Bound part 1- Naruhina fanfic

A NaruHina fanfic – Chapter one

Hinata walked solemnly through the woods, ignorant of her surroundings as she silently cursed herself under her breath.  It was quickly approaching midsummer in Konoha and all the flora were in full bloom providing a beautiful landscape.  But Hinata took no notice; normally she would have stopped to admire the natural beauty of the forest, but today she just couldn’t bring herself to stop.  Instead she wandered on depressed and lonely her thoughts solely on…one golden haired ninja.

I’m so weak, she thought bitterly.  I can hardly talk to him let alone, confess that I have feelings for him.   She seethed, angry at herself for her own weakness, and against her will memories crept unbidden into her mind.

Hinata sat at a small ramen shop she knew well, devouring what remained of her ramen at a frantic pace getting in a nice hot meal after her previous mission.  OH NO, she thought.  If I don’t hurry I’m not going to make it in time.  She quickly slurped up the remaining soup in the bowl, granting her a “Slow down their girl or your gonna choke”, from the familiar old cook.  

“Sorry but I have to hurry or I’ll be late for the meeting with the Hokage” she said hurriedly setting the bowl down on the counter with near shattering force as she frantically started counting out the correct payment.

“Don’t worry about the fee, your one of my best customers.   Besides I don’t wanna be in the Hokage’s bad books for making you late,  that one has a terrible temper and strength to match” he replied trying to calm the desperate girl.  

Terrible temper, terrible strength…yep that sounded like Tsunade alright, Naruto thought, overhearing their conversation as he approached.  He walked in calmly and saw Hinata and knew she must be in a rush, usually she always seemed to know when he was around, but now it was clear she was completely oblivious to his presence.  He walked up behind her and reached his hand forward intending to comfort and calm the flustered girl.  Naruto hesitated as his hand approached.  Why? Why he wondered, it was a gesture he’d done to almost all his friends at one point or another without a problem, so why then why was he hesitating now.

Hinata quickly threw her remaining items into an unceremonious heap in her bag, and whirled around intending to make straight for the Hokage building, only to come to a dead stop mere inches from the one she adored, mere inches from an extremely surprised Naruto.  With his bright orange and black uniform, brilliant blue eyes, golden blond hair, and three black whisker like lines on each of his cheeks, he was definitely the most ridiculous looking shinobi she had ever laid eyes on.  But she thought silently he was also the cutest.  

Hinata was too stunned to move, she simply stood there quickly turning red as she realized the one she loved was so close to her.  He’s so close to me…what I do!? What do I say? She thought nervously still unable to move her body.

Naruto just stood their, surprised and embarrassed yet unable to move as he stared into Hinata’s pale lavender eyes, really pretty eyes.  He suddenly felt heat in his cheeks and he knew Hinata wasn’t the only one of them blushing.  He felt like an idiot and really embarrassed as his face turned the same color as his cheeks.  Trying to break the tension he reached out with his hand and placed it on her shoulder and muttered, “Sorry Hinata I didn’t mean to startle you”.  

As Naruto’s warm hand descended upon her shoulder Hinata knew she wouldn’t last much longer.  His hand radiated heat which traveled through the silky fabric of her hoody and into her body making her feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Then suddenly the realization that Naruto was touching her made contact with her brain.  She felt her face redden approaching a dark crimson.  “Hinata, are you O.K?”  She only barely heard him, but rather felt him again as his other hand came up to rest on her forehead gently brushing her flowing dark blue bangs away.  

Naruto’s so close to me, he’s even touching me!  Her heart raced and she started to feel very relaxed, she knew what was happening even as she fell gently into Naruto’s arms.

She fainted!  Naruto thought as he held Hinata’s limp form in his arms.  Naruto’s mind raced as he thought of what might have caused her to faint.  She always seemed to faint around him when she was younger but she had seemed to grow out of the habit as they had matured.   It can’t be that he thought, so she must still be fatigued from her last mission, after all, from what he’d heard from Kiba it had been quite trying on all of them.  She must be injured he thought, and sprinted off for the Hospital where he knew Tsunade, Hokage and medical Nin would be at this hour.

As Naruto burst through the door into her hospital office carrying a girls limp form Tsunade went from angry, as she assumed it was another of Naruto’s stupid pranks, to concern as she noted the girls limp form,  and then to amusement as she identified the girl to be Hinata.

“Tsunade I think she might be injured from her last mission cause she just fainted all the sudden” Naruto said loudly, concern evident in his voice.

It was all Tsunade could do to stop herself from laughing; clearly Naruto had yet to realize Hinata had feelings for him, even if it was obvious to everyone else,  and she could only imagine what Naruto might have done to set off the poor girl.

The memories slowly faded leaving Hinata contemplating that night yet again.  I wasn’t able to keep from fainting, I was carried into the hospital by Naruto who thought I was injured, and I missed the meeting with Tsunade only to have her tell me in the hospital to take a few days off before another mission.  How could things have possibly been worse she thought.   A day had passed since that night and yet she still could not stop herself from dwelling on it.  

Hinata continued her seemingly aimless walk until she approached large cave near the river.   Slowly she entered into the dark interior muttering Byakugan revealing the path in the dark as light as day.  The path she walked was familiar to her but to anyone else it would have appeared to lead aimlessly and not in anyone direction, any direction she knew… except down. It took her a good ten minutes before she finally reached the end of the path.   She halted just before entering the cavern and stopped the Byakugan; it always looked more magnificent inside with just normal vision.    

The temperature rose as she closed the distance to the opening, the sound of running water, of a small waterfall could be heard from within, and a dim blue green light lit the inside.  Slowly Hinata stepped through the opening and as always found herself astounded by the shear majestic beauty of the place.  Lying in the center of the massive cavern was a huge pool of water from which steam rose; it was easily the size of the academy.  The back wall of the chamber was an intricate weave of rock or rather jade to be precise, carved out of the chamber by the beautiful flowing water.  Numerous crevices and holes filled the walls leading to other chambers, and Hinata was sure the place was far larger then just this chamber though she had never bothered to check.  And in amongst all the jade was another mineral which Hinata did not recognize which constantly produced a turquoise light; it was these that gave the spring its magical feeling.  

Hinata moved into the chamber and quickly began to shed her cloths.  Halfway through undressing she cast a quick glace around the chamber to make sure nobody else was present and she immediately cursed herself for the action.  Hinata had; like the rest of the girls matured well, in fact better then most.  Her chest had developed perfectly and her breasts were larger then any of the other nine rookies but not so large as to seem disproportional.   With round hips to compliment her slim waist and shapely legs, she had quite the voluptuous form.   But Hinata had still never had enough confidence to bath with everybody else.

Now unclothed she slowly slipped into the pool revelling in its warm smooth touch, eventually completely submerging herself in the water.  After a few moments of adjusting to the water, she let herself relax in a smaller branch of the pool just to the front of the water fall, and let her thoughts dwell on Naruto the one person who meant the entire world to her.   

He barely knows I exist, she thought, her misery beginning to take hold again.

No, now you’re just making excuses she thought arguing with herself.  She knew full well that she was indeed making excuses; she and Naruto had become good friends, far better then before he’d left to train with Jiraya.  She was just making excuses to why she hadn’t told him how she felt.  

But he can’t possibly like me she thought, he’s become so strong and I’m nothing more then a burden.  

Dammit Girl, her inner self screamed.  You’re just making more excuses, you’ve become much stronger, and you might even be able to defeat him if you fought him.   And what do you mean he couldn’t possibly like you, if he didn’t feel anything for you then why did he start to blush back at Ichiraku’s when you were close to him.

That thought hit her like a slap in the face.  Why had Naruto begun blushing when she’d gotten close to him?  Could he have feelings for her?  Was it even remotely possible?    Oh Naruto I wish I knew how you felt, she thought, as she stood up and began manipulating the water with her chakra an action that always seemed to ease her mind.

Little did she know but the same blond ninja was relaxing in a branch of that very same hot spring thinking of only one thing... her.

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In that same complex of catacombs Naruto sat up to his neck to the hot comforting water.   Eyes closed his thoughts focused on his encounter with Hinata.  

Ever since then he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind.   He couldn’t seem to concentrate on anything else but Hinata.   His mind constantly drifted back to the moment when he’d stared into her eyes; eyes that he couldn’t help but find attractive, drifting back to how beautiful she’d looked in his arms as he’d rushed her to the hospital, and back to all the times they’d talked together.  

I’d be lying if to myself if I tried to ignore the fact that she’s gorgeous, but it’s not just that he thought.  I’ve seen plenty of pretty girls but I’ve never felt like this before.   His thoughts drifted unexpectedly back to when his friendship with Hinata had begun, back to the chunin exams.

Yaaahooooo!  He shouted jumping for joy, the rest of the spectators watching with amazement at the fact that after the fight he still had enough energy to jump about.  

Naruto clad in his traditional orange track suit walked up the stairs to rejoin his comrades after defeating Kiba in an intense battle, his hands resting behind his head and his ridiculous grin on his face.  He walked on heading towards his team mates when Hinata had stepped out in front of him holding a small brown jar out before her.  “Here’ she said a stutter in her voice and her face red.  ‘It’s a healing salve to help you recover from your injuries”.   What do I say?  He thought, he rarely received gifts at all, and couldn’t think of a reply. Cmon think of something to say, he thought beginning to panic.

“Umm thanks a lot Hinata”, he said with his traditional grin and enthusiasm.  She seemed happy when he answered her but in truth he felt like an idiot for not coming up with anything better then “thanks a lot”.

Naruto slowly made his way back to reality his thoughts still focused on Hinata.  She had given him a gift, she cared about him.  She seemed to genuinely enjoy his company which, he thought with a grin was no small thing.   

But she couldn’t possible like me, he thought; she was a Hyugaa after all, she was a princess of one of the noblest clans in Konoha, no way would she like an orphan like me.

The sound of the flow of water drove him from his depressing thoughts, when intuition took over.   Someone else was here, he realized.  How could I have not noticed this earlier? He thought slightly annoyed with himself.  He’d become so obsessed with Hinata that his senses were dulled.  Only his natural instinct and intuition heightened due to the Kyubii had noticed the intruder.  Now acutely aware of this new presence he moved silently along up the water fall, and slipping into a crevice which he followed toward his visitor.  

Naruto peeked through the crevice and the familiar sight he saw their shocked him.  

The water swirling in strands and forming beautiful floral patterns in the air, it was mesmerizing to watch, as the girl danced on the surface of the pool, weaving in and out of the constantly intertwining water streams, the girl in the center looked like a goddess.  The light from the strange stones reflected off the water and jade only to reflect back on the walls making it appear as though a layer of water constantly flowed along the walls of the cavern.   Naruto had seen a sight like this only once before, when he, Hinata, Shino and Kiba, had been sent on a mission to find a bug to help them locate Sasuke.   He’d been woken in the night by a strange feeling and had gone out to the stream to investigate.  He’d been rewarded by the sight of a stunning girl dancing on the water with the water swirling about her.  But when he’d told the others the next morning none of them believed him.

Naruto looked on unable to believe his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at hypnotizing water this time, but rather at the figure controlling it, as she weaved and spun her movements flawless.  Because this time he recognized the figure standing in the center of it all, with her long flowing dark blue hair, and pale lavender eyes there was no mistaking it, it could be none other then Hinata.

Naruto stared at her beautiful swaying form and it took all his willpower to stop himself from looking at Hinata’s sexy body as she danced, but he did not want to invade her privacy if he could help it.  And so with his thoughts still solely on the young Hyugaa he made his way back to his branch of the springs and began dressing himself.

I’ll go around to where she entered and wait for her there so we can talk, he told himself.  He needed to at least try to figure out how she felt about him, because as strange as it seemed to him, he knew in his heart that he was falling in love with her.


Hinata inhaled and let out a deep sigh as she let the water she’d been controlling cascade down around her.  She felt much better now then she had before hand, she no longer felt miserable and she felt much refreshed.  She used her chakra to gather all the water droplets on her body and then she deposited them in the water, and now dry; with the exception of her hair she moved back towards her cloths and began dressing, her thoughts predictably moving to Naruto.

I have to talk to him, she thought.  If I don’t tell him how I feel I think I might explode.

But what if he doesn’t like me?  What if he likes Sakura?  What if I’m not pretty enough?

My God!  How are you ever going to tell him how you feel if you keep making excuses?  Just tell him already, if you keep putting it off your never going to tell him and then you’ll just sit by and watch as someone else takes him.

No! She thought I won’t let that happen,   I-I-I’ll tell him the next time I see him she decided.  Now fully clothed, her resolve formed he started confidently up the path from where she’d entered.

Hinata stepped out of the cave and into the forest clearing and immediately new something was wrong.  She could here no birds, no animals of any kind; everything seemed to be far too quite.  “Byakugan” she muttered feeling ill at ease.  But a check of her surroundings found no one for more then 800 yards in any direction.  No…wait she thought, not just nobody for that distance but no animals either…something was wrong.

“Up here foolish girl” came a voice that made Hinata shiver.  Hinata looked up just in time to see the outline of the man as he came crashing down upon her, knocking the wind out of her.  “That Byakugan of yours is extremely useful but even with those eyes you can’t see me when I don’t wish to be seen.” He said his voice dripping with contempt.

Chocking in air Hinata, used her chakra to propel herself away from her assailant, and gasped as she got the first good look at her opponent.   The man wore a black shredded robe and a dark hood hiding most of his emaciated scarred face, his skin hung in tatters on his arms part of the bone showing through, and his glowing red malevolent eyes stared through the hood at her.  What scared her the most though was the inhuman chakra she could see threw her Byakugan,  whoever he was he was no longer living, the only thing keeping the sinister being together was his demonic chakra.   

The man leapt into the air drawing her back to reality and she let fly a barrage of shuriken at the disturbing man.  She looked on in horror as the man used nothing but his chakra to stop the metal projectiles dead, and watched as the metallic objects tumbled to the ground.

What is this guy?  How can I possibly beat him?  He doesn’t even seem to have chakra points.  The chakra just seems to come from everywhere.  Thoughts and possibilities whirled threw her head but she could think of no way to deal with this new foe.

“Oh don’t worry yet girl, your not the one I’m after and dead bait doesn’t work nearly so well”, the man called down from where he seemed to just float.  Then with inhuman speed he charged down toward her his hands making seals so fast she could hardly keep up even with the Byakugan.   Hinata raised her hands and time seemed to slow as she brought her Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho to bear against her opponent sending forth dozens of fatal beams of chakra...only to watch in dismay as each and everyone of them was absorbed by the mans chakra barrier.   

He needs only a few more seals to finish his technique and I can’t stop him.  At this range I can’t escape, w-what do I do? She thought.

The man’s marred face sneered at her fearful expression realizing what she was thinking, his hands forming the last few seals of his binding technique.

When suddenly an orange flash to his side made him turn his head just in time to see a foot surrounded by red chakra pass through his barrier and smash him full in the face sending him careening through the air to collide with, and shatter a tree a good twenty yards away.

Hinata just stood their stunned by Naruto’s sudden appearance but she recovered quickly and yelled out to the orange and black clad ninja who stood their regarding the man, red chakra swirling about his body.  “Naruto be careful he’s not human.”

“I know, came the reply”

Naruto stood watching as the ninja rose from a blow that should have killed him.  Naruto didn’t need Hinata’s eyes to know that the man wasn’t human, red chakra like that could only come from one thing, a demon.   Somehow the demon had taken hold of someone’s body, and was using it regardless of the fact that it was dead, using it like a puppet.

“Well, well’ rasped the wraith now standing on its feet, ‘I didn’t expect you to be hear too.   But it’s just as well, now I don’t even have to go to the bother of capturing that girl.

“Why the Hell are here!”  Naruto yelled his fury coming through clearly as the Kyubii’s chakra flowed through his veins.  Naruto was fairly sure he already knew the answer; the being was here for the Kyubii within him, the demon fox he harboured.

“Oh you know full well why I’m here’ he said his voice dripping with anger. ‘Don’t be so ignorant, you know what’s inside you as well as I do.”

Naruto’s heart sank, so he was here for the Kyubii and what was worse was that Hinata had been harmed because this man desired it.  She had been hurt because of him, it was his fault.  If he fought the man here she would likely be injured, and he wouldn’t let that happen.

Hinata stood watching the two in silence, what was this guy talking about something inside of Naruto?  Why had Naruto looked so sad after the man had mentioned it?  What was going on?   

Kunai in hand the man suddenly flew in her direction with frightening speed using his chakra to skim just above the surface of the ground.  She just barely managed to get her own kunai up in time to parry.  His strength was incredible, the shear strength of the blow forcing her to her knees, and she watched helpless as faster then should have been possible he brought the kunai back for another attack.  She knew she couldn’t hope to block it; her arms were still numb from the first attack, her only chance was to avoid the blow as she couldn’t stop it. Creating a layer of chakra between her feet and the ground she pushed off just as the Kunai descended.   Hinata felt something small impact against her shoulder blade as she propelled herself away, searing pain rushed from the point of impact across her shoulder blades and she doubled over in agony.  

I-I-It hurts she thought the pain bringing tears to her eyes.   The wraith sprinted for her no doubt to finish what he started, but he was intercepted by a furious Naruto; a shroud of red chakra in the shape of a fox with three tails surrounded him.  

“Hinata!” he yelled, while exchanging blows with the fiendish thing.  His brutal attacks putting the demon back on its heels.

“N-N-Naruto…” she managed but Hinata felt the tell tale signs and knew she was going into shock.  I want to help him, I have to help him, she thought.  But when she tried to get to her feet her knees weakened and her body failed her as she collapsed lying on the ground, blood pooling from the deep wound in her shoulder, her last thoughts as she slipped unconscious was that she would never see her beloved Naruto again.

Naruto just barely heard Hinata’s voice when she spoke his name and when he glanced back to see her limp prone form lying on the ground unconscious he felt a rage well up within him he hadn’t felt since his battle with Orochimaru over a year ago.   

“You bastard’ he screamed, ‘She had nothing to do with this!”

“Ahh she is close to you it would seem’; the man said a sadistic smile on his face. ‘Perhaps I will take my time killing her after I’ve dealt with you.”

Nothing the demon could have said at that moment could have angered Naruto more then the thought of what he might do to Hinata.  The red chakra shroud around his body flared and another tail materialized bringing the total number to four.  Naruto saw his vision redden and new the Kyubii was trying to take hold of his mind like it had done against Orochimaru.  But Naruto remembered vividly the destruction he had caused while under the Kyubii’s influence, he remembered how it had been him not Orochimaru who had hurt Sakura, the girl who was like a sister to him.

Not again, he thought, never again.  If it gains control now I might hurt the village and I might hurt Hinata, I can’t let that happen.   The red chakra threatened to consume him but the thought that he might hurt Hinata if he failed fuelled him.   He fought back using his own chakra to isolate his mind, to keep control of his body.  

The man tried to use this time of distraction to his advantage by pressing the attack,  but the power the red chakra was too intense threatening to burn him alive the closer he got.

“Why do you fight me foolish brat?  If you let me use you he has no chance of defeating us.  Why then do you continue to struggle against me?”  A deep booming voice filled with malevolence echoed in his head.

“You know damn well why stupid fox.”  Naruto yelled back at the great eyes burning with hatred behind the bars of its prison.  

“You’re afraid the girl will die?  She is nothing.”

Naruto used his rage as a focal point and made one final push to regain control of his body.  “SHE IS NOT, NOTHING TO ME!!!”  The words echoing back in the clearing waking him from his trance, his body remained the same as before, excluding the fourth tail of the chakra shroud.  

“It seems you’re done’, came the cold voice of the demon, ‘shall we continue?”.  

Naruto didn’t even look up as he raised his arm and a hand of red burning chakra shot forth from the red shroud grabbing the man and tightening crushing bone and charring the wraiths garments.  “For what you did to Hinata…I WILL kill you, you can be certain of that.”   He said his voice deadly calm.  And as Naruto raised his gaze he noted with amusement how ill at ease the man now seemed.

The demon locked stares with the one who stood before it, feeling for perhaps the first time in its long life truly afraid.   Whoever this seventeen year old brat was, he had won the battle of wills between himself and the Kyubii, an unbelievable feat, but as the boy approached his demeanour promising inescapable death, the demon found he had no doubts about the boy’s power.  As the figure approached and Karashiro found himself gazing into those hate filled eyes, he found himself seriously regretting hurting the girl.

Naruto moved toward his bound enemy his gaze never wavering as he glared at the one who’d hurt the girl he so cared about, his rage threatening to wash over him at any moment.   “Now’, he said, the anger he felt finally slipping into his speech, ‘you DIE!”, he finished sending another hand of red chakra forward crushing his opponent into a ball.  He heard the tear of sinew and crunch of bone as he squeezed, but not even for a second did he relent, he continued crushing pouring all his pent up fury into this one attack, not stopping until the mantle of red chakra around him dissipated leaving the dust and shredded fabric to fall to the ground, all that remained of his opponent.

“I must admit, I’m impressed’, a cold voice which seemed to approach form everywhere and nowhere at once, rasped.  And startled Naruto, ‘But you won’t be rid of me so easily Kyubii brat.”

“Damn you”, came the predictable response.

“If you want to kill me, and pay me back for what I did to that girl, then come to the wave country and look for a place known as Kartha’s point.  If you kill me I will also let you in on a little secret about the whereabouts of certain…Sasuke Uchiha.  I’ll be waiting.”

Nothing could have hit Naruto harder then that last line.  How could he know about Sasuke?  How could he know where he is?  How could he know about him at all!?  His mind raced considering the possibilities but he was interrupted by a choked intake of breath from behind him.  

Oh my god…Hinata! He thought as he raced over to the injured girl’s side.  He quickly inspected her wounds and knew as soon as he saw the long deep gash on her shoulder that she needed help and fast.   Picking the girl up in his arms he sprinted off towards the hospital as quickly as possible too concerned with Hinata, to note the faint blue aura of chakra which now surrounded him, speeding his movements and healing the few cuts he’d received during the fight.

O Hinata please be o.k., he thought, I’m so sorry this had to happen to you, if it weren’t for me you would still be o.k., he thought as he rushed to the hospital with her in his arms.  The thoughts that she might die because of him caused him to force his legs even faster, moving him along at an inhumanly fast pace as he made his way across the rooftops to the hospital.

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Tsunade’s first thought as Naruto slammed through the door into her office with Hinata’s prone form in his arms was that the buffoon had set her off again without knowing it.  But these thoughts fled quickly as she noted the right side of Hinata’s hoody was drenched in wet blood from the deep wound on her shoulder.

“Tsunade…please save her”, Naruto said between panting breaths, resting Hinata on the desk in front of him barely able to keep his balance.  He’d used the Kyubii’s chakra again she knew, for that was the only thing which seemed to sap Naruto’s strength so completely.   But she could worry about him later; Hinata had to be the focus of her thoughts at the moment.   Summoning forth her chakra she concentrated and set it into healing the damage to Hinata’s, skin tissue, muscle and arteries.  Forcing the chakra into the girl until the wound completely closed leaving no sign that she had been wounded in the first place.   

Seeing Hinata’s wound healed and her breathing stabilize seemed to put Naruto as ease, for as soon as she was done Tsunade watched as Naruto collapsed unconscious.

Exhausted Tsunade sat back in her chair summoning Shizune to her office, she felt tired now, as she always did after expending so much chakra like that. Healing like that took a lot out of her and she hadn’t the energy to heal Naruto.

“Yes Tsunade-sama?  Shizune said as she arrived, shocked to see Hinata lying on Tsunade’s desk and Naruto unconscious on the floor.  

“Get these two to the recovery wing and into bed.”  They’ll have some explaining to do come morning.   A smile came to her face and she added as an after thought, “Put the two beds in the same room”.

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Hinata woke the next morning to see with blurry vision a cluster of faces staring at her.   She sat up quickly wondering where she was, but the action made her feel dizzy and she quickly lay back down.

“Just rest for now, don’t overdo it, your in the hospital everything’s fine”.  Came a female voice she knew to her sensei’s and as her vision cleared she looked up to see four people looking down at her,  Tsunade-sama, Jiraya-sama, Kakashi-sensei, and her squad leader Kurenai-sensei.   

“Wh-what happened”, Hinata managed to utter her body weak from loss of blood.

“We were hopping that you could tell us’, came Kakashi’s reply, ‘last night we had Naruto burst into Tsunade’s office carrying a severely wounded you”.

“I-I-I’…Hinata took a deep breath to steady herself, ‘I was over at some hot springs out in the forest a little ways, out of town.  I was attacked by some…something”.

“Some…thing?”, asked Jiraya.

“Yes’, Hinata said and she shuddered as she remembered that evil chakra, ‘the man was no longer alive, but the body was being controlled by this terrible chakra, he attacked me and I passed out.  Naruto was fighting with him as I fell unconscious and that’s about all I know”.

Tsunade and the others glanced at one another expressions concerned.

Suddenly she realized where was Naruto? He’d been fighting with the demon as she had passed out.  “Where’s Naruto!?  Is he Okay?” she asked sounding greatly concerned.  The thought that he might have been injured trying to save her filled her with dismay.

“D-Don’t worry I’ll be alright”, came Naruto’s muffled voice as he pushed the curtain aside and stumbled out of his bed,  looking more fatigued then she had seen him in a long time.

“Naruto you shouldn’t be out of bed yet Tsunade said angrily”.

“No worries Granny tsunade, I heal fast”.  Tsunade was about to respond but Naruto began first.

“It was a demon, one of the nine.  It had obliterated the bodies previous consciousness and was keeping the body together with it’s chakra like a puppet.  “I-I’…he glanced at Hinata and replied, ‘the fourth tail resurfaced again he said his voice sad”.
“What!?”  The four ninja asked at once.

“Naruto’…Jiraya began, ‘you have to restrain yourself that—

“I know’, Naruto interrupted, ‘but it wasn’t the same this time, I managed to keep control of my mind using my own chakra to prevent him from taking over”.

“What are you talking about Naruto-kun?” Hinata asked and for some reason she did not comprehend, she dreaded the answer.  Hinata watched as the four ninja’s looked at her with concerned glances, and Naruto looked at the ground his expression of great sadness.  Hinata looked to Jiraya who looked about to speak but, Naruto once again spoke first.  

“I’ll tell her, I-I’ll tell her myself, can you give us a minute Granny tsunade”.

Tsunade looked at him eyes full of sympathy and sadness.  Truly she hoped in her heart that the truth would not break the poor girl lying in the bed looking confused and anxious.  Without another word she opened the door leading the others out leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

“What’s this about Naruto?” Hinata began but fell silent as she saw the depth of the sadness in Naruto’s eyes as he met her gaze.

“Hinata”, he said his voice cheerless so different from his usual self.  “What I’m about to say…please don’t hate me for it”, his voice only a whisper as he murmured the last few words.

“But there’s something you need to know about me and about the village.  The speech we here every year about how the fourth gave his life to destroy the Kyubii, isn’t entirely true” he said.  The fourth did indeed give his life to defeat the Kyubii, but even he couldn’t kill it.  So instead he sealed it, sealed it inside a place from which it could not escape.  Hinata…he sealed it…he sealed it inside me.  Within me is contained the Kyubii strongest of the nine, tailed demons.  His voice quavered as he finished his speech.

Hinata couldn’t move, her world seemed to be closing in.  No, she thought, it couldn’t be true.  But even as she tried to assure herself it was a lie, all the puzzle pieces seemed to fit into place.   The reason all the villagers tended to avoid Naruto when he was younger, why they had all seemed to hate and fear him, why all the parents had told their children to avoid him. Naruto, the one she was so deeply in love with was a demon.  

No, she thought, he’s not a demon he just has a demon sealed inside him.  That doesn’t change who he is as a person.  Hinata struggled with herself but no longer was it about her feelings for him, but rather it was to accept the undeniable truth.  He may have a demon inside of him she thought, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about him.
“N-Naruto’, she said her voice quavered but gained confidence as she continued, ‘even if you have that demon inside you, your still you right?  If you were controlled by that demon you wouldn’t have such a kind heart, you wouldn’t care for others the way you do.  Even if you have a demon sealed inside you, you’re still my friend, and you’re still someone I care about.   As she finished Hinata felt heat in her cheeks and new she was blushing.

Naruto looked at her and couldn’t think of what to say.  She hadn’t pushed him away, hadn’t rejected him, labelling him as being some monster.  She treated him just the same as she always did.  Still unable to move his lips he did the only thing he could think of, he walked over to where Hinata sat upright in her bed and embraced her, muttering the words “Thank you”.

Hinata was at first too surprised to react, but she quickly recovered placing her arms around Naruto returning the embrace, her face a cute shade of pink.  

They held the embrace for a few moments and as they broke apart Hinata couldn’t help but wish it had lasted longer.  The feeling of being so close to him, to feel the tenderness radiate from his body, and she was pleasantly surprised when she looked up to that she wasn’t the only blushing.  Seeing that she thought that maybe she should tell him how she felt, but immediately dismissed the notion, Naruto looked emotionally distressed enough already.

Naruto looked up feeling a little embarrassed fearing he might have held her a little longer then he should have.   But Hinata’s blushing smiling face proved him wrong.  Maybe…he thought, should I tell her now?….No best to just leave it, she’s had enough for one day.   Slowly the door opened and Naruto looked back to see Jiraya, and the others re-entering.

“Well, I trust things have been discussed?”  Tsunade asked, and the red faced teens both nodded.  “Good, now that things are over and done with I recommend you both take some time off”, and she started away only to here Naruto speak again.

“No granny Tsunade it’s not over yet”.  Before Tsunade could demand an answer he continued.   “Even though I destroyed the body it only acted as a puppet the actual demon is still alive, before it disappeared it said that if I wanted to kill him he could be found in the village of waves in some place near Kartha’s Point.  And what’s more he said that he knew where Sasuke was and that he would tell me only if I killed him”.

Everyone in the room stared at him dumbfounded by this new revelation.  All wondering how the demon could possibly know about Sasuke, if he could they all knew Naruto would go after Sasuke, he’d been like a brother to him.  One year had already passed since Naruto had forced Orochimaru to switch bodies with someone other then Sasuke by fatally injuring him at a time when Sasuke wasn’t available, and so they had another three years before Orochimaru took Sasuke’s body.
“You’re sure of what you heard?”  Tsunade said breaking the uncomfortable silence.  

“Completely”, he replied.

“Then I’m sending you two on a mission to the wave country, to kill this demon, it managed to infiltrate out village and that makes it a threat, you will leave in one week’s time, while you rest and I form up the rest of your team”.

“Yes Tsunade-sama”, both teens replied in unison, as the four departed leaving Hinata and Naruto together again.

“Umm Hinata’, Naruto said tentatively his face, reddening slightly, ‘Umm would you like to, umm you know, go get some ramen with me tonight?”

Hinata’s face reddened and she silently jumped for joy.  Naruto had just asked her to go on a date with him!  She paused, thinking of a reply.

Seeing her pause Naruto thought he’d moved to quickly and responded, “If you don’t want too that’s fine, it’s not like you have to or anything”.

Hinata’s face went a deeper shade of red and she quickly replied her traditional stutter back in her voice, “N-no, I-I’d love to go with y-you N-Naruto”.  She was quite proud of herself for not fainting, slowly but surely she was growing out of the habit.  The two smiled at each other for a few minutes before Naruto left to go get changed into his traditional outfit.

Hinata left later that night to meet Naruto at Ichiraku’s still feeling weak, but not willing to let herself miss this opportunity.  Today I have to tell him she thought; I have to tell him how I feel.   But as was always the case the closer she came to her destination, the more her resolve dwindled and by the time she sat down beside Naruto she knew she couldn’t do it.

“Hey Hinata”, Naruto said as she sat down beside him.  He couldn’t help but feel anxious about what he planned to tell her.  And he did his best not to show how uneasy he was.

“Hey Naruto”, she replied managing to keep herself form stuttering though her voice was nearly a whisper.

“So what can I get you two, the usual?” asked the familiar old man.

“Um I’ll have…” and Hinata went on to describe the most complicated ramen dish Naruto had ever heard.

Hinata turned to Naruto as she finished and flushed as she saw his dumbfounded expression.

“Wow Hinata I didn’t know you knew so much about ramen, you know as much as I do!”  Naruto said in awe.

‘Ya well…I” but she was interrupted by a very enthusiastic Naruto.

“That’s great Hinata!” he said and immediately went into a full description of what he thought the greatest combination of meat and sauce was.  Hinata began to relax as she talked with him about ramen, no longer blushing whenever she looked him in the eye.  The night seemed to just fly by as they talked about missions they’d been on and things they witnessed during their trips.  And so when the time for her to head home finally came she wished it could have lasted longer.  

“Sorry Naruto but I have to get home soon or I’ll be in trouble”, she hadn’t realized how late it was until she looked up into the starry sky and saw that it was approaching midnight.  

“Alright’, he said as he paid for the girl’s meal, ‘want me to walk you home?”

“Umm ya, I’d like that she replied”.

The two walked in silence taking a shortcut through the forest, to save sometime, Hinata feeling quite comfortable walking so close beside Naruto.  Finally the time came for them to part ways the entrance to the Hyugaa compound just up ahead.  
They stood there a moment in the forest clearing, the moonlight providing a magical glow to their surroundings, and to each other.

“Naruto…I had a really great time to—“, but the words were cut off as her knees weakened her, the strain on her body from the loss of blood finally catching up to her as she began to collapse.   She feared she would hit the ground but, before she had even sunk to her knees she felt him as Naruto wrapped his strong arms around her.   Instinctively she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, to try to support herself.   

“Hinata don’t push yourself, you still haven’t completely recovered”, he said holding her close to him enjoying the warmth of her body.

“I’m sorry”, she whispered as she stood their supported by Naruto’s muscular arms, her head resting against his chest, basking in the soothing heat radiating form his core.  She never wanted him to stop; she wanted to be like this forever, never leaving his side.

Its now or never she thought, building resolve, I just can’t wait any longer, I have to tell him.

“Naruto…there’s something I need to tell you”.  She said as she looked up into his moonlit face, the glow reflecting in his intense blue eyes.  “I-I-I am…” in love with you, but before she could finish Naruto raised a finger up to her lips, silencing her.

Naruto could think of nothing else to do as he looked into the young Hyugaa’s beautiful eyes, his heart raced as he beheld the sight of her face only a few inches from his own, her body which seemed to glow in the moonlight pressed up against his.   He removed the finger from her lips and she seemed about to say something, but before she could, he closed the distance between them and gently pressed his lips against hers in a kiss.