Author's Note: It's that time again, time for another update. Now, you'll notice that it is much longer than what they have been, in fact the length the chapters use to be, and there is a good reason for that, several actually.

First, but not the most important reason, is because I feel the Naruto's Birthday storyline, however important for the character development, is going on a little long. Therefore, I have combined 36 and what would have been 37 to make it one larger chapter.

However, the second reason is a little bid sadder, I must admit. I haven't given much away in the area of personal information, but I feel that I should tell you this just so you know why the next update won't be coming for a while. I won't say too much, but I will at least tell you that I am not yet halfway through University, which means that whenever I talked about my workload, I meant my schoolwork. It has been piling up on me for several days now, what with midterms and other projects/tests coming around at the same time, and like I have always said, work comes first.

So, as a parting gift before I leave you for a while, I decided to give you an extra long chapter for your enjoyment, as well as a new chapter in my other story, Collateral Luck, which I would love it for you to check out and tell me what you think. I also have written a one-shot, and I highly recommend the few stories I have listed as my favorites, as they are all fantastic reads. I tell you this to hopefully give you something to tide you over, though I'm sure there are plenty of stories out there you can find enjoyment in.

I don't know when I'll be able to update again, but the minimum will at least be a week and a half later, meaning next weekend. It could be longer than that, but hopefully not. I just wanted to let you know that I cannot begin to describe the pleasure it's been writing for all of you, and I hope you look forward to the next chapter as much as I do. Thank you so much for your kind reviews and PM's; they mean a great deal to me.

Enjoy!

Book Two: Chapter 18 - It's the Big Day! Final Preparations Are Made.

Of all the shinobi of the Leaf Village, there was a good deal of them who hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Not because they were plagued with nightmares or the worries of their daily lives, but because they simply couldn't calm the excitement in their hearts. Naruto Uzumaki was considered a great hero of the village, and they felt like this celebration on the day of his birth was a great way to show how important he had become to everyone.

But because Naruto Uzumaki actually no idea of their plans, he was sound asleep, snoring peacefully underneath the nest of pillows and covers he had made during his usually temperamental sleep cycle. Somehow in the midst of the night his shirt had come flying off, and now sat across the room piled along with the rest of his dirty clothes. Even stranger, his pants had somehow become removed from only one leg, and this leg than forced its way through the hole already occupied, giving his legs very little…well, very little leg room.

Once in a blue moon, Naruto decided to actually set his alarm clock. He usually hated the noise, and because this lead to him smashing them to pieces, he went through them faster than he did most of the other things in his little apartment. Well, because of how important this day way, Naruto had set the alarm to wake him up in just a few seconds.

Riiiiiiiiiii-

Naruto's arm emerged from his cocoon, smashing the little clock to pieces. One of them embedded itself into his hair, and another arm snaked its way out to try and pick out the offending piece of debris. He flicked it against the wall, and yawned.

He swung his lower half to the edge of the bed, hoping to make his way into the kitchen to make some breakfast. However, his pants had other plans for him, and the moment he tried to step onto the floor, the bindings he had somehow forced himself into prevented his feet from balancing his position on the floor, and he tumbled forwards with a cry of surprise. Several empty ramen cups flew up into the air from the impact, and Naruto lay there for a few seconds, glad there was no one around to see something that embarrassing.

Finally, Naruto appeared in the kitchen, scowling. He hadn't found a way to remove his legs from his own pants without ripping or tearing into them, so eventually he just grabbed a kunai that was sitting on his nightstand, and cut himself free, before quietly mourning the loss of his dear pants.

He was standing in the middle of the room, took a deep breath, and smiled. Not because he was aware of what day it was, but more so because he knew who he could spend it with.

Yes, today was the day he had planned for he and Hinata to become 'reacquainted' with another, and Naruto was surely looking forward to it. He had no knowledge of her grand plan to celebrate his birthday; in fact, the fact that it was his own birthday hadn't even crossed his mind.

He noticed an unopened letter sitting on his floor by the door. Someone must have dropped that off while he was still asleep. Bending over to pick it up, Naruto frowned when he saw what it was.

Whenever it was someone's birthday in the village, they were allowed to have the day off, no missions or chores or anything. If they were currently on a mission when this occurred, they were allowed to pick the day they could take off. It was just a form letter the administration sent out to remind the particular person that it was their birthday, and that they could spend it however they wanted.

And Naruto Uzumaki did not like his birthday. To him, it was just another day to get through.

He tossed the letter in the trash, rubbing his nose as he made his way over to the cabinet to start putting some measly breakfast together. He wanted to save enough room for all the stuff he had planned for him and Hinata today.

Breakfast was over with, so next up was to change out of his ratty pajamas. Instead of his usual attire, Naruto went with a long-sleeved white shirt with a single bold orange stripe across the middle, as well as some light brown shorts. Most surprising, however, was the hat he grabbed, shoving it down onto his head. His bright blonde hair only stuck out the back, while the rest of it became hidden from sight.

He took a quick look at himself in the mirror, admiring himself, before he grabbed some things he needed for today, and headed out the door.

The moment he was outside, Naruto pulled his hat down over his eyes, enough to hide them should he want to, but not so much to make it seem suspicious. Naruto simply wanted to blend in today, and looking too plain could be just as obvious as the normally outrageous thing he wore.

Taking care to find a route to Hinata's house that took him through the least bit of foot traffic, Naruto was off, ducking into an alleyway. Its smell could be described as the most unholy of odors, but if he could avoid more people this way, Naruto would be happy to deal with it.

Naruto had slept like a baby last night. This was not the case for Hinata. Over the past few days, planning every single detail of Naruto's birthday party had left her mentally and physically exhausted, but in a good kind of way. That just meant that she was making sure everything would be perfect, and this was checked over once, twice, and three times over.

Anyway, she had been taking little micro-naps all night long, unable to get any decent rest. Normally this would leave her sluggish, but Hinata was far too excited to let something like that get in the way. After finally deciding 6:00 in the morning was late enough to stay inactive, Hinata began to get ready. It look her a little longer than usual to make herself look presentable, but a nice hot shower solved most of her insomnia-related problems, and she felt fully refreshed as she stepped back out into her bathroom.

As she brushed out the split ends and knots in her hair, Hinata considered her final dilemma for making sure everything went smoothly: she needed to find a way to get Naruto away from everything for a while. He was perhaps one of the nosiest people in the village when it came to secrets, and if he saw any of his friends setting everything up, he would surely want to know what was going on, and Hinata's cover would be blown. That couldn't happen, so she was hoping to visit him today, and bring him away from the village, so that everyone else could prepare.

So imagine her surprise when she came into the kitchen and found none other than Naruto Uzumaki talking with her father. But that wasn't just it. Naruto was arguing with her father.

"C'mon Pops! Is Hinata really that busy that she can't go out for even just a little while?" Naruto asked.

Hiashi was having none of it, and shook his head repeatedly. "No, Uzumaki-san, I'm afraid that simply isn't possible. My daughter has too many things to do today for her to accompany you. I'm sorry but you will have to leave."

"Actually…" Hinata said, catching both of their attention. "I just finished everything up. I would love to go with you, Naruto-kun."

The glare that she gave her father as she passed in front of him was downright scary, something more akin to a woman like Sakura or Tsunade. There were no words passed between them, but the message had been received.

Hinata knew what was going on. And she had a few words for her father.

"Naruto-kun…could you wait outside for me? I just have to take care of some things, but I promise they won't take long." She was feeling a little defiant that morning, and just because she now knew that it would anger her father, she leaned over and pecked Naruto on the lips right in front of him.

Naruto kicked at the ground, bashful at the sudden show of affection. "D'awww…sure, Hinata! I'll just wait outside!"

He tried to act like nothing had bothered him, and while he couldn't put his finger on it, he knew something just felt weird with the atmosphere of the room, so much so that Naruto was glad Hinata had asked him to wait for her elsewhere.

Not seconds after Naruto had left the room had Hinata wheeled back around to face her father. Her face was red, but this was because of anger, not because of embarrassment.

"Otō-san…is there a reason why you're actively trying to keep me and Naruto-kun apart?" she asked, breath hissing through her teeth. The way she was acting…it scared her. But this had gone on long enough, and Hinata wanted answers.

Hiashi stiffened. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Hinata," he replied evenly. "But there are several things I wish for you to do today, and was simply informing Uzumaki-san about them."

"You've known what I've been planning for Naruto-kun all week, Otō-san. You've known about it all week, and now you want to say that I'm going to be busy all day?" Hinata couldn't believe what she was hearing. Not only was this just deplorable on her father's part, it wasn't even well thought out.

"What's really going on here?"

Hiashi didn't say anything. He just stared at his daughter with an unreadable expression, his body as stiff as a board.

"I'm only looking out for the well-being of my daughter…" he said finally. "If something similar to what happened in the Land of Wind were to happen again…"

"If you're referring to what happened between Naruto-kun and I," Hinata interrupted, "you can stop there. You do not know the entire situation, and to blame Naruto-kun is a horrible thing to do."

She turned her back on her father, surprised by how cold her voice was.

"I'm spending the day with Naruto-kun, whether you like it or not. I don't want you treating me like a child anymore. We will discuss this more after today, I promise you that."

Without another word, she left the kitchen, leaving Hiashi to his thoughts. He kept his gaze level, but he stared at Hinata's back as she walked away, and if one were to look really hard, through all the etiquette and rigidness of the head of the Hyūga clan, you could see the pain in his eyes. But this pain was not because he was relenting to what Hinata had to say…

This was because he finally understood what he needed to do to protect his daughter.

"…As you wish, Hinata."

"Hey, Hinata! If you don't mind me asking, what was that all about with your old man?"

Hinata smiled at Naruto, doing her best to put what had just happened in the back of her mind. "Oh, I just n-needed to settle some things with my father, Naruto-kun. It's nothing to worry about!"

Naruto grinned back at her. "That's good to hear! So hey, I was wondering…do you wanna like, spend the day together? I know it's been a while, but I've planned a few things for us to do, and it would be really awesome if you would say yes."

Hinata couldn't believe her luck. This was just what she needed to get Naruto away from the others so that they could set everything up. It was like he was doing all the work for her!

She nodded happily, running into his arms for a quick hug. "Oh, that sounds wonderful, Naruto-kun! I would love to!"

You could have lit a room with Naruto's smile. "Really? Great!"

He offered his arm out to Hinata, who happily accepted it. Inwardly, Naruto was relieved. Hinata had agreed to go with him, so the first part of his plan had gone off without a hitch. Now, if the rest of the day were to be the same, he could get through this day as quickly as possible.

"So what did you have in mind first, Naruto-kun?"

"Well, I have some clones taking care of right now, but there's one last stop I want to make before we head out there. Is that alright with you?"

Hinata nodded. "Sure. Where are we going?"

"I had some flowers ordered, and I need to go pick them up at Ino's shop on the village. Don't worry, it won't take long!"

What little color Hinata had in her face drained away. This was bad. Ino's flower shop was precisely where everyone was meeting up with each other before they started getting everything ready.

"Something wrong, Hinata? You look a little pale…er."

"Would that lazy-ass Shikamaru hurry up and get his ass down here!?" Ino hissed, checking the clock on the wall for what seemed like the 50th time. He was, of course, the last person to show up before they could get started, and while everyone was beginning to get impatient, Ino was being the most vocal about it.

"I swear, Shikamaru could possibly be the sole person on this earth that could even be late to their own funeral!" she went on, pacing a line in the floor.

Lee was the only one who didn't seem annoyed, and was instead passing the time trying to invent a way to do push-ups from against the wall. "Do not worry, Ino-san! I am sure he has a good reason to be tardy!"

"I highly doubt that," Neji butted in, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I say that if he does not show up soon, he will have to be excluded from this. Not that it would bother him of course. He would most likely be happy to be rid of such a 'troublesome' task."

"Yeah yeah yeah…put a sock in it, will ya?"

Everyone turned to the back door, where Shikamaru was leaning against the frame, looking none-too-happy to be the center of attention.

"Blame my nagging mother, blame my whipped father, but just leave me out of this…" He lazily took a place in the corner, sagging into a chair that had been conveniently left open for him. "Besides, I'm here now, so let's just get this started."

Sakura rubbed her hands together, and stepped in the middle of the group. "Okay, we don't really know how much time we have since Naruto is about as predictable as…well, you know. Hinata may not be able to hold him off all day, so let's get right into it."

She turned to Lee, Neji, and Tenten. "Now, you three had worked out the decorations with Gai apparently, and you ordered them from the shop, right?"

Tenten nodded. "Yeah, they should be ready for pick-up by now."

"Good. And Chōji, you made sure all the food was taken care of?"

"Yep!" The Akimichi replied. "The cake is the only thing we need to pick up, which I can do later today; the rest of it will be delivered right where we need it."

Sakura turned to Kiba and Shino. "And how many people should we expect?"

Shino wordlessly got up from where he was sitting, and produced a piece of paper, which he handed to Sakura. She raised an eyebrow when she saw the figure he had written down, but other than that did not say anything about it. She simply tucked it away into her back pocket and moved on.

"Great work everyone! I'm sure Hinata would be happy with all of us. Now, anyone who isn't busy, I want them to follow me to the spot Hinata had picked to help set everything up. Like the tables and chairs and whatever. When the time comes for you to pick up your stuff, like the decorations or the food, just let me know and you can head out. Other than that, I don't think there's anything else to discuss."

"Do you have all of our presents?" Ino asked. "I mean, I could easily get ahold of mine again if I needed to, but I don't know about the others.

"There are a few people whose present I didn't need to worry about. But don't worry; they're all safely tucked away in my closet until I can go pick them up."

She nodded to herself, happy everything had gone smoothly so far. It was still pretty early in the day, but she didn't have anything to worry about, right?

"If that's everything then, we can head out and get started!"

Everyone stood up, and headed out into the main floor of the shop towards the front door. Sakura, who was in front, was just about to reach for the handle when she heard a voice.

"Hey! Ino! You in there!"

She froze. Was that…Naruto?

"Shit! That is Naruto! He's coming!" Ino hissed, hopping up in down.

"What're we supposed to do now?" Kiba demanded. "He's bound to see us all leaving through the back!"

Sakura's mind raced. She turned around suddenly and began barking orders. "Ino, you man the front desk like everything is normal. Everyone else: HIDE!"

And not a moment too soon. The instant they had found a place to hide, Naruto walked into the shop, with Hinata in tow. She was incredibly red in face, and for those that could see her, they could tell she had realized everyone else would still be here, and was desperately hoping Naruto wouldn't notice.

But that was what was strange. Despite Sakura's ordering everyone to 'hide', and despite everyone putting their best effort into it, 'hiding' was not the right way to describe what had just happened.

There had been little other option than to just jump into a random plant and hope that Naruto wouldn't see them, but there were only a few plants that were big enough to hide them. The rest of them were forced to take on…unorthodox measures.

Kiba had been one of the unlucky ones. Trying to fit through the door the same time as Akamaru had left him with no time to find a decent hiding place, and so he was forced to think on his feet. He grabbed a couple of shrubberies and threw them over his face, before climbing up on Akamaru's shoulders, who was standing on his hind legs in an empty planter. He had also taken a blank piece of paper, and scrawled the words 'Dogwood Tree' on it before slapping it on the front of the planter.

But he would be considered lucky compared to where Neji was forced to take refuge. He had no mind for this sort of thing, and could only jump into the corner, and bury himself underneath a pile of bags. Sadly, these bags happened to be a special kind of fertilizer, mainly because it utilized manure as its main ingredient. The stench was unbearable, and Neji had to fight back the tears that were forming in his eyes.

Shino, already having come up with a solution, simply pulled his hood and collar down again, as well as taking his sunglasses off. He stood over by the door, pretending to be another customer perusing through the store just as Naruto walked inside.

To any sane man or woman, the disguises employed by the Konoha 11 would have been called pathetic at best, but Naruto wasn't like most sane men or women, and the only thing he had noticed was that Ino wasn't behind the front desk.

"Hey Ino! You in here?" he called out, taking a look around. There was only one other person in the store, but he didn't seem particularly interesting, so he headed to the front desk instead. A small bell sat on the counter, and Naruto grinned like a child as rang it over and over again.

"I'm coming, alright!" he heard Ino shout from the back. The only reason she had made it back there was because Chōji had outright shoved her towards the back, where she had tripped on a few stacks of empty planters. Her hair was a mess, and it was painfully obvious that she had just been on the floor, but Naruto didn't seem to notice.

"There you are! Good morning!" Naruto said happily, only taking his hand away from the bell after Hinata pulled it away from him.

"Good morning to you too, Naruto!" Ino replied through gritted teeth. This guy had the worst timing, but Ino tried to keep her temper in check and help Naruto as quickly as possible so that he would leave and everyone else could stop hiding.

"What can I help you with?" Ino asked as Naruto began to browse. He tugged at Hinata's hand, leading her behind him. Whenever he wasn't looking, Hinata would shoot Ino an apologetic look, promising to try and help speed up the process.

Naruto shrugged. "I'm just looking really. I wanted to get Hinata a flower for today."

Ino smiled. "Oh? Is there something special about today?"

Naruto tensed up. He didn't exactly broadcast it that today was his birthday, but it still stung a little that Ino didn't remember. Of course, she was only pretending, but for the sake of the surprise, it was something Naruto would have to deal with for now.

"Not really," he replied. "I'm just trying to find something that looks nice." He leaned down to smell a nearby flower, but pulled back in disgust.

"Yuck! Why does this flower smell like balls?"

It was a horribly mean thing to say, but Hinata and Ino (along with everyone hiding) had to stifle their laughter as what Naruto smelled was actually Tenten, who had jumped in between the bushes to hide. When he turned around to leave, a foot suddenly appeared and delivered justice in the form of a swift kick to his ass.

Naruto yelped in surprise, but when he turned around, there was nothing there, and he scratched his head in bewilderment, which only made it harder for Hinata and Ino to stop giggling.

"That was weird…" he muttered to himself, rubbing the sore spot. He was ready to start looking elsewhere, but Ino had run out of patience.

"How about I make a suggestion?" she asked, hurrying over to him before he examined the vine that was actually Lee too closely. "I think I have the perfect fit!"

She raced into the back, shooting Hinata an 'if-he-moves-do-anything -to-stop-him' look. It was buried towards the back, but Ino soon found what she was looking for.

"On slow days in the shop, I like to try and come up with new cross-breeds," she explained offering the flower to Naruto. It was pure white, but at both the center and the edges, a beautiful deep violet gave it a little pop.

"What do you think?" she asked, genuinely curious.

Naruto grinned broadly. "I think it's beautiful!" He strode over to Hinata, and very gently placed the flower in her hair, just above her left ear. Hinata blushed a deep crimson, and Ino couldn't stop the squeal that erupted from her mouth.

Suddenly, the 'Dogwood' tree snickered, and Ino couldn't stop herself. Her elbow instantly jutted into Kiba's stomach, and the force of the blow forced Akamaru off balance. They teetered to one side, and then to the other, before tumbling to the floor.

"What was that?" Naruto asked aloud, and began to turn around. Ino was panicking, as well as Kiba, and they both froze, with nowhere to hide.

But Hinata thought of something. "I love it, Naruto-kun!" she suddenly cried out, before smashing her face into his. It would have been enough to keep his attention had she just pecked him on the lips, but Hinata went a little…overboard, in her fear of being discovered.

Both Kiba and Ino sat there in shock, turning a bright red as Hinata practically sucked on Naruto's mouth. Naruto was just as surprised as they were, but after a second to get his bearings, he started to push back, and it was getting a little to intimate for Ino and Kiba's liking. They quickly reset their hiding spot, just as Hinata needed some air.

As they split, Naruto fought the urge to pass out, nearly as embarrassed as Hinata used to be. Hinata, on the other hand, was way more embarrassed than she used to be, and needed to lean on Naruto for support.

Of course, just because they were embarrassed didn't mean they hadn't enjoyed it.

"Woah," was all Naruto said. It was all he could say. There was a lump forming in his throat, but he didn't even notice, he was too busy staring at Hinata, who was staring right back at him.

"I take it Hinata likes the flower!" Ino said jokingly, anything to ease the tension in the room. She was nearly as red as Naruto and Hinata were, not ever having seen the Hyūga princess act so…well, bold.

Naruto took the chance, and turned to Ino. "Yeah, I guess she does! What do I owe you?"

Ino waved the offer off. "It's one flower, Naruto. We've been having a lot of business lately, so you don't need to worry about it!"

"Really? Thanks!" He smiled at Hinata, who in thanks for Ino's generosity.

"Thank you, Ino-san. It's beautiful."

"Yeah yeah, just get out of here you two. Something tells me you have quite an interesting day ahead."

She was talking about the surprise they had waiting in store, but Naruto and even Hinata thought she was talking about what had just occurred between the two of them, and turned away in embarrassment. It was the right thing to say, as Naruto grabbed ahold of Hinata's hand, and led her out of the store to avoid the flirty look Ino was giving them.

Not a moment after they had left, Ino picked up a spade that was sitting on the corner, and chucked it in the direction of the 'Dogwood' tree.

"You jackass! Were you trying to get us found out?" she hissed, stomping over to kick him in the gut. Kiba didn't seem to mind, and he started snickering to himself.

"Says the girl who made the sexual tension in this room skyrocket. Neji, you might want to keep a close eye on Hinata if you don't want her getting all umph-umph with the village idiot!"

Slowly, Neji lifted himself from his most unfortunate hiding spot, glaring at Kiba with violent intent. "What Lady Hinata does with her personal life is none of my business, but make another remark like that and I assure you that you will never have children."

Kiba let out a subconscious whimper, quickly covering his prized possessions reflexively. Sakura rolled her eyes, and slugged him in the shoulder when he wasn't looking.

"Ino's right; you are a jackass."

He was about to protest to this wholly unfair abuse, but Sai spoke first.

"Shouldn't we get going?" he asked, pointing towards the door. "Is it not the longer we wait, the less time we have to get ready?"

"Sai's right. We need to get started, so let's get going!"

Everyone cheered in agreement, and headed for the door. Sakura was just about to step outside…

When she noticed that Naruto was standing right there, talking with Hinata about something. He was fiddling in his pocket like he was looking for something, and Hinata was trying to lead him away, having noticed Sakura and the others trying to leave.

Sakura backed inside, blowing out air through her nose in frustration. "That idiot is standing outside for some reason! We can't get past!"

But then, she got an idea. It was a longshot, but she just had a feeling that Naruto could be the sole person to fall for it. She hurried over the front desk, and grabbed a blank piece of paper.

"What're you doing?" Chōji asked, peeking over her shoulder to get a better look. Sakura was scribbling something down, but she had finished before anyone could see what it was.

Sakura creeped back towards the door, and pulled a kunai out from her pouch. She attached the paper to the kunai, opened the door, and slung it outside, straight towards the wall of the building across from them. It landed perfectly flat against the plaster, and it was loud enough to attract Naruto's attention, who scurried over to inspect it.

His eyes suddenly lit up, and he spun around to face Hinata. "They're having a sale on ramen, Hinata! 90% off!"

From inside, everyone's jaw dropped. Of all the half-assed, childish things to fall for…

Hinata tried to sputter out a response, but too found herself speechless. Apparently when it came to his most precious food, Naruto would believe anything. Anything.

He suddenly grabbed onto her sleeve, and yanked her down the street whooping loudly, completely forgetting that he wanted to keep a low profile. Hinata understood that it was to get him away so that Sakura and the others could escape, but there was a burning question she just couldn't understand.

Why the hell didn't they just use the backdoor?

Not 5 minutes later, Naruto's wails of disappointment could be heard.

"I'm just saying, Naruto-kun…if there was only one flyer for it, it was bound to be untrue…"

Naruto moaned again. "But that still doesn't make it any less painful! What kind of cruel person puts up a poster for 90% off ramen just for laughs! I could have had a heart attack!"

"Don't you think you're overreacting just a little bit?"

The very idea seemed to offend Naruto. He drew back in mock horror. "What? Hinata, ramen is serious business! Whoever did that was after me specifically, I just know it!"

He was right, but that didn't make this whole thing any less silly. When Teuchi had informed him that they were not in fact having a special where all ramen was 90% off, Naruto had actually run all the way to where he had found the poster, and brought it back trying to use it as proof. 'That looks like a child drew it!' Teuchi had said, but Naruto refused to listen until Ayame stepped in and gently broke it to him that they couldn't afford to hand out ramen that cheap.

Dejected, Naruto shuffled away, and Hinata had spent the last few minutes trying to cheer him up. That didn't seem to be working, so she switched to trying to change the subject.

"Naruto-kun…what was that you were searching through your pockets for?" she asked. "It looked like you though it was pretty important."

"Oh, that? It was uh, nothing. No need to worry about it!" Naruto started laughing, but his nervous tick of rubbing the back of his head told Hinata that he wasn't telling the truth.

"Is something wrong, Naruto-kun? What was it you lost?"

Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "I didn't lose it or anything, just forgot it back at my apartment, that's all! Really, it's not a big deal."

But Hinata wasn't hearing of it. "I'm sure it's alright if we just go back and get it, Naruto-kun. You seemed very upset that you had forgotten it. Is there some reason you d-don't want to go back?"

He didn't answer right away, which told Hinata just as much as if he had answered at all. Why didn't he want to go back? Hinata wanted to find out, and decided the best way to do that was to see for herself. She didn't get more than three steps away before Narutos arm shot out and latched onto her wrist. When she turned around, he was looking down at the ground.

"Please…it's something I don't want you to see…"

For a moment, Hinata felt bad for being curious. But even more than feeling bad, she felt like she wanted to help him through whatever it was he was scared about. She could tell from the look on his face that even more than he didn't want anyone to find out about whatever this was, he did want someone to know. Like if he had just one person he could talk to, that he could move on. Hinata decided she would be that person, no matter what was waiting for her there.

Instead of how they usually looked, Hinata was the one who was walking confidently forward, while Naruto was the one who trailed after. The closer they got to Naruto's apartment, the more nervous he seemed to get, and when they finally arrived at Naruto's front door, Hinata could tell why.

A cursory glance wouldn't give anything away, but Hinata noticed the faintest scratches on the outside of the lock, from where someone had fumbled with picking the lock before giving up. Now Hinata was worried, but Naruto finally seemed to accept what was happening, and pushed the door open himself to reveal what was inside.

Hinata's hand flew to her mouth as she gasped in shock. Naruto, however, didn't seem the least bit surprised, and strode into the middle of the room, spreading his arms.

His apartment had been completely trashed, with broken glass and dinnerware everywhere. A chair had been kicked over, scuffing the wall.

Hinata didn't want to step inside, didn't want to see if there was anything else in there, but Naruto grabbed onto her arm. "You wanted to see what I didn't want you to, so here you go. There's no backing out now."

He led her into the bedroom, where it was even worse. Someone had ripped into his bed sheets with something sharp, throwing the tatters everywhere. His TV had been knocked over, and was more than likely broken. The door leading to the small balcony was smashed open, evidence that this became the point of entry when fiddling with the lock became too much trouble. But that wasn't the worst of it; that wasn't what brought Hinata to tears.

Written across the walls in bright red paint were words like 'Freak' and 'Monster', or various other phrases. Several empty bottles lay nearby this graffiti, and Hinata understood what had happened.

Naruto sighed, plopping down onto the bed. "This has happened sporadically my entire life. The first time, they didn't even wait for me to be gone because I was too little to do anything about it. I tried telling the old man about it, but I couldn't find anything that would point towards who did it."

He ran a hand through his hair. "Sometimes I hate living here. That feeling of not knowing what's going to be there when you come home. Sometimes it would be like this, plenty of times it wouldn't, but it was that not knowing that got to me. Eventually I just learned to be gone the entire day, and pick up whatever was left when they were finished. Sometimes so many things would need replacing that I wouldn't have any money for anything but ramen. Guess that explains my addiction, huh?"

"Who would want to do something like this?" she asked, afraid to hear the answer.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno, plenty of people. There are always going to be people who blamed me for what happened, Hinata, no matter what I say or do. To them, I'm a yearly reminder of all the people who died that night, and when they get all liquored up, they decide they want to do something about it."

Despite everything he was surrounded by, Naruto was smiling. Hinata could even begin to understand why. "Why haven't you told anyone about this? Sakura-san o-or Tsunade-sama?"

"What's the point? I wouldn't want to bother Bā-chan with something like a couple of drunks, and besides…what if it's someone I know? I'd rather not find out, if you ask me…"

Hinata shook her head angrily. "That's not how you should think, Naruto-kun! You shouldn't handle this on your own! Not when you have friends who can be there for you now!"

Naruto laughed, but there wasn't any joy in it. "And why shouldn't I? I've dealt with it by myself my entire life. Always have, always will. It's not the kind of thing I need to-"

Hinata had heard enough. She didn't know what came over her, and years later still wouldn't be able to say, but before Naruto could finish his sentence she had promptly crossed the room, and slapped him across the face.

He held his cheek in complete surprise, staring at Hinata with his blue eyes wide open. Hinata was standing there, lips quivering, as tears poured down her face.

"How…how dare you think like that!" she hissed, balling her hands into fists. "I can't just stand here and listen to that!" She was just as surprised by her actions as Naruto was, but for different reasons. Her time with him was beginning to have a profound effect on her personality. She was feeling bolder, and more confident. But most of all, she was more willing to speak her mind, and that's exactly what was happening.

"Hinata…"

"No! You will listen to me!" Hinata interrupted. "For my entire life, I had to watch you struggle every day, trying to put on a happy face when the world wished you would just leave it alone. And every day, I hated myself for not doing anything about it! I could have been there for you when you needed someone the most, and now you're telling me you don't' want me to!"

She stepped up to him, and lightly shook his shoulders. "Please Naruto-kun, I can't live with myself if you try to keep this hidden any longer! Maybe I'm being selfish, but I don't care! I can't…no, I won't let you deal with this on your own anymore!"

And then she was on him. She kissed his forehead over and over again, what was left of her crying smearing onto Naruto's face. She told him that it was going to be alright, moving down to kiss his cheeks before she finally stopped and wrapped him up as tight a hug as her arms could muster.

"Please, Naruto-kun. Please, let me in."

He didn't say anything. There wasn't really anything he could say. He sat on his bed, motionless, while Hinata sobbed into his neck, dampening his flesh. It was the only sound he could hear, and Hinata was the only thing he could see. The hate written on the walls of his home and heart began to fade from his vision, if only by a little. They were still there, he knew they were, but he couldn't feel them anymore. They were replaced by something else. Something warm, and comforting.

Naruto couldn't say what it was. But he didn't want it to end.

"Hinata…" he said softly, drawing her attention. She rose to meet her eyes with his. He was looking at her curiously, like he was trying to figure something out about her. It was a piercing look, and Hinata shifted a little on her feet.

"Hinata, I don't know what to say. I-I don't know what to-"

"How about 'yes'?" Hinata smiled. It was a sad smile, but hopeful. "I want to hear you say 'yes', Naruto-kun. Tell me you'll let me in."

Tenderly she stepped up onto his bed, letting one knee settle down at his side before she did the same with the other. "Let me be there for you," she whispered into his ear, her warm breath tickling him. She let her forehead rest on his, and stared at him, waiting for his answer.

And Naruto smiled. Not his usual, goofy, happy-go-lucky smile. NO, this was a smile that spoke vast volumes of emotion, pouring from the deepest depths of his body and soul. He smiled out of unbridled, unmatched joy.

He leaned forward, letting his lips dance above hers as he laughed softly to himself.

"Yes."

What little space remained between the two of them disappeared, and in a continuance of her aggressive streak, Hinata lowered her body to straddle Naruto, and pushed him with enough force to lay him on his back, with her on top. Maybe she was subconsciously picking up where they had left off in the Land of Wind, but Hinata didn't have near enough mental capacity to consider the idea. Right now, she was only focused on one thing, and one thing alone.

Naruto's arms slid casually along the tops of her shoulders, making small little circles as he teasingly threatened to trace down her spine. When he felt her fingernails dig into his cheeks ever so slightly, teasing became out of the question.

He had his hands behind her back before she could even notice, and with one strong pull, brought her off of her knees. There was no longer any barrier in between their bodies, and Hinata could feel her cheeks heat up as she felt his chest rub against her own.

Even through Hinata's mouth, Naruto was smirking. This was feeling unimaginably good. While his right arm kept her body pinned to his own, his left took a softer approach, drawing random patterns into her body. Every now and then he was rewarded with a shudder, more than enough evidence that she enjoyed the contact.

In fact, maybe she was enjoying it a little too much. After he grazed across a particularly sensitive spot in the small of her back, his touch so light it felt like the brush of a butterfly's wing, Hinata's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she moaned into Naruto's mouth.

They separated near instantaneously, and Hinata's hand flew to her mouth in embarrassment.

She sat her upper body up, still sitting in Naruto's lap, while Naruto himself propped himself on his elbows. They stared at each other silently, breathing hard.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered, having calmed down enough to speak. "I-I don't know what c-came over me."

Naruto cocked his head to one side. "I guess that's kind of my fault, huh? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's okay!" Hinata suddenly interrupted, her face burning red. "I mean, what I'm saying is, it-it's not that I didn't like it, but I just, well-"

Naruto laughed again, letting his head hit the mattress. "You just think that neither of us was ready for that kind of step yet?"

Hinata nodded.

"Then we aren't ready," Naruto said decidedly, with the ghost of a pout fading away. But then he leaned back up, inches away from Hinata. "But don't think that means I didn't enjoy it too. I think I might need to remember that spot if you're gonna make a noise like that every time."

It had been quite a while since Hinata had outright fainted, but she sure as hell felt like she was about to when Naruto said that. She tumbled to the side, and joined Naruto in lying down, with one leg hanging limply over his thigh.

"What was it we came in here for again?" she asked, her mind drawing a blank. At the edge of her field of vision, she could see Naruto scoot to the edge of his bed, letting his feet sit on the floor.

"It was a voucher I had bought from this really fancy take-out place," he replied, grinning nervously. "I had gotten a lunch the two of us could have, and was going to pick it up and find us a nice spot to go to eat it."

Hinata quickly sat up on the bed, holding her hands to her heart. "That's sounds wonderful, Naruto-kun. I would love to!"

"Great! Now, I just need to see if I can remember where I put it…" He stood, and began giving the room a cursory look-over. He snapped his fingers together and walked towards his nightstand. He didn't even seem to mind the chaos that surrounded them anymore.

Hinata watched him pick up the frame holding his Team 7 picture, before he turned it on its back in his hand. There was a little flap that held the picture inside, and when he opened the flap, Hinata could see a scrap of paper hiding inside.

"Whenever there's something I absolutely don't want to lose, I put it in here," Naruto explained, thumbing a smudge on the glass of the frame. "I've put a piece of Iruka-sensei's headband in here, my registration paper when I became a shinobi…"

He turned around and grinned at Hinata. "And now I put this in here. Good thing I didn't lose it, huh?"

It was genuinely flattering to hear Naruto was taking such care of something like that, and Hinata felt proud sitting there, with her messy hair and ruffled clothing.

"You ready to get going, then?" he asked. He turned around to look at her, and realized that he probably looked as messy as she did. Coupled with the two of them walking out of his apartment at the same time, they would be getting some very strange looks, so Naruto headed into the bathroom to smooth everything down, with Hinata shyly trailing behind him.

Unlike the rest of his apartment, the bathroom was kept relatively clean. There was some dried toothpaste in the sink, and the trashcan was close to overflowing with what looked like bathroom breaks where Naruto decided to finish his lunchtime ramen, but neither bothered Hinata very much.

Of course, that didn't mean that she wouldn't help Naruto clean it up. Maybe a few subtle suggestions later, and Naruto would be willing to keep his place spotless just like Hinata did her own.

He scooted towards the side of the sink, giving Hinata some space in front of the mirror. While he began fiddling with his jacket to get some of the wrinkles out, Hinata was nosing through his drawers to find a hairbrush.

"Naruto-kun, do you have a hairbrush or a comb? My hair got a little tangled when we were…well, you know."

Naruto smiled cheekily at her reflection. "Maybe I should just hide it from you? I think I like having a reminder of what we were up to earlier today!"

"Na-Naruto-kun!"

He laughed. "I'm only kidding! I think I have on around here somewhere, just hold on." He wandered back into the bedroom in his search, flipping over the clothes and papers thrown over the room. Nothing, so he switched to checking under the bed, reaching his arm as far back as he could.

"Aha!" Hinata could hear from the bathroom. Naruto came back seconds later, holding up what appeared to have once been a comb. It was so covered in dirt and dust and hair, however, that it looked like a dead rabbit more than anything else.

Hinata was staring at that thing like it was contagious, prompting Naruto to give it another look-over. "You know, the more I look at it, the more I get the idea that you probably don't want this anywhere near your head. Am I right?"

Hinata couldn't have nodded faster.

Shrugging, Naruto tossed it back into the hallway. "Well then, looks like I need to take this into my own hands!" Hinata was about to ask what he meant by that before she heard him cracking his knuckles. What was he planning on-

He suddenly dove his palms into Hinata's scalp, and began to run his fingers through her silky indigo hair. She was surprised at first, but quickly learned to enjoy the process, and leaned back into his chest.

Naruto chuckled, and pushed her back forward. "Sorry, but I need to a little farther away if I'm gonna be any kind of useful back here." He laughed again when he saw Hinata pouting into the mirror.

"Man, your hair is really soft," he complimented, marveling at how his fingers just glided through with only the slightest bit of effort. There were small tangles here and there, but Naruto easily cleared them away, and smoothed down everything else to give it the uniform look Hinata usually had.

"There we go! Good as new, if you ask me." Naruto took a quick whiff of her shampoo, letting it fill his nostrils. Hinata leaned back into him now that he was done, and they watched each other in the mirror for a few minutes, enjoying one another's silence.

"That's enough of that," Naruto declared, walking towards the door. "You ready to head out?"

Hinata smiled, and followed after him. They walked back into the kitchen, and while Naruto opened the front door, Hinata took one last look at the chaos around them.

"Naruto-kun, would you like me to help you clean this up?" she asked, pangs of sadness still hitting her every now and then. She didn't want to think of what it would be like coming back to this all alone.

But to her surprise, Naruto shook his head. "Nah, me and some clones can handle that." He bent forward, and grasped Hinata's hand, interlacing his fingers with hers. "I think I can handle it now that I have someone I can rely on, right?"

Hinata smiled again, and gave his hand a little squeeze before they left. Naruto flicked the lights off, and all the scorn and hate written on the walls simply disappeared from sight.

"Hey, will you watch where you're going!?"

Kiba spun around to face Shikamaru, his nostrils flaring. "Me? You're the one who's stepping on everyone's toes!"

"First off, that's actually been Lee who's stepping on your feet, so take that up with him. Second, can you please stop slobbering all over me? Akamaru has better manners than you."

Akamaru barked in agreement, and Kiba glared at his companion. "Hey, you're supposed to be on my side here!"

This had been going on for a good twenty minutes. It seems like they while they were perfectly capable of working flawlessly as a team when their lives were on the line, keeping the peace when they were working on setting everything up for Naruto's party was impossible. Kiba believed that his way was the only right way, Shikamaru kept sneaking off to take naps, Lee was apparently stepping on everyone's feet, and it wasn't even 2 in the afternoon yet.

Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to drown out the noise coming from the guys. "I swear, we could have gotten this done hours ago if these clowns weren't here," she sighed.

Tenten nodded. "I think so too. These guys wouldn't know how to tie their own shoes if it weren't for us."

"And what're you going on about!?" Kiba howled, pointing an accusing finger at them. "You've just been sitting around all day telling us what to do!"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well duh! If we weren't here to tell you how to do everything, this place would be a complete disaster!"

That sparked an all-out war between the boys and the girls, shooting their mouths off at one another. Well, actually it was more like Kiba yelling at all of the girls, while Lee, Chōji, Neji, and Shikamaru sat on the sidelines. Even Akamaru took to watching Kiba dig a hole for himself, wagging his tail as the girls drew closer and closer to inflicting bodily harm upon him.

"Okay, okay. That's enough out of all of you." Neji strode forward, putting himself in between Ino and Kiba, just before the former what was about to kick a certain part of the latter's anatomy. "Standing around here arguing isn't going to solve anything. Besides, you're giving me a horrible headache."

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "Well then, what do you suggest we do about this? If Dogbreath over here keeps arguing with us on how to set things up, things will never get finished!"

Neji sighed. "If I remember correctly, Lady Hinata gave you explicit instructions on how she wanted everything to look. But regardless, it will not be a problem for much longer."

"Why's that?" Chōji asked.

"Because it is just about time for you and the others to pick up the catering that was not ordered out of the village. If Ino is going with you, it will separate the two who are causing the most problems."

He glared at Ino and Kiba, who angrily turned away, sticking their tongues out at one another.

Chōji's eyes widened. "Oh yeah, how could I forget!? We have the ramen from Ichiraku, and the cake from that bakery we went to earlier this week!"

He motioned for Shikamaru and Ino to follow him. "C'mon guys, let's get out of here."

Ino and Kiba made angry faces at each other until Chōji and the others have disappeared from the clearing, letting everyone else get back to work on setting up chairs and tables and decorations and dozens of other problems that were flaring up.

"Gah! That idiot makes my blood boil!" Ino hissed to herself, wringing an imaginary Kiba's neck with her hands.

"Didn't Neji ask you to pipe down?" Shikamaru cut in, scratching at his ear. "You're starting to give me a headache, too."

"Oh, you always have a headache!"

Shikamaru didn't try to defend himself; better to leave it at that to make sure he could enjoy some peace and quiet.

But Ino wasn't one to let silence pervade over for long. She had a question mulling around in her head, had been for a while now, and now that they didn't have everyone else around, she felt a little more comfortable asking.

"Hey, Shikamaru…"she began, twiddling her hands together. "You remember earlier today when you talked about Naruto's birthday? How he didn't want to celebrate it?"

Shikamaru cracked open one eye, peering at Ino. "Yeah, I said that. What of it?"

"Does that mean you knew when Naruto's birthday was all this time? How come you didn't say anything?"

Chōji was slightly ahead of the two of them, but the way he slowed down to let them catch up clearly showed he was interested if Shikamaru had kept that information to himself all this time."

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess I did. I never really thought about it until you said something."

"Why would you want to keep something like that a secret?" Ino asked, concerned. "I mean, we been friends with Naruto for a long time now. How come you didn't tell us when his birthday was back when you had the chance."

"Because he didn't tell anybody."

Neither Chōji nor Ino had expected that answer, stopping for a moment while Shikamaru trudged onward.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?" Chōji asked.

"I mean exactly what it sounds like. Naruto never told any of us his birthday, not even after we had starting hanging out with him or training with him or just talking to him or anything. That was enough for me to figure out that he didn't want anyone to know, for reasons I'm sure are important."

"But aren't you curious? Why would he want to keep something like his own birthday a secret?"

Shikamaru sighed. "Just think about it, you two. It was already something that no one wanted to celebrate in the first place. It was the anniversary of one of the worst events in the village's history, and there were plenty of people back then who blamed Naruto for what happened, regardless of the fact that it couldn't be his fault."

Ino covered her mouth. "You d-don't think they-"

"I don't know, and part of me doesn't want to. If Naruto wants to keep it to himself, I'm going to respect his wishes. That doesn't mean that if I ever run into one of those guys who blame Naruto for what happened, I'm gonna restrain myself."

"You and me both…" Chōji muttered under his breath, already having trouble calming down. It was a horrible thought, that Naruto had possibly kept abuse or something horrible from everyone else purely out of pride. It made Chōji sick to his stomach to think that someone would want to continue to do something like that to Naruto despite everything he had done for the village, and how much he had proved himself over the years. In fact, it was making him so upset, that Chōji started to change course without even realizing it, heading down another street.

"Hey, Chōji! Where are you going?" Ino called out, dragging Shikamaru behind her to catch up with Chōji. "You're going the wrong way. The bakery is back this way."

Chōji turned around, and he had that look on his face that resembled what was usually reserved for people who made fun of his weight. This was more subtle, like he was trying to keep it contained.

"What's the matter? Is something wrong? Ino asked, worried for her friend.

Chōji nodded. "Yeah, but I've just got a bad feeling about Naruto, you know? If what Shikamaru said is true, then what if someone has already tried to do something like that?"

"That's crazy! No one would try and attack him with the way he is now!" Ino protested. "They'd end up a stain in the middle of the street!"

"There are other ways of abusing people, Ino." Shikamaru thumbed the lining of his pockets, beginning to understand where Chōji was going with this. "I'm sure just a quick little look wouldn't hurt, eh Chōji?"

Chōji didn't say anything, but continued right on his way. Shikamaru actually increased his pace to keep up with him, and it was then that Ino finally realized that they were talking about something serious. She decided it would be best to keep quiet, and see where they were going with this.

The farther they led her on their little detour, the more Ino had to guess where they were going. When a familiar, run-down building came into view, however, Ino knew exactly what they intended.

"You think something's gone on at Naruto's house?" she asked, squinting to get a better look.

Shikamaru was looking as well, but he was fixated on a specific detail. "Like I said, I don't know if anything's happened. But me and Chōji figured it would be best if we checked up on him. I know Hinata was supposed to keep him out of the house all day, but you never know. Besides, that has me worried."

Ino followed his finger to where he was pointing, and gasped quietly. The back balcony of Naruto's apartment had a door that he used to get in and out when he was in a hurry. But even from the distance she was standing at, Ino could see that the glass on the door had been smashed.

"Let's go." Shikamaru leaped to a nearby rooftop, with Chōji and Ino close behind. They were up on Naruto's balcony in seconds, and Shikamaru leaned inside the broken window to open the door so they could be let inside.

Ino almost had to cover her eyes at what she saw, and Chōji and Shikamaru's hands balled into fists as they read the hateful speech painted all over the walls. They took a step forward, stepping over the glass towards a picture frame that had fallen from its hanging, and now sat broken on the floor.

Shikamaru bent over to pick it up, and felt his blood begin to boil. Most of them probably had this picture somewhere in their room, which was of their entire graduating class. It had been taken some time before Pain's attack on the village, when everyone's worries were minimal and good times reigned. Shikamaru's grip on the picture tightened, his knuckles losing their color. Slowly, he turned back around to face Chōji and Ino, who looked just as angry as he did.

"I don't know about you…" he said quietly, setting the picture down on Naruto's bed. "But I don't think I can let something like this go."

He immediately headed towards the door, cracking his knuckles. "Maybe Naruto has seen this, maybe he hasn't. I don't know, and I don't care. What I do know, is that we're going to find whoever did this, and tell them just what we think about it."

There was a beer bottle near the door, which Shikamaru collected into his pouch. There was also a small amount of blood sitting on one of the shards of glass, which he carefully looked over.

It was all he needed. He burst back out the door, and was off. Chōji and Ino raced after him, unsure if they wanted to stop him before he did something he regretted.

But that was just it. Whatever was about to happen, there was no way in hell Shikamaru was going to regret it.

Author's Note: I really do hope you enjoyed it.

I feel a little silly including the whole 'Angry people hurt Naruto' cliche, but it felt like it would have worked in the chapter, especially with the way I put it in. Still, if you thought it was a little stupid, never hesitate to say so.

I also feel horrible for leaving you at such a cliffhanger, but it's the best I could do before I leave you.

Now, to reiterate, I won't be updating for at least a week and half, more than likely longer. In the meantime, I have also updated my other multi-chapter story Collateral Luck (which I hope you'll check out), and you can also find a one-shot via my profile. I would also like to suggest you check out the stories listed under my favorites. They're 75% one-shots because of my tendency to prefer the complete, but they're all fantastic reads.

Until next time, and I hope you have a Halloween!