Fuyu

Author: Music 1s my s0ul

Hi!! Jeebus, it's been a while....I missed doing this....anyway-

Yeppers, it's me again, and I've got a nice, pretty, brand-new oneshot!! It is Numero un of FOUR onesots.

That will take forever and a day to publish them all, so I hope you stick with me to read them all....

So, to start it off, I decided to do my most hated season first: winter. And it is winter, too, so...why not??

Anyway-enjoy!!!

Disclaimer: I own jack shit. 'Cept the plot. Yeah. I own that.

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‘Click-Click, click-click’

The sound of shoes echoed through the dark, empty halls of the mansion, her mansion.

Well, for now, at least.

There was a reason that she came to this lonely, empty place…and her reason was just beyond the door. Slipping inside, she stared first at the ivory walls, the oak floors, and the large mahogany vanity, her eyes roving, taking the place in. Then they landed on the large, white bed, the gauzy curtains drawn.

Quietly, with a grace she’d been born with, she moved closer, raising a hand to pull back the curtains, and stare at her treasure inside. She tenderly brushed back the choppy bangs on her daughter’s forehead away from her closed eyes, smiling. She took in every feature, her peaceful expression, her closed lids, and every breath she took.

Knowing that soon, she would be like this forever. ‘Oh, my heart, my life…’ she sighed mentally, ‘I’m so sorry…but I can’t live this way anymore…’

She pressed her lips to her daughter’s forehead, her violet eyes fluttering closed, as she prepared herself for what she was about to do.

She placed her hand right over her daughter’s heart, the other on the crown of her head, and began to speak.

“Hinata,” she whispered against her forehead, “I’m so, so sorry, love…but…I can’t. Not anymore. I was never happy with-with your father. You were the only good thing in my life…” Her breath hitched, but she continued, blinking back tears, “Hinata…my love, my light…. I’m sorry that I must leave you like this. But I can’t let you stay with your father. I just can’t.”

She exhaled slowly, sending wintry breath across Hinata’s forehead.

She didn’t even stir.

“Sleep, my daughter. Sleep deeply and, never wake. Not until he finds you. I can’t-I can’t let you end up with the life I have-the life I had.”

She pulled backwards slightly, staring in grief, as Hinata’s breathing got fainter and fainter, before disappearing altogether.

But she knew she was still breathing; she knew her daughter was still alive.

Slowly, she left the bed, still stroking her twelve-year old’s face, finally letting her tears fall.

She couldn’t do this, it would kill her; she can’t leave Hinata behind.

‘Ahh…’ some tiny part of her moaned, ‘but this is all for her…for her own good. We don’t want her to end up like us….’

And that was true. So, with an extremely heavy heart, Mizuki left the mansion, and her light, behind.

*~Fuyu~*

December 27th

‘Winter…again. It snows…all the time…’

A tiny exhale filled the empty room, frosting the window over with ice. Lavender eyes stared at the white flakes floating to the ground, and tried to wish them away.

‘Summer…I want summer…especially on my birthday…’ If anyone outside looked at the empty, white mansion, they would’ve thought that it was haunted. And, if they stared a bit longer, they would’ve seen a white apparition twirl away from the window with a small huff.

Soon, the empty halls were filled with humming, a haunting lullaby bouncing off the walls. Slowly, a figure appeared, leaping and twirling in the halls, a lonely dancer. Her white skirts flared around her legs, which just didn’t seem to touch the ground, her feet hovering at least a few inches from the oak surface. A curtain of dark, midnight hair moved in time with her, like a cape. He lavender eyes were now closed, and her ivory heart-shaped face was full of some peace.

This haunting apparition was Hinata.

She’s been like this for as long as she could remember, forgetting how she came to…be. She could only remember tiny flashes: lips on her forehead, a cold wintry breath, and then a voice, “My love, my light…I’m so, so sorry…” And then, she woke up, just like…this, like a ghost, yet not so; more like a mental projection.

‘And today, I am now sixteen…but I’m still unhappy’

All she wants is to get away from this house, to find someone who can save her, and take her to a place where the sun shines all the time, and it never snows.

She’s been wishing for that since she’d turned thirteen.

Wishing and wishing for something that might never happen, while remembering her old life in the process. She thought of her mother, how much she looked like her, and how much she misses her. She tried to think of her father, but he always escaped her, because he was never around anymore after her tenth birthday. All she knew about her father was that she had his eyes, but instead of a cool gray color, they mixed with her mother’s violet tint, and was a creamy lavender color instead.

Her mother was the head of her home village; the queen, you could say.

Her family was consisted of an important line of vampires in the village of Fuyu, and Mizuki’s father, Hinata’s grandfather, sat up an arranged marriage with a human clan; the cold and noble Hyuga’s. This was a problem, because vampires belonged to one person, and one person only: their True Mate.

And Hiashi Hyuga, Hinata’s father, was not Mizuki’s True Mate.

So in result, her mother was miserable, completely unhappy with her new, frigid husband.

When Hinata was born, she had brought just a little of the light in her mother’s eyes.

But it seemed that it wasn’t enough.

Her mother was gone, her village had fallen, and she was now here, stuck, and all alone.

At least she thinks so.

She’s been hearing noises lately; footsteps, doors slamming closed, and she thought that she once heard a voice…. with that, Hinata knew.

Someone else was in here with her, and the mere thought of it sent her heart soaring.

Once, she even searched the house, looking through all of the rooms, but she could never find her mystery guest.

‘It’s almost like-like hide and seek…’ Hinata smiled at the childish thought, and vanished, re-appearing inside of the empty dining hall. Sighing, she hovered over to the window, staring the snow that would never seem to stop falling, falling, falling….

‘Please,’ she prayed, ‘please let me get away from this never-ending winter soon…’

‘Please let me see the sunlight…just once….’

~*0*~

Meanwhile, as Hinata prayed for summer, a boy was creeping among the shadows, searching. His azure eyes scanned the area, his nostrils flared, as he searched for a scent that he was never able to find. It was a delectable scent, the smell of vanilla, lavender, and freshly fallen snow.

It was intoxicating; and he had to find the source. For all the years he’d been in this house, he was never able to find the source, but it was everywhere, in the halls, in all the rooms, like someone had just entered the rooms, and left just as quickly.

The chase was maddening.

The boy flicked his blond hair out of his eyes, which were now narrowed, annoyed.

He was so frustrated with himself; he has sharp senses, his eyesight and hearing better than anyone’s, his father was Kyuubi no Yoko, for God’s sake! Why could he not find the one, single person?! He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, ‘Calm down, Naruto…you’ll find it. Just calm down, and-’

His thoughts were silenced, as soft humming brushed his ears.

It was soft, so soft he almost missed it, but it was there. Quickly, he followed the sound of the humming, and noticed, with a jolt of excitement, that the scent grew stronger as he got closer. When he found the source, an old dining hall, he peered inside.

And then he saw her.

It was small glimpses, a pale hand, a white dress, long dark hair, but he saw her.

And he knew that he found his mystery person, because the scent was at its strongest in here. As Naruto stared, questions began to from in his mind: who was this girl? What was she? A ghost? A projection of the mind? There were many, many possibilities that he could think of about this person. His head was spinning; spinning, spinning, spinning…and his chest grew warm as he continued to stare, stare, stare…

He had to leave. Now.

And Just as Naruto turned to leave, he saw two lavender eyes, staring straight at him. They were soft, intelligent, filled with wistfulness and curiosity. And staring right into his eyes. Staring, staring, staring; pulling him deeper, deeper, deeper…. until he was lost.

When he was finally able to turn and run, Naruto felt as though he had just left a piece of his soul behind.

*~0~*

Hinata was soaring; she finally saw him.

Her mystery guest.

He was tall, about six feet to her five foot four, with spiky, gold hair that just wouldn’t stop falling into his eyes, which were a bright, azure blue, and tan skin, with three lines on each of his cheeks, like whiskers. To her, he looked warm and bright…

Just like summer.

Hinata’s eyes widened, and she clasped her hands to her chest; had her prayers finally been answered…? She wished that he didn’t leave; aside from the feeling that he took a piece of her soul with him, she wanted to talk to him, become his… friend.

In a snap-decision, she quickly left the room, trying to see her guest again.

But he’d vanished, there was no trace of him; it was like she’d never seen him at all…. the thought brought traitor tears to her eyes, and a stone of loneliness in her chest. Taking in a determined breath, Hinata wiped at her eyes. She was not going to think like that; she was going to wait, and let him come to her if he wants to. Nodding to herself, Hinata vanished, and re-appeared in her room.

Valiantly avoiding the large, white bed in the middle, Hinata floated over to a cot that she stole from the last person that tried to stay in the ‘haunted’ house for a night, and curled up onto it. She was exhausted; she hadn’t slept for days, already having taken a weeklong hibernation to regain her strength. Now, she was to take another long nap, and Hinata closed her eyes. Soon she was floating, floating, floating; heading to a place that on one could ever reach.

When she finally drifted off, she dreamed.

She dreamed of her mother, her home, the feel and smell of summer, an endless blue sky, just beyond her reach…. a sky that was the exact color of her mystery guest’s eyes. She dreamed of him, too, there with her, smiling, standing in the warmth and light and all that sky…all that happiness, so close, yet so, so far…

~*0*~

It’s been a week since Naruto saw her.

One hundred sixty-eight hours, thirty-five minutes, and fifteen seconds.

He’s dying to see her again, and he slowly began to loose his mind because of that. Two days after he saw her, he roamed the halls, searching for her scent, trying to see some glimpse of her; to see anything…

But it was like she just fell off the face of the earth, and that scared him. His worried thoughts scared him; he didn’t even know this person, yet he was searching for her like a madman.

But, day after day, hour after hour, he searched the house, over and over and over…checking rooms, the dining hall, the basement, the attic…Every single room, searching, searching, searching…but always finding nothing, nothing, nothing…. He was now getting desperate. Naruto quickly turned into another corridor, and then froze, nostrils flared. The hall was saturated with her scent, absolutely thick with it. Hope burning, he practically ran down the hall, and quickly entered the room where the scent was strongest.

Inside, there was a mahogany vanity, and a large, white bed, surrounded by curtains. And there, on a cot in the corner…. was her. She was in the process stretching, looking like she’d just awakened, but was now looking straight at him, frozen with shock. Naruto was frozen too, staring straight into her eyes, unable to find anything to say. Finally, the first thing that came to him was his manners, and he bowed low, the way his father taught him.

“H-hello!” he blurted out, “my name is Naruto. It’s…uh…nice to…meet you…” He fell silent, feeling foolish, staring at the ground furiously. ‘Idiot!’ he yelled at himself, ‘that’s the first thing you could think of?! Of all the things-’

She giggled softly, and Naruto jerked upward, stunned. The girl was now in front of him, her transparent cheeks a bit more opaque, signifying a blush. Grabbing the ends of her dress, she curtsied deeply, a small smile on her face. “My name is Hinata,” she greeted shyly, looking at him through her lashes, “it’s really nice to meet you…Naruto”

Somehow, his name sounded a lot better when she was saying it.

And so, finally, it began.

They began.

~*~0~*~

After that day, Naruto and Hinata were practically attached at the hip.

For hours, and hours, they would just talk and talk and talk…. They would tell each other anything, and everything. They talked about wishes, dreams, their likes and dislikes… But both of them were holding back one question; a question that was one and the same. Sure they knew everything about each other, but they both wanted to know one specific thing about each other.

Finally, one night when they were talking in Hinata’s room on her cot, Naruto caved.

“Hey, Hinata?” he spoke quickly, “what was your family like?”

Hinata fell silent, looking down at her lap, and Naruto flinched, expecting her to snap at him. But, instead, she sighed, and laid her head on her knees. “Well,” she sighed, “my mother…I remember lots about her. She looked just like me, for one, and she was the head of our village; kinda like the queen.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger, “she loved roses, especially white ones, and liked snowy days. Mama loved snow…” Her brown then crinkled, “I don’t remember much about my father…he was never around much. But I had a little sister. Hanabi. And one of my cousins lived with us, too. Neji.”

Her head still on her knees, Hinata turned to him, “what…what about your family…?” Now it was Naruto who was lost in thought, “hmm…”he mused, “I…don’t remember much about my mom, honestly. All I remember about her was her smile; she had a pretty smile…” He smiled softy, “my father, on the other hand…I know lots about him. He was tall, really tall. He rarely ever smiled, but had a good sense of humor; it was really rare to see him smile.” Running a hand through his hair, Naruto tried to dredge up more memories, “ he was a good dad, all in all. But…he just got so depressed one year. Nothing could’ve brought him out of it…” His eyes darkened, “then…one day, he just couldn’t go on anymore.”

Hinata sucked in a breath, and reached out to him, wishing she could touch him, but he smiled, shaking his head. “We all knew it would happen; it was a matter of time…everyone knew that my mother wasn’t my father’s real mate. Really it was…” Suddenly, Naruto turned to her, “Hinata…do you know…Mizuki?”

Hinata froze, her eyes wide with shock, ‘Mizuki…Mizuki…Mizuki…’

“M-my mother…” she breathed, confused; how was her mother involved-

No.

Their eyes widened simultaneously, their faces radiating the same shock.

“M-Mizuki was...your mother?!” he had been struck dumb by this information, “my father’s real mate was your mother??” Hinata shook her head, “I-I never knew!!” she cried out, “I never- my mother’s True Mate was your father?! Kyuubi no Yoko?! The-the King of the Demons?!” Hinata felt faint; this couldn’t be true, it just…. she gasped, as something just came to her. “My…my mother was unhappy…” she whispered, “so, so unhappy…. maybe-what if-”

“Hinata…” a voice, her mother’s voice, echoed in her mind, as the fuzzy memory turned sharp, the reality painful, “my love, my light…. I’m sorry that I must leave you like this….”

“I’m so, so sorry, love…but…I can’t. Not anymore. I was never happy with-with your father. You were the only good thing in my life…”

“Sleep, my daughter. Sleep deeply and, never wake. Not until he finds you. I can’t-I can’t let you end up with the life I have-the life I had.”

It was too much, too, too, too much…

Her mother did this; sent her into such a deep sleep that she had to project herself to move, to see, and left her all alone. “She...she did this to-to me.” Hinata breathed, placing her hands on her cheeks, “she left me like…. and I can’t…” She threw a longing glance at the large, curtained bed.

“Hinata…” Naruto asked slowly, “…What’s on the bed?”

Biting her lip, she looked back at him, “…. I am,” she finally answered.

~*0*~

“…I am.”

Naruto was confused; Hinata is on the bed….? But she was right there; how could she-

“Follow me” Hinata rose, and glided over to the bed, running a transparent hand over the curtains, unable to touch them. “Open them, please?” she asked softly, “I…I can’t touch them” Naruto stared at her, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes, so he turned to the bed, slowly reached out a hand, and jerked back the curtains. He looked down at the surface of the bed, his face expressionless. Then, he looked at Hinata, the bad, and back again.

Hinata bent down, and tried to touch the living replica of herself on the bed, but she skipped backwards, like she’d been shoved roughly. “I can’t…go back…inside” she whispered, “not until…” Her voice trailed off, and Naruto continued to stare at the bed, and the person in it. It was Hinata, but this one was so still; it was like she was dead. But she wasn’t because her skin was still that healthy ivory, a pink tint in her face.

“My…my mother…” Hinata began to explain; “she sent me into a sleep…a sleep so deep, that I might never be able to wake up. Not until….” Her voice died again, before once again gaining strength, “she didn’t want me to go through the same thing she went trough…She wanted my…my True Mate to find me…. but…” The sentence hung in the air, unfinished, but Naruto knew what she was going to say: ‘but I don’t think he’ll ever find me…Not in a place like this...’

But she just might be wrong. Naruto thought about her scent, vanilla, lavender, and fresh snow, and the effect that it had on him; he thought about the pull she had when he first saw her, and he let out a small exhale in shock.

‘Heh.’ He chuckled, ‘Mizuki’s daughter. Man, I should’ve known…. I’m just as bad as dad…’

He stared at Hinata’s motionless form, her peaceful expression, and reached out, grabbing one of her hands and squeezing it softly. Behind him, Hinata gasped softly, clutching her left hand to her chest as it exploded with warmth, and her transparent form began to fade a little more, “no…is-is it-”

‘Well…here goes…everything…’ He wrapped his free arm around Hinata’s waist, pulling her to his chest. Hesitantly, slowly, he cradled her limp head, and gently pressed his lips against Hinata’s unresponsive ones.

Warmth bloomed in Hinata’s stomach, and she pressed a shaking hand to her lips as she vanished completely, her body feeling heavy, so, so, so heavy….

Naruto began to worry as Hinata stayed unresponsive, and began to pull away.

But, slowly, she began to respond; at first, it was tiny movements, her hips shifting, her hand weakly squeezing his own. Then, she really moved, slowly bringing up her free hand to grab him by the back of his neck, pressing him closer.

And Naruto grinned; as he took in the first breath she’d taken for years.

Outside, it finally, finally stopped snowing, and the sun slowly began to show through the trees.