Author's note: I couldn't resis, so here is the next chapter. Let's see what Neji's plan was, and since Naruto is the number one unpredictable ninja, how badly will he have to adjust it? Who knows. Oh, by the way, this starts after the final filler arc of the series, per-time skip, but before Jiraiya leaves with Naruto. Ah, the power of Authors and fan fiction. I wonder if Kishimoto ever reads any of this stuff?
Disclaimer: I own nothing, just some random plot lines, and an enjoyment of messing with character's minds.
Uzumaki Naruto was finished with a day of hard training. He was starving and his frog wallet was full, meaning he was headed for Ichiraku's! He wasn't thinking about much, other than his stomach and wondering when Ero-Sennin would get back and take him on his training trip.
"Naruto!"
He turned around to see Neji and Hinata walking towards him. "Hey, Neji, Hinata, what's up?
"Nothing much," Neji replied, "How are you doing?"
"I just finished up training and I'm going to Ichiraku's for dinner."
"N-n-naruto-kun, we were wondering if you would like to eat with Neji-niisan and me tonight? I'll be making dinner, but if it tastes terrible, I'll make up for it by buying you lunch tomorrow at Ichiraku's," Hinata asked. Naruto was stunned. She barely stuttered and wasn't turning red! Maybe Hinata wasn't sick today. "C-c-consider it to be my apology for hitting you on that mission to recover the chest."
"Aw, it's no big deal, Hinata. Sakura hits me all the time, no matter what the reason is."
Hinata stiffened, "That's not right. She's your teammate, she should only be hit you when you are sparring, no other time. If Shino and I hit Kiba every time he did something stupid, he wouldn't be able to help with missions most of the time. Let me guess, she never hit Sasuke."
"Yeah, you're right about her never hitting Sasuke," Naruto replied, a little dumbfounded by Hinata's outburst. Even Neji was looking a little stunned.
Maybe I overdid it with that pep talk, the Hyuuga genius thought and then shook his head. This is a step in the right direction. I just need Naruto to agree to have dinner with us. He needs to get to know Hinata better. I wish Tenten wasn't eating out with her parents tonight, we can't use her kitchen.
"Naruto, do you want to eat with us?" Neji rather pointedly asked.
"Sure, you are a good cook, Hinata. Will we be eating at your home?"
"Actually, we were wondering if we could eat at yours," Neji said, "We are having some problems with our clan right now and thought it would be best if we cleared out of there for a week. Do you mind?"
"No, but my apartment is a bit of a mess right now." Naruto was confused, but that was nothing new. He had talked with Hinata a bit outside of missions and felt she was a good friend, even if she was a little shy and weird. Neji, on the other hand, was still a bit of a stiff. Why are they asking me and not one of their teammates?
"Please, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, and held up a full grocery bag. "I already have everything I need, and if you think your apartment is bad, you have no idea what Neji-niisan's room looks like."
"Hinata-chan, I've been busy and haven't had time to clean it!"
"In the past month? Be grateful Otousan hasn't seen it, or worse, Hanabi-chan and Haruka-obaasan," Hinata replied with a giggle.
Neji growled and ground his teeth together. He had been meaning to clean his room, eventually. Most people would find it hard to believe that a perfectionist like Hyuuga Neji was a total slob.
Naruto began laughing at the look on Neji's face. Wow, is Hinata making fun of Neji? Is Neji being nice to Hinata? What is going on here? Am I having a weird dream because I fell asleep at the training grounds again? Wow, Hinata is pretty when she smiles. I wish she would smile more often.
"Maybe my apartment is worse than Neji's room, but it will be clean in a few minutes, thanks to Kage Bushins! Let's go!"
The three of them headed to Naruto's apartment, ignoring the occasional glares that people gave the hyperactive blonde. Neji glared back when he caught people and Hinata empathized with Naruto. At least these people were random strangers, not his family. Once they were at their destination,, Naruto stopped them at the door.
"Can you wait out here for a few minutes, please? I just need to straighten things up a bit." With that he went inside, but Neji and Hinata still caught a glimpse of the mess it was.
The two Hyuuga Genin could hear through the door, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu! Okay everyone, we need to get this place cleaned up right now!"
"Including the bathroom?"
"Yes, definitely the bathroom. Check the milk, it might be bad." A flurry of scuffles, bangs, and other random noises were heard, along with comments from various Naruto clones.
"Where is the bathroom cleaner?"
"Ugh, what died in the fridge? I am not cleaning that."
"Yes, you are!"
"I need another vacuum bag!"
"Hey, I wanted to dust."
"Too bad, I already am. Go clean the windows."
"Where are the towels?"
"Stop arguing, everyone. Neji and Hinata are outside waiting for us!"
"He's right, hurry up!"
"You're not our boss!"
"Yes, I am. I'm the original! Shut up and start working!"
Hinata began to giggle while Neji smirked. "I wonder what it will look like once they are all done."
"If it looks halfway decent, Niisan, maybe you should ask if he could teach you the Kage Bushin Jutsu. You'll need the help cleaning your room."
"Hmm, now I have another reason to make Jonin as soon as possible," Neji mused, "Only Jonin are allowed to learn the Kage Bushin Jutsu."
"What's the other reason?"
"My sanity," Neji deadpanned. Hinata burst out laughing right as Naruto opened the door.
"Come on in! What's so funny, Hinata?"
"Neji-niisan's reasons for making Jonin, to learn Kage Bushin to help clean his room, and to save his sanity."
"Oh, you don't like Gai-sensei?"
"He is an excellent sensei, but his training methods are insane. Trust me, you don't want to know," Neji defended himself. Naruto's laughter joined Hinata's in the small hallway. "What is so funny about that? Or did Hanabi put my hair in pigtails again when I wasn't watching? Oh, no." Why on earth did I mention that Hanabi has done that to practice her stealth? Why do they find that so amusing?
"Neji, what's funny is to realize you actually have a personality behind that emotionless Hyuuga exterior," Naruto replied once he was able to breath again. "Why would Hanabi put your hair in pig tails?"
"So he would match his teammate," Hinata replied. "She did it to him when he was meditating, and he didn't even notice it until Tenten pointed it out to him."
It's confirmed. I either really overdid that pep talk or this is someone using a Henge. I think I have created a monster. What has gotten into Hinata? Is she so tired and preoccupied with that headache she can't even be nervous around Naruto? That must be some headache. "Shall we go inside so we can eat? It is kind of hard to cook in a hallway."
"Neji the stiff has returned," Naruto mock-whispered to Hinata.
"He'll loosen up again, once he's no longer embarrassed," she replied, "Where's the kitchen so I can get to work, Naruto-kun?"
"This way." He glanced at the bag, "Vegetables?
"I know you don't like them, but please try them, for me?" she asked, "They will taste different, I promise."
Naruto was shocked. Is Hinata giving me the Sad Puppy Eyes Jutsu? "Sure, I promise I'll try them."
"Thank you, Naruto-kun." With that, Hinata got to work, cutting, slicing, and cooking.
Naruto walked over to Neji, "What has gotten into Hinata? She's acting very weird for her. She's not stuttering or turning red or anything like that!"
Neji shrugged, "I don't know, but my guess is that she is dealing with so many different things right now, she's too preoccupied to be nervous around you. She's also tired with an extremely bad headache. Maybe she is just too distracted to be shy around you."
"Shy around me? Why?"
Neji sighed and nodded, "Naruto, you don't have a clue that Hinata likes you, do you?"
"Of course she does, we're friends." Naruto's oblivious face showed that he had no clue what Neji was insinuating.
Smack! Neji's hand met his hitai-ite. "She likes you, Naruto. More than just a friend likes some one."
A light seemed to turn on in Naruto's head. "Is that why she's always turning red and fainting around me?"
Finally! The knucklehead had a brain, and it works outside of combat situations! Incredible! I never thought he would get it so soon. Of course, I did pretty much have to spell it out in black and white for him to get it. "Yes, that is why. Hinata is by nature very shy and timid, so she didn't say anything because she was scared that you would reject her or that she would hold you back."
Naruto's blue eyes showed that he understood what Neji was talking about. "No one believes in her, do they? Is that why she doesn't believe in herself?"
"Yes," Neji bluntly told him, "I'm pretty much the only person in our clan who doesn't put her down constantly, and I've only started being nicer to her, thanks to you. Hiashi-sama has also improved a bit as well. Kurenai-sensei, Shino, and Kiba do as well, but your support means the world to her. Do you remember how she reacted to your encouragement when she fought me during the Chunin exams?"
Naruto nodded in remembrance. "That's when she began to fight, instead of backing down, I remember. Shino told me during that mission to find the Bikochu beetle that there are two people Hinata wants to impress, her father and myself. That's why?"
"Partially. She sees a lot of similarities between the two of you. You both have felt alone, unwanted, and despised for who you are. She retreated into herself, becoming shy and timid. You refused to be beaten down, and never gave up. You forced people to notice you, and you didn't let them know when you were hurting. She wanted so badly to be able to do what you did, but she was too scared to do so. She also wanted to be your friend, but was afraid that she would drag you down and keep you from reaching your goals, because she believed that she was a failure. It's not that hard to understand, once you realize that she has been called a failure and a disappointment pretty much her whole life. It became even worse after her mother died."
"She was called that by her own family, the very ones who should have been supporting and helping her? They were the ones calling her useless?" Naruto asked. Neji nodded in confirmation. "I'd prefer having no family at all then one like the two of you have!"
Good, he is coming to her defense. It is because he understands how she feels. That means he may be willing to help her, Neji mused. Further conversation was stalled because right then Hinata called out, "Dinner is ready!"
Once they were all sitting down, Naruto took one bite and exclaimed, "This is amazing, Hinata! You are a great cook in addition to being a great ninja."
Hinata, predictably, blushed at the praise, "T-t-thank you, Naruto-kun."
Neji was studying his cousin when he noticed her arms were shaking, not from nerves, but as if from exhaustion. "Hinata, it is rather hot in here. Why don't you take off your coat?"
She looked panicked for a second, "Neji-niisan, remember?" she whispered.
"I know, but it will be okay," he reassured her.
"What's wrong, Hinata?" Naruto asked, concern coloring his tone.
"This," she replied, and pulled off her coat. The injuries looked even worse now. "This is the main reason Neji-niisan and I had to get out of the clan compound tonight."
Naruto was in shock as he realized the bruises weren't just on her hands and arms, but covered her whole body. No one can hurt anyone like this and just get away with it. If there is a way to Help Hinata-chan, I will! Wait, Hinata-chan?
Dinner passed quickly, with Naruto telling some stories of when he traveled with Jiraiya to bring Tsunade back to the village, hoping to make Hinata laugh. Once they were done eating, Neji volunteered to do the dishes. "Despite what my cousin says about the state of my room, I am competent at cleaning."
"Only if Tenten is nearby and armed," Hinata replied, her dark mood mostly gone for now. "Naruto-kun, I have something I want to show you. It's the reason we wanted you to have dinner with us tonight." Hinata reached back into her bag and pulled out her mother's photo album. "You have got to see this!"
A/N, take two: I know Hinata is a little OOC, but I also know from experince that when someone is in a lot of pain, they don't act like themselves. Like I said, the joys of fan fiction and messing with character's heads. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed it!