Mshinata: LOL. Hinata's a smart fool? xD Hahaha, that made me laugh.

Neji: -explodes-

Mshinata: Airbender01 killed you, Neji-niisama. –Smiles-

Neji: -dead-

Ino: He can't reply anymore. He's in million pieces!

Mshinata: You know what's weird? Everybody said they loved Hanabi…except for one person. LOL! I was surprised.

Ino: Since Neji-san is dead and can't do the disclaimer, Mshinata-chan doesn't own Naruto.

"Hinata-sama!"

"Hinata-sama, it's nice to have you back."

"Oi, oi, Hinata-tama is coming this way!" (-tama is just cute for "-sama.")

"Welcome home, Hinata-sama."

The welcoming was really too much if you asked Hinata. She had a dazed look on her face as she walked down the hallway with Neji to her father's room.

All the Hyuugas lived in many estates. Many of them were connected to each other, making it seem like a dorm.

There was no such thing as privacy in that house hold.

"Hiashi-sama is waiting for you, Hinata-hime." Neji said seriously as he led her down the hallway with the continuing welcome from other family members. Before opening the door to her father's room, he stopped to look back at her. "Are you alright? You look…out of it." He said worriedly. She snapped out of her thoughts and gave a weak smile.

"I'm fine. It's just that…I haven't been home in so long. I was just daydreaming about when we were young." She replied.

"Ah…I see." He said. "Well, here we go." He slowly slid the traditional Japanese sliding doors open to a plain but quaint room. It was exactly as Hinata remembered it.

Even with its beauty and traditional things, it still gave Hinata the chills. She shivered without anybody noticing her as Neji sat down on his knees. He bowed deeply for his face almost touched the wooden floor. He raised his head and looked serious.

"Hiashi-sama…your daughter is present." Neji said as he looked at her. She got the message and also sat down on her knees. She bowed deeply as well for she didn't want to upset her father.

Her father was still the same as always. There was a door on the other side of the room that connected to one of their family's secret gardens. No one was allowed there unless the head of the family allowed them to. Hinata didn't understand why though…the garden seemed plain. But then again, it had its elegant glow. The sliding doors to the garden were open while Hiashi was sitting in a chair, looking outside of the 

sliding doors. He looked peaceful…yet worried. She did not like that look. It was either a look of disappointment or happiness.

"Hinata…" Hiashi snapped out of his deep, nostalgic thoughts and turned to his daughter, meeting eye to eye with her. His eyes grew tired, she noticed. It wasn't the strong shade of lavender anymore. It was the weak diminishing color of lavender. Even if she hadn't been gone from home for long, she noticed a lot of changes about her father. "…I'm glad that you're home." He finally said after a long pause.

"Hai…" She replied quietly, but audible enough for her father to hear.

"As you can tell, I'm growing old." He averted his gaze back to the garden, deep in his thoughts again. He closed his eyes. It seemed as if he was imagining something…something much less stressful. "…it was my mistake…for your absence."

Absence? Is that what he called it? He was still the same. Her eyes became worried…regretful? No…she couldn't feel that.

"I'm asking you in person, Hinata…" Her father stood up and walked towards the kneeling girl, "…will you succeed the family?"

oO0Oo

He knew it. He knew it all along.

All maids were the same…they just wanted their pay and they were good to go. Either that or they wanted his body. Water trickled down his perfect modeled body as he continued to stand in the shower. It seemed like forever since he turned on the water.

Yup. He knew he was going to be the cause of losing all the water in the world.

Sasuke let his black wet bangs stick to his pale face as he continued to stare at his feet. There was something…something tugging at his heart. He just didn't figure out what it was.

Then again…it was partially his fault for her decision to go home. He did treat her like a lower status person. And all along, she was a Hyuuga…a HYUUGA. The company that made a pact with his family's company. He felt so stupid. Hiashi probably already knew she worked under the Uchiha family as a maid. Oh hell...he was going to get a beating.

But the thought brushed aside. All he was worried about was why she left. She seemed all happy and care-free. Maybe it was all a lie? He'd always seen those types of girls that pretend that they were innocent and then they were really vicious inside. But still, he couldn't imagine Hinata as the "vicious" type.

He leaned against the wall behind him and let the water continue to waste itself. He crossed his arms and sighed.

Sasuke knew he needed to let her go. So…why was he so troubled with this situation? It was expected that she would leave. He shook his head. He knew that…he just…

He just wanted to befriend her.

oO0Oo

"Is this really that necessary, Hanabi-chan?" Hinata asked as she looked herself in the mirror with a disgusted look.

"Of COURSE!" Hanabi sang as she clasped her hands in delight. Her older sister was in a beautiful purple kimino with lilies sprawled diagonally across the kimono. "Besides…you look pretty, Onee-chan." Hinata put on a nervous smile and sweat dropped. Her hair was tied up in a bun with a clip that was shaped like two lilies. Her smile suddenly fell. Hanabi noticed her sudden change in mood and pouted. "What's wrong, Onee-chan?" She folded her arms and sat on her older sister's bed.

"I-Iie. Nothing's wrong." She replied to her little sister, turning to face her. "I just…"

"Otou-sama would say that you look like Okaa-sama!" Hanabi waved a finger in the air and giggled. Hinata blushed from the compliment. Everyone in the household did compliment her for having the gentle glow in her eyes like her mother had. She just wished why the compliment was weak that day. Maybe she was getting tired of being compared to her mother?

"Remember Hanabi-chan," Hinata started, "Otou-sama gave me two days to decide." She said as she removed the clip from her hair and let her hair fall loosely over her shoulders.

"Mm…" Hanabi replied, raising a brow, "You know, you wouldn't have come home for nothing. Everybody thinks you're going to stay here for good. I also believe that, Onee-chan." An awkward silence followed as Hinata just stared at her in the mirror.

"…right." Her older sister replied quietly.

oO0Oo

"You know I hate going to a commoner's market." Neji said arrogantly as he stuffed a hand into his pocket and walked down the streets with Hinata. He looked the other way.

"But I wanted to go." Hinata replied with a small smile.

"Hn…whatever you want, Hinata-hime." He replied, inwardly sighing of defeat. He couldn't go against her word…after all she-

"Hinata-chan?" A voice unfamiliar to Neji's ears interrupted his thoughts.

"Ah! M-Mikoto-sama…" She replied nervously, Neji noticed. He twitched though. Hinata calling someone with the suffix "-sama"? That just wasn't right.

"Ah…Hinata-chan, please don't call me that anymore. You don't work for us anymore." Mikoto said calmly, noticing Neji became stiff. Hinata twitched. Somehow…that hurt her.

"H-hai…M-Mikoto-san." She replied with a small smile.

"Are you going to the market with Neji-kun, here?" Mikoto asked, looking at Neji with a smile. She nodded. "Ah…then we shall go our ways, shall we? I've got to get home and cook something for the two guys. You know how impatient they can be without their food. I think it's how all men are, ne? No offense, Neji-kun." Mikoto laughed.

"None taken." He said without a smile or laugh. If Hinata would've been in Mikoto's situation, she would be nervous. But since it was Mikoto, she brushed off his coldness. Maybe it's because she had gotten used to her sons' coldness.

"Well, ja ne." Mikoto said as she passed by them.

"She looked…somewhat familiar." Neji finally said after Mikoto was at a good distance where she couldn't hear them.

"Ah, hai. She's Sasuke-sama's mother." She replied as the two continued their trip to the market. Neji twitched once more.

"Really…stop calling Sasuke, "Sasuke-sama." He isn't your master or anything, so forget about him." He replied rudely.

"…h-hai…" She replied weakly.

"In any event," He brushed aside the Sasuke issue, "let's talk about how you're going to run the family." Hinata immediately looked at him with panicked eyes.

"N-nani?! B-but…Otou-sama gave me two days to decide if I want to run!" She protested.

"Of course you're going to succeed the family head." He said as if he predicted the future. He closed his eyes. "After all…you wouldn't have come home. You had a choice, Hinata-hime, and you chose to go home. It's been said and done. You made your final decision." All the words that kept coming out of his mouth continued to stab her heart of some weird emotion. She figured it was guilt…but then again, how could she be guilty?

"Hai…" She replied weakly again.

oO0Oo

"Okaa-san! Sasu-hime is taking too long in the bathroom! Can you ask him to get out? I have a life too!" Itachi yelled as he stood in front of the bathroom with a towel and a tooth brush in hand. There was no answer. "I guess she's not home yet…" He replied. The bathroom door slowly opened with a tired Sasuke. His hair was dripping from the water, too. "Took you long enough, Hime-chan." Itachi said.

"Hn." Sasuke replied as he walked past Itachi. Itachi raised a brow.

"No comeback? No yelling or shouting? Damn…that's no fun." His older brother sighed as he walked into the bathroom.

Sasuke walked into the kitchen. It was eerily quiet…except for the water that was dripping from his hair to the ground. He just stood there. He missed that Hinata would always be in there and she would greet him with her usual innocent but shy smile. He wasn't attached to her…but somehow he couldn't let go of her. They'd only gotten to know each other for a short time and yet…he wanted to find out more.

"YO SASUKE-TEME!" Naruto practically slammed the door open and smiled his usual idiotic smile. Sasuke made no reply. This made Naruto blink and raise a brow. He let himself in the Uchiha manor and walked towards the quiet Uchiha. "Ne…you okay, teme? You usually…I don't know…would say something like," He crossed his arms and imitated Sasuke, "don't you ever knock before coming into someone's house, baka?' Or something like that…" He said. There was an awkward silence for about thirty seconds until a pillow was thrown at his face.

"Go away." Sasuke said coldly and walked over to the living room. He dropped down on the couch.

"Now there's Sasuke!" Naruto laughed as he took the pillow off his face. "It's too bad Hinata-chan is here…" He sighed as he dropped down next to Naruto. "She still hasn't given me an answer…weird…ne?" He asked with his idiotic smile fading.

"Tell me…why do you love her?" Sasuke turned to Naruto. Naruto's smile softened.

"Like I said before," He said, his tone being much softer, "it was love at first sight…you know how we Uzumakis roll. We like to find our Hime-sama. And I found mine."

"You're really selfish you know that? You get everything you want…and you expect for Hinata to come running into your arms?" Sasuke replied coldly but calmly. Naruto laughed at his comment and gave him his infamous smile.

"Not really. But…I'll be there when she needs me." He said. "Also…I think you should be there too."

oO0Oo

"This way," Naruto whispered as he looked around the corner, signaling Sasuke that it was clear. The two ran around the corner like quick ninjas and leaned against the wall that was surrounding the Hyuuga manor.

"So what's the plan?" Sasuke asked secretively.

"Dunno. Thought you'd figure it out." Naruto said with a nervous smile. An angry mark appeared on Sasuke's temple. He sighed. He should've figured the idiot couldn't come up with an idea.

"Well…" Sasuke started as he kept telling himself that he had to ignore his best friend's idiocy, "you were the one leading this "mission." If I was leading, I would've just gotten in normally…not as suspicious people."

"Well, doing it this way is so much cooler!" Naruto whispered excitedly. Sasuke sweat dropped.

I need to choose better friends. He thought to himself. "Okay…if memory serves, the Hyuuga manor isn't protected well since the walls around the manor are its protection itself, so…it wouldn't be that hard to break in."

"You sound as if we're thieves!" Naruto whispered loudly. Sasuke sweat dropped.

"We look like them by sneaking around! And whose idea was that?" He replied, glaring at Naruto. Naruto sweat dropped but then shrugged it off. "Wait…I hear someone coming!" He said. Naruto panicked while Sasuke quickly observed his surroundings. There was no place to hide. Unless…

Sasuke quickly grabbed Naruto's collar and went inside of the Hyuuga walls. There were never any gates. The Hyuuga manor just seemed like an open target, so what the heck, right? He quickly made a left and stood against the walls with his back on the wall with Naruto. He slapped his hand over Naruto's mouth to help quiet it down.

The guest didn't hear the two guys running and instead walked into the Hyuuga manor.

That's…! Sasuke thought to himself, his eyes widening.

"Sasuke-teme, it's Gaara!" Naruto said under Sasuke's hand covering his mouth. His hand pushed up against Naruto's mouth harder, signaling Naruto to stay quiet.

Gaara continued to walk and walked into the Hyuuga manor where Sasuke heard all the Hyuuga servants and family members greeting him. It seemed like they were expecting him.

oO0Oo

"Sabaku Gaara. Nice to meet you. Well, we've met at school but I had never got the chance to talk to you." Gaara held out his hand to shake Neji's. Neji seemed to be studying his hand and decided it was safe to shake it.

"You're here for a message from Tsunade-san, ne?" Neji asked, getting right to the point. Gaara was led down the halls and into a quaint living room. Neji sat down on a coach and Gaara sat right across from him.

"Yeah." Gaara replied. Neji quietly scoffed and crossed his legs. A Hyuuga servant came in and Neji asked for the servant to get them some tea. "Amazing how the Hyuuga family still believes in keeping servants." Neji's eyes narrowed.

"They're not servants. They are indebted to Hiashi-sama since he has done a lot for each of them." Neji said, closing his eyes.

"You act different in school. What an incredible façade you had. I would've believed that was your true nature if you didn't show your real personality." Gaara said, trying to gather information. The servant…er…person-who-works-for-Hiashi came back with tea and set it down on the table in front of the two guys. Neji took his teacup and sipped his tea.

"Well…I couldn't show my true colors in school. If I did, getting back Hinata-hime would've been impossible." He said it like it was obvious. Gaara's expression remained unfazed. There was a long silence except for the two guys sipping their tea. After a good fifteen minutes, Neji stood up. "It's time we leave for Hinata-hime's decision." Gaara stood up as well with a questionable look on his face.

"Decision?"

"Yes." Neji replied, "her decision to run the Hyuuga household or not."

oO0Oo

"That was Gaara." Naruto said in disbelief as Sasuke removed his hand from his mouth.

"I think we've clarified that." Sasuke said, a bit irritated. Why was Gaara here? He shook his head free of thoughts. "In any case, we need to get in there."

"But you heard the people greeting Gaara! We can't get in without being noticed." Naruto said, waving his arms in the air.

"I know, I know." Sasuke said, his impatience getting the best of him. He started to pace around in the Hyuuga's front yard and crossed his arms. He needed to think of a plan. An idea suddenly popped. "Ne baka, you know my house always has a secret entrance in the back?"

"Yeah…you told me never to go in there or you would break all of my limbs and leave me on the ground." Naruto said unpleasantly.

"Yeah…do you think the Hyuuga family has one?" Sasuke asked him. Naruto shrugged.

"You have a pretty big house, and this is a big house. We'll just have to find out." Naruto said.

oO0Oo

Hinata walked down the Hyuuga manor's hallways with her younger sister. Her sister happily sang and led the path to their father's secret room. It wasn't really a secret, but it still had an eerie feeling every time you went in there.

Hinata was wearing a kimono that day. Weird, but she went along with it. Hanabi insisted that her sister had to dress up. Hanabi dressed her up like she was her doll. Hinata looked simply graceful. Her lips were colored pink slightly and a little blush was added to her cheeks. Her hair was up in a ponytail with a lavender flower clip in it. Her kimono was light purple with a stream of flowers going across diagonally. She simply looked beautiful.

Her sister looked back at her and said, "You know what would make you look better? If you didn't look so serious and you smiled!" Her sister pouted and put her hands on her hips. Hinata gave her sister a weak smile. "That's better!"

The two continued to walk down the halls and finally arrived at their destination. Hinata took a deep breath and exhaled. She had to be ready to do what was right.

"Excuse us!" Hanabi said happily as she opened the sliding doors and entered with Hinata following behind. Their father was sitting in his armchair while Neji and Gaara were kneeling on the ground.

"G-Gaara-kun." Hinata said quietly to herself.

"Yes…this young man came for a message from Tsunade-san, Hinata." Hiashi replied, reading her thoughts. Hanabi kneeled down next to Neji. Hinata was about to kneel but was stopped by her father. "Iie. You stand." It wasn't a suggestion. It was more like an order. She quietly gulped. She still was intimidated by her father. "Gaara-san, you go first. What is your message from Tsunade-san?" Hinata knew little about Gaara, but she did know that he wasn't the type of person to be intimidated easily.

"Tsunade-sama asks that even if Hinata becomes head of the Hyuuga family, can she still attend our school?" Gaara asked politely. Hiashi pondered.

"That is my decision after Hinata and I will discuss it." He replied. Hinata knew what her father meant. By "discussing," he meant ordering her without any complaints. "Hinata," her father looked at her with serious eyes, "what is your decision?" There was a long silence that seemed like hours. But it was only for a few minutes. "I will ask again, Hinata. Do you plan to head this family and gain your honor back? Or will you go back to your low life with the Uchiha family?" She twitched a bit.

"NO!!" The sliding doors behind Hiashi were slammed open. There stood Sasuke and Naruto. Sasuke was the one slamming the doors open while Naruto was the one who yelled that.

"Hinata-chan, think about what we've been through together!" Naruto said, entering without permission. Sasuke sweat dropped but did it anyways.

"Who are you?!" Hiashi yelled, practically jumping out of his armchair. Neji's eyes narrowed.

"I'll handle this, Hinata-hime." Neji said, getting into his fighting stance.

"Naruto, I'll-" Naruto pushed back Sasuke as he stepped forward.

"Iie. I don't want you to be the hero this time, teme." Naruto said, cracking his knuckles. Sasuke smirked.

"Fine. Do whatever you want." He said, turning to Hiashi.

"Let's take this outside, Uzumaki." Neji said, jerking his head to the side. There was a door on the right that led into the Hyuuga gardens.

"Let's." Naruto said confidently as the two guys exited the room and into the Hyuuga gardens.

"KAWAII!" Hanabi squealed. "Two men are fighting for you! You're so lucky, Onee-chan!" Hanabi said with sparkly eyes. Hinata sweat dropped, thinking it wasn't the right time to think about that.

"Hiashi-sama," Sasuke said politely, "Boku no…Iie…Ore wa…Uchiha Sasuke (1)." Hiashi's eyes widened.

"Yes…the Uchiha brat." He spat back at Sasuke. Sasuke remained unfazed.

"You threw out your daughter…and now you take her back? What is your plan? Did you form a pact with the Uchiha family to gather information if Hinata was really my maid?" Sasuke asked, his fists clenched. A small smile crept to the old man's face.

"Yes. How observant of you, Sasuke-kun." Hiashi said. Hinata's eyes widened.

"O-Otou-sama…" Hinata muttered.

"Would you like a father like that, Hinata?" Sasuke now turned to Hinata. "A father who abandons you and has treated you like crap for all of your life?"

"S-stop, Sasuke-sama!" Hinata yelled.

"Baka." Sasuke said. "If you really wanted to stay in the Hyuuga household, you should've talked to me. I wouldn't have come to rescue you."

"Y-you…" Hinata was shaking, "I need to tell Otou-sama my decision! So…get out of his face…please…" Hinata said quietly. Sasuke was angry and sad at the same time. Had Hinata really meant it when she said she wanted to go home? A smirk crept upon Hiashi's face. He had won. He had really won.

"O-Otou-sama…" Hinata started, gulping again, "Despite all the times that you had treated me badly…abused me by hitting me…and kicking me out…I still love you." She said. Once she said that, Sasuke knew he had lost. "But…you had never treated me like a daughter." Sasuke's eyes widened. "I…I'm staying with Sasuke-sama. No matter what. You can't stop me. And…I think I've figured out the reason why you created a pact with the Uchiha family."

"Since Onee-chan was so close to the Uchiha family, Otou-sama thought he could take advantage of that and would have good ties with them. And then when the Uchiha and Hyuuga family worked for a certain amount of years, Otou-sama would buy the Uchiha family and make us richer." Hanabi said, twirling a strand of hair. Hiashi glared at his youngest daughter.

"Is that so?" Sasuke said, his victory smirk plastered across his face. "I guess I win, Hyuuga." He said, forgetting all formalities.

To be continued…

Mshinata: WOW!! I finally finished this…I had a hard time to finish this. Please excuse me if it's a crappy chapter. I wanted to finish this. I've already started school so…please review! xD

(1): Sasuke changes from "boku no" to "ore wa." It's because "ore wa" shows more importance. "Boku no" is masculine but it's not as confident sounding as "ore wa" is. I might be wrong on my descriptions but I know that "ore wa" is definitely bigger than "boku no." OH!! "Boku no" and "ore wa" means "I am."