Hey guys! Hope u all enjoyed the last chapter! It was a little mature but I think it really pushed the plot forward. I know how much you guys have been waiting for this chapter and im sorry for taking so long to post, but I have been working on another Naruhina story. Don't worry, I wont stop this one and this one will also take priority before my new one. However, I decided to create a situation in which Hinata is thrust upon Naruto. I haven't posted the first chapter yet, but it should come soon. Maybe as a Christmas special…. and now on with the new chapter.

Disclaimer: (yes I know. im bringing them back) Stupid disclaimer! Its as useful as a helicopter ejector seat or a water proof towel!

Naruto took a deep breath. "When we were captured, I was so afraid. I honestly thought I was going to die. I thought constantly about killing myself just to end the pain. However, there was one thought that kept me strong. I kept thinking about it and it kept me alive. It was you, Hinata. I kept thinking to myself that if I survived this, then I would be able to see you again."

Hinata gasped. "W-What are you saying?"

Naruto lowered his eyes. "I'm not sure. But you have been on my mind a lot recently. I think I might like you. I think I really like you. And I don't want to say good-bye to you. Not ever."

Hinata's eyes filled with fresh tears. She had been waiting her entire life for this, but her father…

Hinata shook her head as a steady stream of tears poured down her face. "Naruto… I l-"

She looked up into his blue eyes and warm smile and her heart melted. But her father's image and cold words filled her mind.

"I'm sorry." She whispered and turned around and ran off.

Naruto was stunned. His body had taken over and suddenly he had been saying words he had never even thought about. Still, Hinata reaction had shaken him to the core. Did she not like him?

Naruto shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like this. She was an heiress after all. And he was just lowly Naruto, a demon. Naruto's heart sunk and he had no idea why these thought kept pouring into his head. He decided to take a mission just to get his mind of this.

Meanwhile, Hinata was running home with tears streaking off her face and into the street. She had imagined Naruto asking her out hundreds of times, but never once did she imagine herself having to say no.

She soon found herself in front of the Hyuuga household. She took a deep breathe and burst through the front doors. However, her father was standing in the courtyard, training, but he was the last person she wanted to see right now.

She ran past him, tears flowing, all the way to her room. She flung herself down on top of her bed and buried her face into her pillow. The tears just wouldn't stop and soon there was a massive puddle on her pillow.

Hinata sniffed loudly and wiped her eyes. She lifted her pillow and pulled out the jacket Naruto had left 3 years earlier. Then, she grabbed the letter Naruto had written her and held it tightly against her chest. Hinata looked down at the ring Naruto had given her and tried to remember the good times they had.

Her attitude slowly started to lift as various memories of Naruto flashed through her head. She had always loved him. Why was she refusing him now that he liked her back? The longer she thought about it the angrier she got. She had a good reason to be mad and that reason happened to be in the courtyard, training.

She ran out of her room and furiously walked up to her father. "Father! Why don't you like Naruto?"

Hiashi gave his daughter a stunned look. He didn't like him because the demon fox was sealed inside him, but he was forbidden to speak of it. "He is an improper boy and unfit to know an heiress like yourself."

Hinata had heard enough of this excuse. "It's because of the Nine-Tails, isn't it?"

Hiashi was taken back. "How do you know of that?" He spluttered.

"That doesn't matter to me! I love Naruto for who he is! Why can't you accept that?" Hinata asked, tears already forming in her eyes once again.

"A demon can never love you back and as long as you live in this house, you will follow my rules!" Hiashi stated firmly.

Hinata's face grew red and she blinked back her tears. "Fine." She said calmly. "Then I'm leaving." With that Hinata turned and ran out of the complex.

Hiashi was too proud to go chasing after her. Besides she would be back. She wouldn't have the courage to live alone. He folded his arms and walked to his room.

Naruto, meanwhile, was in Tsunade's room, begging her for a mission.

"Please! There must be some mission I can do!" Naruto begged.

A large vein popped up on Tsunade's forehead and she smacked Naruto into the ground.

"Shut up! You're so loud I can't hear myself think!" Tsunade yelled at Naruto's smoking corpse. She sat back down and rubbed her pounding temples.

"I suppose there is one mission I could give you. It's an A-rank surveillance mission. A tip-off said that Orochimaru was seen in a near-by village. It's probably just a rumor or it could even be a trap. Are you sure you want it?"

Naruto leaped up in joy. "Yes! Yes! YES!"

Tsunade's headache grew worse and she punched Naruto into the ground again. "I already told you to shut up!"

"Sorry." Naruto mumbled from the floor.

"Now, listen up." Tsunade said as she handed him a scroll containing the mission briefing. "This is a two-man mission so you need to pick a partner."

"Sweet! Can I pick anyone?" Naruto said, his thoughts drifting to a certain lavender-eyed princess.

Tsunade's eyes glinted evilly. "Yes. You may pick anyone you want… as long as it's a boy. Oh, and he has to have black hair. And also, he has to have bushy eyebrows. But other than that, it's your choice!"

Naruto's grin practically melted off his face. "The only one who fits into that is Lee."

Tsunade smiled widely. "Great idea! Lee is perfect! I wonder why I didn't think of choosing him!"

Naruto scowled at her. "You made me-" Tsunade glared menacingly and Naruto shut his mouth. He needed to leave before his face became permanently etched into the floor.

"Thanks, Grandma!" Naruto shouted as he ran out the door.

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Tsunade screamed after him. She made a mental note to hit him the next time she saw him.

Naruto laughed to himself as he ran over to Lee's apartment. He loudly knocked on his door and waited impatiently for Lee to answer the door.

"Hello?" Lee said as he stepped outside.

Naruto immediately slapped him on the back. "Hey, Bushy Brows! We got a mission!"

"A mission?" Lee asked, clearly surprised, but there seemed to almost be a sense of disappointment in his eyes.

"Yep!" Naruto exclaimed cheerfully. "Hurry and get packed. I'll meet you at the front gates in half an hour." Naruto waved and ran off to pack.

However, Lee turned back into his house and his met with a set of brown eyes staring back at him. "Sorry, but I have to go." Lee said sadly.

Meanwhile, Hinata was searching all over the town for Naruto. She had already tried his apartment, but there had been no answer. She was beginning to worry.

Sadly, she was only a minute too early. Had she been one minute later in knocking on Naruto's door, she would have seen him run up to his apartment to pack.

Naruto, however, was so pumped up for the mission, he quickly gathered a few clothes and some food and he was back out the door in 15 minutes. He slung his pack over his shoulder and was on his way towards the front gate.

Lee was there waiting for him when he arrived. Naruto smiled widely. "Let's go, buddy!"

Lee nodded and followed Naruto out of the village. A minute later, Hinata ran past the gates looking for Naruto. She stopped suddenly when she thought she saw Naruto walking off in the distance. She blinked her eyes and Naruto disappeared. She sighed sadly and continued her search.

Hinata had almost lost hope. She had searched all over the village and there was no sign of Naruto anywhere. She could think of only one other person who might know where he was.

A few minutes later, Hinata was standing outside the Hokage's room. She slowly raised her arm and softly knocked on the door.

"Enter." A voice from inside said.

Hinata took a deep breath and entered. Tsunade was sitting behind her desk with Shizune standing right beside her.

"Um… Hello… H-Have you seen Naruto today?" Hinata mumbled shyly.

Tsunade smiled at the young girl's concern and the smile reassured Hinata slightly.

"Of course. I sent him and Lee on a mission hardly an hour ago."

Hinata sighed with relief. At least he was safe…for now. "Um … Do you know when he will be back?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No. It could take a while since Orochimaru is involved." At soon as the words left Tsunade's mouth, she froze. Oh crap

Hinata was stunned. "O-Orochimaru… Orochimaru! You can't! They could be killed!" Hinata shouted in protest.

Tsunade frowned. "They both are full fledged ninja from the Leaf. They know the dangers and they know how to take care of themselves."

"B-But…"

"No buts. Now, I have a lot of paperwork to do so I can't keep talking. Don't worry so much, Hinata. Naruto will be fine. Trust me. He wouldn't go down so easy."

Hinata tried to comfort herself around this fact. She knew how tough Naruto was, but this was Orochimaru! Hinata sighed and left the Hokage's room.

She walked sadly back into an apartment district and bought a room. She had no intention of going back to her father's. Although, she deeply wished that Naruto had been here to bring her into his house.

She walked up several flights of stairs until she came to room 1F. She pulled out her key and opened the door. The room wasn't too bad. It didn't have a lot of furniture and it wasn't very comforting, but at least it was clean.

Suddenly, there was a small movement near Hinata's feet. Hinata gasped and through herself onto the nearby couch. There was another quick movement and Hinata felt a warmth on her lap.

She looked down and saw that there was a small baby fox resting on her lap. It was orange with a black strip flowing down its back.

Hinata giggled at how it resembled Naruto. She picked it up and held it closer to her face to inspect it. The baby fox reached over and licked her nose. Hinata giggled again and placed it in her lap to pet it.

"Are you lost?" Hinata asked it. The fox perked up and jumped off Hinata's lap. It then proceeded to run around the room and chase its tail.

Hinata smiled and sat up to play with the fox. "You remind me a lot of someone I know."

The fox seemed to respond to Hinata's voice and jumped up into Hinata's lap again.

Hinata started petting it again and it curled up into a furry little ball. "I suppose I should name you. How about…Naru-chan?"

The fox perked up again and ran up into Hinata's shirt and out her collar. It then seemed content to lie upon her head.

Hinata giggled. "You're defiantly a boy fox. No girl fox would try this hard to get a girl's attention."

The fox seemed to have endless energy as it leaped off her head and onto the ground. It then continued to run around the room, dashing in between Hinata's legs.

Hinata continued to laugh and play with Naru-chan, letting all her worries and troubles flow out of her mind.

Meanwhile, Lee and Naruto were still traveling and had stopped along the road to set up camp. They were both sitting around a blazing campfire.

"So, Lee… How are things with Ten-Ten?" Naruto asked.

Lee looked shocked. "How do you know?"

Naruto laughed. "Come on, she calls you Lee-baby. How much more obvious can it get?" And she already told me she likes you .Naruto thought to himself.

Lee blushed. "Well, she just suddenly came up to me and confessed. I was so surprised I just went along with it."

Naruto gaped in shock. "Wait… I thought you like Sakura?"

Lee blushed deeper and avoided looking into Naruto's eyes. "I… uh… still kinda like her…but I really like TenTen. But, she was always just TenTen. I never saw her as anything more than just my teammate and friend. . Once she confessed I saw her in a new light and just forgot about Sakura and just went along with TenTen."

Naruto sighed. "Yeah… I know what you're talking about. There is this girl that I never even used to notice. Then all of a sudden she is in my life all the time. She was around me so much that I took her for granted. Then, when she wasn't there anymore, I realized how much I cared for her and how much I need her in my life."

Lee laughed. "Man, that's deep. What have you done with the real Naruto?"

Naruto punched Lee in the shoulder playfully. "Come on man. I'm being serious here. I think I might really like her."

"So ask her out. Duh."

"B-But I don't want to ruin our friendship. And besides she is an heiress. It couldn't work out." Naruto hung his head sadly.

"Oh." Lee laid his hand on Naruto's shoulder and gripped it tightly. "Its ok man. Everything will turn out ok."

"I hope you're right." Naruto stood up and walked over to his sleeping bag. "Well, I'm out for tonight. Later."

"Night." Lee said as he curled up into his own sleeping bag.

Naruto laid down on top of his sleeping bag and gazed upwards at the stars. In his eyes, the stars seemed to resemble the eyes of a certain girl he had left back home. He stared at the stars until he couldn't keep his eyes open and sleep drifted over him.

Meanwhile, at Hinata's new apartment, she had just laid Naru-chan down to bed. The young fox, which had earlier been full of energy, now seemed tired and sleepy. It laid down on one of the pillows on Hinata's bed and went to sleep.

Hinata gazed at it curiously. "I guess, somewhere, right now, Naruto must be sleepy too. How strange. You seem to resemble Naruto in every way." Hinata said to the fox. "You must be some sort of talisman." Hinata giggled at this and laid down upon her bed. Her muscles ached from playing with the fox and it wasn't long before she was asleep.

The next morning, Lee was awoken by a loud scream. He looked around in surprise and saw Naruto yelling and jumping around the camp excitedly. "Wake up Lee! It's mission time!"

Lee grumbled quietly. He liked being the first person to wake up and Naruto had spoiled it for him. He got out of bed and helped Naruto pack up the camp.

However, at the same time but, miles away, Naru-chan awoke. He jumped around in a frenzy trying to wake Hinata. He wanted to play, but Hinata was in a deep slumber, dreaming of Naruto.

The young fox bounded all across the room excitedly, but it saw that Hinata would not wake so it gave up and curled next to her face and waited for her eyes to open.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Lee had finished packing up the camp and were walking towards their destination.

After an hour or so, they reached a small trading town. However, all the buildings were deserted. Lee and Naruto eyed the town suspiciously.

"Be careful. It could be a trap." Lee whispered to Naruto.

"A trap?" A familiar voice said with a hiss. "Now what makes you say that?"

Naruto had recognized the voice and gasped in shock. No way. It can't be…. Naruto spun around and looked the speaker in the face.

"Hello there, Naruto. It's been a while."

"Orochimaru…."

Orochimaru smiled and flicked his tongue though his teeth. "How kind of you to remember. Too bad you're about to die."

AHA! How was that? I know I always end in a cliffhanger, but doesn't that keep it exciting! Once again, I'm sorry for taking a month to post, but it wont happen again!

See you all next time!