Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.

"What is that?" Hinata curiously asked looking at the drink in Naruto's hands.

They were at the Tempura place he had mentioned and had just finished dinner. And now that her stomach was full, she could allow her curiosity to get the best of her. She's been looking at it since they got here since she didn't gat the name when he ordered.

"Grown-ups drink." He replied looking at the way her eyes were fixated on it.

Him saying that has made her curious about another thing.

"How old are you?" She asked looking at his face nervously.

"Twenty-two." He simply said.

"Oh." She nodded.

Like Neji-nisaan, he's only three years older than me.

He wasn't that much older than her, so she was allowed to have the drink too.

"I want some." She requested only to receive a shake of head from him.

"Didn't you hear me say it's for grown-ups."

She pouted looking at her tea before looking at his beverage again. "You're not that much older than me."

He snorted but still pushed the glass toward her.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." He said as her hands shifted.

She smiled and grabbed it bringing it to her lips. Naruto watched her take a small sip at first but then his eyes widened when she suddenly drank enough to fill her whole mouth.

"Not that much, you idiot!" He exclaimed and quickly grabbed the glass from her as she swallowed what was inside her mouth.

He cursed under his breath giving her a wild look.

Hinata crunched up her nose and grimaced as the unpleasant drink burnt her throat. She choked and started coughing and her eyes watered. She placed a hand on her neck coughing again as a tear ran down her cheek.

What on earth is that? How can he drink this?

"Here. Have some water." Naruto quickly said filling an empty cup with water and bringing it to her lips, helping her drink.

She drank, taking big gulps of it.

"You're gonna get me in trouble with Neji." He said in a reprimanding as she continued drinking the water.

When she was done, she whimpered and rested her head against the table, suddenly feeling dizzy and lightheaded.

"Please, don't tell me I got you drunk." He said quickly standing and moving toward her seat.

He grabbed her shoulder shaking her slightly.

"Hey." He pushed her long hair back to be able to see her face and sighed when she didn't move.

She stayed quiet letting out a small protesting sound.

"You're so high-maintenance." He said in defeat.

Her cheeks were flushed pink and her eyes were closed as she took deep breaths.

"Are you okay?" He asked placing a warm hand on her heated cheek and she lazily shook her head.

"I don't like it." She mumbled in an almost childish tone making him bite back a smile.

"I told you it was for grown-ups."

She then mumbled something he couldn't understand again and silence followed.

The restaurant they were at was practically empty as everyone was outside enjoying themselves. So, it wouldn't hurt if she rested a little.

"I'll give you some time." He said moving back on the seat beside her.

He leaned back keeping his eyes on her face.

Her lavender eyes were closed, her long lashes were brushing against the top of her cheeks. Cheeks that were flushed now, with her plump pink lips slightly parted as she took deep breaths. She was definitely out of it and Naruto shook his head.

He lifted a long finger to slightly bush her bangs to the side to be able to see more of her face.

She is beautiful.

He's thought about it before and he's going to keep thinking it because she really was. And he knew how to appreciate beauty.

But she's also Neji's baby sister and that was a kill joy.

Naruto shook his head groaned leaning his head back to glare at the ceiling.

What the hell am I thinking again?

He looked back at the girl when she lightly groaned stirring as she started pulling her head up.

"I don't feel good." She said with a small grimace making him huff.

Of course, she didn't.

"Let's go home." He said placing some money on the table.

Then he moved an arm under he knees and another behind her back lilting her off the chair and close to his chest. He silently walked out of the restaurant and took another route where there were no festivities. The last thing he needed was drunk people bumping into them when he had one in his arms.

He got the princess drunk. He shook his head. If only Neji could see.

The walk home was silent for a few seconds until Hinata stirred in his arms.

"You said you wouldn't carry me." She said placing a soft hand on his cheek, touching it.

He looked down at her, and it was easy to see that the one sip she took had taken a lot out of her. He relished how soft her hands were, almost leaning into it.

"Say it again and I'll drop you here." He bluffed looking still looking down at her as she battled with her shutting eyes. "Just sleep."

"You're really nice." She smiled still touching his cheek but started stroking it.

He couldn't tell her to stop. Despite her state, her touch felt good, better than anything he's ever felt before. And he was not about to deprive himself of it.

He was just a man, after all.

"I guess so." He replied and she hummed.

"Are we friends now?" She asked moving to touch his nose giving it a small squeeze.

"No."

"Are you going to miss me when I go back to the palace?" She continued asking.

Damn she was talkative when out of it. He thought and smirked at the thought of her remembering this.

If she remembered.

His smirk widened. If she didn't remember, he would have to keep it to himself and use it against her in the future. She would probably die in embarrassment and he would enjoy every second of it.

"Not really. I won't be stuck babysitting anymore." He said and her eyes brightened.

She smiled wider moving her hand back to his cheek. "You're nice."

Was she not hearing him right?

"And you're a talkative drunk."

"I like you a lot, Naruto. You're very handsome." She said in a soft, almost shy tone.

"You think I'm handsome?" He smirked and she nodded with a small blush.

"You make me all tingly on the inside." Those were her words before her hand dropped from his face and she allowed sleep to take her.

Naruto almost tripped over before looking at her with wide eyes.

He kept walking ignoring the way his heart slammed against his chest. It was beating so fast he could hear it, he could feel the pulsing in his ears. He tightened his hold around the princess with a small groan, knowing he was screwed.

He clenched his jaw looking at the road ahead in slight anger.

Damn it, Neji. You've ruined my life.

Asahi looked at the full portrait of the princess that was taking up the whole wall.

"Men have been dispatched in all territories my queen." One of the guards bowed behind her. "They will report back for any suspicious activities and or any signs of the princess."

The queen's eyes stayed firmly on the portrait as she answered.

"Good. Keep watching Neji." She coldly said. "You're dismissed."

The man bowed and left.

Asahi kept her cold grey eyes on the portrait. She watched the soft smile the girl had on her face, in distaste. Her big lavender eyes held so much innocence and the cold queen wanted to take it away, her face held so much beauty that she wanted to tear it apart with her own nails.

And she will.

Once she was done, Hinata will only be a shell of her former self.

She would find that little Wench. And when she does, the girl will beg her to end her misery.

Maybe the princess staying away was at her advantage. Nobody would intervene with her plans.

It would have been good to keep it that way, but the queen was incapable of doing that.

She just couldn't let her go.

She had decided that it was Hinata's fate to die at her hands, but not before taking away her very will to live. She wanted to kill her on the inside, before ending her completely.

Only then will she find pleasure in the future she was building.

She tightened her hold around the glass of wine in her hands and threw its content over the painting watching the red liquid taint the pure white silk of the princess' gown.

Pathetic girl. The queen mentally snarled.

"My queen." Another voice said behind her but she still didn't move, keeping her eyes on the portrait.

It was Azai, her advisor of many years. Long before she came into the palace.

"It is not going to be easy. The territories are the backbone of the kingdom, especially the Namiz and they know it." He said. "Namikaze-sama won't just bend to our every wish. He never did, not even with King Hiashi."

She hummed not once straying her eyes.

"I won't need the Namiz army, or any other ones anymore once I've concluded everything. And if they don't want to bend, we're just going to break them."

"My queen."

"I want to be alone. Get out." Came her cold dismissal.

The advisor bowed eyeing the woman. Though he was only seeing her back, he could practically feel the anger radiating out of her. He briefly looked at wine tainted painting of the princess before leaving the room, closing the heavy doors behind him.

"Where are you, Hinata?" She asked, her cold tone echoing into the room.

On the other side of the royal palace, a figure leaned against a tree. The long-haired man was deep in thoughts, his eyes fixated on the dark sky.

His investigation wasn't getting him anywhere. And he didn't want to run out of time. He had promised Hinata he would come for her. And at least wanted to have sure information before he did so.

He wanted to be able to give her some sort of explanation.

She's been gone for almost two moons, and he didn't even know how well she was doing.

What was her state of mind? What was doing of her days?

He trusted Naruto with his whole life. And he knew for a fact that the man would protect her. Neji didn't know any man stronger, or more skilled in combat.

And he was thankful he had the chance to befriend him and trust him to take care of his cousin because he didn't know what he would do if something were to happen to her.

In a few more weeks, he will need to find a way to see her, if only for a few minutes. He had to find a way with Naruto.

He just didn't how he would manage that when it wasn't even safe of send or receive messages from Naruto.

"What?" Hinata almost dropped her quill as she looked at Naruto with wide eyes.

"You've been here for more almost two months. My father wants to see you now." He repeated standing facing her from the other side of the table in the living-room.

"He knows about me?" She asked in surprise.

"Of course. He's our leader. You wouldn't be here without his approval." He stated running a hand over his head.

"Oh." She nodded.

Of course. It made sense that the leader would know. It's just that Naruto's never mentioned anything about it.

"Let's go." He said moving closer to grab the quill from her hand and placing it on the table.

She blinked at him in surprise. "N-Now?"

"Yes." He said gabbing he hand forcing he to her feet. "Let's go." He said pulling her along.

"W-Wait!" She tied pulling her hand out of his hold making him pause. "Let me make myself more presentable."

She looked back at her letting his eyes roam her form.

"You're fine." He said dismissively and started pulling her again. "You always look proper, anyways. I don't know how the hell you do it."

Her face flushed at that and she allowed him to pull her out of the house.

Not like she could say anything more.

As they walked outside, she couldn't help but remember when there were lights and stands everywhere in these same streets that were now almost empty. The festival was two days ago and the music was still resonating inside her head.

Memories she would cherish it for as long as she possibly could.

The only problem was that she barely remembers the night of the festival after they had dinner. All she could remember was drinking that devil drink and then waking up in her bed the next morning with pain in her head.

She had asked Naruto and he said it was because she drank too much of the drink and it was normal to feel that way. It only made her question how anyone could enjoy drinking that as she remembered how Naruto was drinking without any issue.

She dismissed the thought.

But another thought that made her flush that morning was how she got in her bed. She mentally questioned if Naruto took her there, but she never found the courage to ask him.

How can she ask him? What can she ask him without being inappropriate?

It was possible that she took herself to bed and not remember.

She would just prefer to stay in the dark about that. Even the thought was too mortifying to think about.

As it tuns out, the leaders home was barely at a few minutes rom Naruto's house.

Hinata looked at the Namiz leader and was barely able to hide her surprise at the resemblance with Naruto. There was no denying that he was Naruto's father.

Oh Kami.

"Your majesty." The older blond man greeted with a welcoming smile. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

Her only first thoughts were how much he looked like Naruto. They had the same eyes and the same hair color. Naruto's hair was cut short but it's still obvious that they both had spiky hair.

The man gave her a small polite smile and she did too nervously.

"Namikaze-sama, it's a pleasure to meet you as well." She slightly bowed.

"I hope your stay here is pleasant." He said as Naruto stood beside him, both of them facing her.

"Yes, my lord. Namiz is as beautiful as I've imagined." She said with a small nice.

It truly was. And the festival only increased her admiration for it.

"Thank you, your highness." He said.

Naruto dropped his head with a long sigh before looking between the two of them with a strange look.

"Can't you just call her by her name?" Naruto groaned. "This is so weird."

"Naruto." His father sighed. "It's called manners. You should try it sometimes."

Naruto slightly narrowed his eyes at the man giving him a weak glare.

"You can call me by my name, Namikaze-sama. I'm used to it now." Hinata said and Naruto's glare turned into a smug look for his father.

The man simply shook his head looking back at the princess.

"Then Hinata-sama." Minato nodded ignoring his son's smug look.

Naruto groaned again mumbling something about titles which his father pointedly ignored.

"I hope my son isn't causing you trouble." He said looking directly at her.

Naruto gave him an offended look, looking utterly insulted.

"Me? She's the one causing me trouble." He retorded.

"Naruto, that is no way to talk about the kingdom's heiress. You should be honored to have the princess in your house. She is the kingdom's treasure." Minato said with a sly smile.

Naruto snorted with a small smile shaking his head while glancing at Hinata as he did so.

"You just don't know how troublesome she is." He said still looking at her look at down at her feet shyly.

Minato shook his head and placed a hand on his chin in thought. "If it was anyone else, they would have you in the palace's darkest dungeons."

"Well she's not anyone else and the worst she can do is stomp her foot." Naruto retorted.

"Naruto." His father sighed tiredly.

Hinata had a small smile on her face as she listened to their interaction. It was amusing because she never thought they would be like this.

She's read so many stories about Namikaze-sama but she would have never imagined him going back and forth with his son like that. And there was no sense of hostility or anger in their words. It was obvious that it was all out of habit.

She couldn't remember a single time when she's had an affectionate or playful conversation with her father. In most of their conversations were one-sided with him telling her his expectations on some things. There wasn't much she really knew about her father.

All she was sure of is that she deeply loved him.

"Hinata-sama." She heard the Namiz leader call her making her look at him. "Please have a seat." He motioned toward a chair.

She nodded and went over to take and he sat on the other side of the low table facing her. Naruto took a seat on the other end, watching them.

"Thank you."

The older man cleared his throat taking a serious note before speaking. "Princess, the queen is looking for you." He said making her heart jump in her chest.

She gulped keeping a straight posture as her thoughts start running all over her mind. She had already guesses as much, but to hear him say it made it seem more real and the thought scared her.

"Do you understand your situation, princess Hinata?" He then asked.

"Yes, my lord." She nodded.

"And what is it?" He asked again.

Hinata stiffened clasping her hands together on her lap.

"Mother wants to kill me." She said barely above a whisper.

The words were cutting deep in her heart and she clenched her teeth to keep her emotions at bay. The last thing she would do is cry in front of Naruto of his father. That would be humiliating.

Saying the words out loud brought a bitter taste in her mouth and her throat tightened.

"Yes." The man nodded. "So, we're going to need your cooperation on this matter. For both your sake and the kingdom's."

"My cooperation?" She asked.

"The queen has been meeting with the Otsutsuki." He informed her.

Hinata's eyes slightly widened.

Why would she meet with the Otsutsuki? The kingdom the battled in the last war. War they had started and tried to take her father down.

She remembered that she was to marry their heir before everything started, but so many disagreements she wasn't really aware of happened and her father had ended up terminating her engagement.

Despite the fact that they've won the war, the Otsutsuki was still considered an enemy, so why would the queen be meeting with them?

"That was already not well seen by the other leader but a few days ago, she sent a scroll canceling this year's meeting with the main territories leader." Minato continued.

"But why would she do that?" Hinata asked.

"That's what we're trying to understand." He said. "Doing such things right after the king's passing isn't well seen to say the least."

Hinata couldn't explain. There wasn't much she knew in the first place. And now that she's been away, she knew even less.

"I know you don't have an explanation, since you've been her since it happened." He said. "I just wanted to let you know that we won't be watching her from the sidelines. I am going to do my own investigations and find out what all this is about."

She didn't know what else to think. All she knew was that Neji was there while the queen was talking to people her Ni-saan fought against. And he was alone.

What if something happened to him?

"My brother i-" She said and stopped when her voice caught in her throat.

"Neji is fine. I can assure you of that." The Namiz leader said. "He is not alone. He has people there with him, so don't worry."

Don't worry?

How can she not worry?

As soon as they got back to the house, the young princess went straight to her room closing the door behind her. She leaned against it and placed a hand over her mouth to keep the sob that finally escape muffled.

Her last encounter replayed in her mind again.

"Your mother was a weak and pitiful woman. Don't give me the same title you gave her."

"I am not your mother."

"And if it wasn't clear before, these are your new chambers, until I decide on your fate."

The memories she had managed to get out of her head these past few weeks were rushing back to in full force.

She pressed her palms harder over her mouth as she cried. She tilted he head back and allowed her tears to stream down her face. She moved from the door to sit close to the bed not wanting to be heard.

Especially not by Naruto. What would he think of her?

He had already seen her weep over washing her clothes. That was bad enough. She didn't want him to see this.

But her wish wasn't granted to her.

She heard the bedroom door open and his footsteps approaching her. She stayed in place and stopped moving altogether hoping that he would just retreat back.

Hinata's shoulders tensed and his footsteps sounded way too loud to her. She bought her shaking hands to her chest when he stopped right behind her.

A shaky gasp let her lips as strong arms wrapped around her pulling her back until he was resting her back against his chest. She quickly moved her hand to her cheek wiping her tears as best as she could.

"I-I'm sorry." She apologized, knowing that she had probably worried him over nothing.

She did not want to cry in front of him. It was the last thing she wanted.

Why did he have to come?

How mortifying.

Naruto grabbed her shoulders turning her to face before pulling him to his chest. She tensed up, not knowing what to do or how to do it, but a big hand moved to her back drawing small circles on it and her body slightly sagged despite her.

She dropped her shoulders tiredly, welcoming his warmth. She buried her face into his chest closing her eyes tightly.

"It's okay to hurt." He whispered tightening his hold around her. "You're allowed to cry."

Her body shook and she suddenly sobbed into his chest, even scaring herself at the sound.

"I'm not Neji. But you can lean on me, y'know." She heard him say.

So, she cried harder.

A/N: Your thoughts are important so let me know what you think. Hope you Enjoy!