Yay! Chapter 12. I haven't updated in a while... sorry about that. I have been busy. Anyway hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or his awesomeness

Hinata exited the hospital room and nearly ran into Sakura. "Oh, s-sorry Sakura." She said looking at her feet. Hinata felt like at any moment she would start to cry, and she didn't even know why.

Naruto was going to be let out soon. Hinata looked up and noticed that everyone was still standing outside of the door.

They are all still here... they are concerned about Naruto. she thought.

"Hinata… is there anything I can do?" Neji asked feeling like this whole thing was his fault.

"Y-you can find out w-who d-did this," Hinata responded. Neji was a little taken back. He was just trying to be nice. Really he didn't think that she would say anything.

"Please forgive me Hinata. I shouldn't have started this whole thing in the first place," he said.

"I'm n-n-not the one y-you should b-be asking to forgive you," Hinata said seriously staring right into eyes that looked just like hers.

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It was midday and Naruto was finally let out of the hospital. The chaos at the hospital with all of Naruto's friends was over. He didn't want to see any of them. They left eventually, and Naruto was finally able to leave his room without being followed by the eyes of all of the ninja. All of the papers containing his picture were gone, but there was still a strange feeling around the village.

As Naruto walked along the street he could feel the peoples' gazes settling nervously on him.

'They have always known… why have they started this again?' he thought. It was true the people of the village always knew… but now that everyone, including the children that had never learned about the Kyuubi attack, knew the whole cycle has started again. Naruto walked along trying to keep his gaze down. Every once in a while he would catch little bits of people talking about him.

"Demon…" they whispered.

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Neji was getting more and more frustrated by the minute. He paced through the yard of the Hyuga complex thinking about what he was going to do.

"Neji," someone called. Neji turned already beginning to think up an excuse.

"Yes?" he asked.

"You have not trained in a few days. You must train today." Hiashi demanded.

Neji could not think of anything to say but the truth. "I have to help Naruto," he replied.

"You have no business with that boy. He is nothing but-" Hiashi started.

"No! Some of this is my fault!" Neji interrupted. "I was only trying to do your job. I was trying to protect Hinata! I had to because… well because you just ignore her and treat her like she is nothing! She had been training harder than anyone just so she can please you. She wishes to become stronger and she works for that. She does so many things for people. She helps them and she completes her missions correctly, yet you concentrate only on what she does wrong." He added looking straight at Hiashi.

"My job?! My job is only to keep the Hyuga name in its place and make sure that we have only the strongest. Hinata was just not one of them." Hiashi spat harshly.

"She is so much stronger than you think. In fact her strength is much greater than mine! She has the strength to stand up for Naruto when no one else will. Not even I could do that. All I did was bring him down…" Neji sighed.

Hiashi's eyes pierced Neji. He could feel it. Neji turned and walked out of the Hyuga complex determined to find Naruto.

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Hinata packed her things. She didn't even know if she was going to leave the village. She just knew that she had to do something. Hinata was going to find the person who did this, but she needed help.

Leaving her room, Hinata walked down the hallway toward the door. "Oh! F-father! Umm… Good evening." She greeted in surprise as he came walking down the same hall. Hiashi stopped and looked at Hinata.

"Where are you going?" he asked finally, gesturing toward the backpack she was carrying.

"I-I am going on a m-m-mission," Hinata lied.

"Well… umm… Don't be a…" Hiashi paused.

He is going to say it... 'Dont be a burden Hinata...'

"Be careful," he said. Hinata's eyes widened.

He didn't say it

"I-I will… thank you f-father." She said in a whisper.

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"I can find him on my own!" Naruto said frustrated.

"I only want to help! I ask for your forgiveness, Naruto." said Neji. Hinata just stood there in Naruto's apartment watching the two argue. She had found Neji as he was searching for Naruto. Hinata was doing the same thing. They both wanted to help him find the person who put those papers everywhere.

Naruto sighed. "All right, let's just find this baka," he said.

They all set out into the village. They asked all over the place. Neji kept describing what the old man that told him about the Kyuubi looked like. He figured that the old man would be a good start to finding the person responsible. They searched the shops, the food stands, and the complexes. Finally they came upon a woman who recognized the old man from Neji's description.

"Oh, yes. His name is Hiaso. He lives about two blocks down." the woman explained pointing down the street.

"Thank you," Hinata said, bowing her head. Before Hinata could even turn around, Naruto was already running down the street. He stopped and knocked on the door. Hiaso answered the door.

"Yes?" he asked. Neji and Hinata caught up with Naruto.

"Have you seen him before? Perhaps you told him about the Kyuubi inside me?" Naruto accused. Just then the man pushed past Naruto and took off running.

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Naruto stopped and leaned up against a tree panting. Hinata stood beside him looking around. The forest just outside the village was thick with humidity. They had chased the man for what seemed like hours around the village. Now they had him cornered just outside the village entrance.

"This man is fast," Neji stated.

"There!" Hinata whispered, pointing ahead. Neji and Hinata were using their byakugan to find him. In one swift movement, Naruto was there standing in front of the man.

The man backed up, staggered a bit, and fell into the dirt. "Please! Please don't hurt me!" he pleaded. That was when Naruto realized… this was really just an old man. Could this man have done something so cruel?

"Yes, that's him." Neji confirmed. "That is the old man who told me about the Kyuubi." He added. Naruto flinched a bit. The word Kyuubi sounded so strange when his friends said it.

Naruto grabbed Hiaso by his shirt and held him up against a tree. "You… you did this?! You put those papers everywhere!" Naruto accused.

"I was w-warning the v-village!" Hiaso said shakily.

"Warning the village?! Why now?" Naruto asked trying to keep his control.

"Him!" the man shouted pointing to Neji. "He was looking to find out about the seal… and no one would tell him. It reminded me of… it reminded me of my son." The old man explained. A single tear rolled down his tired face.

"You! You did it! You killed my son! He was a ninja. A shinobi! He wanted to fight for the village when the Kyuubi attacked. He died fighting…" Hiaso screamed squirming under Naruto's grip on his shirt. Naruto let go of the man and backed up.

'I… his son…' Naruto thought.

"No!" Hinata screamed. She was standing just behind Naruto. "No… Naruto was n-not the one w-w-who killed your s-son! It was the Kyuubi!" Hinata yelled. She stepped in front of Naruto. Hinata gently placed her palm on Naruto's stomach where the seal was. "This s-seal. It does not m-mark Naruto as a monster like you think. It marks h-him as a hero. He s-saved the v-village. You w-would be dead just like your son if it weren't for him!" Hinata shouted in the man's face.

"Hinata…" Naruto whispered. Naruto couldn't believe what was happening.

"So… sir, you are telling me that you put those papers everywhere to warn the villagers of Naruto? Why would you do that, when everyone knew already? You even told me that yourself," Neji said.

"I wanted to warn the villagers, yes… but I really wanted to warn the children; the generation that didn't know. The people that knew about the Kyuubi attack never spoke of it. It was painful… I know what that beast is capable of." Hiaso responded.

"How can you do that?! How can you just blame Naruto for your son's death?!" Hinata yelled stepping toward Hiaso. Hinata's emotion was boiling over now.

Naruto took a step back from Hinata. He had never seen her so… angry.

"Hinata…" Neji said grabbing her arm. Hinata stopped and took a deep breath. All she wanted to do was beat this man.

"You love this boy," the old man stated half smiling. Hinata's eyes widened. Naruto blushed a bit and he scratched the back of his head. "I can tell. You seem like a very sweet, quiet girl, but because I did this to Naruto your courage has come out. You have spoken out for him. That's how I know you love him." He added. Hinata and Naruto looked at each other. Neji smiled slightly.

Hinata's entire face broke out into a deep blush. Hinata hadn't felt like fainting in a while, but now she felt she was going to collapse right then and there.

"Well, old man. Now that I know it was you... I can't do anything about it." Naruto stated, clearly disappointed.

"What do you mean?" the man asked confused.

"What you did... I could very well kill you for it. You are just an old man... what am I supposed to do? Take revenge on you? No... it just wouldn't be right." he answered.

Ooh. So what will happen to Hiaso? Maybe Naruto will perform a thousand years of pain on him (you know, that awesome ass poke that Kakashi used on Naruto!). Ok, maybe not but that old man is going to get what's coming. In the next chapter Naruto stands up in front of the whole village and makes a speech about the Kyuubi. Will they accept him? Will they realize what a hero he is? Please Please Please review!