My Precious People

by xWinorLose

Many years have passed since the end of the Fourth Shinobi War. Now twenty-six, Naruto has returned to Konoha to help someone precious to him. He finds some unexpected changes, among them the son of Hinata whom no one knows who the father is, and a new danger looms on the horizon. Rated M for language and lemons.

19. Ch 18: Second Month

18. Second Month

All you really need to know for the moment is that the universe is a lot more complicated than you might think, even if you start from a position of thinking it's pretty damn complicated in the first place. – Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

So here we are at Chapter 18, finishing up the two months that Naruto and Sasuke are away from the village. I apologize about taking so long to release this chapter, but work got in the way, and then life reared its ugly head – five family deaths in five weeks. Ugh. It's enough to make you question the sanity of the universe sometimes…hence the quote at the beginning.

As always, I would like to mention fellow author Titokhan for helping me out, as well as my anonymous beta for his continued efforts and support. They give me confidence and make my job more enjoyable by supporting me, especially when life throws you a curve ball. Thanks a bunch, and I appreciate everything you guys do for me.

Also, I had quite a few readers send me a PM asking me if I plan on making this story a Naruto harem. Let me put those fears to rest and say that IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN. Interpret that any way you want, but the bottom line is that this story will NOT become a harem in any way, shape or form. 'Nuff said.

And just in case anyone asks, the currency I'm comparing the Ryo to in my story is the American Dollar, not the Japanese Yen. Why? Because it's the one I'm familiar with, being an American and all.

So now that we've gotten that out of the way, here are some dedications, shout-outs and general thanks to some people:

Weirdismyname: Your support of my story is always appreciated, thank you so much. For those of you who haven't read it, Beyond an Heiress' Purpose just got updated and it's a wonderful read. Check it out.

Softwinds: Thanks for the shout-out in your latest chapter. The Ring that Binds just got updated, and everyone should check it out as well. Fantastic little story.

Titokhan/Raja-Ulat: Sakura/Ino conversation was tweaked and detailed based on suggestions and comments from both. Thanks for the ideas and the input.

Bennie403: He gave me several ideas for the real name of Freyja to use in the story, and although I couldn't use his best idea (because of conflicts with what I wrote) I'm going to use a variation on the name that works well. Thank you for all your efforts, suggestions and help.

Wacko12: I'm going to use your idea of a member of the Mienai Segi befriending the Raikage. Thank you for the idea, I know just how to write it into the story.

I would also like to say that if you haven't read it yet, the latest chapter of Take Two, Round Two by Third Fang (which is a sequel to his Yet Again story) has probably the most epic Naruto battle scene I've ever seen written on FanFiction. I got shivers after reading it.

Now that the pleasantries are over, let's get on with the story! Most people won't have to guess too hard at this chapter's disclaimer…I was watching some old episodes on late night television and had to put it in. Love this stuff.

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto. And Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

Pinky – I think so. But even if we found a tuxedo to fit a blowfish, who would marry it?

Disclaimer – Once again your stupidity astounds me, Pinky. I'm thinking that if we had the rights to Naruto, we could use them to take over the world!

Pinky – That's brilliant! NARF! POIT! (+1 if you get the reference.)

---

Chapter 18 – Second Month

***Time Skip – 37 days after leaving***

The past few days had been a whirlwind of activity for Hinata. Besides her training and taking care of Hikaru, she was now hosting a member of the Mienai Segi and her daughter in her home, which was something even in her wildest dreams she never thought she would do.

The girl, Reira had been shy at first but opened up a bit after living with them for few days. Her smile and bubbly personality were very infectious; lifting the spirits of everyone that she was around no matter how depressed they were. She knew that the ability Reira had to make even the darkest situation bright was a rare gift; one that Hinata personally experienced only a few times during the course of her young life.

However, her mother was a very different story.

Freyja was sullen more often than not, and her senses were constantly on edge, especially when she walked through public areas of the village. It was almost as if she was expecting an attack around every corner, and Hinata wondered what someone as powerful as a member of the Mienai Segi could be afraid of. Thinking about the many possibilities of that statement gave her headaches and had lead to more than a few sleepless nights.

Before she knew it, Hinata was standing outside the Bank of Konoha and her line of thought was broken, which was probably for the best. Even though it had been a short week, she received her first B-rank mission paycheck and wanted to deposit it, since twelve hundred Ryo was too much to carry around all at once.

She entered the bank and walked up to the first available teller window, smiling at the woman behind the counter. "Good morning. I'd like to deposit this into my bank account, please."

The teller smiled back. "Certainly; I'd be more than happy to help you. Can you tell me your account number, please?"

The smile vanished from her face. Flustered, Hinata looked at the teller and said, "I…I don't know what it is. My husband usually takes care of depositing money in the bank, but he's out of the village on a mission at the moment."

"Well, it shouldn't be a problem to look it up. Can you tell me who your husband is?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. His name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze."

The teller's eyes grew wide. "Your…Your husband is the Hero of the Leaf? You're Lady Hinata?"

Slightly embarrassed, Hinata blushed and said, "Yes, I am. I apologize; I should have told you my name when…"

The teller interrupted her and bowed. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing, Lady Hinata. I'm so sorry; I should have recognized you immediately." She straightened back up and said, "Let me get that information for you."

After a few clicks, the information popped up on the screen and a confused look came over her face. "You appear to have three accounts presently with this bank, Lady Hinata. Which one would you like to use?"

Hinata furrowed her brow, confused. Why would they have three accounts? Was Naruto hiding money from her for some reason? What it because…

She realized her thoughts were beginning to run loose again with wild theories, and she shook her head to clear them from her mind, reminding herself of the promise she made to Naruto not to go back down this road in the future.

"I was unaware that we had three accounts. Perhaps a bit more information would help me make my decision."

"Certainly." A few more clicks, and then the teller pointed at her screen. "This first account has a little over three and a half million Ryo in it, and there's a deposit every month from a company called…Watermark Publishing."

Hinata blanched upon hearing the number. "Three…Three and a half million Ryo? And there are monthly deposits from a publishing company besides that?"

The teller nodded. "Yes, it looks like this account…was transferred into your husband's name on June 21st by…the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake."

June 21st? Hinata thought. That's the day Naruto and I were married. "Where did the account come from?"

"It appears this account was originally attached to the estate of Jiraiya, the Legendary Sannin which actually explains the deposits. They're more than likely residuals from the books he published."

Hinata was suddenly curious as to what books she was referring to, as well as why Jiraiya had left Naruto such a large amount of money in his will. Deciding to shelve that conversation for when Naruto returned to the village, she turned back to the teller and asked, "What about the second account?"

Another click. "This second account appears to be your joint account, and this is where deposits other than the publishing residuals have been going for the last several months. The balance in this one is just under twenty million Ryo."

Hinata felt the strength drain from her legs when she heard the number. No wonder Naruto had been so adamant about refusing her dowry five months ago when the marriage contract was drawn up. He truly didn't need any money to marry her. She looked down at the twelve hundred Ryo in her hand, which now seemed so small in comparison.

A few more clicks by the teller. "The third account appears to be the general account for the Namikaze clan." She raised her eyebrows at the number. "You may want to consider making the deposit into this account, since the balance is only about fifty Ryo."

Confused, her head snapped back up and she asked, "Fifty Ryo? That doesn't seem right; why would the other accounts have so much money in them but the one associated with our clan has the least?"

The teller pointed at the screen. "I can't speak as to why your husband hasn't made any deposits recently, but it looks like there was originally quite a bit more money in here. A very large transfer out of this account happened about five months ago."

Hinata was suddenly curious. "Can you tell me how much was transferred, and where it went?"

"Of course, Lady Hinata. According to my records, the sum of five hundred thousand Ryo was transferred on June 22nd to…the general account of the Hyūga clan."

Once again, the date stuck in her head. June 22nd was the day AFTER her wedding. But why would Naruto authorize such a large transfer to the Hyūga clan? It's almost as if he was paying THEM so that he could marry HER…

Her eyes widened as something suddenly clicked in her mind. She smiled at the teller and asked, "Could you do me a favor, and provide me with a balance on the first two accounts, along with a copy of the transaction register on the third?"

"Certainly, Lady Hinata." She punched a few buttons and said, "I'll be back in a minute."

As the teller left to retrieve the information, Hinata knew what her next destination was going to be. She just hoped the two of them were home right now, because in a few hours she was expected to be at training ground ten for her daily session with Kakashi.

---

Knock, knock, knock.

The door opened and Hanabi greeted her visitor with a smile. "Nee-san! It's good to see you!"

Hinata smiled back at her sister. "It's nice to see you as well, Imōto. Is Konohamaru home?"

Hanabi shook her head. "Sorry, but he's away on a mission until tomorrow so I'm all by myself. Why?"

"Well, I was hoping to talk with both of you about something important, but I guess it can't be helped. Can I come in?"

"Sure." She stepped aside to let Hinata enter, closing the door behind her. "It's a nice day; so instead of using the house, how about we sit in the garden instead?"

Hinata smiled at the thoughtful suggestion. "That would be lovely, thank you."

Her thoughts went back to three months ago, when Konohamaru had purchased the house and as a surprise, converted the back corner of the land into an almost perfect copy (although on a much smaller scale) of the garden at the Hyūga compound where their mother had spent most of her time before she died. It was a wonderfully thoughtful gesture, and apparently Hanabi had physically thanked him for it – rather emphatically – for a couple of days afterwards if the smile on his face had been any indication.

She sat down at the table next to the Koi pond. She closed her eyes and lifted her head to the sun, feeling it's warmth on her face and she sighed in contentment. Even though she thought something like this would be a wonderful addition to their garden, Hinata had decided against building one, instead using it as an excuse to visit her sister more often. They had grown closer in the last few months since both of them had gotten married, and Hinata treasured these moments as it gave her a greater sense of family than any she had growing up at the Hyūga compound.

Hanabi arrived a minute later carrying a pitcher of ice-cold lemonade and proceeded to pour each one of them a glass, before sitting down as well. The two women sipped their drinks for a minute, enjoying the surroundings and simply being in each other's company.

After a while, Hanabi placed her glass on the table and inquisitively looked at her sister. "So what brings you here today, Nee-san? Whatever it is, you said it was important."

Hinata nodded. "Yes, that's right. This morning I found out the answer to a very big secret, and I wanted to share it with you and Konohamaru."

Hanabi raised her eyebrows and asked, "You found out what Kakashi-sensei looks like underneath his mask?"

"What? No, that's not what I'm talking about! Why is everyone so obsessed about that?" Hinata pulled out the transaction register and handed it to Hanabi. "Take a look at this."

"What exactly am I looking at, Nee-san?"

"It's the transaction register for an account at the Bank of Konoha. Look at the fourth line from the top."

Hanabi squinted a bit as she read, "On June 22nd a transfer was made...to the general account of the Hyūga clan for…five hundred thousand Ryo." She tilted her head in thought. "Isn't that the day after you and Naruto got married?"

"Yes it is, but you're missing something important." Hinata pointed to the top of the page. "Look at the name on the account."

As she did, Hanabi's eyes grew wide and she said, "This…This is the general account for the Namikaze clan."

"That's right. And I can think of only one reason why Naruto-kun would pay such a large amount of money to father at all, and that's to allow you and Konohamaru to get married. The amount and the date are too much of a coincidence to think otherwise."

Hanabi stared at her sister in shock and then quietly said, "He's…He's the unknown benefactor that helped us out." Her hands began to shake. "I…I don't understand; why would he do such a thing?"

"I should think that's rather obvious, Imōto. It's because you and Konohamaru are family, and as such you are important and precious to him. What other reason would there be?"

"Important enough to give father five hundred thousand Ryo?" Hanabi stabbed her finger at the paper. "There's no way Konohamaru and I will be able to pay this back!"

The corners of her mouth turned up and Hinata said, "Well as you can plainly see, apparently the two of you ARE important enough as far as Naruto-kun is concerned. And as for to paying him back, I don't think you have to worry about that."

"Why not?"

"Because if that's all Naruto-kun was worried about, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to keep it a secret. He's not interested in getting the money back, only that you and Konohamaru are happy."

Hanabi slumped in her chair and stared off into space, overwhelmed by what she'd just learned. After a minute she turned her gaze back to her sister and asked, "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because when you and Konohamaru got married, you told everyone that if you ever found out who your anonymous savior was, you'd find a way to thank that person properly. I'm merely giving you the opportunity to do so." Her smile grew as she finished, "Although knowing my husband he'll continue to deny ever having given father the money at all, so you're going to have to come up with something that he simply has no choice but to accept."

Hinata went back to sipping her lemonade as she waited for Hanabi to finish processing the information. After another minute, Hanabi looked at her sister and said, "I…I don't know what to say, Nee-san. It…It's such a large amount of money, and even though you gave me proof, I'm still finding it hard to believe that Naruto would just GIVE away five hundred thousand Ryo."

"I know how you feel Imōto, but you have to understand this is just how he is…not only is he powerful and protective, he's also sweet, generous and kind." Her look became thoughtful. "I'm grateful that he married me, and loves me more than anything. And we are VERY lucky to have him in our lives."

Hanabi nodded in agreement, and then after a minute her eyes twinkled in amusement and she cocked her head to the side. "Well, how about this? Since you shared a secret with me today, how about I share one with you as well?"

Hinata put down her drink and said, "I'd like that very much."

Hanabi leaned towards her sister and whispered, "I'm pregnant."

Hinata gaped at her sister for a few seconds, stunned at what she'd just heard. Then suddenly, she squealed in delight and pulled Hanabi out of her chair, jumping up and down with joy and hugging her at the same time.

"I'm so happy for you, Imōto! How…How far along are you? When did you find out?"

Hanabi smiled and said, "I'm a little over a month, and I found out a few days ago when I went with Tenten to the hospital for her checkup. We're actually due about a week apart."

"So Tenten is pregnant too?"

Hanabi nodded enthusiastically. "I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I'm sure she would have told you eventually. Besides, I think you're entitled to a little extra credit considering the size of the secret you just told me."

The rest of the morning was taken up with discussions about Hanabi's impending motherhood and plans for the future. Although Hinata was overjoyed with happiness for her little sister, she felt a small twinge of jealousy that she herself hadn't gotten pregnant yet.

More than anything, Hinata wanted to give her loving, caring and forgiving husband the experience of raising a child from the very beginning, since he'd been denied that option with Hikaru. And she also knew that it would be a WONDERFUL addition to the present she already got him…

---

***Time Skip – 40 days after leaving***

Hinata screamed and collapsed to her knees, wincing at the stabbing pain that was flowing through her right hand. Yesterday, she'd finally mastered spinning her chakra at a speed fast enough that Kakashi thought it was time for her to attempt the next step. However, firing the chakra from her fingertips was proving more difficult than she thought, because the technique was causing a significant amount of damage to her chakra coils whenever she tried to do it.

It had been so severe the previous day that Kakashi had ended their daily training session early and sent her to the hospital for treatment, but today there would be no such reprieve because Shizune had been asked to join them in order to heal Hinata on the spot when something happened.

As Shizune knelt next to Hinata to treat her injuries, Kakashi walked up to stand next to them. Perplexed, he rubbed his forehead and said, "Hinata, I'm not sure what's going on but whatever method you're using to launch the chakra from your fingertips is ending in disaster. Can you…"

"Hokage-sensei! Look! Look! I did it!"

The three of them looked in the direction of the excited voice, and standing several yards away was Hikaru, grinning ear to ear with a completed Rasengan in his right hand, the size of which was barely large enough to fit in his palm.

Kakashi eye smiled as he turned and walked towards Hikaru, offering his congratulations to the boy. At the same time, Shizune saw Hinata beam with pride at her son but she also recognized something else in her gaze.

"Disappointed, Lady Hinata?"

Hinata looked at Shizune. "What?"

"I can see that you're proud of Hikaru for completing the Rasengan, but I also can see that you're disappointed in yourself that you haven't completed your new technique yet."

Hinata sheepishly looked towards the ground and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

Shizune smiled ruefully. "Maybe not to everybody, but to me it is. Over the years, I've had plenty of practice reading the hidden emotions of both Naruto-kun and Lady Tsunade. Don't be discouraged; this is just a minor setback and I'm positive you'll figure out what's wrong."

Grateful for her kind words, Hinata said, "Thank you for saying that, Lady Shizune. By the way, I'm curious about something – yesterday, you were the one who treated me at the hospital, and when Kakashi-sensei asked for someone to join us today at the training ground, you showed up again and not Lady Tsunade. Please don't misunderstand me – it's not that I don't appreciate your help, but I haven't seen Lady Tsunade for quite some time, and I was hoping you could tell me why."

The smile vanished from Shizune's face, and her look became vague. After a few moments of silence she answered, "Lady Tsunade has been…unavailable for work. I've been handling her paperwork and hospital duties for the last few weeks."

Hinata suddenly became worried and she asked, "Is…Is Lady Tsunade all right? She's not sick or injured, is she?"

Shizune shook her head. "She's not sick or injured, but she's certainly not all right. She's…been in her office drinking non-stop since the day after Naruto-kun came to talk with her. I've been trying to get her out of there so I can air the place out and clean up a bit, but she won't budge. She's blaming herself for everything that's happened to Naruto-kun over the past eight years."

Lady Tsunade is blaming herself for what happened to Naruto-kun? Hinata thought to herself. Actually, that reminds me of something…

"Lady Shizune, if it's not too much trouble I'd like to ask you something. The day before Naruto-kun left, he gave me a brief explanation about the conversation he had with Lady Tsunade, and he also mentioned that you were there the entire time. I've been meaning to come see you since then, because Naruto-kun was very upset and angry about it. Can you tell me what she said?"

Shizune finished healing Hinata and rubbed her forehead, frustrated at the situation with her mentor. She gave Hinata a discouraging sigh and said, "Normally I would respect Lady Tsunade's privacy, but I believe you have a right to know what happened. Besides, with Naruto-kun away from the village on a mission I believe you're the only one who can help me break Lady Tsunade out of the drunken stupor she's put herself in."

As the two women began to talk, across the way Kakashi watched as Hikaru dispelled the Rasengan he'd finally managed to create and collapsed to the ground, panting from exhaustion.

Kakashi eye smiled at him, amused at the sight. "Not as easy as it looks, is it?"

Hikaru scoffed and said, "No kidding Hokage-sensei; I feel like I just got done running a marathon. But now that I did it once, I think it's gonna start getting easier to do. And besides, the size of it is still pretty small. My dad can make bigger ones, right?"

"Well, don't forget that he has a bit of an edge because of the Kyuubi but you're right – I remember during the fourth shinobi war, your dad made one as big as your house. It was actually quite impressive."

Hikaru gulped, thinking about how much power and skill had gone into creating something so massive. He wearily looked up at his teacher and asked, "Could…Could we take a break for a little bit, Hokage-sensei? I'd like to catch my breath before I try again."

Kakashi looked over to where Hinata and Shizune were sitting. Whatever they were talking about seemed to be very important, and it didn't look like they would be finished anytime soon.

"That's not a bad idea, Hikaru. Let's go sit underneath a tree for a few minutes and relax while we wait for your mom to finish her conversation. I brought some snacks just in case this happened."

The two of them walked over to the edge of the clearing and sat down. Kakashi produced a storage scroll from his vest, unrolling it onto the ground and placing his hand in the center. Several items instantly appeared, including assorted fruits and plates of Dango.

Hikaru grabbed an apple while he watched, fascinated as Kakashi took a stick of Dango and somehow managed to eat it with his mask on. The two of them ate in silence for a few minutes before curiosity got the better of him and Hikaru decided to ask a question.

"Hokage-sensei…" He pointed at the scroll. "…what's that?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow and said, "That? It's a storage scroll. Haven't you ever seen one before?"

Hikaru shook his head. "Kinda sorta. Iruka-sensei says we'll go over seals and stuff next year, but the only thing I've really seen up close before now has been my dad's Hiraishin kunai." He leaned a little closer, studying the scroll more intently. "Did you make this?"

Kakashi shook his head. "No, I didn't. I merely copied the pattern from another storage scroll. Fūinjutsu has become something of a lost art."

"Fūinjutsu? What's that?"

"That's the proper term for someone who is skilled in sealing techniques. Fūinjutsu can be used for applications like exploding tags or silencing seals, as well as sealing or unsealing objects from within something or someone."

Still curious, Hikaru pointed at the scroll again. "What do each one of these symbols mean?"

Kakashi gave a defeated sigh. "I only know a few of them, Hikaru. We haven't had a fūinjutsu master in our village for a long time now. The last one was your grandmother, Kushina – she taught your grandfather Minato everything he knew, and the two of them died almost twenty seven years ago."

The tone of Hikaru's voice perked up at hearing this, but his eyes never left the scroll. "Really? She was that good?"

Kakashi chucked and said, "Well, of course – she was an Uzumaki, and they're natural born…"

As the realization suddenly hit him, Kakashi's eye became wide as he stared at Hikaru, who was still studying the scroll with the same intensity as Jiraiya doing 'research' for one of his books. He knew right then and there that he'd almost missed something potentially important, but before he got his hopes up he needed to run some tests first to confirm his suspicions. But in order to do that, he was going to need a few things…

"Hikaru, I think I have some scrolls in the archives that can help you learn fūinjutsu. If you're interested, how about you stop by before our training session tomorrow and I'll loan you a couple of them."

Hikaru beamed at the Hokage, ecstatic that he was being entrusted with some of the village's private scrolls. "That'll be great, Hokage-sensei! Thanks!"

Kakashi left Hikaru studying the scroll underneath the tree, while he walked back across clearing to where Hinata and Shizune were sitting. Fortunately enough for him, they were just finishing up their conversation so he didn't have to worry about being drawn into something he had no interest in.

Shizune said, "So then, we're in agreement? Tomorrow at ten?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. I'll meet you there tomorrow at ten." She looked up at Kakashi and sighed. "I'm ready to try again, Kakashi-sensei."

"That's good Hinata, but before I was distracted by your son I was going to ask you a few questions." His voice wavered between inquisitiveness and resignation, almost as if he knew the answer to his next question, but decided to ask it anyway. "Can you please tell me what method you're using to try and launch the spinning chakra from your hands?"

Wondering why he'd ask such a question, Hinata blinked a few times in confusion and then answered, "It's the same method I've always used, Kakashi-sensei. I create a small pulse at the base of the chakra, which causes it to fire from my fingertips. Basically, the bigger the pulse the farther I can extend the range. However, the maximum I've ever been able to reach is about twenty feet in diameter when I perform my Protection of the Eight Trigrams technique."

"And if I asked you to explain to me what the feeling of this small pulse of chakra is like, what's the best analogy you can give me?"

Hinata was silent as her mind sorted through all of the ways she could answer that question. She cocked her head to the side and said, "Well, it's like I'm creating a small explosive charge at the base of my chakra, so the closest comparison I can make would be trying to fire off a cannonball. Why?"

Kakashi groaned and rubbed his temples. Hinata could clearly tell he was frustrated with her answer, but as it turned out his frustration wasn't with her, but rather her family.

"Just like I thought. It's times like these when the typical Hyūga stubbornness and inflexibility really pisses me off." He stopped trying to massage away his ever growing headache and asked, "Hinata, why on earth are you trying to do something like that? Your chakra is based on water, not lightning! Do you even realize how much damage that can actually cause if you don't have the right affinity for it?"

Hinata was taken aback slightly, as the questions Kakashi flung at her were unexpected and she really only had one response, which was the same one her family had given her for many years. "But…But that's the way my family taught me how to do it since I was young. It's the way I've always done it, and it's never injured me before."

"And that's more than likely the reason why you had so much trouble mastering your family's techniques growing up. I'm guessing you have a secondary affinity for lightning, which is probably why you had to work three times as hard for half the result. Now that you're making the pulse larger it's actually causing damage to your chakra coils because they can't handle the strain. If anyone in your family with half a brain had bothered to remove the bamboo stick that was shoved up their ass and ask what your primary affinity is in the beginning, they could have adjusted your training style to work with your natural talents, rather than against them." Kakashi eye smiled at her. "You even might have given Naruto a run for his money before he left the village eight years ago."

Hinata's eyes widened upon hearing this. All her life she'd thought she was a failure because of her difficulty in learning the clan's fighting style and techniques, when it was probably because her family never looked beyond the fact that their training methods weren't based on her primary affinity. Even more frustrating for her is that during the entire time she had been trained as a child, not one of her instructors cared or even bothered to consider there might be a legitimate reason why she was struggling so much.

In a timid voice laced with hope she asked, "You…You really believe that, Kakashi-sensei? You think I can get stronger just like Naruto-kun?"

The confidence in his voice was abundantly clear as Kakashi responded, "I don't just think you can Hinata, I KNOW it. And don't forget, half of the people out there who can mold chakra only have one affinity. The amount of people like you who have two is much smaller, and three or more is smaller still. The fact that you've come this far focusing ONLY on your secondary affinity is a testament in and of itself to your strength, and I'm positive that if you can learn to use your primary affinity effectively, you can become one of the strongest kunoichi in the village."

Kakashi watched as Hinata's face lit up with confidence from his encouraging words. The same Will of Fire that he'd seen in Naruto and Hikaru now burned in her eyes, and Kakashi almost shivered at the determination that she reflected back at him. He knew that it would take something catastrophic for her to back down from the training at this point.

He held up a finger and said, "Now this time, I want you to imagine your chakra differently for me. I'm not trying to insult your intelligence Hinata, and I know this is going to sound simplistic, but I want you to envision the final process like a garden hose."

"A…A garden hose, Kakashi-sensei?"

He nodded. "Yes, Hinata. Think of it this way – you turn on a garden hose and the water flows normally, right? Well, what if you want to make the water travel farther? You'd put a nozzle on the end of the hose to regulate the flow of water – a smaller opening will make it travel farther, and the more you open the nozzle, the larger the flow becomes and the more the distance is reduced. But what if you took it one step further? What if you created a smaller opening AND built up additional pressure at the same time? The speed and force of the water would be tremendous, don't you think?"

Hinata could only nod at his explanation, but the idea seemed far too simplistic to actually work. Maybe it was because she was expecting it to be difficult after all the harsh training methods used by her family.

Kakashi began "Now let's try this again...Imagine your chakra flowing through your body in a circular motion, like a river winding through a forest. Just like the water flows downstream, then into the ocean only to make its way back inland and begin the process all over again, you need to make sure your chakra follows the same pattern. It's important for the flow to be steady and even at every point; don't restrain the majority of your chakra in your core and then flare it out when you want to attack. If you do that, you're using your lightning affinity and not your water, which is the one we really want."

Realizing that going back to the beginning of chakra training was a hard pill to swallow, Kakashi's lone eye gazed at her sympathetically and his words took on an encouraging tone. "This is going to take some time to get used to Hinata, and I know that starting over with the basics is frustrating, but once you make this change mentally you're going to be shocked at the difference. And don't forget that you've already got a head-start on this. While your family screwed up most of your training, the one thing they did get right was to teach you perfect chakra control, which will speed things up tremendously."

Deciding to give her one last mental push, Kakashi moved his face close to hers. In a firm voice laden with confidence he said, "And once you master this, we can take your training to a whole other level. You'll be able to create and perform techniques you never thought possible, and then the Hyūga clan will see for themselves the strength that Naruto has always seen in you."

---

***Time Skip – 41 days after leaving***

Eight o'clock. The sun had risen over Konoha about an hour ago, and the compound was awash with the sound of servants performing their daily routines, in anticipation of the new day.

However, one person wasn't so eager to rise and shine like other members of his clan.

For the last three weeks, Hiashi Hyūga had dreaded getting out of bed every morning, and it wasn't because he was injured or felt sick – he just didn't want to deal with whatever prank was waiting for him today.

Apparently, he'd drawn the ire of someone in the village, and this person had been leaving various pranks for him around the estate. In the beginning, Hiashi had thought that the entire Hyūga clan was the intended target, but after a few days it became obvious that he – Hiashi Hyūga – was being singled out for some unknown reason.

Many things could be said about Hiashi, but the fact that he had even a small sense of humor wasn't one of them. And despite the fact that the pranks weren't designed to be harmful or destructive in any way, he didn't like being made to look like a fool in front of his clan.

Over and over again. By someone who enjoyed seeing him constantly on edge.

Realizing he couldn't put it off any longer, Hiashi gave a heavy sigh and walked into the bathroom to begin the day. He turned on the shower, watching the water for a solid minute before disrobing and getting in (packets of yellow, blue and red dye placed in the showerhead had been prank number six). He let the water run over his body for several minutes, trying to ease the tension in his body and loosen his muscles a bit. It seemed to work, at least partially – which he begrudgingly admitted to himself was better than nothing. Grabbing the soap, he washed his body thoroughly before turning his attention to his hair.

He opened the shampoo and conditioner, sniffing each one carefully before nodding to himself in satisfaction. Concentrated lemon juice added to both had been prank number nine, drying his hair out considerably after using them unknowingly for three days straight. It had taken a week – and many expensive treatments – to repair the damage, but of course the mysterious prankster hadn't let up, pulling three more pranks during this time – the most annoying of which had been covering every piece of furniture in his office with a very thin layer of maple syrup.

After exiting the shower and drying himself off, he stepped to the sink to brush his teeth. Replacing his toothpaste with hemorrhoid cream had been prank number seven, and after making sure that hadn't happened again he finished up and walked back into the main bedroom, opening the top drawer of his dresser to remove a clean set of undergarments, absently pulling out the first one he came in contact with.

Unfortunately, it wasn't what he was expecting.

In his hand, Hiashi held a pair of red thong underwear, trimmed with lace and the words "I'm Too Sexy" written along the waistband. Annoyed at the sight, he narrowed his eyes for a moment before opening the drawer a bit further to look at the contents, noticing that every pair of underwear had been replaced with ladies panties of all colors and styles – the most disturbing of which was a pair of black hiphugger panties that said "There Is No Carpet To Match The Drapes" on the front.

Still holding the red thong underwear, he closed the top drawer and opened the second. This one held bras in all colors and styles that matched the panties – push up, bombshell, strapless…there was even a nursing bra mixed in with them.

His ire rising to dangerous levels, Hiashi closed the drawer and hesitated a moment, before deciding to open drawer number three. It seemed his mysterious prankster had saved the best for last, as this one was filled bras and panties made of black leather, with zippers in all the wrong places (or right places, depending on how perverted you were). As an added touch, a cat-o'-nine-tails whip was part of the collection.

That was the last straw. His face red with fury, he opened the door to his room and shouted, "Kō! Get over here!"

Within a few seconds, Kō was standing in front of his clan leader. There was no need to ask why he was there, but simply for the entertainment value, he decided to play along anyway. "You called, Lord Hiashi?"

Hiashi held up the lace red thong underwear and said, "Take a look at this."

Kō reached out and took the garment, holding it up with both hands while he studied it carefully. After a few moments, a smile broke out on his face and he whistled.

"Did you finally have some female company last night, Lord Hiashi? I have to say, it's about time and if these panties are any indication, she must be quite a catch. Congratulations."

Hiashi glared at the man. "You're not funny, Kō. Our mysterious prankster replaced all of my undergarments with these."

Amused at the subtlety of the prank, Kō raised an eyebrow and asked, "Just panties?"

Still seething about the situation, Hiashi missed the fact that Kō was goading him on and said, "Well, the second drawer has bras that match the panties, but the third…" Realizing what he was saying, he caught himself before finishing the sentence. His anger rising once again, he glared menacingly at Kō and shouted, "What's in my drawers is not important! I mean, what's in my dresser drawers is not important! Did the guards see anything last night?"

"Yes and no, Lord Hiashi. Apparently, there was a naked woman running around the compound last night around ten o'clock, but anyone that managed to get a good look at her suffered a significant nosebleed and passed out."

Hiashi gave Kō a blank stare, but the tone of his voice didn't change. "So you're telling me that the person we've been looking for is a woman? And she's been running around the compound naked, setting these pranks?"

"It appears so. But no one saw her face, only her…attributes. And based on the reaction from our guards, I'd have to guess they were quite…impressive, to say the least. Other than that, the only thing anyone seems to remember is the color of her hair, and even then the information is vague. Some say it was black, while others swear it was brown. Either way, we know the color was dark in nature."

"That's not very much to go on, Kō. A little over half the population of Konoha has dark hair."

Kō shrugged. "I realize that Lord Hiashi, but at this point we have no other leads. The only other suggestion I have would be to double the guard at night, placing everyone in groups of two – one male and one female, to avoid being…distracted by our visitor in the future."

Hiashi thought about this for a moment, and then nodded in acceptance. "As sound a plan as any, I suppose. Make the changes immediately – I want this person caught the next time they sneak into the compound."

Kō inclined his head. "Your will, Lord Hiashi." As he turned to walk away, Hiashi decided to add…

"And have someone bring me some fresh undergarments! There's no way I'm using what's in my dresser, especially any of the items in drawer number three!"

***Flashback – the previous night***

"Okay Hikaru, here's what you're going to use for tonight's prank."

"What's in the boxes, Uncle Kono?"

Konohamaru rubbed his hands together, like the villain plotting against the hero in a cheesy B-rate movie. "Ladies undergarments of all styles and colors. I even threw in a bunch of 'special' items that are sure to send Hiashi over the edge."

Hikaru looked at him skeptically. "I don't get it. What's so special about girls' underwear? And what's that got to do with anything?"

"It's not girls' underwear, Hikaru – it's LADIES underwear. There's a big difference."

"Big difference like what?"

"You'll find out when you're older."

"How much older?"

Konohamaru threw his hands up in frustration and said, "Just…older, okay? Why are you asking so many questions?"

Hikaru shrugged. "Because I'm trying to understand the nature of the prank." Curious, he reached for the boxes and said, "Maybe it would help if I looked in these to see what the big deal is…"

"NO!" Konohamaru slammed his hand down on the top of the boxes. "There's no need for you to do that, Hikaru – besides, your mother and aunt would kill me if you got a good look at the stuff."

Hikaru sighed. It was late, and he didn't feel like arguing with his uncle right now because he had classes at the academy tomorrow, as well as training with the Hokage in the afternoon.

"Okay, fine – I won't look in the boxes, Uncle Kono. What do you want me to do with them?"

Konohamaru grinned evilly and said, "It's actually very simple. You're going to replace the undergarments in Hiashi's dresser with these – three boxes, three drawers. I've even taken the liberty of numbering them for you, because you need to do it in the proper order for Hiashi to get the full effect and blow a mental gasket…"

***End Flashback***

---

At ten o'clock, Hinata walked into the hospital to meet up with Shizune, so that they could hopefully break Tsunade out of her self-inflicted punishment. Although after their conversation yesterday, her anger had been growing steadily, and she was finding it hard to go through with her promise to help the former Hokage.

Regarding Hikaru, there was plenty of blame to go around. Hinata had kept his origin a secret, allowing her fears to run wild with thoughts that Naruto would take Hikaru and leave her after learning the truth. She had conveniently forgotten how fiercely loyal he was to those who were precious to him, as well as his kind and generous nature. When she'd found out months later that he loved her and not Sakura, it had only made her feelings of guilt that much worse, and if Naruto and Hikaru hadn't forgiven her, she knew that she would still be wallowing in her own misery.

But that paled in comparison to what Sakura was responsible for. She had manipulated the situation from the very beginning, when she had dated Naruto and then broke his heart mercilessly, betting that he would find Sasuke and convince him to come back to Konoha, and to her. Even after finding out she was pregnant – which apparently was the only thing Sakura hadn't counted on – she had still somehow managed to turn things to her advantage, playing on Hinata's feelings for Naruto, as well as her teacher/student relationship with Tsunade, escaping the situation without any responsibilities or attachments.

Shizune had filled her in on the conversation that had happened between her husband and Tsunade the day before he left. Despite the fact that Naruto was the only person alive she considered family, Tsunade had given in to every request that Sakura had asked for, rather than assert some power as Hokage for the benefit of HER supposedly most precious person. Even worse than that had been the revelation that she had lied to Hinata from the very beginning, telling her that Naruto hadn't been found when in fact she hadn't even been looking for him in the first place.

Despite her supposed good intentions, Tsunade had inadvertently contributed to the pain and suffering Naruto had experienced while he was away from the village. It was apparent that Tsunade knew this, which is why she'd started punishing herself the same way as when Dan and Nawaki had died all those years ago – by drinking herself into a constant state of unconsciousness in order to escape the pain of reality.

And at this point, Hinata wasn't going to let Tsunade get off that easy. Hinata had accepted responsibility for her actions, vowing that whatever it took she would make it up to her husband – never mind the fact that Naruto had generously forgiven her. And Tsunade was no different – she should be held to the exact same standard. As she walked down the hallway and rounded the corner, she saw Shizune waiting for her outside Tsunade's office.

Shizune smiled at her and said, "Good morning, Lady Hinata. Are you ready for this?"

Hinata smiled back. "I am, although I've had quite a bit of time to think about our conversation yesterday, and you should know that I'm not going to go easy on Lady Tsunade. Along with Sakura, she's responsible for a great deal of the pain and suffering Naruto-kun went through when he left the village, and she needs to accept responsibility for her actions, just as I have."

Looking her square in the eyes, Shizune nodded gravely and said, "I agree with you completely. Just refrain from getting in a physical altercation with her. Bad things happen when someone does that." She hesitantly placed her hand on the doorknob. "Also, I should warn you that the office is rather disgusting and…fragrant, to say the least."

Shizune opened the door and immediately Hinata's senses were assaulted. The smell of sake that wafted forth was extremely strong, and there was an undercurrent of body odor in the air – telling her that the occupant hadn't bathed in quite some time. Hinata wrinkled her nose at the scent, and her stomach churned in disgust.

As they walked into the room, Hinata noticed that the blinds were closed, letting very little light into the room. Empty bottles were strewn across most of the furniture, as well as the floor. She wondered why Tsunade hadn't simply thrown them in the wastebasket, but then the scent of vomit reached her nose, and she reasoned that the wastebasket was probably beside her chair for use when she got sick.

Tsunade was passed out across her desk, a half empty bottle of sake in her right hand. Some of the contents had spilled across the surface, and whatever paperwork was lying there had soaked it up. Her hair was scraggly and matted, and she was mumbling to herself between loud bouts of snoring in her alcohol-induced sleep.

Shizune stepped forward and quietly said, "Lady Tsunade, you have a visitor."

Tsunade gave no outward reaction that she had heard anything, continuing to mumble and snore into the puddle of sake in front of her face.

Shizune raised her voice and tried again, hoping to gently wake her mentor up. A Sannin with a hangover suffering from raging headache was not someone you wanted to be around if you planned on having a good day.

"Lady Tsunade, Lady Hinata is here to see you. She wants to talk to you about Naruto-kun."

This finally elicited a small reaction from Tsunade, as she shifted a bit and her mumbling became distinct enough for them to make out a couple of words…

"…my fault…hurt…"

Hinata frowned, clearly disgusted at the sight before her. Deciding she'd seen enough, her tone became terse and she said, "Lady Shizune. Do me a favor and pick up as many bottles as you can. I'll be right back."

Shizune watched as Hinata walked out of the room, somewhat surprised at her demeanor. The only other time she'd ever seen Hinata like this is after Hikaru had gotten in trouble or had disobeyed her for some reason. Sighing, she found an empty box amid the stacks of paperwork and started to fill it with bottles while she waited for Hinata to come back.

After a minute, Hinata came back into the room with a large glass of ice water in her hand. Shizune watched as Hinata walked up to Lady Tsunade, clearly unafraid of the repercussions and threw it in her face.

The results were instantaneous. Tsunade shot up from her position on the desk, coughing and sputtering as she wiped the water from her eyes to see who was responsible for shocking her into consciousness.

Hinata set the glass down on the desk and walked over to the windows, throwing open the blinds as far as they could go. Sunlight flooded into the room, and Tsunade covered her eyes in a vain attempt to escape the pain it caused her. Her posture and attitude still rigid, Hinata sat down in front of the desk and said, "Lady Tsunade. I think it's time you and I had a conversation about Naruto-kun."

Tsunade squinted and looked in the direction of the voice. "Hin…Hinata? Is that you?"

Hinata leveled her gaze at Tsunade and said, "Yes, it is. Although I'm surprised that you can even recognize me at all, considering your current state."

"Go away." Tsunade mumbled, before rummaging around in her desk. "I'm not interested in talking to anyone." She pulled a bottle out of her bottom drawer and opened it up. "Only one left. Shizune, when you go out today take some money and buy me another case of sake."

Tsunade raised the bottle, licking her lips in anticipation but before she even managed to taste it, the bottle shattered and sake sprayed everywhere. Confused, Tsunade stared incredulously at the shards of glass that now littered her desk, wondering what just happened until she saw Hinata pointing at where the bottle had been only moments before.

Outwardly pleased with herself, Hinata wore a self-satisfied grin on her face as she calmly said, "There. Now that you're completely out of sake, you have no choice but to talk to me."

Her mind still in a haze, Tsunade looked at the woman sitting before her and asked, "What…What the hell was that?"

"Something Naruto-kun and Kakashi-sensei helped me create, where I can actually shoot chakra spikes out of my fingers. I completed the technique only yesterday and the range is rather limited, but I'm sure I'll get better with practice. And in case you're wondering, I haven't gotten around to naming it yet. Maybe I should call it the sake killer."

Stunned in disbelief, Tsunade could only stare at Hinata before dropping the remains of the bottle. Not caring about the mess it would make, she swept the ruined paperwork and broken glass off of her desk and onto the floor, before burying her face in her hands.

In a voice laced with defeat she asked, "What exactly do you want, Hinata?"

"What I want is your undivided attention, Lady Tsunade. You and I are going to have a little chat about your meeting with Naruto-kun over a month ago."

Tsunade groaned, clearly not wanting to rehash the conversation. "Save your breath. There's nothing you can say that will make me feel worse than I actually do."

"Oh, really? Then I don't have to mention how from the beginning, you willingly gave in to every request your apprentice made? Or how you never exerted one iota of authority as Hokage to force Sakura into revealing exactly what she said to Naruto-kun, causing him to leave the village a broken man, bent on self-destruction? Or how about the fact that you lied to me for almost five years, telling me that you had no news of where Naruto-kun was, when in fact you weren't even looking for him practically from the beginning?"

The terseness of Hinata's voice made every comment cut deep into Tsunade's soul, but silence is the only response she gave. She couldn't refute what was being said, because as harsh as it was to admit, she knew every word rang true.

Hinata didn't let up in the meantime, instead continuing her verbal assault. "Do you even realize what you've done? How much pain you've caused the one person who's supposed to be more important to you than everyone else, by sitting idly on the sidelines the entire time?"

Another minute of silence. Just as Hinata was starting to wonder if Tsunade might have slipped back into unconsciousness, she heard the sound of something tapping against the desk.

Looking closer, Hinata realized they were tears. Tsunade was crying beneath her hands.

"I…I know what I did, Hinata. I know that when it came to dealing with Sakura, I acted more like a friend and less like the Hokage. I should…should have forced her to do the right thing, instead of bargaining with her." She sniffed a few times, and her voice broke as the misery and guilt washed over her. "It's my fault. Everything…the pain, the suffering…eight years of his life that he…he tried to kill himself…It's all my fault…"

Hinata heard the anguish in her voice and it tore at her heart. She was suddenly reminded of the day of the attack, when Naruto told her that he found out the truth about Hikaru. The thought of her husband and son hating her for what she'd done had been almost more than she could bear, so she sympathized with how Tsunade felt.

However, in no way was she was going to let her off the hook. Hinata remained firm in her resolve, but decided to soften the tone of her voice a bit.

"Lady Tsunade, despite what you may think, what happened to Naruto-kun is not entirely your fault. The three of us – you, Sakura and myself – all share blame in this to varying degrees. I can't speak for Sakura, but my guess is that she doesn't feel any remorse for what she did. As for myself, I have my own burden to bear, and I have vowed to do whatever it takes to make it up to Naruto-kun. And as a former Hokage, as well as one of the legendary Sannin and someone that many kunoichi around the village look up to, I expect you to do the same. You're going to face my husband when he returns from his mission. You're going to apologize to him for what you've done. And you're going to beg for his forgiveness."

Shizune stood at the back of the room, shocked at how Hinata was acting. The woman who had always been shy, reserved and unsure of herself had suddenly become strong and confident. She wasn't sure if it was because Naruto was the subject of the conversation, but whatever the reason might be, Shizune was happy to see Hinata believing in herself and standing up to Tsunade.

Her face still buried in her hands, Tsunade shook her head in denial and said, "I…I don't know if I can do that, Hinata."

Hinata pressed her lips together, and the tone of her voice became brusque as she said, "I wouldn't recommend saying no, Lady Tsunade. You won't like the result."

The words caused Tsunade to raise her head. Her eyes were red and swollen from a mixture of crying and drinking heavily, and tears stained her cheeks. Her manner turned defensive before she sniffed a few times and asked, "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that I'll be forced to take drastic measures if you don't make things right with Naruto-kun. More specifically, I'll render your adoption agreement with him null and void."

Her eyes widened at the implied threat and Tsunade sputtered, "You…You can't do that!"

Hinata raised an eyebrow and said, "Let me assure you that I most certainly can, Lady Tsunade. With Naruto-kun away from the village, I'm the de facto head of the Namikaze clan, which means I have complete power and authority to negate the contract if I wish to do so. Whether I do this or not, depends entirely upon you."

Hinata watched as the look in Tsunade's eyes changed from shock to one of fear. Apparently, the thought of losing Naruto as her adopted grandson was more frightening than having to look into his eyes and personally see the pain that she had caused him.

Tsunade knew she was beaten. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and in a despondent voice she said, "Fine. You win. I promise I'll talk to the gaki when he gets back."

Hinata gave her a deadpan look. "Lady Tsunade, as much as I appreciate you acceding to my rather…forceful requests, I think I'll need a little bit more than just your word." Hinata activated her Byakugan. "On you honor as former Hokage, swear to me that you will face my husband upon his return and do whatever it takes to make things right. And keep in mind that with these…" Hinata pointed at her eyes. "…I'll be able to tell if you're lying or not."

Tsunade stared back at the former Heiress, a bit miffed that she would suggest – albeit indirectly – that her promise simply wasn't good enough. But after thinking about it for a moment, Tsunade realized that she really couldn't blame her since she'd lied to Hinata for five years straight. Hinata was just being protective of her husband and his feelings, as well as ensuring that Tsunade wouldn't go back on her word – this time.

Straightening in her chair, Tsunade folded her hands in front of her and said with as much pride as she could muster, "On my honor as Godaime Hokage, I swear that when Naruto returns to the village I will speak with him and apologize for what I've done. Furthermore, I also swear to do whatever it takes for him to regain his faith and trust in me."

Almost immediately after hearing the words, Hinata's demeanor changed as if a switch had been flipped. The look in her eyes softened and a warm smile appeared on her face, almost as if the shy and reserved part of her personality was back in control.

"Thank you for saying that, Lady Tsunade. Despite how my husband might feel about you right now, I know that he still loves you and I'm sure that if this had gone unresolved, it would have caused him further pain, which was never my intention." She walked around the desk to help Tsunade stand up. "Now you probably can't tell, but the smell in here is rather rancid. You need a shower badly, so let's get you out of here while Shizune oversees the cleanup of your office." Hinata giggled. "Besides, it'll give Shizune time to search for any bottles of sake that you've secretly hidden and forgotten about. I believe it would be best for everyone if you were completely sober between now and the time you talk with my husband."

At that point, a cry of agony was heard throughout the village. The people within earshot laughed and smiled, because they knew the former Hokage was the one responsible for the sound, and the reason why was because someone had once again cut off her supply of sake.

---

***Time Skip – 47 days after leaving***

In a tea house across from the Yamanaka flower shop, a very pregnant Sakura Uchiha sat waiting. Over the last few weeks she'd tried talking with the rest of her classmates, only to be firmly refused by each and every one. Shikamaru had been the least vocal, simply saying that a meeting with her would be 'beyond troublesome', while Neji promised that she experienced firsthand not only what life had been like for Hinata over the last eight years, but also for Naruto when he was growing up.

At first, she hadn't been worried about the veiled threat. As it turned out, she had vastly underestimated him.

In addition to talking with Hiashi, Neji had approached the other five great clans of Konoha and asked for their help. The story of what happened had already been told to them by his classmates, so persuading them to go along with what he wanted to do had been surprisingly easy. It also didn't hurt that his request was rather small.

Simply put, he asked everyone to exert some 'influence' over any of the local businesses they were involved with not to deal with Sakura. Apparently this didn't take much effort either, as most of the village had heard the story as well. And the list of places that was willing to 'help them out' was quite extensive.

A good number of businesses stopped selling her goods. Other stores asked her not to enter. Produce stands at the market either doubled or tripled their prices. Only a handful of shops sympathized with what she'd done, but those were few and far between. People pointed at her and whispered about how she'd tried to anonymously offer up the grandson of the Yondaime to an orphanage in Suna. The ANBU didn't want to be around her, even though every day one of them was required to assist her. When she attended council meetings as acting head of the Uchiha clan, her opinion was either ignored or dismissed altogether.

Her life had ranged from difficult to miserable over the last forty days or so. But what really burned her to the core was the fact that for everything bad that happened to her, the exact opposite had happened to Hinata.

People couldn't stop apologizing to her, horrified that they had treated her so callously when in reality she didn't deserve any of it. They always greeted her cheerfully, offering their services either at a great discount, or free of charge. They bowed more often in respect, honored to meet the woman who not only had married the Hero of the Leaf, but had suffered in silence to take care of his son. Even those who hadn't necessarily treated her poorly before, now went out of their way behave far more amicably towards her.

And then there was the matter of the request Hinata had made from the council, which they had readily agreed to as a way to make amends for how the village had treated both her and Naruto over the years. Everyone else had approved of it, and rather than be the only dissenting vote she voted for the measure, doing so with a false smile on her face even though she was stewing on the inside.

Now she was trying to apologize, and no one was buying it – apparently, they didn't find her attitude convincing enough to believe. It had only been after a great deal of pleading and coaxing that Ino had agreed to talk with her at all, and that was only if the meeting was in public at a neutral site, hence the reason for her being at the tea house.

As if on cue, Ino came in and looked around. Spying Sakura alone in a secluded corner, she walked over and curtly greeted her classmate and onetime rival. "Forehead."

"Pig." She gestured and asked, "Want some tea?"

Ino shook her head. "No. I don't plan on being here that long." She sat down in the booth across from Sakura. "Well, you begged me to meet with you, because you said you needed to talk. Now that I'm here, you can tell me what you want. The quicker we get this meeting over with, the better."

Sakura frowned, annoyed at the tone of voice Ino used. Keeping her temper in check during the conversation was going to be difficult, if this was the attitude she had to deal with. "I need your help. I've been trying to apologize to everyone for what happened, but no one is interested in hearing what I have to say. I was hoping you could convince the others to hear me out, since you're the one who spread the information all over the village in the first place."

"It was a group effort, actually. And frankly, you're barking up the wrong tree. The one you should be apologizing to is Hinata, not any of us."

Sakura scowled and said, "I've already tried that. She isn't interested in anything I have to say."

Ino smirked and asked, "And just why do you think that is?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Look Ino, I'm not stupid. I know why she's angry at me, but it's been over a month – shouldn't she be over it by now? I mean, in the end Hinata got what she wanted and so did I. Isn't that all that matters?"

"Isn't that…" Ino looked at her incredulously. "Are…Are you kidding me, Forehead? When Hinata came back from your so called 'mission' with Hikaru, she was immediately disowned by her clan. It was only because of Neji that she was even allowed to stay in the compound after that. When she wasn't around, the villagers called her names she didn't even remotely deserve, and if Hiashi had been given the opportunity he would have married her off, sending both her and Hikaru to the farthest corner of the elemental nations to rot. How can none of that matter to you?"

Sakura waived her hand. "You make it sound like I did all those things. Hinata knew what would happen when she agreed to care for Hikaru, and she accepted it willingly. What happened afterwards was not my fault."

Pissed off at her dismissive attitude, Ino practically shouted, "But you did nothing to prevent it! And in case you've forgotten, all this started well before that when you decided to date Naruto. You KNEW he was crazy in love with you, and had been for years. You KNEW that nothing would ever come from dating him, but you did it anyway because you were lonely and just wanted someone in your life. And then you purposely ripped his heart out, when your original plan to get Naruto to break up with you backfired and he proposed to you. Any of that ring a bell?"

"I know all that, Ino. I never meant to hurt Naruto, things just…spiraled out of control, and I panicked. But you're being a bit hypocritical, don't you think? Isn't that the same as what happened between you and Choji?"

Disgusted that Sakura would even think to bring that up, Ino glared at her 'friend' and said, "That comparison isn't even close, Forehead. Even though Choji and I never worked out as a couple, I was still nice to him when we broke up, which is why we're still friends. But you played on Naruto's feelings for you without a care in the world as to what would happen to him – only that he went after Sasuke, and convinced him to come back to the village so that you could stake your claim to him. And that's exactly what happened."

Sakura smirked, thinking she hit upon an emotional nerve. "It sounds like someone is jealous because I ended up with Sasuke, and she didn't."

Ino folded her arms defensively across her chest. "Sasuke isn't a prize in some contest, Sakura. And that's not what this is about."

"That's where you're wrong, Ino. To me, Sasuke is the ultimate prize. Ever since I was young, I've loved Sasuke and no one else. I dreamed of us getting married, as well as helping him get past all of the hatred he carried regarding the Uchiha massacre. I was going to be the one to help him rebuild his clan." She cocked her head to the side, as if she came to a realization. "If you stop and think about it, Hinata and I share exactly the same situation. I ended up with my prince charming just like she did, and I feel the same way about Sasuke that she does about Naruto." Sakura bared her teeth and spat, "He's MINE, no one else can have him and I'll be damned if someone else thinks they can take him away from me without a fight."

Ino shook her head ruefully. "Not that you seem to notice, but your situation and Hinata's are entirely different. Yes, Hinata loved Naruto from the beginning, but unlike you she didn't connive and scheme to get him. It took some time because of her shyness, but she confessed her love and waited to see if he would come to her – not that the thick headed baka ever did anything about it. And yes, they ended up together but it would have happened sooner if you hadn't screwed things up with your manipulations by dating Naruto in the first place."

She gave her former teammate a withering glance. "You know Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke have been gone almost two months. You've had plenty of time to tell anyone that was willing to hear you out that you're sorry about what you did, and that you're trying to turn over a new leaf. Instead, you've done nothing but remain in your own little fantasy world, showing absolutely ZERO remorse while waiting patiently for all of this to blow over."

Ino stood up, intending to leave as soon as the next words left her mouth. "Try to understand what I'm saying to you right now, Forehead. Get your priorities in order and reign in your twisted sense of self-entitlement, and do it soon. Whatever game you're playing, whatever it is you hope to gain at the end of it all has absolutely ZERO chance of succeeding – I guarantee it. Not that I think you'll take it, but my advice is that once Naruto gets back from wherever Kakashi-sensei sent him, you should beg for his forgiveness and hope he accepts your apology. You and I both know it's a foregone conclusion that he's going to be Hokage someday, and despite what you may think, he can make your life far more miserable than it already is when that happens."

Her back ramrod straight, Ino walked brusquely out of the tea house. Sakura watched her go, exasperated that she hadn't been able to make some headway with Ino, as well as realizing just how far her relationship with her classmates had fallen.

Well, that certainly could have gone better. Inner Sakura said sarcastically. Why didn't you stick to the original plan and sound apologetic?

Sakura growled inwardly. Deciding to keep her voice low, lest anyone think she was totally insane, she mumbled to herself, "She pissed me off. Between the insinuation of 'you don't give a shit about anyone but yourself', and her laying the blame for everything entirely at my feet, I lost my focus and went off script. I'm not taking the fall for other people's mistakes no matter what."

You're missing the forest for the trees. You're not going to make any progress without conceding that you're the only one at fault, even though we both know you're not. Others share just as much blame as you do.

Sakura sighed in frustration. "So what now? After this, there's no doubt Ino will spread the word fast and no one's going to listen to anything I have to say. Maybe I should have just apologized from the start."

I'm not sure it would have made a difference. I think it's best if we bide our time and wait for Sasuke to return to the village. When he does, if you talk to him and let him know you tried to apologize – which isn't really a lie, since technically you did – he'll help persuade the others to hear you out. Remember that you're carrying the heir to the Uchiha clan, which is a very powerful and influential thing. Between Sasuke offering us his assistance with the villagers and the impending birth of his son, you'll once again be the center of his world. And once we're back there, we're going take steps to ensure it remains that way. FOREVER.

---

***Time Skip – 53 days after leaving***

Hiashi tentatively walked into his office, wondering what was in store for him today. Two weeks ago they had doubled the guard in an effort to catch the mysterious prankster, or at the very least stop the pranks altogether. It had only partially worked, merely decreasing the frequency of events but somehow, she still managed to elude the guards. Hiashi was starting to think she was an ANBU because of how skilled she was at stealth techniques. Even more frustrating was the fact that since she had been forced to sacrifice the quantity of tricks, she had upped the quality to make up for it.

A week ago, she had replaced the goose down feathers in his pillow with a combination of chocolate, molasses and peanut butter. After laying his head on it and getting the sticky concoction in his hair, he tried to replace it with another pillow. Unfortunately, this triggered a small explosion, covering his face…and the bed…and the walls…and the ceiling…and part of the carpet in the stuff. Hiashi had been forced to sleep in one of the guestrooms that night, and then buy a new mattress the next day.

Three days ago, she had put industrial strength laxatives in his dinner. Normally this would have been embarrassing enough, but that night he decided to eat with the clan elders, and everyone unfortunately had a portion of his 'special dish'. The rest of the night hadn't been very pleasant, whether you were one of the people who ate the meal, or just happen to be around someone who did. They were forced to call a plumber, who charged them three times the normal rate because of the size of their 'problem'.

So when he woke up that morning, just to be on the safe side he decided to be extra cautious as he entered his offce. He slowly walked across the floor – no traps there – and gingerly touched his chair in several places to see if anything happened.

Hiashi smiled. Nothing was sticky, fell apart or blew up. Perhaps today is my lucky day, He thought. Maybe the guards finally intimidated her enough to at least take the rest of the week off.

Having no idea that he'd just jinxed himself, Hiashi sat down at his desk and opened the top drawer. Before he had a chance to react, a brown cloud of some sort exploded all over his upper body. Hiashi waved his hands to clear the air, coughing loudly in an effort to clear his nose and throat. After several seconds of doing this the cloud dissipated, and he curiously sniffed the sleeve of his robe to see if he could identify the substance, which smelled like a mixture of several baking spices and mint leaves.

He was still wondering what it could be when he happened to look down. There, in the middle of the drawer was a note with his name printed on the outside. At this point, he was pissed off enough that he didn't care anymore, so he threw caution to the wind and ripped the note open to read…

Here's a hint…its extra potent catnip. He furrowed his brow in confusion. "Catnip? Why in the world would she…"

"Mwwrarr?"

Hiashi looked up; his train of thought interrupted by the sound of what appeared to be a cat. A large Tabby was sitting atop his file cabinet, idly licking one of its front paws. For a brief second, he wondered not only how the animal had gotten into his office, but why it was even there at all.

Then the cat stopped licking its paw and glared at him, sporting one of the most evil, feral grins he'd ever seen. Then he remembered the note and suddenly, everything clicked together because he knew where he'd seen the animal before…

It belonged to the Fire Daimyo's wife. It was the demon cat Tora.

---

Across the compound, Kō was sitting at a table enjoying a pastry and his morning cup of tea. He was pretty sure that Hiashi was going to be calling for him soon; several guards had spied the mysterious naked prankster running through the halls again last night. What Hiashi didn't know however, was that Kō had told them to be purposely negligent in trying to apprehend her. He'd done this for two reasons – one, he had a decent idea of who the naked woman might be, and two – he found that watching Hiashi be the brunt of someone's jokes was absolutely hilarious. So it came as no surprise when a scream was heard throughout the compound…

"AAAAUUUUGGGGHHHH! GET IT OFF ME, GET IT OFF! FOR KAMI'S SAKE, IT WON'T STOP BITING ME! HOW THE HELL CAN A CAT BE THIS FAST? CATCHING THIS THING SHOULD BE AN A-RANK MISSION, NOT A D-RANK!"

Kō smiled and took a sip of his tea, laughing inwardly at the images playing through his head right now. From what he'd just heard, Hiashi was more than likely being chased around his office by Tora, who had probably been given some 'extra incentive' to attack the clan head. He leaned back in his chair, enjoying the sounds of terror coming from the other side of the compound and sighed contentedly, before saying out loud to no one in particular…

"Without a doubt, the last thirty days around here have been the BEST…MONTH…EVER."

---

***Time Skip – 68 days after leaving***

It was sometime around nine o'clock in the morning in Konoha, when two men appeared at the front gates in a flash of yellow light. The men looked tired and weary, but the smile on their faces told everyone who saw them that they were VERY glad to be back.

Naruto took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ahhh, home sweet home. Never thought I would miss it this much, even including the eight years I spent away from the village before."

Sasuke snickered and said, "That's only because you've got a wife and son to come home to now. You probably wouldn't miss this place so much if you didn't."

"Point taken." He turned to look at the guards. "Hey guys. Nice to see you again. Anything interesting happen while we were gone?"

Kotetsu and Izumo looked at each other for a moment, before breaking out with sly grins. Naruto and Sasuke couldn't help but notice the exchange, wondering what they knew and might be hiding.

Izumo said offhandedly, "Oh, the usual. A couple of strange visitors stopped by about a month ago, and there's been quite a bit of tension between a few of your classmates. Anything else besides that will have to wait, though – there are standing orders for the two of you to head straight to the Hokage's office once you've returned, and any questions you might have will be answered during your debriefing."

Sasuke nodded and said, "Well, I suppose we can wait another five minutes…" His voice trailed off as he stared in the direction of the Hokage tower, wondering if what he was seeing was simply a mirage or perhaps an elaborate genjustu.

He blinked his eyes a few times and shook his head. Still staring in disbelief, he activated his Sharingan.

There was no change. What he saw was all too real. "Hey, dobe…"

"Huh?" Naruto was concentrating on filling out the form in front of him. "Something wrong, teme?"

Sasuke smacked him on the shoulder and said, "You'll definitely want to see this…"

Naruto looked in the direction Sasuke was pointing, which was directly at the Hokage Monument. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw that a new face was in the process of being constructed, and although it was only about two-thirds complete there was no denying who it might be, because the whisker marks on the cheeks were clearly visible.

Naruto snapped his head back around to glare at Kotetsu and Izumo, who were staring back at him with barely suppressed mirth. Caught off guard and not liking it, he pointed at the Hokage Monument and growled, "Care to explain what the fuck that is?"

Kotetsu decided to play dumb, looking curiously in the direction Naruto was pointing. He offhandedly said, "That? Oh yeah, that! Well, in Konoha we carve the face of each leader into the side of the mountain…"

Naruto snapped at him, clearly not amused by his mocking tone of voice. "That's not what I'm talking about, smartass! I want to know exactly why MY FACE is up there!"

"I should think that's pretty obvious." The two men smirked and stood up behind their desk, before bowing low and saying…

"Welcome back to the village…Hokage-sama."

---

A/N: Dun Dun DUUUUUNNNNN! Bet you didn't see THAT coming, did you? HA! Score one for alcohol and bad judgement!

Okay, I've calmed down now. Seriously, this chapter had more happening than the last one and I think everyone can agree that it's good to have Naruto back. Things can start moving along now – not that they weren't over the last two chapters, but somehow it's just better with him around. It's kind of like how McDonald's fries taste better when you eat them out of the bag on the way home, instead of sitting on the paper that the burger came wrapped in. It's one of the great mysteries of the cosmos.

Okay, maybe that wasn't such a good analogy. But I couldn't pass up a chance to mention how TOTALLY AWESOME eating McDonald's fries out of the bag on the way home is. Yum.

So to summarize…Hinata discovered the secret regarding the money and told Hanabi (and also Konohamaru by extension). Hanabi and Tenten are pregnant. Hinata and Hikaru completed their training. Kakashi suspects that Hikaru is an Uzumaki Fūinjutsu prodigy. Hinata finds out about the mistake in her training. Tsunade has been in a drunken stupor for over a month, and Hinata grinds her face in the fact of how bad she fucked up.

Hiashi has been on the receiving end of some pranks – and I didn't make them too bad, because Hikaru is only eight years old after all, and I didn't want him to do anything too severe – and he gets attacked by Tora at the end. For those of you who keep wondering how the cat is still alive, I'm running under the assumption that when one cat passes on, it's replaced by another one with equal or greater demonic prowess. Yikes.

Sakura and Ino have a conversation, which is brought about by the fact that the roles for Sakura and Hinata have been reversed in the village, and rightfully so. Then we finish up with the big shocker…but how did that happen with Naruto out of the village? You'll just have to tune in next chapter to find out!

Recommendation time! Okay, once again I'm going to give a shout out to a story that's really good but deserves some traction, whether it's in the form of favorite/following a story or reviewing it. And when I get hooked on a story, I believe that's as good an endorsement as any, since it takes quite a bit to draw me in and keep me there.

So do yourself a favor and read A Reluctant Return by gigiree123. It follows a similar theme to The Ring That Binds (which I've recommended before), where there's a bit of angst between Naruto and Hinata, plenty of misunderstandings and romantic tension galore. It just SMACKS of subtle plot lines and intrigue, and I love reading it. If you decide to check it out and like what you read, put it on your favorite/follow list and leave a review. I'm sure the author will appreciate the support and frankly, he deserves it.

Here's the link, as usual remove the spaces and you know what to replace the stars with:

www . fanfiction . *** / s / 9865864

IMPORTANT POLL! So I told everyone last chapter that I had a very important poll on my profile page. Just to refresh everyone's memory, it's a choice between two options for the next chapter of the story. The first is a long, hot and steamy lemon scene with Hinata. The second option is that I advance the plot and don't bother with the lemon scene at all (also known as a lime).

To date, I have 72 total votes. And personally, I think that number should be MUCH bigger.

So I'm going to leave the poll open for this chapter as well. If you haven't voted, please do – I want to write what the majority of my readers want to see. And if you HAVE voted, then please accept my thanks. DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!

So what's coming up? We find out just how Naruto's face got on the mountain, PLUS Sakura gives birth to the Uchiha heir. There's a big shocker coming for Temari and Shikamaru. Hiashi and Naruto will have a talk about many things dealing with the Hyūga clan. And then there's the information Freyja has for Naruto, as well as Kakashi and his crush on the female Mienai Segi. SO STAY TUNED!

REVIEWS! So I hit my mark for reviews last chapter – and I'd like to thank each and every person who left me a review, including the guests. I'm setting the bar high once again, hoping I can hit at least 925 before the next chapter is released, which may take some time for a couple of reasons – one, I need to find out the poll results and write the story accordingly – and two, I need to go back and do some story cleanup. A few authors and readers pointed out some things that need to be addressed, and both me and my OCD are very grateful that they did.

But don't let that discourage you! I love reviews and want more of them! So take a few seconds at the end and leave one for me because I appreciate it more than you know. And as usual, my promise is that the more reviews you leave then the faster I release the next chapter. I mean, I only know of a handful of writers who can say they've pushed out almost 200,000 words in six months. It's in your hands, my fellow readers!

That's all for now. Take care and stay safe.

Serious Sam