto recovered, the young girl couldn't help but wonder what she was to do. Naruto had taken off, wanting to get a look around the place though, she wondered what it was that he was doing. It seemed as if he was in his own world sometimes, yet she couldn't help but be curious as to what it was that he was going to do. Sure, he had recovered but he still needed to rest. He would end up… leaving her tomorrow. Most likely, at least if her father had anything to say about it.

As she made her way to her father's personal study, she knocked on the door. His voice calmly said "Come in" and she entered. Hinata looked up at her father as he sat at his desk, writing down something on a scroll though didn't dare to look up at his daughter. Did he even know that it was her that was there in the first place? "Hinata, what do you need?" Okay, he knew.

"Father, can't Naruto stay here? Please?" Hinata pleaded with her father, not wanting to lose her only friend. Hiashi looked up at his daughter and frowned at her. He set aside his pen as he stared at his child, as if telling her to go on with her reason. "I don't have any friends here father."

"Hinata, there are tons of children who could play with you." He answered her.

"But, they don't treat me like a person father. They think I'm a snob because I'm a princess." Hinata replied.

The Lord frowned a little more hearing this. It seemed that he had never known this kind of information before, though how could he? He was normally busy with other lands and making treaties or ordering his men to kill the stray demon here and there that would come through the barrier. Hinata of course had never mentioned anything of this before, so how could he have known? "There has to be something that you could do father! He has no one! He was so scared when he first woke up that he wanted me to stay in the room with him." Hiashi couldn't help but stare at his child, how could one so young seem to have such, was it wisdom? Or was it kindness?

"Hinata, what would I have him do around here? This is our home, he isn't a part of the family." Hiashi responded with a frown on his face.

"None of the workers are part of the family and they live here."

"That is different, they work here Hinata."

"But…"

"No buts. He can't stay here. I'm sorry, but he needs a family of his own Hinata. Maybe we can find one, or even find the family that he had been separated from... There are bound to be someone looking for him." Hiashi responded.

Hinata sniffled, feeling like she was about to cry at any given moment. Yet, she couldn't allow herself to cry, there was no way that she would ever allow herself to cry like this. There had to be something that she could do! "But-"

"I said no buts Hinata. That is the end of this discussion, I will not tolerate this." Hiashi said with a hint of authority to his tone. Hinata lowered her gaze before she slowly started to walk out of the room. At least, until a voice cut in, causing both Lord, and Princess to stare at the now open doorway.

"What if, I become Hina-chan's guard Lord Hiashi?" came Naruto's voice, his question of course had caused both to blink at him in shock. Looking down a little, Naruto had a faint blush on his face as he went on. "Hina-chan saved me, I wanna repay her. So, can I be her guard? I'll look after her! I'll train very hard to keep her safe!" Hiashi looked like he was about to reject the very idea of a child learning to be a guard, but, then again he started to see the pros in all of this.

It would save him time from getting a new guard when they were unable to keep his daughter safe. Having a younger guard, one around Hinata's age to train day in and out until she was of age to need protection more often proved, pretty useful in all honesty. Yet, he would still have to have a guard for Hinata and someone whom he could trust to teach Naruto how to fight properly. With his bare hands or a weapon of his choice, he would learn. "If I agree, do you promise to protect my daughter no matter the cost?"

"Naruto-" Hinata was about to say something, something so he wouldn't agree to something so… so… deadly.

"I will. I promise that I will protect her no matter what! No matter if I have to give up my life, an arm, or anything else. I would protect her." Hiashi stared at the child, seeing the honesty in his eyes, the desire to fight, the desire to protect. It was a powerful thing that was for sure. There was no mistaking this, the child had the courage of an adult, and some that most adults could never hope to have regardless of how long they have fought for. "Please Lord Hiashi, let me do this." Naruto pleaded.

Letting out a soft sigh, the Lord nodded his head. "Alright. I'll assign a teacher for you and we'll have a room prepared as well. I think one of the empty rooms could be of use for you Naruto." Turning to his daughter, the Lord calmly said "Show him to his room please Hinata? After that, I will contact you both to make sure that I have picked out a suitable teacher for him."

"Father, may I ask something before I leave then?" asked Hinata.

"Hm, I do not see why not. What is it?"

"Have them train me as well. As a way to protect myself." Okay, now Hiashi wasn't expecting this at all! "I know father, if I learn how to fight then what is the point in a guard? Well, what if no one can get to me in time, or what if you are short on warriors? Let me train with Naruto too, please." Hm, he had nothing against this. To be honest, his own wife was a warrior herself, it was why he fell in love with her in the first place. That, and her natural beauty. Something that Hinata herself had inherited.

Could he do it though? Could he allow his daughter to fight with her life on the line every day? Sure, if Naruto was with her, there was less of a chance of her getting hurt if she knew how to fight as well. Yet, as a father, he just couldn't bear the thought of her not being able to have some kind of protection, even if it was her being able to fight back. At the same time though, her learning to fight, to protect herself at the same time may help in case Naruto ends up surrounded at the same time.

His choice has been made.

"Alright, I'll allow it. But, do not complain about it later, either of you. This is something that you both agreed too, and you are both to stick to it at the very end. Understand?" Hiashi said with a serious look on his face.

"Yes father." Came Hinata's reply.

"Yes sir." Came Naruto's reply.

"Alright, now go on and see your new room Naruto. Hinata, return to your room. I think you've had enough excitement for today. You will both learn about your teacher tomorrow."

Hearing that, Hinata and Naruto left the room, though Hinata couldn't help but wonder… How did Naruto know where to find her in the first place? He hadn't seen the mansion's interior yet and he was able to find her without so much of an issue. Had he just heard her and followed her voice, or was he just that lucky? It was something that she didn't think she'd get an answer to if she was honest with herself. Yet, she knew that she would have to make sure that she didn't overwhelm Naruto with her questions. No way of knowing how his memory loss has affected him in the first place.

Letting out a soft sigh, Hinata looked at Naruto as she asked "So, why did you call me 'Hina-chan'?" asked Hinata with a frown.

Blushing a little, the young boy calmly said "I'm not really sure. It just came out, if you don't like it I'll stop." She frowned a little. It wasn't that she didn't like it, it was more surprising than anything else really. Wrapping her arms around him in a hug, Hinata let out a soft sigh. "Hinata?" came Naruto's voice, a little unsure of what to do.

"I like it. I just wasn't expecting a nickname from you." Hinata said with a giggle.

"Oh, so, I can keep calling you that then?" he asked, hopeful.

"Of course Naru-kun!" Hinata said with a giggle before letting go of her new blonde friend. Maybe her life would be interesting after all. Now she finally had a friend, someone that she could talk to. Confide in and everything. Though, she just hoped that they could get through their training, even she knew that it wouldn't be easy that was for sure.

hey everyone, just giving you a taste of a new story that I will be working on after Demon's Bride is done, I am just gonna try to finish it for I think there are just roughly 5 chapters left, though if it gets down to it where I get stuck again, I'll go back to working on Werewolf Among the Leaves and Utopia, anyway, enjoy the first chapter, and I'll post the next one most likely after I finish Demon's Bride, later!