"Do you really think this is a good idea, Hinata?"

Neji stood a fair distance away from me as I striked at the punching bag. My face was flush as I could see him in my peripheral vision, seemingly worried. I paused. "Of course I do," I said in between puffs. "If the police can't protect me, I need to protect myself."

"I can protect you," Neji retorted, his dark hair framing his pale face. "I don't need this job."

I let my hands rest at my sides, my straps tight on my skin as I could feel the blood rushing to my fingertips. "You do need this job. I can't let you throw away your career."

"I can't let you throw away you life."

I growled under my breath. I was growing sick of this nonsense, his constant urge to want to protect me like I was a small child. I wanted to grow, I wanted to become stronger; not just because of Sasuke, but because it was going to help me as a person. I wanted to make Hanabi proud.

"Neji, please don't say things like that. I'm not throwing my life away."

"God damn it, Hinata!" He slammed his fist against the wall. I jumped slightly, seeing the fierce look in his pale eyes. "I'm not letting you do this, this man is a wanted criminal! He is a mass murderer!"

"So you suggest I sit here and do nothing to protect myself?" I yelled back, my fists held tight at my sides. "I'm not a little girl anymore. I need to be able to look after myself. At least be able to fend him off, even if its for a minute."

"Hanabi was trained in martial arts," Neji said through gritted teeth. "And even she was not able to fend him off. What in gods name makes you think that you will be able to?"

Our pale eyes both stared into each others with glares that could have made any child cry. I could see how tense Neji was, his shoulders held tight while is chest moved readily from his heavy breathing.

I turned my back to him, focusing my attention back at the punching back. With every strike I took I imagined Sasukes face. With every kick I made I imagined him falling to the ground in front of me. My byakugan was beginning to come forward, the chakra forming behind my eyes as I become more and more furious.

I was going to beat Sasuke. I was going to survive.

It had been a couple of days since my argument with Neji. He wouldn't talk to me, let alone look at me. Every time I tried to make conversation with him he would grunt or growl, making no attempt to acknowledge that I was even there.

I wondered if he understood how much it hurt; to be ignored by someone that you loved so much. We were all that each other had, my sister was gone and so was my father. Neji had no parents and Tenten wasn't exactly around anymore. All we had was each other and being constantly ignored by him tug at my heart like he couldn't imagine.

"He doesn't mean it," Naruto said to me. "He's just concerned. He knows he cant do anything to help."

I stood shyly with my arms across my chest, not looking at Naruto as he stood in front of me. I looked at him slightly, but averted my eyes fast; all I could think about when I looked at him was those small kisses he would place on me. I had the drastic urge to kiss him right here, right now, even though the circumstances weren't right.

"It doesn't mean he cant... t-talk to me," I said under my quietly.

Naruto saw that I was upset and he came forwards, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. I flinched slightly, looking up to him with big eyes. He was smiling at me. I went completely red.

"It doesn't mean he doesn't care, Hinata. If anything hes more upset with me."

"W-Why you?" I questioned.

He chuckled a little, pulling a kunai out of his pocket. He began to twirl it on his finger before throwing it towards a tree. The kunai stuck in the tree, a small spider impaled. "I no longer work for the Konoha police. I quit."

"N-Naruto!" I said angrily. "Why did you do that?"

He walked over to the kunai, pulled it out of the tree and watched the spider wall to the ground. Placing it back in his pocket he smiled at me devilishly. "You need to be protected, right? Besides, who else can take on Sasuke?"

"I d-don't like the idea of p-people quitting their jobs for me..." I mumbled.

Naruto kissed my forehead as if I had said the most stupidest thing he had heard all day. "Ready to train?"

With flushed cheeks I nodded.