Neji's strike rang true and Hinata fell to the floor, blood leaking steadily from the corners of her mouth. She didn't move, she didn't speak. Her sensei, Kurenai, looked down. Everyone was deadly quiet in the wake of Hinata's apparent loss.

Naruto looked down at her, a deep frown on his face. He didn't know what to do; Hinata was obviously in a great amount of pain. The proctor apparently thought that the match was over.

"Continuing is impossible and thus-" he was cut off by Naruto's loud shout.

"Don't stop it!" he yelled, staring intently at Hinata. Shock crossed everyone's face. Sakura's, though, contorted more in anger.

"What are you talking about, you idiot?" she asked, hitting him roughly over the head, "She's at her limit! She unconscious!" she screamed, glaring as he fell to the ground because of her strike. Kakashi looked at Naruto, his one visible eye obviously confused.

"I didn't know that you were so cruel, Naruto," he said sadly. Naruto looked at him with a questioning gaze. "She's obviously in a great amount of pain. It's almost abuse to make her keep going at this point," Kakashi pointed out solemnly. Naruto looked at Hinata again.

He then smiled hugely, "Just you look!" he said happily. Everyone again looked down in shock as Hinata was slowly- and painfully- climbing to her feet. She was breathing heavily and holding her side, but she was standing. Neji glared hatefully.

"Why do you still stand? If you keep pushing yourself , you'll die for sure," he said cruelly. Hinata smiled slightly.

'The person I admire is finally watching me,' Hinata thought with pride. She looked up, bleeding everywhere, but still smiling . Naruto smiled down at her and Neji just re-activated his Byakugan. "It's not…over," she panted, "I don't… go back… on my word. That…is also my ninja way!" Hinata yelled one more time, though clutching her left side in pain from Neji's abuse to her heart. Neji just sneered.

"Acting tough is useless," he spat. "you can barely stand, I can see that. From the time of your birth," Neji started to monologue, "the responsibility of the Hyuuga main house has been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness… but people cannot change. That is destiny," he finished, glaring again. "There's no need to suffer anymore, let it go!" he shouted at her. Hinata frowned, but her expression was one of pity and sympathy.

"That's not true Neji-nii-san. Because…" she stopped to cough violently, "Because, you've got it backwards. I can see it too. It's not me at all. The person suffering most because of the destiny and tension between the two houses of the Hyuuga Clan… is you Neji," she sighed.

Neji's Byakugan flared. With pure hatred on his face, he charged forward, ready to land the final strike. The proctor panicked.

"Neji! No! This match is over!" he yelled. But Neji didn't listen.

With a speed he never before possessed, he dashed forward to strike Hinata one more time. The jonin were right behind him… but too late.

"Hinata!" Naruto screamed. Hinata's eyes drifted upward and locked on Naruto's. Then, she hacked up about a pint of blood and stopped breathing. She collapsed on the hard stone floor and lay still.

Naruto was on the floor next to her in an instant. "Hinata!" he was yelling over and over. He shook her, but still she didn't move; didn't breathe. Kurenai was screaming for medics in the background, and everyone was yelling in shock, but Naruto didn't hear them. He knelt next to her and held her hand tightly, whispering her name and his eyes filling up with tears. If only he had never told her to get up that last time. If only he'd just let her lay there the first time, with less serious injuries. Kakashi was right, he had been cruel. He's been so cruel for expecting so much from her.

"I'm so sorry Hinata," he whispered, crying. The medic nin finally arrived and loaded her still body onto a stretcher. They too started to panic and one of them started up a small electricity jutsu, trying to start her heart back up. A team of almost ten doctors were rushing around her, trying to bring her back to them. Neji was behind Naruto at this point, mentally smirking at her failure to get even a breath of life. He was so preoccupied that he didn't notice Naruto until he was flying across the room by a strong punch from the Kyuubi container. Naruto's eyes were red and slitted. His nails and teeth lengthened and sharpened and blood red chakra was starting to leak out of him. Sakura was just about to tell him to calm down before he turned his eyes on her. Tears started to stream from her eyes as she realized how affected by this he was.

Kakashi put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto almost hit him. "Naruto," he said calmly, "get a hold of yourself. Hinata wouldn't be happy if you got yourself disqualified just for her," he said, trying to restrain Naruto from killing Neji. Naruto glared hard at him, but saw the logic. The red chakra slowly dissipated and his eyes turned blue again.

There was a large commotion behind him and he turned around too see Kurenai looking very relieved and the other genin smiling.

"We got her," one of the medics said. Naruto rushed forward to hold her hand again and, to his relief, that she had a pulse, albeit a weak one. He smiled and tears coursed down his cheeks. He sighed in relief and Kurenai stared at him softly. All eyes were then drawn to the front of the room as the Hokage spoke.

"Hinata's plight is… unfortunate, but we must continue the preliminaries," he said. Naruto's eyes flashed at the mention of the Hyuuga heiress. Naruto then turned his back on the rest of the genin and started to follow Hinata to the hospital. It was his fault. He felt that, deep inside, if he'd not stopped the proctor from proclaiming Neji the victor the first time, Hinata wouldn't be this hurt.

"Gosh kit, where's all this sympathy coming from? I thought that you thought that she was a 'dark weirdo'? At lest that's what you told me," the fox taunted him. Naruto growled in his mind.

'I never said she wasn't a friend. She's just weird. And don't you dare insult her! She's hurt and in pain, so I don't want to hear it from you!' Naruto shouted in rage in his mind. The Kyuubi just chuckled.

"Aww! Is my kit worried about his little vixen?" Kyuubi asked in a baby-ish tone of voice.

Naruto stepped back a little in his mindscape. 'What?' he shouted in confusion. Kyuubi gave a huge fox grin behind his bars.

"Come on kit. It's not hard to admit that she's very cute. And you will be needing a mate later in life…" the fox trained off suggestively, raising his eyebrows as best he could. Naruto just blushed a dark red in his mind.

'Kyuubi, you idiot. I don't think about Hinata-chan like that,' he denied. Kyuubi laughed loudly.

"Are you sure? She's a lot prettier than that pink-haired banshee," he smiled. Naruto's face contorted in anger. He opened his mouth, but Kyuubi cut him off. "And since when do you call the white-eyes 'Hinata-chan'?" he asked, grinning.

Naruto just blushed and left the conversation. He was almost out of the door when Sakura called out to him from up on the balcony.

"You're leaving? But the preliminaries aren't over yet!" she yelled. He turned slowly and glared at her. She flinched under his gaze and looked away. He continued on his way; vaguely noticing that bushy brows was fighting that Gaara kid next.

The trip was filled with turmoil because Hinata stopped breathing three times, each time having to be resuscitated by a med-nin. Naruto was pretty much silent, mulling over the fight and trying to figure out what he could've done differently to stop Hinata from being this hurt. The idea that this was al his fault was cemented into his mind. That and Neji's. He was more than furious at Neji for what he did to Hinata.

He vowed to himself that he would win if they had to fight each other in the finals. He would kick his ass all the way from here to Suna.

"And you think you're not protective of her," Kyuubi pointed out sarcastically. Naruto scowled and just moved closer to Hinata. Kurenai watched all this with carefully masked surprise. Naruto had never shown any kind of interest in Hinata before, but now he wouldn't leave her side. Perhaps he thought she needed protection? Or did he finally see her? Kurenai was about to ask him when she heard him to speak to the unconscious Hinata.

"Hinata-chan… I am so sorry. If I had just let you stay down… let the proctor call the match when he was going to the first time… you wouldn't be this hurt. I'm so sorry," Naruto whispered. Unabashed disbelief through Kurenai. He thought that this was his fault? He hadn't done anything but encourage Hinata to get stronger. That he would somehow perceive that he was at fault here was shocking to say the least. Kurenai placed a gentle hand on Naruto's shoulder, but his eyes didn't move from Hinata's face.

"Naruto," she said softly, "none of this is your fault," he finally looked at her and his face was thoroughly surprised. He had forgotten that Kurenai had come along. When he processed her words, though, he looked back down at Hinata; at her fingers tightly intertwined with his own. He slowly shook his head.

"Yes it is Kurenai-sensei. I should've just let her give up. Not made her stand up again. What if she died? No, I wouldn't ever forgive myself. I'll make sure that she get's better. And I'll beat Neji too, even if it kills me," he promised solemnly, wishing that Hinata was awake to hear it. If Kurenai wasn't surprised before, she was now. To hear such a grave and serious promise from the usually bright and happy boy. She frowned deeply.

"Naruto," she said firmly. He didn't look up. "if you had told Hinata just to lay down, if you had told her to give up, I wouldn't have forgiven you and Hinata would've been very disappointed. She fought hard today and she's probably very proud of herself. Naruto, Hinata was fighting for you and her. She is just happy that you saw her today. She had always tried so hard to show her father that she means something; to show her family she's not useless. And she's tried to show you that she's strong," she told him gently. Naruto had looked up somewhere in the middle of that and stared at her with a shocked expression. He looked at Hinata's unconscious and bleeding form.

"Sh-she was f-fighting for m-me?" he stuttered out slowly.

"Well kit, it was kind of obvious the way that she kept looking at you and the way she's always following you," Kyuubi told his container sarcastically. Naruto's mouth fell open in his mindscape and he started gasping slightly.

'Why didn't you tell me?' he retorted in his mind. Kyuubi just shrugged.

"You never asked," he said bluntly. Naruto rolled his eyes.

When their little medical group made it to the hospital -which took way less time then it seemed like to Naruto- Hinata was immediately rushed to intensive care. For hours doctors bustled in and out of the emergency hall while Naruto just paced. The Kyuubi container sat in front of the ICU doors for over six hours, mulling over what he was told by his demon. Hinata followed him? Hinata… cared about him? She fought for him?

"Yes kit, she really cares about you. You should look around and be aware next time you train… if she's out of the hospital by then," he said tauntingly. "Well, I guess you have to train for the finals of the chunin exam, so I guess she won't be around to talk you," he teased. This got the desired effect and Naruto growled in his mind.

'You leave her alone!' He screamed. Kyuubi just smiled again.

"Oh, no! This is far too fun to stop now! I enjoy torturing you! And I can't wait till the end of the month when you get your ass kicked by that Hyuuga boy!" Kyuubi told him teasingly.

'You shut up! You don't know anything!' he screamed. On the outside of his mind he had froze and clutched at his pant leg in anger. His eyes turned red and his fingers grew clawed. His eyes clenched shut and he frowned. His teeth lengthened and he shrunk in upon himself.

"Na-Naruto," Sakura spoke softly, breaking Naruto out of his reverie. She was standing there, holding her clenched fists over her chest and heart protectively, in worry and fear. His eyes and claws returned to normal, but he still glared at Sakura. She flinched.

"What do you want?" he asked in an icy tone. She backed away and didn't speak. Naruto got frustrated at this and stood up aggressively from his seat in front of the emergency room.

"Now, now Naruto," Kakashi said quietly, coming around the corner behind Sakura, "there's no need to take out all your anger at Neji on Sakura," his one eye flashing. Naruto looked at both Kakashi and Sakura, sighed, and then resumed his place on the bench. All at once, his face switched like a light from angry to deeply concerned. He looked so sad looking there that Sakura almost cried.

"I'm not really angry right now I'm just-" Naruto faltered, looking for words, "I'm just… just worried and frustrated," he told them finally. Kakashi came over and sat down beside him. He put a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto looked at him and Kakashi saw tears beginning to form at the corners of the Kyuubi container's eyes. "I… I… It's all my fault!" he yelled at Kakashi and buried his face into the older jonin's shoulder. Kakashi was surprised to feel that Naruto was actually crying. The boy had sworn never to cry unless he was really happy because crying solved nothing.

"Now, why is it your fault?" the cyclops asked. Naruto pulled his head away and stared at the floor again.

"I should've let her stay down. Kakashi… y-you were right. It was cruel to make her keep getting back up. She wouldn't have been this hurt!" he yelled.

They sat in total silence. Kakashi and Sakura were downright shocked to hear that Naruto assumed that the damage done to Hinata was somehow 'all his fault'.
"HEY! HE SHOULD BE PAYING ATTENTION TO US DAMMIT! WE GOT HURT IN OUR BATTLE TOO! CHA!" Inner Sakura screamed.

'We're not almost dead,' Sakura pointed out. 'Plus, since when did we care what Naruto thought?' she asked suspiciously.

"WE'VE NEVER HAD ANY REASON TOO! HE'S ALWAYS BEEN OBSESSED WITH US!" Inner Sakura reasoned loudly. Sakura sighed. 'I've got to get some therapy,' she thought to herself. She turned her attention back to Naruto who was clutching his head painfully and trying not to listen to something neither she nor Kakashi could hear.

"Kami, Naruto, you can't protect anybody! Though, this is the first time someone's been hurt because of you instead of in spite of you," Kyuubi taunted. Naruto was trembling on the outside in rage and fear.

'Shut up! She's not hurt because of me! She was already hurt!' He screamed. Kyuubi laughed.

"But kit! Don't tell me you already forgot! She was fighting for you!" He barked out. Naruto shook in anger. Something dawned on him, though, so he slowly looked at Kakashi and Sakura.

"How long?" he asked. They were confused. How long for what? For Hinata to die? No one knew that.

"How long for what, Naruto?" Kakashi asked quietly. He was really hoping that Naruto hadn't given up hope that Hinata was going to live so soon. "Hinata's not going to die, Naruto," he told the boy slowly.

Naruto nodded. "Oh, I know that. I've already sworn that I was going to make her better. But, how long has she been watching me? How long has she… cared?" he slowly got quieter, so by the end of his sentence, only Kakashi knew what the container had said, being much closer than Sakura.

Sakura looked down. "We were all wondering when you were going to see her Naruto. She's been watching you since the first day of the academy," she admitted quietly. Naruto's eyes widened exponentially. That long?

"Y-you mean… if someone had t-told me… if I had s-seen her… I would've had f-friends? That far back?" he asked, very sad again. Sakura started to cry at his heartbroken expression. All she could do was nod. Naruto cried at this. He once again buried his head into Kakashi's shoulder and let out all this pain, sorrow, guilt, and loneliness. He didn't scream or sob. He just let all the silent tears pour out of his eyes. Kakashi patted his back and kept trying to tell him that it wasn't his fault. Hinata was hurt already. It wasn't his fault.

Hours later, Naruto was asleep outside the ICU doors, and Kakashi and Sakura were long gone. One doctor emerged from the emergency room and was startled to see Naruto still there. The man shook the Kyuubi boy's shoulder and he bolted up.

"What, what?" he shouted. The doctor stepped back in surprise and Naruto saw him. His face lit up and he sprang up from his seat. "You're a doctor right? How's Hinata-chan? Is she going to be okay? Can I see her? Is she awake?" Naruto asked question after question, never giving the man time to answer. The doctor in question just looked down and tugged a little on his collar.

"I'm not sure I'm authorized to tell you…" he trailed off. In all honesty he thought the Kyuubi brat was here to terrorize the girl or some other such nonsense. He thought again though, when he saw Naruto's heartbroken expression. "Er, but… I guess I can at least tell you how her status…" he stuttered. Naruto grinned and looked at the man eagerly. The man sighed. "She's not doing good," he started, "her heart has been beaten way out of repair. She has two, maybe three months to live. She won't be conscious for at least another month. There's nothing we can do to fix her heart at his point. It's a wonder she's still alive. When she was fighting she must have had one hell of an incentive to keep at it," the doctor trailed off in awe. Naruto was crying again; all the while cursing himself for being so weak. The old doctor sighed and put his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "The only one skilled enough to fix her- and even then, she'd only have less than a fifty percent chance of survival- would have been the legendary Sannin, Tsunade. But she hasn't been seen for years," he said sadly. Naruto looked up at him desperately.

"Can't you just give her a new heart?" he pleaded. The man just shook his head sadly.

"It's not just her heart, it's the heart and the whole area around it. We can't replace her whole chest cavity. Her lungs also took a severe beating," he looked down and sighed again. Naruto had slipped to his knees on the floor and was trying not to die of guilt. H-he had… he had to know.

"You know, she took two hits to her heart," Naruto started, the man nodded. "if… if the second blow wouldn't have ever been made… would she be this bad? Would she still die?" he asked distraughtly. The doctor thought for a moment.

"Most likely not. The damage to her heart would've been much less extensive. We would've been able to heal that. We can tell which amount of damage was done first because it's degenerated way more. The second batch of internal injuries is what got her. I'm sorry, but with a little healing and rest, she would have been fine," he sighed. Naruto was looking at the floor, so he couldn't judge the boy's expression. "Anyway, you need to be getting home, boy. She won't wake up for weeks and even so, visiting hours are over," the doctor said. He walked away after Naruto seemed to be getting up. The boy walked home in silence. Not even Kyuubi had any idea of what to say. The dark night seemed to suck up the silence and throw it right back into his face.

When he got to his apartment, he burst into tears. All those years of self-control crumbled in the face of what he'd done. This time he didn't do it quietly. He sobbed and shouted. He beat the floor with his fists and let out all the anger. Naruto was shaking in rage and trying so hard not to listen to Kyuubi.

"Just do it now, kit! Go into the white-eyes' house and kill him where he lay! Take his life as he took Hinata's! Do it!" Kyuubi screamed. Naruto shook his head. If he killed Neji now, where would the satisfaction be? The awe-inspiring battle, with Naruto pushing out to win as the under dog? Kyuubi grudgingly agreed that that would be acceptable.

'Why do you care anyway?' Naruto screamed. 'You said Hinata was weak! You called her all those names! I hate you, you bastard fox!' the boy raged. Kyuubi shook his head.

"Stupid boy! I called her weak because it made you mad! I have nothing against your vixen! I mean, just look at her! She had excellent potential to be a gorgeous mate in the future! You know I'm right kit! Look," Kyuubi said in Naruto's mindscape. Kyuubi came to the front of his cage so Naruto could see him properly. The fox waved his paw in the air and a picture of Hinata materialized, standing there, smiling shyly.

'Where did you get that?' Naruto shouted. Kyuubi rolled his eyes.

"From your memories of course. Now, look here," he said, gesturing at the Hinata image to prove his point. "Look right there! You can see how thick this jacket is, can't you? Even so, you can still see her breasts! If that pink-haired banshee wore this coat, she'd look exactly like a boy! Kami, this girl here, the white-eyes, must have some huge mounds under there!" the pervy-demon shouted, excited. Naruto sweat dropped and glared.

'Like I'd ever let you touch her, bastard,' the boy seethed. Kyuubi waved his paw dismissively.

"I have access to all your memories, kit. I see what you see, hear what you hear, feel what you feel, hear what you think, taste what you taste. I'd know about every moment you had with that girl," he pointed out smugly. Naruto blushed a dark red. Kyuubi's face got serious. "Really though kit, you need to kill the boy. Kill that Hyuuga boy while Hinata still has breath in her body," he said solemnly. Naruto's face darkened.

"I intend to,"