Hey, hope you enjoy the chapter...

I'm off to play on my new PS3...

Peace!

Reputation is what other people know about you. Honor is what you know about yourself.
`Lois McMaster Bujold

Chapter 4: Actions and Motives...

I don't own anything...

Oh and Hinatasgreatestfan sends his love haha...

Kiba sniffed the air for the thousandth time but still he picked up no scent. He growled, frustrated that Hinata's scent just suddenly vanished. That doesn't happen; it shouldn't have happened now.

So why did it happen?

"Kiba." Kiba turned to his sensei who walked and held herself with control and had a passive expression on her face but Kiba knew better. Kurenai was the only kunoichi Hinata really bonded with and vice-versa. This was affecting Kurenai more than she let on; it was hurting her not knowing where her surrogate daughter was. "We need to head back."

This threw Kiba for a loop.

"What?" he shouted as Shino appeared beside Kurenai.

"We have no leads. We can't find her no matter how hard we try. With all this water, any scent left behind is erased now. We need to return to Konoha and report this in." Kurenai explained but she saw that she wasn't getting through to Kiba. "If you really want to help her, you need to believe me and come back to Konoha with us."

"Kurenai-sensei's logic is sound, Kiba." Shino added, hoping to persuade his friend to think reasonably. Kiba looked away from his remaining teammates, not wanting to admit that they were right.

"It feels like we're abandoning her." Kiba muttered solemnly after he bowed his head. Kurenai felt the same, as did Shino, but they both knew that they were no help to Hinata now. They needed to go back home so they could send experienced tracking nin.

"We feel that, too, but this is the best course of action." Kurenai said and Shino nodded in agreement. Kiba looked at them again before closing his eyes and nodding his head.

"Fine." Kurenai sighed and turned her back to them.

"Let's go." Kurenai said before turning and sprinting away. Shino hesitated to follow right after, taking the time to glance at his comrade. He was looking around, taking last minute sniffs and observations before he had to leave. Akamaru rubbed his head against his owner, trying to get him to go after his sensei. After a defeated sigh, Kiba turned and nodded his head to Shino. He nodded back and they followed after Kurenai, wanting to get to Konoha as soon as possible..

"We'll find you, Hinata-chan, I promise." He murmured under his breath, getting a worried look on Akamaru's face.

[*.*.*.*]

"Wake up." A rough voice said and Hinata's eyes sprang open. She couldn't believe she fell asleep.

'This isn't good. Now I don't know where we are or in which direction we've headed.' she thought as she sat up, her arms and legs still tied up. She noticed that her arms and legs were still tied but the gag was removed from her mouth. She stared angrily at her kidnapper as he searched through his pack. Finally, he took out a ration bar and quickly peeled back the wrapper and held the ration bar in front of her mouth. Hinata blinked, staring at the bar in confusion.

"Eat." The man demanded and Hinata looked at him again. She pouted and looked away with a scoff. The man growled. "You're not eating anything else." Hinata turned her cold eyes to the man.

"I don't like to be fed, I can do it myself." Hinata hissed at the man with some pride. "I'm not a child." She added and the man shook his head with some patience.

"Fine." the man threw the ration bar at her lap and got up. He grabbed more rope from his pack and tied it around her waist before tying the other end to a nearby tree only two feet away. "I'm going to give you only one warning tonight; try anything funny and I'll slice your throat open with the nails on my fingers. My clients would prefer a whole Hyūga but they'd accept it if I only bring your eyes if you catch my drift." The man threatened with a devilish gleam in his eyes and Hinata knew, staring into them, that he'd keep his word. She nodded slowly but her expression was still harsh. She didn't want him to know that his threat had shaken her to her core with fear.

He untied her arms and stood back as he watched her grab the ration bar and examine it with a calculating stare. He wondered why her brow furrowed and she mumbled under her breath but then he got the idea when she closed her eyes for a second and opening them again.

"Forget it, those are chakra-absorbing ropes tying you down." The man explained, taking out another ration bar. "I'll let that one slide but the next one will be your last mistake." Hinata glared at the man before taking a bite out of the bar. It wasn't exactly a cinnamon roll but she was too hungry to care. The two ate in silence and when Hinata finished, she continued to glare at her kidnapper.

"What?" he asked with irritation.

"Why are you kidnapping me?" Hinata asked and the man sneered.

"Don't worry about it now." he answered offhandedly. Hinata just shook her head stubbornly.

"Tell me." she ordered with an air of conviction and the man closed his eyes

"It's my mission to kidnap a Hyūga. It's just your luck that I ran into you and your team." His answer seemed care-free, as if he was talking about getting groceries at the store. "Any other questions?" Hinata hummed to herself.

"Well-"

"Too bad, we need to keep moving." The man stood and without hesitation, firmly grabbed Hinata's hands and tied the rope around her wrists. She groaned at how tight he was tying the rope. However, before she could voice her pain, the man had the gag over her mouth again. He then untied the rope around the tree and her waist, rolled it up and put it in his pack. He turned to her and saw her glaring at him again. He smirked menacingly before landing a harsh kick to her midsection. She gasped under her gag and moaned in agony. The man could only laugh at her pained expression.

"That was to show you that I will carry out my threat." he said as he grabbed Hinata by her short raven hair and pulled her to her feet with a harsh yank. "This is just for fun." He said as he picked her up and carelessly tossed her to his shoulder. He grunted and found his equilibrium before walking forward.

Hinata yelled fiercely and incoherently but the man only laughed.

"Shut up." Hinata glared at the back of his head before sighing, making her body relax.

Being patient was harder than she thought.

[*.*.*.*]

The water felt fresh and cool on Naruto's face and hands. He drank a bit from it and sighed happily as he downed the reflecting pool's water. There's was nothing better than drinking fresh natural water under a full moon. Besides ramen of course but that didn't need to be said.

His stomach growled and he deadpanned, holding his stomach with his right hand. A thought popped in his mind and he smiled brightly as he ran to the knocked down tree and picked up his pack. He brought it over to the river and stuck his hand in it, fishing around for something before yanking his arm out and taking out three cups of instant ramen and a pot. He began to fill the pot with water from the reflecting pool. He placed it down next to the pool and grabbed branches from random trees and piled them together near the pool. With quick hand signs, he summoned up his chakra to his mouth and spat out a small flame onto the branches.

When the fire began to grow, he took out a camp grill and placed it over the fire. With his body shaking with eagerness, he placed the pot on the grill and waited impatiently for the water to boil. As he waited, he began to think of the old man again. His smile faltered as he wondered what secrets he was keeping from him. He stared absentmindedly into the fire as it crackled and added extra light into the area.

His smile returned when he snapped out of his thoughts and saw the water in the pot boiling. He grabbed one instant ramen and filled it up with the hot water and then set it down to fill the second cup. After filling the second and third cups, he waited for the water to cook the ramen and sighed.

"This is taking too long." he whined as he stared at the cups, as if staring at them will cook them faster. He couldn't take it any longer, he had to eat the ramen now.

As he reached down to grab his first ramen cup, he stopped just inches away and his ears twitched. He heard sounds that reminded him of muffled cries and groans. He closed his eyes before reopening them, his Fox Eyes scanning the area around him. After adapting to the dark, Naruto was able to make out movement to the left of him. He squinted his eyes and saw two people; one was upright and the other was slung over that one's shoulders. He heard muffled cries coming from one of the two, most likely from the one who was being carried.

Too curious for his own good, Naruto got up, climbed a tree and slowly tailed the two mysterious figures. The closer he got, the more detail he took in. He saw that the one holding someone on his shoulders was a man at least twice his age and a jonin at the most. He wore a black mask with a black jumpsuit. On his shoulders was a girl around his age. She had raven hair with lavender eyes and a cream colored hooded-jacket with a fire symbol on the upper right and left sleeves and navy blue pants. Her wrists and ankles were tied by what Naruto assumed was chakra-absorbing rope. Her mouth was gagged and had a trail of dry tears on her pale cheeks.

He hated seeing any woman in distress; it was his thing, his flaw. If he could do anything to help a woman in any way, he would. Obviously, he made exceptions for women who stubbornly rejected his help or were clearly his enemy. Still, he knew this could lead to his death in the near future but old habits die hard.

The girl looked up and her eyes widened at seeing him. She moaned under her gag and Naruto's fist tightened. Naruto then stopped on his branch just as the man stopped in his tracks. His eyes narrowed, suspicious of the man's motives. He heard something creeping up behind him; moving at the last moment, he narrowly avoided getting a kunai embedded into his back. The kunai scratched his left flank as he jumped down from the branch and landed in between his newest attacker and the man holding the girl. He stood side to side, quickly alternating from watching his attacker and the man holding the girl.

"Who the hell are you?" The man asked and Naruto's eyes landed on his attacker, who charged. With quickness given to him by training, Naruto ducked under his attacker's kunai and kicked his feet from under him. The attacker fell and that was when Naruto noticed that he looked exactly like the other man.

'It's probably a clone. But what kind of clone?' Naruto thought as he got on top of the clone without a beat and landed a solid punch on the clone's face. Naruto quickly got off the clone when he saw it burst into water and try to engulf him. He turned his back to the puddle and faced the man. He pulled down his mask with his free mask and smiled sinisterly.

"You're quicker than this girl was." He said and Hinata moaned loudly, clearly offended by the comment. Naruto just shrugged.

"So, what are you doing with this girl?" Naruto asked, his chivalrous attitude getting the best of him. "Certainly doesn't look like you're escorting her home." The man smirked arrogantly.

"What makes you say that?" he asked and Naruto couldn't help but smile himself.

"It might have been the fact that she's tied up and being carried by you at night," Naruto mused with his right hand caressing his chin. "But mostly, its because you don't look like the escorting type."

"Not true, I'm escorting this girl somewhere right now." the man mocked with a fake hurtful expression on his face. "You don't even know me." Naruto raised an eyebrow but his smile remained; he was clearly amused.

"Now why don't you beat it brat? I'm busy at the moment." the man said before turning and walking away. Naruto took one look at Hinata and their eyes connected. He could see the rage in her eyes, along with disappointment and wonder.

"Sorry." Naruto said as he took a step forward. His voice made the man stop and face him. "But I can't let you go without a fight. This seems too suspicious." Naruto declared and the man's smirk returned ten fold.

"You're willing to die for someone you've never met before?" he asked. Naruto took in a breath and sighed.

"This is something I just can't walk away from. Not if I want to live with myself afterward." Naruto answered and the man slowly put Hinata to the side.

"If that's how it's going to be." the man said as he took out a kunai. Hinata was just staring at Naruto with wide eyes; she couldn't believe who she was looking at. It couldn't be, it wasn't logical. Could it be that the Yondaime Hokage's son had survived after all, just like he said? He hadn't told everyone, but, because her father was close friends with Minato, he was told almost everything.

Of course, the boy had shorter hair then the Hokage and whisker marks on his face but he did look like a carbon copy of him. But his name... At the moment, Hinata couldn't remember Minato's son's name. It was on the tip of her tongue.

Before she could come up with his name, her attention was torn from her thoughts as she watched the man make hand signs while accumulating a huge amount of chakra.

"Round One." Naruto said as he watched chakra surround the man.

"Water Style: Storm Upheaval!" The man shouted as water began to shoot down from the sky and head for Naruto. Making a quick hand sign and taking in a huge breath, Naruto let the wind in his lungs go and he was sent flying backwards, away from the falling water. He skidded to a stop and watched as the water drenched the soil under them. Running, both enemies met in the middle in a clash of kunai before the older was able to push the younger back.

Naruto flipped back continuously as the man followed after him. Naruto stopped short of a flip and rushed forward, catching the man by surprise. Naruto landed a strong punch into the man's gut and sent him rolling back. Another hand sign later, Naruto was surrounded by smoke and the man was already on his feet.

Without warning, seven Narutos popped out of the smoke and ran towards the man. The man's eyes widened but he regained his composure and defended against the clones with some trouble. He kicked one clone in the stomach, making it disperse before jumping away and making the tiger hand sign.

Six water clones ran at the remaining six shadow clones while a seventh water clone headed for the original Naruto, who stayed back. The Naruto in the back narrowed his eyes and appeared in front of the clone and sent a kick to its head. The water clone blocked it with his left arm and sent a straight jab at Naruto's chest. Naruto groaned before it blew up into a puff of smoke. The clone's eyes widened.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" More clones appeared from the trees and ambushed the lone water clone. The clone had no chance, it was outnumbered ten to one. The clones easily disrupted the one water clone and went to join their brethren to defeat the other water clones while others went to deal with the original. While they did, the original Naruto climbed down a tree and sneaked over to Hinata. She saw him take out a kunai while eying her. She blushed, thinking he was staring at her body like a pervert.

She was surprised when he ran the kunai through the rope and freed her arms and legs. He stared into her eyes, his eyes mere inches from hers, causing her blush to deepen.

"Get out of here." Naruto said but before Hinata could ask any questions, he got up and went after the kidnapper who had dispersed the last clone. Making hand signs, Naruto sucked in his breath and let out a large ball of fire. It headed for the man but he blocked it with a wall of water he summoned before hand. Steam surrounded the battle but that didn't stop Naruto from charging through the steam and using his Fox Eyes to locate the man as he tried to make water clones to surprise Naruto.

"Wind Style: Divine Wind!" A gust of wind originated from Naruto's mouth, blowing away the steam, and then formed into tornadoes that tore up the ground as they headed for Naruto's attacker.

The man's eyes widened and he began to yell as the tornadoes tore at his sides. Naruto wasn't surprised when the man turned into water but he wasn't expecting him to appear behind him and kick him behind his back. Naruto was sent flying into the reflecting pool. Naruto popped his head out of the water, taking in a breath and shaking the excess water from his hair.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" Naruto cursed as he was trapped in a dome of compressed water. The man laughed as he held the water prison with his left hand. "How ironic; this is how I captured the girl you were trying to save. Now you're going to die and she's still coming with me." He said with a devious smirk on his face.

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!" A feminine voice roared from behind the man. He growled as he released Naruto from the prison to avoid getting hit by Hinata. Hinata glared at the man as she stood beside Naruto. Naruto looked up at her with a questioning look before seeing something reflecting from her neck.

'Is that a forehead protector?' He thought as Hinata moved to where the man stood on top of the reflecting pool and began assaulting him with chakra powered fingertips and palms.

The man was fast and knew some water jutsu. Hinata guessed he was a Jonin. She didn't stand a chance against the man but with the boy who saved her, maybe they could defeat him together; even if he was from Iwa.

Naruto ran on all fours up to the man and swiped his claws at him. The man saw it coming and accordingly dodged with a jump to the left. He smirked at Naruto's failed attempt until he felt his left side get three long cuts coming from his chest down to his waist. He growled and jumped away from the two genin.

"You brat." he snarled at Naruto who smirked in an animalistic manner. "How did you do that?" he barked.

"Wind chakra." Was Naruto's response before he charged again. Hinata was right behind him, backing him up.

"Don't get cocky!" The man jumped and slammed his hands on the surface of the water. "Water Style: Mouth of a Serpent." As the man uttered the jutsu's name, a giant column of water appeared behind him. It changed into a large water serpent and engulfed Naruto in a single gulp. Hinata watched in surprise as the serpent changed into a river that carried Naruto away into the forest.

"Pay attention." Hinata blinked as a tidal wave swallowed her up and pushed her into a tree. The force of the hit caused her to lose her breath and had her on all fours, trying to catch her second wind. Her vision blurred for a second and her brain was pounding against her skull. She moaned in pain when a hand shot out, grabbed Hinata by her neck and raised her to his eye level. The man ripped Hinata's forehead protector from her neck and tossed it aside.

"You bitch." the man hissed as he tightened his hold. Hinata squinted her eyes in pain as she held on to the man's wrist. "I told you I'd kill you and take your eyes." The man laughed insanely as he propped his free hand's index and middle finger over Hinata's eyes. She squirmed under his hold as she tried to free herself.

'It can't end here... It's still not my time!' Hinata's mind shouted in rebellion. She would not blindly follow fate and destiny's words. She would fight till the very end.

Suddenly, a hand made of red chakra grabbed the man by his waist, shooting forward into the water, making the man's back crash against the bottom of the pool. The hand retracted back to Naruto who panted. He smirked as he walked back to Hinata's side who was kneeling and rubbing her neck.

"You all right?" He asked, his eyes not leaving the reflecting pool. Hinata nodded and stood. Naruto was about to say something but his eyes landed on something near the pool and he gaped. Hinata soon noticed his expression and raised an eyebrow.

"W-What is it?" Hinata asked, a bit thrown off by her own stutter. She hadn't stuttered since she was eight. In a blink of an eye, Naruto appeared near the edge of the reflecting pool and knelt.

"Why?" Tears appeared in his eyes as he held his fallen ramen cups. "They were innocent bystanders." Hinata sweat dropped. She walked up to Naruto slowly. While she did, Hinata was unaware of the moisture in the air slowly coming together over her. Water needles appeared over the two as the kidnapper smiled sinisterly from under the water. Naruto, however, could sense the extra moisture in the air, he turned and saw the needles in the air.

He quickly replaced himself with Hinata as the needles moved to pierce her.

"Gah." Naruto's eyes widened as he felt the water needles pierce him from every side. Blood flowed through his mouth but he spat it out and gasped, his breathing starting to become more labored.

"A-Are you ok?" Hinata asked as she knelt beside Naruto who was staring at the ground with blank cerulean eyes. The water needles dispersed and flowed out of his wounds only to be replaced by his blood. Naruto's eyes closed and he fell on his face. "Hey!"

"That brat is dead." Hinata gasped as she looked up and saw the man standing passively over the pool. "You should've ran away when you had the chance." A smirk appeared on his lips as he slowly made his way towards them. Hinata stood in front of Naruto and fell into her Gentle Fist stance.

"Stop right there!" Hinata shouted, glaring at the man with her Byakugan active. The man ignored her as he continued to get closer to her and Naruto. Her muscles tensed; she couldn't do much to harm this man. His power and skills were above hers, she would most likely die before she could successfully land a hit on him. He was in her face a second later and kicked her back. She rolled back and flipped to her feet only to see her kidnapper grab Naruto and toss him into the pool.

The last thing Naruto saw before he lost consciousness was the moon's image rippling from under the water.

[*.*.*.*]

Kushina sat up, gasping for air and holding her neck with her right hand. A sudden rush of oxygen filled her lungs and she found herself panting heavily, forcing her lungs to accept the air and expelling her breath.

'That dream felt too real.' Kushina thought. She wiped the sweat from her brow and took the time to catch her second wind. When she did, she lazily threw the blanket back, revealing creamy legs which she swung over the edge of the bed and got up. She only wore black satin panties and a black tank top.

She gracefully floated to the bathroom and straight for the sink. She turned it on and splashed cold water on her face. She sighed and propped herself up with her arms.

She needed to see Minato. She needed to talk to him now. And she knew exactly where he'd be at this time.

*.*

Kushina found Minato exactly where she thought he'd be, in the same position as she pictured. His head was drooped forward, his shoulders hunched and his arms still as they remained on his side as he stood in front of a large stone. In his right hand a photograph but it was too dark to see what picture was on it. It didn't matter though, Kushina knew whose picture it was.

She slowly made her way towards him, her posture and demeanor solemn. When she stood only a few feet from him, his body shivered and he leisurely turned to face her. He stopped when his sad azure eyes rested on his wife and he couldn't help but smile. Kushina had to smile as well, mostly because she noticed a bit of life shine in Minato's otherwise dull eyes when he saw her.

She hugged him from behind and rested her head on his shoulder blades, nuzzling them affectionately while she hummed comfortingly and groggily.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?" Kushina could feel his body slightly vibrate because of his voice and she moaned tiredly.

"I should." She answered, half her mouth muffled by his back. He chuckled with slight mirth.

"Another dream?" he asked and felt her nod. "What happened?" he waited patiently as he let his wife collect her thoughts and verbalize them.

"He was drowning, sinking deeper into the water but... the water was red, like blood, but I could tell it wasn't. His eyes were glassy and lifeless and his body was covered with cuts and bruises. Then..." she paused, chewing her lower lip and causing Minato to turn and hug her with all his might without squeezing the air from her lungs.

"It's okay, take your time." His words comforted her more than she thought they would as she sighed and shivered under his hold.

"Out of nowhere, the Kyūbi comes from the abyss and swallows Naruto whole." Tears stained Minato's shirt but he didn't notice and even if he did, he wouldn't care. "He looked so young." she added with her voice quivering. Minato silenced her with a tighter embrace and a soft hum.

"It was just a dream." Minato assured her, rubbing her back softly. Kushina blinked and looked up at Minato, some fight sparking in her violet eyes.

"That's just it Minato, I don't think it's just a dream." Her voice sounded stronger as she spoke and Minato could only wonder why. They both had a small feeling that Naruto was still alive but for whatever reason, they never went in-depth. Seemed like the time had come.

"What do you mean?" he asked her innocently and she looked to her right, some embarrassment in her eyes accompanied by a pink tint to her cheeks.

"...you're going to think I'm crazy." Minato raised an eyebrow, noticing her reluctance to speak her mind. He shook his head.

"There are millions of reasons why I should think you're crazy," he chuckled at seeing the glare she gave him. "But I don't. Now tell me." she sighed.

"Maybe he is alive." Minato could hear the conviction backing up her words and he smiled. "Actually, I'm willing to bet anything that he is." Kushina was a very strong woman, Minato knew this. She was proud to be one and had no problem catching up with any male that challenged her success. Overall, she was a fortress; strong, powerful, defensive and hard to overcome. However, there were times when she seemed like a damsel in distress. Minato could count the number of times she's played that role with one hand. For her to show vulnerability was as common as a lunar eclipse.

Now was one of those uncommon times: as he stared into her eyes, he saw desperation and vulnerability dancing in them.

"Me too." His response seemed to be what Kushina wanted to hear because her eyes lit up. "But for now, we have to be patient. One day, Kushina-chan, we'll see him again." His azure eyes looked up at the moon and he smiled. "And when that day comes, we'll be a family again." Kushina just stared at him with love and a bit of disbelief.

"How can you be so sure?" Her voice brought Minato's eyes back to her. His eyes crinkled as his smile widened.

"He has Uzumaki and Namikaze blood; he's alive out there. That much I can be sure of." Tears accumulated in Kushina's eyes just as she smiled happily and hugged him with all she had. He returned the gesture and stared back at the large stone he was staring at before. Just under the name 'Hiruzen Sarutobi' was a name dear to his heart.

The words 'Naruto Namikaze' disappearing from the stone reflecting the moon's light.

[*.*.*.*]

Naruto opened his eyes, his vision blurry and vague. It didn't matter though, even if his vision was perfect, all he would see is water. Not just any water either; the water had a dark red shade to it. His mind was scattered, his thoughts rushing left and right, each hazy and alien.

After taking the time to compose himself, Naruto noticed that he wasn't sinking but was actually rising to the surface of the red water. He blinked and noticed another strange fact; he was breathing even while he was underwater. He just waited until his head and the rest of his body surfaced and he saw that three walls surrounded him from all sides except for his right. The room was spacious and even the ceiling disappeared in the shadows. There was a red light coming from somewhere but Naruto couldn't see from where exactly. To his right were metal bars, continuously stretching down into the water and up to the ceiling. On the center bar was a note that read 'seal'.

"Why am I not surprised," droned Naruto as his eyes stared into the darkness. His body slowly floated to the bars and he continued to stare into the dark. He didn't flinch when red eyes suddenly popped out of nowhere, nor did he blink when three nails ten times his size tried to pass the bars and rip him to shreds. "Still hostile? I'm guessing you still don't like me?" A growl echoed through the room and Naruto took that as a 'yes'.

"You brat!" An angry, rough voice shouted from inside the steel bars. "Set me free! I am done being your battery!" Naruto shook his head.

"No can do, I still need you." Naruto denied as he sat up and rolled his shoulders to get rid of the crick in his neck. "Speaking of which, I need some of it now." Naruto got to his feet and walked over to the cage and touched it with his right hand. The steel felt cold under his palm but Naruto paid no mind to it as he saw the Kyūbi's red chakra start to go up his arm and surround him. He could feel adrenaline pump in his veins and his heart begin to race as his eyes changed from cerulean to crimson in the blink of an eye.

His eyes widened as he was hit with a sudden fit of coughs, causing him to double over. He clutched for his heart as he tried to catch his breath.

"Fool." the chakra fox sneered as he watched Naruto compose himself. "Serves you right; you know you're at your limit." Then, the Kyūbi made a vague gesture with his shoulders, almost like a shrug. "It's not like I care, though. I enjoy seeing you suffer." Naruto sneered at the Kyūbi and reared his right fist back and punched the bars. The bars vibrated and it sent a high-pitched tone through the room. The Kyūbi winced and growled.

"Shut the hell up." Naruto growled as he pushed himself off the bars and walked towards the opposite side of the room. A door suddenly appeared and Naruto stepped over the threshold. Before he left the Kyūbi's sight, he turned and gave the beast one last passive look. He shook his head and left, the door disappearing, with the Kyūbi glaring at another wall. He growled as he thrashed against his jail with fury for his host.

Releasing the anger in him, the Kyūbi stopped and let the remaining aggression in him go by growling once in a while. Suddenly, his face changed to a devious smile and he started to chuckle as he closed his eyes and retreated into the darker side of his cage.

"When you return, my host, there will be a surprise waiting for you." His voice echoed and his chuckle quickly turned into a full blown maniacal laughter.

Naruto's eyes popped open and his eyes were not looking up at the moon. They narrowed as he summoned up the Kyūbi's chakra, encircling him with the chakra. A violent cough escaped his lips but he ignored it as he readied his body for the upcoming fight.

'Round Two...'

*.*

"Come out, little Hyūga." Hinata panted as quietly as she could as she hid from her attacker. She tried to fight back, giving her all and yet the man was able to survive all of it. She still had one jutsu she hadn't tried but it was still unsafe. She wasn't completely sure of her own abilities as she led on, more so when the jutsu was of her own creation.

Hinata gasped when she heard water rushing, slowly becoming louder. She jumped and a wave of water tore at the tree she hid behind and she watched as it was washed away.

"Gotcha!" Hinata gasped when her attacker grabbed her right arm and twisted it behind her back. "Thought you could get away?" the man asked while twisting her arm and raising it to painful levels. Hinata whimpered but not a gasp or cry of pain escaped her lips. She bit down on them, preventing her attacker from enjoying her pain. He snarled at her silence and with a sharp pull, he dislocated Hinata's arm from her shoulder, eliciting a loud yell from the Hyūga heiress. He released her arm and kicked her back, sending her to the ground.

She clutched at her arm as tears flooded out of her eyes. She lay flat on her stomach, letting out occasional cries and howls of pain. The man walked up to Hinata, and with a sick smile, he stepped on her right shoulder; a sickening popping sound rang through the forest.

"What's the matter?" the man said in mock worry. He grabbed her right shoulder and harshly turned her to her back, causing her to scream again. "Does it hurt that much?" Even in pain, Hinata wanted nothing more than to silence the man for good. She turned her head, not wanting to look at him as she held her arm. She failed to notice him take out a kunai and place it right over her heart until the tip of the kunai touched her skin. She didn't move after that.

"Here, let me put you out of your misery." Hinata closed her eyes as the man reared the kunai back. He stopped short of thrusting the kunai into Hinata's heart when a sudden foreboding feeling caused him to shiver. He looked back at the reflecting pool to see bubbles.

'He's not dead yet?' the man cursed as he returned to focus on Hinata and ending her life. Before he could even move his hand, evil tainted chakra filled the area and caused the man to gasp. 'What the hell is this?'

Hinata's eyes sprang open and she felt fear crawl into her heart. 'This chakra... it isn't human...'

Suddenly, from under the attacker, a red chakra hand burst through the ground and grabbed the man. It shot up in the air before coming down and slamming him into the ground. Dust was kicked up and surrounded the man as the chakra hand retracted to the hole it came from.

"What the hell..." the attacker drifted off as he held his head, hoping to stop his vision from shaking. He looked back at the reflecting pool and saw Naruto, in his demon cloak, standing over the water. His eyes were cold and hard as they stared at the man.

"W-Who... who the he-" The man was cut off when Naruto started to chuckle.

"Just who the hell do you think I am?" Naruto asked. "I'm Naruto, Naruto of the Blazing Gale and I won't fall to you!" Naruto raced down the gap between him and his attacker in a blink of an eye. The man wasn't able to respond fast enough as Naruto grabbed his neck and forced him deeper into the ground. The man grunted as he gripped Naruto's wrists. The man smiled and collapsed into a puddle of water.

"Why do you continue fighting? She's a lost cause." Naruto turned and received a sharp punch to the face, sending him flying back. He righted himself and glared at the man who stood in his previous spot. "This is your last chance; leave now and I'll spare your life." Naruto could see that the man was dead serious; he was willing to let Naruto walk out of this fight alive. He growled.

"Don't underestimate me!" Naruto shouted as he ran at the man again, with renewed energy and conviction. "Fire Style: Running Fire!" He shouted as he spat out a stream of fire that surrounded the man. Making more hand signs, he sucked in a deep breath. "Wind Style: Divine Wind!" Multiple tornadoes rushed out of Naruto's mouth and headed for his attacker. The tornadoes sucked up the fire and became tornadoes of flame as they assaulted the man from all directions.

The man's eyes widened as he made fast hand signs and summoned up a wall of water to protect himself. Unfortunately for him, the first wave of flaming tornadoes collided with the water wall and blasted it away. The man landed on his butt and looked up in time to see the second wave of tornadoes clash and explode on impact. Water and dust was kicked into the air, blocking the man from Naruto's view.

Naruto waited patiently for the dust to clear and when it did, he didn't see his attacker anywhere. He looked around and the only other person he saw was Hinata who was cradling her right arm while staring at him. He flipped away just as a rain of kunai came rushing towards him. He glared in the direction they came from but he still saw no one.

While he searched for the kidnapper, Hinata couldn't help but stare at Naruto.

'That's the Yondaime's son's name! Naruto Namikaze.' Hinata thought with her heart pounding against her chest. 'This can't be a coincidence.'

"Come out you coward! DATTEBAYO!" Naruto shouted with anger and adrenaline. Hinata sweat dropped.

'That sounds like something Kaa-san would say.'

"Naruto?" Naruto turned and was surprised to see his sensei staring at him with confusion. "What happened, hm?" Deidara asked and Naruto looked around. He took the time to sniff the air and found that the man's scent wasn't anywhere near him. He growled and was about to find the bastard but he collapse to his knees in a fit of violent coughs. The Kyūbi's demon cloak receded and Naruto felt all his energy leave him. His eyes became glassy and his vision blurred as he fell on his face and lost consciousness.

Deidara rushed to him and checked Naruto over. He wasn't going to die but he needed to see a doctor. He heard a small voice groan and he looked up to see Hinata trying to sit up.

"You okay?" he asked and Hinata struggled just to nod. "Come on, I'll take you to the hospital along with my student, hm." Deidara summoned a clone and the clone picked up Hinata while the original tossed Naruto to his shoulders. The clone could feel Hinata tense and he let out a small chuckle.

"It's okay, you'll be healed in no time, hm." Hinata just stared at him before turning her eyes to the unconscious blond.

"I-If you don't mind me asking..." The clone tilted his head and hummed. "Who is that boy?" Hinata asked and the clone smiled in a brotherly fashion at Naruto.

"He's Naruto, hm." the clone said and paused to think. "Although, he is trying to add 'of the Blazing Gale' to the end of his name. Not bad but it'll be a while before it catches on." the clone shook his head and began to follow the original as they headed for the hospital.

As they did, Hinata couldn't help but think of the boy who saved her.

'Naruto of the Blazing Gale?' She smiled softly as drowsiness began to take her. 'Not bad...'

Hope you liked!

Don't really got much to say...

Except I'm getting God of War 3 tomrrow!

Can't wait to tear it up...

till next time!

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...