A/N: I have officially updated the entire story of The True Meaning of Value as of March 9th, 2016. The story has been cleaned up to fix plot holes and hopefully to the betterment of the story's flow - I'm hoping this fixes the crummier parts of the story so that this fanfic becomes ten times more enjoyable with a more realistic approach to the characters and story development. Thank you everyone for supporting and following this story, and please continue to do so as new chapters are on their way! Read on, my fellow fans! I hope to see each and everyone of you guys at the end of this long, long journey!

- Pencilfreak17

Chapter 1: Worthless

Hinata tugged at the hem of her sleeves nervously as she stood by her father's office door, having been called after dinner for a private talk. Hinata was almost tempted to bite her fingernails again; what did her father want now?

Only last week had her father discussed with Hinata her 'condition.'

"Your speech lacks composure and reassurance that will be vital for the employees around you. And your stutter! The WORST quality in your speech impediment! You need to work on being more persuasive rather than compromising, honestly, it's good to be conceding, but in the business world, we need more persuasion. You need to grow up Hinata and try harder."

Hinata had nodded and sadly dropped her head.

"I-I'm trying father."

Her father shook his head in a disgusted manner as he looked back down at his newspaper.

"No you're not – not hard enough."

Hinata really did try though. Sometimes she wished her father actually took the time to notice rather than focusing all his attention on her younger sister, Hanabi, but she has never felt bitterness for her father or her sister; knowing regretfully that she had always been, lacking in many skills needed as future heiress of the business of the Hyuuga.

"Hinata! Come in."

Hinata shuddered at her father's booming voice shaking her back to reality. Silently, she opened the door before entering; closing it shut behind her as she bowed respectfully.

"G-Good evening f-father …"

Her father was busy with his papers, however nonetheless, he addressed her without looking up.

"I thought I told you to work on that stutter of yours."

Hinata sadly frowned, her hands wringing her skirt in her hands.

"I-I'm sorry father. I-I'm trying."

Her father sighed, putting his glasses aside as he rubbed at his eyes, finally speaking out, "That's all you ever say. 'I'll try, I'll try.' Why is it that after all this time, you've STILL haven't improved?"

Hinata looked up at her father in surprise, finding newfound venom in her father's voice.

'What have I done? I've done nothing to deserve this! I AM trying!'

"But father-!"

"I called you here because I thought it'd be only fair that I mentioned to you that I've taken away your birth right and given it to Hanabi."

Hinata felt the world stop.

'My birth right… taken away?'

"H-Hanabi?"

Her father glared at her stuttering her sister's name.
"Yes. You've failed to improve and show any signs of being a capable chairwoman; Hanabi is, therefore, my new successor, because she's proven herself to be far more developed and capable of leading the business, unlike yourself. Unfortunately for you Hinata, I don't feel any regret in doing all of this."

Hinata felt her blood stop, her father giving her the look – the look she had always feared – of disappointment.

"You're a disgrace to the family and you're a failure to the Hyuuga name; you are no longer needed as heiress."

Suddenly the door flew open as Hinata's mother came bustling in, grabbing Hinata away from her father in surprise.

"Hiashi! That was too harsh, she's still your daughter-!"

"Impetuous woman, who gave you permission to enter my office?! Get out! And take her with you; I've seen enough of her face this evening."

Hinata's mother fell silent, simply standing there with Hinata, squeezing her daughter's shoulders as the two stared at Hiashi, who had resumed his work wordlessly. Hinata wanted to cry, but felt no tears come. All she felt was a rush of disappointment and sadness; she had failed her own father more than she had failed her family. Now she realized how worthless she had become despite all these years of trying… nothing was able to change her worthlessness.

Hinata was led out the office by her mother's gentle hands, outside the door, Hinata was confronted by her sister. Hanabi's expression was unsympathetic as always.

"Hinata, though it makes me – in the slightest – disappointed to say this, I agree with father."

Their mother rebuked Hanabi, "Now Hanabi! Be kind to your sister! You are in no place to say such things to her-!"

"Father has always liked me better. I don't blame him; I am better than Hinata. Hinata is too kind and compromising to be able to handle the business world anyway. If she can't learn to be demanding and ruthless in the business managing, she's better off being a housewife, like you mother; to bring up children like me into the family."

Hinata felt her sister's words cut into her, leaving her mother feeling slapped with the indirect insult that went both ways.

"H-Hanabi! How disrespectful of you!"

Hanabi smirked at her sister's unchanging expression of sadness.

"You'd be better off popping babies than making deals."

After her sister's outburst, her mother had sent her into her own room, coming back to Hinata sympathetically.

"Hinata, honey, it's alright. Even if your father and sister don't appreciate you as much as they used to, understand that they still love you; we're all family."

Hinata understood what her mother said.

That's why she left.

In the middle of the night, Hinata had taken her belongings and left her home; without taking a second look behind her, she left the house full of remorse and regret in bringing Hinata up under the Hyuuga name. To relieve her mother the obligation to comfort her, to satisfy her father and sister, and to escape the eyes of the gossiping household servants, Hinata left to leave all her troubles and guilt behind with her family name. She decided it was for the best for both her and her family. After all, what was easier to get rid of a weed, than taking it out by its roots? That was exactly what she did for the sake of her family.

Five years later …

Hinata gloomily sat at her bed watching her clock tick away; until it was finally, December 27th.

"Happy birthday… to me."

Hinata fell back on her bed sighing, staring up at the ceiling as night continued outside her window. For as long as she remembered, she had ran away from her home and managed to find a place for herself at the far suburbs of the city; finding refuge with a friendly landowner, Kurenai Yūhi. Kurenai was kind enough to understand her background issues and let her into living in her own household; with a small fee upon Hinata's insistence - she didn't want to be a freeloader. Ever since leaving her family's household, it had been a difficult transition; learning to become a more independent individual all on her own.

She eventually took up a career where she wouldn't be needed outside of her room much, as a writer.

Ironically, where she lacked in speech, she made up for talented writing; a talent she had never shown her family.

Kurenai, who has always read her books – for whatever reason have been unanimously published by the group of publishers she had confronted for the first time – has always complimented Hinata on her 'wonderful insight'. Hinata wondered if what Kurenai said was out of sympathy or genuine honesty.

Hinata rolled on her stomach as she perched her chin on her arms, sighing as she watched the clock slowly ticked away to 1:00 AM.

Unable to sleep, Hinata rose from her bed and stood over her desk; littered with paper and pencils, Hinata had realized she never had the time to tidy her desk space up. She decided that now would be a good time to start as any.

She cleared scraps and unwanted sheets of paper into the trash bin as she sorted through her pencils before throwing one pile away and the others she stuck back in her canister of pencils. When she finished she sat down at her desk, pulled up her laptop, and rechecked her email.

Kurenai had left the house on a vacation with her husband Asuma and left Hinata in care of the house; fully trusting her to take care of the house as a surrogated daughter of hers.

Hinata clicked on a new email reading:

'Hinata! Asuma and I are having a safe and fun trip, please don't worry about us and take care of the house! (I trust that you'll do just that without a single doubt!) Also, don't you think I've forgotten about your birthday young lady; happy twenty first birthday! (When I come home, I'll be having a surprise for you. ;D) Love, Kurenai'

Hinata replied with a short and respective answer, assuring Kurenai she would keep the house tidy and clean and her appreciations for Kurenai bothering to remember her birthday; she really did appreciate it, she bothered to remember something so troublesome.

Hinata went through her emails, trashing a few and archiving the others, reading recent updates from her editors and publishers on her latest work, the clock eventually turning into three in the morning. Hinata then decided it was about time for a snack, unable to ignore the empty, pitted feeling in her stomach, and closed her laptop and heading downstairs.

She was always careful never to come downstairs unless it was for food and or when she left the house. She never wanted to interrupt Kurenai's life that mainly existed downstairs, she didn't want to be more of a bother than she already was (though Kurenai has insistently told her she wasn't bothersome).

But now that Kurenai was out of the house, Hinata came down regularly to keep the house in order; she brought in the mail every morning and placed it in a box by Kurenai's desk untouched and kept sealed (she was NEVER a nosy person). She watered the plants, kept up with the laundry, dusted the house, cooked herself meals, and did the little things that Hinata knew what Hanabi would call 'housewife chores.'

Hinata came downstairs and entered the kitchen, making sure the blinds were pulled over in the living room's expansive glass window, before opening the refrigerator for something to eat.

Hinata frowned as she realized there was almost nothing left, save for three eggs, a block of cheese, and a bag of spinach and other various unsuitable condiments. Hinata pulled out a notepad from her jacket's pocket and scribbled, 'Grocery shopping' as her main priority later in the day. Hinata grabbed the last yogurt out of the fridge before closing it shut, settling to scrape the container clean up in her room typing her story's draft for the rest of the early morning.

When morning grew brighter outdoors, Hinata decided it would be best to go grocery shopping now. She changed into fresher clothes and combed her hair before slipping into her shoes, grabbing her bag and leaving the house.

The roads were wide enough for walkers and vehicles to share, neither groups hogging the roads at any time. Hinata loved the outdoors, wishing that she had the confidence to spend more of her time outside in such beautiful weather like today; open skies, and a bright sun with a cool natural breeze – it was all so serene and beautiful at the same time.

Hinata walked all the way to the nearest market, counting her money and judging what she should buy based on her tight budget. Though Kurenai had left her money for her use for instances like this, Hinata decided to simply use her own money – she didn't want to leech off Kurenai like she already was by living in her upstairs.

Hinata entered a bustling street market, stands opened as local families and individuals came to buy whatever it was they needed; luckily for most of the local inhabitants, the market was directly next to the harbor of the ocean, where fresh fish was always ready for sale.

Hinata carefully picked her way through the crowds and occasionally buying a few items off stands along the way. Over time, Hinata grew gradually aware that she kept seeing a certain group of men following her consistently. Hinata had hoped they would break away in the other direction, but whenever she stopped, they stopped. And whenever she took a wild turn in the other direction, they always doubled back and found her again. Hinata grew worried, but decided not to let it bother her until they showed signs of aggression.

Hinata found her favorite fruit stand and greeted the old woman who ran the stand, of who was more than happy to see one of her favorite customers.

"Oh! Oh my, my, Hinata! My goodness, aren't you a sight for sore eyes this fine morning!"

"G-Good morning, I've come for the u-usual, m-ma'am."

The old woman smiled at her before filling a bag of apples and oranges; then she handed them to Hinata who held out the money.

The old grandma took Hinata's hand and curled it around the money.
"Now, now, take that money back into your wallet – no need to waste it on an old senile woman like me! I'm the one closer to death than you missy! I have no use for money like this."

Hinata blinked in surprise.

"B-But y-you need money to s-support yourself and y-your husband!"

The old grandma laughed wildly at Hinata's concern.

"My, my! I never saw such concern for my wellbeing since my son died! No child, my family is fine. Let me remind you that my husband is a well-known fisherman around these parts; one of the finest out of all the others! His hard work and labor is enough to set fresh fish on the table every day – heh-heh!"

The old grandma waved dismissively in the air.

"Anyway, besides my point, you need the money more than I do. You're still renting from that Kurenai?"

Hinata nodded. The old grandma smiled.

"Good woman, that Kurenai. Good thing you found her over a few unspeakable others in these parts; leeches and backstabbers they are. Kurenai is a good woman though, very kind to all her lodgers. How's your writing doing for you?"
Hinata smiled, pulling out a copy of her book from her bag.

"Oh y-yes, I f-forgot to tell you last time. I m-managed to go up to the p-publishers like you told me to, and t-they liked it. They immediately went out and published it, but I never had time to bring a copy of my favorite to y-you."

The old grandma took the book and smiled at the cover, reading the title with narrowed eyes.

"'The Insights of Compassion'. Dear me, you write books on philosophy? How convenient; I love books like this! Though sadly for me, my eyesight is running away from me and I can hardly read as much as I could've now! Ha-ha-ha-ha, how time flies."

The old woman smiled at Hinata as she hugged the book to her chest.

"Now Hinata dear, thank you for the book, I promise you that I'll finish it soon so I can talk to you about it, I've always loved your writing. I really didn't deserve a free copy …"

Hinata smiled, shyly rocking on her heels.

"N-No! O-Of course you d-deserved a copy! I owe you s-so much, you've always been e-encouraging me and p-pushing me forward when I l-lacked c-confidence. I'm always grateful for your e-efforts."

The old woman smiled again, slipping the book for safekeeping into her own bag, grinning at Hinata knowingly, "Now, now, all you needed was a little push now and then. Such a bright, honest and beautiful young lady like yourself should have more confidence and pride! But don't worry about it Hinata; confidence comes all in due time. As my great grandmother always told me, 'confidence is built upon the foundation of support from those around you.' When others inspire you, confidence will come naturally to you and to your goals – don't let haters weigh you down! Find those good people who will support you and cheer you all the way through! Confidence comes with their support; it's nice how that works out, don't you think?"

Hinata smiled, a finger at her lip as she took mental note of the interesting quote – ironically enough, she was writing her next book on 'The Insights of Value' and one section was widely focused on confidence; which she was struggling with since she couldn't relate to it in anyway. But this interesting quote was something to consider while writing, it might actually help her.

"Thank you. I… I think I'll r-remember that from now on."

After waving goodbye and leaving with her groceries (the old woman still stubbornly insisted that Hinata kept her money, declaring the unpaid fruits was her 'birthday gift' as she remembered it was that time of the year, the old woman was too kind to Hinata that she almost cried) she headed back home.

She struggled down the road to carry her burdensome load, and she found to her relief, the men no longer in sight. She walked down happily towards Kurenai's home before suddenly confronted by the same men she had thought was long gone.

"Hey miss, care if I help you with your load?"
Hinata shouldered her bags and looked around at the small ringlet of men that had stood around her, blocking her from walking any further.

"Um, n-no, t-thank y-you. I can d-deal with it m-myself-"

The tallest shot out a hand and grabbed her wrist, giving her a disfigured grin.

"Come now, we're just a few humble honest men just wanting to help out a poor woman like yourself. Here, slide a few bags our way and we'll walk you home."

Hinata jerked her wrist, trying to pull away from the man.

"P-please, there's n-no need for you to h-help. I'm p-perfectly capable of g-getting home m-myself-!"

He tightened his grip on Hinata before nodding to his fellow mates to take the bags out of her hands; even after her bags were taken, the man made no move to release her.

"P-Please let go, you're hurting me!"

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you. Let's just get to this house of yours and maybe we can all have a sit down chat with tea, do you like tea?"

Hinata felt a flurry of panic rise as the man pulled her closer, grinning at her as she squirmed in his grip.

'Oh no, please, someone, anyone! Please get this man away from me!'

"Now there's no need to look so frightened, we just want to get better acquainted with a beautiful maiden such as yourself. Tell us, what's your name?"

"Let go!"

"Seriously, stop trying to-!"

Suddenly the man's grip was released from her wrist, a foreign hand pushing her backwards and she fell on the ground on her back, looking up to see a stranger standing between her and her oppressor defensively. With the other man's wrist clenched in the newcomer's, the group suddenly grew very intimidated by the stranger's sudden appearance.

"I believe she kindly asked you to let her go."

Hinata blinked in surprise at the man's voice; clear and strong, full of venom as he twisted his grip on the man's wrist.

The man nervously laughed.

"Eh, heh, heh, ha! Y-You're that new punk in town huh?! I-I bet you don't know who you're messing with right now Blondie!"

The eyes of the newcomer darkened into a deeper shade of blue, his grip suddenly twisted violently to one side, the sound of the man's wrist snapping crackling in the ears of the others around him and to Hinata. She shivered as she scooted a bit backwards.

'What monstrous strength! He barely even moved to do that!'

The man screamed as he bent down on the ground clutching his broken wrist, sobbing to himself as the blonde glowered over him.
"I'm sick of dirty, slutty trash like you guys. Unlike your lame gang here, at least mine has the decency to show respect towards women."

The man hissed a curse at him, "Why you fucking bastard, I'll cut your face apart and- AUGH!"

The newcomer slammed his foot into his gut, making the man to cough spit as he groaned in agony at the sore in his stomach and the pain in his wrist.

"Shut up already, there's really no need to make this a bigger scene than it already is."

A small group of spectators have formed around Hinata and her little hero, the gangsters cursing at him;
"FUCK YOU! YOU DARE HURT OUR LEADER?! WE'LL SHOW YOU OUR FRIGHTENING STRENGTH! YOU'LL REGRET MESSING WITH US BRAT! LET'S GET HIM!"

As the rest of the gangsters rushed in at the man at once, he slid into his stance before quickly wiping them out; snapping a few limbs here and there and viciously punching and kicking them senseless – at the end, they were all sprawled across the road in their own blood moaning in agony, not a single scratch on the man who had saved Hinata.

Stunned and in slight fear at the man who had saved her, she was reluctant to take his hand when he offered it to her to help her back to her feet.

"Are you alright? You must've had quite the scare back there, can you get to your feet? Sorry I pushed you back earlier, it was necessary. Here, take my hand and I'll help you up."

Hinata stared at his hand uncertainly, the on-looking spectators too busy videotaping the scene to be interested in what they were conversing.

The man eyed Hinata oddly before standing with his hands shoved in his pockets, giving her an apologetic grin.
"Ah, sorry. You must be in shock. After all, a random stranger helping you out while another group of strangers were trying to harass you prior to my coming… a bit suspicious, ain't it? Here, let me introduce myself, just to be nice."

Hinata stared at the blond haired man, his grin big and goofy – something completely contrary to the man she saw earlier dripping with venom and anger.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you, what's your name?"
Hinata kept silent, shell shocked by his open character and genuine concern.

He frowned at her, a bit confused.

"Hey, did you just hear what I said? My name is Naruto Uzumaki: Na-ru-to U-zu-ma-ki. Hey, are you listening?"

Then, becoming extremely overwhelmed by the suddenness of this man, Hinata fainted.

"What the – hey! Miss! Are you alright?! Why the hell did you just faint?!"

When Hinata regained conscious, she found herself back home. Lying in her bed she sat up wondering if it was all really a dream – that is until she saw him sitting by her bedside. He smiled at her as she looked at him in surprise, his hand up in greeting.

"Yo! You're back!"

Hinata flustered, unsure of what to say and where to begin with, and finally settled on just stammering, "W-What, w-why, h-how-?!"

He grinned again before leaning back in his chair stating, "Oh, you fainted back there at our little scene on the road. I asked anyone if they knew you, and someone was kind enough to tell me that you lived here. It took me a while to hack the lock on the door, but I got through eventually. Sorry for intruding."

Hinata stared at him as he sat there grinning like it was perfectly normal; this person obviously didn't understand the extremities of Hinata's discomfort with him – being a complete stranger and having just met her - breaking into her landowner's house.

"I-I, u-uh, w-well-?"

"Oh! That reminds me, you didn't tell me your name, what's your name?"
Hinata flustered again, unable to fight the knots in her tongue.

"H-H-Hinata."

He grinned.

"Hinata? Cute name. You remember mine right? Naruto Uzumaki."
When she didn't answer back quickly enough, he added in quickly, "Na-ru-to U-zu-ma-ki. Say it."

Hinata stammered, "N-Naru-?"

He shook his head.

"No, no, Naru, not N-Naru. Try again."

Hinata blushed in embarrassment, unsure of how to explain this to him.

"Um, I-I have s-slight s-stuttering p-problems-"
"Come on! Try again!"

Hinata bit her bottom lip before attempting once more.

"N-N-Naru-to… U-Uzuma-ki..."

He stared at her for a moment in silence, then he stated, "You really do have stuttering issues don't you?"
Hinata blushed in embarrassment, waiting for his next words to be something like, "Well that stinks." Or, "Got any help on fixing it?"

But he simply grinned idiotically saying, "Heh-heh, you're funny. I like you. With or without that stutter, you're kind of cute. "

Hinata blushed, this time because he had called her cute, and that he liked her…

"Oh, and by the way, the groceries the gangsters were holding? I assumed they were yours and brought them back here with you; I doubt those men shopped it themselves, I should know, I'm a gangster myself."

Hinata blinked in surprise as Naruto grinned at her, this person was a gangster? She didn't doubt it, his superior skills in bringing down those gangsters earlier was clear evidence, but he was just so… well, too kind and well-dressed to be one. Hinata then remembered the time he had protected her from the gangsters – the dark expression on his face as he venomously confronted them with little mercy to begin with; perhaps he had a darker side to him she didn't know about.

Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head apologetically, "Sorry, is this gangster news frightening you? Trust me, I'm not a bad gangster. I'm one of the good guys, I swear."

Hinata nodded, trying to speak as little as possible because her tongue was tied up currently.

He looked around her room before smiling, "By the way, nice place you got here. You live alone?"
Hinata wondered if his question was on the nosy side or simply for the sake of a conversation, and concluded it was simply just a question, nothing more and nothing less.

"U-Um, y-yes and n-no. I l-live on m-my own, b-but m-my landowner l-lives here t-too, so y-you could say that I-I live with h-her."

Naruto thought on it before his face brightened as he stated, "Ah! Is she Kurenai?"
Hinata blinked in surprise, nodding.

Naruto laughed, "Ah, I know her. I have a friend who's close with her husband, she's a good person."

Hinata smiled slightly.
"I-I know t-that already."

Naruto nodded, the two falling into awkward silence, Naruto looking around for another subject to touch up on when the door opened to reveal another stranger.

"Hey Naruto, hurry up so we can go already. I'm bored."

Naruto grinned cheekily at the slackly dressed man.

"Heh-heh, more like you're ready to meet up with your girlfriend Temari."

He blushed before mumbling with his eyes casted to the side, "Shut up Naruto. Now hurry up and let's go already. Choji is about to raid the freaking fridge; I doubt Kurenai is going to like that."
Hinata pointed at him warily, a bit pale to imagine ANOTHER man was in her household.

"W-Who is h-he?"

Naruto glanced between the two before laughing, slapping his knee as exclaimed, "Oh, right! I forgot! I didn't tell you that I brought my gang to help me out. I couldn't exactly carry you AND your groceries at the same time, so I had to bring a few helping hands."
He jabbed a thumb at the bored looking man who had stuck his hands in his pockets lazily looking at one of the paintings Hinata painted and hung on the wall behind her.

"This is the guy, whom I told you earlier about, that's well acquainted with Asuma and Kurenai, so don't freak out too much about him being here. His name is Nara Shikamaru, he's a piece of lazy shit, but nonetheless, he's of vital use in my gang. To be honest, out of all the guys in my group, he's the one I trust the most."

Shikamaru smirked.

"Really now? What about Sasuke? You trust him pretty well."

Naruto shrugged.

"Sure I do. But that bitch keeps annoying me more and more lately, it pisses me off."

Shikamaru kept the smirk on his face.

"More like you're jealous that he acts WAY cooler than you do and has a few girls out there he's well acquainted with-"

Naruto grabbed one of Hinata's pillows ("sorry Hinata, let me borrow this") and chucked it at Shikamaru's head, a sour look on his face.

"Oh shut up Shikamaru! Who cares how many girls he's hooked up with?! Who CARES if he's better looking than me?! Who cares?!"

Shikamaru laughed as he plucked the pillow off the floor, dusted it, and handed it back to Hinata respectfully.

"Sorry about this dope here, he can be a really sensitive kind of a guy sometimes."

Hinata blushed, clutching the pillow to her chest as she watched the two boys smirk at one another.

"Um, i-it's fine."

The door creaked open again as a very large man poked his head in through the door.

"Hey now, can we go? I'm starving and it's killing me that the refrigerator is just sitting there TAUNTING ME. Naruto, can we pleeeease get on the move?"

Naruto waved him inside Hinata's room enthusiastically, completely ignoring his plea.

"Hey, Choji! Come in here and meet Hinata! She's awake now!"

Hinata hid part of her face in her pillow – her eyes peeking over the edge to watch the bulky man squeeze through her small door and greet her with a genuine smile.
"Oh, right, hello Miss. Hinata. Sorry for intruding and almost eating your groceries; good thing Shikamaru was there to stop me."

Hinata nodded, a bit pink at the sight of the third man.

"Y-yes, all is forgiven."

The door slammed open as a blur of green smashed into her bookshelf, shaking the books to where they hit the floor, the man who entered looking wildly around in shock.
"WHERE ARE THEY!? MY FRIENDS; THEY ALL DISAPPEARED BEFORE MY SIGHT AND I GREATLY FEAR THAT THE ENEMY HAS SOMEHOW APPREHENDED THEM – oh! My friends! You're all here, safe and in one piece – what a relief."

Hinata buried her face in the pillow, unable to look at the man who was dressed in a tight green leotard – it was an embarrassing sight and she didn't want to bother looking at his face.

"Hey Lee! Come in here any louder, why don't ya? Hinata just woke up and you barging in isn't going to help her."

Lee saluted Naruto as he boldly announced, "Forgive me Naruto! I was worried that everyone had been apprehended by those gangsters we dealt with a while back, so I came in here rather curtly; I'm sorry for running in so wildly!"

Naruto snorted, pointing at Hinata who was hiding her face in her pillow.
"Don't say it to me, say it to her."

Lee looked up at where he pointed and blinked.

"Oh, I knew that. Um, what I said earlier, let that apply to you as well Miss. – Hinata was it?"

Hinata nodded, saying a muffled 'it's alright' through the pillow.

"Geez, what's going on in here? Why is the book shelf set on its edge?"

Hinata recognized the sharp prick in the voice she heard, she looked up and saw a familiar (though almost long forgotten) face of her long lost cousin.

"N-Neji!"

He looked at Hinata with surprise before asking in a surprised manner himself, "H-Hinata? What are you doing here?! You should be back home!"

Hinata kicked the sheets back before jumping up to hug her cousin, he who was still in disbelief; but held her in his arms wistfully.

"I thought I-I'd never see you again!"

Naruto eyed the two.

"Neji, you know Hinata?"

Neji nodded over her shoulder.

"Yeah, she's my cousin."
Shikamaru made a funny expression.

"Cousin?"

Choji popped a candy in his mouth as he regarded them thoughtfully, "Hmm. They do look alike – the same lavender eyes and long hair – I'm not surprised you two are related."

Naruto sported a grin.

"Nice! Cousins!"

Lee pumped his fist in the air.

"Ah! What a sight! The lovely reunion of family members! Such a youthful sight indeed!"

Neji pulled back and looked at Hinata overall, asking her with concern, "Are you alright? I wouldn't have dreamed that the girl Naruto said needed help would turn out to be you Hinata; those filthy bastards didn't hurt you back there right?"

Hinata nodded, smiling as her cousin's concern.

"Don't worry, I-I'm fine. N-Naruto there s-saved me."

Neji looked at Naruto for a moment, then he spoke, "Naruto, I guess I owe you a favor now. Thanks for saving Hinata."

Naruto blinked in surprise before grinning widely.

"Wow! What an interesting day; I actually got a favor secured from Neji!"

"Who got whose favor?"

Two others entered the room, one with messily cut brown hair, the other with carefully spiked black hair pulled back behind his head.

Naruto waved the two over just as another man entered the room, dressed in a long trench coat, hiding behind dark shades.

"Hey Kiba, Sasuke, Shino! Come here and meet Neji's cousin!"

Kiba blinked in surprise, whistling as he exclaimed in surprise, "Whoa! She's Neji's cousin! Sweet!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in a quizzical expression.

"Neji's cousin?"

Shikamaru pointed to Hinata with a jerk of his head, Sasuke's eyes following his direction until it fell on Hinata. He narrowed his eyes and stepped closer to her, leaning close to her face as he inspected her closely. She shrunk back away as Sasuke stayed that way, his eyes staying glued to her face.

His facial expression was cold and blank – his own eyes interrogated her without words, a silent, cruel demeanor noted behind his dark eyes. He then stood up straight, leaning back away from her as he stuck his hands into the pockets of his hooded jacket.

"Hmm. You're the Hyuuga heiress aren't you?"

Hinata blinked in surprise, the other boys gasping in shock.

Naruto clung to the chair, forcing it to fall back on all fours as he exclaimed in awe, "Whoa! You're the heiress of that top shot business?! So cool!"

Lee tapped his chin thoughtfully as he nodded, "Indeed, this is plausible news. Her quiet and respectful manner explains it; no wonder she was raised in such a high classed household."

Choji jumped up and down excitedly, "Oh! Oh! That business branch that has thousands of snack companies?! Mmmm! I love the Hyuuga cooperation!"

Shikamaru sighed, rubbing the back of his neck lazily standing beside the silent Shino.

"Eh? That big shot company? Eesh, just thinking about the word 'business' is making my head hurt…"

Kiba pointed at Neji bluntly as he asked, "Hey, Neji, aren't you part of the Hyuuga family too? So technically, you're a part of the cooperation."

Neji frowned, shaking his head.

"No Kiba, unlike Hinata here, I wasn't born into the main family. I'm her father's brother's son; therefore I wasn't able to become heir. But Hinata did, so therefore she'll be taking over the company and-"

"I'm not the heiress anymore."

The boys all blinked in surprise. Sasuke however, narrowed his eyes as he asked suspiciously, "And why is that?"

Hinata looked at Sasuke with her father's disappointment reflecting in her eyes.

"My father took away my birth right and gave it to my younger sister, Hanabi. He called me useless, a failure, and no longer needed in the family because I was… lacking."

Neji shook his head, distraught by her words.

"He took away your birth right to give to Hanabi?! That's… that's just not fair! You're the eldest! You have every right to be heiress!"

Hinata shrugged, sighing to herself.

"I-I don't think so. I-I made m-my father d-disappointed in m-me. Not to mention Hanabi h-herself, told me o-off that I was better off being a h-housew-wife-"

"Bullshit."

Everyone looked at Naruto, who glared menacingly at the carpet.

Shikamaru placed a concerned hand on his shoulder.

"You alright man?"

Naruto glared up at him.
"I'm saying that this crap Hinata's family told her; it's nothing but a bunch of bullshit crap!"

Kiba held his hands up in a reassuring gesture, telling him to cool down.

"Hey, hey Naruto! Calm it down man, tone it! We wouldn't want you to freak out in Hinata's room."

Naruto clenched his fingers into Hinata's chair, digging into the wood to where they left deep marks into the wood.

"People who tell others that they're worthless and unneeded; they're nothing but a bunch of shitty assholes who don't understand the true value of that person!"

Hinata blinked at his words.

"H-Huh? I d-don't get what y-you're saying N-Naruto-"

He looked at her straight in the eye, firmly stating to her, "Listen, all that crap your father and sister told you, next time you meet them, tell them to shove it all back up their asses. Pieces of shits like them don't deserve to be part of the Hyuuga business."

The boys grimaced and a few whistled, looking away as Hinata was left riveted in Naruto's glare; locking her in his grip.

"You seem smart. You're honest, and you're kind. Even if you have a confidence issue and a bit of a tragic stutter, that doesn't make you any less in value in comparison to your sister. If you know anything about value, I'd say you're worth more than her."

Hinata shook her head, confused by Naruto's point; how could she be of more value than her sister who clearly was more talented and skilled than her?

"H-how is that possible? S-She's more s-skilled than me and I-I'm just-"

"You're a brilliant person. I can even tell that you're compromising by the way you tried to talk the men out of harassing you from earlier. Other girls would've just shouted or kicking them, but you managed to keep your emotions in check and stay calm under their oppression, eventually able to ask them to stop. That just proves that you're good under pressure. I bet there's TONS of other good qualities about you that make you a good heiress of the Hyuuga Company; like your sister. Maybe she has more notable talents, but who gives a damn about that?! When it comes to businesses, I believe it's all about the effectiveness of the connection between the president and his or her subordinates. If she lacks the compassionate heart you have, I doubt she'd be a well-respected president of the Hyuuga Company."

Naruto's expression softened, a smile crossing his face as he encouraged, "Have a little faith in yourself, Hinata. Despite what your family says, and whatever the rest of the world has to say, with a little self-respect and inner-faith, I'm sure you'll overcome your obstacles and rise above everyone's expectations."

Hinata blinked in surprise at his words as the rest of the gang shared knowing smiles, a sigh escaping from Shikamaru as he grumbled, "Ah geez… there he goes again, rambling words of encouragement even as a complete stranger to others… well, that's Naruto for you."

Suddenly, there was a snort, drawing everyone's attention back towards the source, which just so happened to be Sasuke of all people.
"I'd hate to contradict you Naruto, but not all of that is true."

Naruto narrowed his gaze at Sasuke who turned to smirk at him.

"When it comes to major businesses like the Hyuuga, they're strict families. They have to raise their future sons and daughters to be business-like in order to be prepared in the latter future as successors, to keep the business alive and in the family tradition."

He kept the smirk on his face as he added, "So naturally, it's more about quality over quantity; even if you have all these talents, if they don't best suit for business management, like the ability to promote powerful, influential, and persuasive speech, full confidence in themselves and the company, and good relations with their employees around them, they cannot be suitable as heir or heiress."
Naruto almost rose out of his seat, tempted to punch him in the face, but Shikamaru and Kiba each placed a hand on both of Naruto's shoulders and gently pushed him back down his seat, careful not to let Naruto fly off his spinning top.

"Naturally her father would disown her because she lacked these vital skills, therefore she'd either have to contribute to the family by becoming a housewife and marry another man into the family and give birth to smart, and talented young men to be future heirs, or work with the lower branches of the company just for the sake of the family's name."

Sasuke's grin slowly faded.

"It's hard to kick out a family member they don't like; it'd leak out to the public and news reporters would make up rumors and start gossiping about how the family leading the company are such evil people for disowning a family member. How they managed to do this to you is a surprise to me."

Hinata was surprised at how much he knew. Who was this guy?

Naruto waved dismissively in the air, snorting at his words.

"You and your know-it-all-ness in business managing. Freaking Uchiha…"

Hinata gasped at the mention of the name.
"U-Uchiha?! You're saying that h-he's a U-Uchiha?!"

He gave Hinata a smirk.

"What? Find that hard to believe?"

Hinata fell silent before mumbling, "I-I thought they were a-all k-killed when I h-heard the news a-about the m-mass murdering of the U-Uchiha family…"

Sasuke crossed his arms, his eyes narrowed as he glared holes into the carpet floor.

"Yeah right, the whole crap posted on the media that day was all shit; they don't know what REALLY happened. My own brother killed everyone in the family because my father passed his birthright to me as heir – he did that because he was suspicious of my older brother being in league with a competing long lasting enemy of ours, another company now unknown. He got mad and killed my family; but he couldn't bring himself to kill me because he genuinely cared for me – even if I took away his birthright."

Hinata looked around the room, seeing the grim expressions on their faces as to what Hinata concluded that they had heard this story a few times already.

"O-Oh… I-I'm sorry…"

Sasuke smirked, smiling almost insanely as he crossed his arms, his jacket pulled back slightly to reveal a tattoo on his neck.

"Heh, don't be. I must say, I need to thank him some day; thank him for opening my eyes to what life really was like. I'll thank him… before I kill him."

Hinata shivered as Neji patted her comfortingly on the back.

"It's alright Hinata; he's been bent on revenge for quite a while now, it's quite normal that he's like this."

Kiba nodded as he sported a grin.

"Yeah, yeah, he's always been the cold, dreary type."

Naruto smiled.

"Sasuke is just a huge sadist, don't be scared of him, it's natural for him."

Sasuke glared at Naruto, his eyes cold but a smile on his lips. It was odd seeing that expression; it was like trying to mix oil with water – the two parts of his expression clashing against one another that brought its eerie and frightening affect.

"Shut up, dope."

Shikamaru cleared his throat, stopping the two from getting any more caught up in their heated hostile bickering with one another.

"Uh, I hate to interrupt, but Naruto, I do believe we need to go now? Hinata seems a bit pale just by having all of us here in her room at once."

Naruto glanced at Hinata, who DID seem quite pale, nodded and stood up from her chair, bowing his head slightly in an apologetic gesture to Hinata.

"Right, sorry that I brought all my friends in here, but at least you got to see your cousin, right?"

Hinata smiled at Naruto.

"Y-Yes. T-Thank you N-Naruto."

He smiled at her genuinely.

"Don't mention it. Come one guys! Time to move on out!"

The boys shuffled out of the room, Shikamaru and Shino chasing after Choji and Lee who were all very eager to leave (each for their own reasons) the house. Naruto and Sasuke made a move to leave with Neji, who quickly grabbed Hinata's hands in his as he stated, "Hinata, we'll talk more about your… issues later. I'll come by next time to visit you again. You're not planning on going anywhere, right?"

Hinata nodded, Neji squeezing her hands with concern.

"Okay then, good. Eat well, sleep well; and for God's sake, stay safe? You were lucky today; Naruto was there to save you."

Hinata nodded, smiling at the blond over his shoulder, who in return smiled back.

"I know."

Sasuke gave Hinata a wary expression before ducking out the door, Neji quickly followed and Naruto waved at her happily.

"Bye Hinata! Sorry again for intruding and scaring you, I hope you sleep well tonight and like Neji said; watch yourself."

Hinata smiled, giving him a shy wave.

"Okay. Come back soon."

'What? Why did I just… say that?'

Naruto smiled, apparently pleased to be invited back.

"Will do! See you around!"

SNEAK PEEK INTO CH. 2...!

"People change."

"Not Sasuke."

"Maybe you just haven't accepted that yet."

NEXT TIME IN CH. 2:

NARUTO AND THE GANG FOUND A LEAD ON THE AKATSUKI GANG'S WHEREABOUTS AND ACTIVITIES!

A DRUG DEALER BY THE NAME OF "KABUTO" IS THEIR TOP PRIORITY NOW AND THEIR INVESTIGATION CONTINUES!

HINATA ON THE OTHER HAND IS BEING DRAGGED ON A BIRTHDAY TRIP WITH KURENAI - UNTIL A FATEFUL ENCOUNTER WITH NARUTO ONCE MORE!

THEIR CHANCE ENCOUNTER HAS FOREVER ENTWINED THEIR FATES - NARUTO AND HINATA WILL SOON FIND THEMSELVES TANGLED IN A SITUATION FAR MORE COMPLEX THAN EVER IMAGINED...!

Tune in to the next chapter for further drama... action... in the ongoing search for the TRUE MEANING OF VALUE...!