Mshinata: Go Naruto-nii! –Cheers-

Naruto: Mshinata-chan likes me better, Neji. –Smiles-

Neji: Shut up, baka.

Mshinata: I'd like to say one thing. Sasuke and Hinata don't love each other…yet. xD So…just be patient! LOL! I didn't notice that Neji and Naruto fought in the Chuunin exams and that the previous chapter had that in it…oops. xD Nah. This fan fic's continuing for a long time. So no worries.

Sasuke: -groans-

Mshinata: -clears throat- "Bloody brilliant?" THAT'S A COOL THING TO SAY, lazyguy90! Hehe. I'm so weird.

Sasuke: Yes. Yes, you are.

Mshinata: Well…until Kishimoto-sensei gives me Naruto as a Christmas present, I do not own Naruto. –Smiles-

The tea cup landed on the table with a soft clink. The young maid bowed with a smile while her master quietly thanked her. He sipped some of his tea as he continued to read the newspaper.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Hinata-chan." The master's older brother greeted the young maid as he walked into the kitchen. He took a seat across his brother.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Itachi-sama." Hinata bowed again. She placed a cup of tea in front of him as well.

"It's nice to taste good tea, again." Itachi sighed of pleasure as he took a sip. "Much better than what little Sasu-chan makes." Sasuke glared at his brother.

"Shut up. Not like you can make any either." He said, flipping a page angrily.

"That's because I don't have as much free time like you do." Itachi said, sipping his tea again.

"Free time?! Hell, you skip classes most of the time!" Sasuke banged his hand on the table. Hinata was startled by the sudden bang and flinched.

"Well, it's nice to have you back, Hinata-chan." Itachi said, completely ignoring his brother. Sasuke put down his newspaper. His expression seemed deep in thought.

"What's wrong, Sasuke-sama?" Hinata blinked. Sasuke snapped out of his thoughts.

"It's nothing…it seems like…we've forgotten something." He muttered, crossing his legs.

"Yup. You forgot your fox." Itachi said, sipping his tea. Now, Sasuke and Hinata blinked.

"Fox?" They both said in unison. Itachi sighed.

"Fine. You're filthy rich fox…whose guardians can sue us for losing him for over twenty-four hours." Itachi said. Sasuke and Hinata both started sweating bullets.

"Naruto!"


"D-damn…YOU!!" Naruto said, throwing himself at Neji again. He threw a reckless punch while Neji smoothly dodged it…for the twentieth time.

"Tch." Neji said, poking him in the stomach and making him slide to the ground. "What business do you have with Hinata-hime? You surely aren't her master as well…unless you live with Uchiha." He raised a brow, putting a hand on his hip. Naruto's teeth clenched. He wiped off the blood that was starting to ooze from his mouth. "Don't tell me…you've gained such emotions for the princess."

"Why don't you find out?" Naruto said, his voice rising with every word. He actually caught Neji off guard and punched him in the stomach. Neji lost his balance for a bit but then regained it.

"Get lost, you imbecile!" Neji said. He couldn't take it anymore and punched him in the face. Naruto flew backwards and rolled to the ground.

"Naruto-kun!" Neji turned to the voice that cried that.

"Hinata-hime…!" Neji shouted, but his smile soon faded once he saw Sasuke following behind her. Hinata rushed to Naruto's side and placed his head on her lap. He was unconscious. Yes, Neji's punch was that strong. Sasuke faced the male Hyuuga.

"No one hits Naruto-baka…" Sasuke said, "…except me." Hinata sweat dropped at that. "But to make him unconscious is unacceptable. I've already taken Hinata back. Why don't you give up?" Neji clenched his teeth.

"Because…" Neji said calmly, "…I made a promise." Hinata's eyes widened as she looked at Neji. Sasuke raised a brow.

"A promise?" He asked.

"Yes," Neji replied seriously, "a promise to always protect my princess…and to make her happy." Neji said. His voice was laced with deep emotion and caring. Hinata could tell. "That's why I must bring her back, because this is where she belongs…!" Neji said as his fist soon neared Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke was too quick and dodged it to by moving swiftly to the side.

"To make her happy? Is this what she wants? To be treated unfairly by her cruel father?" Sasuke asked. Neji's punches started coming in faster. Sasuke dodged each and every one of them and continued to talk, "You're not doing a good job, keeping your promise." Neji's fist tightened.

"Shut…UP!!" He shouted as he swiftly tried to punch Sasuke's face.

"Aren't you scaring Hinata by fighting like this?!" Sasuke shouted back. He couldn't dodge Neji's punch to his face, so he closed his eyes hoping for the worst. But then, Neji's punch never reached Sasuke's face. Sasuke slowly opened his eyes as he saw Neji's fist right in front of his eyes. Neji's arm slowly retreated back to his side.

"N-Neji-niisan…" Hinata muttered.

"Hinata-hime…" Neji muttered, turning her way, "…why? Why do you choose the Uchiha family and not your true blood-related family? Am I not good enough? I swear I'll get stronger." Neji said almost desperately. A small smile crept to Hinata's face. She shook her head slowly.

"Iie. It's not that." Hinata said softly. "Arigato, Neji-niisan. You were the only one in my family who ever truly cared about me, but…" Hinata's eyes saddened. "…Otou-sama took away the name of heiress from me. I am not longer a Hyuuga heiress. I know I can't ever come back home…"

"T-that's not true. Hiashi-sama told me that he wanted you to come home." Neji insisted.

"B-baka…" Hinata was surprised as Naruto tried to sit up. He wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, "…Hiashi is a liar. Tsunade-baa-chan told me."

"If you truly cared for Hinata and her happiness…" Sasuke finally said, "…wouldn't you want what she wants?" He asked. Neji's eyes widened. His mouth slowly turned into a smirk.

"Hn…" He replied. He turned to Hinata who was still on the ground with Naruto. "Hinata-hime…one day…I will get you back no matter what. I don't care what anyone says, but in the mean time…" he shifted his eyes to Naruto then Sasuke, "…you two have to take care of Hinata-hime. If I come visit and she's not happy, I'm bringing her right back."

"Dammit. That means you're coming to visit…right?" Sasuke asked with a sigh as he ran a hand through his black bangs.

"Of course." Neji changed to his split personality with a friendly smile.

Hinata was happy. She smiled at Naruto and then to Sasuke. But what she saw on Sasuke's face…was something she hadn't seen before.

A true...sincere and warm smile.


"HINA-CHANNN!!" Ino glomped Hinata. Naruto, Sasuke, and Gaara sweat dropped. The five were in the hallways right before classes started in the morning.

"If you're going to do this every morning, I'm going to have to ask the counselor to see you." Gaara said. Ino was still hanging onto Hinata and glared at Gaara.

"Seriously Ino," Naruto scratched the back of his head, "that DOES seem creepy for you to hug her like that…" She shot him a death glare…maybe even worse than Sasuke's! (A/N: -GASP-)

"Ohayo gozaimasu. It seems like we're all in a good mood this morning."

"Oh hell…" Sasuke and Naruto muttered as all five of them turned around.

"Nii-san!" Hinata said as Ino let go of her. Neji gave them a friendly smile.

"Aren't you supposed to be…I don't know…GONE?!" Naruto shouted with one eye twitching.

"I have been given permission to go to this high school," Neji said with his over-friendly tone. He switched to his serious self again and said, "So I can look over Hinata-hime."

"Stalker," Sasuke coughed. Neji glared at the Uchiha.

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun. There probably won't be any more trouble causing you and your sweet maid." Ino said as-a-matter-of-factly. (A/N: -listens to Soul Eater opening to get the ideas flowing-)

"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto asked, crossing his arms behind his head and raising a brow. The male Hyuuga and Naruto both looked in Sasuke's direction with questionable looks.

"S-she's being stupid. Ignore her." Sasuke turned away. One hand covered his mouth while his other was shoved into his pocket. "Let's get to class before the teachers come get us." Everyone nodded and followed the Uchiha. Hinata was just left standing there, cocking her head to the side.

Was that a tint of red on his face?


Class was as boring as ever. Two thirds of the class were asleep due to Kakashi-sensei's boring lecture. Well…Kakashi's "teaching style" was reading some sort of book while somehow blabbing on about something educational. Hinata found it amazing. Sasuke found it just plain stupid.

He thought that Kakashi might as well stay home and read his books in a corner. If the books were that important to him, why did he choose teaching? Sasuke leaned with his chin on his palm. Everything was back to normal. He wasn't happy, but…it was refreshing.

But he still had a lot to think about.

Naruto still liked Hinata. Just a little tug at his heart bothered him is all. He removed his palm from underneath his chin and started to "take" notes. He secretly took a glance at Hinata. She was actually taking notes. Amazing.

Before anyone knew it, the bell rang and class was over.


Hinata closed her locker shut and sighed.

"What's wrong, Hinata-chan?" Ino suddenly appeared beside her. Hinata was used to this already so she wasn't surprised.

"Nothing really." She gave a small smile. "It's just that…having Neji-niisan watch my every move is…"

"Weird?" Ino raised a brow.

"N-No…! W-wait…yes." Hinata said.

"Don't worry." Ino gave a big pat on Hinata's back. "If he does anything, I'm here to kick his ass." She said confidently, pointing a finger to herself. Hinata giggled and smiled warmly. She was glad that everything was ALMOST back to normal. It was just that Neji was here. "Hmm…" The two started walking down the halls and out the exit of the school. "That's right! Naruto confessed to you, ne?" Hinata's face turned instantly red. "Who would've known the most spoiled kid in the whole school would fall for the most innocent girl in the whole school?" Ino laughed. Hinata fidgeted.

The two were heading towards the Uchiha estate as Ino continued to talk.

"Who told you, Ino-chan?" Hinata asked with a slight blush on her face.

"I have my ways." Ino placed a finger on her lips and winked. "So…did you say yes?!" She asked excitedly. Hinata shook her head no. "Wow. I'm surprised, Hinata-chan. Any normal girl would date him. I mean…some girls fawn over him for his good looks and not to mention…his MONEY!"

"But that's not right. You don't just like someone for their money. That's not even liking somebody." Hinata muttered to herself.

"Mmm. You're right, but girls in this school can't help it. This school is very prestigious…and only the richest kids around can get in." Ino said obviously. Hinata's eyes widened. That's right. She only entered this school, because the Uchiha family paid for her tuition…

"I…didn't say no either…" Hinata muttered.

"EH?! So you haven't even answered him?!" Ino practically shouted. Hinata flinched at the sound of her voice. She nodded.

"He said that he would give me time…to think about it." She said quietly.

"Well…what are you thinking about?" Ino asked. Hinata thought deeply about this. She didn't know what she was thinking.

"You are a good girl." Sasuke said awkwardly.

Her face suddenly turned red. She could feel the heat on her cheeks. She cupped both her cheeks. Why did she think of that?! That happened a long time ago and yet…she somehow remembered.

"You're thinking about Naruto, aren't you?!" Ino giggled.

"I-Iie!" Hinata said, blushing even more. W-why…why did I think about that? S-Sasuke-sama…is…


"Tadaima!" Itachi said as he smoothly walked in the estate. He took a glance at the kitchen, surprised to see who was cooking. He blinked a few times just in case his vision was going wrong. "Wow. My aniki is cooking dinner!"

"S-shut up." Sasuke muttered as he continued to cut the carrots.

"You're so cute, Sasu-chan. You're wearing an apron and everything." Itachi said as he walked into the kitchen and leaned on Sasuke with his arm resting on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke brushed off his brother's arm.

"Shut up. Okaa-san told me to cook dinner tonight, since there's a meeting at the Uchiha Corps today." Sasuke said. Itachi blinked.

"That's tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah. Good thing, though. We don't have to go." Sasuke said, putting the cut carrots into the pot.

"That's a first, ne?" Itachi said casually. "We usually have to go. I wonder what's up."

"Well, whatever it is…" Sasuke said, "…just let our parents handle it."

The door opened, revealing one energetic and bubbly girl and a warmly smiling, lavender-eyed girl.

"Sasuke-kun is cooking?! Aww…are you connecting with your feminine side? I knew you always were the sensitive type." Ino said, running into the kitchen. An angry mark appeared on his temple. His hand was trembling with the knife in it. He could throw it at her at any minute.

"S-Sasuke-sama! Please don't let the stew boil so much…" Hinata said gently as she rushed into the kitchen, turning the stove down. "It's best to just keep it at a steady temperature, so it won't be ruined."

"Hn." He replied.

"So cold." Itachi and Ino both muttered.

"You can stop, Sasuke-sama. I'll cook dinner." Hinata said as she grabbed an apron from one of the drawers and tied it around her waist.

"Iie." He answered. She blinked. "I mean…Okaa-san asked me to cook dinner for everybody…so I'll do it." He said.

"He's turning into a man." Itachi said proudly, wiping away the invisible tear. A knife was thrown and barely missed Itachi's head.

"I told you to shut up." Sasuke said with a deadly tone. Everybody sweat dropped and left the kitchen…all except Hinata.

"Are you sure, Sasuke-sama?" Hinata asked with worried eyes. "I mean I can-"

"Don't treat me like I can't cook." He interrupted her. He didn't even turn around to reply to her. "I'm a guy…but I can cook."

"I...I see. Gomenasai." She bowed.

"…don't apologize." Sasuke said as she was untying her apron off. She looked up at him with a questionable look. "I think I told you before that you should stop."

"A-ah…okay." She stammered. It was weird. Sasuke seemed tense today. Maybe it was weird having her back and knowing she was a Hyuuga? She inwardly sighed. Oh well. She'd rather not ask him about his problems. He might say that it was none of her business.

To be continued…

Mshinata: This chapter was kind of useless. I was trying to make things come back to normal with the whole Hyuuga situation. I'm sorry if the second half was boring. –Sweat drops-

Sasuke: What happened to listening to the Soul Eater opening to get the ideas flowing?

Mshinata: -sighs- I don't know. Help me, Kid-kun!

Sasuke: …that guy has a mental illness.

Mshinata: HE'S ADORABLEEE!!

Sasuke: HE HAS OCD!

Mshinata: What's wrong with having OCD, Sasuke? Are you saying something?

Sasuke:

Sai: Give her lovely reviews. It would be an honor.

Mshinata: Twin pistols!! xD