I do not own Naruto or am making any money off of this, I am doing this for my own enjoyment.
Author's Note: Please read and review, this is my first Naruto fanfic, second all together
Ch.1 "Care for me?"
It was a dull day in the Land of Fire, where in the village of Konoha, our resident hyper-active ninja Naruto was once again causing trouble. "Baa-chan, why do I have to take such a boring mission?" he complained.
"You're doing it and that's final."
"But it's a b-rank mission!"
"You are to meet your partner in this mission at the front gate in two hours. Dismissed."
"But why? Wait, partner, who is it?"
"Hyuuga Hinata." She said with a small grin.
She knew he would do the mission if she was going. It seemed to be one of his two weaknesses: ramen, and Hinata. She originally planned this mission for him and Sakura, but realized that would be too much work. He always did missions if Hinata was in it. How she found out that was his hidden weakness, his love for ramen being obvious, was ironically through paperwork. As she looked through the mission reports, she noticed Naruto and Hinata always did significantly better when on a mission together. So as a test, she gave him the choice of a C-class mission with Hinata, or an A-Class alone. He picked the C-class. She was happy he was finally taking an interest in the young Hyuuga, but he seemed to be in complete denial of it. Although the girl was still quite modest, she had finally gotten over her shyness, thanks to Naruto. The knuckle-head also stopped calling her weird, and even asked to train with her a couple times.
As he left quietly, she said to herself, "Finally he stopped screaming. Now where's that bottle?"
Hinata had been nervous the whole time she was waiting at the gate. "I'm so glad to be on a mission with him. Maybe I'll finally tell him how I feel." She though.
"Is it just me, or every time Tsunade wants me to do a low rank mission, she sends Hinata along."
"Well, it works every time, doesn't it?" mused a certain fox. "I think she has figured it out, don't you?" he continued, grinning.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Naruto said. He felt a spark of chakra, and a memory came flooding back, the time when he had to pretend to be the heiress's consort as cover for a mission, and she took the opportunity to hang on to his arm at every moment.
"You forget I'm inside you, baka." Naruto's face turned a light red at the memory.
Unfortunately, he didn't look where he was going and ran straight into the girl he was day dreaming about. They crashed onto the ground, and when the dust settled, they were a tangled mess of limbs, Hinata on top of Naruto.
"Oh god, he/she's going to be mad at me." They both thought. Kyu just snickered.
"Old man rubbing off on you?"
"Shut up." Naruto thought as he was getting up. Both his and Hinata's faces were glowing crimson as they muttered their apologies.
"Naruto-kun, perhaps we should go…" Hinata said.
"Good idea." He said, handing her the pack she dropped in the fall.
"So, what are we trying to find in this swamp?" Naruto asked a few hours later as they reached their destination.
"Hokage-sama needs some special herbs for medicine. They look like this." She said, holding up a picture.
"I recognize those, they're used for cases of paralysis." Commented Kyu.
"Where are they usually found?" Naruto asked Kyu.
"Underwater in the shade. They need darkness. Try under bushes."
"Hey, Hinata, you look low, I'll look high."
"Okay." She said with slight disappointment, as she had hoped to go with him. "Where should I start?" she asked.
"I don't know, how about under that bush." She walked around searching, till she came across the plant.
"Naruto-kun, I found it!" she yelled, happily. She got no response. "Naruto-kun?" she said softly. Growing worried, she activated her byakugan. She gasped. He was lying on the ground, groaning in pain. "Naruto-kun!" she yelled, running to where he was at.
"Man, what was that?" he asked dizzily.
"Naruto-kun, what happened?"
"Some weird plant sprayed this gas and…"
"Plant?" she asked worriedly. He pointed to a bright, multi-colored flower. She paled. She recognized it as a rare, poisonous soul eater. That gas was a chakra eating virus, fatal if untreated. "Come on, let's get you out of here."
Later that night, in a forest grove.
"Hinata, thanks for taking care of me. I didn't think, oh, never mind."
"Didn't think what Naruto-kun?"
"That you would, well, want to do this."
"I couldn't just leave you hurt in the swamp."
"That's not what I meant. You're not complaining or anything." He said with a sigh.
"Not everyone is as heartless as you think. Can't you see that?" Kyu asked.
"Why would I complain? When a friend is in trouble, you help them." She said in a sweet voice.
"Do you mean that?" Naruto asked. "Am I a friend to you?"
"Of course Naruto-kun." Naruto and Hinata continued to talk, and soon, it was nightfall. "Better set up the tents." Hinata thought. "Oh no!"
"What is it! Ow!" Naruto asked, trying unsuccessfully to jump to his feet.
"Naruto-kun, lay down!" Hinata pleaded. After he did so she continued to set up a single tent.
"Hinata, there's only one tent…" Naruto stated.
"Mine was ripped, that's why I kinda burst out." She said.
"If were going to sleep in the same tent, you won't get sick will you?" he asked.
"No, the virus isn't contagious. If fact you got lucky. Your high chakra reserves coupled with the fact you heal fast probably saved your life. I don't know how to do a chakra infusion." She said, a little disappointed with herself.
"Come on Hinata, lets go to bed." He said.
"Okay, just remember, no training or fighting till your better."
"Okay." As Naruto tried to sleep, he kept shivering, until he felt a warm jacket on top of him. He then heard her go outside the tent. "Does she not even want to be by me?" he thought.
"I doubt that's it." Kyu said.
"I have to make sure Naruto-kun is safe." Hinata thought. "This forest is crawling with rouge ninja." Just then, a twig snapped. "Great…" she groaned. A woman with a skin tight red leather outfit that revealed as much as it hid, with blue eyes and a single blond braid stepped out of the shadows.
"You don't sound too happy to see me." She said in a silky voice.
"What do you want?" Hinata asked quietly, but with venom.
"Touchy touchy. I don't want anything from you, however, you have a pretty fine piece of man with you. I thought I'd take him off your hands, alive of course.
"What do you want with Naruto-kun?!" Hinata asked, angry.
"Oh, make him my pet slave, you know, do the work, cook the food, screw my brains out, the works." She said with a sly smile. Upon hearing this, Hinata snapped, and made a rush for the woman, landing a surprise blow on her arm. "Feisty brat, huh? Try this!" she yelled, slamming her fist into the ground, making a large hole in the ground.
Hinata then notice a head pop out of the tent.
"Hinata, what the hell is going on!"
"She wants to kidnap you!"
"Oh, that's not good…" he said weakly.
"You think?" Kyu said in a no-duh tone of voice. Hinata leapt after the woman in red, and the two traded blow after blow.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Naruto asked Kyu.
"That virus in your body eats chakra, so no, not really, unless you plan on telling her about me."
The night dragged on as the two women battled, but Hinata was beginning to lose. Then with a decisive kick, the woman knocked Hinata down in front of the tent.
"Hinata, please, run." Naruto pleaded.
"No! I won't abandon you!" she cried.
"Hinata, if you don't run, she'll kill you. If you do, we'll both live."
'It wouldn't be living without you though.' Hinata thought. "No, I'll fight to my last breath. I care too much about you to let you get dragged off by some bitch!" she yelled.
"You two done saying your goodbyes yet?" said the woman.
"She must find this amusing." Kyu said.
"Hinata, do you really care about me?"
"Yes, truly." Hinata said with a sigh. She looked into Naruto's eyes, and saw a flame burning in them. He lifted his arm, and grasped hers.
"Then keep fighting. I believe in you." Red chakra began to flow from him, to her, surrounding her in purple aura. They began to glow, and Hinata heard Naruto whisper,
"My strength to you, so that you may still fight."
"What the hell is going on?" asked Kyu. "This is not my power. But why does it feel so familiar. I will have to look into to this."
Meanwhile, the woman in red looked on in interest.
"Maybe I will have some fun after all."
"Naruto, what's happening?"
"I don't know, but does it really matter right now?!" Hinata stood up, and looked into her opponent's eyes.
"Run, or die. It's your choice." She said calmly.
"Ha! You're funny. I don't think so; this boy here is going to be mine. I just can't wait to play with him." She said lustfully. Unfortunately for her, this made Hinata lose her calm demeanor very quickly.
"Very well, you have chosen death. I will show you who the alpha female here is." She disappeared, and then reappeared next to the woman in a blink, grabbed her arm, and threw her up into the air with so much force her arm broke off at the shoulder with a sickening snap. Hinata, with the gory arm still in her left hand jumped up to the woman who had reached the peak of her ascent, approximately 200 feet in the air. Grabbing the other arm with her right, she threw her back towards the ground. With a gruesome thud, she landed and became a bloody pulp on impact, with many bones sticking out of her shattered flesh. Hinata landed gracefully on the ground, the energy around her dieing. She tossed the two snapped arms onto the mess and said, "Good riddance." Naruto look at her in shock.
"How could…"
"How could I do something so awful? She intended to kill me, and make you her sex slave. I have no regrets regarding what I have just done. In fact, she has not suffered enough to pay for her crimes. Oh well, she'll burn in hell." She responded coolly. Naruto shook his head,
"I understand why, I meant how could you have been so strong? I've never seen such power."
"Nor have I." said Kyu.
"Thank you." She said, blushing, seeming to return to normal.
"Hinata, just what was that power?" Naruto asked.
"I-I don't know. I just thought about what I needed to do, and then I heard this roar."
"Roar?"
"Yes, like some great, otherworldly beast calling out to me. You think I'm crazy, don't you?" she asked, crestfallen.
"No," Naruto responded, "in fact I know the feeling. But what was it you needed to do?"
"I needed, no more like wanted, yes wanted more than anything to protect you. To keep you safe." She said with confidence. She saw a tear roll down his cerulean eyes.
"Thank you." He whispered, embracing her.
"Shhh. It's okay." Hinata said, holding him like a mother holds her child. He looked into her eyes, and swore an oath.
"I swear I'll protect you, Hinata. I give you my word. From this day forward, I'll always protect you." Kyu commented in his mind,
"Bold words, kit, but, lucky for you, you have my backing on this as well. I will teach you the skills you need to defend her, not that she seems to need it. I mean, just look at the mess she made. Makes me proud." Hinata had a tear roll down her check.
'He cares for me this much? This is a dream come true, he really cares!' "Come on, there's a town nearby, we need to get you somewhere where you can rest easy." Hinata said.
"Then why didn't we go their earlier?" Naruto asked.
"I kinda forgot about it till the battle…" she said nervously. She looked at Naruto, and saw he was grinning.
"Really now? Sure you didn't just want to spend more time with me, out here in the forest, alone?" he implied. Hinata blushed madly.
"Naruto-kun, that's n-not funny…" she mumbled.
"That's not what your face says." He teased.
"Well I'll be, the baka can flirt with a girl." Kyu said sounding impressed. Hinata however, was just barely able to stay conscious at the implications.
"W-what are you implying Naruto-kun?" she asked as she helped him towards the town.
"Well, Kiba has told me you got a nosebleed when you first used your byakugan on me…" he trailed off. It was a good thing they were on the outskirts of the town, because at that moment, Hinata fainted.
"Smooth one, Romeo. Now how are you going to get to the inn?" Kyu asked.
"You'll help me." Naruto said.
"And just why should I do that?"
"Do you want Hinata to catch a cold?" Naruto asked slyly.
"No." Kyu groaned. "How troublesome." He said, surging a small bit of chakra into Naruto.
'Knock, knock' A large, burly man with brown hair and green eyes answered the door. "Excuse me, sir, could I get a room for me and my friend…" Naruto said, gesturing to an unconscious Hinata.
"You don't look of age…" he said studying them.
"It's not like that…" he said, sweating. The man opened the door, laughing.
"Of course you're welcome!" he said jollily. Naruto thanked the man and paid him for the room. "Now just don't disturb the other guests by making too much noise." He said winking. Naruto glowed crimson.
"Why does everyone think that?" Naruto asked Kyu.
"Let's see… a young man and woman traveling together, alone. Not to mention they're not too far off." He said snickering.
"Ero-fox…" he muttered as he set Hinata on the bed.
"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whispered, not letting go of his arm.
"Looks like you're sharing a bed, because she ain't letting go." Kyu said.
"Don't. Say. It." Naruto warned.
"Try not to let her molest you in your sleep." Kyu snickered.
"I told you not to say that!" he mentally shouted, annoyed. This wasn't the first time Kyu has made a crack like that. In fact, every mission where they sleep in the same tent or even the same room he barks out a warning to watch himself. And it is always taken in ill humor. "Just go to sleep." He said, lying down. Unfortunately for Naruto, Hinata just had to roll over and wrap her arms around his waist.
"You sure she's asleep?"