A loud nock on the door made Neji grimace and glance at his uncle who nodded, "Get Hinata."

The tall man took a controlled walk down a long hallway and tapped lightly with his knuckle on a door, "Lady Hinata, someone is here to see you." There was silence and he tapped again, "Hinata - Naruto is here to see you."

"Ah, th-thank you Neji-Nii-san."

He paused and sighed, "Hinata, you have to come out."

"I-I will."

He waited, flicking a piece of dark hair behind his ear, "Now." Another pause and he tapped his foot impatiently, "Hinata!"

"C-coming." With that the door slid open and the girl peeked from the dark, a blush covering her exposed face, "I-I'm sorry."

Neji sighed and leaned against the doorframe, "This is a mission from the Hokage. You'll treat it that way?" She nodded and he continued in a softer voice, "No passing out this time, ok Lady Hinata?"

She nodded, a small smile tugging at her lips, "I-I will try, Nii-san."

The man shrugged, "If you actually manage to teach him something it'll be a surprise. Personally, I really don't see why the Hokage is doing this."

"Even a part of you wants him to become Hokage." She tossed a knowing glance at her cousin as she ducked into the hallway beside him; a soft grunt was his only reply and Hinata smiled, a blush covering her cheeks. She wasn't entirely sure that she would be able to face her long time crush much less teach him about manners; but it was an order directly from the Hokage and she would try her best, just as he had taught her all those years ago.

Lavender eyes peeked around the wall where Naruto sat, blue eyes taking in the immaculate surrounding that were the Hyuga compound. His bright eyes met hers and she immediately flushed, "Hinata! Hey!" He waved enthusiastically and almost jumped her in a hug, but thankfully, Neji appeared between them.

White eyes stared at him with intensity, "We have some guests coming by later, Lady Hinata, show him to the room farthest away from them, will you?"

"Nice to see you too." Naruto muttered under his breath as the girl behind her cousin spoke quietly.

"Naruto-kun, I-if you'll follow me."

He waved, "Comin!" He bounced to her side, and walked with her down the hallway, "How's things going? I haven't seen you and Neji in months; I've been on so many missions lately." He scratched the back of his head and smiled boyishly again.

"W-we're fine. Neji-san has h-helped me with my fighting." She blushed and crossed her arms over her stomach and leaned slightly into them.

"You're getting stronger and stronger. I heard Kiba talking about it a few weeks ago, Shino and him have been helping you too."

She nodded, "They have been so kind."

"I always knew you were talented!" He laughed and glanced in an open door before she had time to blush more, "Hey! What's in there?"

Hinata peered into the room then blushed deeper, her voice dropping softly, "That was Uncle's room."

"Uncle?" Blue eyes peered at her, "Your uncle? That means Neji's dad, right?"

She nodded, "Father won't change anything in it."

A sad look came over the blond, "Do you remember anything about him?"

She nodded and turned from him, whispering, "Too much." A silence fell and she started to walk away, "We have things to do, Naruto-kun."

The blond followed willingly, his blue eyes landing on the dark room one last time before bouncing happily in front of his companion. "So whatcha gonna teach me?"

"W-well, a formal dinner."

"Yeah! Food! I'm starving! Are we having Ramen?"

She giggled softly, "No, Naruto-kun. At a formal dinner you don't have Ramen. You have sushi and rolls, and…" She glanced at the blue eyed blond then giggled again as he made a disgusted face, "W-we can have ramen after we go through the basics."

"Yes!! Thank you!" He jumped again and nearly fell over a chair, his quick reflexes the only thing that saved him from the fall.

"Naruto-kun!" She laughed as he gave her a grin.

"I'm alright - didn't become Jounin by being a klutz." He laughed, "Well, most of the time anyway."

Sakura sighed as she leaned against Sasuke, the smell of disinfectant wafting unpleasantly to his nose making him twitch beside her, "Rough day?" She nodded, green eyes closing as a hand snaked its way into his back pocket; then she turned to him and nuzzled his neck, sighing heavily.

An arm wrapped around her shoulders and the other one around her waist; holding her tightly and allowing her to be weak. Sometimes, the two men forgot that their teammate wasn't as strong as they were and that her job didn't end after the missions. Every injury was painstakingly taken care of, and with the Hokage's failing strength; Sakura had been called upon more and more to fulfill her duties as the village healer. "Sakura," He whispered but he was never good with words, especially one's that were supposed to convey his feelings, so it was no surprise when he didn't finish the sentence. Somehow though, she understood and nodded against his neck, resting her head on his broad shoulder.

"Sasuke," Her voice was weak and soft, "I'm tired." He nodded and looked up at the moon that was high in sky; he didn't know exactly what time it was, but was almost sure it was past midnight. He bent, hooking an arm behind her knees and scooping her lightly into his arms; her head was already slightly limp showing that she had slipped into sleep easily. Quickly he jumped into a tree and in a few minutes landed inside the Uchiha compound, then speeding quietly down a hallway, lay the sleeping kunoichi on a futon and then eased in beside her. When she woke with the lingering nightmares; he would be waiting with those blood red eyes, setting her fears to rest for at least another night. He wasn't supposed to use the sharingan against his friends; but she didn't remember it in the morning and this was to help her sleep, so he assumed the rules could slide for Sakura. Strong arms wrapped around her sleeping form and he let out a low sigh, tightening his hold on her; maybe if he held tight enough, he could keep her safe, if just for the night.

Sakura woke the next morning, snuggling against the warm body next to her and wanting to pretend she was still asleep.

"Sasuke! Sakura! Wake up!!" Both bodies cringed at the sound.

The black headed boy hissed, "Damn. He got passed all the traps again."

Sakura giggled lightly, "It is time to get up anyway." She pushed against him softly, frowning at the warmth that escaped from the gap in the sheets.

"Saaaakura-chaaaan! Saaaaasuke!!! Come on! Get up already!"

"Naruto-kun, this isn't polite." The soft voice of Hinata made the kunoichi smile and the black headed Jounin smirk. "Remember, you have to knock."

"I don't have to knock with these two Hinata. Saaaaakura!" The heavy footsteps could be heard down the hallway, "Hinata and I want to know if you two want to go out for breakfast!!!" WHAM! The sliding door slammed open and the tall man stood breathless, "Come on you two! It's a special! All you can eat! I'm sure we'll see Choji!"

Behind him, a lavender eyed Hinata waved shyly and mouth an 'I'm sorry' to the two reclined on the futon.

"Dobe," Sasuke sat up, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe we wanted to spend a little longer sleeping?"

"And miss breakfast? No way!" He smiled and tugged both of them out of the room, "Come on and get dressed, Hinata and I will meet you at Mishomita." He then turned to Hinata and tugged her by the end of her jacket, "Come on Hinata! Lets wake up Shikamaru!" The Hyuga powerlessly was pulled from the room, her lavender eyes shining and yet begging for someone to save her.

"Naruto-kun, could we maybe slow down just a little?"

"We'll miss the special if we don't wake everyone up!" He laughed and the two disappeared behind a corner of the compound.

Sakura rubbed her temple lightly, "How long has it been since she started teaching him manners?"

"About a month." Sasuke glanced into one of the closets, "I think you left some clothes here the other week; I washed them for you."

She nodded, green eyes frowning at the familiar ANBU uniform that lay folded in the corner of the dark closet, "A month and I don't think he's learned anything."

"Naruto was always slow at learning things that did pertain to combat." He yawned and shut the door, "I mean, look at how long Hinata's had a crush on him; he still hasn't gotten that through his thick skull even after spending almost every moment with her for the last month." He half smiled as he watched Sakura examine the newly washed clothes, "It'll take him a while but he'll catch on eventually."

Green eyes met his black and she blushed lightly, "You want him to become Hokage?"

"I think he would be one of the best Hokage's this village has ever seen actually." He turned his back to her, "Even if he is dense and nearly hopeless, there's no denying that he would protect the village and he's possibly the only one that can at times." He grimaced at the words, biting his tongue until he tasted blood. "But he's still a baka."

Sakura laughed quietly, "He has matured though, and with Shikamaru helping him in tactics he's definitely someone to be feared on the battlefield. Kind of like you." She poked his side and whispered, "Done changing, I'll go on ahead and meet with Ino and Choji." A puff of smoke and she was gone.

Again, I think as the story goes on they get more and more out of character Oo Mostly you can see Sakura and Sasuke not really in character in this chapter. Pah. Anywho... Thankies RasenganFin for giving me the review! It made my day. I really hope you're still happy with this story.