Chapter 10

A Change Is Coming...

The atmosphere in the room could be felt well outside the doors and down the hall from the Hokage's office. The doors themselves had been shut and locked, since people barged in on the village leader all the time with out asking when it was important the doors had to be locked. And thank goodness they were, because if anyone had walked in right now they no doubt would have taken a rasengen in the face for interrupting the blond on a mission.

While Tsunade and her fellow apprentice were infamous for their temper, Naruto could certainly rival it when he chose too. And right now it was clear Tsunade or anyone else for that matter was in no position to deny him of anything he demanded. Tsunade nodded to the other occupant in the room and told them they would finish this later. Once they left Naruto wasted no time and began to tell her of a conversation involving her ANBU captain and himself. This conversation had to be followed up and with out further delay after Naruto's, Shikamaru found himself in the Hokage's office now in a murderous stair down with the blond.

"Is this true Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked folding her hands on her desk.

"They are just theories," Shikamaru said turning his intense stair away from his blond friend and respectfully back on her.

"But interesting none the less, can you please elaborate on what Naruto said?"

"I believe I've already told you."

"You told me of your teams encounters, but you neglected to tell me of your theory of this being a very advanced jutsu or any sort of technique. This is very interesting to me Shikamaru; I was not able to detect any such thing during our examinations of Hinata. You also tell me your team has not encountered anything like her, so that just makes me more curious."

Her voice was even but there was obvious annoyance. If Shikaramu had told Naruto not to tell her it would explain the high suffocating tension in the room. And she could understand why the man would not want to say something so soon; she could understand why he would ask Naruto to keep it a secret. But at the same time, if it was something regarding Hinata's current case, if it was something as important as the well being of the rest of her shinobi's it was very important she knew of it regardless. Naruto had made the right choice coming to her, but she had to wonder what caused him to really break whatever promise he made to his friend. Naruto never broke promises.

"I simply stated that my team's memory seemed to be erased when they came in contact with the enemy." Shikamaru said in a breath.

"Any idea why?"

"My best guesses are either some kind of limit technique or a new jutsu. It seems my teams come into contact and while there is evidence of a fight in the end there is no resulting memory of the fight which took place."

Tsunade kept her eyes on him, an indication to keep talking.

"At first I thought this could be a ninjutsu or even a really advanced genjitsu, but the more I talked to my teams the more I realized it never faded. Even an advanced genjitsu will fade over time, but this was different. It's obviously an attack mean to protect their identity and information. In order to do something like would mean to make contact with the brain, the same thing a fall or a concussion can cause loss of memory. To be table to get that close to an ANBU in near impossible, not even a chunin ranked shinobi would allow the enemy to get that close to them on the battle field. So there are two ways they could go about it; one, everyone has the ability, or one on each team and it a long range attack."

"But how could a long range attack be specifically designed to wipe your memory?" Naruto voiced from his quiet side of the room.

"It could be a Doujutsu," Tsunade said thoughtfully. It wasn't the first time she thought this but after deciding it was no jutsu of any sort she had pushed it aside.

"Wouldn't that mean it was a clan technique or some kind of blood limit?" Naruto asked.

"That it would," Tsunade agreed.

"It would also mean that one single clan is attempting to go at war with Sauna." Shikamaru said darkly to his friend. Still obviously annoyed he was saying any of this in the first place.

"I do not believe I know of any clans holding that ability," Tsunade said breaking the tension. "Meaning it had to have been created for these specific results. However in order to create such a thing would mean they would probably have to have some kind of mind control technique in the first place…a high advanced one at that."

"It could be something similar to the Sharingen." Shikamaru offered. "After all the sharingen can make you believe anything it wants you to believe."

"It could…" Tsunade said and began to absorb and file away all the information being presented to her.

"There's one more thing," Shikamaru said. "I believe the attack on Hinata was an accident."

"Explain please." Tsunade said calmly but the blonde on the other side of the room looked ready to jump the dark haired man.

"Accident!" He interrupted. "What the fuck do you mean accident? When did you think this up!"

"Naruto!" Tsunade warned raising her voice then nodded back to Shikamaru when he quieted down.

"I think they attempted to simply wipe her memory to keep their identity a secret but some where along the way he messed up. Perhaps he put too much power or force and ended up taking more then intended. Perhaps something in Hinata caused him to loose focus."

"Interesting," Tsunade said a small smile turning the corners of her face. Now she was getting somewhere.

"But you said the attacks on your men didn't start till after that." Naruto said.

"The memory attacks on my men did not surface until after Hinata's incident that is true." Shikamaru answered. "However strange attacks had been happening for quite sometime, we all assume it was their nasty nocks to the head that had caused their trauma. When we got word of Hinata, we took a closer look."

"I see," Tsunade nodded. "Okay then it seems I need to change your mission boys."

"What do you mean change the mission?" Naruto all but barked at her.

"Trail them and be sure NOT to be seen. This suddenly turned S class. Do NOT be seen and do NOT get caught. It is absolutely vital to gather as much information as possible. Shikamaru," The lazy man looked at her with surprisingly determination "Do you or any of your team members have any idea where a base may be?"

"We have ideas but nothing concrete." Shikamaru answered dully, but the blaze in his eyes was unmistakable.

"Use those. I expect a full report when you are done. Dismissed." She said with such authority no one had room to argue and both left.

Outside the office Shikamaru did not round on Naruto like he expected. Shikamaru didn't even say a single word to Naruto as they walked out until they reached the doors.

"Happy now?" Shikamaru said quietly but the venom in his voice was unmistakable.

"Happy?" Naruto repeated confused and still for some reason angry at his friend.

"Now that you told the Hokage our mission changed and has gotten a lot more dangerous."

"We're ninjas," Naruto said with a side grin. "All our missions are dangerous."

"You need to learn to keep your emotions out of our missions Naruto."

"You're one to talk wasn't it you who defied orders to avenge Asuma's death?"

Shikaramu had no response to that and Naruto smiled at his friends back. He knew Shikamaru couldn't say anything to that. He had attacked for vengeance, for justice of the murder of his teacher and Naruto was asking for the same thing. Justice for the men who took away his wife.

"I didn't have an entire nation to consider when I went."

"This isn't about the nations…" Naruto began but Shikamaru rounded on him.

"Yes it is you idiot! Everything right now is about the fire country and our delicate relationship with the sand. If they break out in a war we go to war, if we go to war how many people do you think will be sent to fight an enemy who can do…that…"

Shikamaru was angry. His nostrils were faired; his brow was frowned so deep it was almost a uni-brow. There was anger in his face Naruto had never really seen before, but right now he couldn't bring himself to apologize for it either. He wanted to know what was going on, he wanted to know how to fix this. He needed her back and if there was any way to get her back he would do it, nation be damned.

"If we can find out anything with this mission then maybe there doesn't have to be a war." Naruto countered. They locked eyes in an intense stare down for only a moment before Shikamaru pivoted and walked away.

Naruto watched his friend for a long moment until his back disappeared around the corner. Then he turned walking a separate way to no where in particular until he could clear his mind into rational thought and away from the tempting urge to level the village.

Across Konoha a certain Hyuuga girl with blue black hair had no idea of the on goings which had taken place in the Hokage office on a mission she did not remember. This girl had no current concern for the possible growing crisis concerning the ninja's in her village and their part in a possible coming war. Instead this girl was transfixed on the small silver ring she rolled around her forefinger and thumb instead of watching her cousin and sister train like she was told to.

She didn't care much for watching them trying any how; she did it simply because her father had asked her to. It wasn't like she had anything else important planned that day, she went through her normal session with Tsunade only Naruto and Tsunade weren't there; it was Sakura who had supervised the session. She hadn't seen Naruto afterwards either, she wondered where he was. He did say he had a mission tomorrow maybe he was getting ready for it. .

"Will you marry me?"

She smiled as the sun gleamed through the silver ring. What had he been thinking to say such a thing? Did he think he could shock her memories back to her because shock is all he really did? Did he do it for her or for his own benefit? What were Naruto's real motives behind asking her that question?

Naruto…

There was no doubt in her mind now that there was something there. She felt something tug at her insides each time she thought of him, and when she saw him it was a new feeling all together. At times she didn't think she would be able to breathe, other times she forgot how to speak. When he saw this he would say something or do something to bring her back to herself, he would comfort her and ease her nerves. She would feel completely relaxed with him; she would feel like she belonged.

The ring twirled in her hand. The silver catching the sunlight and sparkling, Hinata watched it and suddenly her breath caught. There was a tunnel vision and she lost sight of the ring.

There was blackness around her and she heard a slur of voices and whispers. She heard a scream and other people yelling. So many voices, so many sounds all happening at once Hinata felt like her head was going to explode. The blackness turned blindingly bright then broke into an angry flash of colors and images. Faces began to emerge from the mix of colors but the sounds got louder the voices became angrier and Hinata began to scream.

She didn't like this. She couldn't hear anything; she couldn't see anything it was just a jumble of colors and a loud crash of sounds and voices all yelling at each other. She screamed again for the screaming to stop, she felt something hard hit her head and the bright colors melted to black. The screaming and yelling fell into quiet whispers of her name.

"Hinata…"

"Hinata-chan,"

"Hinata!"

"Hinata!"

"Hinata!"

As she heard her name being chanted outside her mind Hinata looked for the source of it but her eyes only saw a pair of bright blue eyes looking down at her. She met them begging them not to go anywhere, begging him to stay.

"Naruto…" She whispered and the eyes disappeared into black nothing and it was quiet again.

Hanabi held her sisters hand on the porch where she had just had an intense freak out scaring them both half to death. She and Neji had been training and Hinata had been entranced with the ring she had been playing with when they heard her scream.

They looked over confused at first but when Hanabi saw her holding the sides of her face and her face in some sort of pain they both rushed towards her. They called to her but she didn't seem to hear them. She started to shake her head and hold down her hears. She cried out as if something was hurting her and Hanabi go scared.

"Hinata!" She began to cry franticly attempting to shake her sister who was starting to shake herself. Just as Neji came to get a hold on the hysteric girl Hinata flew herself backwards hitting her head with a loud thud on the wood behind her.

"Hinata!" Hanabi had called again and she started to get quiet. Neji ran for someone to help them but she stayed with her.

Hanabi watched as her sisters eyes stared into nothing and yet seemed as if they were concentrating hard on something.

"Hi…" Hanabi started but saw her sister give a strange smile and utter a name under her breath.

"Naruto…" Hinata said and her eyes fell closed her hand in Hanabi's fell limp.

As Hanabi began to inspect her sister Neji came thundering back with her father in close tow.

"What happened?" Her father demanded his face intense with worry.

"I don't know," Hanabi explained still looking at her now unconscious sister.

"She just started to have a fit Hiashi-sama. We couldn't calm her down and then she hit her head." Neji explained as her father knelt down to the sleeping girl.

He put a hand on her head under her bangs.

"Hinata," He said but she didn't stir. "Hinata can you hear me?"

When they got no response Hiashi turned to Neji with a stern look.

"Take her to the hospital; I will go to Tsunade Hanabi you come with me to tell her what happened."

"But father…" Hanabi started, she didn't think taking Hinata to the hospital was the best idea, maybe if they just let her sleep for a bit.

"Hanabi!" Her father warned and she shut her mouth letting go of her sisters limp hand while Neji scooped her up. He was off in a flash and Hanabi followed her father as he too jumped to the roof tops getting to the Hokage's office in top speed.

"How did training go today?" Tsunade said looking out the window. Today was a beautiful day and yet she couldn't help but feel there was some sort of storm heading towards them. It all seemed too peaceful and too perfect today on the brink of war.

"It went well." Sakura answered gathering a pile of books together to sort out and return to the library.

"Any improvements?" Tsunade continued staring out the window.

"Not that I noticed." Sakura answered and a book fell off the desk taking a coffee mug with it shattering on the floor.

"Shit!" Sakura cursed. "I'm sorry I'll clean it up!"

At the sound of the crash Tsunade turned and glared down at the shards of the coffee cup. She wasn't one to really believe such superstition but sometimes…

Hanabi watched as her father almost ran past the secretaries and guards of the Hokage and went strait to her door. He almost plowed through anyone who tried to stop him and if anyone did she would personally make sure they would regret it. When he burst through the door she saw Sakura picking up pieces to what looked like a broken coffee cup and Tsunade staring at it with a fixed frown.

"Hokage-sama!" Hiashi said rushing towards her. "It's Hinata!" He said short on breath. "Something's happened to her!"

"What happened?" Both Sakura and Tsunade demanded.

"She-she had some sort of fit." Hanabi said quickly. "She just started screaming and thrashing holding her head and then she passed out."

"Where is she now?" Tsunade asked calmly but her blazing eyes showed she was anything but calm.

"In the hospital I had Neji take her." Hiashi answered.

Tsunade looked to her apprentice who nodded and was out the door at once off to the hospital to begin shouting orders at the nurses and doctors.

"Was this the first time this happened?" Tsunade asked walking towards the door Hiashi and Hanabi one step behind her.

"Yes," Hanabi answered.

"Did she show any strange signs of anything before? Was there anything out of the ordinary with her all day today or yesterday?"

"No." Hanabi said quickly. "She was just sitting there and then…" She stopped talking when an image hit her head.

Hinata staring at the ring. Hinata saying Naruto's name. Naruto.

She ran ahead of them, she heard her father call her name but she ignored him. If Tsunade was going to go treat Hinata she was in the best of hands, she would be of no use simply twisting her fingers together waiting for answers. She had to find Naruto and tell him what happened, she had to tell Naruto what Hinata said and what she was doing.

She ran out the doors fast and down the street. If there was one thing she knew about Naruto through her sister it was when he was upset or depressed he wasn't at home he was in the training grown six. She sped past the citizens of Konoha until the training grounds came into view. She flew past number one, two, three, and all of them until she found ground six and saw him.

She called out to him; her voice becoming more frantic then she thought she felt. He turned to her confused and surprised she was flying towards him so fast.

"Hanabi?" He asked when she stopped in front of him.

"What are you…"

"It's Hinata!" She said suddenly and the confusion on his face was replaced with something she had never seen before. It was a strange mix of worry, anger, and sadness.

"What about Hinata?" He demanded grabbing her shoulders with surprising strength.

"She had a…I don't know she just…"

"Just what!" his eyes narrowed and she swore she saw a flash of red in those bright blues.

"She was just sitting there and then she started to just have a fit!"

"A what?"

"I don't know, she just started screaming and then she passed out!"

"Where is she now!" Naruto's frantic emotions were shown on his sleeve. Her heart went out to him.

"In the hospital with Sakura and Tsunade…Naruto wait!"

She wanted to tell him before she passed out from her fit she had been contently looking at his ring and smiling. She wanted to tell him she said his name while she looked so unfocused yet so focused on something she couldn't see. But before she knew it she was alone in training ground six the wind suddenly feeling much harsher then it had this morning.

When Hanabi had come to him he knew something was wrong. Hanabi never went to find him like that unless something was wrong with Hinata. The only time she did that was when she went to find him after the monstrous fight Hinata had with her father on his account. With Hanabi's help they got to the room where Hinata had been locked it because her father told her he would lock her up if he had to, to keep her away from him. Hanabi only chose to play a role in their relationship when she knew it could end badly if she didn't intervene and so far she had been right.

Seeing Hanabi run to him in such a panic state hand Naruto numb down to his toes in fear, and yet now in the hospital where his wife could be in danger or worse then before he was expected to simply wait for answers. He paced up and down outside the doors. He paced and he growled whenever someone attempted to tell him to sit down and wait. How could he just wait!? No one was telling him anything. No one was saying anything about her, something serious could be happening to her and no one was telling him! How could he just sit down and wait! Neji and Hiashi sat patently on the benches outside the doors where Hanabi currently was no body seemed to know or care. Everyone jumped at the smallest sound coming form the room behind the closed double doors.

The door opened and Sakura came out, Naruto all but pounced on her.

"What's going on! Is she okay! What happened!" Naruto asked not even pausing for a breath. Hiashi was right behind him followed by both Neji who looked calm but anyone could feel the intense aura around them.

"Stress." Sakura said simply taking a step back.

"Stress?" Naruto repeated as if he didn't believe it.

"Tsunade thinks the stress of everything has taken a toll on Hinata and her mind couldn't handle it so it freaked out."

"That doesn't sound like good news." Naruto said with a strange glare on his friend.

"Not its not, but we don't believe she is in any serious danger either. I think her mind is just overwhelmed with everything and needs to recuperate."

"When can we see her?" Naruto demanded again and Sakura took another step back from his intensity.

"I…don't…you'll have to ask Tsunade about that. Tsunade is still busy with some more tests just to make sure there is nothing really wrong."

"But Sakura!" Naruto started but she turned around.

"Sorry but Tsunade asked me to just brief you I need to go back to help her. Just wait here and Tsunade will come out later."

Before Naruto could get another hold on his pink haired friend she disappeared behind the protected white doors. Frustrated again Naruto did all he could to keep from punching through the white walls around them. He heard Hiashi and Neji grumble behind, both feeling the same frustration on their lack of information on the current situation.

Defeated and knowing he was Naruto went and took a seat away from the Hyuuga family. He heard footsteps coming around the corner but ignored them. He heard Hiashi speak something to someone harshly but he ignored it running his hands through his tangled hair resting his elbows on his knees. He shut his eyes squeezing them tight beginning to beg to every god in the known universe for everything to go away. To let this all be a dream. A horrible dream he couldn't wake up from.

"Naruto," He felt a light hand touch his and he almost jumped. He looked up seeing white eyes look at him anxiously and for a split second his heart jumped but feel horribly when he saw the rest of the face the eyes belonged to. Hinata looked at him unblinking until he answered.

"Yeah?" He asked turning away from her looking at anything else. Sometimes Hanabi looked so much like her sister it was just too hard to look at her.

"Before Hinata…had…before she…" She cleared her throat. "She had this." She held out her hand to him. He looked at the small object in her hand and a strange suffocating feeling came over him. In Hanabi's hand was a the wedding ring Naruto returned to her in far hopes it would perhaps trigger some sort of memory from her.

"Um…" Naruto didn't know what she wanted him to say nor did he want to take it back. It was her ring not his, he had given it to her.

"She was smiling, staring at it completely oblivious to anything around her." Hanabi said placing the ring in Naruto's hand who continued to just stair at it.

"…smiling?" Naruto repeated quietly. Hanabi nodded and closed his hand around it.

"Maybe when she wakes up you can give it back to her."

Naruto looked up at the normally quiet and some what cold girl who had the smallest most hopeful smile on her face.

"Hanabi…" He started but she interrupted him.

"She loves you." She whispered to him now close to his face her eyes wide. "I think…somewhere deep in her she knows she does." She said her hand grabbing tightly to this enclosed fist around the ring.

Naruto didn't say anything else; he had forgotten how to speak. Hanabi stood up and took a seat next to Neji across the room. Naruto was so transfixed on the ring in his closed hand he didn't see the shared glance between the cousins and then Hiashi. He didn't see her father nod to Hanabi who gave him a small hopeful smile in return.

The first thing she heard when she opened her eyes was loud pouring rain and a piercing crackle of thunder. It startled her causing her to sit strait up in her bed, her body suddenly tense and all too aware of all the sounds of lack there of around her.

"Hey…" She jumped at the crackled voice at her side searching in the dark for the owner of the voice.

"Thunder wake you up?" They asked again and now she recognized the voice.

"Naruto?" She asked staring at the emerging figure from the dark. She saw the outline of spiky hair and slowly she saw his face and his tired eyes.

"Yeah," He said scooting close to her from his chair.

"Am I in the hospital?" She asked looking around again.

"Yeah," He answered.

"Why?"

"You don't remember?" She may not be able to see his very well but she heard the fear in his voice.

"I…I remember I was sitting on the porch watching Hanabi and Neji train. Then I…I heard these voices and saw all these faces. It scared me. Then it went black."

"Voices?" Naruto asked and the lighting flashed. She saw how he was sitting up now. She reached for the lamp to turn it on to see him better.

Under the soft lamp light she saw how tired he looked. There were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in days…

She gasped.

"How long have I been in here?"

"A couple hours maybe more."

"What time is it?"

"A little before two." He answered looking at the clock on the wall.

"Don't you have a mission?"

"Not till dawn." He said turning back to her smiling. "Hinata bout the voices?"

"They were loud." She said settling back in her pillow looking out to the hard rain.

"Loud?"

"A lot of yelling and screaming, then it faded into whispers before it went away."

He was quiet for a moment.

"You should tell Tsunade when you see her." He said. She turned back to look at him, he had his elbows on her bed with his chin resting on his clasped hands looking deep in thought.

She giggled causing him to look at her with a very strange expression.

"What?" He breathed.

"You shouldn't look so serious Naruto-kun, it doesn't fit you." She said reaching out her left hand to touch his face but he grabbed it instead.

"I have something for you." He said quietly reaching into his breast pocket on his jacket.

"You do?" Did he get her a present?

"Hanabi said you dropped this," He said pulling on the silver ring and holding it in front of her his other hand still holding hers.

She looked at it for a very long silent moment before looking back at him who had been staring at her.

"Are you coming back?" She asked a sudden sadness filling her. Why did this feeling feel so familiar.

"Yes." Naruto said his voice rasping for some reason.

She nodded reaching for the ring with her free hand but Naruto slipped it on her ring finger. Hinata watched surprised but unable to stop him. When the ring was on her finger he kissed her hand. A very pleasant yet very intense shiver ran from the spot he kissed her through her entire body.

"I'll come back to you." He said quietly looking into her eyes and Hinata could not help the smile that came across her face.

"Are you packed?" She asked suddenly and he shook his head.

"Are you going to?" She asked and he nodded. She looked back to the rain at her window.

"Can you stay with me until I fall back to sleep?" She asked quietly and she felt him nod in her hand.

Hinata settled back into her pillow her hand still in his looking out the window letting the sound the rain pull her back into sleep. She didn't see Naruto leave close to five am; she didn't feel him kiss her check good bye. She didn't hear him promise to come back to her and they could pick up where they left.

Hinata didn't hear or see any of it, but when she dreamed she dreamed of him. And the next morning when she woke up alone she didn't mind because in her memory she remembered him and their moment together and her dream. It was enough to make her smile and make her cry at the same time.

TBC - Naruto Goes on his Mission, Hinata has to adjust to not having him around. Meanwhile the elders take advantage of Hinata's current naive state about the man she used to love.

AN: No I never forgot about this fiction I was just having some horrid writers block and I have a job where I work the night shift from 6pm-4am. My sister is graduating in a few weeks and going to go to Baylor so we are really busy getting ready for that. My best friend just had a baby (pics are in my home page) we're still short handed at work and I have 50hrs works weeks. Its really hard to find time to write.

Well anyway I hope you guys like this chapter I do. Also, if your worried about the story being a slow progress. Yes. Yes it is.