A/N:

This is updated sooner than expected all thanks to Pyocola Analogue. It's a little short, but it needs to end right there, so yeah. Next chapter is the ending, it might be very long. I'm writing it right now so expect a two week update, maybe sooner if we are lucky.

I'm very curious when reading all of your review to know who is hated the most in this story, so I pull out a poll in my profile. You can vote for multiple people. For example, you can click on both Tsunade and Sasuke if you hate both of them. It's for characters in my story only, it's best to not include characters that you do not like in Naruto as a whole. So take a look at the poll in my profile and vote if you have time.

(9/7/11)


"What do you mean you can't?" Naruto asked angrily, smashing the Hokage's table in two.

"You have to pay for that later." Tsunade calmly drank her sake.

"Don't joke around with me, Ba-Chan. I don't like to repeat myself; gather all the men we have now and search for her immediately."

Tsunade put the sake bottle down and looked at Naruto. He was indeed very angry; he had never used this tone with her before. She was the Hokage, for God's sake! At least show her some of the respect she deserved.

"Naruto, you need to calm down. I cannot send an army just to search for your wife; shinobies are used for the village's well being, not for personal deeds. We need our shinobi here in case of emergency or when something is out of hand. Everyone has their own use for the village, even when they are not on missions."

Naruto's body was now trembling with anger,

"Don't talk like that with such high dignity. You use your power for personal deeds all the time too. You think I don't know the truth behind my marriage? And you even bet on the status of my marriage too."

Tsunade blushed. She said in excitement, "Oh, so you know. You are such a lucky man, Naruto; you cannot believe how much we have won betting on your marriage. I can proudly tell you that we have earned enough money to pay back all the remaining debt, so working on the book is not necessary, but of course it's always good to earn some extra money for future gambling..."

"Ba-Chan!" Naruto could not believe it. He couldn't understand why she was still able to joke around. Each second passing to him was now like years. He should probably just go ahead and search for her by himself, although the chance to find her was reduced by half. He had no time now; he had to find her. He had wasted too much time on baka Ba-Chan.

As he turned his back and left, Tsunade spoke in her serious voice:

"All right, I'll send all my men to find her, but you must be aware of the consequences of your rash behaviors. You cannot be a leader like this, acting on your emotions alone. Many lives are at stake when you become a Hokage; unable to control your temper and rational thinking will put many people in danger. All that I ever did to you was to train you, making you stronger. When you become a Hokage, you have to deal with negative emotions. Your faith and belief will be put at stake but you have to overcome all of it; you have to believe in your comrades and protect them. Do you understand?

"I understand, Ba-Chan. Thank you."

XxXxXxXxXx

Naruto released his mass clones and searched for Hinata like crazy for three days and three night straight, but everything was in vain. He lost her. This time he lost her for sure...If he had a chance to meet her again He would tell her...

"Naruto...Naruto...Do you hear me?" Shikamaru's voice was ringing through his ears. It seemed like Shikamaru had used the mind transfer jutsu to connect to him,

"I'm listening. Do you have any clue on her whereabouts now?"

"Hai. We have pinpointed her position. 2 hours North from the Tea Country border with the Water Country."

"Good. All of you can retire now. Tell everyone to return to the village; Tsunade-Ba-Chan and the village need all of you. I'll send my closest clones in that area to continue the search and I'll be there shortly. Tell everyone to get proper rest. Thank you, Shikamaru."

"Don't even mention it. Hinata is our comrade too. We do not want anything to happen to her either. I'll tell everyone to resign now, and... Good luck, Naruto. Bring her back and make lots of babies."

Naruto could swear that he heard chuckles from Shikimaru. Damn that little... Naruto smiled. So many things had happened that he forgot about his promises to make babies with Hinata. Now that he thought about it, everything was like a dream. However, as he got closer to where Hinata was right now, the more he wanted to run away. He did not know what to do, he did not know what to say, but he missed her... He missed her terribly. It was only four days but it felt like centuries since he last saw her.

He stopped at the entrance of the cave that was believed to be where she was right now. His heart pounded rapidly in his chest and he began to have difficulties breathing. He wanted to see her but at the same time was afraid to see her again. One leg pushed him to go forward while the other one pulled him back, telling him to run away. Naruto held the lucky charm that Hinata gave him tight in his hand, and his resolve was strengthened. No matter what happened he needed to talk to her. It would be fine and they would figure things out.

Naruto entered the cave. It was illuminated faintly with a candle, but Naruto could still see Hinata sitting on a huge rock, hugging her knees and...crying? Naruto's heart clenched; according to what Sai read in a book and told him before they left the gate, what he did with Sakura was what society called adultery, and adultery was highly forbidden in any society and any time period in the human history. People were burned alive several times in the past for committing this highly sinful act. It was the guaranteed way to destroy a marriage, and the couple in the marriage might not see each other for the rest of their lives once one of them committed the sin. The only way to wash the sin and recover the marriage was to beg your partner for forgiveness with all of your heart. Sai had advised him several ways in the book that had over ninety percent chance of success; he might as well try the first one.

XxXxXxXxXx

Naruto knelt down, knocking his head on the floor,

"I'm sorry Hinata, for committing adultery! I promise I'll never do it again! I'm not gonna even think about it. I'll never take a glance of any other girls but you!"

Naruto didn't really understand the whole adultery thing; he just remembered and repeated what was in the book for the begging part.

Hinata looked up. It was Naruto. Her heart beat fast and her body began tremble in fear. What should she do now? She was not supposed to meet him again. Should she run again? And why did he kneel in front of her and knock his head on the floor like that? Oh, God, Naruto would get hurt if he continued to knock his head on the floor like that! Hinata rushed to Naruto's side and lifted his head up,

"Naruto-kun, are you hurt?" Hinata took out her handkerchief and wiped Naruto's forehead. She then took out her clan's special medicine and put it on his bruise. Naruto grabbed her hand and stopped her,

"So does this mean you forgive me for my adultery sin?"

'Adultery?...Sin...?... What Naruto-kun is talking about?'

Looking at Hinata's confused face reminded Naruto of something he didn't want to remember. Hinata was almost kissed by Neji, so was it also counted as adultery? Naruto mentally shook his head. What he did was wrong, and he needed to apologize to her for that. The issue between her and Neji had to be discussed later; for now he would just beg her forgiveness,

"You know... about the kiss with Sakura-chan... I'm sorry..."

Hinata shook her head sadly, "No, I'm the one who need to apologize. I should not have come between you two when I already knew that you two loved each other..." The tears welling in her eyes were now freely falling like rain on her pale cheek.

Naruto could not stand it. He could not stand to see her cry like this so he did the thing that he should have done long before; he cupped her face and brushed his lips onto her, tasting her sweet lips. Naruto wrapped his arms around her trembling body and brought her closer to his. He gently stroked her hair while deepening the kiss. This felt right, just right. This should have happened long ago. As they broke their kiss, Naruto smiled as Hinata,

"You are the only one I want to kiss. You are the only one I want to be with."

A deep shade crept Hinata's cheek as she looked down and shakily folded her hands together,

"But what about Sakura-san?"

"She said that she loved me." Naruto answered calmly, then he grinned and scratched his head, "and I love her too", seeing Hinata averted her eyes back to the ground, Naruto tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him,

"I do love her like a sister, like a good friend, a good comrade; the same way I love Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Shino, Neji, and everyone else in the village. But my heart doesn't beat like crazy every time I meet her the same way it beats whenever you're near me. Her image is never in my mind because it is already full of yours. I don't worry every second of my life about her well being the same way I do about yours. I will not get mad and be irrationally jealous when I see her with another man. I will not go crazy and ask Ba-Chan to gather all the men available just to find her like I did to find you. Hinata…" Naruto hugged Hinata tight in his arm, "Never leave me again."

They stayed like that for what seemed like eternity. They wished that time could stop so that they could always be together like this forever. A breeze lightly blew through her hair, and Hinata quivered lightly,

"Are you cold, Hinata?"

Hinata shook her head but Naruto insisted she take his jacket and wrapped it around her small body,

"Hinata, promise me that you will never leave me. Never leave my side again."

Hinata bit her lower lip. She didn't know what to do. It seemed like good things never came since she was with Naruto. She was not sure if he did this because of responsibility or pity. Hinata clenched her fists; she really did not know what to do. On one hand, she wanted to be with Naruto, but on the other hand, she was afraid...

"Hinata," Naruto looked at her sadly. The only reason that she was so hesitant to answer him was because she was not in love with him; the only one she wanted to be with was Neji. Although it pained his heart to no end, he would not tie her with him. He would not interfere with her happiness. If being with Neji made her happy, so be it. He was used to being rejected before. It was no big deal. His heart clenched. He took her hands and smiled, "Thank you, Hinata. You have been very nice to me. I'll treasure all of our memories together. Don't worry about me. Now, go to him."

"Go to him?" Hinata asked puzzlingly, "What are you talking about, Naruto? Who is the he you want me to go to?"

"The one that you want to be with. Neji." Naruto became impatient; he really did not want to drag the matter any longer. Thinking about her and Neji made thousands of needles sting into his heart. He did not know how long he could remain calm and collected. He might get crazy at any moment and run off to kill any thing that was unlucky enough to get into his eyes.

"But you are the only want I want to be with." Hinata became impatient too. Her nervousness and Naruto's ambiguity had increased her tension a lot.

Naruto crashed his lips onto Hinata again. Hinata grabbed his head and drew him close, tasting his lips more thoroughly this time. The feeling of his warm lips against her made her feel stronger. The feeling of his hands grabbing her head so tightly and firmly made her want to tell him again and again her feelings. As they broke the kiss the second time to take breath, Hinata told Naruto,

"I love you."

"What about Neji?" Naruto's voice was shaking as he gathered all of his courage to confirm her feelings one last time.

"What about him?" Hinata began to feel frustrated of the way Naruto brought up Neji all the time. How was her cousin involved in this?

"Don't you love him?"

"Why wouldn't I? He is my cousin. He is my family." Heat began to cross her face. What she really wanted to hear now was Naruto confirmed his feelings to her, not talking about family love.

This was harder than he thought, but he would not give up now. He should not draw any conclusion on this yet. He needed to hear her answer more clearly. He wanted to know who she loved more.

"Who do you love more? Me or Neji? You said that you want to be with me but you love Neji too. Don't you want to be with him too?"

This was getting so ridiculous. Normally, Hinata was a very shy and patient girl, but for the last four days she had experienced too many emotional traumas; plus she had been kissed by her husband twice and heard sweet words from him, but he had not told her he loved her yet but asked nonsense questions about her cousin instead. If she was the old Hinata she would not ask him to confirm his love, but now she really needed to know if he just pitying her or if he really wanted to be with her. She wanted him to be happy; she didn't want him to bind his life with someone he didn't love just because of responsibility. She gathered all of the courage she had collected since she was born and asked him what she wanted to know the most,

"Do you love me, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto was going to get crazy at any moment. Why didn't she tell him who she loved more already instead asking him something so obvious?

"Of course I love you. Otherwise I would not be a fool for so long. I would not get crazy just seeing you and Neji together. Why don't you just tell me you do you love more and really want to be with?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I love you and you are the only one I want to be with?"

Hinata blinked. She could not believe it. She yelled at Naruto. She yelled at Naruto. What was wrong with her today? She really felt like fainting now, but before she could faint, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her body and lips on her again, giving her the most intense and passionate kiss ever. Naruto was getting really impatient; he licked her lips, asking for an entrance, and as she shyly opened her mouth, his tongue crashed in, wrestling like crazy with her, tasting every bit of her mouth. He grabbed her neck and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. He had never felt so good before. She tasted like heaven; so gentle and timid yet strong and determinate. He could feel her hands clutched to his back and then tracing unknown patterns down to his spine which caused several waves of pleasure to run like electricity through his body.

Unconsciously he placed her down the ground and was on top of her. Their tongues never left each other's mouths, like they were afraid they would never see each other again if they did. However, any good thing had to come to an end, they broke their kiss the third time for breath. Still on top of Hinata, Naruto asked

"So you choose me and not Neji?"

Hinata panted heavily after the intense kiss. She grabbed his neck and pulled him closer, "Why do you keep talking about Neji-nisan? How would this relate to us, to what..." She blushed and began to stutter again, "t-to ….w-what w-we ar-e are d-doing r-right n-now?"

This was Naruto's turn to blush and stutter, "I-I t-thought t-that y-you lo-loved Neji a-and..." Naruto inhaled deeply, "you would leave me for him, and …." Naruto's face became redder, "...and...you and him w-would w-would w-would k-kis-k-is-..."

As smart as Hinata was, she finally understood the problem. She pulled his head closer and placed a kiss on it. "He is my cousin. I love him as a cousin, as a brother; the same way I love Kiba and Shino, but I do not blush at him whenever he is near me. I would not faint if I got closer to him. My heart would not beat like crazy when I meet..." but before she could continue, Naruto had grabbed her head for another kiss.

A/N: Please excuse me for having them kiss so many times, but that was for the time they could have kissed in the story; they missed that opportunities three or four times as far as I could remember, so think of this as a remedy for all of the loss. And... my description skill really has its limit so forgive me to skip the description for this kiss. Oh, things are getting hot here. Let's return to our story.

Naruto's hands began to roam around without any clear destination; he was still too absorbed in the kiss like he wanted to be dissolved into it completely. Returning to the destination of his hands, they had found their way to the most noticeable parts of her body and rested on it while sometime before deciding squeezed the assets here and there, earning pleasant wonderful sounds from her throat. That was when all the fun began... or actually ended.

Neji ran to the cave, but immediately turned his head away as he saw the scene in front of him. Naruto immediately got off Hinata while she tried to get decent. Her face was now as red as a tomato. Naruto silently cursed Neji. Why did he always have to show up just at the right time to spoil everything? Next time when he wanted to have... some private moments with his wife, he would make sure to tie Neji up to a tree or something like that.

"Naruto, we have a problem here. Sasuke has escaped. He pretended to search for Hinata like everybody else, but when we used all of our forces and attention to find her, he had successfully made his escape."

Hinata gasped. Tears welled in her eyes. It was all because of her. After everything Naruto had to go through to bring Sasuke back, she was the reason that Naruto lost Sasuke again.

"Naruto… I..." Hinata wrapped her arms around her chest to keep herself from sobbing.

Naruto took her into his arms again and kissed on her forehead, "Why do you have to cry, Hinata? It is not your fault. When I asked Ba-Chan to send reinforcements, I had guessed this would be one of the consequences, but I still decided to do so because it was the fastest way to find you, to ensure your safety. You do not have to cry because it is my decision. I have chosen you over Sasuke; no, I have chosen you over the village because you are the most important person in my life."

Hinata sobbed uncontrollably as she tightened her hold on Naruto.

"I'm sorry, Hinata, but I have to do my duty to the village now. I have to repair my mistakes; I have to find him and drag him back. Having him roam around is too dangerous to the village." Naruto gently pushed her away, "Don't wait for me; I do not know when I will come back. Have a good life without me." Naruto's voice was cracking and broken as he tried to finish the last sentence. He placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and turned his back away,

"Do not worry about me. I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto. I will not die. I will come back; I still have to be the Hokage. Just... don't wait for me... find someone that will take a better care of you... Neji, please take care of her."

With a flash, he disappeared, letting the lifeless Hinata stumble on the ground, unable to move or talk. All she could do was murmur in her weak voice, "I'll wait for you, no matter how long it takes."


A/N:

This story will have 15 chapters. Next chapter is the ending. Thank you for sticking with me for so long.