Nara Shikamaru was currently sitting at the top of a tree watching clouds. Normally he would have been lying in the park watching clouds, or perhaps watching clouds while he was supposed to be taking care of the family deer, but ever since he had blown up at that absolute BASTARD Uchiha he had been the object of attention to the old fan-girls.

Dammit Chouji why couldn't you have kept the details to yourself? Ok I accept the fact that the Hokage demanded a report, but did you have to describe what happened QUITE that vividly to EVERY girl you could find?

Shikamaru sighed again.

So bothersome, how I would love to be a cloud… floating, drifting across the sky, not a worry in the world… no troublesome latent bloodline or annoying fan girls.

"Dreaming again Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru jumped to his feet, and nearly fell out of the tree. Turning around he prepared to flee. That is until he heard a familiar laugh.

"Worried Shika-kun? Don't worry too much, I haven't told your fan girls."

Breathing a sigh of relief Shikamaru sat back down and closed his eyes.

"Don't scare me like that Ino, and I've told you before not to call me 'shika-kun'."

Ino laughed at the expression Shikamaru had given her. Anyone else would have only seen annoyance; Ino however had been hanging around him since the two of them had hit age five. She saw the relief in his eyes.

"What? Are you telling me that a few fan girls have the great Nara Shikamaru flustered? Are you honestly telling me that the GREAT Nara Shikamaru the Genius and possessor of the Recessive 'Shadow blood limit' could be afraid of mere GIRLS?"

Shikamaru almost smiled, in fact he would have, but he didn't want Ino knowing how good it was to hear a sane voice.

Heh, some things never change eh Ino? Hmmm I wonder why you're back so soon though… I thought that your group had been delayed by Hinata passing out."

"What's the matter Shika-kun? Cat got your tongue?"

"No, it's just far too troublesome to answer you… besides what about you? Why are…"

"Why am I back?"

Ino stood up and put a hand over her mouth.

"Do you mean to tell me that the great Shikamaru MISSED little old me?"

Always the same… thank Kami. Even the same old joke.

"No, it would just be to bothersome finding someone else to annoy me constantly."

Ino giggled before she caught herself.

"That's a new answer."

"I know, I was going to use the old one, but this came to mind and it would have required effort to change it."

"Heh, well, if you must know, I was sent back to tell Tsunade not to worry… apparently I have the best speed in our current group and someone needed to get word back."

Sighing Ino sat back down.

"Pity though, I met THE hottest Shinobi while I was in Sauna."

Shikamaru just raised an eyebrow.

"Well Actually I MET him here in Konoha, but you see what happened was…"

Shikamaru laid back and just let the sound of her voice wash over him. He would never admit it, especially not to her but he DID miss her, and her endless bothersome chatter. Whoever her new target was had BETTER take good care of her, because it would be VERY troublesome hunting the guy down if he didn't…


Sasuke awoke with a start. Glancing at the clock in his room he noticed that he was beginning to sleep MUCH later than he used to, of course he had been up until WELL past four AM last night. For some reason his discussion with Sakura kept running though his head '…You hurt me SasukeYou hurt me more than I thought it was possible to be hurt, I can't forgive you, but I can't hate you either…" .

She can't hate me… therefore there is still a chance that I can make up for my behavior toward her…

These thoughts had played through his head for most of the night; consequently he had spent a lot of time tossing and turning. When he had finally managed to sleep he had odd dreams involving Sakura killing Itachi, or Itachi killing Sakura… except that sometimes HE had been Itachi, and sometimes Sakura had turned into Naruto… Shaking his Head Sasuke stood up and when into his families training room to start practicing.

Perhaps I'll go see Sakura again today… Maybe a flower would show my sincerity…


"SAKURA! Pay attention! I swear girl your mind must be melting or something, you need to FOCUS!"

Sakura however was having a bit of a hard time focusing; in her mind she kept replaying what happened yesterday after work. 'Sakura-chan I have no right to ask for forgiveness,

Sakura started doing hand seals in an absent fashion. Not paying much attention to what she was doing she suddenly heard Tsunade yelling again.

"SAKURA DON'T FINISH THE…"

The warning came to late however Sakura finished the sequence with the Tiger seal and…

What the HELL is that Idiot girl DOING? She missed HALF the healing seals and Substituted FIRE or ELECTRIC seals for the other half… If I didn't know better I'd swear that…

Tsunade dove behind a metal cabinet Seconds later an explosion rocked the hospital as Sakura's Jutsu backfired critically. Tsunade waited to the slow count of three before looking around the corner of the cabinet. Sakura was standing near the remains of the dummy she had been practicing on. She looked slightly shell shocked and MUCH worse for wear. Her Once white shirt now Smoke blackened, as was her face, her arms, and half the room.


Naruto stretched and yawned.

Damn I just got up and I'm STILL tired... this must be what Chakra exhaustion feels like, it's kind of odd. Like when my arm fell asleep, except over my whole body. Oh well.

Looking around one of the first things Naruto noticed was that it was night. The second was that he was in a hospital, and the final was that he was less then half clothed. Truth be told the first and third had been nagging at his mind since he woke up, but having his eyes open proved them beyond doubt. Scanning the room Naruto saw his cloths sitting on a chair just past his curtain.

Heh, Thanks Kyuubi-sensei, at least I don't need to hunt around for clothes before the nurses come in the morning.

Thinking this Naruto jumped on the floor, and fell flat on his face.

Nani? Why? Oh right… chakra exhaustion. My arms and legs won't work right.

Grabbing the edge of the bed, Naruto pulled himself upright and carefully tested his legs.

Hmm, a little wobbly, but they should hold… at least long enough to get to the chair.

And so Naruto made his way across the room on weak legs.


Hinata meanwhile had been woken from a fairly sound sleep by the sound of something hitting the floor. Being a Ninja the first thought she had was that there was an enemy in her room. So when she swung her legs over the edge of the bed she was momentarily surprised to find herself facing a curtain instead of the door of her room.

Huh? Gen-jutsu? Wait… curtain? OH! Right, I'm in the hospital tomorrow they should be giving me the OK for traveling. But what was that sound?

"Byakugan"

She whispered as she activated her family's blood limit.


Naruto was halfway across the room when he thought he heard someone whisper. Normally he would have been able to make out even the slightest of sounds, but in his current weaken state he paused in his shuffling to listen.
Hinata, having remembered by now that she had a roommate had only activated her bloodline in its weakest form. She could see all of her side of the room, and the chair at the end of her roommates. She was silent however trying to determine what the sound had been.
Eh, must have been nothing.

Slowly Naruto continued his shuffling walk across the room.

There! It's on HIS side… It can't be my roommate, he hasn't been asleep NEARLY long enough to up and around yet. Besides if he's a ninja he'd know to stay in bed for at least a couple of days…All Ninja have had Chakra depletion at least once… The intruder… he's almost.

Oh shit… it's just a little… to… far…

With that Naruto collapsed luckily for him he had just enough strength left in his arms to cushion the blow… slightly.

Dammit that hurt.

Painfully Naruto rolled himself over. He was lying on his back staring up at the ceiling when he heard a slight gasp. Moments later he felt his head being lifted off the floor. By that point it was getting difficult to stay awake.


Hinata had been about to attack the lurking shape when it had suddenly fallen. For a moment she had been frozen in place. All she could see was that shocking blonde hair. Then he had turned over. It was Naruto-kun. In spite of herself Hinata let out a small gasp before rushing over. Without thinking she gently lifted his head and laid it in her lap.
When Naruto had heard the gasp he wanted to know who it was that had made the sound and so using a large portion of what little energy he had left Naruto opened his eyes again. The vision he saw was one that he would bring up for comfort in his darkest moments, even years later. Hyuuga Hinata's graceful face stared back at him, her deep blue hair hanging to her shoulders and her eyes showing obvious concern. Her boldness had her blushing slightly giving her cheeks a lightly rosy hue (The only reason it wasn't darker was because she was focusing on his face). The light hospital gown trailing gracefully over her shoulders. It was the eyes that held his attention though. He seemed to see something in them that he had never seen in anyone's eyes except Ikura, Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Kakashi.

"H..Hinata-chan?"

Hinata's blush deepened.

"H..Hai"

Naruto smiled. Not his plastic smile from Konoha, but the true smile he seldom let anyone see.

"My own personal angel."

With that Naruto lapsed back into the welcoming darkness.


Hinata's blush went unnoticed by the now slumbering Naruto, but if he had seen it she would probably have died of embarrassment.

Now what do I do. Naruto-kun is asleep, and most likely won't be waking up for quite a while. As comfortable as this is I can't stay here for the rest of the night can I?

Looking around Hinata tried to decide what to do. She was sitting on a carpeted floor a short distance from her bed… if she could just stretch far enough… There! Hinata managed to snag the edge of her quilt and pulled it over.

Here you go Naruto-kun Now you just wait here a moment and I'll summon a nurse and…

Hinata had been about to shift her sleeping crush again when something in her mind seemed to stop her. The voice of Naruto's nice teacher seemed to echo in her mind again 'keep an eye on him for me will you?'

Well, why shouldn't I, I'll get the nurse in a moment, but for now Naruto-kun (Hinata began softly stroking Naruto's cheek) I can just enjoy the moment.

Hinata blushed again as she heard Naruto's voice from moments ago my own personal angel carefully arranging the quilt to cover Naruto (and getting a nosebleed in the process, He's only wearing his boxers again) Hinata closed her eyes and thought back over the first time she had seen Naruto

-Flashback roughly 12 years ago-

Hinata peered through her fathers' legs at the crowd of children playing in the playground.

"Hinata-chan, go play with the other kids I'll be over on the bench talking to your momma ok?"

Hinata looked from her father to her mother

Mamma got BIG, daddy says I get a new brother or sister soon, but… why does mamma look so tired? Oh well…

So a young Hinata had gone off to play with the other children she hadn't been there long before she noticed a young boy with black hair and nearly black eyes building a sandcastle.

Sitting down to watch for a while Hinata watched as he carefully added a third level to an already impressive building. After a while she got enough courage to ask.

"Wa You doin?"

"Daddy say to bwild him a castle. Sow I'wm making him a pwetty one."

Hinata giggled, she was about to ask if she could help when she heard yelling from the far end of the playground standing up she walked over to see what was happening. There were two older children picking on a girl with blue pink hair.

"Get outta here"

"Ya, this is OUR part of the playground."

"B..but that's MWY ball!"

"Not anymore its not"

"It's OURS now."

Hinata wasn't the bravest person but what those two were doing wasn't right stepping forward she spoke up.

"That's not nwice. You stop it owah I'm telling mwy daddy."

"Hah, you have to get BACK to him first."

With that the larger of the two pushed her down. It hurt, LOTS. Hinata started to cry.

"Stwop it. Pwease!"

"Be quiet you big baby."

the second one was laughing and was about to give her a kick when a young boy with blue eyes and messy blonde hair spoke up from behind him.

"You Stwop that wight now."

"Ohhh coming to save your friends freak?"

"Your nowt being niwce."

"So… Might makes right. Now bug off baby."

The young blonde raised his fists

"You weave dem awone WIGHT NOW."

"or you'll?"

"Do THWIS"

With that the young blonde ran forward and kicked the bully in the knee. Following through with a punch to the nose. Naruto may not have been very old, but at age three he was already a VERY proficient street brawler. The smaller bully stared in shock while his friend was beaten up by a boy who was a whole YEAR younger then him. Naruto WASN't walking away uninjured, but he was giving better then he was taking. Finally he stopped, He had a torn shirt,a bloody nose, and a black eye.

"Now give it Bwack."

The smaller of the two bullys threw the ball at sakura.

"Take it. I'm leaving."

With that he raced off. The larger bully stood up, took one look at Naruto, and then ran crying for his mother. Sakura took just long enough to thank Naruto before grabbing her ball and running back toward where her mother was waiting. Hinata sat on the ground and looked at him. She was about to ask who he was when the larger bully came back… in the arms of his mother.

"YOU GET OUT OF HERE. Fucking DEMON. You should have been killed when you were born."

With that she turned and walked away. Hinata watched as Naruto, Smiled at the women. Standing up as quietly as she could she ran back to her father.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

Haishi looked down at his only child.

"What is it Hinata-kun?"

"Twhat boy ovwer there just saved mwe fwom some Nawty people."

Which one Hinata?

"The wone wiff the Pwetty hair."

Haishi looked over to the spot were Naruto had been standing, he wasn't there anymore.

-End flashback-

I remember seeing the tears in your eyes, even with the smile on your face Naruto-kun I don't think I saw much of you after that, but I remembered, and when school started I continued to watch you. I don't know if I'll ever be able to tell you, but… you are my sunshine and my strength.

With that Hyuuga Hinata drifted off to sleep.


Death By Kunai:
The Necklace issue... will be resolved partly fairly soon.

Donut-Nin:
Interesting Idea... I'll definatly think about it

boredathome:
Who? Sasuke? Not really. In my opinion Sasuke and Sakura are well suited to each other... and I don't care much for either. I have her letting him off fairly easy 'cause she still loves him. Naruto's forgiveness is going to be MUCH more difficult to get.

Daniel of Lorien:
I'm assuming that your talking about Naruto. He hasn't really had much of a fight lately. give me some time to work up to a battle.

Firehedgehog:
Glad to have you with us.

hollywood1390:
'shrug' He'll get back eventuly. either in this book or the next. I've got to let sasuke stew some more. He hasn't suffered enough in my eyes.

ranma hibiki:
So tempting... but not yet.

Dragon Man 180:
You BETCHA!

Shinji-Higurashi:
It's not really a transformation... just a really sweet Jutsu that he'll probably only use in dire need.


Me: YAY FOR ME! I got another chapter done!

Naruto: Humph. how long has it been since the last one may I ask?

Me:Weeeelllll work and stuff is kinda draining and...

Naruto: Not good enough. I happen to have inside (your head) information. I know for a fact that this fic sat half finished for quite some time.

Me: ya well. Take out the scene with you and Hinata and you have about what I had written. I figured that my readers would probably kille me if I left you out completely.

Naruto: (Drawing a kunai) you almost left me out.

Me: your the one complaining not me... anyway.

Thank you all for your reviews. The more the better. Cause the more I get the more motivated I am please I BEG you all of you to continue to review and tell me about it. Thanks.

Sincerly,
Manatheron