Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me and blah blah blah.

In Which Dark Naruto Triumphs

The dark side of him had taken over entirely. Yet it retained the memories of the past. All his hurts and triumphs, obsessions and desires. Just the memories but enough for him to hate and through this hate, twist his view of the world. It was just like looking through fragmented glass. A slight tilt, and the whole picture was shattered. With these new eyes, he could see what the old Naruto failed to see. The secret admiration that Hyuuga Hinata felt for the Naruto of old. The hero worship and the sweet innocent love that she held close to her heart.

Now, under the curse seal, the warped, twisted Naruto felt no compunction in making use of what he had learnt to torture her. And to feel, in tearing Hinata apart, the agony of his alter ego screaming from the far recesses of his mind. Indeed, fangs bared slightly, he would enjoy it.

The Sound five had gone on to join Orochimaru in attacking the Hokage tower. What's left of the Hyuugas were poisoned and imprisoned. They were to be kept alive for their advance bloodline. More guinea pigs for the snake lord. Naruto could not care less. When the prey had been defeated and broken, they were of no interest.

But Hyuuga Hinata………He stared coldly at the young woman in the room. She was trying to hide her fear and confusion but failing. Breaking her would be a pleasure. In totally crushing her spirit, he would also be crushing that pitiful remnant of self, locked in the corner of his mind. All the noble ideals of protecting his precious ones and gaining recognition. Rot. A derisive sneer curled his lips. Power is everything. It comes from the satisfaction of seeing all those who used to mistreat you cower at your approach. To rise above those weaklings. It was recognition of a different kind that he reveled in.

When he first awakened from the snake lord's curse seal, he had to struggle for dominance in order to control the physical shell. It was only with the help of the Kyubi, that they managed to seal the original consciousness. Although their goals may not be the same, the Kyubi evidently found him to be a more agreeable 'room-mate'. Restrained for 16 years and denied the bloodlust he craved to sate, his dark, sinister chakra definitely appealed to the Kyubi.

That annoying consciousness was sealed behind the same bars that caged the Kyubi. What delicious irony! Of course, despite being sealed away in the Kyubi's cage, he would not give up. Constantly, he would rattle the bars, ranting and raving in that irritating way. He had to put up with it for the past few years but now, in this battle against Konoha, he realized that he had found a way to shut him up forever!

When they first moved against Konoha, they ambushed several teams of Konoha shinobi. It was not his first kill by any means but it was the first shinobi that he recognized, and apparently, liked. Naruto chuckled. The fat ass Chouji. In the long drawn process of toying with his prey and cutting him down to size, so to speak, the little voice had shouted and cried. When the game drew to a close and he decapitate the bum with a clean stroke, that voice had dwindled to a hoarse sob.

And it dawned on him. To totally obliterate that voice, he would have to show him exactly how powerless he was. That there was nothing he could do to protect his 'precious ones'. That he would have to witness their deaths at his own hands, helpless to stop his actions, to see their disgust and shock at his betrayal. The exquisite pain he would inflict upon their bodies. And finally, see the light of life depart from their eyes.

With each new atrocity that he commit, that consciousness became more and more unwilling to face the world. He struggled, oh yes, he struggled but with less conviction each time. When Iruka was captured and killed, his body strung up outside the gates of Konoha, he could hear the dazed mutters from the cage. His alter ego is hanging by a thread. What he planned to do to Hyuuga Hinata would severe that thread.

Deliberately, he moved closer to Hinata, relaxed, predatory. The Hyuugas, in a bid to protect their heiress, had assigned bodyguards to her. She had fought but had not suffered serious injuries. He had ordered that she be left for him. The poison gas they released shut down the chakra flow but it still left her with her taijutsu. Which would not be a problem for him even if she managed to use it.

"Na………Naruto-kun?" She whispered uncertainly.

With this tremulous whisper, he could feel the slight movement in his mind. Bruised fingers gripped the mental bars that locked him away. Better and better. Wake up and be aware of what I'm going to do to her.

Naruto was now standing in front of her. He lifted his hands and laid it on her shoulders. A quick sweep of his legs that took her by surprise, they landed on the floor. His grip on her shoulders had shifted to her elbows, pining her down effectively. He savoured the shock in her wide eyes, the light-coloured pupils dilated. She was not yet aware of the danger she was in but he was very aware of the feel of her body pressed against his. Little Hinata-chan had grown up. A twisted smirk. He was going to enjoy this.

Inside his mind, that consciousness realized belatedly what was going to happen. Screams and denials reverberated in his mind.

"NO………Not her! Let her go!" A helpless anguish had taken over the imprisoned soul. A despair deeper and darker than what he had ever felt before enveloped him. This time, he knew he would not wake again.

If anything, the smirk grew. "Shut up," he communicated silently. "You'll like this too."

Looking intently at the woman he trapped, he could see the growing fright and horror in her expressive face. She began to struggle in earnest. An unholy light darkened his blue eyes. Tightening his grip, one hand reached up to rip away the forehead protector around her neck and to tear at the soft blouse under her chuunin vest.

Inside, the screams of the old consciousness was interwoven with the triumphant baying of the Kyubi. In a short while, he found he could not differentiate between the agony of the dying screams in his mind and the tortured cries of the woman beneath him. It was all music to his ears.

Note: Alternate universe. Maybe a series of one-shots based on this AU. Depending on response and inspiration.