Author Notes:
Well everybody let me start by saying that I now officially have Foxie-Sama's Permission to work with her story although as you can see there are a lot of differences between the two.
I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter. Based on the reviews I have received I would say that you did.
Like the Last chapter this one took on a life of its own. I can safely say that when I finished the last chapter and started this chapter I had not planned to go in this direction at all or at least not in this manner. But as I started right I just found that certain things worked really well and I ran with it. Let me know what you all think. Big thanks to BioLighting for his suggestion about the Naruto/Sasuke event. Well enjoy Chapter Three and Review, Review, Review.
Second Chances
Chapter Three: Secret Revealed
by Cybergades
The sun would begin setting soon Naruto realized as he approached room 7C with Hinata close behind. He stopped at the door well aware that the teams had already been assigned and that the only people they were likely to find within were Sasuke, Sakura, and probably one very irritated and worried Iruka wondering where the hell Naruto took off to on the biggest day of his life.
Naruto opened the door, stepped inside and stopped. There behind the desk was his father figure and beside him was the last person in the world he expected to see at this time. What the hell is Kurenai-sensei doing here, she's usually a real stickler for schedules and timing and she wasn't here last time arro… Naruto was abruptly brought out of his thoughts by one of Iraka's patented lectures.
"Naruto where the hell have you been. This was the most important day of your life, you have been trying to pass for ages and now that you have you decide to just ditch the team assigning ceremony. And what were you thinking dragging Hinata along with you." Said Iruka in a rather parental tone of voice.
"Ano… Naruto-kun didn't-"began Hinata but was interrupted by Naruto. "…give her any choice. I wanted some company so I dragged her along". Naruto shot Hinata back a look that said let me take the blame, this is my fault, and then continued to stare at Iruka and Kurenai.
Iruka sighed and turned away. Something must have happened. The hole classroom had been abuzz about how Naruto had ran from the group in a hurry with Hinata fast behind him. it was obvious something was up but he could not push the boy while everybody else was around. He would just have to let it slide for now and hope that it did not affect his chances at passing his genin qualifications.
Kurenai realized that Iruka was done with his lecture and decided to take things in her own hands. She was certainly not going to let them get off scoot free. She would make things harder on them, all of them and as a result the two of them would have to put up with their teammates anger for being forced to deal with their mistakes.
"Well since you two decided that it was fine to delay my qualifications I have decided that team 7 and team 8 will do a joint test. And since I know how Kakashi works you will either all Pass or you will all fail." Kurenai said as she turned towards their 4 companions. "And you four can thank them for this pleasure. Let this be a lesson to all of you. A ninja always looks after their own. You all saw them run off. You should have done something about it." Kurenai paused for a moment and then continued. "Kakashi always does a survival training test so tomorrow morning at 7am; we will all meet out front of the academy and leave as a team for the training ground where your survival training will take place. Oh and don't bother eating any breakfast." Finished Kurenai. She stood their for a moment before realizing that they were not leaving and added in an aggravated tone "Your dismissed." Before walking back over to Iruka and starting to lecture him on how to properly hand out punishments.
Naruto for his part had barely been paying any attention through most of the lecture from Kurenai-sensei, oh he had caught the basics but his mind had been on other more pressing issues. The biggest of which was the increasing amount of discomfort he found himself in. It had started while he was walking with Hinata. He had begun felling a little dizzy and warm. He had passed it off as a side effect of the jutsu that would just go away and it had not been that bad. Then when he was in the spare classroom with Hinata he had felt his muscles start to ache. Not a sharp pain, just a light pulling sensation.
It had become much worse now though. Every muscle in his body was throbbing now to the point where he could barely keep the pain from his face. He had been getting increasingly worried and what worried him more was the fact that Kyuubi seemed to be in pain as well and was not replying to his questions. He seemed to be off in his own little world.
Naruto quickly got to his feet no that they had been dismissed and headed for the door in a hurry. Hinata had noticed that something had not been quite right with Naruto since they got here, even more so then before. She had caught him flinching a few times out of the corner of her eyes and for a brief second she could have swore she saw his face cringe in pain but when she looked over to get a better view he had just turned towards her and smiled that same foxy grin that he always smiled. She was sure he was hiding something. She had promised she would be there for him, she decided to follow after him to make sure she was not far away if he should need somebody to help him again.
To say that Sasuke was upset would have been the understatement of the century. He had never really liked Naruto but this had pushed him over the top. He was going to make sure that Dobe knew who he was dealing with and know that he would not let him fuck around with his future, his revenge. Sasuke's anger only increased along with the others as they saw Naruto bolt from the room with Hinata quick in tow. Seeing this Sasuke quickly ran after the too, set on beating some sense into the boy once and for all.
Naruto did not know what was going on but he was sure whatever it was it was a result of the jutsu he had used to come back in time and that was not something he could deal with in the company of others. He pushed some chakra to his feet and began running faster, if he was going to deal with this problem he had to get away from the prying eyes of the villagers and ninja. He would need to go somewhere private.
Shikamaru sat at Ichiraku ramen bar with Chouji and Ino as Chouji finished his fifteenth bowl of ramen. Shikamaru grumbled as he thought about the meeting they had just come from. He had known he shouldn't have gone, he just should have waited and gotten the information afterwards but instead he had let Chouji talk him into it and had been subjected to a very troublesome lecture with the rest of the class about letting Naruto and Hinata run off without trying to stop them.
How was it his responsibility to make sure that somebody else came to the meeting. He had found it troublesome enough just to bring himself and he was wishing now that he had just stayed and watched the clouds.
Ino was completely ignoring her two teammates as she seethed privately about her lose to Sakura. Sakura had been graced with the presence of Sasuke while she had been cursed with these two lazy bums. How could her luck be so bad, what had she done to get stuck with the fat ass and the lazy bastard. She had considered demanding that she be switched to a different team but was unable to do so as Shikamaru and Chouji had promptly dragged her out of the room and here to this damn ramen bar so they could stuff their faces. Ok so truthfully it had been Chouji that wanted to stuff his face and their was nothing wrong with the ramen bar, in fact she rather liked the food but she was to upset to admit that to them right now.
Chouji sat at contently in his favorite spot at Ichiraku's blissfully unaware of the discontent feelings of his teammates. There was nothing he liked more then sitting down and eating a bowl, or two, or twenty of Ichiraku's ramen after a hard days work, except maybe sitting down and eating his fill of Korean Barbeque which was his favorite food by far.
He finished his last bowl and of ramen, and paid for his food. He turned towards his partners and was surprised to see them looking down the road in a curious manner as if they were trying not to seem interested in whatever it was they saw. Chouji stood up and walked around to corner to look down the road his teammates were. There at the end of the road and approaching fast was Naruto, and following behind him just like before was Hinata.
Personally he had not cared about the lecture, he had thought that perhaps they should go check on them in the first place but he knew Shikamaru would not want to go, it would be to troublesome he would say. And Shikamaru was already going to the meeting with him so he had just decided to leave well enough alone. So of course when they were lectured about it later he seemed to think it only natural that they get yelled at. Seeing him in the same state again or perhaps something different, he was set in his resolve to help him this time but was rather surprised to be beaten to the punch by Shikamaru of all people. He cared greatly for his friend but he was the laziest person he knew.
"As troublesome as it is to go after them, it would be more troublesome to have to deal with another one of Asuma's lectures." Said Shikamaru as he took of running towards Naruto and Hinata who had passed by them a few seconds earlier. Before they could get far though they were quickly meet up with by the rest of the rookie 9 and passed by one very aggravated looking Sasuke. Shikamaru just knew that things had become more troublesome. Why did he always have to deal with these problems?
Naruto slowed slightly as he realized the pain had slightly subsided; he had just entered the woods, still trying to figure out why the pain was fluctuating so much when he found himself flying through the air. Naruto slammed against a tree with a sickening crunch and slowly pulled himself to his feet. He looked back towards the direction the attack had come and was both surprised and sickened to see Sasuke standing there with a look of pure malice on his face.
Naruto whipped the blood from his mouth where he had been punched and took a step forward. "What the hell do you think your doing you bastard" Naruto screamed and then winced slightly as the pain returned with a vengeance. "What am I doing, what am I doing. I'll tell you what I'm doing? I'm going to kick your ass you Dobe. What right do you have to be a ninja? You're can barely even create a bushin. You failed the test 2 times before passing. Your nothing but a dropout and I intend to make you realize that so you'll stay out of my way." And with that Sasuke charged.
Naruto had less then a second to think before Sasuke was on him. he quickly slipped into a fighting stance and let his instincts take over. Sasuke jumped in the air and delivered a back kick right at Naruto which he easily blocked, holding his leg in place. Sasuke promptly pulled back and threw a blazing punch right for Naruto's face but found his hand blocked with Naruto's free one. Not giving up Sasuke rolled in the air so he was upside down brought a kick down right for Naruto's shoulder. Naruto quickly realized Sasuke, spinning on his heel he performed a roundhouse kick which found its mark right in the middle of Sasuke's back sending him flying through the air and until he found himself upside down against a large Red wood.
The rest of the rookie 9 just started in utter amazement and shook. The counter had been almost simple in nature. He had seemed to due it with no effort at all, as if he had done it a thousand times before. And the speed at which he completed it, he was easily faster then any of them but yet he had never showed any such talent or speed in his academy days. What was going on. They found themselves staring on in awe and waiting to see what happened next. That is all of them except for Hinata who, had like the rest of them caught the reversal barely and was amazed as well as impressed but she was far more concerned about the almost constant twitches that she was seeing all over his body. They were little things that the others probably did not notice or waved off as being nothing important but she could tell that was not the case. He was in pain, a lot of pain and he was trying desperately to hide it with all his strength. What was wrong with him?
Naruto was acting as cool as ice despite the deep pain he was feeling throughout his body. Despite the way it must have looked he had actually held back substantially with his attacks against Sasuke. Every muscle in his body had been and still was screaming in pain and all his instincts had told him to finish the boy quickly but he did not want to hurt him and he was afraid of showing anymore then he was now for fear of revealing his secret or at least making them very suspicious.
You should have trusted your instincts you damn brat. You do not have time for this. You ha- the Kyuubi was suddenly cut off as a sharp wave of pain cut through them both and only a moment before Sasuke ran at him again.
Sasuke got to his feet, blood running down his forehead from where the skin had split when he collided with the tree. He found his back was a little sore from the force of the kick Naruto had delivered. How the hell had he moved so fast. He was sure he had him but then in less then a second he had spun around, out of my range and countered by attack with what looked like no effort at all.
Sasuke was furious; who did he think he was, he was trying to show him up, make a fool of him with moves like that. He would show him who the genius was. He would eat make a mockery of his skills and grind him into the ground with the heel of his foot. Sasuke ran at Naruto as fast as he could. At the last second he noticed Naruto flinch and took advantage of the opening by kicking Naruto into the air and performing the shadow of the dancing leaf technique so that he could follow up with his Lion Combo. Sasuke quickly throws a kick to Naruto's left side which he barely blocks and is followed up by backhand to the face which catches Naruto off guard. Continuing with the combo Sasuke slams his fist into Naruto's stomach sending him careening back towards the ground at high speeds.
What the hell is going on Kyuubi? Why am I in so much PAIN? Naruto screamed inwardly.Stupid brat… Beat… boy… get away… no time… replied the Kyuubi, barely able to get the words out. Naruto was in an incredible amount of pain. Every time he used some chakra the pain was reduced slightly but only for a few moments and then it would return and stronger then before. He had no choice. He had to finish Sasuke now, and in one move. He would have to risk a higher level technique and hope that he got away with it. He had to get away. He felt like his muscles were going to rip apart and that his heart was going to explode. What was causing this incredible pain.
Realizing the dire situation he was in Naruto resorted to an Anbu evasion technique to transfer the bulk of the damage from Sasuke's attack and avoid taking any damage personally from the final blow. Naruto Caught Sasuke's leg at the last second as he performed a spin kick that would have drove Naruto into the ground. Using Sasuke's Leg as leverage and his momentum to help propel his actions Naruto reverses the final flow flipping in the air and righting himself. As his foot touches the ground Naruto spins quickly in place and releases Sasuke. The reversal sent Sasuke flying across the woods and narrowly slamming into a tree which caused him to summersault through the air before landing with a sickening thud on the ground.
They had all prepared for the worst when they saw Naruto fly towards the ground. They were sure the match was over and were all ready to walk to his side and congratulate him on a match well fought despite his loss in the end but were quickly frozen to their spots by what occurred next. Even Hinata with all her worrying about Naruto was brought out of her thoughts at the sight of such an impressive maneuver.
Naruto had completely evaded Sasuke's attack in mid air using Sasuke's own momentum to spin him out of the way and allow him to land right side up on the ground smoothly. But what's more was he had gone a step further and using chakra and the boys momentum he had reversed the attack completely by grabbing a hold of Sasuke's led and spinning him around at high speeds and then sending him flying across the forest. Sasuke had slammed his legs off of a big tree in the process which resulted in him spinning furiously towards the ground and landing with a huge thud. Even after he hit the ground his momentum had carried him nearly a 100 feet and left him up against a large bolder all broken and bleeding.
Sasuke lay on his side, back against the bolder which he had just slid into. Every part of his body ached from the force of the last attack. It was impossible. How could he have possibly have avoided my attack and use it against me. He was sure their was nothing broken but he would have bruises all over his body by morning and he could barely move right now as it was. Sasuke could feel the warm liquid running down his face and arms from cuts and scrapes that he had suffered. He could not believe it. The dobe had totally and utterly destroyed him and in 2 moves.
Sasuke realized with a start that the boy had been toying with him the whole time. he could have finished it the second the battle had started but he had held back and then finished him with his own assault. He would have to give the boy a chance now he realized with a sense of annoyance. Perhaps he was not a dobe after all. Sasuke rolled over onto his stomach and tried to push himself to his feet. He got halfway before his arms gave out on him and he fell flat in the dirt again. That was it, the battle was over.
After seeing Sasuke's valiant attempt to stand after taking such a brutal hit and his subsequent failure both Ino and Sakura run to his side to help him followed closely by the other members of the rookie 9 save Hinata, Naruto, and Shikamaru. Shikamaru eyed Naruto cautiously. He was sure their was something strange going on now. this was not the Naruto he had seen in the past, granted he had not particularly ever paid any attention to the boy in the past but even still he had enough information on him to know that something was different. His skill, strength, and power were all abnormally high and he had the distinct impression that the he was seeing but a fraction of what was truly being hidden.
Naruto fell to his knees. Foolish brat. Run… was all the Kyuubi could manage before succumbing to the agony again. Naruto Staggered to his feet took one last look at the people he would call friends and ran in the opposite direction, adding chakra to his feet to propel him faster.
"Naruto-Kun…" Hinata screamed as he feel to his knees. She was almost at his side, reaching out to grab him, to help him any way she could when he took off running. "Hinata leave him, he's fucking crazy. You saw what he did you Sasuke. Look at him. he could have killed him and for what. It was just a stupid fight, nothing serious and he kicked his ass." Yelled Kiba.
Hinata looked over her shoulder at her teammates, and then back towards the direction Naruto had just won. Ignoring the shouts behind her she took off running after him. She was determined to be there for him. What if he was hurt, he was obviously in pain. Something was wrong, who would help him if he was hurt and there was nobody around. Tears began to stream down her face as she imagined him injured and lying on the ground all alone and calling out for help. They were unwanted tears but they came all the same.
Hinata activated her Byakugan so she could pick up Naruto's trail and catch up with him. in less then a minute she had found him, about half a mile straight ahead on the outskirts of the village running for what looked like a secluded spot near the river. She quickened her pace in an effort to close the gap; she could tell something was terribly wrong now. he was stumbling, he had lost his speed and was running into things constantly like he was blind with pain.
Naruto tumbled into the clearing by the lake. This was his place, he had never told anybody about it buy Hinata and that had been years in the future. He knew nothing but the pain. It was horrible; every nerve in his body was on fire, ablaze with an unending pain like nothing he had ever experienced before in all his days. He screamed out in agony. What the fuck is going on you stupid Fox. ANSWER MEEEEEEEEE. AHHHHHHHH… Naruto yelled at the Kyuubi. Oodama Rasengan, Use Now Commanded Kyuubi. What, Stupid fox… The Kyuubi Growled angrily at Naruto and said DO IT YOU LITTLE SHIT.
Hinata shot through the brush and flew through the final wall of trees into the opening just as she heard Naruto Scream out in pain. She looked down at him, knelling there in so much agony and she wanted to run to him. Naruto Looked over his shoulder realizing that Hinata had entered the clearing, their clearing he remembered. He had no more time he realized. He had not choice any more. It was do as the fox said right now or die a very painful death and soon. He was going to have a ton of explaining to do when this was all over. He prayed she would listen, that she would still care for him when it was all over. he didn't have a clue how he was going to explain it but that would have to wait.
Hinata ran towards Naruto, her body was racked with sobs now and she could barely see. She could feel it now, the immense waves of chakra emanating from him. That much chakra would rip him apart. That was it she realized. He was being ripped apart from the inside out, she did not understand it, could not understand it but she knew that was it. That was why he was in so much pain. She thought for sure he was going to die and there was nothing she could do to help him. all she could do was hold him and give him what little comfort she could. She was no more then 10 feet away when she heard Naruto scream out again but this time it sounded like words, she couldn't make them out but she was almost positive that he had spoke to her or said something and then their were 3 of him, he had summoned 2 shadow clones.
Before Hinata could guess what he was doing he yellowed out again. This time she heard him clearly. It was a jutsu but she had never heard of it before. The second part sounded familiar, so familiar. She could not put her finger on it. She thought maybe she had heard her dad say it before, or heard about it at the academy. Then she saw it, a huge spiraling ball of red and chakra glowing brilliantly was held in Naruto's hand and supported by his two clones. "OODAMA RASENGAN" Naruto Screamed as he slammed the ball of Chakra into the ground.
Instantly an incredible shockwave of energy threw Hinata back to the end of the clearing. She had heard Naruto scream that name, she had seen the ball of chakra but what had caused that shockwave. Was that Naruto. Terror filled Hinata to the core as images of Naruto being torn apart by so much chakra rushed through her head. She jumped to her feet and started to run to where he had stood but froze in her spot as soon as she looked ahead. There where the clearing had once been full of grass and little bushes was nothing but dirt. A 500 foot crater engulfed the entire area and in the centre of the crater stood Naruto.
Naruto stood their breathing heavily as he tried to catch his breath. The pain was all but gone now. Just the dull ache that he had started with a few hours earlier. That was all that remained and he welcomes it now as a release from the horrendous pain he had felt earlier.
Alright you damn fox. Start explaining yourself. I damn well know you didn't saying nothing about blowing up as being a side affect of that damn jutsu of yours. Naruto yelled at Kyuubi.
Well excuse me Mr. know it all. It's not like I have ever used this jutsu before I was not aware that we would be melding out chakra capacity of our Future selves with the chakra capacity of our current Selves. That was what you felt. Over the course of the day our current selves have been melding with us, our chakra capacity being added to theirs. Of course in our current state neither of our bodies are suited to handle that much chakra. Even 10 years from now you we would not have been able to hold so much chakra. Yelled Kyuubi in an irritated voice.
So what the hell do we do now? I don't know about you but I would rather not go through that again and I can already feel it getting worse. I take it the melding is still not complete. Every time I use my chakra I feel like its replaced by at least twice what I used. Explained Naruto.
The only choice is to seal away our roughly half of our combined chakra with at least a 7 point seal. In your current weakened state you're not powerful enough to do a typical seal. We will have to use a demonic seal instead along with a regular seal. The demonic portion will seal my chakra and the regular seal with deal with yours. Follow my instructions exactly.
Hinata watched from the edge of the crater too stunned to move. Naruto had done this she realized with a start. He had been powerful enough to use such an incredible jutsu. Now he was writing something on the floor of the crater. A script or seal of some type, she could not see properly from here. She gasped in horror as she saw him remove a kunai from his pouch and rip it across his arm and sprayed the blood all over the seal.
Hinata instant ran to his side. "Naruto-Kun, Naruto-Kun… What are you doing, please stop, your hurting yourself" she screamed in terror, her tears running freely again. Naruto could feel her eyes on him, he knew she was worried sick about him, he had probably scared her half to death today and she most likely did not understand anything she was seeing. He would tell her soon enough. "Just wait a little longer Hinata. I beg you. I promise I will tell you everything when this is done." Naruto pleaded.
Naruto finished the integrated seal with the help of Kyuubi's instructions. He thrust his palm into the middle of the sale and shouted "Seven Earthly Star Demonic Seal". As he forced his chakra into the seal to activate it he felt the earth underneath his palm grow warm and begin to move. Moments later seven chains of dirt shot from the ground and rapped around his right arm pulling him closer to the ground. Four of the chains burst with demonic flames and began to burn the demonic seal into his forearm while the other three crystallized and cut the mortal portion of the seal into place.
When the seal was complete on his forearm both seals glowed brightly at the same time and Naruto screamed out in agony as he felt the chakra ripped from his body and sealed away. He had not expected it to happen so suddenly or so forcibly. The pain was nowhere near as bad as it had been less then an hour ago but he still shook from the pain. And then it was over. He fell to the ground sweating and shacking from the shook of it all. His wounds had already healed, the chakra embedding itself in the seal and hiding itself away from prying eyes.
Hinata knelt beside him quickly and wrapped him in her arms. For the second time today she found herself overwhelmed by motherly feeling and the urge to shelter Naruto from the world and take away all his pain. She pulled him back into her embrace and rocked back and forth gently.
Naruto stiffened when he felt Hinata's arms around him and then melted into her embrace. He laid his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. It was so peaceful like this. He could almost fall asleep. Once again he found his mind wondering to the life he might have had if he had just admitted his feelings to Hinata and been content to look after her instead of always going out and looking for trouble. Tsunade had begged him to take a break, to just relax and enjoy what was left of life but he had refused. He hoped that one day in the near future he would have the chance to make that choice again. This time he would make the right choice.
Hinata continued to rock back and forth, gently squeezing Naruto from time to time to let him know that everything would be all right. She was filled with questions and concerns and fears but she didn't want to bother him with her problems right now. Hinata thought silently about what had happened that day. Everything about him had changed since the last time she saw him only a day earlier. What had happened to cause such a sever change? How had he become so powerful? What was that seal Jutsu he used to make the crater? These were only some of the strange items that haunted her.
The tension in the air was palpable. He could have cut it with a Kunai. She was trying so hard to act natural and be sweet and caring but he could clearly sense the uneasiness that she was feeling. Their were too many unexplained things for her to just forget and go on living as if nothing had happened.
What do I do fox, how do I tell her about everything that we have been through, about you, and the war, and her death? How do I explain all the pain that I have suffered? How can I possibly expect her to love me after all of that? I'm not even sure that she will believe me and truthfully I'm not sure I want her to. What's worse, her thinking I'm lying through my teeth because I don't want to tell her my secret or believing me and being scared out of her mind? What the hell do I do? Naruto asked the Kyuubi.
You make it sound like I have some incredible wealth of knowledge for you to pull from. How the hell am I supposed to know what to say. I'm a demon. If I want a mate I take one, I don't dance around the subject like you pathetic humans do. Said Kyuubi in a mocking tone.
I was being serious you bastard fox. Why I ever thought I could get a straight answer from a smart ass like you is beyond me. Naruto yelled inwardly as he went back to his thoughts. He would just have to be straight with her he realized and hope for the best. He owed her at least that much. Tell her about what he was, where he came from, and what the leaf was up against and hope that she would still be their for him in the end. While he was not sure what her feelings would be for him when she knew all his secrets he was sure she would do what was right for Konoha. She would help him in his quest even if it was not for him.
Naruto pulled away from Hinata and slowly gained his footing. He was still a little wobbly from all that had happened but he was sure the feeling would pass in a short time. He turned and faced Hinata, a weak smile on his face and offered up his hand to pull her to her feet.
Hinata stared at the young blond with curiosity. He was asking like nothing was wrong again, was he just going to ignore what she had just witnessed and hope that things returned to normal? How could he possibly expect her to just go on living as if nothing had happened today? She reached up and grabbed his outstretched hand and was quickly pulled to her feet. She looked into his eyes for a moment before gathering up all her courage and asking "Naruto-kun… what just happened? How did you have so much chakra? How did you beat Sasuke so easily? What's happening to yo-" She was suddenly cut off by Naruto's finger bring pressed to her lips.
"Shhh… Hinata there is so much I have to tell you, so much I have wanted to tell you but I was and am afraid of how you would receive me once you knew the real me. I suppose I had hoped I could avoid this day for as long as possible, possibly even forever and still enjoy a normal life but I realized some time ago that you had a right to know. I care for you to much to lie to you any further." Naruto Sighed loudly as he prepared to reveal his biggest secret to the most important precious person for the first time.
"Hinata will you promise me just one thing… No matter what you think of me, no matter what your feelings are once all is in the open… I need you to swear to me that you will put Konoha's interests above everything else. Can you do that?" Asked Naruto as he waited with baited breath for her answer.
Hinata blinked a couple of times and stared blankly at Naruto. What is he talking about? What could he possibly tell me that would change the way I feel about him? He talks as if I'll hate him once I know this secret of his, and what does Konoha have to do with it? Thought Hinata, more confused now then before he had spoken. So she did the only thing anybody could do in that situation. "H-Hai Naruto-Kun" She agreed and waited.
Naruto took a deep breath and began with his story, this would take some time. "Ok Hinata, First you have to keep what I am about to tell you to yourself. Not another soul can know what I am about to reveal until the time is right. You swore to think of Konoha before anything else so think of it now."
Naruto Paced around in front of Hinata as he thought of how to proceed. This was not an easy thing to say. It was not like he could just up and say 'hey I'm the host to the 9 tail fox Kyuubi and guess what I traveled back in time because Orochimaru is going to totally fuck us up in a big war and were all going to die'. She would look at him like he was on drugs and then probably kick his ass for being such a smart ass.
"Hinata do you know of the events that took place 12 years ago just outside of Konoha?" asked Naruto. Hinata stared at him surprised that he would ask such an obvious question. Every body that had ever lived in Konoha knew of the attack by the nine tail demon fox Kyuubi and the story of how the Fourth had destroyed him in single battle at the cost of his own life. "of course I know the story Naruto-kun. Everybody from Konoha knows that the nine tail Fox attacked Konoha a little over 12 years ago and was killed by the Fourth at the cost of his own life."
"No Hinata, everybody knows of a STORY about how the Kyuubi attacked Konoha and about how nothing could stop him, how he killed hundreds of Ninja until finally the Fourth himself faced him in one on one combat and in the preceding battle was mortally wounded while killing the Kyuubi. But it's just that Hinata… A STORY." Said Naruto in a voice slowly filling with ire.
"It's just something that the elders and council of the village made up on the eve after the battle to allow them all to ignore the true sacrifice that was made that night. They use that story to cover up the injustice of what happened that day and every day that has come since."
"You see Hinata the fourth never killed the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi never killed the Fourth. Oh they both disappeared that night and they were both responsible for the others demise but neither actually killed the other." Said Naruto. "Hinata don't you think it's a little strange that even as powerful as the Fourth was that he would be able to single handedly kill a creature that had slaughtered hundreds of other Ninja that would have been Jonin or better. Even as a Hokage it seems like an impossible feat don't you think?" asked Naruto looking at Hinata to gauge her response.
Hinata was blown away. How could he be saying this. How could he possibly say that the Fourth had not killed the Kyuubi and that the village was lying the entire time. what possible reason could the village have to lie about such a thing. Hinata began to question him "Naruto-kun what are you talking about. How can you say such things. But was cut off by Naruto as he continued "Hinata the fourth realized before the battle even began that the Kyuubi could not be destroyed in the mortal sense. The only chance was to seal him inside somebody. But that created a problem in itself. The Kyuubi's was to powerful to seal in just anybody. The chakra system of a normal human being would not be able to contain the immense chakra reserves of the demon and so the only choice was to seal him inside the body of somebody young." Naruto took a deep breath and continued.
"A child's chakra system is still developing throughout their childhood, into their late teens and early adulthood before it finally stabilizes. If the Kyuubi was sealed within the body of a child the demon's chakra would change the development of the host's chakra system and allow for the body to adapt to the huge chakra reserves. Over time the two would meld and the host would become the most powerful ninja alive and when he or she died so would the Kyuubi. It was the perfect solution or rather would have been had the village not ignored his final order."
Hinata was slowly filling with fear and understanding. She had a deep sickening feeling that she knew where this story was going; things were slowly falling into place. Without realizing it she slowly took a step back. Naruto saw the look on Hinata's face change from Worry, to confusion, and finally to fear. Then she took a step away from him. His heart sank to the deepest recesses of his body as he realized that he had lost her. She slowly understood what had happened and the first thoughts into her mind had filled her with fear. Tears filled his eyes and he continued despite the feelings of loss and betrayal.
"The Kyuubi was not a normal being thought and so a normal seal would not suffice. Only a very powerful seal would be able to pull the demon from its mortal body and seal its soul inside the body of another. And the only seal powerful enough to do so was the 'Dead Demon Consuming seal'. But their was another problem. This seal was not meant to seal the spirt in a host. It was meant to swallow the spirit of both the sealer and the sealed into the abyss of hell where they would battle for all eternity."
"But that was not good enough. If the Demon was sealed in such a fashion it was possible that he would simply consume all the souls of the humans and lesser creatures banished to their prison until he was strong enough to overwhelm the gatekeeper and break free into the world again only this time he would be far more powerful. No the only choice was to combine the seal with 3 others. And so the Fourth used the 'Dead Demon Consuming seal' and combined it with two 'four symbol seals' and the 'eight trigrams sealing style' technique"
"The idea being that together they would both seal the demon within the host and allow the demons chakra to be leaked out into the host's chakra system to use as an effective weapon, making the host stronger, faster, and generally more powerful." Naruto stopped for a minute. Hinata stood nearly 5 feet from him now where she had once stood less then 2. He turned his eyes away from her unable to bare the look of horror on her face knowing full well that it was him she was so afraid of. He forced himself to continue. He had started it now, he had to get it out in the open.
"Late in the battle against the Kyuubi the Fourth arrived on the battle field with a large group of ninja, a single female Anbu, and a baby boy. It was this baby that he would seal the nine tails in side of. His final order to the villagers was that this child should not be looked at as monster but as a hero who had sacrificed so much to save his village, a village he did not even know yet. The Fourth prepared the ritual and sealed the Kyuubi inside the boy killing himself in the process. The rest of his ninja died protecting him during the ritual." Naruto cried freely now remembering the vision he had seen while he returned to the past.
Remembering all the years of suffering and pain he had gone through at the hands of the villagers he had given so much to protect. "in the end the villagers ignored the Fourth's last order and threw the boy away as if he was nothing. But worse then that they treated him as if he was a plague, as if he was the demon himself. Where he should have lived the life of a hero he was instead shunned and hated. The Third passed a law stating that none of the children would be allowed to know of this incident and instead would be told a STORY. He hoped that this would prevent the boy from being an outcast."
"But it didn't matter. The adults hated him and their hate soiled their children who began to hate the boy without even knowing why. And so the boy who would have been hero was instead and outcast ridiculed and ostracized by his own people. I was that boy Hinata, I am the host of the Kyuubi."
Hinata stood frozen in place nearly 10 feet from Naruto as he finished. She could not believe what she had heard. It all made sense now. The way the villagers had hated him for what appeared to be no reason at all, the way he always seemed to heal so quickly. How could they have done that to him, how could they have left him out in the cold, all alone to fend for himself. For the first time in her life she actually felt ashamed of her village, of her people. And then she realized what she was doing. She looked at Naruto seemingly just realizing the distance that had grown between them and what must have happened.
She stared into his eyes briefly before he turned away but it was long enough. She had seen the pain, the sadness, and the betrayal painted in his eyes as clear as day. She had betrayed his trust and friendship. She had sworn that she would take away his pain and be there for him, giving him strength as he had given her all these years but instead she, like the rest of her village had done nothing but betray him.
She winced inwardly as she realized she had been calling it HER village, as if he was not part of it. She had never felt so ashamed in her life. She hated what the village had made her into and she hated them. She was filled with a rage that she had never experienced before and she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt for what she had done to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun… I… I… I'm so sorry." She took a step forward towards him and then another. "Please Naruto-kun I didn't mean it, I was just surprised, please forgive me. I'm sor-" Hinata stopped as Naruto turned away from her and began to walk away. She felt her heart shatter.
"Hinata you don't have to apologize there's nothing to apologize for. I knew this would happen and I do not blame you for it. You don't have to say anything. When we leave this clearing I want you to leave any obligations you think you have to me here. I promise I will leave you alone from this moment forward. All I ask is that you set aside your feelings for me when the time comes, for Konoha's sake." And with that Naruto walked towards the edge of the clearing.
Hinata watched as the only person who had ever believed in her turned his back and walked away. "Naruto-kunnnnn" she cried out as she fell to the ground crying. "Please don't leave me. I know I hurt you, I didn't mean to, I was scared and my body acted without me, I beg you, please don't ignore me. You were the only one who ever believed In me, you were the only one who ever cared for me. Please let me care for you, let me stay with you." Naruto turned towards Hinata, surprise clearly written on his face. Did she really still care for him after all she had found out? Hinata ran To Naruto and threw her arms around his neck sobbing uncontrollably into his chest.
Naruto could feel the heat of her tears soaking through his vest and into his shirt. He slowly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. This was more then he could have hoped for, she had taken everything he had said, learned the horrible truth about the Kyuubi and just brushed it all aside, it meant nothing to her in the face of her love for him. "I'm sorry I hurt you Hinata, I should have known you would stay with me despite my secret. I'm sorry I doubted your loyalty. Will you forgive me?"
Hinata looked up at his face and smiled. "theirs nothing to forgive Naruto-kun". Said Hinata and laid her head back down on his chest. Naruto looked at her face and felt sorry for what he had to do, she looked so peaceful now that it was all over but he would have to take that from her, he still had to tell her about all that had happened in the future. She had to know about what was to come. "Hinata, theirs more that I must tell you. I need you to be strong now, I need you to help me complete my mission. I need you to-" Naruto Stopped suddenly, His face turning hard, One hand pushing her back behind him, the other reaching into his kunai pouch.
"Naruto-Kun…" Hinata asked suddenly very concerned. Suddenly 4 Anbu appeared out of the shadows of the forest and approached cautiously. They knew she realized with a start and they were afraid of him. they knew what he was capable of, they knew he had caused the crater and they feared for their lives, and hers they realized with a start. She moved forward and wrapped her arms around his back. The Anbu stiffened at the obvious sign of affection.
"Hyuuga Hinata, Step away from him and come over here now. We have orders to take you into our protection and… escort Uzumaki Naruto to the Hokage." Hinata scowled at the men before her, They had clearly hesitated when choosing their words for what they were doing with Naruto. Taking into custody was more like it. "No, I won't leave Naruto, he needs me. I'll go with him." the Anbu did not look pleased at her choice and one of them began to walk flank Naruto and approach Hinata from the side. Naruto stared at the man and said "Don't touch her, or else." And with that he flashed his eyes at the man which had briefly slit down the middle before returning to normal. The Anbu got the message and quickly backed away.
Naruto looked over his shoulder, he knew the old man would not harm him, it was more likely that he had been told about the surge of energy, or the fight with Sasuke and feared that the demon was beginning to awaken inside him. If he had truly thought it was released he would have sent every ninja he had, not just four Anbu. "Hinata it's ok. Trust in me now and go with them. I will be fine. The old man only wants to talk. Try not to anger your family, they will not be pleased that you have befriended me." With that he stepped forward towards the Anbu, putting his kunai back in his pouch. "Shall we go or would you like to shackle me as well." he chuckled inwardly at the obvious wince the leader made at the tone in his voice.
Hinata stood there, stunned and saddened. He was being taken away, she had just learned his biggest secret and they had overcome it together. And now she was being taken away, back to her family who would no doubt forbid her from seeing him again, her father knew of his secret of course, he would be furious with her. Who knew what would happen now? They left the clearing in opposite directions, him heading for the Hokage tower, and her heading for the Hyuuga complex. She wondered if she would ever be able to talk to him again.