Kiyoshi sat on a branch of a high tree, reading his book in front of a beautiful sunrise. He heard a branch below him shuffle its leaves in a warning chime; he closed his eyes, and opened them in his blood-limit form.
"Hey, Naruto," he said and went back to reading his book.
Naruto jumped up onto a branch nearby, "That's an awesome power..." said Naruto, "Do you see my color?"
Kiyoshi nodded, "Yes, but I can't make it out... it's too bright."
"What does that mean?"
"You have a strong soul."
Naruto grinned and sat down against the tree, looking out at the sunrise. "I'm having trouble..."
"Oh?" asked Kiyoshi without looking up from his book.
"I've been thinking about what I would say when I confront Hiashi."
"What's the problem?"
"Well..." said Naruto, "Every time I imagine myself talking to the guy, it always ends up with him putting many holes in my torso. I don't really like that. I like not having holes in my torso."
"As do I," replied Kiyoshi, "You should be careful when you talk to him, he's dangerous. But I'm afraid I won't be much help in the matter."
Naruto looked over his shoulder at Kiyoshi, "Why not?"
Kiyoshi put his book down on his lap and looked up at the sky, "It's a gamble."
"How so?"
"Well, your objective is to confront him without any violent outcomes. Right?"
"Right."
"On the one hand, if I come, it'll be harder for you to talk sense into him. He has a grudge against me, and he'd just be pissed off more if I came," explained Kiyoshi, "But I would be there to back you up if things got out of hand."
"Right..."
"On the other hand, if I don't come, you won't have the back-up, but you will have a bigger shot at a peaceful conversation."
"What do you suggest?"
Kiyoshi picked up the book again and started reading it, "Go without me. Hinata would definitely like it if you didn't fight her father."
Kiyoshi's words struck Naruto; he recalled his promise to Hinata a while back. He picked her up by the waist, looked deep into her eyes, and promised that he wouldn't let it come to a fight between Hiashi and himself. "Right."
Hinata's previous day's clothes smelled of crisp campfire smoke. She had a dream where she had forced Kiyoshi to eat the whole rabbit, then woke up from the confusing dream.
Hiashi was sitting on a chair by the wall in her room, patiently waiting for his daughter to wake up.
Hinata got up and yawned so hard that tears came out of her eyes. She looked over at Hiashi without surprise; somehow she had known he would be there. "Good morning."
"We need to talk."
There was a pause, then Hinata spoke, "No good morning?"
Hiashi smiled, "Good morning, Hinata."
The girl got up and started stretching, "So what do you want to talk to me about?"
"Sit down please," said Hiashi, "It's about the Jinchuuriki."
"Naruto," corrected Hinata.
"Right," replied Hiashi, "I can't let you date him unless he shows me that he has the privilege to."
Hinata didn't understand what her father was saying; she just looked him in the eyes with a blank expression of confusion.
"You can't go outside today."
Hinata stood up and exclaimed "What? Why not?"
Hiashi stood up and walked over to the door, he turned his head and spoke back to Hinata over his shoulder, "If he doesn't have the courage to face me, what kind of a boyfriend would he make?"
"You stay right there!" exclaimed Hinata, making Hiashi halt and turn around, "Naruto'll come without doubt, but don't you forget the promise that you made me. No fighting him."
"I remember the promise," said Hiashi. "But he has to prove his worth to me. If not through fight, then through something better."
Hinata and Hiashi stopped arguing, there were alarming exclamations coming from the outside, scoffs of disgust and shame.
"How shameful!"
"Disgraceful!"
"Get out of Konoha!"
Naruto walked through the Hyuga estate, not even a thought of backing down came to his head, not even with all the insults and shaming going on around him. He just fixed his sights upon Hinata's house and walked through the crowd.
"What the..." said Hiashi, looking outside his window, "What's he doing here?"
Hinata smiled, "He's come to confront you."
Hiashi was stunned with Naruto's boldness, but then shook it off. He turned around, walked out of Hinata's room, and to the front door.
Naruto walked up the clean wooden steps of the house, and came up to the door. Before he could do anything, the door slid open, Hiashi stood in its place. "Hi"
"What's your business here? Jinchuuriki?" hissed Hiashi.
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows, "I've come to pick up Hinata. We're going to the movies."
"The hell you are," replied Hiashi, and pushed the boy off the front steps. He then followed Naruto outside and went into a battle stance. "I won't let you take Hinata anywhere."
Naruto stood up straight, "I'm not taking her anywhere. She's coming with me."
"I can't allow that either."
"And I'm not going to fight you," said Naruto, "I made a promise."
Hiashi hesitated, "Then defend yourself."
"No."
Hinata watched this from inside her room in terror. "Please, no."
"Defend yourself!" roared Hiashi.
Naruto folded his arms in a stubborn display, "I'm not going to defend myself. But I suggest you stop. Hinata doesn't want any conflict between us."
Hiashi ignored Naruto's words and advanced forward, "You have absolutely no right to take the Hyuga clan's heir. Leave now, boy, before you get hurt."
The blond boy stood his ground against a blow. He could only remember vague blurs after that, until he woke up in a hospital. Ino was standing over him and staring into his eyes.
Naruto froze, shifted his eyes from side to side, then back up at Ino's. "What are you doing?"
Ino backed away and made a few scribbles in her notebook. She came close to him again and turned his head to the side, "I'm examining you. You were seriously beat up and dying. Shikamaru found you in a dumpster outside the Hyuga estate in a critical condition, and brought you here."
She backed away and scribbled more notes on the paper. She then pulled Naruto's bed-sheet down and started unbuttoning his shirt.
Naruto felt very uncomfortable, but found no way he could struggle. He had no feeling in neither his arms nor legs. "That asshole actually attacked me... shit..."
"I know," replied Ino, "It sucks that you lost the fight against Hiashi."
"I wasn't fighting him, and that's not what's bothering me," replied Naruto.
"You didn't fight back? Why not?"
"I'm afraid for Hinata. She's probably terrified right now."
Ino paused for a moment, "Idiot! You should be more concerned about yourself! As soon as your limpness goes away, you'll be in more pain than a human body can bear. The limpness will disappear in an instant, your body won't be able to handle so much pain at once, you'll go into shock, and most likely die."
Naruto bobbed his head to the side, "Shit."
"That's why I'm here. I'll take over your mind when the limpness goes away, so that you won't feel it."
Naruto looked up at the blonde girl sharply, and exclaimed "You'll what?"
Ino put her notebook off to the side, "It'll wear off any minute now."
"But what'll happen to you?"
"My mind will probably die in your stead," replied the girl and aimed her seal at Naruto's head.
Naruto struggled to move, but couldn't budge his limbs. "No! Don't."
Naruto's back arched over the bed, as he felt an extraordinary shockwave of searing pain engulfed him. He couldn't remember anything after an instant of experiencing the pain. He woke up with Ino collapsed on a chair beside him.
Barely conscious, she weakly looked over at him and spoke, "It's fine. We'll all live by the end of today," she then lifelessly bobbed her head to the side and spoke no more.
Naruto jumped from his bed and caught the blonde girl before she fell to the floor from the chair. "Ino!" he yelled, and shook her. Then felt for the girl's pulse, it was steadily beating, and she was breathing. He sighed in relief, "Thank you."
Hinata sat in her room and cried for over an hour. The tears were stinging, her eyes were red, and she went through five boxes of tissue paper. She looked out her window, and flinched. The street of the Hyuga estate had established a painful feeling every time she looked at it. Two times had Hiashi stepped over the line; two times Hiashi had nearly killed her closest friends. She had no desire to be a part of the Hyuga clan anymore, let alone be its heir. She turned and looked up at the ceiling, "I'm going to run away..."
Time slowed down and she slowly turned her head to the window, which was the source of a soft knock. She didn't understand why she couldn't move quickly, everything was slow. She accidentally dropped a tissue paper while getting up, and was startled by the fact that it was falling very slowly. She hoped that an explanation for the slow motion was outside her window.
She opened her window and looked down. Kiyoshi's eyes met hers. "Hi," said the boy."
"Kiyoshi! Run before Hiashi finds out you're here!"
Kiyoshi smiled, "Don't worry. He won't catch me while I have this jutsu activated."
"Why are you here in the first place?"
"I've just come to say that Naruto'll be fine. Shikamaru and I found him, and took him to a hospital."
"Hiashi stopped me from helping Naruto..." said Hinata, and a tear rolled down her cheek, "Is he all right?"
The tear that had previously rolled down Hinata's cheek, landed on Kiyoshi's forehead, but he ignored it. "He'll be fine," replied Kiyoshi, "Shikamaru said that Ino will take care of him."
"You didn't go with him?"
Kiyoshi scoffed, "The last place I want to be is anywhere near Ino."
"Thank you, Kiyoshi. Send my thanks to Shikamaru please."
"Will do," replied Kiyoshi and turned around. "I'll be going, your dad's probably noticed me by now." Kiyoshi disappeared in a cloud of smoke right before Hiashi came around a corner to find Hinata staring out her window. Time resumed its original consistence, nothing was slow anymore.
Hinata closed her window and went back inside. She collapsed on the bed and went to sleep.