Alright, I'm sorry for the wait. I accidentally posted the wrong chapter, and my laptop crashed. After my computer did finally decide to run, I found I wasn't happy with the way I had originally wrote the chapter. I am thankful for those of you who have reviewed and favorited this story. I hope that this chapter was worth the wait!! Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto you corrupt lawyers!!!

Naruto left the treat stand with Hinata next to him. He had bought both of them two sticks of dango and was on their way up to the top of the hokage monument. Since he knew a shortcut, they both arrived at the peak while light from the sun still illuminated the landscape.

"Here we are, the best seats in the house; nobody can get a better view from the fireworks."

"I don't usually go to these festivals, I never have anyone to go with."

"That'll make two of us, this is the first time I've gotten everyone to go with me. I went to a lot of festivals while I was training though."

"Really," Hinata questioned earnestly.

"Yeah, hey I think the fireworks are starting," he said turning his attention away from the girl.

Over the close horizon to the west sparks began to light the dark sky in breathtaking colors. After about half an hour, the finale lit the sky in blues and reds with deafening bangs and shrieks from the screaming rockets. After the last rocket had gone off and left its smoky trail in the sky, people below the pair applauded the performance before packing up and returning home.

Naruto led Hinata by the hand safely back down the trail. After nearing the end of the steep path, he jumped off the last high step to the soft earth. Hinata went to follow him, while looking at the innocent blond shinobi, and caught her foot on a thick tree root.

Stumbling down the slope, she crashes forward into Naruto, ending with her arms around his neck. Both froze in the embrace.

The white-faced girl's entire visage turned the color of a red apple to match the blonde's ripening cheeks. Realizing what was about to happen, Naruto steps back to try and prevent another fainting incident. Seeming to regain control, Hinata shakes her head to clear the steam that clouded behind her eyes.

Both teens look away with heated faces and Naruto grabs her hand delicately while continuing to lead the way.

At the entrance, Hinata turned and faced Naruto.

"Thanks for taking me to the show; it was really nice."

Smiling the blond rubbed the back of his head as he asked her another question.

"Well, if you liked it that much maybe we can do it again sometime."

"You mean like a date?"

"Well …"

"I'd love to! It sounds like fun," she said excitedly. Then noticing that her partner's attention had changed, "Are you alright?"

The black haired girl glanced worriedly at the blond shinobi and the look his face had taken. Naruto was looking past her in what appeared to be a mixture of shock and fear.

Naruto regained his composure and zoned in again.

"Yeah, I'll see you around."

Hinata still looked worried but went inside her home. When she was gone Naruto threw another hurried look at the street corner that had captured his interest earlier. He had seen the man on the street corner looking at him with the same shadowed features.

'Shit! That thing can follow me around now too! I can barely sleep enough at home as it is! I' m losing it!'

He gave a shaking sigh, he had to go home; it was unavoidable. When he arrived at his front door, he unlocked the door and closed it behind him. His home was silent, never a good sign. He sat down in the chair at his small table; he felt the man watching him, probably right in front of him.

Naruto kept his hair covering his eyes to avoid seeing the serious blue eyes that would be looking sorrowfully from across the table. Emotions that he had been bottling up for days were mounting; he was close to breaking down.

With half of him filled with insanity, he muttered to himself, "If I ignore it, it will go away." Naruto sat at his table staring down at the cheap top surface. The atmosphere lay thick with confusion and worry; Naruto realized that neither of the two was coming from him. The young shinobi hears a sliding noise behind him, but he doesn't look up. Several seconds tick by with the pressing silence; the blond shifts uncomfortably in his seat; he never liked long periods of quiet.

Almost out of nowhere, a notepad and a pen, that had previously been on the counter behind him, dropped with a flop in front of him. Naruto tries his best not to react, though he flinches when he realizes what happened.

After several more seconds of silence, the confusion shrouding the room evolves into sadness and the pad and utensil are pushed closer to him until it was directly in his field of vision. The boy slowly gets out of his chair and enters his bedroom; he grabs one of the lone books that had been given to him over the years.

Naruto sat back down at the table and pushed the objects towards the edge and continued to ignore the eyes that were staring into the back of his head. Just as he had read a couple of lines, the pad and pen pushed back into the center of the table and stood perfectly still. A few minutes passed and a feeling of agitation swept across the air. The shinobi could taste the emotion cloaking him on his tongue every time he took a breath, but continued reading as if nothing was happening. The two objects slid directly in front of him, nearly falling off the edge of the table if they hadn't been stopped.

The boy turned around in his seat to place an elbow atop the back of the chair. Naruto felt the book suddenly ripped from his hands and smack against the nearest wall.

Naruto felt like he had enough for one night and stood from his chair; he still ignored the full bodied man he would have saw if he had looked up and ran directly for the door. He quickly grabs his keys and puts a palm on the door handle to turn it when he feels and icy cold hand grab his shoulder as if to hold him back.

When the cold sensation spreads across his shoulder, Naruto's heart races with adrenaline fueled fear. Not a second passes before Naruto almost pulls the door the off it's hinges as he opens and slams the door to escape into the dark beyond.

Naruto ends up back on top of the Hokage monument. His breath comes ragged and uneven from his all-out sprint from his apartment. He leans his back up against a tree and slides down to the cooling soil at its base. With the back of his hand raised up to wipe the perspiration, the straw haired boy realized that it was shaking.

When his heart slowed down to a normal pace he got up and walked to a nearby stream. He washed his face, neck, and hair in the brisk water to remove the stank, sweaty musk from his flight of fear.

Resting against the tree again, the young man brings his knees to his chest and places his forehead forward to complete his protective position.

He didn't remember falling asleep, but Naruto awoke hours later when the rising sun's light illuminated his face. The boy waked over to the river again and looked at his reflection; he saw that he at least looked put together enough to meet up with Kakashi and Sakura so he brushed the accumulated dirt off his clothes and went to the usual training ground early to wait for them.

When the sky had faded to an aqua color, Sakura arrived at a casual pace until she saw Naruto was already there. She looked down guiltily and continued towards her teammate. When she was near him she stood nervously but didn't speak. Sakura cleared her throat like she was about to say something, but backed down. After another deep breath and another throat clearing, she asked as calmly as she could.

"Naruto …?"

"Hmm."

"Naruto; Naruto I think I need to apologize. I acted like a real selfish bitch. To be honest, I'm not sure of my feelings, but I shouldn't stop you from moving on. I'm sorry. I'm sorry if I've hurt. After you left, I felt horrible. If you can forgive me…" she stopped when she saw Naruto hold up his hand.

"In all honesty, after the fight, I was as torn up as you. We both hit a bit below the belt. I forgive you," Naruto looked up at her with a smile. Sakura matched it and begun to dig around in her bag.

"Well, I figured that you would still be angry with me, but I bought you something for your birthday." Naruto looked shocked when he remembered the date, his stress had made him forget about it completely. Sakura held out a small black box to him with a nervous grin on her face. "Happy Birthday." Naruto held the lid of the box between his thumb and index finger; with a slow motion he lifted the top and peered at the contents inside.

His eyes widened when he saw the gift. It was a picture with an orange brassy frame; the picture itself however held his attention. It was a picture of him in Sakura together.

They were both on the red bridge where the team often met; he was casually leaning against the wooden railing, which was in deep need of paint job, and Sakura was sitting on the railing with her feet dangling. Sakura looked halfway through laughing, and Naruto had one of his signature grins that held a feeling of warmth and comfort that felt contagious in the photo. Naruto felt his face pull into a grin that mirrored himself in the picture.

When he looked up Sakura was still grinning with a genuine illumination. Kakashi finally arrived on the scene to see both of his students smiling. He looked from one to the other curiously before the pair discovered he had arrived. Naruto closed the box and both got ready for the daily training.

Naruto was walking away from the Ramen shop and his happy euphoria was draining. He felt worn from the long day, but the thought of returning to his apartment and that… thing, made him physically cringe. The shinobi didn't know what to do, that presence was eating away at his sanity. He was even tempted to save up his money and move; but even if he could find a place to stay, which was unlikely, it could take years to save up that kind of money.

He took a turn down an alley, he wasn't really paying attention to where he was going, and walked around the various pieces debris. There wasn't much light in the alley, only the muted and dull light from the windows of villagers, and didn't immediately sense the sharp blue eyes and shadow following him.

When Naruto reached the darkened corner of another street, he felt something watching him. His eyes enlarged in shock when he saw the dark figure less than three feet behind him. He knew it was the same man because the eyes that looked so creepily like his own.

Naruto stood there for several tense seconds trying to stare down the shadow.

The man's blue spheres emanated worry and frustration. The figure stepped forward and Naruto threw a shuriken. The sharp bladed weapon sailed right through the man and clanked against the wall behind him. Naruto ground his teeth and slowly backed away as the figure took another few steps forward.

The young shinobi found that when he attempted to speak, his throat had become dry and constricted. "Why can't you just leave me alone; why can't you just leave and go back from where you came from?" His voice was barely a whisper but the shadow man appeared to hear him.

The ghostly figure took another final step forward; they were inches apart and Naruto could feel the cool temperature that appeared to surround the man. Naruto nearly fell over when the presence responded to him, "Naruto …"

"Get away from me."

"Please …"

Naruto wheeled away from the spirit and tried to run from the increasingly eerie man, but this time the shadow wasn't going to let him get away this time; the dark presence grabbed him by the back of his collar and held him up against a nearby building. "Please, just listen to me …"

Naruto didn't give much of a response to the request as he was desperately struggling to extricate himself from the man's icy steel grip. He braced himself against the wall and sent a strong kick vainly to make the man let go. "What do you want from me? I don't have anything you want!" The blond haired boy was panicking now; this thing was strong and he couldn't even touch him.

With his back against the wall the shadow had the best opportunity to examine his captive's eyes. The shadow was sad to see the panic and fear that clouded the boy's usual happiness.

The shinobi tried to calm down when he realized that the iron grip was not going to weaken by normal measures, but the stranger's close proximity wouldn't allow him to relax. Naruto's breath was still strained and his heartbeat was racing erratically. He made eye contact with the mysterious man as he shakily asked, "What are you?"

Reviews are deeply appreciated, I promise to try and get the next chapter up within a week!! Updated 03/08/10