A/N: Hello everyone! Because you all demeanded it, the next chapter is here earlier than expected! I had just intended to write the next chapter as soon as I got back. You will all get to see how Sakura reacts to Kyuubi being trapped inside Naruto... but first... I've got some more reviews to answer. First, and most importantly is to miscleafnin.

miscleafnin (and anyone else interested) - Leave your e-mail or something and I'll send my arguements to you, if you're still interested in them at all... I fear putting it hear would take up way too much space and distract from the actual story... anyone interested in the debate, just post in your review that you want a copy... leave your e-mail, and I'll send a copy of my arguement to you. For those of you who don't even want to bother and just get on with the story... just keep reading, you'll get there soon enough. At any rate... until you prove without a doubt that what you say is true (I found a bunch of little loopholes in your arguements), Naruto's chakra in the valley of the end is the maximum amount of Kyuubi could pump out to Naruto. He can still gain even more chakra by boosting his own chakra reserves, though with Kyuubi's full support he has practically limitless chakra already.

kpxiceboi - Aww... I didn't do a good job on him revealing the secret? Damn... I'll just have to try harder next time... and ther will be a next time (I plan to kick out many fics before my time as a writer comes). Also... although I appreciate it when people give me advice on the writing itself and how things could have been better... I have to warn you that I find it incredibly irritating when people start telling me what I can and can't do when it comes to a story... so please, if it's not too much to ask... and this is for all you others out there too... don't tell me where my story should go!

gonekrazy3000 - Give yourself a pat on the back! Because you requested it... I'll be doing his chapter earlier than I inteneded. . Also, I really don't know how long I'll be gone... Hell, it's possible I may not ever return to the world of the net. Chances are, I'll be gone a month at longest and a week at shortest. As much as it's possible that I may not ever return to the net... it's also just as much possible that I get my internet back in just a few days... and even if that is the case... I'll probably find some way to post my stories anyhow!

The End of Infinity - Thanks, I try to keep everyone as in-character as possible. It's kind of difficult to do so, however, when I want to push Sakura and Naruto together... there has to be a little bit of OOC to push them in the right direction... from there it becomes a matter of reactions and there doesn't need to be a whole lot of OOC.

Everyone Else - Thanks so much for reviewing! I really appreciate it, no matter if they're arguements or just words of support... each review is deeply appreciated.

Also, I've never so much as seen mention of Sakura's father in the anime... so I apologize ahead of time if he does make an appearance somewhere in the manga or something. As far as I know, however, he's either not there, dead, or somewhere between those two.

Promise of a Lifetime
Chapter 6: Too Many Truths

"Kyuubi is sealed inside me..."

The words echoed in her head over and over again. It was unthinkable, unfathomable. The boy that stood in front of her was really the legendary demon of old...? The demon that had taken thousands of lives... the world's first living natural disaster?

"NO!" thought Sakura vehemently, "He's not Kyuubi! He's not that stupid nine-tailed fox! There's just no way..."

The more she denied it, however... the more it made sense. Naruto had always had enormous reserves of chakra, it baffled her how someone so small could hold so much chakra. Their first mission to the Wave Country... when Naruto had stabbed his own hand to let the poisoned blood leak out... she thought she imagined it, but when Naruto held out his hand to Kakashi... she thought she saw the wound healing right before her eyes. Later, in that very same mission... she had been too wrecked up over Sasuke's apparent death to notice... but as they returned home, she began to wonder... Naruto was still alive while Sasuke was dead... how did he survive? Sasuke protected Naruto... but it would have only taken another second or two to kill Naruto, and when she had gotten there it seemed that Sasuke had been lying there for a while, judging from the small pool of blood around him. Then there was the incident with their first encounter with Orochimaru... using nothing but two kunai and his body, he had stopped a snake at least a thousand times his size. There was also Gaara... she had heard later about Gaara and the Shukaku locked inside of him. It would have been impossible for Naruto to take on a greater demon on his own. Every time her mind tried to deny that Naruto was, indeed, the Kyuubi... that same mind pulled up a reason as to why he was the demon fox.

"No..." Sakura thought finally, "He's not Kyuubi... he's just the container for Kyuubi... he's not the nine tails, but can use it's power.'

That thought frightened her... it scared her to no end what would happen if Kyuubi got loose from Naruto. What if he became Kyuubi? What if Kyuubi could break free from the seal? It would be the end of the ninja world. Naruto had apparently seen the frightened look that crossed her features, because he frowned.

"I guess you hate me now too..." he said with a little more sorrow than he intended, and turned around to the door to his room... he didn't need this... he couldn't take this. Sakura hated him now... it was just as he feared.

Sakura was taken aback as a sudden realization struck her. The reason all the adults hated Naruto wasn't because he had been weak or loved to play pranks. It was because sealed inside him was the most powerful and evil beast imaginable. It was cruel... he never asked for it... she doubted he ever enjoyed the fact that such an evil creature was locked inside of him... and he was hated because of it.

"How long...?" Sakura found herself asking, "How long did you know about this...?"

Naruto stopped, just a few steps from his bedroom door. He didn't bother to turn around and face her, too frightened at what he would see in her eyes. Both of her parents had fought against Kyuubi and her father was still in a coma, off in some foreign land for advanced medical treatments. Sakura, however, wasn't even thinking about her father at the moment... nor was she thinking about anything but the boy standing in front of him, she was worried for him.

"The day before team 7 was formed" said Naruto, "Mizuki was trying to kill me because of it... he told me that it was taboo for anyone to speak of it... everyone was trying to keep it a secret. I was told that the Fourth Hokage sealed Kyuubi inside of me when I was born."

"He didn't know until then...? That's... horrible... people hated him and he didn't even know the reason why..." thought Sakura, tears beginning to come to her eyes, "No parents... no friends... not even a decent place to live... how did he survive this long...?"

Her frown deepened. She couldn't even begin to think of how horrible it must have been for Naruto as he grew up. She had been part of that pain, she realized as the now very familiar arrow of guilt hit it's mark, shooting through her already wounded heart. She had made fun of him, hated him, treated him awefully.

"What kind of person am I...?" she thought as tears began to spill down her cheeks.

A new respect for the boy filled her. It wasn't the type of respect that the rescued gave the rescuer... it was much deeper than that. He was strong... incredibly strong. She remembered how Kakashi later filled her in on the story behind Gaara of the Desert, how he also had a demon locked inside of him. The people all hated him, everyone detested his very existance because of how he was created... what was locked inside of him. He had gone insane from it all. It was amazing how two people with the same dillema could end up so different.

Naruto... he never let the pressure get to him... he never gave up hope and knew that his existance was somehow valuable. Gaara... well, the only way he could find himself valuable was to kill.

"Naruto..." she began, not knowing what to say for a moment. What could she say? There was a demon locked up inside of him, he had been hated and despised his whole life, and she hadn't exactly helped in that matter. So what could she do?

"Naruto I..." she began uncertainly, then suddenly she realized something... she didn't really care if the Kyuubi was trapped inside of him. She could care less if Naruto was the overpowered demon itself... Naruto was Naruto... he wasn't evil and that's all she needed to know.

"If you think a little thing like some legendary demon trapped in your navel will get you away from me..." she said in mock irritation, her lips curved upwards in a smile as she crossed her arms, "you've got another thing coming."

Naruto's eyes widened as he turned to look at her. Sakura didn't hate him? Much more, Sakura didn't want to run away or leave? She didn't want to destroy him or run off and request a team-transfer?

"Sakura-chan...?"

"You've made a promise to me, Uzumaki Naruto... and I don't intend to let you off the hook that easily!" she said with a small smile. Though inside, she wondered whether she would really want Sasuke back now. He was mad for power... so mad for it that he had attempted to kill her... who had done nothing but love him.

Naruto was stung internally at the memory of the promise, but he grinned none the less, giving an nod of his head. He was ecstatic!

"I'll definitely keep my promise to you, Sakura-chan!" said Naruto, "but first... why don't we finish up our training here!"

Sakura lay on the training pad, flat on her back, panting heavily. It hurt to so much as lift her pinky finger after their rather intense training session. Naruto refused to show her any more of the ninjutsu of the Hiden Aiton, saying that he didn't like to bug the Kyuubi too much.

"It has a short temper, after all..." she remembered Naruto saying. She still wasn't used to him talking about the Kyuubi openly, and every time he referred to it, a shiver shot down her spine.

He did, however, show her the taijutsu of the Hiden Aiton. Shugoken (Guardian Fist) was all about, of course, protection and counter attacks... and it worked! To prove his point, he had taken a cup of ramen and placed it on the middle of the mat and took his stance before it. The stance called for two kunai, both of which were dull wooden replicas for the sparring session, which were both held in reverse grip (blade to ground). Instead of holding them in front of himself, however, he held his arms wide open and crouched slightly, his leg muscles coiled and ready to move at a moments notice. He called for her to attack and she did without hesitation.

Flashback

"Come.." said Naruto, holding out his Kunai as wide as his arms would stretch, leaving him wide open for any type of attack, or so Sakura thought.

Sakura nodded and began to run for Naruto. Her objective was to hit the ramen cup, not Naruto. She threw a fake kunai directly at Naruto's chest and jumped into the air, her feet latching onto Naruto's cieling as she threw a second kunai at the ramen cup. Naruto spun, striking the first kunai with the kunai in his left hand so that it clattered away harmlessly. The second kunai was deflected by the kunai in Naruto's right hand.

Sakura had already moved to jump behind Naruto and threw a jab at Naruto's back. She needed to take care of the guardian before the guarded could be attacked. Her hand was knocked away, however as he completed the spin and slashed at her hand with the wooden kunai. Expecting this, she threw another punch straight for Naruto's face. Sakura was suprised, however, when Naruto merely shifted his head so that her fist hit his forehead protector... he didn't budge an inch. Sakura let out a grunt as Naruto simply raised his wooden kunai, slicing at her arms before spinning around planting a firm kick to Sakura's stomach, sending her flying back a few feet. Sakura skidded to a halt on the mat, holding her stomach.

"Had these been real kunai, you wouldn't be able to use your arms right now..." he explained as he resumed his stance, "this style isn't about avoiding damage to yourself, it's about protecting. I may have taken a little damage, but what I'm protecting hasn't been harmed yet... and I incapacitated you as well, eliminating you as a threat."

Sakura smirked, "I see... so this style is about ignoring self preservation to catch the enemy off guard and disabling them..."

"Bingo." said the orange-clad ninja with a sly grin, "Now come!"

End Flashback

Sakura turned her head to look at Naruto, still guarding vigilently. There were a few bruises over his body and a thin line of blood had dried on his forehead, just below the place where Sakura had punched. She had tried some genjutsu and ninjutsu, and there were a few scorch marks on the blue mat where she had used some watered down explosive tags. The small ramen cup had yet to so much as budge yet and Naruto... he wasn't anywhere close to the level of exhaustion she was at. Sure he had taken damage, but he hadn't moved more than a foot from his current spot, conserving a lot of energy.

The blonde shinobi fell out of his stance and grinned at her. She was entirely exhausted... and even though Naruto had practically given her the perfect opportunity to strike... she was far too tired to even consider it. Instead, she pushed herself to her feet and smiled back at him.

"Al...right..." she said between gasps for breath, "y-you...win..."

"Alright! Let's take a break then, we can go and grab some ramen, my treat!"

Sakura giggled lightly, her breath finally coming back to her, "Careful Naruto... Hinata might think we're dating or something if she sees us."

"She wouldn't mind," said Naruto, earning a suprised look from Sakura, "I really like Hinata, I do... but I just can't see her as a girlfriend or something like that..."

Sakura's eyes widened... what was Naruto saying...? Wasn't Hinata the girl rejected him? The one he was as shaken up over as she was of Sasuke? So why... why was he the one to reject her this time? She didn't sense any hint of a lie from Naruto. Despite Naruto being a ninja, a master in the art of deception, Naruto could never tell a good lie. Unless...

"Hinata... lied to me..." she came to the conclusion.

"THAT LYING, DECIEVING, LITTLE WENCH!" yelled Inner Sakura, outraged.

As much as her inner-self's choice of words apalled her, Sakura did feel betrayed. She had never done anything to warrant such a huge lie out of Hinata... she had even trusted her. She made it obvious that she wanted to repay Naruto, that she wanted to do some good. Sakura had been very depressed about the matter... so why would Hinata, such a kind and considerate girl, betray her like that? Why would Hinata lie to her? She needed to talk to a certain indigo-haired girl.

"Sorry, Naruto... but I can't today, I needed to go talk to someone today, and I should really get around to it before it gets dark!" she said, an apologetic look on her face, "maybe next time, okay?"

"Sakura-cha--!"

He didn't get a chance to say anymore as Sakura dashed out of his open window, running along the rooftops towards the Hyuuga settlement. She needed to get to the bottom of this.

"Why did you lie to me, Hinata...?" the pink-haired kunoichi asked, "how come you said that you were the one that left Naruto?"

Hinata frowned. She had been training her Juuken when Sakura came up, saying that they needed to talk with each other. She had no idea then that Sakura had found out... so she invited Sakura to sit with her where she, Neji, and her father usually sat after a hard day of training.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-san... I... I just had to know..." she said, looking down to the ground in shame, "I had to know where I stood with Naruto-kun..."

"Where you stood...?" asked Sakura, confused. Her initial feeling of betrayal fled... replaced by curiosity, "What do you mean...?"

"I... I..." started Hinata, blushing slightly as she gathered her courage, "I've always... liked... Naruto-kun... he's kind, sweet, and funny... but I never really knew... what he thought of me. I didn't want to know... I was too scared to approach him. Then, when you came... I saw my chance to find out... and... I'm sorry for decieving you..."

Sakura wasn't very suprised, to tell the truth. She had always known, along with everyone save for the boy in question, that Hinata had a crush on Naruto. She didn't know that it was this serious, however. Sakura didn't feel betrayed anymore... she understood exactly what Hinata was going through. She had often wondered the same thing about Sasuke... where she stood with him, that is.

"I see... and he rejected you didn't he?"

"Yes..." said Hinata with a small nod, "but I'm not sad about it... Naruto-kun and I are still friends. I'm happy that I can be there for him..."

Sakura looked at Hinata, a small smile playing across her lips, "You... really love him, huh?" she asked.

"Yes..." said the blue-haired girl with a small nod and a furious blush, "but it's useless trying to be with him... I realize that now... Naruto-kun loves only one person in all the world, and even if he can never have her, I know that he'll never fall for another girl... and maybe that's part of the reason I love him... so as long as I can be close to him... I am content."

Sakura was speechless... the girl in front of her was absolutely content that she would never be able to attain the one she loved. It was... heart-shattering. She would live on knowing that the one she loves most would only view her as a friend... she would live on knowing that he would never return the affections she had for him. Sakura knew all too well what that was like. The one she loved wanted to kill her and would definitely not return her affections. Again, her mind seemed to cut off the thoughts of Sasuke almost as immediately as they came. She didn't want to think about him... she couldn't think about him.

"So you're not the one who broke Naruto's heart... but from what you said... you know who did..." the crimson-clad kunoichi pointed out, "I made a promise to myself that I would find her and drag her back to Naruto, kicking and screaming if I needed to... and I don't intend to go back on my word. So spill. Who is it that Naruto loves?"

Hinata was cornered. She stared at Sakura wide-eyed... knowing that she had slipped and she couldn't avoid this forever. Sakura had a determined look on her face... the same kind of look that Naruto got whenever he said that he definitely would not lose. Sakura was going to get it out of her no matter what, and the blue-haired girl knew it. Hinata sighed, looking down at the ground as she pulled her knees to her chest... this was going to be difficult.

"I... didn't want to tell you... because I wanted you to find out by yourself but... it doesn't look like you'll give up..." she paused, wanting more than anything else for her to say 'nevermind, I don't want to know...' but it never came, "Sakura-san... the one that Naruto-kun loves... more than anyone in the world... the one who he constantly puts his life on the line for even though she was always cold towards him... the one who he has acknowledged he has absolutely no hope with..."

Again she paused while Sakura waited... outraged at this person, whoever she was. It seemed that Naruto was deeply in love with her. What kind of cold hearted woman would turn away such obvious affections? What kind of mean little girl would do that to Naruto, who she now saw through deeply respectful eyes. He, more than anyone... even Sasuke... deserved to be happy. She would bring the one he loved back to him... but not before giving her a sound punch to the jaw for doing such aweful things to Naruto. Whoever she was... she deserved it.

"... is you."

A/N: So what do you think? This'll probably be my last chapter for a while to come... so I hope you enjoy it... I think it's kind of mediocre though. I had a hard time playing Hinata, and something about Naruto didn't feel quite right. Oh well, you be the judge! I await your (hopefully) helpful verdicts! I wonder if anyone will notice the small change to a certain character that I intentionally put in here.