My Heart's Lavender Eyes

"Normal speech"

Sign Language = Name: (Stuff that they sign)

'Thought'

Kyuubi

Other enormous beings

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"Disclaimer"

I do not own Naruto or any affiliation there being, I am doing this fanfic because I enjoy making this story, not for the profit (which I do not get by the way)

Chapter 41:

Rest or be Rested:

The air was calm, and the light was dim. Everything seemed to be so comfortable. She hadn't remembered sleeping this well in a long time. Her body was relaxed, her tension was gone, and she was warm. Really warm.

'Why am I so warm?' thought Anko.

She groggily tried to sit up from her laying position, but she couldn't move. She could feel the warmth of another person against her. Her eyes shot open, face-to-face with Kurenai's cleavage.

"..."

Kurenai had one leg wrapped around Anko's hip. Kurenai also had her hands entangled in Anko's purple hair, forcing Anko's face into her breasts.

"...YAAAAH!" screamed Anko.

Anko quickly pried Kurenai away from her.

As soon as Kurenai was off of her, she realized that someone was holding her from behind. She froze for only a moment before she realized who it was. She jumped up off of the bed, Kakashi's arms flopping down carelessly onto the mattress. Kakashi had been holding her from behind, probably all night. The thought alone gave her unfamiliar feelings, and several uncomfortable ones.

She was about to shout at both of them, but she realized that they had somehow not yet woken up. She paused for a moment, debating whether to wake and berate them, or to let them sleep.

'On one hand, they both just pissed me off, and violated my personal space... But on the other hand, they both look really tired.' thought Anko.

She didn't know whether it was the way they looked defenseless, or the way they looked exhausted that made her decide to not berate them.

'I think Kakashi was groping my chest...' thought Anko self-consciously.

All she wore when she went to bed was her bra, panties, and a large black shirt she had always used to sleep with. She had it for so long, she had completely forgotten where she had gotten it. She remembered that when she was just a Genin, the shirt went down to her ankles. But now, the shirt only went down to her mid-thigh.

'I don't know who this was made for, but they were tall...' thought Anko.

Once in a while she would think about whose it was, but the shirt had become such a normality for her that she wouldn't usually give it a second thought.

'Maybe it was my dad's...' thought Anko.

The thought froze her for a moment. She couldn't remember her parents. The fact that even their very image was lost to her still made her gut twist. She shook her head and changed her train of thought, returning to the two strange ninja who were still laid out on the bed.

She stared awkwardly at the sight before her. Kurenai was sprawled to the side, sub-consciously feeling around in the place Anko used to be.

'What is she lonely or something?' thought Anko.

She hesitated for a moment, before walking over to the bed again.

She grabbed the blankets she had flung away before, and pulled them back over Kakashi and Kurenai.

"There, now they can't complain about being cold or whatever." mumbled Anko.

Anko turned around, and walked over to a dresser which stood next to the bathroom door on the opposite side of the room.

She opened up the top drawer, and was surprised to find that none of the undergarments were hers.

'None of these are purple...' thought Anko.

She saw black and gray boxers, which were Kakashi's, and several white and red panties, which must have been Kurenai's.

She blushed as she filed through them, finding hers at the bottom.

'Yays.' thought Anko happily.

She took one pair out, and closed the drawer. She then opened the second drawer, which had several different pairs of socks in them. She knew none of them were hers, because she didn't wear socks.

She closed that drawer, and opened the third drawer. It was full of undershirts. One pile was all mesh shirts with red collars. One pile was all black medium-sleeved under-armor. And finally there was plain mesh. She considered borrowing one of Kurenai's meshes just to have a different colored collar, but she decided against it. She took what was hers and closed the drawer. She looked down to the next drawer and opened it. Like the rest of the drawers, there were three different clothes in it. On the left was a pile of what looked like bandages. On closer inspection, she found that they were only tight shorts with a bandage pattern on them. In the middle, was a pile of standard blue pants. And finally, there was a pile of mesh shorts, coupled with light brown skirts. She grabbed what was hers, and walked into the bathroom.

'Well, one good thing about getting up early, is having a guarantee of hot water.' thought Anko off-handedly.

As Anko took her shower, Kakashi and Kurenai still rested on their bed. Kurenai had moved to Kakashi's side of the bed, and had wrapped her arms around him. Kakashi had one arm trapped under Kurenai, and the other flopped lazily in the other direction. The bad thing about this was that the circulation in Kakashi's arm was starting to be cut off from Kurenai's weight. The tingling discomfort was beginning to wake him.

"No I... only have one..." murmured Kakashi.

He was beginning to realize what the familiar feeling was, but he was only half awake. He opened his visible eye to see Kurenai's closed eyes up close. Her forehead was pressed lightly against his. Something about how peaceful Kurenai's face was, kept him quite calm. He was relaxed, but he was awake now. He knew what the situation would be if Kurenai woke up to find a perv such a himself so close to her. He tried to remove Kurenai's grip from his torso, but she didn't seem to want to let go. He didn't want to use force, because he didn't want to accidentally hurt her.

At that point, Kakashi's movement had woken her up. Her eyes slowly opened to see one eye looking back at her.

"Kurenai. I would like to get up now. Could you please let me go?" asked Kakashi.

Kurenai flushed a light red, and quickly sat up in the bed, letting him go immediately.

"..."

There was a silence between them, Kurenai's mind was still a bit flustered from being so close to him.

"You are very friendly in your sleep." commented Kakashi.

Kurenai blushed a bit more, but turned away in a huff. Her arms were crossed, and her nose was high.

"Is that so?" huffed Kurenai.

'She doesn't bother looking at me when she talks. She's angry with me now.' thought Kakashi.

Kakashi was good at determining what caused people to react in certain ways for certain reasons. He knew that she wasn't really angry with him, but was projecting her irritation. She was only irritated because Kakashi had caught her doing something she didn't want to be seen doing.

'I shouldn't have vocalized it. I should have just acted like it never happened.' thought Kakashi.

"It's not a big deal you know. Lots of people do strange things subconsciously while they sleep. Just ask Hinata." said Kakashi.

That actually made her feel a lot better. Hinata had always had the strangest sleep phenomenons.

"Hehe... She once stole a pair of Shino's pants and put them on my head while I slept." said Kurenai with a smile.

"Really? That's hard to picture Hinata doing something like that." laughed Kakashi.

"(Giggle) We found her in the morning under her sleeping bag, laying on top of Kiba and Shino's sleeping bags." chuckled Kurenai.

"Haha... Was she nude?" asked Kakashi.

Kurenai turned beat red and just missed smacking Kakashi in the face because he dodged.

"What! Why would you ask that?" exclaimed Kurenai.

"I just assumed it was something like that." said Kakashi.

"Why would you assume it was like that?" asked Kurenai incredulously.

'Aha. So it turns out Hinata wasn't always so... sleep-Moe.' thought Kakashi.

"Haven't you... Didn't Sakura tell you? You don't know?" asked Kakashi.

Suddenly Kurenai's mood changed completely. She narrowed her eyes, and eyed him suspiciously.

"I don't know what?" asked Kurenai evenly.

"I just assumed she was always like... um... I shouldn't have said anything." said Kakashi.

'I'm not going to go telling Hinata's secrets without her permission. That's simply underhanded.' thought Kakashi.

He could instantly tell that Hinata was a touchy subject for Kurenai. When he first brought Hinata up in a humorous light, she quickly brightened up. But as soon as she realized Kakashi knew something about Hinata that she didn't, she immediately became suspicious.

"What do you and Sakura know that I don't?" asked Kurenai evenly.

Kakashi knew that Kurenai wasn't going to take no for an answer. So he wasn't going to give her one.

"Well, I think it's about time I take a shower." said Kakashi.

He slowly got up from the bed, but then, unexpectedly, he made a dash for the dresser. He quickly gathered his clothes as Kurenai jumped off the bed after him.

"Oh no you don't! You're going to answer me right now!" shouted Kurenai.

Kakashi quickly gathered his last article of clothing just in time for Kurenai to miss tackling him and slamming herself into the dresser. Knowing that it only slowed her down a little, Kakashi quickly ducked into the bathroom, and shut the door behind him. He held it shut with Kurenai kicking and screaming on the other side.

"Kakashi! You open this door right now!" shouted Kurenai angrily.

Kakashi had the door shut tightly, but that was no longer a concern. His attention was now in the center of the bathroom. He couldn't bring his attention elsewhere no matter how hard he tried. His face was now blushing red, and he stopped breathing for a moment in disbelief at what he was seeing.

Anko was standing in the middle of the room, dripping wet and completely naked. Her face was just as red as his face. After five seconds of awkward staring, enough blood rushed to Anko's head that her brain caught on with what was happening. She quickly covered herself with her arms and awkwardly tried to move from Kakashi's view.

"K-Kakashi! L-Look away!" exclaimed Anko.

"I... I can't." stammered Kakashi in amazement.

"Kakashi I swear to Kami if you don't open this door!" shouted Kurenai angrily as she pounded on the door.

"Kakashi! Get out of here!" shouted Anko in a blushing fury.

"Kakashi! Get out here now!" shouted Kurenai.

"I'm so conflicted!" exclaimed Kakashi.

If he went outside, Kurenai would most likely put him into a Genjutsu until he revealed what he knew about Hinata. More than likely, the Genjutsu would include torturing him. On the other hand, if he stayed in the bathroom with the naked and wet Anko, she might beat on him. But based on how Anko had reacted so far, she might just stand in the corner, covering herself while squirming nervously under his sight.

"Sorry Kurenai. It's either I go out there with you, and risk getting tortured, or stay in here with Anko, and risk getting beaten. " said Kakashi.

"Kakashi!" warned Kurenai.

"Sorry. But I choose staying in here with Anko." said Kakashi.

Anko couldn't believe this was happening. First, Kakashi barged into the bathroom and stared at her naked body. Then suddenly, staying in the room with her completely naked, became a perfectly acceptable option.

"I'm naked!" exclaimed Anko in disbelief.

"Why didn't you grab a towel when you came in here?" asked Kakashi.

"I thought they were in the bathroom! That's why I was just standing there when you barged in! I realized that there were no towels in the bathroom!" exclaimed Anko.

She couldn't believe they were still talking about this. She was completely naked, barely censored by her hands and arms. Yet he was looking right at her, talking to her casually.

"Oh that makes sense... You look really hot with your hair down." said Kakashi off-handedly.

Anko's body began blushing a light shade of red.

"W-What? W-Why would you say... I'm soaking wet! I'm naked! Why haven't you left?" exclaimed Anko.

"If I leave this room, Kurenai will more than likely catch me in a Genjutsu. I can't leave." said Kakashi.

"I'M STILL NAKED!" shouted Anko incredulously.

"Here." said Kakashi.

He threw her his Jounin vest.

"That should cover you nicely." said Kakashi.

Anko caught the vest, but realized that by catching the vest, she let Kakashi see her breasts.

She immediately put the vest on to cover herself, then she put both hands over her private area.

"What about my crotch?" exclaimed Anko.

"..."

Kakashi just stood there, staring at her, like he was thinking.

"What?" exclaimed Anko in embarrassment.

"I was going to say something in response, but I decided not to... sexual harassment charges considered." said Kakashi thoughtfully.

Anko blushed redder than ever.

"What happened to the clothes you were wearing when you came in here?" asked Kakashi.

"I... accidentally wore them into the shower." mumbled Anko.

"..."

Kakashi looked behind her into the tub and noticed them hanging on the side.

'She put on her clothes over her pajamas and took a shower?' thought Kakashi.

"Haha. That's funny." said Kakashi with a smile.

"No it isn't! Because of that, I'm stuck in a room with you, mostly naked!" complained Anko.

"Well, I'd suggest how to pass the time, but sexual harassment charges considered..." began Kakashi.

"I get it! geez..." muttered Anko with a blush.

She was extremely uncomfortable. Her hands over her crotch, and only a loose vest was covering her breasts. If Kakashi wanted to, he could easily have his way with her. She knew he wouldn't do that. She did trust him, but it was hard not to be anxious when he kept ogling her wet and nearly naked body.

"Stop staring..." muttered Anko with a blush.

"I told you before that I can't. Believe me when I say I've tried." said Kakashi simply.

Anko didn't know why she felt the way she felt in that moment. She didn't know why she wasn't furious with him right now. Everything she had ever been taught about how to react in a situation like this, was flying out the window. Under Kakashi's gaze, she was excited that he was watching her. She was actually enjoying this. The biggest excitement she was getting was being naked in the same room as Kakashi. What made it worse was that she already had a piece of his clothes off, and that it was against her bare breasts. This was insane. She had never gotten so turned on, so quickly, in her entire life. She was still having trouble believing it was happening. God, if Kakashi called her hot again, she was going to lose it.

(BAM!)

Kurenai suddenly kicked the door down, and was now standing on it.

"Ah-Ha!" exclaimed Kurenai victoriously.

"Kurenai! Anko is naked!" exclaimed Kakashi.

Kakashi rushed over to Anko, and stood in front of her, his arms outstretched as to block her from view.

Kurenai didn't know how to react.

"What does this get you off or something?" exclaimed Kakashi in disbelief.

Kurenai was now stammering in complete shock.

"Wha? N-NO! Y-You-I..." began Kurenai.

"Don't just stand there! Get out of here you pervert!" exclaimed Kakashi.

The last thing Kakashi said had scared her from her shock like an electric jolt. She jumped off the door, and dashed out of the room.

As soon as she left, Kakashi quickly went over to the door, propped it up, and put it back in what was left of its hinges.

"There. In a few minutes, she will probably realize that was all a clever act to make her leave without confronting me about Hinata. She will be back, and she will probably be even more angry." said Kakashi.

Suddenly Kakashi felt a wet body pushed up against his back.

"A-Anko? What are you doing?" asked Kakashi.

Anko's breathing was labored, she was soaking wet, and she was getting hotter by the second.

"I... I have an idea. I know how to get Kurenai to stay out." breathed Anko sensually.

Kakashi knew the difference between a woman faking that she was turned on, and a woman that actually was. Based on what Kakashi could tell, Anko was about to start a fire from the heat between her legs.

"Anko wait. You're about to make a decision. If you decide to do what I think you're going to suggest we do... I doubt I'll be able to hold back. I'm that kind of lover." warned Kakashi.

He was trying to stay calm, but with Anko's wet and hot body was pressed up against back. He was having a hard time of it.

Anko purred in response to what he said, and began rubbed herself against his hip.

(Perv)(perv)(perv)

"Why can't you hold back? Mmmm... Have you been saving up?" asked Anko sensually.

"You're passing the point of no return Anko..." warned Kakashi with a blush.

(hump)(hump)(hump)

"Do you find me... attractive? Kakashi?" whispered Anko.

Her demeanor had changed a little. She had become a little less sure of herself in that moment. But Kakashi could see that she wasn't going to turn back. This was going to happen.

"Yes. I have for a long time now. You are beautiful, yet bluntly sexy. You act playfully, yet you are independent and stunning. You are extremely attractive Anko." said Kakashi.

Anko stopped rubbing against him to let all of her blood go to her face once again.

"W-what did you say?" asked Anko in surprise.

"You were humping me a few seconds ago, and now you're suddenly skittish?" asked Kakashi.

"Th-that's not what I... Um, I mean..." stammered Anko.

'What's with this? I compliment her, and she suddenly looses her nerve? She is usually so on top of things in combat. For her to be acting skittish is completely out of character.' thought Kakashi.

"What's wrong Anko? Are you afraid of what people will think when they know you've slept with the famously pervy Kakashi Hatake?" asked Kakashi.

Kakashi was playing this smart. The more he uprooted her insecurities, the farther away he got from her random sex.

'I don't like it that she suddenly jumped me sexually. What's is her angle? Why would she suddenly show interest when she never did before? Either way, I don't want her to do this.' thought Kakashi.

Kakashi's suspicions may have been misplaced, but he only had one plan in mind. To stop Anko. He didn't want her to make a decision she might later regret, no matter what she might be planning.

"As soon as people know, they'll call you a slut. A whore. Just another woman Kakashi Hatake banged. Do you really want that?" asked Kakashi.

Anko backed away from Kakashi, and covered herself again.

"Th-that can't... Is that..." began Anko.

She couldn't believe what he was saying. Were his sexual partners really looked upon like that? Why was he saying such things? Especially after telling her how attractive she was.

"Anko, I don't want you to make a bad decision. That's all I'm trying to say. Think about this long and hard before you finally act on it. Because when you do make that decision, it might just change everything." said Kakashi.

Anko's eyes widened and she froze. What he said. What Kakashi said was familiar. She didn't know how, but it was so familiar it was scary. She was trying to piece together where she had heard that from, but suddenly, the answer came rushing back to her in a force her mind couldn't handle. She grabbed her head and squeezed it hard. She felt a tingle in her brain, and suddenly her world went white.

"Aaahhhh!" screamed Anko.

"Anko?" exclaimed Kakashi.

She fell to her knees and bent over onto them. Her body was cringing in pain.

Suddenly, the pain stopped.

She opened her eyes, but she didn't see her naked legs. She saw her normal skirt and mesh. This perplexed her, she was naked a second ago. What perplexed her more, was that her clothes seemed bigger. No. Her legs were thinner... smaller. She was sitting in grass, she felt the sunlight beating down on her. How was she suddenly outside, and why did she feel so different?

Before she could piece together what was happening, a hand reached down into her sight. The mere sight of the hand caused her whole body to freeze in reaction. The hand was paper white.

She spun, slapping it away while reaching for her kunai.

It wasn't there.

She completed her spin, and jumped back, getting a full view of who she feared was standing in front of her.

"Anko. Relax."

The silky smooth drawl of his voice sent chills down her spine. His voice brought her nothing but fear and anger from her memories, at least from the ones she could remember. Before she could react, he spoke again.

"I brought you out here for a reason. This is very important Anko, so I need you to be a little less rambunctious than usual."

He brought her out here? This had to be a trap. The man she knew standing before her was a traitor. A killer. A deceiver. She wouldn't fall for any of his tricks.

He pulled out a small case in his hands. She didn't recognize the case itself, but when he opened it, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"This has been handed down in my family for an uncounted amount of generations, so I don't know how old it is. My great grandfather gave it to my grandfather when he turned 18... When it became the right time, my grandfather gave it to my father... And my father left it for me in his will. When he died, it became mine. I have no offspring, nor do I plan to have any. My clan will die with me... But you, I entrust you with this. It is special to me. I hope that maybe one day, this will become special to you as well."

Anko couldn't believe this. This couldn't be. She remembered this. This moment. Word for word, everything was the same. It was as if she was seeing her own memories played back to her. What perplexed her was that this memory seemed so familiar, yet so foreign. She didn't remember this memory until just now, now that it was shown to her. Now that she had seen it, it was all so obvious.

'This was when he... He gave me my kunai...' thought Anko.

He knelt down to Anko's height, and rested the kunai in her hands.

"Everything has a purpose Anko. Think about this long and hard before you finally act on it. Because when you do make that decision, it might just change everything."

Suddenly Anko's vision blurred and twisted, her head throbbed, and she went numb.

Suddenly she could feel again, but the feelings were different. It felt like she was laying down.

"If you would just tell me now, I will make it easier on you." said a voice.

"It's not my information to give to you. I have no right to tell you. Ask her yourself when you get the chance." said another voice.

"I swear to God Kakashi, if something happened to her that... Anko! Can you hear me?" asked another voice.

Suddenly she saw a dark maroon ceiling, with Kurenai and Kakashi's faces hanging over her.

"Yeah... I can see you too." said Anko.

She sat up, noticing that she was back in their hotel room, and that she was clothed.

"You suddenly passed out. I checked you out, and your body seemed to be perfectly fine. No toxins in your blood, or damage to your head... Kurenai dressed you." said Kakashi.

"Yeah..." muttered Anko.

Anko subconsciously reached down to her right hip, a little surprised that her kunai was holstered there.

'Sensei...' thought Anko.

"Hey Anko... You okay?" asked Kurenai.

"Yeah. Just a little dazed." said Anko promptly.

If she had said it any sooner, she would have cut Kurenai off.

"We should run a full diagnostics on your brain, and see if can come up with anyth-" began Kakashi.

"You've already tried that old man!" shouted Anko angrily.

Kakashi and Kurenai were taken aback. Anko had an angry look on her face, which was quickly replaced by one of surprise.

"Sorry..." muttered Anko.

Anko quickly jumped from the bed, and ran from the room.

"Anko wait!" exclaimed Kurenai.

Kurenai went to go after her, but Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and held her back.

"Let her go. She needs to be alone." said Kakashi.

Kurenai hesitated for a moment, but reluctantly nodded in understanding, and sat back on the bed.

"Why did she call you an old man? You're only a year younger than me, and I'm not even 30 yet." asked Kurenai.

"She wasn't talking to me." said Kakashi simply.

Kurenai blinked in surprise.

"I became an ANBU when I was only 13, so I came in close contact with the Third Hokage at a young age." said Kakashi.

Kurenai didn't know where he was going with this, or how it answered her question. So she listened.

"Of all the time I spent with Hiruzen, there were only two people who ever got away with calling him old man." said Kakashi.

Kakashi seemed to be reminiscing about something. The look on his face was far-off, and his demeanor had become more soft. Although she didn't know what he was thinking about, she was starting to understand where he was going with this.

"Who were the two people?" asked Kurenai.

"Naruto... and Anko."said Kakashi.

The room was dim with the blinds shut, and that's exactly how Naruto wanted it.

The sleep that had him in its clutches was strong and defiant. He felt complete content surrounding his every nerve. He could feel Hinata's warm embrace, and her head tucked into his chest. While he slept with her, he felt complete peace.

Suddenly he felt something foreign. Eyes. Two eyes. Watching him, observing him, waiting for him. Spying on him? He didn't like it. He knew that this obtrusion into his and Hinata's comfort zone was unwelcome. He would deal with this obtrusion immediately. He opened his eyes to see Itachi laying on his chest. His eyes were open and watching him intently. His shiny black fur seemed to somehow blend into the dim lighting. His bright red eyes however, made him stand out quite a bit. When Naruto awoke, Itachi only blinked once.

"Good Morning." said Itachi.

Naruto growled, and flung Itachi from the bed. Only barely hearing him land somewhere on the other side of the room.

He knew he couldn't get back to sleep now, not while knowing Itachi was watching him. As he got up from the bed, he felt a hand softly grasp his wrist. He looked down to see Hinata subconsciously holding onto him, almost as if she was saying she didn't want him to go.

"Sorry Hinata, but I can't sleep now." said Naruto softly.

He stood up from the bed, and thoroughly tucked Hinata in.

"But that doesn't mean you can't get some more rest yourself." said Naruto with a smile.

Naruto walked away from the bed, stretching as he walked. He noticed a pitter-pattering of small furry feet following closely behind him. He decided not to pay Itachi any mind. He walked over to the coat-rack near the door, and picked up his bag from the floor. He reached inside the bag, and pulled out his weapons pouch.

He noticed that when he picked it up, it was significantly heavier on one side. He wondered why he had not noticed this earlier. He opened up the heavy side of the pouch, and spilled its contents onto the floor. Four things fell out of the pouch, and all of them were scrolls. He assumed these were items he had forgotten somehow. He determined that his forgetfulness was justified on the grounds that a lot had happened to him quite recently. He picked up the first scroll, and noted the green color and smooth pattern on the outside edges.

'Baa-chan.' thought Naruto.

He remembered when he got this scroll. Tsunade had given him this scroll shortly after Hinata had a... run in with Daishi. He gripped his hands into fists for a moment, anger rising up in him, even after all of this time. Putting his emotions aside, he broke the seal, and unrolled the scroll.

Naruto,

I know that Hinata has gone through some very tough times recently, and she is about to go through quite a few more. I've already told you of Hinata's tenant. I figure with how close you two are getting, you should be the one to tell her, especially since you know more about being a Jinchuriki than I do.

Getting that out of the way, you should know about Hinata's current mental state. I would tell you what it's classified as, but I know you'll shortly forget it anyway. What you need to do is simple. Just keep your distance from her. If she opens up, get close to her. Let her know that you're there, but ask her for permission before you touch her in any way, even if it's just holding her hand. Once she fully opens back up again, she will be fine around you. Just remember, take things slow, and everything will fall back into place.

I know you'll always strive to do what is right,

Baa-chan

Naruto smile at the signature at the bottom.

'She signed it from Baa-chan.' thought Naruto with a smile.

He knew it was something Tsunade had done affectionately, and he wasn't going to take it for granted. She usually hated it when he called her that, or at least she made it appear so.

The information in the scroll itself was useless now, from a tactical standpoint. He had already told Hinata that she was a Jinchuriki. But what the letter did, was remind him of how much Tsunade cared for him, and how much Hinata cared for him. He hadn't really realized it until now, but Hinata had almost completely gotten over what had happened to her. She was very open around him, and she didn't seem to have any more hesitation towards his affection.

Naruto glanced over to the bed, seeing that Hinata was still turned the other way. He was glad to know that she was getting some rest. She looked so peaceful while she slept. Naruto took Tsunade's scroll in hand, and put it back in his pouch. There wasn't really any reason for him to keep it, but sentimentally, it held some value to him. He turned his attention back to the three remaining scrolls. One was orange on the edges, one was gold on the edges, and the other looked as though it had an icy mountainous landscape pattern on the edges. The pattern itself intrigued him, but struck a cord in his memory.

"Please, wait until you are in a private location before you read this letter, it is very important..." muttered Naruto to himself.

He didn't really know why those words came to mind, but they did.

"Did you say something?" asked Itachi.

For the first time, Naruto noticed that Itachi was sitting beside him. Itachi wasn't really watching what he was doing. He was really just staring at the wall in front of him, seemingly thinking about something.

"Nothing I wanted you to hear." replied Naruto dryly.

"Fine. If you're going to be so rude, I guess I'll just go back to bed." said Itachi casually.

"You go anywhere near Hinata, and I'm going to lose to my temper very quickly." warned Naruto.

"I'll keep that in mind..." muttered Itachi.

Itachi walked across the room to the dresser, and pawed at the bottom drawer until it opened. He jumped into it, and didn't make another move.

'So that's where he slept last night... He better not get fur on my pants.' thought Naruto.

Turning his attention back to the scroll, he began reading from the top.

To Lord Uzumaki, Rokudaime of the Village Hidden in the Leaves...

I am sorry to bother you. I don't know if this is a good time for you or not, so I will try to keep this short and simple. Around three years ago, our country was in turmoil. The balance of power was flailing wildly back and forth, and nobody could tell for sure what would become of us. Not long after the balance of power went awry, a military coup ensued. It wasn't long before our entire government was ruled by our own military, and our form of government was a cruel dictatorship. A few of our better citizens banded together, and began formulating a resistance plot. We didn't have enough resources to pull off our own counter-coup, so we called for assistance. Konoha answered with haste, and immediately sent us support. Many of the men involved in the resistance were disappointed when the Konoha support arrived. Our people didn't want to seem picky, especially in our situation at the time, but when we found out that Konoha had only sent one four-man squad, we were more than disappointed.

But in the end, you pulled through for us. A single four-man squad helped save our entire country from tyranny. For that we are forever grateful. Aside from paying you the dues from the mission itself, we have not been able to repay you for what your country has done for ours. Well... until now. Over the last three years, I have taken it upon myself to build my country into something great, something good. I looked at your country, and how it worked. Your country is based off of a system that works like a democratic monarchy. Your people vote on laws and regulations. Your Daimyo handles economic affairs, while your Hokage(you) handles all military and peace affairs. We sought to copy this form of government the best we could, but we didn't have near enough people for it to work. We began recruiting unwanted Shinobi from other countries, giving them promises of good work, a steady pay, and a roof over their heads.

It has now gotten to a point, where we can call ourselves our own independent country, with our own Hidden Village. I would like to openly invite you to a festival and banquet in your honor, to be held in our own hidden village. But our dignitaries and elders have gone out of their way to say it is a bad idea to converge on such an early term... Despite what my paranoid associates say against it, I am now officially inviting you to our home, Koorigakure. Quite honestly, you can show up whenever it is convenient for you. When you do arrive, we would like to have a good time, and discuss the arrangements of our alliance.

Forever grateful,

Hyorinkage of the Land of Snow

Naruto read through the paper several times just to be sure he read it correctly. He had been mistaken as the current Hokage of the Land of Fire.

'It isn't too unexpected, considering what I pulled behind Tsunade's back...' thought Naruto.

That thought brought a sudden realization to his mind.

'The Gold scroll... It contains that huge peace treaty...' thought Naruto in surprise.

He had formed new alliances with the Mizukage, Kazekage, and Raikage. All of this took place behind Tsunade's back.

He picked up the scroll in his hands, reminding himself how powerful the text contained in the seal was.

'The treaties have yet to be finalized, but in order for them to be finalized, they will have to go through the entire council.' thought Naruto.

The problem with that, was that the council would only accept treaties from either the Fire Daimyo, or the current Hokage, and he was neither.

'I guess I will have to figure this out eventually...' thought Naruto.

He had more on his mind anyway. He now had to show up as the Rokudaime, and enact a treaty with the Land of Snow. There was a lot of complicated things involved with this endeavor, but most of all, he had to do it cautiously. If he wanted to be the Hokage one day, he might as well get some experience in now while he could.

'I should show this invitation to Kakashi right away.' thought Naruto.

Before he got up, he noticed there was still one scroll left to read. He didn't want to put it aside and forget about it again, so he decided to read it now to get it out of the way.

It had orange around the edges, and when he saw the signature on the top, he knew who it was from.

'Ero-Sennin...' thought Naruto.

He actually remembered getting this scroll.

(Flashback)

"He he... Alright Naruto. Now then, In light of recent events, I think it's time I gave you this." said Jiraiya.

Jiraiya pulled out a sealed scroll and handed it to him.

"Read it later, you will thank me." said Jiraiya.

(End Flashback)

'I will thank him? Jiraiya gave this scroll to me just after... Just after he told me that I loved Hinata...' thought Naruto.

Such feelings of love were completely obvious to him now. Looking back, he felt extremely foolish for not realizing it sooner.

Naruto was curious as to what was in the scroll. When Jiraiya had given it to him, surprisingly his intent seemed genuinely non-pervy. Naruto broke the seal on the scroll, and opened it, reading it from the top.

~~Jiraiya's Romance Essentials~~

1. With love comes romance, and with romance comes sex. If you don't want to have children just now, you will need to protect your lover's egg. The seal below will do the trick.

Below that sentence, was a seal imprinted into the paper of the scroll, and below it were directions.

Step 1. Using standard chakra-infused ink, paint an exact copy of this seal on the abdomen of your lover. The center of the seal should encircle her bellybutton.

Step 2. Once the seal is absorbed into her skin, apply blood across the center of the seal.

Step 3. Activate the seal, by applying your chakra to it.

Naruto blushed deeply at this.

'Birth control?' thought Naruto nervously.

He hadn't even considered that approaching Hinata about sex was an option. She was so innocent, so cute. It was hard to imagine himself asking Hinata for something like that. But then again, he already had a few run-ins of a sexual nature with Hinata. None of them ended with them having sex, but the mere thought that sex could happen between them caused blood to rush to more than one place in Naruto's body.

'Got to calm down... No need to over-think this. We're together, and we're happy. Simple as that. If she wants to have sex, that will be it. Until she makes the decision, there's no need to dwell on it.' thought Naruto.

The more Naruto tried to put it out of his mind, the more it seemed to crawl right back. Images of what Hinata might look like completely naked kept popping up in his mind. Her bare skin against his, her soft lips against his, her beautiful eyes looking back at him hungrily.

He shook his head. He was better than this. He knew better. He knew he could control his own emotions. If he couldn't, the Kyuubi would be as good as free.

He picked up the scroll again, and looked down past the birth-control seal.

Once your lover is ready for sex, you should know how to please her. Located in the Containment seal below is a very important book. It is absolutely necessary to memorize it. If you don't, do you really care for your lover?

Naruto was a little taken aback at the jab at how much he might love Hinata, but after reading how it emphasized how important it was to memorize the book, he saw no choice but to activate the containment seal.

Naruto put the scroll down on the ground, and bit his thumb. He spread the blood across the center of the seal, and sent his chakra through it. In a small puff of smoke, a thick fully-binded book appeared before him. The book itself had a cover, but the cover had no words on it, only a heart symbol. Naruto opened up the book to the first page, to find the index.

Chapter 1: Heating her up.

Section 1: Foreplay

Section 2: Playfulness

Section 3: Role-playing

Section 4: Body Hot-spots

Chapter 2: Eating her Out.

Section 1: Tongue Techniques

Section 2: Importance of the G-Spot

Section 3: Clitoris Sensitivity

Section 4: Finger Insertion

Section 5: Multi-tasking

Chapter 3: Tearing it up.

Section 0: Taking a Virgin

Section 1: Soft Sex vs. Rough Sex

Section 2: Prostate Stimulation

Section 3: Lip-Locking

Section 4: 1000 Sexual Positions

Section 5: Identifying Kinks

Naruto had read far enough down the index to know exactly what this book was about. With a heavy blush, he opened the book to Chapter One.

'Body Hot-spots...' thought Naruto.

He already knew that Hinata had a hot-spot on her lower back, but that was about it.

'Jiraiya was right... This may be perverted... But it will help me please Hinata. Whether I want to do this or not, I need to... for Hinata.' thought Naruto.

"What are you reading?" asked Hinata.

Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Nothing!" shouted Naruto in surprise.

Naruto quickly stood up, spun around, and put the book behind his back.

Hinata blinked at his outburst. She had been relatively close to Naruto when she had asked the question, so she had jumped back a few feet in surprise. She was in her loose Lavender pajamas and sweatpants. It wasn't anything she was embarrassed to be seen in... well at least with Naruto. She he may have just woken up, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that Naruto was hiding something. She decided to approach this compassionately.

"I... It's okay Naruto. R-remember, you can share anything with me. I-I love you." said Hinata softly.

Hearing Hinata say that made his heart clench with guilt. He never should have hesitated to share something with Hinata. She had more compassion and understanding than most people had in one pinky finger. But this was different. This was a subject they were both shy on, and he knew that Hinata would probably not react positively to this. It was a little too early in their relationship for Naruto to approach her about sex anyway. So, Naruto had to tell the truth, just not all of it.

"(Sigh) Hinata, I'm trying to study something. It's not something I want you to know about... At least not yet. Just trust me, when I know that the time is right, I'll let you see what I'm studying." said Naruto.

Hinata paused for a moment, as though she was thinking about what he said.

"O-Oh, Okay... I was just... hoping that you would share everything with me..." said Hinata sadly.

"Hinata, it's not that I don't want to share everything with you... It's just that this particular thing... Needs to be told only after a certain time." explained Naruto.

"H-how l-long of a time?" asked Hinata quietly.

Naruto could see that keeping secrets from her was making her insecure. She was starting to stutter a lot more than usual.

"It all really depends on you..." said Naruto.

Hinata blinked in surprise.

'On me? Have I not been doing something right?' thought Hinata worriedly.

"I-It depends on me? W-Why? What do I n-need to do?" asked Hinata.

Naruto could see that the more vague he was being, the more insecure and nervous she became. He closed the gap between them, and gave Hinata a tight hug, holding the book against her back.

"Don't worry Hinata. When the time comes, you'll understand. This is not something I want to rush..." said Naruto reassuringly.

Despite his insistent reassuring, Hinata still looked uneasy.

"Don't you trust me?" asked Naruto quietly.

Hinata bit her lower lip, and returned Naruto's embrace.

"Of course I do... You should never question my trust for you..." whispered Hinata softly.

Naruto smiled and tilted his head back to look at her face.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan." whispered Naruto.

Hinata blinked.

"For what Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.

"Everything." said Naruto with a warm smile.

The moment was heart-felt, and the embrace felt mind-tinglingly wonderful. But he knew there was a few things he needed to be doing, especially after reading the Hyorinkage's scroll.

"I have a feeling we are going to be doing a lot today. We should get ready." said Naruto.

Hinata hesitantly backed away from Naruto, but nodded to what he said. She walked away from him, towards the dresser.

'Time to hide this book...' thought Naruto.

He knew that Hinata wouldn't look through his stuff without permission, so he simply put it in his pack.

"Eeeek!" squealed Hinata in surprise.

Naruto immediately spun around to see that Hinata had jumped away from the dresser, and was pointing at it.

"T-There's something f-furry in my pants!" exclaimed Hinata in shock.

Naruto almost laughed, but he didn't want to at her expense.

"Itachi. If I ever have to say this again, I will kill you shortly after saying it the second time. Get out of Hinata's pants." said Naruto.

Slowly but surely, Itachi's head popped out of the dresser, eying both Naruto and Hinata before slowly slinking out.

"I suppose you're the only one she'll ever let in her pants anyway." said Itachi boredly.

Hinata blushed deeply, and Naruto followed suit.

Itachi didn't bother seeing their reactions, and jumped up onto the bed.

"If no one is going to use this, I'm going to take a nap." said Itachi.

Itachi stood in the center of the bed, spun around several times, curled up, and closed his eyes.

Hinata was still preoccupying her mind with thoughts of Naruto in her pants, but Naruto knew he had important things to do.

"Do you want to take a shower Hinata?" asked Naruto.

Hinata's entire face turned a glowing red as her eyes widened in surprise.

"W-w-with y-you?" exclaimed Hinata in shock.

Naruto wasn't expecting that. He blushed in embarrassment of the idea, and rubbed the back of his head nervously.

"Well... Um... If you wanted to... I Um... I suppose I wouldn't be against it..." said Naruto nervously.

Hinata blushed even more red if that was possible.

"I d-d-d-d-don't th-th-think I c-could..." stammered Hinata with her eyes squeezed shut.

Naruto could see the sexual embarrassment making her skin glow an interestingly erotic shade of red. The fact that she said no to the idea didn't surprise him in the least. He was expecting her to say no. The thing that surprised him, was that she had actually taken time to consider it. For a second or two, it looked as though she was going to say yes.

"Then we won't. It's your call Hinata. Besides, when I asked you if you wanted to take a shower, I was just wondering if you wanted to take a shower first." said Naruto.

Hinata blushed, but now out of normal embarrassment for her mind to jump to such a drastic conclusion.

"I-I think you should take yours first. I'm still a bit tired." said Hinata nervously.

Naruto smiled, leaned in, and kissed her on the forehead.

She froze and didn't move.

"Alright then. Let me know if you need anything." said Naruto.

Naruto walked into the bathroom and shut the door, but Hinata didn't hear him lock it.

He trusted her so much, it made her heart beat just a little too fast.

'Naruto-kun...' swooned Hinata.

Once she heard the shower turn on, her head cleared a bit more, and Naruto's secret popped into her head.

'What is he keeping from me? Why is he keeping anything from me? Is it really bad? Does he think I won't like it?' thought Hinata.

Hinata knew everyone had a dark side, and she had seen Naruto's only a few times. But she knew Naruto would never have such a terrible secret. It had to be something he was just being overprotective about.

'He must think that I'm not ready to see what's in that thick book...' thought Hinata.

Hinata glanced at Naruto's bag across the room, knowing the book was in there, unprotected. All she had to do was walk over and read it while Naruto was in the shower.

'No! Naruto asked me to trust him! He told me he'd show me when the time is right! I just have to be patient...' thought Hinata.

She turned around on her heel decisively, and looked the other way. She now faced the windows on the other side of the bed. The window shades were drawn shut, so it didn't provide her with that distraction she was looking for. She looked towards the bed. Itachi was sleeping quietly on the center, his chest rising and dropping ever so slightly. This wasn't working, she couldn't keep her mind off of Naruto's secret. Back when she followed Naruto around the village, she would always try her hardest to know the most she could about him. When she got the chance to know something, she jumped at it. But now she and Naruto were together, and there was a potentially huge secret hanging over her head. A few seconds passed before the tension in Hinata's mind exploded.

She suddenly dashed across the room, slid across the floor, and flung open the bag to see the thick book Naruto was hiding from her. What surprised her was that it had a heart on the cover.

'A heart? Maybe it's a guy's diary... A journal...' thought Hinata.

Now she was having second thoughts. If it was Naruto's journal, she would be looking into Naruto's most private thoughts. She would feel terrible for trespassing on Naruto's privacy without permission.

'But if it's his journal, then why was he in such a rush to hide it from my sight? Why not just tell me that it was his private journal? He would know that I would understand...' thought Hinata.

Now her suspicion was intensified ten-fold. She immediately felt terrible for feeling suspicious about Naruto, but she couldn't help it.

'If Naruto had a terrible injury, and didn't want me to worry, he would hide it from me the best he could... even if he was in unbearable amounts of pain...' thought Hinata.

If it was something that Naruto didn't want her to worry about, then it was something she wanted to know about immediately. She didn't want him to suffer, she wanted him to tell her everything, to let her help heal his wounds, mental and physical. If that's what this book was, then she couldn't stop herself from reading it, even if she wanted to.

'I'm here for you Naruto-kun, all for you. I love you. You have to trust me... I'll love you no matter what is in this book...' thought Hinata in determination.

She took a deep breath, and opened the book to the first page and saw the index of the book.

Her face turned stark red when she read the titles and sub-sections of the chapters.

'Th... th-this is...' thought Hinata in shock.

She was in complete shock. This was the last thing she was expecting.

'S-sex? He wants to have sex?' thought Hinata in shock.

He had told her a hundred times that she was beautiful and cute, but she still didn't think she was very attractive.

'N-Naruto-kun... finds me attractive?' thought Hinata with a rising deep blush.

Naruto had said that he was studying something. This was it? Naruto was willing to actually study this entire book in order to learn how to please her. Just to please her.

Her heart started beating faster, blood rushed to her face, and adrenaline had her thinking faster than she wanted to.

'If... if Naruto wants to have sex with me... And is learning about it... Then I need to learn about it as well.' thought Hinata with a blush.

She began skimming through the book, finding random detailed diagrams that made her flush in immediate embarrassment. Finally, she discovered that the book had two different sections. Chapters 1-10 were "For Men", and Chapters 11-17 were "For Women". She was extremely hesitant about this entire thing. For God's sake her hands were already sweating profusely.

'This is actually exciting... reading such naughty things.' thought Hinata in excitement.

She turned to chapter 11, and blushed at the title of the chapter.

"F-Fellatio..." stammered Hinata.

She knew that men enjoyed this very much. She wasn't dumb, she heard men and woman talk about it discreetly all around the village.

The first thing the book talked about, was practicing.

To practice Fellatio, it is most effective to use a "dummy" penis in order to get your mind used to the idea of it, and your body used to the feeling of it. For example, an object such a banana or large pickle should work just fine.

"..."

'I need to find a banana...' thought Hinata with a blush.

Naruto stepped out of the shower, and dried his hair by shaking it wildly. Immediately after he got rid of most of the moisture, it popped right into it's usual spiky form, his foxxy ears standing straight up as if at attention.

Then he prepared himself to use a jutsu. Naruto didn't have to form hand-signs to use this jutsu. He used it quite often when he had no towels. Naruto concentrated, and let his chakra flow from all the tenketsu in his body. He let it spread all around him, touching every bit of his body. Then he made the chakra move back and forth. He made it move faster and faster until it was like the chakra was almost vibrating. The chakra began to exude heat, which dried Naruto very quickly. Naruto dropped the jutsu, and walked over to the clothes he had grabbed before walking in. He put on his boxers, slid on his pants, and put on his black shirt. Then he saw his hat, sitting there on the sink. He thought about it for a moment. He didn't like wearing hats, he didn't like it at all. Then again, he didn't like people gawking at him either. Granted, Naruto was used to ignoring stares/glares from people, but he would avoid it as best as possible if he could.

'That's it! I'm putting my foot down! No more hiding it. If people think it's weird, I don't care! I am who I am.' thought Naruto in determination.

Naruto took the cap, and threw it into the waste bin below the sink. His ears were perking up, and he knew it felt good to have them in the fresh air. But he noticed that his ears were still wet. He wasn't used to using that jutsu with his new ears, and as a result, the short fur on the outsides of his ears were still a little wet.

'Oh well, I'll let them air-dry...' thought Naruto.

There was only one thing that was still bothering him. He saw Sakura's belt sitting on the floor near his shoes. He knew what he needed to use that for, but he had already made up his mind. He wouldn't throw away Sakura's belt, he could still give it back to her. But he wanted his tail to be free as well. He lifted up the seat of his pants, and picked up one of his kunai from the floor. He cut a slit in the back of his pants for his tail to fit through.

'Alright. I've done this once before, so I can do it again.' thought Naruto.

He pushed his tail up against the hole he had made, and eventually forced it through, ruffling up his fur a bit.

'Damn... I just got that fur looking nice...' thought Naruto.

He realized it was a weird thought to normal people, but he wasn't anywhere near normal.

He cupped the base of his tail with his hand, and ran his hand from the base to the very tip, flattening out his fur.

'There we go, looking fresh and fine.' thought Naruto humorously.

He picked up his equipment pouch, and strapped it to his leg, then he dropped his kunai into it.

He turned around and headed toward the door, feeling clean and free. His tail swung back and forth with each step, somehow making it a lot easier for him to balance his weight.

'This tail makes even walking easier...' thought Naruto.

He hadn't had his tail for long, and he knew he still had a lot to learn about using it correctly. Most of his time spent with his new tail, he had it hiding in his pants.

'Well not anymore. As long as I'm okay with it, it shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks.' thought Naruto.

He opened the bathroom door and began to hear strange noises coming from the main room.

"Hinata?" asked Naruto.

Suddenly Naruto heard gagging and coughing noises, and they were definitely from Hinata.

He rushed into the room to see if she was alright. Hinata was sitting on the bed, not facing him. She looked like she was having trouble breathing, and her voice sounded rasped.

'Is she choking?' thought Naruto in fear.

He rushed over to her side to see if she was alright. Her cheeks were red, her eyes were tearing, and she was still catching her breathe.

"Hinata are you okay? You sounded like you were choking!" exclaimed Naruto in worry.

"I-I... I'm fine..." rasped Hinata with a deep blush.

Hinata was averting her eyes from his. She was embarrassed to look at him.

'I was almost caught... And doing such an inappropriate thing!' thought Hinata with a blush.

"What happened?" asked Naruto worriedly.

"I-I was... Um... I was... t-trying to make water from the air th-then drink it... But I... guess it went down the wrong tube..." muttered Hinata quietly.

She hated lying, even when it was to cover up such an indecent thing. She especially hated lying to Naruto. As far as she knew, this was the first time she had ever lied to him. It made her feel terrible, but she knew she couldn't tell him... Now she knew how he felt when he tried to hide the book from her.

'The book! Where is it?' thought Hinata in a sudden panic.

It wasn't on the bed where she had left it. Did it fall onto the floor? No. She couldn't feel it with her feet.

'Oh no! Naruto is going to know I dug into his personal things!' thought Hinata in despair.

"I've learned about forced condensation from Jiraiya, but why didn't you just use the sink in the kitchen?" asked Naruto.

"I... I wanted to get more practice in... That's all." murmured Hinata quietly.

Naruto could she that she was embarrassed that she had choked, so he let it drop.

"Alright then. Just as long as you're okay." said Naruto.

Naruto looked at her in a concerned matter as he walked over to his bag.

'Oh no! He's going to his bag!' thought Hinata.

Naruto knelt down to open his bag, when he suddenly felt himself being thrown to the floor.

Hinata was on top of him, pinning him to the carpet. He couldn't read the look on her face, but it was extremely irrelevant at that point. All he could concentrate on now was Hinata's lips now sucking at his. Naruto was caught completely off guard. He had no idea what triggered this, and he knew for sure that Hinata had never kissed like this either. She was sucking at his lips, slipping her tongue in randomly, then returning to drinking his saliva. He wanted to object to this, it was most unusual for Hinata to do this without warning. It was completely out of her character. Out of her comfort zone. Naruto couldn't get this nagging feeling out of his mind that she wasn't kissing him, just to kiss him.

Hinata was having a hard time concentrating. She was trying to get to Naruto's bag, but she kept losing her mind in the kiss.

'He's kissing back... Oh! His tongue...' thought Hinata hazily.

She didn't want to be caught, and she didn't want Naruto to be mad at her. She had to get to his bag.

'But this kiss is SO good...' thought Hinata in ecstasy.

Naruto hands were beginning to travel to her lower back, rubbing up and down, sending mixed feelings of comfort and shivers at the same time. She was beginning to become butter in his hands, but her fear of being caught kept one of her hands moving behind her.

She finally got a hold of Naruto's bag, and was surprised when she felt a thick book within. She ran her hands on the cover, and recognized the heart-shaped symbol.

'How is that... It's not possible... oh Naruto's tongue...' thought Hinata hazily.

The book was back in Naruto's bag. She didn't put it there. She knew she left it on the bed where she was... practicing.

'The banana!' thought Hinata.

She had slid it under the bed at the last second as Naruto ran over to her. It was really the only loose end to tie up, but she couldn't get her mind on it. She was a bit preoccupied.

Naruto was running her hands up and down her back, earning cute little moans from her as his tongue danced with hers.

'I love to hear her voice like that...' thought Naruto.

He suddenly grabbed Hinata's butt, lifted her up by it, and pinned her against the wall. In response Hinata let out her usual vocal reaction.

"Meep!" squeaked Hinata in surprise.

Naruto LOVED that sound. He loved to hear her squeak. It was so cute and innocent, it was special to him.

'I have to make her squeak again...' thought Naruto.

With his hands on Hinata's butt, her face was glowing red. Her mouth was agape and her eyes were closed. Naruto didn't have any free hands, so he moved his mouth away from her's, and began licking her neck.

"(Giggle) N-N-Naruto!" squealed Hinata.

It was close to a squeak, but it just wasn't it. He had to get her to do it again.

Naruto leaned in, and sucked hard on her skin between her neck and her collarbone.

Suddenly, just then, Hinata made a noise that Naruto had never heard before. She made the most loud, sexual, and erotic squeal of ecstasy he had ever heard.

After she had squealed, they both froze. Naruto held his head back to look into Hinata's face. She was so lost in ecstasy that he almost didn't see the surprise that was in her expression. She had surprised both herself and Naruto when she had made such a loud noise. Naruto slowly let Hinata's feet touch the ground again, and she immediately held both her hands over her mouth in disbelief of herself. Both of their faces were red, and both of them were breathing heavily. Where the moment before was erotic, the moment now was awkward and embarrassing.

'H-Hinata? Hinata made that noise?' thought Naruto disbelief.

He didn't think she was capable of making such an erotic sound.

Hinata on the other hand, was out of her mind when she made the sound. She didn't really hear it, all she knew was that she had cried out loudly.

Neither of them really knew what to say as they stared at each other's blushing faces.

'Is... Is now a good time? Does Naruto want it now? He looks like he might, but I've barely studied...' thought Hinata hurriedly.

She wasn't ready for it. She knew she wasn't. She didn't want to almost go all the way, to only back down at the last second.

"N-Naruto... Um... I'm r-really sweaty now... And I'm getting r-really hot..." began Hinata nervously.

Naruto blushed at this. Was she going to say what he thought she was going to say?

"Hinata... You're so beautiful right now... Your blushing-red glistening skin... Your long shining hair, and your soft caring eyes... Hinata... It will be impossible for me to say no to anything you ask of me at this point... So if you want to do something... Be absolutely sure that you want to do it..." breathed Naruto.

Hinata's face flushed even more while her heart skipped a beat to his response.

"I... Um... I think..." began Hinata.

Hinata couldn't stop looking into his eyes. She would do anything for him. ANYTHING he wanted. But he was giving her the choice. He was holding himself back, all for her. She looked up at him, and like usual, he gave her the courage to say what she wanted to say.

She closed her eyes, and leaned in to embrace him. She rested her head against his shoulder, and held him dearly.

"I d-don't think I'm ready for... f-for that yet... I... I love you." whispered Hinata bashfully.

Naruto was disappointed at first. She had been the one to engage him eagerly, and get him riled up. Yet she backed down. He knew it was for the best. She stopped it before it went too far. If she wasn't ready for it, then he didn't want it.

"I love you too Hinata... so much." whispered Naruto in return.

He held her back just as dearly, and rubbed his hands up and down her back.

"I got you kind of sweaty, so you should probably take your shower now." said Naruto with a blush.

Hinata blushed deeply in embarrassment, realizing that he was right.

"Y-yeah..." stammered Hinata in agreement.

She turned to walk toward the bathroom, but jumped the rest of the way there when Naruto spanked her in the butt.

"Meep!" squeaked Hinata.

When she landed, she immediately spun around to look at Naruto in a completely-shocked blushing-red manner.

"Sorry. I couldn't resist after all that kissing. You have a really cute butt." said Naruto with a mischievous smile.

In response Hinata ducked into the bathroom and locked the door. The last expression on her face was pricelessly shocked.

Naruto chuckled at Hinata's timid normality, and sat down on the floor to meditate. He crossed his legs, took a deep breathe, and began clearing his mind.

"You loved that didn't you?" asked Kyuubi.

Naruto frowned. This was not a good time to be getting taunts from his tenant.

"Come on, admit it already! When you pinned her against the wall, you were ready to fuck her brains out weren't you?" taunted the Kyuubi.

"Kyuubi, don't say such things. You know how much I care for her, and how much I love her." said Naruto.

"What are you saying? What if she needed you to fuck her brains out? You wouldn't do it for her then?" asked Kyuubi.

Naruto blushed a deep red, grateful Hinata was not in the room to see his face.

'Hinata isn't like that.' said Naruto.

"Oh really? Were you thinking that when she pinned you to the ground and began sucking your face off?" asked Kyuubi.

Naruto's blush was intensifying. The memories were very fresh, easy for him to flash-back to. The more Kyuubi talked about her, the more he couldn't stop thinking about the naughty Hinata.

'Kyuubi enough. I'm trying to calm myself down here, and you aren't helping.' complained Naruto.

"Calm yourself down? Ha! She gave you a hard-on that almost ripped your boxers! Admit it! You want to tap that sweet Hyuuga ass." taunted Kyuubi.

Naruto didn't respond this time. He was going to try to ignore him, for all it was worth anyway.

"The cold shoulder huh? Hinata's shoulder wasn't cold, you made sure of that. I love the sound she made when you sucked on it. Her squeal is what initially woke me up!" laughed Kyuubi.

That last jab made something snap within Naruto.

"Kyuubi enough! I'm sick of you disrespecting Hinata like this! If you keep this up, I'm not going to take anything you say seriously ever again!" shouted Naruto angrily.

"Relax kit." warned Kyuubi.

"That's what I was trying to do! But you wouldn't let me! Just shut up and let me concentrate! It's hard enough to get Hinata out of my head without you going on about fucking her!" shouted Naruto.

Kyuubi realized that he had pushed Naruto a little too far. The joke was over, and Naruto had lost his temper. This concerned Kyuubi greatly. Usually Naruto had much more control than this. He could feel his chakra being taken at a much more rapid rate than usual. Naruto's anger was actually fueling the demonic chakra's leak rate.

"I'm sorry kit. Alright? I'm sorry. Now calm down, and tell your mate that you're alright." said Kyuubi carefully.

Naruto was about to yell at him again for calling Hinata his mate, which to him was another insinuation that they were active in sex. But Kyuubi had said that he needed to tell Hinata he was alright. That brought his attention to another presence in the room.

He turned around to see Hinata barely peeking out from the bathroom door. From what he could see, she was soaking set, and her hair was dripping. It looked like she had jumped out of the shower while it was running. In fact, he could still hear it running.

"N-Naruto-kun... I heard you shouting... Are you alright?" asked Hinata meekly.

Naruto could see she was worried about him. The last thing he wanted was for her to be worried.

"It's alright, I'm fine. Kyuubi just made me lose my temper. It shouldn't have happened." said Naruto quietly.

Hinata heard him, in fact she had heard everything he had shouted as well.

"W-when I get done with my shower.. I want to talk about... what you were shouting about." said Hinata meekly.

Hinata closed the door, and left Naruto in a state of surprise.

'She heard what I was yelling about... Oh no...' thought Naruto in despair.

In Naruto's mind, things had just taken a turn for the worst. If Hinata had heard him, then she heard him yell about thoughts of fucking her. He could explain to her what had happened, which would be extremely difficult for him.

The topic of sex was unavoidable now. He didn't really want Hinata to know he had such dirty thoughts about her. He wanted her to know that he was with her, to be with her, not to get with her.

'Sex is something I want with Hinata... But it isn't why I love her, it isn't why I want to be with her...' thought Naruto.

Naruto was paranoid that Hinata might think he only wanted sex from her. It was a male stereotype that was often proved true, so he kinda felt justified in thinking it. A few minutes went by, and he heard the shower turn off. He could hear her moving around, getting herself presentable. As he listened to her from the main room, he tried to think about what he should say to her. It was hard for him to think of exact words.

'Damn... When I need advice the most... Kyuubi shuts up.' thought Naruto in irritation.

Hinata slowly walked out of the bathroom. She had a look on her face that told him she didn't like what she had heard him yell. She looked hurt, emotionally.

"Naruto... I... I know you love me... I know that as an absolute truth... but..." began Hinata nervously.

"What do you want... from this relationship?" asked Hinata quietly.

That was a question he was sort of expecting. But he didn't really have anything prepared to say in response.

"You... Hinata-chan..." said Naruto nervously.

He didn't like the mood of the conversation. It was the kind of mood-set where two people would break up with each other. That was the absolute last thing he wanted.

His answer didn't change Hinata's mood, nor the sad expression on her face. She was still staring at the ground in front of her, not even looking him in the eyes.

"What of me... Do you want?" asked Hinata.

That question, threw Naruto completely off balance.

"I... That... is hard to answer." said Naruto.

Hinata seemed to sink lower somehow, even though she didn't move.

"Why?" asked Hinata very quietly.

The answer to that question seemed too complicated for him to sum up, even if it was a one-word question.

Hinata's expression noticeably saddened when her question was met with silence.

"You want to have sex with me... I could see it in your eyes." said Hinata quietly.

Naruto was shocked that she had said that. He didn't know what to say in response.

Hinata didn't want to be in a relationship with Naruto, just for sex. The way things had been going, the way Naruto cuddled up to her, and did everything she said, made her fear that he might be doing it all, just to get her in bed. She knew in her heart that Naruto would never do that to her, and that she was just being ridiculously paranoid. But a dreading fear in the back of her head reminded her that he was a man. And she knew what men wanted. But that wasn't the only reason she was saying what she was saying to Naruto. She had no intention of breaking up with Naruto. Absolutely none.

"If that is what you want this relationship for... I... I can't be with you..." whispered Hinata.

Without meaning to, tears started building up in Hinata's eyes. She may have had no intention of breaking up with Naruto, but talking about it was still upsetting her. The saddened expression on her face tore at Naruto's heart.

Naruto stood up and took a step towards her.

"Hinata! That's not.." began Naruto.

When he took a step towards her, she backed up drastically, to the other side of the bed. Her timid side was showing again. She felt insecure right now, and even Naruto had startled Hinata in her state.

Naruto froze. She was scared of his approach. She had no idea how much pain she had just caused him by backing away like that.

"H-Hinata please... I love you..." said Naruto fearfully.

Fears from the back of his mind were now in the front, tormenting him. Fears of Hinata leaving him, of anyone leaving him, were always in the back of his mind. When he was young, he had nobody. He couldn't trust anyone. People even tried to kill him several times for what he was. Once he finally met people he could trust, like Iruka and his fellow classmates, his biggest fear was that they would abandon him. They would abandon him, because they feared him. They would leave him all alone again. Even after all this time, those thoughts still lingered, and Hinata had just brought them out in the open again.

Hinata's tears finally poured from her eyes, she was trying to put up a brave face, but it didn't work. She just wanted to hear him say that he didn't want to be with her for the sex. But in her attempt to get him to say it, she realized how insecure she was about Naruto. She trusted him to a fault, and trusted him with her life... Yet she couldn't trust him now? She couldn't trust him to love her for her, and not for sex? There was something deep-rooted in Hinata's mind that opened up her insecurities. In her life, everything good that had come along, was usually taken from her, or forbidden by her father. Having Naruto with her like he was, even after all this time... She had to admit, it all still seemed so surreal. It seemed like something that was usually taken away from her. And she couldn't bare it if Naruto was suddenly gone from her life.

"I l-love you too... s-so much th-that my heart is being torn right now!" cried Hinata in tears.

She could see she was hurting him, and it was absolutely tearing at her heart. She felt cruel, and she felt heartless. She was so selfish for trying to manipulate him, just for him to say a few words. The tears in her eyes were painfully real.

While Hinata was conflicted with herself, Naruto still thought that Hinata was going to break up with him. The realization of where this was heading was shaking Naruto to his core and even deeper. The fear from deep in his heart rose up, and threatened to choke him.

"Please Hinata... Don't leave me... Don't leave me alone again..." whispered Naruto through his tears.

That immediately caught Hinata's attention. She knew how it was for him when he was growing up. She knew what it was like to be alone. Those words hit her hard, because she realized what was behind them.

"P-please Hinata... I love you so much... I don't c-care if we never have sex, d-don't you get it? I need you... I love you..." choked Naruto.

A few moments passed as Hinata absorbed his words, his tears, and the anguish in his eyes.

"N-never? Y-you would never have s-sex? For m-me?" asked Hinata in disbelief.

"Of course! God damn it Hinata! Don't you know how much you mean to me?" cried Naruto.

Hinata was shocked by his words, spoken so emotionally. She didn't have to think for a second that they were true. She trusted him. She loved him. She shouldn't have just accepted that he was a man, and that he would automatically and selfishly want sex. She should have trusted his love for her.

"I love everything about you! Your kindness, your smile, your shyness, your quirks! I love your soft eyes! I love your caring touch! I love the way you hold me, and everything bad seems to disappear! I love you!" cried Naruto.

Naruto dropped to his knees, holding himself tightly.

"Please, Hinata please... Don't leave me... I'll do anything, I'll always do anything for you..." sobbed Naruto in pain.

Suddenly he felt her embrace. He froze. He could feel her body jerking randomly from her own sobbing. He could feel her tears land on his neck. She was holding him so tight, it almost hurt.

"I-I'm sorry!" cried Hinata.

She sobbed into his shoulder for a few more seconds, he was unsure of what direction she was choosing.

"I-I shouldn't have even needed to ask! I t-trust you! I should have known!" cried Hinata.

Naruto could feel her pain pouring from her body. She was feeling her own pain, because she could feel his pain.

"P-Please forgive me... F-forgive m-me for even asking... I... I will never ever leave you..." sobbed Hinata quietly.

Naruto's froze, unsure what to feel. She was going to stay with him?

"Y-you'll stay with me? No m-matter what?" asked Naruto hoarsely.

She tightened her grip on him for a moment before responding.

"Y-you shouldn't even n-need to ask..."whispered Hinata through her fallen tears.

Naruto hugged her back so tightly, it was a little difficult to breath. But she bore with it, because she loved him.

After a few minutes of simply crying into each other's arms, their grips on each other loosened a bit. Naruto's hands traveled almost unconsciously up and down Hinata's back. Her comfort gave his heart comfort. After the silence passed, they just sat in each other's arms, feeling their hearts beating in time with each other. Hinata was the first to say anything.

"I'm t-truly sorry Naruto-kun... I only wanted to be sure that you... we... I mean... (sigh) I should have just trusted you from the beginning, but everything is just so wonderful between us. Everything before now has been so hard to get, and it was always so easily taken away from me... I've pined for you so long, I've dreamed about us, and now that we're together, it's hard for me to believe that it won't be taken from me like everything else and-" rambled Hinata.

Naruto caught Hinata's lips in a short, but tender kiss. He removed his lips from hers, wiping tears from his own eyes.

"Hinata. I won't let anyone take you from me. I promise." said Naruto softly.

Hinata felt like she could have melted into his arms. Their lover's quarrel was over, but now as silence passed by, it seemed a little awkward not to talk to each other.

"..."

"I Um... I can see your ears..." said Hinata quietly.

She noticed that by pointing it out, Naruto withdrew a little bit. Also in response, his ears drooped a little.

"Yeah... I was thinking... I'm done hiding them... you know... I am who I am." said Naruto nervously.

She could see he was nervous, but it wasn't like him to be nervous at all. She was concerned as to what was wrong with him.

"Do you... like my ears?" asked Naruto suddenly.

Suddenly Hinata realized his nervousness. He wasn't nervous about the ears themselves. He was worried that she wouldn't like them.

"(Giggle) I think they're cute... They make you even more handsome..." whispered Hinata with a blush.

"Y-you really think so?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

Hinata reached up around his back, and put her hands on his ears, softly stroking the smooth fur on them.

"D-definitely." muttered Hinata distractedly.

She was a bit pre-occupied with Naruto's furry ears. Something about Naruto having cute fox ears, made her want to pet them... And do several other things.

She held his ears in each hand, holding them between her thumbs and index fingers. slowly, she rubbed her fingers back and forth, feeling the soft texture rubbing against her skin.

'It's so soft...' marveled Hinata.

As she rubbed them, she felt something brush the side of her face that made her jump.

She caught the object in both hands, to see Naruto's golden tail.

Hinata paused for a moment before stroking the tail. She felt its soft fluffy texture between her fingers, and marveled at the comfort she felt by simply touching it.

"Hinata... Our relationship, has never been about sex..." said Naruto quietly.

Naruto's voice caught her attention quickly, but it also gave her guilt.

"I know... I was.. being so selfish by even asking... I just wanted to hear you say it..." whispered Hinata sadly.

A few seconds passed, and the tension was slowly building again.

"I... would be lying if I told you that I don't want to have sex with you..." began Naruto.

Hinata blushed, now squirming only slightly in his arms, holding his tail tightly in embarrassment.

"But... That's not why I'm with you... that's not why I love you. I love who you are... If I didn't, I never would have told you that I loved you... it would have been a lie." said Naruto quietly.

Hinata absorbed his words carefully, taking them to heart, because they came from his heart.

"Now that we are together, I can't imagine us being apart... I want you to understand that, when the time comes... I don't want to have sex with you... I want to make love to you." said Naruto softly.

Hinata blushed deeply, and felt her heart flutter despite her embarrassment.

"But I don't want any part of that... If you don't want it. I will do anything for your love Hinata. I love you too damn much..." whispered Naruto.

Hinata held him tighter, letting her tears fall. Tears of happiness for a change.

"I l-love you too... t-too damn much..." whispered Hinata meekly.

She didn't usually swear, so her response made Naruto chuckle a little.

"So if... I approach you for... that... You'll know that my intentions aren't selfish?" asked Naruto quietly.

"When the time comes that... we do it... I'll know in my heart, that you love me." whispered Hinata.

Naruto smiled and squeezed her, earning a little squeeze in return.

"I've heard that... making love is the greatest physical expression of love there is... And that when two people who love each other make love... It's the most wonderful feeling in the world." said Naruto quietly.

"I-I've heard that too... m-many times..." whispered Hinata bashfully.

"The last thing I wanted was to rush things between us... You have no idea how happy I am that you're simply comfortable with sleeping in the same bed with me..." said Naruto with a short laugh.

"Actually... I'm still n-not comfortable sleeping with you... N-Not to say that I don't enjoy it! B-but I'm still... embarrassed." whispered Hinata bashfully.

"So... Do you want to start sleeping separately again?" asked Naruto sadly.

"N-NO! I mean... Um... No. I want to sleep with you. Every n-night if I can." whispered Hinata bashfully.

Naruto smiled, and picked her up off of the floor. He said nothing as he moved her, not looking away from her eyes.

He promptly pushed Itachi off the bed, and set her down on the center. Ignoring Itachi's grumbles, Naruto crawled on top of her.

Her eyes silently questioned his, but he didn't respond with anything but a sparkle in his eyes. He leaned down and pinned her down against the bed with his body. Then he turned to the side, and embraced her. He held one hand on her upper back, and the other on her lower back. He locked his legs with hers, making it so she couldn't move. She didn't try to move, because she didn't need to. She understood what he was doing now.

"If you want to get used to this... Then I suppose we'll just have to get more experience." said Naruto with a smile.

Hinata giggled in response, and snuggled into him. Her face was beat red in embarrassment, but she knew she would always enjoy simply being with him.

The window curtains were left open for some reason. For whatever reason it wasn't something they considered before going to bed. Then again, there was a lot of reasons they didn't do a lot of things they usually did before they went to bed. When they were getting ready for bed the night before, TenTen sent him a signal that told him to pin her down and let her know he loved her.

But now that the sun was up, and shining in his eyes, he realized he should have gone through their nightly to-do list instead of falling asleep after sex.

'Too early...' thought Neji.

He snuggled up to TenTen, feeling her bare breasts against his chest.

'Damn it TenTen, it's way too early for me to be in this mood.' thought Neji with a blush.

Well now he had to get up, otherwise he would rile himself up just laying there with her.

He slowly un-entangled himself from his lover's grasp, and stretched his muscles thoroughly.

Once he was done stretching, he walked over to their room's bathroom, and prepared to take a shower.

He stood in the warm falling water, gathering his thoughts as he usually did in the morning.

'TenTen... How she cried yesterday...' thought Neji with a frown.

He couldn't get TenTen's tears out of his mind. He hated seeing her like that, it tore at his heart.

'She knows that when we go back, I will be hunted, and if the charges against me are carried out, I will no longer be among the living...' thought Neji.

It was definitely a good reason to be as stressed out as TenTen was.

'I need to be able to sort this out... Naruto said he would do everything he could to help us, let's start there.' thought Neji.

Ever since the Chunnin exams, Naruto had promised Neji that he would change his clan. And now, riding on that promise, he made another one, saying that he would help them clear Neji's name.

'Naruto may be willing to do everything he can to help, but he is still only one person, against an entire clan.' thought Neji.

The more people that got involved in this, the more uncomfortable he got. He didn't want anyone to get hurt on his account, especially TenTen.

'The longer TenTen stays with me at this point, the longer she suffers...' thought Neji.

It was a rather black-and-white view of the situation, but to him it was the truth.

'The longer she stays with me, the more she'll realize that in order to stay with me, she'll always need to be on the run. My clan will bring her nothing but trouble for the rest of her life. More than likely, they won't let me marry outside of the clan, and they'll seal her.' thought Neji.

The running water from the shower was warm, but to him it seemed cold. It was like the water was his clan. It surrounded him, keeping him uncomfortable while being everywhere. He was tied to his clan, and everything he touched came into contact with it. This made everything he touched cold, whether he wanted it to be or not. The world seemed so damn cold, but TenTen was warm, and made him he realized now that he had to stop being selfish. The longer TenTen stayed with him, the faster she would loose her own warmth. She would eventually become as cold as him, as cold as the clan.

He shut off the shower, and stepped out. He felt dead. There wasn't really any other way to describe the feelings crawling through his skin. He had a mindset, and the mindset alone made him feel horrible. But to him, the longer he put this off, the sooner TenTen would be feeling the exact same as he did now. He needed to end this before he completely ruined her life.

He dried himself off, and dressed himself accordingly. He walked out of the bathroom to see TenTen awake. She wasn't out of bed yet, but she didn't look sleepy. She was sitting up, and looking forward. She seemed to be thinking about something very serious, and he had an feeling it had something to do with him.

He walked over to the bed slowly, dreading what he was about to do. He sat down on the side of the bed, but he had no idea whether or not TenTen reacted or not, he didn't look.

"TenTen. I think we should see other people." said Neji.

At first he heard nothing, but he felt TenTen's incredulous stare at the back of his head.

"Wh-what?" laughed TenTen.

Apparently she thought he was making a joke somehow, which only made it harder for him.

"I'm breaking up with you. By doing so, I'm breaking all ties you have with me, and my clan." said Neji.

TenTen had a sudden realization that he was serious. She quickly understood where he was coming from. The problem was, she didn't really know what was the best thing to say.

"N-Neji! You have to be joking! I mean... We've been together through so much now... As soon as your clan found out we were together..." began TenTen.

"You have no idea what they did to me behind closed doors... Do you?" asked Neji suddenly.

Neji didn't leave room for her to respond.

"I've lied to you TenTen." said Neji.

"W-what do you mean?" asked TenTen uneasily.

"I told you that after they found out, they forbid me to see you. I told you that after they forbid me, I argued with them, and negotiated my way to our relationship being okay with them. That was all lies." said Neji.

TenTen didn't know what to say, she didn't know what had happened.

"They didn't just forbid me to go out with you when they found out." said Neji.

Neji took his headband from his forehead, and untied it, letting it fall onto the bed.

His Bird-Cage Seal seemed to stand out solidly against his pale skin, as though it was making a defiant statement that it was always there. Neji didn't say anything for a minute or so, but TenTen didn't say anything. She felt this dreading sensation coming from him. It concerned her greatly, but it also told her he was not done speaking.

"They tortured me TenTen." said Neji finally.

TenTen froze.

"W-what?" asked TenTen shakily.

She was hoping she hadn't heard him correctly.

"They tortured me with my seal. It was unbearable pain. I've described it to you before." said Neji.

TenTen was completely shaken, and she felt her eyes starting to water up.

"I couldn't argue with them. I couldn't even speak through the pain... The only reason they allowed our relationship in the end, was because they knew they could use you against me." said Neji.

"U-use me?" asked TenTen shakily.

She didn't like this. She dreaded what he was saying, and what she feared him to say next.

"They knew that as long as I had feelings for you... they could threaten your life. They could threaten your life in order to get me to do absolutely anything they asked." said Neji.

TenTen was visibly and emotionally upset, but she was a quick thinker.

"W-why did they need to do that? I thought they already had that control with your... with your seal." said TenTen hesitantly.

"No. They have tortured me many times. But I began to show them, that their torturing was doing nothing to sway me. So they threatened my life. But I knew they could not take my life, because of my valuable fighting skills. I am renowned next to Hiashi in skill, and I knew they couldn't afford to lose me. I pointed this out to them, and they grew furious. When they found out that we were together TenTen, they were surely ecstatic. They realized that they could not sway me by threatening my life, but they could threaten yours." said Neji solemnly.

TenTen's mind was whirring among the chaos of emotions in her heart. She was beginning to realize where Neji kept disappearing to back in the village, and why he always looked so tired and beaten whenever she actually saw him.

"W-when I suspected you of sneaking around before... you were actually being subjected to your clan's whim?" asked TenTen quietly.

"It is a lot more complicated than that, but yes. (Sigh) Just listen to reason TenTen. I've kept this a secret until now. I didn't want you to ever find out that I'd gone through such things just to be with you." said Neji.

"Then why break up with me now? After all you've gone through to be with me! After all we've been through together..." began TenTen emotionally.

"You must have realized by now TenTen. The longer you stay with me, the more you'll get hurt. My clan has taken more lives than anyone count, and without killing a single person." said Neji solemnly.

Neji put his hand over his forehead, as if holding a painful wound.

"I won't let you join us." said Neji.

TenTen's eyes were watery, and she looked like she was holding back her tears.

"So that's it then? You're taking the decision out of my hands?" asked TenTen shakily.

"If I can. I don't want you to suffer... you deserve better." said Neji.

TenTen's tears finally flowed from her eyes, and she quickly tried wiping them away, but they kept returning.

"There isn't anyone better!" cried TenTen.

"I have a clan that will seal and enslave you for the rest of your life. Surely there is someone better." said Neji.

"I'm not talking about the clan! I'm talking about you! I don't want anyone but you!" cried TenTen.

"You can't have just me. The clan comes with me. It's a package deal." said Neji dryly.

Neji was starting to get annoyed with TenTen. He was trying to free her from his clan, but she just wouldn't listen to reason. He was going through enough emotional scarring just trying to break up with her, but she was continuing to make it harder for him.

"How can you be like this! Are you telling me you want to be with anyone other than me?" cried TenTen.

I... (Sigh) Of course I don't. But this isn't about me. It's about you. I'm doomed for life, but you don't have to be." reasoned Neji.

"Neji! I will be doomed for life if you leave me all alone! I won't ever want anyone else! I'll be miserable for the rest of my life without you!" cried TenTen loudly.

Suddenly Neji stood up, his fists clenched at his sides.

"If you stay with me, you'll be even more miserable! You'll be a slave to anyone ranked higher than you in our clan! They could make you do anything! Do you really want that? To be a slave for the rest of your life?" shouted Neji angrily.

TenTen stopped crying for a moment with her mouth open in surprise. Neji rarely ever raised his voice, let alone shouted. But what he said made her realize what she would have to go through to be with Neji.

The silence from TenTen was palpable to him. He closed his eyes and made his way to the hotel door.

"Yes." said TenTen Quietly.

Neji stopped when he heard her soft voice, and turned to face her. She was smiling, and the tears flowing from her eyes seemed to be from happiness. Neji was completely thrown off by her state of happiness. How could she be happy when he was breaking up with her?

"What do you mean, yes?" asked Neji.

TenTen smiled a little more, and stood up from the bed. She quickly walked over to Neji, and threw her arms around him. His first thought was to throw her off of him, but he found that he couldn't. Her embrace always brought him comfort, and he was extremely stressed, especially from breaking up with her.

"As long as it means I'll be with you... Yes. I will be a slave the rest of my life. I would rather be enslaved in misery with you, than to be without you." said TenTen emotionally.

Neji was floored. He couldn't believe she felt that way. He had gone most of his life believing that everyone thought selfishly, that everyone only looked out for themselves. But then he met Gai, Lee, and TenTen. And he met Naruto. Naruto was really just the first person to make him realize that people cared about him. Even if it was in the form of a fist to his face. After that, he had become closer to his teammates than ever before, and he could even call them his friends. At that point, he realized TenTen's feelings for him. And with that realization, came feelings of his own. All it took was one night in an underground tunnel to get them together. But now that TenTen was here, in his arms, pledging undying love to him... He felt tears coming to his eyes. He suddenly turned away from TenTen, scaring her for a moment. She thought he was rejecting her for a second. But then she saw him covering his eyes with one sleeve. She smiled warmly.

"Neji... Are you crying?" asked TenTen happily.

"O-of course not! I just have an irritant in my eye..." mumbled Neji.

She almost laughed a little, but she knew Neji didn't like other people to see him cry, especially her.

"Oh Neji!" cried TenTen happily.

She flung her arms around his shoulders, holding him from behind. She was so happy, and all just because she was with him. For some reason, it really took a life changing event to put her relationship with Neji into perspective. She would willingly be a slave for him.

A thought in her head popped up and stuck there. She couldn't get it out of her mind. Maybe it was because she was still naked, but despite the emotional mood, she was feeling frisky.

TenTen leaned up close to Neji's ear and whispered softly.

"I'm willing to be a slave Neji... Your slave." whispered TenTen erotically.

Neji's face immediately flushed red.

"Whenever you get in the mood, I'll be naked on the bed... You can do whatever you want to me..." whispered TenTen.

The eroticism practically oozed from her voice.

"You'll be lucky if we even make it to the bed." said Neji calmly.

"What's that supposed to mea-AH! Neji!"

The crowds were bustling. The mood was tense. The salty air seemed to be clogging his sinuses.

"It wasn't so bad when we were farther away from the ocean, but now that we're right next to it... It's actually preventing me from honing in on Hinata's scent." said Kiba.

They had only been in the town for an hour, but they were all starting to get impatient.

"You said you knew exactly where she was." complained Ino.

"I said I knew what direction she was. Now that we are among the buildings, and I have lost my ability to track her, we can only guess where she is." said Kiba.

"Well, at least you initially gave us an advantage. We know she is in this small section of the town." said Sai.

"A lot of good that does us. There are hotels, bars, and restaurants in every direction. They could be anywhere here." said Gaara.

"I happen to agree with Sai. At least we have it narrowed down." said Gai.

"Yes, would you rather be searching the entire town for them?" asked Houkou.

"(Sigh) I suppose your right." muttered Gaara.

"So how do you think we should go about doing this now that Kiba is useless?" asked Sai.

"Hey! I'm not useless!" growled Kiba.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I was merely pointing out a tactical fact." said Sai with a smile.

"I hate you! Gah! I just want to fuck you up!" growled Kiba.

"You would. You raving homosexual." said Sai.

"W-what?" exclaimed Kiba in confusion.

"Enough. We need to find them. We need to hurry. We need a plan." said Sakura.

"Right. I say we split up, and go from door to door." said Gai.

"What?" exclaimed Ino.

"It may seem like an incredulous idea based on how many doors there are, but it would practically guarantee our success." said Gai.

"So we would be guaranteed to search every place in this section without missing anything?" asked Lee.

"Sounds promising, but not efficient time-wise. Tsunade said that Naruto had little time left." said Sakura.

"Well then, we had better hurry." said Gaara.

They all nodded to each other and took off in several directions, hoping to find the other team as soon as possible.

END OF CHAPTER