Naruto woke up to an empty apartment at around two in the morning. He looked around for a few minutes before realizing that the two Hyuga's had left without a sound. He heaved a tired sigh and plopped back onto his bed, falling asleep immediately.

Meanwhile, Hinata was ducking behind Neji while he fiddled with the lock on the backdoor of the Hokage's residence. It was an important building, and it held files and information of great significance. There was no way that simply picking a lock to get inside would be all they had to do, and they both knew that. There'd be alarms and guards. There was even the possibility of waking up Tsunade, which would probably have the worst consequences of any thing else that could possibly go wrong.

Hinata trembled behind her cousin, watching him work the lock with concentration. The door clicked open and she let out a long tension filled breath. They were in. For now.

Neji felt anxious having Hinata stick so close to him, but he had no idea how to tell her to back off. She was scared and most likely riddled with nerves.

He led them through the main lobby quietly, both of their Byakugans activated and searching carefully. "W-why aren't they're any guards?"

"They're probably here, Hinata-sama. Please stay calm. If we are approached and confronted then I'm going to hold them off and let you go forward, do you understand?"

Hinata stopped midstep. "Y-you want me to leave you?" she asked quietly.

"I'll be alright. I'm just a distraction." He had to be careful though. The Anbu BlackOps guarded the Hokage residence, and they were merciless against threats to the village. He couldn't be seen as any real danger, and he had to get Hinata past them quickly. That is, whenever they showed up.

He heard a sound somewhere across the quiet lobby and stiffened, hand going out to stop Hinata. She perked up, listening carefully.

"I think they know we're here," he whispered, scanning the first floor. "Hinata-sama, I need you to run when I-"

A shadow moved over the front desk, shifting quickly across the room. Neji spun around, unable to finish what he was saying. He shoved Hinata behind him and gave her a nudge toward the stairs, thrusting his palms out in front of him and blasted a wave of chakra toward the shadow darting toward him. A masked shinobi skid backwards and quickly regained his stance. This was going to be hard. There was no way He could go up against the Anbu. He just had to hold him off and help Hinata lay low, but that was an entirely different challenge in itself.

Hinata bounded for the stairs, catching a stray guard who had been hiding in the corner before. Fear grasped her heart, but she shook it off, darting up the stairs as fast as she could. They were about to make a lot of noise. And then Tsunade-sama and Shizune-san were both going to wake up and the entire village was going to laugh at them and then they were going to be questioned and things about their clan would be spilled and- No! She had to do this and she had to do this properly!

She tucked her arms into her chest and dove up the last steps of the stairs, rolling when she hit the ground and then getting to her feet. She moved toward the Hokage's office door, stopping short when the Anbu guard slid between her and her goal. Her eyes went round, breath stopping in her throat. She was frozen. She didn't know what to do. There was no way she could get past an Anbu guard. Even the thought of the endeavor was ridiculous.

Downstairs Neji's gentle fist was quickly stopped and detained, his arm twisted behind his back as he was forced to his knees. This was one of the dumbest decisions Neji had ever made, and seeing as he didn't make dumb decisions, he was mentally kicking himself for his lapse in judgement. He was still hoping that he had proven a decent distraction and that Hinata was faring better than he on the next floor.

She wasn't. In fact, she was doing marginally worse. She had moved her stance in preparation to fight, but her first blow was quickly cut off with a quick chop to her shoulder. Her arm hung limp and her formed a white line, lifting her other arm and trying to weave to the side and escape. The Anbu moved with ease and cut her off once more, effortlessly scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder. She squirmed, watching the Hokage's office grow distant as she was taken back down the stairs.

"Hinata-sama!"

"N-neji-nii-san?" she called, unable to see anything except from the corner of the room she was facing from over the guard's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"What are the the Hyuga heiress and prodigy doing sneaking around the Hokage's estate at this time of night?" The Anbu standing over Neji asked.

Neji's face remained stoic. Neither of them said anything. "Alright," said the one holding Hinata. "We'll take you two to the village elders then. I'm sure Tsunade-sama will be greatly interested in what you have to say."

"We d-d-didn't mean any harm," Hinata defended weakly, voice watery.

"Hinata-sama, don't," Neji scolded. "We must save our explanations for the Hokage. Only she can help us now."

Hinata was on the verge of tears. She'd never been in trouble in her entire life. Not in school, not at home - well almost never at home - and not with the law either. She wondered what was going to happen to them next, Neji being led away and her behind carried off behind them like a sack of flour.