Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Twice Shy - Story Completion ❯ Hinata's Decision ( Chapter 2 )

Twice Shy : A story continuation

By eternalshiva

 

AN - Here goes nothing o.o/ I'm open to suggestions / direction if anyone has ideas.

AN - Edit - Ok I like the chapter better now, added close to 1000 more words D:

 

Naruto is copyright of Masashi Kishimoto.

Sora, Yasu, Miki, Dango, Kaze Clan, Shivani are all copyright of DameWren.

 

Chapter 2

Hinata's decision.

 

“You two will take part in the chuunin exams.” Tsunade looked from Hinata to Naruto as she spoke. She examined their faces for any reactions. Hinata seemed a little nervous while Naruto had narrowed his eyes a little in consideration to what she had said.

“Isn't our skill a bit above chuunin?” Naruto's voice didn't falter as he spoke. He was a bit taken aback.

“From what I read, yes you are.” Tsunade looked down on the paper in front of her. The Kaze Clan's test had the merits to meet their qualifications but they were Leaf Ninja, not Kaze Clan Ninjas and had to meet their own qualifications to reach this rank.

“So... why do we need to take the test then?” he asked.

Tsunade nodded, expecting the question. “Although the Kaze Clan may recognize your skill as a middle warrior class, the leaf does not. You are still Gennin Ninjas in our ranking system. If you want better missions then finding the cats for the Feudal Lord's wife, you need to do this.” Her tone suggested that there was no room to argue. She had to bite down on her impending laughter as Naruto had this very sour look on his face. Hinata merely nodded in agreement, understanding why this was needed.

“You may recall your last exams were forfeit due to the invasion by the Sound Village.” Naruto nodded, it was hard to forget that day. Hinata's memory of the whole experience was quite negative with Neji nearly killing her. “Since then every ninja in your class has reached Chuunin or Juunin.” Naruto's expression darkened. He felt almost embarrassed. “In fact, Gaara of the Sand has been made Kazakage of his own Village.” This time she heard a muffled choke coming from the blond ninja.

“Because of your age and your level of skill, you will be put in a special class of older Gennin's that have unusual high level of abilities to challenge yourselves.” At least there was that. They didn't have to walk all over some younger leaf ninjas. That would of made Hinata feel terrible and the last thing he wanted was to make her feel bad about winning her rank. He knew her well enough that she'd forfeit fights so she wouldn't have to hurt them. Naruto glanced sideways and watched her look of determination settle on her face and nodded in agreement with the arrangements.

“This will not be a walk in the park. All examinations will be done as a team. They may vary from two to four, depending on the level of skill and experience. I have you two signed up as partners because of your special training with Shina-To-Be and Shina-Tso-Hiku.” Naruto felt relieved and heard the same come from Hinata. Last thing they wanted was to be battling each other at the end of the exam, he knew it would be a draw considering they were both very well aware of each other's weakness, strengths and could anticipate each other's moves. That's what being partner trained was all about. It would have been pointless. He grinned, it would have been a match he would have paid good money to see but it would have ended in a hopeless draw.

“You have three months to prepare for the physical aspect of the exams” Tsunade continued. “The written exam begins in a week.” The two ninja's nodded to the Hokage. Hinata bit her lip before she caught the Hokage's attention, she wanted to say something.

“Hokage-sama?” her voice was barely above a whisper and Tsunade had to strain to hear the question. “What about my father? I'm not sure he will agree to this considering my disastrous attempt last time.”

Tsunade had thought of that. “You're 16 years old Hinata. You became a legal adult in Konoha at the age of 15 and are no longer in need of your father's consent to participate in these exams.” Tsunade's eyes twinkled as it dawned on the kunoichi that she was, at least in this matter, not under her father's thumb.

“Can we go now, Obaa-san, or do you have something else to tell us?” he casually spoke to her, his voice sounding bored. She glared at him and had to suppress the urge to punch him across the room.

“Check your accounts for your mission payments to see if they are in order, even if your current mission is incomplete, I made sure you two received some of it since I trust Sora will come back. You won't be going on missions while taking this exam so you're going to need all the money you can get your hands on.” She winked at both of them before dismissing them.

After closing the door to the Hokage's office, Naruto took Hinata's hand in his and squeezed it momentarily before letting go, she smiled reassuringly to him.

“You're going to the manor now to tell your father?” He asked her softly. She nodded.

“I don't think it will go over well with him; I'll let you know tomorrow when we meet for training how it went.”

“You want to meet in the afternoon instead?” He asked tentatively. She nodded again

“It would probably be easier than in the morning.” She saw a quick look of disappointment in his eyes before his usual grin appeared. She was starting to recognize that fake smile; the same one he used to have when they were 12 and still in the village, she hated that smile and worst, she knew that it was because of her that it was appearing again.

***

Hinata had been right; her father was very vocal about her taking the exams in view of what had happened before.

“Father, if I may,” She bowed deeply to him while kneeling before continuing, “as a legal adult in this village, I am free to decide if I wish to continue my ninja training.” She straightened from the bow and stared unwaveringly at her father in his eyes with a determination he had never seen before.

“I wish to prove to you that I am worthy of the Chuunin and Juunin titles. Not only would this bring honour to our clan, it would bring back the respect I have lost in my last exam.”

She bowed deeply again, her forehead meeting the floor. Her nerves were shot at this point. Her courage was running out as she heard nothing from her father. She was preparing to apologize for her insubordinate actions but instead he sighed. She looked up from her kneeled position and saw for a splint second a look of utter defeat but it was quickly replaced with his usual emotionless mask. Hiashi knew his daughter was right.

“Hinata.” She continued to look at him, her face stoic. “You are to follow strict and rigorous Jyuuken training until the exams.” There was no visible reaction from his eldest as he continued. “You have been away for several years and have wandered away from the path of The Gentle Fist.” She frowned openly to her father and he narrowed his eyes, understanding the meaning as a rebellious act on her part. “I will not acknowledge your Shina-To-Be formations. Neji and Hanabi will be required to get you back in shape with Jyuuken before the exams.”

She nodded and quietly agreed that she was a bit rusty with it considering she had solely focused on the Shina-To-Be. She would just have to show her father somehow that this form was not wandering from the path but was in fact the map to perfection of the Jyuuken. He dismissed Hinata and watched her leave. He was deep in thought wondering how much work it was going to be to make her into a warrior he could be proud of.

***

She had to resist jumping up and squealing in pride. For the first time she had won an argument against her father. The battle for respect had begun and she had gained an inch today. She walked as fast as her kimono would let her as she made her way to her room. It was late afternoon and had decided to unpack her things finally. She had been so busy with the Hokage's reports and debriefing of her mission that she had entirely ignored the fact that this fine ninja had been living out of her bags.

She noted the soft sounds of a second pair of footsteps following her. She smiled as she sensed her sister following her. Hanabi had been out of sight since she had come home and hadn't been able to properly greet her. As she reached her bedroom door, Hinata laid a hand on the door before she slid it open, looked over her shoulder and grinned.

“Would you like to come in Hanabi?” she heard the soft gasp of her sister. She'd been caught and was a bit embarrassed.

“If you don't mind” she bowed to her sister in formality. Hinata had to stop herself from rolling her eyes as she bowed to her sister in return. This family was definitely too proper and needed a heavy dose of Naruto No jutsu. She held back a laugh as she pictured herself jumping up in the air with full Ninja gear screaming at the top of her lungs “NARUTO NO JUTSU” at a formal meeting with her father. She'd imagine a bunch of Naruto's popping out with pies throwing them at any human target with random “Dattebayo!” That last mental image was the last straw as she burst out laughing, startling her sister.

Hinata flushed as she got herself under control again and sheepishly smiled at her sister. Hanabi was seriously considering if her older sister had lost it. The two girls made their way across the bedroom. Hanabi looked at all the bags on the floor, a bit shocked that her usually organized sister was in disarray.

“You haven't unpacked yet?” she asked. Hinata shook her head as she stripped off the kimono and slipped into something more comfortable to unpack. Hanabi's eyebrows lifted as she saw the scarring on her arm, it seemed fairly recent by the looks of it. She was also amazed by the muscled tone of her sister's body as she changed. Her body had little cuts, scars and bruises on it, her muscles were lean and looked like she was experienced in battle. There wasn't an inch of fat to be seen. She looked away as her sister turned towards her and picked up a large bag by the closet.

“I have brought some things for you Hanabi” She smiled as a look of curiosity overcame the girl's face. “I have travelled a lot on this mission” she continued as her hands took out several small items from the bag, one of which was a small wooden box with strange carvings on them. She handed the box to her sister and smiled as her small hands grabbed it carefully.

“What are the designs?” her fingers traced the carvings inquisitively.

“It's your name in western language.” Hanabi in English was Fireworks so she had asked the carver to write that name in the wood and to design fireworks on the box. Her sister's eyes grew wide in wonder as she looked at the strange letters.

“Open it.”

She looked around the box to see where the opening was and found the line of the lid; her fingers opened it and at her obvious surprise, music started as it popped opened. There were several small items in the box itself; Hinata had been collecting jewellery for her sister in the last year they were in the Kaze clan. Rings, earrings and a few small necklaces she knew her sister would cherish. It wasn't much but she wanted to give her some sort of peace offering.

Their relationship was very strained with all these family traditions hanging over their heads, in the end, regardless of who would be the heir to the clan, they were still sisters and that relationship needed a lot of work. She felt a small victory in her plans as her sister took out the items one by one and looked at them. She continued to unpack; her sister's eyes watching all the time. Hinata would go into details about where she picked this up and what story was behind each item.

She finally got to the bottom of the bag and pulled out her own musical box. Hers had sunbursts carved into it and her name as well. “What's in that one?” her sister asked. She had become much more relaxed with Hinata in the last 2 hours of unpacking, the flurry of questions on her adventures and what she did on her mission were much more frequent and it had gotten to the point where Hanabi no longer kneeled but was sitting on her butt, legs crossed Indian style and had her kimono sleeves pulled up to help her sister put away things.

“This is where I keep very precious things that were given to me.” She answered as her fingers brushed against the lid of the box. Naruto had given this to her on their one year anniversary mark while in the West. “You need to put your hair-stick thingies in something.” He had said, handing the box to her. She smiled at the memory of him blushing as she opened the gift.

“Who?” Her sister's voice brought her out of the memory and she carefully answered.

“Naruto of course.” Her sister only made an “ah” motion with her mouth, unconcerned really with who gave her the box and more interested with what was in the box. She opened the box and showed to Hanabi the hair sticks placed carefully inside.

“What are these?” Her sister asked eyes wide in wonder. She laughed.

“These are Naruto's awkward way of saying: `Don't cut your hair, Hina-chan.'” She pulled a pair out that matched Hanabi's kimono and motioned for her to turn around. The smaller girl complied and felt her sister pull up her hair in a bun and pushed the sticks through. She handed Hanabi the small mirror to check out the new hair style and she smiled.

“Naruto gave you all of these?”

She nodded.

“He's tried to buy every colour and design in the Kaze country I think.” They both giggled as Hanabi looked through the box, there had to be a hundred in there.

“Neji has told me that you have nearly completed your Jyuuken training.”

“Yes, I have.” Her sister merely stated. “Father seems very pleased with it anyways” her eyes had gone hard for a moment, seemingly remembering something unpleasant.

“You've always been very good at it” Hinata continued, praising her to change the sudden feel to the conversation.

“True.”

Hinata rolled her eyes. At least she was confident.

“Hinata - I ... I know father wants me to train you with the Gentle Fist.” Her older sister nodded as she continued to take out the clothes from the second bag. She watched her sister as she performed unknown seals to take out the wrinkles from the clothing. She blinked, a bit taken by the sudden chakra control from her sister before she continued “Have you been working on any of the exercises since you left us?” Hinata put down the clothes she had been working on and looked over her shoulder and gave her sister a small restrained smile.

“Hanabi to be honest with you, I haven't been working with Jyuuken the normal traditional way.” Her sister looked at her, waiting for more. “I have been working on a different form all together that incorporated the use of the gentle fist.” She turned and walked over to where her sister was sitting and kneeled in front of her.

“In fact, I think it's better than Jyuuken and it's much more appropriate for what I do as a ninja.” Her sister's eyes became huge, as if Hinata had just proclaimed she was leaving the clan. She smiled at her sister before continuing, letting her swallow that information.

“Unfortunately father will not recognize the new form and hasn't seen it. He thinks I'm untrained and incompetent.” Her eyes met the floor for a moment before she continued.

“I think that yes I do need to review the Jyuuken movements with you and Neji but please, don't hold back thinking I'm still that girl from three years ago that could barely complete the basic sets; I want you to go all out on me during training because I know I won't hold back.” Her family didn't know that not only had she mastered a western battle form, could summon hawks but she had helped in defeating Akatsuki members. “I want to train you to defend against me in close combat.”

Her sister considered the words just spoken and nodded. “We'll see what you can do tomorrow when we start to train.” Unsure of how to take what Hinata had said she continued to help her unpack and listen to the stories until the moon was high into the night. Hinata hadn't felt that close to Hanabi in a very long time; if ever.

***

The two sisters met that morning, chatting over breakfast and going over what they would be completing in the basic movements. Hinata stood in the training dojo with her sister as they both moved through the sets quickly. Her sister nodded approvingly as she completed everything without any trouble. They would not use chakra today as they continued to review the points to hit with Gentle fists. Hinata was almost bored. This wasn't something she needed to review or to be trained on but she had to put up with her father's demands.

She had played along with her sister as they moved to sparring, hitting the points without blocking the actual chakra. To her sister's shock, she watched Hinata use the Byakugan without hand seals or even voicing the command out loud. She didn't mention it as they continued to spar. Suddenly Hanabi had the distinct feeling that her sister had way more control and knowledge then she let on. Hinata continued to let her sister hit all the chakra points, seemingly unconcerned.

“You seem a bit bored” both sisters turned around to see Neji watching them. Hinata blushed realizing that she hadn't actually tried that hard to hide her feelings. She nodded, unable to lie to her cousin. “Why don't you use your trained methods with Hanabi then?” His cousin looked like she was deep in thought, considering what he had asked. She could show them the difference in what she had learned and what her father wanted her to ... re-learn.

She looked at her sister, who had begun to sweat. She looked a bit weary since she noticed that her eldest sister hadn't even begun to sweat. “Why don't we spar Neji? Hanabi seems a bit out of breath and you're fresh.” She suggested.

“I am a Juunin Hinata, it would be unfair.” She grinned and went into a battle stance, inviting him to a challenge. He sighed and hopped into the circle.

“Hanabi” her sister's voice forced her to focus on her “Watch me as I defend against Neji; this is as much for you as it is for our over-confident cousin.” Her sister nodded, thinking at the same time that Hinata was going to get her ass handed to her. She sat down on the ledge of the Dojo, pouring herself a cup of tea.

She heard Neji activate his Byakuugan; Hinata already had hers active so he wouldn't even know about her being able to call it with just the thought.

“Don't hold back Neji.” Hanabi spoke as she begun to sip her tea. She had to hold a giggle as Neji lifted an eyebrow in confusion.

He moved towards Hinata, watching her points as he began his assault. He was slow at first, thinking he'd give her some time to adjust but he instantly realized that was a mistake as she struck him five times before he could even touch her. She slipped past his defense lightning fast. His eyes could see spurts of chakara flaring in her system as she released very small and powerful bursts from her palms successfully blocking his chakra points. He grunted as he increased his speed and began to take her a little more seriously.

Hanabi had stopped drinking her tea in mid sip and watched them battle, she could barely follow the hands of her sister as she defended against her much stronger cousin. She could hear the thumps of Neji's hands slam into Hinata but he would immediately grunt as she would retaliate with two hits for his one. He may be making contact with her points but she was somehow managing to re-open the blocked points with constant small controlled bursts of chakra in her system.

What she hadn't told them was that after many years of sparring with Naruto, he had learn to re-open his points quickly and efficiently so that Hinata could go all out on him, practicing how to shut a person down without having to stop every few minutes, waiting for Naruto to recover. She eventually learned the technique herself. He had been very adamant that she learn it since her fight with Neji in the chuunin exams.

Hinata was enjoying this, she had not used Shina-To-Be yet, staying strictly within the Jyuuken battle stances and formations. She was systematically shutting down her cousin. She was making sure to hit him hard, hiding the fact that she could do as much damage with a light touch. Neji had begun to increase his speed; his hits were become much harder as he sought to make contact with her points. His Byakuugan noticed the sudden chakra increase and her speed became inevitable as she continued to knock away all his attacks.

Neji was taken by surprise as she suddenly ducked and spun on the ground, knocking him off his feet. As he fell he sensed her hands hit 6 more points on his legs, cutting all movements to them. He had effectively fallen and couldn't get up. Hinata let out a laugh as a cloud of dust puffed up in the air and he grunted.

He stared at her. She grinned and released the chakra points she blocked and helped him up. “With Naruto, I've had to learn to surprise attack; he's hard to beat in a sparring match.” He agreed, considering his own experience with the loud ninja. “Now.” She said to both her siblings

“Do you still think I'm incompetent?” For once, Neji had nothing to say and could only shake his head.

“You were holding back.” Hanabi stated. Hinata nodded.

“I only used Jyuuken formations; I didn't use my Shina-To-Be at all.” She looked to the floor as Neji's eyes grew a fraction in size.

“Your chakra control has improved immensely” Neji said, a bit in disbelief. She shrugged.

“Yes, Sora made us exercise several `pointless' jutsus before she even began to train us, took nearly 9 months for me and Naruto to master them.”

“A list?” both Neji and Hanabi said at the same time.

“Ah yes... there was 100 total.” She smiled at Neji, noting that his white outer layer was dirty, she did a series of fast seals with her hands and mumbled “Dirt Free no Jutsu” and tapped his shirt. There was a flash of chakra and to his amazement a small pile of dirt appeared in her hand.

“We had to learn how to manage our chakra, increase our stamina and such things” she bowed her head in embarrassment. Hanabi curiously peered over to Neji as she approached them. It was all clean. She looked at her sister and was confused.

Her father had often and repeatedly stated that Hinata was useless, had no chakra control and couldn't fight her way out of a shirt stuck on her head but after today, she had developed a sense of respect she never knew she could feel for her sister. Even Neji was impressed.

“You should teach me those Hinata” her sister asked. She smiled and patted her on the head .

“I would love to Hanabi” even Neji was curious to know what they were. He began wondering what else the kunoichi learned those three years away.

“I still want to train every morning Hanabi, and whenever you can spare the time Neji.” Her sister looked at her skeptically.

“Why? You seem more then capable” Hinata nodded but she wanted to fight against Jyuuken and learn more ways to defend against it, in the three years she was gone, she could only teach Naruto so much about it but he wasn't a Hyuuga and couldn't mimic it correctly no matter how hard he tried. There was still a lot she needed to learn about her own abilities with the Byakuugan. She would however keep her abilities to see echoes a secret, as it's something that she was still learning to control.

“I know but I want to train against people that know everything about Jyuuken” she smiled. Neji agreed and began to think on what he could use to meet her training expectations and increase her abilities.

The siblings spent the rest of the morning discussing a new strategy on her training; they had not noticed Hiashi watching them.

***

“You look pooped” Naruto plopped next to Hinata at their meeting spot. She smiled and nodded, taking a deep sip from her water container before continuing to eat. Naruto had brought Ramen with him for their training session. He looked around before leaning in for a quick kiss. He had missed her this morning when he woke up and didn't find her in the usual spot sleeping in his bed.

“I sparred with Neji this morning and we came up with a different training plan once they saw that I wasn't as untrained as they thought.” Naruto blinked.

“Did you kick his ass?” he asked as he swallowed another mouthful of ramen, she gave him an unappreciative look and he apologized, knowing she didn't like it when he spoke with his mouth full of ramen.

“I did indeed knock him down” she replied, she grinned and Naruto laughed. “I somehow managed to get roped into teaching Hanabi the 100 list.”

Naruto groaned. He hated that list. “Even if it is useful, that list sucked.” She agreed.

He watched her eat her ramen, his eyes lingered on her momentarily thinking of all the areas he wanted to kiss and taste. It was very hard for him to stay away from her, he's always been very affectionate and it felt very foreign to be so distant. The restrictions they had put on themselves were starting to wear him down. He didn't know how Hinata felt about it but he was lonely. He looked away since he could feel his cheek blush; his thoughts had trailed off into dangerous territory when it came to Hinata lately. She needed to finish quickly so he could focus on something else then two sweaty naked bodies and the sounds she makes when they made out.

She had felt his eyes look her over and recognize the feel of his longing gaze. Actually, it took everything in her to not react to it. She found it very hard to ignore the heated look and invitation he gave her before he looked away. She finished her meal quickly and put away the garbage. She stood up and pulled Naruto by his hand to get him up, he complained loudly and dramatically, clutching his belly faking an ache. She rolled her lilac eyes and told him to suck it up; although those weren't the exact words she used.

For some reason, they had trouble focusing today. Maybe it had something to do with the unusual warmth from the September heat wave, or the sweat beading quickly on their bodies, forcing them to strip layers of clothing. Hinata's eyes lingered down his body, noting that his shirt was sticking to the skin, she could see his muscles flexing under the strain of the sparring. She followed a bead of sweat trail down from his face to his jaw, she wondered a moment what it would taste like as it continued on down his neck and was swallowed by his shirt collar. Her strikes would hit his body but they would stay there a little longer than usual; more like a stroke then a hit she'd point out to herself.

Somehow in the midst of the sparring, her feet got tangled up his and she lost her balance, grabbing on to his shirt she dragged him down with her. He managed to flip himself under her before she hit the ground so she was safe from a bruise. She could hear his heart beating as Naruto asked her if she was alright, she pressed her face against his chest, biting her lip fighting an urge she didn't quite understand.

“Gomen ne, Naruto” she whispered.

“You don't sound very sorry” he remarked.

She could sense he was smiling when he spoke.  With his arms resting on her back, his hands caressed slowly, giving her goose bumps. It had been several weeks since they had returned to Konoha, she missed him. Without thinking she looked up to his face and caught his eye, she crawled up to his face and looked at his lips; she felt him hold his breath as she leaned in and kissed him.

His fingers dug a bit on her back as she deepened the kiss, she knew she shouldn't be doing this, certainly not in the training area, where anyone could see them. She repositioned herself and heard him groan into her mouth, his hips pressed against her in an unusual movement. Her eyes opened suddenly as he flipped her over onto her back, his hands slipped under her shirt, caressing her stomach. She moaned lightly as he kissed her neck, suddenly hungry for him to touch her in places she never would have thought of before. He pulled away from her gasping for a breath; leaning against his hands, mere inches away from her face, his eyes wide and full of lust. She was out of breath staring into them.

“Hina-chan,” his voice was rasped, strained with effort and she looked away knowing what he was about to say. “I think we should call it a day.” His voice was shaky and he was on the brink of losing it.

“Ok.” She answered, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice. Naruto stood up and walked away from her as she gathered her wits. She stared at his back and noticed his shoulders were drooping. He turned around and gave her that fake smile she loathed.

“Why are you smiling like that?” she asked him point blank. He looked away, his eyes following an ant on the ground.

“I miss you” he said “I'm lonely, I'm not used to being like this after spending the last 2 years with you freely and I feel like I've fallen back into the old me Hinata. The acknowledgement you gave me isn't there anymore,” he said bitterly “Not being able to be openly loved by you, hiding us from your father, the village, is taking its toll on me.” He couldn't look at her. His eyes were threatening to spill tears he didn't want her to see, to worry about him. She was doing what she could. He was being selfish, he grabbed the garbage from their lunch and he waved good bye to her without once looking at her face. He needed a cold shower and needed to sort out his feelings. “Don't forget about the written exam tomorrow.” He shouted over his shoulder as he leapt away from the training grounds.

She had hurt him, deeply. The last thing she had ever wanted to do was make him feel rejected or unwanted. There was an ache in her heart the more she thought about how he had refused to look at her. Was her father's opinion really worth all the misery she was putting herself and Naruto through?

She heard a shuffle not too far off to her right; she sat up quickly her voice hopeful as she spoke “Naruto! I'm really sor- Oh.” She saw the pink hair of Sakura fluttering in the wind as the medic nin approached her. She smiled at Hinata and sat down next to her. Hinata lay back down and continued to stare at the clouds. She had noticed Hinata and Naruto squabble on her through the training grounds and he seemed visibly upset.

“So,” Sakura looked to the dark haired kunoichi “You look like you have a lot on your mind Hinata.” The next thing she knew, Hinata's arms were wrapped around her waist and she heard a loud and deep sob.

“Whoa! What happened?!” Sakura rocked her side to side as she listened to Hinata brokenly explain how she was a horrible person, and how she had hurt Naruto. Sakura shushed her trying to make sense of what she was saying. It was all coming out in a rush.

The only thing she could figure out was that Hinata and Naruto had a fight (maybe?) and in the end made him feel rejected. It would be a few more hours of Hinata's confessions that Sakura would find out that her and Naruto were lovers. To her dismay, she was indeed, very shocked.

***

Sakura poured a cup of tea for Hinata.  The girls sat inside Sakura's home.  A few hours ago, she had convinced the pale eyed ninja to come over so they could continue talking about her squirmish with Naruto.

“Sasuke won't be back until a few days” she had assured her friend who needed to have a long talk.

“You two live together?” Sakura nodded. She explained that after the seal had been put on Sasuke and Naruto had left, he had gone through a very dark and miserable period. She had stuck to his side pretty much 24/7 until he eventually recognized her love for him and had sub-sequentially discovered the same for her and had fallen for her. A year ago they had moved in together against her parents' wishes but she was an adult and there's not much they could say about it. Hinata envied her friend for a moment wishing she had the same freedom.

“Sasuke's not exactly what my parents had in mind for me.” She said as she handed her friend a cookie. “He's a bit quirky and dark but I love him regardless of his blood thirsty need for revenge on Itachi.” Hinata looked down into her cup of tea. “I take it I'm the only one that knows you and Naruto are an item.”

Hinata nodded “In the village at least.” She answered. “Sora had to put up with us `sucking face' for nearly two years” she quoted her sensei before breaking into a smile. Sakura laughed.

“I'm serious. She even had this giant picture of us kissing in the kitchen that was used as a reminder to keep it in private.” She blushed, completely mortified all over again. Sakura couldn't stop laughing; she just couldn't imagine Hinata in that situation.

“I find it hard to believe that you would be like that with him.”

Hinata laughed, “He's actually quite considerate and very loving.” She almost added the reason as to why he was so affectionate but then recalled that the Kyuubi isn't well known knowledge here. This was something he would have to reveal himself.

“Well with his stamina, he must treat you well in bed.” Sakura casually said before sipping her tea. She heard Hinata swallow her tea hard to avoid choking and she raised her eyebrows. “Oh” is all she could say as it dawned on her that they hadn't gone that far. “I guess he really is considerate.” Hinata had turned four shades of red in the span of 10 seconds.

“I haven't been able to really bring up the subject with him. I'm not even sure how.” Sakura laughed again.

“I'm sure he's aware after what you did today.” Hinata blushed again. Sakura liked teasing her and could see why she was a good fit for Naruto. She brought out a part of Naruto most people never saw and he brought out a part of Hinata that she even hid from herself.

“I should go and see him” Hinata looked seriously at Sakura and she shook her head.

“No sweetie. Let him sort things out and talk to him tomorrow. I think if you went tonight there would be things said that would only make things worse. You're supposed to meet for the exam right?” She nodded. “Take the next day off and go to his place, talk it out and at the same time take the night tonight to figure out what you need to do to make things right.”

Tears weld up in her friend's eyes again, she tried to swallow them back but they just pushed through, this time Sakura only looked on the sobbing form next to her and placed a hand on her back, continuing to drink her tea. This was something Hinata had to figure out for herself and no matter what she said, nothing could wean down the pain of hurting her loved one.

“You can sleep here tonight Hinata” she told her friend. She knew how hard this was going to be tonight. She gladly took the invitation.

***

Hinata woke around three am, her eyes felt puffy and her throat felt parched. Sakura shifted in her sleep next to her, she had allowed her friend to crawl in next to her. She didn't want to be alone, although who didn't want to be alone was a mystery. She figured it was both of them. She slipped out from under the covers and made her way to the kitchen, she noticed Sakura had slipped on Sasuke's shirt to sleep, her friend missed the moody ninja and she had to smile. She had done the same once with Naruto's black signature T-shirt. She still thinks he left it behind on purpose while he had gone for a short training exercise with some of the Kaze on Intention.

She pulled on her coat, wrote a thank you note to Sakura and quietly slipped out of the apartment; she needed to set something straight with Naruto. She made her way through the alleys and shortcuts she knew very well after years of making her way to his place but never having the courage to knock on the door. Her thoughts wandered to what she would tell him; she was drawing a blank and her courage was slipping again. All she could see in her mind was the look on his face from earlier and his refusal to look at her.

She landed in front of his door. She pressed her ear against the door to listen for him, there was no light under the door. She took his extra set of keys out from their hiding spot and opened the door. Her heart was beating fast as she entered the room. She noticed a stagnant smell of booze in the air; he had gone to drink with the Hokage since no one else she knew would willingly drink this spicy sake she could smell. She tripped on clothing he had left on the floor; she assumed in hs drunken stupor he had stripped on his way to bed after coming home, she could hear his unattractive snoring from the next room. Hinata paused, wondering if she had driven him to drink his sorrows tonight.

She heard a scuffle in the room and a thump. “Damn it... Damn Tsunade and her sake...” she panicked and pressed herself against the wall, Naruto made his way very clumsily to the bathroom, he thought he heard something but his brain was muddled and at the current time he was more concerned with emptying his bladder then a stranger in his home. He looked around before turning the light to his humble bathroom on and failed to notice his girlfriend spread against the wall in his living room. She heard him smack his lips as he tested to see if he needed a glass of water. She peered at him and noticed that he was stark naked and casually scratching his butt. Oh my.

A sudden loud crash came from behind him, Naruto froze. So there really was someone in his home. He wiped around to see what the noise had come from. He noticed a small huddled form by the door. “Who's there?” he called out. Hinata was mortified. She had tried to sneak back out while he was busy in the bathroom but she had tripped on his pants and had rammed head first into the door.

“S-Sorry, Naruto-kun” she called out.

“Hina-chan? What are you doing here?” it was odd for her to be stuttering with him now, he walked over to her and reached out to uncover her eyes.

“D-Don't!!” His hands stopped, he was confused as to why she was hiding her face from him.

“What's wrong?” Could he seriously be that daft?

“Put some pants on or something! You're naked!” she whispered the last bit quite harshly. Naruto blinked, he was what? He looked down and noticed he most certainly did lack clothing.

“Ah um” he said, embarrassed. “Give me a minute” Hinata nodded quickly as she heard him feel around for the guilty pair of pants she had tripped on.

“Now will you tell me what you're doing here?” he whispered to her as he pulled her hands away from her eyes.

“I... I couldn't sleep.” He pulled her up into his arms carrying her to his room bridal style and laid her down.

“I'm sorry, Naruto ,about...” he shushed her before she could answer with a chaste kiss on her lips.

“I'm sorry too, I was a bit harsh.” He settled next to her and gathered her into his arms; her back was against his chest as he nuzzled her neck.

“I couldn't sleep either” he told her. His soft breath tickled her skin as she bit her lip; he kissed the nook there again before settling his head into the pillow. Just like that he had forgiven her.

“I'll make things right” she whispered. She felt him nod sleepily.

“I know love; go to sleep, we have to do that exam in a couple of hours.” His breath had fallen into a regular pattern she was used to hearing, he was asleep and soon she followed his example.

***

The headache was immense. His mouth tasted like he was sucking on cotton all night. Damn when Tsunade decided he needed a drink, he would make sure next time to say no. She was just as bad as Jiraiya. He woke at dawn's break rubbing his face with his hands and crawled out of bed. Hinata had already gotten up and had cleared out his kitchen from the dirty dishes, breakfast was already sitting on the table and she had made him a fresh cup of coffee.

“Good morning” she said quietly as he sat down at the table. Her eyes still held a certain puffiness that seemed foreign on her pale porcelain skin.

“Are you ok?” She looked up to him and he touched under her eyes, understanding that they still showed the abuse she had given them. She gave him a soft smile.

“Sakura helped me figure out a few things yesterday, I spent most of the night there before I came here.” He nodded, listening to her as he ate the breakfast she made. Her food was always oh so very delicious. He watched her from the corner of his eye as she worked up the courage to tell him something she had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about.

“Naruto, I...” she bit her lips, nervousness was eating at her. He sighed.

“Go on, Hina-chan, you can tell me anything, you know that.” He told her between bites, still watching her carefully. She felt encouraged by him, he always managed to do that.

“I'm sorry for what happened yesterday; I pushed you somewhere I don't want you to go back too. I'm not rejecting you. I realize I'm going about this all wrong and in the end instead of protecting us, I ended up forcing us apart and isolating both of us.” He closed his eyes; glad she had come to understand what he had been suffering through the last little while.

“I-I think we should just be ourselves and deal with things as they come to face us.” She looked to him leaning down to catch his attention. “Together.” She added, reaching out her hand towards him across the table. He had stopped chewing as he carefully processed what she was saying. For her to say something like this and take stand against her own family's prejudice and traditions... this was major.

“Ok.” He barely whispered as a sleuth or emotions swept over him. There, floating back to the surface, that feeling he had lost since entering the village had come back. She had acknowledged him again and he was back at the top of her priorities. He smiled at her and brought her hand to his lips and kissed it tenderly.

She was relieved and frightened at the same time but she knew that he would back her up no matter what and she regretted forgetting that. Never again would she leave him alone in the darkness.

“You think the written exam is the same as three years ago?” he asked her. They hadn't really talked about a strategy yet on how to get around the written exam. She would be the one doing the cheating for them if it had to go that way.

“I could use the Byakuugan like last time” she said thoughtfully. She could, he agreed but he had the distinct feeling they would be watching for that. They were entering a higher level class for their skill. They had to be super sneaky. He thought about it... and thought about it.

“Well at least I don't need to use seals to activate my Byakuugan. Problem is that the veins become visible on my face.” She added. Hmm this was a complication.

“What if you used a type of cloaking jutsu to hide the veins? Like the one we use to hide the pockets of kunai on our pants?” She perked up. Why hadn't she thought of that?

“We could work one out before the exam.” She nodded and then they moved on to the next problem, how would Naruto copy her answers?

“We could modify the binding jutsu, kind of like Shikamaru's shadow binding? So you could guide my hands?” She blinked. He was full of brilliant ideas today.

“It would need to have some kind of delay though so that we're not writing at the exact same time.” She added. He grinned at her, he could see the wheels of her brain working around the ideas he was giving her.

He was happy to come up with the suggestions, he was good at that. He loved the next part better though as he watched her pull out sheets of paper and work the new jutsus on paper, her penmanship with kanji was beautiful. They practiced the seals written down and Naruto suggested a few changes to the cloaking jutsu and they practiced the timing of the copy jutsu. They worked them until they didn't have to physically do the seals, moulding the chakra in their mind. It was difficult considering this was a new jutsu made up on a whim but it was still similar enough to the well versed ones they knew that it wasn't impossible to get it.

By the time they were ready, Hinata continued to mentally go over the jutsus in her head, making sure that the chakra used was minimal, nearly undetectable mixed with her own, she had a feeling this would be very important while Naruto guided her to the exam since she wasn't paying attention, and for the first time they held hands together in Konoha openly for all to see.

***

RR Please!

Edited - thanks to Perpetual159 for the suggestions, hope I improved a little!