I do not own Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters. If you want a specific story updated, request it and I'll try. I know I neglect all of them quite frequently but I get bored. Like I said, just ask for an update. This takes place at some point early in Shippuden before Naruto and friends go after the Three-tails.

New Assignment

Hinata walked along with Kiba and Shino on their way back to the village. They had been on a mission to return a cat to its owner and Akamaru had been more than happy to chase it back himself. Kiba had scolded him but the cat had then stood up on two legs and drew a pair of tiny kunai before proceeding to attack the four of them so Kiba wasn't to mad at Akamaru about it.

"Friggin' ninja cats," Kiba said pulling a tiny shuriken out of his cheek.

"I think he was cute," Hinata said. "At least until he started throwing weapons."

She pulled a tiny kunai out of her hair and accidentally cut her finger on it. She put her finger in her mouth sucking on the paper cut and Kiba smirked.

"You know that's unsanitary right?" Kiba asked.

"You lick all of yours and let Akamaru do it," Hinata said shaking her finger as it began to throb painfully.

"Dog's mouths are cleaner than a human's," Kiba said.

"Actually there are as many germs in a dog's mouth as in a human's," Shino said.

"Who asked you," Kiba asked.

"He's right," Hinata said before putting her finger back into her mouth and wincing as it throbbed again.

"You okay?" Kiba asked.

"It hurts," Hinata said.

"Let me see," Kiba said taking her hand then his eyes widened. "Well no wonder, there was poison on the knife. Akamaru can clean it out for you or I could."

"I think Akamaru doing it would be less awkward," Shino said. "I'm betting on her voting for him."

"I agree with Shino," Hinata said blushing a bit.

Kiba shrugged and whistled. Akamaru walked over and began licking Hinata's finger making her wince again but after a couple seconds, her finger stopped hurting and Akamaru stopped. Hinata washed his saliva off her finger with some water from her bottle then put it away.

"Alright," Kiba said. "Now that that's taken care of, let's get home. I'm hungry and my mom promised steak."

"Can't you just get steak at half the restaurants in the village?" Shino asked.

"Not like Mom's," Kiba said. "Hers is delicious."

"Right," Hinata said rolling her eyes.

"Oh sorry, I forgot you could have steak whenever you want, being the Hyuga Heiress and all," Kiba said.

"Is that right?" a shinobi asked walking out of the trees behind them while two more blocked the path ahead of them. "It must be our lucky day then. Gents, fetch the Byakugan. Bring the bitch alive and you can enjoy her."

They charged at Hinata but Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino all stepped in the way. Shino sent a swarm of his bugs at the two in front of them and Kiba and Akamaru charged at the one behind them. Hinata would have helped too but they clearly had things handled. At least, until they didn't. Suddenly Shino's bugs were all frozen solid and Kiba and Akamaru were both out cold.

"What did you do?" Shino asked.

"Simple," the one that had beaten Kiba and Akamaru said. "We're better than you."

"I doubt it," Shino said. "Try this."

Just then, billions of his bugs exploded out of the ground swarming around all three and they began to scream. Then, all of the bugs were frozen. Shino drew a kunai and sprinted forward to fight the two ahead of them but they easily took him down. Hinata made a decision and ran at the single one activating her Byakugan. When she reached him, she swung at him but he dodged it and kicked her away. She pushed herself up and charged again but again he knocked her back before she could hit him, this time much harder. She again pushed herself up, barely able to move and spit blood out of her mouth. He grinned and clapped slowly.

"Impressive," the shinobi said. "I'm surprised you're able to stand. I can sense injuries and you're not good. In two hits I was able to rupture your stomach, break three ribs and damage your spinal cord. You're very strong willed to be able to stand."

"I won't...give up..." Hinata said between labored breaths. "I'm going...to kill...you."

"I doubt it," the shinobi said as the other two grabbed Hinata's arms and kicked her in the backs of her knees.

She dropped to the ground and they held her up but the other shinobi walked forward calmly. When he reached her, he smiled down at her then knelt and drove his fist into her stomach hard enough that the rest of her ribs snapped and her diaphragm stopped working for fifty seconds. Her vision blurred and when it came back she found herself on the ground hogtied and staring at Shino and Kiba who were likewise tied up and still unconscious.

"That was too easy," the lead shinobi said. "I can't wait to get my Byakugan."

"I get one too," one of the others said.

"No, I do," the other said.

Just then, Neji appeared between them and jabbed them multiple times until they dropped and the other took a step forward and someone grabbed his arm.

"You dare attack my daughter?" Hiashi asked glaring at the man as his Byakugan activated. "Now, you will die."

Hiashi swung his walking stick and smashed it into the shinobi's throat collapsing it while Neji knelt beside Hinata and freed her then picked her up carefully.

"Don't worry Hinata," Neji said. "We'll get you back to the hospital."

Hiashi freed the others who stirred and they all headed back fairly slowly while Neji ran as fast as he could.

"Are the others okay?" Hinata croaked.

"They're fine," Neji said. "I'm proud of you. You did well."

"I couldn't even hit him," Hinata said.

"No," Neji said. "But you kept trying. The only reason I was able to defeat two was because I surprised them."

Hinata nodded and slipped into unconsciousness and Neji pushed himself harder. When they reached the village, he took her to the hospital and Tsunade met him there and healed her as much as she could. Unfortunately, the damage was too severe to heal completely. She was unable to heal Hinata enough for her to be able to fight for at least a month, maybe more and Tsunade doubted that Hinata's Byakugan were safe if she wasn't protected. Fortunately, she had the perfect option and knew Hinata would never refuse. Five minutes later, Naruto arrived at Tsunade's office to see her and Hinata waiting.

"Naruto, I have an assignment for you," Tsunade said. "Depending on what happens, it might be anywhere from a B-rank to an S-rank mission."

"Cool," Naruto said. "What is it?"

"Hinata was injured on the way back from her last mission," Tsunade said. "The assailants were after her Byakugan and would have succeeded if Neji and Hiashi hadn't happened across her. One of the assailants was killed but two were incapacitated then vanished. I doubt they will give up on acquiring her Byakugan that easily so your mission is to protect her until she had recovered enough to protect herself."

"You think they'll be back?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Tsunade said. "Hinata will not be fully healed for at least a month."

"I'll do it," Naruto said.

"Naruto," Tsunade said. "You realize that Hinata can't be left alone, even for a moment."

"Easy enough," Naruto said.

"Hear my words," Tsunade said. "Not at any time, including at night. You alone, are to guard her and do not leave her alone with anyone, including her family."

"What do you suggest?" Naruto asked.

"There are two options," Tsunade said. "Either you stay at the Hyuga Compound, which I highly recommend you don't do, or she stay with you, which Hiashi will also kill you for."

"So either way as soon as Hinata's healed, I'm dead," Naruto said.

"Yes," Tsunade said.

"Great," Naruto said. "Guess it's up to Hinata then."

"I-I w-would like to s-stay with y-you," Hinata said blushing furiously.

Naruto nodded and then bowed and left. Hinata bowed as well and followed. Naruto went to the top of the Hokage Monument and sat down over the space where he dreamed of one day having his own face carved. He stared out at the village and Hinata sat beside him.

"When I feel scared, upset, or even bored," Naruto said without looking at her. "Sometimes it helps to come up here. It clears my head and helps it function. I also happen to like the view, especially at night."

"Before, when you were still alone, did you ever consider..." Hinata trailed off but Naruto knew what she meant and nodded.

"Once," Naruto said staring at a building below the cliff with several antenna extending from the top. "I had made a plan to jump off and impale myself on one of them. I abandoned that plan once I entered the academy. I abandoned a lot of things then."

"Do you ever feel like you want to?" Hinata asked.

Naruto didn't answer and simply stared out at the village in silence. She looked down at it as well, watching people walking through the streets calmly. As the sun began to sink below the horizon, the lights came on and the people all returned to their homes. Naruto made no attempt to move and Hinata did the same. Finally, it was dark and the stars were out. There were more than Hinata had ever seen at one time before and the lights of the village barely interfered. The village also looked beautiful in its own way.

"Come on," Naruto said finally standing. "I want to show you something."

Hinata nodded and they walked into the woods away from the village. It was too dense to see the sky but after a few minutes, they reached a clearing where the light of the village didn't block out any stars. There were easily twice as many as Hinata had seen on the cliff. She blinked in surprise and smiled. Naruto walked to the center of the field where there was a single tree. He lay down just far enough away to be able to see the sky. Hinata lay beside him and stared up at the sky.

"It's beautiful here," Hinata said after a time.

"Yes," Naruto said. "Much better than that crappy and messy apartment I'm supposed to keep you locked up in."

"True," Hinata said. "But you know we can't stay out here every night. Eventually, Tsunade would find out."

"True," Naruto said.

"She's right," Tsunade said stepping around the tree. "You really should be more careful."

"I could take on anyone except you," Naruto said.

"Go to your apartment," Tsunade said. "A building is easier to hold than a field."

"It's also harder to escape," Naruto said.

"Just go!" Tsunade said.

Naruto sighed and stood and he and Hinata made their way back to his apartment. When they got there, Naruto sent clones out and within minutes it was clean. Hinata looked around and smiled. His apartment was small but understandably so given he lived alone and had to pay his own rent. There was one bed, a small round table, two chairs, a refrigerator, a microwave, an old stove, and a bathroom. The bedroom was down a very thin hallway barely big enough for one person. The bathroom door was about halfway down the hall on her left. It was likely the reason the hall was so narrow.

"I know it's not much and it's definitely not anything like you're used to," Naruto said. "But it's the best I can do."

"I think it's much better than sharing one house with almost all of your family," Hinata said. "I love it."

"Thank you," Naruto said smiling slightly. "You can have the bed. I'll take the couch."

"Y-you don't have t-to do that," Hinata said. "I can take the couch."

"No," Naruto said. "You're my guest so I'm taking the couch."

Hinata nodded then stared at the ground.

"You don't have to, you know," Hinata said.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"Protect me," Hinata said. "You don't have to. If you don't want to...I could ask one of the others."

"Hinata," Naruto said. "I'm sorry I've been moody today. It's not you. I'm honored to be the first choice for your body guard. I've just had a bad day."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hinata asked.

"I don't think so," Naruto said.

"Alright," Hinata said. "I'm always here for you."

Naruto nodded and smiled and Hinata smiled and went down the hall to the bedroom. Naruto lay on the couch and sighed contentedly. A moment later, he heard Hinata close the door and drifted off to sleep.

THE END

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