A/N: Apologies for the delayed update once again. I was extremely busy this month with various things and didn't find much time to write, so I am really sorry for the long wait. I will try my best to get the next chapter out faster.

Coming to the chapter, we will now be in a sort of winding down phase from the action packed Takigakure arc. We will slowly be moving to the next arc, while Hinata recuperates from her injuries. So, once again apologies for the lack of action. However, it is not possible for me to write action packed arcs one after another. I will try to make up for it with some fluff and some storytelling. Also, thank you very much for the continued support even when I was unable to publish. And with that, let's get on with the chapter.

CHAPTER 18: A NEW LIFE ABOUT TO BEGIN.

Naruto didn't have to wait much for Tsunade to get back from the Hyuuga compound after giving the arrogant old pricks a good piece of her mind. Shizune meanwhile had already been running tests on the lavender eyed princess's injured leg.

And Hinata meanwhile was getting a much-needed time to lie down, she had been denied ever since getting back to Konoha and getting to the Hyuuga compound.

"Shizune nee-san, how is it looking?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"Her leg has only been strained, and the damage is mostly the muscles, nerves, and some ligaments. It will heal fine."

Naruto and Hinata both breathed a sigh of relief. And that's when the door to that Hospital room opened.

"How's it looking, Shizune?" Tsunade asked in serious tone.

"Not terrible, shiso." The dark-haired woman responded. "But still, at least 5 ligaments have snapped and the muscles are strained but thankfully it is not a fracture though the knee is nearly dislocated. Did someone hit her there?"

Tsunade nodded. "Some idiot with a misplaced grudge." She stated before stepping forward and beginning to heal Hinata, giving the girl relief she desperately needed.

Shikaku suddenly burst in. "I heard Hinata was injured?" The head jonin asked.

"Those asshole Hyuugas sensei!" Naruto exclaimed gritting his teeth.

Shikaku's eyes narrowed. "Tsunade-sama, did you happen to see what Hiashi was doing when this happened?"

The blonde woman shook her head. "Looks like the old man forgot to mention that Hiashi was dispatched to Suna while we were still in the Hot Springs country. The old assholes exploited that, including this child's own grandfather." She stated shaking her head in disappointment.

"That clan is trying to give me a migraine…could you possibly keep Hinata here until Hiashi gets back and we work out something? I know that a bed might be occupied but can you please keep her if there are no emergency cases requiring that bed? I will bear the expenses."

Tsunade nodded. "I was thinking about it too. Well, it should make things easier if you are prepared to bear some expenses since it's not exactly necessary to keep her in the hospital."

"Thank you, Tsunade-sama." Shikaku said in gratitude.

Naruto sat, clasping his girlfriend's hand as this conversation happened. "This one really scared me, Hime. He better apologize before I see him again. Or else he's not gonna like it."

Hinata gave her beloved a soft smile. "Even I have a limit to my patience. Today was too much."

"You should be angry. That was completely wrong and messed up. You have every right to be upset Hina-chan. But I don't get it, couldn't you have just said no to fight? They wouldn't dare physically harm a clan member and one who is under the supervision of the jonin commander…right?"

'The boy is learning about politics, positions, and privileges really fast…interesting.' Thought Shikaku.

Hinata shook her head. "I tried. But then they said that they were going to harm you if I didn't fight. They disapprove of our relationship, but then I made it clear that I was prepared to disown the clan if they decided that our relationship was against their interests. They threatened that they would harm you. They do have the influence and money to try something like that."

"WHAT!? You fought because they threatened me!?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise.

Hinata nodded as she put her hand on Naruto's whiskered cheek. "And you know me. I was not going to just stand back and watch."

"Hime you…" Naruto worried up…

"I don't regret it. Don't worry." Hinata reassured.

"Wait a second! Hinata, did you just say that the Hyuuga elders forced you to fight by threatening Naruto's life?" Tsunade asked in a serious tone.

The Hyuuga nodded.

Tsunade's face morphed into a scowl. "These assholes are really getting out of hand. They don't have the slightest respect for our institutions…conspiring against a shinobi of their own village. One strategically important at that…Tsk!"

"I agree. These old men and women are becoming more troublesome than ever. They have to be put in their place. It seems that I need to talk to Gai about his student. This type of behaviour…personal feelings aside, this is absolutely against our basic rules of conduct with fellow comrades. If Hiashi doesn't do anything about his clan and keeps procrastinating on this, I will use my position and put them in their place. Hinata might be from their clan, but she is my student, my responsibility. They made this one personal." Shikaku said in a low tone.

***3 days later***

The Hyuuga leader, dispatched to Sunagakure to negotiate a new treaty between the Leaf and the Sand, finally returned.

Being as meticulous as he was, he went to the Hokage's office immediately. He had good news from the Kazekage. But bad news was waiting for him at the Hokage's office.

As soon as he entered the office, he was met with concerned looks from Hiruzen and Shikaku. The Nara was even giving the Hyuuga a look of dissatisfaction. And Hiashi had his own concerns with the Nara clan head as well.

"Greetings Hokage-sama." He greeted with a bow.

Hiruzen nodded as Hiashi went forward and presented him a scroll with the Kazekage's seal on it.

"How did it go, Hiashi?" Hiruzen asked, putting the scroll on the table.

"I should say that I wasn't expecting much from the Kazekage. But he was more open and flexible than I had imagined. And in return for us refusing missions from the Wind Daimyo and making him give his missions to Suna, he agreed to have Jiraiya-sama inspect Gaara's seal and even agreed to lay the boy off duty till then. But he wanted some sort of symbolic monetary compensation from us."

"Hmm, as long as it is symbolic. I believe we can release up to a million ryo as a compensatory amount." The Sandaime suggested.

"I would argue for half that, but I won't be opposed to it in principle. Since this is a symbolic amount and it won't dent our treasury." Shikaku stated.

"But, Hiashi, we have some more pressing matters to discuss with you at the moment. It's regarding your daughter." Hiruzen stated letting some smoke out of his mouth.

"I wanted to discuss her situation with Shikaku as well. Especially the circumstances under which she was injured." Hiashi stated.

Shikaku sighed.

"He was prepared to resign from his post but the kids insisted that he stayed." Hiruzen stated before Shikaku could say anything.

"I am sure those two would say something like that considering their personalities. And after thinking about it a lot and even talking to the Suna Genin team that was involved in all this. I must say that I believe Shikaku did what he could. But I would still like to know what steps you are taking to ensure that this does not happen again?" Hiashi questioned turning to the Nara.

"I would tell you about what I think of doing but you should come with me to the hospital and see for yourself before I tell you about my thoughts. Because otherwise it would be too troublesome to make you understand." Shikaku stated.

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "Didn't Tsunade-sama herself treat Hinata in the Hot Spring country? Why should she be in the hospital then?"

"Well, there are reasons. Perhaps you would like to hear them directly from her. She has asked for you to meet her as soon as you got back to the village."

"I…see." Hiashi responded.

And the two clan-heads excused themselves from the Hokage's office and made their way to the hospital.

When Hiashi entered the room that his daughter was supposed to be in, he was intrigued to see her engrossed in talks with the blonde boy that was her teammate. The two looked so comfortable talking. No care in the world other than each other.

He looked at Shikaku confused.

The Nara glanced at him to leave the room for the moment.

Hiashi nodded.

And the two stepped out of the room but not before Hiashi took a good look at the cast on his daughter's leg. They left the room without the two young lovers being aware about them coming in momentarily.

As the two carefully closed the door behind them;

"I was aware this was going to happen sooner or later but to think that it would happen this soon…" Hiashi whispered.

"It wouldn't have happened this soon if Hinata hadn't risked her life to save Naruto's, which she did without hesitation. I am sure the Hokage has told you?" Shikaku asked in a low tone.

Hiashi nodded as Shikaku continued.

"Well, there was a moment Hinata thought she was going to die, so she confessed and Naruto reciprocated. And here we are. But being in charge of them, I was noticing how these two were carrying themselves. Troublesome kids were perhaps going to act clueless for a while longer had this not happened but yes, this was going to happen…"

"And I knew it was coming when I got to know how Hinata had stood up to Mizuki for Naruto's sake. This is the first time since she had lost her mother that I am seeing her this happy and cheerful, regardless of the injuries she has taken." Hiashi muttered. "I had told the Hokage and Iruka then…Hinata hadn't ever asked me anything and I as a father haven't been able to make her happy till now. If her heart is truly set on him, then I shall not object to her being with him. I would like for Uzumaki to come and ask for permission formally so that I may remind him of the limits he will not cross." Hiashi stated in a low tone.

Shikaku sighed and shook his head.

"You shouldn't be worrying about that, if anyone is going to notch things up, its Hinata. Naruto is completely devoted to her, like Minato was with Kushina and you were around Hitomi. I have seen them interact and I can bet my whole life's experience and knowledge about relationships on it." Shikaku stated with confidence.

Hiashi coughed uncomfortably. "Too much like her mother…" He said with a sigh. "That's perhaps one of the reasons I was a bit uncomfortable around her, she is too much like her mother…"

"Moving on…you said there are things you wanted to discuss and wanted to have me meet with Tsunade-sama… was this all you wanted to discuss? Because then I should just say that your fears are unfounded. I don't want to break Hinata mentally especially after she had found someone that makes her truly happy."

"Glad to hear that, but that's not the only thing we wanted to discuss…" A female voice stated.

"Tsunade-sama!" Hiashi said startled as he turned to face the female member of the Sannin.

"The immediate matter of concern is not how Naruto and Hinata have become so sickeningly sweet with each other, but rather the rigid fossils of your clan that you have as elders…" Tsunade said, starting in a dry voice before an angry tone bled in.

And that was when Hiashi clearly understood that it was a clan problem. 'I knew the elders did something unpleasant again. I told Hokage-sama that they might do something if Hinata returned while I was out. Though with Hinata being alive and mostly well, I sincerely hope it wasn't bad.'

He looked at Tsunade who continued.

"You really can't even keep your own clan under control, huh? The moment you stepped out of the village, those old fools started preying on your daughter. She had a severe fracture on her right leg. All the bones were shattered into piece and everything down to the tissues and the nerves were all torn into shreds. The surgery was a really complicated one, something not every medic nin can perform. And after such a complicated and serious procedure, I prohibited Hinata to run or use chakra. The moment she got back, the old fools made her face your younger daughter and then Hyuuga Neji! Without her getting a single minute of rest! The boy so viciously attacked her and displayed such a degree of hatred and cruelty that even after her ligaments gave away and she had collapsed, the boy wanted to keep beating her up. And your elders not only approved of all this but cheered for it. They wanted your daughter crippled for life, something she surely would have ended up as had she been made to fight three or four more hours." Tsunade said angrily.

"Their behaviour towards Hinata, their disregard for Konoha's institutions, and even their lack of fear towards the law and order of the village is something that pissed me off personally. And their disregard towards a doctor's prescription and them bullying and making a patient, who given medical rest orders and under observation, fight pissed me enough professionally. So Hiashi, this is the deal, either you deal with them and set your own home straight or I decide on some appropriate action because they bullied someone I personally and professionally care about." Tsunade said in a serious and threatening tone.

(Tsunade also had pulled the dreaded finger in the face and Hiashi humorously went cross eyed but thanks to the near pure white coloration of his Byakugan no one was able to see it but it still was slightly funny to see before his eyes visibly refocused back into his usual stoic glance)

"Is that so?" Hiashi said in a serious tone. "I will rein in the elders for certain. But regarding Neji, I don't know if there is anything I could do to quell his hatred towards Hinata."

"Well, I am sure that Neji is someone Naruto and Hinata would like to personally handle, either of them would do. The stupid boy needs a bitter wake up call. Anyways, we had been discussing about what to do with Hinata. One thing we have all agreed upon is that she should live away from the Hyuuga compound. Even if you rein the elders in, and discipline the whole clan, there is still a chance that someone would do something…subversive so to speak."

Hiashi's eyes widened. This was a harsh decision and a drastic one at that. But he could see the reasoning. Also, since Hitomi's passing, the Hyuuga compound hadn't been a happy home for Hinata. Perhaps she needed a change of environment.

"And would you be moving her to the Nara compound?" Hiashi asked turning to Shikaku.

"That is an option. I have been deliberating on moving both of my students to the Nara compound for a while now."

"Hmm…I would like to ask my daughter, personally."

"Sure." Shikaku casually ended the conversation like it was small talk about weather.

And with that the adults again entered Hinata's room in the hospital. Thankfully at the moment the lovers were not engaged in kissing or anything else.

Naruto immediately stood up.

"F-Father…" Hinata stuttered out nervously.

Hiashi walked forward and took a good glance at her daughter.

"I-I am sorry…I wasn't s-strong enough…" Hinata stuttered out again.

"Hina-chan!" Naruto couldn't help call out. He didn't like it when his girlfriend talked like that.

Hiashi though patted the girl on her head. "I have heard about the mission from your sensei and the Hokage. You did more than what was expected of you, so you don't have to be sorry for anything. I am just happy that you got back safely." The head Hyuuga said softly.

"F-Father…" Hinata asked surprised.

"Do you really think that I am so stonehearted as to not concern myself with my daughter's safety?" Hiashi asked. "Do not concern yourself with it. Perhaps this is just my fault… my fault that I so pathetic at expressing myself that you thought I didn't care for you…and you reminded me too much of your mother, being a near mirror image of her in both appearance and personality. The resemblance is so great that at times it hurt. So, if anything, I should be the one to apologize. I am sorry." Hiashi said bowing down.

"W-what!? Please raise your head!" Hinata shouted.

"Umm…Hyuuga-sama, excuse me for butting in, but actually it was because of me that all of this happened, so please forgive me…" Naruto said in a low tone making Hiashi glance at him.

"It's not your fault Naru-kun!" Hinata involuntarily protested, forgetting that her scary father was in the room.

'Just look at these two…Hiashi must be so puzzled…'

"A-also…I had a request for you." Naruto said humbly again.

"Go on…"

"I-I…Please allow me to date Hinata-chan with the intention of marriage! Er, uh, eventually!" Naruto requested with a solemn bow that lost some of its dignity with his inelegant self-correction…

Hiashi expressed his amusement at the sudden request with a raised eyebrow.

Before he could say anything though…

"I-I wish to date Naruto-kun with the intention of eventual marriage as well." Hinata said humbly and without requiring an inelegant self-correction.

'When did she become so straightforward?' Hiashi thought to himself. And he was at a loss of words but another shocking request was about to come his way…

"Also, Hyuuga-sama. I have been hearing about the talks of Hinata-chan being moved away from the Hyuuga compound for her own safety. I-In that case…" Naruto got to his knees and bowed to the ground. "Could you be kind enough to allow me the honour of taking on Hinata-chan? As in giving her a place to stay?" He asked.

Hiashi's eyes widened.

Tsunade and Shikaku looked at each other…

"Request to live in together…" Tsunade muttered. Regretting that she hadn't made her first order of business to dive at the romance betting pool and putting down money on these two.

"I can only imagine how troublesome Hiashi must be feeling right now…" Shikaku muttered. 'But I kind of felt Naruto would ask this…thank the gods I don't have a daughter to worry over.'

Hiashi blinked. He had been overloaded with requests regarding Hinata. Did these people organize together and construct a conspiracy to puzzle him by bombarding him with requests? 'Is this sneaky Nara teaching them to play mind games…I can't even complain when I was the one that allowed them to train together while being fully aware of how Hinata felt towards Naruto? Did I not know that this was coming?'

The head Hyuuga glanced at Hinata. She looked nervous and surprised at the suddenness of the request, but her eyes showed that she wanted it. Then he remembered Shikaku's thoughts on the relationship between the two…specifically that Hinata would be the one to escalate things. Therefore, it was actually useless talking to Naruto about limits.

"Daughter…" Hiashi turned to his elder child. "I have been made aware of the events during your mission and about the recent developments between the two of you. I will allow this with the belief that you are mature and aware of what is appropriate for your age and what is not. Promise that you won't do anything inappropriate until the two of you are officially adults." Hiashi stated seriously.

"W-What? You're allowing us to date?" Naruto asked in shock. He didn't expect a 'yes' so easily.

"Yes, you confirmed your commitment and you promise to take care of her and keep her happy. I am allowing it since I trust my daughter's maturity and ability keep both of your…urges in check and your obedience to her."

"And I might be checking up on the two of you…" Hiashi said casting a threatening glare at Naruto. Actually, it was involuntary, a glare any daughter's father would give her boyfriend enough fear to make sure that he would be good to his daughter.

Naruto to his credit, just nodded without getting too nervous or freaked out. A satisfactory response.

"Well, in that case we might just have a decision on where my daughter would live…" Hiashi declared and the rest only nodded. "Take her with you. And come to collect her things day after tomorrow." He said seriously, looking at Naruto in his eyes.

"Y-Yes, Hyuuga-sama." The blonde boy acknowledged.

"And Hinata…don't think that I am driving you out of the compound because I am displeased with you or you have made any mistake. No, rather I want you to be in a place where you would be genuinely happy. I have seen that you are genuinely happy and content when you are with Uzumaki Naruto. Genuinely happy for the first time in my recalling, ever since your mother's passing. That is the primary reason I am allowing this living arrangement."

And with that, Hiashi turned around and walked away. He and Shikaku shared slight nods before the Hyuuga head left the room.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and blinked.

"Troublesome awkward man, that Hiashi." Shikaku stated.

"Let's go, they are just about to hug and kiss…to celebrate this one…or maybe we should stay and chaperone." Tsunade said in a teasing tone…

"G-Granny!" Naruto exclaimed with a red face.

Tsunade chuckled at his embarrassment. It was rare to see Naruto embarrassed.

"You tease me a lot about my age, brat! It's only natural that I would return the favour in full." Tsunade said smirking.

Before Naruto could shout any more, Tsunade and Shikaku left the room, laughing.

"Teasing old idiots!" Naruto groaned. But then two soft arms grabbed his cheeks and turned him to face his lavender eyed girlfriend.

"You know, Naruto-kun. They were not wrong about us kissing to celebrate our living together." Hinata said in a borderline teasing tone as she moved her face forward and pulled Naruto towards herself capturing his lips with hers.

For the lovely lovebirds, a new life was about to begin.

y

A/N: And done! So, they asked for permission to get married...What an awkward moment for Hiashi...poor guy. And they got permission to live together. In the following chapters, we will go about NaruHina's new living arrangement. Anyways, that's that. I hope you all enjoyed it. Once again, thank you very much for your continued love and support and once again, apologies for the delay in publishing this chapter. I am afraid that the delay and slow pace of publishing might persist since I am getting busier with work and studies. But I will try my best to get the next chapter out within a month. I request you all to please bear with me for the time being. The chapters will come for sure. And with that it's time to sign off. So, see ya all in the next chapter.

RaNK001 out. Cheers and peace.