The End of All Things Known (Formerly Fourteen)

Rating: PG-13 Due to language.

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Team Eight To the Rescue!

AKA: Tight Little Buns...

"Wan-Wan!"

She could hear the calls from him clearly now.

"Good job, Akamaru!" Kiba yelled. He turned towards her as she came to a stop on the ground below him. "Just a little farther, Hinata."

Her nerves were on edge. They had only been searching for a couple of hours, but she had been tense the entire time; her mind vividly running through all the possible scenarios.

Maybe his legs were broken? He still would have crawled home.

Perhaps passed out from hunger? Yeah for three days?

Could he be dead? Impossible!

Her mind and her hopes clashed, creating a maelstrom of emotions within, however; a few stray tears betrayed the entropy she feigned on the outside.

Her teammate stopped and pointed. "Akamaru's that way, can you see him?"

Several leaps later she was beside Kiba, her hands positioned into a familiar seal.

"Byakugan." Her voice came out weak, as these were the some of the first words she had spoken since being assigned to this mission.

It was definitely Naruto, there was no mistaking that hair, and he most definitely wasn't moving.

"...Hinata? Is it him?" Kiba asked obviously irritated at her delay, or it might have been from worry as well.

Since Sasuke and Sakura had left, Naruto had no team of his own, and had been doing missions with the other teams. Shino was often sent on missions with his father, which meant Naruto had spent most of his time on Team Eight, with Kiba and Hinata. She loved having him on her team; working with him helped her to improve greatly, and she knew, that although he and Kiba argued all the time, they got along really well.

"H-Hai." She stammered, as she moved faster than she had ever moved before, towards her fallen teammate.

A few minutes later they stood beside the boy. Obviously placed here, as his arms were at his side: a position quite unnatural to sleep in.

"Oh my..." She gasped. It was a hard sight to take for the young girl, but she had to be stong. She quickly dove onto the boy, laid her head on his chest, and placed one finger below his nose. "He's breathing, and has a heartbeat!" she excitedly yelled, but the enthusiasm was cut short by small growly noises coming from Akamaru.

"You smell it too?" Kiba sniffed the air, then frantically searched the trees with his eyes.

She stood up. "What is it, Kiba-kun?"

"Familiar smells." He sniffed a few more times. "Definitely Sasuke, and that Kabuto guy." Kiba sniffed once again and looked towards Naruto. "Sasuke got pissed, there's some bloodlust lingering in the air. Kabuto's scent is faintly on Naruto, while an unknown one is all over him."

He walked around, sniffing, as Akamaru approached their fallen teammate.

"One of two things happened here." He spoke as his eyes slowly danced through the tree tops. "One..." He held one finger up to emphasize the number. "Sasuke saw Naruto and got mad. He sent someone to deal with him, but not to kill him." His eyes eventually came to rest on Naruto. "Or we have the other. Someone knocked Naruto out, and Sasuke got pissed."

He shrugged." Only problem is, the later doesn't fit with our boy Uchiha."

Hinata simply nodded. Either scenario wouldn't have surprised her. Sasuke was unpredictable, and no one ever really knew him, except for maybe the boy before her.

"Wan-Wan!" She turned to see Akamaru licking Naruto's face.

"Good, he's waking up." Kiba grabbed a stick from the ground, walked to Naruto, and poked him gingerly on the side. "Oi, Naruto!"

She couldn't help but smile when she saw those blue eyes. Eyes like no other in Konoha possessed.

He brought his right had to rub his face but quickly pulled away in surprise. Hinata could see the glisten of liquid on it.

"...wha...the hell?"

"Wan-wan!"

Naruto turned just in time to get another lick...

A nice firm one...

Right on the lips.

"Arrrrrggghh!! Get off me Akamaru!" He furiously wiped his face with the sleeve of his shirt, as he sat up. The dog dashed behind Kiba.

"Hey! He was only trying to help!" Kiba shouted, as he kneeled to console the dog, who only wimpered.

She tried to stiffle the giggle that rushed from her, but she failed miserably, and ended up making herself snort. Hinata quickly covered her mouth, and noticed a grin across Naruto's face.

"If I was going to be kissed, I'd rather she did it!" He exclaimed pointing at her.

She could feel her face heating up.

"What's wrong Hina-hime?"

He called me that name again. Hina-hime. She may have been the heir to the most prestigious clan in the Leaf, but she only felt like a princess when she was around him.

"N-nothing, Naruto-kun." She cleared her throat. "How are you feeling?"

"Good as ever, why do you ask?" He replied, obviously puzzled at her question.

She and Kiba looked at each other.

"What's going on?" Naruto asked.

"Well, to start, people don't usually fall asleep on border patrol, especially when in the Red Zone, Idiot." Kiba answered, quite sarcastically.

"Wan-Wan!"

Kiba turned to Akamaru with an incredulous look on his face. "That's not very nice Akamaru!"

Naruto's eyes shifted to her; the confusion quite apparent on his face.

He shook his head. "So why're you two here?"

"Me and Akamaru could find you faster than anyone else, and Hinata was sent just in case we found you in pieces." Kiba grinned.

"You were supposed to return home three days ago." She softly spoke.

"Three days...?" he whispered, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Hokage-sama was getting worried about you." she added.

Kiba laughed. "Actually, she was almost ready to launch war against the Sound."

"Onee-chan." Naruto groaned as he ran a hand through his hair.

"Well?" Kiba asked as he shrugged..

Naruto's eyebrows scrunched up. "What?"

Kiba looked stunned. "You gonna get'chass off the ground? I don't like this place!"

Hinata smiled. She agreed with Kiba though; this place wasn't exactly on her list of favorites. She watched as Naruto stretched muscles that had been lax for the last few days. He slowly made his way up, in an attempt that she thought would have made Shikamaru proud.

He smiled at Hinata. "Now you have nothing to worry about Hina-hime, Uzumaki Naruto is here!"

"Yeah well he's been here for three days, so let's go!" Kiba shouted as he and Akamaru headed back in the direction they came.

Hinata blushed as she heard Naruto muttering words under his breath. She could definitely pick out the words 'bastard' and 'asshole' among them.

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The trip home was uneventful, but very nice; she was, after all, right next to Naruto, and she always felt protected when he was around. More quickly than she wanted, she found herself standing before the Hokage's tower. As they stepped forward, something didn't feel right. She turned to find Kiba still waiting at the bottome of the stairs

"Kiba-kun?"

"Uh..." He was fidgeting like she always did. "You two go on...I, uh...have some things I need to...uh...do. Be sure to fill out the report, Hinata." And with a wave he was off.

Naruto turned towards her with a puzzled look. Hinata knew she had a silly grin on her face, as she had realized what just happened.

"Uhm...What's up with him?" Naruto asked, pointing towards Kiba who was now quite a distance away.

She could feel her face flush. Oh, she knew what was going on...but how could she talk about it?

"Hina-hime?" He grabbed her arm, and she could tell he was trying to make big blue puppy dog eyes, a tactic he knew always worked on her. "Why is Kiba acting that way?"

The inner turmoil in Hinata was nearing a record high. She could give Naruto what he wanted, but there was no way she could actually say what Kiba did...She didn't have to tell him everything though...

"H-He's trying to avoid the Hokage's assistant." she managed.

"Tenten? Why?"

She blushed more intensely as the topic was steering towards exactly what she was trying to avoid.

"She..." her voice was little more than a squeak. "Heard him say something about her."

Naruto's eyes widened and he rubbed his hands together. "Alright! Juicy Stuff! What did he say Hinata?!"

Hinata shook her head. "No way, Naruto-kun. You're not getting anymore from me."

He glared as she stuck her tongue out at him. "I see how it is. Mark my words, Hyuuga Hinata. I will know and there will be hell for you to pay."

"Oh really?" She questioned with hands on her hips and a small defiant grin on her face.

"You'll blush like you've never blushed before." He gave that foxy grin he had whenever he was planning something, right before he took off down the hallway.

Hinata gave a small eep as she followed him. If there was someone you didn't want against you, it was that prankster!

They were quickly approaching the desk outside the Hokage's office, the assistant,or rather receptionist to the leader of the Leaf, slaved at that wooden prison. Tenten looked up from several piles of paper groaning, but when she saw who approached she quickly flashed a smile.

"Hey guys!" She beamed. "Go on, she's expecting you."

Naruto turned towards Hinata. "Go on Hina-hime, I need to find out some things.."

She nodded as she stepped towards the door. What does he need to find out?

"Hey, Tenten?" She heard him speak, as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Hey Naruto."

"What did Kiba say to you?"

He didn't! Hinata quickly ran back and slapped him on the arm . "Naruto!!!"

Tenten's eyebrows twitched a few seconds before she rose from behind the desk and grabbed the sides of Naruto's vest. "You've been gone three days, and that's the first thing you say to me!" She growled just inches from his face.

"So...what did he say?"

What an idiot! Hinata slapped her forehead as Tenten let go of him, sank back behind the desk, and gave a small groan. "Well since you must know...he made a reference to my tight little buns...and not the ones on my head."

Tenten fumed.

Hinata blushed.

Naruto laughed out loud.

The door to the Hokage's office busted open, and Tsunade came barreling out, straight for the laughing boy, and gripped him in a hug, that Hinata felt would have crushed stone. Her face reddened even more as she watched Tsunade's arms wrap tightly around Naruto's neck, pulling him towards her; his face firmly entrenched between two very large breasts.

"Just where the hell have you been?" the Hokage questioned.

"Mmmph mmph mpppphhhmh."

The girls snickered at his muffled reply.

Naruto pushed himself away from his captor, inhaling deeply as he made his escape. "Well you know me, I got tired on border patrol and decided to take a three day nap..."

Tsunade scoffed and gave him a small push. "Smartass...No, what really happened?"

"I was taking a break, you know, from working on that jutsu."

Hinata didn't miss the emphasis on that.

Tsunade's eyes went wide. "How did it go?" She excitedly asked.

He grinned at the Hokage and smiled. "Five feet of total destruction."

He learned it! Hinata couldn't believe it. What took years for her, he learned in two weeks. You're amazing...

"You never fail to surprise me!" Tsunade voiced the rest of Hinata's thought. "Anyways, tell me the rest of the story."

He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I think I might have gotten a little too relaxed; someone managed to sneak up on me. Whoever it was had been watching me for a while. Whenever I trade shifts with Lee, he always tells me, 'Tag, you're it.' Whoever knocked me out, whispered that to me."

Godaime nodded. "You were lucky, people don't usually get knocked out in that region. Anyways, everything has worked out, and for that I am extremely glad. Get in my office, since you're so well rested I won't feel bad assigning you a job. I have a mission just for you. I'll be there in a few minutes."

He waved to Hinata. "Later, Hina-hime."

She waved back to him and smiled. "Bye, Naruto-kun."

Tsunade turned to face Hinata, as he entered the office. "Do you need to add anything?"

She nodded. "Kiba smelled Sasuke-kun, and that Kabuto guy in the area where we found Naruto-kun."

Tsunade smiled. "Good job Hinata. Fill out the report for Tenten. You and Kiba rest up, all of Team Eight, including Shino, needs to report here at 0900 hours. I've got a job for you guys. Be sure to rest, you're going to need it."

She watched as the Hokage entered her office and closed the door, wondering what the woman had in store for her favorite ninja.

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Author's Notes:

Translations:

1. Hime: a suffix used to refer to a princess...or a prostitute. In Naruto's reference to Hinata, it's the former.

2. Get'chass: This is short for Get your ass. Kiba's from Southern Konoha.

Alright, this may feel like a filler, but it's not, it's a transition. It was going to be in Naruto's viewpoint, but spur of the moment, I felt like writing things from Hinata's viewpoint. To show that she's opened up a bit. You try being on a team with Naruto for two years, and try to remain closed...

And like the Manga...any time Naruto and Kiba get together, funny stuff happens.

Now onto the thanks.

Wow guys! Thanks for the reviews. I write a chapter about Sasuke and my reviews more than triple! I hope it's from my 'lete story telling skills, and not simply because I wrote about that bastard...because he's not coming back for two chapters, nope. No, seriously, the story actually had noticable movement in his chapter, and it slowed back down in this one, but it picks back up in the next one, and like an avalanche it doesn't stop once it starts, and it all starts with the next chapter.

A couple of people have asked about who carried Naruto. It will be revealed, but it's nothing seriously important, so I wouldn't worry over it.

Also a few of you mentioned I should have more reviews. It's quality over quantity. Now I'm not going to lie and say reviews mean nothing to me, because I do so love to check my inbox and find reviews, but they aren't what drive this story. If I only get one review per chapter, the story will go on, because a good story will get reviews. I'll never go, I'll post this chapter if I get...twenty five reviews, so you don't have to worry about that.

Shoutouts: None...

Seriously...what the hell. I found NO good new stories since I checked. Now mind you if you've wrote a new story, it doesn't mean I haven't checked it, it's just the ones that I did check weren't up to my tastes. I'll have to dig deep down the well this time...

Daniel of Lorien, EfrainMan, Henrika, blkah, ..., Gyrbo, Dargon Sheinto, Peter Kim, Erikkoekkoek, amd Trickmaster...Thanks goes to youse guys for reviewing!