Konoha's Silver Shinobi

by Konerok Hadorak

Ichimaru Gin isn't known for his sympathy, nor for his empathy. But when he finds a bloodied boy along the side of the road, he can't help but stop to help. But that one act of compassion will change the Shinobi world forever. Follow them both as he guides Naruto on his way to greatness!

10. Chapter 10: To Change What Is

A/N: Damn it! I saved theis f***ing thing on FF and then it logs me out right when I finis the damn author notes! Now I gotta f***ing do them again! Took me forever blah blah blah, sorry it took so long, blah blah blah, had no motivation to finish after the Rangiku scene, more blah blah blah. Thanks to all those who reviewed last chapter blah blah blah, those being, CracktheSkye, Lican, EVA-Saiyajin, Pyromania101, SpeeDemon, Risingsolstace, Chooser, cmcwiki, Chewie Cookies, reven228, MWkillkenny84, Vallavarayan, unweymexicano, Ookami88, Hypothetical Spiritual Entity, asredwer, Orchamus, KitElizaKing, Hyrulian Hero Akai, Hee-Ho Master, KantonKageX, Oblivions End, klok775, Scorpo, and raveman2. Moving on.

Apparently I may have given too many clues as to the jutsu used in the last chapter since several of you guessed correctly. Others of you.. not so much. Sadly you wont see the jutsu in use for quite a while, so now you have something to look forward to later on :)

OK, now that I've calmed down a bit, i'll talk a bit more. So yeah, as I said, I kinda lost my motivation to finish this around the middle of the chapter. Couldn't seem to find the drive to complete it. Finaly kicked myself in the butt and got to work. Then I had to upload it, and proofread it, which took a total of probably four flippin' days! Hope you guys like it, sheesh...

Anyway, you're not here to hear me blabber; onto the story!

---

Chapter 10: To Change What Is...

Naruto rested his hands behind his head as he walked. "Maaan I'm beat… All that bridge building and training really takes a lot outa me."

Hinata nodded in agreement, though she was probably more exhausted than he was. Naruto had ungodly amounts of energy and stamina, unlike her, and he could practically bounce back from any sort of exhaustion.

Sasuke also had more energy than her, but still significantly less than Naruto. If anything, it probably had to do with the Kyuubi, or something.

Now that she thought about it, she hadn't given it much consideration.

The fact that Naruto was host to the Nine Tailed Fox was, for some reason, just an afterthought that didn't really seem real. Naruto was Naruto, and the Kyuubi was the Kyuubi. They just seemed so… separate. Why the rest of the village hated him, she didn't know; if even a young girl like her could see the simple truth of it, why couldn't the more mature adults?

She looked at the blond boy beside her in thought. Having no particular firsthand knowledge of the demon, she probably couldn't think of him as anything more than what she'd known him to be. After Mizuki had revealed the truth of Naruto's bigoted life, and during his recoup from the injuries he sustained in the fight with the chinin, she'd given it some serious thought.

But in the end, she came to the conclusion… Why did it matter? The fox was a separate entity completely that was safely (and tragically) sealed away inside of him. And it wasn't like he was malicious or malevolent, not any kind of quality that might associate him with the monster. So what if he had the most powerful creature in the world stuck inside him? If anything, that very fact alone made her wonder at how Naruto dealt with it.

It made her almost envious. Their lives were similar: both were unloved, uncared for, unneeded, unwanted, and meaningless. And yet Naruto had found a way to be happy through it all, while she'd only managed to become more miserable as she grew older.

She credited Naruto's strength of spirit, at least partly, to Gin for being a father to Naruto, even if he was absent for six years. And she was becoming more and more convinced that it was Gin that allowed Naruto to push through all the troubles he had; Gin cared for Naruto, and Naruto loved Gin. That burning admiration he had for the silver haired man, and the knowledge that he was loved back, was how Naruto dealt with everything. She was sure of it.

And she was beginning to understand just how he felt during that time. Her father loved her, in a strange misguided way… but it wasn't the love she needed or craved.

Naruto gave her that love; he gave her attention; he gave her joy; he gave her hope.

And Gin… Gin treated her like a daughter! Whenever they were all out together, Naruto would always invite her to eat with them, and it just became so commonplace that he evetnually stopped asking altogether and just dragged her along with him. And then the three of them would eat at various restaurants, with Gin treating both of them equally, which was strange for her.

She'd watched Gin and Naruto interact all the time with the team, and she felt weird when he acted the same way with her. But that was of course because of her social upbringing. It wasn't what she was used to, and as she was exposed to more and more of them both, she began to realize it was what she needed.

She needed that "normal" human interaction and communication. More and more of her soul began to be unlocked by it.

In all honesty, even before Gin's little chat at the beginning of the mission, they'd both managed to show her what she was missing, and what they were willing to give her.

She snapped back to reality to find Naruto and Sasuke arguing about something… again, but she didn't move to stop them. Like how she was treated like a daughter by Gin, Sasuke and Naruto treated each other as brothers. She smiled at them both. 'We're all becoming just like one big family.'

She let her mind wander back to the darker side of previous thoughts. Not necessarily the more depressing side, but the more important side. Like how she would deal with her family if they didn't approve of Naruto over time, or they arranged for her to be married to someone else. Because she knew for a fact that she was NOT going to give up Naruto. If she had to choose between her family status and Naruto, she'd pick Naruto every time.

Of course that meant she'd be practically disowning herself from her family, or her family would disown her. Either way she'd be without any monetary support or shelter. That left her wondering what she would do after that. She didn't want to be a burden to Naruto or Gin, or Sasuke or Kakashi, but she knew she'd have to plan for the event just in case. Better safe than sorry after all.

Unbeknownst to her, Gin was already four steps ahead of her. He'd considered the same scenarios she was now thinking through and had already come up with a plan for every possible outcome.

It was something he did in is free time; think up situations he might be put in and think through what he'd do. It was one of the reasons he fit in with the shinigami elite so well. Even with his informal Kyoto slang, those of the Four Houses respected him. Even Central 46 begrudgingly respected him when he was only a vice-captain.

Gin never fought a battle without thinking it through first. That was just how he was.

Little did he know there was one scenario quickly approaching that he hadn't at all considered. Not yet anyway…

---

The Senkai gate closed behind them silently as the two shinigami stepped through the dimensional door and onto the ancient floor of the Dangai.

"It's been a while since I've been in the Dangai. It looks different than before."

"Ever since Aizen destroyed the Kōtotsu, there's been nothing to clean up in here," the small captain explained as he and Rangiku continued on into the depths of the Dangai. After some time traveling, Hitsugaya stopped and looked around.

"I sense something nearby. Whatever that leak is, it must be around here somewhere."

Rangiku looked around as well in a vain attempt to spot anything obvious. Finding nothing, she looked back to her captain, only to see him walking further into the Dangai. Quickly following after him, they continued to travel, that strange foreign reiatsu becoming stronger and stronger and easier to sense, but remained no less elusive.

After thirty minutes of walking and sensing, the origin of the reiatsu seemed to get farther away, but in the opposite direction they were walking. "Taicho, I think we passed it."

Hitsugaya nodded and narrowed his eyes. "Yeah. Let's head back."

The retraced their steps until the reiatsu was at its peak again and they stopped. Both of them looked around at the rolling walls of the Dangai tunnel. At last, the Tenth division captain spoke again. "Start looking for anything out of the ordinary here."

Rangiku nodded and they separated, each going to different sides. Personally, while Rangiku knew how this stray reiatsu emitter might become a problem, and despite knowing it took a vice-captain and higher level or sensory capabilities, this kind of task seemed a bit below her. It was like a Hollow hunt without the Hollow. Nevertheless, she continued to search, looking dully at the wall.

At any other time she would have just lazed off and let someone else take care of it. But she didn't have a choice here in this secluded place. Plus, her captain would notice if she slacked off. Bit by bit, minute by minute, the two began to get further and further from each other. But neither left each other's senses.

At the moment they were fifty meters or so from each other, each examining the walls for any sort of anomaly. Rangiku stifled a yawn with her hand, feeling suddenly tired. As her eyes opened from the yawn, she spotted something shining just below her.

Narrowing her eyes, she stooped down to look at it.

It was a small tear in the Dangai wall where a small amount of pale light flickered through. Being careful not to touch the wall itself, she peaked through, and to her surprise, the neutral colors of twilight met her eyes, the sky changing from blue to orange and from orange to dark-blue over time.

She blinked and looked away, making sure she was still in the Dangai. She was. Then she looked back.

But as she looked back this time, she could have sworn she saw some sort of dark mist creep into her vision, and after a second, the mist form the visage of a ghostly hand as it surged through the narrow hole towards her. She backed up immediately and turned to yell at her captain when she felt something wrap around her waist and mouth. She couldn't even move her arms.

She let out a muffled cry as she felt herself be pulled back into the Dangai walls. Well, she thought she was being pulled into the wall, until she felt her body twist and warp inhumanly and her vision whirled around until it went dark.

Toshiro turned as he heard Rangiku mumble something, but when he looked to where she'd been just a moment before, she was no longer there. He blinked and looked around. "Matsumoto…?"

Suddenly, she felt herself lying on solid ground. Cool earth. She tested her limbs experimentally. No pain.

---

Her eyes slowly adjusted and she realized her vision had gone dark, because she was now staring at night skies. "What…?"

She sat up with a grunt. She was still dressed in her Shinigami robes, and Haineko was still attached to her waist. Nothing was different except her surroundings. Instantly she felt a sense of distance, almost like culture-shock; she wasn't familiar with these woods she was now sitting in. Everything was calm; now animals out, no Hollow reiatsu… in fact, no reiatsu at all.

She stood warily, looking around her carefully. She was in a dark, isolated forest. The trees around her were old and moss covered, looking as ancient as time itself. She searched for any possible conclusion to why she was here, but she found none. She'd obviously been transported somewhere, but the question was, as she voiced it; "Where am I?"

After a few minutes of examining her surroundings, she closed her eyes and concentrated on finding any source of life. It took her some time, but she finally felt the familiar feel of humans far off in the distance. However, even though if felt familiar, it also felt different. They wasn't like any humans she'd felt before. But she put that aside for now and began her trek out of the woods.

It wasn't long for her to come to the truth that she wasn't in Soul Society either. As she leapt to the sky, she could see nothing but clear, starry skies and tree-tops for miles. Soul Society was much more varied in terrain due to the numerous fights it had contained over the millennia.

But the biggest piece of evidence however was the stars themselves. The constellations spread throughout the dark canopy above her were completely alien to her. She couldn't even vaguely compare them to the stars she was used to.

Accepting the fact she was in a different place, she did the only thing she knew to do; find civilization and hope she could find a way back.

---

They'd finally stopped and made camp. Since there were no inns or resting places for them until the next day's end, they'd pitched their tents off the road and settled down for some dinner, which consisted of ration packs (which they all nearly gagged on) before bidding each other good night and heading to sleep.

The genin were to sleep in one tent while Kakashi and Gin slept in another. Gin had managed to pitch his own, but Kakashi had to remind him of a few things as he did so. Gin laughed and said he hadn't been camping in years; he was bound to be rusty.

Hinata slept in the middle between Sasuke and Naruto. Even though she didn't like Sasuke the way she did Naruto, she felt safe and secure between them. Both were her loyal teammates.

Naruto, unbeknownst to her or Sasuke, inched his sleeping back closer and closer to her until they were right next to each other. He didn't snuggle up next to her, since he wasn't sure if she'd be ok with that, but he did rest his head next to hers; he wanted to be close to her.

Hinata, even though she unaware of this, subconsciously dreamt of him sleeping next to her in a bed of their own, in a home of their own. Needless to say, even though it was a PG-rated dream, it was still a happy one of comfort and bliss.

The night continued that way, but Naruto just couldn't seem to fall asleep. Something was nagging at him, and he didn't know what. After a few hours of restlessness, he reluctantly got out of his sleeping bag and put his vest back on, it being the only thing he'd taken off to sleep, aside for his shoes and Shinsō.

Looking back to Hinata, she sifted, noticing his absence. He smiled and took his bag, tucking it up next to Hinata to simulate his being there next to her. Immediately she relaxed and he almost laughed. It made him proud to know he could make that much of a difference in her sleep, by simply being next to her, even if in a separate sleeping bag.

Slipping out of the tent as quietly as possible, he looked around, feeling the cool, past-midnight air on his skin. He looked up at the half-moon above him. It wasn't too bright, but just bright enough to guide him on his little stroll; he hoped it would let him sleep when he got back.

He turned and walked into the forest, making sure to be able to retrace his steps later to find the camp. He'd never had a problem with directions since he'd learned reiatsu sensor-ship; he could find the familiar signatures of any of his squad-mates from any distance, a fact he prided himself on.

He let his thoughts wander while his body auto-piloted him through the woods. In his current state of mind, he could think about things in full seriousness. Things like him and Hinata. Of course, now that they were dating, and they both knew the depths of each other's love for them, it would be difficult from keeping the relationship from getting too physical too fast. There were several problems with that. First of all, if Hinata wasn't ready for it, he didn't want to push her (since he doubted he'd be able to stop himself if they got to that point). Secondly, if they did get to that point, they'd crave that physical closeness every waking moment of the day, which would be impossible maintain within the village.

That left the only times they could be physically close being missions, and there were very few D-rank missions that took a team outside the village for any extended length of time. And after this mission, they no doubt would be put off of C-rank missions for a while.

Unless there was some sort of technique he could learn that could create a special space where nothing could be sensed with any of the five senses (or optional sixth), it would be impossible to have any kind of private time together while within Konoha's walls.

But that all depended if Hinata was ok with being physical. And he wasn't thinking things like making love or anything like that. He was thinking of things like simply being close to each other and things like maybe sleeping together, though sleeping together would be a bit further down the road. Making love would be MUCH MUCH MUCH later, or at least he hoped it would be. It wasn't that he was opposed to sex, but he simply thought it would be best to wait until they were both sure about it, mostly because he didn't want to make their first time together an event of perversion. He wanted it to be a time of pure love. In his mind, he wanted to starve them both of the action until neither of them could stand it, then when they finally did do it, all that love for each other would be released at once, cementing the action with the emotion.

But that was the optimal, perfect way to do it; at least, in his mind. He realized that in all practicality, it wouldn't happen like that; it would probably happen sometime in the near future. The only problem would be what he would do about Hinata's family. He was too terrified of them to ever try anything like that with Hinata while inside the village, even if they both wanted it with all their being. Also, he was afraid of what they would do to her if they found out.

He was worried for her. This whole relationship hinged upon him being the perfect gentleman and model citizen in the eyes of the Hyuuga council. They needed to realize that he was perfect for her in the ways that concerned them; chiefly being, status, power, skill, and potential. Gin had said that was what they were looking for. They needed to know that it would be advantageous for them to allow them to be together.

Naturally, Naruto knew that it would eventually lead to marriage, and he was prepared for it. Since he was kind of already mooching off of Gin (he was his dad after all), he was able to save most of his mission-money up.

Most noble families like the Hyuuga were prone to marry off their heirs and heiresses at a young age, and Hinata was nearing that age now; just because he was in a relationship with her didn't necessarily give him precedence over any other rich family. He already had about a hundred-and fifty thousand Ryo* saved up, and he planned to getting more. If in a few moths he can get that much with D-ranks, he knew that with several C or even B-ranks, he could get enough money to literally buy Hinata from the Hyuuga clan.

But that was only if he had to. He might not, since Gin had assured him that Hiashi, the head of the Hyuuga clan was leaning towards him and Hinata staying together. Naruto had been relived at that, but it didn't hurt to be prepared.

He smiled assuredly. 'Besides, even if all else fails, dad'll think of something. He always does.' He came out of his musings confidently.

Suddenly a strange presence made him stop. Something was coming, but it wasn't a ninja or civilian. It felt… almost like a…

His eyes narrowed and they shifted to the side. He glared behind him.

"C'mon out! There's no point hiding over there!"

He heard a surprised gasp and then after a few seconds a shuffling of feet as the figure stepped forward from the shadows of the forest.

"You… can see me?" It was a woman's voice. Naruto looked her over carefully. "Why wouldn't I be able to see you? That pink scarf of yours sticks out like a sore thumb.

She looked at him and then to her scarf, then back at him. Momentarily forgetting the importance of how he could see her, she glared at him in annoyance. "Hey! I can't stand just wearing black! I had to spice things up a bit," she said as she fingered her scarf.

Naruto turned to her suspiciously. Had he just stumbled upon her like a normal civilian, he wouldn't have acted so hostile. But the fact that she'd been specifically hiding herself and the fact that she had a sword put him on edge.

She saw his suspicious eyes and flipped her hair to the side nervously. Something about the kid made her nervous. "What?" she asked almost defensively.

Naruto's eyes roamed her body, not lecherously, but looking for a source of identification. She wore non-shinobi clothes, but she carried herself as a warrior who could definitely defend herself. But she carried no headband that could tell him where she was from. Even on assassination missions ninja wore their headbands proudly.

Even among the Five Nations and their deceitfulness, it was GREATLY dishonorable to carry out a mission without your headband. Like the attempted kidnapping Hinata had experienced when she was three, the cloud ninja still wore his headband.

So either this was an unaffiliated female bandit (which he doubted since no female bandit would look that good) or she was a special member of a wealthy lord's soldiers. He'd heard of some men keeping strong female fighters as their personal guard who not only would protect him but also carry messages to and from places, using their charms and skill to get the job done. It was also not uncommon for them to be used as assassins, since men naturally let their guard down around women.

He didn't know which she was, but he was prepared for either. "Why were you hiding yourself?" he asked at last. Not only was she no doubt a capable fighter, but he also could detect reiatsu from her, which made her the first person aside from Gin, Hinata and himself he'd ever sensed.

It was strange; everyone who used reiatsu around him was familiar, but the unfamiliar feeling he got from her reiatsu made him tense.

She blinked and had to think about it herself. "Well, I wasn't exactly hiding. I was observing you."

"Out in the open? That takes balls." His comment wasn't meant for humor, but rather was uttered from a sense of incredulity.

The woman narrowed her eyes at him. "I didn't think you could see me."

"So you were hiding," Naruto said accusingly. He placed a hand on his sword, prepared to draw it at a moment's notice.

Rangiku sighed inwardly. How could she explain the fact that she was technically undead (and subsequently invisible) to a kid? Though, as she examined him, he looked dangerous. In the general sense of course; there was no way he could fight her if she actually fought him. But the way he carried himself worried her. Even for his age, he knew how to fight.

The fact that he had a sword and the way he dressed told her she wasn't in the modern human world either. She must have been transported to another human world in a different age. She also noticed the small pouch on his right thigh that held a small kunai knife.

Apparently her lack of an answer as she analyzed him didn't go over well with the boy and he drew his sword and pointed it at her.

She placed a hand on her sword as well, prepared, if he attacked. However, she didn't want to fight him at all, so she opted to just leave him in the dust and find someone less dangerous to try and question. Now that she knew she was visible, at least to some people, she'd need to remember not to look like she was stalking them.

With a flash of Shunpo, she left the boy with wide eyes. "What the…?"

He looked around quickly and spotted her fleeting form between the branches of distant trees. If he wasn't as proficient with Shunpo himself, he wouldn't have been able to spot her move.

Pushing his feet forward, he flashed after her.

Rangiku sighed. Now she'd need to find someone else. There was a group of four or five humans further on, and she could try talking to them, but before she could continue on, her eyes went wide as she turned around just in time to stop a flashing blade from hitting her. She stumbled from the air and to the ground, the boy spin-flipping down to the ground across from her.

"You think you can run away with that level of Shunpo? Come on! Gimme some credit."

Her eyes were wide as she watched him sink into a combat stance. 'Impossible! How can he know Shunpo?'

She gripped Haineko tightly, having drawn it to block the boy's attack. It was nearly impossible to believe, but his Shunpo was as fast as her casual speed was, which in and of itself was a speed impossible for a normal human to achieve.

Now that she let her senses wander, she could detect his vast reiatsu. It seemed as though he was unconsciously hiding it, but deep inside, she could sense an immensity of power beyond even her own. She couldn't stop a gasp from escaping her lips as she contemplated his potential.

Naruto of course took her gasp as a surprised exclamation.

Suddenly her eyes drifted to his weapon and felt the reiatsu from it; an undeniably familiar reiatsu.

Her eyes widened as she saw the peculiar S-shaped hilt and the wakizashi sized blade. Instantly she lunged forward, slashing at him. He blocked with one hand, straining at the blow. "Ngh…!"

"Where did you get that sword?" she asked lowly as she pressed against him. Her voice was dangerously toned and he smiled at her.

"Like it?" he said, despite the tension in his arms. "It's mine!" With a grunt he parried the blade and sideswiped her defenseless side. She leapt out of the way quickly.

That was no doubt Shinsō, Gin's Zanpakutō. How it had gotten here was unknown, and even more, why this kid was able to use Shinigami arts was equally unknown. But that sword was not his, and she'd make sure she got it back. "Unare, Haineko!" She placed her right hand on the hilt of her sword the blade suddenly shifted and turned to ash, the microscopic particles blowing around her.

Naruto's eyes went wide as he watched.

"You have a Zanpakutō?" He didn't get an answer as the ash shot towards him. Why ash would hurt him, he didn't know, but he also didn't want to take any chances.

Twisting in the air he landed on tree branch, only to jump again as the ash hit the limb, shattering it and sending it falling to the forest floor. 'So that's why it's dangerous,' he realized silently. He could only run as the ash chased him around the forest. He knew he'd need to fight her directly if he wanted to end this battle unscathed.

But that idea was blown away as more ash appeared in front of him. His eyes widened as he raised his left hand cried out. "Hado no Gojūhachi: Tenran!" a small tornado of air circled in his palm and then burst forward into a howling gale that blew the ash in front of him away or to the side, allowing him to pass through.

Rangiku grit her teeth as she saw the Kidō. Kidō like that, especially one of that level could only be taught. Which meant this boy had a teacher; he even knew what a Zanpakutō was! However, even as she reconsidered that she was in Soul Society, she realized he would have known she was a vice-captain from the badge on her arm. He was either a Shinigami with amnesia, or he was just clueless as to Shinigami ways. But even then, how could he have gotten Gin's Zanpakutō? That was what was driving her over the edge.

It was disgraceful for him to even try to use his sword.

Naruto bounced from tree to tree, using Shunpō occasionally to avoid some tight spots. 'That ash of hers is going to catch up to me if I don't do something about her,' he realized as he weaved between trees. His only chance was to either attack from long range or to get in close. He couldn't keep using Kidō like that. A level fifty-eight spell with no incantation wasn't exactly easy for him.

He closed his eyes as he considered his choices. He knew there were few to choose from, so he chose the easiest one. It would require he get hurt a little, but it would end the fight. Taking a deep breath, he leapt to the side, back toward the blonde woman.

She saw it clearly and ash swirled around her in preparation for his attack while the rest of the swirling dust shot at him. But Naruto predicted that, and he figured this was where it was going to hurt.

He gritted his teeth as the dust encompassed him, cutting through his clothes and skin. He let out a small cry as he pointed his blade at her through the swirling cloud.

She held back on him; she didn't want to kill him. She had many questions she was going to ask him before she killed him… if she'd kill him.

He was a kid after all.

But just as she was about to recall her Zanpakutō, there was a surge of reiatsu from the boy and she narrowed her eyes at his silhouetted form.

"Ikorose! SHINSŌ!"

If her eyes were wide before, they were even wider now as a shining blade shot from the cloud and straight toward her. She barely had enough time to recall her ash and reform her blade to block Shinsō's piercing tip.

She slid backwards from the force of the blow, and a wave of nostalgia hit her. This was nearly identical to the time when she'd stopped Gin's sword from killing Hinamori during his fight with Hitsugaya-tachio so long ago. She shook it off as she saw the boy standing there, panting lightly as he grinned at her.

"Crap. Thought that would hit ya." He recalled Shinsō back to its original form and she straightened herself, deciding to take advantage of this lull in the fighting.

"Give me that sword," she demanded harshly. The boy backed up a few steps and held the blade close to him.

"No way! Shinsō's my Zanpakutō! Besides you've already got one!"

Rangiku didn't want to have to explain her personal attachment to the sword's owner or why the sword was so important to her, and settled for simply demanding it again. "Give me the sword! If you don't I can't guarantee you'll live!" She readied Haineko again.

But the boy, seeing it, rushed forward and engaged her in close combat. The first thing she noticed was that he was fast. His strikes were wild, but precisely wild. Even she was having trouble deflecting them. Shinsō was smaller than Haineko and it was more difficult to bring her Zanpakutō around to block his smaller sword.

But even if he was fast, she was a vice-captain. He wasn't at her level yet. Waiting for the next strike to her head, instead of guarding with her blade, she raised her left hand and Shinsō stopped only an inch from the back of her hand, which faced outward.

"Bakudo no Hachi: Seki!" A small pale silver light flashed from her hand, not only blocking the blade but knocking it back. Naruto felt his joints temporarily freeze up from the defensive spell and his eyes widened in fear as he saw her other hand grip her Zanpakutō tightly. "Unare, Haineko!"

The blade once again turned to ash and surged toward him. All he could do was mutter a curse before he was hit with the slicing sand-like Zanpkauto. "Shit-!"

The rest of his voice was changed into a cry of pain as he was sliced from all angles.

Rangiku closed her eyes and allowed the sphere of death to remain for several seconds, but didn't condense it any more than it already was.

After a while, she recalled her Zanpakutō back to her hilt. To her amazement, the boy was still alive.

He was on all fours, Shinsō still tightly gripped in his right hand as he struggled to rise, his breath labored and blood dripping from the innumerable cuts on his body. Not an inch of him was spared, and he could feel pain in areas he desperately hoped would be healable.

He'd never been slashed across his pride before, but he realized he'd need to ask Gin for some sort of defensive spell to protect his manhood in the future. But because of the pain, he couldn't stand properly.

Rangiku stepped forward and bent down, grabbing Shinsō and trying to pry his fingers from its hilt. As soon as he felt her try and take the sword, he slashed at her, missing, but forcing her back a little. Seeing that he was still trying to fight, she tried asking him one last time to give up the weapon. "I won't ask you again, give me Shinsō."

Naruto, in total defiance, glared up at her with fierce eyes and fanged teeth. "And I won't tell you again; Shinsō's mine!"

Rangiku grimaced and placed her left hand out, the palm facing the boy. "Bakudo no Kyuu: Geki!"

Instantly a red light surrounded Naruto and he felt his limbs cease to respond to desire. Even though he was in an uncomfortable position, he simply couldn't move. His eyes were wide as she bent down again and slid Shinsō from his grasp.

Rangiku sighed as she held the sword in her hand. For a moment she felt relief flood through her. That is, until the blade itself emitted such a screeching wail she had to drop it to block her ears. As soon as her skin left the hilt of the blade the sound stopped, and it planted itself blade first into the ground.

"What was that…?" It was as if the blade disapproved of her even touching it.

She went to pick it up again when she felt the reiatsu in the air thicken. She turned in disbelief as the boy who she had thought had no fighting capabilities anymore growled in a deep animalistic voice, his shoulders shifting as his body shook. Little by little, his body began to move against the binding spell.

Slowly, he stood, golden reiatsu pouring from his skin and pushing against the glowing red spell Rangiku had cast on him.

With a spine-shivering roar, the spell broke, sending the boy's unrelenting spiritual energy across the forest. At last he looked back down from the sky and toward the woman. "I told you Shinsō's MINE!" His voice was no long just his own. It was as if there was a second voice layered on top of it. She turned to face him fully when he vanished from her sight. She gasped as a stone-hard fist smashed into her gut. Before she knew it, she was sent smashing into a tree…

…and through it. She grunted in pain as she looked back up, only to see the golden covered boy soar towards her, grabbing Shinsō on his way over. She quickly stepped away using Shunpō, barely dodging a strike that cleaved through half the tree she'd been leaning against.

She watched as the boy turned back to her glaring at her furiously. "Shinsō's mine! My Zanpakutō!" he said, his voice still strangely layered. "But if ya want it, come 'n' get it!" His eyes burned in sudden pain, but he pushed it aside, figuring it for some wound he'd gotten from the ash.

He rushed forward at her again, and it took all her skill to deflect his strikes. He was just as fast as he had been before, but now blocking his strikes was like blocking sledgehammers. They smashed into her sword with crushing force, sending her reeling each time. Not only that, but whenever she find an opening in his lightning-fast attacks, they'd be deflected by pure outpouring of reiatsu, or by a martial arts strike that would stop her blade; usually a fist or foot to her wrist or arm.

He spun so fast and so low to the ground she swore he almost fell from dizziness. But as erratic as his windups were, the actual impact was equally as devastating. Only a minute into their renewed fight, Rangiku knew what had happened.

She'd underestimated him. He was easily third-seat level at least, maybe even vice-captain material. While that normally would be praiseworthy and historically unprecedented for his age in Soul Society, her assumptions that she was stronger than him simply because she was in a different world nearly cost her. She knew that if she was going to win, she'd need to fight him as a vice-captain.

Putting in a few extra steps, she used Shunpō to put in some significant distance between them. He clearly saw it and surged after her, nearly as fast as she was, but without Shunpō.

She knew she only had one shot at this. She shifted Haineko in her grip and pointed both hands at the incoming boy. "Bakudo no Sanjūnana: Tsuriboshi!"

A star shaped web of almost rubber-like energy shot toward him, wrapping around him and causing him to roll along the ground, his only stopping mechanics being friction and gravity. But Rangiku wasn't taking any more chances.

"Walls of iron sand, a priestly pagoda, glowing ironclad fireflies. Standing upright, silent to the end."

Her chanting stopped and she folded her hands together around Haineko's hilt. "Bakudo no Nanajūgo: Gochūtekkan!"

Even as the blond raised his head to look up at the shadowing form above him, the massive five pillars slammed down on his limbs: one on his head, one on each arm and same with his legs. His whole form literally sunk half a foot into the ground with a resounding crash.

Rangiku panted heavily and a drop of sweat slipped from her cheek, hitting the ground with a slight patter. She raised an arm to wipe away more sweat from her brow. 'A level seventy-five spell with full incantation after a relatively easier level thirty-seven spell without incantation.' She shook her head at herself.

She wondered if she'd need any more spells to hold him down, but she realized anything else would just be excessive. She doubted he was even still alive anymore. He was already bleeding badly from her initial assaults with Haineko, and though it wasn't common, binding spells could kill.

He had great spiritual power, but he was still just a human. A spiritual body could withstand much more damage than a human body could, even if they were both at the same level of power. His human body probably would be able to take much more after that last bakudo, if he was even alive still. His reiatsu was faint, thought that might also be because of the Tsuriboshi spell's rubber-like net covering him.

She walked over to the five giant pillars and looked for his right hand. Finding the appropriate pillar she looked at its base and saw that, true to her intention, the pillar had landed on his wrist, not his hand, making extracting Shinsō easier.

Making sure to make as little contact with the Zanpakutō as possible, which had for some reason decided it didn't like her, as she slid it into her sash beside Haineko's sheath.

She gave one last sparing glance as the pillars before walking away. The spells would wear off in an hour or so; she hadn't set them to last for very long. Though, the boy might be dead by then. Even under all that weight he was still bleeding out.

She stopped when she heard crumbling behind her. She turned in incredulity when the boy's head rose, despite the powerful weight on him. The pillar began to crack as he rose. The same with his other limbs; each one of them shuddering under the pressure. She could only stare wide eyed as the spell began to be undone. Spider-webbing cracks spread across the middle of each pillar and eventual began to crumble. The boy roared loudly as she threw of the powerful spell.

At last they shattered, raining debris down on him and kicking up dust and dirt. She shielded her eyes as it washed over her. When she looked at the boy again, he truly had no energy to continue fighting. That much was clear.

"Shit…! Shit…! Give back Shinsō…!" his voice had returned to normal and he was no longer exuding any reiatsu.

She looked at him harshly, like a parent would a child. "Please don't move. If you attack again, I will kill you."

He boy paid her no heed as he stood, his legs shaking as they did their best to support him. "Give… Shinsō…. back…!"

He stumbled forward, barely catching himself as he stepped shakily towards her, like a madman driven to a cause.

"I'm not joking. I don't want to kill you. And if you keep moving you'll die anyway," she warned.

But he kept coming. Seeing Shinsō resting in her sash, he felt a burning anger well up in his chest. With a shout he leaned forward using his momentum to charge, as feeble as it was. "She's mine!" he yelled as he rushed the woman.

She was about to knock him away when she saw him draw the kunai from the pouch on his leg. Her eyes narrowed as she knew she'd have to use her sword to stop him, and that meant she'd likely have to kill him.

She blocked his knife wielding hand with Haineko only to see another knife slip from his sleeve into his left hand. Using her right hand, she slapped his wrist, causing him to wince and drop it, recoiling. But even as he did, his left hand shot out again, wrapping around her throat.

She recoiled as well, but didn't escape his grip as his fingers gripped her neck. In a frenzied movement, she knocked back his right hand and slashed down on the hand holding her neck. Blood splashed out from his wrist and hit the ground, and on a returning upward slash sliced his chest open. His eyes were wide as he slowly fell, the moment of time dilated for an instant after the slash. Rangiku watched as he fell to the ground, clutching his chest and wrist.

She almost wanted to cry. She didn't want to kill him, but at this point she'd be doing him a favor. Death from blood loss was painful.

Now that she had time to reflect on his foolish charge, his grip hadn't been that strong on her neck. It had been weakened, as his whole body had, by the lack of blood and shock from so much damage.

She sighed deeply and knelt over him. "I didn't want to kill you…!" she choked out, a small lump forming in her throat. Killing Hollows was one thing, as was killing human-like Hollows. But this kid wasn't a Hollow. He wasn't even an adult yet. She didn't say it but she knew she didn't have a choice. 'If you just hadn't been so powerful, I wouldn't have had to hurt you so much!' It gave little comfort.

He was too wounded to even cry out as he held his vest to his chest, trying to staunch the bleeding as he held his left wrist with his right hand.

She felt truly, terribly sorry for him. She closed her eyes sadly. She'd made a mess of him, that was for sure. She'd make sure to bury him properly; she couldn't leave him out here to rot in the open. But first, though it pained her to no end that she had to do it, she'd put him out of his misery.

She opened her eyes and nearly jumped when she saw his one good hand reaching out to take Shinsō from her sheath. Why was he so persistent? She grabbed his hand and gripped it tightly. "Why do you want this sword so badly you'd die for it? Why would you sacrifice yourself for a sword that's not even yours?"

She couldn't comprehend it. Why? It was the only thing that ran through her mind. Every other thought was "why?" followed by and impossible sense of confusion.

Between his gurgled blood, which he coughed out onto the ground, and his tired body, she could hear what he said, but only just barely.

"Because… Shinsō's… mine…"

She shook her head and stood up, releasing his hand. She held her sword out and flipped it upside down. One stab through the heart would end it relatively painlessly.

She closed her eyes sadly. "I'm sorry."

Just as the neurons from her brain were sent to her arms, telling them to move, a sharp bang sounded out through the forest and she recoiled as her sword was sent flying away. She looked stunned as she stood and glanced around. Then she saw something further in the darkness of the forest; the masculine form of another person.

His muffled steps could be heard as he approached. "Who's there?" she asked loudly. Could it be a comrade to the boy? A family member? A friend?

She looked over to her Zanpakutō only a few feet away and moved to reach for it. But faster than her eyes could see, a shutter of light smacked into the blade sending it flying several meters away, where it sank into the ground loudly.

She looked wide eyed at the intruder, and she heard, the very faint, strained laugh from the boy as he approached.

The stranger finally spoke. "Put yer sword down, Rangiku."

Her blood went cold at the voice. In an instant her movements ceased, even her breathing stopped. She could only stand wide eyed at the man stepping up to her. His clothes were different, but that hair… those eyes… and the smile that, while currently absent, could easily have stretched across his face…

And as she looked she saw a familiar blade in his hand. Her eyes instantly fell to the blade on her waist and then back to the one in his hand. They were identical.

But that was so far less important that the actual man in front of her. Like the phantom visages she'd seen for so long in Soul Society, the haunting guise of light an air that tormented her peripherals; always there, never visible.

Her body wouldn't move. Yet he continued to approach, growing closer and closer, the darkness unable to hide his features any longer. His hair was silver, almost shining from the half-moon above, shining down on him. His eyes opened and there… there sat the two sky-blue eyes she'd fallen in love with, staring at her in complete seriousness.

At last, she moved. She didn't even notice she had. But she did. First one step. Then another. And then another. Soon she couldn't come any closer. She didn't need to; he came to her.

Even as he stood only inches from her, she could smell that peculiar scent that had always pervaded him wherever he went. Her eyes locked with his and watered with dryness, as if daring her to blink, and then open only to realize she'd dreamt the whole thing. She did blink.

And he still stood before her. Cautiously, she extended a hand, letting her fingers brush against his militaristic garb. It was real. He was solid. He was him.

His own hand rose from his side and gently went to her cheek, stroking it absently with his thumb. The warmth of his hand… the texture of his skin… It was him. Beyond the shadow of a doubt, undeniably, it was him.

And in a rush of emotions, she felt her eyes water at last, her throat swelling, her breath returning only the heave out sobs. The hand that was on her cheek went to the back of her head, pulling her into his chest.

She tried putting a voice to all of her tumultuous questions and accusations, but all she could squeak out was the observation that he was alive. He was live… he was alive…

Her hands griped the shirt he wore tightly, refusing to let go. Her knees' strength left her and they went limp beneath her. But his strong hands kept her up, kept her pressed to his chest. He didn't say anything, but rubbed his hand gently over her wavy blonde hair as his other hand held her up.

She cried for a long time before she finally fell asleep like that.

---

She awoke to the sounds of chirping birds. But what she saw above her was the top of the inside of a tent. She blinked. 'What am I doing here…?' Then she remembered that night's events. She sat up in realization. She'd fallen asleep in his arms, her body too exhausted from the previous fight to handle the truth that Gin was alive.

So where was she now?

She turned her head at the sounds of light snoring. She was sitting on the far ends of a trio of sleeping bags. In the furthest one, a dark haired boy slept, still and unmoving. Next to him was a dark haired girl. Not black haired like him, but dark, almost with a blue indigo shade to it.

Next to her was an empty sleeping back that she was halfway laying on. She looked beneath her and saw a mass of blankets for padding against the hard ground.

'Who are these kids?' she wondered almost aloud as she began to stand. She instantly felt a twinge of pain from her gut where she'd been hit the night before form that boy. 'I wonder what happened to him. Did Gin save him?' As she looked at the empty sleeping bag next to her she felt a sense of guilt wash over her. It was probably his.

She sighed, knowing fully what she'd done.

She stood and noticed she was still wearing her Shihakusho, pink scarf included. Her Zanpakutō however, was missing.

She grimaced slightly at the realization. She quietly opened the tent flap and slipped out, closing it silently behind her. They were nestled in a very small clearing between a set of trees only twenty feet apart. Next to the tent she just exited was an identical tent, but no one was in it. Looking this way and that, she saw no one. Hesitantly she opened the other tent and went in.

Inside she saw her Zanpakutō lying near the back. Picking it up, she also noticed two other swords next to it. When she saw them her heart nearly stopped. There was Shinsō, undeniably Gin's, and a clone of it next to it. The only difference she could see was that one had an orange hilt while the other had a cyan hilt.

Immediately she began racking her brain. What color was the sword of the kid she'd fought last night? Had his been the orange one? Or had it been the blue one? Didn't Gin show up with one too? If so, then that meant the kid's was likely the orange one.

She instantly realized what that meant. When the child had said that Shinsō was his, he most likely wasn't lying. For whatever reason, there were two of Shinsō sitting there. If they really were twin Zanapkuto, then that just meant she'd been wrong. She'd fought a battle under the wrong pretenses, and that made her feel bad.

She suddenly found herself hoping the boy somehow survived the night and would be ok, but as she thought back to the battle, she hadn't left him in very good condition.

She exited the tent, strapping Haineko to her hip and looked around. There'd been two more sleeping bags in the second tent, so that meant there were two others out there somewhere, assuming the empty bag in the first tent was the blond kid's.

Suddenly her senses were full alert and she turned around to find someone watching her. Her hand itched to grab Haineko but she stopped herself with visible effort.

The man in front of her wore light navy pants and shirt, overlaid with a combat vest not unlike the one Gin had worn the night before, if her tear-filled memories were correct. He had gray hair that spiked up and to the side, while a metal-plated headband wrapped around his head, half of it slipping down over his left eye.

He didn't move, or glare at her. At least, unless the half-lidded look he was giving her with his lone, visible eye was a glare.

She stared at him evenly, as if daring him to do something. He didn't, and only looked at her with that half-intent eye of his. After a few tense seconds of silence, he finally spoke.

"You did a number on one of my students."

He didn't look mad, or enraged, but she could still see a dangerous glint in his eye as his stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Is he alright? That kid…?" she asked hesitantly. She didn't want to believe he died. At least if he was alive she could apologize.

The man looked away and muttered. "He'll be fine. Lucky for you he heals fast, or he would be dead. And I would not be a very happy camper. Neither would his two friends either." He gestured to the first tent where the other two kids were sleeping obliviously.

She looked back at the first tent and nodded slowly. She didn't say anything; just looked at the ground quietly.

After some more silence, she managed to look back up. "If… If I may ask… Where's Gin?"

The man blinked and cocked his head to the side. "Oh, him? After he brought you back, he took Naruto off to a nearby river."

She gave him a curious look. "Naruto?"

"Yeah. It's the name of the kid you nearly killed."

She flinched at his accusation. Clearly, even if he didn't show it, he was upset at her.

"Either way I guess it doesn't matter what happened last night. Ichimaru seems to trust you, which is more than I can say for myself. I won't ask who you are to him, since I figure we'll find out eventually. But, I will say this…" He looked at her hard, his single eye narrowing dangerously.

"…It doesn't matter who you are; if you hurt anyone of these kids again, I'll kill you."

She had the decency to look away when she heard it. He was completely serious, she knew that much. She wanted to say something, but what could she say? What would she say if she could say something?

At last she managed to say the only thing that came to her mind. "I'm sorry. I acted rashly last night."

The man looked away and sat down on a large rock nearby. "Save it for Naruto," he said as he settled down, having the perfect view of her and the other tent.

She gave a minute nod and also sat down, finding a small log on the ground in the center between the two tents. Time ticked by slowly, though it was only probably fifteen minutes before there was a stifled yawn from inside the children's tent. Both adults looked to the tent expectantly, one knowing and the other wondering who was about to come out.

There was rustling around for a few minutes before the tent unzipped and out walked Hinata, and Kakashi could glimpse Sasuke gathering his wits from where he sat before following his teammate's action.

The young Hyuuga girl stepped out sleepily, her right hand rubbing her eye on the same side tiredly. She slowly came to a halt and looked around, spotting Kakashi up on the large rock. "Good morning Ka-aaaaahhhh~… kashi-sensei…" she yawned out, shaking her head afterword in an attempt to wake up.

"Morning Hinata. Sleep well?"

She gave a short nod and the jounin slipped down to join her. "No doubt being next to Naruto helped a bit, hm?" he teased lightly.

She blushed, and slowly began to fully wake up, but nodded almost imperceptibly before looking this way and that, oblivious to the spectating woman behind her. "Where is Naruto-kun…?" she asked curiously.

In truth, she'd slept happy as a clam that night knowing Naruto was next to her, even if in a separate sleeping bag. She hadn't even noticed when he'd left when she woke up only a few minutes before. Though his bag was tucked up tightly next to hers, no doubt his attempt to simulate his presence while she was a sleep, which only increased her surprise when she discovered he wasn't in it.

"Oh, he'll be back soon," Kakashi assured her while giving a pointed look to the blonde woman behind his student. Hinata missed the glance and simply nodded, nearly tripping as she stepped forward. A strong hand from Kakashi held her steady as her brain struggled to awake and orient itself correctly.

Kakashi carefully held her in place until he was sure she was able to stand on her own. "Whoa, you ok there?"

Hinata gave another nod as she stretched her stiff legs. She definitely wasn't a morning person, and with all her double training sessions, the exhaustion she'd been suffering from was really beginning to catch up to her. No doubt a few days of rest would cure her once they got back to the village. 'As soon as I get back I'm going to sleep for a week,' she decided quietly.

"Y-yeah I'm fine. J-just a bit tired…" she replied softly.

Kakashi smiled at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Well, we'll be stopping by that hot-springs place tonight before we get home tomorrow, so you can take a nice relaxing soak when we get there."

Hinata felt her mind flow back to that night nearly three and a half weeks prior when Gin had given her the little pep-talk that was now the driving force behind her actions. Everything she now did that was different from the "normal" Hinata was the real Hinata. Bit by bit she'd expanded beyond her social limitations and pursued that which would otherwise be unobtainable.

Naruto.

He was all she ever wanted, and she finally had him. No way she'd let him go now over some decision by her family. All she had to do was follow the rules inside the village, maybe push it here and there, and then on missions she'd be plenty able to do what she wanted. Within her current mind's limitations of course…

But just thinking of taking a hot soak in those springs again, after such an uplifting experience the last time, made her nearly fall back asleep in pleasure.

About this time, Sasuke came out of the tent, cracking his neck and rotating his arms around, hearing them pop and crack in their sockets. "Oi, Kakashi-sensei, Naruto go out for more training again?"

Kakashi looked behind the raven haired boy at Rangiku before looking back to him. "We'll talk about that when he gets back."

Sasuke gave his sensei a curious glance before he followed his previous gaze and looked behind him. To his surprise a beautiful blonde haired… for lack of a better description, "busty beauty" sat on a log between the two tents.

"Who's she?" he asked suspiciously.

Hinata turned, wondering what Sasuke was talking about until she saw the woman. The first thing she thought was, 'She's gorgeous…!'

Her hair was long and wavy, and her breasts hung out generously, showing a lot more cleavage casually than many women could ever hope to have, and yet still had more inside her kimono. But even so, beauty wasn't contained just in her chest. Even her face was lovely; what with the strong blue eyes and angular face, and the pink scarf around her neck that added even more color to her dark outfit.

For an instant, Hinata felt the shadow of jealousy wash over her, but it stayed for only a moment before vanishing without a trace; Naruto loved her for her, not for what she looked like. She needed to remember that.

Kakashi didn't say anything after Sasuke asked, and he simply shrugged off the question. "We'll find out with Gin returns."

Sasuke looked from the woman to his sensei, before turning back to her suspiciously. Kakashi giving him the runaround meant that it was a serious issue, he knew that much. He settled for simply ignoring the woman, who seemed to just sit there and do nothing except watch them as he went about pulling out a bland ration bar for himself to eat.

Hinata didn't know what to do, so she began pulling the tents down and packing up the gear, prepping it for sealing into a storage scroll.

Rangiku simply watched them silently. She didn't know who they were, but apparently they were students to that Kakashi guy, who seemed to be keeping his eye on her even as he went about his miscellaneous duties.

She still didn't know anything about this world other than that Gin was here and he seemed to have gotten comfortable in it the few weeks he'd been "dead."

'No… that's not entirely true,' she realized quickly. 'It's possible he's known of this place for a much longer time than we can guess.'

At length, the camp was packed and they were simply waiting for Gin and Naruto's return. Sasuke opted to lean against a tree while Hinata sat on the large rock Kakashi had sat on earlier.

Clearly Sasuke was getting impatient though. Few would notice it, but to both Kakashi and Hinata, who both knew him and had strong perceptive abilities, he was straining not to say something in annoyance.

Finally his torment was put to an end when the two stepped out of the distance of the forest and came into view. Rangiku stood immediately as the Third division's former Captain came into view.

Neither looked any worse for wear, except Naruto who seemed to have a few healing cuts and scrapes scattered around her body. "Oh, you're all up already? Haha! Well, I guess that makes us late." Naruto scratched the back of his head apologetically.

Rangiku was nothing more than astonished. That fellow Kakashi had said the boy healed fast, but this was unreal! Haineko had done major damage only a few hours before, she was sure of it, but now all he had were a few shallow cuts? And even those were already healing!

Hinata was the first to notice them and worriedly hopped down from her perch and examined him. "W-what happened to you?"

Naruto laughed nervously and waved off her concern. "Oh, nothing big! Just a small run-in with a cat."

Though the boy didn't know it, it actually wasn't too far from the truth. Even Gin gave a small chuckle.

But Sasuke wasn't one to waste time. "So, Gin-sensei, who is this person?" he asked, cocking his thumb behind him.

Everyone stopped what they were doing to look from Gin to the woman, each one wanting to know the same thing. Gin gave a small sigh and stepped over to Rangiku, who was holding her breath. First of all, apparently, he was these children's sensei as well, which made them his students. Would he be mad at her? Would he forgive her?

"This 'ere's Rangiku, my girlfriend." He walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist, turning to face his students and colleague.

Rangiku nearly face-faulted while laughing at the same time. Of course Gin would never do as she predicted. But that still didn't tell her if he was angry with her or not. It didn't seem like it, but it wouldn't have been the first time she was fooled by Gin's facial expression or body-language.

Sasuke's eyebrows rose in curiosity. He didn't know about everyone else, but this was the first time he'd heard anything about his silver-haired sensei having a significant other.

Hinata likewise looked at the two in surprise. She hadn't expected that. Naruto however didn't react to the news, having known previous from his excursion into the woods with Gin just previously to clean his wounds. The man had explained everything to him.

Kakashi didn't make any notion he hadn't known, but inwardly was just as surprised as his students. Gin wasn't open about his personal life, and this was a big surprise. Still that didn't explain why she'd attacked Naruto last night. Obviously Naruto didn't want to make a big deal about it, but he'd make sure to ask Gin later. The she was indeed his girlfriend, then she had Gin's trust, which he assumed wasn't an easy thing to gain. That meant they could probably trust her too, but that didn't mean they had to like it.

She'd already done a wrong against him by hurting Naruto, and he wasn't intent on just letting her off the hook.

When the initial surprise wore off, Sasuke simply remained silent as Hinata was the one to ask the question. "S-since when?" she asked hesitantly.

Gin leaned his head back contemplatively. Finally, he simply shrugged. "Couple years I guess."

"B-but I've never h-heard of her b-before…" Hinata said, as if she were afraid to voice her mind.

Gin quirked an eyebrow knowing exactly what she meant by that. "Since when've I ever been open 'bout my personal life?"

Hinata lowered her head and nodded quietly. He had a point.

Naruto sighed and shifted from one leg to the other. "Can we walk and talk at the same time? I'm kinda antsy to get moving."

They consented and finished sealing up whatever gear was left over into their storage scroll, which Kakashi was the keeper of. Aside for their personal packs, all equipment was in Kakashi's care, Gin having stated clearly that he wasn't a responsible enough individual to carry it, to which Kakashi called BS. But in the end Kakashi felt more comfortable knowing that he had it and always knew where the item was.

At last they got on the road again. Rangiku was beginning to feel a bit out of place, and saying she was uncomfortable was an understatement; she didn't know anyone other than Gin, the boy Naruto, and the other sensei Kakashi, and that was only by association. She didn't even know the other two children's names.

But, as if Gin had read her mind, he gestured to Hinata and Sasuke. "Since we're now walkin', let's get ta talkin'. Why don't the two o' ya introduce yerselves?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes but acquiesced. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said simply, not intent to give anything more to a complete stranger, even if that stranger did happen to be his sensei's girlfriend.

Hinata bowed to the woman politely and introduced herself as well. "I'm Hyuuga Hinata. P-pleased to meet you."

Rangiku nodded to her with a nervous smile. "I'm Matsumoto Rangiku, but you can just call me Rangiku."

Hinata gave a nod (complimented by Sasuke's grunt) and smiled shyly. "Hai, Rangiku-san."

Gin looked to Naruto, who obliviously was turned away. A slight nudge caused him to follow suit. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." He didn't offer any more, unlike his usual self, simply because he didn't know how to make it not insulting after what happened last night, even though Gin had told him what had probably been the reason for her aggression.

And last but not least, Kakashi introduced himself. "Hatake Kakashi, co-sensei of Team Seven."

Rangiku would have nodded in recognition, but instead she looked to Gin in surprised. Co-sensei of a team of kids? That seemed very un-Gin like.

"Rangiku's not from 'round here, so she don't know nothin' 'bout Shinobi 'n' stuff," he continued when they'd all said their names. Then he turned to the vice-captain and assured her, "Don' worry, I'll fill ya in later."

She gave a hesitant nod, not understanding much of anything he was talking about. Whatever this world was, Gin had apparently gotten quite comfortable with its customs and norms. Until he did talk to her, she figured she was going to have to take it all in with an open mind. She'd be the first to acknowledge that she didn't know much about the human world, but she knew enough to get by. Now she was in a completely different world, and the people, though also human, were bound to be different.

But she decided not to inquire into it; doing so would open herself up to questions she didn't really want to face. Especially, she didn't want to reveal what she really was, since she had no idea how they'd react to having a Shinigami traveling with them.

Then again, Gin was with there, and a leader of their team yet to boot. It was very likely they knew who and/or what he was. She was just so confused, her usual, talkative self was too nervous to say anything.

After some time of tense silence, Hinata finally perked up and spoke to her. "S-so, Rangiku-san, h-how did you and Gin-sensei m-meet?"

She looked at the little girl in surprise. She'd never been asked that question before. "Well…" she began hesitantly, "when I was young, I was starving and fainted. When I woke up, Gin was there. He offered me food and a place to stay. We've been together ever since, I guess." She looked at Gin worriedly.

She couldn't very well just blurt out her and Gin's professions, nor begin to explain the trials they went through, especially after the past few months.

But to her surprise, she heard a voice behind her say, "I know."

She quickly turned her head to see the boy, his arms crossed over his chest and looking away. "You two were together until you graduated from the academy, when you were separated into different divisions."

She looked at him in shock. So Gin had told someone about their origins. Or maybe… "You… know about us?"

She watched him carefully as he nodded. "Yeah, Shinsō told me everything." His arms shifted to his sides, where his left hand held the handle of the wakizashi at his waist.

She stared at the sword for a few moments before she turned back to Gin. "Speaking of which, why is his Zanpakutō exactly like yours?"

Gin felt a smirk threaten the spread his grin wider. "There's a lil' known phenomenon wh're two people can get th' same Zanpakutō. Usually Central 46 has 'em fight to th' death for the right to wield it, but since there's a fortunate lacking of Central 46 'round here, I reckon nobody'll care if we both have th' same Zanpakuto."

Rangiku felt her eyes widen. She'd never heard of such an thing before. But even more surprising that that was the fact that, to her rational mind, to have the same Zanpakutō must mean the two Shinigami would have to have nearly identical souls.

She gave another look at Naruto, and then back to Gin. That was when it was confirmed for her in her mind; that sword, for whatever reason, really did belong to him. 'So during the fight last night… he really was…'

She heard a throat clear behind her. She turned and saw Kakashi, if she remembered correctly, with his fist to his mouth as he looked at her expectantly. Knowing what he wanted, she looked away and stopped.

At her cessation of movement, everyone stopped and looked at her. She breathed in deeply and exhaled before turning to face the other blonde behind her. Naruto looked at her, unsure of what she was doing.

Hinata and Sasuke likewise stopped and looked at the two of them. Sasuke for the most part had been lost throughout the majority of their conversation. He knew for a fact that Gin wasn't indigenously from Konoha, and he accurately assumed the woman wasn't either. So wherever they were from was a place with different customs and organizations than that of shinobi. He also had no doubt that Naruto already knew this, and probably Kakashi too.

Hinata… maybe. He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't put it past the blonde idiot to share the information he knew with his girlfriend. Naturally, that left him with the conclusion that he was the only one who didn't know about his sensei's past. Sure, it bristled a few hairs and hit his pride a bit, but he wasn't the kind of person who'd go about blindly waiting for an explanation. He'd get it eventually, but he wasn't going to wait around for it, that was sure.

He was brought out of his musings to the woman talking. "Uzumaki Naruto," she began quietly, a sad look covering her face. "I want to apologize for my actions last night. I acted rashly and attacked you under the wrong pretenses. And above all I used excessive force when I should have restrained myself." She bowed at the waist deeply, her torso becoming almost parallel with the ground below her.

"Please accept my apology."

Naruto looked at her surprised. But after a few seconds, he sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "What's done is done. It's in the past."

Rangiku let out a breath of relief. It would be bad if he held a grudge over that incident. She rose from her position smiling thankfully at him as she said as much in gratitude. She sent a subtle glance to the grey-haired man who nodded his approval to her.

However, both Sasuke and Hinata were surprised. "Y-you were attacked?" Hinata suttered as he looked to Naruto, as if searching for any telltale sign of injuries.

Naruto laughed and scratched his head. "Don't worry 'bout it, I'm fine! You know how I heal. It was a misunderstanding; no big deal."

Sasuke gave his teammate a sideways glance as if to say he didn't believe him, but he left it alone. Hinata however, continued to look at him as if he'd just been mortally wounded, searching his body for injuries of any kinds. She wouldn't use her Byakugan on him, for privacy's sake (and for her conscious health), so she couldn't tell whether he was hiding any wounds under his clothes, but as far as her sharp eyes could tell, there wasn't a scratch on his visible body.

Worriedly, she decided there was nothing to fuss about, and so let it go… for now.

Without further ado, they continued on. Hinata now keeping herself closer to her boyfriend than she had been previously. The fact that he'd been in danger the night before and she hadn't sensed, or somehow known about it, concerned her; she didn't like that she hadn't felt at least something regarding his safety the entire time. Though she supposed she could also blame him for that; her mind was at ease since it believed that he'd been sleeping next to her the entire time. There was no reason to be on edge or attentive.

But she promised herself she'd never again be caught off guard when it came to the only person she loved.

She looked down at his hand, idly swinging by his side. She quietly looked at her own hand, before reaching down and gripping his in hers. He blinked and looked down as well, seeing their palms together. He looked back up at Hinata and smiled happily, gripping her hand tighter in encouragment.

Sasuke watched them from the side quietly. He couldn't help but wonder why they always did that. What was so special about holding hands? That's all it was, right? Just holding hands. Or was there something more to it than that?

There had to be, if they kept doing it. Was it a special action shared between lovers? Sex he could understand, but holding hands? What was with that? He vaguely remembered Kakashi mentioning something the other day about getting a girlfriend. 'Maybe I should try and find someone too. Couldn't hurt, could it?'

After a while of various thoughts and contemplations, Naruto finally perked up. The sun was beginning to set and they'd been walking for several hours since setting out from their camp sight. The road was beginning to look vaguely familiar, and Naruto remembered that this was the same road they'd taken when they left the inn with the hot-springs.

"Ne, ne, tou-san!" he called out to the silver haired man walking ahead of him

Rangiku turned as well, wondering who the boy could be talking to. 'Father? Is that Kakashi fellow his dad?' she pondered, seeing him as the only person who the boy could consider a parent. But to her surprise, Gin turned his head back in response.

"What is it?"

"How far are we from those hot-springs we stayed at before?"

Gin blew out a breath of air ponderously. "Prolly 'bout… an hour 'r so, maybe."

Rangiku looked at him incredulously. "Tou-san?" Immediately her mind began whirling. Was it possible Gin had fathered a child in this world secretly? Judging from the boy's size, he was easily twelve or thirteen years old. Could Gin have managed to keep such a thing a secret for so long, and raised him, even while being a captain in Soul Society?

Her next thought was, 'who's the mother?' but that was answered by Gin's response. "Oh, right. I adopted little Naru there a while ago."

"Adopted?" she asked him as Naruto celebrated in the background along with the rest of team seven, who were all glad to have something like a hot-spring to look forward to that night.

"Yeah. Found him few years back half-dead, so I adopted him. Couldn't leave th' little guy to die in the street, now could I?"

Rangiku immediately shook her head. Even she wouldn't be able to leave such a sad creature alone. But to adopt them? She doubted she'd have had the will to do that to any random child. But as she thought back, she'd been adopted by Gin too, in a way. When he'd found her, he'd taken her under his wing, nursed her back to health and taken care of her.

Suddenly she felt as if she'd glimpsed a side of Gin she'd never seen. First of all, she had no idea what Gin was like as a "father figure." It was an interesting, if not entertaining image that didn't feel really fit with the Gin she knew.

"But why adopt him? Why not just take him to an orphanage? They have those here don't they?" She said "here" in such a way as to refer to this world. Gin understood that. If he was right, she'd come here through the same passage he'd used to get here. How, he had no idea, since his Zanpakutō was the only one capable of reaching the torrential reiatsu deep inside the miniscule portal that would grab and drag you through. He hadn't thought Haineko was capable of that, since whatever touched the energy needed to be solid to be dragged through.

He nodded to her. Speaking so only she could hear him. Naruto was blissfully chatting with the others, and he didn't want to remind the boy of bad memories.

"Oh sure, but…" he fell silent for a moment. "When he 'as young, they kicked 'I'm outa there."

Rangiku's eyes winded. "What? Why?"

Gin remained quiet. How should he answer that?

"You'll find out 'ventually." And that was that.

She looked at him curiously before resigning herself to that answer. If Gin didn't want to talk about something, he wouldn't talk about it. There was no use trying to egg it out of him.

She looked back at Naruto, wondering what secrets were held behind those bright blue eyes of his. If there was one thing she knew, it was that even a joyful and happy looking child could be the most unfortunate and hurt soul in the world. Which made her feel all the worse that she'd hurt him herself last night.

She wondered what kind of pain he was holding back, or possibly, had forgotten.

As the sun came down to crest over the horizon, they spotted the familiar inn in the distance. They approached it hastily, the adults dragged forward by the young, energetic teens in front of them.

They opened the door and stepped inside. The adults went straight to the counter while the three kids went on into the dressing rooms for the springs.

Kakashi greeted the woman behind the counter with a smile. "Yo, long time no see." The woman instantly recognized them.

"Oh! Back again? How long has it been?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Mmm, about a month probably. Same rooms as before, if that's ok."

"Oh perfectly! We don't get much business around here, so they're still open. Go ahead and head on up when you're ready."

Kakashi nodded and grabbed the bags the three genin had conveniently dropped by his side as they ran to the springs. With them in hand he led the way to the rooms and tossed his students' bags in one before moving onto the next room beside it. He shirked off his backpack and threw it on one bed as Gin did the same.

Finally he turned to Rangiku and looked her over. "If you've got any baggage, you might as well drop it off here."

Rangiku looked herself over before shrugging. But as she saw Gin remove his Zanpakutō from his outfit, she realized she probably wouldn't need hers either. Taking it off, she laid it on the furthest bed and walked out behind Kakashi and Gin.

---

Naruto leapt into the water with a splash, Sasuke following right behind him. Normally the Uchiha would have scoffed at his Uzumaki counterpart, but he couldn't deny that he was excited for the hot bath as well.

They both let themselves sink under the water before coming back up. Naruto sighed loudly. "Ahhhh… yeeaaaahh…"

Sasuke likewise let out a prolonged groan as he leaned against the side of the pool. A minute later, Kakashi and Gin also both walked out. Discarding their towels, they too joined their students, albeit much more maturely.

Once they had gotten settled in the steaming liquid, they all began to chat about this and that. Sasuke, remembering what he'd wanted to ask earlier, spoke up. "Gin-sensei. I don't think it's fair that everyone but me knows about where you came from or who you are. Mind filling me in?"

Gin looked at his student quizzically. "What makes you think everyone else knows?"

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders. "For a fact, I know Naruto does. You're his dad after all. And Kakashi-sensei probably knows too, either from the Hokage, who I know has to know, or from just figuring it out on his own. And then Hinata, I bet Naruto's told her about you too. So that just leaves me not knowing. I don't like... not knowing."

Gin sighed. "Well, I figured I'd have ta tell ya 'ventually." He looked up, contemplatively. "Where should I start…?"

"How about where we're from?" Rangiku suggested.

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I love hearing this story!"

"Ok…"

Suddenly every male looked to the woman sitting amidst them. Both Naruto and Sasuke had the same reaction, which was to shout in surprise and to back up to the absolute opposite side of the spring.

Kakashi blinked in surprise, as Gin felt a rather large glob of sweat roll from his forehead.

Rangkiu looked at all their reactions obliviously. "What?"

Gin, expression unchanged, scratched the side of his jaw nervously. "Ano… Rangiku, y'know there's a women's side… right?"

Naruto pointed and shouted at her indignantly in agreement. "Yeah! This ain't a communal bath! The fuck're you in 'ere for?"

'There he goes again…' Gin realized as Naruto's speech pattern changed. But that wasn't the only thing he was referring to. "Naruto, 'member what I told ya last time we were here?"

Naruto looked at his father and nodded, his rage momentarily forgotten. "Sure."

Gin simply pointed down. Naruto followed his gesture and nearly smacked himself in the face. "Gah- Damn it!" and sank back down into the water.

'I've gatta learn to stop standing in rage…' he realized in embarrassment.

Sasuke, ignoring Naruto's outburst, tried to rationalize how he could have missed her coming in, undressing, and getting into the spring. 'I didn't even see her!'

Rangiku merely blinked at Naruto, but didn't make any comment as to his physical self. Instead, she seemed more concerned with Gin's statement. "I know, but no one else is here. I thought it would be fine if we shared."

Naruto immediately made an X over his chest with his arms. "Not fine at all!" But as soon as he said it, his mind caught up with him. 'Wait a minute, what about Hinata? Does that mean she's alone on the other side?' He eyed the dividing wall between the two baths.

Gin seemed to catch onto his train of thought. "But Hina-chan's in th' oth'r bath. You just gonna leave 'er 'lone?"

Rangiku blinked and put a finger to her lips as if thinking. "Huh… I didn't think about her. I guess she could come over here if she wants."

"How about you go over there," Sasuke said with a tick-mark on his forehead.

The vice-captain, whether in an attempt to use her body as an advantage or out of plain old lack of decency, lifted a leg out of the water and raised an arm as well, as if stretching. "but I'm already cozy here. You wouldn't make me get up and move would you?"

The two boys merely glared at her in response.

"Or could it be you just want to see me out of the water?"

Instantly Naruto and Sasuke blushed and looked away in realization. "T-t-that wasn't my intention at all!"

"Y-yeah! I only have eyes for Hinata! Not some random decentlyattractive lady like you!"

Gin felt another glob of sweat form, fall, and merge with the previous one. 'He ain't gonna make it.'

Sliding over to Kakashi, leaned in and whispered "run interference for me fer a minute." He didn't offer anything as far as why he wanted interference, but the jounin didn't bother questioning him as the silver haired man slid out and grabbed a towel before heading back inside.

---

Hinata sighed as she sloshed around in the empty spring. 'I guess Rangiku-san didn't feel like coming. I guess that's ok with me, since she hurt Naruto-kun. I don't know what I might say to her. I don't want to be mean, but I don't really like her that much…' Of course, that was just first impressions talking. Hinata by nature hated fighting, and by association, conflict, whether it be physical or emotional. She knew her innitial agressiong towards the woman would fade with time as she got to know her, which she didn't doubt would happen sooner rather than later since she was officially dating their sensei.

She sighed and she rolled in the three feet of water that was the shallow end of the spring. Still, while she didn't mind being alone, she did feel lonely, like she had before. Not quite so much this time, since this time she was dating Naruto, and subsequently had him on her mind rather than various conflicting emotions and thoughts.

She was surprised when she head a pair of footsteps from the spring's entrance. Out of the steamy mist came Gin's half-naked form. 'Déjà vu...' Thankfully this time, instead of climbing over the wall in just a towel, he came in the proper way and was wearing his black pants.

She immediately stopped swimming and made sure her body was adequately hidden beneath the water. For some reason, she didn't feel nearly as embarrassed as she had before the mission. Whether it was because she was sure it wasn't for lecherous purposes, or because, somehow, her newfound relationship with Naruto made all other men's opinions of her irrelevant, she didn't know. However when Gin finally spotted her through the mist, she didn't shy away from him like last time.

Instead, though she did blush (an unavoidable event), she covered her chest protectively, just in case, and faced him.

"Oh there you are," he said as she walked over to the edge of the spring.

"G-Gin-sensei? What's wrong?" Gin wasn't a pervert, or at least, if he was, he didn't openly show it (which if was the case, she would rather remain blissfully ignorant of the fact), so she assumedhe must have come to talk to her about somthing important. Even so, she already guessed the probable reason why he was here. 'He's probably worried about me feeling alone.'

It was kind of him, for sure, and since he was her sensei and (if all went according to plan) her future father-in-law, it was a much appreciated gesture, even if an indecent and mostly-inappropriate one. Also, she knew the man; he wouldn't come in for lecherous purposes. No action that man made was wasted.

He shrugged, "Oh nothin'. Jus' wanted ta make sure you were ok," he said as he sat down. She'd guessed right.

She nodded in assurance. "I-I'm fine. But… w-why didn't Rangiku-san come out? Was she tired?" She figured it was probably best to start out with small talk. In all honesty, it was more for her own sake than his. If she could decieve herself into getting comfrotable with the situation, whatever he had to say to her (which was no doubt important, if his last little venture to her side of the springs was anything to go by) would be able to settle in her mind properly.

Gin nervously rubbed the back of his head. "Nah… she came out all right…"

Hinata looked at him curiously for a minute, unsure of what he meant. As if in response to her questioning stare, Gin merely cocked a thumb over in the direction of the other spring.

Her face paled as she realized what that meant. "W-w-what?" Instantly her jealous, protective side (in regards to Naruto) went on overdrive and she felt a heat of rage build up inside her belly. How dare that woman go buck naked into the boy's side? That was completely wrong! If it were just her and the adults, she probbaly wouldn't care, but Naruto was over there! Oh, and Sasuke. But to parade herself in the men's side without a shred of decency... and more importantly, to parade in front of her Naruto without a shred of decency was... unforgivable!

She felt her face redden in anger now, rather than embarassement. 'I'm the only one Naruto's supposed to ever see naked!' she thought furiously, steam beginning to seep from her skin... or perhaps it was from the water boiling hotter around her as her emotion tranceded into an element of heat. But her eyeswent slightly wide as her mind caught up with her emotional thoughts. 'I-I-I mean, if he were to see anyone naked that is! Logically it should be me... yeah. Since I'm his girlfriend, and we love each other.'

But even as the thought passed through her mind, she realized that a month ago, she wouldn't have even dared to consider that would be something she'd be fusing over only four short weeks later; she'd changed, however "improperly." Her values were starting to get mixed up between what she really cared about, and what she was expected to care about.

Gn nodded at her outbirst sympathetically. " Yeah... ta be honest with ya, I don't think Naru's gonna last over there," he said with a sheepish look, as if it were embarrassing for him as well that Naruto was being practically seduced by his girlfriend. "It would probably be a good thing if ya… well…"

Gin made a few vague gestures with his hands which Hinata, after a few seconds of confused misunderstanding, got. She blushed heavily. It wasn't the first time Gin had suggested the action. But it was first time after letting his little talk with her incubate. Before, she'd been far too embarrassed and self-conscious to even attempt thinking about it. Now, after letting the realization of her and Naruto's relationship sink in, with both Gin's constructive chat and the two's revelation of love for each other, and after conforming to herself rather than others' ways of life, and breaking free of the chains that had been laid upon her during her short, sad thirteen years of life…

It still was completely ridiculous to her. Completely improper. Totally and absolutely vulgar. And above all, unquestionably and outright mortifying!

And she knew deep, deep down... she wanted to do it.

She had to be honest with herself; she'd spent the last month wondering what it would have been like if she had accepted Gin's invitation that first time, and what might have come of it. She wanted to do it then, but her taxed and laden mind simply wouldn't allow her to fully realize it. Like computer virus, instead of keeping to her programming, it distracted her with all sorts of excess actions, worries, and thoughts. The worst part was, the virus had been there since she was born; born into the life of a Hyuuga. Over thirteen years, she'd grown into a timid, diffident, dangerously introverted sheep. A shee that was fed, tought and expected to obey instructions if it wanted to be fed again. She'd lost sight of what was realy her. Or rather, she'd never really lost sight of it; she'd just convinced herself that her real side was evil and wrong. But her attraction to Naruto bgean small enough not to be detected by the radar that was her trained resistance to anything un-Hyuuga-like. Over time, like medicinal plague, it grew into affection, and now, realized as full blown love. The gradual change has allowed that small seed of attraction to grow, and that one element of deviance was the invisible fissure of the walls that imprisoned her mind. A crack was all that was needed to brign them down, and now it was there. And it would never be repaired. She would never let anyone fix that small crack; she would guard that fracture from the inside, while Naruto chisled from the outside, shrouded behind Gin's protective form.

But now… Now she had a chance to relive that moment. Before, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle it, but this time… This time would take the chance, go out on a leap, and hope for the best. Plus, she had to make sure Naruto wasn't raped, or worse, coerced by that, that…

'…Bitch!'

She caught herself as the thought entered her mind. 'Where did that come from?' The normally shy and sweet natured Hinata had suddenly, for an instant, fallen away. Suddenly she realized, in her righteous jealousy, she was letting out one of those bottled-up sides that had been suppressed for so long. The determined side that would do anything for her dreams, and those she loved, was peeking out of its shadowy cage. She felt as if she'd suddenly become someone else. As if what she'd thought had been… justified.

It was ok. It was fine. That was what she thought. She realized that it was not something an Heiress of the Hyuuga clan should think or feel; it was unbecoming. But it was true. And in the long run, what was worse? Perfectly apposite untruth, or candid vulgarity?

That was up to the side of her that decided was right and wrong, and right now, unfortunately for her family, the honest-with-yourself side of her was currently dominant. 'And it'll stay that way as long as I can manage!' she decided with silent determination.

She looked up at her teacher, forcing her eyes together in a resolute stare, though she knew it must look feeble and half-hearted in his eyes.

Hey, cut her some slack, she was just starting to open herself up.

Gin saw her eyes, their forms slowly flit back and forth in their sockets as she internally contemplated her place in the universe. Finally they came to a stop staring straight back at him. Her blush extended from her face to her shoulders, but she nodded with as little hesitance as she could manage.

As soon as she finished the movement she wanted to take it all back and just stay there; her real "dark side" trying one last time to suppress her. But the approving, almost proud smile on Gin's face shoved those feelings away.

She was doing nothing wrong. She was doing what was needed. She was doing the right thing. The right thing by her. Not by anyone else.

She crawled to the edge of the pool and grabbed her towel.

Gin had already gone back inside.

---

"Oh, you're back. We were just betting how long Naruto would last before he give up and screws your girlfriend."

Naruto shot Sasuke a murderous look. "Fuck you! I already said I only have eyes for Hinata!"

Sasuke smirked and closed his eyes, arms folded across his chest. "Uh-uh… sure."

Naruto growled at him and stood up facing the Uchiha. "This doesn't lie!" he said pointing down.

Sasuke opened an eye to see what he was bragging about now, and felt his eyes go white as saucers.

"Wow, that's some self-control! Can you do that Sasuke-kun?" Rangiku said as she stared at Naruto like a child who'd just seen a really neat toy.

Sasuke blushed and recoiled like frightened cat. "O-of course I can! I'm an Uchiha! I can do anything he can do and better!"

"Hmm? Prove it?"

Sasuke's eyes widened even further as he looked this way and that for an excuse to get away. He'd make up any excuse to do anything, but he'd never let himself be shown up by Naruto. And his excuse came in the form of Gin as he returned, the fact that he'd missed the man getting out and going somewhere an unregistered fact in the Uchiha's mind.

"Sensei! Naruto's bragging about his dick again!"

"I am not! I'm just proving my point!"

"Bull shit!"

Gin briefly wondered if it would be better to just go to the now empty spring next door than to deal with the kids. Thankfully though, Kakashi was there to save the day.

"The way I see it, he does make a great point." Now it was Sasuke's turn to give murderous glances, this time to his other sensei.

"What? The boy can keep his cool," Kakashi said honestly, hiding the muttered "more than most guys can do…" under his breath.

He was about to see what Gin had to say about it when he noticed he still wasn't in the water. He craned his neck and saw Gin still standing above them, towel around his waist. It was like he was waiting for something.

He wondered what that something might be, but then his brain caught up with him. 'Ohhh… that.'

His thoughts were confirmed when he saw faded silhouette behind the silver haired man in the entryway.

Both boys were too caught up in their own fight to notice until it was too late. When they both finally noticed the presence of a fifth person, they both nearly jumped in surprise.

Hinata stood there, towel about her, looking as nervous as a little girl on the first day of school. For once, both Naruto and Sasuke were struck speechless. Sasuke couldn't believe that Hinata, his teammate was there and what she was about to do. Naruto likewise couldn't believe it; here, his girlfriend, was about to bathe not only with him, but also his team.

But as his shock wore off, it was replaced by… something else. He couldn't quite explain what it was... It almost felt as if something had been taken from him from right under his nose. And then he knew what it was.

It was jealousy.

He didn't want anyone else to see her. Somewhere in his mind, he'd cemented in the fact that she was his and no one else's, and he felt jealous that he'd have to share the image of her body with everyone else that was there.

"Hinata felt a lil' lonely over there on the other side," Gin threw a pointed look at Rangiku, who acted like she hadn't seen it at all. "...so she decided she wanted to join us."

Hinata walked up, her hands fidgeting in front of her. As she approached the side, she looked left and right, realizing nobody was looking away.

Kakashi, seeing this, cleared his throat and motioned for the boys to close their eyes.

Momentarily holding himself back, Naruto closed his eyes, as did Sasuke. But their ears were wide open. They heard the shuffling of cloth as she dropped her towel to the ground and the splash of water as she settled in.

They didn't open their eyes, knowing she or Kakashi would say when it was ok to open them again. There was no sound for a while, but then the sound of more splashing coming closer and closer. Suddenly, Naruto realized the sound was coming toward him. Right next to him. He could feel the displaced water wash against his chest.

He didn't move, and kept his eyes tightly shut.

Eventually Kakashi spoke again. "Well, I think it's ok to open your eyes now."

Sasuke opened his eyes and realized Hinata now sat between him and Naruto, her fingers poking together. If he didn't know better, he'd say Naruto was blushing almost as badly as she was.

Though out of surprise, Sasuke jumped back a good foot or two. He'd expected she'd be there, but the realization that she was was still startling.

When Naruto opened his eyes however, he didn't look at her. Instead, he stared straight ahead as if looking at her would invoke the wrath of the gods and he'd forever branded as a pervert via lightning bolt.

Kakashi, deciding the silence that purveyed the spring was probably making things more awkward for her than it should have been, started up some idle chat with Gin, who now joined him in the hot water.

Hinata prodded her fingers together nervously, so many thoughts buzzing through her head.

'Will Naruto look at me? Will he like my body? Will he be mad that I'm with other people? Is he ok with me sitting next to him? Will-'

She felt her train of thought stop when she glanced aside slightly and saw the side of his right arm next to her shaking, almost violently.

In surprise she looked up at his face. He was shaking like a leaf, and she could tell from the way he was tensed up, it was in fear; he was afraid. But what was to be afraid of? He was a guy. Guys always peeked. Right? That was normal for them.

'But… what if he's thinking the same thing as me? What if he think's I'll be mad at him for looking? Would I be mad if he looked?'

She didn't know the answers to those questions. She felt the water shift to her right and she looked over to see Sasuke retreating over next to Kakashi. For whatever reason, she was thankful he did it.

She looked back to Naruto, and then saw out of the corner of her eyes, Rangiku eyeing them from across the spring.

Remembering the reason she'd come over here, she inched closer to her blonde love. They both jumped when the bare skin of their hips touched. "N-Naruto-kun…"

Naruto imperceptibly turned his head so that her face was barely in range of his peripherals. "W-what?" he asked, as if afraid he'd be killed for saying anything more.

Hinata gulped and with great spiritual strain, took his right arm and brought it behind her back and set it on her waist. "I-its o-o-ok. I'm n-n-not m-mad," she assured him, placing her hand atop the one of his that was now on her hip as if to say, "See? Not mad." Reluctantly, he nodded, allowing his head to turn more towards her.

Now, for Hinata, this was a big deal, and he knew it. But didn't fully realize how much of a big deal.

Skin-on-skin relations, to her, was fine, to a point, and she'd steeled herself for the eventual event of it. He'd rubbed her arms before, and she'd massaged his back. Not to mention the meaningful kiss that day a week earlier. They'd cuddled too, when they had time or were alone.

However, she hadn't exactly pictured them snuggling (however tensely) in a hot-spring. That was a very, very different type of skin-on-skin relationship. But now that they were in it, they might as well try to get comfortable with it.

She felt her stomach quiver like she'd eaten a dozen butterflies. But she wasn't entirely shot with nervous hesitation. She too seemed to shake, but unlike how Naruto did it out of fear, it seemed different for her.

'I'm not afraid, but… I almost feel… excited? Am I… excited that we're naked next to each other? Oh Kami…' This was something she hadn't expected. She'd expected herself to faint or shy away in fright of the fact they were naked, but here she was, jittering as adrenaline coursed through her veins.

But, to her surprise, Naruto's hand about her waist pulled her tightly to him, as if he thought she was afraid. If only he knew the truth. In all honesty, he probably just made it worse, but at least she felt better.

Presently the others began to head inside, divvying up the rooms between them, deciding that the adults would share one room while the kids would have another.

That left the two of them alone in the hot spring.

"H-hey, Hina-chan…"

She looked at him with the same shaded blush.

"H-how much of t-this is ok… e-exactly."

She looked back down and wondered the same thing. She knew for a fact they couldn't go all the way, since she still had monthly physicals to make sure she was in tip-top health, regrettably conducted by her family physicians. But… it was a very good question. How far could they go?

"N-no more than t-this… please…" She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder hesitantly, and felt his muscles flex as he nodded. They stayed like that for a while, and after some time had passed, they began to forget their predicament and simply enjoy each other's company. It wasn't long before they felt themselves nodding off. When Hinata felt Naruto's head rest atop hers, she assumed it was probably time to get out and go to bed.

She carefully shook the boy awake, being careful not to jostle him too much, and being equally careful not to touch him inappropriately. Sure she could if she wanted to, but with him being asleep it'd be like raping him! She wanted him to be awake, and at least able to designate boundaries. So, sadly, she couldn't roam his well built chest or abs, and she definitely couldn't go lower, even if she wanted to, which she didn't. 'I can peck at the bars, but I still have my dignity. Besides… Neither of us are ready for that. Not for a while anyway.' She tried to imagine what that day (or night) might be like, but when she felt herself become uncomfortably heated in her face, she realized she couldn't. 'Yeah, not for a while.'

Slowly, Naruto's eyes opened, and he realized where he was and what he was doing. He gently rubbed his eyes and shook his head, trying to stay awake. "C-come on Naruto-kun, we need to get out now."

He nodded numbly and allowed himself to be dragged over to the side of the spring closest to the entrance. As he got to the wall he hesitated.

"Erm… h-how do you want to do this?" He looked at her uncertainly. She contemplated it for a few seconds before she audibly gulped. And then, to his shock, he saw her get out beside him, stark naked. It was all he could do not to faint as the image of her graceful figure permanently burned itself into his brain.

She bent down to pick up her towel, thankfully (for Naruto) turning to the side so as not to reveal anything… unnecessary. By nature Hinata never grew any hair except on her head and her secret place, which was a strange anomaly, even among normal Hyuuga women. Though it made her glad she never had to shave her legs, it made her feel slightly freakish.

She quickly wrapped the towel about herself before tapping her fingers together nervously. Naruto could tell, even though he'd seen worse blushes from her, she was about to cry out of embarrassment.

And he did mean cry. Whatever had gotten into her head when she climbed out had obviously not prepared her for the realization that he'd just seen her naked form, if only for a few seconds.

But in his own way, Naruto figured it might make her feel better if he was put in the same boat as her. 'Misery loves company after all.'

Swallowing loudly, he too pushed himself out of the water and stood in all his naked glory as he looked for his towel.

He didn't hide anything, since she hadn't either, but he could feel his hands twitch in desire to shield his proof-of-gender. Hinata watched on in unhidden awe as the water dripped from his limbs, small trickles of liquid sliding down his body. She suddenly realized how muscular he was.

Surprisingly, he didn't have much hair on his body either. Instead, he only had armpit hair, a light blonde layer on his arms and legs, and an almost undetectable trail from the center of his chest downward.

Ultimately, her eyes followed that trail lower, and found herself perplexed by his groin. She'd known what boys looked like due to class in the academy, but they'd never really gone into extreme detail. Most of it was a kunoichi class that taught girls how to use their natural charm, and the weakness of men to get by in their dangerous profession.

She almost cocked her head as she looked at him in what, at any other time, would have been a cute gesture. She'd never seen a boy in real life before, not the way she was seeing Naruto anyway. An accidental glimpse from her active Byakugan didn't count since it was always in monochrome, and she either blocked out the memory of it (thanks to her Hyuuga personality training/brainwashing) or zoomed back out for decency.

Naruto, to his credit, did his best to keep his cool, but the knowledge that his dearest love was looking at him was too much for him to handle, and to his mortification, his member began to swell. He'd been too surprised by Hinata's action earlier to feel aroused, though now that he thought about it, the memories came back and it made it all the worse. It didn't get too big, as he gritted his teeth and did his best to force it back down.

Hinata, knowing the same level of his embarrassment, didn't stare for too long. It was the first male she'd ever seen, and she secretly hoped it wouldn't be the last time she saw him. The lump in her throat slowly vanished as she saw Naruto in such a state. It wasn't so bad when she wasn't the only one. Naruto understood her feelings as equally as humanly possible, and that made it easier on her.

Naruto quickly found his towel and wrapped it around his waist, trying to remain oblivious to the slight bulge remaining underneath it. But then the strangest thing happened...

They both looked at each other, and Naruto began to grin.

It was a nervous grin, mostly forced, but it seemed to cheer Hinata up. She smiled as well, and then it turned into a giggle. Naruto joined her, unable to resist laughing. Apparently the thought had hit them both at the same time; what they'd just done… wastotally, completely inappropriate, and while embarrassing… kind of exciting!

They laughed off their nervousness, and soon found themselves totally comfortable with both themselves and each other. Hinata couldn't help but look at his indented towel, but then again, he couldn't stop glancing at her covered bust.

"Y'know, I never said anything about it... probably because I never noticed until now, but you're… um… kinda big in the… 'top' department." Naruto said, looking away and scratching his jaw. Hinata blinked and looked down at herself. "I-is that good?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head and looked down at himself, prompting her to follow is gaze. She found herself staring at his tent again and realized what he meant. "Well… it's not bad…" he laughed nervously, giving his fox-like smile to her. She'd never considered herself big, or taken any particular pride in her size, but now that was going to change. She smiled back at him and held her arms over her chest, proudly this time, knowing Naruto liked her the way she was.

She was brought out of her delighted thoughts when she saw his hand glide across her pale arm and stop at her hand. Gently, he peeled her fingers away from each other and laced them together with his. She smiled shyly and accepted it, gripping her hand around his.

"C'mon. Let's go get dressed before everyone starts wondering what we've been doing." He laughed lightly at the thought. Hinata did likewise.

"Y-yeah… this would be k-kinda hard to e-explain…" she agreed with a smile.

With that they went inside to their respective dressing rooms and got presentable and headed to their rooms. Opening the door to the room he, Hinata and Kakashi had shared on their trip to Wave, he went over to where his bag sat on the middle bed.

Sasuke was totally out of it; his deep breathing and faint snoring indicating he was fast asleep. The lights were out, but being shinobi, their eyes adjusted quickly and they made their way to their beds.

Opening his bag, Naruto pulled off his vest and shirt, carefully folding them and placing them beside his bed, ready to be worn in the morning. Lastly, he took off his pants, stripping down to his boxers as he folded his black pants and laid them on top of his other clothes. Whether it was from the psychological security of the darkness or the fact that most guys were fine with just being in their boxers, he didn't feel nearly as embarrassed or nervous as he did before.

Hinata likewise felt… safer, for lack of a better word, but she couldn't bring herself to strip in front of him. In her mind, already being naked was one thing, but consciously stripping in front of him, even if in the dark, still felt… wrong. Well, maybe not wrong. Say… more like awkward.

Naruto looked at her expectantly as she stood there in front of her bed; not moving, not doing anything. Just standing. But as he did, he eventually smiled and turned his head the other way.

She let out a small breath and thanked him silently as she reached into her bag. Somehow, Naruto seemed to always know what her absolute limits were and took appropriate action. But as she opened the bag in front of her, she felt her blood run cold.

'T-this is…!' There sat the item she'd thought she'd hidden so perfectly, sitting on top of everything that was inside. How it could have gotten from the bottom of the pack to the top without jumbling everything else up… it was impossible! Only outside intervention could have done that. And in that instant, she realized that someone else had not only seen the item, but also placed it there.

She looked back to Naruto, only to see the back of his head still. She quickly turned back to the bag. She quickly picked up the thing and held it tightly. The only people who could have had access to her bag was whoever had taken it to the room, which was most likely Kakashi, and Sasuke, who'd been in there for a while before they arrived.

She eyed the Uchiha carefully. It seemed so unbelievable, that she had trouble picturing him as someone who'd invade anyone's, let alone her, privacy. She looked back to the item and was about to hide it again when she stopped herself. She took another look at it pensively. Her eyes flitted from it, to Naruto's turned form, and back. After a second's thought, she laid it beside the bag and unzipped her jacket, laying it beside the bag. Her pants came off next, folded and lain atop her jacket.

Clad in only her light purple panties and matching bra, she picked up the item again. 'I… I don't think he'd mind…' But then again, it wasn't so much about him minding as her. It was her most secret possession; she had to work hard to make sure it wouldn't be found by anyone in the clan. Especially her sister; Hanabi was always looking for a way to knock her down, especially after their father had begun to realize Hinata wasn't as strong as her little sibling. Hanabi began to realize soon after that, that Hinata was becoming less and less the likely candidate for clan-head succession.

Because of that, the little girl had begun a long intricate campaign of humiliation and degradation against Hinata. Anything she could get away with and hurt her elder sister sufficiently was game.

Even at her age, Hanabi wasn't above to dipping her sister's hands in warm water while she slept.

Hinata narrowed her eyes in both sadness and anger. 'Those are always the most embarrassing mornings…'

Hanabi was abusive too, especially during training sessions where they were allowed to hit each other. Hinata, being the kind soul she was, couldn't bring herself to fight her sister seriously, or to stand up for herself. She didn't want to think what the girl would do to ruin her relationship with Naruto. The very reason she was even allowed to "date" him was because it was, in the eyes of the elders, a potentially advantageous relationship between herself, the current heiress, and the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. As long as they were together, and Naruto remained to be a positive factor in the eldership's opinion, her position as heiress was guaranteed.

She knew that much, and was somewhat thankful for it. But she also knew that if Hanabi found out about it, her life at home would become a living hell.

And because of her little sister, she had to make sure to keep the thing away from her prying eyes. To that end, she'd hidden it under a pile of clothes deep in her dresser. No one would expect her to hide anything there, since it was used solely for her underwear. And she didn't need to worry about someone finding out since she did her own laundry.

How it even ended up in her bag in the first place she still didn't know. But now that it was…

"Almost done?" She almost jumped at Naruto voice. "M-mm. Just a second."

She'd go through with it. Naruto would like it, right? He was a guy, so he probably would, and he loved her too, so… 'If it's my best kept secret, I don't think it's right that I keep it from him…' and as she thought about it, she realized there was more to it than that. 'No, Naruto deserves this. His life has been a living hell too. He'll understand.'

She looked back to him and confirmed he still wasn't looking. Reaching behind her, she hesitated only for a moment before she unclasped her bra with a snap. She slid it off and placed it on top of her jacket. Feeling her breasts fall free, she picked up the item and prepared herself.

Naruto couldn't help but wonder what was taking her so long to get presentable. It's not like she had to get ready for anything right? She didn't curl her hair or anything, and even if she did, she'd have gone into the bathroom. 'Maybe she's just nervous with me being near her while she's dressing? Yeah, that's probably it. You know, come to think of it, we haven't kissed in a while… I should probably try to get a good one in before we get back to the village. I doubt we'll have any external missions for a while after this one, so We'll probably have to wait untill then,' he realized sadly. 'Unless her dad, for some improbable reason, doesn't care about us kissing.' Then he realized the total stupidity of such a thought and rolled his eyes cynically. 'Yeah, right.' He resisted the urge to scoff aloud when he heard his love's timid voice from behind him.

"O-ok, y-you can t-turn a-around now."

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he noticed that she sounded almost more nervous now than she had before in the springs. But it was so imperceptible, he didn't really notice. So when he turned around, he was caught completely off guard by what stood before him.

Instead of her usual night attire she'd worn for the past month in wave, which was usually just simple light pants and a t-shirt, she wore something almost completely opposite of what he would have expected... from her of all people. That wasn't to say it was a bad thing though…

He felt his eyes grow wide as saucers as he tried to capture all of her in his vision at once. She wore a beautiful night-gown that made her body look so much more like a grown woman's. It was a faded, light pink color that, in the darkness, blended well with her purple panties that were clearly visible beneath it. In fact, to his utter shock, the whole piece was half invisible. Through it, he could see every cure of her figure; the widening hips that were bound to only get wider as she grew, and, the pièce-de-résistance, the most incredible thing he'd ever seen, the only slightly obscured appearance of her breasts.

He'd never seen a woman's breasts before. Not fully anyway. Even earlier when he'd complimented Hinata on her size, he couldn't see what they completely looked like. The only thing he'd seen first-hand was whatever cleavage was shown by various women in the village, and since he did his best not to be a pervert, he didn't allow his eyes to linger or his mind time to dwell on them.

But as he watched the fidgeting Hinata in front for him, he realized how much of a struggle it must have been to decide to wear such a gorgeous gown. Her eyes were looking anywhere but at his; she had her hands clasped behind her back (a noticeable oddity, since her usual nervous stance was the grab her left arm with her right hand over her chest), and she was shifting her weight from one leg to the other.

"Hi…Hinata… y-you look…" He couldn't quite put it into words, but the best his failing mind could come up with was, "…beautiful!"

Hinata looked at him with widened eyes. "R-really…? You really think I look…?" She didn't finish, but his nod cut her off anyway. He was half stunned and she could tell. She'd specifically changed her posture so she could allow him to see all of her front, thinking he'd like it. In the darkness, she couldn't be sure if he could see much or not, but she at least wanted to try and give him a good view. Actually, it was probably thanks to the darkness that she'd been able to do it at all. "Deeds done in the light are judged. Deeds done in the night are feared," her father had instructed her once. She doubted he'd been referring to something like this, but it still seemed to apply.

"You're gorgeous… But... why are you…?" He left the question hang in the air as he took a step toward her. Damn, he couldn't help himself. Her entire figure was so incredible, he couldn't keep his eyes from wandering. First they trailed up her pale, slender legs, up to the hem of her frock just below her crotch, tracing her hips as they melted into her waist that led up to her breasts, finally ending with her cute, surprised, but happy face framed by those two bangs that hung down on either side of her head. Her pale lips seemed to quiver ever so slightly in tension, but still managed to look completely delightful.

But most of all, he couldn't keep his eyes from practically raping her chest. 'Wow that sounded bad…' He couldn't help but take in every detail about them. The mounds of flesh didn't hang from her chest, as he'd noticed other women's breasts did, like Rangiku. Her breasts seemed to grow straight out of her body, and dead center on both of them was a pink, petite nipple that, to his amazement, seemed to stiffen and extend by a fraction of an inch, just enough to jut out, making little points in the dress.

She refused to shrink under his gaze, and even took a step forward, as he did the same. When they were only a feet away, Naruto couldn't help himself and swooped down and captured her lips in a heavy kiss. At first her eyes shot wide in surprise at his swift loving attack, but almost immediately after closed her eyes and allowed herself to melt in his arms. It had been almost a month since their first, and last real kiss, and she'd secretly been wanting another one. She wasn't going to stop him at all.

As soon as their lips touched, their tongues surged out to meet each other, almost literally fencing with each other as they dueled, intent on showing that they had more love to give than the other. That same love she'd felt before returned with a vengeance. In an instant, she felt as if the world's greatest ocean had been dropped on her, and she was suffocating, smothered by his love as it practically assault her, forcing her to feel how much she meant to him, and making her realize why and how much he loved her.

Her hands gripped his both of his sides as his left hand slid across the back of her neck, drawing her even closer to him, and their kiss even tighter. His right wrapped around her torso, pulling her body close to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest firmly, and she could feel his body shiver with excitement as she shifted in his grip.

Slowly, his right hand began to creep downward, inch by inch every few seconds, until he grasped her left lower cheek in his hand and pulled upwards. She moaned into his mouth as she was drawn up into his embrace, tighter and more secure than ever she'd felt before. His tongue pushed against hers, almost driving her back into her own mouth. But she would have none of it; she fought back with equal force, refusing to be outdone.

As she shifted to get a better vantage point, she could feel it. With her pelvis so tight pressed against his, she could feel his insane desire for her press against her lower belly. She moaned in surprise as she tried to decipher all of the senses that were going awry in her body. She couldn't concentrate too much on anything else though, lest she lose the war of the tongues, but she was able to spare a few seconds of distraction.

With her eyes closed, she couldn't examine him as much as she wished she could. But she could feel him, and she realized what she'd seen earlier at the spring as only been a miniscule glimpse of what he really was. Now, without any sense of mental restraint, he grew to his fullest, sadly hindered by his boxers' inflexibility and angrily trying to force his way out of them; even what she was feeling now wasn't all of him!

But she didn't have long to wonder in awe at him before her lungs started to burn. She continued to do her best to keep up with him until at last, she could contain the burning no longer and had to separate herself form him, gulping in air like it was her last. Likewise, he did the same. Apparently, he was also doing his best to keep up with her. She would have smiled, and maybe even laughed at that, had she the breath to do so.

Naruto held her up tightly, pressing her into him with his left hand and up with his right, still firmly gripped around her right buttock, in a deep, encompassing embrace. When she'd finally caught her breath, she realized that his hand was still holding her rump and she gently pushed herself away from him; just enough to look up into his eyes. "Naruto…"

She removed her left hand from his waist and placed it atop his right, but did not draw it away from its firm placement. His grip did however, loosen a bit, ready to release her if she felt uncomfortable. "…w-we really need to g-get some sleep…"

Naruto smiled and nodded, but didn't let go of her. When she looked up at him to ask why, she saw his gaze off to the side uncomfortably.

"A-about that… Do… do you mind if… I mean, would it be ok if we… Gosh, how do I ask this?" He paused for a moment. "Do you want to sleep with me?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he immediately shook his head and stuttered a correction. "I-I-I mean, sleep! Just sleep! Not-… yeah, just sleep."

She blinked at him in surprise. Was that ok? She hadn't thought of sleeping together in the strictest sense of the word. As she thought about it now, she realized she didn't feel completely opposed to it. Her only main concern was whether they could control themselves; what with her in her revealing night-gown and him in only his boxers. Both so close to each other… both so accessible.

"J-just sleep…?" she questioned quietly. He nodded solidly. "Yeah just sleep. I mean, we haven't had any time together for a month, and I don't want to just end it with just kissing. Not that I want to go all the way; no! Well, m-maybe someday, but neither of us are ready for that. But…" he looked away sadly. "…I don't really feel like sleeping alone tonight…"

Instantly, Hinata felt her heart reach out for him, and then she realized it wasn't just her heart, but also her hand; she placed it on his chest lightly. She could feel his heart beat under her palm, and she could have sworn she felt it miss a few beats.

She couldn't resist. Naruto was always honest. If he didn't want to talk about something, he'd just say so; he wouldn't lie or try to get out of it. And he certainly wasn't deceptive or manipulative. So when she heard him say those words, she immediately wanted to just hug him forever; she didn't want him to ever feel alone, especially not when she was capable of erasing that loneliness.

But at the same time, she didn't pity him for feeling that way. She felt the same. The only difference was that she hadn't thought of that as a possibility. After a few seconds, she smiled at him happily; his eyes were bright and warm, ready to accept whatever decision she might make, be it yes or no.

That decided it for her. She'd do it. "S-sure, let's do it!"

Naruto eyes expanded happily, and he pulled her back into him for only a second before letting her go. Like an excited child, he went over to his bed in the middle and pulled the covers back, exposing the cool sheets beneath. He waited until Hinata stepped next to the bed and crawled in before he followed suit.

They lay there, facing each other, but the distance between them made it almost awkward. Unbeknownst to them, they were both thinking the same thing.

As one, they scooched closer until they were only noses apart; the breath of the other wafted over their faces and their legs began to weave between each other. 'Now this is more like it!' The blonde smiled at the young Hyuuga in his arms. She looked at him shyly, but didn't move to stop him or recoil; on the contrary…

But as their legs found their final resting places for the night, she felt an overwhelming fatigue hit her like a truck, and she couldn't stop her eyelids from slowly closing, hiding her pale eyes from view.

Naruto smiled as he saw her drift off, and with a final, loving kiss to her forehead, he pressed their brows together and joined her.

---

A/N: And there you have it, chapter 10. Hopefully the next few chapters will be more motivating since they will, of course, follow the story line (thouse of you who know it by memory know whats coming up next), and I'll leak it to yall now... a certain jutsu WILL be used towards the end of it. So look forward to it!

*150,000 Yen is about $2,000, and Yen and Ryo are pretty close to each other in value, or at least as far as I've read.

Can't think of much else to say. Hope ya liked it! Leave me a little (little = big) shiny review for me to read! They keep me going.

Till next time! Peace!