I have a funny story to tell that kind of leads up to why I wrote a Naruto fic about the NaruHina ship. I never tried reading the manga because I'm too lazy to go through a gazillion chapters to get to a cliffy. I finished the entire Naruto series and watched the Shippuden series up to the part when the Akatsuki people capture Gaara. I never got to the part when Gaara dies. Following that, I forgot about the series and the story just remained suspended in my head. I know, what's the matter with me, stopping in the middle of a very crucial moment? I had a lot on my mind at the time when I stopped. I wandered away for awhile, missing about the next 170 episodes or so. Then, one boring day, I sat down at my computer and wondered how my favorite Hinata was doing. Cackle, cackle… Lo and behold, I find out about the most recent fight she has with this guy named Pein. I end up catching up and doing a little research, aka, ask the little brother what the heck was going on, and I got the gist of the 170 episodes I missed! Haha, I didn't have to watch anything, but the episode when Hinata actually confesses to Naruto. What? Hinata confesses to Naruto. I was freakin shocked out of my mind. The rest of the story up to the point when Naruto actually confronts the real "Pein" was all very touching. No more spoilers from here on out. Enjoy my first Naruto fanfic.

Standard disclaimer applies.

Bed of Roses

By MistyWing

Inky shadows swallowed Konoha hours ago. Hyuga Hinata had been resting a couple of hours to replenish the strength she depleted on her last mission. The Hokage had sent her on a C-class mission, three weeks back, involving one cocky heir to a great fortune. She had spent the last three weeks trekking in desert land, stuck protecting her employer from cacti and potential dehydration. Hinata finished her mission somewhat ahead of time because she had a sinking feeling that something was going to happen at home.

Now she was gliding through the air, bouncing from rooftop to rooftop as she closed in on the Hokage's residence. Her Byukagon confirmed her suspicions when she saw the bustling movement of the Konoha villagers. Their energy waves through the dry walls were anything, but calm as they wavered like flames gathering into a conflagration. She knew something was wrong and the sense of urgency pushed her to pick up her pace. She also knew something was wrong when she returned and found that everyone was outright ignoring her or avoiding her. Hinata had barely shut her eyes when a profound idea stirred the solemnity in her state of mind.

"Tenten!" Hinata shouted as she slammed the sliding door to Neji's room open.

The young weapons mistress looked up, wide-eyed, in the middle of nursing her infant son. She gaped at the disheveled Jonin before stuttering, "Hin-Hinata! What are you doing up so early? You should be rejuvenating after that long mission."

Hinata wore a complacent smile as she approached Tenten. No matter how much turmoil roiled inside her, she always managed a smile for the picture of a mother with her child. Before Tenten could take in the tender smile, Hinata seemed to snap out of it in a blink of an eye. She stiffened as she started, "Neji-nii-san…"

Tenten tittered. "Oh, Neiji… He's on a mission right now. What do you need from him?"

The Hyuga successor drew back slightly. "Nothing," she said, looking into Tenten's eyes, searching.

"You're doing that thing he does with his eyes. Aren't you?" Tenten huffed at her and turned her head the other way.

Hinata placed a hand at her hip. "I don't need to look into your eyes to tell you're keeping something from me. Don't underestimate my eyes because even when you look away I see past everything superficial."

Tenten placed the baby back in his wicker basket and heaved a sigh. "There's nothing to tell you."

Furrowed brows and a clenched fist came before Hinata's assumptions. She was getting slightly peeved with Tenten and the rest of her family who had yet to see that she returned from her mission. "Neji-nii-san just left for a mission. I can't find the rest of my family, which has been very unsettling. The Hokage was unwilling to inform me about anything, even their whereabouts, which I find extremely unsettling."

Tenten groaned. "How…"

"Neji-nii-san might have trained you to hide your emotions, but I have trained my entire life to see through any sort of barrier."

Tenten continued her deep breathing. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"I'll go directly to the Hokage and ask for permission to join Neji-nii-san, of course."

The weapon wielder rolled her eyes. "Fat chance you'll get that permission."

"We'll see about that. Good bye, Tenten." Then, the Hyuga pulled into the shadows.

The wind incessantly clawed and tugged at her dark hair as she dashed and flew over the restaurants, shops, and homes. Something was lurking in the outskirts. This was not an ominous feeling built by her nagging conscious. This was real. She whispered her cousin's name in three tones; anger, affection, and anguish. He was too far out to see his potent chakra.

The shinobi stopped at the front doors of the Hokage's office. She deactivated her Byakugan at the same time she pushed his door opened. Hinata hadn't meant to interrupt the moment, but her stomach had clenched for the next few seconds she saw the two occupants in the room. Then, her stomach did a flip-flop when she was caught like a deer caught in headlights.

She had walked into one of those intimate scenes where the man held the woman like she was some delicate flower. They were just silhouettes framed by the moonlight spilling in from the glass windows. One of his hands was on her slim waist, while the other hand gently graced the curve of her cheek.

Before Hinata had interrupted them, he was whispering kindly to the woman in his arms. "It's okay. I'll always be here for you…"

The two people in the room had paused when they heard Hinata's rustling entry. The young Hyuga was blushing crimson as she helped them switch on the lights. "I'm sorry to disturb the both of you, but I have some important matters to discuss with you—Sakura-san?"

The Hokage had slowly detached from the pink haired medical ninja. Sakura had turned to stare at Hinata, giving away her devastated face. Sakura's face was clearly splotchy and wet from her tears.

"Oh, Hinata-chan! You're back early from your mission. We weren't expecting you until next week."

Genuinely concerned first, Hinata stepped the rest of the way into the room and took Sakura's other side. "What's wrong? The whole place feels like a second kyuubi attacking the village. You are so upset."

The medical ninja tilted her head to the side to watch Hinata. "Work has been stressful. There's been a lot of shinobi coming in from the field—"

The Hokage cleared his throat, enough to stop Sakura in mid-sentence and not enough to make Hinata suspicious.

Hinata's eyes remained focused on Sakura's disheartened face as she completely ignored the blonde man. Reading Sakura's pain, she whispered, in understanding, "It's Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hinata…" The Hokage warned. Hinata visibly flinched at his tone.

Hinata squawked. "I'm sorry. It's not my place to bring up the past."

"No, it's alright." Sakura smile brightly at her, while she slapped the back of her former comrade's head, on the side. "Naruto, baka! Don't be mean to Hinata-chan!" She started to the door, swiping at the remains of tears on her lower lashes.

"Sakura-san…"

Sakura swiftly turned to hook Hinata's pale stare with her green stare. There was a mischievous glint in the medical ninja's eyes that was hard to miss. "I need to get back to work. Bye!"

The moment Sakura had disappeared, the Hyuga turned to the Hokage. Her face was burning furiously and she was surprised to see that the Hokage's face matched hers.

The Hokage rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Uh, Hinata… I was just trying to comfort Sakura. You were right on the money when you mentioned Sasuke's name."

"So, Sasuke's the reason everyone's panicky. He is back to exact revenge on our people."

"What you saw back there… With Sakura and I…"

She gave him her gentlest smile that could have competed with her gentle fist in packing the punch to knock him off his feet. "Please, Hokage-sama. You can explain everything and anything you want to me later. I need to catch up with Neji. He's in the front lines, isn't he? He may be fighting Sasuke at this moment."

"I can't keep a secret around any member of your family. That's just how it is with all of you." Naruto sighed and fell heavily into the chair behind his desk. When Hinata didn't confirm his statement, he simply shrugged his shoulders. "Sasuke's not out there tonight. Most of the invaders are shinobi who work under him."

Hinata breathed a sigh of relief, emphasizing her relief by placing her hand over her heart. "I request to join in the battle."

Naruto shook his head slowly. "You need your rest, Hinata."

"Neji put you up to this. He told you to give me a simple mission that would wear me down, so that when I got back and if I got back in time, I wouldn't have the strength to duke it out with these traitors."

Naruto shook his head fiercely, shaking his gold shaggy head.

The navy haired Hyuga slid her hands to the face of his desk and clenched those hands into fists. "He can't hold me back if he's not here. I don't need his protection. I am the eldest daughter of my clan. I give the orders and I am certain I know exactly what I'm doing."

Naruto growled. "That's arrogant."

Hinata felt her face flush. "Please, Hokage-sama, you out of all people should understand how I feel. All my life, I've been chasing and trying to keep up. I know Neji has had his share of pain, but I have mine, too. The pain has made me stronger even though the rest of the world might not see that…"

"Hinata, I need you to defend the village here, in case a stray nin breaks through our first line of defense. The people need your protection. Don't worry about Neji. He's got your sister and your parents to back him up. As for your family, Neji will protect them in return."

Hinata dug her nails into the wood. "Hokage-sama, listen. I'll come around if they break through. I'll be back if they start attacking the people. Believe me."

"No. You are staying here with me," Naruto repeated firmly.

Hinata's pale eyes stung with unshed tears. "Neji's a brand new father. My sister's still a chuunin. My parents' are aging…"

Naruto took a last stand. He knew he couldn't truly stop her. "There's Tenten and your nephew, too."

Hinata's shoulders slumped as the last of her energy drained out of her. She was not going to get permission from the one man she admired and adored.

The way Naruto whispered her name tilted her chin back up to meet his gaze. She tried to reach him in supplication. She tried to make him believe in her because he was her courage in every mission. He was the one goal she had followed all her life. "That's not the point… Hokage-sama, it will be my honor to die for…"

Naruto held his breath as nostalgia took over his mind.

"… For my family. It will be my honor to die protecting Konaha you worked so hard to help restore and preserve."

Naruto smirked. "Spoken like a true ninja."

"I'll go without your permission," she murmured, turning to the door.

"Hinata, before you stupidly go out there to get yourself killed, tell me what's the one thing you truly wish for in this life."

She looked into his deep blue eyes and smiled again. "You fulfilled your dream to become Hokage. Everyone wants to follow you and believe in you. That's all I wished for, Hokage-sama."

"Tch, Hinata. I am angry enough to strangle someone right now."

Hinata took a giant leap backwards. "I better get out of your way."

He continued glowering at her. "Your funeral."

Disheartened by the one man that she hoped and prayed would someday believe in her, she bit her lip. Trembling ever so slightly, she whispered, "If that's what you believe."

"Your last wish, then! Baka!"

On the other side of the door she looked at him, trying to discern his rage. To no avail.

"If I die a young ninja, lay me down in a bed of roses."

Yeah, I think I'll stop here for now. Looking back at my web browsing history, I noticed the last thing on the list was the wikianswer page. People really want Sakura and Naruto together for heterosexual pairing. VERY interesting. I'm definitely not against that. I just like to float in this ship better. I'm a major Hyuga clan fan. I simply admire Neji like I would admire any pistachio ice cream cone from Ben and Jerry's. Just saying… Hyuga and their bloodline abilities are the most powerful. No biases. I'm still debating on the rating for this because there might be a little violence in the second chapter. I'm also wondering if Naruto is going to be the seventh Hokage. For now, I'll make him the seventh. Now, please review while I rest and replenish for the second chapter. Beg pardons for any spelling bloops. It's so late here.