This was supposed to be the second to last chapter. Buuuttt...the characters decided to flow out a different way, differently than I planned. Turns out Hinata was crazier than I thought, hahaa. And so it continues. Let's see where this goes from there.

Goodness, I'm not good with action scenes. But I am going to try my darndest and very best! I'm sorry if anything is wrong with the fighting style techniques. Please don't criticize too much, action is really hard for me! XD

It was very clearly an attack. Sasuke swooped down from the Hokage Monument, disappearing from view. His followers sprung up from many directions and disappeared once they left traces of bombs or flung kunai in spontaneous directions. As families and civilians dove for cover under anything they could find, the Konoha ninja took ready, defensive stances.

Springing into action, ninja flew to protect their village. Their fingers flew in automatic, almost instinctive hand signs and jutsus in less than seconds.

Naruto gave a slight turn of the head when Hinata released his hand, leaf-like veins sprouting across the sides of her temples. He turned to his enemy, as his own eyes changed dramatically. His hair tinted gold and his eyes transformed in a very frog-like manner with solid, rectangular pupils. With a blink of his eyes, a deep crimson spread along the skin of his eyelids. He was ready.

He ran for Sasuke, knowing he was the only one who needed to take him on. He dove behind the facade of a house. He crept with utter stealth, barely even breathing. Aware of the Sharingan's range and enhanced abilities, Naruto knew how to hide; how to approach his former teammate was the issue he was quickly going to encounter. But something distracted him; Karin sprung towards him out of nowhere. He cussed out loud and fought her off; their battle dragged him away from where Sasuke was hiding.

"Well, this is surprising." Sasuke said as Hinata took her stance in front of him. They stood on a rooftop, face to face, staring each other down. "It's interesting how your demeanor has changed, Hyuuga." He circled her, stoically, not even flinching when Hinata's fists erupted with blue tiger flames.

"This is surprising, Sasuke-san." She faced him, meeting her white Byakugan eyes with his red, Sharingan eyes. "I-I'd never think you'd come back in that sort of f-fashion."

"And I had heard you had stopped stuttering. What a shame to see that was only a rumor."

"Gomen nasai. S-so sorry, to disappoint you...Was there a p-particular reason...you sought to listen to such rumors about me?"

"..." She honestly had suspected an answer; that was her first mistake. In an instant, there was a knife at her throat.

She ducked under his arm and thrust her hands towards Sasuke. They fought a battle of dodges and throws, the two circling in a strange dance. Hinata was good with close combat. Her aura shone through her being, an aura of determination. Her Gentle Fist technique flew as swiftly and flexibly as she did, almost searing the pale skin of the Uchiha numerous times.

This ticked the Uchiha off just a bit. Increasing his speed, he slashed the sleeve near her shoulder. He continued to add unexpected spurts of speed, getting in short attacks. But Hinata was also swift, dodging most swipes at her and countering the attacks.

She leaped back, blocking his assaults, and was able to keep him occupied for a steady amount of time; he hadn't suspected that she'd be able to hold him off for so long. He was even beginning to break a sweat in the heat of the moment. In their long bout, Hinata was beginning to wane on her endurance.

"I'm intrigued, Hyuuga."

Hinata started, blocking another throw towards her.

"You've changed. In what way, I cannot say. Maybe because of the dobe-" He advanced on her with sudden speed. Her defense fell; Sasuke was so close, she could feel his breath breeze across her face. "N-Naruto-san i-is..." She stammered, looking straight ahead of her, past Sasuke and to the clouded sky before her near the horizon line. Sasuke leaned forward, his long black bangs brushing softly against Hinata's cheeks as his lips travelled to her ear.

"I heard..." His voice dropped to a husky whisper. She shivered. "You saved his life and he completely. ignored. you."

She looked at him in terror, her Byakugan disappearing from her shock. "N-no. Naruto-san...he..."

"Naruto-san? You're full of surprises, Hyuuga. If only you weren't still sickeningly in love with him..."

"Love?" She picked up her guard and went to slap him, to shove his face away. "I'm...in love with him? ...I'm not..."

She actually managed to hit him, his cheek shining red. He gave her a cocky smile. "Don't screw with me, Hyuuga."

"I'm not in love with Naruto-san! I'm not!" She regained her stance and spun, her leg catching around Sasuke's ankle. As he crashed to the ground, Hinata pressed her palms to her cheeks "...Am I?"

"I never thought of you as an idiot, Hyuuga. You couldn't possibly be blind enough to not realize it yourself. No matter what you went through in the recent years."

"You don't know WHAT I've been through!"

Sasuke didn't try to stand. He sat, bent forward with his arms slung over his knees. "I don't. You're right. But does that mean you do?"

She forgot they had just been attacked. For some reason, this felt very normal. Like they were just talking. This feeling was quick and barely momentary. There was so much confusion going on inside her that she didn't know what to do. She blew up at him, unintentionally.. "O-Of course I do! I was strong and I overcame the c-constraints and disapproval of my family. I grew a-and persevered. No one needed t-to acknowledge me. I wanted to forget the pain. They were all out looking for you." Her eyes bulged. She pointed a finger down at him, shrieking. "Damn you! You left and all they thought of was YOU! And I-I told myself he was supposed to end up with Sakura-chan, once he brought you back! B-but he came back...without you. And Sakura-chan still dismissed him." She was pacing back and forth now, her hands in front of her, motioning to nothing as she spun her tale of woe that she herself wasn't following well. Many thoughts and sides to conversations she never got the chance to voice were all flowing out of her at the same time. She saw Naruto's smiling face in her mind. It was bittersweet; she reached up to touched his cheek with a smile, but he wasn't truly there.

When she saw her fingers only met air and not Naruto's whiskered face, immense sadness consumed her features. "Naruto-san, he...Naruto-san was supposed to be happy. All was supposed to be well for him, even if it c-couldn't be well for me. I saw him again and couldn't even remember his name. I couldn't even remember his name! NOT EVEN HIS NAME!" She leapt towards Sasuke, the tears that had been threatening to fall spilled over and across her cheeks. Sasuke jumped up to his feet, reacting instinctively. They fought, jumping at each other, throwing jutsus and attacks at each other relentlessly. One attack smacked Hinata across the face, and she fell to the ground from the weight of the blow. Sasuke stood over her, his katana in hand and an emotionless face. His voice however held some perplexity.

"What the hell happened to you, Hyuuga Hinata?"

She looked up at him, gritting her teeth as she tried to catch her breath. "I don't know."

He went to strike her again, to deliver a final blow, when his blade ceased in midair, the metal of an obstructing object clanging as the two met. After the echo of the sound dissipated, a quick silence overtook the area that only a simple hitch of breath broke. Naruto's kunai quivered under the pressure of Sasuke's sword as he held it above his head; standing between Sasuke and Hinata. Naruto smirked darkly and said, "Well, hey there, Sasuke-teme. Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," Sasuke gave quite a disturbing grin. Probably one he had offered Orochimaru or Itachi upon encounter. He clicked his tongue. "Well, I suppose I'm done playing around with this one."

"You better believe it, you asshole. Don't you dare play with her like that, ever!"

"And what are you going to do about it, dobe?" When Sasuke noticed Naruto's aura becoming foxlike and his eyes blazing red, he merely shrugged it off. "Don't you think defending her is going to confuse her further?"

"Whatever it takes to get her the hell away from you!"

"My, how you fancy her wellbeing. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were-"

"-in love with her?" Naruto finished for him. Sasuke's mouth twitched, with a smile to a grimace in a second. "What the hell, I'll scream it out loud. I'm in love with Hinata! I love her!" He held his arms out, his Rasengan spinning in his palms. Hinata had been very still watching the two young men circle one another, but she now felt she couldn't breathe. She gasped for air as if something was constricting her throat and padded the ground with her palms. For a reason she couldn't fathom, she scrapped her knuckles back and forth on the paved rooftop they were standing on.

"I'm sorry, Hinata."

She looked from her bleeding hands to Naruto's back. "I'm sorry. As soon as I finish this bastard off, I'll leave, okay? Then all can be well for you."

"But what's this?" Sasuke cut in. "I thought you were in love with her, Naruto-san!"

"I am! But I already had my chance. And I totally blew it. Coming back to Konoha, I only made things worse."

"B-but you didn't." She said above a whisper. "Y-you didn't do any of that," she wiped her fists on her pants, not really realizing the stains of blood that were emerging on the dark material.

Please don't...leave.'

Naruto smiled, the tone in her voice didn't indicate she was angry or upset with him. It was that forgiving tone that warmed his heart, setting it ablaze. His goal first was to protect Hinata, he then must subdue Sasuke in order to restrain him and keep him in Konoha. It was funny how that promise he had made long ago, to bring the teme back, lowered on his priority list.

"Hinata," Naruto sent Sasuke flying onto his back. He turned back to her, "I will protect you. I stand by what I say. Because that's my ninja way-ttebayo!"

She didn't know why those words struck her. Did her heart stop beating? Was she even breathing? Something in her mind shut off, and a wave of light-headedness spun in her head. This was familiar, a strange dejavu of a feeling. But in an instant, she didn't even realize it, she didn't even want to, she had no choice. Hinata met the ground and her vision went black.

She had fainted.

I'm sometimes a supporter of Sasuhina...so yea I believed Sasuke would have a soft spot for Hinata, in his own little twisted way. I don't know..

I'll try and post more soon. Please Review!