Naruto was standing outside Neji's hospital room, a frown playing on his whiskered face. The hallway was empty, he hadn't even seen a nurse come by since he left the room earlier. His thoughts kept replaying what he and Neji had said to each other, about their conversation. He had expected Neji to tell him what the heck was going on, but when his friends left them alone to talk, Neji had been the one to ask.

The blond let out a tired sigh, his shoulders slumping as he leaned against the wall. Raising his head to rest against the cold wall too, Naruto slowly allowed his eyelids to slip shut. He was mentally exhausted. When the meant-to-be-missing Hyuga asked him how he ended up in hospital, the blond had been shockingly confused. At first he thought Neji was playing some sick joke on him, but before he could angrily call him out, he had remembered that Neji had never been the type for those types of jokes...or any jokes. When Naruto had told him that he had no idea, Neji looked more lost then ever.

Naruto had wanted to ask him where he had been for the past few years, but stopped himself. It was possible that Neji had amnesia and wouldn't be able to tell him and to be honest, the blond didn't think he was the right person for Neji to open up to. After what Neji had done for him on the battle field, he felt the guilt he had come to deal with, flood back to him. He didn't think he deserved to demand any answers. So in the end, he let Neji speak, let him decide how the conversation would go.

When Neji brought up the missing seal, Naruto had only then realized that it was actually gone. The blond hero had witnessed the seal disappear during Neji's 'death', so it hadn't clicked in his mind until Neji mentioned it. He didn't know much about the seal, except what Neji had told him and it didn't make sense that it was still there while the Hyuga was still breathing.

It had been at that moment when Neji confronted him on his strange behavior. He wanted to know why everyone was acting like he had survived death, why they were walking on eggshells around him.

When Naruto hesitated it only made the Hyuga more frustrated and Naruto felt for him, but...how was he supposed to tell his friend that he did actually survive death?

In the end though, Naruto had told him. He told him everything. Maybe he would hate himself for it tomorrow or the others would hate him, but Neji did deserve to know. He told him everything he knew, about the Great Shinobi War, about him sacrificing himself for him and Hinata. He skipped the part about the funeral. Neji didn't need to know about how they acted or what they did during it. The only thing he needed to know was that he had dead and had been dead – or thought to have been dead – for almost three years.

"Naruto?"

The blond's eyes opened at the sound, breaking him away from his memories and he turned his aching neck to see Sasuke walking up to him. "Hey," Naruto greeted, his voice not as chirpy as it usually was.

"You're out," the Uchiha stated, coming to stop next to the other man.

Naruto offered a tired smile at his friend, giving a short nod. "Yeah, been out for about 15 minutes now. Kakashi sensei's talking with him now."

"How'd he hear about this?"

The blonde shrugged. "I didn't ask. My guess is either the nurses or Choji. He never was very good at keeping secrets."

"It it were the Akimichi then the whole village should know by now," Sasuke voiced.

"Heh..." Naruto breathed. "Where's the girls?"

"Bathroom, Sakura dragged Tenten away to get cleaned up."

"Ah. Where'd you go off to?" Naruto blinked.

"Needed some fresh air."

Naruto smiled in understanding. He knew the Uchiha had something against hospitals, ironic considering how his fiance was a professional medic.

"How'd it go?" Sasuke asked after a moment of silence and Naruto had to take an extra moment to answer.

"He didn't know anything," Naruto breathed out, his hand moving to run through his short hair. "Sasuke, he didn't even know he had been dead."

"What did he say?" the raven asked, his eyes watching the blond as his hand lowered to his forehead.

"Not much, he mainly asked me questions.." Naruto's eyes moved back to look at the closed door.

"Sounds conveinent."

"Sasuke," Naruto's voice lowered in warning. It might not scare the man, but he hoped it would make him keep his thoughts to himself. He understood that it was too soon to tell if the man was really Neji Hyuga, but he still believed it, wanted to believe it. "Anyway, he started to remember some stuff after I explained everything."

"Like?"

"Mainly stuff that happened during the war...he still doesn't know how he ended up here or what's he's been doing for the past few years."

"Hn."

Sighing, Naruto looked at his teammate, his eyes narrowed. "Look, I know this sounds fishy, but-"

"I know dobe," Sasuke interrupted, his own eyes moving to stare at the door. "I just don't think we should trust him so easily."

"Rich, coming from you," Naruto half-heartedly joked, wanting nothing more than to go to sleep. Sasuke only shot him an unimpressed look before going back to looking at the door.

Despite all the signs, Naruto wasn't worried about Neji possibly being an impostor. It could just be the hope or shock, but he didn't want to go into that right now. Neji had been as much of a wreck as he could be, considering how high and proper the man could be. Naruto had never seen him so lost. He had wished he could tell the other ninja more, but he had carried on with life, believing his friend was dead, but he would find out what happened to him. He had promised Neji in that room earlier that he would do whatever he could to figure out what had happened to him and he never broke his promises.

Both men straightened up when the door suddenly opened, revealing a wide-eyed Kakashi. The current Hokage blinked at his two former students, regaining some of his composure and closing the door quietly behind him. Naruto frowned at the action. He half wanted to go in there and see how Neji was doing.

"Sasuke, you're here too?" Kakashi cleared his throat before asking.

The Uchiha nodded confirmation.

"Sensei," Naruto started, stepping up closer to the older man. "What did Neji say? Did he remember anything else?"

The Hokage sighed at the question. He had been about to go home when he was told to go straight to the hospital. He had been confused, but obeyed anyway. It was only when he entered the allocated hospital room and saw Naruto talking to Neji. Figures the blond would know about it before the Hoke did.

"From what I can tell, he only remembers everything up until his...um," he hesitated, but cleared his throat again instead. "Anyway, I explained our situation, he seems to be taking it okay, just overwhelmed – not that I can blame him. He said that you already filled him up on a few things," he continued, looking at Naruto who tensed slightly.

"Do you really think this guy is the Hyuga?" Sasuke asked, pulling Kakashi's eyes away from the blond.

Kakashi's hand rubbed at his chin in thought, his eyes looking back at the door for a second before going back to the two men. "It's too soon to tell, but just in case, he'll be staying here over night. I'll assign extra security to keep an eye on him."

"What about tomorrow?" Naruto frowned. They couldn't keep Neji here forever.

"I've asked for blood tests to be done. We'll know for sure in the morning and we'll take it from there,"

"What about his grave?" Sasuke pointed out and Naruto couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it first.

"We'll be...digging it up after the DNA test," Kakashi said, his voice strained. "We don't want to disturb the grave until we have some more proof this actually is Neji Hyuga."

"I want to come too," Naruto requested, with no actual plea. He didn't need evidence that the man sitting in that room wasn't the real thing, but maybe he could find something that could explain where the Hyuga had been missing for so long.

"If I were to say no, would you still show up anyway?" The Hokage sighed, his eyes closing in exhaustion. He didn't really need an answer.

"Yep."

"Thought so.." Kakashi sagged, but he wouldn't fight it. He'd probably do the same thing if he was in the younger man's shoes. Familiar footsteps sound and the grey-haired man looked over Naruto's shoulder. "Oh, Sakura, Tenten. I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see the two of you here too."

Naruto and Sasuke turned to see the two mentioned women walking back up the hallway towards them. Tenten's eyes were still red-rimmed and swollen, but Naruto was relieved to see some color back in her cheeks. Sakura was walking ahead of her, her eyes focused on the Hokage.

"Kakashi-sensei? When did you get here?" Sakura's tired voice asked, stopping in front of the man. Tenten came to stand next to her in front of them, but she didn't seem to be really listening to them.

"A few minutes ago," Kakashi answered. "It's not everyday one of our own comes back from the dead. The medics thought it was Hokage-worthy."

Sakura smiled small at her former teacher. "Did you get to speak with him?" Tenten's eyes caught Kakashi's at the question.

"I did, but I think he needs some rest before any further questions. He doesn't seem to remember much."

"You guys should know that I told him about..you know, the War." Naruto confessed, looking at the two girls. Tenten seemed to freeze at the statement. Naruto guessed that Neji must have tried to get her to tell him the truth too. Either she hadn't wanted to or had been interrupted when the three of them showed up earlier.

"Naruto.." Sakura looked between angry and resigned.

"It's for the best, if Naruto hadn't done it, he would have gotten it straight from me anyway," Kakashi voiced.

"He asked me, I couldn't say no.." Naruto frowned, before hesitantly looking back at the door. "I..I should probably get Hinata." But before he could take a step to leave, Kakashi stopped him.

"Don't bother, I've already sent for Hiashi. No doubt he'll bring his daughters as well."

"I don't think now is such a good-" Sakura started.

"No, he's right," Tenten tried to disguise her hoarse voice, but failed. "Neji wanted to see her earlier. Probably more now.."

Sakura frowned at the implication. If she had been the doctor in charge, she would have made sure he got more rest and was more sane before seeing anybody. She didn't voice this though, looking at the expression her female friend wore.

"Kakashi-sensei, is it okay if I talk with Neji again?" Tenten asked, her eyes moving back to the older ninja. He seemed to tense at her question, but hid it almost completely.

"Actually I think it would be best if the three of you went home. Hiashi will be here any minute and I don't think he'll want any intrusions," he answered as gently as he could.

Tenten looked she was about to argue, but her eye was caught by the pleading look the pink-head was giving her. Biting her lip, Tenten nodded her head, looking away from the Hokage. She knew she was being selfish, Neji didn't need to be crowed by her right now, plus she had already seen him, but the thought of going home and leaving him here was painful and honestly a little scary.

"What time will the test results be done tomorrow?" Naruto asked softly. He didn't want to leave either, but he also didn't want to intrude on the family reunion. It wasn't his place.

"Early," Kakashi answered. "I'll send for you." The blond nodded with a trace of a thankful smile.

"Good night, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura bidded and the older ninja nodded in return, before watching the three friends hesitantly walk back down the hallway.

Naruto's pace was slow as he walked outside the hospital's entrance. He felt drained, still shocked, but better than when he first heard the news. He was sure that tomorrow the feeling would be way worse, that is, if this wasn't all just some messed up dream.

Glancing to his side, Naruto watched how the girl next to him was handling everything. Tenten didn't seem to be in any hurry to leave the building either and he didn't have to guess why. The brunette's head was tilted down slightly, her eyes voidly focused on her footsteps instead of in front of her. No doubt she was also replaying the last few hours in her head. Funny, you always wish for your dead loved ones to come back some how, but when they do, you don't think about the emotional punch it could put you through. He didn't like seeing his friends in pain.

"What test results were you talking about?"

The female voice broke Naruto away from his thoughts and he trailed his eyes up to meet Sakura's. They, Sasuke and Tenten had all walked out together, but the short walk had been quiet.

"Just...a blood test..." Naruto answered softly. He couldn't help but peek at the quiet Tenten walking beside him.

"It's procedure," Tenten voiced when she caught his eye and she offered a half-formed smile to reassure the blonde hero. "I'm surprised they aren't doing right now to be honest." Her lips tightened at the unsure look she got in return from not only Naruto, but Sakura in return. Sakura suddenly stopped walking, her body moving to stand in front of the weaponist, causing the others to stop too.

"Tenten-" Sakura started, her voice reaching.

"Look, guys," Tenten interrupted, her voice more harsh than she intended. "I appreciate the concern and all, but I'm not the one in the hospital bed, okay?" She hated the fact that her friends were more focused on her petty problems, when her supposed-to-be-dead teammate was the one that really needed the sympathy-not that Neji would even really accept it.

"We know that Tenten, but considering what you've been through and with this happening so suddenly-" The medic tried to explain, her eyes pleading and Tenten felt guilt flow over her. Of cause she was worried. Tenten would act the same way towards Sakura if it had been Naruto or Sasuke who died, but the thing was that she wasn't one of the other girls. She didn't want to sympathy or emotional help. She didn't need it.

There was no point in making her friends worry. Not about her.

"I'm fine, Sakura." Tenten breathed, her eyes closing briefly. She needed to relax, something a bit harder then usual to do after spending most of the night crying. "I was just taken by surprise, that's all." she continued, looking back at the other girl. "I'll be okay. Right now..I just want to help..him."

"..That makes two of us," Naruto said and Tenten broke her gaze from Sakura to look at Naruto, who smiled brightly back at her.

"Naruto, Tenten..I" Sakura frowned, her eyebrows knitted together.

"We should head home."

All eyes turned to look at the Uchiha, whose own eyes were set on his fiance. Sakura seemed to want to complain, but when Sasuke's frown seemed to deepen, the pink-haired women faltered, before nodding in defeat. It was probably the first time Tenten felt grateful for the Uchiha man, even if she figured he was just ending the conversation because he was tired and not for her benefit. At least one person in the village didn't try to tiptoe around her feelings.

When Sakura looked back over at Tenten, the brunet couldn't help the sigh that left her lips. There was no point in being upset with the medic. Opening up her arms slightly, Tenten smiled when Sakura took the small invitation and moved to pull her into a tight hug.

"I know you're strong," she heard Sakura whisper and the guilt doubled over. "It doesn't mean that I don't worry." And with that, Sakura slowly let go of the other girl, giving one last careful smile, before retreating back to her fiance.

Tenten watched as the couple walked away, her heart swelling. She wished she was as tough as she claimed to be. She didn't notice the blue eyes glued to her.

"Don't worry about Sakura," Naruto whispered next to her and Tenten forced her body to relax. If Naruto could sense her inner turmoil then she had a problem. "She just has a habit of fussing over people she cares about. She means well though, you know."

Tenten half grinned at the blonde. "I guess you would know, huh?"

"Hey, at least she hasn't 'lovingly' hit you yet," Naruto chuckled at Tenten smiled. "I can't blame her though," the Uzumaki shrugged afterward. "With teammates like me and Sasuke...she's bound to worry."

"Yeah, I guess I got it easy."

"I bet Rock Lee worries the same about you too."

"I think it should be the other way around," Tenten huffs with a smile.

"Shouldn't you call him?" Naruto's voice sounded more serious now and Tenten understood why.

Both Lee and Gai-sensei should be informed that Neji was back.

"Lee's on a mission in Suna," Tenten answered, her voice soft. "He and Gai-sensei won't be back for another week or more. I'll send a message to them later."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Naruto frowned. He hadn't known that her teammates weren't here. It might be a bad idea to tell them such crazy news when they were on a mission. "Maybe it would be better to wait for them to come back?"

"I'd want them to tell me if I were away," Tenten said and she saw the blonde nod in understanding. She would send a letter when she got home.

Letting out a small puff of breath, Naruto leaned closer to the weaponist, nudging her shoulder with his own. The motion made the girl jolt, her large, brown eyes now looking up at him in confusion. The blond offered a sheepish grin, hoping to put her at some small amount of ease.

Tenten blinked at the grin, before going back to his eyes. It was obvious what question he was asking in his head. "I'm really okay, Naruto."

"I know," Naruto shrugged. "That was for me," he lied badly, but Tenten found that she didn't mind so much right now.

"Then you'll be fine, you're tough," Tenten said, going along with his act.

"I'd better be," the blond breathed through a reassuring smile. "Neji's gonna need me to be, you know?"

The weaponist flinched at the name. It still had an affect on her, even though she had seen him alive just a few hours ago.

"Tenten?" Naruto's worried voice said.

"I'm okay," she repeated, this time forming a bigger smile on her face, hoping Naruto couldn't see how tense it was. "I just need some sleep. All this had kinda been a lot to take in."

The blond hero eyes stayed on her, a look of sadness in them and Tenten clenched her teeth. This wasn't meant to be about her. She didn't need them to be worried about her, it was Neji that deserved – needed the support.

"..You gonna head home too?" Tenten asked when Naruto didn't make a move to leave. Neither of them were going to be able to see the Hyuga again until tomorrow and she knew how tired Naruto was, if the bags under his eyes said anything. She knew how hard he was training lately, Sakura had been complaining for months. Apparently Sasuke and him had been training together frequently. His dream of becoming Hokage was still going strong and now that everything was at peace, Naruto had decided to concentrate on that dream.

"I'm gonna hang back for a while," Naruto's hands moved to rest inside his pant's pockets. "It's a nice night, you know?"

Tenten couldn't help the small smile. "Hinata?"

The male stiffened for a second, before relaxing again, his eyes moving to the ground. "I know I shouldn't, but-I..I just want make sure she's okay...you know..after she sees him..."

Tenten patted the blond on the shoulder, her head giving a nod. A sting of jealously ran through her, but she pushed it down as soon as it came. Hinata was lucky to have someone care so much about her, someone that wanted to be there for her. Even if that someone could be a bit air-headed as the lovable blond.

"Let her know I'm thinking about her," Tenten asked and she smiled when Naruto send his own one her way.

"You got it."

Another nod and Tenten took another look back at the hospital, her mind screaming at her to stay and wait for Neji, but she knew it was unfair. Neji had a family who had suffered from his death too. She was his family too, but not in the same way. Not by blood and she couldn't put herself in front of those that were. Biting her lips, Tenten hesitantly turned back to start her way back home.

"He's lucky to have you, you know?" Naruto's words surprised the girl, her body jerking to a sudden stop. She didn't turn around though. "..I'm gonna find out what happened to Neji."

Tenten's eyes widened at the promise, her mouth opening to respond, but no words came out.

"I'll figure it out..but I need you to look out for him. He needs somebody right now. Someone he can count on," the blond's voice was abnormally serious, she could feel his eyes on her back. "Can I count on you to do that?"

'Of cause,' was the thought that ran through her brain. She would have done that anyway, there was no way she would let her teammate go through this alone. Swallowing, Tenten replied, "You got it." The reply was quiet, hoarse, but strong.

"Good," he replied. "Night, Tenten."

"Night," Tenten responded, before forcing her legs to move again she watched him leave. Her lips tightened, but she made sure to keep her movements normal. Naruto didn't need to ask her. She would be there for him. Neji could count on her.

Naruto yawned as he sat against the hospital's outer walls, his bandaged hand moving to rub against his cheeks and closed eyes. When he opened them again, he looked up at the sky. It was still so dark. He had been sitting there for the passed twenty minutes, watching for any signs of his girlfriend. He hadn't seen one person yet, besides a couple nurses leaving to go home. They had been ecstatic to see him, but all he could offer was a tired smile and wave. He was in no state of mind or mood to have a conversation right now, but he wouldn't be rude to them.

They didn't even know what was really going on right now.

A minute passed and Naruto's eyes widened at the soft, familiar chakra. He lowered his head to look in front of him.

"Naruto!"

The voice had the blond scanning the dark area, before he was able to spot the Hyuga heiress now running towards him and the he didn't waste another second. Naruto found himself instantly jumping to his feet, ignoring the resisting ache his body made. As soon as he was up, Naruto rushed over to his running girlfriend and before too long, he caught the trembling girl in a protective embrace.

"Naruto," He heard her breath out, her voice uncertain and laced with worry. By the way she was shaking in his arms, he knew she was crying and Naruto tightened his arms around her, resting his chin on her dark blue head.

"Are you okay?" Naruto whispered, his eyes softening when he felt her hands clench onto his shirt. Her head moved slightly in a small nod, despite her trembling shoulders.

It was then that his eyes caught sight of the two other Hyugas not too far away. Hiashi and Hanabi were rushing over as well and Naruto would have thought more about how he had never seen Hiashi look so rattled before, but for now his focus kept going back to the crying girl in his arms.

The Hyuga head slowed for a second at seeing the Uzumaki, but it was only for a moment, before he continued to rush into the building, trusting him to look after his older daughter. Hanabi however, did falter and looked worriedly at her sister, before meeting the blond's eyes. Naruto offered a small smile her way and the younger Hyuga seemed to relax, but not entirely. A quick nod of acknowledgment and the younger heiress hurried to join her father.

A small sob sounded and Naruto's heart squeezed in his chest. She didn't deserve to feel this kind of shock or to relive the pain all those years ago. Slowly, Naruto's hands moved to gently grasp her shaking shoulders, pulling her away slightly so he could see her face. Hinata allowed herself to be pulled away, but her hands still held onto him, keeping their bodies close. Naruto was more than okay with that and when he saw her tear-stained face, it took everything he had left to keep himself from crushing her back into another hug.

A hesitant, bandaged hand moved on it's own to wipe away a fresh tear and suddenly blurry, lavender eyes were staring back up at him. His grip on her shoulder tightened.

"N-Naruto.." the Hyuga hiccuped, more tears escaping.

"Shh, it's okay," Naruto whispered back, his hand resting on her cheek as he continued to wipe at the tears.

"Is he..it is really-" and Naruto didn't need to guess what she was trying to say.

"Yeah," the blond breathed, his eyes soft as he looked down at the small girl. "I spoke with him earlier," he continued softly. "Hinata..I think it's really him."

Hinata's eyes widened at the words. "B-but how..how is it even possible?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered, wishing he had more to tell her. He took in her features, how her hair was a mess, probably because she been sleeping until a while ago. He frowned at how pale she was, more so then usual and her puffy eyes were in a very similar state to how Tenten's had been earlier, only Hinata allowed the tears to fall and he was happy about that. He hated to see her cry, but knew she needed to. If it would help her, he would gladly hold her.

"..You should go see him. I bet he can't wait to see you," Naruto voiced, despite his tightened grip on her shoulder.

Hinata hesitantly turned to look at the hospital's entrance, her eyes still wide as she tried to calm her breathing. Naruto watched as she bit into her bottom lip nervously, how her body stiffened in his hold and he knew what was stopping her from following her father and sister. She was afraid. He had felt the same way when he had gone to see Neji. There was no telling how Hinata felt.

"Hey," Naruto whispered, his hand moving from her cheek to comfortingly run through her hair and he smiled when her eyes returned to him. "Don't think okay? It's okay."

The Hyuga's eyes closed for a brief moment, a shaky breath making her chest lift. A small sniff and Hinata opened her eyes, still blurred with tears, searching Naruto's blue one. "A-are you..?"

"I'm not going anywhere," Naruto reassured, his smile softening at the half question. He hadn't planned on leaving until he knew she was okay and was more then willing to wait for her afterwards too. He may not be the number one boyfriend in Konoha, but he knew she needed him right now. And he didn't want to let her down. "I'll be right here when you're done, yeah?"

Hinata pinched her lips together in hesitation, her eyes leaving Naruto's for only a second to look back at the entrance. Only when she turned to look back at him did she unwillingly loosen her vice grip on his clothing and Naruto willed his hands to release her.

Neji was waiting for her.

Hi everyone, so sorry about the late update.

I was all ready to update weeks ago, but due to my own stupidity, the real chapter 4 got deleted from my computer. When it happened I kind of lost motivation, because I really didn't feel like retyping out the whole chapter.

The original chapter had Naruto and Neji talking and it was really long. I was so upset when I lost it, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it all over again. After a long time of fighting with myself over it, I decided to just skip that chapter and add a small summary to the beginning of this chapter. Really sorry if it makes this chapter seem too fast or weird. If you guys want, I can still redo the actual chapter and add it in later (much later).

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I still have some problems with it, but yeah..whatever.

Please let me know what you guys think and THANK YOU so much for all the awesome reviews!

If you have any questions or problems with the story so far, don't hesitate to PM me.

Thanks for reading ~