JULY 19 2009. MAJOR REVISION

((Made FATTY changes in alot of the dialogue. If you haven't noticed, i went back and took out a lot of the Japanese terms. I'll keep simple ones most people know like 'Hai' and 'Kuso' and 'Gomen' but others stuff i took out, except for certain line, but that's there for a purpose. Other wise i'm not one to insult a nation with horrible misuse.))

Disclaimer: i claim to disclaim that claiming naruto is not for me to claim so i disclaim that fact... i dont own naruto.

Within three years of training he was able to regain some of his techniques. Kawarimi came to him rather easily compared to the first time. Normal bunshins were still trouble, but then again he never really needed them before. However, he did relearn his utmost favorite technique, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. With that back in his arsenal, training went much smoother.

Another great advantage he had now was his no-longer-evil tenant. His guidance proved helpful… well more than helpful. It was because of him that Naruto was able to pick up the Kyuubi's nature affinity, fire, though it took some training to make it happen. The process made the young blond wonder if he could artificially attain any affinity through training and sheer will. But that thought was cast aside when he fell into a harsh realization.

Sadly or rather infuriatingly, he discovered that the fox wielded fire differently than humans. Kyuubi's influence over his element mimicked Gaara's instead of harnessing it through hand-seal-guided jutsus. So as his new elemental affinity was realized, he found there were not any jutsus for him to learn… oh the irony. Then again, there's nothing wrong in having a second affinity down. It's actually a good thing. Using Kage Bunshins to train in two affinities within a couple years is actually quite an accomplishment… if only he knew a way to use it in battle.

In school he did… decent in his studies. In truth, he didn't really care for book learning. Does it matter if you know how to calculate the trajectory of a Kunai thrown at a thirty-degree angle with? Or to know both how to locate and define a subjunctive clause? And when has it ever been useful to know what the hell the Nidaime liked to eat for breakfast. So all in all, you could say he strongly disliked math, language arts, and history. But he made sure he wasn't dead last… I mean getting C's and sometimes C+'s in those subjects weren't horrible. But some of his awkward comments about certain studies kept him from ridding his most hated nickname… dobe.

Then they had started on Taijutsu, which Naruto was now excellent at. He didn't really need to go all out to beat his other classmates. His demon guided training did wonders so the lack of attention from most of his instructors were no spilled milk. His way, though a bit wild and unruly, was fine. He didn't understand the concept of finesse when the option of pummeling was given.

Hinata loved to watch her crush spar, trusting in his victory every time. Oh how the Uchiha prodigy would get extremely pissed when losing to him. Why couldn't he defeat the dobe? He was smarter per say, and he came from a noble background of powerful warriors. This classroom simpleton was an orphan with no strong lineage.

After losing to the blonde for the umpteenth time, the dark-haired boy was finally agitated enough to ask, "Dammit! Why do I keep losing to you? What makes you so much stronger than me?"

He just kept his glare on the blonde hoping he could squeeze out some information.

"Ne, I'm not to sure. I work really hard, train for hours, eat a balance diet of ramen…" He trailed off with a smirk and glanced at a certain lavender-eyed girl he knew was watching. The girl blushed and slightly turned her head but kept eye contact. Then a sound was heard from Sasuke's direction.

"So, I train too. Probably harder than you! What are you hiding?" his eyes gleamed with suspicion. In his logic, there had to be something that was helping him grow strong and whatever it was he needed it. It was essential that he becomes stronger.

"I'm not hiding anything teme! If anything you're the one who's being the most suspicious," he accused back. After calming down a bit he continued, "If you want to know the truth Sasuke, a long time ago a friend told me that if you have someone precious to protect, then you'll get real strength," the young blond spoke solemnly, reminiscing on his past.

The dark-haired kid eyed him for a second. 'Someone precious to protect?' he thought carefully. There wasn't anyone precious to him. Only his ambitions were important to him. He let himself wander away from the active children as he thought more on the subject.

After school most of the guys wanted to hang out. More kids respected Naruto now being that he was at the top of the class rivaling only Sasuke Uchiha. But this also meant there were more of those with jealousy in their eyes. That day Shikamaru and Choji invited him to hang out after school, but told them he had to take care of a few things. Like everyday he waited for Hinata at the gates to walk her home.

"Yo, Hinata-chan" he spoke up in the crowd of people

"H-hello Naruto-kun" Naruto grinned but sighed a bit seeing her stutter.

'It's been three years now and we've gotten close but she still seems to stutter' He walked up to the young Hyuuga smiling with a hand on the back of his head.

"Naruto-kun I saw you sparring with the r-rest of the boys in class. You were r-really good" She began to blush as he noticed he was starring straight at her while she complimented him.

"Really Hinata-chan? You really think I'm that good?" He looked at her face and gave another goofy grin

"H-Hai. I could only w-wish to be as good as you" She glanced at the blond checking if he was looking at her.

"I know! How about we could train together? If it's alright with you" He knew she would agree but felt a little nervous asking.

"Ha-Hai! I'd r-really l-loved that Naruto-kun" She was overjoyed that she hadn't noticed that she took one of his hands with both her hands and held it close to her.

He began to blush when he noticed his hand pressed firmly against her bosom. "G-great! I'll meet you at the training ground at five"

'Is he blushing? He's so adorable when he blushes, though I wonder why…' her hand quickly retracted the moment she took in the fact that his hand snuggled against her chest. Her face exploded in red as she tried to hide her face.

"Go-gomen, I-I'll see you a-at five N-Naruto-kun" she began to back away slowly looking down.

"Ha-ha yeah ok Hinata-Chan. I'll see you then, ja ne" he waved at her as he ran to his house for a quick bite before going off to the training ground.

The boy was soon at his house, changed and ready to go with water boiling in the kitchen. He set down his finished bowl of ramen just as the clock turned a quarter to five and with that, he was off towards the training grounds. His path was one of tall heights and rooftops since he learned how to make greater leaps.

He saw Hinata sitting on one of the wooden poles and grew excited to spend time with his future love. Naruto ran over to her waving his hands in the air.

"Konbanwa Hinata-chan. So are you ready?" He sat his bag down next to the wooden pole

"H-Hai," she nodded, "Ano Naruto-kun… what should we start with?" She hoped of the pole but kept her head hung low.

"Oh… hmm… let's spar first. That way I could personally see how good you are." drawing out his words mischievously. He readied his stance and watch Hinata get into hers.

"Hai" she spoke with a blush.

"Ok, don't hold back ok," Of course he was going to go back. It's not hypocritical if you have a good reason right? Even if it was, it was to help a friend and that was all he needed to know.

She was a bit worried and hesitant and she really didn't want to questions yet, "But N-Naruto-kun… I r-really don't want to risk hurting your," It was really sweet of her to be so concerned for his safety when her own should be the one for worry. Then again it could be that she was confident he wouldn't dare hurt her? That was most likely yes.

"It'll be ok. Just don't hit me hard ok?" he joked. At least this way he'd gauge her movements without actually hurting her.

"Hai" she answered back now less worried.

"Ok… here I come" Naruto charged at her then jumped and tried to hit her from above. Hinata was startled at the speed and was barely able to dodge it. Naruto recovered and quickly swept at her feet. Again she dodged it and jumped over Naruto striking him in the chest. Just as her palm made contact to his chest he grabbed her wrist and used his momentum to toss her above him. He then used his sweeping feet to curl upwards and launch the lavender-eyed girl even higher.

He thought he'd got her but the girl recovered in the air. She glanced down below and just barely noticed that Naruto was no longer in the ground but right in front of her ready to land a kick. At the last moment the girl twisted her body around the flying limb and grabbed his foot. With one leg, Hinata nailed Naruto in the face. The boy's leg had escaped her grasp when she brought her other foot to a round house kick. The blond easily avoided with a replacement jutsu, appearing a few feet above his prey. Then just as quickly a foot came flying towards her, she barely managed to block the attack but was sent hurling down to the ground. She closed her eyes ready to feel the pain of falling from such a height when nothing came. She opened her eyes to see a set of sparkling cerulean orbs staring at her. The blonde had caught her before she hit the ground.

"Wow Hinata-chan! That was good! I don't think even Sasuke would have block both those kicks but you did and you countered one too. I don't get why you're not ranked higher in class."

Hinata could only blush due to the fact that the boy who she had a crush on for three years had praised her for her skill or because he was holding her bridal style.

Just as she began to talk a shuriken came whizzing by. Naruto noticed this and swayed his head to avoid getting hit. He turned around to see a dark figure on a tree branch.

"Uzumaki Naruto? How fortunate that I found you so soon" the shadow said. Naruto looked at Hinata and could see the fright in her eyes.

Something inside the boy's head began to stir as a voice came out, "Watch it Gaki. I can smell him. It's an Oniouja!" the demon-overseer warned.

This was definitely bad timing. 'How the hell am I supposed to fight one of them? I'm still stuck in this puny body!' Naruto almost shouted. He was so scared, not for his sake, but for the girl in his arms. He didn't want her to get involved, but that seemed to be too late. His distraction clouded his mind; thankfully the Kyuubi was there to settle him down.

Some where in his mind, the Chakra monster rolled his eyes, "Do you not see me as useful? I am your tool to defeat these foes? His presence is strong, but not nearly as strong as the others. Remember what Kami-sama said, they may not be that powerful from the start, and this one is only number three. One of the weaker ones" the jailor explained.

'Okay, so maybe I err… I mean we can take him on. What about Hinata? I need to get her out of here first!' his eyes quickly fixated on the girl he was holding. Gently he let her down and motioned her to go, "Hinata run! I'll hold him off here" he said trying to relieve a hindrance, a very cute and only temporary hindrance.

To his surprise, or partial surprise, she didn't even budge, "No! I can't leave you here. I won't let you get hurt" all of the sudden Naruto had a vision of the mission to get Sasuke. He remembered the old Hinata tell him something along the same lines. Without thinking he grabbed Hinata by her arm and ran towards the village. The shady figure was in hot pursuit and gaining. He had no choice but to fight him using his enhanced techniques.

He then pointed her towards a few rocks, "Onegai Hinata. Stay here and close your eyes… I really don't want you to see this," the young boy said, and it was true. How could he possible begin to explain himself to her? She'll think he's crazy and never talk to him again.

She watched him with pleading eyes. For some reason, he really didn't want her to see this, 'He's not thinking of fighting him is he?' and he was. The girl gave him a quick hug and whispered in his ear, "Please be safe" which brought a small smile to his face. After a quick nod, she ran towards the bundle of rocks and lowered her head to avoid seeing whatever it was she wasn't supposed to see.

He knew he could not hold back because he had to protect Hinata. The Kyuubi-fied blonde ran towards the shady opponent. The new light showed he wore a simple black ninja jumpsuit, similar to the training garments Lee and Gai wore, with the addition of a black face mask.

Wanting to test out the enemy's power he slowly gathered a bit of red chakra and began creating ten shadow clones. The ten other bunshin quickly surrounded the demon-possessed person. The first three came and quickly charged, all were enhanced with Kyuubi's chakra. Since it was no longer tainted and the Kyuubi was his partner in a way, accessing it was easy, and his feral appearance was limited to only extended fangs, claws, and more defined whiskers. His eyes, on the other hand remained a calm, sterling blue, and there were no black lining in his eyes nor his mouth.

Despite their appearance, they were in deed too fast for the nin to be noticed and was quickly thrashed and sent hurdling to the ground. He was shocked at being hit but shook it off as he swung his katana destroying the three clones. Two more clones waited under him and the enemy turned around ready to strike at them. The clones readied their kunais and hid explosion tags behind each one. As the enemy struck at their kunai he saw a flap of paper and knew it was a explosion tag. He tried to avoid it but was caught in the blast. All of the sudden four clones came from all direction towards the hurt Nin. With each successive hit they yelled, "U-Zu-Ma-Ki" then the fifth clone came from the sky and nailed the cloud nin. "NARUTO RENDAN".

The possessed nin was found lying on the floor when all of the sudden his clothes began to rip apart and he slowly transformed into a devilish looking creature. He had the same body, but his look was similar to a dead soul with vicious fangs, sharp claws, blood-red eyes, and pale skin. What ever was going on, it didn't look good.

The blonde quickly looked at Hinata and noticed that she was in his line of attack. Suddenly the real Naruto jumped from the treetops and landed in front of Hinata. The heiress looked in awe at her crush and noticed a swirling blue sphere in his right hand. He charged the nin and screamed "RASENGAN!" the blue orb struck the blade the enemy carried and shattered it, it then continued to hit him in the chest burying itself through the skin until he was sent spiraling towards a tree and had gone straight through it smashing two more trees on the way.

"Now kit! Only my chakra could destroy him. Summon me and send it through his heart" yelled his tenant. Naruto had no clue what he was talking about, assuming he had killed him, but obviously that wasn't the case.

The boy ran towards his opponent and was shocked to see that he was slowly getting up. Without even noticing, more red chakra emitted from his body as a red hand began to seep out of his belly. He ran full speed towards the foe while Kyuubi threw a chakra hand through the possessed man's chest.

To his horror, a blood-curdling scream came out. It sounded so unnatural, so demonic, like the screams thousands of hell inflicted souls. It was unknown to him that the scream was heard by the Hyuuga heiress. Fearful of the boy's life, she decided to see what was wrong.

To her horror and even greater concern, she saw a demonic claw stab through a vampire looking person, who she could tell was in fact the black masked nin.

Soon the screaming stopped and Kyuubi's Chakra began to reabsorb back into his body. "It is done. I am proud to say you did fairly against this foe, though I must warn you the rest will not be as easy. This was only a tenth of their true power," His complement some how wounded up causing more worry.

"Nani!? I know Kami said they'd be weaker at first but only a tenth!? You got to be kidding me!" he shouted, still unaware of the shocked little girl not to far away.

It was then that the Kyuubi calmed himself enough to finally notice the presence of the girl. "This doesn't look good for you Gaki. Seem like your friend got a little curious" and with that said, he slowly fell back into the recesses of his mind, not wanting to see this drama unfold.

He leaned against the rock breathing slightly heavily and noticed that the lavender-eyed princess was watching the entire battle. He looked at her and knew she was going to expect something.

He could only look down somewhat shameful and scared to tell her the truth but knew he had to do it.

Slowly she approached and the lavender-eyed girl looked closely at the young blond and put her hand on his shoulders.

"Naruto-kun…are you ok? And… w-what was that jutsu y-you did?" She lost her grip in her shoulders and saw him look more down and started to turn to face the other way as if in utter shame. "Go-Gomen! I-I didn't mean to p-pry" he grabbed her hands and held on to it like a lifeline.

"No… Hinata don't be sorry. I-… I haven't been honest with you" the girl just looked at him with eyes of worry and confusion. "We need to talk, but before I tell you, promise me you won't think I'm crazy. Promise me that you won't run away scared" he slowly looked at her afraid that he might have scared her off but instead found a pair of beautiful lavender eyes, the same eyes that saved his life and showed him she cared. He continued to gaze at her until he noticed that she had nodded.

He then slowly sat her down and began to tell her everything starting with the most believable and simplest, the Kyuubi. He looked to make sure she wasn't afraid and found that her eyes were more filled with worry for him. He then motioned her eyes to his stomach as he lifted his shirt. This caused the Hyuga heiress to blush a bit but was astonished to see a seal in his stomach as he started to focus chakra there. They both nodded for him to continue and tell about the past life. This was the part that he dreaded constantly checking to make sure she didn't think he was crazy. He stood up and demonstrated his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. Several clones popped into view, then he began to gather demonic energy. As best he could, Naruto explained the reason he is hear and why that man attacked him, leaving out some of the more complicated details. Simply he said that he was from the future and was supposed to stop other demons. The blonde considered he'd fill her in with some of the more finer details later on… assuming there would be a later on.

He finally told her about a girl who saved his life, the only girl to have shown so much kindness and complete trust. He said that it was partially because of her that he worked hard to manage to get here. Somehow, thinking of her got him determined to find a way… and he did.

The blonde raised his head and look at the lavender-eyed girl expecting her to look scared. He raised a sad smile and stared at the girl, "Well I guess it was stupid for me to ask you to not think I'm crazy huh? You probably want to run away now. Go ahead, I'm not holding you back, it's safer if you do anyways." Naruto said, his voice sounding faint with every syllable. He stood up ready to leave when he felt two arms wrap around him. He started to hear sobs and wetness from tears soak the back of his shirt. He was shocked at her reaction.

"N-Naruto-kun, how c-could you ev-ever think I'd h-hate you? I could n-never hate you N-Naruto-kun nor w-would I ever th-think you were cr-crazy" He slowly turned around and returned her embrace. "N-Naruto-kun… how d-did you handle all this b-by yours-s-self" she continued to sob while her head rested on his chest. Her hands were rapped around his body holding on to his shoulders while his arms were gently placed around her waist with his fingers locked. He laid his head on top of hers smiling with relief. After seeing Hinata die the first time he longed to have a second chance with her. He finally had it. He took the time to remember everything, the smell of her hair, the feeling of her back, the fabric of her shirt, and the feel of her face on his chest. After a minute of silence she stopped her sobbing and took a few deeps breathes.

"You mean… you actually believe me?" he said, still not believing, but glad by the turn-out.

Just slightly, she giggled. Wasn't it obvious? "Of c-course I believe you! W-would I be here right now i-if I didn't?" she said sarcastically. Then she remembered what he'd been talking about just before, "N-Naruto-kun… A-about that girl, you s-said she is special to you… did y-you l-love her?" her heart was beating rapidly afraid that the one she now loved, loved someone else.

"Actually… I didn't really know her all that well. We really just got close before it happened. Demo… now that I think about it, if I were to meet her again, I'm sure I would" her heart stopped. Her hand lost grip off his shoulders and fell along with some of her will. Tears began to form but she would not let him see. "You see, she was strong, brave, and very beautiful" Now she was done, her tears ran down again and she failed at hiding her emotion. "Hinata? W-what's wrong?"

"W-why don't y-you go to h-her then. I-if s-she's so s-special to you, y-you'd go to her r-right?" slowly he backed her away and tried to gaze at her eyes. She just kept her head hung low and tried to avoid him seeing her cry. He took his hand and gently picked her chin up. He could see the fragile lavender color begin to fade into a miserable shade of gray.

"Hmph, silly little girl" the crying maiden quickly looked back at the sparkling sapphire eyes.

"You are that kunoichi. You're gonna be that same strong, confident, and beautiful girl that I admire so much... that I care about a lot." 'Hinata, I don't know when or how… but I feel like I'm falling for you' Naruto thought. Oh he wouldn't dare say that out loud… though it wouldn't be to bad of an idea. Wait no! he has to take things slow. I mean he has all this time now right?

Again for what seemed to be the millionth time she was completely shocked. The person she loved had might actually return her feelings. She couldn't handle it anymore she jumped up to him and embraced him in a tight hug.

She then looked back up to see his face to say what she's been wanting to say for so long. "Naruto-kun… I-I..." She couldn't form the words. 'I LOVE YOU I love you... why can't I just say it'. She began to feel his eyes question her and after one last deep breath she finally confessed. "I care about you too… maybe more than the other Hinata in your past…" Well it wasn't exactly what she wanted to say… but it was close enough.

A sigh came from the young boy's mouth following a contempt smile. They sat like that. Neither wanted to let go. It took the shining of the moon to bring the couple back to earth.

"Hinata… I…" he was stopped by a pair of soft pink lips that settled itself upon his cheek. That was out of complete impulse and not one bit of her regretted it. He blushed at the kiss just for a moment until he knew he had to let go. He moved back separating themselves, disappointing both of them.

"Naruto-kun… I-I'm just so happy. Please just stay with me just a little longer?" she asked as she rested her head on his shoulders.

"Sure 'Nata, what ever you say" he blushed but couldn't care less.

'Nata? Hmm I really like that' she thought.

"Thank you Naruto-kun" she smiled when she called him by his own personal nickname.

He wrapped his hands around her once more to savor and relive the moment that took place a second ago. The blond gently rubbed her back making the fair-skinned girl to break out into a bigger grin as she snuggled her head farther into his chest. "C'mon it's getting dark. I don't want your folks to get worried" He took her hand and helped her up.

They walked down the path back to the village, their hands intertwined. The couple found themselves at the corner of the Hyuuga estate. "Uh, 'Nata… I just wanted to say… you know, thanks… for everything"

The lavender-eyed girl began giggling at his offer, "Do itashi mashite Naruto-kun" She gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek. "O-one last kiss goodnight" She put on a foxy grin much like Naruto. He found this irresistible and kissed her one last time.

"I wanted my goodnight kiss too" he chuckled and let her go. "Demo, we should really keep this a secret for now huh?" the blonde understood his girlfriend's situation.

"Hai… its probably for the best" she sighed. Hinata gave him one last smile before heading in.

"G'night 'Nata" he began waving to his new girlfriend as she walked to her house.

"Good night… Naruto-kun" she whispered to herself while she took her hands and held it against her heart. "Be safe"

"Be safe" he spoke to himself unaware that Hinata also said this to him. They walked away to their homes thinking about each other.

After a brief moment of silence the Kyuubi began talking, "Hey Kit, aren't you forgetting something?"

The young blonde made a confused face as he looked up. "Eh? whatcha talking about fuzz butt?"

The fox grumbled while his head shook in disappointment "Will demeaning me through your name calling live through the next day? But more importantly, must I remind you to dispose of the body? His death does not mean the physical disappearance," The non-demonic demon lord said, making the blond feel… well like a blond.

The young boy smacked his forehead for almost forgetting to deal with it. "Crap! What am I supposed to do with it? I kinda slept through that part in the academy"

"Sending the body down the river is a better plan of action than leaving it in plain site," He said as he smirked at his own dull form of sarcasm.

"That's It fur ball! Can't believe I never thought of that!" He ran towards the woods again hoping the carcass was still there"

"I'm a bit worried that you are unable to comprehend tone. Perhaps sarcasm is wasted with a small brain like yours," He could tell the boy was no longer listening to him as he searched frantically for the enemy's body.

He got home rather late that day jumping roof-to-roof feeling exhausted. Thank Kami it was a Friday cause he would never be able to wake up for the academy.

JULY 19 2009. MAJOR REVISION

((( Also got rid of any mention of Kyuubi's name. After a while i really started to hate it, mostly because i kept forgetting what it was haha. If you haven't noticed i made Kyuubi much more... lord-like?? he's less sarcastic and much more formal)))