I have finally escaped the world of homework and can spend some more time on writing chapters! Yippie! I can't believe i forgot to thank all the people that reviewed! It should be my first priority! Thank you soo much for reviewing Ayrmed, DotheRoar2012, , YungHime, , Kika04, Roxie.88 Dawoyo and everyone else that reads my story! Hugs to you all! Ok, let's get on with the story, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but i do own...nothing. I got nothing. -_-

Chapter 10: Sealed Fate

The hospital door opened and the Konoha streets came into view of Hinata's lavender orbs. She scanned her surroundings and smiled. It was good to get out of that clammy ward and take a whiff of some fresh air. She tried to hobble forward but Naruto quickly caught her stumbling body before she could fall again. He chuckled at her embarrassed expression. "Take it easy! You've got me to lean on right!" She gave an embarrassed nod ad grasped Naruto's shoulder to balance herself. Taking the crutch in one arm, she deposited her weight on it and clutched the other crutch. Naruto let go of her body gently and watched her balance on the two wooden sticks. Just in case, he held his arms out to catch her if she fell. Hinata let go of one crutch and hesitantly touched her left leg the ground. She could feel just a silver of movement inside. Tsunade had positioned and placed special chakra wires inside the hollow wood that would act in place of her nerves. It would take time, but she had assured her that slowly, all of the tiny tubes would connect to her body, letting her feel complete movement in her leg. Until that happened, Hinata was forced to hobble around with crutches and be a burden for the rest of people around her. Naruto noticed her face take a gloomy appearance and touched her shoulder comfortingly. "Don't worry Hinata. We all want to help you and no one thinks of you as a burden! So cheer up ne?" He smiled brightly to prove his point. Hinata smiled back and nodded. "Arigato Naruto-kun." She lifted her leg of the ground and leaned on the crutch for support again. This time, she tried to move forward by letting her right leg touch the ground and use the momentum to push herself. It worked perfectly and after a few wobbles, Hinata got the hang of using the crutches. They both stepped into the sunshine and continued their way to Ichiraku. Hinata wanted to postpone her meeting with the clan elders as much as possible so she happily took up Naruto's offer to treat her to ramen. As they walked through the village (Hinata hobbled) several people stopped to greet the young kunoichi and murmur quiet sympathetic remarks about her leg. She simply waved them away with a small smile but each pitied remark added more despair inside her heart. Soon, they reached the familiar Ramen shop and went inside. Teuchi glanced at his customers and gave a smile, crinkling the wrinkles around his eyes.
"Welcome! Sit down, both of you!" He gestured to the seat and turned back to making the usual order for Naruto. Naruto took the crutches from Hinata's and helped her sit. He deposited them beside her chair and started chattering like a squirrel. Ayame leaned over the counter and smiled at the two. "I already know your order Naruto, but what would you like Hinata-san?" She asked politely. Hinata smiled shyly and spoke. "One chicken ramen please." (A/n I do not know if that's an actual flavour so apologies if it isn't!)
"Coming right up!" She scribbled down the order and handed it to Teuchi. The said man smiled and glanced back at the chattering ninja and the smiling kunoichi. He had heard of what had happened to the Hyuga heiress. More like former heiress. Heck, it was the news of Konoha. Many theories had concocted as to how the poor fragile young maiden had gotten such a huge injury. The sad thing was, though the old man, that no one actually cared what happened to her, they just needed another topic to gossip on. He had not given any remarks to the shy Hyuga, considering it wise to just keep his own thoughts to himself. After all, pity was not something that was appreciated. He quietly finished the orders of 2 dozen bowls of ramen with different flavour and one single chicken ramen. Two bowls of ramen were placed in front of the two friends. Naruto's eyes gleamed with delight and he rapidly started chowing down his food. Hinata pit a small hand to her lips to stop an escaping giggle as she noticed a noodle stuck to his face. Naruto looked up from his bliss of ramen to see Hinata giggling slightly. Her lips curved slightly and a light shade of red adorned her face while her eyes crinkled up. At that moment, she looked more blissful than his ramen. Shaking his head wildly, Naruto took away all the confusing thought inside him. He really was focussing a lot on Hinata's beauty these days. But how could he not? Every aspect of her was something to gawk at. Her lavender eyes and soft hair, her slim figure and oh...those lips. They looked so soft and so full...his head snapped back to attention. I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this! Instead he dug his face back into his ramen and tried to ignore the weird thought his mind was producing. Hinata had noticed none of the conflicting thoughts going through Naruto's face and instead, focused on her ramen. She glanced at her side to see Naruto stuffing his face like a chipmunk and smiled. After finishing their meals, they both paid the bill and Hinata politely thanked Teuchi for his service while Naruto simply argued with Ayame that his ramen didn't have enough noodles today. Hinata moved to get off the chair, completely forgetting that she had an attached leg for a moment and fell to the ground face first. Naruto's attention snapped back to her and he quickly helped her up. "Hinata! You ok? Oh I'm so sorry! I should have helped you up!" The said women got up and groaned silently at the pain shooting up in her arm. She had most likely bruised her arm badly. Naruto took her arm and she jolted away. Yup, definitely sprained. He gave her a questioning look. "I-i think i sprained my arm." She said sheepishly. Naruto chuckled and lifted her up bridal style, earning a squeak from the woman in return. He grabbed the crutches and strapped them behind his back.
"N-n-naruto-kun! W-what are y-you doing?" Hinata asked while blushing a few shades of red. Naruto simply chuckled and tightened his grip around her just a bit, making her squeak again.
"You bruised your arm when you fell and that won't enable you to use your crutches. Unless you wanna crawl your way back to the compound, I'm carrying you." He said with a serious face. Hinata lowered her head in an attempt to hide her red face. Villagers looked at the two of them in surprise and confusion as they moved through the village. Just to embarrass her further, Naruto decided to take the log route to the compound.
"N-naruto-kun...can we please take shorter route?" She asked quietly. Even though she wasn't excited to go home, she didn't want embarrassment. Naruto faked surprise. "What? There was a shorter route? I had no idea!" He said.
"Naruto-kun...please." Hinata murmured. He looked at her expression and smiled.
"Alright! Top speed we go!" He tightened his grip and dashed towards the direction of the compound at break neck speed. He expected Hinata to yell at him. However, as he looked down, she seemed to be enjoying it as a graceful smile was on her beautiful face. He chuckled and continued his insane speed. They arrived at the compound shortly. Before Naruto could go in, Hinata spoke.
"Naruto-kun...I can go on from here." She smiled at him. He looked unsure for a while but smiled. "Alright. Just let me call someone to help you ne?" She nodded and Naruto put her down gently before taking her left arm, the non-bruised one and slung it over his neck. Together, they walked inside. Guards blocked the entrance but thy let them in. Naruto noticed that none of them even bothered to look at Hinata. He growled lowly and headed inside. They entered the huge garden where a Hyuga member was guarding the main door. He looked at the two of them and his eyes lit up in worry.
"Hinata-sama! Are you alright? I heard of what happened but i wasn't allowed to leave my post. I apologize deeply!" He rushed over and bowed to the woman. Hinata smiled at him.
"Please lift your face, Ko-san." He looked up and asked once more. "Are you alright?"
"Yes. I'm fine. Naruto-kun, you can go now. Ko-san will help me out. Thank you for escorting me here." She said in a rigid tone. Naruto noticed the change in her voice but didn't let on. He simply smiled and waved a bit before leaving.
Ko slung her arm over his shoulder and led her inside. Every Hyuga member stopped and bowed to them as they passed by. Hinata nodded her head to each of them and let Ko guide her to her room. That moment was getting closer and closer. She hobbled inside her room and Ko bowed to her before leaving. She sat down on the bed and put her crutched to the side. Inspecting her arm, she made two hand seals and soft chakra emitted from her hand. She touched her arm and within minutes, the bruise was completely gone. If only the same case was with my leg...
She leaned over and opened her drawer. Inside, was a picture off her, mother and father. She smiled and took it out. She was laughing and riding on her father's shoulders while her mother was beside them and smiling. That had been when she was still healthy. She put the picture away and leaned back, putting her back against the head board. The sun was slowly setting and her eyelids were getting heavy. She closed her eyes and let sleep take her.

Sunlight filled the room, making Hinata wake up from her sleep. She yawned and opened her eyes and looked around. Oh...I'm back. She slid her feet over the bed and moved her left leg a bit. She could feel a little bit more attachment from last time. She grabbed her crutches and hobbled out of the room into the bathroom. With some difficulty, she dressed herself into pants and a shirt. She hobbled out of the bathroom, into her room and outside. She hobbled deeper into the compound until she reached and small door to the left of her hallway. She opened it and hobbled inside. It was surprisingly clean. She went to the other side and slid open another door that led to the garden. Stepping outside, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The old table had been replaced with something else. She hobbled over and stared down at the grave stone in front of her. With some difficulty, she sat down. Slipping her fingers out of the crutch, he grazed them over the carving etched into the stone. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"Okaa-san, I'm about to make a choice forced upon me...wish me luck ne?" She sat there for a few hours and just stared at the stone with a dazed-out expression. After a while, she snapped out of her daze and stood up. She put pressure on her right leg and hobbled before grabbing her crutches and made her way out of the garden. She exited the small room and headed for the elders room. Just as she reached the paper doors, Hiashi stepped out. Looking up, his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before his expression went back to uncaring.

"The elders are expecting you." He said and simply left. Hinata looked back at him sadly. Her fear was confirmed now. She would be considered a burden. She hobbled inside and looked around. The room was wide and open. Seven old people were sitting in a semi-circle, facing the door. She bowed her head to each one of them and sat down carefully. After bowing her head lowly towards them, she waited.

"We have been expecting you." One of the elders spoke in a deep voice. The woman beside him looked at Hinata with hidden disgust.

"Since you have gone and injured your leg beyond belief, you have made yourself even more useless than before. We have given you a choice. Either you make yourself less useless and marry someone of our choice or we put the seal on you. Which one have you chosen?" Hinata sunk even lower and spoke with an even voice.
"I have chosen...To marry someone of your choice."

If people are wondering where the hell Neji is, that will be revealed next week on Saturday! I just love making cliff hangers! Muhaha!
You people should check out DoTheRoar2012's stories! They are awesome! Review and tell me what you think of this development! Also if you liked the Naruhina i put in there!

~TheJollyHyuga