Define Destiny

A/N: Well, here's chapter 7! I finished my finals and school's over for two whole months! I'm feeling the freedom. I hope you all like this chapter. It seemed to write itself while I was typing. The beginning is just a lot of Naruto's ramblings. The twist in the plot just appeared. I really don't know where it came from. Kage-Ichihashi, I will try to slip in some flashbacks, but I'm not sure how that will work out.

Well, I'm done now. Go ahead, read and enjoy (hopefully). Remember to review!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Hinata, or any other character.

Chapter 7

Naruto almost had a heart attack when Hinata collapsed in his arms. He seriously thought he had hurt her unintentionally or something. But all was fine once he saw that she was still breathing and not one scratch on her.

Except for that bruise.

Just who could be so cold-hearted as to raise a hand on Hinata? She was pure, innocent, and would never deliberately hurt anyone.

"Naruto-nii-san, what did you do to her?" Konohamaru's voice cut through his thoughts, jolting him back to the real world.

"Nothing, Konohamaru," he snapped at the boy. "Just stabbed her in the back,"

Udon gasped. "Really?"

Konohamaru rolled his eyes and smacked his friend on the back of the head. "He's being sarcastic."

"Are you that bad at kissing, Naruto-nii-san?" teased Moegi. She walked to where Hinata was and peered at her.

Hinata was lying on one of the stone benches positioned on the sidewalk, Naruto leaning against it. He had never thought that the benches would help him for once. Usually they were just in his way when he was hurried or something. He would always crash into them in his haste and end up limping away.

"Were you three spying on us?"

"No," replied Konohamaru calmly. "We simply walked in your little exchange and couldn't seem to walk away since it was so interesting." A smack on the back of the head was Naruto's response to Konohamaru's sudden gift with words.

'Stupid brat,' he thought, shooting the boy and his friends a glare. 'Though it is partially my fault he's that way.'

"Oi, nii-chan, I have a new jutsu to show you!" The loud voice interrupted the most civil conversation Naruto had ever come to having with Kiba since he had returned to Konoha. The Inuzuka shot him a questioning glance. So did everyone else in the area.

"He's just become attached and sees me as an idol." Naruto muttered.

Kiba laughed. "That's hard to believe." Akamaru gave a short bark in agreement.

Naruto glared at him but his response was cut short as he felt a tug on his shirt. Konohamaru stood there, wearing a proud expression. "Can I show you?" he pleaded, a pout quickly appearing on his lips.

"Naruto," The blond ninja winced at the voice. "It's not anything perverted, right?" Sakura had finished her meditating with Tenten and Neji. She had begun the activity with their help after she discovered that it helped her when she had to treat severe injuries.

"If it's perverted, Naruto, you will pay." Her voice was sharp and fully supported her promise. Tenten and Neji were watching with amusement.

"I don't think she's kidding, Naruto." Tenten said. Her smile alarmed him. It was almost as if she expected, and was anticipating, him to get beat up.

Naruto sighed and looked at Konohamaru. "Go ahead and show it." He was praying that the boy would have actually created something smart.

Konohamaru quickly formed some hand seals and was lost in a cloud of smoke.

It faded and revealed the body of a young woman with curly black hair and sparkling green eyes. She had a rather overwhelming bust and shapely figure. She giggled and twirling a strand of hair around her finger said, "How do you like the new and improved Orioke no Jutsu?" The cloud had faded way faster than the other times the jutsu had been used.

A grin lit up his face. "It's awesome, Konohamaru!" He slung as arm around the girl and planted a kiss on her cheek. "Feels like a girl too." His arm had slid lower than her waist.

"Naruto you pervert!" Sakura's shriek startled the civilians in the surrounding area. "You're going to become worse than Jiraiya one day!" With that said she proceeded to beat him up, despite his pleas for mercy.

But Naruto didn't learn from that. Nope, he loved provoking Sakura and the girl knew it. He was so used to hanging around her that he was kind of used to dealing with female emotions. He supposed that was part of the reason he hadn't felt so embarrassed when he hugged Hinata. The hug had been a reflex for him. It was like comforting Sakura when she dwelt too much on the past.

Except it was a real girl with real feelings.

A deep feeling of guilt wiped the happiness from him. What if Hinata hated him forever now because he had invaded her personal space? He had invaded Konohamaru's girl form's personal space plenty of time, making sure that the jutsu was perfect. But this time he had done it to a real girl.

Yes, he had to repeat those two words to himself a lot of times. It wasn't that he didn't think Sakura was a girl. She was. He just thought of Sakura more as a sister more than potential girlfriend. He just needed to remember that girl's were different, more sensitive. It was even worse when it was that time of the month. He made a mental note to ask Kiba if it was that time again.

Perhaps Hinata simply became more emotional and tended to just say things during that time. He knew for sure that she would never react like Sakura. The pink haired girl just became more violent and lashed out at him for no reason. Though the kunoichi always did apologize in advance.

He flushed as he realized the track his train of thought had taken. It was not a topic a man was supposed to think about.

He forced himself to focus on the present and leave thinking about things like that for later.

"Well, we need to meet with our sensei now, Naruto-nii-san," Moegi said. "I think we have some other slave mission to complete today."

"Okay, I'll see you guys around." He just wanted them to leave.

Udon and Konohamaru groaned. "Do we have to?" they whined.

"Yes." Moegi linked arms with them and marched them away.

Naruto grinned and shook his head. Moegi had grown up to be very bossy. But he supposed that was a good thing. She kept Konohamaru in place. If she didn't, Konohamaru probably wouldn't have lived to be a genin.

A soft moan from Hinata caught his attention. She was waking up. Naruto began panicking. What would he say? Would she say? Would she get mad that he kissed her? His head was hurting, filled to burst with questions.

"W-what happened?" She sat up on the bench.

It was the moment of truth. Naruto took a deep breath and made himself visible at the end of the bench. "Hello, Hinata-chan!" he said brightly, a smile on his face. His smile faltered when he got no response.

"H-Hinata-chan?"

He peered at her face. It was partially hidden by her bangs. He heard a sniffle. She was…crying? Were his kissing skills so bad he had made her cry? He was feeling very insecure and the guilty feeling was pummeling him.

He remembered her words. "I like you! Though isn't it sad that y-you don't like me!"

Oh, but he did have feelings for her. He didn't make them noticeable but they were there, buried deep down inside him. He just thought that no one would ever care for him beyond friendly care, like Sakura or Tsunade did. He had matured; he just didn't show it. If he did, it would just make it harder for him to keep the fact that he was the vessel for the Kyuubi a secret from his friends.

"I'm s-sorry, Naruto-kun." was the soft whisper from Hinata. "I've j-just had some problems lately. And e-everything just kind of f-fell apart."

His brow furrowed. Did she not remember the kiss? Or was she just disregarding it?

He reached to touch her arm but pulled back sharply when he saw her trembling, his fingers missing her skin by inches. Just what kind of problems had she had?

"I should be apologizing…for taking advantage of you like that…for being such an idiot."

She looked up at him, her tears visible. "B-but I meant everything."

"I know." He looked away, his ears becoming hot as he fumbled through his mind, searching for the right words. "And I like you just as much!" he finally said after the long pause.

Hinata closed her eyes and shook her head. "You aren't s-supposed to like me." Naruto opened his mouth to say she was wrong but was stopped by the hand she raised. "J-just listen." He nodded, though he was still unsure.

"You were s-supposed to say we were better off as friends because that was all you saw me as, like S-Sakura. You were supposed to say that h-hug was just to comfort me b-because I was crying. You were supposed to stop being as c-close to me as before because of the scene I caused. It was all supposed to s-stop at the hug. But you ruined it and took it further. You r-ruined all I had planned." She hid her face in her hands, ashamed of what she had done.

"A plan? You planned everything?" Naruto asked. He was shocked.

Hinata nodded faintly. She didn't look at him.

Naruto was at a loss. Why had she done all of that? That was main question in his mind now that he was sure she wouldn't hate him. If anything, she seriously expected him to hate her. But he could never do that to her. He knew she had done what she thought was best. And if he turned his back on her now, he knew that she would break. Even though that was what she thought she wanted to happen.

He reached out and gripped her hand, his fingers interlacing with hers. "Can we talk somewhere else? We're bound to draw attention." He gave her hand a gentle squeeze, praying she would say yes. If he had learned anything from the two and half years he had spent with Jiraiya, it was how to treat women.

Hinata shook her head slowly. "I…" She faltered, her gaze straying from him. She was looking at something over his shoulder. "I c-can't. I n-need to go now." She stood, her gaze still locked on something. "I'm sorry. Just talk to K-Kiba or Neji."

Naruto glanced sharply over his shoulder but didn't see anything. What was she looking at? He looked back at her in time to see her Byakugan fading away. "Hinata…"

"I'm sorry." she whispered. With that said she turned and left, leaving him grasping empty air.

"Hinata!" But it was too late. She had already disappeared.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

Hinata ran as fast as she could, not really seeing where she was going. Her tears blurred her vision. They were tears of shame and fear. Doing that to Naruto had torn her heart in half. But it had been done to keep him safe. She didn't know the limits of the Hyuga family.

But her 'plan' had backfired. She had been seen with him again.

And her first reaction had been to run, leaving Naruto alone.

She stopped in front of a small gift store and slipped inside. The manager eyed her warily, noting the headband around her neck. Hinata ignored his looks and made her way to the bathroom in the back. She locked herself in a stall and began fidgeting, trying to think of a way to avoid a confrontation with Hikari.

She knew the spy would report it all to her. There was no way she would be able to avoid it. They had kissed; it would seem obvious they were more than friends. There was no way she would be able to deny it.

Neji wouldn't be there to save her this time. Her father wouldn't even be aware.

She got that claustrophobic feeling again and a sick sort of feeling bubbled up in her. She quickly unlocked the stall, got out, and splashed some water on her face. She looked up and straight into the mirror.

Hinata clenched her fists and made up her mind. She would face whatever fate had in store for her. Maybe Naruto just wasn't meant for her. She would confront Hikari and be strong for once, even if it would be the last time.

She walked out of the bathroom and left the store. Strangely the manager hadn't been there when she walked out. She forgot that thought and focused on the matter at hand.

She began making her way to the Hyuga complex and arrived sooner than expected. She spotted Hikari standing in the corridor, leaning against the wall, her arms crossed. A twisted smirk appeared on her lips as she spotted her and took in her appearance.

Hinata approached her cautiously and forced herself to expose her back to Hikari as she bowed. "Konnichiwa, Hikari-sama," she whispered. Her throat suddenly felt dry, she could hardly speak past the lump that had formed there.

The woman didn't say anything. She simply turned and walked away. She paused at the end of the hallway and Hinata took this as her sign that she was to follow. They walked through several hallways, which were all empty, much to Hinata's dismay. Some part of her hoped someone would come looking for her.

They stopped in front of a door and Hikari slid it open. She put a hand on Hinata's shoulder, her nails digging slightly into her skin through the shirt.

"You and I have much to talk about." Hikari said.

"Hai…"

Hinata could only hope the sinking feeling in her stomach wasn't a sign that this meeting would not turn out well.