Define Destiny

A/N: Chapter 9 is the longest chapter I've written! I feel so proud of myself. Not a lot happens in this chapter. It's all basically character interaction and stuff. I was rather happy with how this chapter came out though. I feel it's better than the last. Well, read and enjoy. And don't forget to review!

Edit: I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and won't be coming back until next Saturday so the next update might be a little late.

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

Chapter 9

"The Princess has entered the building. I repeat the Princess has entered the building. Spring Youth, over." there wasa loud crackling noise and all was quiet.

"Lee-san, you do realize we are all in the same room, right?"

"Of course I do, Sakura-san!" exclaimed the Taijutsu user loudly. He hadn't turned off the tiny microphone positioned near his mouth thus making them all cringe in pain.

Sakura reached over and turned it off, giving Lee a smile and patting him on the back. "We can't go deaf now, Lee-san." She had to give him credit, though, for such a creative nickname for the Hyuga heiress.

The Rookie 9 and Team Gai sat around their meeting table, each wearing an easily concealed headset that allowed them to communicate at all times. These were usually only given to shinobi for missions but Ino had managed to collect some for them. How she did this, they never asked. But the trembling of the ninja who handed out this kind of stuff every time she passed by was answer enough.

A loud banging on the table effectively made them quiet down and stopped Lee from playing around with his headset. They all shifted their attention to Neji, who had been officially declared Hinata's representative and their leader. The girl herself sat between her two teammates, tapping the table lightly with the pen she held in her hands; it was a nervous habit.

"You have all been told why you are here, correct?" he asked, his face expressionless as he gazed around at the ninja assembled before him.

They all nodded, looking exceptionally serious. Chouji wasn't eating his chips, Shikamaru was actually paying attention, and no one was fidgeting.

"I have written up ways you are all to help without making it too obvious." he gestured to the papers they all had in front of them. "We will be going over everything and planning it out."

A hand rose slowly. Neji sighed and turned to the person. "Yes, Tenten?"

"I don't think we can all last going through," she paused, flipping through the papers. "Twelve sheets of information."

Ino slumped forward on the table, sighing. "I don't think I'll last through the first page."

"Ino-pig," Sakura chuckled. "You've become so lazy."

The blonde-haired girl immediately stiffened and pointed a finger at the kunoichi, "You shouldn't be talking, Sakura-big-forehead," she put up her hands to exaggerate how she thought Sakura looked. "All you do is sit around at the hospital."

Naruto and Shikamaru sprang up from their chairs to restrain the two girls. After a few minutes of struggling, the two kunoichi gave up and sat back down, shooting venomous glares at each other.

"Can we start now?" asked Kiba, looking quite bored.

Neji took a deep breath, wondering why he had ever thought they could all work together without disruptions. He picked up the papers and scanned over the words. "Team 10, consisting of Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Cho—"

"I think we know our names." interrupted Ino.

He controlled himself and ignored her, reading what their tasks were. "Team 10 is going to help with making Hinata-sama more known and appear stronger. She'll be getting a job at the academy, just to look responsible in the eyes of the Elders." he gestured to Ino. "You'll be helping her out there since you also have a part-time job as a teacher. Shikamaru, Chouji, you're just back up."

They nodded; sure they could accomplish the personal mission. "Team 8, you'll be—"

"Are you going to order anything?" it was the disgustingly sweet voice of the waitress that had been assigned their table.

Neji gripped the edge of the table, concentrating on keeping calm and not telling off the girl. Tenten spoke up, "Just bring us all some water, thanks." The girl nodded and turned around, walking away from their table to go get their 'order'.

"Remind me again why we chose to meet at a restaurant." asked Neji.

"None of the meeting rooms were empty." said Shino.

Hinata knew her cousin was getting agitated. But she was really grateful for all he was doing. "We'll get one n-next time, Neji-nii-san." she said.

He nodded and started again, "Team 8 will be Hinata-sama's back up. You'll be her emotional support, in other words." his gaze landed on Kiba. "Adjust your training schedule so you start later and end later."

"Why?" questioned the Inuzuka.

"So she'll be able to eat with her father and sister, thus getting some more 'family time' done." Hinata grimaced at the words. "It might help Hiashi-sama see how much she's changed."

The waitress appeared at their table again, giving them all their water. She smiled and left again. Naruto went to grab his and knocked it over. Being the clumsy person he was, it just happened to spill all over his papers. Neji's eye twitched. Those were the copies he had gotten up beyond early to make. And he had just ruined them!

"Er, sorry," Naruto hastily mopped up the water with a napkin and tried to salvage the papers, only making several rip.

"I'll give you another set later," said Neji stiffly.

"It's oka—"

"Uzumaki." a hint of a warning laced the word.

"Thank you." the blonde ninja mumbled.

"Right." his cold eyes focused on the information. "Team 7, you will be recording their progress and reporting it at the meetings, very simple work. However," Sakura took a sip of her water as Neji focused his seriousness on her and Naruto. "There are some limitations. Naruto, you need to avoid contact with Hinata. Just stay hidden. Sakura, you can help Team 10."

Naruto scowled but kept his mouth shut, knowing that interrupting now was suicide.

"Team Gai, including me, will be watching the Hyuga clan and we'll try to stay close to Hinata-sama when she goes home so there is no chance for anyone to catch her off guard with any weird questions." Tenten and Lee nodded firmly. "We'll also be back up for any of the other teams."

Neji set down his papers and drank some water, looking calm. He was glad that there had been no more interruptions. "The rest of the papers are just tips and more information." he said.

They all put away their papers somewhere safe and stood up, getting ready to leave. "We will have frequent meetings to discuss how everything's going. If anyone asks, it's a personal mission assigned by the Hokage."

"Hai!" they all chorused. And with the meeting's conclusion they all began leaving. Hinata was just out the door when an arm linked with hers. She was surprised to see that it was Ino.

"Ne, Hinata," she said, a bright smile on her face. "Aren't you going to the Academy?"

The Hyuga heiress hesitated, sparing a glance at her teammates. They nodded at her and she sighed, "Y-yeah, I'll go now."

"Great!" exclaimed the girl. Blue eyes narrowed and she looked around. "Shikamaru, Chouji, are you coming or not?"

"We're coming, Ino." was the flat response from her lazy teammate. "We'll just trail behind, so it's not too obvious we're guarding."

As the girl dragged her out, Hinata vaguely thought that they were treating it all as though it were super important. She had never realized that these people actually cared.

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

"Can you get her a part-time job or not?"

"I'm sorry but—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses!" snapped Ino, her blue eyes shooting daggers at the ninja before her. "I want to hear a 'Yes, I can'!"

Hinata inwardly winced at hearing the wrath in Ino's voice. The girl seemed very sweet and kind from afar but she really had one hell of an attitude and temper. Her gaze traveled to the window and the conversation going on became a dull buzz in her mind. She watched the children training outside, laughing and joking around, while a frustrated chunnin tried to get them to pay attention to the lesson about shuriken she was trying to teach. Hinata couldn't help but let a smile appear on her face as one of the children, a boy, began mimicking the teacher.

"—heiress needs some credit for her position. She can work with me for all I care." Ino finished her little rant, hoping it convinced the man. If it didn't, she would have to resort to Plan B. He wouldn't like Plan B.

"Er, um, fine then." he stammered, shuffling some papers on the desk in front of him. "You can show her to the class, one she'll be sharing with you. The class will be learning twice as much, right?"

Ino switched from pissed to sweet mode. "Thanks, that'll be just fine."

Her eyes met Hinata's and she winked. Hinata sighed and shook her head, though she was smiling. The kunoichi had amazing persuasive skills.

"You've been very helpful…"

"Kazuo,"

"…Kazuo-san. I'll be sure to call on you the next time I have an issue with the Academy." said Ino.

He gulped and nodded shakily. Hinata was sure he was going to switch jobs the moment they were gone.

Ino turned to Hinata, smiling brightly, and handed her a folder with all of her information inside. They left the small office together and walked out into the courtyard of the Academy. The children had already gone inside so it was very quiet.

"Thanks, Ino." said Hinata.

"It was nothing! But you're welcome."

They crossed to entrance to the Academy and went inside. "The classroom is just at the end of the hallway," gestured Ino. They continued walking, past several posters bearing the shinobi rules and reminders to train, past classes of ninja-in-training. "The class is a little bit rowdy, but with our efforts I'm sure we'll keep them in line."

She stopped at the door and pushed it open. Hinata walked in, followed by the blonde kunoichi. The Hyuga heiress could only hope this would turn out well.

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

"Well, bye, Hinata!" called Ino. "I'll see you tomorrow!" with that, the girl went on her way, leaving her alone.

Hinata sat down with a sigh on a bench, feeling awfully drained. Being a teacher was not all it seemed to be. It was very tiring. The children were hyper beyond reason. Ino was a funny teacher though, that she had to admit. She made those kids laugh, making being a ninja seem like something fun. Hinata supposed it was for the best. Let them live their lives a while longer.

But, dark thoughts aside, they had taken to her quite nicely, saying that they would finally learn something since Ino never taught them anything. A soft chuckle slipped past her lips as she recalled the moment that defined their opinion of her.

"Ne, Ino-sensei, I wanna learn about kunai today," whined a young boy. He was pouting, acting nothing like the age he was supposed to be: a maturing nine year old. "Can we?"

Ino rolled her eyes and responded, "Not today, Jiro. We're just relaxing today, giving Hinata-sensei a chance to get used to the class." a smile slid onto her face. "I promise we will next time though. I hope you can handle a kunai, Jiro. I don't want you accidentally chopping your hand off, you know, with you being such a klutz and all."

Pink tinged Hinata's cheeks, as half the class looked her way. Then they all began laughing, even the boy Ino had teased. Several of the boy's friends pushed him and shoved, obviously teasing him even more.

The next question was directed at her, "So, you're the heiress to the Hyuga clan, right? Do you like it?"

Hinata froze and Ino shot the child a furious glance. "Rei," she hissed. "Don't—" she was stopped by a short look from the dark haired girl.

"I d-don't mind," she said softly. "It's alright." Hinata turned to face the class, conscious of all the curious eyes upon her. A small, hesitant smile appeared on her lips. She decided to try a slight Ino-approach: be light-hearted. After all, they were much too young to understand the complexities of the Hyuga clan.

"To be t-truthful," she paused, clearing her throat. "It's very dull and troublesome." Ino grinned at her unintentional reference to Shikamaru. "You have to attend all these boring meetings and act so nice to people you really can't stand." The class laughed lightly, able to relate in some way. "And, worst of all, you have to wear such uncomfortable clothing!"

They burst into laughter and began chattering with their friends. Listening to their comments made her wish she could be so light-hearted and less timid, fragile. But she shook it away, knowing that thinking further on that topic would definitely put a damper on her mood and of those around her.

"We like you, Hinata-sensei!" exclaimed the girl. "Though you should speak up more often!"

A blush spread on her cheeks at hearing a child nine years or so younger than her tell her that. And she decided that she liked the class too.

Hinata leaned back on the bench, resting her head on the back, gazing up at the wide expanse of sky above. She was still, breathing evenly, basking in the red glow the sun cast over the area as it slowly descended.

She sensed a presence sit down beside her on the bench and lean back just like she was. Her instincts kicked in and she was on her guard. A quiet laugh came from the person. "Relax, will you?" they said. "I don't plan on attacking any time soon." A bark followed the statement.

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she recognized the person. It was Kiba. She couldn't believe she hadn't realized it was him sooner. But, to stop herself from self-criticizing too much, she chalked it up being tired.

"Hey," his voice was softer now. She sat up, and looked in his direction, her eyes meeting his. "How'd it go?" he asked.

She smiled. "It—it went better than I expected."

"Good," he nodded.

A comfortable silence fell over them as Hinata thought about her teammate. He had understood so much, much more than she had expected him to. She noticed, thinking back on previous days, that she hadn't spoken to him much, besides the usual 'hi'. She repeated the observation aloud.

"That's true." he said. "A lot has been going on though. But it's okay. We'll always have more days to talk, right?"

"Yeah…" she frowned as a thought came unbidden to her. She hadn't asked her teammates if they approved. She believed their opinion to be as important as anyone else's. "Uh, a-about Naruto-kun, Kiba-kun…"

He dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "It's okay. Me and Shino already had a talk with him and set everything straight."

She laughed, shaking her head. "Then you both don't mind?"

"Of course not!" he rolled his eyes. "As if we would deny you your happiness." he became serious then. "But if he makes you cry over him, because he was being stupid or something…let's just say it would entail another talk from us."

Hinata wrapped her arms around the Inuzuka, hugging him from the side. He hugged her back, smiling down at her. "T-thank you." she whispered. "It means a lot."

Footsteps approached and out of the falling darkness appeared Team Gai. "Let's go home, hime," said Tenten, teasing. "If we hadn't found you now, I think Neji would've had an attack."

The Hyuga crossed his arms, a hint of a pout on his lips. "I would not have." he defended.

Tenten responded by putting up her hand, telling him she wasn't hearing his excuses. Lee rolled his eyes at his teammates' antics, used to them by now. Hinata and Kiba stood from the bench, saying their good-byes.

Kiba walked away, waving to them. Then he was disappeared at the end of the street, darting to the rooftops with Akamaru. Hinata turned to face her cousin and the others. "It's only begun to g-get dark." she said as they started on their way to the Hyuga complex.

"Something could've happened," replied Neji.

"Like what?"

"Stuff,"

She sighed, dropping the subject. So now she had bodyguards too. What did he think would happen to her? Who would do anything to her? Who could do anything? Nobody could, at least not without raising alarms in more than half of Konoha.

But a certain Hyuga elder could, whispered a devious voice in her mind. And nobody would ever know…

Hinata shook her head to clear it of those thoughts and continued walking, shoulders slumped. Lee caught sight of her stance and moved closer to her, matching her pace. Neji and Tenten were walking ahead of them now, side by side.

"Why are you so sad, Hinata-san?" he questioned. Lee had a caring nature for everyone, always so kind.

"It's n-nothing Lee-san," she answered. "I'm just thinking."

"They must be very dark thoughts to make you so down."

"I s-suppose…"

Lee smiled at her. "Everything will be alright, you'll see." his smile widened. "You have Neji and all of us on your side." She heard the respect he held for his peers in his words and found herself believing it. She nodded. And Lee shared another smile with her before moving back to walk with his teammates.

Sooner than she wanted they had arrived at the Hyuga complex. Pausing just outside the gates, she asked, "What will you tell otou-san about Tenten and Lee-san?"

Neji shrugged. "They're my teammates from before and still are now. I could say they're here for a night of reminiscing or a week even." He smirked. "That could work."

They moved inside and went their separate ways. Hinata turned a corner and walked down a hallway, listening to the playful banter going on between Lee and Tenten. She stopped at her door just as their talk faded away.

She went inside and dressed for bed, not feeling up to going to dinner or doing much of anything at all. As she drifted to sleep, she wished she could interact with Naruto so naturally like Tenten did with Neji, like it was second-nature…

And she slept, with dreams full of a certain blonde-haired, blue-eyed ninja.