This chapter also contains violence.

Chapter 7

From here to eternity

"Funny, I haven't seen you so lightly clad since we were about one and two years old. Weird, isn't it?"

Hinata didn't answer.

"Funny I can still remember it", Neji continued, "You had ripped that white summer dress of yours while playing in the bushes. Your dad sure was mad; it was an expensive dress, more expensive than his little Hinata at least. I thought you were cute back then. And even when you where a baby, you were always thinking about the others, never even daring to kill a fish or a bird, no matter how everyone was preaching you about killing intent. Are you listening to me?"

Hinata didn't answer. She was laying on the bloody bed facing the wall rather than Neji. He wasn't able to tell if she was even awake.

"You weren't even ready to defend your own miserable life", he continued, sitting on the bed hugging his knees, "And now I've done you this. But I have to admit you are good for something."

He poked her back, but she remained silent, despite her heavy breathing.

"Well, I'm off", Neji said jumping off the bed and walking to the door, "I have a meeting with my team. Bye, cousin! Can't say I wouldn't have dreamt about this moment…"

He waved his hand and the door slammed close behind him. Hinata was fighting the incredible pain burning in her abdomen. Her legs felt immobile and she found breathing hard. The poison was still in her system, and it made her feel numb and sleepy. The warm liquid felt to be swallowing her again, and before she fell asleep, only on though penetrated her violated mind; "You will pay for this."

"It's no use, Naruto. She's already gone to hospital."

Naruto still hammered the door of the hokage's office.

"Quit hammering it, Naruto, you're going to break it!" Sakura pushed Naruto away from the door. "Shizune is probably at the hospital too, no one's going to open that door. Where could she have gone when she left this place?"

"Shizune?"

"No, I mean Hinata, you idiot!"

Naruto thought for a moment.

"Back to our place or to the training field."

"Our place?"

"My place, I mean."

Sakura nodded. "Let's not panic now", she said, "Perhaps Neji didn't even see her. In case he did, I'll run to the training area to check everything is okay. Go to your home, Naruto, in case she went there. If I'm not back here in half an hour, come find us. If you're not here when I return, I'll hurry to your place. Got it?"

"Okay." They both ran into their directions as fast as they could.

Naruto ran the dusty street without stopping, trying hard not to knock anyone down while running, and failing miserably because of the rush hour.

About fifty 'excuse me':s later he bumped into a boy wearing a white shirt.

Naruto looked up from the ground where he had fell sitting, only to notice that the shirt the boy was wearing had a little blood stain in the middle of the abdomen.

Neji looked at Naruto for a moment and tried to walk past him.

Naruto gripped his ankles with a movement so fast and furious that it made Neji fall to the ground.

"What have you done to her!" Naruto yelled punching Neji to his cheek aggressively.

"To whom?" Neji asked while rubbing his newly red coloured cheek.

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled ignoring all the people that had gathered around them, "What have you done to her! Where is she!"

"What makes it your problem, or mine?" Neji asked trying to get up, but Naruto was now sitting on him.

"If anyone is to mess with her, he is to mess with me!" Naruto screamed, "I told you this once before, and I'll tell it to you again! You are going down, bastard!"

He hit his face again.

"This time you won't be getting up anytime soon! I swear I'll crush you if you have done anything to harm her!"

Naruto tried to punch him for the third time, but this time Neji engrossed his fist, stopping the bunch and moving fast further from him. They were now both sitting on the dusty road, Neji holding Naruto's fist smiling. It was hard for Naruto to even hear what Neji said because of the stampede of people forming around of them.

"Look, if you think that it is in any way your business what I have done to your pathetic girlfriend, why don't you go ask her by yourself instead of ruining my shirt in the dust? And I suggest you better hurry, fox-boy, let's just say because of chemical reasons."

Neji rose up and so did Naruto.

"Besides, I have a meeting with my team, and I'm already late. I've got no time to play with little weaklings anymore. I've had my fill today, so to speak..."

Naruto tried to punch him in his abdomen, but Neji managed to hop off.

"I swear…" Naruto began through his teeth, "If that blood on your shirt is Hinata's, I'll kill you."

"Better run off then, dope!"

"Tonight, three am, in the training field!" Naruto yelled.

"I you wish to lose, I guess I have to do you this favour. Three am it is then. See you later, foxie!"

Neji waved his hand and turned over, disappearing to the crowd. Naruto spit on the ground after him and then ran towards his home as fast as he could.

Hinata didn't know how long she had been asleep.

The real world wasn't that different from her nightmares.

She wasn't sure what Neji had done to her, because she had tried hard to forget everything even before there was anything to forget. Her whole body was aching and she was shivering with cold and disgust. She didn't know where she bled, but there was blood all over her anyway. One thing was for sure, though. Her chastity had been violated; she had been humiliated in the worst way possible.

Hinata tried to rise up from the bed littered with salty tears and virgin blood, and with the blood of a screaming girl. She fell on the floor because her legs wouldn't obey. She cried and yelled desperately. She tried again to get up. She had to pull herself together, she had to wash herself and then dress up. She had to start breathing normally again, she had to get up from the floor where she was now crying.

She forced her self to get up, only to fell crying to the arms of Uzumaki Naruto who had just rushed in from the door. Naruto took off his jacket and wrapped it around her naked, shaking shoulders.

"N-Naruto…" Naruto caressed her hair gently and pulled her closer. She cried against his shoulder, trembling.

"It is okay now, Hinata dear, it ia over. I'm here for you. No one's ever going to hurt you again, ever." He moved his hands to caress her back keeping her close, promising to protect this fragile girl from that moment to eternity.