He closed the door behind him and looked at the pretty girl who accompanied him. Here he was, fulfilling a distant dream, with Sakura in his room, finally alone. If only he didn't have his head completely lost by the lilac eyes that said goodbye to him with such resignation.

He cursed himself, in another time by now he would have Sakura undressed, and he would be more than willing to have a good time. Remote times when for both of them, entering a room alone was quite a provocation.

Naruto felt nothing of what he was supposed to feel in his expected encounter with the pink-haired girl... There was no emotion, no mischief, no desire to jump on the girl in a passionate kiss. Instead, a foreign gray sensation took over his chest, something that he still couldn't identify that brought back to those two words he heard a few minutes before:

"Good luck"

Hinata, despite the fear she felt about her future, the problems she had to carry on her back alone, still had time to consider his emotions. She, who was innocently looking for her happiness, even with the difficult circumstances that surrounded her, had a word of encouragement for him. She, who despite the fact her love for him had caused her so much pain, was capable of wishing him the best... Of wishing that Sakura would make him the happiest man in the world.

He let himself get overcome by that strange sensation, admitting to himself the only woman he wanted in his room was being escorted by a pushover who was trying to steal her, and the woman he did have in his room inspires him nothing... nothing!

Sakura remained silent, observing what seemed to be a collapse in her friend's mood. What did Hinata say to make him wear such a disappointed expression? Of all the people Sakura could imagine hurting the blonde, Hinata was definitely one of the last that came to her mind. This has to be a mistake, or maybe the girl had mentioned the Kazekage's party menu didn't include Ramen (which was the same as stabbing the hero's heart).

Or maybe, just maybe, Naruto was finally accepting those feelings he held for the Hyuga heiress, which were too obvious to everyone else, but he insisted on keeping hidden. Sakura, one way or another, set out to have a very long talk with her old boyfriend... but the topic had to wait, since the news she brought was of higher priority at that time.

-I'm sorry I didn't let you go play ninjas with Hinata and his new friend, but this is serious-

-Honestly I was surprised your note gave me so few details, is Kakashi-sensei aware of whatever you are going to tell me?-

-He was the one who ordered Sasuke-kun and me to attend this blessed party. Listen to me: While I was in the land of fire with Sasuke-kun studying medicinal plants we also found a huge variety of hallucinogenic, aphrodisiac and poisonous plants moving into a series of black markets throughout the country. At the beginning I simply collected samples to study them, but as we found out about some of them, we had to go into mafias contact networks to get the samples, because apparently only certain people grow them.-

-The temme's favorite job, being among the rats- Naruto said sarcastically.

-In fact, his former fame as Akatsuki helped him a lot to persuade certain contacts.- Sakura recalled Sasuke not only made use of his fame, the girl had to witness on occasions the wide repertoire of torture methods of the Uchiha, a facet which gave her several chills- In short, the important thing is some of these sources of information have indicated there was a purchase of one of the most dangerous plants, and apparently the objective is to supply it to one of the Kazekage's party attendees, the risk is of imminent death for whoever is the target-

-And a thug guy decided to give you such information just because?-

-Naruto, you'd be surprised what a gangster is capable of confess, when someone is breaking each one of his bones without mercy, not to mention the benefits of using the sharingan at the same time-

-So, what is the mission?-

-First of all there should be no disturbances, at this moment Sasuke-kun is letting Gara know the situation, so he can reinforce security. The second thing is to catch the group of attackers, to find the cause of the attack. The difficult thing is going to be keeping an eye on everyone at the same time. This party has brought together many diplomats from various villages. Watching everyone without attracting attention is going to be difficult. Finally if the poisoning occurs, try to save the life of the poor wretch with the medic treatments I have been able to learn from plants-

-leave the first part in my hands, I can do the jutsu of clones and transform them into different people at the same time. At least the civilians will not notice anything.-

-Perfect, but don't overdo it, I know you can do thousands, but having an escort for each diplomat will be enough. At this moment any of them could be the target- Sakura paused briefly and continued- Naruto, that includes you and Hinata among the possible targets... especially Hinata-

-Why would she be a target?- He hadn't thought about it until Sakura mentioned it, both he and Hinata were part of the group of diplomats, but the fact there was a special interest in harming the blue-haired girl put all his senses on alert.

-Don't you realize the immense power that falls on her? She is at the gates of one of the most powerful alliances we have ever had, opening the possibility of trade to regions far beyond the country of fire. Her marriage will be the beginning of the alliance between the village of the Moon and Konoha, and even if you don't believe it, many do not welcome this to happen. There are still conservative groups within the country who see the village of the Moon as an enemy and would do anything for that marriage not to happen.-

-Very well, I will take care of Hinata personally-

-ha, no surprises there, you always take care of her- Sakura told him with a slight smile. Maybe that was a good time to talk after all.

-I would take care of her as much as you, if you were the target-

Sakura walked over to the boy and put her hand on his shoulder.

-Naruto, we both know that's not true. Hinata...she's special-she observed how the blonde's face showed confusion, he will need her to explain it more explicit.

- Is it that you really haven't noticed? That she is the first person you seek to protect, always. During the war, she was the first one you covered with the kyubi chakra-

-If I were given the option, she would have been the only one we cover with my chakra- Kurama mentioned in the blond's mind.

-In the attack against Pain, when you lost control, we were all in danger. You destroyed everything in your path. EVERYTHING except the place where Hinata's body was. I think thanks to that security, we were able to arrive on time and save her life.

Even when we were dating, I knew a large part of your time was spent with the Hyugas, I still don't know exactly why, but I knew it was something related to Hinata. It could be said I was jealous, although it was more of an understanding, that's how things were. That's why I thought the best thing was for us to separate-

-Wait, are you telling me you broke up with me because you thought I was in love with Hinata or something?-

-No. I wanted to know what it felt like to be truly loved and I thought I could find that love in you. But I was wrong.-

-Doesn't it seem very convenient to say when we both know you left me to go with Sasuke?-

-I'm not going to deny that I've always loved him, but that doesn't mean I haven't seriously tried with you. Love needs to be reciprocated, you can't expect to have a woman waiting forever, sooner or later the feeling starts to die, and it was happening to me with Sasuke-kun. Around that time you rejected Hinata's feelings, I was determined to forget Sasuke, and you had become a very attractive man, besides being my best friend. I thought if you really weren't interested in Hinata, and I wanted to forget about Sasuke we could try.-

-but you didn't forget Temme-

Sakura looked into the boy's eyes with an air of melancholy -Naruto, the one who never managed to forget was you. I had already lived waiting for my first love, I was not going to sit around waiting for you to love me, when that was not going to happen, because you have not been able to order your feelings-

-Sakura, you've lost your mind, I've loved you since we were genin! I've been chasing you all my life!-

Sakura put both hands on his shoulders, looking straight into the blonde's eyes

- Are you sure that was love? Naruto, this is not about a ninja way! You can realize that you were wrong, that you didn't know what you were saying, you can go back on your word! Look, I'm not going to assure you're in love with Hinata, I just want you to remember exactly what you did a few hours before I broke up with you-

-Sakura, you know I don't pay that much attention to details, I hardly remember what I did yesterday- Naruto began to get desperate, this conversation only affected his tangled thoughts more.

-Okay, I'll remind you. It was a few days after the rumor spread between Hiroki and Hinata, which led to them being kicked out of the Hyuga main house. You agreed to go train with team 8 that day. You spent the whole afternoon with them, until Kiba and Shino had to leave, but you asked Hinata to stay. You handed her this-

Sakura took out of her pocket a silver necklace, from the chain hung what seemed to be a diamond due to the extraordinary brilliance, but upon closer inspection it became clear that it was a quartz crystal, with a brilliant ball of energy inside.

-what are you doing with that object?-

-That night we had plans, I went looking for you and I saw you in the distance handing this over to Hinata. She saw me, her byakugan is so strong now that it doesn't need to be activated to detect people in close range. Shortly after you left, she came to talk to me and gave me the necklace. Hinata is an exceptional woman, both as a friend and as a partner. She thought it was inappropriate for an engaged woman to receive jewelry from a man other than her future husband. She said apparently you had given her the first of what would be many protection charms for your friends. I don't think she ever understood this was an exclusive gift for her, you weren't going to give something similar to anyone else, right? Or maybe she didn't want to cause you a problem with me.

Naruto's heart contracted painfully, he never knew Hinata rejected his gift, until now -that was a thank you gift for all she has done for me, it wasn't a big deal-

Sakura walked to the door, depositing the necklace on a table -Hinata explained to me what the necklace does. I'm not going to tell that you're in love Naruto, but please take into account how hard you've tried to stay by Hinata's side-

Without saying more Sakura left the room, leaving Naruto extremely confused. Of course he remembered that moment, but he had never stopped to think about the intentions that motivated him to make such a gift.

He had heard the rumors about Hinata and her fiancée, how they were discovered in very compromising circumstances, and how they were taken out from the main house. Something was twisting in the blond's mind, taking away his peace.

Shortly after, Hinata began to appear with bruises in her arms, she also seemed distant, always absorbed in her thoughts, as if she carried enormous concern. Naruto was worried about the treatment Hiroki might be giving her, although Hinata could be much more powerful than him Naruto knew the respect the girl would show for her future husband, he was sure she would never try to defend herself from him. In addition, it was said she could be pregnant... The mere idea Hiroki could hurt her in that state, and the blond was not there to protect her, simply made him sick.

He remembered with regret their encounter with Pain, where he painfully was a bloody spectator of her suffering. So much training hadn't been worth a shit, when he'd been pinned to the ground, hand and foot. The only thing he'd done to protect her had been scream, and cry.

Naruto was determined to settle that debt with her. So next time, he could be by her side, and protect her as he should have done in the past..That's why he arranged a training session with team 8, to have the opportunity to give the girl a project he had been working on for years and now it was finished, he could only think of handing it over to Hinata.

-Hinata, do you mind if we take a detour? There is something I want to talk to you about.-

She didn't put up much of an objection, however she was still absent, in the strange state of mind he had seen her the last few weeks. In short time they arrived at a park, and sat on a bench, the same one where Naruto had once mourned Jiraya's death.

-Hinata, how have you been? I mean the whole thing with Hiroki-

She looked at him somewhat surprised. She didn't understand what the question was about, but she answered honestly. -Well, it's much nicer now that we have privacy, we've been able to get to know each other better- her voice dropped a little as she said her last words. She looked sad.

-I'll get to the point… does he respect you? Has he been hitting you?

-Naruto-kun where do you get those ideas?-

-Usually people think I'm just a clueless idiot, but I can be a very good observer - He approached her, gently removed the sweater from her right shoulder and lifted the sleeve of her blouse to expose it. A huge bruise darkened the entire length of the area.

-I know you haven't done missions in the last few weeks, and the rest of team 8 is taking care of responsibilities for their clans, so this isn't a training injury-

Hinata's heart began to pound, that was the closest thing to a caress she had received from the blonde. -I appreciate your concern, Naruto-kun, but it's nothing more than a misunderstanding, it's true that I'm not training with team 8, but now that we can do it, Hiroki and I spend a lot of time training together, we've been able to get to know our rhythms fight, and we have also tried some things out of the ordinary, it is natural that we will come out with some bruises

Naruto's mind led him to link the girl's comment to her sexual activities with Hiroki. The idea displeases him , making him launch a question that burns his nerves.

-Are you pregnant?-

Hinata chuckled slightly -although it would be very convenient for the elders of the clan that we engender a creature at once, Hiroki and I have… let's say…other priorities at the moment-

-I see- Hinata's answer was not enough to restore his peace of mind. Naruto was still clueless about the cause of her anguish, still didn't know for sure if there was any chance Hinata was getting hurt, or that she actually found herself living in a happy passionate relationship with her fiancé.

-When the perverted sage died, there was one thing that I regretted more than anything-

Hinata couldn't help but take her hand as a sign of support -what were you sorry for?-

-Not having the chance to be there to help him. I always get the idea that maybe fighting together we would have won. That's why I promised myself not to let something like this happen again. I want to be right next to the people I love the most, when they need me... which leads me to this-

He took an object from her pocket, placing it in the girl's hands. She was fascinated with the strange necklace, it was simple, but it seemed extremely exotic. The single stone seemed to hold energy inside, glowing a pearly sky-blue hue.

-Naruto-kun is beautiful, is it some kind of amulet?

-My father was recognized in the world for his teleportation jutsu. Shortly after the war, a part of his belongings was given to me, in which there was a journal of notes of that jutsu. I studied it every day until I understood the seals and steps I had to follow, until I was able to create my own version. I can impregnate certain objects with my chakra, like the stone in that necklace, creating a link between me and the object, so I can transport myself to the place where it is, for now in a range of up to 15 kilometers-

-That's absolutely amazing- Hinata now looked at the stone with more fascination, that light blue was Naruto's chakra.

-Hinata, I want you to keep that stone, and use it to call me if you need help. I have added a seal on it, you just have to do the symbols, and I will know that you are calling me-

-This….is a wonderful gift Naruto-kun, but…I think it's more appropriate that you give it to Sakura-san-

-Sakura's safety doesn't concern me as much as yours right now. It's you who is living with a stranger, showing up with blows to the body, with your mind focused on God's knows what. Also, eventually I'll make one for Sakura too-

-I'm sorry I worried you. Even so, I don't know if I can accept this gift, no matter how precious it is to me.-

-I'm not asking you to put it on, or even use it to call me, just give me the opportunity to be with you, if you need me. You can do with it what you want, as long as you can activate it if necessary-

-I really appreciate your concern for me-

Naruto looked at the necklace on the table. Looking back, it all made sense. Hinata hadn't lied to him about training with Hiroki, probably by then they were already putting the infertility plan into motion and they must have seemed convincing. For sporadic training to result in an injury of this magnitude would have been suspicious, but for both of them to be injured from time to time gave the impression that the pair were simply taking things seriously with the training.

In any case, the one who had lied had been Naruto. He never confessed to Hinata that it took him nearly 4 years to develop such a jutsu, and he could only hold one stone steady at a time, making a second necklace impossible for him.

He realized even at that time he had to choose between Sakura and Hinata, and that without hesitation he had decided to take care of the woman who had always supported him. Was that mere thanks? A very deep friendship perhaps? Or perhaps what everyone else insisted on telling him had shades of truth, and he indeed had feelings for the Hyuga heiress?

But if all his life he had called what he felt for Sakura love, how could he define as love that set of emotions Hinata provoked in him? What if it was just a mixture of friendship and mere desire? A desire that seemed to be very new to him.

He mentally chided himself... the desire wasn't new either. During many of his don juan nights, when he was alone in his apartment, he daydreamed about the possibility Hinata would use the necklace to call him, not precisely because he was in danger.

With each new thing he learned in a woman's bed, he ended up masturbating at the end of the night, thinking about the blue-haired girl's reaction if he used that knowledge with her. At that point, how many things he could do to her!

When she proposed the insane plan to him, his entire body reacted immediately, but his chest squeezed painfully, he didn't want to play with her, something inside him screamed if he started that path, he wouldn't come out of it in one piece.

And here he was now, questioning if his great friend meant something more to him, and if the love of his life had been a self-imposed devotion, not having the ability to go against his words. Could it be that his nindo had seriously played against him this time?

He used sage mode to scan the building and find Hinata, he found her in the training yards with the weakly. He took the necklace, to leave it in the girl's room, praying to heaven the brief explanation he will write would be enough to convince her to use the jewel at least for that night.

This chapter was a little longer to what I usually post, hope you like it. This one is super important to me because here Sakura also helped Naruto. I really respect Sakura's character, I really get disappointed with all the hate she receives from the fandom, I love Naruhina, but that doesnt mean I wan a lovely, strong woman to get all that hate. Actually Kishi-san owe woman characters a little more development that just romantic feelings.