I strayed away from them once they began to discuss Shikamaru's career. I caught them say that the headquarters of the Shinobi Union was located in the Land of Iron, but I heard no more than that. Once I parted ways from them, I spotted Sai and Choji Akamichi sitting at one of the tables eating and I decided to approach them.

Choji Akamichi is part of team ten. He is large for a ninja so people often underestimate him, but truthfully, he is a force to be reckoned with. As a member of the Akamichi clan, a family filled with heavy people, Choji can expand his body to crush enemies and move monstrous sized objects. This requires energy which he replenishes by consuming incredulous amounts of food. Choji is fully aware that he is larger than most shinobi, but is very sensitive to being referred to as "fat". If one lets that word slip, that person should not expect to emerge from Choji's wrath unscathed.

"Oh, Lady Hinata, join us," said Sai. He scooted over on the cushioned bench to allow me to sit beside him.

This act of kindness surprised me, but I took his offer and sat next to him.

Though he is the same age as me and everyone else from teams seven, eight, and ten, Sai did not attend the Academy with us. Orphaned as a child, Sai was found by a corrupt man named Danzo who tried to take on the role of Hokage before he met his demise at the hands of Sasuke three years ago. Danzo took Sai and raised him in an organization called Root, a secret branch of Anbu that Danzo took charge of. There, Sai was forced to give up his personality, emotions, and any personal relationships outside of Root. Once he left Root and joined team seven, Sakura and Naruto taught him how to connect with other people again, though he often makes mistakes by expressing brutal honesty to others. So, when Sai offered me a seat beside him, it shocked me.

"Congratulations, Hinata," said Choji as he pulled cooked meat off the grill at the center of the table.

"Thank you," I said.

"I'm sure you're tired of hearing that, huh?" said Sai with a smile. "After all, you're who everyone is talking about right now."

"I-I am?" I said. I had been so busy with missions and learning the necessary skills from my father to lead my clan that I had not bothered to stop into town. Hearing this from Sai surprised me. I am never the talk of the town.

Sai nodded his head. "No matter where I go, the only thing I hear from people is your name, something to do with your clan, or something about this man named Toneri that you're supposed to be marrying. Within the three years I've known you, I never would have imagined that you'd become so popular. Up until recently, you were a person that was easily forgotten."

"I-I see…" I said with a wry smile. Though true, it was still harsh.

"You couldn't have put that a little nicer?" said Choji with his mouth full of pork. He then swallowed it and asked me "What's Toneri like? If he isn't good to you, you know that we'll all be coming after him."

"The wedding has been called off, actually," I said. "My father and I mutually decided that I do not need a husband to claim the throne."

"Good for you. Ino has been complaining for the past two weeks about how you don't need an arrangement," said Choji.

"It's been canceled again?" asked Sai.

"Again?" I asked. "This is the first time, Sai."

Sai shook his head and wore an expression that told me he was more than confused. He said "That is not what I heard."

"What did you hear?" I asked.

"I heard that you were getting married for weeks and then when you left on your mission, I heard someone say the wedding's been canceled. A day after that, someone said the wedding is back on," said Sai.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Are you sure that is what you heard?"

"It doesn't matter what he heard," said Choji. "The villagers in the Leaf have nothing better to do than gossip. If a person hears the same thing for days on end, someone is going to end up changing the story. Whatever you heard, Sai, isn't true."

"I suppose you're right," said Sai. "Ino informed me in very vivid detail about how the world of gossip works. Your explanation sounds logical enough to disregard the chatter in the village." Sai turned to me. "Please ignore what I said, Lady Hinata. It is clear that what I overheard is not true."

Choji stuffed a piece of pork in his mouth and said "What better source to get information from than the person who is involved in this situation herself?"

I shook my head. "Who did you hear say that the wedding is back on?"

Sai shrugged his shoulders. "Some old woman shopping in the market."

"Just an ordinary old woman?" I asked. I felt my heart pounding against my chest from fear at the mere thought of this being true.

Sai glanced at Choji and then back at me. "Yes, Lady Hinata, just an ordinary old woman."

"What are you worrying for?" asked Choji. "Like I said, people in this village have nothing better to do than to gossip. Whatever that lady said isn't true. Ask Ino. She'll back me up on this."

I left the table to find Ino who was still talking to Sakura. Instead of staying by the front door, they migrated to the bar and as I got closer I noticed that Tenten was now with them. Regardless of her presence, I asked Ino "What are the chances of a rumor to be true?"

"Random question," said Ino. "You aren't the random type, so that tells me you heard something from someone."

"Sai told me that he heard someone say that the wedding is back on," I said.

Sakura stood up from her seat. "What?"

Ino threw an arm around my shoulders. "Worry not. Eighty-nine percent of the time when you hear a rumor in the Hidden Leaf, it isn't true. If we were in the Hidden Mist, then that would be another story. Now, how old was this person?"

"Sai said that the person was an old woman," I said.

"Yikes," said Ino. "Old people, women in particular, are very nosy and love gossiping more than I do, and when someone loves gossiping more than me, they live, eat, and sleep rumors. Since the person Sai overheard is an old woman, that means the information she learned has a sixty-five percent chance of being true."

"That is more than half," I pointed out.

Ino nodded her head. "That might frighten you, but don't worry. Despite the statistics, a rumor is a rumor. If you want answers you'll have to ask your father."

My body broke out into a light sweat as I recalled the threat Lord Toneri issued to me a few days ago. I said "I need to go home."

"Whoa, really? The party barely got started," said Ino.

"I know that you must be worried, Hinata, but don't you think that you're overreacting a bit? It was just a rumor," said Sakura.

"I need to make sure that what Sai overheard is just that – a mere rumor," I said.

Tenten hopped down from the bar seat. "Lord Hiashi is not the type of man to keep you in the dark, especially when this rumor involves you and the Hyuga clan. If it is true, he would have told you by now that the wedding is back on."

I tighten my lips.

"We aren't here to tell you what to do. If you want to leave, you can, but just know that you probably are worrying about nothing," said Tenten.

The more I thought about it, the more they made sense. Even though Lord Toneri threatened me, if he wished to harm me, he would have to go through the entire Hyuga clan and I doubted that he had enough power to obtain what he wants through sheer force. Also, just as Tenten said, if the rumor is true, my father would have informed me by now. He knows that I have returned from my mission and he knows where I currently am, so there is no excuse as to why he would not tell me if I am to marry Lord Toneri.

Once I exhaled, I said "You are probably right. I guess I am worrying over nothing."

"See? Now that's the spirit!" said Ino. "Now, why don't we- Oh my god…"

All of our attention trained to where Ino was looking. When I saw what she saw, my heart stopped immediately. Naruto Uzumaki walked through the front door with Kiba and Rock Lee.

Sakura frowned and attempted to make her way towards him but I stopped her. I shook my head. "It's alright. He can be here if he wants to be."

"I asked him not to come," said Sakura.

"Clearly, he didn't listen," said Ino.

"Am I missing something?" asked Tenten.

Ino said "To sum it all up, Naruto is an idiot that doesn't deserve to be here after the crappy date he went on with Hinata. He ignored her for weeks and decided that it would be okay to show up to her party after Sakura asked him not to." Ino turned to Sakura and tossed her hands in the air. "I didn't think he could he get any dumber."

"Please," I said. "This party is open to anyone who wishes to come, correct? Naruto is no exception. Please, be kind to him."

Sakura, Ino, and Tenten exchanged glances.

Ino said "I'll greet him, but that's all I'm going to do."

"I try hard to be nice to him on a regular basis," said Sakura. "If he does anything stupid, I'll let him know how messed up he was to ignore you after you gained enough confidence to finally ask him out."

"I'll play nice only because you asked me to," said Tenten.

Even though Tenten's answer was the only one that I wanted to hear, I thanked them all.

"Are you going to talk to him?" asked Ino.

"I have not come that far yet," I said.

"Well, you better decide fast because he's coming over here," said Tenten.

"What?" I said, my heart stopping for the second time tonight. I glanced behind me, learning that he was approaching us. "M-Maybe he is not coming for me?"

Ino glanced too. She then nodded her head. "Oh, yeah, he's coming this way."

"We'll be over there if you need us," Sakura told me.

"W-What? Where are you going?" I asked in a panic.

"Anywhere but here," responded Ino as they all walked off to the other side of the restaurant.

Seconds later, Naruto walked up to me, wearing a crooked smile, which was very uncharacteristic of him since he is always smiling brightly. He said to me "Hey, Hinata. Congrats on becoming the leader of your clan. I know you'll be a great one."

"T-Thank you, Naruto."

The atmosphere between us quickly became awkward and I had difficulty finding words to say. It appeared that Naruto also had trouble speaking to me as he stood there with his crooked smile still in place. Just as I thought that he was going to walk away to escape the tension, he asked me "Are you feeling nervous about leading your clan?"

"Yes, I am. Though I have been trained for it and even though the members of my clan know me well, there are still many worries that I have such as mistakes I will make or if my clansmen will accept me as the new leader," I admitted.

"That makes sense," he said. "That's what I worry about when I become the Hokage."

Ever since Naruto was a small boy, he dreamed of becoming Hokage. Given all of the effort he made in name of the village and all of the allies he made from the great nations, he is likely to succeed the Sixth Hokage, Kakashi Hatake, and become the Seventh Hokage. He is strong-willed and confident and even though his common sense is questionable at times, I believe that he will make a great leader for our village.

I smiled kindly at him. "You will make a fantastic Hokage, Naruto. I have absolute faith in you."

A soft shade of pink coated his face as he nervously scratched his head of short blond hair. "Thanks, Hinata." He paused and then looked around the room. Behind me, his blue eyes locked onto who he was searching for. "Hey, Hinata, I gotta go. Congratulations again on your achievement."

He gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder as he brushed past me to reach the person who he was searching for – Sakura. He was pleased to see her; however, she was not as pleased to see him. When he approached her, Ino and Tenten scooted away and Sakura gave Naruto a good smack on the arm as she yelled something unintelligible at him. He rubbed his arm and appeared to be apologizing profusely, and despite how harshly she was chastising him, I saw something in Naruto's eyes that made my heart ache.

I saw love.

The reflection in Naruto's eyes mirrored mine when I looked at him, but she seemed not to notice how he stared at her. In that moment, I realized that I never had a chance with him and I sadly turned away from them.

"Okay everyone. Can I get your attention?"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to focus their attention on Ino who was standing on top of one of the tables.

With a charming smile, she said "Thank you all so much for coming tonight. This was not very easy to throw together since I know that most of us here have very busy lives. The fact that you made time tonight to come here shows Hinata how much you care about her." She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and looked at me. "I prepared a small speech for you. I'm going to read it but promise me that you won't cry. If you do, I will too and I won't be able to finish it."

I smiled. "I promise, Ino."

"I'll hold you to that," she said. She cleared her throat and read: "Within the ten years that I have known you, you have shown an extreme amount of growth and you still continue to grow! When I first met you at the Academy, I thought that you would be another wannabe ninja with little to show for, but you proved me wrong, and not just once – you proved me wrong countless times. You cease to amaze me and I am proud, more than proud, to call you one of my closest friends. You've served this nation, the Land of Fire, well, and I know that you will lead your clan with the utmost excellence and with more passion than the leaders before you. I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors to set your clan on the right path." Others in the room clapped as she made her way to me. When she reached me, she wrapped her arms around me and said "I love you, Hinata."

When she pulled away, I smiled at her and thanked her.

Each person in the room took turns delivering a heart-felt speech, making me do my best not to burst into tears. Everyone expressed how much they cared for me, how they wished me the best, and how they would miss working with me. Sakura was the last person to share her words with me and I listened with just as much attention as I had with everyone else.

Sakura stood on one of the tables and looked around the room. "I didn't prepare a speech so forgive me if I have trouble finding certain words to say." My pink haired friend then looked at me. "Hinata, when I first met you in the Academy I wondered how a person like you could have passed the entry exams to be enrolled. You had extensive knowledge on the basics, but you lacked skill in ninjutsu. Your presence was easily forgotten and because you had no friends, you chose to sit at the back of the classroom…" She paused. "Despite what people said about you, despite how many people doubted you, you continued to try and you never quit trying. Your efforts to become stronger was overlooked by many and you were often underestimated even by me. Honestly, I had trouble remembering your name and when I did, I questioned your worth as a kunoichi. However, during the Chunin exams, you shut me up. In fact, you shut all of us up. You saved me in the Forest of Death and even though you didn't pass the preliminary exams at the end of the forest, we all noticed how bright you shined as you fought your way through the exams. For the first time, I saw you. I saw your worth."

The room was dead silent and I held back oncoming tears.

Sakura continued. "You grew stronger after the exams, challenging yourself beyond your limits and even though I was training under Lady Tsunade, one of the greatest shinobis of all time, you put me to shame. You worked hard by yourself and after we became Chunin, you and I were at the same level of strength. Knowing that I worked hard and endlessly under the tyranny of Lady Tsunade while you trained by yourself and sometimes with Neji, I couldn't help but feel jealous of you. I couldn't comprehend how we could be equals in strength, but then I realized that you never stopped training. You worked yourself day in and day out, never giving yourself a day off and that resulted in you creating multiple forms of jutsu. I mean, who does that? That hasn't happened in thirty years! I can speak for everyone in this room – no – everyone in this village that has underestimated you that you are one of the best shinobis the Hidden Leaf has to offer."

She paused, causing everyone to assume that she finished her speech, and they began to clap. It was when the crowd noticed Sakura fighting back tears that they realized she had more to say. As the clapping ceased, she then said "And can I just add that, not only are you a great kunoichi, you are also a great friend? Let's admit; I was never the nicest person. Everyone in this room can agree to that. When I showed Hinata how rude I could be, she showed me how kind she could be. When I showed Hinata how selfish I could be, she showed me how giving she could be. When I showed Hinata how cold I could be, she showed me how warm she could be. Despite all of that, despite how awful I would treat her, when I was at my lowest points, Hinata would offer me an ear or a shoulder to lean on, and because of that, she won me over. She made me a better person. Many can say that she made me who I am today, and I can concur. Hinata has made me a better person and I never thanked her for that." A tear rolled down Sakura's cheek as she looked at me. "Thank you, Hinata, for making me who I am today. You know me. I'm stubborn and I listen to the advice of very people. If you could change a person like me, you can change the Hyuga clan. I wish you good luck."

It was when the crowd erupted into claps that I noticed my face was wet with tears. Sakura approached me with open arms and I more than willingly stepped into them. She squeezed me tightly and said "I love you, Hinata. If you ever need me, I will answer your beckon call."

I squeezed back. "Thank you, Sakura."

We lingered there in the other's arms for several moments until we settled our, what seemed to be, endless tears. Sakura was the first to pull back once the crying stopped to get a good look at me. She said "Yep, you most definitely are leader material."

I smiled. "I will not let you down."

"You better not," she joked. "You haven't eaten yet, right? Let's get some food. There's plenty to choose from."

Just as I was about to follow Sakura to one of the tables, I heard my name called from behind me. Turning to see who had called me, I was surprised to see my father standing at the entrance of the restaurant. I left my friend's side to meet my father who was wearing a grim expression.

"What is the matter, Father?" I asked.

"Can I speak to you in private?" he said.

Even though he asked, I knew that he was not really giving me an option, so I followed my father outside of the Yakiniku Q where Ko was standing guard. Under the night sky away from the prying eyes of my friends and teachers, I asked him again "What is the matter?"

"I am afraid that I have terrible news, my daughter," said my father.

I could only guess what he meant by that. "What do you mean?"

With haunted eyes and lips in a frown, he told me "The wedding is back on."