A/N

So, how was the last chapter? Did

it meet your expectations? I hope so.

Comments, critique, criticism, and advice

are welcomed, wanted, and I beg of you,

tell me what you thought!! Aside from that,

thanks for being good readers. :) Cookies for

you all!

Matthew

Chapter 14: Separation

Naruto

Three days, three days had passed since Hinata and I had kissed, had held each other close. Now, the night once again grew thick and tight around us, half awake in the tent. As far as I knew, Sakura hadn't found out yet, so the secret was safe, at least for now. I looked at Hinata, who lay next to me, he slender, well defined form shadowed from the bright, silver moonlight seeping through the canvas above our heads.

"Goodnight, Hinata-chan," I whispered, now that Sakura was asleep.

She smiled, leaning forward.

"Goodnight, Naruto-kun," She responded, our lips met.

It was short lived, for fear that Sakura was either still awake, or would be if we made any amount of noise. It was odd, up until that fateful night, our relationship had been strenuous and tense. I had ignored her for most of my Genin years, and now, when I get back, she became all that I'd ever thought about.

"You did well, talking to that girl, I think she was pleased," The Kyuubi said, as we pulled apart, smiling at one another.

"You can't just leave me alone, especially at a time like this, can you?" I retorted as his rough voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Of course not, all I'm saying is that she was obviously pleased," He said again, and I mentally rolled my eyes.

"Of course she was, you heard her too," I replied, a little too preoccupied to think of a better comeback.

"Kit, you don't get it, do you? She's been infatuated with you for years, now you make her dreams come true, and all I'm saying, is that it would be good of you to recognize that." The fox said, sounding like he was explaining something obvious to a baby.

"You've got a lot of nerve, how the hell was I supposed to know?" I yelled at him, his snide, sarcastic tone making me want to punch something.

"Kit, even I noticed, everyone else knew, the pink haired girl, the ridiculous chicken haired Uchiha, all of your friends, they all noticed. It's really not that hard to open your eyes sometimes." He countered.

I curled up in my sleeping bag, hiding my head in my pillow, resuming my conversation with the nine-tails inside me.

"Telling me that now won't do any good. Staying out of my head when I'm talking to her, or *cough* kissing her." I thought, adding just a hint of sarcasm to that last bit.

"Alright, alright maybe I will. Just because my mate was taken from me by that snake bastard, that doesn't mean that I'll interfere with yours." He said, and I was a little taken aback.

"You had a mate? What happened to her?" I asked, but to my disbelief, he ignored me, choosing to walk away, just as I had told him too.

I groaned quietly, but enough so that Hinata, lying by my side, looked over at me.

"Naruto-kun? Is everything okay?" She quietly inquired, and I lifted my head from my pillow, looking at her.

"No, no I'm fine, just a headache." I said, and she nodded, resting her head back down on her pillow.

For the past three nights, we had kept our beds a little closer together, enjoying the company of the other, the warmth of each other's proximity. This night, the warmth was not an issue, the night being cold and wet. Everyone, Sakura and Gaara included, was shivering after a few minutes of lying in bed, waiting to fall asleep.

I wormed my hand out of the sleeping bag, laying it on Hinata's which lay on the ground in the few inches between us. She was still awake, I could tell because her fingers gently intertwined with my own. Her hand was warm and soft to the touch, and I smiled. I couldn't see her face, as she was lying on her stomach, but I would've bet anything that she was smiling too.

I heard Hinata's voice, echoing the words that had now been burned into my heart, thinking of the words, what they meant.

She had been trying desperately to tell me how she felt, and I felt a little bad. I didn't really know how I felt about her. I loved being with her, she made me feel at peace, as if nothing on earth could go wrong. She was very attractive, not in a way like Sakura or Ino, but in a more... tender, and shy attractiveness. I found that it appealed to me more than the blatant Sakura and Ino attractiveness, but Hinata was more complex. She wasn't like any of the others, she was shy and reserved, not boisterous and attention hungry.

The Kyuubi was right, she had liked me and tried to impress me for years, and I had been blind to it. I found myself wondering how long she would have waited for me to notice, or if she would have stopped trying, and gone for someone like Shino, or Kiba. I wasn't sure how I felt for her. I knew that I did, in fact, feel something for the delicate Hyuuga girl, but I wasn't sure it was love. I knew full well that I liked her, I liked her more than I liked anything or anyone. I'd give up ramen if it would make her happy, I would forget about Sasuke if she asked me to, but I didn't know if that was love.

I squeezed her hand tighter, her warmth flooding my body, relieving me of the shivering cold that had previously tormented my body. The warmth seeped into my veins, flooding into my entire body, influencing sleep, which followed shortly after.

A crash rent my blissful sleeping, jolting my awake. I looked around, a kunai already twirling on one finger. Sakura and Hinata woke too, and Gaara sat up, looking wildly around. Two harmonious yells came from the direction of the two Sand Jonin's tent. I gripped my kunai, and saw Sakura pull out her own. I ducked out of the tent, summoning three Shadow Clones. Sakura followed, Hinata and Gaara coming out hesitantly seconds after. Shuriken whizzed past my head, and I cringed, twirling my kunai again.

Sakura, the three clones and I spread out in a defensive formation, Hinata protectively by Gaara's side.

"Sakura, what the hell is that?" I called, as another shuriken sliced down from the shadow-cast trees.

"No idea, most likely an enemy ninja." She yelled back, blocking a thrown kunai, dodging a shuriken.

Several senbon flew towards the Kazekage and Hinata, but were deflected by Hinata, who already had her Byakugan fired up.

"Naruto! There are seven ninja surrounding the camp!" Hinata yelled to me, and I nodded.

That girl's Byakugan was an incredibly useful technique, especially in hard to see situations like this. Another shuriken dodged, and as Hinata yelled out their position to Sakura and I, I flung my kunai, slipping another three out of my pouch. Sakura was chucking shuriken in the directions that Hinata indicated, and two yelps from nearby trees where the only sign of any success.

"Two down, five to go!" Hinata called, fending off multiple shuriken and senbon barrages.

Gaara had his sand gourd, and a shield had enveloped him and Hinata. Shuriken and kunai thunked into the thick sand harmlessly. Two swords appeared, one stabbing out into the darkness of the night, the other hovering over to me. I grabbed it, twirling it, blocking several shuriken. I had a good deal of sword training, after Ero-sennin had given me a high quality chakra-bladed sword. The sword was unbalanced, but now wasn't the time to complain.

Gaara let up the shield, launching a massive spear of sand into one of the trees, where a ninja sat. A yelp, and the sand began to recede. A black flash, a shriek, and I was spinning on my heels. Hinata was gone. A flurry of kunai, shuriken and senbon, and the other three ninja bounded away, heading out into the forest.

I yelled furiously, my eyes blazing bright red, the Kyuubi's power coursing through my veins. I grabbed Gaara by the arm, yanking him so that he faced me.

"Gaara," I pleaded, "I need to go after her, please, you have to let me."

I looked into his eyes, I saw the confusion that was there.

"Please," I roared, tears spilling from my eyes.

Gaara nodded, turning to Sakura.

"Go," He commanded me, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder.

I was already off, following the fast retreating ninja.

The night flew past me as I bounded between the trees. The moonlight and shadows blurred and smudged as I ran, my eyes burning. The Kyuubi growled inside me, clawing to get out, to tear the ninja to shreds.

"No! Not yet." I yelled at him, and he growled at me.

"They took your mate kit, if you let me out, I'll kill them." He said, red chakra billowing around his gigantic form.

"No! I can't let you do that, not yet. I can't use your power to fight, I'd end up hurting Hinata." I yelled back, the thought frightening me more that the giant fox that stood before me in my mind.

"I wouldn't hurt her, you can trust me with that." He reasoned, and I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't. I almost killed Ero-sennin in a matter of seconds, and I don't think you wanted to kill him. I lost control, and someone got hurt. If I lose control this time, Hinata-chan will die. I can't let that happen." I explained desperately, and the fox backed off a little.

I kept running, the only thing I was concerned about now, was catching these ninja, catching them and killing them, rescuing Hinata. The forest started to thin, when I saw a group of forms moving far ahead. Hope surged through me, and I sped up, slowly, ever slowly, gaining on the receding group. After several minutes I could make out the outlines of the ninja who were bounding ahead of me.

"Kyuubi!" I thought loudly, grabbing the foxes attention.

"I changed my mind. Can you give me a little of your power? Not enough for any tails, just enough to easily beat these guys." I asked.

"Alright, a chance to get some blood on my claws," The Kyuubi growled excitedly in my head.

The figures up ahead, two of them, stopped. I sped towards them, the outline of my form flickered with red fire. They drew weapons, probably kunai, and stood ready. I pulled two kunai out of my pouch, still moving at high speeds toward the duo. The fire roared around me, masking me from the enemies' view, as I slashed out with the two, black daggers that I held.

Blood spurted high into the air, the two figures collapsed, and I landed softly on a wide branch of a tree behind where they had stood. The fire died back to a coal, and I kept running, even as I landed.

"Thanks," I thought, and the Kyuubi smiled, showing his yellow fangs.

"Don't mention it kit, you don't let me out too much, it was fun," He growled, and I nodded.

The scenery flew past, and I wondered just how far away I now was from where Sakura and Gaara were. Probably several miles, but I felt no exhaustion due to my anger, despe2ration, and the Kyuubi's powers. The third figure was again visible, and a burst of speed brought me up close behind him. A few shuriken, and he fell unceremoniously to the ground. Blood lust and rage churned in my stomach, clouding my vision in shades of red and orange.

We, the Kyuubi and I, continued at full speed, following the dents in the wood, where the ninja's feet had been. A wounded, feral cry echoed throughout the dense forest.

A/N

Talk about a cliff hanger! Since it was requested

of me, and I had plans to do so, this chapter was

from Naruto's POV. Lots of Naru/Kyuubi chatter.

Hope you like how I portrayed Naruto's affection

for Hinata. Any comments or complaints? If so,

I want to hear them. So, click the magical Review

button below, and tell me what you thought.

Matthew