****I am very sorry this took so long. I can explain if anybody wants to know, if not then please just accept my apology****

It was strange to look in the mirror and see somebody else. It was even stranger when that 'other' person was of the opposite sex, and even stranger when you were attracted to that person.

This would indeed be interesting.

Taking in a deep breath the blond let it out. Turning around, Naruto felt his body shake with nerves. It didn't take more than a moment to get himself under control. Watching Shikamaru was something that calmed his nerves. The genius was sitting on Hinata's bed, surrounded by different kinds of scrolls and papers, dressed in his normal green Jounin vest, and black turtleneck.

Naruto smiled. Shikamaru wasn't known for being lazy any more. When Asuma died, he tried to keep up the facade but it didn't work for too long. He had forced himself to grow up, and dedicated his gift to the preservation of Konoha. But every now and again, such as now, he took off that green vest and just lounged.

It would have been even better, though, if he wasn't doing it on Hinata's bed.

And Naruto thought he wasn't a jealous guy.

He watched the genius shift through papers and open scrolls. Scratching out a few lines from one scroll he opened another and looked over a map.

He hoped that Shikamaru knew what he was doing. He really didn't want to have to escape after being tortured for god knows how long. He just hoped that Hinata was OK, and that his 'goddess' would be there as back up.

And that he would be back an in good physical shape so Hinata would be none the wiser.

%^&*(^%&

"Almost time. It's almost time," Hinata chanted angrily in her head.

It wasn't like her to be angry. Hell, it wasn't like her to wear a ninja suit under her formal kimono… or planning an escape only to willingly run head on into death.

Almost time.

Anger.

Something new. Something she wanted to feel but thought she was unable to. It wasn't that she chose not too, she just couldn't. It wasn't in her to be angry with anybody; she was wrong.

She chose not too. She shied away from conflict. Took in her father's disappointment as being inevitable and not entirely her fault.

She was wrong.

She was almost to the Hokage's tower, walking along side the six members of the Hyuuga council, and surrounded by eight branch members; their guards.

It was frustrating. She was forced to wear some formal kimono, being that she was a woman, and the men were in their normal clothing. She wasn't allowed to be out without an escort. She was considered fragile, and it never really bothered her before.

Well, it sure as hell bothered her now!

Which was most likely due to her already sour mood.

Her fingers started to twitch in anticipation. The faces of the young children playing in the courtyard of the Hyuuga compounds ran marathons through her head. The marks of the seals across their foreheads.

She wanted to turn around and beat the council members into a bloody pulp.

Violence.

That was another urge she'd never had before. It's strange, since she was a ninja, but still. She fought when needed but she never actually wanted to bring harm to anybody.

She wanted to bring harm to the council members.

How dare they leave those children in danger while they escape!

She will make sure that they will be punished for this.

Why did they even have a council anyway? Her father had her sit on a few of the meetings. All the old bastards did was argue about either moot or selfish points. They never even accomplished anything. The clan was in good shape. There was nothing for them to do but go over marriage contracts and judge whether or not they will 'allow' whatever Hyuuga to marry the person they chose.

Lets just say they had a hard time with the idea of a non-Hyuuga being part of the 'clan'.

They had finally reached the Hokage's office.

It was time.

$%^&*(*&^%

Going over the mental checklist, Naruto counted them off on his fingers. He swallowed the tracking device, made sure that all of the branch members were inside and away from where the violence would take place, and was now sitting on Hinata's favorite bench, waiting.

No one was around, not even ANBU. They gave him privacy for this one, since he was being tracked.

Taking in a breath he focused on the energies around him. The plants in the garden were very healthy it seemed, that water from the ponds and fountains were clean and ever moving. The trees around the compound were full of squirrels and the ponds full of fish. The children were all in one large room in the compound playing with toys. He could feel their happiness from where he was sitting. The children didn't have a fear in the world and the parents seemed relieved. It seems that Neji wasn't the only one bitter or fearful of the head house and council members.

A flicker of movement behind him caught his interest. The Chakra was masked, but not well enough to fool Naruto. An ill intent was radiating off of the masked chakra. Three more were waiting behind the wall of the compound.

This must have been the man he was waiting for.

Pretending to ignore him, he waiting for the man to get closer, tracking his chakra the whole way. The blond wanted to laugh at the man. He was indeed well trained, but not well enough to fool Naruto... at least when the blond was paying attention.

Finally the man made it to him.

It was time.

He knew it was coming and did the best be could to act surprised and struggle without getting out of the man's grasp.

Did they send the weakest man in or something? The strength of this man was an insult to Hinata's ability. Getting out if this man's grasp would have been a piece of cake for the Hyuuga beauty… uh… heiress.

The blond felt a small prick in the side of his neck.

So that's what it was. This guy was a medic nin and he was using his skills to render him useless. He didn't feel his chakra fading. It was still there, but his body went limp. The man lifted the Hinata clad Naruto and threw him over his shoulder, only to leap over the wall.

The blond watched as the man landed and was immediately surrounded by the other three men. Without making a noise they bound his hands and feet, even wrapping a few ropes around his legs, and tied them tight.

Okay he had to admit that they could tie a pretty tight rope. Even without this body-numbing thing he probably wouldn't be able to get out if these… easily.

Naruto looked from one of their faces to another. The men weren't masked and looked nearly identical.

He'd just have to call them Moron 1, 2, 3, and 4. Moron 1 being the one brave enough to venture over the Hyuuga walls. The last one, moron 4, smiled with some kind of malevolence Naruto had never seen directed at him before.

Before moron 4 could throw the Hinata clad Naruto over his shoulder a long thin black dagger appeared from somewhere behind him. The man was unable to react before it embedded itself into that back of his neck and out the front.

The man choked for a moment before falling to the ground, dead. The other three men, searching their surroundings, panicked.

"What the hell?" One of them shouted. All three turned away from Naruto, trying to huddle around him, and one of them suggested, "Lets just take her and run!"

A small dark figure leapt from a nearby tree and landed not fifteen feet from the men.

Naruto recognized the figure. Cursing to himself he began to struggle against the drug and rope. She wasn't supposed to attack. This wasn't part of the plan, she was supposed to hang around the Hokage's tower. She was supposed to protect Hinata!

The drugs prevented him from using his full strength and numbed parts of his body. He struggled as he watched his goddess fight the remaining three men. Every kick, every strike, every grunt of pain, only fueled his struggles. No! He was supposed to be taken! They needed to know where this base was!

What the hell was she doing? She could ruin everything!

He trusted her.

NO!!

This can't happen!

Even though he was proud that his goddess was winning, it didn't change anything. HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TAKEN!!!

Where the hell was the ANBU? They needed to stop her!

She pulled back into a familiar stance. One he had seen her use every time he watched her at night. He couldn't see her eyes, or her skin, just the baggy black fabric, and even then he could tell it was her. No one else moved like that. The three men ran at her at the same time, hoping for one of them to catch her off guard. Three sets of hands moved from sign to sign, beginning some kind of jutsu.

Then she moved.

It was so fast. Faster than she ever was during her training. Her arms shot out at each man, almost as if she had several. They tried to block her attacks but there was no hope. She'd strike then take a side step around one man then strike again, only to repeat the process.

The first man fell, then the second. It only took a matter or seconds before the last one dropped to the ground.

It was beautiful the ways she moved. How everything flowed; the grace, the femininity…the power.

He stopped struggling just to watch.

It was perfect in every way, she was perfect in every way.

A kind of guilt, one he was not familiar with, filled him before he pushed it aside. It wasn't the time to deal with his need for Hinata, or his deep respect for his goddess… or the guilt behind his feelings.

She stood from her crouched position in a slow confident manner. Or maybe she was nervous. He didn't know, nor did he care.

The frustration started to take hold again.

Her betrayal.

How could she? Did she not understand how important it was for her to STAY PUT?

Apparently not!

She turned to look at him, her mask hiding her features, not that he knew them to well anyway. He could see her body shaking as she took a step toward him.

While he was busy watching his goddess the first man that fell struggled to his knees. He pulled a dagger from some hidden place on his body. The light that reflected off of the shiny service of the dagger caught Naruto's eye. It took a great deal of effort to take his eyes off of his goddess, but he was able too, but not soon enough.

He started to struggle, but it wasn't enough. The moment she paused the man struck, embedding the dagger into the back of her right thigh.

She screamed, and fell forward landing on her left knee. The man fell forward as well, letting go of the knife.

Naruto started to struggle with all of his strength. He watched her struggle against the guy that was now grabbing at her legs.

As a last attempt, Naruto started to roll back and forth until he managed to roll to his side. He continued until he bumped into her struggling form, only to start struggling again. She screamed in pain as she gave the man one hard kick with her wounded leg, causing him to let go and roll away. Immediately he turned back and started reaching for her legs again.

Before he was able to grab her she reached forward with a kunai, slicing into the ropes tried around Naruto's wrists, loosing it just enough for him to rip the binds. She immediately started to swing her kunai towards the man, only to have him grab her wrist. Scooting forward the Hinata clad Naruto grabbed the arm holding his goddess's wrist, pulled him forward and punched him in the face.

The man immediately went limp.

Pushing him to the side he turned to see his goddess laying on her stomach panting, blood dripping from the knife still embedded in her thigh. Releasing the tight grip the man had on her wrist, even in his unconscious state, he took the kunai from her shaking hand.

He started to cut the ropes around his ankles while his Goddess started to push herself to her knees.

"Don't," he said, startling himself. He forgot for a moment that he was still in Hinata's form. Once the binds were off he released the jutsu, returning back to his normal form.

#$%^&*()(*&^%$#

She could feel the blush on her face. He was touching her thigh, wrapping the rope around it to restrict blood flow to the wound. The touch was purely for medical purposes, but it was also so intimate. She couldn't help it. The familiar nauseous feeling started to rise, her head started to feel heavy, her breath started to come in short gasps.

No, she couldn't faint! NO!

Taking a few breaths she tried to calm herself, but the mask she wore prevented her from getting any good air in. She'd take it off, if Naruto weren't there. Getting into the whole mess over whom his 'goddess' truly was really wasn't the thing she needed right now.

She felt him rip the fabric around her thigh.

Her face started burn, but it wasn't as bad as the burning she started feel through her body when he started wrapping her ripped pant leg around her wound. His fingers brushed mere inches from her now wet core.

Pushing her mask-covered face into the ground she tried to keep her breath steady. Tried to keep the shaking under control.

"Does it really hurt?" he asked softly.

All she could do was shake her head.

He tugged at the wraps, tying them tight.

"I need to get you to the hospital," the blond explained.

She nodded her head.

Naruto continued, "Okay, I'm going to have to flip you over then lift you. Work with me on this, okay?"

Again, she nodded.

He helped her turn over pausing when she flinched. Maneuvering her onto her back he moved an arm under her back, and gently under her knee. Lifting her, he held her close to his chest.

She was thankful for the alias, for the mask that she wore. His lack of knowing her true identity was the only reason why she found the strength to keep herself conscious as he soared over the buildings. Her body burned hotter as she felt his muscles tense and relax under his shirt. She wanted him to touch her thigh again. She wanted him to kiss her like he did in the library.

She wanted to have the nerve to kiss him.

#$%^&*(*&^%

It didn't take long for Naruto to reach the hospital. Rushing into the ER he started to call out for Sakura, but stopped when he remembered she was on a mission.

"Somebody, help! She needs help!" he cried out.

Within seconds they were surrounded by medic ninjas, nurses, and doctors.

"Bring her this way, there's a room available," one of them said.

From there everything started to go so fast. He was rushed into a room, carrying his goddess, who was clenching at him. He sat her on a table, and helped her turn so that she was lying on her stomach.

"I'll need you to take the bandages off her leg," the head nurse said, handing Naruto a small set of scissors, then adding, "Be careful. I'll send for Tsunade"

"She wont come right now," a young nurse carrying a tray of medical instrument spoke.

"Why not?" The head nurse questioned, obviously not liking her superior being busy during a moment of need.

"The Hyuuga heiress disappeared during a meeting a little while ago. She's furious," the younger nurse explained.

Naruto's head shot up. "What?" he cried out. Panic set in. His hands started to shake in the middle of cutting the bandages. The breath was taken from him, causing him to drop the scissors and step back. The head nurse grabbed for the scissors, pushing Naruto back and finishing the job. Naruto could only whisper in a frightened tone, "She's gone?" He looked up at the young nurse, who stared at him with worry.

"No! This wasn't supposed to be like this!" he shouted, his hands clenched. He wanted to search for her, but he couldn't just leave his goddess here. Though she was safe, unlike Hinata. He made the decision to leave, when the unexpected happened.

Her body went limp.

"She's unconscious. Her pulse is dropping!" the head nurse called to the other nurses. Suddenly a group of young women ran into room, pushing him out of the way. He watched the wraps fall from her leg, the edge of the scar she got from the accident during training showed. The new wound looked swollen. The skin around it managed to turn into a dark shade of green from the time he wrapped it till now.

"She's been poisoned. We need Tsunade. Get that mask off, its restricting her breathing," the head nurse said. Two of the nurses ran toward the goddess's head, untying and pulling at the mask and hood.

"But the Hyuuga-"

"Um guys," one of the nurses taking the mask off of the goddess spoke, "I think we really need to get Tsunade..."

Fear spread through him. Everything was going wrong. Why couldn't he protect the ones he loved?

Just then the two nurses took a step back, allowing him a full view of his goddess's face.

His eyes widened…