He couldn't move.

She was there, right in front of the bookshelf that his book was on, looking at one of her own. It was there, mocking him. He should have moved. He should have turned around and hid behind another bookshelf until she left. But no, of course not. His eyes went straight her lips. Luscious lips that moved slowly as she read the words displayed on the unseen page.

Lips that were begging to be kissed.

His lips tingled. He wanted to kiss her. Lack of sleep over a fantasy was something he could deal with, but the core of his fantasy in front of him, practically begging for caressing, was something he could not.

Then she turned her head slightly. She looked at him, a shocked expression. He looked at her. A blush rose on both their cheeks.

His control left him.

He took a step forward. "Hinata" He started to say, but was cut short by the demanding of his body.

He pressed her up against the bookshelf that sat perpendicular to the one his book was on. Out of surprise she dropped the book and braced herself, with one arm out at either side.

His lips molded to hers perfectly. This kind of thing wasn't his forte, but at that moment in time his insecurity -and anything related to conscious thought- was long gone. Pure instinct kicked in.

His body pressed up against her, securing her to the shelf. Taking his right hand he placed it on the section between her cheek and the back of her neck; just below her ear. Tilting her head slightly back he nibbled on her lower lip. He felt her chest shift with her quiet intake in breath. Her lips parted.

As soon as his tongue shifted in between her lips hers immediately joined it. There was no longer any surprise in her. Her arms wrapped around his neck, holding him painful close. His right hand moved and gripped the back of her neck as fiercely as she was pulling him in. His left hand braced himself on the bookshelf behind her.

"Hey Naru….uh…um…Hokage…uh…" The familiar voice of konoha's green beast sounded behind them.

Embarrassment.

There was silence all around as all three people, and a confused looking old lady an isle down, starred at each other.

What does one do when he or she has been caught necking in the public library?

Both Hinata and Naruto kept their wide eyes trained on the shocked eyes of Lee. His gaping mouth, which was opening and closed, reminded the blond of a fish he saw at the local sushi restaurant.

That was a good roll. He'd have to go back again soon.

With the thought of food fresh in his mind he was able to break himself from the tense atmosphere.

Taking a peek at the mortified Hinata the urge to protect kicked in. The urge to protect wasn't anything knew to him. As far as he was concerned no one was going to get hurt on his watch, but for the first time he wasn't concerned about everybody else. As a matter of fact there was no one else. Just her. He saw nothing but her.

"Hinata-chan, I have to go" a large smile spread across his face. "I'll talk to you later"

The only real change in Hinata was her eyes shifting nervously to the blond.

Bowing his head slightly he turned and walked away from her, much to the annoyance of his inflamed manhood.

Lee shot Hinata a nervous apologetic look before following the blond. They walked side by side past the academy and toward the Hokage tower. Lee fidgeted while a confident serine look broke over Naruto's face.

"Um, Naruto" Lee broke the silence.

The blond sighed. He knew that Lee would want to ask questions, though he couldn't think of any besides "what the hell did I just walk into". His muddled mind couldn't think past that, so he hoped nothing left Lee's mouth that would make him think.

"What would happen if Neji found out? Or her father?"

Naruto didn't miss a step, which took a great deal of concentration, considering the heavy weight that Lee just dropped on his shoulders. What would happen? What would they say? Would he live through it?

"I wont tell anybody Naruto, just be careful. Neji's clan doesn't really take these things well."

The blond nodded. He already knew that. He already knew that the head Hyuuga had a large metal stick up his ass, and that the counsel had pinecones up theirs. It never occurred to him before that maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he should have left Hinata at her house instead of going on that date with her. He didn't want to get her into trouble.

Neji didn't seem to mind.

But her smile. Her lips. Her Laugh.

This urge to touch her. To hold her. It wasn't something he was used to. Sure he had his crush on Sakura, but that was over. She was his sister now. His hot sister, but still his sister…or maybe a cousin. The point was Hinata was something special.

And he wondered why he never noticed it before.

Before he knew it, Naruto was standing in front of the Hokage. Lee had escorted him to her office then left right after, closing the door behind him.

The look on Tsunade's face scared him. He didn't insult her. He didn't demand the details of the mission. Suddenly he didn't want to know.

"Naruto" She looked almost ashamed.

All he could do was stare at her, hoping to god another one of this loved ones didn't die. That was when he remembered.

Sakura. She was on a mission that could take a great deal of time. A seriously dangerous mission that no one, not even he, was aloud to know the details of. Why the hell was she always on missions that damn dangerous? Did they care for his sanity at all?

She better come back.

"Naruto, we have a situation, that requires your specific skills. We need somebody that could handle torture."

His eyes widened. Torture? "What?" She was sending him to do what?

She closed her eyes. "You heal faster than any human should. You also have the ability to make clones and lack the ability to die" A small smirk played on her face. Her eyes opened, still full of guilt and sadness, "There is a man that is after the secret of Hyuuga clan. He has already attempted the retrieval of two separate members, failing both times."

His heart hurt, or was that just his chest? He wasn't entirely sure, and he didn't care. Members of his village were in danger. Hinata was in danger.

"The first member had been taken for a period of one hour, but long enough to do some lasting damage. A young girl in the branch family, had yet to obtain the seal, had been taken from the park while her mother was distracted. We later found out that the distraction was caused by the kidnapper. The little girl was found just outside of the village walls screaming. The man was trying to cut her eyes out. He barely touched her with the knife before Neji got to them"

He didn't want the mental images. He didn't want to think about what neji witnessed, nor what could have happened if neji wasn't there in time, but he had to. He needed to know what kid of bastard he was up against. Besides, Neji was just as much of a protector as he was. He didn't even want to know what Neji's face looked like when he caught them. Something akin to a demon he was sure.

"The kidnapper?"

"He escaped after creating a diversion. Neji would have gone after him if there wasn't a bleeding toddler."

He nodded in understanding.

"We have information that states they are planning an attack tomorrow night, at the Hyuuga compound. Hiashi is away for diplomatic reasons, and Neji has been left in charge of Hinata's protection. Unfortunately Neji left this morning with team Gai on a four day A ranked mission and Hinata is their new target."

"What would be better than a the eyes the heiress." He mumbled. God it was Hinata. Hinata was in trouble. He needed an idea.

"Tomorrow night you need to use that Sexy Jutsu thing in the form of Hinata in hopes that they will take you instead. You will then be tracked back to their layer, where a branch Hyuuga will gather information, and we will proceed from there. You may be held captive for several hours before we can get to you. We thought about using a clone, but as you know, once they sink a knife into the clone it will vanish. We need them to take somebody to their layer with a tracking device so we can end this. Will you accept?"

Naruto didn't move, just stood there. Tsunade couldn't tell exactly what kind of face he was making. He looked to have been close to void of any emotion yet completely emotional. It was an odd combination, and almost scared her.

She didn't want Naruto to go through this, but it was the fastest way. All of the other plans Shikamaru came up with took days if not weeks for months. This would take hours. It would be over quickly.

"I'll accept"

She barely heard the whisper. Looking up into his determined eyes she nodded slowly, almost in a haze. She didn't actually think he would agree, but then she should have. Taking a thick scroll from the pile on the right of the right of her desk she handed it to him. "You mission starts tomorrow at four. You will be meeting Shikamaru to go over the plan and any possible thing that could go wrong. I will not loose one of my best ninjas" She smiled playfully. "And as a thank you, once this mission is over, I will treat you to ramen."

His eye lit up, even if it was half-heartedly.

$%^&*()(*&^%^&*

It was dark, just like the other nights he did this. It was cold, which was understandable considering the time.

He sat at the bottom of the tree, hoping for his chance to come. He hadn't been here in a few nights, and he felt a slight guilty for it. His training was going so well too.

The bark scratched at his back as he sat there and waited, fully clothed this time. He needed to come up with a plan that would help them out, and this was the best he could come up with. He didn't know who this girl was, but there was just something about her that he trusted. Something a little familiar in a way, and the way she moved was so hypnotic it wasn't surprising when her dark figure popped in his head.

In all honestly he felt a little stupid. The ninja's of his village were some of the best in the ninja world. It there were anybody that could keep Hinata safe during his mission the next night it would be them, but it didn't seem like enough. He needed something, somebody, who could act as back up incase things didn't go the right way. There was just this feeing in the pit of his stomach that made things feel wrong. Not the mission, that was right, but something dealing with a factor of the mission. It was hard to explain, hell it was hard to think about, but it was the truth.

All he needed now was his goddess to keep an eye on his… Hinata…while he was gone.

Also, he didn't want the heiress to know the details of what he was going to do. Her soft heartedness would be her undoing if she knew.

A shadow to his left caught his eye.

Sitting straight up he looked around until his eye focused on a dark figure across the stream. Standing up he didn't even attempt to walk forward. He just stared at the figure, who was now starring at him. Even through the dark he could see her figure. She was once again naked, and once again, that wasn't his focal point. Still, however, he couldn't make out any features.

Taking a breath he spoke, "I was hoping you'd come tonight" He watched her flinch and take a step back. Desperate to keep her from disappearing in the shadows completely he tried again. "No, don't leave, I need your help. If you don't want to talk, or show yourself to me, that's ok, just nod or something"

There was a short silence before he saw her head nod.

Exhaling he smiled. "My name is Naruto." He offered. In return he received a nod. "I'm from Konoha." Another nod. "Are your form there?" Nod. He smiled. Good, at least she was an ally. "I have a mission for tomorrow night, an S class, and I need your help. You may be the only one who can."

He waited for the girl to consider this before he continued. "This is top secret but I'm desperate. Besides, if you were really an enemy you would have killed me long time ago." He smiled at her.

She nodded.

Taking out a scroll he held it up so she could see it. "isI am taking the place of the Hyuuga heiress tomorrow night in hopes of finding the hideout of a group of ninja's that are after the Hyuuga bloodline." He paused "You know who the Hyuuga's are?"

He could see her. She was shaking. His protecting instinct kicked in when he saw her grab the tree next to her for support before she nodded in a very twitchy way. He could see that something was bothering her when he mentioned the Hyuuga name. Was she a Hyuuga? Did she know a hyuuga personally? Was she a friend of Hinata?

"Are you okay?" He watched her nod slightly. "Ok, um" god this was strange. He was standing in the forest with a naked girl he had never met telling her of a top secret S rank mission. He was in so much trouble. "I need you to go to the place I have marked in this scroll and watch the heiress; Hinata Hyuuga. You know who she is?"

She nodded again, while looking down. She didn't seem to want to raise her head. Why was this causing her so much pain? What was she so worried about?

"I need you to keep her there and safe. She will be surrounded by ANBU, but just incase they manage to get to her I need you to get her back, or alert EVERYBODY. Under no circumstance is she aloud to be taken."

The girl in the shadows looked to have put her hands on her chest. She nodded.

"You'll be there?" he asked again, hopefull.

She nodded.

His smiled widened. "Thank you" He beamed. "I'll make it up to you, I promise! Thanks!" taking in a deep breath he let a peaceful smile take over his face. Thing were falling into place. He would be taken, she would be safe. They would get the ninja's responsible, and this wont ever be an issue again. "I have to go now, need sleep for the mission tomorrow." Throwing the scroll over the stream he watched her catch it on the other side. "She'll be there just before dusk. Don't be late"

She nodded.

$%^&*(*&^%^

No, this wasn't happening. He couldn't be doing this.

She felt like crying. Like she could curl into a ball and lay on bed for all eternity. She knew about the attacks. There hasn't been one for weeks. Since before Hinabi died. She hasn't even thought about it, it's been so long.

It was said that they didn't know exactly who were behind the attacks, but she new. After all she was the victim of this once before. It wasn't the same people as when she was younger, not the same. But similar. Before they infiltrated Konoha and the compound. These people were trying to sneak their way in, and performing the procedure before they even left the vicinity.

They were desperate. They needed something.

Somebody that was responsible for the former attack on Konoha was running them.

Akasuki.

They were dead yes. All but one member. Conan. She was still alive.

THIS COULDN'T BE HAPPENING!!

Her short hair swung around her head every time she turned. The dirt pathways around the garden were slowly sinking due to her pacing.

She needed Neji. Of all the times to not be there, this was extremely unfortunate. He was there, always there, most of the time when she didn't want it. Now she really needed him.

Turning again she walked up the path toward her favorite bench.

She needed to do something. There was no way she could be expected to sit with a bunch of people guarding her while the man she loved was taking her place. They could kill him. They could torture him. They could take his eyes.

Oh god!

Before she realized it she was on her knees clenching at her chest. Tears poring down her face. He was sacrificing himself for her. For her clan. For the village. He was willingly putting himself in harms way and she was sitting in the middle of her garden blubbering like some spoiled weak little baby.

She was week.

…

Her eyes hardened. NO! She didn't want to be weak. She was not weak. She didn't want to sit around anymore. The man she loved was not going to take her place. She didn't spent all those late hours training for this. THIS!

Standing up, her back straightened. Her eye hard. Her teach clenched.

This was not going to happen like this again.

Her body seemed to hum with adrenaline. Making her way toward her bedroom, she felt a sense of confidence, or responsibility, take hold. She didn't know how long it would last, but she hoped to god it would last long enough for what she was about to do.

Walking down the hall she focused on the sound of her own determined footsteps. Making it to her room she pushed the door open and stood in the doorway, scanning her bedroom. On the nightstand a clock sat, red letters starred back at her. Three-o-clock. She had an hour until she had to meat with Tsunade to go over 'Hyuuga Clan business', which included the counsel members. Of course the self-proclaimed 'important members' of the hyuuga clan where going to a safe place for the duration of the mission. No doubt they diluted themselves into believing that since they didn't have a seal their lives were priority.

Her eye narrowed.

This was not going to happen! There were children here. There were older faithful members. They were not pawns. They were not sacrificing peaces.

Walking into her room she knelt down by her bed. Reaching under it she pulled out a beautiful box made of well-kept dark wood. The box wasn't very tall, but it was three feet by one and a half.

She wasn't going to sit back and do nothing.

Flipping the latches on the front of the box she pushed it open. A black piece of silk covered whatever was inside with a green ribbon wrapped around it. Untying the green bow she pulled the ribbon away and moved the fabric.

She was not week.

She smiled. Inside, in perfect condition, were a few familiar sets of clothes. She ignored the other two for the one directly in top. It was back. All black. Comfortable black pants and a long sleeved turtleneck. The best part, however, was the mask sitting on top of the pile. It was an old ANBU mask. A black one, the only black one she had ever seen. It wasn't shaped as anything, just a plain oval mask with hole for the eyes and breathing holes for the mouth and nose.

Picking it up she turned it over. The inside was white and was shaped to the face of the previous owner. This mask had been cast over the face of the previous owners face to insure maximum comfort.

She was a Hyuuga. She was the heiress. It wasn't her responsibility to simply live. It was her responsibility to protect. To protect the other members. To ensure a future for the clan. No life was more important than another.

Standing up she made her way over to the full-length mirror she had in the corner. Starring at herself in the mirror she was shocked to see the strength radiate off of her. Determination. She was determined.

The Hyuuga name will not be associated with the weak and scared. She will not run or hide. She will bring honor to her family. To herself.

She will protect them, and the man she loved.

A beautiful smiled spread across her face. One of peace and confidence. One she had never seen on herself before.

Putting the mask up to her face she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. The mask fit almost perfectly.

Her father was right. She did take after her mother.

And if she were to die, she would want to die fighting for her loved ones.