Peacemaker01: Thanks guys for sticking with this! I'm sorry about the spelling errors before, but there shouldn't be any in this chapter (I think... hmmm...) Anyway, I'm reeeeeeeeeeeally sorry for not putting this up sooner, but I have been veeeeeeeeeeeeery bussy of late with school and lots of other things. Look, my point is, enjoy this chapter and have a greeeeeeeeeeeeat day! Love you guys! 3
Chapter 5: Neji's Idea
Naruto banged loudly on Sakura's front door, trying to wake her up so that she could answer. When she finally did, she looked at Naruto seeming worried.
"Naruto? What's wrong?" asked Sakura. Naruto moved in closer to her and spoke in a hushed tone.
"I really need your help Sakura. Could we talk inside?" asked Naruto. Sakura nodded and allowed him inside, where they both went to the living room to talk.
"What's wrong, Naruto?" asked Sakura. Naruto began to explain.
"I went to talk to Hiashi like you said, but he used a genjutsu on me called the Hyuga's MEM technique to try and kill me. After I went home and was about to give in completely, Neji showed up at my house and stopped me from taking my own life. The genjutsu faded and then I went to go and see Hinata. But when I showed up again, Hiashi threw me out of his house… literally." said Naruto.
"I can't believe Hiashi would do this!" said Sakura.
"And that's not even the worst part of it. Hinata is also being kept under house arrest." said Naruto. Sakura nearly broke the table as she slammed her fist down upon it out of anger and frustration.
"Even if he is Hinata's father, HE HAS NO RIGHT TO STAND IN THE WAY OF TRUE LOOOOOOOOOOVE!" said Sakura in a burning passion as Naruto only looked at her feeling a little bit out of place.
"True love!" said Naruto.
"Well yeah! I mean obviously you and Hinata are a great couple, but you two were made for eachother! I can tell!" said Sakura. This made Naruto blush, thinking about how perfect Hinata really was in his eyes.
"Anyways… I came here to see if you have any ideas. What can I do now? He totally threw me out of his house and probably has guards all around the village watching out for me." said Naruto. Sakura tapped her lower lip with her index finger as she thought of a way out of this.
"Well let's see. If he goes to Tsunade about this, she won't really do anything because she supports you more than him. However, if we go to her about this too, she can't do anything because of the social and political standing of the Hyuga clan; not to mention their strength and techniques." said Sakura.
"Dammit! Then what am I supposed to do?" asked Naruto. There was a long silence as a thought tried to come to mind on how to solve this problem.
"Well…" said Sakura. Naruto looked up at her. "I suppose…"
"You have an idea! What is it?" asked Naruto eagerly.
"It's more of a guess… but Hiashi Hyuga, as far as I know, sticks to the old traditions of the Hyuga household." said Sakura thoughtfully.
"Okay. What does that have to do with anything?" asked Naruto.
"Well, there is an upside and a down side to this." said Sakura. Naruto swallowed a lump in his throat; he didn't like where this was going.
"W-What is it?" asked Naruto.
"Well… an old tradition is that if someone isn't from the Hyuga Clan but wishes to have a relationship with a member of the Hyuga family, the head of the Hyuga Clan's main branch family is the only one that can give permission to that person." said Sakura. Naruto sighed in dismay.
"That's no good. He already made it clear that he doesn't want me anywhere near her." said Naruto.
"I wasn't finished." said Sakura. Naruto listened up. "If the person still wants to be with the Hyuga member, the Head of the Main Branch family may face the person in a one on one match. The victor may decide what the Hyuga member may do." said Sakura. Naruto could tell as a small sliver of hope appeared in his heart.
"Seriously! All I have to do is beat Hiashi in a fight, and I can choose to be with Hinata!" said Naruto. "That's great!"
"Naruto, it's not that simple! Hiashi Hyuga is a Jonin, and above that, he served in the last great ninja war and has a lot more experience than you do." said Sakura. Naruto felt like Sakura was just toying with him for giving him hope and then taking it away all of a sudden.
"It's cool. I'll find a way to beat him." said Naruto with confidence.
"What are you talking about! Did you not hear what I just said?" asked Sakura sounding annoyed.
"I don't have any other choices do I? Besides, if it means I can be with Hinata, I don't care." said Naruto. Once again, Sakura was moved by his perseverance and nodded in confirmation with him.
"Alright, but you're gonna have to train hard and learn some new techniques." said Sakura. Naruto nodded and thrust a fist into the air.
"Hell yeah!" said Naruto. As he headed toward the door in an eager attempt to start training, Neji was at the mouth of the door outside with his Byakugan activated and him smirking at the idea.
"Actually, I'd like in on this conversation too." said Neji. Naruto looked at him with surprise as Neji smiled at Sakura. "Hello, Sakura. Nice morning, isn't it?" he asked. Sakura nodded, not exactly sure of what was going on.
"What the hell are you doing here!" exclaimed Naruto. Neji's attention refocused on Naruto as his complexion was changed to utter seriousness.
"I've been looking for you, Naruto. Hinata is worried sick and wanted me to come and look for you." said Neji.
"Really! " said Naruto. Neji nodded.
"Of course. She asked me to find you and to deliver a message: Naruto, I'm so sorry things turned out this way. Please forgive me. If you don't want to be with me anymore, I understand." said Neji. Naruto smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up.
"You just make sure to tell Hinata that I'll be with her no matter what! Once I beat Hiashi in a one-on-one match, nothing will stand in our way!" said Naruto. Neji seemed shocked and looked to Sakura who was watching the scene.
"Is that so?" said Neji. He looked at Sakura behind Naruto as his gaze sharpened. "Then I can fairly assume that Sakura has told you all the details?" asked Neji. Sakura looked away, knowing that she had left something out, but wished to keep it secret.
"What do you mean?" asked Naruto looking at Sakura and then back at Neji.
"I'm sorry, Naruto. I did leave something out when I was speaking to you." said Sakura. Naruto's attention returned to Sakura as she began to explain. "The thing is… if you fight Hiashi, and by some miraculous stroke of luck, you win… you'll have to marry Hinata." said Sakura. Naruto looked at her blankly for a second and then exclaimed with surprise.
"WHAT! Why didn't you say that before?" asked Naruto loudly as a blush crept over his face.
"This is an old tradition for marriage, Naruto. But if you do this, you'll at least be able to be with Hinata." Said Sakura. Naruto looked away and thought about it for a second.
"There really isn't any other way?" asked Naruto. Sakura and Neji both shook their heads. "But, I can't commit to THAT! I've only been in this relationship for about a week!"
"It's either that, or you won't be able to see Hinata again." said Neji. Naruto nodded and looked to Neji as he stood before him.
"Fine then. I care more about Hinata than anything else in the entire world! I'll do it." said Naruto. Neji smirked and nodded. "Hey come to think of it, why aren't you helping Hiashi? I mean, wouldn't that get you on his good side?" asked Naruto.
"Hinata is more dear to me than Hiashi or the entire Hyuga Main Branch family. If she wants to be with you, for whatever reason that may forever be a mystery to me, I will take her side over Hiashi's any day." said Neji. Naruto nodded and smiled at him.
"Good to know that you're on my side." said Naruto. Neji nodded.
"Indeed. Now listen: since Sakura already explained the details, I'll jump right to the highlight. You are nowhere near Hiashi in strength, technique, or experience. However, you're a hard worker and have a lot more chakra than he does, so that gives you a small edge." said Neji.
"Okay… but that still doesn't matter a whole lot, right?" said Naruto crossing his arms. Neji nodded.
"What you need is a special kind of training, Naruto. If you're going to defeat him, you'll need every technique that you can get your hands on." said Neji.
"How do we do that?" asked Sakura. Neji smirked.
"Naruto, Sakura, call up everyone. We're going to have a training expedition!"