My body ached… my heart felt like it had left my body… as if when Hinata was taken from me, so had my heart… my sense of reason… When Hinata had been taken from me, I was washed in a guilt that tainted my thoughts… had tainted every single part of me till I became… someone else.
I wasn't myself anymore...
But, I was given a chance to get her back… though, I'll admit… I didn't feel any confidant in my powers at the moment…
Naruto was badly wounded, and that was putting it mildly. Sasuke and Sakura had found the poor guy in ruble when they were walking home from a date one day, or, they should say their walking home date. Sasuke and Sakura had both been concerned when both Naruto and Hinata didn't show up for school… they weren't sure but they had a feeling that something had happened to them.
Sasuke though, didn't expect this at all…
He didn't expect to see his best friend buried under a pile of rubble, didn't expect to see his best friend covered in cuts, bruises, and his own blood… "What happened?" asked Sakura with worry for the blonde boy, helping her boyfriend to remove the rubble from Naruto's body and to help him up.
"I don't know Sakura, but I think he was in a battle with a ghost or a demon… let's get him to my house."
"Why?"
"His parents will want to know why their only child is in this condition and they'd suspect we're lying if we say he was in a gang fight. If we take him to my house no one will suspect a thing since they're always gone and Itachi is gone off to college." Sasuke calmly said before lifting his friend and placing him on his back before walking with Sakura to his home.
"Sasuke, is… is he going to be okay? I don't feel a strong pulse…"
"That's normal… since Naruto got his powers, his pulse isn't as strong as a normal human's… with him being part ghost he doesn't need a pulse but he speeds it up to match a human's when he needs it to be quick enough."
"So at the hospital…?"
"He must have been a little aware of what happened and what was going on… But this time, he's too out of it, so it was a good thing we found him instead."
Sakura nodded and helped Sasuke to bring Naruto to the raven haired boy's home… She wasn't sure what they could do for him, but to let him rest right now… Naruto deserved that part at the least…
Once they got him to Sasuke's home, they put Naruto in one of the guest rooms and started to treat his wounds. They cleaned up all of the cuts on his body, and started to wrap them up… They couldn't believe what they were seeing at all… For, Naruto had a few cuts on his head, some on his arms and chest… a few scratches and… then there was the singed skin… It seemed like he was either burned or shocked by something… His back was worse off…
His back was burned more than that one attack that had been dealt to him when Naruto tried to protect Hinata from a blast of energy.
"I'm surprised he's alive right now…" whispered Sakura, knowing that most humans wouldn't have been able to have survived from attacks that could do this kind of damage that Naruto's body had went through.
"He must have been Kyuubi Phantom when he got these… if he was human, than it would have killed him." Calmly said Sasuke, which only made him sigh softly, they had to let him rest and gather his own strength right about now. There was nothing more they could do for him… Naruto had to rely on his own strength right now.
Naruto ran through the darkness, he wasn't sure what was going on… he could only remember that he was battling a demon… tried to get to Hinata before the demon could get away with her… Shaking his head, the young man tried to get out of this darkness, but he had to find Hinata, he couldn't give up…
"I have to find her…" He whispered to himself before sighing softly and making him to run even faster. "Hinata, can you hear me? Please, answer me Hinata!" shouted Naruto, hoping that she would somehow hear him…
He didn't get an answer…
Naruto fell to his knees… feeling like he had failed her… He let her get kidnapped, he allowed her to be taken away from him… he wasn't strong enough to save her. And now, it was too late to save her, there is no way that he can get strong enough in a month to save her… It just wasn't possible; he didn't even know how to get to the demon world.
It just wasn't possible…
Slamming his fist into the ground, Naruto cursed… feeling the pain in his hand, but he kept hitting the ground… blaming himself for what had happened. For getting these powers… for going into the portal… for accepting that damn bet! All of it was his fault, and he knew it… Hinata… wasn't the only thing that had been taking from him… it wasn't just his heart that was taken from him but his confidence…
"How can I be a protector… when I cannot protect the one I love?" he whispered softly, hunched forward as he cried… Naruto's burning spirit… his desire to never give up had shattered into tiny shards.
He wanted to give up at this very moment.
His ears twitched… thinking that he heard something. Blinking, Naruto lifted his head and he thought that he saw something… squinting his red and green eyes, he slowly rose to his feet as he thought that he saw Hinata… Was this her spirit?
He could see that Hinata was wearing different clothes than the ones that he had seen her in before getting kidnapped… Wait… was that a… a harem outfit? Hinata was wearing a purple bra that looked like what genies would wear, least the ones he saw in cartoons as a kid… she even wore matching harem pants to go with it…
Her hair was up in a high ponytail, around her face was one of those purples scarf things they have tied with golden chains… he could even make out gold earrings and gold bracelets around her forearms… He didn't understand why she would be wearing this… unless she was still alive? Was this what the piece of his shadow was showing him or was this a part something else? He wasn't sure…
He could hear Hinata crying…
And it broke Naruto's heart to the point where he called out to her… but Naruto just knew that she wouldn't be able to hear him no matter what he did. Frowning, Naruto tried to reach out to her… Slowly, he walked over to her… least he was getting closer…
"Every night in my dreams I see you, I feel you,
That is how I know you go on"
Naruto couldn't help but smile at her… no matter what, he always thought that Hinata had a beautiful voice… the voice of angels… no, a goddess… Once he reached her, Naruto gently placed his palm on her cheek… his eyes filled with sadness, fearing that she hated him for failing to protect her.
"Far across the distance
And spaces between us
You have come to show you go on"
Hinata turned her gaze out the window of the dark palace… her face gently leaned into Naruto's hand which… which made him think that she knew that he was here… but, was he really here with her right now?
"Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on
Once more you open the door"
Naruto tried to say something to her… but, it felt like he couldn't speak… he hoped, that the love he had for her in his heart would reach her… would wrap around her in a gentle blanket to comfort her. It was the least he could do for her, when he cannot even reach her in real life… or, was this real life and he was nothing more than a spirit? Was he even alive?
"And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on"
Naruto wrapped his tails around Hinata's waist as he knelt next to her… whispering soft words to her… words he hoped that would reach her no matter what world she is in… that was all he had hoped…
"Love can touch us one time
And last for a lifetime
And never let go till we're one"
Naruto saw Hinata shed a few tears… he wanted to hold her so badly… but he could barely have his tails hold her without fazing through her body. He gave her one smile, though it was a smile filled of sadness and shame… no matter what, he couldn't let it go, that he had failed her… that he failed to protect her… his love… the reason for him living… his princess.
"Love was when I loved you
One true time I hold to
In my life we'll always go on"
Naruto felt his body changing back into his human appearance… he wasn't Kyuubi Phantom anymore at this point… he… he was Naruto Uzumaki… Hinata's friend… Frowning, he was confused as to why he had changed back but what he did know was that he had to keep talking to her… hoping that his words would reach her.
"Near, far, wherever you are
I believe that the heart does go on"
Naruto leaned his head on her shoulder… least; he tried too without it fazing through her. Naruto wanted her to know that no matter how long it takes, he'll find her… somehow… but, he wasn't sure how that would happen since he had no idea how to find her in the least. Sighing softly, Naruto kissed her cheek gently… Blinking softly, he stared at her in confusion when she reached her hand up and gently touched her cheek… right where he had kissed it.
"Once more you open the door
And you're here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on"
Naruto smiled gently at her… hoping that she could sense his presents… well, he hoped that she doesn't notice the different right now… right now, he hoped that she doesn't see him… that would be the last thing that he wanted… he didn't want her to see him… it would only bring more pain for the both of them… he wasn't sure how… but he had a pretty good idea he knew that it would.
"You're here, there's nothing I fear
And I know that my heart"
Hinata wasn't afraid… because he was in her heart? No… because Kyuubi Phantom was in her heart. Not Naruto… he would never be in her heart if she knew the truth about him… it just wouldn't work so long as he was two separate people. That was for sure… but he knew, that he could at least… keep her happy for as long as he could. That was the least he could do for her…
"will go on
We'll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart
And my heart will go on and on"
Hinata turned her head and looked at Naruto… he was sure that she was only looking through him, since she didn't show a sign of being shocked at him being there… Soon, Naruto felt himself being pulled away from her… "No!" He shouted before trying to grab her hand… but it was too late, Naruto saw Hinata getting further and further away from him as he soon faded…/i
"Hinata!" shouted Naruto as he sat up in bed, gasping for breath as if he ran a marathon… Looking around, he wondered why he saw himself at Sasuke's home… how did he get here? Frowning, he pushed himself up, only to hiss in pain and fall back in bed taking deep painful breaths. Why did this hurt so much?
Walking into the room was his pink haired friend, who stared at him in shock before rushing out of the room, calling out for Sasuke… So he was in Sasuke's home… but how did he get here? It didn't make any kind of sense to him at all…
"Naruto, you're awake… we thought the worst had happened…"
"How long…"
"Hmm?"
"How long was I asleep Sasuke…"
Both of them looked nervous to tell Naruto… but he had a feeling that he didn't want to know the answer but he had to know what had happened… that the whole thing was a dream… that he had fought the demon and won… and that Hinata was safe… and… and at home spending time with her family.
"You were asleep for a week…"
Naruto felt his blood run cold… he… he had been asleep for a whole week! That… that can't be… that can't be true! "Where's Hinata… she's home right?"
"Naruto… her parents called the police to file a missing person report…"
Naruto's eyes were wide with shock and pain… Growling, he felt his fangs growing and his eyes flashing… his powers went haywire for a moment before pushing himself out of bed. "Naruto get back in bed!" shouted Sakura as she tried to push the blonde back into bed.
"No! I have to save her! I have to! It's my fault that she was taken away in the first place!" shouted Naruto as he felt tears in his eyes… the pain of losing her was much greater than he thought it would be… it felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest and stomped into the ground a hundred times till it smashed into a thousand pieces.
"What is wrong with you Naruto?" shouted Sasuke with shock and concern for his friend… why was Naruto acting like this? Sure he never thought much before doing anything but damn it, the way he was acting right now made it seem much worse than it should be right about now.
"I let it happen! I let her get kidnapped because of my powers!" shouted Naruto, his eyes flashing from their usual colouring to black… he had to save Hinata or risk everything…
"Naruto, what happened…?" asked Sakura…
Growling, Naruto tried to keep himself calm… his body shook with pain as he explained what had happened… Naruto walking to school… hearing her scream for help… the demon appearing and attacking them before taking Hinata away and giving him a month to train and to go and fight to save her…
That was all he could really tell them anyway, there was no way that he could tell them about the strange dream he had of Hinata… or Sakura would beat the shit outta him and calling him a pervert with Hinata wearing that strange harem getup… Naruto felt himself calm down before he placed his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. The pain of guilt was a horrible thing for sure…
"Naruto… you have to avoid everyone for a while… we'll help you train to use your powers… You said you just learned… shadow manipulation right?" Naruto just nodded, trying hard to keep himself calm… he only had two or three weeks left to train… it didn't give him a lot of time to fight… to train and find a gateway to get to the demon world unless they used the demon portal his parents made… but, sadly there was no telling what would happen if he tried to go through… well, not like it would affect his body any more than it already had… but Sasuke and Sakura… there was no telling what would happen to them.
"I don't know how I'm supposed to train with powers I barley know how to even use… there is no way that you can help me either if I'm the only one with these powers… no one had seen another Kyuubi Phantom in hundreds of years." Calmly said Naruto, which only served to upset him all the more, and Sasuke and Sakura couldn't help but agree with him… though they also couldn't help but miss the old Naruto, this one was really a downer right about now since he seemed so… outta character.
"Look Naruto, you have to get over this guilt… we know what you're going through but please-" Sasuke began to say… only to be cut off by a very angry black eyed Naruto.
"You don't know shit! You don't get it Sasuke, you don't have these powers. You don't have to worry about your parents finding out about them so they can hunt you down and experiment on you! You don't have to worry about losing the only person in your life that you love with all your heart to demons or ghosts who want to use you for their own personal gain. You don't know shit!" shouted Naruto, his eyes glowing dark black as if he was on the verge of snapping any minute from now…
Sasuke was shocked at what Naruto had to say… all this time, his best friend had been holding this all inside himself… it was something he didn't understand at all but… Naruto probably didn't want anyone to know, not wanting to burden anyone than he already had with both himself, and Sakura knowing his secret…
Sighing, Sasuke placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder hoping to calm him down… "You're right dope, I don't know shit about this… but, me and Sakura are both here to help you. Just relax, and we'll help you with what we can do… I promise…"
Naruto took a deep shaking breath as his eyes returned to their natural ocean blue before he sat back down on his bed… Sasuke was happy to see that he had calmed down a bit… "Now… what are we going to do about my training…?" whispered Naruto…
That, Sasuke didn't know what he could do… he knew just as much about Naruto's powers as much as Naruto did… which was squat…
"Maybe I can help…" said a new voice in the doorway, which had caused everyone to turn around and stare at the new guest that was in the doorway of the bedroom…
"Why are you here?" asked Sasuke with confusion in his voice.
