PhantasyDreamer: Hey there once again. I'm back once again and this time with a new Naruto story. This story is centered on Hinata and Naruto. This is my first attempt of writing a new story that includes Hinata as the main character, so please go easy on me. It took me a good couple of weeks to write this so go easy on me.

As usual, I don't own Naruto just the plot any characters I decide to throw in. Enjoy and don't forget to review!!!

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Hidden Power in a Shy Flower

Summary: Hinata has something to prove. She's in love with Naruto but unfortunately he doesn't seem to feel the same way. What happens when she's thrown into an arrange marriage with her father's worst enemy? Will she go through with it or will she show everyone that she's not so shy anymore? Hinata xNaruto

Chapter 1: Revelations

Dear Naruto,

I must say that I apologize for my outrageous behavior a few months ago. I don't know if you've realized it but I've been avoiding you ever since that incident. I am so ashamed of the way I acted in front of you. It was so embarrassing now that I think about it. I just can't say for sure what came over me but I guess I just wanted to impress you. Over the years we've become a bit closer as friends and my feelings for you have grown even more than before. I'm not as shy around you as much, I don't even faint anymore when I come in contact with you and I don't stutter at all. I've just become a bit more confident. I feel much more comfortable around you and hanging with someone like you…someone with such a vibrant personality such as yours just brightens my day.

I know I may not be the type of girl you're interested in like Sakura, but I hope you can see pass that and give me a chance. I know I can make you happy and I admire you so much for your courage and determination. It has always inspired me to be strong and to never give up even when I feel unworthy of being the heir to the Hyuuga Clan's main branch. You have taught me so much over the years with your bravery and loyalty for others and for some reason I can't keep my feelings inside anymore. That's why I'm writing this letter to tell you...to tell you that I love you. That's right!! I, Hinata Hyuuga love you, Naruto Uzumaki and I hope you can one day return my feelings. If you feel the same way please meet me at the old Academy tomorrow at 4 p.m.

With love

Hinata Hyuuga

The young purple haired girl folded the lilac paper and stuck it into a white envelope immediately. She licked the edges, sealed the envelope and placed a light kiss on it.

'Oh Naruto, I hope you feel the same way I do.' she thought sadly, getting out of her bed and heading down the large stairs of the main branch household.

She took quick glances around the room and hallway trying to make sure that her father didn't notice her or anyone else in the household. As soon as the coast was clear she immediately slipped out of the house and headed towards the large gates. A few feet away she could see the guards standing by the gates on the look out for intruders. Without warning she created quick hand seals and transformed into the form of Neji Hyuuga, her cousin. She walked towards the guards boldly while they turned their attention towards her.

"Your purpose for leaving the compound?" one of the guards asked staring her with his mysteriously dark brown eyes.

She frowned in the form of Neji while giving them a harsh glare that only Neji could give. She curled her fist tightly while a soft gentle breeze blew the long brown hair behind her back.

"Not that it's of any concern to you but my uncle has sent me out on an errand." she replied with Neji's deep voice.

"At this time? It's almost ten o'clock. Besides, where could you possibly be going?" the other asked obviously not believing a word she had said.

Hinata exhaled deeply. They were actually smarter than they looked. However she knew she could outsmart them anytime.

"Well if you don't believe me just go and talk to him. But you know better than I do that he's just going to get mad at your incompetence."

The two guards gave each other an unsure look and cringe at the thought of what their master would do to them for not following his orders. Without arguing they opened the gate doors for Hinata and she quickly escaped or in a sense ran out of the compound and onto the street. She rushed down the dusty road trying her best to reach towards Naruto's apartment which was a far distance from her home.

'I'm so excited!' she thought still running at incredible speed while clutching the note deeply in her grasp, 'I just hope his answer is yes.'

She ran as fast as she could with her long mid-back purple hair flowing in the wind. She had returned to her original form as soon as she was out of sight. She didn't want to stay transformed in the form of Neji and waste most of her chakra. In her opinion it was best that she remained in her original form even if she was noticed. After sometime she passed by a lake and immediately stopped. Breathing heavily she stared at the sight before her. It was a place where she had spent most of her time alone when she was either sad or depressed. But one day it wasn't so lonely when Naruto had mysteriously dropped by and decided to have a picnic with her. That happened a few weeks before her embarrassing incident in front of Naruto.

That day was the best day of her life and she would never forget it. Naruto had finally noticed her even more than he did when she was twelve years old. And now that she was nineteen he had barely acknowledged her only when they were out on missions. Sometimes he would meet her at his favorite ramen shop and at other times he would just ignore her completely focusing more on retrieving his lost teammate but she did understand. However, there were times when she didn't like the new Naruto and his cocky attitude and even the way he would flirt nonstop with all the girls he met. But in her mind she knew he was still the same knucklehead ninja he was when he was a boy. She turned to leave and then stopped dead in her tracks. The figure in front of her had startled her and she knew now that she was in deep trouble.

"Why are you here Hinata?" the deep voice came causing her to jump.

She looked up at the silver purplish orbs that was an exact print of hers and sighed deeply.

"I-I was just taking a walk." she whispered, turning her eyes away from his death glare.

"You shouldn't be out here. If your father finds out about this I'm going to be the one that takes the blame." he muttered looking down at her with a look that could kill.

"No!!" she yelled desperately, "Please don't say anything Neji. I promise I'll be home soon. I just want to meet a friend that's all."

He sighed relaxing his muscles for a moment while closing his eyes. Hinata just knew how to get on his nerves. Why was she putting his chances of proving himself to the family on the line?

"Neji, please." she gave him a pleading look while he kept his eyes closed.

After a few seconds he let off a sigh, opening his pearl eyes.

"Fine. Just tell me the real reason you're out here and then I'll leave."

She frowned hiding the note immediately on impulse behind her back.

"I'm sorry I can't."

"Why not?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

"It's personal." she muttered side stepping him and getting ready to leave.

"Girl stuff I see." he replied turning around to see her back facing him, "Great just be back home in ten minutes. I'll see how long I can distract your father."

She gave him a heartwarming smile, "Thank you Neji."

Walking further away from him with a smile on her face she moved her hands to her chest and realized that something was missing. In an instant she spun around to see Neji holding her note that was addressed to Naruto. Her silver purplish eyes widen in fear as she saw him reading through the envelope using his kekei genkai, the bloodline limit technique, known as the Byakugan.

'Neji, no.' she thought bitterly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes.

NARUTO'S APARTMENT

"Alright!!" a tall young flaky blond haired boy yelled while walking out of his restroom.

He rubbed his white towel into his slightly damp blond hair while only wearing green shorts and a navy blue shirt. He walked towards his semi-kitchen and took out his instant ramen from the refrigerator, leaving the towel on the table. As fast as he could he heated it up and then placed it into a bowl.

"Man, I'm so tired." he yawned while stretching a little.

He had taken a long bath after training for several hours today. His body ached all over but that didn't matter to him, he was improving and soon on his way to becoming the next Hokage in a few years. He frowned as he stared at his bowl of ramen. For some reason he didn't feel quite hungry anymore, he felt a bit full. He couldn't understand why he felt this way but he figured it was because he was worried about his ex teammate, Sasuke Uchiha.

After Sasuke had left the Leaf Village a few years ago nothing had been the same for his team, Team 7. Things had changed so drastically that even now he was still trying to adjust to the change. During the years Sakura and him had become much closer as friends and she was even nicer in fact to him and even more forgiven and concerned about his well being. And at times he was contented with it but he knew deep in his heart that she just missed Sasuke and so did he. He felt a connection between him and Sakura and he wished with all his might that she could one day return his feelings but she would always turn him down gently. However, that wasn't stopping him from trying and trying again. He was determined to make Sakura his girlfriend one day.

A light knock came at the door breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Man, who could be visiting me at a time like this."

The nineteen year old blond raked his flaky hair while heading towards the door with a grumpy expression on his face. As soon as he opened the door he gasped at the sight before him. There standing before him was his teammate, Sakura Haruno dressed in a beautiful red dress. It was a plain spaghetti strap dress that extended to her knees. She also wore a small golden necklace and a matching bracelet on her right hand where her small black purse was tucked in.

She smiled vibrantly at him while brushing her short pink hair out of her face, letting her emerald eyes to come in view.

"Naruto, I have great news!!" she yelled tackling him into a hug.

The young blond was taken by surprise and barely had time to brace himself for impact and before he knew what happened he fell to the floor with a loud thump while his pink haired teammate lay on top of him.

"Sakura!!" he whined as she immediately got up, helping him onto his feet as well.

The blond gave his friend a happy yet annoyed look wondering why she had crashed into him like that. Not that he mind but he was very tired and his body still ached all over. Besides that, it was mostly because she had gained the incredible strength from the Hokage and now her collisions with someone would cause great damage to them. Luckily in his case he wasn't hurt too badly. He rubbed his head instantly and she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry Naruto, I'm just so excited."

"About what?" he asked while closing the door behind her.

She walked further into his small apartment and took a seat on his bean bag. The young blond stared his teammate with curious eyes. Something was rather strange about her behavior. After a short moment of silence she finally spoke while Naruto took a seat on his small couch.

"The Hokage just gave us permission to go out and retrieve Sasuke!!" she screamed grinning widely.

Naruto could see the excitement in her eyes and he could tell that she was very happy about the news. But it was not that he wasn't thrilled about the idea it was just that he was feeling very sad lately about his strength. He didn't know if he would be able to defeat Sasuke in order to retrieve him and return back to the Leaf Village in peace but he knew he would have to find a way, if not for himself but for Sakura.

'I've got to get stronger! It's the only way I can beat Sasuke and bring him back to the village and make Sakura happy again.' he thought clasping her fingers together in deep thought.

"So, what do you think?" his pink haired teammate asked breaking him out of his deep thought.

"It's great!!" he yelled chuckling loudly obviously taking her by surprise.

'Naruto's so weird. One minute he's sad then he's happy.' she thought getting off of the beam bag and making her way to sit next to him on the small brown couch, 'I hope he's not depress about this mission. I mean Sasuke did try to kill us the last time we saw him but that doesn't mean it's gonna happen again. It can't happen, I won't let it.'

Naruto stopped chuckling and kept his eyes forward. He was staring at the wall wondering why his life had turned out this way. Did he do something so wrong to cause his own teammate to hate him so much? Or was he just plain evil in the sight of everyone because of the demon trapped inside of him? He was so deep in thought that he didn't realize that Sakura had placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"It's gonna be okay Naruto. We can do this together." she gave him a warm smile and all he could do was stare at her in shock, his crystal blue eyes shining with warmth, "Come on remember the old times. You were always happy. Just know that we're in this together, you and me."

She paused for a minute as if to let him process the information, her left hand still on his shoulder.

"We'll get Sasuke back no matter what."

"Thanks Sakura." he muttered smiling widely.

He chuckled a little and then gave her a quick hug. She returned it a bit startled but she soon relaxed in his arms. After a few seconds he released her and gazed at her lovingly. She blushed and turned away.

"I love you Sakura, thanks a lot." he muttered holding her by her shoulders and staring immensely into her green eyes.

She let out a gasp and looked at her teammate with a bit of concern lingering in her green eyes. For a moment she was locked in his gaze but she quickly caught herself and turned away.

"Naruto…" she paused making her way to her feet, with her back facing him, "I'm sorry we're only friends. Okay? I think of you only as brother."

She whispered and then turned around to face him with a fake smile on her face. Out of nervousness she brushed down her red dress.

"Whatever." he muttered angrily making her gasp, "The least you could do is give me a chance, Sakura."

He got up to face her and she could see the hurt trailing heavily in his eyes and face. Naruto frowned at his teammate. Was he really such a bad person to like? Did he not have any good qualities at all?

"Naruto, you know I still have feelings for Sasuke." she whispered clasping her hands to her chest.

"Yeah the same guy that left you on a park bench to die in the middle of the night." he spoke with anger and disgust at what Sasuke had done to his teammate while clenching his fist, "I would have never done that to you."

She remained silent and bowed her head.

'Naruto, I'm sorry.' she thought, tears streaming down her face.

BACK TO HINATA AND NEJI

Hinata stared at Neji, fear written on her pale face. Why was he looking at her like that? And what would he think of her now that he knew her secret?

"Hinata, you can't be seriously thinking of giving that Uzumaki kid this letter." he muttered while handing the envelope to her.

She snatched it away from him, nodded timidly and then spoke, "Of course. Is there a problem?"

"Where have you been the last couple of months?" he asked sternly, startling her harshly.

She remained silent staring him with confidence. Who did he think he was to tell her such a thing? Sure he was her cousin and claimed protector based on the rules of their clan. But that didn't mean he could tell her what to do. She bit her lip harshly out of nervousness. This is not what she was expecting tonight.

"I've been where I've always been in my room."

She bowed her head in shame. After her embarrassing incident in front of Naruto she had hide herself in her room, only leaving to train occasionally with her teammates. She didn't want to be reminded of the incident again or her weakness. She frowned and pulled lightly on her beige sweater.

"You can't possibly tell me that you're not aware that Sakura and Uzumaki are dating?" he asked sneering at her.

"What?!!" she shrieked, pearl eyes widen in fright.

Neji took a few steps closer to his cousin. Although he didn't care much for the girl he was still required to protect her.

"Everyone in the village knows." he stated sarcastically, "Almost every night Sakura visits Uzumaki and leaves at unmentionable hours."

Hinata shook her head in disbelief.

"That's not true!!!" she yelled back at him, closing her eyes refusing to believe a word he had just said, "They're teammates. They're trying to get Sasuke back that's why their together all the time."

Neji frowned giving the girl in front of him an annoyed look. Was she really that dumb to believe that?

'Such a naïve girl.' he thought as he grabbed her hand.

"I guess I'll just have to show you then. I'm sure she's at his apartment right now." he muttered as he dragged Hinata away with him without waiting to receive a response from her.

Hinata could do nothing but follow as her hand was being dragged away from her. Before long they reached Naruto's apartment. They jumped up onto the apartment roof and leaned over to peep into his apartment clearance. A balcony stood below which had an opening that showed Naruto and Sakura talking. Sakura had tears running down her face and Naruto was talking to Sakura with a hurtful expression on his face. Hinata couldn't tell what was really going on but the two looked like they were having an argument.

"Naruto, listen to me. There are other girls out there." the pink haired girl spoke with confidence while wiping her face with her right hand, "I mean if you would just stop flirting with them and get serious. I'm sure you can find a nice girl that can like you for you."

She gave him a bitter smile.

"No." he replied and Hinata could hear the hurt in his voice. Her heart ached to hear him say that.

'If you only knew Naruto.' she thought as she continued to look on.

"There's no one that likes me, Sakura. I'm the demon boy. Remember?" he looked at his teammate seriously, his harsh gaze softening, "I only flirt with those girls for attention. There's no one out there that would like a guy like me. But I know you can, Sakura."

He sighed reaching for his teammate's hand. Hinata immediately gulp at the scene. What was he going to do?

"Naruto…"

"Just give me a chance Sakura. I know I can make you happy. Forget about Sasuke for a once in your life. He doesn't care about you." he pleaded squeezing her hand.

Sakura shook her head once again, her red dress shaking as she moved.

"There are other girls out there. What about Hinata?" the pink haired kunoichi replied causing Hinata to squeak.

Immediately Neji placed his hand over her mouth and told her to mask her chakra. She calmed herself down and continued to look at the scene before her. Naruto arched an eyebrow.

"Hinata? She doesn't like me." he replied still holding Sakura's hand, "Besides she's kind of weak and not as strong as you are. I mean she's okay but something has changed over the years with her. I don't know what it is but she's not my type."

Sakura growled pulling out of his grasp.

"That's not true. Hinata's a strong girl. You just don't even know her."

"I know all I need to know and what I know is that, Sakura you're the only girl for me." he stated sternly and with out warning he pulled Sakura into his arms for a tight embrace, "I love you Sakura and no one else."

He whispered. The two stood like that for a while, Sakura trying to get out of his grasp and Naruto holding her tightly. Hinata whimpered and slapped Neji's hand off of her mouth. She could not believe what she had witnessed. The guy she cared for the most had called her weak and more importantly he didn't care or even love her. She immediately jumped off of his apartment roof and began sprinting home. Neji followed and almost had a hard time keeping up. As soon as he did he found her standing in front of the same lake where they both stood only a few minutes ago.

"Hinata…" he whispered actually feeling quite sorry for her, "I hate to tell you I told you so."

The young girl remained silent and stared intensely at the lake. Slowly she took the note out of her beige pocket and threw it into the water. Her pearl eyes gazed at the letter as it slowly dissolved and sank to the bottom of the lake. A light breeze blew around her sending her hair high into the air and causing her to shiver a bit. Neji turned to her and gave her a concern look. He wanted to say something but decided that he shouldn't. Besides he didn't know of anything nice he could say to her to make her feel better. He just knew in his opinion that she was still weak and had a long way to go in order to becoming the new heir of the main branch.

'Naruto, doesn't like me at all.' she thought bitterly as a silent tear slid down her cheek, 'Even though it hurts a lot, I guess I will have to accept it.'

She closed her eyes and began walking slowly towards her home with tears flowing freely down her face. Neji walked protectively behind her in silence, hearing her sniffles and whimpers as she placed her hands over her chest as if to slow down her heart beat.

'Naruto…'

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Hinata: Naruto things I'm weak. Well I'll show him just how strong I can be!! I may not be Sakura but that doesn't make me less of a person. I can do this!!

Neji: What are you trying to prove Hinata? You'll never be strong enough or worthy to be the head of the main branch.

Hinata: Neji Hyuuga, shut up!!! (Walks up to him and slams the door in his face.)

I'll show him… I'll show him and everyone that they're wrong!!

Next time: A Startling Discovery

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Okay tell me what you think. Once again this is my first Naruto/Hinata fic so go easy on me. For some reason I can't seem to find any new good stories for this couple myself, if you guys know any please let me know. Oh and don't forget to review. I want to hear your comments. Lata!!

PhantasyDreamer