Chapter Seven

  "You don't have to worry, this is a good thing, he wants to get to know you." Hinata said, trying to reassure her nervous boyfriend. Her hands held his, and a smile was present upon her lips, but even she was nervous.

It was a breakthrough that Hiashi actually wanted to get to know him, but she subconsciously knew that her father had to have some ulterior motive for inviting him. "Y-yeah, you're right. Maybe it won't be bad." He said while nodding frantically, making her laughed a little.

"You couldn't sound more nervous even if you tried." A sigh left his lips, "I can't help it."

"You don't have to be nervous, I promise." Naruto rolled his eyes, "That helps a lot." Smiling she pulled him closer, and kissed his lips softly. "Does this?"

A smile came to his lips, before he cupped her chin and kissed her again. "Stop the PDA you two." They heard their headmaster scold from a few feet away, making Naruto move away from her, while blushing.

"Oh leave them be, Yamato." His secretary said to him, before winking at Naruto playfully. Hinata shook her head, "Okay, we should go back to class, Kurenai will get suspicious."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, you're right." As they started to walk back to the class, Hinata smiled while looking down at their interlocked fingers.

"Whatever happens, Naruto, it won't affect us. I won't let it." He smiled at her, "Neither will I, Princess. I'm in this for the long haul." It gave her butterflies as he said that, "You mean a lot to me."

"You mean a lot to me too, Naruto." She said with a smile, before opening the door to their classroom, and walking inside.

At her home, Sakura laid in her comfortable bed, with her curtains drawn, as she stared at the blank wall in front of her. It was the ninth day of her sobriety, and today all she felt was pain. She had intense stomach cramps that made her nauseous, and her depression seemed to suddenly worsen overnight.

Her mother allowed her to stay home from school, because when she went into her room to ask her why she hadn't been down to get breakfast, she was crying silently, while holding onto her pillow. She wasn't aware that her daughter had been taking unprescribed pain killers, so she was surprised that her withdrawal symptoms were so severe, but she didn't question it. Her friends had been texting her all day, wondering where she was, and if she was well, but she didn't respond.

  Although she didn't want them to worry, she couldn't muster up the strength to get out of bed, and get her phone that was across the room. A sigh left her lips, she was all cried out, and all she wanted was the drug that could make all of her pain go away in an instant. She kept telling herself she didn't need it, but she was having a hard time believing it.

"Hey, anyone know where Sakura is? She hasn't responded to any of my texts." Ino asked, "Yeah I don't think she was doing too well after yesterday, but we shouldn't worry."

"What happened yesterday?" Kiba asked, "She just wasn't feeling well." She said, noticing Sasuke also wasn't sitting at their lunch table.

The truth was, she had just been going through a manic episode for the last few days, and although she started the week off in complete euphoria, it was only an amount of time before everything would come falling back down. Hinata was worried, so she was going to visit her after school, but she knew that her friend would probably want to be alone.

"Where'd Sasuke go?" Naruto shrugged, "No idea, he was supposed to help me prep for tonight." Hinata giggled, "Prep for meeting Hiashi? He's a cool guy, don't worry."

Kiba said, "I've never met a girl's parent before." The guys nodded, "Oh. Well what do you want to know?" Neji asked, he shrugged. "What should I know?"

"He can be intimidating, but don't show that he scares you, and he's going to ask you what your intentions are." He nodded, making a mental note of everything Neji said. "Be on your best behavior."

Sai suggested. "But don't be a kiss ass." Shikamaru said, "Do it if it's necessary." Sai said, making Ino look at the both of them.

"Literally you'll be fine." TenTen said, "When I met him he was the sweetest." "Neji isn't his daughter." She nodded while shrugging, "Valid point."

"No, but really what's the worst that could happen?" Lee asked, "He could kill me." They all laughed, "Don't worry, take our advice and you'll be fine."

"Most of you aren't good with meeting parents." TenTen said, and they blushed. "Well Inoichi loved me." Shikamaru bragged, before winking at Ino. "Yeah, until you cheated." She said with a fake smile making him roll his eyes.

"You guys dated?" Naruto asked, and they nodded. "Two long years." Shikamaru said in a snarky manner. Ino rolled her eyes, "That's a long time." He said and Ino nodded with a sickly sweet smile on her face, "Sure was."

Naruto was surprised really, Ino was beautiful, and seemed like a really nice person. He wanted to ask why he would cheat on her, but by the way Hinata grabbed his hand, he knew it wasn't the time to ask. "Well, I will keep all of those pointers in mind."

"Don't worry, I won't let him kill you." Neji said making Hinata laugh. "My Dad isn't even that scary." They all just looked at her, "That's bull." Kiba said, and everyone nodded in agreement. She just rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Hey, Sakura?" Her mother called out into her daughters dark bedroom, while knocking lightly. Sakura's emerald eyes looked into hers, and it broke her heart.

She seemed to be barely holding on, and it confused her because she seemed to had been doing so well. "Yes?" She mumbled, "Sasuke is here to see you."

Her lips pouted, and her mother realized that she was about to cry, which in turn would make her cry herself. "Not when I'm like this." She said simply, her mother looked over her shoulder at Sasuke.

Letting him in her room anyways, Sasuke looked at her and didn't say anything. He took his jacket off while slipping off his shoes, and climbed into bed with her, wrapping his arms around her petite body. Placing a kiss on her forehead he spoke to her in a soft tone, "I was worried about you."

"Everyone was, I finished up the few details for the project that we were going to do tonight, and turned it in today, so don't worry." He continued, while she barely listened. Sasuke wasn't sure how to help her, but he knew that he needed to get her mind off of whatever she was so depressed about.

It strangely affected him that she was so down, he normally didn't care about anyone this much, and he realized that as she relaxed into his embrace. He couldn't see her eyes, but he heard her sniffle which made him think that she was crying. Whenever she cried, he knew that all he had to do was wait silently, before she eventually told him why.

They had spent a lot of time together in the last five days, and it felt like they were getting to know each other all over again. Sure they hadn't talked about the important things like her drug abuse, or his obsession with his brother, but doing simple things like getting coffee after school, and doing homework together made them realize just how much they liked spending time together. It made both of theirs day better.

As he felt his shirt grow wet from the tears that came from her eyes, he ran his fingers through her hair as she sighed before looking up at him, "I just wasn't in the best mood today, I don't want to really talk about it." He nodded, "Okay, I understand. Can I do anything to help? If you need any."

She smiled a little before leaning up and pecking his lips, before turning around in his arms. "Tell me about your day." A smile came to his lips as he held her closely, and did as she said.

"It was boring for the most part. Naruto was really nervous about meeting Hinata's Dad, and I was supposed to give advice, but I really think he's worried for no reason." His voice soothed her, and she loved to hear him speak.

"Yeah maybe he is." She said before yawning, "But Hiashi is very over protective, it can be a little intimidating." Sasuke nodded, "I'd bet, but he'll be fine." Sakura nodded in agreement, "Yeah he will."

"Besides that, I didn't do much. I left around lunch time to come check on you." Her eyes were closed as she barely listened to what he was saying while she began to doze off, "I have some work to do later tonight, but I'll be back in time if you need me." He knew she was asleep by the way her breathing steadily calmed.

As he laid with her, he wondered if something had happened to her that made her this way, because she seemed to be doing great at the beginning of the week.

Back at school, Hinata sat in her car with Naruto. "Should I wear a tie?" She shook her head, while staring at his plump lips, wanting nothing more than for him to shut up so that she could kiss them. "Should I bring anything?"

"No, you're fine." She said with a smile, before cupping his chin and kissing him sweetly. Pulling away, he said, "Princess?" "Yes?"

"You're not taking this seriously." A laugh left her lips, "I love how you want to be on such good terms with my Dad, but I promise you that everything will be okay. No matter what, we're still in this."

He nodded, before pecking her lips. "Okay, you're right. I normally don't care this much, it's just that I like you a lot. You know?" A blush came to her face, "I-I like you a lot too." Naruto opened his mouth to say what he was thinking, but he decided against it.

  "I have an errand to run before dinner, but I will see you at five. Tell Sakura that I hope she gets better soon." He said before opening the driver side of her door, and walking to his car that sat across the student parking lot.

A smile stayed on her lips all the way to Sakura's home. She kept replaying the image of Naruto saying how he liked her a lot. Sure, he had said it before, but this time she actually believed him, and she couldn't stop smiling. Walking into her best friends home without knocking, she said hello to Mebuki.

"Hello! How are you?" Mebuki asked the girl with a kind smile on her face, "I'm good! How are you? I'm guessing you've been home all day."

"I'm good, and yes I have been. She's in her room." Hinata nodded, "Was she sick or something?"

"She was just really upset this morning, I think it's an affect of her being off of her medication. It's so strange, she was fine at the beginning of the week, and today she hasn't even gotten out of bed." Hinata nodded, "That's horrible, I know it must be hard seeing her like this, but I promise you, she's okay. She'd tell us if she wasn't."

"I sure hope so. I know at the very least she'd tell you or Sasuke." Hinata nodded, "Exactly, and from what we've talked about, she's just been going through the motions, you know? This stuff is never easy."

Mebuki nodded, "You're right, and she seems to be doing well for the most part." "She definitely is. I know that once she gets past her withdrawal symptoms she'll be back to her normal self."   Hinata reassured her mother, although she didn't even know what Sakura's new normal would be. She had been hooked on Valium since she reconnected with Sasori over two months ago, and she had changed drastically.

At first everyone thought it was her just reacting to her fathers sudden death, by hooking up with him, but Hinata noticed her taking the pills at a party, and she didn't know how to help. "I sure hope so. I know you're here to see her though, so I won't keep you."

"Alright, I'll go check on her." Opening the door, she saw how dark it was. Before seeing that there were two people in her bed.

"Hinata?" Sasuke asked, while rubbing his eyes as he glanced over his shoulder. "S-Sorry! Were you guys sleeping? I just wanted to check in." He yawned while saying, "You're fine, she's still sleeping, but she's okay."

A small smile came to her face as she realized that this must've been where Sasuke had been. "Okay, good. When she wakes up, tell her to call me." Sasuke nodded, "Okay, I will."

"Thank you, Sasuke. Sorry again.""It's fine, Goodluck tonight." She smiled a little, "Thank you, we'll need it." ~ "Aw you shouldn't have." Hinata said to her boyfriend as he held a bouquet of flowers in his hand. "You look nice." She said while taking in his appearance.

He wore a casual button up shirt with tan pants, and a nice watch that she had never seen before. "Thank you, you too." He said with a smile, and she smiled too while grabbing his hand.

"You have nothing to worry about." "Can you tell I'm nervous?" He asked while scratching the back of his neck. She laughed a little, "Yes, but that's just because I know you like to scratch the back of your neck when you are. Take a deep breath."

Doing as she said, he closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened them he was met with her beautiful ones, making him calm down. "Alright, let's go."

With their hands intertwined, they walked into her kitchen to see Hanabi and Hiashi. "Hey, Naruto!" Hanabi said with a smile while sitting on a barstool, "Hey, Hanabi." He said with a smile, making their father turn around from his place at the stove. "Hello, Mr. Hyuga."

"Naruto, it's nice to meet you." Shaking the hand that Naruto had stuck out, he looked at Hinata to see the flowers in her hand.

"Those are nice." He said to her, and she nodded with a blush. "Thank you, Naruto brought them."

"Here's a vase." Hanabi said while grabbing one from the cabinet. "Thank you."

"Well dinner is almost ready, set the table?" Hinata nodded before doing so, and before Naruto could volunteer to help, Neji walked into his home with TenTen, and he was roped into a conversation.

"Hey, Everyone." Hiashi said to them. "I hope you're treating him as well as you've treated me, Hiashi." He laughed a little, "You never gave me a reason to do otherwise."

"Well what's for dinner?" Neji asked while glancing at Naruto, "Marmite chicken, with rice salad." When Hinata walked back into the kitchen, she smiled at her friend.

"TenTen, Hey." Smiling back at her friend she said, "Hey, you look great. Did Hanabi braid your hair?" Hanabi smiled, "Of course, we know she can't braid as well as me." She laughed a little, "Remember when Neji was our personal doll?" Hinata asked her sister, making TenTen and Naruto laugh a little. "I have to hear about this."

Soon they all sat down at the dining table, and held a comfortable conversation. So far it was going great, and Naruto realized that he was nervous for no reason. "So how was Sakura?"

TenTen asked, "Fine I think, she was napping when I went to see her." "Is she sick?" Hanabi asked, and Hinata nodded. "How are they doing? I know it can't be easy." Hiashi said, "They're taking it day by day, you know? Sakura just misses him."

He nodded, "I'll bet, I hope Mebuki is doing okay, we should invite them over for dinner some time." "Yeah, I'll mention it whenever I see her again."

"So, Naruto? What do you plan on doing after high-school?" He asked, "College for sure, I'm thinking Konoha university." He nodded, "And what area of study?"

"That I am unsure of." He answered truthfully, "Me too, honestly." TenTen said trying to loosen the obvious tension between Naruto and Hiashi. They both were behaving appropriately, but everyone was on edge.

"Did your parents go to college?" Hiashi asked, making Hinata glance at him. "Yes, but my father ended up going to the police academy afterwards." He nodded, "Well that's nice, it takes a certain type of man to do that." Naruto nodded, "I'd assume so."

"Hinata told me about what happened to them, I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said genuinely, "Yeah, it was hard enough losing my mom, I can't imagine losing both of them." Hanabi said. "Hopefully you all never have to."

Naruto said with a soft smile, and it could've brought tears to Hinata's eyes. He was much stronger than she could ever be, and she had so much respect for him. "Hopefully."

As they talked about Naruto, TenTen placed her hand against Neji's thigh in a comforting way. He himself had gone through something similar, and although they all never talked too much about it, she knew that it affected him deeply.

After dinner, the six of them went to the living room to play a board game. "Naruto, can I see you in my study?" Hiashi asked, making Naruto stand up and follow him.

Hinata watched him walk away, hoping that everything would go smoothly. "I think he likes him." TenTen said. "I sure hope so."

Across the hall, Naruto sat in front of Hiashi's wooden desk. "Would you like a drink?" He shook his head, "I'm fine."

Pouring himself some of the dark liquor into a glass, he asked Naruto, "What are your intentions with my daughter?" Naruto had practiced his answer to that question with Kiba, so his answer came out immediately.

"As for now, I just plan to date her with your blessing of course. I will treat her respect, and as a person rather than a possession. I'll treat her the same way I would like to see someone treat my mother." He nodded, "Well I know you guys are already dating, so that's kind of out of the window, right?"

Naruto couldn't stop the blush from coming to his cheeks, "But these are all things I've heard before, Naruto. Why are you different?" He asked, and Naruto sighed, "Honestly? I just want to do right by her, Sir. From the moment we met I knew that she deserved the absolute best, and everyday I strive to be the guy she deserves. I want nothing but the best for her, and I respect her."

Hiashi strangely believed him as he spoke about his daughter. "I can live with that, but know now, Naruto. If you hurt her, I will hurt you." He nodded, "I would never do that."

"Are you sure? I'm sure she told you about what I know." He nodded, "She did."

"And I need you to make sure that she stays out of all of it, I know you don't tend to get your hands dirty, but regardless of that, she stays out of it all."

"Of course, Sir.""Now, I do have one more thing to mention." "I have a colleague who runs an agency, and he needs an opponent for his fighter. I hear from Danzo that you're pretty good." Naruto nodded, "Well yeah, I'm guessing he's around my size?"

"He is, and the winner walks away with two thousand dollars." He nodded, "Okay, what time? And gym?" Hiashi smiled a little, ready to see the fight.