Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Twice Shy - Story Completion ❯ Transcending ( Chapter 11 )

Twice Shy - A Continuation

By eternalshiva

DameWren has given permission to anyone that wants to continue her wonderful fic Two Halves which I intend to do. I greatly appreciate any feedback / comments.

AN - Thank you for all the well-thought-out reviews, they've helped me out quite a bit! I'm sorry for the late chapter, it's been crazy at work with year-end stuff and I'm hoping to go back to my once a week release this week. Thanks for continuing to read :) BTW, chapter 445 is full of lulz.

Edit - Noticed a few mistakes I made regarding rank wise, fixed.

Thank you Hinata's Husband for the beta, I appreciate all the hard work you do.

Disclaimer -

I do not make any monies off this fanfic. Naruto is copyright of Masashi Kishimoto. Sora, Yasu, Miki, Nori, Dango, Kaze Clan, and Shivani are all copyright of DameWren.

Chapter 11

Transcending

She could feel herself changing. In what way, she couldn't put her finger on but, she knew that it was responsible for her current state of mind. She could feel her old self shedding, getting drowned out by the last few days. She felt a little overwhelmed as she listened to the people below gathering their families and going home. She thought about how the moon shed a cold light into the room. She tried to figure out how two people could get so tangled in a single sheet, how Naruto's limbs were heavy across her own and so tightly wrapped around her it gave her the impression he was scared she was going somewhere.

Staring up at the ceiling of his hospital room, she was comforted by his deep breathing, letting her know that he had drifted off to sleep; his arms were linked around her waist, spooned perfectly against her. His skin gave a sticky sensation against her own that she couldn't get enough of; his breath gave her small delicious goose-bumps on her neck. It made her want to push against his chest to force him to exhale a little more for the rush of sensations. It was a silly want, she thought but she was discovering sides of herself that were frightening, embarrassing and most of all, empowering.

The room was mixed with the scent of hospital and Naruto's essence, it was an odd combination but she couldn't help but want to breathe it in deep. She could almost taste it and oddly enought, it worried her. This wasn't something she was used to feeling. She looked at his hands and absentmindedly traced with her fingers the shape. She didn't notice that her light fluttery touches had stirred him awake, didn't realize that when he opened his eyes, he watched her with concern as she stared into nothing, her face solemn, brow knitted together in thought.

She pouted when he suddenly shifted in bed. He wasn't perfectly wrapped around her anymore and she mourned the loss selfishly with a sigh and continued to mull over her repetitive thoughts. They hadn't discussed a lot of things, a lot of important life changing things. Such things as being the new clan leader, her moving from the Hyuuga estates, their new ranks, the new apartment they had to pick out soon since she had decided they were moving in together.

Her first kill.

“Penny for your thoughts.” His whisper rang loudly in the dark, dragging her out of a corner in her mind that had started to overwhelm her. Startled, she held her breath for a split second and was unsure of how to start. She could feel his attentive stare but her nervousness didn't subside due to the nature of what she knew had to come next. He had to know sooner or later.

“My father did this to you, to us.”

There was a prolonged pause between them. She thought it was filled with tension but he didn't feel it, he was indifferent. She waited; he shifted again in bed and pulled her closer.

“I know.” His voice held no specific emotion but it was oddly subdued. She felt her eyes moisten when he kissed her exposed shoulder. She didn't feel like she deserved his affection right then, her clan had done so much wrong.

“I'm sorry.” He said before nuzzling her from behind.

She blinked.

“Sorry? For what?”

She tried to look at him but it was awkward, his face was hidden behind her shoulder. He shifted again. It had felt like the right thing to say but he wasn't entirely sure what he was sorry for.

“I'm sure somehow this is my fault.” It normally always was when it came to this village.

“No it isn't, my father tried to protect us.” She said, nervous at how her words seemed foreign in her mouth.

“Protect us? Sure has a weird way of showing it.” He scoffed. She frowned, at odds with herself when a feeling of annoyance surfaced. She had the strange and inexplicable urge to defend her father against Naruto's presumption, his misguided opinion.

“He may not have done it in a clear or logical way but he had to deal with clan politics. And this was his way of doing it, making sure we were safe from them.”

Clan politics.

Those words landed in the room like an elephant wearing a top hat and monocle asking for tea.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in disbelief, and she bit her lower lip feeling strangely stubborn. He snorted softly in response, failing to recall his parents' own squabbles over village politics. Hinata's body had gone stiff in his arms and her fingers had stopped dancing over his skin. In fact, they were gripping him almost painfully. In the most Naruto-esque way possible, he ignored the tell-tale signs that this was turning ugly very quickly, and scrunched up his face in irritation.

“The man tried to have us killed.” he nearly hissed at her. `What's her problem?' he thought quite irritably while he gracefully and unknowingly ran head first into the newly built wall Hinata had meticulously put together over the last few days.

She, on the other hand, forgot that he had absolutely no clue what had really happened. He'd yet to be briefed and she'd yet to tell him the details since he had been in a coma. The first thing Naruto realized was when she got up from the bed was that her body language was all wrong. Her stiff awkward movements instinctively told him that he had said something stupid. Verystupid.

“He meant well.” She hissed back, her eyes flashing in the darkness an emotion he rarely ever saw with his gentle girlfriend.

“Why are you mad at me?” he spoke loudly, confused at her reaction.

`At least he got that right,' she thought darkly as she searched for her discarded clothes. Her eyes pricked with tears she didn't want to shed, she didn't want to look weak.

“Hinata?” he watched her throw her clothes on, awkwardly. Her mind was racing, it was unusually conflicted. One side of herself was arguing in Naruto's favour; that she couldn't forgive her father for what he had done but the other side, the rebellious side, was dismantling every point she heard her inner-self make.

In the end, the darker side won and she decided that she wouldn't allow anyone else to dishonour his somewhat strange and twisted noble attempt to keep them together, to protect their future.

`Why can't he understand?' The sound of her inner voice raged and wouldn't subside to the point that she was willing to stop listening to reason and just let it rage.

She glared at him. He glared back but only because she was glaring first and he was confused. She turned and threw the door open. The loud crash it made against the wall would have startled her in a different lifetime but she wasn't the same girl from a few days ago. She was conflicted, angry, and unsure but one thing was glaringly clear: she was more insecure than ever.

“Where are you going?” he shouted after her. She said nothing.

She turned towards him and he fidgeted in response to her sudden movement. The eerie glow from the hallway light on her face sharply demonstrated that he had said something extremely stupid somewhere in the last five minutes.

“If you don't know what I'm mad about then maybe you should reconsider what it means to be partners.” She spat out.

She didn't mean to say that, she regretted it immediately when his expression fell. She was overwhelmed by a million different things going on in her head, in her emotions. She hadn't had the time to digest everything and she was regurgitating her insecurities back at him in the worst possible way.

He didn't know that she was mad at herself, mad at her father, and mad at the Hokage. She wasn't the pillar of strength they had made her to be, trusted her to be. She didn't believe for a second she could meet the expectations of Neji, of her clan but she'd never really dealt with this feeling before.

It was new, it was raw, and it was foreign. She couldn't stop it.

She felt like she was standing outside of her body and watching a stranger do the thing she would never imagine doing to her Naruto. She could see the confusion in his eyes, the hurt.

“Hinata?” she heard Naruto say, his voice cracking in the middle of her name made her wince. She felt her heart squeeze but her brain was being illogical, going against her nature.

Rebelling.

`Apologise.' She thought but something refused deep within her. She was going about this the wrong way, she was hurting and she needed to lash out somehow.

`Where are you going? Apologise! Kiss him! This isn't his fault! What are you doing?!' she kept thinking but her mouth remained shut, stubborn. Her feet kept moving away from him.

`Stop... stop!' she was yelling at herself as the door clicked coldly behind her, shutting out Naruto's pained expression. She broke into a gallop down the hall, horrified at her own cruelty.

“Are you running away?”

Neji's question resurfaced in the back of her mind as she pushed opened the doors of the hospital. The cool air of the early fall morning hit her face, resonating her feeling of numbness. His voice resonated loudly in her mind, accusingly. Guilt-ridden and crushed under the immense sudden pressure of her own reality as clan head, on her newly discovered path she and Naruto were travelling.

The foreign urges she was experiencing with him were quite sexual and it was a side of herself she hadn't known existed. Combined with accepting the shame of her clan's failure, her father's failure, her failure as the daughter of the Hyuuga... It was beginning to be too much.

She was scared, she was confused and it was too damned much to deal with in three days by herself. The wall she built continued to thicken, to shut her down from the world around her as she began to pull herself deeper into her old shell.

“Yes.” She whispered at her cousin's haunting question, her limbs were beginning to scream for oxygen as she ran through the main street to an unknown destination, ignoring the curious eyes of the shopkeepers. Her determination had flickered, she was faltering.

She didn't look back.

* * *

Itachi landed soundlessly in the deserted old farm. A light frost was dusting the still recovering ground from old battle wounds. It had been nearly a year since he had fought the woman and had seen the power of the Kyuubi in action. That was a moment in his life the missing-nin would rather not experience again. He'd gone into hiding after the encounter but recent rumours had his location pegged at Konoha.

Pain had ordered him to track down Kisame's ring and report to him on the development of the boy, the last thing they wanted was to deal with a vessel in full control of its beast. Itachi personally wasn't that interested in retrieving the nine-tails but he was the obvious choice with the Sharigan's ability on the Kyuubi.

Itachi surveyed the farm and found an unmarked shallow grave. He assumed that his partner had been buried there and began the unpleasant business of finding the Akatsuki symbol. He couldn't quite recall what hand the water ninja wore it on, there was a strong possibility it was on the man's sword hand, which was currently missing.

“One way to find out.” He said to himself before forming seals to dig out the grave and complete his mission.

* * *

Naruto wasn't in his bed.

Normally Sakura would have dismissed that fact but there was something off about the whole thing. Hinata hadn't come to see her yet about his condition and she hadn't known he was awake, no one had reported it. Considering the over-energetic ninja would have come barrelling down the hall looking to hear the results of the exam or where Hinata was, this was unusual behaviour. She was dumbfounded when she walked in and... the bed was made.

“Tsunade-sama.” Sakura called out to her master, who was doing her own rounds on a few cases that had required her expertise. The Hokage looked over to the kunoichi and nodded in acknowledgement.

“Naruto seems to have slipped out.” She pointed to the empty room.

“He's up on the roof.” A voice broke through before Tsunade could inquire. Kakashi stood in the hallway behind Sakura and looked worse for wear.

“Welcome back sensei!” Sakura smiled at the white haired ninja, she paused a moment wanting to ask about Sasuke and why he wasn't with him but there was something about his eyes that prevented her, she knew him well enough to read his body language. He seemed to be smiling at her as she walked past him and headed toward the roof, but it was hard to tell through the mask. She was glad to see Kakashi back in one piece, one less thing to worry about.

“Report.” Tsunade crossed her arms and closed her eyes as Kakashi approached her slowly.

“Can we do this in a more private....?” He wasn't one to question the boss but doing a confidential report in the middle of a hallway didn't really seem usual, or proper.

“Oh right. Sorry, a lot has happened and I've gotten used to getting reports wherever I'm standing.” Tsunade threw her hands up in the air and marched off in the direction of her private quarters in the hospital for the briefing.

“How did the exam go?” Kakashi asked as they walked together. Tsunade glanced over her shoulder and gave him a proud smile.

“Our young shinobi left quite an impression on the villagers and delegates.”

* * *

It didn't take a genius to figure out something was bothering her friend. He was sitting on the edge of the thick cement rail of the building, feet dangling over the edge staring out at the village. Sakura approached quietly and sat down next to him in the same fashion. He didn't look her way. He just kept looking out with a contemplative expression.

“Seems like you show up at all the right times, Sakura.” He had a sad smile gracing his lips and she let out a sigh, not too sure how to broach the subject.

“What did you do this time?” She was expecting him to retort with a snort or some silly excuse but he said nothing. Now she was really worried.

“I'm not sure. I think I missed something but as to what, I'm not sure. I made her pretty angry.” He let out a breath in quiet exasperation. “Well, I think she's angry.” He could ask for forgiveness if she was just mad, anything beyond that... he didn't want to think about it.

“What happened?”

“Eh,” he averted his eyes, not really willing to get into the details, “how about you tell me what happened since our battle in the exam and I'll tell you if I was stupid.”

Sakura shook her head and let out a small laugh.

“Ok. In a nutshell, the last three days: You won the battle, congrats on your new rank.” She gave him the thumbs up and he smiled, his eyes still focused on what she would say. It disturbed her to see him so serious.

“You almost died.”

“That much I know.” He cut through.

“Hinata killed the impostor in the arena; turns out he was a hired hand from the Elders of the Hyuuga Clan.” She watched him blink and his eyebrows raise a notch.

Hinata had killed someone?

He groaned, rubbing his face with one hand. `Stupidity number one.' Sakura continued on, ignoring his distress.

“Tsunade-sama removed Hiashi as head of the clan, disbanded the elders of the house and removed him from the village council. She made Hinata the new clan head and named Neji as Regent until she's old enough, and educated enough in the ways of leadership, to take over from him.” She raised an eyebrow when he took in a deep breath.

`Stupidity number two.'

“Then Tsunade named Hinata and Neji as the new village councillors. Although Hiashi is not exiled, he's been disgraced. The reason he's been spared has to do with underlying issues that I have not been made aware of. I'm sure Neji could fill you in on those details if Hinata is... unable to.” She carefully avoided pointing out the obvious.

`That was stupidity number three and four.'

“Fuck.” He said under his breath. Sakura pursed her lips at the crude language but she'd been with Sasuke for far too long to be shocked by it any more, although hearing it from the blond was a bit surprising.

“What's the verdict?” she said amusingly, knowing the answer beforehand but she enjoyed his squirming.

“I'm a big idiot.” He said finally after a pause. Although he recognised there was no possible way for him to have known any of this stuff, he was still in a bad position. He should have been more persistent last night when he noticed something was wrong.

“Well what are you going to do about it?” his friend asked, her eyes followed a little girl picking flowers below them.

“Talk to Neji, get the nitty gritty details. And give Hinata some space.” His voice had a hint of resignation.

“That's going to be hard to do.” Sakura averted his glance by keeping herself busy picking little rocks embedded in the skin of her palms from the cement.

“What do you mean?” he frowned.

“Hinata moved off the Estates and most of her stuff is in your apartment. She had planned to look for a new place for you two since she wasn't sure when you'd wake up.” He blinked and had to tell himself to breath because his brain had short circuited right then.

“What!?” he cried out, startling her. Now she was really at a lost on how this poor boy was completely out of the loop.

“Jeez she didn't tell you anything. You must have distracted her.”

He blushed and stuttered.

“W-w-what! That's none of your business!”

“What exactly is none of my business?” Her eyes narrowed and the atmosphere changed drastically, her knuckles cracked and a strange smile crossed her lips.

“What the hell did you do to Hinata in the hospital of all places?” Naruto let out a sheepish smile. Sakura took it for the worst meaning possible and she let out a menacing growl.

“I can't believe you! That's so unromantic! In the hospital? You... you men.” She jumped up on the rail and crouched down, her glare locked on him and he had a very bad feeling.

“S-s-sakura-chan! Listen! No, wait!” rubble hit his face as he leaped out of the way of a very powerful punch that broke the cement edge he had just been sitting on. “That's not what happened!” He gulped heavily as he barely missed another heavy fist, Sakura's eyes were on fire.

“That didn't happen yet!”

She couldn't hear him over the destruction of her fists slamming into concrete. She did however, catch the small and near inaudible `eep' as she finally caught him on the cheek with a chakra punch.

As the scenery flashed by him quickly, he painfully noted that the wall was coming at him at a dangerous velocity. Naruto decided right then that now was a good time to make himself scarce and look for Neji... after Sakura was done with this beating.

* * *

He was finally free from the hospital. Tsunade had taken a look over his new injuries while Sakura did a new set of rounds. He had somehow managed to escape with his life and Tsunade had only sighed, not even bothering to ask what he had done to instigate the wrath of her pupil.

After being dismissed he wondered what would be the smartest thing to do first. Find Neji or beg for Hinata's forgiveness. He decided to get ramen and think on it for a little bit longer.

“Naruto.”

He turned towards the familiar voice and sighed.

“Kakashi-sensei.” He wasn't sure he was ready to deal with this particular problem but he'd ignored it long enough.

“Let's talk.”

The blond nodded and followed his sensei not too far behind in a resigned fashion, much like a punished small child following their parent.

* * *

Naruto sat down in the yellowing grass. Fall was running its course and he could feel the chill settling in the ground. He let out a breath and tried to calm himself before opening his mouth and confronting his teacher on a very delicate and illegal subject: himself.

“Why didn't you tell me about my family?” he asked, point blank. No point tiptoeing around since he'd been mulling over this meeting for several years. He was going to get to the bottom of it.

Kakashi glanced at him from his good side and sat down next to him on their old training grounds.

“It wasn't my choice.” He dropped his elbows against his knees, dangling his arms for a moment before crossing them, tucking the fingers in the crooks of his arms.

“What do you mean?” the blond looked at him suspiciously. His sensei looked up a moment, as though he was recalling something from a long time ago before answering him.

“The Sandaime was very adamant that we cut all connections between you and Minato, to protect your identity from our enemies.”

Minato.

His father's name. He finally felt one piece of the puzzle come into place. He almost wanted to tear up at the revelation. Sora had been ignorant about his name but Kakashi had grown up with him, learned under him. Probably knew more about his father than anyone else aside from his own mother.

“The Yondaime, as loved as he was by many people, was just as hated from inside and outside Konoha. He was a powerful man and many feared him.” He paused and carefully watched his pupil. “The Third made it law, Naruto.”

The boy sighed. Although he failed to see the logic in the long run, he could understand why these measures had been put into place. He couldn't really be mad at his sensei for obeying the law but ... he had been so lonely, so isolated. Kakashi laid down besides Naruto, crossing his arms behind his head and watched the clouds roll by.

“You weren't even supposed to find out about the Kyuubi until you were old enough to understand how to use its power.” He continued, his one visible eye avoided Naruto. “But no thanks to Orochimaru, the Third passed away before he could tell you anything. Any secrets from your father from that night were swallowed by the same death god your father looked on when he sealed the Kyuubi inside you.”

Naruto looked down at his fingers, which were idle on his lap. He pressed his hand against his stomach subconsciously and thought for a moment that the seal heated on his navel in response to what the Jounin had said.

“Still...” Naruto spoke the unfinished question without meaning to. Kakashi looked away, feeling guilty for his past and current actions. In the end it was just another regret to add to his already impressive repertoire.

“I know. I should have been more forward about taking you as a charge, but I was a kid too back then. I was barely a teenager and it would have looked pretty suspicious had I taken you in.” He couldn't really finish that with `you were better off in the orphanage' because he knew very well how the boy had suffered. He hadn't come to his full senses until Naruto had landed on his team at the age of twelve. By then it had been far too late to apologize or to even consider asking for forgiveness and he doubted the boy would have been able to even understand his sensei's guilt.

“I'm sorry.” The white-haired shinobi looked straight ahead, feeling a loss he hadn't thought about in many years, wondering what Minato would have thought of Kakashi's behaviour toward his sensei's son. Naruto gave him a long look before nodding, not ready yet to accept his apology.

“Tell me about them.” Naruto suddenly demanded.

Kakashi raised a brow hidden under his headband as he sat back up. “Hasn't Sora covered this bit?” He watched as the boy slowly shook his head.

“She didn't even know my father's name.” His voice felt tight, emotions running amuck within him. The mystery of his past, of where he belonged, everything that connected him was wrapped up in this man and he was about to finally learn everything.

“Ah.” Kakashi blinked, a bit surprised. “Well, where should I start?”

“Start at when you first remember him.” He wanted to hear it all, every memory he had been denied for seventeen years. Kakashi smiled and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, the air between them was at least less hostile, if not more forgiving.

“I was six when I first met your father. I was assigned to his team with Rin and Obito after our graduation as Gennin. The great shinobi war was still ongoing at that time so it was normal for kids to be recruited at that age.”

“Who are they?” Naruto didn't recall anyone by those names. A sad look crossed his sensei's face before he answered.

“My friends, my teachers, and my life-long regret.” His voice seemed distant, still a little raw so Naruto decided to not push the subject. Kakashi shook the memory away, not wanting to dwell on the saddest part of his past.

“First of all Naruto, you look just like your father but your spunky personality comes from your mother. You have his yellow hair, the same kind eyes but you lack his temperament.” Kakashi ruffled the boy's hair remembering how his own sensei used to do it to him when he was in the middle of revealing some life changing bit of advice.

“Unlike you, he had the patience of a god. But he did have your strong sense of protecting what was precious.” He smiled when Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, or maybe it was wonder. He wasn't sure.

“You have the same ninjutsu style your mother preferred. She was a beautiful woman and very caring.” Naruto smiled, he found it interesting that he had his mother's personality.

“She had fiery red hair and the temper to match. Sora's very much like her you know, but you have her determination, her sense of justice, and her ability to let the sun touch even the darkest souls.” Naruto laughed, he couldn't imagine that sentence ever coming out of his sensei but he had such a serious face that he knew he meant every word.

As Kakashi revealed the history of Konoha's most cherished relic for the rest of that afternoon, Naruto swallowed every passed-on memory, every word about his roots. He could feel his identity unravelling, he finally felt like he truly belonged somewhere, to something.

Kakashi on the other hand hadn't felt this light in years. He was confessing his sins, his lack of courage while reminiscing on the lives lost so long ago. By telling Naruto everything he knew about his sensei, about his previous life, he could feel the wrongs being righted and could sense forgiveness come slowly from his pupil. For once, he didn't regret something and faced it.

Naruto felt it that afternoon, he had changed for the better.

* * *

Neji was surprised to find Naruto at the estate. He noted mentally that the shinobi hadn't moved in fifteen minutes from the same spot in the shadows. He wouldn't have noticed him in the dusk but the orange gave him away as soon as the sun had finished setting. Curiosity eventually got the best of the Jyuuken genius and he proceeded to make his way outside, secretly wondering why the shinobi was just staring at the gates.

“Is there something I can help you with, Naruto?” he asked quietly, startling the other man out of his stupor.

“Ah, Neji. I was actually going to go see you.” He said sheepishly, an awkward laugh slipped out and Neji raised an eyebrow in wonder at his behaviour.

“How can I be of service?” He watched Naruto drop his arms limply and sigh, his head fell forward in resignation.

“I... I think I screwed up major with Hinata. She ran out of my hospital room this morning pretty upset and I haven't been able to find her.” `Well more like I'm making sure to avoid her' he corrected himself.

Neji moved silently towards the gate and invited him in. Naruto slipped through and followed his friend as he was guided to the outer gardens.

“I haven't seen her either. Although I wasn't expecting to since she moved out of the estate and into your apartment.” He paused and turned his face a little towards Naruto.

“You did check your place first, correct?” It wasn't really a question, but Neji felt compelled to ask anyway. It looked as though he hadn't checked since he gave him a lopsided grin and shrugged. Neji narrowed his eyes and continued to walk towards the garden. What Hinata saw in Naruto he would never be able to figure out, no matter how much of a genius he was.

“Why was your uncle spared?”

Neji sat down on one of the stone benches near the pond. He could see the pale moon reflecting on the surface as he contemplated how to properly answer him. Well, he mentally corrected himself, he was considering how to dumb it down enough so he didn't have to repeat it constantly for the next several hours.

“Hiashi-sama initiated a change in the Hyuuga that could only occur if he was forcibly removed as clan leader. The only way this could happen was if he instigated a situation drastic enough that would not only endanger his own flesh and blood, but the village.”

Naruto frowned at the explanation. That seemed really extreme.

“Why go that far?”

Neji looked towards Naruto and smiled, very faintly. “He needed the Hokage to declare the current Elders of the clan as a threat to Konoha.” Neji watched as Naruto settled down next to him, his frown now visible.

“He wanted her to dismantle the council so that fresh faces, who held no prejudice against you specifically, could council Hinata and her chosen consort properly.”

Naruto blinked. Chosen what? And did Neji just tell him he knew he had a bijuu in him?

“How did you know about the Kyuubi?” Naruto asked quietly, feeling very exposed. Neji merely shrugged before continuing.

“When you are ranked Jounin, as part of your debriefing you are advised of potential dangers and threats to the village. Your secret happens to be at the top of the list. Every Jounin in the village is well aware of your special resident.”

Naruto narrowed his eyes in response but decided that if Shikamaru and Neji were still speaking to him and treating him as their equal, they had accepted him completely. He didn't know if he was relieved or fearful of how many people potentially knew everything about him. He resigned himself to the fact that nothing was sacred if the security of the village was at stake.

'Potential threat...?' Was that what he really was in the eyes of his comrades?

Neji watched his friend's face go through several emotions and he let out a small sigh.

“I don't really care that you're the Kyuubi vessel. You've changed me for the better and you're changing Hinata-sama for the better.” he said with an indifferent matter-of-fact-ness. Naruto remained speechless a moment before he regained his composure, nodding affirmatively.

“The old council was made of bitter men and women.” Neji crossed his arms and slipped his hands inside the long sleeves of his dress shirt. “They held a grudge against the Kyuubi vessel and were deeply corrupted by this hate.” Neji looked away from his friend and continued to watch the moon in the water, ripples from swimming fish distorted the image.

“He wanted to make sure that you two were out of their manipulative grasp.” He sighed, hoping the boy had gotten the message but he had to make sure. “He protected your future.”

Naruto shook his head in disbelief. That was crazy, utterly unbelievable.

“That's too much.” He managed to say. Neji agreed with him.

“He's been officially disgraced by the Hokage and our clan must accept the consequences.” He looked at Naruto through a side glance, watching his reaction. “Hinata has a long hard road ahead of her since our weight on the village council has been put into question.”

Naruto sighed and put his head between his hands, elbows leaning on his legs.

“I'm so out of the loop.” He remarked.

“No argument from me on that one.” Neji added in. Naruto shot up his head and glared at him, but laughed when he noticed the curled up lip corners of the usually serious ninja. He leaned back against the seat and stared up into the night sky, he was suddenly very tired.

He had one more stop on his list before calling it a night and wasn't entirely looking forward to it.

“So if you were my girlfriend who was mad at her idiot boyfriend, where would you be?”

Neji frowned at the odd comparison, but the question was easy for him to answer as his cousin was a creature of habit.

“I would be at Kurenai-sensei's house.”

* * *

Naruto landed quietly outside of Kurenai's living room window. He only wanted to make sure that Hinata was there, to make sure she was in a safe place.

He felt instant relief when he spied her curled up on the couch, reading a book. He squinted his eyes trying to see what book she had but he didn't get a chance, she had sat up when her sensei entered the living room with some hot drinks. Tea, he assumed, since he had this ongoing theory that when one was in emotional turmoil, tea was the only drink that would be able to solve any deep, dark black hole of a problem - at least according to most of the female population.

“Are you feeling better?” the older shinobi asked her pupil, her voice chimed out from the window, catching Naruto's attention. He hadn't noticed the window was open. Taking the opportunity, he leaned in to listen.

“Hai, t-t-thank you for letting me s-t-t-tay here a bit. I'm s-s-sorry for the intrusion.”

“It's no bother dear. You know my door is always open.”

Naruto frowned at the stutter coming from her and debated between making himself known, leaving, or quietly listening to their conversation. He was still in deep thought over it when he heard Hinata's musical voice break through.

“N-N-Naruto, g-g-go home.” She looked at him through the window. He froze when he realized he had been discovered. He quickly glanced at her and noted her eyes were tearing up. Her hands were tightly squeezing the life out of a piece of paper in an unusual nervous fashion. He opened his mouth to answer her but he couldn't find his voice so instead he weakly nodded and leaped away, leaving her behind.

She pressed her forehead against the window pane and let out a heavy troubled sigh, watching his shadow disappear in the horizon. Kurenai tipped her head to the side slightly, wondering when her pupil had noticed the boy.

“I d-d-did something t-t-terrible t-t-today.” She finally spoke after several minutes of silence. Her sensei said nothing, still waiting for an explanation from her.

“I said t-t-terrible things to him, I-I-I don't know how to make it b-b-better.” That damnable stutter was back full force since the incident and she couldn't get rid of it. She was beyond frustration. It felt like she was reverting to her old self.

Her teacher put down her cup of tea and crossed her arms against her chest, resting them on the small hump forming at her abdomen. She leaned back into the sofa and stared at Hinata.

“Naruto has always been a very forgiving person from what you've told me.” She spoke very slowly, trying to get her student and friend to calm down. “And if you're correct, he only showed up here looking for you because he's found whatever pieces of the puzzle you threw out the window this morning and put them together.”

Hinata turned towards the older shinobi and gave her a cautious look. She didn't entirely believe her.

“I'm c-c-confused... about a lot of t-t-things.” She put her hand over her heart, trying to slow the beat. She had gone weak in the knees when she saw Naruto outside the window. She hadn't been ready for that even if she did expect him to track her down. He wasn't one to leave a problem alone.

“Like what?”

“I-I-I'm n-n-not acting l-l-like myself latel-l-ly.” `Damn stutter,' she fumed. “T-t-there's a s-s-side of me lately emerging that m-m-makes me nervous around him.” She blushed, Kurenai raised an eyebrow.

“What do you mean?” The woman affectionately rubbed her small bulge forming after she leaned over and picked up her cup again, taking a deep sip. Hinata's eyes lingered on the pregnant belly and smiled a little.

“I love him so much, I feel like I'm losing control of myself.” Finally, that stutter had subsided and she sighed with relief. “I want to do things with him that make me light headed just thinking about them, I want...” she thought a moment on how to say it without sounding crude. “Well, to put it bluntly, I want to rip all his clothes off and lick his skin 'till it's raw.” she blurted out and was immediately mortified at her own admission.

Kurenai was so surprised to hear Hinata say that, she barely had time to put down her cup as she choked on her tea, coughing out of control. Hinata ran to her and promptly began patting her back, blushing several times more red than normal.

“That's .... that's quite normal,” Kurenai tried to get out but it was muffled between coughs and strangled squeeks. Hinata hadn't understood a single thing. Getting her cough under control, Kurenai tried to regain the little dignity she had left and let out another small cough in her fisted hand.

“How long have you two been together?” she coughed again.

“Nearly three years.”

Kurenai went on another coughing fit trying to hide her surprise, this time her eyes began to water. `Three years? And she's just starting to think about sex with him?' she thought with amused disbelief.

“Are you ok?” she heard her pupil ask her with worry. She nodded and recovered slowly, deciding to ignore the tea for a while until Hinata was done destroying her obvious misconception that this shinobi was shy and pure, innocent even.

“You're maturing sexually Hinata, it's natural to feel these things, to want to do these things with the man with whom you're obviously very much in love.” Hinata was in the process of demonstrating five new shades of red, to which Kurenai could easily name without breaking a sweat. She did so again out of habit, observing them from palest to darkest: cerise, terra cotta, rose madder, crimson and venetian red. Kurenai was almost positive she'd never seen that last one on another human before.

“And Naruto seems aware enough of your own needs to follow your lead on them right?” she remarked as Hinata tried to regain control of her blush.

“Hai, he's been very considerate and patient with my... questions.” Her face felt too hot. Kurenai had, however, interpreted Hinata's answer to be something along the lines of “He's too daft to really figure out what was going on between us so he lets me play.”

“He seems to love you very much.” She smiled softly, Hinata's eyes looked glassy, near tears.

“Yes, he does.” she wanted to say but her throat was tight from the lump forming there. She didn't yet trust her voice so she only nodded.

“He doesn't seem to be the type to reject you if you were to bring it up, talk about it or even suggest it in other ways.” Her sensei grinned at her and Hinata showed a new shade of red. Kurenai named that one alazarin crimson and thought it would look nice on the study walls of the new apartment.

“It's ok to be scared when you get to that point in your relationship.” Kurenai continued to talk to her, trying to convey the sentiment most women feel when they embark on that specific aspect of a relationship. Well someone had to, Hinata's mother had died too early and she had no one else to whom she could ask these questions.

Although amusing, she highly doubted Hiashi would sit down at the kitchen table, drink tea with her, and speak on the wonders of sex with his daughter. She had to wonder though how he'd tackle the talk on safe sex, babies and how to accept the fear that comes with that decision. Kurenai had trouble keeping a straight face with the scenario running wild in her head.

Hinata became a bit more brave in her questions as the night wore on and her sensei became more and more comfortable answering them. Slowly, Kurenai re-evaluated the young girl of her memories from three years ago as the young and mature woman sitting before her. It was hard to swallow the change in Hinata but everyone had to grow up sooner or later, she was just glad that Hinata had come to her for this particular part.

* * *

Naruto entered his apartment. He didn't bother with the light, thinking the small light from outside would be enough to navigate through but he was instantly reminded that he wasn't a very smart person when he immediately tripped on a large square object laying in the middle of his floor. He face planted into another pile of objects and swore under his breath. In his fatigued state, he'd momentarily forgotten about Hinata moving all her stuff. He picked himself up and felt his way around in the dark. He just wanted his bed and a pillow to cuddle.

He felt his heart squeeze a little when his eyes got used to the dim moonlight filtering in through the windows. He could see some of Hinata's clothes hanging in his room, his apartment had lost its usual ramen flavour and was replaced with the smell of vanilla and mint, the things he connected to her the most. He sighed and cursed it, missing her even more. He collapsed on the bed and absentmindedly searched for a large white fluffy object, and pulled the pillow close to him as he curled around it.

“I wonder when she's going to come back?” His voice was muffled in the pillow. The apartment was much too quiet without her. He closed his eyes and let himself be swept away by a dreamless sleep. His day had been beyond exhausting.

He hadn't noticed, but on his bookshelf his mother's book had gone missing and a pair of pale lilac eyes were feverishly swallowing every word at their sensei's residence. Slowly, Hinata began to understand something deep inside herself about her situation with Naruto.

* * *

Tsunade stared at the two teens in front of her. She'd seen them in better shape. Hinata fidgeted, her index fingers twiddling together nervously. For his part, Naruto tried very hard to not look at Hinata, his eyes were almost blank, devoid of emotion.

`What the hell had happened between the two of them?' she wondered.

“Well, this is the first time in my years as Hokage I've actually reconsidered telling two well-accomplished shinobi about their promotions.” She raised an eyebrow quizzically. Hinata looked away, embarrassed that their tension was that noticeable but good old reliable Naruto glared at the busty woman.

“Would you two care to enlighten me as to why it seems a thick ten-foot wall has landed between the two of you?”

Naruto shifted uncomfortably and grunted, Hinata tipped her head down, letting her bangs hide her eyes. Tsunade was mildly amused at the display.

“Regardless of your squabble, the ceremony for the rankings will be tomorrow. The graduates have all recovered and we will be formally announcing the winners. Which includes you two.” She tried to gauge their reactions but was met with a fairly intriguing one. Silence.

She leaned back into her chair and dismissed them, baffled.

The two teens turned away and half rushed towards the door, carefully keeping their eyes averted from each other which was a disastrous decision on their part. Tsunade let out a loud laugh as the two got wedged in the door frame.

“Sorry.” Naruto mumbled out, ignoring the Hokage's giggles. Hinata merely nodded, accepting his apology. He let her go first, his eyes watching her back. He wasn't sure what to do anymore.

“I'll see you later Hinata.” He gave her an awkward wave, a lopsided smile but his eyes were wide, almost scared. She hated that even more than the fake smile.

“N-n-naruto, wait!” she stuttered out. Naruto stopped in his tracks and turned towards her. He knew he was making her uncomfortable so he spoke without waiting for what she wanted to say.

“It's ok Hinata. I know everything that's happened since the exam and I'll be there when you're ready to talk.” He turned to leave but paused a second longer, wanting to share a bit of good news with her.

“Oh. Kakashi and I had a big talk yesterday. I learned a lot about my father.” He gave her a quick smile over his shoulder and quickly took off before she could even say anything. She stared at the now empty space and wondered if it was possible for him to stay still longer than ten seconds.

* * *

Naruto had made himself scarce all day, he was proud that he managed to give Hinata space. He hadn't realized avoiding her was going to be that hard, he almost ran into her several times. She seemed to have been searching for something. But he was determined to give her as much time as she needed.

He sighed, missing her presence. He was miserable. He crawled into bed and cuddled his pillow again, wondering if he should name it Hinata-the-second and prepared himself for another long lonely night. He stared at the moon through his window and wondered what Hinata was doing right then.

He hadn't even finished the thought when he saw a shadow flash in front of his window and heard two familiar footsteps outside his front door. He raised an eyebrow as a fidgeting key was inserted into his door and turned, unlocking the door. There were only two people who had the key to his apartment, Sakura and Hinata, and he doubted the pink-haired shinobi was visiting him at this hour.

He didn't move, and without realizing it he held his breath as the door opened. Hinata entered the apartment and made her way to his bedroom carefully avoiding the masses of boxes, and stopped at the doorway. He propped himself up with his elbows on the bed and stared at her, afraid to blink in case she was actually a ghostly apparition.

“Hi.” She broke his fear that she wasn't real with that simple word. He was still nervous.

He didn't answer her so she fidgeted, her index fingers coming together while she considered how to break the uncomfortable silence between them.

“So... what did Kakashi say about your father?” her voice rang inside the room and he sighed in relief as she made her way to the bed. She paused a moment and looked at him, unsure of her permissions. He flung the blankets over and patted the empty spot next to him and she crawled in.

She stopped a few inches away from his curious face and wanted to ask if it was ok if she kissed him. She didn't get the chance since he had already brought his lips to hers in a chaste kiss, she slipped one arm around his neck and pulled him closer before she pulled away slightly, just enough to let herself speak.

“Naruto,” she started in a whisper, afraid to disturb the spell cast on them, “I need to talk to yo-“ he put a finger across her lips and shushed her with another kiss.

“Tell me tomorrow, I'm not interested in details right now, I know what happened. Well mostly, I'm still unclear on a lot of things but I got the gist of it.” She tried to look away, her shame rising each second due to her grievous mistakes but he wouldn't let her, his fingers had curled up under her chin and was keeping her there, forcing her to look at him.

“As your punishment though, you have to listen to everything I have to tell you about my father.” She smiled and snuggled closer to him. He had forgiven her a little. She wasn't sure why but she wasn't going to push the issue just now.

He pulled her into his arms, spooning her tightly against him and began to tell her what he had found out about his legacy, his past. She listened but she felt tears slip out; her heart was still heavy with shame for her words to him. He held her tighter, swallowing each sob that came out of her with a story from his newfound past, kissing each tear which only made her feel more undeserving of him.

* * *

“You know, you have to start giving me a little bit more credit.”

Hinata bit her lip nervously at his answer. Their talk hadn't been very long since he had already figured out most of the problems on his own and it was getting dangerously close to the promotional ceremonies. They were on their way there as they continued to talk things through.

“I do, I honestly do. I was just ... overwhelmed with all the clan things.”

Naruto lead the way through the crowd, he was a little annoyed but he couldn't be upset with her. He didn't know how he would have reacted if all that had been dumped on him.

“We're in this together.” he repeated again for the umpteenth time that morning. “No matter what happens with the clan, I've got your back. Even if I'm not Hokage yet, you can always come to me when things get too rough.”

She stared at his back, considering the things he was saying. Naruto was in deep thought over everything. He wanted to help her alleviate the pressures she was going through but he wasn't sure how. He knew her father was a major sore point to talk about but she had to face him sooner or later.

“I think you need to see your father, have it out with him.”

She shook her head adamantly; he could feel it in her hand so he took a quick glance over his shoulder and shot her a very serious look.

“This isn't negotiable. I'll go with you, I have some questions myself but you need to stop avoiding your problems with the clan or you're going to break down again.”

She sighed and pushed the unpleasant scenario from her head as the Hokage Tower appeared not too far from their destinations. They climbed the small stage and joined a fairly small group of people sitting there, Naruto narrowed his eyes at Saotaori but Hinata greeted him kindly. He profusely apologized for his behaviour in the arena, spewing some nonsense about how he had been confused and he let his anger make the decisions. Naruto made a thin line with his lips in annoyance but he believed him, Saotaori gave Hinata a small gift in apology for injuring her and she accepted it.

“Welcome to the graduation ceremony for the new Chuunin ninja of the Fire Country and its allies.” The Hokage's voice boomed from speakers attached to the stage. Hinata was startled by the sound and eeped quite loudly, which was followed by Naruto laughing at her. She playfully hit him and he leaned over, kissing her on the cheek, an action which was met with some audible gasps from the crowd.

Tsunade noticed the commotion and looked over to the source, she grinned at the affectionate display and continued on with her speech. Gaara was still looking over at his friend and had a quizzical expression a moment as it dawned on him that his friend had found love to share.

“Congratulations to the following on their promotions...” Tsunade began to name off several names and the men and women lined up before their respective village representatives to accept their rank items.

“Hyuuga Hinata, please step forward.” Tsunade greeted her with a warm smile, Hinata was filled with pride and she bowed before her leader, thanking her for everything she had done for her in the last week. Tsunade laughed and handed her a new forehead protector and forest green vest.

Hiashi watched from the crowd as his daughter walked across the stage and accepted her new headband and vest from the Hokage, she noticed her father in the crowd, their eyes met a moment before she stopped and bowed to him. His face held the unchecked emotions of pride, guilt, and sadness. He bowed in return.

The road to forgiveness in their shaky relationship would be difficult but she was willing to do it with Naruto at her side, now seemed like a good place to start. Naruto smiled at her when she sat down again, he put an arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple, beaming with pride.

“Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward.”

The loud whoop he shouted was heard across the gathered crowd as the blond shinobi made his way to the Hokage, he was nearly vibrating with excitement. She tried to glare at him but her smile was betraying her and she eventually caved to his infectious happiness.

“Congratulations, Naruto.”

He turned to the crowd and raised his fist high up into the air, the protector dangling from one hand and the vest from the other. He pointed at his father's face on the mountain.

`One step closer to Hokage, dad.' He thought but it was cut short as a loud thunderous sound pulled his attention back to the crowd. They were shouting, cheering and clapping. He blinked and Tsunade laughed.

Naruto raised his right arm and scratched behind his head sheepishly in embarrassment. Hinata's happy laughter could barely be heard over the sound of cheers and he let out a small disbelieving laugh at his receiving the promotion.

Maybe, just maybe, the village had begun to accept him a little.

* * *

R & R please!

References

Shades of colour Kurenai names off - She's made a point to learn all the reds possible so that she can tell how embarrassed Hinata is. It's more fun that way :P

http : // en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Alizarin

http : // en . wikipedia. org / wiki / Category : Shades _ o f_ red

Edit - Before anyone mentions it, I'm Canadian so a lot of what I spell can seem incorrect but it's correct in my country ^^; such as "ise" instead of "ize"in appologise and "ou" in Honour, colour, etc. I'm not making spelling mistakes D: