A/N: As promised here is the last chapter in the current arc. This one was a lot a fun to write on so many levels. I am really looking forward to diving into the next arc and finally turning notes that I wrote down nearly two years ago into an actual chapter. It is hard for me to believe that in just a few weeks this story will be two years old, and will soon be passing the 250,000 word mark.

Just before Hinata and Naruto reach the main gate to the Hyuga compound one of his shadow clones comes running up carrying Hinata's picnic basket. As she reaches out to take the basket, the shadow clone grabs her hand and gives the back of it a gentle kiss. The shadow clone then looks up at her and the real Naruto with a roguish smile before vanishing with a loud pop.

Hinata blushes with a confused smile on her face, not knowing how she is supposed to feel about having that done by her boyfriend's shadow clone, while he was watching the whole thing happen at the same time. It's not really cheating, but it doesn't feel quite right either with him standing right beside her making a confused growling sound.

Naruto is having a similar confliction; should he be mad at himself? He was, as he watched his shadow clone kiss Hinata's hand. Unfortunately, now that the shadow clone's memory is his own, he is having trouble blaming himself for the kiss. Actually he is wondering why he hadn't thought of doing that before, but he had… sort of… right?

On his walk home from the recent mission the thoughts of Hinata breaking up with him, and then later seeing her with someone else, had plagued his thoughts. Well that, and the image of him standing over some faceless guy's badly beaten body. So seeing Hinata being kissed on the hand by somebody, while he watched, had sent a surge of jealousy through his soul. 'But it was me, so… why I am jealous?' He decides to stop thinking about it for now, because the whole thing is getting a little confusing and making his head start to hurt. 'I guess from now on I am going to have to watch myself around Hinata when I make shadow clones.'

Once they reach the main gate Hinata exchanges pleasantries with the guard before they quickly make their way to the main house. Once there, she asks a servant where her father might be found and they are directed towards Hiashi's study. A little while later, just before Hinata gently knocks on the door, they stop to kneel down and collect themselves while looking at the other with nervous smiles of encouragement.

After her knock there is a momentary pause before they hear Hiashi's voice call out. "Yes?"

"Otou-sama, it is your eldest daughter, Hyuga Hinata. I am here with Uzumaki Naruto and he would like to speak with you, that is if you have time before dinner." She looks over at Naruto and can see a nervous look on his face that probably mirrors her own. 'I had been so caught up on how I was going to tell Naruto about my confrontation with Sakura that I had put off asking otou-sama about what he has planned for my position within the Diplomatic Division. If things go poorly tonight for some reason, I may come to regret not asking him sooner about my fate. If he had informed me of his decision it would be a little more difficult for him to suddenly change my assignment without seeming vengeful.'

There is another short pause before Hiashi speaks. "Yes, I am free to speak right now, you may both enter."

Naruto slides the shoji open and the two of them immediately bow. "Thank you Hyuga-sama for seeing me without any prior notice, I…" As Naruto and Hinata both raise their heads they are surprised to see that Hiashi is not alone. Sitting there across the desk from her father is Hanabi, whose eyes are completely focused on her older sister. As she stares at Hinata her eyes narrow as if asking, 'Well, did he tell you?'

Hinata's chin raises defiantly a fraction and then to the side, in answer to her sister's question. 'Yes, and everything is fine.' Hinata's eyes flicker for a moment towards their father, and then back to Hanabi in a silent question, 'Did you say anything to otou-sama yet?'

Hanabi's mouth tightens in a wry smile and her head moves to the side a fraction before her eyes glance over at Naruto. 'Not yet, I was going to give Naruto a chance to tell you first, and wait for your reaction.' Her eyes narrow till they are almost closed. 'Is there nothing he could do that you would not forgive?' Her nose twitches just a fraction to almost a sneer. 'You're a Hyuga, have some pride in yourself.'

Hiashi watches the non-verbal exchange going on between his two daughters and sees Naruto's obviously agitated state, as he too is watching the two girls stare at each other. 'What sort of chaos has this boy brought into my home this time, and do I really want to know the truth?'

Hiashi clears his throat and everyone twitches for a moment as if there had been a clap of thunder instead. "You have something urgent that you wish to discuss with me this evening Uzumaki Naruto?" His eyes narrow dangerously just a fraction.

Naruto's head snaps towards Hiashi and lets out a calming breath before he tries to explain things to Hinata's father. "Yes, Hyuga-sama." He steps into the room and kneels in front of Hiashi. "Some details about the time I was away from the village, after my unfortunate fight with Rock Lee, came to light while I was away on my recent mission. I felt that you should hear what happened directly from me instead of someone else."

Naruto then looks over at Hanabi, and after she nods he gives her a grateful smile. "Thank you Hanabi for being patient and letting me be the one to explain to Hinata and then to your father."

Hanabi wants to be angry with him for what he did to those girls, and how the news must have upset Hinata when he told her the truth, but there is just something about his smile that makes it so hard to stay angry with him for some reason. Instead of taking the risk of saying something harsh or stupid, Hanabi just nods and looks away with a confused blush coloring her cheeks.

Naruto looks back towards Hiashi. "As most people seem to already know, after my big fight with Rock Lee I spent a lot of that time away from the village on one mission right after another to earn enough money to pay for the damage down to the village during that fight. A lot of that time was also spent staring at the bottom of a bottle of sake, to be honest." He stares intently into Hiashi's unblinking eyes and knows that this is not new information for Hinata's father.

"Also, news of my involvement in the final battle to stop Kaguya, which has been over-exaggerated some, made me very popular. Unfortunately, some people tend to try and grab onto that popularity for their own selfish needs, without any real care for that person or how it may affect them later when they finally realize the truth." Naruto looks up at Hiashi, and is rewarded with a slight nod of understanding. "I was never popular growing up, as you know, it was exactly the opposite for me till only a few years ago. I was emotionally unprepared for this sudden change in people's attitude towards me, so I just drank up all of that praise."

Naruto lowers his head and stares at his fidgeting hands. "It really hurt when the truth was pointed out to me that some of these people were being false, and were just using me for their own benefit. I had thought my life had finally turned around, and that people were finally seeing me, the real Uzumaki Naruto. I grew up with many people looking at me only as a jinchūriki, an object to be used like a shogi piece against the enemies of the Leaf Village, without any real care of how I felt about my role. Then suddenly, I was the hero of the war to everyone, and extremely popular. Just as I was being hailed a hero, some people began to wonder how my popularity could be used for their own needs."

He feels the gentle pressure of a small hand lightly squeeze his left hand, and looks over with a grateful smile at Hinata. "Not everyone was like that to me, but the accusation of how people were trying to use me came from someone I trusted, and as they say the truth hurts. I even found out that someone I had known for a long time, and had trusted with my life, had admitted to using me to get what they wanted. I was told that my presence was no longer desired now that I had fulfilled my promise." The rawness of that pain is obvious as Naruto averts his gaze for a moment to collect himself. "So I became mistrustful of just about everyone, old friends and new acquaintances, it didn't really matter. I just wanted to go back being alone because the loneliness was much less painful than the mistrust I was feeling of everyone who tried to get close."

Hanabi looks over at Hinata in realization, and nearly lets out an audible gasp when her sister gives a slight nod. Hanabi then lowers her head to stare down at her hands in shame. 'So this is what onee-san knew that Tenten-sensei and the others have been trying to figure out all this time.'

When Hanabi looks back up, Hinata turns her head to the side slightly, and partially closes her right eye in irritation. 'Yes, but that is not all she said to Naruto.' Hinata nods her head ever so slightly in agreement when Hanabi's eyes narrow dangerously.

Naruto lets out a sigh and looks up directly into Hiashi's eyes. "I looked for an easy way to suppress the pain of that admission, so I got drunk. I got drunk, a lot. I made some really stupid choices, and done a lot of things that I have come to regret now that I am sober. Girls would come up to me wherever I would go, they would swarm around me sometimes and some of them would offer…" Naruto looks down at the floor, his face goes red in shame. "You know…" He clears his throat and rubs his chin, the whole time unable to meet the gaze of anyone in the room, especially Hinata.

"They saw me as some sort of conquest, as if ending up in my bed would somehow make them more important than other people. Some of them were obviously hoping to ensnare me, if you know what I mean." Naruto shakes his head in disbelief. "I quickly got sick of it all and just wanted to be left alone, but they would follow me, or new girls would find me wherever I tried to go. My only solace was the open road, but you eventually run out of sake and need to go to town to buy more. It was a terrible cycle really."

Hiashi's gaze leaves Naruto for a moment and turns towards Hinata. His hand twitches for a moment as he watches his eldest daughter sit and listen to Naruto's confession, probably not for the first time today, in obvious discomfort. Hinata is sitting there, slightly hunched over, with her hands clasped over her heart protectively. 'Even though she has already heard this news, it is obvious that it still pains her to hear in again. From the report the guard gave me about what he overheard in her recent verbal altercation with Haruno Sakura, Hinata has known all this time the real reason why he had left the village so suddenly. That the rumors that Haruno, the girl Uzumaki Naruto had a strong infatuation with for so long, really was the cause of his falling into such a sad drunken state. I can see by the way Hinata is trying to hold herself together, that some part of her still fears that Haruno might still have some influence over the boy's heart, and this fear is like a poison in her soul. It is very obvious that part of her feels that her hold on Uzumaki Naruto is very tentative, at best, if talking about what occurred between him and Haruno Sakura can still bring him such discomfort.'

"I finally gave in, and had dinner with a few of those girls." Naruto cannot even look over towards Hinata as he continues with his story. "I was hoping that if I went out with a few of them, and acted like a complete jackass, that word would get out and they would just leave me alone." Naruto thinks back to how he thought acting like Sasuke would be a guaranteed way to brush off a bunch of girls, but unfortunately it had the same effect on the girls chasing him as it did on the ones chasing Sasuke for all those years. "It made things worse, and those girls became even more determined for some reason. So to get relief I made special shadow clones that would not pass on the memory of the miserable experience of their idle chatter and stupid questions. I sent them to hang out with some of those girls, so that I could get drunk and be miserable in peace."

Naruto looks at Hanabi and gives her a slight smile. "Hanabi got to witness all of this finally coming back to haunt me during our recent mission. Three girls, with whom I had sent those special shadow clones to keep company the last time I was in their village, came up and accused me of getting them drunk and then doing… stuff… to them while they were unconscious." His eyes dart back-and-forth from Hiashi to Hanabi to gauge their reaction, but he might as well have been looking at a marble statue instead of Hinata's father. 'Well, at least he did not hit me like Hanabi did, not yet anyways.' Hanabi on the other hand is staring at them both expectantly, as if waiting for her father to bring down the hammer of justice.

Naruto holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender before Hiashi can make a final judgment. "Let me say real quickly that the girls were either mistaken, or even lying to me about what happened with my shadow clones."

Hiahsi's eyebrows raises curiously just a fraction as if asking, 'Oh really, I thought you said you would have no memory of your encounter because of the special shadow clones?'

Naruto nods in response to Haishi's questioning expression. "While I had blocked my shadow clones from sending their memories to me, I had no idea that Kurama was able to witness the whole thing. It turns out that he is connected to the chakra he loans, as if it is still a part of him until it is used up. Now that he and I are bonded like we are, there is a little bit of his chakra in almost every jutsu I use."

Hanabi cannot stay silent any longer as Naruto admits that he knows that he is not guilty. "Then why didn't you say something before now? Why did you let me and the others think that what those girls had said was true all this time?" She thinks back to how her two teammates had stopped her from going out that night, while their sensei had been waiting for Naruto to come back to his room, to find those three girls and beat the truth out of them. 'I wonder if they really know that they were not raped, and were trying to get something out of Naruto, or if they truly believe that they were victims. I should have went and found out the truth for myself, and maybe I could have saved all of us a miserable trip home.'

Naruto closes his eyes and lets out an aggravated sigh. "Because Kurama is a jackass sometimes and he decided to wait until he was sure that I had learned my lesson before letting me off the hook."

'THAT'S RIGHT KIT! IF I HAD LET YOU OFF THAT NIGHT YOU WOULD HAVE JUST BLOWN THE WHOLE THING OFF AND NEVER LEARNED YOUR LESSON. YOU SHOULD BE THANKING ME INSTEAD OF CALLING ME NAMES.' Kurama lets out an indignant snarl to let Naruto know that he is being serious.

The only thing worse than having the angry growl of Kurama reverberating through his head at that moment, was seeing Hiashi and Hanabi nod in approval at the kyubi's actions. What makes things even worse is when he glances over at Hinata, and she looks away guiltily as if she too partially agrees in Kurama's form of punishment. 'He is never going to let me forget this moment.'

'DAMN STRAIGHT!' Kurama lets out a roar of victory.

With his head hung in defeat Naruto tries to continue telling his tale. "Just as I was about to confess what I thought at the time was my guilt to Hinata is when he finally decided to let me know the truth. Kurama was trying to stop me from making an even bigger mistake." He looks up at Hanabi before shifting his gaze over to Hiashi. "I wanted you to know the whole truth before you heard these accusations from some other person, Hyuga-sama. I also want to quickly make peace with you Hanabi, for how this whole thing has put a rift between us, I'm sorry."

Naruto bows to Hiashi and holds the position to await the man's response. "Even though I am innocent of the major crime, I am still guilty of cruelly tricking those girls with my shadow clone jutsu, which is something that a shinobi of the Leaf Village is not supposed to do against innocent civilians. I will be talking to the Hokage tomorrow to tell her what I did to those girls. I have no idea how she will receive the news, or what sort of punishment I will receive for my actions."

He bows his head a little lower. "I apologize if my actions may cause your clan any discomfort because I am dating your daughter. Doing something to embarrass Hinata is the last thing that I would ever want to do, Hyuga-sama, and I hope all of this will not change your opinion of me continuing to date your eldest daughter."

The silence in the room becomes almost tangible as Naruto fights the nearly overwhelming need to look up and stare into Hiashi's eyes. He closes his eyes and focuses all of his concentration into his hearing, hoping that some sound might give him a hint of what the Hyuga clan leader might be thinking. The only sound that he can hear is the rapid beating of his pulse pounding away inside his head. 'It's like everyone in the room is holding their breath like I am. Is this a good thing? I mean he didn't start yelling and screaming like I probably would have done in his place, just to make a point on how stupid I had acted. I am pretty sure the Hokage is going to punch me into the next village, or something worse when I tell her tomorrow about using that jutsu. I don't even want to think about what she would have done to me if I had really raped those girls.' The image of him in a hospital bed, his entire body in a cast, comes to mind.

"Hinata, how has all of this made you feel?" Hiashi's unexpected call upon Hinata startles all three young shinobi in the room.

Naruto spasms as he fights his body's reaction to look up and see how Hinata is handling her father's request, but decides that his fate has yet to be spoken so he continues to keep his head bowed, for the moment at least.

"W-W-What?" Hinata is taken completely by surprise by her father's question. "Well otou-sama, I…"

"No!" Hiashi holds up a hand as his interruption surprises everyone as much as his initial question. Once he is sure that he has Hinata's full attention he points down at the bowing figure of Uzumaki Naruto. "You are to tell him… about how ALL of this has made you feel. I know that you were listening intently to every report being read in the council meetings in hopes of hearing any news about Uzumaki Naruto, and also to the rumors being spread amongst your friends and teammates. Tell him exactly what this was like for you to hear about his activities while he was away."

Hinata can only stare at her father dumbfounded at what he has ordered her to do. 'Why? Naruto-kun and I have just gotten things on a good path now, and he has made a promise that he has sealed with his own lips. I don't want to tell him all of that stuff. I don't want to burden him with how scared I was of losing him before…' Hinata balls up her fists and digs deep within herself to find the strength do as her father has ordered.

'Damn!' Hanabi unconsciously reaches up with her hands to cover her mouth to hide her shock. 'I know her, she probably just forgave Naruto without a second thought and blamed herself in the process. Can she really tell him, in front of father, about how it felt to listen to his confession, and how it felt to hear all those rumors while he was away?' Hanabi's gaze goes over to her father, and she stares intently, trying to discern the man's motivation. 'Who is otou-sama trying to punish by forcing her to tell Naruto what she has been going through all this time? Is his final judgment going to be based off what she says to Naruto, or how Naruto reacts to being told how much she has quietly endured all this time? Father can be cold and distant at times, but I have never seen him be so overtly cruel before.'

Hinata looks deeply into her father's expectant gaze, and can see that any sort of weakness, or rebellion on her part will not be tolerated tonight. 'Even though Naruto-kun did not physically violate those girls, using a jutsu against civilians like that is strictly prohibited. If reflects poorly on the shinobi, his village and his clan. So father would be in the right if he verbally condemned Naruto for his actions, and even break any relations between our clan and him, less his shame become our own. That is until he could make amends to restore his honor.' Hinata blinks in acknowledgment to her father before she looks down at the still bowing form of Naruto.

"Uzumaki Naruto…" Her voice falters when he looks up at her in surprise at hearing her address him so formally. "U-U-Uzumaki Naruto, when I first heard that you were seen… in the company of those girls, and being drunk in public, I-I-I was… concerned." Hinata's voice breaks and she can feel the beginnings of tears pooling in the corner of her eyes. She looks over at her father and pleads to him with her gaze to not make her go through with this, but with just a slight motion of his head she knows to defy him now would be a real mistake.

"I-I-I also heard that you were taking risks on your missions, far more than even you were known to take." She wipes the first of what promises to be many tears from her cheek. "I was… I was afraid that you were going to get hurt, or…" She covers her mouth with one hand to stop her sob from escaping her lips, while her other is held out to keep Naruto at bay. She gives him a slight nod as his first reaction to her near breakdown is to reach out and lend her comfort. The phrase 'even die' hangs in the air like spinning shuriken waiting to fall, but she cannot let herself go there, or she knows that she won't be able to contain her emotions, so she diverts back to the girls.

"I knew that you were suffering, and you were trying to ease your pain with… distractions." Hinata places a trembling hand over her heart. "I was afraid that you were seeking out comfort of a physical kind from women with warm embraces that hid their cold, empty hearts. That they were taking away little pieces of your soul, one fragment at a time, for their own selfish desires." She clutches both of her hands to her chest as tears begin to trickle down both of her cheeks. "It nearly broke my heart to think of you slowly… fading…"

Naruto, unable to control his need to wrap Hinata in his arms, to comfort her and to tell her how sorry he is for what he had done, reaches towards her again. "Hinata, I…"

Slap

"No, don't interrupt me Naruto-kun." She shakes her head from side-to-side and tears are flung into the air. "I don't know if I will ever have the strength to say this again, so just let me finish." She cannot risk upsetting her father and give him an excuse to send her away from Naruto as punishment for her weakness. When she sees the distress her confession is causing, Hinata has to avert her gaze away from the one she loves more than her own life. 'I never want to hurt or upset him; he has already endured far more heartache than any one person should ever have to face. That is why I am having so much trouble telling him about Sakura, but here I am forcing my troubles upon his shoulders.'

Naruto reaches up and touches his fingers to the tear that landed on his now pink cheek, and looks at it for a moment in stunned silence. He then curls up his fingers around the droplet and clutches his hand to his chest. 'I can't believe how clueless and selfish I have been all this time. Hinata has never been one to complain, she always finds the strength to endure and move forward. I guess I have just unconsciously taken advantage of that fact.' As he watches her continue, a new level of respect and affection for Hinata begins to grow inside his heart.

Hinata clinches her fists and places them on her lap, as she struggles to keep going. "When word came that you had gotten injured… I knew… I knew that you had finally reached your limit and decided to finally honor her DAMN final request." A heart wrenching sob escapes her lips as she clenches her teeth together to keep from completely breaking down.

She punches Naruto in the chest and begins hammering him repeatedly with her fists. "How could you?" She stares agonizingly into his eyes, her soft lips pulled back in a pain filled grimace before hitting him weakly again and again on the chest. "The whole time you were gone I sat in pain filled silence as they talked about you in each of the reports, and about your self-destructive behavior. I held back my tears till I was home, so I could cry and confess my heartbreak into my pillow. When the Hokage read the report to the council about your fight with Gaara, it took all I had to not burst out crying right there in the council chambers, or just faint in my chair from the shock. I felt so guilty for not trying harder to find a way to reach out to you before something terrible occurred. It did, and I have been carrying that guilt for so long."

Hinata, now clutching at his jacket, places her forehead on his shoulder. "How could you try to die for HER, while I was here in the village waiting to comfort you in my arms? I've always been nearby watching you, admiring how you never let your failures stop you from trying even harder. I would watch you after school, practicing till you were lying on the ground exhausted, but you would stand up and keep going undeterred by your failures. At first I wanted to be like you, but as I grew older I wanted more. I wanted to be strong enough to be by your side no matter what, but instead I failed you when you needed someone the most."

As he sits there looking down at Hinata, Naruto cannot help but remember Gaara's words shortly after he had awakened in the Sand Village's hospital. His friend, the Kazekage, was standing near his bed looking out the window when he had opened his eyes. Without looking over his shoulder Gaara had asked if he was done acting like a fool. After an exchange of harsh words that Naruto immediately regretted saying, Gaara had asked him one simple question. That question, now as he has been listening to Hinata, makes his heart ache as if someone is twisting a kunai in his chest. Gaara had asked, 'Have you actually thought about how much pain you are causing the people who care about you, Uzumaki Naruto?' He had just growled and pushed that thought to the side, because it was easier to pretend that nobody really cared.

Now, too ashamed to speak, all Naruto can do at the moment is wrap his arms tightly around Hinata and press her against his chest. He pulls her firmly against his heart to feel the warmth of her presence instead of the lump of shame in the pit of his stomach.

Hinata weakly struggles as his arms slowly wrap around her body and pulls her tightly against his chest, but his gentle strength is too much for her half-hearted attempt at escape. Instead she curls up and presses her cheek directly over his heart, and derives comfort from that strong, steady rhythm. "You are my first and only crush, and I have hoped something much more for so long, but it almost was taken away when you got hurt in the Sand Village. After your fight with Gaara, I prayed for you to make a full recovery and come home again. I did that every night until we received word that you were fine, and then I kept praying for you to come home safely till you were back in the village."

She lifts up her chin and stares into his eyes. "As soon as I got word that you were home I went looking for you, to actually do something to help you, Naruto-kun. That is when I found you just outside Ichiraku's. I could see that you were still hurting, and I didn't have to see your eyes to know what was going through your mind. It was obvious that you were thinking of trying something more drastic this time." She smiles at him sadly as she brushes away the tears from his cheeks. "I was finally ready to push aside all my hesitations, and wrap my arms around you when you suddenly turned around and knocked me over. That night, walking around the village, just the two of us was magical. Until…" Hinata blushes a little as she places her face up against the side of his neck.

"Until I broke down crying?" He smiles just a little as he feels her nod up against his neck. "That night walking around the village with you was the first time I had truly felt happy in so long. I had forgotten what it was like to laugh and feel completely free to be myself, instead of someone who wasn't the real Uzumaki Naruto. It just broke lose all of the negative things that had been building up inside me all that time." He begins to gently stroke her hair. "It is amazing how when I feel so weak, and I know that I am about to break, that you are there to lend me some of your strength and help me keep going."

As he feels her body stiffen in protest he kisses the top of her head. "I don't want to hear you lie about not being strong, because you have the strongest heart of anyone I have ever met, Hinata-tenshi. Your teammates can see it, so does your sensei. It takes no strength to be insensitive to people's feelings. Take it from me, I was there not too long ago. Compassion for others takes true strength, and that is why the Third Hokage was such a great leader. He personified the Will of Fire better than anyone I have ever known, just like it shines brightly inside of you Hinata."

Naruto places another kiss on Hinata's forehead. "I am so sorry that I allowed myself to get so caught up in my own problems, that I really didn't stop and notice what I was missing for all of those years. I am very sorry for what you have endured because of me, because I don't think I deserve such devotion."

He gives her a wry smile and places a little kiss on the tip of her nose as she looks up into his eyes. "I have always been a little clueless about what seems to be obvious to everyone else. I feel like such a fool right now, knowing how happy being with you makes me feel. I could have been this happy all along, if I had only paid more attention to the special person waiting patiently to be by my side. Will you please forgive me and give me another chance at being your boyfriend?" Naruto cups Hinata's delicate chin in the palm of his hand. "Now that we have both laid everything out tonight, maybe we could start over."

As she looks deeply into his eyes, Hinata's body feels as light as a feather. It feels as if a giant yoke had been lifted from atop her heart and soul, setting her truly free for the first time in years. "No." Hinata reaches up and strokes the whiskers on one of his cheeks gently as he looks down at her in stunned silence. "I do not want to start over again. I want us to move forward, looking towards our future, and just let the past stay right there behind us where it belongs." They both lean into each other and share a soft gentle kiss. A kiss filled with unspoken love and affection, meant to seal the start of this next stage in their relationship, together.

As Naruto's lips slowly open to deepen their kiss, Hinata reciprocates and slides her hands up and around his neck to give her a more comfortable position to continue their kiss, hopefully kisses. As she pulls him into a deeper kiss, Hinata can't help but think back to what Kurenai had said to her about making up after a fight. 'I know she said that the rumors were true, but she was grossly underselling just how intense it can feel, or how you hope that this sensation will never end.'

To her surprise Naruto pulls back and looks at her with half closed eyes. "I have a serious question, tenshi. Did the promise I made earlier about only kissing you mean that I can only kiss your lips?" Naruto mouth opens into a curious smile as he feels a shiver of excitement go through Hinata's body. "Or can I kiss you in other places?" His eyes slowly rake down the side of her face towards her slightly exposed neck.

She turns her head to the side and gives his hair a little tug. "Just shut up and kiss me already." As Naruto begins to kiss her neck with a slowly increasing intensity, Hinata looks about the room with eyes half glazed in euphoria. "You know, I have never looked around my father's office from this angle before." Her body stiffens has a sudden chill goes through her body, and she tries to struggle against the intoxicating warmth infusing itself from his lips and into her neck. "Naruto-kun, wait… no… stop… oh kami…that feels… so… No." She pushes him away from her as his nibbling is about to cause her to forget why she needs him to stop.

Naruto, feeling a little hurt and scared that he might have gone too far, is surprised to see Hinata looking around in panic. "What, what's wrong, Hinata?"

All she can say is, "O-O-Otou-sama", as she looks about the room.

"Oh crap!" Naruto, now remembering where he is and who is in the room watching them at the moment, looks about the room. He would not be surprised to see an unhappy father and probably a dozen guards staring intently in his direction. To his surprise he and Hinata are the only people in the room. "What? When?" He looks over at Hinata who seems to be just as surprised as he is about her father's absence.

Hinata notices a piece of paper with her name on it placed at the edge of her father's desk. She opens it hesitantly and reads it contents. "Otou-sama says that if we are hungry once we are done talking, that food will be available in the private meeting room down the hall." She looks up red-faced at Naruto, a little curious about how much her father and sister had actually witnessed before they left the room. "Would you still like to have dinner with me tonight, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto, still a little shaken by everything that he has just been told, nods in agreement before standing up and taking ahold of Hinata's hands. "Not just tonight, tenshi." He smiles as her grip tightens a little, and as she leads him towards where dinner is waiting for them, he looks over with a grin. "You know, there is one small negative about having dinner at your place."

Hinata feels a little hurt until she sees the smirk on his face and decides to play along. "What could possibly be a negative to having dinner in the main house of the Hyuga clan?" She arches one eyebrow in a mock warning, happy that they have returned to the playful banter that she has been enjoying lately with Naruto.

He lets out a fake sigh of exasperation, as if the answer is so easy. "Simple, I do not get the pleasure of walking you home after we eat. I enjoy getting to show off who I am dating to the whole village."

Hinata can feel her cheeks warm up as she smiles at the thought of being seen on Naruto's arm by the whole village. "Would walking with me through my family's garden after dinner be a sufficient compromise, at least for tonight?"

With his confidence growing at how well things seem to be going Naruto leans over and kisses Hinata on the lips. "Being with you has never, and will never, be a compromise to me, Hinata-tenshi."

A little earlier, while Hinata was still expressing her pent up emotions to Naruto, Hyuga Hiashi and his youngest daughter Hanabi make their way down the hall. He gestures to a nearby servant to come closer. "Kara, Hinata is having a private conversation with her guest at the moment, and I would prefer that they are not disturbed. Have food and drink ready in my private meeting room for them if they wish to eat once they are done talking."

Kara, obviously pleased that the Hyuga leader has addressed her by her name, bows deeply in acceptance. "Yes, Hyuga-sama."

After Kara hurries away to perform her duties Hiashi looks over at Hanabi, whose head is downcast as if lost in thought. "You think that I am cruel for making your sister confess the stress her infatuation with Uzumaki Naruto has caused her over the years?"

Hanabi does not say a word, or even look up at her father, instead she slightly shrugs her shoulder.

"As a parent I am sometimes required to do and say things that while are harsh, and may seem cruel at times, they are not done with any intent of malice. I do not enjoy doing some of the things that I must do for the greater good, and the weight of that burden is even more because I must balance not only the needs of my children, but the needs of an entire clan as well. There are times when what would be best for one, will be seen as the wrong choice by the other."

He reaches over and places a hand on Hanabi's shoulder, a rare display of affection. "One day you too will know the responsibilities of being a parent, and the emotional struggle that comes with that duty. As a parent you may not always be loved for the decisions that you have to make, but you must always be respected. In time, that respect goes both ways as you see your children grow up and start to make proper decisions for themselves."

Hanabi cannot hold back her questions any longer. "Why did you make her tell him all of those things? Did you do it as some sort of punishment to her, to him, or was it to punish them both for just being in love?" She looks up at her father with red-rimmed eyes, still hurting from the painful confession she had just witnessed.

The guilt she is feeling for the underserved anger that she had directed towards Naruto is not helping her either. 'Sensei was right, I should have given Naruto more credit for being the good person I have come to know and care about.'

Hiashi lets out a slow breath as he shakes his head. "No, I did it because she would never hurt someone that she cares for, and instead she would have kept those thoughts and emotions bottled up, probably for the rest of her life." Hiashi almost smiles as he sees Hanabi's agreement with his assessment and then he thinks about how Hinata has been acting ever since Haruno Sakura had openly threatened Hinata in his home.

"I will borrow an analogy from the Hokage's field of expertise to explain my reasons. I saw how the news affected your sister in the council meetings while Uzumaki-san was away from the village, even if she thought she was hiding her emotions. Bottled up feelings like that can be like a deep wound. They may heal on the surface, but deep inside they can continue to fester and poison the soul. Purging something so deep is never a pleasant thing Hanabi, but is necessary sometimes to ensure a patients' health and survival."

Hiashi thinks back to how he has watched Hinata silently suffer the last several days, after the threat made by Haruno Sakura. 'Hinata's fear of losing Naruto is nearly all consuming, and I believe she would be willing to accept and forgive any behavior to keep him in her life. It is a weakness that must either be fixed, or she must be separated from the source of that weakness, till she can handle it more like an adult.'

He stops and looks his daughter directly in the eyes. "Also, I will not have any member of the Hyuga clan, main branch or otherwise, be a doormat for anyone. I cannot worry about how much they may care about that person, because we are members of one of the oldest clans in the Leaf Village and we have generations of honor to uphold. The fact that she is my daughter and the heir to my position as leader of the Hyuga clan, only makes the responsibility I have even greater. You would do well to remember this night, so that I will not have to repeat what needed to be done."

Hanabi bows in acceptance of her father's warning. "What…" She nervously clears her throat. "What would have happened if she had faltered, and not done as you had ordered?" When she feels herself tremble a little, Hanabi realizes just how nervous she is for her sister's potentially precarious situation.

"If Hinata had not been able to express herself, out of fear of harming her relationship with Uzumaki Naruto, then it would be apparent that she is not really confident enough in their relationship and she needs more time to mature." He turns and begins walking down the hallway again. "It would then have required my personal intervention."

"Intervention, just how would you get involved? It's her life not yours." Hanabi does not like the sound of what her father is saying. "I am sorry otou-sama if I am being impertinent, but that sounds… wrong."

Hiashi gives his daughter a look that lets her know that her impertinence is being forgiven for this one instance. "Hinata is going to share some news with you tonight. Her old team has been disbanded and each of them has been given a new assignment. Some time ago I asked the Hokage to post Hinata within the Diplomatic Division whenever her team was finally disbanded. I think that with proper guidance and training she might be useful in that position."

He nods as he sees the envious smile spread across Hanabi's face. "Actually, there is more than one reason that I had your sister assigned to the Diplomatic Division. Firstly, your sister has a sharp mind and a deep sense of compassion that will ensure that she will negotiate strongly for the wellbeing of the Leaf Village, and not for her own personal gain. That compassion is tempered with a quickly growing stubbornness that I feel will not let her easily back down in a negotiation where the safety of her home is at stake."

Hanabi does her best to not smirk as she think about the real reason Hinata will be stubborn in a negotiation. "What you really mean is that she won't back down if she thinks a certain person's safety might be at stake."

Hiashi just ignores the obvious truth of his daughter's statement. "Secondly, it is a better option than to let a member of the main branch flounder as a chūnin, since she seems to be unwilling to take the jōnin exams. A more forceful hand was required to stimulate her growth towards reaching her actual potential." Hiashi shrugs slightly as if manipulating his daughter's future is only a minor thing. "Finally, if I feel that she is being used by Uzumaki-san, or that she is unable to stand up for herself where he is involved, I will have no problem finding her an assignment that will give her time to better reflect on her situation."

Hiashi's face suddenly becomes very stern. "If Uzumaki-san had actually raped those young women, drunk or not, or if I find out that he has willingly lied to me about what really happened, I will have no problem separating those two in the best interest of the Hyuga clan's reputation. Fortunately, for everyone involved, Uzumaki Naruto has a well-earned reputation for being honest and blunt when he speaks, so I do not think that will become an issue."

"Also, it seems that no permanent harm was actually done, and his behavior can be basically called nothing more than a youthful dalliance with alcohol and a non-sexual interaction with some of his young fans. It is not what I would call ideal behavior in someone closely associating with our clan, but one that I am willing to overlook due to the circumstances of how he grew up." When he sees Hanabi looking at him expectantly he just clasps his hands behind his back and strikes an almost regal pose. "Yes, his victories in the war, and his defense of the village against the Akatsuki leader, do help influence my decisions a little. That and the fact that the Fifth Hokage, though being well known for her own vices with alcohol and gambling, has been an exceptional Hokage through very difficult times. So why not this young man who needs his rough edges filed down a little, and some proper guidance."

When he looks at her with one eyebrow raised, after mentioning Naruto and Lady Tsunade in the same sentence, it makes Hanabi begin to wonder if some of the rumors are true. 'Is one-sama intentionally bending rules and traditions because of who Hinata is dating, and not because of why she is dating Naruto?' The harsh reality of that thought reignites her own concerns about her own fate, and if she really will have any free will in that decision. 'Does he only see Naruto as a way to further increase the Hyuga clan's power and influence and nothing more?'

"So, why don't you tell me about your recent mission, especially about the circumstances that led to Uzumaki-san's confession?" Hiashi gestures for Hanabi to join him for a private walk through the family garden. "I would particularly like to know about his reaction to the accusations, and the days that followed as you made your way back home." It is obvious that Hiashi is asking this to gather more information about the young man that has become more like a fixture in his home lately than a guest.

Hanabi stops and holds up a hand to forestall any further questions from her father. "Would it be okay if I delayed our talk? I really should go and inform my teammates and sensei of what I have just been told to us by Naruto." Hanabi bites her lips nervously as she think about Ookami and the girl's big mouth. "I think it would be best if I put a stop to any rumors that might get started about what happened on my mission. I would not want any false accusations to be made that could reflect poorly on Naruto."

Hanabi takes a few steps, and then turns back around to answer a question she knows her father will be thinking the whole time she is gone. "I will not be telling them about the friend who used Naruto and told him that his presence was no longer required." She absently rubs her thumb against her index finger as she tries to keep her emotions in check. "Onee-san kept that information to herself all this time out of respect for Naruto, and I will honor that respect and allow him to share it with others when he feels that he is ready."

Hiashi nods in approval of her request, and watches her depart with a heavy sigh. After Hanabi is gone he begins to mentally go over the details that he has so far learned tonight, and considers how this may change things that have already been set into motion. The shooting pain behind his eyes from the stress of all of responsibilities he bears, lances back and forth between his temples. 'People always believe there is just right and wrong, that the scales are only weighed by those two options, but when you are a member of an elite clan, honor and tradition can easily tip those scales in the direction that you find less preferable.' Not feeling hungry anymore due to an unsettled feeling in his stomach that is slowly increasing, Hiashi turns towards the garden. He feels the need to speak to the one person who always gave him the best advice, and hopes that he might find the best solution to his current troubles.

A/N: The next chapter may be delayed next month. I am going to be having surgery shortly after the release of this chapter and will not be up to doing much of anything during my recovery phase. So this may be the last chapter of 2015 depending on how long it takes for me to feel like sitting at a computer for extended periods of time.

I know that some of you were expecting Hinata to tell Naruto about Sakura's threat in this chapter, but there are good reasons why it just would not have worked in this chapter. Naruto finding out will happen, but as with other big reveals in this story I have what I feel is the appropriate time and place. So, just be patient with me a little longer on this subject, and no it will not be the last chapter of the story.