Author's note: Hello everyone. Here I am with my new Naruto FanFiction. I have a tendency to write short chapters but for this story I will do my best to make them as long as possible. I really hope you enjoy this story. It is set after the fourth Shinobi World War. So the members of Konoha 12 are about 18 or 19. Flashbacks and thoughts are italicized. I am still new at writing FanFictions, so I hope I will get your support. This fiction is rated M just in case.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, all characters and plot belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Chapter 1:

The young woman was crouching on the soft grass. Her knees were pressed against her chest, her pointy chin resting on her knees. The timid sun rays were slowly making their way through the heavily leaved branches of the trees. The morning light was still faint, it played around in a beautiful way. It hit the slab of stone that was standing in front of the girl, it made it shine. It had rained the whole night, so as a result there was a soft mist in the air. The girl's pale eyes were fixated on the smooth slab of rock in front of her. The tombstone was new, it's surface was shiny, and the name engraved on it was very clear. Her eyes traveled the characters one by one over and over again. At the bottom of her heart she wished they would disappear.

Neji Hyuga

The young woman read the name over and over again. The face of the owner of the name formed in her mind. Big white eyes, eyes that could be deadly but that could also show love. Long brown hair, and very defined features. Her heart beat started to race as the image in her mind changed. Blood started to flow out of the mouth of the young man and his eyes lost their light. That was how he had died in her arms. She was not able to protect him, she never was able to protect anyone. Her right hand dropped from it's position of hugging her knees together. Her hand landed on the fresh grass. Her moon colored eyes looked down, as her nimble fingers grabbed a delicate white flower. Its weak roots easily ceded the force of the woman's fingers. She brought it to her eye level. Inspecting the beautiful plant, the soft color reminded her of his eyes, as they were losing their light. The flower found its place at the bottom of the slab of rock, under the name that brought the young woman so much pain.

The blue haired woman stood up. Her black pants still wet from the morning dew from the fresh grass. Her pained expression became hidden as she carefully placed a ceramic mask over it. It was simple, just a white oval with two holes for eyes and light purple swirl markings on both cheeks. With a slight movement of her hand she was gone. Hinata jumped from one tree to another as she was leaving behind the remains of her cousin, her beloved nii-san. I have lost enough time already, she thought to herself. With this thought in mind she gathered more speed.

The young anbu still needed to finish her patrol of the village. The cool morning air was playing with her dark blue locks. The branches creaked after her every jump, she could not feel any threatening presence. Everything was calm, which was unusual. After the war the great ninja villages had weakened considerably. Konoha was still recuperating from the pain attack. Nations that did not participate in the war and were not ravaged by conflict thrived and attacked the villages of the alliance frequently. Rogue ninjas were not rare either. The post war era was very busy for the anbu.

Hinata had decided to join the special forces, she wanted to be of help. She was tired of not being able to protect those dear to her. She did not want to visit more graves.

The kunoichi quickened her pace. She had already finished patrolling the perimeter of the village, checking the barrier in the process. After her patrol she had to get ready for her new mission.

The masked Hokage was sitting behind his sturdy wooden desk. His one visible eye showed his clear boredom. The man was basically swimming amongst documents and scrolls. He had so much work to do, but it seemed like he was not in the right state of mind to start. The silver haired man reached into a drawer in his desk. His hand plunged into it and retrieved a small orange book. His eye brightened as he let out a perverted chuckle.

The young woman was standing as still as a statue in front of her superior. His perverted ways made her cringe behind her ceramic mask. She timidly talked in order to gain his attention "Umm..ano.. Hokage sama. Wh-why did you summon me?" Her soft voice caught the attention of the older man. Without saying a word he picked a scroll from his desk and threw it towards he direction. Not expecting such careless action the girl caught it clumsily. She slowly peeled away the seal placed on the crimson colored scroll. Before she could read its content the Hokage's voice made its way to her ears.

"In these troubled times we need to secure our alliances. Suna is out closest powerful neighbor. Many rogue shinobi have attacked the Kazekage. You are tasked to be is body guard during the week in which his siblings are absent."

"Hokage sama, the Kazekage is a very powerful shinobi. I-I don't think he needs a body guard."

The man gave out a sigh. What the young woman was saying was correct. He closed his eyes just to open them once again. "Hinata-chan. It is all about the alliance. We need to show the sand shinobi that we are on their side. By sending a capable shinobi. A Hyuga none the less, we are showing that they can trust us."

The blue haired woman gave her superior a nod, showing that she understood her mission.

"It is an S-class mission. Prepare accordingly. You will depart for Suna in a week."

Hinata kept hopping from one tree branch to the next. Her journey to the hidden sand would start in two days. Before then she still had several anbu duties to attend to.

She gracefully hopped down from the strong branch as she arrived at her destination. The Hyuga compound stood proudly. It screamed poise, tradition and elegance. Her left hand traveled up to her face as she removed the ceramic mask gracefully and attached it to her belt. The Hyuga guards lowered their heads as she passed them. The young woman repaid them with a polite nod and a bright smile.

Hinata strolled around the corridors in her own home. She reached her room which was situated at the end of the hallway. She gently opened the sliding door and snuck inside her own room. She let herself fall on a chair. Her eyes fixated on the ceiling. Her gaze fell on the picture on her desk. Twelve year old Hinata was standing in between a grinning Kiba and a solemn Shino. Kurenai sensei was smiling behind her students. A small smile scurried across her lips. Her loyal friend whom she loved very much were always present in her life.

Hinata took a brush dipped in ink and and empty scroll from a drawer. She began to write the report for the patrol mission. She had to pin point the weak points in the barrier, so that the Hokage could send a team to fix it. The ink flowed from her brush into an elegant calligraphy. She waited the appropriate amount of time before rolling it up. The scroll was in front of her on her desk. She brought both of her hands together, the scroll disappeared temporarily in a puff of smoke as it was sealed. The sun was already high up in the sky. Hinata placed her mask in front of her features, she slipped the scroll into a pocket in her anbu vest. She gracefully jumped out of her window and started to run towards the Hokage's tower.

Kakashi had an annoyed look on his face. The pile of paperwork on his desk had become way too much. Pieces of paper and scrolls overflowed the wooden surface and many of them littered the ground. That's what I get for reading too much, he thought to himself as a sweat drop fell from his forehead. "You are always on time, I like it when people are on time." Kakashi said as he felt the presence of an anbu behind him. The blue haired woman disappeared from behind him. In a puff of smoke she was in front of the Hokage handing him the scroll. The silver haired man nodded with a smile. "I will be going Hokage sama." With this said the kunoichi vanished in a puff of smoke.

The Hokage placed the scroll on his messy desk. Before he could glance back at his work the door slammed opened violently.

"Kakashi!" The man cringed at the powerful voice. He knew way too well who it belonged to. The slug princess was standing in front of him, looking as fierce as ever. She was dragging Shizune by the arm. The poor woman had her eyes spinning, it was obvious that the former Hokage was not content about something and that she let it out on her assistant. "What is this mess! You are as lazy as ever Kakashi!"

She slammed her hand on the desk and sent all the papers flying in all directions. Kakashi panicked as he tried to contain the damage. Shizune's eyes cringed as the blond woman turned towards her and said in a commanding voice. "Shizune! You have to help this slacker do his job!" "Ha-Hai Tsunade sama"

The woman clad in black started picking up papers and arranging them as she gave the silver haired man an apologetic look, which he responded to with a smile. "I will come back when you are done with all the paper work. I have something I need to discuss with you. Shizune! Don't let him slack off!" The door closed with a violent slam. The picture of the first Hokage fell from its position and landed straight on Kakashi's head.

The sun was starting to set on Konoha. Hinata was on the training ground. Chucking kunai and shuriken at wooden dummies. She twirled in place and jumped into the air. No matter what position she was in, each weapon found its way to the bull's eye. She had trained very hard, she was a capable kunoichi, she was so capable that she earned the title of anbu.

Her training was interrupted by a familiar presence. The young woman turned around. She knew who it was, the chakra signature was way too familiar.

"Shino kun" She whispered as a smile crept on her lips. Without saying a word the bug user gestured to follow him. The blue haired girl fulfilled his request. The two shinobi walked side by side in the busy streets of the village. Her companion stopped as he entered the dango shop. Both young adults sat down on a small table and ordered tea and dangos. Shino was politely sipping on his tea holding the cup with both hands, while Hinata was munching on a sweet dumpling.

"I heard that you have an important mission coming up." His voice was low and had a slight buzzing feeling to it. The blue haired woman nodded as she finished chewing on her treat. She had no idea how Shino gained information on a classified anbu mission. A faint smirk appeared on the Aburame's lips. As if to answer Hinata's unspoken question a small fly started to buzz around her field of vision. She could not help but giggle. Her former team mate was truly amazing.

"I will be leaving in two days at sun rise. It takes three days to get to Suna. It is the perfect timing since his siblings leave for Iwa in six days." Shino nodded in agreement. He knew that his friend was capable , she would keep the Kazekage safe. Even if he did not need saving.

Hinata dropped a few coins on the counter and dragged Shino out of the dango shop. "I told you I was going to pay Shino kun." A sigh of annoyance escaped his lip, it was met by a bright giggle.

The sun had set of Konoha. Shizune and Kakshi had finished sorting the paper work and assigning missions. "Arigato Shizune san." The man had a grateful look on his face, without the young woman he would have never been able to finish everything. "It is my pleasure Kakashi san." Her eyes closed as the flashed the man a warm smile. "Would you like to become my assistant?" Shizune's eyes widened at the offer. "I would love to, however, I still need to help Tsunade sama." "Any time you can spare would be wonderful."

Their pleasant conversation was interrupted by another violent entrance. Kakashi wanted to tell the woman to calm down, but he knew better that that. He did not want his head to be cracked opened against the wall. "Kakashi! Why did you choose Hyuga!?" A large drop of sweat formed on his forehead and dropped down. "She is a very capable kunoichi, and sending a Hyuga shows out trust." A vein started to bulge on the forehead of the Senju princess. "Sending her on such a stupid mission is a waste of resources! Which we cannot afford! Send a chunnin instead." "Nothing can do Tsunade sama." The man said very cautiously.

"I can assure you that with this gesture the sand will pledge an even stronger alliance."

It was still dark outside. Hinata started getting dressed. She put on her black pants, anbu vest and mask on. She secured a pouch behind her back. It was filled with kunai, shuriken, food pills and medicine. The young woman looked at her desk. The scroll containing the mission was standing there, she grabbed it and put it in her pouch.

The kunoichi looked up at the pale moon. She gently opened her window and with a graceful jump she was out and running. The moon was starting to lose it's brightness as the clouds started to become red. Hinata could feel the warm rays of the sun coming out of their hiding place. The ceramic mask was gleaming in the sun light as the anbu was running around the sleeping village. The tall gates of Konoha were in sight. Her running speed decreased as she found herself really close to them. The guard at the gate were half asleep behind their desk. The blue haired woman faced them and gave them a polite bow. In response they wrote something on a piece of paper.

Hinata started her three day long journey to Suna.

She had three long days ahead. Hinata gathered more speed, she wanted to get there as soon as possible. The Hokage had suggested that she arrives before the older sand siblings leave. Because they, unlike Gaara would give her more information about her mission.

Gaara.

The name echoed in her mind. She tried to attach it to a face. Suddenly, blood red hair, and fierce sea green eyes popped into her mind. The last time she had seen him was during the Shinobi war. He had seemed so strong, putting his life on the line for his people, and others he barely knew. Just like her nii-san.

"I am capable of guarding myself, I do not agree with your stupid request to the Hokage." The young re haired man had an annoyed looked on his face. His older sister let out a heavy sigh. She knew her brother would not take the news well. He was way too proud for that.

"Gaara, you have to look at it under the perspective of strengthening the alliance. If the leaf sends a strong shinobi it means they are serious."

His sea foam eyes closed, revealing the thick dark outline. The former jinjuricki gave up the argument. "Fine I will allow it."

The blonde woman gave him a faint smile. He was hardheaded but he could be reasoned with, he was a smart leader. "However." The word made the young woman flinch. "The shinobi sent by the leaf will also help me with my duties, just like you and Kankuro do."

Here you go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Any criticism is welcomed. Please review because it motivates me to write more. I really hope that this story will turn out well. Thank you so much for reading. And do not forget to review. :3

I will update very soon, do not worry.

Lots of love

Linda1997