Yo!
Man, I'm surprised, a lot of people seem to like this story... I mean, 21 reviews just for one chapter? Thank you all!
There is somethings that I want to go over though...
If some of you feel familiar with the plot and/or idea of the story from the story 'Naruto of the Nine Tails', that's mostly because EDelta88[author of the story, which is interesting] basically had a challenge that involved a feral Naruto, thus A Demon's Curse and An Angel's Blessing is born, er, made, whatever...
Another thing, the title is sort of similar to another good story called 'Curse of a Hanyo, Love of an Angel' but my title is still different... Instead of hanyo, it's demon... Instead of love, it's blessing... However, that doesn't mean I came up with the title by looking at that story's title... Mere coincidence because I wasn't even thinking about that or any other story when I was thinking about the title... Are we clear on that?
Oh and the name of the this story is basically a riddle... Yup, the riddle [more for Naruto than anyone else but feel free to try to guess it] is what can be as bad as a demon's curse yet as good as an angel's blessing? Think you got it? Let me know, I'd like to hear your answers/guesses...
And to warn you now, there will be a gory scene about half way into the story... I will warn you again right before the gore starts... It's nothing special but those who are squeamish, you have been warn...
I'm done for now so please enjoy the story...
"Who overcomes by force hath overcome but half his foe. "
~John Milton~
Chapter 2: Naruto-kun, what happened?
I don't own Naruto
Hiruzen sighed as the paperwork for Naruto's new home was being dealt with. The ideas, blueprints and schematics he was receiving from many civilians were all horrible and sickening in Hiruzen's mind, and they were immediately thrown away; discarded as nothing but junk mail. It's been a week since Naruto's incident and the village's artisans have been working nonstop to finish the cage already chosen to keep Naruto in. Hiruzen looked down at his surrogate grandson and watched him lay as still as he could while his tails were occasionally moving from side to side.
The expression on Naruto's face said it all; he knew what was happening and he was saddened by it. Hiruzen wasn't sure how he knew but either way, there wasn't much he could do to stop it. He seemed to give up on life, almost as if he would gladly die at any moment just so the sadness he felt would leave him. Why were the good always punished and pushed aside by the undeserving bastards that walk this Earth? Why should Naruto be punished for an unforeseeable event as fusing with his tenant?
"Hokage-sama." A man who had a tired look on face said as he entered Hiruzen's office and walked up to his desk. Naruto tensed as he inched his way to Hiruzen's feet, away from the unknown man. "The artisans have sent word that Naruto's new home is finished and is now ready for him to live in." The man then coughed into his balled up left fist and resisted the urge to reach into his back pocket to grab his cough medicine. Hiruzen inwardly scowled but the sick man only saw an unreadable expression on the elder before he nodded.
"Thank you Hayate, you're dismissed." Hayate bowed and walked out of the room and after closing the door behind him, pulled out the cough medicine and chugged down the entire bottle. Hiruzen looked down at Naruto who was now relaxed but still tensed; he was a lot smarter than he let on.
"Naruto." At the mention of his name, Naruto looked up at Hiruzen and he was met with the sad, regretful brown eyes of the elderly Kage. "I'm sorry but I need to take you to your new... home." Hiruzen told him, venom dripping on the word home. No, what Naruto was going to be living in was anything but a home; more like an animal's pen at a low class zoo. It mocked the word home yet was easily labeled as one by the idiotic and closed minded fools that inhabited this village.
Naruto, in response, let out an almost inaudible whine before raising himself off the ground and walking on all fours to the door and waiting for Hiruzen to open it. With a heavy heart, Hiruzen walked up to Naruto, lifted him off the ground and gave him a hug. Naruto tensed, never given a hug in his life, so this was all new to him.
"I'm sorry Naruto..." Before anything else could be said, Hiruzen knocked Naruto out with a quick poke to a pressure point. With the now limp and unconscious boy in his arms, Hiruzen sighed before he disappeared from his office and headed for Naruto's new prison.
[*.*.*.*]
The pain... the wound... the blood!
Something had to be done about it... but what? It was not yet lunch time and the next break wasn't for another half hour; but if left unattended for another ten minutes, death was an assured result. Blood just wouldn't stop guzzling out of the opening and the side effects of not having sufficient blood in the body was starting to take effect. If something wasn't done soon...
"Hinata!" Looking up at the one who called her name, Hinata was met with cold, unforgiving pale eyes common in her clan. "Why are you day dreaming?!" One of the elders in her clan 'generously' offered to train her, seeing as her father was on the brink of giving up on her. That was a week ago when they were training on the basics of the Jyuuken. Now they were one evading and/or parrying kunai and other sharp instruments of steel and metal.
Grabbing her left arm softly, Hinata wobbly bowed down and resisted the urge to just fall flat on her face.
"I-I'm sorry E-Elder but m-m-my wound n-n-needs to be t-t-tended t-to." Hinata stuttered out, even worse than usual. With the state she was in, she wouldn't mind the Elder knocking her unconscious like he did yesterday after a supposed 'spar'. Maybe then she'd escape this hell she was told was her home. Ha, she'd spit on that word if it wasn't for the fact that one, it wasn't becoming of the Hyuga Heiress and two, she just didn't have drive to do something like that. No matter what was done to her, her shy and kind attitude prevented her from doing anything mean and/or wrong.
Home; what was the true meaning of the word home? A house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household; the place in which one's domestic affections are centered. Is this considered home... to her? No, simple as that; where she currently resided in was not a home but a personalized hell where many of her so called 'family' were actually her persecutors.
To her, home would be a place she would sleep in every night and wake up with a sense of peace and serenity, not dread and suspicion. Home would be waking up to a nice and happy family or maybe even waking next to Naruto. If she had any blood to spare, Hinata knew she would be as red as the blood she lacks.
Remembering the boy who was the object of her affection, Hinata's demeanor saddened as she didn't remember seeing him in class today. In fact, he wasn't anyhere to be found for an entire week now, which was odd. She noticed the way the academy's instructors purposely ignored Naruto's comments, whether appropriate or not is debatable, and questions, again debatable. They've even gone so far as to falsely accuse him of doing things he hadn't really done and as a result, was sent out of the classroom, making him miss an important lesson. Even with all of this, he had shown up for class everyday and never missed class; for anything. It did strike her as odd that he never had a sick day in the three years they have been in the academy but that didn't really matter; as long as he was healthy, Hinata didn't have a problem with it.
With her mind consumed in the many scenarios for him not attending the academy, Hinata didn't see the Elder in front of her raise his left hand and let it come down onto her right cheek. The sound of flesh being hit resonated around the dojo they were currently in and snapped Hinata out of her thoughts. Fresh, new tears made themselves known in her eyes as she put on a questioning look on her face.
"You are supposed to be the Hyuga Heiress, now act like it and stop crying!" The Elder yelled and was about to strike her again but Hinata's eye lids were half closed and she fell to her knees, still holding her left arm, trying her best to stop the bleeding. The Elder let out a disgusted grunted before walking away. "Go ahead and have that wound treated. You better return here in the next ten minutes or there will be no lunch break."
Hinata only heard 'go' before her mind blanked out and she fell on her face and her lavender eyes became dull. The life of an heiress... it's nothing like how it is in the fairy tales.
[*.*.*.*]
Naruto felt himself starting to regain his consciousness as his eyes slowly began to flutter open. However, there were a few problems that popped into his mind. His vision was blurred, his hearing impaired and his sense of balance was nowhere to be found; what the hell happened?
Naruto, with a little feeling in his neck, looked up and faintly saw trees and pushes with black lines spaced out in front of him. Naruto blinked multiple times as it seemed to clear the blurry images he was currently seeing. After about a minute, his vision returned to almost perfection and was starting to get the feelings in his body. Whatever had hit him was either strong or effective... or both.
After finally waiting for everything wrong with him to be righted, Naruto stood on all fours as he started to look around. He was lost; where exactly was he?
"So, you're awake and about already?" Naruto smartly turned to the direction of the voice and tensed even more as he saw a silhouette of a woman watching him from the shadows. Naruto growled at the stranger and bent his limbs so he was closer to the ground, ready to move if the stranger made any strange moves. "Very hostile. So angered..." The silhouette moved from the shadows and stepped into the light. She had long, black hair and a nice figure with a chunin vest. Under that was a red sleeveless, turtle neck shirt and black ANBU pants. What caught Naruto's attention though were the crimson orbs staring at intently him.
"Not much of a talker either." She commented. Naruto watched as she kept her distance from him while also getting as close as she could without provoking him. Naruto felt unease under her gaze and expressed it with a quick yip and a low growl. Kurenai stopped staring at Naruto as she walked back into the shadows and disappeared from Naruto's sight. Naruto felt anxious knowing that an unseen stranger was around. His eyes were glued to the area where he last saw Kurenai until he felt her move more to the left.
Kurenai was amazed that the small boy in front of her was able to track her down even while hidden. Not even other chunins were able to find her as quickly and no matter how fast or devious she was, he'd continue to track her exact location without hesitation. This boy would make a great tracker one day should he actually become a shinobi; something she decided to make a mental note of.
Kurenai decided that instead of continuing to pointlessly test Naruto's tracking skills, to take in her surroundings. She wasn't sure why she was in the cage with Naruto but whatever pays the bills. The cage was decently large, large enough for maybe one or two elephants to live in without having space problems. There was a tree to the right of her and make shift tower of boulders on the end of the cage where she guessed was Naruto's new home. There was a small entrance on the left side and inside was a futon and what Kurenai thinks is a toilet but she couldn't be too sure.
However, the worst thing about this place was not what was inside the cage but where the cage was located. She watched in disgust as many walked by the cage and smirked victorious at the confused demon. How could they just stick his cage out near Konoha's shopping district? Such a thing was cruel and stupid. It would not be long before Naruto's fellow classmates would find him like this and everything in his life will drastically change, though it's not as if it wasn't already.
Kurenai swore the Hokage mentioned to her that his cage would be in a secluded training ground where no one would know he was there. She closed her eyes as she guessed that it was the civilians' idea to put it here. She sprang her eyes open when she sensed someone getting close to the cage. She looked from her hiding spot to see a girl no older than three slowly waddling her way over. Kurenai would've moved to intercept her but Naruto appeared closer to the little girl as she smiled at him and reached out with her hands. Naruto was wary as the girl's hand reached his ears and slowly petted it.
Kurenai saw Naruto immediately step back and his ears drooped down. The little girl tilted her head to the side as she observed Naruto's reaction. She then giggled and motioned Naruto to come closer. Still cautious of the little girl, Naruto slowly walked over and sat down as the girl continued to pet his ears. Naruto then let out a subconscious purr like sound as the little girl scratched his ears, giggling as she did.
"Amaya!" The little girl turned her head at the call of her name and saw her mother looking very angrily at her while marching over to her. "No! You don't touch that!" The mother yelled as she reached into the cage and slapped the top of Naruto's head, making him get up quickly and run to the other side. The little girl frowned at seeing Naruto go away and was carried by her mother, away from Naruto's cage all the while being told never to go near the cage again.
Kurenai scowled at the lady and at anyone who sneered, smirked or laughed at Naruto. Sniffling could be heard in the cage and Kurenai looked down to see Naruto lying down on his abdomen with his head in his arms. His shoulders were shaking violently and she could tell his breathing was ragged. He was crying.
Kurenai didn't know Naruto very well or at all for that matter, but watching the small demon cry his little heart out now was too much to bear. However she dared not go to him, she wasn't sure whether or not he saw her as a threat or not and if he did, she would surely be dead within the minute. All she could do was give her sympathies from a distance and lower her opinion of the civilian populace.
"OH MY…!" Kurenai looked up and her eyes widened as she saw who just yelled that. Yup, this was not going to end well…
[*.*.*.*]
Hinata woke up at the sounds of muffled murmuring; whoever was speaking was not happy. She slowly opened her eyes as she cleared her vision and looked around the room she was in. It was a white room and was fairly empty except for a second bed to her left, a curtain separating the bed from her and two doors on the opposite side of the room. Hinata guessed if she was where she thought she was, one door led to a hallway while the other led to the bathroom.
Hinata lifted her left arm but felt something wrapped tightly around it, making its mobility limited. She looked at her left arm and saw gauze wrap wrapped around the wound she received early. Her eyes widened as she looked at a nearby clock and saw she was more than an hour late to practice. She groggily got up but soon felt her equilibrium leave her and she position her hand on the bed she was on so she wouldn't fall.
"She is not fit to be the heiress!" A muffled voice practically yelled as Hinata finally understood the muffled voices from earlier. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Hinata remained still to listen to the voices.
"Perhaps not but what other choice do we have?" A second voice answered.
'Father?' Hinata thought as she registered the second voice as her father.
"What of Hanabi?" The first voice, who Hinata knew as the Elder she 'sparred' with, suggested and Hinata became tensed.
"She is still too young, Hinata is our only option." Hiashi retorted and Hinata felt tears fall from her eyes; she was only the heiress because she was their only option.
"What of Neji?" Hinata stopped breathing as soon as she heard her cousin's name.
"Neji?"
"Why not? It will be relatively easy to transfer his seal to Hinata and he will make an exceptional heir."
"…" Hinata couldn't believe her own father was thinking about it; about transferring Neji's seal to her and making her apart of the Side Branch. This was too much for her; she needed to leave this place. Willing her weary body to stand, Hinata opened the window to her room as quickly as possible and jumped out of it, thanking which ever god was listening that she was on the first floor of the hospital. She noticed that it was almost night with the sun almost setting before she started to run as quickly as she could, away from the hospital and the life she wished she never had.
After stopping to walk calmly, Hinata started to look around the village while avoiding making eye contact with anyone. It wasn't that she hated them, it was just that she wouldn't know how to start a conversation once someone said hi to her. What she didn't know though, was that she wouldn't have to worry about what topic to talk about should she run into someone; the topic will just come to her.
"Hinata!" Said girl flinched and turned to see two clouds making their way closer to her. Hinata was scared to say the least and closed her eyes when she thought the clouds of smoke would run her over. When Hinata wasn't on the floor or feeling like something had run her over, she dared to open her eyes and saw Ino and Sakura panting in front of her, doubling over and trying to catch their second wind.
"I-Ino? S-Sakura?" At the mention of their names, Ino and Sakura propped up and each grabbed one of Hianta's hands. She squeaked as both girls started to pull her in the direction from where they running from.
"Come on Hinata, you need to see something!" Ino managed to say, still a bit winded. Sakura nodded in agreement and Hinata tried to stop them.
"I-I'm sorry but i-if it is a-about Sasuke again t-then-"
"No Hinata, it's not about Sasuke!" Sakura interrupted and promptly stopped with Ino as both faced her. "Look, as far as the 'secret' crush goes, everyone knows about your crush on Naruto but the kid himself." Hinata blushed and after getting her hands back, began to touch the tip of her index fingers together.
"Is… I-Is it that o-o-obvious?" She asked, almost fearful to hear the reply.
"Hai, it is." Both girls answered, deadpanned. Sakura was the first to snap out of it and gripped Hinata's hand once again. "Still, what we want to show you will shock you."
"It's about Naruto." Ino stated and Hinata let the words register in her mind as she let herself be dragged by Konoha's top two gossipers in their age group.
'Naruto-kun…'She was too busy with her thoughts that she didn't notice that she was begin dragged to Konoha's shopping district and then stop in front of a cage. It wasn't until she was shaken out of her thoughts by an anxious Ino that she noticed the seemingly empty cage in front of her.
"W-what are we d-doing he-" Her words died in her throat as her breath was hitched in her throat. Appearing from a collection of boulders, a small shadow walked out and had its nine tails swishing around lazily. Its ears twitched at the newcomers and it sat on its hind legs as it used its front legs to keep itself up. It was still in the shadows so Hinata still couldn't tell what it was but she did know from the position its head was in that it was looking at her closely.
Hinata looked around the cage and saw nothing more than a few bowls on the side where she guessed was where the creature ate and drank and a small tree on the top left corner of the cage. Hinata turned to look at Ino and Sakura as their eyes were glued onto the creature in the cage.
"Etto, w-why did you b-bring me here? I-I thought we w-were going to see N-Naruto-kun." No sooner had she said his name did the creature in the cage start moving closer to Hinata, thought she hadn't noticed.
"We are." Sakura said and Hinata looked back at the cage and saw that the creature was out of the shadows and said creature was in fact her blond crush. Naruto's blond hair seemed ruffled and a bit dirty and his ears were drooped down and golden, like his hair. His sad, crimson eyes were looking at Hinata as he placed his whisker marked cheeks against the cold, hard steel bars. His claws were going through the cage and were hanging off the edge, wanting to get closer to Hinata.
"N-Naruto-kun… w-w-what happened?" She stammered as Naruto suddenly got eager to exit the cage as he whined and tried to force himself through the gap between the cage's bars. He only managed to get his arms through before an electrical volt shocked him and sent him back. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata shouted. The three girls gasped as they ran to the cage, wary of touching the steel bars. Hinata however didn't care as she grabbed onto the bars and tried to see if Naruto was alright. "Naruto-kun?"
From the distance, Hinata saw Naruto's shadow unstably get up and then fall back down. He didn't move after the first attempt.
Hinata's heart started to race as she forced herself through the steel bars but with no such luck; something was holding her back.
"Hinata!" Ino and Sakura shouted as they held Hinata by her shirt. "Are you crazy?!" They shouted again.
"Hey, those girls need help. Oh no, the Hyuga Heiress is stuck and it's all the demon's fault!" A man shouted and a whole crowd of people started to accumulate near Naruto's cage. Grumbling and angry shouts were heard through the crowd as its size grew until practically all civilians were there. They yelled for the demon's death or for him to be tortured, shocking Ino and Sakura. They were then pushed back from the crowd and were as far away from Naruto as they could be.
Hinata was still too preoccupied on Naruto's safety that she didn't notice the mob forming behind her. She still thought Sakura and Ino were holding on to her so she started to kick back, wanting them to let go. Her teary eyes kept looking at Naruto who was still refusing to move. It wasn't until a man forcefully opened the locked door of the cage with giant pliers did she noticed the people around her. She finally let go of the bars and the man holding her quickly dragged her away from the cage.
"There, you're safe now." The man said as he ran back to the rest of the mob. Hinata watched as one by one, people started to enter the cage. Hinata ran to the entrance when suddenly; she felt hazy and realized it was all a genjutsu. Remembering her training, Hinata made the ram sign and released the genjutsu placed on her. She saw the other civilians standing in a daze until Hinata noticed a chunin also make a ram sign and release the civilians from the genjutsu.
Another chunin, a female one, jumped down from the shadows and stood in front of the still, unresponsive Naruto.
"You are all to walk away from here and leave, now!" The woman shouted and Hinata knew this chunin to be Kurenai, a nice woman who would occasionally pop in to see how she was doing. The chunin who released the genjutsu snarled and took out a kunai.
"You're defending the demon brat now? Sad." It was obvious he was inebriated but looked dangerous nonetheless. He ran at Naruto but Kurenai appeared in his way again and stopped. Before she could react, the man ran past her and to Naruto. The chunin was about to strike down on Naruto but Kurenai was now over him and kicked him across the cage. She would have her hands full and she wasn't sure if she could handle everyone right now, especially with the drunk chunin. "Pay attention!" She blocked the drunken chunin's arc with her kunai as he pulled out more kunai. She pushed him back and threw her kunai at him but he sloppily dodged it and threw three kunai at her.
"Now that she's busy, we can get the demon brat!" Everyone cheered as they made their way to Naruto. Hinata pushed through the crowd and finally caught of glimpse at Naruto who was looking directly at her with sad eyes. Hinata cried as she closed her eyes and pushed harder against the crowd and after finally getting into the cage, Hinata quickly appeared before Naruto with her arms spread out. She glared as best she could at the civilians but they only looked at her confusingly. "Get out the way so we can kill the demon!" A man yelled.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Hinata retorted with no hesitation. Everyone scowled and Naruto raised his head a little, seeing the girl in his mind standing in front of her.
"N...N-Na..." Naruto mumbled out but couldn't continue after seeing a man walk up to Hinata. He growled and tried to stand but the electrical shock from earlier pretty much shut off all control of his appendages. Before his eyes, Naruto witnessed something he never could have imagine; the man grabbed the side of Hinata's head and pushed her off where she tripped on her legs and hit her head on the ground. Naruto eyed Hinata before looking up at the man in front of him. He wore the same green vest as the woman from before except he looked unstable and drunk. However, Naruto didn't see an intoxicated chunin who could risk losing his rank. No, what Naruto saw was a dead man who had hurt her.
[~.~.Warning: It gets graphic from this point on... You were warned.~.~]
Before the drunken chunin could take his shot at Naruto, he felt something cold and wet trail down his torso. Looking down, the chunin panicked as he saw Naruto's claw going through his chest. Naruto retracted his arm and kicked the man's stomach with the sole of his feet. The chunin staggered back but Naruto was far from done. He ran at the chunin and began to claw at the man; ripping out limbs and skin. Blood flew everywhere and colored part of the cage red. Naruto, with an armless and one legless half dead chunin in front of him, tackled the man down and with one of his blood soaked tails, ripped off the man's head and threw it out the open cage door.
The civilians that were watching were frozen still in fear until Naruto finished off the chunin and set his sights on them.
"RUN!" A man shouted as they ran to the cage door and started to run off out of the cage. Unfortunately for them, Naruto was quicker.
SPLAT
The sound of blood hitting the ground was heard as Naruto charged through the masses and swung his claw around at the scared people. A man was horizontally cut down the middle while the others, whether lucky or not, was still alive even though they would eventually bleed to death. With his tails, Naruto either tossed civilians into the air at a high degree or ripped out appendages. The tail furthest on Naruto's right side stretched out and wrapped itself around a man's neck and tightened its hold until the man passed out and his head fell from his shoulders.
Half of the civilians that originally showed up to take out Naruto were either lying in a pool of their own blood and others or were dead. The other half were now still as Naruto circled them with his body low and his eyes narrowed. The way he walked made him look like an angry predator who had found his lunch/prey. That's exactly what was going on through Naruto's mind.
Suddenly, the black creatures from long ago appeared before Naruto and he flinched. His fear escaped him as he remembered Hinata being knocked aside. He knew why they were here; they were here to take him away from her or vice versa. Naruto growled even more as he pounced the first black creature and smashed its face in with ease. The other black creatures didn't hesitate as they moved their hands at random paces. After Naruto finished disembodying the first black creature, he noticed that all the other creatures were getting ready for something.
"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu!" Naruto yelped in surprised as a hand grabbed both his hind legs and brought him to the ground until only his head was showing. His eyes widened as three strong attacks started to head for him.
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu/Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri!" The jet of water and fireball all headed for the same target as Naruto fidgeted uncomfortably in his place. Before the attack would collide together, an ANBU with a monkey mask slammed his hands on the ground and summoned a giant wall of dirt to rise and protect the surviving civilians.
The resulting explosion shook the Earth under the civilians as some fell and others just lost feeling in their legs from fear. After everything calmed down and no sound was heard, the ANBU walked out where Naruto once was to see something but the scorched ground and the hole where Naruto was. The ANBU were wondering where Naruto went until he appeared from the ground and wrapped two of his tails around the ANBU with the monkey mask; one tail was wrapped around the shoulders and the other around the knees. With a quick and effortless motion, Naruto ripped the ANBU in half before throwing him to the side.
Naruto let out a feral growl as he felt something slice his back. The wound immediately closed up and Naruto started to search around as his crimson eyes picked up quick moment all around him. With quick reflexes, he ducked under the ANBU's swipe of its sword and Naruto tripped the ANBU with one of his long tails. Jumping up, Naruto slammed all his four appendages onto the ANBU with a rabbit mask and the ANBU was drilled into the ground. Naruto jumped out of the crater and shook his entire body, relieving himself of the blood on his body. Almost his entire body was soaked in blood and the only spot not bloodied was his neck and majority of his face.
Naruto hunched his back as the remaining two ANBU took out their swords and fell into a battle stance. Naruto's mouth then started to glow an ominous red before he pried it open and a small blast rocketed off it. The ANBU with a boar mask jumped out of the way as his partner, Bull, was hit by the blast and exploded. The attack's explosion spread out into a ten foot diameter. With his attacker killed, Naruto let out a primal roar and Boar appeared over Naruto with his sword positioned to slit his throat. Naruto though wasn't about to give up as he grabbed the sword's blade with his right hand and thrust his free hand up to the ANBU's exposed neck. Boar held on to his neck as he was choking on his own blood before finally laying down and dying. Naruto jumped over the wall of dirt and the scared civilians and landed in between the civilians and his cage. He roared as his prey had nowhere to turn, the only means of running away was threw the means of their death.
Hinata slowly came to as she fluttered her eyes open. She looked around and saw that it was night by the lack of light around. She then spotted Kurenai as a chunin held her down and threatened to slice her throat. Hinata would've gone to help her but… she heard it…
"AHHH!" The blood curdling scream scared her to no end and she immediately sat up and looked around for the one who just yelled. Her eyes stopped and widened as she saw Naruto cut a man in half with his right claw. No one else stood but him, everyone else was crumbled on the floor dead and bleeding. She involuntarily shook as Naruto's eyes scanned the area and landed on her. They were cold and merciless before changing to sad, hopeful and… and something else…
"Hinata." Hinata jumped as she felt someone put a hand on her left shoulder. She looked up to see Kurenai who was breathing deeply and looking at Naruto. "We need to get you out of here." She said and when Hinata looked back at Naruto, she saw that the look in his eyes returned to rage. He ran in unprecedented speed and appeared before Kurenai before any of the two could blink. Kurenai gasped but her breath was hitched in her throat as Naruto kicked her chest with the bottom of his feet. She flew back and her back hit the bars, knocking any remaining wind out of her. Naruto growled as he slowly made his way to Kurenai; someone wearing a green vest already hurt her, he wasn't about to let another do that again.
Hinata watched in fear as Naruto moved as slowly as possible as Kurenai staggered to get her upper body off the ground. All the muscles in Kurenai's body locked as she came eye to eye with Naruto. His eyes pierced through her and it was like he was looking into her soul.
"Naruto-kun!" Without warning, Hinata hugged Naruto's back; preventing him from attacking Kurenai. Naruto snarled before realizing that it was her that was holding him. Naruto whined like a scolded dog and sat down on his abdomen with his ears drooped and his tails wrapping around Hinata as she held onto Naruto tightly, crying a little. "This isn't you Naruto-kun, you're not a monster, and you don't kill." She mumbled as she rubbed her cheek against his back. Naruto stood with Hinata still holding onto him and dragged her back to his make-shift home. There, he turned onto his back while using his tails to move Hinata next to his body. Hinata was blushing a bit at the intimacy Naruto was showing and fainted after he smiled brightly at her.
Naruto guessed she just fell asleep so he wrapped all his tails around Hinata to keep her warm from the coldness of the night and drifted off into his own land of dreams as Hinata subconsciously snuggled closer to Naruto.
Kurenai, with help from the bars, stood up and walked over to the entrance of Naruto's home. Looking in, she couldn't' help but crack a smile. While she had witness the horrifying event earlier during her own fight after knocking the drunken chunin out, she just couldn't see the Naruto in front of her killing everyone. If it wasn't for the blood, she wouldn't even believe he had just massacred the civilians and ANBU. She turned around as she felt a second presence appear in the cage. She bowed down as low as she could without losing balance; which wasn't very low, actually.
"What happened here Kurenai?" Hiruzen asked as he surveyed his surroundings. To him, it appeared as if a small war had occurred here and by the look of it all, he wouldn't doubt that there was. HE scowled as the stench of death and blood reached his senses and he brought his attention back on Kurenai who was struggling to stand. "Never mind, I want you to write out a report on what happened and give it to me in the morning. For now, you should go home and rest and don't worry, someone will take your place. You will still be paid for the mission of protecting Naruto and should you desire to, you can continue to protect him."
"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I would rather report what I saw now." Hiruzen nodded and he let her speak as she began recalling what occurred earlier. Hiruzen was amazed and wouldn't have believed anything Kurenai was telling him if it wasn't for the fact that he knew that this was Naruto they were talking about. Such destruction, skill and speed; with the right training and guidance, Naruto would become the ultimate ninja and would become Hokage hands down. However, Hiruzen knew that if the village never accepts him then his dream would be even more hopeless then it first appeared.
"… and after he killed the last civilian, he knocked me away from Hinata and would have killed me if Hinata hadn't stopped him. Hokage-sama, there is something I'd like to inform you of." Kurenai took a second to take in a breath before continuing. "I don't think Naruto attacked the civilians because he hated them; I actually think it's because he wanted to protect Hinata." She paused and let her words sink in.
"I see what you mean; that would explain it. After Kouta pushed Hinata out of the way and inadvertently knocked her out, Naruto saw him as a threat to her so he killed him. It's also safe to assume that he saw the rest of the civilians as a threat as well." Hiruzen said and Kurenai nodded. "Where is Hinata?" Hiruzen asked and Kurenai looked back at Naruto's den. Hiruzen followed her eyes and walked to the entrance to Naruto's den and smiled warmly at seeing Naruto wrap his tails protectively around Hinata with a true smile on both their faces.
"Hokage-sama, what's going to happen now?" Kurenai asked and Hiruzen's brow furrowed; what was he going to do? This was not going to go well with his advisors. He would need to find out some way to get them to not persecute Naruto. They had already put him in a controlled environment and looked what happened. What Hiruzen needed was someone else who knew how to calm Naruto down, someone like…
And idea sprouted in Hiruzen's mind as he called his personal ANBU. An ANBU with a dog masked jumped down from… well from nowhere and kneeled before the ageing Kage.
"Dog, summon Hiashi to my office, as well as my advisors. After you have completed this; return here to guard the two sleeping children." Dog nodded and disappeared as quickly as he had appeared. Hiruzen then looked at Kurenai again. "Kurenai, if you don't mind joining the meeting, I would appreciate you being there to back up my explanation to Hiashi and the advisors." Kurenai nodded.
"I would be honored Hokage-sama." Hiruzen nodded and they waited for Dog who came back five minutes after he left.
"Now let's go Kurenai, I'm sure the meeting will be longer than expected and quite taxing on the mind." Hiruzen said as Dog hid in the shadows and both Kurenai and Hiruzen disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
From the shadows, Kakashi removes his mask and slowly enters Naruto's den and watches them sleep. Under his bandages, he smiles but it fades as Naruto begins to wake up. He groggily stares at Kakashi who was as still as can be; he saw the mangled bodies of the other ANBU and he really didn't want to upset Naruto. However, he hadn't expected Naruto to yawn a bit before his lips twitched upward. It looked like a smile but not a big one.
"It seems you've grown fond of her Naruto. Hmm, I should know who she is; her dark blue hair is a give away to me that she's a Hyuga but her name…"
"'Nata." Kakashi's only visible widened as he heard Naruto bark out the name. It was a bit rough and tired but sounded just like his old voice.
"Hinata Hyuga, that's what you're saying. But how do you know her name?" Kakashi asked and Naruto tilted his head to his left and looked at Kakashi with a confused expression. Kakashi sighed as he leaned back onto the walls. "Eh, you probably don't know either. Well, as long as you're not going to attack me, there's no point in me hiding. Besides, with that sense of smell, you'd probably find me anyway." Kakashi said as he took out a small book and continued from the last page he was on. Seeing as the book was not going to be a threat to Hinata, Naruto put his head down next to Hinata's and fell back asleep.
[*.*.*.*]
Hiashi waited expectantly in the Hokage's office; it was practically nine in the evening, what did the Hokage want with him. He was not in a good mood and the fact that the old fart of an elder pushed it earlier did not help. Hiashi inwardly scowled as he remembered the elder telling him to replace Hinata with Neji. He didn't hate the boy but he wasn't about to have his eldest daughter get the seal placed on her. The only reason he led the elder on that he thought his daughter was weak was because if he made the wrong decision, his place as clan head could be removed and all hope for Hinata would go away with his position. Add the fact that his daughter ran away from her hospital room, Hiashi was, for lack of a better word, pissed. As let out an inaudible sigh, he wondered if anyone else knew this pain.
A sneeze from behind the door alerted Hiashi and the advisors that someone was here. The door opened a few seconds later and Hiashi was surprised to see Kurenai walking behind the Hokage. When they made eye contact, Hiashi noticed the anger she held in her eyes. He wasn't surprised; while playing the part of an angered and disappointed father, he had made a bad first impression on Kurenai.
"Good evening and I thank you for coming to the meeting. I am sorry if I have interrupted anything but this is important." Hiruzen said and everyone nodded. "Now, I'm sure by now word has spread about tonight's earlier events." Koharu and Homura nodded but Hiashi looked confused.
"I was not informed about what happened." He stated.
"Since it is late, I will tell you the gist of what happened; you two should listen as well as you did not receive all the details. Hiashi, it appeared as though your daughter has found out about Naruto's transformation and was dragged to his cage by two of her classmates. There, some villager thought she was being held against her will by Naruto so said villager formed a mob to attack Naruto. Hinata's two classmates left as they saw the mob forming but Hinata was oblivious. After she was pried from the cage, she noticed that they were going to attack Naruto but Kurenai intercepted the first drunken chunin who was going to attack Naruto and engaged in a fight.
"Hinata then moved in front of the group of civilians just as they were about to strike Naruto but a second chunin pushed her away, unintentionally knocking the girl unconscious." After Hiruzen said this, he could've sworn he saw Hiashi's muscles in his arms tense before relaxing. "Naruto, who at the time was motionless from a shocking the cage gave him, saw her get hurt and went into a rampage; seeing the drunken chunin as a threat to Hinata. After that, well, he generally slaughtered the chunin and civilians. Even my ANBU were helpless against the rampaging boy. After they were all killed, Naruto mistook Kurenai as a threat because she wore the same vest as the chunin who hurt Hinata and attacked her.
"It was only because of Hinata that Kurenai is standing by my side right now. That, Hiashi, is what happened earlier today." Hiashi's expression was stoic but Hiruzen knew he was surprised. He turned his sights to Kurenai who nodded her head in agreement.
"It's true; everything that was said happened." Kurenai said. Hiruzen then faced his advisors and looked at them intently.
"The idea to keep Naruto in a controlled environment was an excellent idea and I still agree with it. However, the method of which was used was anything but excellent. As you know, that idea back fired on us and even more of my villagers are now fertilizer." Hiruzen said in a scolding tone.
"Then what have you come up with Hiruzen?" Koharu asked and the smile on Hiruzen's face told everyone that he had an idea.
"I feel that Naruto should be monitored and be beside someone at all times until he is capable of thinking on his own, or more human, whichever's better." Hiruzen let his words sink into the advisors' mind before continuing. "I, unfortunately, cannot always have Naruto by my side since I am the Hokage and cannot show favoritism. However, I do know someone that can monitor him and make sure he doesn't attack anyone." Something clicked in Hiashi's mind and he knew who Hiruzen was talking about. "I see you have figured it out Hiashi." Koharu and Homura later got it and were a bit skeptical about it.
"How do we know he won't attack her?" Koharu asked doubtfully.
"If she could stop him from attacking, why would he attack her? Besides, it is not entirely my choice; I am letting Hiashi decide if Hinata should or should not be Naruto's 'keeper'." Hiruzen said; putting air quotes around keeper. Hiashi had a contemplative look as he thought over the situation.
"I am not sure the elders will like this." Hiashi commented.
"They cannot disagree with it if it is classified as a mission. Hinata Hyuga, even though she is not one of my shinobi yet, will be given the task of watching over Naruto to ensure that he does not go on a rampage. So Hiashi, since you are Hinata's father, what do you say?" Hiashi sighed as he thought it over. With what he was just told, he would be crazy to trust his daughter with a psychotic killing machine however; Naruto was no average killing machine.
"I suppose that it is acceptable so long as Naruto behaves." Hiashi said and Hiruzen nodded his head.
"With Hinata with him I'm sure he'll be on his best behavior. Now that that's settled, you all may leave and get some rest for tomorrow is the start of a new day." Hiruzen said and everyone bowed to him and started to walk out of the room. He let out a content sigh; at least now Naruto had a chance at happiness and he hoped he wouldn't ruin it.
So that's all you get from this chapter; violence and a fluffy scene...
I want to thank everyone again for reviewing, favoriting and story alerting this story, makes me happy that I can write an entertaining story for you... I just hope this chapter lives up to your expectations...
Jutsu names:
Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu = Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu = Fire Style: Grand Fireball Jutsu!
Suiton: Mizu Kamikiri! = Water Style: Surface Slicer Jutsu!
Etto, I guess that's it so if you have anymore questions, just ask me through PM or review... Oh and if you are reading my story Trials of the Hanyō Brothers then the poll is still up so if you haven't already, go at it!
Next Chapter: New friend or new owner?
[I'm not 100% about the chapter's title so don't be surprised if when chapter 3 comes out, the title isn't the same...]
Good luck with whatever and if you got a problem with me or one of my stories, please feel free to: Deal with it, Get over it or Choke on it...
