Chapter 2

"Are you sure you don't wanna switch?" My glare hardened on the ground and I ignored Naruto's question because I've answered it three times already.

Hanabi didn't wake up before noon, so we were forced to head out and I'm carrying her on my back. Neji and Tenten both offered to carry her, too, but it didn't seem right when she's my sister. I should be the one taking care of her.

Fashioning a sling out of a large scarf, Naruto had the baby against his chest so he only had to use one arm to support him. Hanabi's not that heavy because she's always been on the thinner side, but she's definitely heavier than an infant.

About an hour into traveling, we came upon a bus stop and I motioned for everyone so we could take a short break. After maneuvering my sister off my back to lay on one of the benches, I twisted my torso this way and that so my muscles could breathe for a few moments.

My mind has been racing nonstop since it was decided we're going to go to Inaka Village. Not only am I not sure how my sister's going to react when she wakes up to find that her mother is dead, I'm alive, and we have her baby brother with us, but I'm also about to meet my mother for the first time in over fifteen years.

Stressed isn't a strong enough word.

Tenten took the baby from Naruto, fixing the sling around her with Neji's help.

"Let me carry her for a bit, Hinata." I turned to see the blonde man giving me a pleading look with just a little bit of irritation sprinkled in.

"I said no, Naruto."

He appeared to get more offended, surprising me because up until now he's been completely understanding, "It's not like I'm gonna hurt her!"

My eyes narrowed and I came to face him more fully, "Stop. I don't want to have to have this conversation."

He apparently did, though, because he continued, "I would never hurt her on purpose. You know I only did what I did because your life was on the line and I chose you over her."

Anger rushed through my veins, but so did a bittersweet feeling. It makes sense that he'd choose to save me over Hanabi because he's never even met her, but the fact that he's known since day one that she's the most important person in my life meant that he was only thinking about himself and no one else.

Konohamaru spoke in a soft voice from behind me, "H-Hey you guys…" We ignored him.

I argued, "That's the problem, Naruto! It wasn't your choice to make. It was mine and I made it and you took that away from me!"

Konohamaru spoke again, still sounding hesitant, "Hey, guys seriously."

"I want to be patient and give you time to figure out how you feel, but you're being impossible, Hinata! I did what I did because I love you and if you can't forgive me for that then you're not the person I thought you were."

All anger and rage drained from my body the moment he said the word "love", leaving me staring wide-eyed up at his angry face. I've known since the moment I woke up in that house in Oto and we both cried that we love one another, but it's been an unspoken rule not to say anything, at least yet.

It feels like a jinx, like if we say the words before fixing all the wrong that's going on, our relationship will be doomed. Yet here's Naruto, throwing caution to the wind and declaring his feelings in front of the others, who were likely feeling awkward as they stood a bit away and just watched us argue.

"Hinata?"

My blood ran cold and I turned around swiftly to see Hanabi sitting up with a hand on her head as though it hurt and a look of complete confusion on her face. Tears immediately started to run down my face as I rushed over and hugged her close, ignoring her obvious bewilderment.

"What's going on? Where's Mom?"

I pulled back so I could wipe at my tears and try to get a hold on my emotions. Right before my eyes, I watched Hanabi's memories start to return and the look of panic on her face got stronger and stronger.

Before she could say a word, I shook my head, "A lot has happened, I know, and I promise to tell you everything, but I need you to know that I'm not going to let you get hurt, okay? No matter what happens, I'll keep you safe."

Her eyes finally left my face and she looked at the other people in our traveling party, tears welling up when she saw the baby in Tenten's arms, "I-Is that…?"

I nodded, trying to stop my still-falling tears and failing, "Masumi, s-she…" My voice wavered and cracked before finally cutting off.

"No…"

I nodded, covering my mouth with my hands as I stifled a sob, "I'm so sorry, Hanabi! There was nothing any of us could do. It was her or the baby and she begged me to save him."

Knowing my sister as well as I do, I thought I knew how she'd react. Ever since we officially rescued her, my mind's been going through possible scenarios of how this conversation would go and it decided on her lashing out at me.

She's only three years younger than me, but she's still a spoiled brat, regardless of the situation. Her initial reaction to most unpleasant things is to throw a tantrum, only to come back later after having time to think about things and try to remedy the situation.

As my little sister cried into her hands, shaking her head, though, I realized she's changed. There wasn't a single ounce of rage coming from her, just sorrow. "I knew this would happen!"

I knelt down in front of her and just waited for her to continue. It's best to get these things off your chest quickly so they don't get bottled up inside, a lesson I learned the hard way with Naruto on more than one occasion.

A couple moments passed before she could speak, but then she shed some light on what happened while we were apart, "When you first disappeared, I knew Madara had something to do with it. I just did, even if he denied it."

My heart sank in my chest as she confirmed my suspicions, "Mom changed once you were gone. It was like she was terrified of him and that made me scared, too, so he took over the house in an instant. There was nothing I could do. I tried arguing, tried to convince Mom to run away with me, and even tried running away by myself. Madara found me and I was locked in my room for a week after that."

Her brow furrowed as her hands slowly fell to her lap and she met my eye, completely heartbroken, "And then you came home to "visit" me and it just confirmed what I thought all along. Even if I was miserable, wherever he'd sent you was much worse, I could tell."

My voice cracked, "You knew?"

She nodded before stopping and then shaking her head instead, "That wasn't my sister sitting in the kitchen, jumping at every little sound and shivering in fear. My sister's an annoying, stubborn girl who slapped my mother across the face when she found out she'd cheated on Dad."

My crying got heavier and I apologized in between sniffles.

"I'm not mad at you, Hinata! I knew then and I still know that you didn't have a choice. He probably threatened to hurt you so you had to obey him."

"It wasn't just her that he threatened." We both turned to see Naruto was standing closer with a frown, "She's gone to hell and back to keep you safe."

Hanabi looked at me with wide eyes, "Is that true?"

I nodded, but turned to give Naruto a dirty look, only for it to disappear when he knelt down by my side and offered a hand to my sister with a guilty expression, "My name's Naruto and I owe you an apology."

Hanabi shook his hand with an uncertain expression, but she didn't need to ask him to explain because he did immediately, "To make a long story short, you were being held hostage and I put you in danger because I thought Hinata was going to get hurt. While I am sorry, I also wouldn't change my decision if I got a chance to do it all over again."

My anger flared up, "Naruto! What-"

"Thank you." He and I both turned to my sister with surprised expressions. She had a strangely serene look and squeezed his hand tightly between both of his even though she was still crying, "You've kept her safe all this time, haven't you?" We glanced at one another again before awkwardly looking away.

After verifying she wasn't in any physical discomfort, we got back on the move and she insisted on holding the baby. "What's his name?" He seemed much bigger compared to her slim frame than he had in Naruto's arms.

I shrugged, "We haven't named him yet. I thought maybe…you would do the honors since he's your brother."

"He's your brother, too!"

My eyes shot over to her in shock and she glared back, "I don't care if you don't share an ounce of blood, we're all siblings."

Slowly, I nodded. Who is this girl and what did she do with my little sister? I thought she was acting weird when I was forced to visit her during The Program, but she was even more different now. My chest ached as I realized she'd been forced to mature greatly in such a short amount of time. One thing hasn't changed, though, and that's her stubbornness.

Her silver eyes danced back down to the baby's sleeping face and a softer look rose, "What about…Shinzo? Shinzo Hyuuga." Shinzo means "heart" in japanese.

A smile tugged at my lips and I nodded again, "That's a wonderful name."

A couple minutes passed before she turned to the other three people with us: Neji, Tenten, and Konohamaru. "So I know this idiot, but who are you guys?" Konohamaru's face went bright red and he averted his gaze in an adorable manner.

Tenten grinned widely, "My name's Tenten and this is Neji. We're friends of your sister."

Neji and I met eyes for a moment before I corrected the brunette girl's statement, "Neji is my brother."

Hanabi's head turned so she could look at me in confusion, "What?"

"My mom and Madara went to high school together and she had him when she was sixteen. No one else knew, not even Madara."

That was kind of a lie, at least I think. Madara told me that the night Mom "died", she'd fled our home because Dad found out about Neji and had gotten angry. I don't want Hanabi to see our father in a negative light without knowing for sure if the Uchiha man had been telling the truth, so it didn't feel right to tell her just yet.

"So we have two brothers then?"

Neji looked stunned, the slightest pink rising to his cheeks. My heart warmed and I nodded, "That's right. There are four of us now."

As we traveled, all of us shared stories with her about The Program, how it ended, what happened after, and how we came to be where we are now. By the time she was caught up, Hanabi kept looking at me in disbelief, "So you can, like, shoot guns and stuff?"

I nodded, face hot. "And you can see through walls, too? I was wondering why your eyes looked all weird, but I didn't want to say anything." I gave her a frown, but she ignored it, "So the plan is to drop us off at your Mom's, go save the world, and then come pick us back up?"

An incredulous look came over me, "When you put it like that…"

She snickered, "Well, that's technically what you're doing, isn't it?"

My sister paused before smirking at me, "Who woulda thought my loser big sister would become so cool?"

Tenten laughed, "Loser? I think Hinata's been cool since the day we met!" I gave the brunette girl a look and she grinned widely, "Oh, come on! That whole stoic, strong independent woman thing you had going on the first few weeks of The Program was pretty cool, in its own right."

She leaned over to wrap an arm around me as we walked, "And now you're just a big ol' softy who cries if she even hears the word 'friends'." I swatted her arm away and she laughed again, but let go anyway, "So what was Hinata like before all this?" I could tell that Tenten, like always, was asking questions on Neji's behalf, but maybe Naruto's as well.

Hanabi gave me a grin, "All she did was study. She had no friends, no boyfriends, no hobbies, just her books and homework."

My face erupted into a bright red blush, "T-That's not true!"

Her eyebrows rose, "Oh really?"

I glared, annoyed at her pest-like teasing, "I did track and gymnastics!"

"You stopped both of those clubs when you were like sixteen."

Caught in my lie, I hung my head in shame, "O-Okay, maybe I am pretty lame. I just wanted to get into KIU with my own achievements and not because Dad worked there."

It was silent for a moment before my sister let out a defeated sigh, "Alright, fine, you weren't that bad. At least you were smart."

Night fell and we still had about four hours to travel on foot, so we decided to call it a day and broke into an empty house on the edge of Konoha's residential area to rest rather than travel into the early hours of the morning. After all of us ate something, we barricaded the exits before settling in.

"So you tried to run away from home, huh?" I heard Hanabi quietly ask Konohamaru as she tended to the baby in the family room. Neji and Tenten were already asleep, cuddled up a yard or so away from them.

With a small smile, I watched the shy boy blush as he tripped over his words, "W-Well, I-"

My hand was suddenly grabbed and I turned to see Naruto pulling me along so we could go upstairs. A frown on my lips, I let him and leaned my back against the wall in the bedroom he brought us to a stop within.

Rather than try to apologize again or get angry at me like he had earlier today, he just searched my face as I stared right back. Regret, Guilt, Concern, Adoration. His emotions came through me and they're the same as they have been for days now.

The stubbornness in me wants to remain upset and logically, it wouldn't be wrong, but I just can't bring myself to hold a grudge against him. Even if he knew he was doing something I didn't want him to, he did it because he thought it was what was best for me and my safety. Hanabi forgave him in an instant, making me realize I might've been overreacting this entire time, anyway.

Timidly, I took a step toward him and lifted a hand up to his chest. His brow furrowed as he undoubtedly realized I've finally made my decision and it wasn't to break things off and leave him for dead.

"I-I love you, too, Naruto."

Then his hands were cupping my face and he was kissing me so sweetly, so tenderly, as though he was worried I'd break. I didn't realize how much I missed being close to him and it was like a wave of relief washed over me, burning the stress and tension away in an instant.

When he pulled back, I hugged my arms around his waist and pressed my cheek against his chest. He returned the embrace, whispering so those downstairs wouldn't overhear, "Thank you, Hinata. I'm so sorry." I nodded, closing my eyes and not saying anything in response.

An hour or so later, we were cuddled up in the family room. Naruto was next to Tenten, then me, then Hanabi. Konohamaru was on Neji's other side because he was too bashful to lay next to my sister. The baby was swaddled in multiple blankets on the sofa because it was too dangerous to sleep right next to him. If someone accidentally cuddled him too hard or, heaven forbid, rolled on top of him, he'd die.

"Do we have to do this?" My sister grumbled softly. She had her back turned as she cuddled against me to stay warm. Naruto's right arm was around my waist and the left one under my neck so it wouldn't fall asleep.

"Unless you want to freeze to death, yes."

The only sound was Tenten's soft snoring because she had a sore throat from the cold air and it was honestly kind of cute. I'm pretty sure everyone else was already asleep, but Hanabi kept complaining so I'm still awake trying to get her to shut up.

"This is so freaking awkward. I haven't slept with you in years. I'm not a baby anymore."

My brow twitched with irritation and I grumbled out, exhausted, "Go cuddle Konohamaru since you're such a grown up, then. Just shut up and let me sleep."

She huffed, pulling out of my arms, "Fine, I will!" After snatching up her blanket, she got up and left to, I assume, give the shy boy in question an actual heart attack.

A small smile rose to my lips when it was finally silent and I can get some rest, snuggling closer back against Naruto. His arm tightened around me in his sleep and I let it comfort me.