Author's Note: I still do not own Naruto. That much has not changed. Anyway sorry it took a bit to get this update out. I have been a bit busy with finals. Actually I have one in like 9 hours that I should be studying for but I felt like writing instead. It is late though so forgive me if it isn't the best. This was more of a filler chapter than anything but I managed to get some interesting things in there. Obviously (or obviously once you read this chapter haha) the next chapter will be a bit more exciting. Other than that thank you once again for the reviews and those of you who have added this story to your favorites or watch list. It really does motivate me to write more. Anyway on another note I would also like to say that I am glad you enjoyed the street racing chapter and I really do promise that I don't street race. The only thing I am guilty of is having a lead foot. I think it would be extremely cool but I am forced to say all my knowledge comes from research not first hand expereience. Hope you enjoy the chapter.


The alarm clock blared in her ear causing Hinata to wince as she pulled the covers over head momentarily as if they could somehow drown out the dreadful sound that her alarm was making. Of course the covers did no good and Hinata was forced to reach out from under them and hit the snooze button on her alarm. It was Saturday morning but she still was expected to have breakfast ready by a certain time.

She glanced at her clock, which read eight o'clock in the morning. She had the urge to grown, she had gotten in sometime after three last night. She had barely gotten four hours of sleep. Of course her weekends were always like this, or at least they were when she spent her nights at the rallies. She was used to the lack of sleep and usually she was able to sneak in a nap for a few hours when she claimed to be upstairs working on her homework. Other times she really was forced to work on her homework.

Pushing the covers back, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and put her feet on the cool hardwood floor. She shivered as the chill seemed to climb up her legs. Slipping her feet into a pair of slippers, she quietly padded across her floor and to her bathroom. She turned on her shower, holding her hand underneath the steady stream of water until it warmed up. She then stepped out of her pajamas and climbed into the shower.

Fifteen minutes later Hinata was standing in front of her mirror wrapped in a towel and using her hair dryer. It didn't take her too long to dry her hair and deciding it was dry enough, she wrapped her hair back up into her usual tight bun. She sighed at her reflection, a frown creasing the corners of her lips. She stared at her pale features and expressionless eyes and wondered why it was so hard for her to be something other than what she was without the protection of her mask. If only she didn't lack the courage to throw herself out there, to let herself take a chance and show the world who she was. She wondered if she would ever be able to shed her shell as Hinata.

Stepping out of the bathroom, Hinata quickly dressed, her outfit much like the one she had wore the day before, shapeless and without much style. She decided to remain barefoot as she slipped out of her room and headed down to the kitchen. She still had to make breakfast before her father and Neji got mad. She was expected to do some cleaning today as well. She often felt more like a maid and cook than family. Yet every time she was pushed to the point of being angry, she would open her mouth to say something and falter. She would clam up and fall silent her words dying on her tongue as quickly as they had come.

She wished she was able to stand up more for herself. Why she wasn't able to was beyond her. When she was wearing a mask it was no problem but when they could see her, she was unable to let her thoughts move from her mind and to her lips almost as if there was some sort of barrier. Oh how she hated it. There were so many things she wanted to say. For starters she would say that she didn't really like blueberry pancakes. She liked chocolate chip ones. A grim smile crossed her pale features as she added the blueberries to her pancake mix. What was so hard about just dumping in chocolate chips instead?

With a frustrated sigh, she mixed the batter a bit more before getting ready to cook the pancakes. Soon enough she had blueberry pancakes stacked up on a serving dish on the center of the table. The table was set and both the milk and orange juice sat on the table waiting to be poured. She had cut up some fresh fruit and cooked sausage as well to go with the pancakes. She was just setting the syrup on the table when her father and Neji came in and took their seats.

"It's about time," Neji muttered as he poured himself a glass of orange juice, his long hair a mess since he had obviously just rolled out of bed. Hinata clenched her fist at her side as yet another retort died on her lips. She instead hung her head and took her seat. She ate her breakfast in silence, only half-listening as Neji and her father discussed the schools that Neji was considering for the fall. Hinata couldn't wait until he was gone. Not that she expected her father to treat her any differently but at least she would only have to deal with one set of disapproving looks.

When they had finished, Hinata cleared the table and did the dishes. She had just finished drying to plates when her father came in and told her to get the family room cleaned. She did as she was told as she always did and then excused herself to her room to do some homework. In reality she had already completed all her homework and as soon as she hit her pillow she was out like a light.

She wasn't sure how long she had been sleeping when she heard the buzz of her phone. She mentally cursed whoever was calling for waking her. Glancing at the phone she saw it was Shikamaru and with a yawn she answered it.

"Hey Shika," she said tiredly, rolling from her side onto her back and looking up at her ceiling.

"Hey Hinata I was just calling to see if you were going to the rally tonight," Shikamaru said sounding bored all the while he was talking to her. If she didn't know him as well as she did she might think he was being rude or something along those lines. "Cause I figured if you were we could leave a bit earlier so we can work on buffing out that scrap on your car from last night."

Hinata thought about it for a moment. She was tempted. She really did want to work on her car but she was exhausted and tonight was one of those rare nights were she actually wasn't racing. So really she didn't need to go.

"I don't Shika I was kind of thinking about staying some and catching up on some sleep…"

"Figures," he muttered more to himself than to her. "Well then I guess you haven't heard."

"Heard what," Hinata asked pulling her legs up in the air and watching her feet as she waited for him to spill the news he had obviously called her about.

"Well the word is that there is going to be quite a rivalry match tonight," Shikamaru said and Hinata was surprised to hear a bit more excitement in his voice. But then his words processed. A rivalry match, did that mean that…

"No way," Hinata said dropping her legs to her bed and sitting up quickly.

"Yeah the word is Kakashi and Gai are going to race tonight. So I guess I'm picking you up then huh," Shikamaru asked his bored tone once again replacing the excitement that had momentarily been there.

"Yeah. I will see you at 9:30. See you later," Hinata said as she hung up and placed her phone back on her nightstand. She glanced at her clock. It was still early. She could probably sleep for another hour or so. She yawned and laid back down, curling her legs slightly as she rolled over onto her side. She closed her pale eyes and sighed contently only to have her phone go off again. She groaned and grabbed the phone once again. She didn't bother to look at the name as she answered it.

"Hello," she said tiredly.

"KAKASHI AND GAI ARE SUPPOSED TO RACE TONIGHT," Naruto's voice nearly made her jump a foot in the air.

"I know Naruto. I will see you later. Bye." Hinata hung up the phone while he was still rambling about how awesome the race was going to be. This time she put her phone on silent before once again trying to catch a quick nap before something else came up.

By the time 9:30 rolled around, Hinata was no longer tired. In fact now she was pacing around her room with pent up energy. She really was excited about the race. She didn't always get a chance to watch Kakashi race and the fact that it was against Gai made it so much better. Of course she knew that if Gai won, Lee would never shut up about it but she would deal with it if it came up.

She had decided to do something a bit different tonight. It was one of the first nights in quite some time that she was going to a rally as an observer rather than a competitor. So she had opted to wear a pair of nice jeans, dark washed and without any holes. She also wore a red halter that stopped just short of the top of her pants leaving a thin line of her milky white skin visible there. She had on a pair of strappy heels as well that gave her another two inches of height which she really liked. Her hair was down again though this time she had taken the time to curl it slightly. She had done her makeup once again, enhancing her natural beauty and then finally she had put in her contacts and put on her mask. Violet was ready to go when Shikamaru's truck pulled up outside her house.

In the end she was glad she had decided to come. She and Shikamaru had been able to start working on buffing out the scratches on her bumper and it was looking like it wasn't going to take them as much time as she had originally thought. Plus Jiraiya was still so excited about her win that he didn't mind that her car had been a little scratched up. Not to mention he was a bit distracted by the thought that in a few hours his top racers would be going up against each other.

In all fairness he wasn't the only one distracted by that thought. The whole garage had seemed to be hung up on their upcoming race. Lee had been a nervous wreck and would randomly shout that Gai was the greatest and would win the race without a doubt. Naruto had been arguing with him that he thought Kakashi was going to win which was really getting Lee worked up. Now though the arguing had been dropped because the event it had all been about was now here.

Kakashi and Gai were lined up at the starting line which would also serve as the finish line. The race was two laps around the course that had been set out for them. There were only two racers and the first one over the finish line was the winner. The two cars, one silver and the other green, sat side by side, their engines humming though unheard over the sound of the crowd.

Hinata and Naruto were up close to the street against a barrier. They were both gripping the barrier with their hands, anxious for the race to start so that they could see the outcome. And finally just when it seemed like it was 

impossible to wait any longer, the sound of the air horn rang out over everything and the engines of the cars roared to life as the two drivers hit the gas and pushed their cars forward. The crowd erupted into a cheer and even Hinata let out a whoop as the cars flew past them, the breeze blowing her hair back from her face.

"I've got to pee," Naruto stated as soon as the cars rounded the first bend out of sight. "Save my spot please," he pleaded nearly dancing in place.

"Are you serious? You can't hold it," Hinata asked placing her hands on her hips and looking at him in disbelief.

"Yeah and no I can't. I have been for hours now," he said before taking off into the crowd. Hinata shook her head and turned back to the track.

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath as she rested her elbows on the barrier.

"Now that's not a nice thing to say about a friend," said a smooth and low voice behind her. She tensed the cocky tone making it obvious to her even without seeing his face.

"Are you stalking me Uchiha," she said not even bothering to turn back to look at him.

"I might be," he said coming up to stand beside her. "But stalking is not my style. I seem to just keep running into you. Maybe its fate, what do you think?"

"Oh I am sure," she said rolling her eyes slightly and turning to face him. "Fate or not we still have a choice about what our destiny may be. So while it might be trying to throw us together as you claim, I can still make sure we stay apart," she said with a smirk.

"Ouch. Do you really not like me that much," he asked a frown crossing his features causing Hinata to actually feel a bit bad.

"No that's not it. You seem fine. It's just," she let out a bit of a frustrated sigh. "Let me put it this way. If you are looking for a friend or someone to talk that's just fine. If you want something else you are wasting your time."

"Fine I can handle that. Friends," he asked extending his hand to her.

"Fine," Hinata said shaking her head with a chuckle. "Friends," she said shaking his hand.

"Well then I'll see you around Violet," he said before moving back off into the crowd and wondering what the heck was up with Sasuke Uchiha. He didn't seem like the kind of guy who wanted a friendship but what did she know. Her thoughts about Sasuke though were interrupted as the sound of engines filled the air and the two cars came flying around the corner. Hinata grinned when she saw Kakashi out in front by about a half of a car length.

"Go Kakashi," she yelled though obviously no one was going to hear it over all this noise. Even still she wanted to cheer for her teacher. She watched as the cars flew around the bend once again and the roar of the engines slowly faded. Yet the dull fading roar was soon replaced by something else. Hinata frowned. What in the world was that? It hit her at once, sirens.

"COPS!"

People started yelling and pushing their way to their cars. Hinata felt herself being jostled about as she struggled just to stay on her feet. Quickly she hurried away from the street and towards where people had parked. This was the first time she had been caught in this situation without a car of her own. She had no way of getting out of here unless she found Shikamaru and his truck but it was proving to be difficult with all these people around.

She was nearly knocked off her feet again as she desperately tried to figure out where they had parked. She was beginning to panic slightly. She couldn't get caught. If she did she was in serious trouble. Not only the trouble with the cops and her father but she Violet would be exposed as actually being Hinata. That was not something she wanted. Her being Violet helped her get through everything and losing that would be like losing the best part of herself.

She froze when a cop car pulled up in front of her. She wanted to turn and run the other way but it was almost like her feet were glued to the ground. She saw the driver's door opening and she wondered if perhaps maybe they would just reprimand her and not actually arrest her. She wasn't sure what they could and couldn't do. She really had done anything wrong had she? Well at least tonight she hadn't.



The high pitched whine of an engine clouded her thoughts as a motorcycle skidded to a stop between her and the cop car. She blinked at the black bike and the rider on it. He had on a black leather jacket and a black helmet which hid his face.

"Need a ride," he yelled over the engine, and Hinata snapped out of her frozen state. Her feet seemed to come unglued as she ran forward and jumped right onto the back of the bike. She wrapped her arms around the rider's waist and leaned against his back as he gunned the engine, burning rubber as he tore away from the cop car.

"Hey thanks," Hinata yelled loud enough to be heard over the engine as he gunned the bike and turned onto the street.

"Don't thank me just yet," he yelled back over his shoulder, as he made a hard left to avoid the oncoming cop car which then proceeded down the street following them with lights and sirens going. Hinata swallowed a lump in her throat. Well this wasn't good. They certainly weren't in the clear yet.