Blood Snow-NaruHina

    Naruto could barely feel the spray of blood as he watched the scene before him unfold: bodies were littered over the chilling winter ground, kunai and ninja stars covered in blood and sweat. He had been busy fighting off one of the enemy forces to notice the spray of surgeon needles headed for his vitals. He could only watch as Hinata raised her arms and took the damage for herself, a small smile forming on the edge of her face.
    He was barely able to react fast enough to catch her before she fell as their enemies retreated into the frost-bitten forest; they were alone. Naruto’s hands shook as he pulled out the needles one by one, throwing them as far as he could as he watched her cringe with every pull. “Hinata... what is wrong with you?! Why the hell did you do that?!” he shouted angrily at her, only to be graced with her smile.
    “I... I couldn’t let you have... all the fun, could I?” she chuckled slightly, fresh blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. “Besides, it was the only way I could think of saving you.”
    Naruto could only clench his teeth together as tears formed in his eyes; through all his years of training, he knew that death of a comrade would sometimes be inevitable, but nothing could prepare him for this. “Just hang on, Hinata,” he stuttered, barely able to hold himself together. “I’ll get you back to Konoha before you know it; everything’s going to be okay.”
    “N-Naruto... I’m dieing...” Naruto shook his head hard; halting only as Hinata’s cooling hand cupped his cheek. “We both know I’m barely alive as it is,” she laughed lightly before her lungs heaved in her chest. As she fought to catch her breath, a delicate snowflake fell on her paling cheek. “Please, tell my family that... I tried my best, and... I fought hard for the... honor of our name...”
    “Y... You can tell them yourself,” he whispered as tears flowed down his cheeks, his black gloved hands grasping hers tightly, begging her to hold on.
    “Home shouldn’t be more than a day’s walk from now, if you don’t have any burdens,” she whispered. “I know someone as strong as you could make it. I just....”
    “Just...?”
    Hinata hesitated as Naruto looked at her, questions forming on his lips. “I wish I could have told you sooner but...” she hesitated once more as she took a gulp of air. “I... loved to watch you train... when we were younger... I never really showed much encouragement myself, but... I always, always, wanted you to become the best ninja you could be, Naruto. And I know... you can be, too...”
    Naruto’s eyes widened as he soaked in her words. Hinata smiled lightly, pulling in his hand and kissing his torn knuckles as her fingers began to chill with the snowfall. “No... Hinata, wait, I...” he could only watch her pale lilac eyes grow dark, the falling snowflakes reflecting on her eyes as his tears fell with them.

    * * *

    “Naruto! Hinata! Dammit, where could they be,” Sakura murmured to herself as she continued down the trail with the rest of the search team. It had already been a full day and a half since they had heard of the duo, and worry had begun to spread through the village. “Naruto, if this is another one of your lousy tricks, I am going to be so pissed!” she shouted into the thickening snow.
    Just as she was about to go in another direction, her eyes caught a dark form emerging from the snowstorm, the image growing bigger and clearer as time passed. Sakura gasped as she recognized the four-tailed beast, its glowing eyes piercing into her fearful heart as she heard him rasping quietly. Her fear dimmed, however, as she realized who it really was, and how unusually calm it was behaving. Kakashi joined her side as they carefully approached Naruto’s beastly form as his four tails swept through the air, barely able to make out his words:
    “HINATA....” he screeched, his long fingers dragging in the blanketed path. “HINATA... SAVE HINATA...” he spoke over and over again as he limped closer before collapsing in a pile of snow. Kakashi made it to his side before she could pull herself together, bending next to him as she looked him over. She couldn’t believe it: glued to his back was his companion, Hinata, her clothes as well as her body torn so much that she would have been barely recognizable. He was a wreck, too, she noted as he reverted to his original form.
    “We need the medic squad here, ASAP! “ Kakashi shouted to his subordinates as Sakura carefully pushed Hinata to Naruto’s side, squeaking as she saw the full amount of damage. She was barely starting her jutsu when she felt a tight grip on her forearm, shooting a look at Naruto.
    “Hinata...” he coughed, his gaze staring into her. “Is Hinata...”
    Sakura smiled as she cupped his hand carefully. “She’s got quite a few wounds, and her breathing is irregular, but it looks like she’s going to be just fine in a few days. You did well, Naruto...” she placed his hand back on the ground and placed her own on both Naruto and Hinata as a green glow peeked from her palms.
    Naruto’s chest warmed as he felt Sakura’s jutsu flowing through him. He tipped his head towards Hinata’s, gazing at her as he watched her breathe slowly. He searched for her hand and laced his fingers into hers, never losing sight of her. “Hey Hinata,” he whispered as his eyes grew heavy. “When we wake up, there’s something I want to tell you... I hope you’ll listen,” he chuckled slightly as he let himself fall into his sleep.