Heart Like Yours

by hopeisahorizon

What're they supposed to do, when the only thing they've ever wanted was the one thing neither can have? AU Naruhina

3. Awakening

Author's note: Hello! I apologize for the lateness of this chapter, but I did make it longer to make up for it! Please feel free to review, I love hearing from all of you!

As a last remark; phrases in italics are character thoughts.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

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Naruto really loathed having to go on missions whilst attending university. It was incredibly bothersome, especially when he ended up missing key classes in the process. Most times he didn't have a clue as to how long they would last, the only way he could gauge it out was by knowing the ranking.

His compound was split into different cohorts. Your cohort consisted of people you trusted the most, people you could blindly put your life in the hands of, and vice versa. People you would be willing to die for. If the trust within the group was broken, there was very little chance of success. This was why most of them were raised to work together.

For example, he and Shikamaru weren't just friends by coincidence. They were bred to be, simple as that. Not that he didn't love him to death now; of course he adored all his friends. He would willingly lay down his life for them, and he knew they would do the same. They had built the bond themselves, weren't forced to do so. And yet, sometimes he couldn't help but think about what his friendships would actually look like were it not for their parental interventions.

Naruto guessed he would never actually know. Sometimes that unnerved him, other times he decided it wasn't as big of a deal. He had them now, so many of them to love and to trust. Why would he question that?

Aside from the cohorts, in each one there were divisions. First and for most there was a point. For all intents and purposes this was their leader during missions. The person who called the shots in tight situations. In his cohort this individual was Kakashi Hatake.

Kakashi and him had a long standing history. His parents (before his mother's death) had adopted Kakashi. Naruto wasn't certain of the circumstances surrounding this adoption, but he hadn't ever questioned it. Kakashi had always acted like an older brother to him, regardless of whether they shared a common last name. He had grown to be an elite member of the compound. Now, he was a leader, one of the best leaders the compound had.

Next there was the intelligence division. Shikamaru filled this spot seamlessly in his cohort. Their job was all encompassing, but mostly they were a large part of how successful different missions would be. It was a lot of pressure, Naruto assumed.

Then there was the medical division. Sakura and Ino were their medics. Both had been trained under the tutelage of one of the greatest medics known in the underground world he belonged to. Although Ino hadn't quite developed as much skill as Sakura had (the girl had an affinity for healing), she was still considered a great medic in her own right. This division did exactly what it sounds like they do. He would have died on more than one occasion if it weren't for them.

Ino also acted on what they call the Mids division. Both her and Tenten belonged to that one. Their job was also very crucial. During missions they were designated certain overlapping areas and made sure that their radius remained non-infiltrated by the enemy. They had his back. That much he knew.

Shino was someone else that he had to have explicit trust in. He was what they call a protector. Shino's position was quite literally to protect within short distances. Tenten and Ino guarded their surroundings while Shino made sure the inner radius remained untouched.

Shino had on several occasions saved his life. He may not be a very open person, but once you get to know him, Shino was a friend for a lifetime. He had found that out the hard way.

When they were children he had had the hardest time getting used to Shino's temperament. But now, he really couldn't imagine his life without him. He was glad that he could depend on Shino so much, it would be detrimental to their team's dynamic.

Lastly, he was in the infiltration and assassination division. Though, if he were honest with himself he was a lot better at the assassination part than the infiltration part.

He knew he was a big piece of their team. He actually got praised a lot; he ended up doing what people considered 'most of the work,' though he knew that wasn't true. If it wasn't for them he wouldn't be able to do what he does. That, he knew for a fact.

Regardless, now here they stood. His father, Minato, and Shikamaru's father, Shikaku, assigning them on a mission. An A-ranked mission. In terms of difficulty, these types of missions were the second hardest that could possibly be assigned. They typically took…

Two fucking weeks.

He groaned, internally. He hadn't been in the mood for this type of shit. He had come home on a Friday, after yet another shitty week expecting to just live in blissful ignorance. But now here he was, with the rest of his team, being told about some dumbass bust they had to make.

This, his dad's way of speaking, was something he despised. Like they weren't just as bad as the people they took out.

"Will you accept this mission?" Shikaku sternly asked.

As if we actually have a choice.

He watched every single one of his teammates nod in agreement; he sat there in silence. Not bothering to move, he knew out of any of them he had the least amount of freedom to choose.

"Naruto," Kakashi called him to attention.

"Yeah?" He responded, nonchalantly. Trying to not focus on one person in the room.

"Are you in?" He heard Sakura question.

"Aren't I always?" Came his snarky response, cracking an arrogant smile.

He watched in amusement as Sakura cracked her knuckles, trying to be respectful in the presence of their leaders.

Naruto laughed while raising his hands in mock surrender. "I'm in, chill out."

"Alright, enough Naruto," his father spoke up, a smile still present on his face.

"This particular group of culprits want revenge, for what we don't know. Just be careful out there," Shikaku spoke up.

Two weeks. He reminded himself.

That night he knew he would dream of pretty lavender eyes and a cute smile. Maybe these weeks away from town would be good for him. He'd spent a lot of time this past month feigning disinterest in Hinata and her life.

After their conversation, the one where he had threatened her, she had stayed away. Steered clear of him, even if he wasn't directly heading toward her. It hurt, he would be a liar if he didn't admit that it hurt.

The way she blanked her face when accidentally catching his eye, or the way her body tensed on its own when he was within her vicinity. She had, in all ways, done exactly what he had asked her to do; what he had demanded of her.

And yet, it hurt. He felt so deeply saddened by her behaviour around him, knowing damn well it was what he asked of her.

Why was it that this distance only made him feel more? Crave more? Love more? Was that normal? Was that what love was?

No, it's obsession. You're obsessed with her and she deserves more than that. Better than you.

No matter how often he tried to convince himself, he knew well that his feelings were not superficial. They weren't shallow or misplaced. He knew exactly whom they belonged to and he knew they surpassed anything he had ever felt before. Sure, maybe he was obsessed with her. But it went further than that. The feeling dug deep in his heart, it had set root the very first day he saw her and had only spread more.

The inexplicable warmth he had felt every time he caught her eye had suddenly become explicable. There was tangible reason, there was blatant evidence of his love for her. None more accusatory than putting his own emotional needs on the backburner to ensure her safety.

He knew, without a shred of doubt the lengths he would be willing to put himself through to make sure she would make it out of this ordeal unscathed.

You did the right thing.

He reminded himself constantly, but even then. Even now. He wasn't quite sure. Wasn't completely convinced that the ache he felt day in and day out was the 'right thing', because surely…surely love wasn't meant to be this painful. It wasn't meant to be so difficult. Was it?

He thought back to numerous memories he had of her throughout their last semester. Her ability to pull a smile out of him regardless of his mood. Her ability to make him laugh with the silliest of grins, or her ability to elicit love filled chuckles straight from his heart because of a witty comment.

That wasn't difficult. Loving her was easier than breathing. Loving her felt as natural as waking up in the mornings. No, he decided. Loving wasn't difficult.

His family, her family. They made everything difficult.

Sighing dejectedly he walked towards his dorm to pack for his upcoming mission, one where perfection was absolutely necessary. It was demanded of them, of him more specifically. Yet knowing this did nothing, absolutely nothing, to keep his focus off of Hinata.

Although he had been the one to warn her to stay away from him, he couldn't seem to follow that simple rule. He had for the better part of this month stalked her.

She was still thriving; he had watched her do so. She went to her classes religiously, and still did remarkably well in them. He had still been walking Shikamaru to the one class he knew for sure she was in.

He always watched her discreetly come into class and take her usual seat. Sometimes she would spare him a glance, most times she avoided him altogether, even if she sat right next to his best friend.

And then there were the worst days, when he would watch a white haired good looking man try and flirt with her relentlessly. Well, he assumed it was flirting. He never did so anywhere close to him so he really couldn't hear what their conversation entailed.

He just knew the feeling of unbridled rage flowing through him every time he watched who he had come to find out was Toneri try to brush her hair to the side. Smile at her in such a lucrative manner that it made bile flow up his throat.

She never once reacted to his advances, never gave him an inkling that she was interested, and yet it aggravated Naruto to an unreasonable extreme.

He had wanted nothing more than to drop kick Toneri's face until there was nothing left but blood. On more than one incident he could feel his eyes turn the colour of blood, the way they always did when he let his emotions take control over him.

And then in those moments she would innocently look back at him, as though she knew he was losing his calm and instantly he felt relief wash over him. Red eyes weren't a thing around her; even if they weren't speaking and it baffled him, the effect this girl had on him.

Still, it didn't change the fact that at least once a week for the past month he had watched Toneri make advances on her. All the while subtly smirking in his direction, trying to get a rise out of him.

That confused him too, why someone he didn't even know would try so hard to get under his skin. And maybe, if he had a higher IQ, like Shikamaru or Hinata or Sakura or Sasuke he would pay that detail more mind. But, he didn't.

He was Naruto, always felt more than he thought. His emotions always carried him farther than his mind would. So, he did not think about the why, rather focusing on the what's happening. It was a habit he would soon find needed to be changed.

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Hinata really hadn't been faring well this semester. It was common knowledge amongst her closest friends. Although she was attending classes and still getting very high marks, her attitude towards everything had been very unlike her.

For a lack of a better word Hinata seemed angry at everything and everyone. Even though she knew her friends preferred this over her heartbroken state she couldn't help but still feel sad. It was a mix between anguish and anger.

She just chose to showcase the anger as opposed to the anguish; maybe it was because she was tired of being sympathized. Or maybe it was because the person who had caused such emotional turmoil had shattered her entire being with a single conversation.

The day he had threatened her to stay away from him had been savage. He had callously thrown her feelings back at her face and she for the life of her could not get over it. She had wanted to yell at him, to say just as insensitive things as he had said to her.

But, she remembered as clear as a sunny day the look in his eyes prior to the start of the conversation. The confusion, the fear, and the guilt. There was a lot of anguish too, she had felt it. She had resonated with it, knowing exactly that she felt the same way.

Maybe that was why it had been such a shock to her, his response to her confession. Maybe that's why she felt so unreasonably angry with him. But maybe, just maybe, those unspoken feelings in the shallow of his eyes kept her mouth shut. Kept her from saying something she knew she would undoubtedly regret.

Maybe she should be thankful she held her tongue. She wasn't quite sure anymore. The past month had been a blur. Between having to distance herself from all of the people she had made friends with (Naruto included) and still having to keep face in front of her dad, she was understandably exhausted.

That was why this mission could not have come at a worse time. Hinata's head rose in slight interest at the sound of Sasuke's father's voice. It was rare that he began these types of meetings.

"I know this will interfere with university classes," he spoke evenly, not a shred of guilt noticeable from his tone. She knew better than to think him or her dad actually cared about trivial things like grades.

"Then why assign it?" Sasuke's voice was laced with venom.

While most of the people in the room were probably looking at him strangely, she opted to look away. Amusement clear in opalescent eyes. Hinata bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. Sometimes she absolutely loved Sasuke's straightforwardness.

"Sasuke," Itachi warned, "We clearly don't have a choice."

Sasuke grunted in response; Hinata was sure he did not believe those words at all. But like her, her best friend had learned to pick his battles. In a world like theirs, there never was enough energy to fight for everything.

"Your mission is A-rank," now her dad was speaking, "The team remains unchanged, we need this done quickly and discreetly."

Hinata felt herself rolling her eyes. The expectations never wavered, regardless of the ranking of the mission. Although if she had to be honest with herself, A-rank and S-ranked missions were troublesome. They always took the longest to complete as well.

"What is the team going to look like?" Temari questioned.

"Itachi will be your point." Fugaku spoke again, pointing to his son. "The rest is his responsibility." He shrugged towards the end, indicating the finality behind his words.

"What's the assignment?" Hinata chose to ask instead; she could tell Temari had not liked that response.

"Ah," Hiashi Hyuga responded, "Infiltration and Assassination."

She wanted to scoff at her father for the vagueness of his response. "It's not like any of us are going to decline the mission, you might as well tell us the details."

Collectively all of the team members nodded in agreement to which Itachi began explaining.

The usual; bad guys, infiltrating their workplace, taking them out as efficiently as possible. Be careful, look out for revenge.

As Hinata repeated some of the words Itachi was speaking in her mind the last one made her hesitate.

"Revenge?"

"Yes, revenge."

"For what?" Neji was the one to speak this time.

She felt like she was the only one that noticed Itachi hesitate, look towards his dad and hers, then turn back to them with an eerily calm smile.

"It's of no importance, it does not change the protocols we will need to follow to be successful."

"No," Sasuke picked up after Neji, "But it sure as hell would be helpful to know in do or die situations." He argued soundly.

"Just ask Hinata." He spoke again, pointedly looking in her direction.

Her eyebrows arched at the insinuation that she would be the one to somehow convince their parents to not hold out on the details. Regardless, she was very curious as to who wanted revenge on them. It had been a long time since their gang had (to the best of her knowledge) done something to warrant that type of attention.

So she did exactly what they wanted her to do, she steeled her eyes and tensed her body. Speaking clearly, efficiently and without hesitation.

"I think in order for our performance to be at a 100% then we should know what we are getting involved with," she watched her father open his mouth to retaliate, "to the fullest extent." She finished, making him think before responding.

"Some details really aren't necessary." White eyes pinned lavender in an unspoken duel.

"Not to you, father," she agreed, her voice getting remarkably colder than before, "though you aren't the one putting your life in danger to pay for someone else's actions."

Both Hiashi and Fugaku had looked away from her then. She wasn't quite sure if it was in anger, frustration, guilt or a mix of all of the above. Either way, it looked like she had won this battle.

"Fine," Fugaku grinded out, "They don't want revenge on us. Rather revenge on one of our allies. We value our allies and hence we will protect them to the best of our abilities."

That had certainly piqued her interest. The Hyuga and Uchiha had been proclaimed as two of the most selfish founding families in the underground scene. It wasn't like them to go out of their way to protect another family, allies or not.

"I wasn't aware we have 'allies'," Neji voiced, "as far as I know there are just groups of people who work for you."

The implication behind his words made Hinata tingle with pride. She loved it when Neji questioned things; when he didn't just blindly follow their father like a sheep.

"It's complicated," Hiashi tried to explain, "they haven't been our allies in a while, but still. A promise is a promise, and I am sure that is one thing we can all agree on. We do not back down from promises."

Temari whistled lowly, clearly amused at the banter.

"Whatever, can we get the team assignments and departure date? I really could care less about why we're doing this." For the second time that evening Hinata found herself rolling her eyes.

Typical Gaara.

Itachi nodded and proceeded to speak. "Sasuke is on infiltration and assassination. Neji will be his protector. Temari will handle the middle coverage and Gaara will help with that as well as being the medic on call. Kiba will be our scout and Hinata will be our brains."

What a flattering way to say I'm the intelligence unit.

"We leave tomorrow morning."

"Any objections?" Fugaku asked.

Hinata couldn't help but shiver at the look her father was sending her, clearly disappointed with her behaviour tonight.

When no one responded they all got up to leave. She was glad her father hadn't asked her to stay to question her tonight, it was the last thing she needed.

Departure was always really early in the morning, so she knew she had to get a decent amount of sleep tonight. However, she soon realized that thoughts of bright blue eyes and a blinding smile would keep her from achieving a peaceful slumber.

It had happened quite often this past month, her staying up to replay most of the conversations she had shared with Naruto. Sometimes it made her giggle, remembering silly situations they had gotten themselves into.

She distastefully eyed a black and white panda plush sitting in the middle of her bed as she entered her dorm. She had tried on many different occasions within the last month to throw it away, and yet, there it was, right where she always placed it. It brought to surface one of the most endearing memories she had.

She recalled a time during their last semester in mid-November. Their university was holding what they referred to as a pep rally to cheer on some of their home teams that had achieved wins that season. The theme had been a winter wonderland, considering that they had been receiving more snow than usual.

It had been one of the most fun nights Hinata had ever had.

All of their friends had met up together and they had walked around playing silly games to win ridiculous prizes. All to spread cheer and pep according to the organizers. It seemed like a way for them to make money to her, though she would have never voiced that thought aloud.

Regardless, the night had been joyous. She had watched Naruto fail, on multiple occasions, to win a stuffed panda. She noted he must have really liked pandas because he simply would not give up. Each time he lost he would pout like a child, endearingly sticking out his bottom lip. Every single time it made her heart melt, no exception.

She recalled them walking together towards the man built outdoor skating rink; their friends had already made their way there. They had come from yet another failed attempt at winning a stuffed panda.

"Ne Naruto, I didn't take you for a panda lover." She giggled as she had spoken, hopefully to try and cheer him up.

She could see the appeal behind a panda stuffy. She actually adored pandas; they were her absolute favourite animals, but surely she wouldn't tell him that. It's not like he would genuinely care. A part of her wondered if she had voiced her love of pandas aloud though because Naruto was looking at her with a small blush and an open jaw.

"It's not that I want one so bad," he admitted, now looking at the ground in front of him as they walked.

It wasn't like Naruto to be so shy, so she had placed a calming hand on his bicep to get him to look up. At least she hoped it would be considered 'calming' considering she was racked with nerves every time they were left alone together.

Very suddenly and clumsily (as she was starting to relate those words often with his behaviour), he smiled and took her hand in his. "That's okay Hinata, the night is still young. I'll win one, you'll see!"

Again she couldn't resist the laughter that stumbled out of her. He was always such a joy to be around.

"I believe it." She nodded in agreement. It only seemed to excite the blonde even more.

As they neared the rink they spotted all of their friends lacing up. She spoke as soon as they were within earshot. "Are we actually going to skate?"

"Of course Hinata, it's a skating rink after all." Tenten responded enthusiastically, giving her a thumbs up.

She noted Neji standing quite close behind the brunette. She gave him a questioning look, not quite sure if he was serious or not. It wasn't like him to partake in these types of 'childish', as he would refer to them, activities.

"Shut up," he warned before pulling out an extra pair of skates, "Thank Uchiha for remembering your size because I had no clue."

She shrugged good naturedly, letting him change the subject. Then she glanced over at Sasuke who was amiably talking with Sakura.

"Thanks Sasuke!" she waved at him. She was also slightly surprised to see him with his skates already on. He nodded in her direction.

"Here Naruto," Sakura spoke while shoving a pair of skates at his chest. "I think I got the right size, but if not just go ask for a new pair," she continued, pointing at the rental kiosk they had set up for the occasion.

"Thanks," he responded, one of the most gentle smiles blooming on his face that Hinata had ever seen. It made her immediately recall the 'coffee shop scenario', where she had first seen Sakura and Naruto together.

The same bitter taste settled on her tongue and she sucked in a shallow breath, trying to distract herself. She clicked her tongue a couple of times, looking around at their friends. She could already feel the pang in her chest.

The jealousy was a bit hard to swallow, but she did so anyways. Their relationship wasn't her business, she had had to tell herself this multiple times already.

Feeling somewhat confused over her feelings, Hinata walked away from the scene and towards Temari who was sitting next to Shikamaru to tie up her skates.

"What took you so long?" Temari asked.

"Failed toss-a-ring game." She shrugged in response, a ghost of a smile on her face. It seemed to have startled Shikamaru into speaking.

"You know Naruto and Sakura have been friends since they were in diapers," he spoke. Hinata muttered a quiet 'oh' in response, attempting to feign disinterest.

"If I have your group's dynamic pegged out, I would say it's the same relationship you have with Sasuke." He made it a point to look at her while speaking, Hinata had an inkling it was because of the hidden message he was trying to portray.

"Sasuke and I?" He nodded, steadfast. Her eyebrows knit together in confusion, trying to digest the meaning behind his words. She and Sasuke were friends though, best friends actually. Just as much her brother as Neji was.

"Shikamaru," she hesitantly spoke, the red toque on her head dripping to the side with the tilt of her head, "Sasuke and I might as well be siblings." They would never date, she knew that for a fact.

"I know." He responded, not a shred of doubt. With that he walked away, dragging a confused Temari behind him.

"Oh!" Hinata whispered to herself, more excited than she should have been. She had been looking at her skates for so long she had barely registered that most of her friends had already made it onto the ice.

"Oh, what?" She heard a familiar voice ask. She looked up to see Naruto smiling down at her, an even more gentle smile than the one he had shown to Sakura.

He looked really handsome that night; dark wash jeans and a bright orange pull over to help fight the November air. She had never met someone who could pull off the colour orange, but Naruto did so seamlessly.

"You look handsome," she blurted out, hand immediately going to cover her reddening face. Why did she always have to blurt weird things out like that!?

She heard him breathe in sharply, clearly not having been expecting such a confession to be practically yelled at him. She had stood up then, and carefully locked gazes with him. His face was radiating almost the same amount of heat as hers.

"Sorry," she muttered pathetically.

"Why are you apologizing?" He questioned, the biggest grin she had ever seen illuminating his face. She had no words to answer with, merely standing there in the discomfort she had accidentally created.

"Did you not mean it?" He suddenly asked, the grin falling simultaneously.

"What? No! Of course I did, I just know you probably hear that a lot and it's weird coming from me right?" She tried to chuckle away her insecurity.

Blue eyes darkened, a pensive frown taking place of his previous grin. "Weird?"

"Mhmm."

"You think it's weird for me to hear you compliment me?"

"Maybe?" She didn't know anymore, this was just getting to be too awkward. As a last attempt to leave the uncomfortable situation, Hinata tried to dash forward onto the ice. Tried, being the key word. Before she could even take a solid step Naruto had spun her around to face him again.

"You know, it's really not weird to have the prettiest girl you've ever had the pleasure of meeting admit that she thinks you're good looking." He was blushing again, and she felt her heart skip a million beats at his admission.

"It's actually really fucking flattering y'know? Like an insanely good feeling!" He boasted and grinned again. Except this time it wasn't massive, it didn't take up much of his face at all, and yet she could feel the happiness he radiated like it had been a heat wave in the desert.

The mere sight cause goosebumps along her nape. She could do nothing more but smile at him. Not trusting her currently ability to speak coherently. So, she did the only thing she could possibly think of in that moment, she boldly took his arm and dragged him onto the ice.

Hinata wasn't going to comment on him saying he thought she was pretty, but her heart felt like it was at the base of her throat.

She had learned then, that Naruto was – not surprisingly- clumsy when it came to ice skating. She had always been considered graceful, and although she lacked a lot of the combat abilities her twin had inherited, she was by no means clumsy.

So, she found it so incredibly endearing. The way this boy, who was so much taller than her, grasped at her shoulders as if she were the only thing between him and the ground.

Well, to be honest, that did seem to be the case for Naruto. It had taken him about half an hour to be comfortable enough to only use one of her shoulders as a crutch instead of both, and any time someone came to take her place she would see him on his ass about a minute later.

"I don't click with the others." He had confessed when she had skated back to check on him.

"Sakura is too tall, Tenten is too brash, Ino is too flimsy and don't even get me started on when Sasuke tried to help." His tone had been very sarcastic towards the end, and to hide her growing affection and happiness from his spoken words she had laughed good naturedly at his complaints.

"All I'm sayin' is it's gotta be you Hinata." She had helped him up onto his feet by now, both his hands rested on her shoulders tightly while his gaze pinned her in place.

"So," he began, a small blush Hinata wrote off as the type you get when you're cold rose to his cheeks, "just don't leave me kay?"

Her mouth fell slightly open into a perfect round shape, surprised at his choice of words. She knew he hadn't meant it like that, and yet her treacherous heart refused to let her logic take control of her thought process because…

It's me, it has to be me!

"Ah, I'm sorry. Was that way too forward?" One of Naruto's hands left her shoulders and the sudden jerking of his body made her react.

Instinctively she had clutched the fabric of his sweater pulling him forward to try and stabilize him. Upon feeling himself fall, Naruto inherently encircled Hinata's waist with the offending arm, trying to push her slightly in order to avoid his weight pulling her down with him. Both movements occurring at once could only possibly have led to one outcome.

A small 'oof' was heard as Hinata stumbled backwards, the blond boy attached to her hip falling on top of her. Hinata had known it would happen, was bracing for the rush of air to leave her lungs, for the pain it would cause her small body to be crushed by Naruto's. She had closed her eyes in anticipation.

Except, that pain didn't come. Instead she opened her eyes slowly to see Naruto balancing himself on his right forearm while the other which was protectively around her waist lifted her just slightly above the ice.

Hinata felt disoriented, confused even. At how such a clumsy person could have taken that millisecond to adjust their positions to avoid catastrophe.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" She heard him yell, only a centimeter away from her face.

"Are you hurt?" There was genuine concern, and a hint of gentility in his tone.

She gave him a look. It must have freaked him out because before she knew it they were both back on their feet. His hands coming to rest on her shoulders again. She wondered, horrified, if he had somehow seen the feelings she so desperately was trying to hide shine through.

"I'm good," she finally spoke up, a relieved sigh escaping his lips as she responded, "You kind of lifted me." Hinata finished explaining lamely, not entirely sure how he had even managed to do it.

"You must have really good reflexes!" She complimented.

As soon as she finished complimenting him Naruto lost his footing and landed backwards on the ice. From what Hinata could tell he looked absolutely mortified. She couldn't help it when she blew out a laugh. So incredibly charmed and amused by him.

"How embarrassing…" he muttered lowly as she once again extended an arm to help him up.

"You got that right," Sasuke flawlessly skated by, laughing hysterically. "What kind of an idiot falls by just standing?" The question had been completely rhetorical yet Sakura answered.

"This idiot," she spoke, amusement clear in her tone. A long delicate finger pointed at Naruto as she skated away after Sasuke.

"Those two are meant for each other, I swear. Dicks. Both of them." Again Hinata smiled fondly at his childish retort.

"Ne, Naruto?" She called out to him. He turned to look at her with furrowed brows and an adorable pout. Much like the one he made every time he lost at a game. "I'm kind of cold, would you mind going to grab a hot chocolate with me?"

At her suggestion, cerulean eyes perked up in excitement. The once present pout was wholly replaced by another fox-like grin. The whiskers she had been curious about for months moved fluidly along with the dimples forming at the corner of his lips. Offhandedly, Hinata tried to convince herself that it was completely normal for friends to notice these types of details amongst each other.

That's what friends do right?

A knock on her door woke Hinata from her trance. Shaking herself slightly, she stood to check on the intruder.

"We leave in half an hour," Neji spoke, "your alarm has been going off for 20 minutes and it's annoying me."

Hinata looked back towards her alarm, it was indeed going off. But she hadn't remembered going to bed.

"Why are you wearing your clothes from yesterday?" Her brother questioned. She genuinely did not have an answer.

One she was left alone, Hinata chanced another look at her panda. She knew why she kept him.

It was from him. She could still see his excited smile, a bashful arm rubbing the back of his neck, as he had proudly announced he had won it for her. It had taken him the whole night to do it, but he did. This was something else she had come to love about Naruto. His dependability and persistence. She wanted that, wanted him.

Stop, you have a mission.

With that last sobering thought she realized this whole night had been a blur, but apparently she had managed yet another night without sleep.

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"I'm fucking freezing," Shikamaru deadpanned. They had all been huddling together whilst they walked towards their hotel.

"Thanks genius, that helps a lot," Ino retaliated, moving closer to Tenten and Sakura as she spoke.

"We are almost there, there is no need for this banter," Shino reprimanded and that certainly had shut them both up. Shino solemnly got involved in these types of conversations. Deeming them unnecessarily problematic, so if he was politely telling them to shut up they would.

"Alright brats, we're sharing one suite. The most low-key we can be, the better. The people we are here to take out know us very well. Keep an eye out and protect each other."

Naruto hated when Kakashi sounded all knowing, as if they had not been a part of the same debreifing meeting not even a day ago. Regardless, he nodded his consent and followed his point up to their suite. Shikamaru was already taking out his 'equipment' to set up.

"So what's the real point of being here?" Naruto questioned, loud enough for everyone to hear even though he was speaking to Kakashi.

"Infiltration and Assassination. We are to infiltrate their hideout and assassinate both the leader and his heir."

"Why?"

"Why?" Kakashi parroted, clearly not understanding Naruto's hostility.

"Yeah, why? What did they do to us? Why are we really here Kakashi?"

Naruto could tell from Kakashi's defensive stance that he did not know either, why such a team was being pulled in the middle of their last semester to finish this mission. Why it was so demanding, so incredibly important.

It wasn't their job to know, to question. They followed orders, it was what they were trained to do. Naruto knew that, he did. It didn't mean he liked it though. Didn't mean he would spend the rest of his life picking fights with people he didn't even know.

"I think this is about self-preservation." Kakashi looked towards the window then, a solemn look crossing his usually inexpressive features.

"You're not supposed to know, but there was a security breach within the compound last week. An assassination attempt in the middle of the night, in the name of revenge."

Naruto watched the same shock that he felt filtering through the faces of his teammates. He was glad for Kakashi's ability to remain calm.

"The immediate threat was taken care of," Kakashi continued, "but from the small amount of information we could extrapolate, all we know is this: 1. The group responsible is the group we are currently trying to exterminate and 2. This mission is kill… or be killed."

Understanding dawned on the members of team Kakashi fairly quickly. This had been as important as their leaders had hinted it to be.

"Why didn't they just inform us?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Because if they had, this mission would have become S-rank."

"That matters because?" Sakura egged on, trying to fully understand what type of situation they were in.

"I…I don't know Sakura." Kakashi answered honestly, a bit of guilt shining in the darkest parts of his eyes.

"This is so fucked!" Tenten exclaimed.

Before anyone could agree with her, Shikamaru's computer set up let out a small ping. It took Shikamaru no time to sift through the information it had just gathered.

"I've located their hideout. It's…" they all watched him hesitate, "incredibly well protected."

"Yeah," the only white haired man in the room spoke, "we were kind of expecting that. Sorry Shika, it looks like all hands on deck for this one. You and I will be joining the team on the field tonight."

Naruto watched one of his best friends look disgruntled. Shikamaru hated being on the field. It gave him less of an opportunity to keep everyone safe. It was overstimulating at times for him to have to deal with everyone's safety when he was thrown in the mix too.

It hurt Naruto, that he wasn't strong enough to avoid sending Shikamaru on the field, that he wasn't able to protect all of them with ease.

"I'll be fine." Shikamaru reassured, blankly staring at Naruto's crumbling form. "I don't have much in field experience, but I know I can count on all of you. I'm good." His smirk was small, and incredibly short lived, but it had gotten his point across and Naruto figured that's all that mattered.

"When will we depart for the hide out?"

"Good question Shino, it's currently 10:00 p.m. I say we leave around 1:00 a.m."

All heads nodded at Kakashi's decisive answer. "I honestly thought it would take days to pinpoint their hideout, but I guess I underestimated Shikamaru's skill."

Bright blue eyes dulled into a darkened shadow. He changed into his mission gear and he sat out on the balcony, in the pitch darkness of the night. Nothing on his mind except for the scent of vanilla. That scent carried his hectic, mission filled, thoughts to a tranquil stop. He needed more.

He slowed his breathing down and focused on one particular star. It didn't shine the brightest, but it caught his attention regardless. The sweet smell lingered. It elicited one of his favourite memories:

"Na-ru-to," Hinata broke up every syllable for emphasis. He was trying his best not to look directly at her. Just the mere sight of her was causing blood to rush out of every blood vessel in his face.

"Everyone's already inside, are you coming?"

Oh, that's right. It was Halloween, they were at a party. He had come here with his friends, with her friends, with her.

He needed to cool himself down, calm the erratic beating thumping painfully loud against his ribcage. He couldn't risk her hearing that.

"Ugh, yeah. Sure, Hinata, sorry." He bashfully responded, eyes glued to the black shoes on her feet. He also noticed her knee pads, but that's what made him halt. He really didn't want to keep looking up.

"Naruto, am I…I mean," she was stuttering now, hands tugging at the dark blue shorts she was wearing. He could tell she felt nervous or anxious. He wasn't quite sure which. It felt like hours before she spoke up again.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" She finally asked. The saddened tone she was using caused him to look at her immediately, brows scrunching in confusion.

"Of course not!" He shouted, far too loudly for a conversation between people not even a foot apart. He cleared his throat in embarrassment and tried again. "I mean, no. I'm not uncomfortable. I just, I just think you look really nice is all."

"Oh." He heard her mutter, pigtails grazing way past her shoulder blades even with the tilt of her head.

"What are you all even supposed to be?" He finally questioned, referring to all of the girls that had shown up in very similar outfits. He was feeling slightly better the more they conversed. The more he could focus on her facial features instead of her body.

She blew out an airy laugh and shrugged. "So, you're probably going to think I'm a dork…" she began, eyes lighting up in a way he had never seen in anyone before. She was happy, genuinely excited to tell him. He could tell from the way her body swung back and forth, from the way her smile took up most of her face, from the way both of her hands grasped onto one of his…

Wait, what?

Naruto looked down, she was in fact holding his hand in her excitement. They were so soft, so delicate. Not without callouses though, and that made him wonder, what Hinata could possibly do that ended up as callouses on her hands.

She squeezed his hand in hers periodically while speaking and each time she did he wanted nothing more but to squeeze back. To show her the same tidbit of affection that was affecting him on such an astronomical level. Her voice broke his train of thought.

"The reason Sakura and I even realized we could be friends was because we both had matching pins on our bags…" she was speaking again, tone filled with mirth. When did she start talking about Sakura? Had he really been so distracted by the feel of her hands that he had completely missed what she was saying?

No. there's no way. He was a trained assassin. He did not get so easily distracted by a girl to the point of completely forgoing his surroundings. That just couldn't possibly be what was occurring.

But, he argued in his mind, they are fairly small.

"So yeah, that's what we decided on." She finished her explanation with a giggle.

Crap. I did not hear any of that.

"Umm," he began, not knowing how he was going to respond to her story when he had missed all of it. He chanced a glance at her eyes. She looked hurt. Just as soon as the expression came across, it filtered clear off her features, a complacent smile taking place. She detached her hands from his and took a step back. He admittedly already missed the warmth.

"Ah, sorry about that. I know it's dumb, you probably didn't need a whole explanation. I'll see you inside." She reassured, shoulders slumped as she walked away from him.

Oh, he realized, I hurt her.

Before Naruto could utter out an apology, she was already inside. "Damn it!" He spoke loudly, gaining the attention of some passing students.

He had spent the better part of that party trying to find Hinata again. Couldn't have cared less about the girls that had asked him for pictures, or to dance, or to play a 'game' with them.

He wanted her. Wanted to see her. Wanted her to tell him the story again, with the same excited glitter in her gaze. He would listen.

But she wasn't anywhere. Wasn't with Neji and Tenten, wasn't with Temari and Shikamaru. She wasn't with Kiba and Ino (who looked incredibly close on the dance floor); she wasn't with Gaara and Shino.

For fuck's sake, she wasn't even with Sasuke whom Sakura had apparently been hanging out with most of the night.

"Where's Hinata?" He finally asked Sasuke with a defeated tone. Sasuke pinned him with an icy glare, hostility and confusion mixed into one.

"I thought she was with you?" Sasuke countered slowly. As if he were deliberately trying to reason out why Hinata wouldn't be with Naruto right now.

Blue eyes enlarged, a worry creeping through him rapidly. "With me?"

Sasuke looked toward Sakura. Her green eyes seemed as surprised as Naruto's.

"You both stayed behind when we came in and when Sasuke said he would go get her I told him not to bother because you would watch out for her."

She sounded extremely pissed off by the end of her explanation, as if it had taken her quite a bit of convincing to earn Naruto some alone time with Hinata. Hell, it probably did.

Sasuke looked about ready to burst. "Are you trying to tell me it has been over an hour and you haven't been with her?"

Tanned arms automatically came up in his defense. "No, no. That's not what I'm saying." He laughed awkwardly. "I'll go grab her." He assured the hostile brunette and scurried away, not even bothering to spare them a glance.

Naruto thoughtlessly staggered up the stairs in search of her, not expecting her to be up there. There weren't many party goers in the upstairs area, as it tended to be a lot more quiet. It made it easier for him to breathe though, to think.

He looked down the long hallway, a solemn open window at the end. It was compelling; he wasn't quite sure why, but he desperately wanted to go out it, onto the rooftop. Not one to doubt his instincts he jogged towards it and peeked out.

As soon as he caught a glimpse of midnight tresses he sighed out in relief.

She was okay.

She was sitting with her knees tucked into her arms, back facing him. He hadn't even gotten the chance to call out to her when he noticed her body tense. She looked over to her right and almost immediately he watched a tall dark haired man with a cigarette dangling loosely from his lips approach her.

"What a pretty girl," the man stated, taking the cigarette out of his mouth and maliciously licking his lips. "Mind if I join you?" He asked.

Naruto could already feel the anger bubbling within him. Who the fuck did this guy think he was?

"I was actually already heading inside, but thank you for the offer." He heard her decline politely. For once he hated how polite she was. That didn't matter, she was already standing, ready to head inside.

"Didn't look that way to me sweetheart," the man responded. He sounded irritated at being turned down.

"I can assure you, I most certainly was. Now if you will excuse me," Hinata answered while taking a step back towards the window, back towards him.

She had only taken a single step before the dark haired man got in her way, completely blocking her path. Completely blocking Naruto's view of her.

"I'm not asking anymore." That was the last thing Naruto heard the man speak out before stepping onto the roof.

"I wasn't either," he heard Hinata spit out, all politeness lost.

In the blink of an eye she had tugged on the man's wrist and flipped him onto his back. Naruto watched in amazement as Hinata twisted the man's wrist forcefully while pressing on his throat with her foot.

The man screamed out in agony before Hinata let him go.

"I'd get that checked out," she spoke, tone back to normal. "I'm fairly certain I snapped it." She finished, finger pointing towards his now broken wrist.

"You fucking bitch," the man yelled as he stood up, "who the fuck do you think you are."

Naruto took a cautious step closer, knowing neither of them had even noticed his presence.

"I'm going to fuck you!" The wildly drunk man exclaimed, already heaving up and attempting to charge at her, anger clearly visible in his eyes.

The man was easily stopped by Naruto's hand grasping the back of his jacket. Naruto watched in amusement as the man snapped his head back to look at him, openly surprised at his intrusion.

Blue eyes gleamed dangerously, the feelings he was trying to push down resurfacing tenfold once he had heard the man's declaration.

He flicked the man behind him while giving a bewildered Hinata a reassuring smile. He held up one finger silently asking her to give him a minute, and he turned back towards the still staggering man. Naruto smiled spitefully at the drunk man in front of him, sadistic amusement clear in his facial features.

"I will fucking murder you," Naruto spoke, tone light. Completely contradicting to the words spoken. "If you don't get away from her in the next 3 seconds, I will most definitely kill you."

The man stumbled back even more, discernible fear racking through his body. "What the fuck is up with your eyes?" Was the last thing the man asked before falling cleanly through the window back into the house and closing it after him.

"Ah," Naruto turned to look at Hinata, anger deflated, hand raking through blonde spikes in what seemed like embarrassment. "I think he locked us out here."

Hinata tipped her head back to look him in the eye, a large part of him hoped his eyes were normal. It took a full minute for anything to happen. They had lingered, their gazes for one another. His with open adoration, hers with delighted surprise.

But then Hinata openly laughed at his previous statement and shrugged, grabbing a bottle she had been nursing for most of the night and sitting back down.

Naruto followed suit and sat down next to her; she was looking up at the stars. He was looking at her instead. He swore he could see them reflected in her eyes, so bright and…

"Beautiful," he breathed out, not noticing he had spoken aloud.

"Mhmm," she responded with a slight nod, still looking at the stars.

"You into Karate or something?" He asked randomly, trying to clear his mind, and still amazed at her ability to flip someone more than double her weight.

He watched bewitched as she smirked at nothing in particular, a faraway look in her eyes. The more time he got to spend with her, the more he wanted to get to know her. The more he wanted to unravel her. She was a puzzle, an enigma if you will.

He waited patiently for her to realize he was still waiting for a response.

"Judo," she stated almost dryly, rehearsed. He could sense she was fibbing.

"Oh?" He questioned, shifting slightly closer to her warmth. It was enough to get her to finally focus on him. "I don't think I would consider those to be 'defensive moves'," he joked.

She cracked half of a smile and shrugged. She had been doing that a lot tonight, he quietly noted.

"Okay," he finally conceded, "Judo it is."

He noticed she hadn't even bothered to respond, only going back to look at the now completely darkened sky. He honestly couldn't believe how someone could be as captivating as her. How he was expected to be so close to her and not be so heavily charmed by her looks, her mannerisms.

Sometimes he felt like he couldn't even breathe properly around her, like the air thinned out, like he would never be able to fully submerge himself in her scent. The sweet scent of vanilla.

Damn. I'm so fucked. He frowned at himself, a light blush rising to his cheeks.

Naruto shook himself slightly and gazed up, mimicking her. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Why?" Hinata sounded genuinely confused and he felt a pang in his chest at her reaction. He had wanted to be around her. It was that simple.

"You kinda left earlier when you were telling me about your costume," he tried instead.

"Mhm," she placed a finger on her chin, a pensive frown marring her angelic face.

"You seemed very… disinterested," she admitted and that pang in his chest increased tenfold. Disinterest was literally the last thing he felt for her.

"I figured I would let you enjoy your night." Her explanation ended with a shrug of her shoulders, but he noticed her grasp on the bottle tightened. She was such a mystery, Hinata, he really wished he could read her mind.

"It wasn't disinterest," he explained. Whiskered cheeks puffing out. How was he supposed to explain to her that her mere touch had made his entire brain blank out without outwardly telling her how he felt about her?

"I was just distracted." His admittance caused her to look toward him, she did not look any happier than when she had walked out on him earlier.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry." She was staring at him now, with a guilty look. Naruto for the life of him could not understand why she was apologizing. It seemed as though she noted his confusion because she elaborated.

"I didn't mean to go off on an explanation when you were trying to get someone's attention," she spoke. "If you tell me who it is that you were distracted by, I can certainly try and get them to speak to you. It's the least I can do for taking that opportunity away from you."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

How could he be so dumb, to get her to think someone else had distracted him from her. Naruto felt his brows permanently squeeze together, this was not going the way he intended it to.

"No," he began, not trusting his own ability to speak at this point, too afraid he would make the situation worse. Hinata had turned to fully face him now, face filled with concern at his obvious discomfort.

Fuck it.

"You were holding my hand." He finally decided to state. He watched her look down to make sure neither of her hands were touching him and it was comical how terribly this was going for him.

"Before," he explained. "When you were telling me about your costume. You were grasping my hand and…"

I loved it. I wanted you to never let go.

"it distracted me."

Pale eyes livened up in the best way possible following his lame explanation and suddenly he felt like maybe he didn't absolutely suck with words.

"Sorry, physical contact isn't something I'm used to."

"No, no. This is my fault, I should've respected your space, I'm sorry Naruto. I honestly didn't notice."

He knew that was true; it had made it even better, even more distracting. That she had been comfortable enough to take that step without giving it a second thought.

"It was good, I mean, you don't have to apologize." He was rubbing his neck out of awkwardness now. "Ever since my mom passed, I haven't had a lot of physical contact with anyone. So, it was nice."

Finally he watched that lovely smile break through her lips, and he sighed in relief. He hadn't realized how much he wanted her to smile at him.

"Could you explain it to me again? I promise I'll listen!"

Hinata nodded over at him and using the same mirth-filled tone, she began telling him how Sakura and her had bonded over a mutual love of "Haikyuu" the anime and they had decided to be the setter and the wing spiker from a team they both loved. Once the other girls had heard they had also joined in on the fun.

"I'm not sure that's how volleyball players actually dress." He commented, glancing down at the length of the jersey as well as the shorts. He watched enthralled as pink took over her face and she looked towards their feet.

"Ino bought the outfits." She mumbled very quietly, not chancing a look at him. It made him smile, made a longing in his heart become more apparent.

Ah, that makes much more sense.

"Do you watch any other animes?" He decided to spare her the embarrassment and asked instead.

"It's 1:00 a.m." Sakura's voice broke him out of the memory. He frowned, he was really enjoying it. The conversation he had had with Hinata that night had easily become one of his favourite memories with her.

"Coming." He assured while standing up; he would have to put the memory aside for now. He needed to focus. He couldn't risk endangering any of his teammates for his ridiculous pining.

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Hinata took in the darkness around her. She could barely see her teammates. She peeked at her watch and nodded over towards Itachi, at least she hoped it was Itachi. She had been in charge of finding a way into this fortress, because at this point it might as well have been a fortress.

"Okay, let's head out." Itachi spoke up, addressing his team.

"I thought we were going off Hinata's call?" Sasuke questioned.

"We are, she nodded. Let's go."

"She nodded? How the fuck are the rest of us supposed to see Itachi? It's pitch black."

"I know Sasuke," Itachi grimaced.

"This is unsettling." Gaara spoke up, he sounded very unsure of his surroundings.

Hinata understood, could feel it too. She was not prepared to go into battle when she couldn't see a foot in front of her. Someone grasped her upper arm and she swivelled in that direction, silently hoping it was someone she knew.

"You alright?" She heard Neji ask. She placed her hand on his to let him know she was.

"Itachi, we're going to die." Sasuke deadpanned. Temari hot on his heels.

"This is so fucked. Why can't we use flashlights?"

They could all feel the tense energy, they weren't working well as a team tonight. It hadn't helped that Hinata had to be out on the field tonight, meaning she couldn't guide them through.

"I'll lead," Hinata volunteered, "I pre-programmed the layout of their hideout on my watch so I can at least see the structures we should avoid."

"Okay," she heard Itachi respond and she walked closer to where his voice sounded.

It hadn't been more than 15 minutes when she collided with something head on.

"What the fuck?" She heard a familiar voice call out. Without even thinking she reached out and grasped the intruder's face.

"Shikamaru?" She questioned, upon feeling spiky hair.

"Hinata?" Came the response, confusion laced in his tone.

"Hinata?!" Came a much louder response, a voice she distinctly knew belonged to Naruto.

"Shit," she heard another voice mutter lowly. This voice she did not recognize at all.

It didn't take more than a few seconds for huge sets of lights to come on, an intruders alarm blaring loudly.

They had been caught.

"Run!" She heard Temari yell, every single one of them taking off at a fast sprint.

Hinata ventured a look to her right and noticed all of her teammates keeping up with her pace, a look to her left showed her most of Naruto's friends also keeping pace. At least she assumed it was all of them, she could really only see so much from the sets of lights trying to locate them.

She heard gunshots in the distance and shook herself out of shock, her team needed guidance to survive, not some shell shocked girl.

She noticed Shikamaru look down towards his watch, much like hers, and mutter in despair at the lack of image on it. She looked down to hers only to see the same error message.

Okay, she spoke in her mind, I've memorized this layout in case this were to happen. Well, in case we needed to flee, not in case we ran into the Uzumaki.

She looked towards Shikamaru, pale eyes pleading with him. "Please trust me."

Without bothering to hear his response she sped up, a commanding voice escaping through her lips. "Safety is 2 kilometers away, please follow me and don't lose me."

If she were to look behind she would have noticed every single one of them nod in acceptance of her taking charge.

It hadn't taken long, for her to find the sewage lid. Sasuke and Neji lifted it rapidly and rushed everyone in, finally placing it atop the road once they were inside themselves.

Hinata carefully lead them all through a series of underground tunnels, eventually leading them to an area outside the city.

"We should be safe here, it's enough distance from the hideout." She assured, pushing her body out of the tunnel into a forested area. Most of their flashlights flicking on in order to be able to see.

Once all of them were out of the tunnel they looked to each other warily. None knew how to react in this situation.

"Itachi." A white haired man Hinata had never seen before called out. She watched in surprise as a genuine smile lit up Itachi's otherwise stoic features and walked closer to the man.

"Kakashi." Itachi responded, arms already opened for a hug both men looked comfortable in sharing. Hinata automatically looked towards Sasuke for some sort of explanation.

However, Sasuke's grimace is what greeted her unspoken question. He doubled over immediately after, applying pressure on his abdomen.

She knew exactly what that meant, without blinking she rushed over to him, lying him down and lifting his shirt over his head.

"Gaara!" She yelled, voice laced with panic. Red hair came into her vision as he kneeled across from her checking Sasuke over.

"Bullet wound," he spoke tersely. Hinata nodded, already having deciphered that much.

"Is the bullet still inside?" Sakura asked somewhere behind Hinata, catching her slightly off guard. Sakura sounded worried, pained even.

"Yes," Gaara responded, a tight-lipped frown marring his face. Obviously this was not the ideal situation for Sasuke to be in.

"It takes surgery," green eyes looked into black, not bothering to lie to him.

"Can you do it?" Sasuke seethed out, clearly in pain.

"No," she responded honestly, too blunt for Hinata's liking. "Not alone," Sakura amended. "With Gaara and Ino though…" she left off.

"Of course." Gaara agreed. Hinata looked over at Ino, who was still in shock at seeing them.

"Ino, I know. I know, okay? But he's my best friend; he means the world to me, so please." Hinata begged.

Icy blue eyes stared at Hinata for no more than 3 seconds before nodding her head in agreement.

"It'll be awhile, can we at least have a shelter?" Sakura questioned. She looked towards the white haired man, Kakashi, Hinata supposed.

It took him even less time than Ino to nod in agreement and pull something out of his pouch. With the touch of a button a massive tent popped open. Hinata worriedly watched as Gaara, Sakura and Ino all disappeared with Sasuke inside.

There was no sense in Hinata hanging around, she wasn't a medic.

"There's a cliff on top of a fairly steep mountain about 6 kilometers north west of here." Her words were clipped but she still sounded polite. She was speaking mainly to Itachi, but sensing the leadership role Kakashi held she also addressed him.

"It's a good spot to observe the enemy without fear of being caught, we need to come up with a plan." It was an unspoken question to let her go.

"Take Naruto and Shikamaru with you." Itachi spoke, and not for the first time that night she felt confused. It seemed like she wasn't the only one.

"How do you know who we are?" Shikamaru questioned.

Itachi smirked. "I've known all of you since you were in diapers."

Hinata did not know why she looked over to Kakashi for more of an explanation. "I used to have to babysit the twins with Sasuke and Naruto." He shrugged, letting her know he did in fact know who she was.

Hinata would've stuck around to ask more questions, to be honest she had about a million, but one pain filled grunt from the tent reminded her of the situation they were in. Of who exactly they were performing surgery on. It was enough to dull her eyes and extinguish any curiousity she had.

"I'm going," she announced, flashlight pointed toward the start of the climb. She did not bother looking to see if Shikamaru and Naruto would follow her

"You know, Hinata, you're like really fast and agile." Naruto huffed out, trying to keep up with her as she speedily climbed the mountain.

Her response was a noncommittal grunt. She hoped they would drop it; they all knew damn well the reason why she was able to climb at this speed and agility was due to years of torturous training pushed on her by her father.

Suddenly she halted, both boys running into her back.

"What's up?" Shikamaru asked, trying to catch his breath. "You're the intelligence unit, right?"

Rolling her eyes, Hinata sighed. "Yes."

"Your stamina…it's unreal." Naruto breathed, an excited grin being thrown her way that really irked her. Who was he to start acting all nice after all the shit he had done.

"As opposed to what?" She snapped. Both Shikamaru and Naruto looked to each other slightly confused by her attitude.

"Nothing, Naruto was just stating a fact. You have a hell of a lot more stamina than I do and I play the same role you do."

Hinata nodded, looking around for something neither of the boys knew of. "Yeah, well Hiashi Hyuga isn't exactly one to go easy on an heir." She retorted. "The peak of the incline is about a kilometer up."

"Up?" Shikamaru questioned.

Hinata nodded, a bit more sympathetic than her previous nod. She flicked her flashlight upward, directly upward.

"We have to climb?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Yes," she responded, her voice a lot more gentle than it had been that entire night. "It's probably going to be dangerous, someone should stay behind just in case…" she let her words die on her lips, they both got the point.

"Shika, you should stay. I'll go with Hinata." She heard Naruto speak up.

She looked back towards them, they had a bond she could easily compare to Neji's and Sasuke's. A small smile edged it's way passed her lips watching them interact. Then it settled back into a frown. She knew how Neji must be feeling right now, with Sasuke getting shot. She would do anything to be able to watch them interact the way Shikamaru and Naruto were right now.

"Ready?" Naruto asked her, looking at her with such gentle eyes it had her reeling. She struggled, really struggled to remember those hideous things he had threatened her with.

Focus, Hinata. This is not the time to be thinking about your relationship with him, not that it even existed.

She pulled her pack around towards the front and tossed something at her blond companion.

"They help a lot with grip, just slip them under your shoes." Naruto looked surprised at her, then down at the grips.

"Where are yours?"

"I only have one pair," she admitted honestly, shrugging good naturedly. "I don't really need them." Hinata assured.

He tossed back one. "One and one?" His voice was pleading.

"Sure," Hinata answered placing them on her right foot. She watched with amusement as Naruto placed them on his left. "You're a lefty?"

Naruto couldn't help the laugh that bubbled out of him. "Yeah, it's probably why I'm so clumsy."

Hinata couldn't help but giggle silently at his explanation. She nodded at him and began her climb. It was surprisingly easier than she thought it would be, or maybe knowing Naruto was with her gave her the extra energy boost she desperately needed. Hinata wasn't sure but she was glad he was here either way.

From the top of the cliff they were able to see the fortress, lights still on and people clearly on the hunt for them all across town. She looked at their pattern of organization, the way they sprawled out in their hunt of them. The way the fortress walls seemed to change. This was the perfect vantage point.

After a long while she noticed Naruto looking at her from her peripheral.

"What?" She questioned, not bothering to look at him directly.

"N-nothing," he stuttered out, focusing back on the task. "I've just never seen you at work. It's kind of hot." He mentioned nonchalantly.

Hinata was glad for the darkness, that way he wouldn't be able to see her blaring blush. Suddenly a very vivid memory of the day he had told her he would kill her if she didn't stay away popped into her head, making her cringe.

"Sorry, not the time huh?" He rhetorically questioned. Hinata didn't respond. Only gathered as much intel as she could. It had been a few hours at least and she really wanted to go check up on Sasuke.

"I think I have enough information, what about you?"

"I'm good."

"Okay, let's go."

She was thankful the sun was beginning to rise, it would make their decent easier. Hinata glanced down the cliff, it was a far way down.

"You alright?" She heard Naruto question beside her, one of his hands placed delicately on the small of her back. She shivered in response. He could do so much to her, without even knowing it. It was torture, to be so in love with someone who clearly wasn't.

"Mhmm, just planning out where I want to drop in."

She could tell he didn't believe her by the way he frowned down at her. She tried her best to smile reassuringly at him. "I'm also worried about Sasuke."

"Of course," he somberly responded. "Did you want me to go first?"

"No," she answered him. Hinata noted a ledge sticking out about a quarter of the way down, a jump she has most certainly done before. She pointed to the ledge. "I'm going to jump!"

"What!?" Naruto asked as he watched her drop over the edge. "Hinata!"

She looked up and waived him down, "It's fine!"

She heard Naruto curse and jump down after her. "You're kind of insane."

She waved off his comment and continued her decent. Shikamaru patiently waiting for them at the bottom.

By the time they had made it back onto the campsite, Sasuke was sitting up against a tree, his torso completely bandaged, but alive.

Hinata took no time to run over to him. He was smiling (as best as Sasuke could) at her.

"You're okay." She breathed, hugging him as delicately as she could.

"I am," he responded. "Thanks to Sakura, Gaara and Ino." Hinata nodded over at them.

"Thank you." It was simple but earnest. Both Sakura and Ino nodded back at her, Gaara didn't bother. She knew Sasuke was his friend too.

"What did you find?" Kakashi questioned.

Shikamaru shrugged. "Naruto and Hinata climbed, so ask them."

Everyone looked over to Naruto, expecting him to fill them in. Naruto paled, and Hinata watched him do so. She had figured he hadn't actually gotten enough information. She threw a careless smile in his direction.

"We looked over pattern of organization, infrastructure… basically, we found a way in." She finished, an excited glint in her eyes.

Kakashi and Itachi looked toward each other in amazement. Naruto's cerulean eyes also shone with awe and pride.

"Are we… are we going to complete this mission together?" Sakura questioned, she was looking at both of their points. No one had dared discuss how they knew each other.

"I think it's within our best interest to do so." Itachi spoke up, Kakashi nodding in agreement.

"Is anyone going to explain how you know each other, or know any of us?" Temari argued back.

"Well, Temi, that is a very long story." Kakashi responded, eliciting a bewildered look from her. Hinata wondered how such an intimate nickname could feel this surreal coming from a stranger.

Or is he really?

"One we have been sworn in secrecy to keep." Itachi reminded him, slightly chiding.

"Ah, yes," Kakashi lazily smirked back. "That is also true."

"I'm sorry what?" Naruto spoke up, Hinata could feel the rage rolling off of him. "You're fucking joking right?" He questioned, walking towards a nonchalant Kakashi. Clearly enraged at both their unconcerned attitude toward each other.

"Afraid not; Itachi and I were both sworn to secrecy."

Hinata then heard Naruto laugh, in a way that sent terrifying chills up and down her spine. He was the very definition of unstable.

"You know what, no. I'm not fucking doing this anymore. I'm tired. So goddamn tired of living my life for other people, making decisions for the better of the compound. Only to find out I don't even actually know anything about them. I never get to do what's right for me, but apparently everyone else does. So, I'm fucking done." His words held a finality Hinata was not used to hearing.

"Naruto," Kakashi began, walking closer to him, a hand stretched out. It seemed like he was trying to calm a cornered animal.

"That won't help," Hinata muttered to herself, Sasuke being the only one close enough to hear her looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"Do you have any fucking idea!?" Naruto was shouting at Kakashi now. "Do you even know of the things I've yelled at her," he kept yelling, looking right at Hinata as he mentioned her.

"The disgusting things I've said so she would stay away! The agony I've put myself through to stay away from her?!"

What? Hinata looked shocked.

"Naruto," Itachi tried this time, a much more gentle approach. It did nothing but anger him more.

"No, shut the fuck up. Both of you. Because now, now you're telling me that we can work together; that we have done so in the past?"

"It's not that easy Naruto, even if we did work together, we can't exactly go back and say 'mission accomplished with the help of the Hyuga and Uchiha'."

Hinata cringed as she watched Naruto's body tense. "Now we're back to enemies huh?" His tone was extremely sarcastic. He sniffed derisively toward their leaders and spat.

"Enemies," he began again, tone unchanging, "Don't hug each other after meeting during a mission gone haywire. Enemies don't perform 3 hour long emergency surgery to save each other's lives..."

Hinata looked toward Sakura, who was looking straight at Sasuke, a small blush on her face. Sasuke had the decency to stare back at her, his own blush in response. Naruto's voice garnered her attention soon after.

"Enemies don't hug, enemies don't care for each other… Enemies don't, they don't fall in lo-…"

"Naruto!" Shikamaru barked out. "We get it, that's enough."

No, it was most certainly not enough. Not for Hinata at least.

Enemies don't fall in- what?

She had to know. She was ready to voice it aloud, that was until she got a good look at Naruto himself. He looked so close to shattering. He was shaking, whether in anger or sadness she didn't know, but it tore at her heart strings.

"I get it Naruto, but we need to complete this mission. I wasn't joking when I said it's kill or be killed. If we aren't successful I guarantee that you and dad, Itachi, Sasuke and their dad and most certainly Neji, Hinata and their dad. You will all be dead."

Hinata felt herself shaking at this point too, the thought of Sasuke, Neji and Naruto all dying was enough to elicit tears from her. She was crying now, unaware of every pair of eyes staring at her. She grasped the dirt under her fingertips in exhaustion, in emotional turmoil. She had had enough too.

"Hinata," Naruto called out, a lot closer than she had imagined. His tone significantly less angry than before. It was now just a mix of anguish and gentility, gentility for her, she quickly realized.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I will complete the mission, I won't let you die." She stared up at him, eyes glossy and slightly red. She felt embarrassed, surely she knew she did. But, she also felt relieved. Relieved that he would stay by her side through this. Even if it was only for the remainder of the mission, she felt happy.

"Great." Kakashi responded. "Can you join us Sasuke?"

"Tomorrow night," he muttered.

"Tomorrow night," Itachi agreed.

"I need your help Hinata, in finding a way to create a different signal for our communicative devices; I can't have them being tapped when we split up." Shikamaru mentioned, no doubt hoping to get her mind off of everything that occurred.

"Sure, I have some ideas." Just like that she was whisked away to plan and hope for success.

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This mission was going to hell, fast. Naruto frantically looked around for the others. After that explosion earlier their comms were down and there were no signs of the others. It worried him, not knowing where Sakura, or Tenten or Shino or any of them were. Hinata though, she worried him the most, he would always be worried about her.

Desperately he felt his way around, the walls were so long, the space filled with nothing. The nothingness was the worst part; no sound, no breeze. Just pitch black.

"Hinata! Sakura!" He tried shouting again.

"Naruto!" He finally heard a response. He could tell Sakura's voice as easily as he could tell his father's apart. He didn't need more of an assurance than that, immediately taking off towards the sound of her voice.

"You're okay." She breathed out when she caught a glimpse of him. He noticed her flashlight was actually working.

"Yeah, is anyone with you?" Sakura shook her head and pointed the flashlight in front of them. Hoping to be able to at least see where they were going. The inner workings of this hideout was like nothing they had ever encountered, it was huge and all changing. He could tell Sakura felt the same as him, completely disoriented.

"I couldn't help but notice you called out for Hinata first." Sakura spoke up after a while of walking, he could hear the amusement in her tone.

"Shut up." He muttered, unimpressed with her intelligence.

"What? I'm just saying, there's a whole bunch of us down here and you call out for her huh, I guess that's what love is." She giggled, not even bothering to hide her mirth.

"I thought you didn't like her." He countered, trying to get off the subject.

"I thought I wasn't supposed to," she retorted, "I adore the girl, always have." She plainly finished, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"That makes two of us," he nonchalantly responded, only realizing what he had said a second too late. "Sakura, please. Don't, it's not the time."

She huffed in annoyance and compliance. "Fine, it still won't be easy for you two though." She commented.

"Drop it."

They had been walking in semi darkness for over an hour and he was starting to get antsy. They hadn't seen any of the others, Hinata included.

"Toneri?" He had finally heard Hinata's voice at the end of the hallway and he rushed forward, protocols be damned.

"Ah," he heard that insufferable man's voice once more. Why the hell was he here? "It looks like Naruto was finally able to join us."

"What?" Naruto began speaking before catching eyes with Hinata. Sasuke and Neji were close behind her too. He felt a huge weight off his shoulders.

"4 out 5 isn't half bad, I'll take those numbers." Toneri spoke again, while Naruto shifted his attention to the one man he had undoubtedly wanted to kill, even before knowing he was a part of their 'world'.

"How exciting to have you all in my home."

"Home?" Naruto questioned, his gut twisting in a knot. He felt something was… off. Something that did not quite sit right with him, but he couldn't seem to pin point it right away.

"Ah, yes. My family owns this beautiful castle you see. I must congratulate you all, not many people survive these precarious tunnels." Toneri laughed, it was short lived and heavily controlled laughter. As if he weren't currently surrounded by 5 enemies.

"It seems as though you want us here," Neji stated, rather blatantly. "Why is that?"

"For the same reason both of your teams are here of course," the way he spoke sent chills down Naruto's spine. It wasn't every day he felt a presence as sinister as this. "I want your heads as trophies."

Naruto watched Hinata take a weary step back, clearly alarmed by the statement. He took a step in her direction, to try and provide some sort of comfort, but a knife being flung in his direction stopped him entirely.

"Now, now. Don't be so hasty Naruto Uzumaki." He cringed, looking back to see pearly eyes staring right at him, an immense feeling of fear gripped at him. Hinata shook her head, indicating she did not want him to come.

"So you want to kill us, that's fine. 5 against one, I like those odds." Sasuke's arrogant tone caused Toneri to stiffen.

"I don't just want to kill you Sasuke," his voice grew even more ominous, "I want so much more…" Toneri paused for a moment, clearly collecting his thoughts and began speaking once more, exasperation laced his words.

"See that's the difference between your families and mine." Naruto watched distrustfully as Toneri's eyes roamed across the room. He looked at Sakura, then at Sasuke, then Neji and finally landed on him. It didn't escape his attention that he hadn't looked at Hinata a single time since they had arrived.

Light eyes steadied in on their target and Naruto took a step forward, not willing to show vulnerability towards his enemy. Kakashi had taught him that, to never be vulnerable in the face of danger. This only seemed to excite Toneri even more.

"My family happens to hate you Naruto, well that might be a lie. We hate the Uzumakis. As a matter of fact we actually hate ALL of you: Uzumakis, Hyugas, Uchihas… your entire compounds should burn. And I'll make sure we start with the heirs." His smirk had been progressively widening until it took up an unnatural amount space on his face.

Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something was indeed "off". Something they had not taken into account.

"I would love to kill you, Naruto. Piece by piece, sending your father every inch of your body until he would have enough pieces to be able to reconstruct you." Maniacal laughter echoed soon after his confession, as if he were watching the funniest scene in a movie. It gave Naruto goosebumps, the type no one would want to feel.

"But, I've come to realize," he spoke again, voice even more menacing than before, "that would be more of a torture for your father."

Naruto watched Hinata, located a few steps to his left, look pained.

"I want to torture you, you see. I want you to feel anguish and despair. I want to break you…" The deafening silence that followed his confession made the heavy feeling in his gut climb all the way towards his heart.

"I think I would really like to start by breaking your heart."

It took Naruto exactly three fourths of a second to figure out why Toneri had turned his vengeful smile toward Hinata. It had taken him another quarter of that same second to fling himself in her direction. And he had been exactly that quarter of a second too late.

She had already been yanked, quite literally by her throat into the depths of a darkness he knew nothing about. A tunnel seemingly coming alive right under her. He could only watch in terror as her and Toneri plummeted down.

Again he was a quarter of a second too late jumping after her because when he landed at the bottom of the darkness she was nowhere to be seen, nowhere to be heard. It took Sasuke and Neji just as much time to jump down with him, Sakura close after.

"Where is she?!" Neji yelled, no sense of emotional control.

"I-I don't know." Naruto admitted, frantically feeling around for any sign of her or Toneri. It didn't help that it was pitch black.

Sakura's flashlight flickered on and he felt somewhat relieved that she still remained level headed.

He could barely breathe at this point, fear gripped every inch of him. His stomach, his heart, his mind. He breathed heavily and sporadically. He had even less sense of self control than both the Hyuga and the Uchiha.

"I need to find her!" He yelled, the rest of his temporary teammates glared at him.

"We fucking know, moron. Now get looking." He could tell, from the panicked harsh tone that Sasuke was scared too. Almost as much as he was.

Almost.

Naruto forcefully stopped his body from shaking, stopped himself from reacting to his feelings.

This was not the time to lose his calm, he wasn't alone. They were all smart, they would find her together. There simply was no other choice, because… because it was her. It was Hinata.

He couldn't possibly lose her; the world wouldn't be this cruel. To first take his mother and then her.

It just wasn't right. None of it felt right.

No.

He just wouldn't be able to accept a life without her.

He wasn't going to lose her.

Not here.

Not now.

Not permanently.