Can I Keep Him

*A/N: Naruto is not mine and I got the idea from a comic I read. I can't remember who it was by but it inspired me to do this quick one-shot. Rated T only for some language and implied rape but doesn't happen. Almost hurt me to write it too.*

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as she glanced at Sasuke who was carried on Kakashi's back, beat up and unconscious, but more worried about somebody else as she looked around for the missing blonde. "Where is he?" Hinata asked, growing scared as she noticed the sad look on Kakashi's face as he avoided her gaze. Hinata stood there for a second as Sasuke was passed off to an Anbu just as Tsunade, Jiraiya, and the rest of the Konoha 11 appeared, noticing that they were one member short.

"Kakashi-sensei, where is Naruto?" Sakura asked fear heard in her voice as the jonin remained quiet before he lightly shook his head. Tsunade gasped out while Hinata screamed that it wasn't true and demanded proof that Naruto was gone.

"This was all I could find…it must have fallen off at some point when he battled Sasuke" Kakashi said softly as he showed them the emerald green necklace that Naruto had won from Tsunade in his hands.

"No, kami please no!" Tsunade screamed as she looked down at the necklace before she started to cry into Jiraiya's shoulder, who was holding his former team-mate as the proof that Naruto was gone lay in front of them. The rest of the team cried out in shock while Hinata just stared, frozen in place, as her world came crashing down around her. Something deep inside her snapped and she blinked once, just once, before she slowly made her way to the gate of Konoha, ignoring the voices behind her, asking where she was going.

"It's too late Hinata, I'm sor-" Kakashi was saying before he let out gurgle like sound as a chakra clad hand suddenly found its way into his stomach and sent him flying back into the group.

"Hinata" Kurenai gasped as everybody turned to the normally shy kunoichi before they looked into her eyes and noticed they had grown as cold as ice.

"Try and stop me if you dare, you will all end up the same way" she stated calmly and coldly before she continued to walk toward the gate.

"Hinata, attacking a sensei won't bring him ba-"

"WHAM" one strike and Kiba was out, Akamaru soon followed as he tried to stop Hinata by attacking her leg.

"Who's next?" Hinata asked emotionlessly, arms crossed over her chest, as she turned to look at the rest of the group who were staring at her in shock and fear.

"Hinata-sama" Neji started to say, walking toward her but a growl and a glowing fist nearly met his face as Hinata suddenly appeared in front of him.

"I don't care what any of you have to say. I know he's not coming back but I have to see, just see, where he was last. That's all and none of you are going to stop me" Hinata said before she felt a presence behind her.

"I'm sorry Hinata for this" Hiashi said as he squeezed the pressure points on Hinata's neck to put her to sleep.

"I'm not sorry for this otousan" a voice said from behind him and he watched in shock as the Hinata in front of him dispersed into thin air.

"When did she-" Hiashi tried to say before he felt a heavy blow to the middle of his back, temporarily paralyzing him before he felt his body fall forward, the last thing seen was Neji rushing pass him as he chased after Hinata.

"Hiashi-sama" Tsunade cried as she ran over to him and began to check his health and was happy to see he would make a full recovery.

"When did Hinata learn to make a shadow clone?" he asked, unable to move his body one bit. Tsunade grew quiet as she looked out at the forest beyond the gate where the Hyuuga had disappeared.

"I don't know but I think Naruto might have had a bigger impact on her then we thought. Let's just hope this new Hinata is temporary and things will hopefully go back to normal" Tsunade said, tears running down her face as she thought about the blonde haired boy who she thought of as a son.

"GAKI, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?" Tsunade wailed as she broke down again, tears mixing in with the rain water as she looked up at the clouds, marking that day as the day Konoha's greatest shinobi and future Hokage died for his village. About a week later, Neji and Hinata had returned to Konoha, the former looking worse for wear, as Neji had an all-out battle with Hinata to bring her home. He never told anybody who won but everybody noticed a change in Neji's and Hinata's relationship over the days as he was the only one she would get close to anymore. The next day after Hinata and Neji's return, Tsunade told the town of Naruto's death and was shock and appalled at their behavior as they celebrated, saying the demon was dead and the village could live in peace. However many of the townspeople were soon hospitalized as a dark-blue blur swept through the crowd and started attacking everybody within reach, not caring if they were shinobi or not. An Anbu team soon joined to stop her but was quickly defeated by a large blast of chakra which knocked several of the town's people back and caused more to be injured. The damage would have continued if not for the Hokage herself pulling Hinata off of the villagers as she ranted and raved, trying to escape so she could continue what she was doing.

"How dare you bastards celebrate his death like this? After all he sacrificed and you pay him back like this? I will show you no mercy" Hinata screamed as she tried to fight the Hokage's grip to get back at the villagers who were suddenly scared as they saw the crazed and angry look in her eyes. Tsunade and several Anbu finally had to restrain Hinata with chakra cuffs and soon that wasn't enough as she pulled out kunai and ran back at the villagers, ready to slice her way through them all if she could. Tsunade had to knock Hinata out with a swift but gentle punch before carrying the kunoichi to the hospital where she was put on watch as to keep the village safe. However, to some sheer bad luck, they placed Hinata in the same room as Sasuke who was recovering from his wounds and let's just say Hinata didn't take it kindly.

"CRASH, AHH, BLAM, THUMP, CRASH, GET AWAY FROM ME, GROWL, CRASH, SLAM, GET YOUR UCHIHA ASS BACK HERE SO I CAN KILL YOU!" was only the start of some of the sounds that was heard when Hinata woke up and realized she was in the same room with Naruto's murderer as she saw it. It took 8 Anbu and Tsunade to finally restrain Hinata and move Sasuke, who was now worse than he was with his fight with Naruto, to another room on the other side of the hospital.

"Hinata, what has gotten into you?" Tsunade cried out as she looked into the cold dead eyes of the Hyuuga who said nothing, just stood there and stared at Tsunade. "Please Hinata, let him rest in peace. He wouldn't want to see you like this, he wouldn't want you to kill Sasuke just to avenge him, please it's time to let him go" Tsunade said softly as she watched as Hinata blink before she shrugged the Anbu off of her.

"Fine" she said as she made her way to the door. "But let me ask you this, did you let Dan and Nawaki go? Did you close your heart off to those who meant the most to you? Did you ever forgive those who killed them?" Hinata asked, looking into the Hokage's light brown eyes that widen in surprise before they looked down, her question unanswered. "I didn't think so, so don't tell me to let go because I'm going to keep him, even if he's just within my heart, I will keep him" Hinata said as she closed the door to the hospital room and mentally to her old life as well.

*time skip-3 years*

"Hinata-sama...what is that?" Neji asked as he looked at his long-haired cousin who gave him a curious look as she ordered a couple bowls of ramen.

"What is what Neji niisan?" Hinata asked innocently as she picked up one of the bowls of ramen she had just ordered and placed it on the ground. Neji and Hinata looked down as the creature on the ground yipped and started to eat the ramen at a fast pace. Hinata was smiling at its cuteness while Neji was looking at it with horror than at Hinata like she lost her mind, which he believed she did.

"That thing you just fed ramen and have a leash and collar on. What the hell is it?" Neji asked as he took an involuntary scoot back and almost fell out off of his stool when he saw the thing twitch and rear its blood red and black head to look at him. The thing snarled at Neji, who took another scoot back, this time falling off of his stool when Hinata bent down and petted it on its head as she was rewarded with a purring sound.

"Oh this my new pet, 'Chibi-kun' isn't he just the cutest?" Hinata said as she cooed the four tailed creature before she started on her bowl of ramen. (bet you can guess what it is now) Neji stared at Hinata then at "Chibi-kun" then back at Hinata trying to find words to voice his question without upsetting his cousin.

"What-where did you find it-er him?" Neji asked as his concern for his cousin override the idea of leaving and telling the Hokage about this as he took a seat next to Hinata, aware not to step on any of the creature's tails that was swaying slightly.

"Oh I found him near Hot Spring country, starving to death so I gave it an onigirl. He took a liking to me so I decided to keep him as a pet"

"Do you even know what that thing-he is?"

"I believe it's a fox of some kind but I don't care because he's really sweet and seems to like me."

"Hinata-sama...I think you need to see Tsunade-sama for a check-up. Ever since Naruto has been considered 'missing' (dead) for 3 years, after his battle with Sasuke, you've been acting strange(r than usual) and I'm becoming concerned."

Hinata gave Neji an agitated look before she sighed and clicked her tongue which meant it was time to go as "Chibi-kun" lifted his head, handed Hinata the bowl and waited patiently outside the door as Hinata paid for their ramen.

"Come Chibi-kun" Hinata said as she attached the leash to his body harness before he nearly dragged her away, excited for the walk while Neji watched them leave, right eye twitching as he headed for the Hokage's office.

'Something isn't right about that thing, if I didn't know any better I would say it was Naruto but that's ludicrous...maybe that's why Hinata-sama likes it so much' Neji thought as he made his way to Tsunade's office to ask for her help in checking Hinata's mental state. While Neji talked with the Hokage, Hinata was having a talk of her own as she was soon facing some mean shinobi who were drunk and stumbling all in her path until they looked down at Chibi-kun who was snarling at them.

"Hey guyz, don't cha' think this ugly mutt look like that yellowed haired kid" one drunk idiot asked as his friends nodded still blocking Hinata's path. The first drunk idiot threw his empty bottle of sake at "Chibi-kun" which was destroyed with one of his tails, growling as the man laughed. "Hey little girl, aren't you the bitch who fell in love with that blonde brat and attacked the village. You have some nerve trying to protect that damn demon's honor although I doubt he had any, heh, I bet he wasn't even man enough for you" the drunk said as fear crept up inside Hinata as she tried to step around him but was boxed in by the 3 other drunks as they forced her into an alley.

"Where you're goin' pretty girl?" the second drunk slurred as he touched Hinata's hair but his hand was swatted away afterwards using chakra to numb his hand. "Ow bitch that fucking hurt" the drunk said as he slapped Hinata which sent her flying back a bit as the drunk behind her grabbed her and the others held her arms while the first came near her, a sneer on his face. Hinata eyes turned cold as she forced chakra throughout her whole body, causing those around her to step back, giving her enough room to get into her gentle fist stance. Then with no time to spare, she closed the chakra points of the three drunks beside and behind her before they had time to register what was even happening.

"Had enough" Hinata said with a smirk as she looked down at the unconscious trio before she sensed something above and activated her byakugan to see 3 more shinobi, Anbu this time, jump down from above to the alley.

"What's going on here?" an Anbu with a lion's mask ask as he looked at Hinata with a frown on his face as the drunk behind her said that she was causing trouble and beat up his friends for no reason. Hinata turned and glared at him, growling that he and his friends were the one at fault and that she was only protecting herself.

"Besides if you're so high and mighty then how did I beat your friends so easily?" Hinata asked as the drunk growled before his face went blank and he grinned, looking at something behind her. Hinata tensed as she saw the smirk on the Anbu's face and jumped away in time to avoid a glowing hand. "What are you doing?" Hinata asked, uneasy, as she noticed the way the three Anbu were glaring at her as the leader with the lion's mask chucked as he slowly made his way toward her.

"You don't know how long I've wanted to get back at you for all the trouble you cost us" he said making his way toward Hinata who was outnumbered and out-powered.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, trying to find the best plan for her situation but not coming up with one as she slowly stepped backward.

"I mean that day so long ago, you attacked me and my squad when we tried to bring you down in the crowd but were defeated by you. Oh how they mock us, called us weak because we were defeated by a little bitch" the lion Anbu leader growled as his buddies, also wearing lion mask, agreed in answer as they quickly advanced toward Hinata. She back up and instantly ducked under the drunk's outstretched arm, as he tried to grab her and hold her in place.

"I'm not going down that easy" Hinata growled as she attacked the drunk behind her who stumbled and fell on his ass which made Hinata smile a bit before she barely dodged the kunai sent her way. Hinata turned and saw the wall of flying weapons which she deflected each one before she saw the drunk try and grab her from behind. Like before, she knocked him back with a burst of chakra which gave the Anbu enough time to surround her.

"You have nowhere to go" they said as Hinata started to fight but soon realized she was in trouble as they had learned a chakra absorption technique and was now draining all her chakra. She tried to escape but soon felt a pair of handcuffs slapped on her wrist and knew she was in deep as she felt the last of her chakra drain away, leaving her weak and defenseless.

"Cowards, all of you" Hinata snarled as she tried to continue fighting but was grabbed by the three other Anbu who held her in place as she struggled to escape, seeing the drunk stand up shakily, glaring at her as he made his way over to the them.

"Just for that, we're going to show you how a real man feels" the leader of the drunks said as Hinata heard the sound of a zipper falling before she started to cry, truly scared for her life as she watched as the drunk pull out a kunai that was coming close to her fish-net covered chest.

'Please no, save me Naruto-kun' Hinata thought only to remember Naruto wasn't around and that she was about to be raped with a slim chance of someone saving her. The Anbu watched as their leader, who ripped her jacket opened and brought the kunai to the center of her shirt, face expression go from a perverted look to one of shock before he was sent flying into the street by a long red-black tail.

"What the-?" another started to say but his body was soon sent flying into the wall along with the other three without a warning as Chibi-kun grabbed them with his other four tails, that he sent underground, before he turned back to Hinata, a look of sadness and anger as he growled at the knocked out shinobi.

"Chibi-kun, you saved me...thank you" Hinata said as she hugged the red and black foxlike creature before she picked up his body harness and walked back to the Hyuuga Manor only to release the harness, leash, and collar and watched as "Chibi-kun" ran off into the nearby woods since her father didn't allow pets. Hinata went into her room and hid the things in her underwear drawer (seriously who going to look in there) while grabbing some clothes to take a bath and wash the 'filthy touch' of the shinobi away. After she exited the bathroom with her sleeping clothes on, she heard talking outside her door and activated her byakugan to see who was there.

"Hinata-sama, are you in there?" she heard Neji asked who had brought Jiraiya and Tsunade with him, in which she told them to enter as she sat on her bed as if nothing was wrong.

"G-good evening Tsunade-sama, Jiraiya-Sennin, Neji, is t-there something I c-can help you w-with?" Hinata asked softly, having perfected her shy girl act that she used when in company of others besides Neji who she opened up to after she kicked his ass, I mean had a talk with him after her visit to the valley of the end.

"Sorry to disturb you but we have some questions about a wild animal seen around town..." Tsunade was saying as she closed the door to the rest of the conversation. While she was talking about a wild animal, said wild animal was busy running at full speed, setting a new record every time, as he ran from Konoha all the way back to Yu in the hot springs country where someone was waiting for him in a mansion-like house.

"There you are Naruto-kun, I hope you trip went well?" Itachi said as he petted his raven, Kara-chan while listening to Naruto aka Chibi-kun aka Naruto in his four tailed state making sounds that Itachi seemed to have understood as he frowned then sighed. "Naruto-kun that means you won't be able to go back anytime soon you know" Itachi stated that was answered with wails as if asking why in which he explained.

"Because the second Jiraiya or Kakashi sees you, they will recognize you and keep you locked up until they figured out what happened to you. Since I'm still considered a missing nin, I can't break you out easily either but from your reports it seems you chosen someone to watch over you."

Itachi chuckled when he noticed the 4 tailed fox blushing as it waved its tails frantically as if denying it but Itachi saw the truth.

"Do...think...like...after...learn...truth" the four tailed fox asked Itachi who realized that Naruto was starting to change back into his old self.

"I'm sure that she will still like you after she learns the truth."

'She already loves you Naruto-kun she is or was too shy to admit her feelings' Itachi thought before he ushered the miniature fox into the house where he noticed the tails disappearing as the sun rose. 'What an interesting time when I found you 1 1/2 years ago at the Valley of the End for you were barely alive. That last chidori really messed with your chakra system, to the point you started to combine with the Kyuubi without combining with him. The 'King of Biju', Kurama the 9 tailed kitsune, sacrificed his spirit to save you and his body left lifelessly in the cell to be used a chakra source or a 'second body' as you use it for sometimes" Itachi thought mentally smiling as he tucked the blonde into bed and went to sleep himself, a plan already forming in his head on how to help Naruto and Hinata get together.

*one week later*

'Sniff, why did Neji have to say something to Hokage-sama about Chibi-kun? Now he has left and I don't think he will ever come back. He was the last thing that made me feel closer to Naruto-kun' Hinata thought sadly as she walked through the town, ignoring the celebration that was for tomorrow. October 10th, the day the Kyuubi was supposedly destroyed but was sealed inside of a newborn baby named Uzumaki Naruto. After dealing with the cruelty of the villagers, the betrayal of Sasuke, his best friend, and then going on a rescue mission to save said friend he was only to be remembered as the death of the demon brat as the town liked to call him.

"Hinata-sama, maybe it would be best if you stayed inside the Manor today as Sasuke is still trying to find you for what you did to him yesterday" Neji said, a smile tugging at his lips as he thought about what happened to the over-confident Uchiha.

*flashback*

They were in the mission's room and Tsunade had just announced that they wouldn't be any missions that week in order to celebrate the life Naruto had which secretly pissed Hinata off. 'What life? All his life he was hated by the villagers and always trying to show he was stronger than many credited him for!' Hinata thought bitterly catching the attention of Kurenai who asked if everything was okay in which she slipped back into her shy girl which completely fooled everybody in the room. 'Naruto-kun wasn't the only one who can wear a mask to hide how he truly felt' Hinata mentally sighed as she tuned back in to Tsunade talking about how great a shinobi Naruto was. Of course like every great moment there is someone there to spoil it and that person happened to be Sasuke who finally was back on missions after 1-year probation for deserting Konoha in which Hinata's mind should have been longer but she wasn't going to say anything.

"Hn, Naruto wasn't anything but a dobe who lucked up at saving me. If it wasn't for his so-called friends the blonde idiot wouldn't have even come close to matching my pow-AH" Sasuke was saying until he was on the floor holding his crotch as the group watched a dark blur leave the room, chakra emitting like an aura of darkness around her.

"Was that...Hinata? I thought she grew out of her violent stage" Tenten said with admiration in her voice as Kiba howled in laughter at the fallen Uchiha while Neji ran after his cousin. Sasuke's words had started to irritate Hinata to the point that she kicked in the jewels, without chakra, not caring that she was out of character before she left the room in a huff knowing that if she stayed she would have done a lot worse.

*end flashback*

Hinata snorted as she continued walking toward the Dango Shop, clearly not concerned for Neji's words. "I'm not scared of some brooding low-down emo wanna-be with a brother obsession who only gets girls because of his emo-ness nature and-"

"Ok Hinata-sama, I understand but please stay inside because I don't want another repeat of last week and since "Chibi-kun" disappeared and hasn't returned I want to make 100% sure of your safety."

After Tsunade had left that day of the visit, Hinata dragged Neji into her room and explained all that had happened before she came home which had him mentally thanking the foxlike creature and to vow to pet it the next time he appeared. Unfortunately, he never showed up for the rest of the week which made Hinata sad and the others picked up on this, however they misinterpreted the reason being the festival.

"You don't have to worry about those goons because they are now officially kicked off of the Anbu team and are back to chunin level" Hinata explained as Neji's eyes grew wide and asked how she accomplished that feat. "I don't know all I know is that word somehow got back to otousan and he had a fit and went straight to Tsunade and demanded they be stripped of their title. At first Tsunade said that was a bit harsh but soon witnesses came forth with the same story and they were discharged with probation…that's what they get. Besides Sasuke isn't even a threat to anybody, especially to me nor will he ever be a threat to me."

"Hinata-sama, that's kind of an exaggeration don't you think?" Neji asked as he stopped to look at his cousin as the scent of the sweet dumplings wafted toward them. Hinata stopped and just gave Neji a look before she continued to walk forward, looking at her cousin beside her.

"I'm just saying niisan, that I'm not scared of some revenge-seeking brother obsessed emo asshol-h-hello Anko-san, Kurenai-sensei, e-enjoying the d-dangos" Hinata said when she saw her sensei and the snake kunoichi talking over a stack of dango plates all thanks to Anko. Neji coughed to hide the sudden chuckle at how fast Hinata switched to her shy girl mode the second she spotted the two older kunoichi.

"I'm going to go order the cinnamon buns Hinata-sama" Neji said as to avoid the sudden looks at him while Hinata thought of ways to elbow him without the kunoichi looking but didn't come up with anything.

"Hello Hinata-san, how are you this week?" Kurenai asked concerned for the girl she viewed as a daughter while Neji went to order the food, secretly listening in on the kunoichi conversation.

"I'm f-fine Kurenai-sensei" Hinata responded back, the mask hiding her true thoughts as she was not fine and never would be fine again.

"That's good" Kurenai said relieved while Anko chewed on another dango, a grin on her face.

"I heard what you did to Sasuke in the mission's room. It's about time someone showed that damn overconfident Uchiha that females is a thing to be feared too" Anko said with a smirk as Hinata blushed, secretly grinning, as she said that it was the wrong thing to do while Anko rolled her eyes. Kurenai stood up to talk with Neji, hoping to get some information out of him about Hinata's condition while Anko told Hinata to sit down before she gave her a look.

"You're not fooling me Hinata, you may have everybody else convinced but I know the truth. I can see pass that mask and now that you've change since Naruto's death" Anko whispered lowly and watched as the mask came off to show Hinata's dark and cold eyes that would send a chill up even the strongest jonin's spine.

"I can tell you're hurting, more so now because of the festival and-"

Hinata snorted as she said she wasn't even the least bit concerned about the festival which made Anko raise a brow and ask why she was upset then. Hinata saw out of the corner of her eye that the cinnamon rolls had just arrived and sighed, before she put her mask back on as Kurenai and Neji made their way back.

"I'm upset because niisan got a big mouth and snitched to the Hokage about my pet fox Chibi-kun who ran away" Hinata muttered lowly under her breath so that the two newcomers didn't hear her comment while Anko let out a laugh, saying that he would return before she went back to her plate of dangos as Kurenai sat back down. When the sticky buns arrived, Hinata said her goodbyes to Kurenai and Anko, who winked at her, before Neji escorted Hinata home where she went back to her normal self of talking about Sasuke while Anko and Kurenai left the dango shop.

"I guess you can't fool everybody" Hinata muttered which made Neji ask what she meant and explained to him about Anko seeing pass her mask. Unknown to them there was someone there watching them, a smirk on his face as he looked at the retreating nin's backs. The figure waited until they were out of sight before he followed the Hyuuga back to the Manor and hid in the trees around their property. After several minutes, the figure watched as something rushed out of Hinata's room and back toward him before he smirked.

"So you delivered the message right? Thank you now he will be pleased with the results...yes you can have the cinnamon bun" and with that the figured disappeared in a flutter of leaves with his partner that was happily devouring the sticky treat.

"Thanks Neji nii-san for taking me out for cinnamon buns" Hinata said as he handed her the box of the sticky rolls which she offered him one and he took it out of thanks. Hinata bid Neji a good night before she went into her room, sat on her bed, and opened up the box to pull out one. As she was about to take the first bite she heard a 'caw' sound and looked to see a large black raven sitting on the post of her bed.

"Hello there, where did you come from?" Hinata asked the bird as if it would talk but it just stood there, turning to look at her out of its eye before flying up and dropping a scroll in her lap.

"Caw" which Hinata translated to mean "read" in which she sighed, placed the roll back in the bod, and opened up the scroll to read the message and her eyes grew wide with unshed tears.

"N-Naruto-kun…he's alive" Hinata softly said as she continued to read the letter asking her if she wanted to live with Naruto in the hot springs country. As she continued reading she learned of the Kyuubi's sacrifice, Naruto's refusal to go back to Konoha, and his wish to start a new life with someone who truly loved him. Hinata looked up at the raven that was waiting for her to sign the paper as she nodded, grabbed a pen, and quickly wrote her response. Tying the scroll up, the raven hopped over to her, grabbed the scroll with its feet, a cawed in thanks as she petted it on its feathery head.

"Aw, such a cute bird" Hinata said as she noticed the night creature seemed to be staring at her box of cinnamon rolls in which she offered one to the black bird who scooped it up in its beak before it flew out the window. Giggling as she watched the raven leave, Hinata's eyes slid toward the door as she quickly got up and stealthily made her way across the room and opened her door to find-

'Hinata-sama, what are you doing?' Neji thought as he watched Hinata read and signed yes to the paper the raven had delivered before handing it a sticky roll and watching it fly away. 'Hinata-sama just signed her life away to a stranger, I must tell Hiashi-sama' Neji thought as he deactivated his byakugan and sighed before he took a step away from Hinata's door. But that's all he took though, one step, before he felt the cold metallic touch of a kunai at his throat as Hinata wrapped an arm around her cousin's neck.

"Now niisan hasn't anybody ever told you it's not nice to snoop into other people's business and I bet you were going to go tell otousan about my decision am I right? But you're not going to tell him right Neji?" Hinata asked sweetly, the kunai pressing deeper into his throat as he resisted the urge to swallow and squeaked out a yes before the kunai was removed. "Good then I will see you later, oh, and don't forget, don't tell otousan or you will regret it" Hinata said in a sing song way before she went back into her room and closed the door, humming the chorus of Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad.

Easy for a good girl to go bad

And once we gone (gone)

Best believe we've gone forever

Don't be the reason

Don't be the reason

You better learn how to treat us right

'Cause once a good girl goes bad

We die forever

"Ever since Naruto's death she has become more serial-like over the course of 3 years. Hinata-sama doesn't need protection anymore, it's her enemies that will need the protection" Neji muttered as he slid down the wall, legs weak, before he straightened up and quickly headed to his room, not even glancing at Hiashi's study when he passed by. Hinata finished off the cinnamon buns before she tucked into bed and for the first time in 3 years she had a pleasant sleep dreaming of Naruto and living with him.

"Naruto-kun, I love you" Hinata whispered in her sleep, a soft smile on her face as someone outside her window looked in at her, a smile on his whiskered face before he disappeared in a flutter of leaves to join Itachi. The next day was exciting for everybody but was really exciting for a long-haired kunoichi named Hinata as she packed all her things, secretly of course, and got ready for tonight. Hinata spent the day all around Konoha, smiling and enjoying the day, which seriously caught a lot of the team's attention at her odd behavior. They started to follow her at a distant to see what was wrong and got even more concerned as she bought gifts all around foxes and ravens until Sakura couldn't take no more and confronted the girl outside of a toy store.

"Hinata, what are you happy about? Normally you're devastated on this day because of the meaning behind it but you're practically skipping around the town and buying gifts. Have you gotten over Naruto or something and why did you kick Sasuke-kun the other day?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked hysterically while the others joined their location, seeing as to what Hinata was going to say. Neji, coming from the Manor, was rushing around town trying to find Hinata and talk some sense into her about what she planned but stopped in his tracks when he saw her and heard what she had said to Sakura which in turned shocked everybody in the group who thought they knew the shy kunoichi.

"Sakura...just shut the hell up and leave me alone. I don't even want to think about that damn Uchiha and I swear if I see him again, I will make sure he can't revive the Uchiha clan" Hinata said almost emotionlessly as she turned and headed toward Neji who stood there with his mouth open along with the rest of the teams as they watched Hinata's retreating back.

"Did Hinata just say what I think she just said?" Ino shrieked as they continued to watch Hinata's hair dancing with every step while Neji followed her down the street and out of sight, calling her name.

"Is that what Anko meant, saying we didn't know the real Hinata anymore?" Kurenai said with tears in her eyes as she watched her adopted daughter she thought she knew continue to walk down the street, Neji finally catching up with her.

"Has our youthful Hinata really changed that much?" Gai asked as he, Lee, and Tenten wondered just how long Neji knew about the new Hinata.

"Was she just wearing a mask this whole time? Hiding her true feelings behind a false sense of happiness and understanding? How did we not see this, how did I not see this?" Kakashi muttered as he thought back to all the times he was around Hinata and never gave her behavior a second thought.

"It's like I said, the old Hinata died that night and the new one was born in its ashes, stronger, angrier, livelier, and more bad to the bone" a voice said and they turned to see Anko who was looking at Kurenai, then the sensei, and finally the Konoha 11.

"She's been like this for so long? How come she didn't tell us, we're her team-mates?" Kiba whined while Shino said that was exact reason she didn't tell us.

"The changes were noticed from the start. No person can just go back to being their old selves after what Hinata had been through. It was obvious she was wearing a mask because she had returned to same state she used to act when Naruto was alive just to cover how much she had changed" Shikamaru sighed as he looked up at the colored sky as the sun was setting.

"What do you mean?" Chouji asked as he looked at his lazy friend who frowned before looking at everybody.

"You believed she was still shy but miss how she calmly walks down the street with her head held high. You believed her to still stutter but miss as she casually talks to Neji. You believe her to be friendly again but missed how she stops hanging around us, except for Neji. You believe her to have forgiven Sasuke but miss how her fist clenched and the air around her grows colder whenever in the presence of him. You believe her to be the same but miss the changes in front of you, focusing only on the big picture and not the detail of the painting" Shikamaru explained as they all grew quiet, thinking about that and started to reevaluate the times they were around Hinata and realized that Shikamaru was right.

"So what is with the sudden change now? You think she's planning something?" Tenten wondered as the sensei grew quiet, a bad feeling in the air.

…I think we need to talk to Hiashi and the Hokage about this" Asuma said to the sensei as they nodded and made their way to the administrative building and Tsunade's office while the villagers around them was starting the festival.

"Hinata-sama, what has gotten into you? You never acted like that in front of the team in fact you never acted like that in front of anybody except me!" Neji asked, still in shock, as Hinata shrugged and said it wouldn't matter after tonight.

"I'm going to be leaving soon anyway so it doesn't bother me none. Neji niisan, don't try and talk me out of it because you won't and I already made up my mind. If you want niisan, you can join me to live in the hot spring country with me and Naruto-kun, I'm sure he won't mind but you better go pack."

Neji stopped and looked deep into his cousin's eyes to see if she was under some kind of genjutsu, being controlled, or just plan crazy. Seeing her eyes were clear and focus he sighed, shook his head, and muttered about needing a drink as he walked back to the manor, with her gifts, thinking she was following when she wasn't.

As the night had fallen, Hinata walked too close to one of the alleys and was suddenly dragged in before she could make a sound to address Neji and chakra cuffs forced onto her wrist once again.

"Hello pretty girl, remember us?" a voice said as Hinata struggled to free herself of the Anbu from last week that Chibi-kun had saved her from, only this time she truly was alone. "Well we decided to get a little payback for what you had done to us, now get ready for some revenge bitch" the leader said as he pulled out a knife and started to cut Hinata's clothes as the sounds of the festival picked up, moving into full swing.

'Naruto-kun...I'm sorry' Hinata thought as she watched, tears in her eyes, as the guy sliced through her black net fish shirt and touch her breast making her cry in horror as she waited for the rape. However the rape never came as they stopped when they heard a low rumble behind them and they all turned to see Chibi-kun who was starting to sprout a new look. The ex-Anbu watched in shock as bones started to form over the foxlike creature and two of the tails split to form a six-tailed fox in front of them that snarled and disappeared in a flash. Hinata felt the ex-Anbu team drop her and someone else gently lift her up before teleporting her back to her room, the last sound heard was the scream of the leader as the fox tore into his skin.

"You're safe now Hinata-chan" a voice said as she looked up to see Itachi smiling at her, Kara-kun on his shoulder as she cawed at Hinata.

"Wha-"

"We actually don't have time for questions Hinata-chan, the other teams went and got Tsunade and now they're on their way here."

"Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, sitting down on her bed as she looked around a blonde-haired shinobi. Right as Hinata asked that, she saw Chibi-kun return, sitting on his back legs, teeth and paws dripping with blood, looking ashamed.

"...that's him isn't it? He saved me from the ex-Anbu and he killed them this time" Hinata said as she made her way over to Naruto who whined a bit, cowering as if she was going to hit him. Hinata smiled and said she didn't hate him as he looked at her, well more like stared at her, awfully hard, that had her wondering about the look.

"Uh, Hinata-chan, we need to get going before the others find us...also I think you better change your shirt" Itachi said as he nearly had to drag Naruto, who was blushing, out of the room while Hinata squeaked as she remembered her shirt was torn. Quickly grabbing a new shirt she jerked it over her head before she turned back to the backyard as she grabbed her backpack and headed for the missing Uchiha and the mini kitsune Naruto, the 6 tails having reverted back to one. He just sat there, looking at her with a tilted head as Itachi asked her if she was ready.

"More than ever, get me out of this hell-hole" Hinata stated as Itachi raised a brow but didn't say anything else as he hosted Hinata and Neji's bag (which he packed while they were gone) on his shoulders and took off toward the forest. Neji was walking to the gate when he saw Hinata, Chibi-kun, and an unknown tall male jumping through the trees. With a curse Neji followed them and asked where they were going in which Itachi revealed himself and quickly explained their trip back to the hot springs village.

"Hinata-sama, are you really going to abandon Konoha, all your friends, your team, your family? Tell me is it really worth it?" Hinata gave him a dull look and answered his questions with a snort as she talked about her so called friends mistreating Naruto, her team trying to hit on her the second Naruto was considered dead, and just gave him a look on the family part.

"...okay you have a point but still what if it's a trap and-"

"Neji niisan, I told you already that I'm going and there is no way you can stop me. Just a few minutes ago, I was almost raped again by the same Anbu idiots from last week when Itachi and Chibi-kun who happens to be Naruto saved me once again."

Neji looked ill that Hinata was almost raped twice when he should have been there to protect her.

"Okay Hinata-sama, but I won't be going with you so I hope you can live a happy life in hot springs country" Neji said as he started to head back making them stop and look back at the Hyuuga. Itachi was about to call him for his bag when he noticed Hinata gave Neji a dull look and exchanged a glance with him before she started to speak casually again.

"Well that's too bad Neji niisan but I hope you have an exciting life being the personal servant of Hanabi. Then listening every day to Lee and Gai's talk of youthfulness than be lectured by otousan about how you failed the main branch and will be put to death for letting me escape but if that's your choice than so be it" Hinata said as she started to jump through the trees again with Itachi and Naruto. Itachi looked at Hinata who started to count down from 3 on her fingers with a smirk on her face.

'3, 2, 1,-'

"Hinata-sama, wait for me" Neji cried fearfully as he rushed to catch up with Hinata, Itachi, and Naruto as he knew his life would end immediately the second he returned to the Manor and decided that flight was better than fight in this situation. Itachi handed Neji his bag who gave him a suspicious look before he sighed and placed it around his back. "I maybe have believe that fate controlled my destiny but this time my fate lies with staying alive so let's hurry the hell out of here" Neji said as they jumped through the trees never to be seen again in fire country. When they arrived in hot spring country, Naruto changed back into his normal self, and the joy of Hinata, and using secret sealing techniques he got from Kyuubi removed the cursed seal from Neji's forehead. They had changed their names and now were living peacefully and happily in the hot springs country enjoying their good fortune while Konoha tried to put the pieces together of a rather strange line of events that took place that one night long ago. The two Hyuuga's disappearance, the shredded remains of 5 former Anbu in an alley, the harness, leash, and collar found in Hinata's drawer, and a letter left for the Hokage talking about how Hinata adopted Chibi-kun, was going to keep him like she said, and finally live a happy life with the one she loved.