Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto-sensei. Part of the summary is from the poem somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond by e.e. cummings (one of my favorite poets ever).

A/N: My first-ever fluff in English. I'm lousy at this, mind you, but I'm determined to keep learning...
–scratchhead-

Ahem. As always, happy reading.

A raucous roar of thunder greeted Naruto as he stepped into the storm.

He looked up towards the raging sky.

"That's the best you can do, eh?"

His defiance was answered by an even grander roar, nearly enough to split one's eardrums.

"Hmph," he merely snorted. "I thought so."

With face held high, he stood still beneath the torrential downpour, eyes closed and arms outstretched.

"Go on, I dare you," he spat. "Make it go away, dammit."

The rain seemed to have given its best effort possible in drenching Naruto, but he remained unsatisfied. He threw his head back in frustration, yelling madly.

"You're USELESS!"

The sky yelled back.

He sank to his knees, fiercely cursing at himself.

It's no use.

The wounds were never able to be completely cured.

Maybe on the outside—you gotta thank that damned fox for making it possible—but never, never on the inside.

And time doesn't heal; not for this one, it can't.

Apparently this rain couldn't either.

It still hurts as much as it once had been.

The scene never stopped playing right before his eyes; no matter how hard he tried to erase it.

The pungent smell of blood always presented in every air he breathed.

The blood. His blood. Sasuke's blood.

He could even still taste it on his tongue—it splattered out from Sasuke's lips when Naruto smashed the full-powered double Rasengan right onto his heart. He didn't have any choice. It was the only way in order to save the village.

No amount of ramen in the world could wash away the lingering taste of the blood. No extent of deluges could, and would.

A month had passed since that fateful day, yet it still felt like yesterday. The day when he took the life of his own—once—best friend and lifetime rival. The day when he watched him lied dying, with sneer never left his face as his life slowly departing, and his last word of, "Congratulations, you finally beat me. How does it feel, huh, dobe?"

Naruto hated him for saying that. He cursed him with every fiber on his body for not laying off his dreams and nightmares (but would you call it so when it really did happen?).

He loathed him for keeping him restless every single night.

He'd had enough. In the middle of that night, when a heavy rainstorm assaulted the village, he stomped off to meet it, desperate to find something, anything, that would chase away the pain, the hatred, the guilt-

And now he was kneeling over; staring at the ground, letting himself drowned by the rain—which didn't help at all.

It was still smarting painfully inside. And he knew it would keep hurting forever, unless—

"N-naruto-kun?"

A timid, female voice caught his attention away. He looked up to see a petite figure standing just a few feet away from him.

"Hinata?"

"W-what are you doing under the storm, at this hour?" she queried, holding an umbrella with one hand, although it didn't appear to keep her away from getting wet. "Y-you can catch a terrible cold. Come here,"

She helped him back on his feet, slipping a little as she shifted his weight to her arm.

"Never mind what I'm doing; what are you doing?"

"Oh!" although the sky was pitch black, Naruto could tell that the girl was blushing. "I-I was just- well, um, actually, I s-saw you from my bedroom window. My house is just right over there, y-you see, and I was just wondering if y-you..."

"Hinata," he cut her off. "Thanks."

She fell silent and gave a tiny nod, too shy to say anything. Naruto leaned closer under the umbrella. From their proximity, he could smell a faint scent of lavender hanging on the air.

Then all of a sudden, without any warning, his brain nudged him about something completely crazy.

What if...

He promptly shook off the thought.

Nah. That's ridiculous.

But it's worth a try, his nagging mind kept insisting.

He took a deep breath.

Alright, fine. I'll do it.

"Um, Hinata?" he said, secretly gulping. "Can you... stand still for a moment?"

Hinata blinked. "W-why?"

"Just- stay still, okay? I want to try something..."

Her blush was almost visible, although there was barely any light.

With what seemed like a truly cautious movement, he reached out for her hand. It was so delicate, so frail, and so soft... He found it curious how her tiny hand seemed to fit his perfectly.

He could feel her shuddering at his touch, but still he went on to take her palm to his cheek.

The effect was instantaneous.

An incredible feeling of relief seeping through his every body cell the second their skin made contact. He shut his eyes to savor the sensation, as all of his pain being thoroughly wiped away, one by one. It was the most incredible feeling he'd ever felt in his entire life.

He opened his eyes to stare at her in awe, as if it was the very first time he'd ever met her.

"I've found you," he said, bewildered. "I can't believe it. I've finally found you."

White-lavender eyes looked up to him quizzically.

"Found... me?"

"I think-" he grasped her hand even tighter. "I think you're the one that I've been looking for all this time."

"W-what do you mean?"

"It may sound too extraordinary, and even crazy, but you're the only one that could heal me."

Now he proceeded to lower her hand onto his chest.

"You're my personal remedy, Hinata."

She could feel his throbbing heartbeat beneath his soaking cloth, though it was still nothing compared to her own frenzied pace.

"I-I don't understand-"

"I still find it hard to believe as well," he continued. "But it's true. I could feel it. As soon as you touched me, I was... free. Free from all of my agony. God, Hinata, you have no idea how that felt. You were-"

Naruto leaned closer, locking her eyes with his electric blue pair. She was unable to look away as much as she wanted to.

But then again, she didn't really want to...

"Let me... let me try something else, okay?" he said. "It won't take long, but please, stay still..."

She knew better than to rebut.

Gently, and ever so slowly, he bowed his head and pressed his lips to hers.

A violent, deafening thunder exploded nearby wasn't even close to explain how Hinata was feeling at the moment; to be standing there, under the heavy rain, her umbrella lying discarded, having the object of her whole admiration, the very reason she managed to breathe everyday, kissing her...

He pulled back after some time, leaving her utterly and completely breathless. It wasn't long before her knees finally gave way.

"Whoa- hey," he readily caught her, half-chuckling. "You alright, there?"

She couldn't even pull off a stutter, let alone a sentence. She wasn't even sure she still alive—hadn't she died and gone to heaven? This must be a dream.

"It's fine," Naruto circled his arms around her shoulder. "I'm right here. I'm holding you."

The comfortable feeling of his hands on her made her sure that it wasn't a dream. Because dreams would never, not in a million years, ever feel this good.

"Can you... promise me something, though?"

She had to muster her entire strength and self-control to reply.

"A-anything." she mumbled.

"Please," he smiled serenely. "Stay with me."

Hinata lifted her face to meet his gaze.

"I promise," she said, struggling utmost not to stutter. "I'm not going anywhere. Never."

-

Meanwhile, the rain hasn't stopped.

-

end.

(i do not know what it is about you that closes

and opens; only something in me understands

the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses)

nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands

- e.e. cummings, "somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond"

Um, well, terrible plot and a total cliché, I know o__O;;
I'm not too happy with this either...

But I have to be better! I gotta learn English more!
Ganbatte!

Reviews are worshipped, because I desperately need your support. x)