Author's Note: I do not own Naruto. Now on to things that you don't already know. Once again thank you all for the wonderful reviews. This story now has over 100 reviews and I couldn't be happier. I am glad that people enjoy reading it so much. I hope as it draws to an end I don't let you all down. Now in an earlier chapter I mentioned only having another 2 or 3 chapters left. I think I might add an additional chapter or two. A few more ideas came to me that I think would be good to include. So expect three or four more chapters after this one. I am going to add the extra chapter or two just to set a bit of stage for the sequel. Nothing major mind you but there will be some hinting going on. Now on the note of a sequel if there are any particular characters you would like to see more of or just see at all in the sequel feel free to let me know and I will see what I can do. I already have who is going to be in it in my mind but I want to see if there are any reader favorites I might be missing. And my final note is that I would like to thank lil. ramen. lover (death to this thing for not letting me put your name in without spaces) and credit them for Naruto's little speech in this chapter. I had never intended on having Naruto make a speech but the review really captued the way I am trying to portray Hinata so I had to throw it in there. Plus Naruto always seems prone to make speeches anyway. And now on to the story. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.


Hinata stared as Sasuke turned and walked away in the other direction. It took a moment for it to sink in that he was walking away from her.

"I don't need or want this getting around."

The words seemed to echo in her head as she stared blankly at the spot where Sasuke had stood a moment before. She felt completely numb, which she supposed was the best thing she could have hoped for in that very moment. She didn't feel a thing as it sank in that he didn't want her. Not even that he didn't want her, but that he didn't want it getting around that he had been with her. She noticed her hand was trembling at her side as Neji glanced at her and then looked down, something she didn't quite recognize in his gaze. Was it possible regret?

Unfortunately at that moment the numbness began to fade. The sting of rejection started to settle in and Hinata knew that there was no way she was going to make it through the day. She didn't even know if she was going to make it through the next minute without falling apart. She felt betrayed and foolish at the same time.

As much as she may have wanted him to accept the truth, she hadn't expected him to. She hadn't figured he would want to carry on with the strange sort of relationship they had been in. So if she had expected it, why did it seem to hurt so bad? Granted she hadn't expected him to never want to associate with her again. That had seemed a bit extreme even for the warped self-image she had of herself.

She could take the pain of rejection, the smug look on Tenten's face, or what looked to be like pity in her cousin's eyes. She needed to flee. The flight or fight instincts had kicked in and the last thing that Hinata wanted to do was fight at the moment. It felt like it was all she had been doing lately, and after a life that was completely lacking in confrontation, she was completely drained. She turned quickly and walked as fast as she could for the exit, her head down as she fought off the tears that threatened to spill from her pale eyes. She would not give any of them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. She could at least keep it together until she made it out of the school safely. She nearly collided with someone but didn't bother to look up as she mumbled her apology and kept walking. There was no time to stop.

"Hinata?" A distinctly feminine voice made her stop despite her desperate want to escape the school. Her shimmering gaze was dragged upwards to the concerned face of Sakura.

"Are you alright," Sakura asked, her emerald gaze studying Hinata closely.

Hinata gulped and nodded though both of them knew it was obvious that she was lying. Hinata didn't know what else to say to the pink-haired girl. She didn't trust her voice at the moment. No doubt that if she tried to speak it would break and possibly shatter her composure as well. She noticed a frown form on Sakura's features as she shut the open locker that she had been standing at. To Hinata's surprise Sakura then grabbed her hand and began to drag her down the hall.

"Where are we going," Hinata asked as she found her voice. She was surprised that it didn't break. It was shaky at best but the words left her lips without the tears falling from her eyes.

"We are getting out of her," Sakura said with a mischievous grin as she tugged Hinata towards the exit. While Hinata was quite relieved to be leaving the school she had been planning on doing it alone, not with company.

"But won't you get in trouble," Hinata protested. It wasn't that she didn't like Sakura. Actually now that she knew the girl a bit better, she found that she was actually quite nice if not a bit hot-tempered at times. The simple matter was that Hinata didn't want Sakura getting in trouble on her account.

"I might get in a bit of trouble," Sakura said with a shrug. "But my grades are nearly perfect so I can afford to miss a day. Besides we both deserve to have a little fun."

"Alright," Hinata said, her pale gaze resting on Sakura momentarily before drifting back to her feet. She supposed the company would be nice after all.

"So what did you want to do today?"

"Umm…" Hinata thought about it for a moment and several ideas popped into her head at once. "Well I need to go apartment shopping," she said with a sheepish grin. News about her leaving her house hadn't gotten around yet. She was rather sure of that. "And I would like to go visit Naruto."

Sakura glanced at her out of the corner of her eye but she didn't press the manner. Instead she shook her head and offered Hinata a smile.

"Well then I say we get the local apartment listings and go for a drive. Then we can stop by the hospital to have lunch with Naruto. We could bring him some food since all he does is whine about the hospital food. And afterwards we can go look at some more apartments. Oh and if you'd like we could rent some cheesy horror movies and have a girls' night. I am sure my parents won't mind."

"Thanks Sakura," Hinata said quietly as Sakura rambled on.

"What are friends for," Sakura said as she led Hinata over to her car and walked around to the driver's side.

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Hinata's mouth as she heard Sakura's words. Despite how horrible she felt because of Sasuke's attitude towards her, she couldn't help but feel a bit of happiness. She had never had a female friend before. While she wouldn't trade her friendship with Shikamaru or Naruto for the world, having Sakura in her life now was a gift. Finally she had a friend who she could share things with that she couldn't necessarily share with her boys.


Neji had stood there in silence as Sasuke Uchiha walked off in the opposite direction of his cousin. He could barely meet Hinata's pale gaze as she stood there staring after the Uchiha. It wasn't hard to read that she was hurt but he had to give her credit, she held it together well.

Still Neji noticed the trembling of her hand, and the way her eyes started to shine with unshed tears. The sight made him look away as an emotion he wasn't quite familiar with came over him. Could it be that he actually regretted what he had just done? He supposed he did.

From the beginning he had never really known how to deal with his cousin. She had her father and their fortune while he was orphaned and without money. He was his uncle's charity case. So at first he had been jealous of Hinata. So when he discovered the strained relationship between father and daughter, he had used it to his own benefit.

He had become closer to Hinata's father than she ever had been. He would keep a watchful eye on Hinata and report to her father in order to gain more favor with the man. It was almost a way of taking some of what she had for himself. So this last time had been no different. He had told her father about her racing to drive the wedge even further between them. Now he wondered if it was possible that he had driven it too far and that everything had shattered.

He hadn't expected Hinata's outburst though. He hadn't though that this time would be any different. She was supposed to have accepted her punishment and things were supposed to have gone back to the way they were. Hinata had surprised him with her actions. She had left the house and left him to wonder why he had felt the need to push her and father so far apart. He could have strived to improve their relationship, but he had chosen a different path. It was the path he believed to be his destiny, and the path he was seriously beginning to question.

As for telling Sasuke about Hinata, well that had not been his idea. In fact he had every intention of following Hiashi's word. He planned to speak on Hinata's secret life to no one. Tenten on the other hand had still be furious about what Hinata had done. While her nose hadn't been broken, she had a terrible bruise the next day from where Hinata had punched her.

So it had been Tenten who wanted to expose Hinata. It was her way to get revenge. Neji had no interest on what seemed to be a rather low attack. However above all else he was in love with Tenten, and would do just about anything for her. She came off to be quite a rotten person to most people, but she was in fact a different person when the two of them were alone. Then she was the girl who he cared so deeply for.

He realized now that he should have stopped her from telling Sasuke. He hadn't set out to reveal the truth and personally hurt Hinata along the way. And it was obvious that their actions had done just that. It was too late to take them back though and he was still unsure as to how to deal with his cousin so he simply stood there and watched her flee.


"What are you guys doing here," Naruto said with a grin as he looked up at Sakura and Hinata from his hospital bed.

"We played hooky today," Sakura answered with a smile. "And we decided to bring you lunch," she stated as she placed a bag besides Naruto's bed and on the table.

"Sakura you are awesome. You too Hinata," Naruto said with large blue eyes. Sakura laughed and Hinata smiled as she settled into a chair while Sakura sat at the edge of Naruto's bed.

The three spent close to an hour talking about whatever came to their minds. For the most part Nauto and Sakura did most of the talking but Hinata didn't feel excluded from their conversation. Instead she found herself preferring to listen as the two chatted away.

After they left the hospital Hinata and Sakura visited three apartments that were all relatively close to town. They both decided that out of the three, the first one that they had visited had been the best. The one-bedroom, second-floor apartment had everything in it that she needed. It had a spacious living area and a small but practical kitchen. The bedroom was modest in size with plenty of closet space and a decent sized bathroom. The apartment even had its own washer and dryer as well as a dishwasher. To top it off, the apartment building wasn't far from her school, the rent was fair, and she could move in was the end of the week. Since she had a bit of a desperate need for someplace to live, this was a definite plus in her mind.

She was fortunate that she had saved up most of the winnings from her racing. She had set aside some of it for college while the rest sat in another account. With that money she would be able to afford to rent an apartment for awhile. After all she only had this school year left to get through and then after the summer she would be heading to college, though where was still beyond her. She had sent in a few applications and had a few others still waiting to be filled out, but she had no favorites and nothing seemed to step out and grab her.

With that decided on, and her paperwork tucked safely away in a folder that the woman at the office had provided her with, Hinata went back to Sakura's house. The two of them had a girls' night just like Sakura promised, and by the end of the day Hinata was a little less crushed over Sasuke. In the end he was just a boy, and while she may have had some strong feelings towards them there really hadn't been much time for those feelings to develop.

The important thing was that she still had her friends. With their help she wouldn't have too much trouble getting started on forgetting anything to do with Sasuke Uchiha. As long as she didn't remember the intensity of his onyx gaze or the way her body seemed to respond to his touch she would be perfectly alright. The only problem was that the task was far more easily said than it was done. As it stood it looked to Hinata as though it would be an incredibly long year at school.


Tuesday

Wednesday

Naruto came home from the hospital.

Thursday

Friday

The afternoon was spent furniture shopping for her new apartment with Sakura and Naruto, who happened to invite himself.

Sunday

She was handed the key to her new apartment.

Monday

She skipped yet another day of school which brought the count to two days in the past two weeks. It was certainly different for someone who had boasted a perfect attendance up until last Monday. Still she had needed to take the day off to have her furniture delivered at her new place. She spent the day waiting around for the delivery guys as well as transforming the apartment into a "lived" in place.

Tuesday

Naruto came back to school and to the surprise of quite a bit of the student body, had Sakura smiling on his arm.

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday…


It was going on two weeks since he had found out about her and yet Sasuke Uchiha had avoided her like the plague since then. She had no idea what it was that she had done that was so awful that he didn't even look in her direction. Come to the think of it she hadn't really seen him in school at all. She wondered if he was that good at staying away from her or it perhaps he hadn't been in that often.

She shook her head with a frown once again reminding herself that even though it had been nearly two weeks she was still the one sitting here thinking about him. She really needed to get her mind away from thoughts with him. She stood up from her seat at her desk and walked through the apartment and into her room, which was now complete with her furniture and clothes. She walked over to her dresser and paused, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, her bangs sweeping to the side of her face and partially covering her left eye. She wore a pair of jeans and a simple lavender long-sleeved shirt that had a V-cut and revealed the top of the white tank top she wore underneath. She looked like any other girl her age and that alone felt good.

It was about time she got on with this new life she was building for herself. One where she was a bit more like herself and a bit less like the girl her father had thought she should be and the girl who had rebelled against that image. She was finding it somewhat difficult to find the balance between the two that suited who she really was. She had been back and forth from one extreme to the other for quite some time now and it was hard to settle somewhere in the middle of the two of them. Neither Violet nor her former self had really been her but both had had pieces of her true personality.

Thinking about it all was giving her a headache though. She knew that eventually she would figure out who she wanted to be, but in the meantime the not knowing was frustrating her. She supposed not too many people actually sat down and tried to define themselves, but not too many people had been something that they weren't for as long as she had. She frowned at herself in the mirror and suddenly felt as if her apartment was too stuffy. She decided it was time for a walk and so she grabbed her cell phone and slipped on a pair of sneakers.

With her keys in hand she walked out of the apartment building and made a left with no particular destination in mind. All she wanted to do was stretch her legs a bit. She had been walking nearly half an hour when she realized where her legs were carrying her. She was headed for the park. She knew she ought to turn around and walk back but part of her still wondered if the grass was still chewed up from Sasuke's bike the night they had run from the police. He had left deep rivets in the usually perfectly manicured lawn. So she kept walking. What could the harm be in seeing if the physical evidence of the memory was still there?

Just then her phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out and glanced at the caller id. She debated for a moment whether or not to answer Naruto's call. She finally decided to answer it figuring that if she didn't he would just call back again and again until he got an answer.

"Hey Naruto."

"Hey Hinata. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come over for pizza. Shikamaru is here and we are going to watch a movie later. I think Sakura is coming too," Naruto said as he rambled on excitedly.

"I uh…" Hinata paused as she debated between going to Naruto's and turning the offer down. She wanted some time alone but at the same time she couldn't see going back to her empty apartment when she had the chance to spend some time with her friends. "Sure Naruto, that sounds great. I am headed to the park now so I should be over in like an hour of so. I'll see you then okay?"

"Okay Hinata. See you then. I promise I will try to save you a piece of pizza."

Hinata laughed as she hung up the phone knowing that by the time she got there it would be a miracle if any of the pizza was left. Naruto could easily finish a whole pizza by himself after all. She shook her head, shoved her phone back into her pocket, and continued her walk to the park wondering what movie she was going to be suckered into tonight.


"Where's Iruka," Shikamaru asked from where he was lazily stretched out on the couch.

"I forget. He said something about a conference or something along those lines. All I caught was that he would be home tomorrow morning," Naruto said with a sheepish grin.

Shikamaru said nothing in response, simply nodding as he flipped through the television channels, not finding much that caught his interest. He paused for a moment as a breaking news announcement flashed up on the screen and the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Naruto said as he stood up from the chair he had been slouched in. "It's probably the pizza," he said rubbing his stomach. Shikamaru simply muttered what could be taken for an agreement since most of his attention was on the television.

"Hey it looks like police issued an arrest warrant for Orochimaru. Apparently they have a manhunt going on for him since he managed to vanish on them," Shikamaru announced as the reporter went into more detail.

"Serves him right. Hey maybe they even arrested that bastard Sasuke too," Naruto said, his voice trailing off as he opened the door to no one other than the stoic looking Sasuke Uchiha.

"Where's Hinata," Sasuke demanded.

"Get lost bastard."

"I don't have time for games. Where the hell is she," Sasuke asked, his tone annoyed. He took a step forward only to be knocked back when Naruto's fist met his jaw. Sasuke stumbled backwards a few feet as his hand came up to rub his jaw where Naruto had landed his punch. He opened his mouth to make sure everything was still working wondering for a brief moment how someone who had just gotten out of the hospital about a week ago could hit so hard.

"You're an asshole Sasuke. If you think I am going to tell you where she is after what you did to her than you are dumber than you look. I am not about to let you mess with her head anymore."

"Just tell me where she is," Sasuke said his voice more agitated.

"You don't get it do you? You have no idea why this is such a big deal. It might not be for you but it is for her. You're not the one who is losing something," he spat. "Hinata started racing so that even for those few brief moments when she put on her mask, she could be someone that she wanted to be, someone that she was afraid to show the rest of the world. And she kept racing too because she loved it and she was pretty damn good at it too. She didn't do it to be noticed or make money and she certainly didn't do it for a bastard like you," Naruto said, his voice nearly a growl as he narrowed his eyes at Sasuke.

"Now she is giving it up. She gave it all up too the moment that car hit me. That has always been the way she is. She would do anything or give up everything for the people she cares about. She is selfless, a good person, and the moment that she got pulled into the dark side of racing that you seem to be so fond of, it was over. You have no idea how much she beat herself up over what happened to me. She would never risk someone she cared about no matter how much racing meant to her."

"I guess not everyone has that kind of selfless attitude though, right Sasuke? I mean the minute you found out that Violet was Hinata you made it quite clear you wanted nothing to do with her. You could have accepted her, gave her one good thing out of this whole mess but I guess she's not good enough for you. You know what? You are just like her father, not accepting her for who she is, only happy with her when she is who you want her to be. You don't deserve another chance to hurt her and I am certainly not going to be the one who gives it to you. So get lost Uchiha and do us all a favor and stay that way so that none of us ever have to look at you again."

"Are you done yet," Sasuke finally asked, rubbing his jaw aain. "That was a great speech loser but I don't have time to sit here and listen to you ramble on any more. Hinata is in danger. I need to find her now."

"She's at the park."

Sasuke's onyx gaze flickered over to the source of the lazy tone to find Shikamaru standing behind Naruto. Sasuke noticed the look of betrayal that Naruto sent his friend to which the lazy teen shrugged his shoulders.

"If he says she is in danger I believe him," Shikamaru said.

Sasuke didn't bother sticking around to listen to anything else that might be said between the two. He was already done the front steps and heading for his car. He needed to find Hinata though he supposed that when he did find her he was going to owe her a bit of an explanation.


Hinata was walking out of the park. The sky was slowly fading to black as she reached the parking lot. It was empty aside from a few cars, which wasn't surprising since the place was closed after dark. Most people would be packing up to head some soon.

She had been pleased to see that the rivets, while not quite as prominent, had still been in the lawn. She had followed them for a bit before walking back. They had brought back bittersweet memories on a chapter of her life that she had determined to be closed. Racing was over for her and so was Sasuke. She would get over them both with time. It was as simple as that. Still no one said it was going to be easy.

With a sigh she pulled her phone out of her pocket. She flipped it open to reveal about ten missed called. She furrowed her brow in confusion as she checked the calls. They were from Naruto, Shikamaru, and one from Sakura. She wondered what could possibly be wrong.

She was about to punch the call button when the sound of a car pulling into the parking lot made her look up. It was with a sinking feeling she recognized the car. She wasn't sure why he was here. She eyed the car carefully as it came to a stop and the driver's door swung open. She watched him climb out and narrowed her eyes at him.

"I wanted to talk with you Hinata."

"I'm not interested Kabuto."


Okay first sorry for my lame way of passing time but I wanted to let some time pass where Sasuke continued to ignore Hinata. Plus is allowed me to get Naruto out of the hospital and Hinata into her new place. Now how many of you are interested in what Sasuke's explanation? And yes another cliffhanger as it seems the danger Sasuke was referring to has caught up to poor Hinata after all. Hope you enjoyed!