Chapter 10

N/A: Hi everyone! Finally we are on our tenth chapter! For those of you who have been with me since chapter one, thank you so much, you guys are great! And for those that barely found this fanfic, I hope you guys have enjoyed it so far!

I do have one more thing to clear up. I've had at least two readers asking me how old Naruto and Hinata were so I'm just going to state it here right now. In the first chapter, I stated that Naruto was twenty-five so given that in the actual Kishi manga Hinata is only two months younger than him, she is also the same age so for my fanfic it will also be the same. I did not try to play around with their age much because I did not think that it would affect anyone but I guess it did so I hope I cleared this up a bit. If you guys do have any more questions, feel free to ask away. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

DISCLAIMER: Don't own Naruto.

"… Who murdered your parents?"

Hinata covered her mouth immediately, regretting ever asking such a personal question. She shook her head, scooting away from the blonde male and began apologizing, "I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to –"

Before she could even back away far enough, Naruto had already pinned her to the wall, startling her, "Why do you want to know all of a sudden?" he question, staring at the timid girl skeptically. "Did you perhaps meet someone while I was gone last night?"

Hinata shook her head profusely hoping the blonde would believe her. She shut her eyes as Naruto leaned in closer and whimpered when he held her chin tightly much like how he had done so many times when they first met. Her body shivered from fright as the hairs on her body stuck out, giving her goose bumps.

She let out an afraid gasp when the male touched her bottom lip with his thumb, parting it from her upper one. Her eyes willingly opened and she looked straight at him in the eyes, witnessing how the ocean blue flashed bloody red before returning back to original color. Her eyes widened.

Why did she have to remind him about his parents? Naruto thought. Everything about Hyuuga Hinata reminded him of his deceased parents and having her ask about them made it even worse. The way she was, her clan, her face and most of all, her eyes, those lonely-moon eyes that he detest oh-so-much reminded him of them.

He didn't want to think of his passed parents while looking at the girl. All the other times when they had brought up the topic, Naruto had been holding it in only but now he couldn't simply let it go. The anger inside of him was growing and he hated the girl for bringing them up because it hurt him.

It hurt to know that he was giving shelter to the person who resembled the person that murdered his parents. It hurt him to the core knowing that he had found comfort with this person yet, deep down he hated her guts.

Hinata squirmed, holding in her tears as she struggled to break the male's strong grip that was now around her small neck now. She saw his eyes changed from blue to red numerously and wondered if he was slowly turning into the demon he was. Her tears finally slide down her face; she was so afraid.

The timid girl was scared for her life. She didn't know that asking about Naruto's parents would trigger the demon inside of him. She didn't know such a topic was so sensitive to his ears. Hinata never meant to insult him.

Naruto continued to choke the young Hyuuga. He knew he wanted to stop but his body showed no avail. His body was feeling stronger and he knew it wasn't from his own powers but from the demon in him. He needed to stop, needed to let go of the Hyuuga's neck before he killed her.

The blonde's eyes closed tightly as he fought with himself, he couldn't let the demon take over his body.

"Naruto stop!"

The blonde male gasped immediately at the sudden voice and let go of Hinata's neck quickly. He looked both ways, searching for the owner of the voice then watched as the timid girl stumbled to the floor, choking and coughing as she desperately grasped for air. Naruto looked down at her then his hands, the hands he had choked her with and let out a shocking breathe.

He couldn't believe what he had just done. Why did he do it? Was he that angry at her? His mind was filled with many questions unanswered as his knees bailed out on him, earning him a fall to the floor also. His body shook unwillingly as he stared at his hands that nearly killed a person.

Slowly, the blonde male raised his head to look at the girl before him; her face was covered by her long dark-hair as her hands lifelessly rested beside her. He unknowingly reached over to her, almost touching her pale cheeks before she lifted her head and stared at him with terrified eyes. He tilted his head and frowned, knowing that he scared her.

"Hyu –"

As he tried to reach her again, Hinata brought her hands and knees up to her chest, shielding herself from the male. He paused for a second and just stared at her, knowing how much he had scar her. He didn't mean to honestly and he wanted to let her know that.

He didn't know what had overcome him. Suddenly he wasn't himself. If he hadn't heard that much too familiar voice, perhaps he would have choked Hinata to her death. Why did he do it?

Without farther thinking, Naruto reached over to her for the third time and pulled her in between his legs, cradling her tightly even though she was trying to fight him off. He forced her head to rest against his chest as she cried and thought how much of a jerk he was. Naruto frowned, maybe she had asked him something personal but he did not have to get angry over it.

He felt her struggling stop as she slowly grabbed onto a piece of his shirt and tightening her grip around it with her head still resting on his chest. She slowed down her crying, sniffling now and mumbled something to the male for him to catch only the last few words.

"… I'm really sorry."

Naruto made a deep sighed and gently patted the Hyuuga by her head, making sure she wasn't afraid of him unlike earlier. He slowly pulled her away to arms-length, forcing her to face him and pinned his lips guilty when he saw the redness of her cheeks along with her eyes. It was then when he really knew just how fragile Hyuuga Hinata was.

The blonde male used his thumbs to firmly wipe the tears on Hinata's cheeks then lifted her head up to look at her abused neck, "Does it still hurt?" he cautiously asked, hoping the girl was not holding any grudges against him which he couldn't blame her. He stared her a little longer, knowing just how selfless she was and knew that she would not give him the answer he wanted to hear. And indeed he was correct when the young girl shook her head.

"You have to tell me the truth," Naruto calmly demanded, "I don't –"

"It doesn't hurt, honestly," Hinata forced a gentle smile and broke away from his hold, "a – also, it's my fault for bringing up your parents. I shouldn't have done so." She looked down to her lap again; avoiding the blonde's burning stare and bit her lips nervously. She hated that she should be afraid of the said male but here she was, gladly receiving aid from him. Has she always been so forgiving?

When the indigo heiress decided to stand up, she found herself pulled back to the floor by the male with his hands securely around her arms. Her teary eyes slowly expanded as the male's hands cautiously moved from her arm to her shoulders then her neck once again but this time much gentler. Her eyes closed willingly as the male rubbed the spot where his hands had squeezed earlier with his thumbs.

Her breathe hitched and her eyes opened immediately when she felt the moist feeling of Naruto's lips on her neck. She squirmed, gripping his shoulders tightly to push him away but the male held her in place as he kissed the other side of the part where he had choked her. He left many more kiss marks before releasing her and making her look at him.

Hinata was panting hard now, her heart beating tremendously at the thought of Naruto's lips on her neck. Blood rushed throughout her body, thinking of the intimate touch the blonde bachelor had given her. Why did he do it? She frowned.

What was with Uzumaki Naruto? One point he's furious and threatening then the next, he's sincere and caring. The timid girl couldn't quite figure him out. It was as if she was living with more than one Naruto in the house and she couldn't figure out which one was the real one.

The shuffling of the front shouji door opening brought the two back to their senses, making Naruto jumped to his feet immediately, "Stand up," he ushered, pulling his hand out for the indigo-hair girl to hold onto. Hinata held her hands close to her chest looking at the blonde's for a second, asking herself if she should take his hand or not.

She bit her bottom lips when her eyes met with the males and saw how he raised an eyebrow at her as if telling her to hurry. She frowned. Naruto's attitude had changed again, now he was demanding.

The blonde huffed in relief as Hinata reached her hand out to grab his. He didn't take the time to miss the softness of her hands on his rough ones as he then quickly pulled her up, smashing her body with his which earned him a surprise gasp from the girl. Her eyes reluctantly closed as he touched her neck again with one hand while the other firmly held her waist.

He forced his eyes to tear away from her flesh, afraid he wouldn't be able to hold himself back from kissing her milky skin again and devouring her right there and then. Naruto sighed, it was practically begging for attention.

Hinata took in a deep breath and slowly peeled her eyes open to look at the male holding her. She pinned her lips shut when she saw that the male was already staring at her with an intense gaze. She let out a breath of relief when he let her lose and turned to face the two maids that entered the hallway.

"Good morning Uzumaki-sama, good morning Hyuuga-san," the two ladies greeted, making their respective bows before leaving the two alone again.

They stayed silent, standing in the middle of the hallway with their backs facing each other as if who could last the longest. Naruto swiftly turned around when Hinata took a step towards her room and called out to her, halting the girl on her spot. He stared at her back finally realizing how small it looked and furrowed his brows.

Naruto was not an expert but he could tell when someone was slowly becoming depressed and Hinata was the perfect example of it. What have I done to her? He thought. If he figured it right, the whole time Hinata was with him, he had kept her in his home like a prisoner, never letting her see the outside world. One could really become depressed seeing nothing but brown walls and a dark room.

The blonde swallowed his saliva, hesitating for a while before he softly spoke up. He touched the back of his head boyishly as he looked straight at the girl, "As an apology, let me take you out of here for a while," he nervously stated and frowned, when was he ever nervous though?

Hinata did not miss a chance at taking up his offer as she immediately turned around and looked at the awaiting blonde with surprise dancing in her eyes. She nodded her head only, afraid of her own voice then slowly turned back around and walked away to her room.

When inside, the young Hyuuga couldn't help but feel her heart beat pumping inside her chest as if wanting to be set free of its cage. She slid down to the ground, wondering if Naruto really did want to apologize only or because he felt pity. She quickly shook her head; either way she was getting out of Uzumaki-san's ground for a while and that was all it took for her to feel delighted once more.

All the things that happened a while ago quickly vanished as Hinata's head was now filled with seeing things outside of Naruto's place. She was finally going to feel free again after three long months.

Hiashi woke up with a start, a head ach kicking in immediately after an unwelcome dream. He groaned, planting his face in the depths of his palms as he vividly remembered how his dream went. Hinata's clothes were shredded into pieces with her pure body covered in blood all over her body. The clan leader nearly puked as an image of an old man appeared in his sight of vision. His hands turned into fists; if he ever found his daughter in that sort of situation with some dirty old bastard, he vowed to never let the person have any mercy.

The male groaned again, wondering just how long his daughter had been missing. Nearly four months, he remembered. Oh, how four months gone by so quick.

Hiashi tried to get off the bed only to find himself stumbling back down as a migraine kicked in, making the things he saw around him turn in circles. He had never felt so weak before. The elder man was becoming ill for missing his lost daughter a little too much all at the same time feeling guilty for neglecting his youngest daughter. Hanabi did not deserve to be ignored just because she was stronger but then what could he do? While growing up, Hinata was hardly ever shown gratitude for she was too weak.

A tear dripped from his lonesome moon-eyes as he thought of his daughters. He knew they had it hard growing up for their mother was gone even before the two were fully grown. He felt so powerless; one of his daughters was missing or perhaps she was dead right now and the other was being taken care of by someone else other than him and he couldn't anything but watch from afar.

Hiashi took in a deep breathe, calming himself down as he didn't want anyone seeing him look so weak. He knew he had to be brave, he had to trust Neji in finding Hinata and he had to trust Hanabi to wait a little longer until he found his way back. He needed his people to believe in him to believe that one day he will get back on his feet and be the great leader he was.

The trios stopped in front of another town that looked much duller than the previous one. The place certainly did not have any children running around. There were hardly any markets around and the people there looked poor.

"This place looks horrible," Ko gagged, clenching his hands to his chest.

"It doesn't look safe here, Neji," Hoheto commented, staring intensely at the male beside him. His head turned back around to face the dark aura of the village and furrowed his brows. There was something about the dull town that did not give off a good vibe.

"We have to find Hinata, remember?" Neji stated, "In order to find her, we have to do whatever it takes even if it means we have to fight."

The two looked at Neji, witnessing the determination he had and found themselves gaining it also. It was Hinata they were talking about, the Hyuuga heiress who over the years gave them proof that she had what it takes to be a leader. They couldn't just back out now and leave her behind just because the town they had stumbled upon did not look safe.

Hoheto inhaled a deep breath and grinned, feeling his determination rise also. This was the way he was supposed to feel, the energy that he was supposed to have as he looked for their heiress. Hinata was not just any heiress though, she was family.

"Yosh!" the older male shouted gaining attention from the two younger Hyuugas.

Ko looked at Neji and Hoheto in awe, seeing the powers they had radiating throughout their bodies. He smiled brightly, the nervousness he had a while ago disappearing into thin air and turned his head forward also, staring at the dark village. If there was one thing he was afraid of, it was not being able to find Hinata.

Neji shut his eyes close, allowing the words that Tenten; his new friend who he had met at the previous town. "I'm sure she is waiting patiently for you to take her back home," he sighed, hearing her calm voice. Tenten really was something, she was on another level of being a female and he admired her for that.

The young Hyuuga pinned his lips shut, hoping that somewhere in the area that Hinata was in, she really was waiting for him. He slowly opened his eyes again, taking in a deep breath before he walked into the foreign village with Hoheto and Ko right behind him. It was going to be a long day.

Naruto stood outside the house, staring up at the late afternoon sky wondering to himself if what he was doing was a good idea or not. He didn't want anything to backfire him in the end. It was already difficult enough that he was keeping the Hyuuga hidden in his home, let alone had stolen her and now he was taking her out. Had he gone ill?

The blonde shut his eyes close, letting the soft breeze hit his face and inhaled deeply. What would his parents do? He thought. Naruto always had a knit of following orders with passion, especially from his parents. He was a good son, sometimes stubborn but only because he loved the attention he received from his parents.

He listened well to his parents, always following their steps of how to become a noble person without ever having to shut others down for his own good. He liked to think his parents were the best people he ever knew and was always proud to be their son. They always knew what to do.

Now without them, Naruto was confused. He didn't know why even though he was supposed to despise the Hyuuga, he pity her so much. He couldn't keep away from her, couldn't let her be alone, afraid she would die of loneliness. Was it because he knew how impenetrable it was to be lonely that he simply couldn't let another human being feel the same?

There was something about Hyuuga Hinata that pulled him in to her. As much as he had seen her as threat on their first time meeting, now she was merely a normal person to him. She wasn't exactly how he had pictured a Hyuuga would be. She did not have a sharp and dark piercing stare like the man he saw once.

What bothered him more was her attitude towards him. She did not show any sign of hatred toward him-even after he had willingly laid his hands on her. Twice.

Naruto groaned, sulking in fact and buried his face in his palms. He had just realized that Hyuuga Hinata had a long temper and he admired her for that.

Deep in thought, the male missed to feel the present that had stood up next to him until she voiced out to him, "Sorry for the wait, Uzumaki-san we can leave now," Hinata stated, bringing the blonde back to his senses. Naruto quickly advert his attention towards the petite girl beside him, enlarging his eyes quickly at how marvelous she looked.

Since it was such a last minute offer, Naruto did not have the time to actually buy a proper outfit for Hinata hence he told the maids to take out a pair of his late mother's kimonos for the girl. It was an auburn red kimono with black flowers decorating throughout it along with a black strap around just above her waist and below her chest. Not wanting to anyone to see who she was, the blonde had also insisted on putting a veil on top of her head to cover her face.

Naruto swayed his head a little to the side as the young Hyuuga peeked up at him through her long lashes, a hint of blush appearing on her cheeks. He smirked, liking her new look. Compared to her wearing the same worn out and faded white kimono that the maids had provided for her, she looked much lively with the colored kimono. She actually looked like the Hyuuga heiress she was.

Hinata slightly jumped as the blonde firmly landed one of his palms on her back and the other held out towards the gate. "Shall we go?" Naruto suggested, sending her a soft smile this time as he continued to stare at her. Not trusting her voice as she was so eager to finally see the outside of Naruto's compound, she nodded her head.

With her hands clenched tightly onto her borrowed kimono and Naruto's warm palm still on her back, they walked towards the gate, exiting it to enter the carriage that was waiting for them.

And that's a wrap for chapter ten! I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter, I tried really hard not to have any mistakes but I'm sure there were. Thank you for reading and please look forward for the next update!