New update… Years later I know.

Some of you may have noticed some tweaks in the previous chapters.. That's if ffn has loaded the updated chapters by now.

I have a lot planned for Naruto and I can't wait to see how everyone reacts. Hinata herself isn't done and we might see Amai-san sooner than we think..

This story has a mind of it's own… I just do the typing

I still need a Beta though… Any volunteers? O''O

Disclaimer: I still do not own Naruto, I do however own a yummy cup of steaming coffee right now.

Oh and there is a poll on my profile, please check it out and let me know what you think

Thank you for everyone who reviewed, the good, the bad and the ugly.

I am trying here and I think that with the little tweaks I've made maybe I will have appeased a few of our previous concerns, if not LET ME KNOW.

Oh and I apologize, I know it's been years and also for not replying to reviews. I am trying to take everyone's reviews into consideration in "fixing" the story. I don't get chance to reply to the reviews as I do work full time and I am a mom, so please forgive me for that

Now ON TO THE STORY!

-Nimheria

Hiashi's eyes widened as he took in the site before him. His thirteen year old daughter, who had changed in eight months and not just in her appearance. She looked more confident, sure of herself and comfortable in her own skin. Her hair was longer, her pale skin had a light tan to it and her body seemed leaner and stronger. What struck him the most is that she seemed confident, as if her shyness had been ebbed away.

He watched as Anko and Hinata discussed her training with Tsunade and Kurenai and a smile played on his lips. He finally did something right by her, even if it included Anko Mitarashi.

Tsunade was excited by the prospects of what Anko and Hinata had accomplished and she wanted to see Hinata in action. She arranged a spar between Hinata and another member of the Rookies, even though she would not disclose it. Hinata seemed to have come out of her shell, the girl wasn't staring at her feet or blushing nor was she poking her fingers together.

The Hokage looked over to Hiashi and saw a proud smile on his face. She silently resisted the urge to groan, she should have placed a bet on the outcome of this. Shizune shook her head as she watched her mentor. She knew exactly when Tsunade was regretting a bet. Not that the woman had much luck.

They didn't call her the Legendary Sucker for nothing.

Kurenai was relieved to see that Anko and Hinata had returned safely, neither of them wanted to disclose much about their training trip at the moment, they requested that it be discussed the next day, after the spar.

Hinata smiled warmly at Kurenai and gave her a soft hug. Her chest still felt so full after knowing that she had the privilege to meet Amai. Even if she was trained practically to death by her. Seeing Kurenai now after spending almost a year with Amai, she could easily pick out the resemblances, other than the red eyes.

"You want to go where, Pervy Sage?" Naruto's loud exasperation could be heard echoing clearly as Jiraya was attempting to discuss the next part of their training. Tsunade was not happy that they would not be returning to the village, but Jiraya's logic behind keeping Naruto on the move made it harder for the Akastuki to track him, thus she had no choice but to agree.

Naruto though, well Jiraya wasn't sure if the kid was excited or mad, how was he supposed to know, the kid was always loud. "Naruto, please do not yell! Now then pack your things we are going to visit the land of lightning, there is someone there that I want you to meet." Just as Naruto was about to protest and argue with Jiraya, he wanted to go home, the old toad woke up and just shook his head at Naruto.

A sight that creeped Naruto out.

The toad went back to sleep and Naruto sighed in defeat. Jiraya had told him that from now on they will be training on the road and that he isn't ready to go home to Konoha yet.

He wanted to go home. He wanted to see how everyone has grown, get to work on keeping his promise to Sakura-chan and maybe seek out those purple eyes.

"Fine, fine but no fake research. I don't want to get yelled at again because you got caught." Jiraya chuckled then nodded at the boy, he would try but he wouldn't make any promises.

Naruto knew that he lost that battle. He huffed then marched of and went to pack his things. They were leaving at night fall. He had enough time to pack, say goodbye to the toads and then they had to hit the road.

"Father, it is good to see you." Hinata bowed to her father and smiled softly, though he decided to grab her into a tight hug, which surprised her. Hiashi had missed her, more than he could express.

"Welcome back Hinata." She smiled warmly at him and then they proceeded to greet everyone. Anko had already left, complaining that the genin team she hired to look after her plants better not have screwed up or she would have to start a hunting session. Tsunade and Shizune had to return to the Hokage Tower but Kurenai was joining them back at the Hyuuga compound.

Hiashi wonder what he would find upon their return to the compound, Hanabi was in her element, enjoying planning this for her sister but he knew that her puppy eyes could not hide her claws. That child would be the death of him, especially since things around the Hyuuga compound have changed so much.

He briefly wondered what his eldest daughter would say once she noticed the changes around the compound. The Main Family and the Branch Family were no longer divided. Hiashi, Ko and Neiji worked hard to repair the rift but with the council now including Neiji Ko and Himara, all of them representatives of different aspects of what used to be the Branch family, the transition was easier.

Neiji was assisting with changes to the family that would impact the future, Ko was assisting with Hiashi with teaching those members that were interested in a variation of the main family's fighting style, the variation was adapted to those with the seal that could not access the Byakugan, and he was looking for a way to remove the seal without killing the bearer. Himara was the softer touch, she dealt with all the complaints, matters that Hiashi now took seriously.

He hoped that the changes that they had implemented would bring Hinata's dream of combining the family completely possible.

Hanabi was groaning as her sunflower ice sculpture was being moved to the garden, into the sun. She had timed it so carefully to avoid the sculpture being in the sun too long. Her sister would love it. The guards at the front gate had yelled to her the moment they could sense Hiashi's chakra signal that they were on their way, thus leading to the movement of the sculpture.

The family members that were helping her move the sculpture were nervously moving the icey object to the centre of the court yard, blankets were folded out, each with a basket of picnic goodies and two jugs of fruit punch.

Hinata's team and all the members of the Rookies were there, well the ones that were in the village. Hanabi hoped that this would be a success. Hinata had always been there for everyone and now Hanabi wanted to show her how special she was to them.

Kiba ran to help the Hyuuga members with the statue as he saw that it was tilting to one side. He wondered what in the world was going through the little Hyuuga's head when she ordered a monster sunflower.

Sakura and Ino chose a spot to get comfortable and soon TenTen joined in. Neiji, Lee and Shino had chosen a blanket closer to the shaded area. They knew Kiba and Shikamaru would be joining them.

Lee and Gai were gushing about the youthfulness of the ice sculpture.

Hanabi hoped that it would last.

Naruto glared at the Pervy Sage, they were currently climbing a mountain and all he could see was Jiraya's back, everything else was just clouds and it was wet, very wet.

Jiraya told Naruto that they had to be quiet and stealthy. He did not think that it meant sneaky.

As they reached the top of the mountain Jiraya whistled lowly and all of a sudden there was a loud boisterous voice yelling at them. "The Sage of Lust, Greet you, Bee Must!." Naruto felt as if the booming voice was going to throw him off the mountain side.

Kurama instantly woke up, Naruto wasn't sure why but his demon was suddenly yelling in his head that they had to run away, run very far away.

Hiashi, Hinata and Kurenai reached the compound gates and Hinata sighed softly, the feeling of coming home was always there, after every mission, but now more so as she had not been home in close to a year. She took in a deep breath and smiled as they stepped into the compound.

"Hinata, why don't you go wash up and change into something more comfortable, there is a small surprise for you in the courtyard so when you are done, please join us." Hiashi sent her off. She hurried to her room and then stripped off her travelling clothes and had a quick shower.

It felt good to be home again.

She got dressed in clothing that she bought in Yugakure. As she went down to the court yard she could hear whispers and wondered what was going on as the compound was usually quiet.

As she opened the sliding door to the court yard a very loud "Surprise!" was yelled out by what appeared to be a lot of the Hyuuga family and the Rookie teams. She burst out laughing then moved forward to start greeting everyone with hugs and a friendly smile. Everyone noticed though that Hinata was not hiding under the burly jacket anymore and everyone could see a change in her.

Kiba and Shino stared in shock as Hinata finally reached her team mates. "Hai!" she greeted them excitedly then grabbed them both into a hug. "Welcome back Hinata, I am glad you are well." Came Shino's welcome. She smiled at him, glad to see that Shino was still stoic Shino.

Kiba and Akamaru were a completely different story all together. Akamaru sniffed her, the nin-dog had grown so much that his nose reached her chest, he sniffed and licked everywhere he could reach.

Kiba just grabbed her tighter into a hug and yelled out how glad he was that she was back and that she looked good.

Hanabi was watching everything with a sharp eye, Hinata looked happy.

The Mission accomplished, Hanabi joined in the festivities while Hiashi just stood to the one side, smiling.

A/N This is a sappy chapter on Hinata's side but I wanted this as a build up to whats to come with the Akatsuki. I cant wait to start on another part of Naruto's journey, if you have any suggestions, let me know. Im gonna start on it tomorrow.

Let me know what you think

-Nimheria