Author's Note: Hey guys. New Chapter is up.

For those of you unaware, I have redone Chapter 24. After I read some of the comments people gave me, and looked through the chapter as well, I realized how right all of you were. I've said that battle scenes are not my forte, and this definitely proves it. I apologize for putting out a chapter with such inconsistencies, and I make a promise to you guys now that I will make sure from now on that all fights are well-balanced and are written well. I hope the re-do of 24 is better than what you guys originally read, and once again, I offer my apologies.

Onto other business. Thanks to OGAFazer89AC'ssharp eye, my forum can be found for those of you care. If you go to the Anime/Naruto forums, and select English only, it should be on the very last page or so. The Retrospects from the previous chapter can be found there, so if that's what you're looking for or if you want to add in a topic yourself, feel free to do so.

As for that surprise I told you about, you can find more information about it at the Bottom Author's Note, so please take a look when you finish with the chapter!

Thank you so much for your reviews. I am still very new at this, so when I read people's suggestions and comments, it helps me grow as a writer, which is invaluable to me. If you want to tell me what you liked and didn't like, or just want to say 'good job', I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Book Two: Chapter 7 - Return to the Sand! The Investigation Begins!

Naruto was plagued by restlessness. His unconsciousness provided him no comfort, and he tossed and turned endlessly in the black expanse of darkness. He had no idea where he was; his senses failed him.

Every now and then violent images flashed before him, their intensity almost too much for Naruto to bear. He didn't recognize their contents, and was unable to understand their meaning. They were too distorted. He could swear that he saw someone or something he recognized once in a while, and would reach out to it, trying to bring it closer. But it would fade away before he got the chance, and Naruto would be left to wander once more. Time had no meaning in this strange place; it felt like he had already been here for an eternity.

He saw another shape, but didn't bother acknowledging it. It would only slip away once he got close. But as the shape took on more and more definition, Naruto felt himself irresistibly drawn to the shape. It was vaguely human, and only became more so as time wore on. Delicate hands of the softest skin slipped through sleeves of color and light. Hair, silky and soft as smoke, draped across the shape's back. A face began to form; a tiny nose, a warm smile, and beautiful eyes.

'Hinata…' Naruto extended both of his arms. That was Hinata in front of him! He smiled warmly; she would know what was going on. She would help him through this.

But as his arms closed around her, they simply slipped right through her body. He seemed confused, and tried again. Hinata silently shook her head, and began to drift away from him. Naruto tried grasping for her clothing, hoping there was some way he could keep her with him, but his fingers could only touch his own flesh. He followed her. Maybe she was leading him somewhere.

Naruto was trying to remain optimistic, but he could see that Hinata was getting further and further away from him. No matter what he tried, he couldn't seem to go any faster, and watched helplessly as she started to disappear from his gaze. He tried waving his arms about, but she didn't see him. He tried calling out to her, but she didn't hear him.

As she got further away, something horrific was happening. Her clothes were becoming torn, and bloodied, and the heavenly glow that accompanied her flawless skin was fading, replaced with a layer of grime and sweat. Her mouth didn't open, yet he could hear her cry out in pain. She had her back to him, yet he could see the fear in her eyes. What was happening to Hinata? Naruto felt powerless.

A rumbling laugh echoed from beneath him in the darkness as the last wisps of Hinata's body faded away from view. It was a dark, wicked laugh, one Naruto was beginning to recognize. His body plummeted into the abyss, and he shook with fear. He blinked once, and the cage was in front of him.

"THAT WAS QUITE A SHOW. IT'S ALWAYS A PLEASURE TO WATCH YOU SUFFER," the Kyūbi taunted.

"What's going on?" Naruto demanded. "I thought I told you that if you ever messed with my head again, I-"

Naruto was interrupted by another fit of laughter from the beast. The cage shook, and Naruto grew worried.

"AS AMUSING AS YOUR STUPIDITY IS, I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR LITTLE EPISODE JUST NOW." The titan sneered, his teeth gleaming in the murky light of his cage. "NO…THAT WAS ALL YOU, LITTLE WHELP. IT IS YOUR OWN MIND THAT TURNS AGAINST YOU."

"What're you talking about? How do I know you're not lying?"

It was too much for the demon. He clutched his side in his fits of laughter, taking huge gasps for air as he rocked back and forth on his feet. Naruto's heart thumped in his throat; something that made the Kyūbi this happy meant something very bad had happened.

"…what happened?" Naruto asked quietly, hanging his head.

In between his cacophony of mirth, the Kyūbi found time to speak. "WHY DON'T YOU JUST ASK THAT LITTLE HYŪGA GIRL? I'M SURE SHE COULD TELL YOU BETTER THAN I!"

Naruto demanded what he was talking about, but his pleas went ignored. The beast's laughter grew louder and louder, and even if Naruto screamed at the top of his lungs, his voice could not be heard. What happened to Hinata? Was she hurt? Was it something…was it something Naruto did?

"No!" he yelled out, sitting up in his hospital bed. His sudden movement made Sakura jump in surprise; she had been attending to him all night, and had finally passed out in a nearby chair from exhaustion.

"Naruto? You're awake?" Sakura eased herself out of her seat. Naruto found himself at the end of a quick check-up, with his teammate poking and prodding him to make sure everything worked alright.

"I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined, swatting her worried hands away. "You of all people should know how fast I heal!"

"Are you sure you're okay? That was quite an episode you ha-" A hand flew to Sakura's mouth as she realized what she had been saying. Naruto didn't seem too upset.

"Yeah…I had a feeling that happened." He leaned his body against the backboard of the bed, covering his eyes with one hand as he sighed deeply.

"Why can't I control it, Sakura-chan? I've been dealing with this since I was born, but I'm not any closer to keeping it under control than I was on day one."

"It's not your fault, Naruto." Sakura insisted. "Sasuke-kun was there. If I had something like…well, like that, I don't think I'd be able to hold it in either. You have nothing to be ashamed of."

Naruto didn't seem comforted. "Yeah, but what if something happens to one of you guys? What if someone gets hurt?"

Sakura avoided his gaze, and Naruto's heart skipped a beat. Did something…happen? He could remember bits and pieces of a strange dream he had been having, but nothing more. It was intensely frustrating, and Naruto needed to know. He needed answers.

"Sakura-chan…what happened?"

Standing up from Naruto's bedside, Sakura walked to the window. Hinata was being kept in a separate room, and for good reason. If Naruto were to find out that it was him that had hurt Hinata…well, Sakura didn't want to imagine how he would take it.

She was no stranger to that experience. Naruto had lashed out at her as well during their encounter with Orochimaru on Tenchi Bridge. But this was different. Naruto had something else he could divert his attention to, so when he had swatted her away, it was more than likely him simply removing an obstacle from his path. But with Hinata…she had gotten so close to Naruto, and for a few precious moments it seemed like she was reaching through to him.

Sakura shuddered. The look in Naruto's eyes when he struck out against Hinata…it was foul. Sakura could see nothing but hatred in those eyes. If Kakashi hadn't been there, he would have killed her.

'I can't tell him what happened…it would devastate him…' Sakura kept herself composed as best as she could.

"Sakura-chan…did something happen?" Naruto repeated his question. Sakura realized she had been alone with her thoughts, and her mind raced with what she should say.

"Well, uh…I couldn't really see what happened. You were kicking up a lot of dust, but from what I could tell, you were going after Sasuke-kun like you wanted to kill him." There…she wasn't technically lying to him. Maybe if she just avoided talking about Hinata, Naruto would forget about it.

"Dammit! I wanted to stop him, but not when that gets the best of me…" Naruto scrunched up his sheets as he formed his hands into fists. "What about the others? Kakashi-sensei, Kiba, and Hinata? Are they alright? I didn't…do anything to them, did I?"

Sakura cursed inwardly. She shouldn't have hoped Naruto would forget about Hinata. They were dating now, after all. Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. "It was kind of amazing, actually."

Naruto sat up. "What was? What happened?"

"Well, after Sasuke-kun escaped, you went ballistic. We all got to a safe distance, but then Hinata-"

"Sakura-chan, did I hurt Hinata?" Naruto exclaimed, his voice rising. "What happened to Hinata?"

Something in the back of his mind was screaming for Naruto to find the answer. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a terrible feeling in his heart that he did something to Hinata. Did someone tell him this? Naruto felt like someone had, but his memory was failing him. He had to rely on Sakura's answer.

Sakura eased him back into his bed. "She's fine, Naruto. She was walking up to you, like she wasn't scared at all. She was calling to you, trying to get you to come back. You were starting to calm down when she got really close to you."

"I think I remember that…" Naruto said, breathless. It was true; he could vaguely make out Hinata's voice, calling out to him in the darkness. Her voice was so sweet; he had been drawn to it like a moth to a flame. "What happened next?"

Sakura rubbed her arm nervously, and took a deep breath. "I don't really know…but from what I could tell, I guess it worked. The next I saw, you were both unconscious." She held her breath. Would Naruto buy something like this? If he found out she was keeping something from him…

"Th-thank goodness…" Naruto let out the air he had been keeping in his lungs, a huge sigh of relief. "Where is she now?"

"She's in the next room. One of the Suna medics is taking care of her."

Naruto seemed confused. "Suna? I thought we were back at the village!"

Sakura shook her head, giving her bone-headed friend a half-smile. "Honestly, Naruto...did you really think we would go all the way back to the village when Suna was closer?"

To help prove her point, Sakura pushed aside the curtain, letting the warm glow of sunlight fill the room. Naruto shielded his eyes until they were used to it, and once they were, could see the bustling streets of the Sand beneath his feet. He tried getting up to get a better look, but Sakura pushed him back.

"You're not going anywhere. You overexerted yourself, and need the rest right now. I'm going to check on the others, but there will be someone right outside if you need anything."

Staying put was not in Naruto's nature. He looked ready to protest, but could faintly hear Sakura crack her knuckles from behind her back, and quickly came to the conclusion that she was right; some rest would do wonders for him.

"Say hi to Hinata-hime for me, will you? I still feel a little worried about her." he called out as Sakura headed for the door. She didn't answer him, but held her hand up in acknowledgment before shutting the door quietly behind her. He could have sworn she had tensed up when he had asked her that, but he could have just as easily been seeing things.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. He was incredibly thankful his outburst hadn't harmed any of his friends. He decided he could at least take a nap since he wasn't going anywhere, blissfully unaware of the truth. The Kyūbi's mocking words bubbled beneath the surface of his memory. It was only a matter of time before they could not be contained any longer.

"Where was he found?"

"Several kilometers from the village, southeast of the canyon. Naruto-san had given his body to one of his toad summons for safe-keeping during the battle." Apparently Gamakichi had gotten a little worried when Naruto didn't summon him back to reclaim Raiā's body, so he had performed a reverse summoning technique to see what Naruto was up to. When the smoke cleared, and an unconscious Naruto covered in bandages appeared in front of him, he quickly moved to strap Raiā's body to Naruto's, before sending them back. One of the medics had nearly fainted seeing Naruto disappear and reappear with another body like that, but once they had realized who he was, they moved to transport Raiā to where he was currently.

Gaara eyed the man lying in the hospital bed. He had been one of their finest medics, and an all-around stand-up citizen to the village. Gaara had seen many lives saved by this man. And now he was strapped to a specially-made bed, designed for patients that, while they would be treated, were considered potential threats to the village. Gaara ran a hand along the edge of the many restraints tying the man down. He had been forced into this…thing, many times as a child, but instead of destroying it, he decided to use it for criminals, possibly such as the one that lay in front of him now. What did an international criminal from Konoha want with an elderly medical assisstant? Gaara was worried why Sasuke had come for him.

"Did you find anything on his person?" he asked, stepping back among the others.

"Nothing apart from what you've already seen," Baki replied. "Gaara-sama…does he look…older to you?"

Gaara nodded. "There's something this man is not telling us. When he wakes, begin the interrogation. If he lies, make him regret it." He gave another look over the evidence Kakashi had confiscated. Strange wrist guards emblazoned with seals, hidden weapons in his clothing, and enough supplies for quite the lengthy journey. Was this man running from something?

He would have stayed until the man awoke, but Gaara had other matters to attend to. Perhaps he could retrieve more information from Naruto and the rest of his group. After all, they were the ones who had found him in the first place, once they're main objective of stopping Sasuke failed.

That also disturbed him. Ever since his kidnapping, Gaara had decided that if their Kazekage wasn't safe, the villagers certainly weren't. He stepped up security to an almost ludicrous high. Guards everywhere, as far as the eye can see. And yet the Uchiha and two others seemed to infiltrate its walls so easily. It made Gaara worried.

As he made his way back to his office, several attendants bombarded him with even more problems. One of their senior librarians had gone missing, along with several books relating to the history of the village. Nothing confidential of course, but it was wise to be cautious nonetheless. There were also several guards found dead near the outskirts of the village, most likely from Sasuke's infiltration. He was doing his best to keep calm, but if Sasuke continued to lash out like this, it would take more than the Sharingan to keep Gaara from going after the Uchiha himself.

The door swung open, and Gaara made his way to his desk, acknowledging Kakashi with a simple nod. He quietly asked the attendants to leave the two of them alone; some of the information about to be discussed might be sensitive.

"Gaara-sama." Kakashi said, bowing low. It felt odd for someone so young, but the Kazekage had Kakashi's respect nonetheless.

"What do you know about him?" Gaara asked. It was blunt, but there was no time for pleasantries and other useless traditions.

"Not much of anything, really. He kept up the scared, innocent act until Sasuke knocked him out, but I don't buy it. He was covered head-to-toe with these strange symbols, and it looked like he had been in quite the battle."

Gaara leaned forwards. "Symbols? They were not present on his body by the time you brought him back."

"I know. It makes me suspect it's a technique, one that he can activate on command. It must have disappeared when he had been unconscious for a while."

"This man was a respected member of the village, Kakashi. To find out that Sasuke Uchiha, an international criminal from your village, is after him is troubling."

It wasn't intended as an insult, but Kakashi felt his temper rise anyway, if only at himself. He felt just as responsible for letting Sasuke get away again as Naruto did, perhaps even more so because he failed to stop Naruto from losing control until he had already injured Hinata.

"Have you learned anything about him yet?" Kakashi asked.

"No. The interrogation won't begin until he awakes. Is there any other information you can offer us?"

The Copy Ninja shook his head. "Not from me, no. But it was Pakkun who first saw what was going on. I'll bet he knows more about this than I do."

"Then please summon him here, so that we can discuss it." Gaara stood as Kakashi prepared the summoning. A quick puff of smoke, and Pakkun was standing on the Kazekage's desk.

"Now doesn't this place look familiar…" Pakkun drolled. His leg was still aching every now and then, and while it wasn't intentional, Pakkun had a bone to pick with the Kazekage.

"Let's hope the next time you send me back to Naruto, there's not a sandstorm. That stings pretty bad, you know."

Gaara cocked his head to one side. "But, if that storm hadn't blown through, you would not have seen the confrontation between Sasuke and Yakuhin, correct?"

"Yeah yeah, I guess you're right. But my leg's been stiff for a few days now, so don't think you're off the hook yet!"

Gaara smiled somewhat. "Of course."

Pakkun turned to face the both of them. "Now, I don't know what you're talking about with 'Yakuhin'. When I was there, Sasuke referred to the guy as Raiā. He was a bit of a coward, really."

"This man's identity is now completely foreign to us," Gaara replied, folding his arms. "We have to assume that everything about him is a lie."

"Yeah, that guy could probably get a medal for it. From what he talked about. He'd been laying low for a long time now. Said he would have to find a new place to run to since Sasuke blew his cover."

"Do you know where?" Kakashi inquired.

"Can't say I do. Even with how confident that guy was, he wasn't comfortable with sharing any details."

"What about his abilities?" Gaara asked, hoping that would lead him to clues of his place of origin.

"I can't say for sure, because I was only there for a little while before Kakashi summoned me back to the village. All I can say is that he started off putting all these weird symbols all over the canyon. They looked like seals. Really complex ones at that."

Gaara leaned against the wall. "There were symbols on some of the 'Raiā's' possessions as well. Perhaps he was well-versed in the use of Fūinjutsu."

Kakashi felt the blood drain from his face. There was no way…this couldn't be connected, could it?

"Gaara-sama…what did Raiā look like in his first days in the village."

The Kazekage was worried with the urgency in Kakashi's voice. "He kept to himself most of the time, but the few public records we have of him, depict his appearance as elderly, with a very strong shade of red in his hair." Gaara continued with more details, but Kakashi didn't hear them.

'That's what I was afraid of…' Kakashi thought as his body involuntarily tensed up. Tsunade would need to know about this.

"Gaara-sama, there's something I need to discuss with you."

"I see…and you believe these two events are connected somehow?"

Kakashi nodded. "Yes, Gaara-sama. With your permission, I would like to search through Raiā's possessions, as well as his home with my team. It could help us come to a solid conclusion."

Gaara considered the offer. While he felt that since Raiā had been a member of the village, it should be their responsibility to handle it. But Kakashi and Naruto and the others were the ones who brought Raiā back, as well as prevent Sasuke from taking him.

"…Very well. I grant your request. Bring me everything you find, and you'll have as much access as you require. If this does lead somewhere, however, I do expect to be included in the investigation. There may be others in my jurisdiction."

Kakashi bowed low once again. "Of course, Gaara-sama. Thank you."

"How is…how is he doing?"

The Copy Ninja smiled through his mask. "Oh, you know how he is. He'll be right as rain within a few hours, by my estimate. They'll have told him he needs to stay in bed longer, especially Sakura, but then again, when has he ever listened to them?"

Gaara closed his eyes. "Good…good."

Sakura moved at a brisk pace towards another wing of the hospital, where Hinata was currently residing. It hadn't really been necessary to separate the two that needed medical attention, but Sakura insisted it be for the best. That way, she could get to Hinata before Naruto could.

It made her feel sick to her stomach, knowing she was on her way to convince Hinata to keep something else from Naruto. Hinata didn't like keeping secrets as it was, and this would only stress her out. But it was for the greater good; Naruto didn't need this on his conscience.

She opened the door to find Hinata chatting idly with one of the Suna nurses. She had numerous bandages covering her body, but other than that, Hinata was in good shape. It made Sakura feel relieved.

"Hey, Hinata…how're you holding up?"

The Hyūga smiled warmly. "I'm f-fine, Sakura-san. Thank you for asking."

The nurse quietly excused herself, leaving some glasses of water for the two kunoichi. Sakura stared at Hinata for a moment, before hopping down into the next bed over.

"Hinata…just what the hell happened back there?"

To tell the truth, Hinata didn't know. She hadn't really realized what she had been doing at the time; it was as if some overpowering force convinced her to be confident, and try and reach Naruto. The memory was a little fuzzy, but she could remember it well enough. She had almost succeeded.

"I don't really know, Sakura-san. I don't know what came over me."

"But that was…that was incredible! I've never seen Naruto that calm before! It was like he could hear you, and was trying to come back. But then…"

Sakura blinked. Now that she noticed, where was Kiba?

Hinata could tell what Sakura was thinking. "He was in here a few minutes ago. I had been sleeping, but when he tried to sneak in, he woke me up. I pretended I was s-still asleep so he wouldn't feel bad."

"Something tells me that wouldn't be what he was upset about…" Sakura replied quietly. She was starting to become acquainted with Kiba's mindset; the way he saw it, he was the one who got Hinata hurt, not Naruto. Hinata was much more aware of the situation, and looked out of the window in worry.

"I hope he's not getting himself into trouble…" She brought a hand to her heart. Kiba shouldn't blame himself for what happened; it was she that decided to try something like that in the first place, and it had been the Kyūbi that had hurt her, not Naruto or Kiba.

"I'll go out looking for him in a bit. But for now, let me take a look."

Hinata seemed flustered. "But, Sakura-san…"

"Now's not the time to be worrying about modesty! I'm a medic, so I deal with that all the time. Now strip!"

Hinata blushed from embarrassment, but relented to Sakura-'s expertise. She had Sakura shut the curtains, and began to unwrap the bandages from her shoulder and chest, taking great care not to aggravate her injuries. It was easier to manage since Sakura had done a great job repairing the damage to her hands, but Sakura had to step in to help her finish anyway when Hinata began to struggle.

Sakura held her breath. Now that the bandages had been removed, she could see the full extent of the damage. It wasn't as bad as she had feared, but there was still a sizeable scar in between Hinata's right shoulder and breast. If she wanted to hide it, tank tops were now out of the question.

"H-how does it look?" Hinata asked tenderly, wincing as Sakura gently turned her body towards a small mirror on the wall. She gasped slightly, but did her best to contain her reaction otherwise.

"That doesn't look too bad…" she said aloud, doing her best to smile. She didn't really have to worry about it that much, did she? The way Hinata saw it, she rarely wore clothing that revealing, if at all, and she didn't expect it to hurt once it had had some time to heal.

"You know we have to keep this a secret from Naruto, right?"

Hinata froze. No…no, she couldn't! She was already keeping something from Naruto as it was. She couldn't lie to him again.

Sakura picked up on Hinata's fears. "It's not lying to him if we just try and avoid it. I told him I don't really remember what happened, so I think it's best you do the same."

"B-but Sakura-san…Naruto-kun-"

"Hinata, you know as well as I do that if Naruto found out he hurt you, he would devastated. He might distance himself from you…or worse."

But Hinata wasn't convinced. "I d-don't think I can do it, Sakura-san…I can't hide the truth from Naruto-kun; he'll know something's wrong…"

"I know it sounds cruel to keep something from him, but this is for his own good. Naruto doesn't need to worry about us all the time. He's done enough for us already."

Deep within in her heart, and no matter how much she didn't want to, Hinata knew that Sakura was right. Naruto didn't deserve to worry about something like this. Hinata wasn't even injured that badly, when she thought about it. It shouldn't be too hard to keep Naruto from worrying about it, right?

"O-okay…Sakura-san…I'll try and keep it to myself." As of then, Hinata wasn't sure if she was just saying that to make Sakura feel better, or if she was truly intent on keeping something else from Naruto. She needed more time to think about it.

Sakura smiled softly. "I'm glad Naruto finally saw what was in front of him. I don't think there's anyone else more deserving of him than you."

Hinata returned the smile. "Thank you, Sakura-san."

The medic-nin stretched, and returned to her feet. She offered to open the curtain again for some light, but Hinata politely declined. She said she could use a long nap, and Sakura was only too happy to oblige.

She headed for the door, turning to Hinata one last time. "I'll go see if I can't find Kiba skulking around somewhere."

"Thank you for offering. I'm worried about Kiba-kun." Hinata replied sleepily, easing into the bed as Sakura gently shut the door.

Left hook. Right jab. Claw. Fist. Foot.

Kiba blindly attacked the dummy in a rage, striking with such ferocity that the wooden practice dummy only lasted a few seconds before it was reduced to splinters. He simply scooted down, and repeated the process on the next one.

Anger came easy for Kiba. He would often lose his temper during fights, and he had learned to take advantage of the anger. He used it to fuel stronger, faster attacks, and it kept him going long after the other members of his team were beginning to show signs of exhaustion.

But right now, Kiba was the one who was exhausted. He had been at this for far too long now, long enough to make him lose track of time. He didn't check the sun or the moon or anything; he was far too focused on beating the practice dummies to a pulp to notice things like that.

He felt ashamed, and it mixed with his anger. It was his fault Hinata had been hurt. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that Naruto never really intended to do anything to Hinata. It was only because of his recklessness that he misinterpreted Naruto's actions, and now Hinata was in the hospital. Ever since Sakura had mentioned that there was the possibility of scar tissue, it had been all that Kiba could think about.

"I thought I'd find you out here."

Kiba didn't need to turn around. He could tell by her scent that it was Sakura. She used the same shampoo as Pakkun.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly, keeping his attention focused on the dummy in front of him.

"I came looking for you." Sakura folded her arms, like it was obvious. "Hinata and I are worried about you. Naruto would be to, but he's kind of-"

Kiba snorted "Don't bother worrying about me. I'm fine."

"Well, you don't seem fine. To me, you look angry."

A particularly strong slash with Kiba's right hand separated the torso of his current target clean in two. He spun around to face Sakura, and she could see the self-loathing in his face.

"Oh yeah, and how did you come to that fucking conclusion? How would you feel if you almost got a teammate killed? Someone who's like a little sister to you? You're GODDAMN right I'm angry!" He meant to punch the wall beside him, but Sakura's hand got to him first. She grabbed onto his wrist.

"Let go…" he said, his voice low.

Sakura shook her head. "No. You need to get it through your thick skull that you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. You had no idea that-"

"That's exactly the problem! I did have an idea; of how useless I am!" Kiba shoved Sakura away from him, and she stumbled.

"No matter what I do, I'm always the dead last now. I'm a fucking joke to everyone I fight, and I hold the team back. You'd be better off if I just stuck to guard duty..."

"Will you listen to yourself?" Sakura demanded angrily. "This isn't the Kiba I know! The Kiba I know wouldn't let himself be brought down by something like this!"

"Yeah, well maybe you don't know a fucking thing about me! You've got no idea what it's like to feel useless to your team, to make them do all the work while you-"

It was as far as he got, as Sakura drove her fist into his jaw. He crumbled to a heap on the ground, crawling over to a wall to support himself. Akamaru growled in anger, but remained where he was. Sakura roughly grabbed Kiba by the collar of his jacket, bringing his face inches from hers.

"I know all too well what it's like to feel useless to your friends and teammates. You could say I know better than most…"

Kiba scowled at first, but the look in his eyes made him regret his words. Sakura looked severely distressed at what he had said, and looked as if she was trying to stop herself from hitting him again. She dragged his body up the wall, returning him to his feet.

"…So don't you dare go shooting your mouth off at things you know nothing about. Go ahead and think it's all your fault Hinata got hurt, that's not my problem. But don't you dare think you're useless!"

Kiba and Sakura stared at each other for a few seconds. Neither of them looked ready to back down, but a few people nearby were starting to whisper. Kiba pushed himself away from Sakura again, heading back into the village streets. He didn't say anything, but grunted instead.

Sakura rolled her eyes. If he wanted to sulk, she wasn't going to stop him. But she was going to make sure he didn't feel useless anymore. If she had to beat it into him…well, so be it.

"Hey Hinata…you awake?"

The Hyūga princess opened her eyes. It was the middle of the night, and even though there was little to no light in the room, Hinata could make out Naruto's blue eyes sparkling at her in the dark. He seemed to be in a good mood.

"Na….Naruto-kun?" she said sleepily. "What're you doing here? Aren't you worried they'll catch you out of bed?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. Naruto scooted a chair he found closer to her bed, giving her a small smile.

"Nah, I've got a clone in there right now, so no one will know the difference! I wanted to see how you were doing. How do you feel?"

Hinata began to sit up slowly in her bed, remembering her injuries. But then she also remembered Sakura's request to keep the truth from Naruto, so she tried to make it seem like it wasn't bothering her, even though the pain had increased from the lack of movement.

"I f-feel alright…" she said, groaning a little. "What about you?"

Naruto poked and prodded his body, giving her a goofy grin. "Ahh, you know me! I'll be completely healed up in a few days. Are you sure you're okay?"

Hinata nodded, but she knew Naruto wasn't through just yet. He was far too curious.

"So…do you have any idea what happened between you and me?"

Hinata bit her lip. She hadn't had any more time to think about what she wanted to tell Naruto. He deserved to know the truth, but at the same he deserved some peace of mind. He didn't need to worry about something like this, especially when there was as little lasting damage as there was.

"I tried asking Sakura-chan earlier," Naruto continued, "but she said she didn't really see what happened, so I thought I'd ask you!"

"I remember a little…I remember walking up to you, t-trying to get you to come back to us…come back to me." Within her mind, the vivid images of Naruto's expression changing from one of curiosity to anger flashed before her eyes, and Hinata had to blink several times to make them go away. 'It looked like you recognized me, like you were trying to remember who I was."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, I can only remember a little of it, too…but I do remember your voice. I could barely hear it, and I tried to follow it. I guess I didn't make it." He laughed nervously. "At least I didn't hurt you, right? For some reason, I still feel unsure about it, but you said you feel fine, so that's great news! It makes me feel at ease. I'd feel really bad if I hurt anyone, let alone my girlfriend."

Hinata cringed. It felt like a blade between the shoulders as Naruto trusted what she had said. It made her feel dirty, and low. But when Naruto hopped up onto her bed, those feelings were replaced by a much stronger feeling. He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his head into her hair.

"You smell nice…my little Hinata-hime smells nice…" his muffled voice grunted, taking deep breaths through his nose. Hinata squirmed under his grip; it tickled, and she could feel him smile through her hair. He squeezed her even closer.

"I know you said you feel fine, but I can't help but feel uneasy about all of this. I could have sworn something was telling me I hurt you or something. I'm glad it's not true, but it still bugs me, you know?"

Hinata hugged him back. "It's okay, Naruto-kun. You would never hurt me." She blinked. That was the truth, wasn't it? It wasn't Naruto who wanted to hurt her, it was the Kyūbi. Naruto tried to regain control, tried to stop her from being hurt. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed like the truth, and she began to feel more at ease with having kept the events of that night vague. She wasn't lying to him anymore. It made her want to tell him about what happened now. It wasn't Naruto, so why should he feel bad? He may be upset at first, but Hinata firmly believed that Naruto shouldn't be angry with himself. Right then and there, she made a promise to tell Naruto about what happened, when the time was right.

"I'll let you get some sleep. Maybe we can pick up where we left off some other time…" She could see him smirking, and a deep blush heated up her face. Remembering to tell Naruto would be more difficult if he was talking about what she thought he was talking about.

Naruto gently closed the door to Hinata's room, before heading back to his own. His smile was gone.

Author's Note: Uh-oh...that can't be good.

Anyway, I have a surprise for you guys. No, it's not another chapter or something like that...

It's a NEW STORY! I've been playing with this idea for a while now, and I couldn't keep it in my head any longer. I noticed that there are extremely few stories on this site that star just the Tailed Beasts, so I thought to myself, why not give them the spotlight? Naruto and Hinata and the others will be featured in the story quite heavily, but Kurama and the others are the main characters.

It's mainly going to be a humor/action story, as I was inspired by the American film The Expendables. It won't be updated like this one will, as this has my main concentration. I will update it whenever I work my way through it, so I'll let you know here as well when a new chapter for that story has arrived.

To get a better idea, here's the summary I have for it:

The Bijū 9 is quite possibly the most unconventional private security in Tokyo. Their methods are unorthodox, professionalism all but absent, and the only thing keeping them and their clients alive at this point is pure luck. So when Naruto Uzumaki needs protection from a ruthless gang, they're called in to help. After all, a little luck can go a long ways.

Eh? Does that sound like something you'd read? More information about it will be included on the actual story page, including details and inspiration and such. It's called Collateral Luck, and while I hate asking, I would really appreciate it if you guys would check it out if you get the time.

Thanks again! Until next time.