Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine, as I've said many times. You know the routine.

Again, thanks for keeping with me. To those of you who enjoy the story, thank you very much and I hope I can continue to please.

I would love and appreciate comments and reviews, good or bad, so if I may ask politely for them, I will :-P

Enjoy chapter 10! (Ten… ten already?! Wow..)

The Unfulfilled

The sun had merely set twenty minutes ago, and Hinata had already grown impatient. The doctor, when she had gotten there, said "evening," and though it had been "evening" less than half an hour, Hinata began to pace about, wondering when her love would awaken from his drug-induced sleep.

Sakura had kept her composure and kept herself quietly sitting in the seat by the window, facing the bed. To her immediate left was the windowsill and the view from the third floor out to the east. Hinata's chair was pulled up to Naruto's bedside, where for the first few minutes of her visit, she stayed calm, holding his hand gently, running her fingers through his. Now, she spent her moments circling the floor, glancing at his lifeless body every few seconds, examining for movement. His breathing was normal, and comforting to watch for her, but not enough.

"Give it a rest, girl." Hinata turned to her friend who sat, seemingly bored, resting her head on her hand, elbow propped up neatly on the sill. "He'll wake up. Just because the doctor said in the evening didn't mean exactly when the sun completely set."

"I know, Sakura, I know." Hinata sighed softly. "I'm just.."

"You're anxious, I know." She lifted her head with a smile. "But when his eyes open up, whenever it may be, it will all be worth it." Hinata smiled back.

"You're right. I guess I should just give it a rest." She walked over to her chair and sat back down, placing his hand softly in hers. She turned to face Sakura. "I just pray nothing's wrong with him, like, with his memory or anything."

"I doubt that's the case," Sakura said, much to her friend's relief. "That only usually coincides with direct damage to the head and brain. Naruto only suffered from static aftershock, which though it's still dangerous, only affects his muscles and his nerves." Hinata gasped, but Sakura laughed and waved off her worry. "Relax, girlie. Naruto has a keen ability to heal faster than most people. I'm sure with that last infusion, he's just sleeping it off."

Hinata didn't take her words lightly. She was still very worried about her dream boy and she openly expressed it.

"I.. " she tapped her fingers lightly on the bed mattress. Sakura looked over at her, head tilting slightly.

"You what, honey?"

"I'm.. I'm going to tell him. Tonight." Sakura's smile widened.

"Aww, that's fantastic!" She put her arms up to her chest and squealed, hugging herself. "This is so exciting!" Hinata blushed. Sakura was really into romantic things and she was having a blast with Hinata's adventure. "After he wakes up, just give me a nod or something and I'll leave the room for you, okay? I'll keep guard outside so that nobody comes in."

Hinata nodded, smiling behind her hands veiling her cheeks. "Thank you, Sakura-san. I'm just nervous on how exactly to say it."

"You don't need to be fancy. Just tell him you have something you want to say, and then when he's looking into your eyes, whisper it to him. Be gentle, but be confident. You have nothing to hide, remember that!" Hinata nodded slowly. That wasn't enough. "Say it!"

"I.. I have nothing to hide…" She mumbled and spoke slowly.

"Louder, girl! Say it to your man!"

She swallowed hard and glanced over at Naruto. Her eyes were focused on him and her face grew serious, her voice strong. "I.. I have nothing to hide!" She looked back over to Sakura, who grinned widely at her.

"There you go. You'll do fine, trust me." Sakura got up and walked over to the door to the room and leaned against it, waiting patiently for Naruto to awaken. She leaned completely back and crossed her legs at her knees, her eyes wandering aimlessly about the room. "It's been a long day," she said to herself out loud. "It sucks when you can't exactly do anything."

"When will you be able to train and work out again?" Hinata asked.

"I still have another week or so before I can get back into my routine. Until then, it's light house chores and walking around for me. The more I walk and move around, the healthier my body will stay, which is important for the new tissue." She lifted up her shirt and showed Hinata the patch of scarred skin on her stomach in the shape of a circle. Sakura was certainly a light skinned girl, and early in the summer she would sunburn a lot, but over time, she would develop a nice, light tan, and with the near-white reconstructed skin on her stomach, it was easy to tell where the damage was done.

"That area will become normal soon, right?" Hinata was concerned for her sister.

"Yeah, no worries." She tucked her pink blouse into her pants. "It's all part of the development. Once the new cells have fully adapted to their function, which would be as skin cells, they'll begin to function like normal skin cells, and will burn and tan as the rest of me does."

"Well," Hinata replied. "That's good to know." Then, she felt something move in her hands. She gasped and jumped away a bit, almost as if it were a bug, but she didn't let go. "Sakura, look!" She motioned to the hand underneath hers, its fingers opening and closing very carefully, followed by the grunting and groaning of a young teenager waking from a very long sleep.

Sakura's eyes brightened and her face filled with excitement. "He's waking up!" She jumped in place, the glow in Hinata's eyes returned as she couldn't contain her smile as she kept her eyes on his, waiting patiently for them to open.

"Naruto!" She called out to him, grinning. "Naruto-kun!" She placed both hands around his, squeezing gently. His eyes twitched and tensed as he floated gently back into consciousness. Finally, his eyes opened, cautiously. In slumber for so long, and waking up only once during the middle of the night, the light was a little too much for him. He lifted his arms slowly to shield his face.

"Ah, damn light. It's so bright in here," he complained, rubbing his eyes with his right hand, not even stopping to realize that his left arm was being held down. He blinked a couple of times and looked over to his left and saw the source of the problem, and he saw her, by his bedside, holding his hand. Exactly what he had dreamt of.. exactly where he wanted her to be..

"Hinata.." the goofy smile crept over his face as it only made her smile grow even bigger. A tear escaped her eye, though she didn't care to hide it. This was the moment she had waited for.

"Naruto-kun!!" She threw herself over his body, wrapping her arms around her neck, and buried her head into his far shoulder, crying. He wasn't sure how to respond at first, but he smiled and draped his arm over her, embracing her tightly.

"It's okay, Hinata." He tried to laugh it off. "I'm okay, really. No need to get all worked up," he turned to his left and saw his teammate standing in the doorway. She smiled, winked, and gave a short wave to him.

"Welcome back," she joked. Naruto smiled at her and gave her thumbs up with his free hand. He felt Hinata nuzzle his chest, drying her tears. She was done sobbing and now just resting her head where she had wanted to for days.

"Glad to see you're alright, too. How's Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto questioned.

"I was actually waiting for you to wake up. I'm going to go down the hall and check up on him."

"Check up?"

Sakura lowered her head, "It was pretty serious, and he had to go through a rough surgery. Try not to worry too much about it, we'll talk about it later."

She turned to leave the room and as she opened the door, she looked back at Naruto and winked. "I'll leave you two alone for now." Naruto smirked at his friend and gave a slight wave with his free hand. She did likewise and disappeared down the hallway. He waited for the door to click before he made any movement. When the hinged clicked into place, his eyes glanced over to Hinata. She was absolutely beautiful He, even in sleep, had missed her so much, and here she was, in his arms, at his bedside, and now, with nothing but just the two of them.

It was now or never.

As she rested her head, Naruto leaned as forward as he comfortably could and planted a kiss on the top of her head. She picked her head up and gazed into his eyes, smiling warmly.

"I.. I missed you so much, Naruto-kun." She traced her finger up and down his chest, much to his surprise. It sent shivers up and down his spine, which, hey, he couldn't complain. Anything was better than electricity at this point. They continued to just smile at each other as Naruto picked up his hand and placed it to her chin, his thumb caressing her cheek ever so gently. She let her eyes close and in a moment of sheer affection, she nuzzled her cheek against his hand, up and down, like a kitten.

'She's so.. adorable,' he thought to himself. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He loved her. He knew he loved her. All that was left was to confess, and now was the ideal time. They were alone, and at an emotional high. He knew all he had to say was 'I love you,' but there was so much else he could say as well, and he hesitated a minute to try and plan just what would come out of his mouth.

But that's when he decided that all of that didn't matter; that it was just stupid. He only needed to say one thing, and it was time.

"Hinata," he whispered. She stopped her cute act of affection and gazed up at him, her eyes huge and bright, full of love and at the same time, curiosity. What did he have to say?

"Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

He blushed and, for a second, looked away. "Well, it's just that.." Hinata reached over and tilted his cheek so he faced her again. "Sorry about that." He blinked and took a deep breath, focusing on her again. "What I'm trying to say is that.."

"What is it?" She leaned in towards his face ever so slightly, her eyes unwavering from him.

"You.." he took one last deep breath, gathered his courage, and pressed onward. "You mean so much to me, Hinata. You've been by my side since the day I got home, and I'm always thinking about you.." He blushed. "Maybe too much.." He tried to laugh it off, and she giggled at his childish smirk, but he continued his confession, taking her other hand in his other.

"What I'm trying to say is that.. I have… I have feelings for you Hinata," and at that moment, it felt as if time had frozen. Her heart jumped, she felt the adrenaline race in her body, the rush so thrilling she nearly screamed out in excitement. She kept her cool and gripped his hand tighter, her gaze deepening.

"You do?"

"Yeah," he admitted. "In fact, call me crazy but.." He looked away for a second, not able to hide his grin. Finally, he was able to look back up at her and say the words she had waited an eternity for.

"I love you.. Hinata."

She couldn't hide behind her smile. Nor did she attempt to. She felt the blood rise to her cheeks, and she couldn't be any more glad to have that happen. He loved her! This had to be a dream! There was no way things could be this perfect.

With nowhere to hide, and their hands locked in each others, Hyuuga Hinata did the only sensible thing she felt she could.

And with a single tear, her gentle voice spoke volumes.

"I love you, too, Naruto-kun.."

Naruto didn't overreact. He didn't gasp, jaw-drop, or even scream out in happiness as he had been known for doing. He looked into her eyes, and lightly brushed her cheek, smiling as wide as he could. She began to giggle a little uncontrollably as the anxiety of the moment had finally caught up with her. Naruto laughed and pat her on the head gently before running his hand through her soft, flowing hair. She gasped and tensed her body lightly, and she closed her eyes and purred almost instinctively. Naruto ran his hand all the way down to the back of her neck and she shivered to herself, letting a small, unnoticed moan escape her lips. For her, this was too good to be true.

"I've… " she started. "I've been in love with you.. as.. as long as I can remember, Naruto-kun." She leaned back and sat up in her chair, scooting it over closer to him. Once settled in again she rested her elbows on the side of the bed and took his hand. "You mean so much to me, Naruto, I don't know what I'd do without you."

He was absolutely touched. "Hinata, I.."

"No, wait," she interrupted. "I need to tell you this." He stopped, his mouth slightly open, amazed by her aggression. "I told myself. before you woke up.. that I had nothing to hide.. and I'm sticking to it." She caressed his fingers. "Every day, while you were gone, I thought about you.. I wondered how strong you'd become, and I trained, myself, every chance I could. So that I could be stronger, so that I wouldn't be left in the dark by you." Her voice began to quiver, it was obvious her emotions were taking over.

"You make me so.. so warm, so comfortable." She lifted his hand and kissed it. "You make me feel so complete, Naruto, so happy. I feel that I have nothing to lose when I'm with you." A tear trickled down her cheek. "I just want you to know how much I really love you, Naruto. I love you more than anything I could possibly think of, and I want nothing more.." She stopped, took a deep breath to try and control the tears, and she rested her head on his chest again, not looking away.

".. to be yours."

Naruto was stunned. He turned as red as Hinata usually became. For a few seconds, his voice stumbled and stuttered as nothing coherent escaped. She held her free hand up to her face, hiding a half-devilish grin. She had him just where she wanted, and he loved it! He wanted her, and he now knew that they could have something more than just an attraction in the dark.

"Hi.. Hinata…" He managed.

She leaned in closer, "Yes, Naruto?"

He put her hand to her chin and smiled.

"Be mine."

She grinned, not able to suppress her cute, childish smile. She squeezed his hand tightly, the last of her tears rolling down her cheek as she was now taken over by sheer happiness.

"Yes… yes, Naruto! I'm yours!" She flung herself over him, wrapping her arms tightly around him, hugging him for all it was worth. Naruto wrapped his arms around her and ran his hand up and down her back gently. She inhaled deeply, her body relaxing in his arms. She looked up at him with bright, glowing eyes. He continued to run his fingers down her cheek.

"So, what happens now..?" She asked curiously. Naruto laughed softly and lightly used his finger to pull her chin slightly towards him.

"How about where we left off last time?" He smirked, and Hinata gasped lightly. She knew what was soon to be and the excitement rushed through her body She put her hand around the back of his neck and pulled him up inch by inch to meet her.

"I love you, Hinata.." his warmth was now seemingly radiating towards her, and she was ready. They were both ready.

"I love you too, Naruto-kun.." She took a deep, deep breath and closed her eyes, parting her lips. Naruto closed his eyes as well and inched closer and closer to her, leading her lips towards his at the same time. Once he had felt Hinata's nose brush against his, he parted his lips and moved in for what would be the biggest rush of his life, when a loud bang from behind them startled the two lovebirds, as their heads now shot in the direction of the hospital room door. The door flew open and standing there was Sakura, in tears, out of breath.

"Hinata!!" she screamed, her voice carried through the entire hospital floor. Hinata took Naruto's hand from her cheek as she leaned up to look at Sakura. Sakura's breaths were erratic and heavy as she tried to calm herself in front of her two best friends. She couldn't as the tears fiercely streamed down her face.

"It's Neji!!"

The life from Hinata's eyes disappeared in a flash. She took a heavy, hard swallow, and her mouth gaped right open again. She stared at her friend in disbelief. After a moment of silence, she shot up, staring at her friend, who had to turn away. She couldn't look Hinata in the face. Not now.

"What happened, Sakura?" Naruto said, sitting up in bed, throwing the rest of the covers off of him.

Through a river of tears, the young medical chuunin choked out, very slowly, "106A. He's…" she lowered her head, hiding her eyes behind a veil of pink hair. "He's in there.."

Hinata and Naruto looked at each other, exchanged very concerned glances and Hinata raced out of the room, and Naruto shot out of bed to follow her. Hinata ran past Sakura and out the door, down the hallway towards the staircase. Naruto was hot on her heels, but he paused for a moment when he passed Sakura. He stopped and turned to her, putting both his hands upon her shoulders. He knew she was hiding.

"I don't know what happened.. but sit down, please." She nodded slowly.

"Neji.." was all she could say. Naruto nodded in response, though Sakura didn't even notice, and he took off, trying to catch up to Hinata. His body was very weary and not used to standing, let alone running, and he tumbled down the hallway, nearly falling a number of times.

Sakura could only watch as the new couple raced down to the emergency center. She rubbed her eyes slowly, as the tears continued to roll on. "Hinata," she whispered as her friends disappeared down the staircase.

"I'm so sorry.."

It was Hinata who first reached the door to the emergency room. The windows were very narrow and she could only make out the backs of some people in the room. She was able to pick out Gai-sensei from behind, standing next to the doctor on one side of the table. On the other side of the table, Tenten clung herself tightly to Lee, her eyes closed tightly, her focus away from the table. She couldn't see Lee's expression but she assumed it was no better. She skimmed her eyes around the room one last time before entering and she caught a bit of her father, just inside the door to the right, his face solemn, his head down, and his spirit seemingly gone.

Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder as she got startled by his touch and sharply turned to face him.

"I'm right behind you," he nodded, motioning for her to go in. She nodded in return and faced the door once again. She pushed forward lightly and the door swung open, as everybody in the room turned to face her, silent. Everyone was looking at Hinata except her father, who kept his head down, and Tenten, who upon opening her eyes and looking at her, burst into tears once more and shut her eyes, burying her face into Lee's arms. The doctor stood in front of the table, blocking her view of what was behind him. The doctor looked at her with a forlorn, grave stare, his deep brown eyes almost lifeless as he stepped forward

"Hinata," he said, very gently. He cleared his throat and looked around the room in slight desperation, but no one was going to offer him any help in the situation. He began to continue speaking when Hinata cut him off.

"Where's Neji?" Her eyes were full of concern. The doctor had to look away from her for a second, his head dropped low towards the ground. Hinata gazed over at other people in the room, but no one would return the glance, keeping their eyes from hers.

"Hinata," he cleared his throat once more than took a very slight sidestep to the right, revealing part of the fallen's body. Hinata peered behind him and gasped, her hands flying up in front of her face. Naruto looked away from the body. He knew who it was, and he knew what was going on.

Hinata tiptoed forward very slowly, her eyes fixed on the table and the young man spread across it. She could barely breathe as she neared the table. She looked over at the doctor. He placed a hand on her shoulder very carefully.

"I'm so sorry, Hinata." Her lips began to quiver as her breathing grew heavier and heavier as she battled to fight back tears. She looked back at Naruto, and he nodded and stepped forward. Everyone's eyes followed him until he reached Hinata's side, putting his hand to her other shoulder, looking down at the table in front of him. Her eyes were glued on the table as well as she felt the tears swell up in her eyes.

"Neji.." was all that managed to escape her lips. She took another step forward, her eyes filled with despair and suffering as she gazed upon the face of her beloved cousin, lifeless on the bed in front of her. His shirt was removed, exposing his injuries. It had appeared that the medical staff had done work on the body, but Hinata knew the end result had not changed. Everything around her seemed to fade into darkness as she knelt table-side, taking Neji's cold hand in hers.

"He was killed in battle. Another victim of Minaya Kaelu, it appears," the doctor explained. "He was blinded during the battle and then finished with a kunai wound to the heart." Hinata looked at her cousin's chest. He had been cleaned up fairly well, but the burns on his face and the wound over his heart told the story.

"Hmph," a voice scoffed from the other corner of the room. It was Tsunade, her arms crossed in front of her, her expression one of both grief and anger.

"We had tried," Hinata looked back over to the doctor, who continued in his explanation. "We had tried to save him, to resurrect his system, but we were far too late. An emergency tag had been set off in the forest a couple of hours ago, where he had been found, but.."

"We're assuming he was already dead at that point," Tsunade finished, her head lowered. "There was nothing we could do."

"Please be careful, Hinata.." she heard him echo..

She tried to smile for him, but it quickly faded. "Ever since.. ever since Naruto left town two years ago, you've been behind me in everything I've ever done.. Before that, I thought you would always hate me.."

Naruto stood quietly behind his love, and was ready to step in whenever she needed him. For the time being, though, he looked around as all eyes were on Hinata, as her words fluttered about the room, touching the hearts of everybody. Her eyes scanned his body, looking to see what happened.

"I was always afraid you'd continue to see me as a failure.. as a disgrace.." She sniffled and coughed back tears with every break in her words. "But you've always been there for me, Neji.. you've come through more than anybody else. You were my protector, my guardian.. my.. my hope."

"I'm here if you need me, Hinata. I'll always be.."

"You proved to me that people can change, Neji," She stopped briefly to wipe the tears from her cheeks as she ran her thumb across his fingers. "And as much as I've been hurt, lately, you've been there to push me through it. The get me through all of my failures, my letdowns, my.. my.." she traced her arm with her other hand, outlining the dreadful scar she committed to herself.

".. my fears and nightmares.."

Naruto began to cry softly behind her. He had no idea how Neji had changed, and to hear these words coming from Hinata was too much for him to bear. He looked over at his old rival and comrade and kneeled down on one leg, bowing his head.

"We're a family, Hinata.."

"You've taught me so much," she sobbed, squeezing his hand tighter. "And I never got to truly.. truly thank you, Neji-san." She began to tremble..

"I love you, Hinata."

"And.. and I never..." the first of her tears dropped from her chin, hitting the ground with a light tap.

"I never.. got.. Neji… Neji!!…" She collapsed at the side of the bed, frantically in tears.

"I never got to say good-bye!" She curled up alongside the bed. Most of the people in the room were now crying, or looking away to prevent it. Naruto crawled over on his knees to her, and put his arm around her as she could barely hold herself up, crying into his arm.

"Nooo!" she screamed, grabbing onto Naruto's shirt tightly. "It's not fair, it's not fair! Neji!!" She dug her face into Naruto's arm, her cries muffled. "Come back… please, don't leave me!"

Naruto sat quietly, cradling her, rocking her gently as she sobbed to herself her latest tragedy. Tears escaped down his cheeks as well as he peered around the room and saw most of his accomplices in tears. The only ones who were not were the doctor, who was blinking back his emotions, and Tsunade, who moved from the corner of the room to the doorway, as she peered at the two distraught teenagers with softened, despairing eyes before leaving the room without a word.

Naruto ran his hand up and down her back carefully as she cried heavily in his arms. "Hinata," he tried to speak to her, but she wouldn't answer. He rocked her gently. "Hinata, please." He felt her gasping for air between sobs, and he tried to tilt her chin up so he could look at her, but she jerked his hand away, burying her face further into his arm.

"Don't look at me!" she yelled. Naruto quickly moved his hand back to its original place around his love's back.

As others began to slowly file out of the room, Hinata stayed by her cousin's side, curled up against Naruto, her arm still outstretched, reaching her cousin's hand, holding it warmly. She no longer sobbed but the river of tears still streamed down her cheeks. Her father stepped up to her and Naruto and squat down beside them. Naruto watched and he placed his hand on top of her head lightly, leaned in and kissed the side of her head lightly.

"We'll talk at home, Hinata." He kissed her again and cleared his throat, wiping away his tears once more before heading towards the door. Naruto's eyes followed the hallowed figure until he stopped with the palm of his hand on the window of the door.

"Uzumaki," his stern voice called out.

Naruto's voice still quivered, but he managed to answer him. "Yes, sir?"

Hiashi took a deep breath, still facing the door, and exhaled slowly. "Get her home safe, Naruto." Hinata revealed her face, looking up at her father in slight awe. He was trusting Naruto with her..

"Yes, sir." Naruto nodded. Hiashi held his arm up in a quick wave, then pushed the door open in front of him and his slowly stepped out, heading for a long, painful trip home. Naruto glanced back over to Hinata, and something was different about her. She continued to try and look out the door to see if she could watch her father leave, and that's when Naruto realized what was wrong with this picture.

'Her eyes,' he thought to himself. 'They're… they're green…' He pondered for a moment as he gazed into her eyes as they gave off a startling glow, her pupils, a darker shade of green, were actually visible.

She let go of Neji and clung to Naruto tightly, her voice still shaky. "Hold me," she asked. Naruto couldn't refuse.

Naruto and Hinata embraced, tear-filled and heartbroken, for a few moments on the floor by the table. When she re-opened her eyes to look at him, he had noticed they had returned to their normal color, but he decided now was not the best time to ask about it. The doctor, who had left a couple of moments before to treat another patient, returned quietly into the room.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" The two teenagers looked at him silently and they shook their hears. "You're a patient here, correct, Naruto? Will she be staying the night? I brought a visitor form she can fill out if she'd like to."

"Thanks," Naruto replied, "but I need to get her home. Her father is expecting her return, and I'm going to make sure she gets back safe."

The doctor nodded his head and put the clipboard under his arm. "That's alright. Considering the circumstances, if you would like to go home and rest tonight, I'll allow it. But I'm asking you to remember to come in tomorrow morning for your check-up."

"I will doctor. Thanks." The doctor offered a slight smile before turning and opening the door. He looked back and, with his free arm, motioned for them.

"There's nothing more to be done here, kids. I'm sorry, but I have to ask you to leave." His words struck the young couple hard, as they slowly and silently got to their feet as they dragged themselves toward the door. "I'm so sorry," he reiterated. "But the ANBU has requested a look at his body for investigation purposes."

"Kaelu.." Naruto mumbled.

The doctor nodded. "We need any and all information we can get on this killer, quickly, before he strikes again. Don't worry, his body will be preserved so that a proper funeral service may take place."

"That's enough," Hinata said, very angrily, very distraught. "I'm sorry, doctor, but that's not something I wish to speak of right now." She took Naruto's hand and led them out of the room. "What needs to be done.. needs to be done." With that, she continued on her way, not looking back as she exited the hospital with Naruto, quiet, by her side. The doctor couldn't bring himself to say anything as he watched the couple leave. He looked back at Neji and sighed to himself.

"So much potential.. so many dreams.." he shook his head, closing his eyes in disgust of the murder.

"You're right, Hinata.. you're right…"

"It's not fair!!" her screams haunted him. One last tear rolled down his cheek.

"It isn't."

"It's a miracle you're even alive."

Kaelu turned and saw Aidon pouring him a glass of warm tea. Behind him sat Atsuke on his bed, draping his legs over the side, watching his friend with a worried look on his face. He cracked a smile when Kaelu looked at him. It had pained Kaelu to even roll over, yet he barely remembered getting back here after the fight.

"Welcome home," Atsuke said in his childish voice. Kaelu let out a small smirk.

"What happened?"

"I assume you had used your jutsu to get through the gate," Aidon's voice boomed. "It's a good thing you were not noticed, because you were obviously past your limit." Atsuke's grandfather began to pace around Kaelu's bed as the hunter's eyes followed the man's every move.

"The moment you got yourself through the gate, you passed out. I woke up seeing a flash of lightning and when I looked out to the garden, there you were, passed out on the ground." He sipped his tea very slowly, then he motioned to the table next to Kaelu's bed. "There's tea for you, too, boy. Drink up if you can, it'll help you recover faster."

Kaelu looked at his own body. His hands were wrapped in bandages, and, with his shirt off, he could see cuts and bruises possibly left my the debris made by the Storm's Eye technique. On his arms, bruises as well as a few red dots, signaling where Neji's strikes had hit him during the final barrage. He tried to move his fingers, but, due to the swelling and burning, it hurt him too much. He had also noticed his black pants, revealing he was not in disguise.

"When we had gotten you, you were beat up pretty bad," Atsuke added. "What happened today?"

"I.." he put his hands very lightly to his head and a migraine was beginning to come over him. He closed his eyes and picture Neji, clutching at his own eyes..

"You bastard! What have you done??"

He shook his head violently, trying to get rid of the thoughts. "I fought Hyuuga Neji," he replied, quietly. Aidon looked at him sternly, sipping away his tea.

"Wow, you fought somebody?" Atsuke's eyes widened. "He was really powerful, huh? But you beat him, right?"

Kaelu's eyes looked away from the others as his head dropped low.

"If the shinobi of Konoha won't put an end to you.. you, yourself, will.."

He nodded slowly, "Yes.. I did.." He tried to avoid Aidon's gaze like the plague. He felt the old man's eyes burning through him.

Atsuke leaned in a little closer, "Did you.. did you kill him?"

Kaelu's heart ached at that question. He remembered Neji pulling the kunai at himself, and his own screamed echoed in his mind..

"Neji!!"

"I did." His answer was very dry, very pained.

"Leave here, leave everything behind.." His voice continued to haunt him.

"I.. 'Suke, come here" He slowly lifted his arm and motioned towards himself. Atsuke got up off of his bed and sat next to an ailing Kaelu. He put his hand to Atsuke's shoulder, even though it was hurting him, and he confessed.

"I.. I don't think I can go through with this mission. I've.." he looked over to Aidon, who's once-piercing gaze had cooled off quite a bit. "I've found the angel, Atsuke." The young boy's eyes widened.

"You.. you found it?" Kaelu nodded in reply. "I can't believe it!"

"Shhh…" Kaelu motioned for his friend to calm down, and he did. "But.. I don't want to give that kind of power to Takeno. It's far too dangerous.. I don't feel he'd even be strong enough to handle that kind of power."

"But what about the prophecy? What about the Angel?" Atsuke questioned.

"Exactly," Kaelu answered. "We'd be using the Angel as a slave, and.." He saw Aidon nod at him out of the corner of his eye. "Takeno and his men would use it to declare war on the North. They're seeking revenge for their years of suffering and.."

Atsuke looked over at Kaelu. "And what?"

"And.. they're using us." Kaelu sighed softly. "They're using us to get to that weapon." Atsuke moved away from the injured jounin and snapped back.

"Kagetsu would never do that! I mean," he paused for a moment to think of the situation. "I mean, I know he wants the power of the Angel for scientific purposes, but.. I just can't believe he would use us in that way."

"Atsuke, you have to believe me." Kaelu's eyes grew bright, his voice strong. "If we report back without any findings, I feel that the General and Shiro will have us killed."

Atsuke fumbled with his words. "I.. how.. but.." he turned back to his grandfather, who looked down at his grandson with much concern. "Grandpa, is this true..?"

Aidon sighed and shook his head. "Knowing what I do about that twisted government down there… I'd have to say yes. It's true."

The young grandson sighed and lowered his head. He crossed his legs, which were draped over the side of the bed, and he held his hands in his lap, thinking quietly to himself. He couldn't piece this together, and he just didn't understand why Shiro would use him simply to get a weapon to start a war.

"You see," Kaelu tried to explain. "Shiro had heard about me and my journeys, and he certainly must have known something about my past."

"Maybe he knows you're the best ninja on the whole Continent!" Atsuke exclaimed..

"Shiro believed that the one person out there stronger than me was the Angel, and as long as the Northern Continent had that, there was nothing he and Takeno could do." Kaelu slowly sat up, wincing at the effort, and continued. "But they had to be sure, so they sent me up here to see if it really was here. If I found it, I would bring the Angel to them and they would strike the North without fear. If I didn't find it, they would be quick to believe that it was… it was me."

Atsuke looked over at Kaelu. He couldn't believe he made that statement. "Wait, you're not the Angel, right? I mean, you found it, right??"

"Yeah, I'm just saying.. if I didn't," Kaelu had to look away for a moment and collect his emotions. "They would've struck, planning to extract my power or kill me if I refused."

"But you're stronger than them!"

"I may be, but that doesn't not mean I can take on an army. I would be completely overwhelmed."

"But," Atsuke remained puzzled. "But why would Shiro use me for this mission?"

"Because," Aidon answered. He pointed over at Kaelu. "He knew he would one day come back to Kyoko. To Ratsuka, and when you did, he'd finally be able to test your power."

"Come back.. what are you talking about?" Kaelu asked. "I only headed back to the East for this mission. I.. I can't go back home, there's nothing left there for me."

"But there was." Aidon pressed on, grabbing both of the kids' attentions. "You two met on this mission for a reason." He coughed heavily and cleared his throat. He walked over to the window and looked out into the garden. "Minaya Oroyo was wise to abandon you."

Kaelu jumped up to his feet, yelling in objection. "My father did not abandon me!" Aidon's eyes stayed on the assassin carefully. "The day of sensei's death, my father had told me to run away, to save myself. Though at the time I didn't know what, I listened to him, and I ran, and I hid, and I got far away from that place."

"Foolish," Aidon scoffed. "Your father was a foolish man, thinking he could save his family. Believing that one day, he would see his sons together."

"My father was a great man!"

"YOUR FATHER IS DEAD!" Aidon's screaming bellowed in all directions and echoed in the air. Atsuke gasped and Kaelu's eyes opened wide in shock. He clenched his hands as tight as he could, the pain shooting through his body.

"What do you know about my father..? What do you know about my family?" Kaelu readied himself, almost as if ready to attack Aidon.

The old man shook his head. "Your father ran to the suburbs, to Ruoku," Atsuke's eyes immediately shot up and he gazed over to Kaelu. The grandfather continued. "Four years after the Ratsuka incident, he was found and killed. His only remaining son had run from the scene of the crime, though the mafia had no concern with him. When the boy returned home that night, he said good-bye to his mother, packed his things, and left. Your mother felt that if he stayed, he would be the next to fall."

Atsuke's breathing picked up as he continued to look over at Kaelu, though the hired jounin was too wrapped up in Aidon's story.

"How do you know all of this..?" Kaelu was amazed by the man's knowledge.

"Because," Aidon sighed and turned to face the two boys, and he smiled, seeing them together. Something Oroyo never got to see.

"He was my son."

Kaelu gasped, at a total loss of words. As was Atsuke, who glanced over to his grandfather with disbelief. Aidon nodded slowly, then stepped towards the boys and placed his empty glass down on the table. He lumbered over to the other bed and sat himself down slowly, clearing his throat.

"When he left Konoha, he changed his family name to Minaya to get a new start on life in a very new environment. However, after the political scandal, and with a warrant for his life out there, he changed his name back to his family's blood name."

"Gasuki.." Kaelu whispered.. he looked over at Atsuke, who returned the glance. Both were equally astounded.

"I'm going to find my big brother!.. I think he'd come here to Konoha, to see grandpa again.."

"… To bring our family back together…" Kaelu finished Atsuke's words of the past. Atsuke slowly smiled, his eyes brightening. Neither boy could believe what was unraveling.

"Atsuke… my…" Kaelu was fumbling his words when Atsuke excitedly finished for him.

"My brother…" The happiness took over as Atsuke leaped over and hugged Kaelu for all it was worth. "Big brother!!" Atsuke clung tightly as the tears in his eyes began to form. Kaelu looked up at Aidon, who nodded slowly, cracking a smile of his own. Kaelu looked over to the younger Gasuki in his arms, and he hugged him as tightly as he could.

"My family.." a single tear escaped and rolled down his cheek.

"Little Atsuke looks up to you," Aidon reiterated. He placed a hand firmly on Kaelu's shoulder as the young jounin looked up to the great figure, his grandfather, and saw the eyes of a caring parent, a look he had searched his entire life for. "Do the right thing for yourself, and for those you love. Not what others tell you to do." Kaelu's stare grew cold as he remembered his nightmare from earlier in the day. Neji's voice echoed once again in his mind.

"You can change your destiny.."

"G.. grandpa.." Kaelu stuttered. It was the first time he had referred to somebody as family in years. "I must finish my mission. I cannot take the risk of failing to complete what I need to do, and having their men sent to kill me and Atsuke."

Aidon nodded "I understand."

"I must retrieve the Angel and deliver it to them, but I will not allow them to take her from her home, from her family, from her love. I will not allow her to feel anymore of that pain." Kaelu peered out the window, the view leading towards downtown Konoha.

"What about Shiro and Takeno and their men?" Atsuke reminded him. "They'll be coming back on the boat here to fetch us."

"We won't be going with them. I'll ambush them at the boat, They won't be taking me or the Angel with them." Kaelu reassured him. He stepped away form the bed and faced the other two in the room. "They may have gotten me to discover my past, but they never expected me to find family, to find a reason for living my own life. And now I have." A smile crept onto his face.

"I will protect it. I will not allow them to fulfill their dreams by destroying so many others. I must fulfill my destiny."

Hinata slowly approached the front entrance of her community hand in hand with Naruto. They hadn't spoken a single word along the walk, though they had exchanged many glances. They walked into the community up to the front steps of her chambers. She stopped and turned to face her love and, now, her boyfriend, as he gazed into her eyes, still sad and watery.

"Hinata," Naruto started. "If you need to find me, you know where I live, and I'll keep my door open for you, so you can come right in. I just want you to know that if you need me to be by your side, I will gladly be there."

"Thank you, Naruto," she replied softly, speaking for the first time in hours. "I'll keep that in mind, but right now, I need some time to myself to think. My father's waiting to talk with me anyway, and I have a feeling it will be a long night. You'll be around tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "The doctor said Tsunade's going to address the village tomorrow afternoon, and she expected everyone to be there. We'll meet up before then and go together."

Hinata nodded slowly. Naruto put his hand to her chin, preventing her from looking too far away. Her eyes eventually gazed up to his and he ran his fingers gently down her cheek.

"Hinata, I'm sorry, I really am.. I wish I knew what else to say, other than.." He leaned in and gave her a loving kiss on the cheek. "I love you."

She closed her eyes and brushed his cheek lightly, "I love you, too, Naruto. I'll be alright, I promise you." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it softly before wrapping her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Thank you," she said, nuzzling her cheek to his chest one last time for the night before looking up again into his eyes. She tried to offer a smile, but her heavy emotions were too much for her as she could only frown, her beautiful eyes glowing in the night.

She leaned in and placed her lips softly upon his cheek, kissing him good-night. She knew now was not the time for that special moment. "Good-night, Naruto."

"Good-night, Hinata," He leaned in and planted one last, long kiss on her forehead before stepping back and heading away from the house. She stood there and watched him leave slowly, their eyes on each other the entire time until Naruto turned outside the concrete wall and walked out of sight.

"I love you, Naruto-kun.." she whispered to herself. She lowered her head and turned to walk to her bedroom. She knew her dad would be waiting to have a long talk, and sleep would be very hard to come by this evening, and she had already began thinking to herself about Naruto and how she wished he could be here tonight, so she wouldn't be alone.

Naruto looked behind him every so often to see if she would be there, running up to him, running into his arms. He wished to himself he could've stayed, even though he new with Hiashi there, that wouldn't even be an option. Now he feared for her, that Minaya Kaelu may be after her, or anybody else he knew in the village.

He looked up to the sky, and saw merely the glow of the moon, hidden behind thick clouds. Not even the warm, summer night was complete.

Neither was Uzumaki Naruto, as he walked home tonight to the nightmares of deaths that may soon follow, of the carnage that would continue to ensue..

..and the kiss that he feared may never be..

Hope you all enjoyed, let me know what you think! Again, reviews appreciated )

Chapter 11 coming next weekend!!

s.p.