Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. This is my first fan fiction and I hope you like it. Feedback is much appreciated.

Hey Everyone. Some of you may be thinking to yourself: "Where is she going with this?"

Don't worry, I have the ending in my sights, but it is still a while off. I'm still open to suggestion though.

Hope you enjoy and please review.

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Chapter Nine: From Normal to Unexpected

"We've been doing this treatment for about a week now and I don't notice any difference. Are you sure its working?" Hinata asked while sweeping her hair into a bun in preparation for the last treatment.

"Patience, patience. You haven't even been outside the hospital yet. Today's your last day right? Once you're on the outside, with people, it should be fairly easy to ascertain whether the treatment is working or not."

"You're right. I'll be more patient Rin."

"Hmm, just Rin…" Rin flashed her notorious smile. "…the treatment must be working." She chuckled as she nudged Hinata's side. The young girl couldn't help but laugh herself.

"One more thing before we start though. It might be in your best interest if you don't tell anyone about the treatment. People tend to treat you differently if they know that you've been through some sort of psychological alteration. I just want people to see the new you for you, alright?"

Hinata thought about this for a second before responding. "I understand. This will just be between you and me."

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Neji stood outside the hospital patiently awaiting his cousin. It was a warm, sticky day. Even Neji wasn't immune to the heat, so he rolled up his sleeves to his shoulders as beads of sweat trickled down his face. A bit agitated at Hinata's lateness, he paced and glanced up at the hospital door many times, but decided against going into the building and pulling her out by force. Instead, he leaned against the stone wall in the hospital courtyard, folded his arms, closed his eyes, and dutifully waited for his cousin.

"Hey Neji. How's Hinata doing?" The jounin opened his eyes to see none other than Naruto standing before him.

"Naruto. Back from your mission I see." Neji propelled himself off the wall and faced Naruto as Kakashi and Yamato came to a halt behind him. "Well good because I actually need to have a couple of words with you."

"Actually Neji, we need to get to the Hokage's. She's expecting us." Yamato interrupted politely.

"Fine, this shouldn't take long. Naruto, to answer your question Hinata-sama is doing fine and I expect her to stay that way. Naruto, we're comrades and friends and I respect you as a shinobi, but my duty to Hinata comes first. So I have to ask you…I must request that you stay away from her."

Naruto shifted his weight as he stepped closer to the Hyuuga. "Look Neji, I know sneaking her out of the village was a mistake, but I'm sorry. It won't happen again. We're all friends though. Let's just forget about the whole thing and everything will get back to normal. Do you really want to make Hinata's life more difficult than it already is right now?"

"No I don't. That's why I must keep her away from you….Naruto I heard what you said to Tsunade-sama a week ago in this very spot. You told her that Hinata-sama could never take Sakura's place in your life. I just…I just don't want to see her get hurt at a time like this when she's already been through so much. She thinks that your friendship is growing and that you two are getting closer. I don't want her heart to be crushed when she finds out that its not…especially since Sakura is back in town."

Surprise washed all over Naruto's face. He had no idea that anyone was eavesdropping on his conversation with Tsunade. For a moment he was at a loss for words, but finally he replied.

"I never took you for an eavesdropper Neji." He said as a scowl crossed his face. "And for you information, you misunderstood me. When I said that Hinata could never fill the hole Sakura left in my life, what I meant was—"

"Is that how you really feel…Naruto-kun?"

Naruto froze. The voice was familiar, but he was praying that it wasn't who it sounded like. Turning around slowly, Naruto found, much to his horror, that this question resonated from Hinata's mouth. There she stood in the hospital courtyard, hair pinned up and body wrapped in a silky yellow kimono which hugged her body in all the right places. The kimono was all that her father would bring to her while she was in the hospital, so she had no choice but to wear it. However, despite her discomfort in the ensemble, she was absolutely radiant.

Taken aback by her presence and by her beauty, Naruto couldn't muster a single word from his mouth. Instead he stood there, jaw dropped and gawking.

"Hm, I see…lets go Neji." Hinata said simply as she walked past the shinobi in the direction of the Hyuuga compound. Obediently, Neji followed giving Naruto a stern and threatening look. Finally, words filled Naruto's mouth as he called out to Hinata as her figure receded in the distance.

"Hinata. I didn't mean it like it sounds." But already the girl was out of range and around the corner.

"Well," Yamato gave the boy a hearty pat on the back. "Shall we get going." Naruto responded with a grunt as he dragged himself along in the direction of the Hokage's. How had life gotten so complicated?

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"How's he been?"

"Quite honestly, not the same since you and Sasuke left. Your departure really affected him. As far as Naruto is concerned, you have a lot of explaining to do." Tsunade spoke as she flipped through a report on her desk. Sakura had already explained to Tsunade what drove her to leave the village, but of course it wasn't the complete truth. But by the look on Tsunade's face, it seemed that her lies had gone undetected.

"Looks like they're here," Tsunade said without lifting her head from her desk.

The door knob turned as the three men from the mission and Sai entered into the room. Sakura looked them all over as she greeted them. "Hello Sai, Kakashi-sensei, Yamato-dijo…Naruto."

"Hello Sakura. You're looking well." Sai responded innocently as Kakashi and Yamato nodded at the girl in acknowledgement. However, Naruto didn't even glance over at his teammate. Instead, his eyes avoided hers as he crossed his arms and awaited Tsunade's instructions.

"Naruto, how was the training?" Tsunade asked jovially attempting to lighten the mood in the room. However, Naruto wasn't willing to play nice and responded simply:

"Fine."

"Hmm, well, if that's the way you want to be then let's cut straight to the chase. I believe Sakura has something that she wishes to tell you all." Tsunade leaned back in her chair as she gave Sakura the floor.

Sakura took a deep breath, said a silent prayer, and faced her comrades. "Well. First off, I'd like to apologize to all of you…especially to you Naruto. I know how much it meant to you having Sasuke back in the village, but it was too good to last. We couldn't have kept him here by force. Eventually he would have escaped. He told me himself that he had no desire to stay in the village." Sakura paused as she waited for some kind of response from Naruto, but still his eyes avoided hers. So, she continued.

"So, I figured that since he was going to leave anyway, it would be best to learn all I could from him before he was gone and out of our grasps permanently. So, I helped him leave the village and gained his trust. However," Sakura shifted her weight. "He abandoned me after a short time. I have no idea where he is or what he wants. It seems the whole thing was a waste of my time, a complete and utter failure…and it looks as though I've hurt a lot of people in the process."

Sakura walked over to Naruto, placed both her hands over his shoulders, and stared him straight in the eye. "Naruto, you must know that everything that I've done, I've done so that we may all be together again…as a team." She bent her head as tears were threatening to fall. "I thought I was doing what was best for us."

Naruto shook her arms from his shoulders as he backed away from the girl. "Exactly. You were doing what you thought was best because you didn't think that I had the strength to keep Sasuke in the village. You were doing what you thought was best because you didn't trust in me or in my abilities. How are we even supposed to be a team if you don't trust me?"

"Naruto I trust you, its just that—"

"I want you to promise me that whatever we do to reunite our team, we do it together. Even though you did what you did, I trust you Sakura. I want you to trust in me too. Promise me."

He eyed the girl waiting for a response. She hesitated and her hesitation prompted him to repeat himself. "Promise me." A moment passed and finally Sakura lifted her eyes. They were streaming with tears as she replied quietly.

"I promise."

Kakashi came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked up at Tsunade and stated matter-of-factly: "Well, now that we're back together. Its time we got out there and bring Sasuke back. Right Naruto?"

Reenergized, Naruto glanced up at his sensei, pounded his hand into his fist, and replied firmly.

"Right."

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Kakashi's jaw dropped, his pulse became faint, and his body became weak. Slowly, he fell to the ground as his body quivered. He just couldn't believe it. This had to be a nightmare.

"Relax Kakashi." Rin stood over him with a smile on her face. "I did you a favor. You don't need those dirty ol' books anymore. They're bad for the soul."

"………azcox……..."

"Hmm, what's that you say?"

"….pcf….….mniu…."

"Kakashi, you're starting to worry me. Say something."

Kakashi rolled onto his knees and gripped his stomach as though he were in deep pain.

"Hmpf. Well, if that's your response then it's a good thing I came along. This is not healthy behavior at all. You're addicted Kakashi and the first step to recovery is to admit that you have a problem." Rin was becoming impatient with the man as she crossed her arms and tapped her feet in impatience.

However, instead of respond, Kakashi let out a deep groan…a groan that sounded as if he was being physically tortured. The noise was followed by a serious of choking coughs. At first Rin wrote Kakashi's response off as an over-reaction, but as his coughing progressed, she became increasingly worried.

"Kakashi…are you alright…Kakashi!" She knelt down beside him and laid a comforting hand on his back. With her other hand she tried to turn his head so that she could see his face and somehow treat his reaction, but before she had the chance Kakashi reached over and pinned her to the ground. His hips straddled her body as his arms held hers to the ground. Rin let out a squeal as she struggled against the shinobi in protest, but it was no use. He was too strong for her.

"Since you took my books, you will be responsible for stimulating my imagination." Kakashi threatened the girl in a husky octave as he lowered his head to her neck. However, before he reached his destination, a knock came at the door.

Ignoring the sound, Kakashi proceeded with what he was doing, but the knock came again. In frustration, he finally responded.

"What."

"Kakashi-sensei. It's Naruto. I need to talk to you."

"I'm busy. Come back later."

"How much later?"

"Tomorrow."

"In the morning or in the afternoon?"

"Whenever…the afternoon."

"Actually, I'm helping Lee out in his dojo tomorrow afternoon."

"Then why did you even ask?"

"Ask what?"

"Whether you…you know what, just come in."

"But you said you were busy."

Suddenly the door swung open and a wild-eyed Kakashi stared at his student in the doorway. "Just come in." A confused Naruto shrugged his shoulders and nonchalantly walked into the room.

"I don't know why you're mad at me. One second you're busy, the next you're…oh…"

Naruto stopped as he discovered Rin sitting at Kakashi's kitchen table. His face became red as he scratched the back of her head.

"You know, I can just come back later." Before Naruto could turn Kakashi pushed him down forcefully into a seat. The moment was dead, he might as well stay and talk now.

"Naruto, what's so important?"

"Well…" Naruto glanced over at Rin, his face still red. "Umm, its kinda…ya know…guy talk."

"Oh, I can leave if you want." Rin politelty offered as she stood up. "I'll just be in the other room." Kakashi watched her as she left the room and turned back to find Naruto looking at him with a stupid grin slapped across his face.

"Now I get it…you were busy busy. You should have said so. I would have let you get busy…if you know what I mean." Naruto's eyebrows jumped as he teased his sensei. Too cool and refined to react to Naruto's jibs, Kakashi ignored his student and got to the matter at hand.

"What do you want?"

Naruto's face became serious. "Kakashi-sensei, what do you know about the Hyuuga clan?"

This question surprised Kakashi and curiosity invaded his mind.

"What do you mean? Be more specific. They're a pretty complex clan with plenty of history spanning centuries."

"I mean, why is it so important for there to be a head family and a branch family? Why does there need to be a clan leader? Why does there even need to be a Hyuuga clan?"

"And you want to know all this because why?"

Naruto reddened. "No reason, I just want to know."

"Well, I can see why you came all they way over with this pressing issue." Kakashi's sarcasm was too subtle for the dense shinobi to pick up on. "Although, these are all good questions when you consider that there are other clans in the village with less strict clan codes. Even the Uchihas weren't so stringent about keeping the Sharingan secret. However, the Hyuuga's are very secretive and very private about the powers of the Byakugan. I can't tell you why exactly because I don't know myself. Only the clan members and the Hokage know for sure, but there role in the village is honored and respected by all. They protect their head members and their secret so well that we can only assume that their customs and ways are necessary for Konoha's perseverance."

"So…Hinata…"

"Is key to the Hyuuga's future and to Konoha's future…we outsiders just don't know why."

"….wow…." Naruto was now wide-eyed and gazing off at nothing in particular. Kakashi glanced at his pupil with a smirk forming on his face.

"Yeah, her life is tied to her clan and she can't just live any old way. She can't pick her own career, she can't behave in whatever way she chooses…she can't even marry the bum off the street if she wishes…yep, she'll probably marry in the big leagues…a feudal lord maybe or a wealthy businessman….maybe even a future Hokage…"

"…yea…" Naruto dazed off dreamily. "...I mean yes…of course Hinata is going to marry some stud." Naruto laughed nervously. "I mean she's a good looking, powerful girl with a good heart. She won't stay single long…"

"No…she won't," Kakashi replied with eyebrow arched.

Naruto stood up abruptly, still laughing nervously. "Well, thanks Kakashi-sensei…I think I'm gonna go for a walk…ya know…around…." Naruto turned for the door. "See you tomorrow."

"Tell Hinata I said hello."

"What? Heh, sure, but umm…you'll probably see her before I do." Naruto's words were cut short as the door slammed behind him.

"That's interesting." Kakashi turned to see Rin standing in the hallway. "He and the Hyuuga girl are an item huh?"

"We'll see. She's been fond of him for quite some time. He's just never noticed."

"That's a useful piece of information." Rin mumbled to herself.

"Useful?"

"I meant interesting. Sorry, my thoughts got mixed…a useful piece of information would be to know where I'm living from now on."

"You could stay here ya know."

"And…and live with you." Rin reddened at the thought.

"Yea."

Rin's face returned to its normal hue as she regained her composure.

"Well, somebody's got to be here to make sure that you don't regress back into your addiction." Rin giggled as she turned toward the bedroom. "Now the only question is where, oh where will I sleep." A seductive look passed between the two as Kakashi got up and followed her into the bedroom.

"If you think you're going to sleep in my bed, you're mistaken…my bed is for something else entirely."

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"Psst…Hinata….Hinata…." Naruto stood outside the Hyuuga compound throwing rocks at the second story window in an attempt to get the young girls attention without alerting the rest of the family.

"Psst…Hinata…its me Naruto…I need to talk to you."

Suddenly, light filled the room and a shadow moved towards the window. 'Finally,' Naruto thought to himself. However, as the shadow came closer and closer to the window, it became strikingly obvious that the silhouette of the body in the window did not belong to Hinata. It belonged to a man…a large man. Realizing this, Naruto turned to hide, but it was too late. A voice called out to him.

"Boy, it seems you have the wrong window." Much to Naruto's horror, the voice belonged to Hinata's father—the revered Hyuuga head. His body was covered with a robe and it was obvious to Naruto that he had awoken him from his sleep. Internally Naruto cursed himself. 'Not only is this the wrong window, but it is the absolute worst window for me to have chosen." Seeing Naruto stammer frantically for an explanation, Hiashi filled the silence.

"Boy, did you really think you could just sneak onto our property and not be discovered? We have guards watching the property at all times. They've been watching you the whole time," Hiashi paused and looked at the stake-out points on the outer wall as he raised his voice. The next message wasn't intended just for Naruto, but for the guards at their posts as well. "…but they didn't stop you because it seems they find this all very humorous that you're knocking on the wrong window…It wouldn't have been humorous though if he had been a real threat."

Hiashi moved to shut the window, but before doing so he looked down at Naruto and stated, "Come around to the front boy so I can see your face more clearly." Naruto gulped and proceeded to the main entrance of the house. He rounded the corner and found Hiashi already waiting for him at the front.

"What's your name?" Hiashi asked despite knowing full-well who the boy was.

Naruto's foot played in the dirt as he hesitantly responded. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki Naruto what?"

"Uzumaki Naruto sir."

Hiashi paused. He already knew a great deal about Naruto—the fact that he was a notorious prankster in his youth , that he was a Jinchuuriki, the identity of his parents, and the extent of his skill as a shinobi. However, he wanted to make the boy as uncomfortable as possible by asking him as many questions as possible.

"How old are you boy?

"Eighteen sir."

"So, you're old enough to be considered a man. Is that right?"

"Yes sir."

"Then it seems to me that if a man wanted to speak to another man's daughter, he wouldn't sneak around hiding in the shadows, but he would come to that man and ask respectfully for permission to see that man's daughter…face to face, man to man. Doesn't that seem appropriate to you?"

"…what if his daughter was a woman herself…sir?" Naruto stated cautiously, not sure whether his question was appropriate.

"Then that might be a different case, but no woman has resided in this household since my wife passed away. I have a daughter who is yet to become a woman. So…" He gestured to Naruto so that he could complete his thought.

"Soooo…so I should have come to you first to speak to Hinata tonight."

"Very good, you're not as dense as everyone lets on."

Reminded of Kakashi's words, Naruto boldly interjected: "I may not be the brightest sir, I may not be a feudal lord or a wealthy businessman, but I will be the next Hokage, believe it."

Hiashi chuckled to inwardly. "That may be so boy." Hiashi gave Naruto a good pat on the back. "Unfortunately for you Hinata is on punishment and is not allowed out of—" The man paused mid-sentence as something more pressing grabbed his attention.

"Sir….Sir?" Confused, Naruto turned to see what caught the man's eye and what he found was more shocking to him than the time Choji turned down free barbeque. Strolling casually through the main gate with Kiba attached to her arm was the Hyuuga heiress herself. And boy did she look…hot. Her hair fell in curls around her shoulders and somewhat hid the thin straps of her turquoise, knee length dress. Naruto couldn't help but to follow the curves of her body with his eyes. As he scanned her lovely frame from foot to head, he unconsciously made a check list in his mind. Her heels—high. Her calves—toned. Her hips—full. Her waist—slim. Her breasts…Naruto reddened at the thought and shook his sight away from the girl. Back in reality, he suddenly became conscious of the man standing next to him and felt the need to take a couple steps back.

"Good evening Hiashi-sama," a clueless Kiba addressed the man directly. However, his greeting went ignored. The man just glared at his daughter with raged etched all over his face.

"Inside," the man stated firmly to Hinata as he turned and disappeared inside the house. Hinata released her hold on Kiba's arm, walked into the threshold, and flirtatiously addressed the two young men behind her.

"Looks like that goodnight kiss will have to wait Kiba. Good night boys." Hinata turned and closed the door behind her leaving Naruto awestruck and leaving Kiba with a stupid grin on his face. Naruto regained his composure and dug into his comrade.

"You two were on a date?"

"Yep."

"But you're not a feudal lord."

"Yep."

"And you're not a wealthy businessman."

"Yep."

"And you're not strong enough to be Hokage someday."

"Ye—hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kiba turned to leave the compound.

"I just can't believe you asked Hinata out on a date." Naruto followed the boy off the Hyuuga grounds, hands stuffed in his pockets in frustration.

"Who said I did. You're never gonna believe this, but she asked me." Kiba eyed Naruto as the blond rolled his eyes. "I'm serious. To be quite honest, I've been asking her to go out for a while, but she's never been interested. I always thought she was interested in…in someone else. I just didn't think she'd ever be into me like that. Then today, out of nowhere, she suddenly asked me and of course I agreed."

"That's…strange." Naruto scratched his head in confusion.

"Yeah, it is. She's not herself. The way she acted on the date, the way she's dressed…I'm not complaining though. I had a great time, but still...its so unlike her. I'm actually kinda worried."

Naruto lifted his arms and placed them atop his head as he looked into night sky.

"Me too Kiba."

They walked the rest of the way in silence before parting ways for the night. As Naruto headed towards his home, he couldn't help but think about the night he found Hinata crying by the lake after Hanabi's death. That night he made a promise to himself that he wouldn't let any more harm come to her…however, on this particular night, he couldn't help feel that he had failed her somehow.

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Rin walked down the village streets clutching to a bad of groceries as she headed back to Kakashi's apartment. Unbeknownst to either, they had settled into the traditional domestic roles quite flawlessly. Rin busied herself with the cooking and the cleaning while Kakashi handled the business of 'bringing home the bacon.' It seemed second nature for both of them, although, Rin hinted to Kakashi that she would like to go back to being an active duty medical nin.

Noticing something unusual, she stopped and tilted her head sideways.

"Well, well, well. I never thought I'd see the day. Little miss Hinata Hyuuga, doing work like some common day laborer." A smile stretched across Rin's face as she glanced at the dirty young girl doing yard work.

"Hai. Its part of my punishment…a small part." Hinata wiped the beads of sweat from her brow as she spoke.

"That bad huh?"

"It's not so bad. My father doesn't understand that he's already punished me in the worst way possible when he said that I could no longer be a shinobi…but, as my father reminded me several times last week…my life is not my own."

"Hmmm. I feel for you Hinata. I really do. I don't know what I'd do if I were in your shoes…I'd probably leave the village." Rin arched an eyebrow as she studied Hinata's face.

Rin continued as she shifted the groceries on her other arm. "That way I could do what I want and my father could assign any heir he wanted, but that's just me though. You're too honorable to do that sort of thing…right Hinata?"

The girl didn't respond.

Rin repeated herself. "Right Hinata?"

"Hai," Hinata responded as she was shaken from her thoughts. "That's correct."

"Good girl. You're a better person than me because I'd escape." Rin let out a laugh as she joked with the girl. "Yep, I'm not so honorable. I'd do it next week during the festival when it's crowded in the village…hahaha….with my little stick and handkerchief tied around it like a hobo." Rin mimicked the limp of an old man as she walked away.

"See you around Hinata," Rin spoke between her giggles as she left Hinata to her work.

"Goodbye..." Hinata waved back at her, deep in thought.

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"So, you've got a big mission after the festival next week?"

"Hai, my team and I are going to retrieve one of our missing members. We've been trying to get him back for quite some time now, but I have a good feeling about this mission. Naruto is stronger than he's ever been and more focused, but we can't leave this week because Tsunade-sama wants as many shinobi in the village as possible during the festival next week for security reasons." Kakashi sat across from Rin as they shared a meal together in his apartment.

"I love the bi-annual Will of the Fire Festival…I have such fond memories of it from when we were kids."

"Fond memories…I wouldn't say that. All I remember when I think of the festival is Obito setting off fireworks in an undesignated area and setting a whole block of houses on fire. Whenever the festival rolls around all I can think about is how we spent hours putting out that fire…and hours being scolded by sensei…and hours being scolded by the Hokage."

"Yea, we really gave the festival a new reason for being called the Will of the Fire Festival." Rin giggled.

"We?" Kakashi questioned.

"Umm…I seem to remember a certain someone right there with Obito purchasing the fireworks and setting them off…indoors."

"I do too. Her name was Rin."

Rin placed a finger on her chin and feigned deep thought. "Rin? Rin? The name doesn't ring a bell. What was she like?"

"Well, she was a nice girl and had a huge crush on me, but she really wasn't girlfriend material." Kakashi teased.

"Really? What material was she then?"

"Wife material."

"……."

Kakashi reached out and placed his hands on top of hers, his demeanor now serious.

"Rin…marry me."

"…wha…what?"

"I love you. I want you to be my wife. Marry me."

"…Kakashi…I….I can't…I…."

"Do you love me?" His hand remained steady.

"…I…."

"Do…you…love…me?"

"….yes…I do…you know I do, but…but it's not that simple."

"I love you. You love me. We should get married. Sounds simple enough."

"……"

Rin couldn't breathe or think straight. Tears were welling up in her eyes and her vision

became blurred, but she could see Kakashi rise from his chair and approach her as he tugged his mask down off his face. He softly kissed her trembling hand, then her cheek, and then her soft lips. He knelt down to one knee and as his hand reached out to pet he auburn hair as his other took her hand.

"Rin, will you marry me?"

Unable to resist any longer, Rin gave in.

"…yes…I will Kakashi…."

She fell into his arms as he smothered her body with kisses. Internally, one thought kept running through Rin's mind. "I love him, I love him, I really do love him…"