A/N: I wanted to thank my friend Shotgunhero for volunteering to be my beta on this story. She helped me not ramble quite so much in this chapter.

Chapter Four: Match Making

The Head Family tea party that morning had been torturous. Hinata felt sorry for both Naruto and Sakura witnessing the tension in their clan. Neji did not accept his new position as the family heir graciously. He challenged her father on too many occasions. Hinata had kept her mouth shut when Neji had stormed away from the gathering that morning. Thankfully, Sakura came up with an acceptable excuse to ease Hiashi's anger, blaming Neji's behavior on his brush with death. How could Hinata compete?

The only positive note about the meeting was that Naruto seemed okay with the idea of a courtship with her. Hinata didn't want a relationship with the brave and heroic man to be based on politics.

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Sakura asked.

Hinata had given the two Team Seven shinobi a tour of the Hyuga compound. They had just dropped off Naruto at his quarters and were now in route for Sakura's.

"I am simply overwhelmed," Hinata confessed.

"I know what you mean." Sakura blew a puff of air out of her mouth and disturbed the hair that had fallen into her face. "This place is huge! You have more real estate than the other three noble clans combined."

Hinata wasn't thinking about her family's ancestral home. She was thinking about the fact that war had only just ended, and now her father was trying to marry her off. Even if he had chosen someone as wonderful as Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata worried about involving the man she loved into the oppressive politics of the Hyugas.

I wasn't talking about the size of the estate," Hinata said quietly. She slid open the door to the room across from hers. "This will be your room." While her father might have been trying to force a marriage union between his heirs and Naruto and Sakura, he was not one to overlook any form of impropriety.

They stepped inside the small bedroom. It was fully furnished with a bed, a wardrobe cabinet, a wooden night stand with a basin of water on it, a shoji screen, and a desk in the corner with a few books about herbs scattered across it.

"Those are some of my books. You probably already know all about the herbs in this region, but we have our own garden," Hinata explained. She started to fidget with her hands as Sakura went closer to the desk and inspected the books. Hinata forcibly stuck her hands behind her back to keep from her nervous habits. "Hajime placed your belongings in the cabinet in the far corner."

Sakura had picked up one of the books and riffled through the pages with a small smile creeping across her face. "This is great, Hinata," she said setting the book back down. She brushed her fingers across the shoji screen that was painted with elegant sakura blossoms . "Nice touch," she said with a soft chuckle referencing her namesake. She moved to sit on her bed and patted the spot next to her.

"Now, I know good and well that you aren't stressed about the size of your home," Sakura said when Hinata sat beside her. "I may not be from a long line of ninjas like you, but I do have a family. I can understand some of the stress they can place upon the shoulders of their children. I'm an only child and a girl at that. I worry constantly about disappointing my parents."

Hinata stared at Sakura and looked past the exterior of a brazen, confident, strong kunoichi. She remembered the very shy and soft-spoken Sakura of their youth. The one that Ino had taken under her wing. Sometime between eight and twelve years old the sweet Sakura had been replaced by another selfish fangirl of Sasuke Uchiha. Even with her fawning over Konoha's favorite prodigy Sakura remained a smart girl. She always received top marks in their class. Hinata was jealous that the girl, that never stood up for Naruto, but had been the focus of those bright blue eyes. Naruto had stared at Sakura in admiration and devotion while Hinata hid in the shadows admiring him secretly.

"I am sure they are very proud, Sakura," Hinata said. She often wondered if her parents were proud of her. Her father seemed pleased with her participation in the latest battle. He was proud of her improvement in skill thanks to Neji's tutelage. Her mother didn't voice her opinions much. She had no idea what was going on inside of her mother's mind.

Sakura shook her head and laughed softly. "I wasn't fishing for complements, Hinata," she said. "I only meant that while I grew up as a no one as far as the ninja society is concerned that through hard work and stubbornness I've been able to make a name for myself. You had unrealistic expectations placed upon you from birth. And yet, here we are. You've made quite the name for yourself too, Hinata. The people of Konoha are talking about you in the streets. They admire you. Little girls play dress up and pretend to be the Princess of the Hyuga clan!"

"I'm not a princess," Hinata argued. She ran her fingers through her long hair, brushing the strands away from her neck as they had begun to tickle and irritate her exposed skin. "I am glad that you're here."

"No you're not, and that's okay," Sakura said with a grin. "I promise, there is nothing going on between Naruto and myself."

Hinata opened her mouth to argue. She wasn't concerned about such a thing, but Sakura held up a hand and interrupted her before she could say anything in protest.

"Hear me out. I know what it is you see in Naruto — I see it myself. It's what you've seen all along. I only was able to see it when I took off my Sasuke fangirl blinders. Naruto is a good friend, he has a caring heart, and he sees the good in people. Not only does he have faith that anyone can be redeemed, but he has the strength that others can respect and more often than not he's able to win over the cruelest of hearts." Sakura took a deep breath and then took hold of Hinata's hands. She leaned towards her with an earnest look in her jade eyes. "I love Naruto too, but you love him more than I am capable. I am a selfish person and I would only dampen his spirit. You could strengthen him and he could strengthen you. I've seen the way you've grown as a kunoichi in both confidence and skill over the years so that you can stand by his side. I want to help make sure that happens. I will always support Naruto. I will see that his dreams become reality. However, if my presence somehow prevents him from seeing you I will leave in a heartbeat."

So, Hinata had been right. Sakura and Naruto did love one another. "If you love one another you should be together," she said slipping her hands away from Sakura's. If Sakura left, Naruto would chase after her. He spent years chasing after Sasuke and Sakura was much more important to him.

"No, because I love him, I'm letting him go to the better woman," Sakura said with a sad smile. "You are that woman. Your father may have ulterior motives, but he is right that Naruto would be good for this clan. And this family would be good for Naruto. He likes you," Sakura said. "He likes you a lot, Hinata. Now that he's here his blinders will be removed and he will no longer see me, but he'll finally see you. He already has started."

Hinata bit the inside of her lip as she processed Sakura's words. "Is it because you still love Sasuke?" She suspected that her father wanted Sakura there to keep her away from the last of the Uchihas.

"Sasuke terrifies me," Sakura confessed. "I don't know how I feel about him. I'm here to help you and Naruto see one another." She snorted in amusement. "I don't have to worry about my parents forcing me into marriage on my next birthday. Who cares about the daughter of the Harunos? My mother is a civilian and my father a lowly genin. They are wonderful people but they do not care about the politics of the shinobi world. Sometimes its to our advantage when people don't notice us. It gives us more freedom."

That freedom from anonymity was exactly what Neji no longer had. "Maybe you can help Neji," Hinata said.

"I think having Gai sensei for his leader and Lee and Tenten for his teammates helped Neji more than I ever could," Sakura said. "I don't understand why your father won't let him train with them any longer."

"Neji is only allowed on missions with individuals of like or superior rankings. You were his teammate before too, Sakura," Hinata pointed out. She could remember when they were training for the Chunin Promotion Exam. Neji would come home and complain about his new team member for the test. He didn't understand why that hot-tempered, destructive kunoichi had to be on his team. Why couldn't she have been on Shikamaru's old team?

Sakura snorted a laugh. "He couldn't stand me! I kept dropping trees on him and breaking the earth under his feet." She shook her head and a smile spread across her lips. "I was trained for close combat by Master Tsunade. It's hard to use my precise chakra control when I have to worry about the Hyuga prodigy shutting off my chakra network!"

Hinata smiled at the visual of Sakura keeping Neji at bay with a large tree as a barrier.

"Let me ask you something else, Sakura. When we were children why did you like Sasuke and not Naruto?" Hinata asked. She wanted to know. What was it that she saw in Sasuke that she didn't see in Naruto at the time?

Sakura rubbed her jaw with a thoughtful expression on her face. "Well, Naruto was always in trouble for his pranks. He hurt people by his actions and I didn't like that. As a previous victim of bullying I didn't like seeing people hurt. And he was always talking big, but he didn't practice he just bragged. And he didn't seem to understand the simplest of things. I thought he was stupid," Sakura admitted sheepishly. "To be honest, he's not the smartest guy, but he has a good heart. I think if he had more guidance from a loving family that he might have had someone help with his studies and practicing the ninja arts. I liked Sasuke before I realized it was the popular thing. He was smart and he was good at all the skills they taught us in class. He was handsome, but so was Naruto, so that wasn't really a factor. Though I do prefer men with dark hair. I was envious of Sasuke's strength and his accuracy with weapons. Also, I felt sorry for him. His family had been killed and he was so quiet and sad. I wanted to make him feel better." Sakura shrugged. "If I had known that Naruto was so hated because of the jinchuriki I would have treated him better. I would have felt sorry for him and wouldn't have been so hard. I would have realized that his bad behavior was his only way to gain attention."

Hinata's feelings of anger towards Sakura's treatment of Naruto in their youth dissolved at the other girl's explanation. However, hearing the reasons about why she initially had feelings for Sasuke sounded oddly similar to the same traits that Neji had. What would it have been like had Sakura been in Neji's class at the academy? Would the girl have developed a crush on Hinata's cousin?

"Why don't you come with me while I fulfill the excuse of a mission your father charged me with? We can evaluate the medic skills of your clansmen together. Maybe we can teach them increased knowledge of herbs as well," Sakura said. "I've been able to help Ino improve and you're able to see chakra. You could be a better surgeon than me with just a little more training."

"I would like that," HInata agreed. She didn't quiet believe Sakura's praise, but she appreciated the other girl's attempt to boost her confidence. No one else had the level of chakra control as Sakura. The pale lavender diamond marking the Strength of a Hundred Seal on Sakura's forehead was proof of that. Even the Hokage hadn't achieved the skill until she was older.

"Let's stop by Naruto's quarters first. He needs to ask your father for permission to take you out of the compound tonight for a date at the ramen shop— a double date to celebrate my promotion," Sakura schemed with a playful wink.

Hinata found herself nodding her head in agreement. This is what she envied about Sakura. She was able to plan and execute said plans. "Maybe he and Neji can spar together while we teach the medics. It can be suffocating here in this household. They'll both need to blow off steam."

"Why just them? Aren't we capable kunoichi?" Sakura said with a scheming grin spread across her lips. "I say we take them on girls against boys and then we can mix up the teams."

Hinata laughed nervously as she envisioned the destruction of the Hyuga compound after such a sparring session. "We'll need to use one of the practice fields. We don't have too many spare trees for you to uproot."

Sakura huffed and rolled her eyes. "I have refined my fighting style." She rose to her feet and offered Hinata her hand. "I took out a third of the zetsu army with my fists. I don't need to destroy the environment any more. I'm seventeen and a jounin. I'm not the destructive chunin of yester-years."

Hinata took the pink-haired kunoichi's hand and stood beside her. They were almost the same height and had similar athletic builds. Their differences outweighed their similarities, but she could sense a kindred spirit in Sakura. Sakura was seventeen, nine months older than Hinata and of age for marriage proposals.

She might not have realized that her being at the Hyuga estate was a carefully calculated move on Hiashi's part. They didn't have to be rivals for Naruto's love. Sakura was stepping away from the fight and holding the golden key to Naruto's heart out for Hinata to take. However, Hinata wasn't going to take Naruto. She was going to earn him. He would see her for the prize she was and not as a back up to accept after Sakura's rejection. Maybe Sakura and Neji might discover something in the works between them. Because, while Sakura seemed to feel she was unworthy of Naruto it didn't mean she that was unworthy of love. She did certainly deserve more than Sasuke Uchiha. Neji deserved something more than an arranged marriage. As clan heir most of his life would be decided by the current Head, but at least he might be able to pick who that life might be spent alongside.

"It sounds like we have a busy schedule," Hinata said. She promised herself that while Sakura was trying to encourage a relationship between her and Naruto, she would try to see if there might be some potential between the Hokage's apprentice and her emotionally battered cousin.

OoO

Hinata's tour of the Hyuga compound have been informative. People didn't credit Naruto with much intelligence, but he had two minds to pay attention to detail. While Naruto noticed the way the Hyuga children stopped their games to stare at him, Kurama noted the parents watching from the windows of their homes or from labors in the fields. Ninja were known for their excellent hearing, but Naruto's senses were superior to most shinobi thanks to his fox bijuu inhabitant.

After Hinata and Sakura dropped him off at his rooms he ventured out about the compound on his own. It wasn't long before he found Hiashi's private dojo. The clan leader was engaged in a kendo match with his youngest daughter. Another pair of Hyuga guards, akin to the ones outside of the gate that morning, stood at the entrance to the dojo.

Naruto cleared his throat and thought back to how his father spoke to people — memories he'd acquired when Kurama's seal was broken, when he'd traveled to the alternate dimension with Sakura, and later when Sasuke showed up in the final battle with the former Hokages in tow. Minato Namikaze spoke in smooth and soothing tones. He could calm the most wild of enemies — or calm his short-tempered wife.

The guards directed their attention to him. "Yes sir, can we help you?" the guard on the right asked.

"I would like to request an audience with Lord Hiashi," Naruto said in his most diplomatic and polite tone. "I can wait until he is available."

"No need to wait, Naruto," Hiashi said, coming toward the door with his byukugan activated. The thin white veins were pronounced around his pale lavender eyes. He had probably known of Naruto's presence for some time. Even if Naruto had bothered to mask his chakra, the byukugan would have seen past a genjutsu.

"Sir," Naruto said bowing stiffly at his waist. "I request your permission to take Hinata on a date tonight."

"A date?" Hiashi echoed with a raised dark eyebrow. The exposed veins around his eyes vanished as his vision returned to normal.

"Yes, a date. A double date in fact," Naruto explained. "I want to take her to the Ichiraku Ramen Shop to celebrate Sakura's promotion. I request that Sakura and Neji join us."

"We could have the food delivered here," Hiashi pointed out. "It would be safer."

Naruto's hands fisted at his side. "Sir, do you not think I am capable of keeping Hinata safe?"

Hiashi's pale eyes narrowed. "Hinata is capable of keeping herself safe."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at the clan leader's praise. "Well of course she is," Naruto said collecting himself. "Do I have your permission? It's a tradition of Team Seven to celebrate important milestones at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. If you are interested in my courtship of Hinata then I request that she be allowed to take part in this important tradition."

"I see," Hiashi said. His eyes flickered between the two guards standing on either side of them. He looked over his shoulder to where Hanabi continued the repetitious strikes of her wooden sword. "Okay, Naruto," he agreed looking back at him. "You may have this double date. However, there are rules and you must return by ten o'clock. Also, I do not want that Uchiha teammate of yours present around my heirs. Do you agree?"

He wasn't happy about the exclusion of Sasuke, but he could agree to it. He and Sakura could celebrate with the rest of Team Seven later. "Yes, I can agree to that."

OoO

Neji had spent an hour that morning running around the perimeter of the compound. How dare Sakura have such a casual attitude! He'd been a self-sacrificing hero and she took that away from him. He had freedom, he understood what his father had meant. Now he was back in the land of the living and with new responsibilities that he didn't want.

He paused, hands on his knees catching his breath when he realized that he was behind Naruto's assigned room. The blond shinobi was leaning against a nearby tree with his arms folded across his chest impatiently.

"At least Lee will be happy to know you're still taking your morning run seriously," Naruto said. He pushed away from the tree and stood in front of Neji. He wasn't quite as tall as the heir, but he made up in muscle for what he lacked in height. And ever since he had mastered sage mode, Naruto had an aura of strength about him.

"It was my intention to meet my teammates after our meeting this morning," Neji answered. He didn't need Naruto standing before him and lecturing him about the importance of friendship. "It's not my choice to avoid them."

"No, it's not," Naruto said frowning. "Look, I don't claim to know what exactly goes on in a clan like this, but if you want to change it you have a chance now. One day you'll be the leader."

"I didn't ask for this chance," Neji said. "You are the one that will lead Konoha to a bright future."

"Look," Naruto said reaching out and grasping Neji's shoulder. "Your sacrifice was the rallying point for the battle. We were victorious. There were so many losses. We couldn't save everyone, but Sakura knew how to save you."

"I didn't ask her to save me." Neji shrugged his shoulder out of Naruto's hand. "A shinobi should die valiantly in battle. I had that."

"Well maybe we didn't have the strength to let you go," Naruto growled. "Don't blame Sakura. We all contributed. You didn't see your teammates. Lee would never have recovered. I never would have recovered! Hinata never would have recovered!"

Neji sighed. "What's done is done. Why were you waiting out here?"

"Lee promised to help Sasuke with his taijutsu and in exchange we promised to practice with you," Naruto explained. "Tonight, we're going into town."

"Impossible. Hiashi has forbidden our leaving the compound for an indefinite amount of time," Neji argued. He began to walk and Naruto followed alongside him. He wasn't about to turn down a chance to spar with Naruto. It would be a nice challenge. "There's a small bamboo forest nearby that Hinata and I like to use for sparring."

"We're going on a double date to celebrate Sakura's promotion," Naruto explained. "Hiashi already agreed when I asked him. We just have a ten o'clock curfew."

"We're not having ramen," Neji stated. He wouldn't mind any excuse to leave the oppressive environment of the Hyuga household but he wasn't going to eat ramen.

"It's Sakura's choice and we have a tradition of eating at Ichiraku Ramen Shop," Naruto argued.

Neji ground his molars together in annoyance. Of course his uncle agreed to Naruto's request. He wanted him for a son-in-law and he'd see this as a small victory. "So I am to assume this double date involves us, Hinata, and Sakura?"

"Exactly," Naruto said with a cheeky grin. "It wouldn't be a double date if we invited all our Rookie friends."

"We're not exactly rookies anymore," Neji said. He was relieved that Sasuke wouldn't be joining them. It would have been nice to see his teammates, but any excuse to leave the compound would be appreciated.

"Let's see if you can keep up," Naruto said with a smirk. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Neji's eye twitched in annoyance as the field was suddenly swarmed by dozens of Naruto's shadow clones. Even if he were to engage his Byakugan he wouldn't be able to differentiate between the clones and the original. It was time to use his gentle fist to start eliminating the clones. If he could find the real Naruto and shut down his chakra network the fight would be over in a snap.

"I can see you're confident," Naruto chided. "Why don't you stop standing there thinking and come at me already!"

"Not a problem," Neji promised. "Eight Trigram Vacuum Palm!" He sent a wave of attacks towards the multiples of Naruto that were outside of his physical reach and watched with a satisfaction as they all popped out of existence with one well placed tenketsu attack to the vital area of their heart. "Eight down, two dozen more to go," Neji said with an arrogant smirk.

Naruto laughed, the sound echoed amongst his many shadow clones. "Let's see how you do against sage mode!"

Neji planted his feet firmly and stood in ready stance for whatever assault Naruto might bring his way. He'd deflect with his Eight Trigrams Palms Revolution. "Maybe you should stop boasting and come at me, yourself!"