Chapter 11

Naruto was mildly impressed by the fights so far. Apparently too many teams passed the second test of the Chuunin Exams; therefore they were holding preliminary matches to see who would advance to the third and final test. Of course, there hadn't been that many fights so far. Sasuke fought against the Sunagakure shinobi Kankuro. That battle had been a fast one as Kankuro's battle puppet stood no chance against the fires of Genesisand easily burned. Ino fought against the Kumogakure kunoichi Tifa, the Yamanaka girl easily fell to Tifa's swift hand-to-hand combat. Sakura lost against Temari, the Suna kunoichi easily knocking out the pink haired girl with her large battle fan.

Now it was Hinata's turn to fight against the Kumogakure shinobi, Strife Cloud. Naruto wanted to say something to her, he wanted to encourage her and wish her well in her fight. Yet every time he opened his mouth no words would come out. As if sensing his worry, Hinata gave him a reassuring smile and a small bow as if to say, "I will be alright", yet this did nothing to calm his nerves. Something was bothering him; something to do with Cloud. Naruto felt as if he had seen the blonde haired shinobi before, though it was only a faint feeling, like a forgotten dream. He suspected it had to do with Sephiroth, yet Naruto had no way of getting into the SOLDIER's mind. So all he could do was have faith in Hinata's skill, and watch the match.

Cloud attacked first, swinging his buster sword, First Tsurugi, down. Hinata easily spun to avoid the strike, lashing out with Yukihime aimed at Cloud's neck. The Kumo shinobi rolled forward, using the momentum to spring back to his feet and raise First Tsurugi to block another attack from Hinata. The Hyuga heiress immediately pressed the attack, Yukihime turning to whip form. Hinata used her speed and agility to easily move around Cloud, who countered by separating a blade from First Tsurugi and duel wielding them. Several times Hinata tried to freeze one of the two blades, yet each time the ice was easily shattered. Unable to turn Yukihimeto her second form, she jumped into the air and threw down her katana. A sheet of ice spread out, covering the arena's floor from where Yukihime stabbed into the ground. Hinata landed gracefully on the ice, seemingly ignoring its slippery nature unlike Cloud who was slipping and sliding around.

Cloud stabbed the blade he held in his left hand into the ice to help steady himself and brining up First Tsurugi to defend. Hinata ran at him, spinning over a horizontal strike and landed on her hands. She spun, the heel of her foot kicking against Cloud's cheek and sending him flying. Cloud rolled to his feet, raising First Tsurugi over his head, the large blade covered in green energy. The blonde shinobi slammed the blade onto the ice covered floor, the green energy flying at Hinata in the shape of a crescent. Hinata back flipped, grabbing Yukihime from where it rested in the ground, the sheet of ice melted back into the floor as the blade was pulled free. Hinata coated the blade with her chakra, slicing through the green energy wave causing it to miss her and dig into the wall behind her. Hinata flipped over another crescent shaped energy wave, using her wing to glide and hover in mid-air.

Hinata took this time to calm herself, using the momentary pause in battle to center herself. When she thought she was ready she called out, "Mai, Yukihime!" Hinata lashed out with the now pure white blade, extending it to whip form and striking where Cloud once stood turning it to ice. Hinata turned, bringing Yukihime to block a blow from Cloud. Using his own momentum, she turned and sent him flying towards the ground. Landing on his feet, Cloud pushed off the floor and flew straight at Hinata, his attack once more blocked. The two hovered in the air, exchanging blows before Cloud jumped away. This kept repeating; Hinata trying to freeze Cloud's blades as they clashed while Cloud would simply shatter the ice on the wall before attacking again. The Hyuga heiress angled herself so that her back was to the floor and as Cloud passed over her she called out, "Some no Mai, Tsuki Shiro!"

Cloud however, was faster as he dodged the column of ice that sprouted up and landed on the arena's floor. As soon as the ice shattered, Cloud was upon her, swinging his buster sword as it was surrounded by a golden glow. First Tsurugi separated into six different blades, with five encircling Hinata and the final one hovering above her. Taking hold of one of the blades, Cloud's speed increased as he flew past Hinata, a thin line of blood appearing where he had attacked. Cloud repeated this four more times. Each time Hinata tried to block the attacks but the Kumo shinobi's speed proved to be faster. For the last strike, Cloud took hold of the blade above her and dived down. In a last ditch effort, Hinata's diamond wing, as well as Yukihime,came to block the attack. Cloud's strike connected and Hinata was blown into the ground from the force of it.

Naruto's breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening and his grip on the railing tightening. When the dust settled, it revealed Hinata lying in a small crater, both her wing and Yukihime shattered into dozens of tiny fragments. Hinata struggled to her feet, ignoring the wounds which peppered her body, and though she spoke no louder then a whisper her words echoed around the room, "I… will… not… lose." Hinata coughed up blood, falling to her knees in the process. She struggled to her feet once again, only to have her legs to give out as she collapsed to the ground. Naruto was there within seconds, catching her limp body and lowering her gently to the floor. He repeatedly called her name, though no answer would come as Hinata had fallen unconscious the moment her body gave out from under her.

Rage boiled within Naruto the likes of which had not been felt since the mission to Nami no Kuni. That rage boiled over all of his emotional barriers and blue fire erupted to cover his left arm, aimed directly at Cloud who raised the complete First Tsurugi in front of him to defend. The blast however, was never able to leave Naruto's hand as he found himself surrounded and restrained by all of the Konoha jounin. Naruto struggled with all of his might to get free, however, the combined strength of the jounin proved to be too much even for his enhanced strength. The silver-haired Namikaze continued to struggle against the jounin. He would have overpowered them if not for something grabbing his ankle.

He looked down, his anger leaving him as he locked eyes with Hinata's own lavender ones. Even as she was carried away to the medical ward, his eyes never left her. Only when the jounin felt that Naruto wasn't going to do anything, did they finally release him. Naruto knelt down, running his hand along the blood that Hinata coughed up, clenching his fist and getting to his feet. The Namikaze raised his head enough so that his green cat-like eyes glared out from underneath his long silver hair. Glaring right at Cloud Naruto said, "Pray that we do not fight in the final test, for I willkill you." No one dared say a word as Naruto walked out of the arena, submersed as they were within their own thoughts. Yugito, however, was far more concerned with the pain within the young Namikaze's eyes that he had tried to hide.

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A thought plagued Diao Chan's mind as she rested against her Lord Lu Bu's chest. It was something that had constantly bothered her in the past. It was something that she knew her beloved desired, yet she had no true control over it. She had sworn, when she promised to always be at his side, that his desires were her own. It was with this thought in mind that she found herself slightly depressed. She knew it was the only desire that her beloved had, besides the desire to be the strongest warrior to ever live. She knew that he had been happy to raise Naruto like their own child, though she could still tell that her beloved wished for a blood heir. She had feared that she wasn't able to conceive a child, though not because of a lack of effort on either his or her part, she reminded herself as she contentedly snuggled closer to his chest underneath the covers. A quick trip to the doctor dispelled those fears; so what was keeping her from conceiving a child?

When Haku moved into the estate, she had thought that there wouldn't be enough time for her and her beloved to be alone. Haku, however, offered to do many of the chores she herself would do. Diao Chan had protested, though she was grateful since for as long as she had been doing them, she never realized how many there were and just how little free time that left her. So now she had plenty of time to spend with her beloved, and yet she still failed to give him a blood heir.

Still why this was so plagued her mind. If there was no physical reason she couldn't conceive a child, then perhaps… was it mental? Was she worried about something? And if so… then what? Was she worried that Lu Bu wouldn't make a good father? No, raising Naruto had proven that he was a great father. Then was she worried about herself and how she would be as a mother? Yet in the same respect, hadn't raising Naruto also proven that she was a great mother? There was, however, a vast difference between adopting a six year old child and giving birth to one. Was this what she was so worried about? Or perhaps she was wondering if she really did want a child?

Was she sure she wanted the baby as well? Could she even say that she had ever truly desired anything for herself? Wait, yes she could, but that was for both herself and her family. That was the one thing she had ever truly wanted, was to live with her beloved peacefully away from war. That was why they moved to Konohagakure no Sato, to get away from all of the fighting. Did she fear the possibility of war finding them and what would happen to the baby in those circumstances? Then again, what mother wouldn't? So that left the question of, was she ready for this and was this what she wanted as well? She had convinced herself countless times that because this was what her beloved wanted; it was what she wanted as well. But now? Now… now she wasn't so sure about anything.

She shook her head to clear it, moving as little as possible so as not to awaken her beloved. Then another thought hit her, did he know how she felt? Did he know of her uncertainty? And if he didn't know already, what would his reaction be if she told him? These thoughts and more still clouded her mind. Dozens of situations flashed across her mind, causing her spirits to drop and depression to set in. She buried her face into the cruck of her Lord Lu Bu's neck, praying that did something to ease her thoughts. Was she crying now? Where those her beloved's arms wrapping around her shaking body? Trapped within her own morbid thoughts, she did not recognize the warmth that her beloved's embrace brought her. She did not register his hand running through her hair or of his arm tightening around her waist.

Why was this happening to her? She knew… she knew that none of these possibilities playing within her mind would ever happen. She knew that what she was seeing was anything but how her beloved would react. Then why was she feeling so depressed? Even as dozens of reasons raced through her mind, something soothed her. Warmth spread throughout her entire body, calming her frantic mind and frenzied thoughts. Some semblance of peace settled over her and she relaxed into the warm body of her beloved. Yet something deep within her, perhaps deep within her gut or far back within her mind… told her that something would happen soon. And that something could very well be what she'd desired for so long.

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He couldn't believe this… he didn't wantto believe this. He knew Hinata was strong, he knew that she's far stronger then the other kunoichi that graduated with them. So why had she lost? Was the Kumo shinobi stronger then he had first thought? No, it didn't matter at the moment. What mattered was that Hinata had almost died in her fight. The medics still didn't know when or if she was to fully recover. They said the technique that the Kumo shinobi used caused massive internal and external damage. Not that he believed the medics, he knew she would heal, the only question was when that would be.

None of that had anything to do with the reason why Naruto was in such a foul mood. It was not simply the fact that Hinata had almost died, that had him clenching his fists in anger. It was not the fact that the Kumo shinobi had nearly killed one of the few people he held close to his heart that had Naruto squeezing his eyes shut to prevent any tears from falling. It was the fact that he didn't doanything to prevent it. He could have… should have jumped in to block those attacks as soon as he saw that Hinata couldn't keep up with Cloud's speed. So then why didn't he?! Did he fear that if he did so, then it would look like he didn't have faith in her skills? Did he fear that she would be angry with him for interrupting the fight?

But what did that matter compared to her safety?! What did all of that matter compared to her life?! What did his fears matter compared to her safety?! Nothing, nothing mattered more then her life. So he was angry, angry at Cloud for almost killing someone so dear to him but more, importantly he was angry at himselffor not doing anything when he knew he should have. He should have saved her from that last attack. He should have insured that no harm came to her. He should have done many things, then deal with the consequences. And now because of his inaction, Hinata was lying in a hospital bed, her normally porcelain skin much paler due to blood lost. The only plus, if you could even say that, was that both Yukihime and her diamond wing repaired themselves.

What hurt more was the fact that he had broken his promise, not only to her but also to himself. He had promised that he would protect her, to keep her from harm and he failed her. That feeling pierced through not only the emotional barriers he had but also the ice that covered his heart. It took all of his will power not to break down and cry into Hinata's limp form. It was at times like these that he missed Benihime's presence from within him. He knew that if the demon queen hadn't been forced into such a deep slumber, then she would be here now, comforting him. He could almost feel Benihime's phantom arms around his neck, her warmth spreading through his body. Yet the fact that he didn't, only served as a cold reminder of what happened, only served to make him want to shout his frustrations until his throat was raw. The fact that he didn't, only proved how strong his will was. Instead all of his anger went into his clenched fists, so great was the grip that they were bleeding slightly.

Even then all of the pain… all of the sorrow… all of the guilt… all of the anger, he felt was so great that none of his emotional barriers could contain all of it. After what had happened, he couldn't even tell if any of the barriers around his heart were intact. Even if they were he doubted that they would help with his mood. Eventually it all proved too much to hold in; he needed a way to vent all of these frustrations. Lightning surged to life, arching up and down his right arm and he settled for blasting it at the windows. Even as the glass shattered outwards, it did nothing to truly ease his anger. The only thing that would do that is to face the blonde swordsman who did this to Hinata, only then would his anger abate.

Naruto turned slightly, when an ANBU appeared behind him, saying, "Your match for the preliminarily rounds has been selected." and then disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Naruto gave Hinata's limp hand a squeeze before disappearing in a flurry of feathers. Naruto reappeared in the arena, standing in front of the Kumo kunoichi, Nii Yugito if he remembered correctly. While he might not be fighting Cloud, not until the third part of the Chuunin Exams, the fight should release some of his bent up frustrations. Benitsune was already in hand, the blade still easily able to cut into the hard concrete floor as it was dragged. Naruto made the first move as the match began, appearing behind Yugito and swinging his blade down. The katana only hit the floor as Yugito disappeared from sight, with Naruto immediately ducking as she delivered a kick from behind.

Naruto swung at her, only for Yugito to disappear. The silver-haired Namikaze pivoted, lashing out with Benitsune at the Kumo kunoichi's neck when he sensed her behind him, only to snarl in anger as she disappeared. Yugito was getting annoyed as well; even with her increased speed, she wasn't able to land a hit on the Namikaze. She knew two things she could do that would help her win. However she didn't want to reveal either, but suspected she wouldn't be able to win any other way. With that thought in mind, she bit her thumb hard enough to draw blood and swiped it along the back of her waist. A wakizashi, the wrappings around the hilt yellow, appeared sheathed horizontally on the back of her waist. Grabbing the hilt with her right hand, Yugito pulled it free keeping the blade in the reverse grip. "Consider yourself lucky," Yugito spoke, "You're the first one that I've used Suzumebachi on." Naruto smirked, things should finally get interesting.

Both of them disappeared in a burst of speed, the sparks flying off their blades as they clashed the only evidence that they were still in the room. Naruto's strikes became faster, trying to pierce through Yugito's defense, yet the blonde kunoichi's cat-like reflexes easily parried his thrusts and slashes. This frustrated him, why wasn't he able to win?! He was never on the defensive before. No matter who he fought, he was the one that was dominating the fight. Yet this Kumo kunoichi was easily able to have the upper hand? That shouldn't be possible. What advantage did Yugito have over him that he was losing like this? He nearly shouted in anger as yet another attack was blocked.

Their high-speed battle came to a stop as their blades locked together, each pushing against the other. Yugito took this time to look into Naruto's eyes, Yoruichi whispered something into her mind, making her eyes widen. Could it be possible? Was Yoruichi really telling the truth? Or was she just being playful again? Yugito couldn't be sure, but there was one way that she could find out. "I know you can do more," Yugito's voice no louder than a whisper so only Naruto could hear. Naruto's eyes widened, what did she know? Did she know about Benihime sealed within his body? But how could that be possible? The only people that should know were those within his own village. How could someone from a different village know?! "And if you will not fight at full strength… then I will make you," Yugito hissed.

The blonde kunoichi jumped back, planning on using all that she had to see if what Yoruichi-sama said was true. And if the neko demon was wrong, then… well, she'd pray that wasn't the case. Holding her blade in front of her, she closed her eyes and relaxed before speaking, "Jinteki Shakusetsu, Suzumebachi!" The wakizashi glowed white, turning into a black and yellow vambrace, a small golden chain connecting it to a single claw upon Yugito's middle finger. And, as if that wasn't enough, dark purple chakra gathered around her shoulders, pumping into her limbs and causing the shoulder, arm and back fabric of her clothes to be blown away. The dark purple chakra arced like lightning, cutting into the floor as the Kumo kunoichi yelled out the technique's name, "Shunko!" Naruto barely dodged her attack when she was suddenly behind him, the claw grazing his cheek.

Naruto wiped away the small amount of blood from the shallow cut, a symbol resembling a hornet's wings appeared where he had been hit. Yugito took this time to explain, "Suzumebachi has a very special ability. With each hit it not only creates a 'symbol of death', otherwise known as the homonka, it also releases a small amount of poison. While the poison isn't lethal on the first hit, however, should I hit the homonka a second time… you will die. It's something I like to call 'nigeki kessatsu', or 'death in two steps'." Yugito flashed in front of Naruto, bringing down Suzumebachiwhile shouting, "Now show me your strength!" Naruto jumped back as quickly as he could, this time the claw, or perhaps 'stinger' would be a better description, striking his chest.

Naruto bit back several different curses, Benitsune clanging against the vambrace as Yugito tried to strike at the two homonka symbols. Of course, Naruto recognized the dark purple chakra that the blonde kunoichi used for that 'Shunko' technique. He had used Benihime's power enough to tell the difference between human chakra and demonic chakra. Of course! That's why Yugito was going all out on him. Her own demon must have told Yugito about Benihime being sealed within him. Which left the question of which demon Yugito held within her? Well, he'd worry about that some other time. Right now he had a match to win. Naruto mentally cursed himself, he had relied on Benihime's power for so long that he never took the time to train with Sephiroth's power. The only time he had really used the ex-SOLDIER's power was on the bridge in Nami no Kuni. But that had been more of a combination of Benihime's and Sephiroth's powers.

The Namikaze growled in anger as Yugito slipped through his defenses though at least she was only able to strike at his shoulders before he jumped into the air. He had no time to catch his breath, however, as Yugito was in front of him. He was soon forced back onto the ground, as Yugito kicked him in the chest. Sliding to a stop, Naruto brought Benitsune, aiming a slash at Yugito who blocked with a kick against the blade's flat edge. Yugito's other leg kicked out, which Naruto blocked with his forearm. Yugito took advantage of this and stabbed Suzumebachi towards the homonka upon the Namikaze's chest. Naruto's eyes widened, he knew there was no time to dodge the attack. He couldn't die like this. For the first time in a very long time, Naruto felt completely and utterly helpless. For the first time in so long, he found himself screaming within his mind for help.

He realized just how much he depended on Benihime's power, how much he depended on her comforting warmth and soothing voice, how much he missed her power flowing through his veins. And how much he just plain missed her. Never before had he known just how much she meant to him. How much he wanted to help and protect her as much as she wished to help him. Never before had he realized how much she knew about him, just how close to his heart she truly was. It's funny really, that now, when he was about to lose, he finally saw things so clearly. Why had he never seen before how much hecared about the kitsune demon sealed within him? Or perhaps he never wantedto see before because he was afraid that it was a betrayal of Hinata's feeling. And what of Hinata? What would happen to her if he died here? What amount of hurt would his death cause her? What affect would his death have on everyonefor that matter? He was more worried about Hinata and Haku than his own death.

He couldn't forget about Haku either. The girl already lost one person she swore loyalty to; he couldn't think of what would happen to her if he died. He doubted anyone would be able to stop Haku from taking her life; he had only just succeeded the last time. Was the snow and ice around his heart finally melting? Was that the reason why he cared so much about Hinata, Haku and Benihime? Was his heart finally opening to those around him that he knew cared about, or even loved him? Or was it something else entirely?

Either way, here and now he wouldn't be able to win without Benihime's help; he would most likely die against Yugito. He wouldn't allow that, if he died then Benihime would die as well, and that would be breaking his promise to keep her safe. But whatever that Kusa kunoichi did to him within the Forest of Death cut him off completely from Benihime. He had no way of awakening her from her forced slumber deep within his mind. Yet even as he was thinking this, two words slipped out of his mouth, "Okiro… Benihime." The thick chains binding Benihime within his mind shattered and with a gasp, Benihime bolted up right, her power flooding through his body. Since he was not expecting the wave of power from Benihime, it blasted out of Naruto's body in a bright flash of red and everything went to hell.

I know, you all must hate me for leaving it at a cliffhanger like that... but it's just so much fun to keep you guessing. Now, about the Japanese words I use here. They are all taken from Bleach Wiki, so if you're wondering what it says you can find it there, or if you find anything worng you can blame them not me. Yes, I did give Yugito Soifon's zanpakutō. Why did I do this? I'm not really sure, I was going to give Yugito a scythe but when I named the Nibi, Yoruichi, it really only seemed to fit. Besides, Soifon is my favorite captain. Before I forget... DON"T KILL ME FOR DOING THAT TO HINATA!!!!!!! You don't know how many times I was kicking myself when I wrote out her fight with Cloud.

So, it looks like Naruto is finally opening up his heart. Though how do you think he'll survive Yugito's attack? Or if he'll survive at all? Then again, it isn't hard to know but what till you see what I'm going to do with him next chapter. You've neverseen a shikai like what I've got planned... oops, shouldn't have said that, on second thought I'm not sure if I could call it a shikai but we'll see. On another note, what do you think is happening to Diao Chan? She seems a little emotional doesn't she? Of course, I would like to know what you think about Yugito having Suzumebachi, but like I said, it only seemed to fit all things considered.

Well, tell me what you think, review and see you next chapter!