"Ungh… what in the world happened?" a groggy Naruto Uzumaki groaned to himself as he stared into the darkness of his own eyelids. "What is going on?"
Naruto strains to open his eyes and is trying to clear the cobwebs. As he begins to find his focus staring at the ground in front of him, he sees three pairs of shoes….
"So the Jinchuuriki is finally awake…" a dark voice says near him. "Looks like you didn't hit him hard enough Kisame. Maybe I should have let Tobi do the job."
"That voice, I have heard it before. That is the voice of ….. Damn my head is killing me" Naruto's inner thoughts exclaim. "Uchiha… Itachi… you bastard" mumbles Naruto as He raises his head to see the three members of the Akatsuki standing before him. While trying to get his full bearings back, Naruto scans to his right and his deep blue eyes begin to widen in shock. Lying motionless are the bodies of his teammates, Sakura and Kakashi. Nartuo makes a quick view to the left and gasps at the site. "Hinata!!" shouts the blonde haired ninja. He tries to jump out and run to her, but alas is unable to. His body just stays where it is as he is clamped to a giant boulder with U-shaped kunai around his wrists and waist dug deep into the rock behind him.
On her knees with her hands tied behind her back sits poor Hinata, her face filled with sorrow. Laying next to her is her father, Hiashi Hyuga, staying alive by the fumes of chakra left in his body. "Naruto-kun… I am so sorry. I never meant to put you in this much danger. Naruto-kun… I… I…" as tears begin to well up in her giant violet eyes.
"It is ok, Hinata-chan" Naruto replies as his eyes look downward with a bit of emptiness inside them. "I should be the one saying I am sorry. I promised I would always protect you no matter what. I tried my best, but unfortunately it looks like I was unable to live up to my way of the ninja." The eyes slowly move to the direction of the bound Hyuga and a slight smile comes across his face. "I love you Hinata-chan – always have and always will."
"Oh Naruto-kun. I have cared about you with every ounce of my being for so long. I love you, too."
"As touching as this is, " interrupts Itachi, "it is now time for you to meet the afterlife and for us to capture the Kyuubi's chakra." As Itachi draws his sword, Naruto closes his eyes and says to himself, "It can't end this way. Where did things go wrong? How the hell did it end up like this?"
Next Chapter - "The Flashback Begins"
The video version of this fanfic chapter can be seen via youtube under the same title.