Hello again! And again, I have to say I was surprised with the response I got from the last chapter. I'm glad you're all enjoying this story.
For those of you who didn't figure out the last secret message, what you need to do is write down the alphabet, then write it again backwards, Z underneath A, all the way to the end, where A should also be underneath Z. M should be underneath N and vice versa. Now, with every misspelled letter in the last chapter's letter, write down the letter that is directly beneath it. Your answer should be this: you are my life hinata. Go back and check it out, you'll see it now.
You know, this is all very good education. I learned about simple codes and stuff like that in Primary school. Anyone else remember doing those puzzles? But they made it easier because they gave you the legend.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but if I did…I'd be rolling in cash. WOOT!!
Good luck with this chapter, I hope you enjoy it :D
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Hinata was in her bedroom with her three girlfriends, Sakura, Ino and Tenten. The four girls were having a sleepover, all dressed in their pyjamas. Ino was doing Sakura's hair and the other two girls were watching…all four were talking. Hinata's hair had already been done, down in two loose pigtails. Tenten was still waiting for her turn, doing her nails while she waited. The three girls all knew about Hinata and Naruto's relationship, in all its innocence. Sweet kisses and sweet letters between the two, the three girlfriends lived vicariously through the relationship.
"So these letters…you have to decode the secret messages?" Ino asked.
"Hai, Naruto-kun knows that my Otou-sama is checking all the mail I receive. It's v-very romantic, it feels like it's forbidden…"
"Do you know when you're going to get the next one? Ow, Ino-Pig, don't pull so hard!" Sakura whined.
"No, if they come to regularly, Otou-sama would get suspicious. I guess I'm lucky that he thinks so little of Naruto-kun, he doesn't believe Naruto-kun is capable of such thinking." Hinata paused, then smiled. "I guess it only p-proves that my Otou-sama is close-minded. Neji-nii-san happened upon the first letter and like me, found the message straight away." She giggled.
Ino and Sakura snorted with laughter, and Tenten smiled. "Leave it to my Neji to find the romantic hidden message." She sighed.
There was a knock at the door, and Hinata looked at her friends, asking for permission. When they nodded, she looked back towards the door.
"Hai, come in."
The door opened and there stood Hiashi Hyuga, again holding a piece of paper in his hand. Even though she kept her face straight, Hinata's heart fluttered.
"Gomen Otou-sama, I didn't realise it was you. How may I help you?" She asked, putting on a meek disposition as she stood up.
"Another letter has arrived from Uzumaki." He frowned distastefully. "Is this going to become a common occurrence?"
"I-I don't know Otou-sama. I have no control over when he sends a letter." He raised an eyebrow. "Sir…"
"Hmm…" He said, eyeing her carefully. "Anyway, it seems you two have another mission together. Although I'm glad this time you're not going to be alone with him. He may be a fine shinobi, but he is still the Uzumaki brat…and has a scattered brain. How does he stay focused on a mission for so long?"
"Hyuga-sama, I've been his teammate for eight years and I'm still trying to figure it out." Sakura said with a smile.
Hiashi seemed shocked at being addressed so lightly, and gave Sakura an inquisitive stare. "And you are?" He asked.
"Oh, Sakura Haruno sir, student to Hokage-sama."
Hiashi nodded, and then handed the letter over to Hinata, who had moved closer to him. He looked at his daughter once more, then left without a word, completely ignoring the other three girls in the room. Once the door closed, Tenten spoke.
"Lovely ray of sunshine, that man."
"It's funny, no matter how much my Otou-sama hates him, Naruto-kun still has an influence over him." Hinata said with a soft smile.
"How do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"In the first letter, Naruto-kun spoke such nice things about me. My Otou-sama was shown that I wasn't weak, and that people outside our clan think so. The second letter said more plainly that I had helped greatly on the mission. Otou-sama all but said that he was proud of me."
"Wow, I never knew Naruto could be so sneaky-" Ino said.
"Or so smart!" Sakura interrupted. "He obviously puts a lot of time and effort into those letters, they have meanings on so many levels."
"Anyway, what does the letter say?" Ino said, finishing Sakura's hair.
Hinata skimmed the letter to make sure she wanted her friends to hear it, and then she read it aloud.
To Hinata,
We have another mission. It's A-ranked and we'll need a team of 5. We leave on the 13th and I think we'll be back no later than the 25th. We'll arrive at the mission destination on about the 18th. Speaking of the 18th, my party for that year was great, my friends threw me a huge surprise party.
Gah, I'm getting off track! Of our party, 1 member has to have been an ANBU. I was thinking Kakashi, but he's been training a large number of kids lately…13 I think. Honestly, I think that's an unlucky number. Anyway, it's a long journey to the mission destination, and Tsunade-sama estimates we'll be heading back home on the 21st.
Can you believe it? A Jounin that was nominated for our team is only 15! If I wasn't going to be Hokage someday, I'd be jealous.
We don't get back until the 25th, that sucks, we'll miss Christmas morning. I remember when I was 12, I missed Christmas, I was training I think. Do you remember Christmas when you were 12? I hope you had a good time.
Lastly, we're protecting a little girl aged 9, and her 23-year-old brother. Apparently he's spoilt and she's a saint. If you ask me, they were born backwards.
Uzumaki Naruto,
Ino laughed. "Your Otou-sama's right Hinata, he does have a scattered mind. That boy can't stay on topic."
"I don't see the hidden message…" Tenten said, frowning thoughtfully. "Maybe it really is just a letter."
Sakura crawled over to Hinata and snatched the letter out of her hands. "Sometimes it's easier with a visual." She studied the letter carefully, and as she did, a frown creased her forehead. "Hmm, I think you're right Tenten, I think it's just a letter."
Ino snatched the letter of Sakura. "I'm going to nominate myself for this mission though. '23-year-old brother'…sounds hot!"
"May I have the letter please?" Hinata asked politely.
Ino passed her the letter and Hinata sat back, getting comfortable. She read the letter twice, mumbling to herself.
"No, that still doesn't make sense…"
She re-read the letter again, trying ignore the fact that her three friends were staring at her. Soon, her eyebrows knitted together, then shot up, and she gasped.
"Oh my!" She scrambled to her feet and headed for her door. "I-I have to go see Naruto-kun!"
"What, now? Hinata, its 9pm, what's the rush?" Sakura said. "And you're still in your pyjamas!"
She grabbed a jacket and pulled it on, the letter clutched in her left hand. Right hand on her doorknob, she looked back at her friends with tears in her eyes.
"It…I-It's important."
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If you get it, you're smarter than Sakura!
No clue whatsoever from me…the title of this chapter is 'Hard', so no clue. This was the FINAL chapter…I will put up an author's note with the final answer though. Later though, I want to give people enough time to try and figure it out. If you do get it, don't spoil the surprise in the review. Sure, review saying 'I GOT IT!' if you want, but if you really want to see if you're correct, private message me, I'll respond with my answer, promise!
Hope you liked it.
-Wandering Wonderer
