Rumors

AN: Hey EVERYONE. First time author Evilsheeplordthatsaysmoo here. Uh… I really don't know what to say… kind of sad that the first fic I 'publish' on this site isn't mine, but overjoyed that I get to take over for a magnificent story such as this one. Now this story will both be very similar to the original as well as slightly different; such as things being add. For example, it will probably have more back-story than the original and I'm sorry if this makes anyone sad, angry, constipated, etc.

Anyway like to thank both drag0nclaw and zigawits for letting me adopt this story as well as of you that put me on your author alters list as well as favorite authors list. It means so much to one such as I.

Oh sorry this didn't come out right away, I was working on it and I work sort of slow so don't expect updates too quickly.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or the original idea for this story. ENJOY

XxXxX Intro XxXxX

Rumors. The world is full of them. You can go to any village and will always be another rumor. One of the most common of these rumors are those about the Shadow Fox. Although each rumor is different from the last and tend to contradict each other, there are two things that are always constant in the rumor of the Shadow Fox. The first is that it has been just over four years since the Shadow Fox was first heard of, and the second is that who ever is foolish enough to make him an enemy end up dead soon after.

Even though there are endless rumors of the Shadow Fox, there are no known facts; just the rumors. These rumors range from him being nothing more than a bedtime story, to the ridiculous ones of him being an actual fox in human form. In each village he is known, and in each village he is thought to be nothing more than a rumor.

Even though most people think of him as nothing more than a story, some people have very different ideas, some believe that he will bring them fame, power and wealth if they can tame him, while others wish to offer a home in their village in hopes he will defend its interests. These people include the leaders of the Shinobi villages. After all, with the Shadow Fox their enemy's would think twice before attacking them, and business for the village would boom. So, naturally, the villages had organized many searches for him. None of these searches, however, have produced any results. After all it is almost impossible to find someone when you have no idea what he or she look like. One rumor says that he wears nothing but a pair of shorts, while others say he completely hides his appearance. So naturally with all the conflicting rumors it's like finding a needle in a haystack, a very large haystack; but a needle in a haystack nonetheless

With all the different rumors it is impossible for anyone to know what is truth and what is fiction, well anyone except the Shadow Fox himself, that is.

One of the first rumors of him is how he defended Wave Country from hundreds of bandits. Rumor says time and again the bandits descended upon the prospering village and time and again the Shadow Fox defeated them. The rumors of his defense of Wave Country gave way to the rumors of him being the guardian of the Wave. So it is only natural that many people have visited the village in hopes of meeting him. Currently, like so many before them, a Team of Konoha Shinobi was approaching the village in search of him.

XxXxX

"So we're finally here" spoke a figure stepping out of the forest, the figure of a young man. He wore a sturdy black leather jacket with red triangles pointing down each of his cheeks. Beside him walked a large, dangerous looking, white dog.

"Not quite, we've still got to cross the bridge" spoke an older woman beside him.

"What are we waiting for then Kurenai-sensei?" replied the young man.

"Let's continue then Kiba." Kurenai sighed while two more figures appeared beside them, marveling that the young man, after all the years of training, still acted irrationally.

"Didn't Kakashi's Team come here?" Kiba asked while approaching the bridge.

"I believe they aided in building this bridge," Shino, a young man also wearing a large jacket with a hood, stated in his ever present monotone, pushing his sunglasses up is nose

Just as they were about to continue over the bridge they turned to the last member of the Team, who was already at one of the pillars of the bridge, read a plaque of some sorts.

"What you reading Hinata?" Kiba yelled towards the girl. The girl, much like her other Teammates, also wore a jacket in a lavender tint. When the girl did not reply, they made their way towards her. When they arrived at the pillar she stood before they began to read what the plaque said:

'Here lies the Great Naruto Bridge, Named for the boy who showed the heart of a hero in hopes that like his courage, this bridge will never fail'

It has been four years since Uzumaki Naruto died. Upon the return of Team 7 after the mission to assist in the creation in the bridge that helped save Wave Country's economy, everyone was shocked when found out about his death.

XxXxX Flashback XxXxX

Inside the Hokage's office stood Team 8 and 10 waiting for missions to be distributed. Just as they were about to receive menial 'D' ranked their mission's for the day, Team 7 entered, each member of the Team seemed defeated.

"Team 7 reporting that the mission was a success" Kakashi said. What shocked everyone though was that his nose was not buried in its usual place, in fact his book could not be seen. This instantly placed all of the present ANBU, Jounin and the Hokage on guard.

Kakashi never had his book missing from his face. The only times that it would be gone from its designated 'post' would be when Kakashi was either fighting a dangerous opponent, serious, or when he was sleeping; and the sleeping part was debatable. Seeing as there was no enemy, nor was he sleeping, he must be serious.

"What is your report?" asked the aged Hokage slowly as he interlaced his fingers over his desk.

"A-ano, Where's N-Naruto-kun?" asked the pale eyed Hinata. She could sense something ominous in the air the Kakashi's slouched posture and the adults stiffening at the realization that the blond Genin was not in the room.

Hinata had instantly, though discreetly, looked for her long time crush, no, it is love she corrected herself, once she saw the Cycloptic Ninja, the Uchiha and the pink haired gorgon enter the room; her posture straightening, her head rose only a fracture of a degree higher, as well as the slight larger intake of breathe to cause her, larger than average, bust to be enhanced, even though it was not visible through her bulky gray over coat.

'Maybe he's at the Hospital,' thought the navy blue haired girl. This led to a blush to form on her porcelain cheeks as she envisioned herself caring for the blond bundle of energy, as well as other thoughts involving the paper like Hospital gown.

"He's… He's dead" Kakashi finally choked out.

Seconds pasted as the world seemed to stop. Hinata's blushed slowly receded only to be gradually be replaced with a sickening paleness; her figure began to shake uncontrollably, her eyes widened until they encompassed most of her face, and her arms instinctively rose from their previous post at her sides to hug herself. Her pillar of strength was gone?!

No, the one-eyed Jounin must be lying to them; he just had to be, she reasoned in her mind, even as the tears began to fall.

Shino was indifferent except that his shoulders seemed to stiffen and if you looked closely you could see a lone tear escape from underneath his pitch black sunglasses and disappear into the collar of his large rain type coat. In reality, Shino was deeply distraught, for Naruto was one of the few people that would had talked to him in the academy, when the other children saw him as 'creepy' and distant. The only reason why the young Aburame, like most of his clan, was distant was because he was shy, worried of what the other students would think of his pact with his insect allies.

Naruto reacted differently than the boy had expected once Shino told of his pact; he just brushed it off and continued to talk to the young Aburame, just overjoyed that the young child would actually listen to him when few would. This lack of caring on Naruto's part caused Shino to have his first friend. Since Aburame's made few friends out of the comrade, Naruto indirectly gained the backing of the whole Aburame Clan.

Kiba was indeed shocked to find that the blond had 'kicked the bucket', but he was not entirely grieved by the news, unlike his two teammates. Even though he would not admit it out loud, he was slightly overjoyed by it. Now Hinata would need a 'shoulder to cry on' and there Kiba would be, the understanding and considerate teammate. To those that would take the time to observe the Inuzuka, they would see a rather large crush on the Hyuga heiress, but they would see it as how a butch looked at a bitch not as how a caring man viewed a lovely woman; only a willing female to give birth to many strong and male pups.

Ino had truly no opinion on the matter, only seeing Naruto as an obstacle in the way of her 'Sasuke-kun'. Shikamaru had a similar view on it; not having known Naruto that well himself, only taking enough time to say that the whole situation was 'troublesome'.

Choji on the other hand was so disturbed that he dropped his bag of barbeque flavored chips on the ground; causing its contents to spill upon the hard wood floor. Naruto, his Ramen 'chum', his broth brother, his fellow noodle devourer, was dead. There was no way. There was no way the Gods of Ramen could allow such a gifted follower and talented preacher of the fishcake-ian gospel to die! It was blasphemy!!

"WHAT" the Hokage shouted as he jumped from his chair, nearly causing his large oaken desk to topple. ANBU sprang from their hidden positions to refrain the elderly Shinobi from leaping over his desk to shake the already emotionally shaken 'Kopi-Ninja' to elaborate, all the while having great difficulty doing so.

"I said that he's dead Hokage-sama" Kakashi whispered again at the old man which had the effect of shocking everyone in the room.

"H-how?" asked Asuma, his lit cigarette long forgotten as it fell to the ground. Kurenai was silently gripping his hand for mental as well as emotional support, as she could think of nothing to say at the moment being that she too was too stunned to believe it.

Kurenai, along with more than ninety percent of the Shinobi population, saw Naruto for the young Genin that he was instead of the cursed fox within his navel. True, there would still be cases like Mizuki that would hate the boy for what he contained, but those, in the Shinobi population, were far and in between.

"He did it to save me…" Sasuke said while staring at the floor.

Sakura stayed quiet and could stare anywhere but the faces of the people that occupied the room.

"What do you mean?" The Hokage asked after calming himself; his ANBU guards now stand behind in case of another outbreak. Everyone in the room eyed Sasuke searching for the answer.

However it wasn't Sasuke that answered but Kakashi.

"During the mission we came across Momochi Zabuza, a Jounin level Nuke-Nin, and his apprentice called Haku. Apparently he had been hired by Gatou to kill Tazuna, the man we were guarding. We fought against them on the bridge, myself against Zabuza while Sasuke fought against Haku, and Sakura defended Tazuna."

"Where was Naruto?" interjected the elder Sarutobi.

"He was still at Tazuna's house. We had been training the day before and he was suffering from slight Chakra exhaustion. After a couple of minutes Haku placed what seemed to be a cage of mirrors around Sasuke. While inside the mirrors, Haku could move at speeds that would rival an Elite Jounin. Trapped by the mirrors Sasuke tried to defend himself but the mirrors withstood all his attacks.

"When Haku attempted to attack Sasuke again, Naruto arrived and managed to deflect his attack, however, by doing so he himself was trapped along with Sasuke by the mirrors. For a short while Naruto and Sasuke managed to hold him off; Sasuke with Katon Justus's and Naruto with Kage Bunshin, but soon Sasuke began to run out of Chakra and collapsed. When Haku tried to finish him off, Naruto intercepted him and took the blow for Sasuke. While this meant the Sasuke was safe Naruto was mortally wounded. However Naruto managed to kill Haku before he died," Kakashi ended with a slightly proud note to his voice in reciting the young blonds heroic deed.

"So if Naruto died, where's his body?" The aged Hokage asked a deflated tone. The other Jounin and ANBU were all curious as to this as well, seeing as it was illegal to not completely destroy a known corpse of your own village.

"He was buried in Wave Country Hokage-sama..."

This caught the Hokage's attention, "What do you mean 'He was buried in Wave Country'?"

Kakashi, for the first time during the whole explanation, looked at the Hokage with a slight bit of rage. "You and I both know that he would be treated more as the Hero in Wave Country then he would here," he said causing all of the older generation to nod in agreement.

The elder Hokage sighed in defeat as tears began to roll down his cheeks. With a wave of his hand the Teams were dismissed with no missions, claiming that everyone need the rest of the week off to deal with the troubling news. Hinata was the first to dash out of the room, tears spilling from her eyes. One by one they all left, a majority with tears in their eyes for the lose of a friend and hero, while others seemed to shrug it off; people die in their line of work, it was inevitable. The Hokage's ANBU guards, one by one, melted back into the shadows, but not before a choked sob from one of them was heard.

Days later the Hokage announced to the public that Uzumaki Naruto had indeed been killed and that his funeral would be held the following day. Needless to say that the non-Shinobi populace was more than thrilled with the news of the Jinchuriki demise and celebration parties were already in the making. The day of the funeral was, ironically a on a sunny, cloudless day. 'Even the Gods seem to mock this young man,' thought almost everyone that attended that funeral, most if not all being Shinobi. Sarutobi stood before them all as he began the day of mourning.

"Fellow Shinobi," he began, "I come before you to mourn the loss of one of this villages most heroic, noble, and kind Shinobi to ever grace this village; even greater then all the Hokage's."

Everyone in the younger generation gasped at this proclamation, while some of the older generation nodded in agreement. 'How could such an obnoxious, clumsy, unimportant person like Naruto be greater then our protectors and finest?' wondered all the Genin and some Chunnin.

Sarutobi turned so that his back was facing the mourners as he looked upon the picture of Naruto that was placed in exchange for his body; gathering his thoughts as well as recomposing himself. The picture was one of the few where Naruto's infamous 'clown' mask had been dropped. His smile was small and slightly sad, and his eyes, if you looked closely, had little of their usual sparkle in them. His face looked more mature appearance then it usually did because of the lack of the large smile that up most of his face. If one was to look into the scores of mourning men and women, not only would they see teary eyes, but also some blushes at seeing how handsome the young blond truly was.

"And in commemoration of this heartbreaking occasion, I shall repeal the law I had placed on this young man thirteen years ago. The law that stated that no one could speak to the younger generation that the Nine-Tailed Demon Lord that attacked our home those thirteen years ago was not killed but sealed within his navel by his very own father, the Yondaime Hokage!" Sarutobi ended proclaiming the news to the heavens.

Many more gasps were heard, mumbles and whispers soon followed only to be silenced by piercing eyes of 'The God of all Shinobi' as he turned to them.

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto held the Nine-Tailed because his father could not think of asking someone else to scarifice their own child to live such a cursed life, since a Demon Lord cannot be killed. Namikaze Minato, Naruto's father, wished for his son to be seen as a hero. Unfourtunately, that was not meant to be. Once word reached the public the Nine-Tailed was sealed within a child, they instantly asked for the childs death; four assassination attempts were within the first hour of the laws creation-" he was interupted in his speech as Hinata fell to her knees, holding herself and openly weeping.

Some one had tried to kill her Naruto, treated him badly and overall hated him for no reason How could someone, who went through all that, come out so resilient, optimistic and still have a positive out look on life, she wondered through the tears. The area around her darkened and when she looked up she saw none-other then the Hokage standing before her, a sad smile of understanding on his face. He kneeled down to her and encompassed her in a comforting embrace; allow her to weep into his white robes. This seemed to be the sign for the rest of the mourners, as they all, either silently or openly, wept for the young Jinchuriki.

XxXxX End Flashback XxXxX

Hinata never accepted that Naruto had died. Some said that it was denial on her part but something, deep within her own soul, said that he was alive; getting more and more powerful by the day. So for the past four years she trained herself into the ground day and night, and became one of the only Kunoichi that could claim to be the Godaime Hokage's apprentice

"Every one of the rookie's have grown so much since then" Kurenai thought "It's just a shame he had to die to show them that they weren't invincible like they all thought they were."

"Come on we should go. We'll make sure to visit his grave before we leave" Kurenai spoke while moving to the bridge, to which the other three just nodded. Just before Hinata left with the rest of her team she gently placed her hand on the plaque; a silent promise to herself that she would find him and bring him to a loving family and friends.

XxXxX

As the group entered the village they saw that in the four years since the wave mission, the village had clearly prospered and changed greatly. No longer were children begging for any scraps of food they could get, but instead they were playing like normal children should; laughing and joking. The shops were booming, and there seemed to be a great amount of visitors in the village. Obviously the bridge has done its job and brought wave out of poverty.

"A-ano, where are we staying?" Hinata asked.

"We'll be staying with a family that lodged Kakashi's Team four years ago, a man called Tazuna, his daughter Tsunami and his grand son Inari. Were suppose to meet him at the village hall," Kurenai replied as they made their way to the town square.

"Ok," the students said as they followed her, astonished that this village had been on the verge of an economic collapse four years prior.

"Are you sure this is where we are suppose to meet him Kurenai-sensei?" Kiba asked while scanning the horizon for any signs of Tazuna.

"Yes Kiba, this is where we are to meet him" came the reply but it was clear that Kurenai was not paying attention. Instead she was focused on the modest statue that was dedicated to, what seemed to be Naruto and another men that stood in the center of the town square.

"Well I wish he'd hurry up he's nearly as bad as Kakashi," Kiba grumbled as he crossed his arms and took a seat next to a lamppost, Akamaru currently with the other part of his team, inspecting the memorial statue.

"Did someone say Kakashi?" an elderly man with small spectacles asked while approaching the group.

"Yes, and who might you be?" Shino asked quietly.

"My names Tazuna, and I'm guessing you're the Team I'm suppose to be meeting," he question taking time to point his finger at each individual.

"Hai. I'm Yuhi Kurenai, and these are my students. This is Hyuga Hinata..." Kurenai said while pointing out Hinata "...This is Aburame Shino..." she said while gesturing Shino "…And finally this is Inuzuka Kiba and his companion Akamaru." She finished while pointing out Kiba and Akamaru.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Tazuna said with a small smile on his face. "Now if you'd follow me I'll show you to where you'll be staying." With this said he started heading back down the road in the direction he had come from.

After a short 5-minute walk through the village they stopped outside a relatively large house. Granted it wasn't as big as the clan houses back in Konoha, but by all accounts it was large for civilians. Seeing the shocked faces on his guests Tazuna couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips, but he still explained to them.

"I'm guessing that you thought we'd still lived where Kakashi's Team stayed?" seeing them nod he continued, "After the bridge was finished, Wave Country's economy boomed, and since then me and my family have been quite well off. Now I do believe dinner should be ready, so come on in," He said while opening the door and stepping inside with the others following closely.

They entered into what seemed to be a fairly large hallway. The hallway floor was a deep mahogany wood, which looked like it had been recently varnished. There was a medium sized cream rug at the base of the stairs. The walls were painted a pale cream, with pictures hung on them. To the left of the doorway there was a simply mahogany shoe rack.

Walking to the door on the right hand side of the hallway Tazuna motioned for the others to follow him, which they did after removing their sandals of course. The room they entered next was obviously the living room however it appeared to be a conjoined dinning room if the table in the far side of the room was anything to go on. Again the room was large, with deep mahogany floors. And again the walls were painted a pale cream however the wall opposite the door was painted a light mocha color. This wall also had a large fireplace with a fire blazing. There was a small coffee table surrounded by 2 chairs and a large couch.

Tazuna motioned for the group to relax as he headed into a room at the other end of the living room. Akamaru immediately curled up in front of the blazing fire, while the others sat on the chairs and couch.

"We'll start searching first thing in the morning. It's been a long trip so we should rest first." Kurenai told the others while relaxing into the chair. Her response was a course of 'Hai' from her students.

"Well it seems dinner will be ready in about half an hour" Tazuna said while reemerging in from the door he left from, followed by a young woman

"This is my daughter, Tsunami. She'll show you to your rooms."

While following the young woman up the stairs Team 8 came across a young boy, who must have been about 12 years old, while he was coming out of what must have been his room.

"Inari, these are the Shinobi that'll be staying with us" Tsunami said toward the now named boy.

"Eh? Oh hi mum, pleasure to meet you," Inari said with a small bow to the group. "I'm off to go train now mum but I'll be back for dinner."

"Ok but dinners in half an hour," replied Tsunami before Inari disappeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Training? What's he training for?" Kiba asked as they followed their host.

"Well Inari saw Naruto as an older brother and ever since then he's been training to go to the academy. He knows he's older than most of the students but he promised Naruto and himself that he would, and he always says that keeping his word is his Nindo." Tsunami said while continuing up the stairs. "We only have 2 spare rooms, so you'll have to share. There are two beds in each, you should settle in and I'll get you when tea is ready" she said while stopping in front of two doors

"Right Kiba and Shino will share, as will Hinata and I."

XxXxX Couple of miles from Wave XxXxX

"When do we strike?" asked a cloaked figure.

"We'll attack after dark, " came the reply.

"Why can't we just strike now?" he asked.

"Because they'll be able to see us. After dark we'll be able to easily deal with the militia," answered the second man growing more and more irritated; spending a multitude of weeks traveling with men that asked those questions constantly could do that to you.

"Fine, at least we'll get a good amount of money and women," the first man said in a huff as he began to spread the word through out the troop. The man watched as he hopped form tree to tree to inform the other invasioners with a slight shake of his head, which caused the tree branch he was kneeling upon to groan under his immense weight.

This was a simple delivery mission; cause a raucous in the village, contact the Shadow Fox, give him the proposition scroll from the Raikage and go home. Simple as that, but now he had to deal with these greenhorns that were called Kumo Shinobi that only thought of getting paid and getting laid; it made him sick. The large man, a veteran of the last Shinobi War, had seen Shinobi die in combat over lesser things.

With another shake of his, the large Kumo Jounin leaned his head against the truck of the tree to catch a few 'Z's' before the 'invasion', knowing full well that something bad was going to happen, and those greenhorns were going to be the cause of it.

XxXxX

After having dinner Team 8, Tsunami, Tazuna, and Inari made their way towards the living room in order to relax as well as to plan on how to complete their missions objective.

"What exactly are you doing here? Not that we want to get rid of you or anything but why would you come to wave?" Tazuna asked to Team 8

"A-ano, we were sent to look for the Shadow Fox," came Hinata's shy response. Even through all the physical and mental renovations she had undergone, she still could not forgo the stutter in every sentence that she spoke.

"So why would that bring you to wave? Unless the rumors of him being Waves guardian are true," Tsunami said skeptically.

"Well since the only thing known of him is that he has been sighted in Wave a couple of times, we believed here to be a good place to start searching." Kurenai answered as she took a sip of tea that Inari had just set on the coffee table.

"Why do you want to find him?" Tsunami asked retrieving a cup from the table as well.

"We have a scroll from Hokage-sama to deliver to him," Kurenai said.

After another 20 minuets of idle chitchat, Inari stood up and headed to the door, his demeanor changing to a solemn one in spite of the joyous atmosphere the living room gave off.

"I'm off out mum," he said as he gripped the doorknob.

"Ok but try to be back soon, it's getting dark out," she replied and to which Inari nodded.

"Where are you going?" Kiba asked.

"To visit Nii-san," he replied while closing the door.

"Nii-san?" Kiba said obviously confused, voicing the question that arose in all of Team 8's mind from the proclamation.

Tazuna saw his confusion and decided to enlighten the boy, "He means Naruto."

"Oh," was all Kiba said as he returned to nurse his teacup.

Hinata instantly took notice in this tidbit of information and turned towards Kurenai. The scarlet-eyed woman gazed at the lavender eyed young lady and, with a nod of her head, gave permission for Hinata to follow. Her eyes lit up dramatically, and with a frantic bow of thanks she bolted out the door.

Kiba grinned maliciously in his mind. 'Now's my chance,' he thought as he got up to follow. The past fours years had not gone as planed for the Inuzuka heir; in fact they were downright disastrous. He had intended for Hinata to be his shortly after Naruto's death by being her shoulder to cry on, what surprised him was that Hinata didn't cry at all. Had the fanatic crush on the blonde just been a phase, he had wondered. That evaluation was shattered when he asked her out on a date the very next only to receive a strong punch in the face followed by an even more powerful kick in-between the legs.

Ever since then Hinata had kept her distance from him as well as most of the other Kunoichi that were in the academy class. Kiba tried time and time again to 'win' her heart, one instance almost costing him his career, but to no avail.

Slowly he rose from his seat and made his ways towards when something firm gripped his arm. Turning Kiba saw that it was Shino that was gripping his arm with a vice like grip at that. Slowly he shook his head indicating that he should not follow.

Shino knew why Kiba had almost lost his career as a Ninja; hell his was one of the ones that walked in on it after all. If it wasn't for Hinata as well several other key members of the village the dog like man would be dead right now, ten times over. Unfortunately Hinata swore all those that knew of the incident to secrecy so none of the so-called 'Rookie Nine' knew of it. After that incident he had been the self-proclaimed protector of Hinata for, similar to Hinata, Shino also felt that Naruto was not dead. In his belief Naruto was the only man good enough for Hinata and vice versa. In fact, even though he would never say it out loud, Shino believed that Naruto deserved more than one woman for all he had to go through and he knew that the energetic blond, for the life of him, would never treat any of them badly.

His grip on the Inuzuka's wrist grew. "Kiba," he began quietly, "haven't you been mediating as Kurenai-sensei instructed?"

Kiba suddenly began to sweat as he felt the heated glare from his Sensei. When it came to something she assigned, Team 8 learned that you better get it completed fast, or at least hide the evidence well. Before anyone could blink Kiba was in the lotus position, meditating; thoughts of his own safety greater than his quest for Hinata.

XxXxX

"What are you doing here?" Inari asked.

It had taken several minutes of walking for Hinata to catch up to Inari

"I'd like to pay my respects to Naruto-kun if you don't mind," Hinata replied quietly.

"I thought everyone from Konoha hated Naruto-Nii-san," Inari all but spat venomously.

Hinata visibly cringed, "No I could never hate Naruto-kun. Why would you think that anyway?"

"Well Nii-san said that everyone from Konoha hated him, although he never said why."

"Not every one hated him." Hinata responded in a voice barely above a whisper "I can tell you right now that I never hated him. He was someone very special to me. He's still very precious to me"

Inari didn't know what she meant by that and as seconds past of her not meeting his gaze he dropped it. After a short silence between the two they found them selves in a small clearing. On the other side of the clearing was a single headstone. As Hinata approached it she could see the headstone was marble; clearly the villagers had spared no expense for Naruto On the headstone there was two lines engraved upon it, which read;

'Here lies Uzumaki Naruto. Resting in the lands he gave his life for.'

For about 20 minuets there was silence in the clearing as they paid their respects. When Inari chose to leave to go home Hinata had said she was going to stay a bit longer, but would come back soon, to which Inari nodded and left her alone.

When she was alone Hinata finally released her tears and gently place a hand on the stone.

"There was so much I wanted to tell you Naruto-kun before you left, but I was afraid; afraid that you wouldn't feel the same. I thought that if I was patient then I could finally work up the courage to tell you…but I guess I left it too late." Hinata spoke softly in an almost unheard whisper with a lowered head, "I wanted to tell you that I loved you…that I always loved you. I'm so sorry Naruto-kun…If only I had said something sooner, we could have been together."

But she was far from done. She sent her piercing gaze towards the heavens and proclaimed a loud, commanding voice, "But I will find you, everyone may believe that you have passed on but know you haven't!" she gripped her heart almost as if in pain. "I will trek this earth to find you my Love, for you cannot hide from me! I will bring you home, and if you are indeed dead," tears once again flowed for a brief time, "then I will trek to heaven and Hell and DRAG you soul back!" she ended screaming to the afore mentioned places.

After another couple of minuets of heavy panting, she regained her breath. She smiled fondly at the head stone before she placed her hand on it, stroking it lovingly. "Until we meet again my Love…" she whispered and turned to leave.

XxXxX

If she had been on guard she would have sensed the figure in the tree directly above her and the head stone. A tear dripped down his face at the proclamation of the girl he thought as timid, dark, and weird. No one would see those tears because of the snarling, ANBU-esque, fox mask that hid both his face and his hair. As quickly as the tear had fell it was gone, never to fall again.

"Hi-na-ta," the figure spoke raggedly, as if not having spoken for some time.

An earth-shattering explosion interrupted his thoughts of the long navy blue haired Hyuga woman. His head whipped towards the source of the explosion; the village's town square. A beast-like growl escaped his lips as he raced off towards those who dared threatened his territory. "These fools never learn."

XxXxX

So what do you think; good, bad, UGLY?! Please send any feed back you want, but please let it be nice… also ideas are 'welcome' but don't think that they be taken into account to seriously.

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