at .545: Thank you. Sorry it took me so long.

at Hime-Love-97: Yeah, but making people angry is kind of his purpose... I still think he's the best villain ever :) Thanks.

at chrysant: Thank you so much. Glad you didn't find it unrealistic. I'm not sure how either of them would react, or how they would voice their anger but I did the best I could.

at Chewie Cookies: Thank you. More reactions coming up.

at Kokobeexx: First of all, thank you so much. Happy you enjoyed it. Next, I found it very difficult to portray Shikamaru. I descibed what I thought would happen if emotion took over logic, but maybe it gets clearer with this chapter.

at Ayrmed: Ah, don't be mad at Kiba and Shikamaru, they the ones getting ripped apart from the women they love. Thanks for reviewing.

Thank you for reading and reviewing.

I don't own Naruto.

"Chouji, this is…" Ino stared around grobsmacked.

Wordlessly the large man agreed with his blonde companion.

"How did he manage that in only two days?" Ino wondered and bit down her tears, of pity or out of frustration, Chouji couldn't be sure.

One and a half month had passed since the day all relationships with foreign countries had collapsed. Chouji and Ino had started to visit Shikamaru regularly because as much as the man was a genius he seemed unable to take care of himself. The house looked like a mess, despite Chouji's and Ino's best effort to keep the house at least a bit clean.

It was worrisome to say in the least, the way Shikamaru had simply stopped caring about anything at all, unless it was in any way related to bringing Temari back. He left his clothes laying around, spent most of his days in his robe, unless he went to work. The kitchen looked hazardous and it smelled like something had died in there. Ino and Chouji had cleaned out the fridge a few weeks ago, but the smell lingered.

Naruto was immensely worried about Shikamaru. His main advisor had, after their first row in the office, agreed to help them – as one would have thought since he desperately wanted Temari back. So he showed up to the meetings and when he did, Shikamaru was every bit as brilliant as always, but Naruto could see he was losing himself. He hadn't shaved since then and he didn't seem to care about the impression he left on anyone really. He closed himself off from everything and everyone else.

Ino sighed and bent down to retrieve one of Shikamaru's shirts. It would forever remain a mystery to her how he could make such a mess in only a few days, especially since he didn't seem to move much, or do anything at all.

If someone had told either of them that their genius teammate would ever be reacting that way, they would have laughed. Shikamaru was logic and reason, he was 'out-of-the-box' thinking, he was lazy, he was … not a homeless looking, barely reacting, dead eyed and unemotional git.

Last week Ino had reached her breaking point. At first she had been emphatic and felt with Shikamaru for his loss. But after he had simply dropped the last meal she had personally cooked him in the sink, she had lost it.

Chouji didn't know what the worst part was, Ino's enraged face and her yelling insults and almost slapping Shikamaru silly or him just sitting there taking it completely unmoving.

Out of the corner of his eyes he watched Shikamaru exiting his room, expectedly in only his boxers. He looked worse every day that passed by and truly Chouji didn't understand it.

Shikamaru was a genius; Chouji couldn't for the life of him understand why he was behaving this way. And it wasn't just that he was letting himself go, he had been unusual nasty to the people around him. And he was especially nasty concerning Hinata.

And to a certain degree they could understand that. Shikamaru needed someone to blame, but to put it exclusively on the petite woman wasn't exactly fair either. Ino had told him yesterday that she wasn't doing very well and Chouji had decided that enough was enough. Today was going to be the day Shikamaru would be pulled out of his stupor.

"Ino, I'd like to talk to Shikamaru alone, would you mind?"

Stunned her turquoise eyes met with his, she hesitated for only a second before she pressed a kiss to Shikamaru's whiskery cheek and told him a soft goodbye.

After the door had closed behind her, Chouji turned to his friend sternly. He could no longer tolerate his irresponsible and hurtful manners.

"Don't you think it's enough, Shikamaru?" Chouji looked him square in the eyes and felt annoyance slipping in when the man averted his eyes. "I know that you miss Temari, I get that. But instead of mopping around and blaming others, you bloody well could do something about it. Use your head, not that I have any idea why you stopped doing it in the first place. What do you think Temari would say to that? Your being pathetic and quite frankly whatever it is you're doing, it's helping no one. Especially not you or Temari."

Chouji waited until Shikamaru finally stopped shifting uncomfortable and looked at him properly. "It's fine that you took your time coping but it's enough. You're not the only one going through this."

Shikamaru's voice sounded hoarse, "I'm sorry Chou. I didn't mean for things to escalate like they did, but without Tema… it was hard to get up in the morning and… everything else was… unimportant."

He looked around the house and grimaced. "I didn't mean for it to get so out of hand."

And truly he hadn't, but his drive, his motivation seeped out of him. Without Temari around he felt empty. But Chouji was right, in fact Shikamaru had understood that, days ago. But something kept him down, like a weight on his chest keeping him from breathing.

It was a simple reason. For all his intelligence and understanding of policy, Shikamaru knew that there was not a whole lot to do. If there was anything at all, he could accomplish by drowning himself in work, he would do so…but there really wasn't.

At least not until the other nations were willing to talk again and so far the outlook wasn't promising. For now, the only thing they all did was damage control inside and outside the village. And of course they kept writing to the Kages, trying to get in touch but so far there had been no reaction. Especially Suna had made no move to keep contact to Konoha. A logical reaction in order to avoid a war, of course. If there was only the slightest indication that Suna was collaborating with Konoha the consequences could be dire.

"And for the record, Shikamaru…" Chouji continued. "…Hinata's doing terrible."

The man stiffed at the sound of her name. He was well aware of the state Konoha's main ambassador was in. An apology rested at the tip of his tongue every time he saw her, but every time he lost his courage. Hinata and him and always gotten along great, the look on her face when he affronted her more than a month ago wouldn't leave him. Really he didn't think he was that wrong, nothing he said was an actual lie, nevertheless it wasn't the entire truth either.

In reality he had just needed someone to blame. Shikamaru had known about the plan as much as she did and he had been aware of the risk. Blaming Hinata entirely had been a safety mechanism.

"I know. I should probably go and apologize." Shikamaru got up.

Chouji nodded, "You should, but maybe you want to shower first and get dressed."

Shikamaru sighed, "Aye, sir."

The two of them exchanged a grin and Shikamaru strolled past him to the bathroom.

…

She couldn't deny it any longer; it was time to take consequences. Hinata supported her head in her hands. The last month had been the hardest she ever went thought. During that time she attended countless council meetings and Clan meetings, she had written numerous letters every day, had worked on new contracts and talked to more people than throughout the last year put together.

Exhaustion tugged at her, threatening to tear her apart but she could live with that. What she couldn't live with was with the loss of her friends. Shikamaru hadn't talked to her since he had been confronted about the situation in Naruto's office but much to her surprise she had received a letter from Kiba only four days ago. Ostensibly Shino had managed to persuade Kiba that Hinata was not entirely to blame. He had apologized to her and told her that he believed if anyone could bring Karui back it was her.

Hinata snorted at the thought. The way things were turning out she wouldn't be able to do anything after all.

"Have you eaten anything at all today?"

Naruto eyed her critically from the kitchen counter, she hadn't heard him entering their home, much less their kitchen. She gave him a weak smile but hesitated with her answer.

"You haven't, am I right?" The blond sighed heavily. "It's good that I brought take-out then."

He settled the bag on the table and proceeded to pull out plates and chop-sticks.

"I'm not really that hungry, Naruto." She made a feeble attempt to make her voice sound strong but the high pitched noise that emitted from her mouth was barely discernible as her voice.

He gritted his teeth and set the last plate down with more force than necessary. A few years ago he probably would have yelled at her right there, as it was however he was calmer and more understanding now. So he gave himself a bit of time to relax his posture before meeting her eyes. His voice came out harsh and forced.

"Hinata, you will eat this. All of it! We will sit here until you've eaten all of that. And if it takes us the whole night, so be it!"

The woman kept silent and picked up her chop-sticks obediently. It started out well, but after only a few bites Hinata began to move the food from one end of the plate to the other instead of bringing it to her lips.

"Hinata, eat it."

"I'm not hungry."

The chair he had been sitting on fell over with the force in which Naruto stood up. "Hinata, that's enough. I have been watching this for too long. I know you haven't eaten in days, no matter how often I bring food here or to your office. I have tried cooking, I have tried persuasion and bribery, I have tried to beg you to eat something, but none of these have worked. I've had it! You will eat this or I will force you too." He breathed in heavily.

It killed him to see Hinata diminish like that. She looked like a ghost, her skin was pale and had adopted a sickly grey tone, except for the bags under her eyes, those shimmered in a dark black from the lack of sleep, and of course the weight loss. He had enough, if she refused to eat and sleep tonight for a change, he would bring her to a hospital. She would kill herself otherwise.

"Hinata, please. Stop doing this to me. I can't watch this anymore. Can we please eat and get some sleep afterwards? Please."

She felt the tears dwell up in her eyes. Hinata was so sick of tears, she couldn't go on like this anymore. And really she knew Naruto was right, she did, but she simply didn't feel hunger or fatigue. She was mentally and physically exhausted but her body and mind wouldn't let her rest.

"I'm sorry. I-I'm s-so sorry. I c-can't…"

Once again she ended up in Naruto's arms, crying her heart out. The truth was that while she wanted to do everything in her powers to make things right, at the same time she probably wouldn't be given the time to do so. The council's pressure became greater with each day that passed and they weren't the only ones. Her mistake had led to the abandonment of various treaties and contracts; it was time she took the consequences.

The steady rhythm of Naruto's fingers running through her hair, calmed her down enough to be able to only concentrate on him and only him, and finally, finally she was able to fall into slumber. Rather fitful, but sleep nonetheless.

Naruto smiled down at her with a sad expression. At least it was partly a win, he didn't make her eat but she slept… and that was something.

…

"You look like shit."

Hinata almost smiled at her sister's blunt statement. She was glad Hanabi finally talked to her. For the two months she had been back in Konoha, Hanabi hadn't talked to her at all. Only after she arrived had she yelled at Hinata for messing up her life. The brunette Hyuga had barely left her room after that.

"You don't look much better." Hinata retorted and she was right.

Clearly Hanabi had suffered from loss of appetite and sleep as much as she had, and if the red rims around her eyes were any indication she had spent countless hours crying as well.

Unwilling to admit her state of mind, Hanabi wore a mask of indifference and her eyes shone with hardness and iciness.

"Well, as I'm sure you're aware I have been released from my diplomatic duties for Konoha, however considering my role in this… scandal…" she forced the word past her lips. "…I would like to be informed of the progress you've already made and would also like to offer you my insight."

Hinata stilled the tremor in her hand, her sister would undoubtedly not be happy with what she brought as a result.

Calm and methodically Hanabi worked through the paperwork her sister had produced while she was 'incapable' of working. She hadn't had any contact with Gaara since she left Suna. It was obvious they couldn't communicate; the scandal was great enough as it was. She understood that they couldn't take the risk, the situation was threatening and if someone were to find out there was still contact…that could be the last straw. Hanabi was on edge in a way that was new to her. Terrified that she'd never see Gaara again, she had not been able to overcome her stupor.

"Hinata I'm sorry." Silver eyes met surprised lavender ones. "I shouldn't have put the blame for this mess on you. I said some things that were…not right. And I'm truly sorry."

"Oh, Hanabi." Hinata sauntered over to where her sister was sitting and kneeled down in front of her to take her hands in her own. "I know you didn't. I'm sorry too. You're right, if it wasn't for me…"

"I wouldn't have met Gaara. Look, I can't say that this wasn't at least partly your fault, but I will always be grateful for what you did for me. And I did say some things that had nothing to do with any of that, so please forgive me. I love you, sister."

"I love you, too. And of course you're forgiven."

Hanabi gave her a real smile, a rare sight these days. "So what's your plan."

Hinata laughed bitterly at her and started to tell her everything.

"Well… this is…So this is it?" Hanabi felt like she had just been hit by a rather large rock.

"It looks that way. But I won't give up, I'll just have to use different ways. I promise that I won't stop until this is fixed."

Hanabi ran a hand through her auburn tresses and fought down her tears. "So, when was the last time you ate something?"

And then both sisters started to laugh, and if a few tears mingled with the laughter, who would notice anyway?

…

Naruto looked up from his desk when he heard a knock. "Yes, please come in."

His pleasant smile at the sight of Hinata clouded when he realized who was accompanying his lovely girlfriend. She still looked worse to wear but that didn't mean he was any less happy to see her. He was less enthusiastic when he let his eyes wander to the two elderly gentlemen who entered his office after Hinata. The two representatives of the Konoha council bowed slightly to their Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, good day." Hinata gave him a hesitant smile and there was something in her eyes that gave him a rather unpleasant shiver. Her eyes seemed to silently beg him to keep his calm.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to tell you that it has been a pleasure to work for you in the diplomatic force of Konoha. But considering recent developments, I'm afraid I am no longer fit to represent Konoha at its best. Therefore I'm here to inform you of my resignation."

"WHAT!?" Naruto got to his feet and shook his head furiously. "You can't mean that. Hin…"

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid it's only logical. Through my fault and my personal involvement I have caused Konoha harm, my person is no longer internationally accepted as trustworthy. I am unable to continue my work as ambassador." She interrupted him. "I am still going to remain in the office for some time. Kurenai Yuhi who so far has been entrusted with taking over in my absence, will be my successor and I will help her settle in."

Her pale eyes shimmering in grey in the sunlight pleaded with him to not make this any more difficult for her.

"Hokage-sama, Hyuga-san is indeed correct. We, the council, no longer believe that reconciliation with the other nations is possible under Hyuga-san's lead." One of the council members spoke up.

Naruto barely kept from yelling at him to shut up. A ranging storm occurred inside of him, he wanted to tell her not to be stupid, that there was no one better in the job but her, then again Naruto didn't want to make a scene. Clearly this was hard enough on her as it was.

"Hyuga-san, I want to thank you for your services in the diplomatic force so far. You have done a splendid job and your accomplishments won't be forgotten. I regret to inform that I will accept you decision to step back as main Konoha ambassador. I only wish you the best." He forced out and offered her a painful smile, which she reciprocated. "I'd like you to stay for a moment to discuss your future. Thank you."

He bowed to the council men and dismissed them quickly.

"Naruto you have to under…"

"Hinata, what the heck are you thinking?" He turned to her furiously. "You are amazing at what you're doing and …" He stopped mid-sentence when he realized the tears streaming down her face.

"Hinata please don't. I'm sorry." He said helplessly and enveloped her in a warm embrace.

"They've been demanding my resignations for weeks now, I just couldn't…" Her blubbering made her unable to continue with what she wanted to say. "A-and they're r-right. I-I…"

"Hinata, why didn't you tell me?" He asked softly in her hair.

Hinata sniffled but got herself under control fairly quickly. "Because, Naruto, this is my job. I know you would have helped me, but the thing is that I knew I'd have to step back sooner or later, getting you involved more than you already were…It would have put you on the firing line as well."

Naruto's brow furrowed, "But why haven't they demanded my resignation? They know I was aware of everything as much as you were."

"Naruto, you're the great war hero. You have done so much for Konoha, for the world. They know there's no one better than you, you've got all the credit in the world." She caressed his cheek and allowed her fingers to run through his blond hair.

Despite the situation he couldn't contain a sheepish smirk and she giggled softly at the look in his eyes.

"But really Hinata, what do you want to do now? Because if you think I'll just let you go on dangerous mission again then…"

The woman sighed, "I don't know yet. You know as well as I do, that I don't like hurting others, so I'd prefer not to resume my active shinobi life, but… I don't know." She shrugged. "Besides, I would like to keep trying to set things right. Perhaps my official status as been terminated, but there's still some things I need to try. I promised Hanabi."

Relieved he took a step back but kept his hands on her shoulders. "You made up then?"

She nodded and he crushed her closer to put a chaste kiss on her lips. "I'm glad."

…

So, let me know what you think.