Hinata shifted to the side of her bed, loathing the sound of her phone alarm. She tends to set them early since it gives her time to unwind before school. Unfortunately, it never helps when she's racing the night before. She set herself in the hot tub, reflecting on the events that happened in the past week, especially the sudden entrance Naruto made on Friday. Granted, they are good friends, yet she couldn't help but feel awkward worrying so much about it in regards to what he plans to do after that night. She just hoped that he wouldn't make any rash decisions.

"Ugh…" she groaned as she rubbed her temple. She went into the kitchen without doing her hair, still dressed in her crop top and shorts with a towel around her neck. Her kid sister, Hanabi, sat at the dinner table as she eyed Hinata with suspicion. Must be a trivial matter as always.

"…. What?" Hinata asked her sister while grabbing the juice from the fridge.

"Hmph," she crossed her arms, "You're picking me up after karate today." Hinata raised a brow.

"Oh, so you're giving me demands now, is that it?" she smirked slightly while snatching a pancake from Hanabi's plate.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"Apparently not." claimed Hinata, tauntingly taking a bite.

"Whatever. Wait till I tell Mom and Dad you went out last night!" she said with confidence until she saw her sister burst out in laughter.

"Is that what this is about? Well, I'll tell you tell something…" Hinata crept closer to Hanabi who grew visually uncomfortable anticipating her big sister's comeback. "With both of them out of town, someone's gonna have to pick you up from karate. OR, you can kick rocks all the way home with that cute little brown belt kid that's been checking y—"

"Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew, ew!" Hanabi clutched her face while it turned bright red. She regretted squaring up to her big sister whenever she thought she would have the upper hand.

"Aww…. You're blushing!"

"I have a fever!"

"Maybe I should let you walk home more often."

"SHUT UP!"

"Seriously, you two… with all this shouting, you're gonna tear this house down." entered their elder cousin, Neji. He doesn't live with them, only that he lives close enough to check up on them from time to time, especially when their parents aren't at home.

Hanabi, without saying a single word, stood up from her chair and grabbed her bag for school. Funnily enough, she looked back at Hinata with a pout on her face, still expecting to be picked up.

"Relax, I'll be there." She smiled. Neji also waved at her goodbye.

"Way to kick it off on an early morning." He stood in front of her. "Now, lets talk business."

"Here we go again….." complained Hinata, ready to take on another scolding once again as she walked out on to the balcony overlooking the city. It was irritating to her because last time she checked, Neji was neither her father nor mother.

"Im serious, Hinata." Neji continued. "I know you see this whole racing thing as your calling, but being out all night and coming home barely in time for school isn't a good look. Even when your parents—"

"Again, with my parents." She snapped while slouching on the balcony railing. "That's the problem. It's always about how they feel and what they want, and I'm supposed to shut my mouth by being the perfect daughter?" That was the first time she ever expressed that feeling into words, although it wasn't something she'd dare mouth off to her parents.

"What are you talking about?" he opposed her claim. "They have paved an opportunity for you to make something big out of this life, and you're not going to find it by playing cat and mouse all over town."

Hinata rolled her eyes hearing the same talk from Neji. He wasn't wrong, except throughout her sheltered life, she was forced to put on a false personality to please her wealthy family in order to go with the flow. At age seventeen, still unable to express herself freely, racing was the only way she could and that's why she embraced it dearly.

Neji placed a hand on her shoulder while gazing at the city skyline. "One day, when your father retires his role as C.E.O of the Hyuga company, I can see you taking on that role with honor. You have my full support when that day comes." He made his exit, feeling that he had said enough for her to think about it. On the contrary, this pulled her further into a dilemma. She loved her family and she wanted to do right by them. To her, giving up street racing felt like sacrificing the freedom she craved for a hell of a long time. No need to mull over it now that she has to get ready for school.

"Yo, Bushy-brows! Where you at, man?" Naruto called out into the dealership to his long-time friend Rock Lee.

"Just gimme a minute!" replied Lee as he rolled out from under a car he was working on. He greeted Naruto as they both shook hands with each other. "Look what the cat dragged in on a Monday morning! Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?"

Naruto looked at his phone knowing that he couldn't stick around for long. "Yeah, kinda pressed for time. You can come with if you feel like it!" he joked.

"Nah…. You know me. There ain't nothing that place can teach me that I don't already know." Lee was a former student at Konoha High. With bad grades, bad attendance and no drive for being there at all, he decided to take up work in the local dealership owned by his mentor and never looked back. Surprisingly, he's been doing good for himself ever since. "So, I'm guessing you want news on what's been in stock lately…."

Naruto nodded. Lee looked through the notes of last week's shipment which consisted of:

Toyota MR-2's, Chasers, Corollas
Honda Civics
Lexus IS300's
Nissan 180's, 300ZX, Pulsars
Subaru 22b's, WRX Impreza's.

"Ehhh…." The look on Naruto's face was evident that these cars weren't as satisfactory as he hoped it to be. They didn't fit his category but he knew they were still good cars nonetheless. This time around, he was after something specific but just couldn't put his finger on it.

"We gotta couple more on the list, but we don't get the details that quick since they're high performance and usually go for the highest bidders…. so, if you're really gonna tear up these streets, your pockets have to be real deep, my man."

Naruto knew he had to go big on such a purchase and wanted to make sure he wasn't going to make a mistake doing so. He checked his phone and he sighed to see he had to take his leave already.

"Tell you what," Lee patted him on the back, "Stop by the shop after school and I'll see if I can let you in on copping one of these speed demons that'll roll through later. Sound good?"

"Well… that works!" Naruto "I owe you big time, Lee!" Naruto ran to school just to make sure he doesn't turn up late. Too bad his forgetful self left his bike at home.

"What's the deal, big guy?" Kiba interrogated Choji while they walked through the school gates. "Been hiding from us, not returning our calls and shit…. Had us worried for the whole weekend!"

"My bad… my bad…" Choji started to own up. He seemed to be in a much better mood than before.

Shikamaru scoffed. "Well, 'my bad' won't fly this time. You fell off the grid just because of a measly race?"

"Wait… you guys aren't pissed?"

Kiba took Choji by surprise as he aggressively wrapped his arm around his neck. "You might have a big ass mouth-"

"But you at least held your own till the end, and that's good enough for us." Shikamaru reassured. Choji was more than glad to hear that come from him of all people. Now it doesn't really matter what anyone outside of their friend group thinks anymore, right?

"Whew!" Naruto had to catch his breath after an intense sprint. He saw Choji and the others up ahead and was walking to them until Hinata walked past him looking a bit gloomy. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Huh?" Hinata wasn't paying full attention until she turned to him. "Oh hey, Uzumaki. Mondays really aren't my strong suit." He didn't say anything but gave her a questionable look. "Hey…. Mind if I ask you something?"

"Talk to me." said Naruto. Things were starting to get awkward as Hinata seemed reluctant to say anything so Naruto thought it could be serious.

"Yo! Naruto!" yelled Kiba.

Naruto signalled him to wait a moment since he was waiting for a response from Hinata. "What's the matter?"

"Its…" she was cut short by the bell ringing. "Never mind, see you in class, 'kay?"

"Huh? Wait up, Hinata!" Naruto looked on in confusion and decided to go after her to see if there was a problem before he was aggressively pushed to the side.

"That was a nice show you and your clowns put on the other night!" laughed Deidara and the rest of the Taka clique as they all marched past him.

"Real, real nice." said Sasuke with his arm wrapped around Sakura who gave him the "don't do anything stupid" look.

Naruto did not want to find more trouble so he kept his cool.

"C'mon, let's go." instructed Shikamaru, trying to turn his attention from them.

Naruto still had a bone to pick with him. "Don't think I've forgotten how y'all kept me out of the loop of this."

"I know that." said Shikamaru. "But we don't wanna be late to class either, so we'll talk there instead." They both nodded at the notion.

"Alright class, this period will end early today due to teacher's training. Finish up this last task and you will be free to go. I will be back after preparation." Announced their teacher Iruka. He went out of the classroom and people went ahead to kick back in their chairs and relax whether they were finished or not.

Naruto looked over to Hinata, her head rested in her arms and looked like she was in her own little world. She'd always be in high spirits at this time of school or conversating with anyone around her. Right now, it was the opposite but he felt like he was worrying more than he should've been.

"Lee." said Shikamaru completely out of the blue next to him.

"What- What about him?" asked Naruto.

"He's the one that put us in the scene." He replied, "You weren't there since you fell real sick and had to go outta town to stay with that creepy grandma with the cats or whatever."

"Still doesn't tell me anything."

"I know it doesn't, that's why…." Shikamaru planted his head in his hand with guilt, "I'm sorry."

"I don't get it." Naruto was somewhat surprised upon hearing that apology knowing that it would be a serious deal for an individual like Shikamaru to apologise to anyone. He always labelled it 'a drag' and made it up to people through his actions and not words.

"Something came up that day I can't talk to you or the guys about, the least I can do is be sorry." Shikamaru retreated from explaining further on that topic. "What I'm trying get at, is that taking on this part of this underground world is a dangerous path. You have to be vigilant, you have to be fast, and you have to be smart."

"Poor ol' Choji over here didn't get that last part, did he now?" laughed Kiba as he received a furious glare from Choji.

"Shut up, man."

Shikamaru decided not to indulge in their little banter. "Even though the whole class is somewhat involved, it was my call to not let you in on it at first 'cause we didn't know if was better to keep it a secret from you or not. We were paranoid then, but shits changed and if you're down to roll with us, I'm all for it." He wanted to make a proposal for Naruto. "Right now, all you need is—"

"A car and a name to build up." Naruto took the words right out of his mouth. Shikamaru could tell that what happened on Friday will stick with him for a good while.

"The thing is, what're you gonna be running? Your mom's BMW won't do the trick." said Kiba.

"Of course it won't," replied Naruto. "I'm working on it."

"Well, whatever it is, it'll definitely be no match for my 180!" concluded Kiba with a grin.

"Hey, only time will tell depending on how good he is." said Shikamaru.

Their conversation came to a sudden halt as a scrunched-up piece of paper hit the side of Kiba's head. They all looked in the direction of its projectile and find Suigetsu giving them a dirty smirk. Kiba opened up the piece of paper and it contained a poorly written drawing of a car in flames, probably in an attempt to mock their loss in the last race.

Shikamaru grabbed the piece of paper from Kiba knowing that it was going to provoke him. They all simultaneously look towards Shikamaru who was chuckling at the drawing. "That's a good one, Suigetsu! If only you can put the same amount of effort into that sorry ass excuse of a muffler hooked to your back end…" Naruto, Kiba and Choji all looked away trying to hide their amused reactions from them.

"You can laugh it up all you want with your groupies." barked Suigetsu.

"Here we go again…." Naruto could tell another argument will break out.

"Want another beatdown, Nara? I can tell that blonde dickwad beside you is asking for it even when he doesn't have a ride." Jugo gave out an unprovoked threat as his group nodded in agreement. The room was somewhat quiet with a few listening in on what was happening

"Reading too far into it, man. I haven't said shit to you or your people." replied Naruto.

Suigetsu stood up in anger, riled up at Naruto's comment, "Bullshit, if you wanna talk that good shit, then I suggest you-"

"Suggest I what?" Naruto also stood up. This turn of event grabbed Sasuke's attention. On the outside, he was laid back but in reality, he was getting fed up.

"Oh hohoho…. looks like we got a tough guy, huh?" said Suigetsu.

"You know what your problem is, Naruto?" asked Sasuke, "You just don't know when to call it quits." This struck confusion with Naruto. Sasuke walked up to the commotion.

"You're in no damn place to tell me that."

"No place to have a mouth like that, either." Sasuke was now all up in Naruto's face. They caught the eyes of every student in the room as things were getting pretty heated for the both of them. "What you need to do, is take a step back before it gets ugly.

Naruto was boiling up on the inside but he kept his cool, however this time, he wasn't backing down.

"Before it gets ugly, huh? When the fuck has that ever stopped you?" he shot back.

"Naruto, please." pleaded Hinata as she stood behind him. For a moment he forgot she was even here judging by her attitude throughout the day.

"She's right, man." Shikamaru agreed. He didn't want any problems but if it came to it, he was ready.

"I say we teach these fools a lesson." Deidara started cracking his knuckles. Sasuke waved at him to hold back.

"It's real funny how you losers are holding up from Friday, but you," Sasuke turned back to Naruto. "You're starting to get on my nerves, and I'm not liking it one bit."

"Well, what do you know…." Naruto started to come up and personal in Sasuke's face, "Looks like we're on the same page." came Naruto's cold response. What followed….

"Jesus Christ!"

"Holy shit man!"

"What the fuck!"

Naruto fell back after receiving a quick blow to the face from Sasuke's fist. Sasuke couldn't believe he'd even have the guts to square up to someone like him.

Deidara and Suigetsu pushed through his friends and shoved Naruto back in Sasuke's face for him to receive another punch to the face.

"I told you, watch your mouth. Now, I'm not playing anymore." warned Sasuke. He could hear Naruto raise himself up with laughter, making Sasuke become growingly irritated.

"After all these years, you still hit like a bitch." teased Naruto as he whipped the blood off of his lip.

Sasuke quickly lunged at him only for Naruto to dodge out of the way and inflict a heavy uppercut to Sasuke's stomach. It was then and there that all Taka members present in the class rose to their feet. Naruto grabbed Sasuke, backing him to the wall and put in a few more punches until Sasuke shoved him back. The class got even rowdier.

"Get his ass!" yelled Suigetsu. As he was about to charge at Naruto, something pulled his shirt back and, in an instant, he was sent flying into other unoccupied tables by Shikamaru; but he wasn't done there. Deidara attempted to make his move on him but was swiftly tackled by Kiba who made sure that he didn't lay a finger on him.

The class was starting to go wild and Hinata felt utterly helpless, what else could she do if she had already warned him of this?

Everyone spectating the carnage finally turned to Naruto as he had Sasuke pinned on the ground with him blocking his face in hopes that he doesn't make any contact with his fists. That was, until, Naruto looked up at who closed up in front of him…

BAM!

Jugo had knocked the lights out of Naruto who thumped on the floor. With him off of Sasuke, they wasted no time in giving him a rough beating and with him lying there defenseless. His friends watched him fall on his back.

"Shit!" exclaimed Shikamaru while struggling with Suigetsu. He pushed him aside, trying to make a break towards Naruto. However, he had to deal with Deidara since Kiba couldn't take him down.

Naruto was sustaining a barrage of kicks, stomps and punches all over his body. Jugo was about deliver another kick to his face, until he was briefly stopped by Choji who barged him away from his best friend. He didn't care whether he was going to be next in line for a beatdown, he'd do anything to protect his guys.

"You want a round two, you pussy!?" scowled Jugo, making his way towards him with killer intent.

"Bring it on, fucker!" yelled Choji fearlessly.

Hinata finally mustered up the courage to make her own entrance, standing in Sasuke's way of harming Naruto again.

"Enough. This has gone on too far." She commanded. Sasuke was about to open his mouth but a student had yelled:

"Ayyo, teacher's comin'!"

Everyone had straightened up just as quick as how the fight started and most rushed back to their seats. Hinata came to Naruto's aid, trying to sit himself up against the desk.

"What is going on in here!?" Iruka violently asked. He gave a horrified look at Naruto's bruised face as he was being helped up by Hinata. "Lord have mercy, Naruto! What ha—"

"He took a bad fall, sensei! I'll get him to the first aid room right away." said Hinata who hastily escorted Naruto out of the classroom before Iruka could even get a good look at the damage on his face. He was just as clueless as ever.

"I'll come with!" said Shikamaru jolting out of the door.

"It's alright. I'll take care of him." Hinata insisted. Shikamaru didn't trust her judgement, except if he leaves Kiba and Choji in class, they may have to put up another fight once they're outside.

"Are… are you su-"

"It's all good, man." muttered Naruto still being able to crack a slight smile of appreciation under his heavily bruised face.

Shikamaru let out a heavy sigh and decided to stay back. "Take it easy, brother."

"Ahh! Take it easy, will ya?" Naruto wincing as Hinata tried to patch him up.

She shot him a furious glare. "Just stay still, you idiot. You're the reason why you're in this mess in the first place." she complained.

"Damn…. That's pretty harsh." said Naruto. At the same time, he knew she wasn't wrong either.

"Pretty harsh?" she angrily protested, already making him regret his last statement, "Ever since Friday you've been getting yourself into all kinds of shit, and the only thing you can tell me is that I'm being harsh!?"

"I didn't mean it like that…."

"Well, whatever way you meant it, I still don't know what you're trying to prove pulling stunts like this." She finished tending to his injuries and sat beside him while she crossed her arms. Even though it's past school hours, she decided to do so anyway. She questioned whether she was waiting for an explanation from him or that she might have actually been a bit harsh.

"You're at least in a better mood than earlier, though." he cracked a slight smile.

"Whatever."

They both fell silent. Hinata looked down while Naruto set his eyes on her. At first, he couldn't tell if she was mad or worried; now it became clear.

"Thank you."

She turned to him again as she was caught off-guard. "W-what?"

"You were looking out whenever trouble came my way, and I just sunk deeper into it when I take it further." He sighed with guilt. "And for that, I'm sorry."

Hinata had butterflies in her stomach just hearing him sound so heartfelt with his apology.

"Then why…. why can't you be the bigger person for once?" she hesitantly asked.

"Why?" he repeated. "All my whole damn life I've had to put up with being the 'bigger person', and one thing I hate, is pretending to be someone I'm not just to be the one that has to fall in line and avoid whatever shit that rubs them the wrong way. That's not my style."

Just like that, the questions that loomed over her head all day were answered. She too despised having some sort of alter ego of what others expected her to be. The problem is, will she be able to voice those feelings as carefree as Naruto? This was bigger than proving yourself to your friends in school, but to her parents, it will be a make-or-break situation. Hinata highly presumed the latter.

During her little trance of thought, Naruto looked over to her again confused. "Are you sure you're okay? You've been acting pretty weird today…"

"Wha— no, not at all!" she blushed while stammering over her words. "I was just umm… compelled by your reasoning!" Naruto found it somewhat amusing whenever she tried hiding her embarrassed self behind her big vocabulary. "So, how exactly are you trying to go about this now that you've stirred up more drama? You're not gonna let yourself get beat up again, are you?"

Naruto chuckled at her question. "Well, what better way than settling it on the blacktop?" from that reply, Hinata was astonished.

"You're racing!?" she gasped fearing that she may have said it out loud.

"I don't know how you're gonna take it, but it's nothing you can talk me out of." He stated.

"Well, of course not. But you know what, this sounds pretty interesting!" She grinned. "When are you gonna introduce me to your set of wheels, then?"

"Still need to pick one out before it's too late, I guess."

Speaking of 'too late', Hinata checked her watch, forgetting that she had to pick up a certain someone from karate class…

"Oh, shit, this is bad!" she exclaimed.

"What happened?" asked Naruto.

"No time to explain. I'll drive!" she said to Naruto as she helped him up by both hands.

It was 5pm, and Hinata was half an hour late to pick up her sister.

"Ugh… lil sister is gonna kill me." said Hinata under her breath. She was poking her head in every direction to see if Hanabi was still around, unless she actually took her sarcastic advice from before.

"Hanabi? Nah, she's too quiet for her to be that much of a pain, right?" said Naruto as he sat in the passenger seat.

Hinata rolled her eyes in pure denial. "That's what she wants you to believe. When the outsiders are gone, she's the devil's advocate, I swear." Although not convinced, he decided to take her word for it.

A series of knocks hit her window as she turned to see her not-so-happy sibling.

"Hey there, took you long enough." said Hinata.

"I…. hate… you…"

"You don't mean that." Hinata moved her seat forward so Hanabi could get in. "C'mon!"

Hanabi was confused as to why she had to sit in the back until she finally noticed Naruto's presence. She froze for a good second just to stare at him.

"Long time no see, Hanabi. What's up?" said Naruto.

"U-um… hello…." she stuttered.

Hinata thought to herself whether it was a bad call to bring Naruto along. Even though her sister may be showing her usual shyness around strangers, knowing her, Naruto will definitely be the next hot topic within her household for a long time. She caught Hanabi pulling a cheeky grin knowing her master plan and grabbed her arm before she came into the car.

"Fifty." she whispered to Hanabi.

"I don't know what you're talking about." replied Hanabi with a scheming look on her face. Hinata pulled her closer with a more serious look. "A hundred!"

"Ugh… don't push your luck." Hinata slyly took out 60 dollars and stuffed it in her sister's pocket, Hanabi gave her a big hug.

"You're the best!" she giggled.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, get in!"

"What happened?" Kushina demanded to know as she paced up and down the room.

Naruto went silent.

"If you give me that 'ran into a pole' nonsense Naruto I swear to God I—" she cut herself off before she went off on a tangent. "What. Happened."

If Naruto didn't speak up now, she was bound to lose it; and Lord, is she worse than scary when that happens.

"I… just got into a little-"

"Little!?" she interrupted. "Look at your damn face. If you really think that I won't get to the bottom of this, you're dead wrong." She had realised she had done enough in regards to tearing him a new one. "Dammit sweetheart, I thought we talked about this…"

Naruto exhaled heavily. "I know, and I'm sorry."

"Please, Naruto…" she begged for an explanation. "What is going on with you?"

Before she could say any more, Naruto stood up from the sofa held her in a tight embrace.

"It was my fault, but it doesn't matter anymore." He walked up to his room without saying anything more while Kushina stood there in confusion. "I just need some sleep for now…"

"Doesn't matter anymore. Pshh! yeah right…." she muttered to herself. This is how kids act the day before their birthday? Anyway, she might have the slightest idea on what sort of issue her son was facing, and she wouldn't mind helping out in her own ways, just that making the conscious decision to go through with it better be a smart one.

She looked in the direction of Naruto's room before grabbing her phone, wondering whether she wanted to go make the call or not. This might, or at least will open him up to a whole new world and she thought about his safety if that does happen. Nevertheless, she let go of that thought and turned to her phone, waiting for the person on the other end to pick up.

"Hello?"

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Rei-chan! Sorry for the late call."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"I wanted to talk to you about something really quickly."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"It's about that…. favor."

A/N: You people enjoying the story so far? Sorry I couldn't get these chapters out as quick, too many things keep coming up so I just get side tracked all the time. Lemme know what you guys think and leave a review!