SURPRISE! Thought I'd release the chapter a day early just for you guys :D

(A/N: This story as a whole, when it started, is taking place in October, not only because of Halloween but also so I could write some Christmas Chapters eventually. Sure I could skip forward in the story to that point but I didn't really want to do that.) Now before you begin the two part chapter I'd like to say that I really pushed my limits, schedule-wise because I planned on making a two part chapter for you guys as a special treat since it's nearing Halloween. It took me nearly two weeks to make chapter 5 and I decided to make two chapter both being around nine thousand words each within the same time frame, it's a wonder at how I'm alive after stressing myself to make the deadline. Honestly, I was sweating bullets as I neared the deadline and I still wasn't finished. Whenever I had a day off, I'd spend 4-6hrs on the story, though admittedly most of that time was actually me just staring at the damn screen while I tried to figure out how to get from Point A to Point B. The first half was fairly easy though it still took me a while to write since it's roughly nine thousand words. The second half is where I struggled because I had major writer's block.

Also just a heads up for you all. I went back and revised all the Chapters correcting any mistakes I made in both description and dialogue. The biggest thing I revised was the fight scene in Chapter 1. It has more dialogue now along with more emotion so it doesn't feel 'forced.' So if you feel like it you can go back and re-read all that goodness.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

"Talking"

"Thoughts"

Chapter 6: A New Mission Part 1

It's been three weeks since the incident and nothing has changed. Naruto is still depressed as ever and his performance has been directly affected by his state, to the point where he's managed to ruin his missions. Not only that but at his apartment he's been walking around like a zombie, bumping into things and dropping items by accident like plates or cups. Sometimes when Minato came over he'd find the place in a disaster, to which he'd make his son clean it up for his health.

Hinata's state is no different though. She's also had a decrease in performance on her missions, to the point where her mistakes put the whole team at risk. Minato asked Neji how she's doing at the Hyuga compound and he's said that she won't leave her room unless it's for a meal. And every night Neji would walk by her room to get to his and he'd hear her crying. On top of it all she wouldn't leave the compound unless it was for a mission.

Minato was tired of this behaviour by both of them, especially his son's.

He decided it was time he did something to try and fix the situation. It was finally time for him to give Naruto that little push he needed.

Thus Minato left his office and went to Naruto's apartment.

When he reached his destination Minato knocked on the door before entering. He came into the living room and found Naruto sleeping on the couch with bags under his eyes.

The blonde man walked into the kitchen and took out a cup filled it with cold water, then walked over to Naruto and poured it on him.

It worked as Naruto jumped up from the couch in a fighting stance as his sleepy eyes fluttered open.

Naruto saw his father and wasn't happy.

"Oh, it's you." He said in an unenthusiastic tone.

"Yes, it's me. I came here to tell you that you need to stop it with this behaviour. It's unhealthy and is affecting your life." Minato explained in a concerned voice.

"Yeah, yeah Dad. I know you know that this whole situation has hurt me. But I don't think you know how much it's hurt me. It's not some incident that hurts me for a few days then goes away. Hinata was my best friend. We hung out almost everyday and I quite frankly enjoyed her company very much, so losing her has been very hard for me." Naruto complained to his father.

"I know it's not easy for you to deal with this, but it needs to stop. You need to move on in a sort of sense. Get out there and try to regain Hinata's trust. Explain what happened! Do something other than mope around!" Minato said in one of his sincerest voices.

Naruto was clearly annoyed by his father now. "Don't you think I've already tried that?! Hinata won't speak me and when I did run into her she fainted on me like we're strangers again. And to top if off Neji won't be a messenger for me to explain to her the situation."

"Yes. I'm aware of that, but this isn't like you to give up so easily. You're always so determined and never give in. So seeing you like this is distressing for me."

"Well what do you suggest I do then Great Almighty Father?" Naruto asked sarcastically not expecting an answer.

Minato then took a more serious appearance and tone. "I'm glad you asked, because I'm here to assign you a new mission. Tomorrow I expect you to be at my office by 7:00pm so I can explain the details. Don't be late!"

Naruto was dumbfounded by his father as his jaw dropped. "Are you kidding me?! I didn't expect you to answer the question. I was joking!"

"Well I'm not. So I expect you to be on time. I'm not asking you as your father, but as an order from, yours truly, the Hokage." Minato stated.

"Okay okay. I'll be there tomorrow. Now can you please leave." Naruto pleaded.

"That was all I had to say so I'll entertain your request. But before I leave I'd like to remind you that you're to be at the Hokage Tower in my office by 7:00pm tomorrow. No later!" Minato reminded his son before shutting the front door behind him.

Once his father left Naruto dragged his body back to the couch and threw himself on it, promptly falling asleep.

Now that Minato had dealt with his son he headed towards the Hyuga compound for his next target. Conveniently when he got there he found Neji sitting at a small table in the courtyard.

Neji noticed Minato walk towards him and got up to bow. "Welcome Lord Fourth."

He glanced up at Minato and couldn't help but ask, "To what do we owe this visit?"

Minato waved him to sit back down as he took a seat. "I told you to stop addressing me like that. Just call me by my name. And I came here to speak with you. I need you to send a message."

Back at Naruto's place he was dreaming of his last encounter with Sakura.

FLASHBACK - Start (2 weeks ago)

"The tell me Sakura what would you like to talk about. I'm sure my little friend here would love to hear what you have to say, and quite frankly I don't feel obligated to stop him this time." Naruto's smile grew wider as he moved closer to Sakura, making her move back.

Sakura laughed nervously, "Now Naruto before you do anything rash let's talk it out. You know, like grown ups. There's no need for anyone to get hurt."

"Oh, is that so. Did you think about that when it was me, when you decided to kiss me. If so, what made you think it wouldn't cause any harm? Hmm." Naruto inquired. The sinister smile growing even wider threatening to tear his face in half.

"No I didn't think about that when I kissed you. I was angry and flustered. I couldn't think straight. So I guess wh-" she was cut off by Naruto.

"Well then since you didn't think about that I guess I don't either."

"She's all yours Kurama. Just don't kill her." Naruto said to his tenant as he switched places with the demon.

Thus Naruto's appearance changed into his former Nine-Tails state before he could control Kurama's power. He had fangs appear and his nails turned into claws and his eyes became red slits that had a menacing glare that accompanied them. To top the scary look off, he had a dark aurora emanate off of him.

When Naruto spoke again it was Kurama who spoke, with his intimidating husky voice, albeit Sakura thought it was still Naruto she was talking to. "Tell me this little girl. When have you ever thought things through? When have you ever taken Naruto's feelings into account whenever you did something rash? When have you ever not used him to impress that pesky brat of an Uchiha that just so happens to be his best friend? Answer me honestly and I'll make the consequences less severe." Kurama laughed maniacally.

Sakura gulped. She didn't know what happened, but this Naruto terrified her. She didn't like it one bit, and it made her regret trying to talk to him in the first place. He looked like he was ready to kill. "Uh... half the time I think things through. Never and never." Sakura closed her eyes expecting something bad to happen but it never came.

"If you think things through half the time then how come you let it slide when it came to Naruto and your jealousy of Sasuke?" Kurama growled.

"As I said I was angry and flustered. I didn't think things through because I couldn't think straight and only had one thing on my mind."

"Let me guess what that one thing was. It was to make Sasuke jealous of you by kissing his best friend while he watched." Kurama had a menacing smirk on his face as he knew he was right. He moved closer to Sakura making her move backwards until she hit a wall in an empty alley.

"What are you planning on doing Kurama?" Naruto asked as Kurama cornered Sakura in the alley.

"You'll see." Kurama laughed sadistically in his mind. (A/N: They've essentially switched places. So Naruto is currently the voice in Naruto's head while Kurama has full control of Naruto's body).

"Fine. Do what you wish as long as you don't scar the poor girl. And that means no killing!" Naruto ordered.

"Oh I'm not going to scar her. That would be too kind of me to do such things to her. But as you wish I won't do anything rash." Kurama chuckled in his mind.

"Y-Y-Yes." Sakura stuttered as she looked away not wanting to stare into Naruto's evil looking eyes. She found them more intimidating than the Hyuga glare, and the Hyuga glare was frightening.

As she answered, Kurama put one of his hands around her neck and lifted Sakura off her feet. "Then tell me why I shouldn't kill you right for what you did to him? You full well know what you did to his world. He was so close to getting his chance and you ruined it for him. It would take a miracle for him to get another and miracles don't happen often. I'm being more than generous at the moment, because you are still alive.. for now." Kurama added in the last part as he had a foxy grin on his face.

Sakura was choking and gasping for air as Kurama's hand tightened around her neck. She clawed at his hand but it only made him tighten his grip further.

"Kurama! What are you doing?! And what do you mean she ruined my chance? I don't understand what you're talking about?" Naruto was furious with Kurama's actions but also clueless as to what he was referring to.

"Baka! Let me continue on. I'm only here to question her. If you'd let me I would've killed her already. I despise this woman, and she's done nothing but treat you terribly." Kurama explained in an angry tone.

Naruto couldn't argue with that. Sakura did cause him a great deal of pain both now and in the past, so he reluctantly let Kurama to continue even though he didn't like where this was headed. "Fine, keep 'questioning' her."

After a short while Kurama loosened his grip to let her breath.

"Speak foolish girl. Before I choke the life out of you!" Kurama snarled.

Sakura gasped for air before trying to speak, "N-Naruto! What's gotten into you?!"

This caused Kurama to tighten his grip once more before letting her speak again, "This time answer my questions!"

Sakura's face was turning purple as she squirmed in Kurama's hand trying to free herself.

"I-I don't think I have a reason.. for you to not kill me. I've treated you poorly over.. and over, never thinking about you feelings until recently.. and even then I still forget.. to think about them. I know I ruined your world.. But I wanted to talk to you so I.. could tell you that I'm sorry." Sakura managed to get her answer out in between gasps.

"And?" Kurama tightened his grip again before letting her continue.

"Could you at least ease up on the choking. She said she's sorry and by her expression and tone I do believe she means it." Naruto requested.

"Fine. I'll do something less severe." Kurama entertained Naruto's request.

Sakura didn't speak this time. She was afraid of Naruto. And quite frankly hoped this was all a nightmare she would wake up to, but as time passed Kurama choked her again making her realize that this was reality.

Sakura was kicking her legs and clawing at Kurama's arm as her face was turning a very dark purple. She was helpless. Even for Sakura, Kurama's grip was too strong for her.

Kurama laughed sadistically as he watched her squirm helpless in his grasp. "This is nothing. I'm being nice. If I had it my way you would've been dead the instant you used him."

Kurama raised his hand, claws extended out, and slashed her right cheek. The blood slowly oozed out of the shallow wound and dripped on the ground. Kurama was watching intently with a sadistic grin. Sakura thought this was still the Naruto she knew. If only she knew how wrong she was.

"Don't even think about doing it Kurama!" Naruto nearly shouted.

"What? choking is out the question so thought clawing could suffice." Kurama explained in a nonchalant voice.

"Nope. No more, you've done enough!" Naruto exclaimed as he was fed up with Kurama's actions. Thus he resumed control over his body as Kurama was about to claw Sakura again, and threw the demon back into his cage.

Once Naruto regained control he promptly disappeared in a poof of smoke.

He reappeared in his apartment and went over to his bed and collapsed.

"Why couldn't you just go easy? What happened to doing nothing rash?" Naruto complained to Kurama.

"What do you mean I didn't do anything rash. To be completely honest I would've enjoyed torturing the girl, but you wouldn't let me." Kurama countered.

"I think your definition of rash is completely different than mine, because that was definitely rash, and that's putting it lightly." Naruto explained.

"Well, you shouldn't have given me control in the first place if that's what you think." Kurama chuckled.

"Yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind next time." Naruto gave a resolute answer.

"From now on I'm not going to let you have a say in things." Naruto said as he had his arms behind his head while he laid on his bed in the real world.

Kurama couldn't help but laugh, which sounded more terrifying than it was suppose to. "So now you're going to punish me huh? Whatever you say kid whatever you say."

This irritated Naruto, "Can you quit calling me kid! I'm almost Nineteen ya know!"

"Listen here. I've lived for centuries so not matter you're age you're still a kid in my eyes, both behavior-wise and age." Kurama explained while chuckling.

"Great first it was 'brat' now it's 'kid' I wonder what's next?" Naruto asked sarcastically.

"Well I mean I could call you fishcake. I think it'd suit you quite well." Kurama continued to laugh as Naruto's jaw dropped.

"That's it I give up. I'm done. I'd much rather be called 'kid' than 'fishcake.'" Naruto fisted his hair in frustration. Kurama was still able to get under his skin so easily after all these years.

The thought of Kurama calling him fishcake scared him, thus Naruto promptly left leaving Kurama all alone in the dark room.

FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)

Naruto got up from the couch after making sure he was actually in the real world, then went to the kitchen to make some instant ramen. As he waited patiently for the ramen to be done he thought of his actions, more specifically Kurama's, and regretted giving him control. Ever since that day Naruto has done his absolute best to avoid Sakura. He didn't want to face her after what he let Kurama do. If any she was probably doing the same. Naruto saw the look of terror in her eyes as Kurama questioned his friend.

After Naruto finished his ramen he left his apartment and headed for Sasuke's apartment. He felt he could possibly manage to say sorry to Sakura through him.

When Naruto got to his friend's apartment after jumping across the Village on the rooftops he knocked on his door three times and waited for a response. Naruto heard hushed chatter on the other side and was curious to find out who else was at Sasuke's apartment.

Sasuke opened the door and froze when he saw Naruto. As for Naruto he swore he saw Sasuke flinch at the sight of him.

"Uh, Hi Sasuke. Could I come in? I need to speak with you." Naruto asked hesitantly.

Sasuke's response was swinging the door closed but Naruto had his foot in the door just incase, causing him yell in pain when the door hit his foot.

"What was that for?!"

"I just want to talk." Naruto calmed down.

"Yeah well I don't. I know how that went with Sakura when you had a 'talk' with her, so leave." Sasuke retorted.

"Wait? How do you know about that? Were you spying on me?" Naruto accused.

Sasuke didn't reply but slowly opened the door revealing Sakura who was currently cowering behind Sasuke's bed with a scared look in her eyes.

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and out of instinct he started for her but was stopped by Sasuke. "I don't think that's a good idea dobe, she's terrified of you and I don't blame her."

After hearing Sasuke's explanation Naruto dropped his head as he was flooded with guilt.

"I-I'm sorry Sakura. I didn't mean for any of that to happen when we last spoke." Naruto confessed with his head still down.

When he lifted his head his eyes were filled with tears and a bit snot was coming out of his nose.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and sighed, "Just great. Now I have two cry babies to deal with. How troublesome."

Sakura didn't budge. Sasuke walked over to his bed and motioned Naruto to take a seat across the room on a couch. Naruto wiped his face and went to sit down causing Sakura to quickly hide behind Sasuke and cower in fear. Her head was peeking out from behind his shoulder as she held onto his shoulders for reassurance.

"Why are you here dobe?"

"I came here to talk about what happened between me and Sakura, but I see she's already told you. I was going to ask if you could tell her that I'm sorry." Naruto explained.

FLASHBACK - Start (1 hour ago)

Sasuke was lying on his bed in deep thought when he heard a knock at his door. He grumbled and got up to go answer the door.

When he opened the door he saw a quivering Sakura standing in front of him. She looked scared, but that didn't make him feel sorry for her.

"What are you doing here? I thought I made it clear that I wasn't going to talk to you until Naruto and Hinata's problem was fixed." Sasuke didn't sound too happy.

"I-I c-came here t-to talk about that." Sakura said in a meek tone, which caught Sasuke off guard. She's never acted like this or spoke in such a manner.

"C-Could I come in?" Sakura asked while looking both ways before looking at him. It looked like she was keeping an eye out for someone, and by her current state it must be someone she's afraid of and Sakura is rarely afraid of anything.

Sasuke sighed, "I guess." He stepped to the side to let Sakura in before closing the door.

"So. Why are you here exactly?"

Sakura calmed down a bit before speaking, "It's about Naruto."

"What about dobe?" Sasuke was now intrigued.

"H-He almost k-killed me." Sakura answered as tears started to fill her eyes.

Sasuke didn't believe such an answer and his first instinct was to doubt her assumption, but he just stood there in shock from the tears in her eyes.

He regained his composure and asked, "What do you mean he tried killing you?! You're one of his closest friends."

Sakura sat down on Sasuke's bed before speaking, "I know that I'm a close friend of his and that he cares for his friends' wellbeing, but I'm not lying. Something happened to him while I was trying to explain my actions for THAT night and he snapped."

Sasuke was now really interested in what she had to say and took a seat across from her on the couch. "What do you mean he 'snapped?'"

"N-Naruto lifted me off the ground and started choking me after he cornered me in an empty alley, while he was questioning me. Some of the questions he asked were about himself and made little sense. Plus he apparently knew I did it out of jealousy." A tear rolled down Sakura's face as she explained.

Though Sasuke did care about Sakura as a friend, he really didn't feel like sitting next to her and comforting her. "So what exactly did he question you about?"

"I-I don't k-know really. I was scared, and just blurted out answers. H-He looked like he really w-wanted to k-kill me for what I d-did to him." Sakura started crying silently as she looked at the hands in her lap.

Sasuke just sat there and thought about what she just told him before speaking, "I knew Naruto cared for Hinata since he loves her, despite the fact he doesn't realize it. But I didn't know he cared about her that MUCH in his life."

"I know. It makes me feel even worse for destroying his relationship with her, but at the same time I'm now completely terrified of him." Sakura's thoughts and feelings were conflicted in her mind as she spoke.

Sasuke was still a little doubtful at what she's been saying though so he wanted to make sure.

"Sakura, are you absolutely sure it was dobe who did this to you and not someone using a transformation jutsu or something?" Sasuke inquired as he leaned forward with his hands intertwined on his lap.

Sakura thought about the question before coming to an answer, "Yes. His appearance was a little different, but it definitely was Naruto who I spoke to that day."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean his appearance was different?"

"Well the first thing I noticed was his eyes. They turned into red slits, almost like the eyes of a cat. The second thing I noticed was the fangs that appeared. His nails also turned into claws and the air around him became ominous and dark." Sakura described the differences as a chill went up her spine.

After thinking it through Sasuke came to an answer which he didn't share with Sakura as a slight smirk spread across his face.

FLASHBACK - End (Present Day)

"Well since you're here and so is she I think it's safe to say you can convey your apology as long as I'm here, since she's utterly terrified of you dobe." Sasuke said in a nonchalant voice.

Naruto unconsciously started rubbing the back of his neck as he started, "Sakura. I'm sorry for what happened that day. I uh.." He trailed off before continuing. "I didn't mean for that to happen at all. I was super angry and didn't know what came over me." Naruto lied about Kurama.

"I seriously didn't mean to hurt you. I'd never want to hurt my friends, they're the most precious people in my life." Naruto confessed.

At his confession Sasuke looked at Sakura who was still hiding behind him and gave her an "I told you so" kind of look.

"All I ask is for your forgiveness, and hopefully things can go back to normal. but if you don't want to that's fine I'll understand. I did something unforgivable." Tears started to roll down Naruto's face as he finished his apology.

Sakura stayed behind Sasuke and was still quivering, albeit it calmed a bit after Naruto apologized.

"HAH! The woman if terrified of you, more specifically me! This is very amusing to watch. Her new demeanor suits her too." Kurama chuckled while holding his stomach.

"Shut up!" Naruto said to Kurama, and quickly realized he said it aloud since his friends were looking at him like he was crazy.

He quickly waved his hands in front of him while shaking his head, "Hehe, don't mind me. I tend to blurt things out."

This piqued Sasuke even further about his assumption while it made Sakura believe that Naruto had an alter ego more.

Sasuke threw the thought aside for now and gave Sakura a look that told her to return the apology.

"U-Uh, I w-would also like t-to say that I-I'm sorry. What happened that n-night was done o-out o-of jealousy and I c-carelessly used y-you to do it, not th-thinking a-about your feelings or the c-consequences that might a-accompany it." Sakura stammered.

She took a few deep breaths to calm herself down before continuing, "I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I was angry and flustered at Sasuke for how he treated me earlier that day and selfishly took it out on you to get back at him."

Naruto's eyes widened at the new found information and looked at Sasuke, then Sakura and back to Sasuke.

"See what did I tell you kid." Kurama smirked.

"Shh. Be quiet I'm busy processing this." Naruto shushed the demon.

It was Sasuke's turn to talk after he let out a long sigh, "Long story short, Sakura was following me around the Village and I finally confronted her about it and she left angry."

"Well I can see why she was angry. You're not exactly the best at 'confronting' people." Naruto snickered.

This time Sakura gave Sasuke an "I told you so" look.

Naruto then cleared his throat before speaking, "But in all seriousness I am truly sorry for how I treated you Sakura. I don't deserve your forgiveness, yet here I am asking for it. And I do accept your apology and forgive you. I know how Sasuke can be and have been annoyed by his 'confrontations' more than once." He glared at Sasuke who returned it, just as intense.

"It's okay Naruto. I know how much you care for Hinata. I honestly have felt guilt and sorrow ever since I broke your friendship with her, and want nothing more than you two to become friends again. So I forgive you as well. Though in all honesty it'll take me a while before I can fully trust you again after what you did." Sakura gave a resolute answer while still hiding behind Saskue, but she was no longer quivering and some of her composure had returned.

Naruto let out a big sigh of relief, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you Sakura. You won't regret it. BELIEVE IT!" He shouted as he gave her a thumbs up.

Sasuke sighed at his friend's childish antics as Sakura giggled.

"Well then how am I suppose to talk to Hinata, let alone rebuild our friendship?" Naruto asked while he had his arms behind his head as he slouched on the couch, (Hah it rhymes!).

"I think I have an idea." Sakura answered who had moved from behind Sasuke and was now sitting beside him.

"Could you elaborate on this idea?" Sasuke asked despite not looking too interested.

"My initial plan was to infiltrate the Hyuga compound on my own since I myself haven't been able to speak with Hinata because of Neji. I even tried barging in, but Neji still managed to stop me. Now that we have two people I think the plan could work. One of us could distract Neji under the guise of trying to speak with Hinata, while the other scales the compound to reach her room. But I don't know who should be the one to talk to her." Sakura trailed off.

"You should Sakura."

"But Naruto? Don't you want to speak with her?" Sakura asked in surprise.

"Yes I do, but I ran into her once and she fainted on me. If I try to speak with her the plan will be for nothing as she will do it again." Naruto sighed in defeat with disappointment clearly on his face.

"Oh, Okay. Well, I'll tell her my side of the story.. Is there anything you want me to say to her?" Sakura questioned as she looked Naruto in the eyes.

"No, I'm fine. The time will come when I can speak with her." He waved her off.

"Okay let's go." Sakura got up to leave.

"Actually, Sakura, could you wait outside for a bit while me and Naruto have a talk?"

"Uh, sure. I don't see why not."

Thus Sakura scurried out the door and waited patiently.

"Ahem. So Naruto, I think we both know it wasn't you who did all those things to Sakura, but I'm curious as to why you didn't tell her the truth." Sasuke looked his friend dead in the eyes.

Naruto was taken aback from Sasuke's decisiveness, "H-How did you know?"

"Well for one Sakura told me about the little encounter you two had, which gave me a good idea of who it actually was that hurt her. And two your little outburst earlier was a dead give away, after that I was a hundred percent sure of my assumption." Sasuke yawned as he explained his case.

"So? What about it?" Naruto crossed his arms and pouted over Sasuke showing off.

"Uh, the fact that Kurama is able to speak directly through you, let alone control your body." Sasuke retorted.

"That information I'd like to keep to myself, and as for Sakura don't you dare tell her about Kurama. She'll hate me for it." Naruto whispered the last statement as best as he could.

The Uchiha stretched his arms, "Whatever you say dobe. Now go and follow the plan." He waved his friend off.

"I mean it Sasuke, don't speak a word about Kurama." The blonde ordered.

"Sure, sure. Now just leave my apartment. I've been disturbed enough already and would like some peace and quiet." Sasuke yawned again.

Naruto finally left Sasuke's apartment and the Uchiha was left to his own devices.

"It's a wonder how I'm still alive with those two being my teammates and close friends." Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose.

Sakura was waiting outside Sasuke's apartment and heard muffled voices for awhile before she saw Naruto come out, to which she flinched a bit. "Sasuke isn't coming?"

"No. He wants peace and quiet since we bothered him." Naruto air quoted peace and quiet.

"Oh, that's a shame." A part of her wished he did, so Naruto wouldn't possibly try anything again.

"Well what are we waiting for let's go see Hinata." Naruto started jumping across the building and Sakura followed shortly after wanting to keep her distance just in case.

When the two got there they parted ways, Naruto went to go through the main gate, while Sakura jumped over the wall and started scaling the building. As she reached Hinata's window she heard Naruto and Neji having a dispute. Sakura lightly knocked on the window loud enough so Hinata could hear it but still quiet enough to not alert Neji. She waited a while before she saw the window open and a very shocked Hinata, who stumbled backwards.

"S-Sakura?! What are y-"

Sakura jumped in and tried to cover Hinata's mouth but tripped on the window sill causing her to fall on Hinata.

Sakura's face became worried and she quickly started talking.

Back in the front courtyard Neji was busy pushing Naruto back out of the compound when he heard a loud crash come from Hinata's room. Both the ninja ran to her room through the compound. At this point Neji didn't care for Naruto, he was worried about Hinata.

When they got there he told Naruto to stay out of sight. Naruto reluctantly did as he was told as Neji opened Hinata's door and saw Sakura overtop Hinata (no not like that) and was explaining something. Hinata's face was a mix of worry, horror, and confusion. Neji quickly walked over to Sakura and pulled her off Hinata. When Sakura met his gaze a slight chill went down her spine as he glared at her with anger and disappointment.

"I thought I told you that you can't speak with Hinata-sama." Neji growled at the girl.

"Y-Yes, but I couldn't help myself and needed to tell her something." Sakura gulped.

Meanwhile Neji was lecturing Sakura as he dragged her out of the room by the collar Hinata caught Naruto peeking into the room with worry stained on his face. Their eyes locked and stared at each other for awhile before they both looked away, embarrassed. Hinata swore she saw a blush on Naruto's face as she looked back at him. He was busy paying attention to Neji who grabbed him by the collar and started dragging him as well. Hinata just sat on her floor in shock from the whole situation as she heard Neji shouting with Naruto pouting and complaining. She was greatly confused by what Sakura said and more so about Neji dragging her and Naruto out. Hinata was also very flustered about Naruto, seeing him gave her butterflies. But a the same time Hinata was also giggling inside from seeing the two dragged away by Neji.

Within the compound Naruto was complaining, "Neji, c'mon I brought her back a while ago unharmed, don't I at least deserve to speak with her?" He crossed his arms as he was being dragged.

"No! Though I am thankful for you bringing her back unharmed you still aren't allowed to see her. It's up to Hinata-sama to decide when she wishes to speak with you." Neji glared at Naruto, then turned his attention to the pinkette.

"And for you. I'm deeply disappointed in your actions. You not only broke into the compound, but also tried speaking with Hinata-sama when I specifically told you that you can't speak with her."

Sakura just crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out, to which Neji sighed.

"For your information Hinata let me into her room. And second, I didn't try to speak with her, I did. So being dragged away while I was having a conversation with her is very rude."

"Really? Is that so? From what I saw Hinata-sama was shocked to see you and half scared." Neji had a small smirk on his face.

"Well. It's been a while since we've spoken, of course she'd be shocked." Sakura continued to pout until they were at the main gate and Neji threw them out.

"You two, now officially can't come here unless you're invited or have business with the Clan." Neji stated as he walked away.

"You know, he really gets on my nerves sometimes." Sakura muttered while dusting herself off.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Tell me about it."

"Anyways I think I'm gonna go home now."

"Wait, did you manage to tell her the story?" Naruto grabbed Sakura's arm, who flinched upon contact, he noticed this and let go.

"Hehe, sorry I forgot." Naruto apologized.

"Well I wasn't able to tell her all of it, but I managed to get the main parts out. Though they might have been jumbled." Sakura explained while laughing nervously.

"That's alright. Thanks a million Sakura. Now hopefully since you've told some of the story, she will eventually come around and want to talk with me." Naruto's eyes were gleaming with hope as he waved goodbye to Sakura and headed in a different direction.

"No problem Naruto. It's the least I can do since I was the one who ruined your relationship with her." Sakura tried smiling to him. But couldn't and turned around to leave.

"Thanks again." he shouted to her.

Naruto was back at his apartment taking a shower thinking of what he should say when Hinata comes around. When Naruto came out he changed into some black sweatpants with a grey t-shirt and walked into the kitchen and made some ramen. While he was waiting for his ramen to finish Naruto was trying to think back when he and his father were talking about Hinata at Ichiraku's, albeit his father didn't necessarily know he was speaking of her.

"What was my Dad trying to tell me? It was obviously something that clearly stood out to him, but what was it? And how come I don't know about it. You'd think I'd know about it, but for some reason I don't." Naruto was rubbing his chin thinking hard about it while he sat in his chair at the table. "I mean it had something to do with my feelings, but what was it. Let me see, I told him about the weird feelings I get when I see her or I'm near Hinata, then he smiled and was about to tell me something." The blonde thought long and hard before he gave up on the subject as he was stumped.

The water started boiling so he poured it into the ramen cup and waited a while before stuffing his face with his favourite instant ramen. Afterwards he rubbed his belly and was satisfied, completely forgetting about what his father tried telling him. Naruto got up from his seat and went to his room to sleep since it was starting to get late.

Over at the Hokage Tower, Minato was busy approving and filing the piles of paperwork in front of him. He may have achieved his dream job, but this in all honesty was too much. He knew what to expect as the Hokage but never imagined there would be this much work.

Minato was too busy caught up in his work to realize that Yamato and Kaskashi Hatake had entered the room, both through a cloud of smoke.

Kaskashi cleared his throat to get Minato's attention, "Minato-Sensei, you called for us."

"Well at least someone calls me by my name, though you were my student so it's only natural." Minato chuckled.

Yamato spoke this time, "Lord Fourth. May I ask why you called us so late at night?"

"Ah yes. About that, I called the two of you tonight to tell you that you're both being assigned a new mission as of tomorrow. I'm sorry for calling you so late but I was busy caught up at work as you can see, so I didn't have much time to spare."

Kakashi was piqued at this 'new mission', "What is this new mission we're being assigned, considering you're asking two Jounin who are Ex-ANBU members?"

"I'll get onto that shortly, but for now I'd like to tell you some details before hand so you understand the mission." Minato folded his hands and put them in his lap.

"These details are?" Yamato inquired, clearly annoyed that he was woken in the middle of the night.

Ten minutes later both the Jounin standing in front of Minato had confused looks on their faces. "What does this have to do with our mission Sensei?"

"Yeah, I don't quite understand either. What you're telling us seems irrelevant." Yamato chimed.

"Once I explain the mission I've assigned you both it'll all make sense." Minato grinned.

The next day Naruto got up and did his daily routine, though he kept the same clothes on since he only put them on last night. He looked at the Calendar on his wall to see it was the 31st of October, then his watch and had time to kill before having to show up at the Hokage Tower so he decided it'd be best for him to train since it's been awhile. The last time he remembered training was with Hinata, and hasn't trained since. But seeing as he didn't really have anything to do he reluctantly went to training grounds seven and started practicing.

In the end it was quite worth the time. As he was practicing his Taijutsu he was also able to alievate himself of some pent up anger. And to further it he managed to get some Ninjutsu practice down as well. He was practicing some tactics/strategies with his clones when he looked down at his watch and realized he was going to be late. Naruto quickly dispelled all his clones who were helping him practice a new strategy and ran off towards the Tower. Man he did not like it how he lost track of time. If anything his father wouldn't be too happy about it either since Minato reminded him twice.

Minato was impatiently waiting for his son to arrive as he looked at the time, 7:13pm. He started tapping his foot to try and calm himself down, but it was futile. Some more time had passed before he heard the door to the office open and Naruto enter.

Naruto had just reached the Tower and ran as fast as he could to his father's office and opened the door. When he did he heard his father chastise him for being late, but none of that mattered because when he looked up his gaze fixated on the other person in the room. They were also fixated on him as he entered and looked annoyed as they've been waiting for nearly half an hour.

Well that's the end of Part 1. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'd like to say that I'm surprised that I've managed to gain a small crop of readers. Honestly I didn't think that would happen for at least two, maybe three months, but maybe that's just me. I also enjoyed reading the comments from last chapter.

I decided to end it here since the next Part is where all the fun happens. As for you guys, you can guess all you want as to who the other person in the room might be (I strongly suggest you guess their name in a review, but I can't force you to, I only ask you to so I can see who guessed who). I didn't mean to leave a cliffhanger, I just ran out of ideas for this half.

*Whistles Innocently*

If I may speak the truth, last chapter I had a serious urge to end it after Sakura's flashback, but decided not to in the end so I could convey Sakura's feelings as well as Hinata's in the end. Honestly more than half that chapter was about Hinata, and I didn't even realize it until I read it after posting the damn thing XD.

DarkestLightOfHope - When I read your review I thought about the scene in which Naruto lost control, then the scene I wrote and realized you were right. I didn't even mean for it to be similar to that fight, but I laughed a bit from the realization. As for the fight he had with Pain, the first time I watched it I seriously thought he killed Hinata and started crying. And when I got to the part where Naruto found her chakra signature I was so happy, like honestly if Kishimoto killed off my favourite character I would've been pissed (Naruto is also my number 1 favourite character alongside Hinata). Kinda see why I'm a NaruHina fan now right? But anyways that was quite perceptive of you to notice the similarity.

SparklingPearl123 - Yeah that was sad, but it was meant to. My intention was to let you guys get a better feel and understanding of how the characters felt, and I'm hoping that for some of you I managed to make you cry. It just means I'm doing a good job.

Like A Pro - Haha when I finished reading your review I snickered, because it's partially true. Though Naruto doesn't actually have an alter ego, I've made it so Naruto can willingly let Kurama take control of his body as long as he permits it. So in a sense it is an alter ego. But if he actually did have one it would definitely be creepy, like Yamato 2.0 kind of creepy. Especially with all the sinister smiles he was giving Sakura. And I'd like to point out that I purposefully placed lines and parts where it made it seem like he actually did retain an alter ego to elude to the fact that it was actually Kurama. Even with that I still give you props to having a suspicion/hope of it being Kurama and not some alter ego Sakura created.

As for the whole alter ego/Kurama situation, earlier back in Chapter 4 I originally had this idea to implement a new dangerous and uncontrollable mode for Naruto through Kurama's anger seeping into him. The idea was to have his consciousness be taken over by the immense hate Kurama felt towards Sakura and when that happened his Previous Nine-Tails state would merge with his Nine-Tails Chakra mode to create a dangerous new mode, one which Naruto wouldn't be able to control. The scene itself took place in Naruto's apartment when Minato went to see him. It was suppose to happen when he tried explaining what Sakura did. Thus he'd lose control and walk off in his new mode consumed by hate as his father tried to stop him in his own Chakra mode, but the only thing that would stop him was the mention of his mother and how she wanted him to live a happy life, not one full of hate. That was the only way his father could stop him, since Minato's own mode couldn't amass to Naruto's new level. And while Naruto was transforming into his new mode, Minato was speaking with his half of Kurama trying to figure out what was going on. To describe how I wanted Naruto's mode to look like I'll put it simply. You know how he looks when in his Nine-Tails Chakra mode, well use that and add the fangs and claws with red eyes and cat pupils with the ominous Nine-Tails cloak enveloping him and taking the form of his Sage-mode/Chakra mode look. You know the yellow flames that emanate off of him, yeah, picture that but in the red-orange colour of the Nine-Tails cloak, and then add 4 tails to his appearance that solidified and had red flames emanating off of them (due note he didn't reach full Nine-Tails state/link so there was only four). But in all honesty I eventually thought that it was a bit far fetched since he could already control Kurama's power so I scrapped the idea. Since then I've wanted to bring something new to Naruto that made sense, whether it was an alter ego or something else, yes I actually thought about the idea of an alter ego, but it seemed a bit OoC and well un Naruto-like. So I went with a similar approach to the ego thing but with Kurama acting as that 'alter ego'. Yeah, I had hard a hard time with the decision. I don't know, you guys can tell me what you thought about the whole new mode I was going to do if you like, I personally felt most of you wouldn't accept it. So ultimately I settled with Kurama acting as a second personality, I say settled but really I actually enjoyed writing that little scene and overall it gives a cool new way to portray my story so Yay! Hi five!

But moving on, I come to the topic of Neji. Yes, though I would like to make Neji more affectionate and caring of his friends while still being Neji I thought it was best to keep him focused on Hinata's health and wellbeing for now as it helps with the story. Whether I decide to change his attitude so he's not only kind to her but everyone else is up to you guys. I would like to hear what you would prefer, because honestly I could live with both in my opinion.

And when I was writing the scene at Sasuke's place I was enjoying it because Sakura has never in her life (I think) acted that way and I found it cute, and Sasuke didn't even try to make her move away. Hmmm... I might have to put some thought into that. But speaking of her, even though she has forgiven Naruto, it'll take time before her fear of him is completely gone.

When I was writing Yamato's line where he said "Lord Fourth." at first I put "Lord Seventh." like an idiot because I had Naruto being Hokage stuck in my head XD

Also I'd like to inform all of you that I want to change the name of the story, but don't really have any ideas as to what I should change it to. I encourage you to suggest any names for me as I'll look them over along with any names of my own I may come up with. Who knows your suggested name might be chosen if I feel it fits the story. I'm asking this because I feel I could've done better with the name of the story, and you guys don't have to suggest one if you already like the title. If you do like the title already and think it's great then please tell me and if enough people say so I'll keep it. In all honesty I like the name I have already, but as I said I feel I could do better.

I think that's it for now, if you haven't already moved on to Part 2 I'd like to say thank you again for everything so far. As little as it may be it's nice to know that there are people out there who enjoy reading my story. In the end it helps give me motivation to continue writing more, which I plan to do so for this story for a long time. As always fav, follow, review if you wish. Now on to the next part!