Hey guys! I told you that I would publish this within a week! And it's a good thing too because I haven't posted a Sunflowers chapter in like two months! I can hardly even remember where I left off! But I don't think that will be happening again. I should be able to start posting chapters at least twice a month. And another thing, any staff members in my C2 please feel free to add whatever good stories you please. I haven't had the time to manage it. I hope you all enjoy the new chapter and don't forget to review!

"M-Me?" Hinata asked as her breath caught in her throat. She felt as if she were drowning. "W-What do you m-mean? I don't remember a k-kiss…."

Naruto frowned. "That's the thing… You lost your memory right afterwards. We kissed and then you fell off the cliff. I'm so sorry, Hinata."

Hinata's eyes filled with tears and it became harder to breathe. She couldn't believe it. She had kissed the man she loved and she couldn't even remember it? Just what had happened? A flood of emotions burst into Hinata. Anger, pity, confusion, pain, and fear all mixed into an overpowering despair and Hinata was overcome by it. Tears poured down her face and she turned away and ran out of the cave.

"Hinata! Where are you going?" Naruto shouted and chased after her. But it was too late. He had lost sight of her and with this heavy rain, tracking her would be impossible. Naruto's face was soaked with a mix of rain and tears. Why did it have to come to this? However, Naruto refused to give up. He dried his eyes and ran into the dark forest.

The heavy rain only darkened Hinata's depression. Her long wet hair was sticking to her face and Hinata could barely see where she was running, but she didn't care. She just wanted to get away from this pain. Why did I run away? Why am I always such a coward? There was a sudden flash of lightning followed by an extremely loud crack of thunder as the rain only got heavier.

Hinata was so emotionally distraught that she paid no attention to her surroundings or the thick tree roots next to her feet. She just kept running forward as the tears continued to fall down her face. Unfortunately, running is a feat that requires good hand-foot coordination, especially when you're running in a dark forest. Because of this, Hinata's foot got stuck in a tree root and she sprawled into the wet dirt.

Hinata laid there for a minute consumed with self-pity. What was wrong with her? Why was she running away from the person she loved? She had kissed Naruto! She should be happy! But then why was she overcome with this feeling of despair?

Hinata stood up and rubbed the mud from her shirt and face. She looked down and realized that the ring Naruto had given her was covered in mud. Suddenly the tears started falling heavier than ever. The ring was tangible proof that Naruto cared for her and now those feelings were buried beneath the mud. It was like someone had slapped Hinata and she suddenly came to her senses.

She was only making this situation worse by running away! Sure, she had missed out on her first kiss and it had even been with Naruto! But that wasn't so bad. There were plenty of opportunities to kiss him again. In fact, that's why she was going to do! She was going to walk right back to that cave and demand a kiss from Naruto!

Hinata shook her head. There was no way she could be that forward. But she knew that she might be able to get one if she walked back to the cave and talked to Naruto about it. That is… if it wasn't too late…. She suddenly realized that she could have really hurt Naruto by running off like that.

Hinata slapped herself. This wasn't the time for thoughts like that! It was time to go back to the cave and apologize to Naruto and hopefully get a kiss!

Suddenly, there was a rustling in a bush next to Hinata. The was a twang of fear in Hinata's stomach as two men came out from behind the bushes.

"Well,well,well. What do we have here? A little kunochi all by herself in the middle of a forest. How about we help you get home, little girl?" The man said in a snide manner which indicated that he intended to do no such good deed. The other man snickered and took a step towards Hinata. It was clear that walking Hinata home was the last thing on these men's minds.

Hinata's already weakened spirit couldn't seem to gather the energy to fight back. Hinata knew the only option she had left was a bluff.

"You really shouldn't mess with me. I am a well trained kunochi from the Hidden Leaf Village. And my b-b-boyfriend is a very strong ninja. He should be here any minute and he will be very angry if he sees you two trying to hurt me." Hinata said, her voice growing stronger than she had expected. Hinata thought it was a pretty believable bluff.

Both men started laughing and Hinata's stomach dropped. "We know all about your little boyfriend. And believe me, he won't be coming to help you. He running in the wrong direction and he probably won't realize it until this rain stops. You see, we have been watching you since you entered the forest. It has been a while since we have had such a 'gifted' girl wander into the forest." The man's eyes wandered up and down Hinata's body. Hinata gasped and held her arms over her chest. The man chuckled. "We have a really special night planned for you."

Hinata slide into her Jyuuken stance. However, she couldn't see herself winning. It was two against one and the men seemed very formidable. But Hinata wouldn't let herself give up. Naruto was her hero after all.

Suddenly, two kunai whirled past Hinata's head and headed straight for the two ninjas' heads. The men barely managed to dodge the incoming kunai. They looked around frantically and tried to spot their attacker.

The dark sky opened up a sliver and a beam of light shone down upon the stranger. The man was probably in his twenties. He was dressed in a red kimono and he had a red band tied around his head. He looked ridiculous. However, the two men were not laughing at the stranger's ridiculous outfit. Their faces displayed only fear.

"Holy crap! It's the 'Crimson Tiger' from the Land of Tea Leaves! Run for it! That busty chick isn't worth all this!" Both men turned tail and ran off.

Hinata looked up at her rescuer and realized it had stopped raining. "T-Thank you."

The man glared at her. "Don't even mention it. It wasn't even worth my time. You're lucky that I was passing through this area."

Hinata frowned. Was this man trying to be rude on purpose? But…he did save her so she owed him her respect. "Thank you again, sir. M-May I ask your name?"

The man walked right past Hinata without even glancing at her. "No, you may not." He said as he walked off.

Hinata almost let the jerk go. Good riddance. However, something occurred to Hinata. She turned around and chased after the man.

"Excuse me! Mister!"

The man sighed and kept walking, but he did slow his pace, allowing Hinata to catch up with him.

"I couldn't help but overhear that you are from the L-Land of Tea Leaves… a-and I was wondering if you could help me with s-something."

"Nice stutter, girl. It is very attractive." The man said sarcastically. Hinata was deeply embarrassed and insulted, but she held her tongue because the man had saved her.

"Y-Yes… I was wondering if…. Um…if y-you… uh…" Hinata's voice broke. Why did this man make her feel like a child?

"Good God, child! Spit it out!" The man turned and for the first time looked Hinata in the eyes. At once the man's demeanor changed. "Oh… Wait! I'm sorry! Listen… could you do me a big favor?"

Hinata was stunned. What just happened?

"I noticed that you are a Hyuuga and I was hoping you could use your Byakugan to help me locate someone." The man grabbed onto Hinata's shoulders and Hinata noticed a frantic look in his eye. The man was a jerk and a total weirdo, but the kind side of Hinata couldn't ignore someone in need.

"S-Sure. But you have to help me out afterwards, OK?"

"Sure,sure. Just start looking already!" The man demanded.

Hinata sighed and activated her Byakugan. "What am I supposed to be looking for?"

"A young lady. A little bit older than you."

Hinata searched around in all directions and noticed two people standing only a few hundred yards away. One was a female that matched the man's description and the other was a male that seemed all too familiar to Hinata. Hinata felt a surge of happiness as she recognized Naruto. She immediately wanted to run over to him. But she kept her cool. She figured that by leading this man to the girl she would be killing two birds with one stone.

Meanwhile, Naruto had walked into a strange girl while searching for Hinata. It turned out she was looking for someone as well and the two decided to search together.

"So… Naruto, was it? What is it like in your village?" The girl asked.

Naruto smiled as he thought back to his village and the many memories it entailed. "It's a great place,Tsubame. And one day I will be the Hokage and lead over it."

The girl chuckled. "You know, I heard that being a leader isn't all that much fun. You have the pressure of protecting everyone in your village. Not to mention all the paperwork you have to do. And as a plus, you have ninja from other villages who want you dead."

Naruto frowned. "I know. I have seen all that firsthand and believe me, I don't want to have to deal with it either. But I promised myself that I would be Hokage someday and nothing will stop me from reaching that goal!"

Tsubame smiled. He is going to be a great leader someday.

"Tsubame!" The man cried as burst through several bushes. Hinata wasn't far behind.

"Hento!" Tsubame exclaimed as she ran to the man and embraced him. "I was so worried about you!"

Hento laughed. "You were worried about me? It's my job to protect you! Never leave my side again!"

Tsubame smiled. "Of course. Oh! And who is this cutie that you have with you?"

"Hinata!" Naruto yelled out as he ran past the embracing pair to hug Hinata. Hinata was surprised at the sudden display of affection, but she was happy to be able to hold him in her arms.

"Hello, N-Naruto." Hinata blushed as she realized that they had an audience.

Tsubame giggled. "Now isn't that the cutest thing that you ever saw, Hento?"

Hento sighed. "Whatever you say, Tsubame."

Both Naruto and Hinata blushed a shade of red deeper than Hento's shirt. They quickly pulled apart and stood an arm's distance away from each other.

Tsubame smiled at them. "They remind me of a certain couple. Don't you think, Hento?" Hento blushed slightly and cleared his throat.

Naruto and Hinata shared a glance and their blushes grew deeper. They had just been compared to a couple. They were both oblivious to the blushing couple in front of them.

"Anyways…" Tsubame said bringing everyone back to reality. "What brings you two to this side of the forest?"

"We are ninjas from the Hidden Leaf Village. We were assigned to come to the Land of Tea Leaves and escort the princess."

Hento scoffed. "You have got to be kidding me." Tsubame elbowed him in the side.

"Am I missing something?" Naruto asked.

"I am that princess." Tsubame said with a flourish.

"What?" Naruto and Hinata exclaimed in unison.

"Yup. I am Tsubame, princess of the Land of Tea Leaves. And this man here is Hento, my personal guard."

Hento nodded. "That's right. And that's why we don't need your help anymore. I can protect her just fine by myself. So you and your chesty girlfriend can just go back to whatever hellhole you came from."

"It doesn't work like that." Naruto said. "Once we take a mission we have to see it through until the end." Naruto then stepped closer to Hento and lowered his voice so no one else but Hento could hear. "And if you ever insult Hinata or my village again, I will kill you myself. Got it?" Naruto then stepped back and stood next to Hinata.

Hento smiled. This kid has spunk. Hento found himself almost hoping that he would have an opportunity to fight Naruto.

I guess there is nothing that can be done about it. We will all just have to travel together! The village when my blessings will occur isn't too far away. We should get there by tomorrow morning." Tsubame said, bringing everyone out of their thoughts. "I think it's time we started walking." Tsubame started walking deeper into the forest. Hento gave Naruto one last look and followed after his princess. Hinata grabbed Naruto's hand and smiled. Naruto was surprised and confused, but he was glad Hinata was back to normal. The two followed after Tsubame and Hento, hand in hand.

Nobody spoke for several minutes. They just kept walking in awkward silence. Tsubame was getting annoyed at the lack of conversation. And there was something she had been dying to talk about.

"Hey, Hinata! Come over here for a minute." Tsubame said. Hinata increased her pace to catch up with Tsubame. Naruto refused to let go of her hand so he came too.

Tsubame smiled. "I don't think so, Naruto. This is a girls only conversation. Go walk with Hento."

Naruto frowned. But Hinata gave him a warm smile and nodded. Naruto understood. However, he practically had to pry his hand out of Hinata's. Neither hand wanted to let go. Once his hand was free he turned around and went over to Hento, who was walking several yards behind the girls. It was far enough away that they couldn't hear the girls' conversation, but they could still maintain eyesight and make sure they were safe.

"Your girlfriend get tired of looking at your ugly mug?" Hento chuckled.

"Shut up." Naruto was already in a foul mood. He wasn't going to take any of Hento's crap.

Meanwhile, Hinata was getting a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the way this "girls only" conversation sounded. And she defiantly wasn't happy about having to let go of Naruto's hand. The cold breeze felt awkward on her hand and she missed the warmth of Naruto's hand.

"So…Hinata? How long have you two been dating?" Tsubame said with a smirk.

Hinata's head snapped up. "W-What? Me and N-Naruto aren't d-dating!"

Tsubame gasped dramatically. "What?! You two aren't dating? I just assumed you two were because of ….well… You two are way too close to be just friends."

Hinata smiled and blushed slightly. "Y-Yeah… We are pretty close, I guess."

Tsubame noticed Hinata's blush and suddenly burst out in a fit of giggles. "Ohmigosh! I can't believe I didn't see it before! I'm such an idiot!"

Hinata was confused. "W-What?"

Tsubame glanced back at Naruto to make sure he was out of earshot. She then turned back to Hinata and giggled again. Hinata was starting to get annoyed.

"You have a crush on Naruto!" Tsubame managed to say between giggles.

Hinata's face exploded in color. "Wha… B-But… N-No…. It's not like that… I …uh…." Hinata sighed. What was the point in hiding it anymore? "What gave it away?" Hinata asked with a weak smile.

Tsubame smiled. "Oh it's obvious, dear."

Hinata nearly tripped. "It's o-obvious?" Hinata looked back at Naruto and he gave her a big, warm smile.

"Unfortunately. But I do have some special advice for you. You see, I was in your position once. You ready?" Tsubame leaned over closer to Hinata as if she was about to tell her the world's greatest secret.

Hinata gulped.

"Show some skin, girl!" Tsubame said loudly, completely ruining the purpose of leaning in to whisper and nearly shattering Hinata's eardrum.

Hinata was shocked, of course. "What! I couldn't do t-that!"

"Oh yes you could! Trust me, it works. And if you some him the goods, he will follow you around like a lost puppy." Tsubame eyed Hinata's large chest. "And with your goods I think you are going to get much more than that out of him."

Hinata's face had turned a deep shade of crimson. There was no way Hinata could expose herself like that! But… Tsubame might have a point. Maybe her plan could work………….

Well this chapter wasn't as long as I wanted it to be but I decided to split the Tsubame arc into two chapters. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of Sunflowers in two months! A love Hinata chapter should be out soon. And if you haven't done so already, please check out my other stories. And don't forget to review! Tallman0029 loves people who review!