Author: G.A.M.M.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

The Story So Far:

Four years have passed since Pain's attack on Konoha and Madara has been defeated. Tsunade did not survive and Danzo rules Konoha with an iron fist, using a puppet Hokage. Life in the village has changed for the shinobi of Konoha. Between Orochimaru's assault, Pain's attack, and the battle with Madara, one out of every four of Konoha's shinobi was killed and nearly another quarter was too badly injured to remain in active service. With their village destroyed, their coffers running dry, and their forces depleted, Konohagakure was forced to adopt new protocols to protect its sovereignty.

Danzo and his puppet, the Rokudaime, worked with the Council of Konoha to create a new system for the shinobi of the Leaf. Off-duty shinobi are now protected by ANBU operatives within the limits of the village at all times, and a partner system has been instituted to maximize the amount of missions Konoha can accept. Jonin, ANBU and Chuunin now work in teams of two, and the village is slowly paying off its debts and securing its position in the Great Shinobi Alliance of the Five Hidden Villages.

However, trouble looms just over the horizon for Konohagakure and the world. Unrest is beginning to creep across the land, though only the wisest have begun to sense it.

Soon the world will be thrown into chaos and the fires of war.

The only hope the world has rests in the hands of the man who didn't become Hokage and the woman who foreswore her love for him.

Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata are now officially a duo partnership in the ANBU. Naruto is determined to give Hinata a codename as obvious as his.


Turn your sadness into kindness and your uniqueness into strength. It's alright to get lost in this process. Get on your feet and walk.

Do you like to live up to everyones' expectation so you can be praised for it? Will your smile be true if that expectation is false, if it hides your true self?

Adults hide their hurts behind their words, when you become an adult, will you do this too?

The most important thing is always formless and intangible. You never know if you have it or you do not, unless you lose it or gain it.

Turning sadness into kindness and uniqueness into strength is as natural as a rainbow after the rain, so stop crying.

It's alright to get lost in this process. Take your first step and walk down the road to your new self.

-Very loosely translated from: Kanashimi wo Yasashisa ni, themesong from the Naruto Anime, by the band Little by Little


Chapter 2:

'Talking Shit'


Naruto shook her, as if he were trying to accept what had happened was real and not just a figment of his imagination.

The 'old' Hinata would have blushed and immediately passed out. When Naruto leaned in to gaze suspiciously into her eyes, she gazed right back, searching his soul for the secret that made him so strong. The 'old' Hinata would have sworn he was going to kiss her, this 'new' Hinata expected him to bash his head into hers to confirm the reality of her being his new ANBU partner.

Hinata used to have absolute faith in the man she had once referred to in her mind as 'her Naruto-kun.'

She still had faith, but of a different kind.

A lot had changed in four long years...


It had all started with a tree.

Someone had the brilliant idea to put a swing on that tree. Hyuuga Hinata had stared at a lonely boy on a swing those many years ago. He had fascinated her.

His name was Uzumaki Naruto and he was the village pariah.

The villager's scorned and hated him, the shop venders cheated him, his teachers ignored him, and most importantly her Father disdained him. Hyuuga Hinata had no idea why one little boy deserved so much hate. In fact, she was convinced he did not deserve it. She was the only one who noticed him without disliking him. He was always pulling pranks and getting negative attention. In her young mind, it was her duty to like him. She had to make up for everyone else. She had to treat his sadness with kindness.

It had started out innocently enough. She would spy on him from afar, and sometimes leave him little treats like the cup-ramen he seemed to love so much. Whenever he smiled she counted it as a victory. She kept a running mental tally on how many times she had made him smile. She couldn't count very high at that age, and she had trouble remembering the tally, so she would just start over again every few days. It was a simple and innocent thing. A way for her to make the world a little better.

As the pariah grew, so did his pranks, and so did his infamy. The villagers came to despise him for his pranks. They didn't seem to understand he couldn't suffer in silence. He couldn't take all that abuse sitting down. Unlike Hinata and how her Father treated her. She admired Naruto for his spirit. The boy was constantly being put down, but he never gave up. Not ever.

That admiration had eventually gotten her into all sorts of trouble.

She remembered the day he had saved her from those bullies with perfect clarity.

He had gotten the shit kicked out of him of course. At that age, being older and bigger meant everything in a fight. Naruto had fought bravely, but he was outnumbered and outgunned. His defeat had been inevitable, even before he had begun. He must have known on some level it was hopeless. Regardless, he had faced down those bullies for her, never giving up even as they kicked him while he was down. A Branch House member had come later and told her not to associate with the young outcast. It still didn't stop her from admiring his strength. From that day forward he became an ideal for her. He was everything she was not, and that had ultimately led her down a very dangerous path.

She let his strength be what she wished she could be instead of changing herself. It was alright to be shy and nervous, to stutter and blush, so long as Naruto could be strong for her. She could dream all day about his limitless spirit, and be content to remain what she was.

Weak. Shy. Nervous.

And a failure.

As she continued to grow, so did her inferiority complex. Her Father continuously berated her for being weak, and so she came to truly think of herself that way. Any hope she had had of changing who she was slowly faded away into nothing. She could never be strong or confident, she was the Failed Heiress, the Weak One. When her sister was born and her Mother died, any protection she had left from this harmful dynamic was taken away. Her Mother had been the one person to always compliment her on her kindness. She had helped Hinata take the sadness of being weak and turn it into kindness: her one true strength.

In the end that strength led to the demise of the 'old' Hinata. The kind girl had never really stood a chance.

Her reliance on Naruto became stronger and stronger and eventually turned into a mild obsession. She would follow him wherever he went whenever she could. She would sit in class at the Academy at the back of the room, poking her fingers together and watching him be the class clown. She would tell herself that she could never be that way, but that was okay. Naruto would never change and never give up, so she would never have to change either.

That philosophy had nearly ruined her life.

When they graduated from the academy Hinata was finally faced with her problem. A shinobi could no be kind and weak. A shinobi had to be powerful and ruthless. That Konohagakure had a philosophy that differed from most of the other hidden villages did not help her. It seemed to at first, but it had ultimately harmed her growth as an individual.

As had her sensei.

Yuhi Kurenai was a young and inexperienced Jonin, and she had treated Hinata kindly, almost like a daughter. At first this had been encouraging. Kurenai believed Hinata was more capable than Hinata herself believed, but she didn't believe the girl would ever grow out of her kindness. Kindness was a virtue for most people. When one possessed a proper amount of empathy and compassion, it could be an advantage. However, Hinata was too kind by half, and it affected her growth as a shinobi dramatically. She was supposed to be the proud heiress of the Hyuuga clan. Instead, she was the shrinking-violet of Team Eight.

Hinata had struggled to improve herself, but she had never believed she could be strong like others could be. That was the province of people who weren't born failures.

Uzumaki Naruto continued to be an inspiration to her, and her mild obsession had bloomed into full-on obsession during her Academy days. She had also begun to develop a crush on him, and that had kept her from speaking with him. Perhaps if she had spoken to him, she might not have turned out the way she did. At a young age, a close friend could have a strong impact on shaping a person. If Hinata had been close to Naruto, he might have helped her overcome her faults as a person and become truly strong.

If only.

The first time she had taken a stand had been a disaster. Uzumaki Naruto had bombarded the Chuunin Exam's preliminary arena with encouraging words. Hinata took a stand for the first time, and was savagely beaten to within an inch of her life by her cousin. Without the intervention of the Jonin-sensei, she would have died that day.

It might have been a mercy.

She should have realized when she awoke, that standing up for yourself because another person told you to, was not the same as standing up for yourself for the sake of yourself. If only the 'old' Hinata had learned her lesson at that time. Instead she took it as a sign that she hadn't believed in Naruto strongly enough. She hadn't worked hard enough to live up to her mediocre potential. If she had taken Naruto's philosophy further to heart, she would have been stronger, and she would have won.

Hinata continued to use Naruto as her source of strength and grow that way. She improved as a shinobi, but not as a person.

The village pariah demonstrated his spirit and fighting prowess again and again. He saved the village from Sabaku no Gaara. He brought back the legendary Sannin Tsunade to heal the broken Rock Lee and become Godaime Hokage. He had given everything he had to save Uchiha Sasuke, his best friend, and traitor to the village for many long years.

Those things had matured Hinata's admiration and crush into stronger feelings.

By the time he returned from his two and a half-year training trip, Hyuuga Hinata was convinced she was in love.

Naruto continued to prove himself. He saved the Kazekage. He fought the Akatsuki.

There was nothing he could not do.

Except acknowledge her love for him.

During the fight with Pain he had been pinned to the ground with chakra-severing rods. There was no one left to save him. Everyone else had been injured or incapacitated by Pain's other avatars. The old Hyuuga Hinata had known that she was the only one who could save him. She had tried to become strong for him. Now she needed to be strong for him.

A love-sick girl had taken her stand. It was the last time she would view 'her Naruto-kun' in the same way.

Hinata hadn't been able to stand up to Yahiko-Pain for more than a minute. She had been cruelly and savagely beaten down even worse than when she had fought Neji. She hadn't given a moment's thought to what would happen to her when she lost. In her mind, going into that fight, she already had lost. Her only goal had been to free 'her Naruto-kun' from Pain. She couldn't beat Pain, but 'her Naruto-kun' had the strength to beat him. That had been the whole point of her desperate plight. She would willingly die to protect the man she thought she loved. She had declared that love and her willingness to die in front of what remained of the village.

In front of Naruto.

In the end she had almost died again.

After that she was knocked out. Naruto had some broken free and defeated Pain. She had no idea how.

It was then that the idea formed in her head that Naruto was some kind of kami. Not literally, but he must have had some sort of inner strength, some secret that made him capable of surmounting impossible odds. She longed with all her heart to be with him, so she could be a part of that strength. If Hinata had examined her feelings closely, she would have realized that she had not been in love with Naruto.

She had been in love with his strength and his spirit. She had been in love with an ideal and a dream.

Haruno Sakura had saved her life and she had recovered. Pain had resurrected most of the village. There was nothing 'her Naruto-kun' could not do.

Except become Hokage.

That had been the first time Naruto's strength had failed him. It was also the first time Hinata's faith in him trembled, if only briefly.

She had forgiven him his failure, because there was nothing to forgive. Not even 'her Naruto-kun' could win every fight. He never gave up, and one day he would be Hokage. She had been certain of his resolve. Hinata would have given up in a situation like his, but not 'her Naruto-kun.' He would fight to the bitter end. It was the one thing she had loved more than his strength: his spirit.

And he had given up.

It was hard on her. She didn't know exactly what to think. A part of the 'old' Hinata had died that day. She had realized that even a kami had limits.

Shortly after that, Naruto had teamed up with Uchiha Sasuke and beaten Madara, but not before his hubris had gotten over fifty of Konoha's best Jonin and ANBU killed.

The Konoha Twelve and two hundred of Konoha's most elite Jonin and ANBU had fought before the walls of Konoha to defeat the most terrifying shinobi the world had ever known. Naruto cared for his comrades deeply, and didn't want any of them to get hurt, let alone die. He had insisted he would take down Madara himself. He had boldly proclaimed that he wouldn't let Madara harm a single hair on his comrades' heads.

At first he had done well, but Uchiha Madara hadn't gotten his reputation for nothing.

By the time Naruto had nearly exhausted himself of chakra and asked for his comrades to join him, it had been too late. Perhaps if they had attacked together at the beginning they could have defeated the mighty Uchiha, but with Naruto exhausted, a difficult battle became a desperate battle, a desperate battle became a hopeless battle, and a hopeless battle became an impossible battle. There was no way they could win and Naruto knew it.

Fifty had died before he realized their struggle was futile. Hinata herself had been exhausted and unable to get off her back. In a last act of desperate heroism, Naruto had led Madara away from the village. Miraculously he had gotten Sasuke to team up with him. Somehow Naruto had found that secret strength again, and fought on side by side with his friend and nemesis. In the end he had convinced the Last Uchiha (for now he truly was) to return to the village. Sasuke's group had received a pardon for their crimes in return for defeating the monster Madara and saving Konoha, even if it hadn't been their original goal.

Hinata had gotten her hopes up again. Naruto had never even spoken to her of the confession she had made, but she believed in her heart of hearts that it was only because he wasn't ready to be with her yet. He was a great shinobi and he had more to do before he settled down and made a family with her. Hinata would wait patiently until that day, even if she was old and could no longer bear children. If it meant being with 'her Naruto-kun,' she would do anything.

Then 'her Naruto-kun' stopped being 'her Naruto-kun.'

Shimura Danzo had led a campaign to root out insurrection in the village.

Three months later, Umino Iruka was executed publically for plotting insurrection and planning to install a new Hokage.

His head had been put on display with three other traitors. They had stayed up for a day and a night, as a threat to those who would sell out their comrades, or betray their village.

Naruto was never the same after that, and so neither was Hinata.

The heiress knew how close Naruto had been to Iruka. She didn't blame him for being sad.

She blamed him for giving up. For the first time in his life Naruto had been completely defeated. He had given into his sadness and a part of him had always stayed that way.

From that day on, he was 'her Sad Naruto-kun.'

That was alright.

She had been training from sunup to sundown for a year. After Pain's attack, Naruto's inability to confront her on her confession had completely taken over her life. Her Father had revoked her title as heiress. She had been neglecting her duties to the clan and the village. Looking back, she knew she had honestly deserved it. At the time, all she could think about was Naruto not speaking to her. He could have said anything.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. I heard that you loved me. That's weird. Are you feeling sick?"

She would have expected something like that from him, but it would have been enough. It would have been a place to start.

If they had had that start she might have had a happy life, but she would have remained the same weak person on the inside.

Oh, Naruto would have given her strength up to a point. She might have been considered one of the strongest kunoichi in Konoha after a few years of his enthusiasm.

She became one of them anyway.

Hinata's hard work had paid off. Just after Madara had attacked the village she had passed for Jonin. Her Father accepted her back into the clan and she begun accepting suitors.

The reason for accepting suitors outside the clan was twofold. The blood of the Hyuuga had become thick, and in some cases, too thick. They were beginning to experience the birth defects that came with in-breeding, and Hanabi had been born with the inability to have children. That left Hinata only, and the clan couldn't risk her bearing an heir or heiress that could not continue the Main House line of nobility. Moreover, the last eligible male nobility of the Hyuuga had died before Hinata was born. Some of the Elders were nobility, but they were either too old or too closely related to Hinata to be suitable.

The only option was to invoke the ancient tradition of allowing an outsider into the family. This could only be done when there was no other option, which there was not. In addition, the suitors either needed to be accepted outright, or defeat the heir or heiress to prove their worth.

If Hinata defeated a potential groom, she could either take him off the list of suitors, or judge him worthy of her. If she lost to a potential groom, the clan would be honor-bound to accept him into the family, unless another more powerful suitor came along. That suitor would have to beat Hinata to give him the same standing as the other suitor. Then he would have to defeat the other suitor to take his place and take him off the list. Since the second suitor would be stronger than the first suitor, the first would be considered less worthy and never be able to attempt to take her hand in marriage again.

The system was designed to allow only the strongest potential husband claim her, thereby safeguarding the clan from weakness and ensuring the strength of the Hyuuga nobility's bloodline. The strength of the new blood would eventually dilute into the old, and the honors and traditions of the Hyuuga would be preserved. Her husband was to be the equivalent of a breeding stud.

Hinata had been sure it would never come down to that.

She had believed... no, she had known 'her Naruto-kun' would come and claim her when he was ready. She just needed to prove her strength and beat down a few more suitors first.

However, he had become a different person.

Naruto began seeking his solace in women. Other women. It was the first time Hinata had felt betrayed. Willful ignorance had been one thing, but mocking her feelings by going out with other women was in another league. She had taken the insult personally. No matter how kind or forgiving her nature, she could not avoid the feelings of anger and jealousy that began to blossom in her breast. It was written into her genetic code as a woman. She could not stand idly by and let 'her man' be taken away by another female. It went against the laws of nature.

Had she not passed for Jonin and gained a measure of pride, she might have been content to let Naruto do what he thought was best for him. However, a small streak of Hyuuga arrogance had slipped into her personality, and so this was not the case. Had she truly loved him, she still might have let him go. That had been the first sign she did not truly love him, only what he represented. If only she had heeded that tiny voice in the back of her head that told her something was wrong. Instead, she had continued in her pointless pursuit.

Eventually Naruto had found a woman he liked. They had dated for several months while Hinata stalked them religiously. At some point, they had a falling-out, and Hinata couldn't help herself from feeling overjoyed. She also couldn't help but feel a certain satisfaction. She had hoped that Naruto had been hurt badly, that his heart had been broken. No matter how compassionate she was, she wanted him to suffer for being untrue to her. Even if it was only because he had been lost and confused after the death of his old sensei. It was the first time she had ever wished any harm to befall her love.

It wasn't long after that, that he stopped being her love.

She was convinced that Naruto had to come to her now. After having his heart broken he would look to Hinata to pick up the pieces. She would make him beg for her forgiveness, and then she would accept. Her new found strength had given her a measure of pride, and she would not take him back without him at least admitting he had been wrong not to come to her first. Being second was painful, but not unbearable. She knew he had never done more than exchanged brief kisses with the little strumpet, and that was a comforting thought. She wasn't sure what she would have done at that time if he had gone 'all the way' with that girl. She might have lost her mind completely.

It happened anyway.

She defeated suitor after suitor. She had beaten her former teammate rather badly, and picked his blood up off the ground and licked it from her fingers. She had been disgusted with that display, but her purpose had been to scare off the other suitors. It had worked to an extent, but the stronger ones had only been encouraged. She had heard a few speak in passing about 'taming' the 'willful Hyuuga heiress.'

She had beaten them down harder. After some time it became obvious Naruto wasn't going to come. So she devised a final, desperate plan to get his attention.

She waited for the perfect opponent and lost. Hyuuga Hiashi (and all Hyuuga) hated Kumogakure shinobi with a passion, despite the Alliance. Her Father had been furious at her loss to the Kumo-nin. It was a stroke of luck that he hadn't been there to observe the fight, and she took full advantage. She convinced her Father that the man from Kumo was both powerful and devious. They couldn't pollute the bloodline with Kumo scum, so they needed someone else to take him off the list. As it stood, the man from Kumo would have first claim on Hinata when she turned twenty and had to marry.

Hinata convinced her Father that they needed one of Konoha's Strongest for the job. Uchiha Sasuke had been taken by Haruno Sakura, and Hatake Kakashi had been taken by Mitarashi Anko. That left Maito Gai and Uzumaki Naruto. Hinata and Hiashi would both commit sepukku before letting someone like Gai into the family, so the obvious choice was Naruto. Hinata had been shocked at her Father's barely contained outrage. It had taken a great deal of persuading to get him to allow Naruto on the list. She had had to wear her Father down with Naruto's qualities. He was the son of the Yondaime, heir to a considerable state and fortune, one of the last two known Uzumaki, and he was probably the strongest shinobi in Konoha. They could not in honor refuse him if he should request to become a suitor.

Hiashi had finally given in, but not before stipulating that Naruto had to beat her in under ten minutes, to further prove his worth.

When she had approached Naruto, he had been woefully indifferent. He had accepted, but only because she had asked as a friend. She also had to explain that he could be taken off the list afterwords. It was only her desperate delusion that he was putting on an act for the sake of his pride that kept her from breaking down then and there.

It would have been better if she had.

Naruto had beaten her, but not after she had shown him her strength. After she had proven her worth, he would surely claim her. He would beat the man from Kumo and declare his love for her, and demand to be married to her as soon as she turned twenty. Hinata would have eloped with him had he asked. In her increasingly disturbed mind she pictured him making gentle passionate love to her while her Father pulled his hair out in the next room.

He did beat the man from Kumo, but what he did next shattered her delusion and destroyed her mind and heart.

Thank the kami he had.

Naruto had asked her afterwords if he could be taken off the list.

"D-don't you w-want to m-m-m-marry m-me Naruto-kun?"

It had taken every ounce of courage she had to ask him that question. His answer had shocked her to her core.

"I don't think I'll ever marry anyone, Hinata-san. Thanks for being kind. Are you sick? You're turning pale..."

They had never spoken of that again. As far as Hinata was concerned it had never happened. That had been the 'old' her. Naruto had probably thought it was a joke. Things like that had the tendency to slip into the ethers of his already questionable memory. He probably didn't even remember that exchange, and for that, Hinata was eternally grateful.

His answer had done several things. The first thing it had done was drive her insane. That was a natural reaction given she had based the entirety of who she was off of him up to that point in her life. Without Naruto she had lost all direction and life lost its meaning. She wandered around the village for days in a sort of haze. She could barely remember what she had done during that time, but she did vaguely recall following Naruto around again. She had been trying to figure out how she had misjudged him, how she had placed her faith in an ideal and a dream.

How had she been so blind, and she a Hyuuga?

When she had finally come out of her stupor, she realized a few essential things. If Naruto had ever been what she thought he was, he was no longer that person. His own hardships had forced him to adapt into something cold and detached. He was just trying to protect himself, but in the end he had become that cold detached person. Oh, he still smiled and laughed, but there was a subtle strain behind it all. Like he was trying to prove he was still his old self instead of laughing and loving freely.

He had been as strong as a mountain, as constant as the night and day, free as the wind, and as happy and ignorant as a five-year-old being offered candy by a stranger. And now he was gone: that happy, ignorant, willful little boy. Gone away to never return, like sakura blossoms at the end of spring. As Maito Gai might (never) have said, the springtime of his youth was over.

He had become a sad and angry man at his core. Anything left of the old Naruto was skin deep.

The second thing she realized was related to his offhand comment about her being kind. Hinata realized that being kind had been her only true inexhaustible strength, and that very kindness had taken away the one thing she had wanted more than anything. If she had been less kind, had she possessed ordinary kindness and compassion, she would have confronted Naruto about never speaking to her in the days and weeks that followed her declaration of love. Naruto had still been himself then, and he probably would have done the right thing and tried to acknowledge her feelings, even if he couldn't return them. He very well might have, but there was no point in wondering. Tsunade's death had set off a chain reaction that had reshaped who he was.

The end result of this realization was Hinata vowed never to let her kindness get in her way again. She was still kind, somewhere deep inside her secret heart, but that kindness came out rarely, and only when it was well deserved. She would reserve that kindness for her true love and one day...

That had been her next epiphany.

Just as Naruto had said, Hinata had been sick. Her spirit had been a sick and needy thing. It had waited for a solution to fall from the sky.

That wasn't the way life worked.

Hinata had always believed in love and that she would find it one day, that it would come to her. She finally came to understand that love was a petty, illogical and often ugly thing, if it even really existed. People spoke of it all the time, and it did exist between friends and family, but she had never seen true intimate love. It was almost make-believe. In fact, it was, she had decided. True love was a fairytale told to children so they could look forward with the expectation of getting a storybook ending, regardless of how wonderful or terrible their life was. Hinata burned that storybook and ripped it into little pieces. She would no longer be a slave to a child's dream.

If Hinata did want something, she had to take it. The world was capricious, fickle and unforgiving. You had to take what you wanted with your own two hands by force, or there was no guarantee you would ever get it. If there was real love in the world, then its nature reflected that world. Love, if she ever found it, would be as fickle as the world in which she lived. Love had the capacity to destroy even more than it could create. She was living proof of that fact.

Hinata was sadder, but wiser. She knew that the only thing she could use to secure her life and potential happiness was strength. If you wanted to take something or keep something, or take something and keep it, you had to have the strength of will, mind and body to back it up. It was that thought that spelled the end of the 'old' Hyuuga Hinata and the birth of the 'new.'

She had taken her unique, exquisite pain, and turned it into strength.

Her 'love' for Naruto had ended as it had begun, in the ruins of the old Academy.

That tree had somehow survived Pain's attack, and so had the swing.

The floodgates opened and Hinata poured her frustration, grief and wrath into the object that had started her down the road to destruction and salvation.

She punched the tree and swing into little pieces, then punched those pieces into smaller pieces, until there was nothing left and her hands were broken and bloody.

She vowed never again to let anyone have control over her. Never again would someone like Naruto have the power to shape her life.

From that moment on she would forge her own path in life. Hinata the girl was put aside and Hinata the woman was born.

She knew she had been weak. She was still weak, but she would train endlessly until the day when she could have anything she wanted and keep it.

The only way to do that was to become strong.

No.

The only way to do that was to become the strongest kunoichi in Konoha.

No!

The strongest shinobi in Konoha!

NO!

THE STRONGEST KUNOICHI IN THE WORLD!

Then and only then could she have the life she wanted. A life that nobody could take away from her. She would marry the strongest shinobi in the world, and together they would be invincible. That was the only way she could have absolute control over her life. Only the strongest person could be with her now. He was the only one she would let near her, let alone touch her.

That man would be the strongest.

The absolute strongest.

And so would she.

Yet, she was still weak! She had always been weak! How could she possibly become strong enough to achieve her new dream?

A sudden desperate power had filled her that day, as she stood in the ruin of her shattered dream, her old dream. It had been only a glimmer, the slightest hint of a whisper of some inner strength, but Hinata knew without doubt that it was the solution she had sought. For a moment the world had been filled with a brilliant and glorious light. Her world had been as white and as pure as freshly fallen snow. She would move forward with that purity of purpose and spirit, and walk the road to greatness.

With that power she could do anything, be anything. From that day forward she spent every bit of spare time seeking out that inner strength, nurturing it.

Mastering the power was difficult, she could barely use it at all, but the training she underwent to achieve mastery had built up her chakra reserves and made her stronger than she had ever been. She had recently defeated her cousin in a sparring match. It had been his overconfidence that allowed her to win, but she was getting tougher every day. All she had to do now was stay the course.

Hinata had been a failure as a person by trying to live up to everyone elses' expectations of her. She had gotten lost on that road and let other people determine what she was capable of, instead of trying to discover her capabilities by herself, for herself. She had put her faith in something intangible, something formless and fickle. That ideal, that dream had never really existed. She had taken her first step on her new journey and started walking down that path with her own feet. She would never let someone choose her path again. Now she hid behind her smile, and only Hinata knew her true self, and her true strength.

She had practiced every morning and every night in the mirror, pretending like she was talking to her Father, to get rid of that horrible stutter.

It was unbecoming to the new Hinata. The Hinata whose dream was to be the strongest kunoichi in the world.

She had also joined the ANBU.

Konoha needed every strong shinobi to sign up in order to take on higher paying missions. It would give her the opportunity she needed to prove herself and a chance surpass her current limits. It had taken a lot of effort to bring her Father around to the idea. She still wasn't sure why he had agreed to let the clan's only heiress risk her life in the ANBU. Her Father never did anything without a reason, and she suspected he had some sort of ulterior motive. Still, Hinata wasn't about to look a gift-horse in the mouth.

She had passed basic with flying colors. The next step was to get partnered with a senior ANBU operative.

There was only one person it could be. She had to confront her past and come full circle.

The timing had been perfect. He had completed his rookie-year a few months earlier.

It had taken a little blackmail on her part. It was no coincidence Naruto had become her partner. Well, it was almost been blackmail. She had gone to the Rokudaime and requested her pick of her a partner. It went against the rules, but Hinata had a trump card. She calmly informed the Hokage that if she didn't have her choice, Temari would somehow discover his secret stash of "Big Sister Oneechan, Sugoi!" ero-novels. Shikamaru was fond of his testicles, and so he acquiesced to her request with little more than a "mendokusai."

She would never have gotten what she wanted if she had merely waited for it to fall into her lap. She had taken what she wanted with her own two hands.

Uzumaki Naruto was the strongest in Konoha. Uchiha Sasuke was on par with him, but he relied on his kekke genkai to make up the difference. Naruto was an ordinary shinobi with extraordinary abilities. He was far from an ideal teacher, but the new Naruto would take his duties seriously once she had proven herself. She needed to find out what made him special, where he found that amazing inner strength that made him Konoha's strongest. She would adapt his strength and make it her own. His fighting style was the sun, and hers the moon, but that meant little at her current level. She would take what made him special and make it her own. She would be fast where he as strong, precise where he was ferocious and flexible where he was stubborn.

She would be as strong as a mountain, as constant as night and day, and free as the wind.

She would let the world know who she was. She was Hyuuga Hinata, proud heiress of the clan Hyuuga, confident and loyal kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato.

She would take her new power and surpass all her limits.

With this new philosophy, Hyuuga Hinata could finally shine.


Naruto had stopped shaking her. He must have finally come to the conclusion she was real. Hinata was still gazing into his eyes, searching for that hidden strength.

She would find it, and then she would thank him.

"Arigato." She said softly.

"Eh?"

"For taking me out tonight." Hinata said a little too sweetly.

Naruto waved his arms frantically. "No, it's not like that. This is tradition!"

Hinata's face frowned, but her heart smiled in satisfaction. She had trained her new self in the Hyuuga manner. She could keep a serene expression and say anything without of ripple of emotion if she wanted. Her Father had been her example every day of her life. She didn't use that Hyuuga facade very often, but at times it was useful. Especially when it was so much fun to flip your new partner's words like a pancake. This was going to be fun.

The proud Hyuuga heiress cocked an eyebrow.

"Really though, isn't going out for drinks a little informal?" She complained for the nth time.

Naruto growled in frustration. "For the last time: no. Kami-sama, Hinata-san, loosen up a bit. If you're going to be my partner you'll have to stop being such a tight-ass."

"Naruto-san, I never knew you thought about me that way." She teased. "Maybe we should be going to your house and not the bar. Ne?"

'Naruto-san.' That's what he was to her now. Not 'Naruto-kun', not ever again. That honorific was cursed.

The Uzumaki looked at her contemptuously, as if to say 'Who is this woman, and what has she done with Hinata-san?'

"Okay. We've established you're good at the whole banter thing. Now let's just go to Genma's and get ourselves a couple of drinks alright?"

"Very well..." Hinata said skeptically.

"Trust me, this is how my senior partner first initiated me into the ANBU. Getting wasted and talking shit, what's not to like?"

She gave him a dirty look. "If you haven't noticed, I'm not you, and you're not Hatake-san. And what's with calling him your 'senior partner' anyway? He only took you on because he knew he'd never hear the end of it if he turned down your request after mentoring Sasuke-san the previous year."

"How did you know that?" Naruto asked incredulously.

The heiress smirked. "You just told me. Weren't we taught to look 'underneath the underneath?'"

"Brilliant." Naruto threw his hands up and rolled his eyes, silently cursing Shikamaru for his poor sense of humor.

"Besides," she continued, "whenever you're sore about something it usually has to do with Sasuke-san, anyway."

Hinata continued to ramble on about the childish tendencies of the Team Seven duo until Naruto finally found a reason to speak.

"Thank Kami, we're here!"

Genma's was an old establishment with a new owner. It had once been the old Ichiraku noodle stand that Naruto had frequented in his youth. After the attack on Konoha, business had gone south and old man Teuchi and Ayame were forced to sell the business. Genma, the senbon obsessed Jonin with his self-proclaimed 'oral fixation' (self-proclaimed because of the senbon he always had in his mouth, even if it wasn't what 'oral fixation' actually meant), had taken the initiative on the deal and turned it into a bar. It was shinobi exclusive, and had become so wildly popular that it swiftly went from a stand to a twelve-hundred square foot establishment.

After the mass destruction of several years earlier, constructing new buildings had been a priority for the village, and any new business that promised well for the economy was given the best deals for contractors. It was one of the few things Danzo had done that Hinata could begrudgingly admit was wise. Of course, knowing Danzo, it may very well have been Shikamaru all along and the ANBU leader had just taken the credit.

An unfamiliar smell assaulted her nose with a more unwelcome sting. Genma's wasn't the cleanest place, but the inside was warm and cozy, with dark corners perfect for those private conversations a couple preferred, or in her case, a new ANBU partnership could share. Ordinarily she prefered to avoid these kind of establishments, but then again, tonight was anything but ordinary.

"Yo, Naruto, you toady bastard. Just take a seat in the back and shut up before I lose anymore customers to those atrocious table manners of yours." Genma waved and smiled a big friendly grin at him.

It must have been his way of saying hello. Naruto would normally deck someone for treating him with such disrespect. Genma must have been making a joke.

"Wow… you know, I've always wanted to see this place from the inside, but now I'm not so sure." She admitted truthfully.

Naruto chuckled. "Whatever. Let's just do as the crotchety has-been of a proprietor says and take a seat in the back."

"Looking to get me alone so soon, Naruto-san?" Hinata flipped his words effortlessly, much to her own amusement.

Naruto just ignored the comment. He had already learned his lesson when he had tried to riposte her teasing jabs earlier. "Yeah. C'mon let's get a booth."

The booth they took was indeed towards the very back. The dim lighting of the bar made for a quiet getaway, much to Hinata's approval. The mellow light provided by the single candle in the middle of the booth's table made everything roomy and casual. Just the way she liked it. Hyuuga formality could grow tiresome, especially when one was the clan's heiress. The only thing she could think of that might ruin their conversation was how the light danced in her partner's sky-blue eyes. It was distracting.

She knew he had to play her cards just right, and vowed silently to keep it professional.

"Yo, Genma? Can we have some service for Kami's sake? I need a bottle of the good stuff, not that paint thinner you serve to skinny-lipped virgins with water for blood."

A bottle was tossed clear across the room. No reason not to: any shinobi worth their salt had the reflexes to catch their own sake bottle. Naruto caught it effortlessly and placed it on the table.

"Anything else?" The ex-Jonin yelled from behind the bar counter.

"Yeah, two glasses." Two shot glasses were promptly delivered onto his fingertips. They spun there for a moment before he put them down on the table.

"So…" He began.

"So?"

Naruto gestured to her with both hands, palms-up. "So this is the part where you talk about how stoked you are to join the ANBU and I shoot you down, obviously."

"Oh really?" Hinata shot right back whilst shifting her body in a way that did not help keep his gaze by any means polite. "I thought this is the part where you brag about your numerous exploits in a vain attempt to impress me? You know, so I'm less likely to spot all of your flaws?"

"What flaws?" Naruto asked with faux-innocence.

Hinata tapped her forehead. "Have you forgotten about these eyes of mine? I see everything, you know."

"Yeah, I know," he rested his chin on his fist, "and sometimes I think you see too much."

The innuendo was not lost on the Hyuuga heiress. "And what if I do?"

"Then I hope you like what you see." He mused, overtly nonchalant.

"How, in the name of Kami-sama, did Hatake-san ever put up with you for an entire year?"

"Well," Naruto held back a laugh, "probably because he was too smashed to care half the time."

Hinata's brows furrowed in disbelief. "Hatake-san? A drunk? I don't believe you. There's no way someone with his success rate could possibly-"

"Ah, Naruto-san! Mind if I join you for a couple of drinks?" A masked face peered into the booth. "Finally putting the moves on the girls, eh?"

Naruto smiled, victorious. "You see? I told you, but no, you didn't believe me." Naruto turned to his former-sensei. "Kaka-sensei, I'd like to take you up on your offer, but Hinata-san here is me on ANBU business. You know the deal."

The Copy-Nin nodded, sagely. "Getting wasted and talking shit, eh? Alright, perhaps another time then…"

A small orange book appeared out of his pocket and into his hand as he went to sit at the bar. Some things never changed.

His skills as a shinobi and perverted nature were all that remained unchanged. Hatake Kakashi's philosophy had been thrown into the gutter along with the 'Will of Fire' when Danzo came into power. The Sharingan-wielder had taken up drinking to try and forget.

Most people treated it like another eccentricity, but Hinata had seen what alcohol dependency looked like when practicing medical jutsu. Kakashi trembled slightly with withdrawals, his one visible eye was yellowed with jaundice, and his masked face held a haunted look that only disappeared after he sat down and Genma put a glass in front of him.

Her mouth hung open slightly. After a moment she realized her disbelief was showing, and she smartly snapped it shut again.

"Okay, so maybe he enjoys a drink or two…"

A loud clunk at the bar drew her attention to the liter of hard boos Kakashi had begun to pour into.

"..." Hinata was rendered speechless.

No mortal man could drink that much at once and survive.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Bwahahahaha! See? YOU SEE!" He put his hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.

The Uzumaki was rarely happy nowadays, but some things were so funny you couldn't help but laugh. Even the Hyuuga heiress could admit to that.

"Fine," she said in annoyance, "the score is Hinata-sama twelve, Naruto-san one. Happy?"

"One is better than nothing."

"Wisely said."

The conversation paused for a minute and Naruto took the opportunity to pour them each a drink. Hinata sat staring at her small shot glass for a long time before finally shaking her head in disapproval and picking it up.

"Here's to the end of my solitude." Naruto toasted sadly. He took the shot. "Cheers."

"You're supposed to make the toast, clink glasses, say cheers and then drink…" Hinata pointed out.

"Like I really care?"

"I guess not. Here's to hoping you don't get me killed, and a healthy decrease in irritating males." Hinata brought the drink to her mouth and paused.

She sniffed and immediately regretted it. If it were any other person in front of her she would have downright rejected the idea of drinking. But then again he was her new partner, and he was Naruto-san so…

"Cheers."

Her throat burned something awful and her eyes filled with tears. 'Kami… it really does take like paint thinner! How do they drink this stuff?'

She gagged and coughed while Naruto slapped her on the back appreciatively. The blonde probably considered it an honor to treat the heiress to her first real drinking bender. Of course, she didn't know that it was, yet.

"Ugh… how can you stand this stuff? That's even more disgusting than Akamaru's dog food." Hinata shot Naruto a withering glare. "And don't even ask how I know, because you're not finding out anytime soon. What happens on Team Eight stays on Team Eight."

Naruto pretended to shake some dice in his hand, laughing. "And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." He added.

"Where did you come up with that?"

"I saw it on TV once."

Hinata hissed and dropped her voice as low as it would carry. "You know we're not supposed to watch anything from the Main Land. It's against the law."

For some time now, the shinobi world had known there was another world that existed beyond their own. It was referred to as the 'Main Land,' or the 'Other World.' Nobody knew exactly where it was, or how to get there, but that was unimportant in the scheme of things. The Main Land had provided many of the innovations that had been developed in the last decade. Microphones, headsets, television and trains had all come from studying the broadcasts that came from the Other World. The technology was coveted, and the Great Shinobi Alliance had agreed it should be protected. It was therefor illegal to watch or listen to anything from the Main Land unless you were a liscensed researcher.

That didn't stop opportunists from taking television programs and movies and translating them. There was an enormous profit to be had in entertainment, and the quality of the pictures that came from the Main Land surpassed the shinobi world entirely. Naruto had been referring to a movie from the Other World. That could be dangerous if it reached the wrong ears.

"Are you going to report me, partner?" Naruto's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms, staring her down.

"No, of course not." Hinata retorted, smiling. "I might even want to watch one with you some day."

"N-nani?!" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "That wouldn't be right!"

"Not like that. Calm down."

"Oh..." The Uzumaki had overreacted, much to his chagrin. "Okay... back to the ANBU stuff."

Hinata paused as he filled their glasses again.

"So... what is this about? I mean I know you're supposed to give me my codename and all that, but is it really just a 'get to know you' kind of thing?"

Naruto took another shot before replying. "Yeah, basically. What's the first thing you did with your Jonin sensei back when you first made Genin?"

It was as good a place to start as any.

"Kurenai-sensei took us out to lunch and told us about herself. She had already read our profiles, so after that she just told us to meet at the training grounds for survival exercises."

"So you had the bell test too, eh?" He scratched his ear with his fingertip. "When Kakashi-sensei first showed up he was an hour late, so I set up a chalk eraser in the door for revenge."

"There's no way he fell for something like that."

"Don't remind me! Sonuvvah it wash yer faulterrr yeh bashtarrrd!" A voice slurred loudly from the bar: Kakashi.

Hinata had wanted to dimsiss the Hatake's appearance as a fluke after a night of drinking, but after seeing the way he dove into his sake, she could not.

She stared blankly at the sauced Sharingan-wielder. "Okay… I take it back. He really hits it hard, doesn't he?"

Naruto chortled. "You've finally seen the light have you?"

"The score is Hinata-sama fourteen, Naruto-san two."

The Uzumaki just rolled his eyes.

Hinata stared at her full glass. With a little hesitation she emptied it. She coughed a bit, and it still burned something fierce, but it wasn't as bad as the last time.

"Yeah anyway-" Naruto began.

"No... I'n notsh goingsh homesh to thatsh demon! Noo! Nooooo!" Kakashi screeched as Genma removed him from the bar.

Said 'demon' was in fact his wife of two years, Hatake Anko nee Mitarashi. There was no telling how the unholy matrimony had happened, but what was, was. Hinata didn't blame him for marrying her or for regretting it. It was common knowledge that Anko was probably one of the most perverted kunoichi in Konoha, if not the foremost. Kakashi, being an avid reader of soft- core, had probably been more than willing to submit to her advances. What he didn't see coming was the bomb she dropped on him after four months of a steady 'relationship' (if it could even be called that.)

The sadistic snake mistress had said she was pregnant, and Kakashi, no matter how irresponsible he was, would not risk the wrath of Sakura (who had mastered the Godaime's god-like strength) beating down on his ass. The real kicker was after they married when Anko 'suddenly realized' that it had been a 'faulty test.' Poor Kakashi, he'd been played and had to deal with the consequences; a horny Anko throwing herself at you every night: one got tired.

"You know," Naruto said thoughtfully, after witnessing the display with a mixture of horror and delight, "if that's how I end up feeling about whoever I marry I'll just go out on an S rank and never come back. If I ever marry at all. I don't think I will. There's no way it can be worth it. I mean, look at what happened to Kakashi-sensei."

"I have to agree with you on that one." Hinata's expression hardened. "I'll never suffer a bad marriage."

It was almost a repeat of that conversation two years ago. They had similar reservations about marriage now, but for different reasons.

Indeed, she would not suffer a bad marriage. The only man who could court her now would have to be the strongest shinobi in the world. He was the only one she would allow, and she hadn't found him yet.

"Believe me, I know." Naruto drawled."

"It's not like you don't enjoy having the excuse to level someone whenever you need to vent off some steam."

"It's not like I've ever used that excuse. I just do it anyway."

"You're a barbarian."

"And you're this barbarian's partner, and don't you forget it."

Hinata thought about her next words very carefully. She needed to know if she remembered that conversation. It would greatly affect their partnership depending on his memory and how he viewed it. She couldn't run the risk of that question coming between her and finding his hidden strength.

"Naruto-san..." She said slowly, weighing her words carefully. "This conversation sounds familiar."

Something flickered in the depths of the blonde ANBU's eyes, but it only for a moment. Hinata found herself wondering if she had imagined it.

"Barbarians and marriage? I think I'd remember." He said, perhaps a little stiffly.

So he either remembered or refused to admit it, because it could be damaging to their partnership, or he did not remember. It was hard to tell which was the truth, even with Hinata's gift for observation.

More of the intoxicating liquid was poured into each of their glasses and that line of conversation was dropped.

"Don't think that getting me drunk will raise my opinion of you."

"I never said anything about getting you drunk." Naruto put his hands up innocently.

"Really?"

"Ok… so back to that.. ANBU stuff. What's my codename going to be? If it's something stupid you're going to regret it." Hinata warned.

Naruto was all fired-up.

He was about to get his indirect revenge on Kakashi and Shikamaru. The Hatake had given him a shitty and obvious codename, and the Rokudaime had saddled him with a woman. He planned to give Hinata the worst codename ever. She would have decked him, had she known what he was up to.

"I don't know… what's the printing on your mask? That's always a good place to start." He offered, his delight hidden from the unknowing heiress.

"It's a bunch of red and black colored flowers. The mask is shaped like a tigress." She provided.

"Hmmm…flowers..." Naruto pondered. "Black Rose?"

"No."

"Tiger Lily."

"Don't even try it."

"Dancing Petal."

"Not bad," Hinata mused, "but not quite right."

"What about Midnight Flower?"

'Eh? Why does he seem so excited?' She wondered.

"Getting better… flowers." She said thoughtfully. "You know, I've always liked orchids."

Naruto had to school his features to keep from busting out laughing.

"Black Orchid?"

"No."

"White Orchid?"

"Orchards are normally white, baka."

Hinata was starting to get annoyed. Why was Naruto starting to get a stupid smile on his face?

"Dark Orchid."

"Isn't your codename 'Dark Fox?'" She pointed out.

It was a pretty cool codename in her opinion, though it sounded like someone had tried too hard to make it cool. If she had known why Kakashi had chosen the name, she would not of thought it so cool. She would have been aghast. It was blatantly obvious for those who knew the secret of the Kyuubi no Yoko. Of course, she was not privy to the secret, and so the name remained cool, even if it was a little showy.

"Oh, right. Okay then, how about Night Orchid?"

Hinata squinted her eyes for a moment and itched at her nose. "Hmmmm… yeah okay."

The Uzumaki couldn't help himself. He got the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

"Okay cool. This operatives codename is Night Orchid." He pronounced loudly.

"Didn't you just say that?" The Hyuuga asked suspiciously.

"It's an ANBU thing." He assured her. "Now you say it."

"I am Night Orchid."

It was not at all an ANBU thing. The Uzumaki just wanted to hear how stupid it sounded coming from her own lips.

Both picked up their glasses and clinked them, making a grand total of three shots each. The second his glass hit the table he had poured himself another. Hinata slammed hers back on the table and he did her the same favor. She eyed him warily.

"Say…" She muttered. "How many of these can I drink before I get fucked up?"

"Well… you're already cursing, which you don't normally do. I'd say you'd still be safe with one or two more." He suggested.

Hinata had decided she disliked drinking, but she had never gotten good and truly drunk. She needed to have that experience so she could relate. At least once.

Her eyes lit up and she grinned like the kid who had just found the cookie jar.

"Let's do this!"

In a blink the fourth shot was gone. Before he could stop her, Hinata downed his glass, and poured herself another. She grinned at him blithely and took that one too.

Naruto watched her with a combination of alarm and entertainment. "Woah, woah. Slow down there, Hina-san. You're a lightweight. No more for you." He smartly maneuvered the mostly emptied hard sake pitcher to his side of the table and refilled his glass. He looked her hard in the eye before taking it, making sure she didn't try for another.

Hinata's face turned red with anger.

"You will address me as Hinata-san or Hinata-sama. Hyuuga-hime will do in a pinch. Do not treat me so familiarly!"

How dare he address her in such a way? It was too close to what he had once called her, 'Hinata-chan.'

Naruto scratched his head. He was likely perplexed at her seemingly random outburst.

"Whatever you say, Hina- er.. Hinata-san."

When the waiter passed by some ten minutes later, (Genma's also served food. Ramen included, thought it wasn't top-notch or anything) Naruto waved him down and asked for some mints and the bill.

"Okay, Hinata-san." Naruto said, acting a bit friendlier from his own mild intoxication. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Like whaat." She slurred slightly, the liquor rapidly catching up with her.

"Oh I don't know." He shrugged. "Your likes and dislikes, dreams, hobbies… all that stuff. I need to know who I'm working with, not what skills you have. That I already know."

Hinata noticed Naruto was grinning like he had just remembered something. She was right. He had copied what Kakashi had said to him on 'day one' as a Genin, almost verbatim. Funny how you did stuff like that when you were buzzed.

"Well… I like being appreciated for whosh I am. I don't liksh people who undereshtimate me and treaph me like ah piesh off properdy." Hinata looked very serious, but her face was flushed red and her eyes were bleary. "My hobbish are flowersh an k-kicking the shhhit out off thosh shtupid shuitors… my dream ish to livsh up to my own expectashhions."

Naruto winced.

He must have realized she was completely toasted. Maybe those last few drinks hadn't been such a good idea. Her Father would be pissed if he found out his daughter had gone and gotten drunk with her new partner. Her eyes darted around the bar. There wasn't anyone around who would rat her out. It was probably fine. Naruto would take her home when the waiter got back.

Those were the last reasonable and coherent thoughts she had that night.

She giggled, her face going even redder. "You know, ish funny. When I wash a Genin I had thish shilly crush on you… funny… yesh.. funny how thingsh chanesh."

Her eyes widened in shock. She had drunk too much! She had never intended to tell him about that.

Naruto raised his eyebrows at that one. He looked surprised. Hinata couldn't help but feel a little angry.

He had been totally oblivious to most things when he was younger, but Hinata hadn't been very discreet about her crush. Surely someone must have told after him all those years? They had been Genin together for over four years… well that was including the trip he took with Jiraiya, and she had been a Chuunin when he got back. Still, she wondered if he had been clueless that whole time. Was it even possible for someone to be so thick? Then again, that was the old Naruto. He had been about as dense as they come when it came to her feelings. Even if they had been false and misguided.

"Shtill I neversh thought you would grow up sho mush… heheh… heheheheh…" Naruto watched her decompose into a blithering mess.


"Yup, no tolerance." He said aloud.

The waiter came back with the bill and the mints. Naruto handed him the charge plus a few extra ryo to keep his mouth shut. He wisely decided against giving Hinata a mint. He had almost choked to death when Kakashi-sensei had given him one after his first bender. If it wasn't for Genma, he probably would have died. The Copy-Nin had been too busy laughing his ass off to help.

Carefully he offered his hand to Hinata, doing his best to not treat her like she was drunk. There was nothing a drunk hated more than being treated like he or she was drunk.

Sure enough, she asked. "Shhhay Naruto-shan… do you thinksh I'm drunk?" She slumped against him, depending on him for balance. She was surprisingly light.

"Naw," he patted her on the head, "not at all."

"Sho thish.. ish okay?" She indicated their current physicality. "I thought ish wash againsht the rulesh."

He wasn't looking to set her off on a drunk tirade if she was the type. That in mind, he indulged her line of thought.

"Who's to say we can't be friends and partners? The best combinations are usually rather close. They say a good partner can read another's mind."

"Really?" She mumbled, sounding bemused.

They were out the door in a few more seconds. He began to escort her down the street towards the Hyuuga complex. The moon was out.

After a few minutes Hinata spoke again. "Kinda likesh loversh?" She asked randomly… or maybe not so randomly.

Uzumaki Naruto had grown into a very handsome man. He was almost the spitting image of the Yondaime, though his looks were more rugged.

Hinata was staring at him. In that moment, with the moonlight dancing in his eyes and reflecting off his light blonde hair, she couldn't help but notice how striking he looked. The Uzumaki noticed her gaze. Even he wasn't that oblivious. The Hyuuga heiress looked like a predator stalking its prey. In her inebriated state, she probably couldn't stop herself.

It was just a little harmless admiration. What did he care if she thought he was good-looking?

Many women did, so why was she making his heart beat faster? That wasn't his typical reaction. Normally he would be repulsed by such a ogling. Instead, he locked gazes with her. He couldn't look away from those enchanting lavender eyes.

'She looks... hot.'

Naruto had the feeling he was skating on thin ice. "Ummm… not exactly- mphh!"

She kissed him.

She actually kissed him. It's not like he didn't enjoy it. Her lips were soft and sweet, her embrace warm, but it wasn't right. If anyone saw them he'd pay hell. Not to mention the ramifications if she remembered.

Hinata forced her tongue into his mouth. Naruto was so surprised his eyes opened wide in shock. He had never been kissed that way before.

Reluctantly, he pushed her back. Judging by the look in her eyes she wouldn't remember this. He almost sighed in relief.

That kiss had destroyed his sense of self for a moment. He had felt like he was floating. Her clever lips and tongue had awakened something primal in him. It was hard to put it away.

Hinata stepped back as if to say something, but stopped. Without warning she lost her balance and fell flat onto her knees, retching miserably.

Naruto held her as she shook with sickness and emptied her stomach in the middle of the street.

He wiped his lips of her taste and did the best he could to wipe his mind of the memory. It would be hard to forget something like that.

Why had it felt so good? It had been way better than the ones he had shared with... that woman. He would not think of her. He had sworn he wouldn't. Never again.

He would never fall for a beautiful woman again, only to be hurt in the worst way. Not even if she was as breathtaking as Hinata.

'She really is.' He thought absently.

He shook his head. 'Gotta keep it together. It didn't mean anything. She was wasted.'

"Yeah, definitely a light-weight." He muttered.


A/N: Overhaul complete. On a side note, keep in mind the 'Other World' I mentioned in this chapter. It will come into play later in the story.

-G.A.M.M.