Alright I'm starting my either chapter. Thanks again for the reviews~

"Kyuubi Speech"

"Midnight Speech"

"Everyone else's speech"

Chapter 8
On with the story

Twigs snapped as a lone figure walks silently through the dense foliage of a lively forest. The sound of crickets could be heard all throughout the night air. The figure stepped carefully through the trees and other various plantlife until reaching the edge of that forest, the figures form being illuminated by the bright moonlight.

She looked up to the moon with her wide pupiled lavender eyes before moving her attention to a small stream in front of her. The figure was none other than Hinata Hyuuga, out late despite her curfew.

A while earlier...

Hinata sat in her room, the walls painted plain white. The environment was rather bland. She had a bed covered in silky sheets which was made perfectly. The girl sat at her desk, nose buried deep in a book. The girl's head suddenly perked up when hearing a knock at her door.

"Come in." The girl called out in a tiny voice. As she said this the door opened to reveal a tall man with a emotionless expression across his face. He looked down at Hinata with wide, lavender pupils similar to her own.

"Have you finished your studies Hinata?" The man asked in a gruff, no-nonsense sort of way. Hinata averted her gaze from him, always finding it hard to look him in the eyes.

"Yes Father." She stated respectfully in a quiet voice. The man nodded in acknowledgement.

"Then get some sleep. Tomorrow you and Hinabi will have another sparring session." The man ordered while closing the door to Hinata's room.

Hinata stayed silent, just nodding her head in acknowledgment. She hated sparring with her sister. Hinata always held back and so always lost. Her father was distant because Hinata had proven herself to be the weaker sibling. A fact she resented and depressed her. But Hinata was an obedient daughter. She wanted to prove herself, which is why she worked so hard in school. She just didn't want to do it by beating her sister. Because then her sister would be the one outcast.

Hinata put out the light to her room and got ready for bed. But this night was a bit different. The girl settled down on top of the cushions of her bed, but only so the sounds of her movements could be heard. After a few moments of laying in the dark Hinata carefully got up, slowly and carefully moving as quietly as possible over to her closet where she'd grab her jacket and shoes. She still had on her pajamas, but now she also had a jacket as well.

Still attempting to be as silent as possible, Hinata moved over to her window, hesitating while preparing to jump out. She then reached into the pocket of her jacket to pull out that note to read it again. A tender smile crossed her face before she gained renewed purpose and jumped out of the window on her way out of the Hyuuga compound.

As she left a man stepped out of the shadows from the side of the house. He just watched her quietly without saying anything. Hiashi, Hinata's father, watched his daughter sneak out for the first time ever. He didn't stop her though, returning back to the house. He'd see where this lead.

Back to current time…

Hinata now walked on the edge of the stream of rushing water, the girl staring down at the note Naruto had left her.

"I know you've noticed something different about me lately Hinata. I have secrets. And I want to talk to you. When you can, follow the north stream when you are sure no one is following. Then we can talk and you'll be able to see the real me." The note read.

Hinata had read the note multiple times, fixating on the line "the real me." She just had to know what that meant. As she continued on her ears suddenly picked up the sound of something or someone moving a bit ahead of her. Still walking next to that stream, Hinata lifted her head to notice another person walking along the edge of that stream as well, on the other side of it a little bit ahead of her. She recognized him, and soon the figure turned to see her.

"Sasuke?" Hinata asked in surprise. The boy was indeed Sasuke, turning to face her with a confused look in his eyes. He had on his regular clothes, as opposed to Hinata who was still in her jacket and pajamas. Sasuke didn't respond immediately, instead he jumped over the stream and landed next to the girl, making Hinata jump a bit.

"Hey. You're that Hyuuga girl right?" Sasuke asked in a careless fashion, looking at her suspiciously. Hinata bowed her head slightly and nodded.

"Yes. Hinata." She responded timidly. Sasuke shrugged and turned his back to her.

"Yea." He stated shortly before walking forward to follow the stream. "So what are you doing out here by yourself? And in your pajamas no less." Sasuke interrogated the girl. Hinata slowly began to follow slowly behind Sasuke, tucking that note into the pocket of her jacket.

"Oh...nothing really. I just...like being out here." The girl stuttered nervously. Sasuke turned his head to glance to the girl out the corner of his eye.

"You're a bad liar. Did you know that?" Sasuke stated in a blunt manner. Hinata just bowed her head as a saddened expression appeared across her face. Sasuke, still watching her, turned around and stopped in his tracks. This caused Hinata to bump her head against his chest since her head was bowed. The small collision threw her off balance, making her fall back.

But like before, Sasuke reached an arm forward around her waist to catch her before she fell. He held her long enough for her to regain her balance before tucking his hand back into the pocket of his shorts. Hinata now had a bright red blush across her face. Sasuke cocked his head to the side in mild interest before reaching into his pocket and taking out a note similar to Hinata's.

"You're a bit of an airhead." Sasuke stated matter of factly while handing Hinata the note. If possible her face burned an even brighter shade of red. Could this get any more embarrassing? But the note Sasuke presented her grabbed her attention. She looked down at it before glancing up to Sasuke's face.

"It can't be a coincidence that you are out here. I'm guessing Naruto gave you something similar to this?" Sasuke spoke out, looking towards Hinata expectantly. Hinata hesitated for a moment before nodding and pulling out a similar note from her pocket. Sasuke nodded in satisfaction when seeing that, turning around to continue walking down the stream.

"Thought so. So you noticed it to huh? The way Naruto has been acting lately?" Sasuke went on. Hinata sped up to walk by his side while nodding her head.

"Y-yes." She spoke up shortly. Sasuke kept looking forward as he walked.

"How long ago did you start noticing it?" He questioned further. Hinata's eyes trailed off into space as she thought.

"A few weeks ago I think. Around the time he started wearing that black scarf." She explained. Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"Yea that's when I noticed too. He said in the note that he has secrets. What do you think they are?" Sasuke asked while finally returning his eyes to the short girl. Hinata bit into her bottom lip as her brow furrowed in thought.

"I…" But before she could finish her sentence Hinata let out an audible gasp, her eyes staring straight forward. Sasuke moved his gaze to follow hers, his eyes growing wide at the sight before him.

The more the two children moved, the wider the stream got until the gap between sides was too wide to jump. But what they saw was the figure of Naruto dancing atop the water of the wide stream. Not only was Naruto standing on a flowing stream of water, but he was completely different to their eyes.

Naruto wasn't just dancing, his body shifted into different graceful fighting stances as he did so. He tip toed atop the water, completely bare foot. Adoring his body was a baggy white kimono. It wasn't quite a female or male kimono, looking to be a mix of both. The fabric of it fluttered gently in the breeze as he spun around and danced about, taking different positioned that required an uncanny amount of balance. There was a large white obi tied around his waist, tied in a bow that made Naruto appear to be gift wrapped. The fabric of the thing also fluttered in the wind. And of course that familiar black scarf was wrapped around his neck, the color contrasting against the rest of his outfit.

Naruto's hair was also different. Sasuke and Hinata noticed almost immediately that it was much, much longer. His spikey hair flowed down to nearly to his knees. The way his long hair moved made Naruto appear to be shrouded in a golden veil, illuminated by the bright moonlight. Naruto was notably still in human form. His eyes were still blue, no tails or fox ears in sight.

Sasuke and Hinata watched on in amazement as Naruto finished up his dance/form practice. Naruto finished with one leg raised high in the air, the bottom half of that kimono fluttering down a bit to reveal the white pants he wore underneath. He balanced himself perfectly on the ball of his foot, his arms outstretched on either side of him. Naruto's back was currently facing Sasuke and Hinata. Slowly Naruto lowered his leg and turned around, Hinata released another audible gasp from what she saw.

Naruto's face has changed. It was still familiar but she finally saw Naruto' true face. His features were softer, rounder, less boyish. The three whiskers on each side of his face were slightly more prominent. His eyelashes were longer, thicker, lips more lush. His eyes were...different, more intense, more...seductive.

Soon Naruto began to silently walk towards the two and Hinata had to bow her head as a huge blush appeared across her face. Naruto was walking the way he always walked, well in his demon form when he wasn't pretending to be the Dobe. Something completely new to both Hinata and Sasuke. She couldn't help noting the way his hips moved hypnotically from side to side. Even his head had a subtle, gentle sway to it. His body was more relaxed as he walked, his hands tucked into the oversized sleeves of his kimono. Naruto stopped directly in front of the two, still standing on the rushing water of the stream. He tilted his head slightly to the side and sent them a gentle smile.

"Hey." Naruto stated in his true voice. It was softer, more calm. But still Naruto. Sasuke had been staring in disbelief as he watched this...new person.

"Hey." Sasuke responded in a dumbfounded manner. Hinata was also staring unblinkingly at Naruto. Her face was flushed red but somehow she couldn't turn her head away.

"N-naruto?" Hinata stuttered in a shocked tone. Naruto's smile widened at her response, the boy stepping forward and moved a hand up to wipe a bit of Hinata's bangs from her face.

"The one in only." Naruto responded softly. The contact combined with the sound of Naruto's voice caused a visible shudder in the girl's body. From behind her fox-tail, Midnight watched in her baby fox form.

"The poor girl. She probably doesn't even know what to do with herself." Midnight commented in amusement. Naruto let out an audible chuckle before looking over to Sasuke.

"I'm glad you both came." Naruto said while walking past them both and over to his familiar grassy clearing. Sasuke just nodded and turned to follow, his face still uncharacteristically dumbfounded. Hinata stayed frozen for a while before finally blinking back to reality. She looked around for a bit, spotting Naruto and Sasuke walking off. Hinata then sucked in a breath and scampered over to Sasuke's side in front of Naruto.

Naruto stopped in the middle of the clearing, turning around to face the two.

"I'm guessing you have a lot of questions." Naruto stated, knowing the answer to be quite obvious judging by their behavior.

Hinata and Sasuke both just silently nodded their heads, Naruto shifted his gaze from Sasuke to Hinata with an amused smirk. They were so adorable. Naruto then began to sit down, kneeling on the grass and placing his hands atop his lap. Naruto's long sleeves covered his hands. Sasuke and Hinata quietly followed, sitting down in front of him. Hinata kneeled down in the same way and Sasuke sat on his butt, one knee close to his body, resting an arm on that knee while using his other arm to support his body weight.

"I can't tell you everything. Honestly, I don't know whether or not I can trust you. The person you know in school, that Naruto. It's just an act to hide who I truly am." Naruto began to explain. Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion.

"But why?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto didn't answer immediately, taking a bit of time to look up to the light of the moon. Hinata took the opportunity to go back to staring at Naruto's face. He was so beautiful.

"Because if people found out that I'm not that idiot they think I am, it would cause trouble for me. I can't explain the details, but I am who I am at school for my own protection." Naruto explained. Both Hinata and Sasuke looked more confused than before. But finally Hinata spoke up.

"So are you in hiding? Or being hunted? Is someone trying to hurt you!?" Hinata blurted out in a concerned voice. Naruto shifted his soft gaze towards her, causing Hinata to tear her eyes away and bow her head. Naruto let out another soft chuckle.

"In a way yes. But it's more complicated than you both know. I can only tell you everything when I know I can trust you. For my own protection. Do you understand?" Naruto said while leaning forward to place a hand gently atop Sasuke's. The contact caused Sasuke to squirm a bit. Sasuke pulled his hand away and turned his face away with a soft blush spreading across his pale cheeks. Naruto raised a brow at that reaction, and so did Midnight.

"Human boys." Midnight stated with a scoff. Naruto just inwardly chuckled.

"He probably isn't used to such things." Naruto spoke to Midnight through their link. Midnight nodded in agreement.

"From what I've heard from Kyu-chan most humans aren't. They have a thing about being touched by their own kind. I'll never understand it." Midnight stated.

Hinata and Sasuke watched as Naruto gained that far off look of his. The boy going silent for a while.

"So…" Sasuke finally spoke up, snapping Naruto out of his conversation with Midnight. Naruto looked to them both before smiling again and nodding.

"Oh. I almost forgot." Naruto said while suddenly rising up from his standing position. Sasuke and Hinata soon followed.

"Sasuke, I know the reason you're here. You want power. And you saw an opportunity to gain it from me. Am I right?" Naruto asked in a casual manner. Sasuke hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. Naruto nodded in understanding. Like everyone else Naruto had heard about Sasuke's brother killing all of the Uchiha clan except Sasuke.

"I can make you stronger Sasuke. But I want something in return." Naruto stated, which caused Sasuke to narrow his eyes towards Naruto.

"How do I even know that you are strong? Just because you threw a few shuriken well?" Sasuke asked in a skeptical manner. Naruto tilted his head to the side while watching Sasuke closely.

"I suppose I should give a demonstration." Naruto stated in a matter-of fact, sort of way while taking a few steps back. Hinata bit into her bottom lip nervously. Without looking away from Sasuke, Naruto called out to Hinata.

"Can you give us a bit of space Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked in a sweet voice. Hinata moved instantly to comply. As she moved away her fear dissipated to be replaced by a fluttering in her heart.

"He called me Hinata "chan"." She thought to herself with a dreamy expression.

Sasuke kept his gaze narrowed as Naruto stepped away. Naruto stopped in his tracks a few feet away while standing with his feet together and his arms tucked into his sleeves.

"Try to hit me Sasuke. All you have to do is touch me once." Naruto stated in a calm voice. Sasuke narrowed his eyes before dropping low into a fighting stance. Without wasting any time he charged, taking shurikens out of his leg pouch and tossing them towards Naruto. Naruto weaved to the side slightly, dodging those projectiles with ease.

Almost as soon as those shurikens past by Naruto, Sasuke jumped into the air above Naruto's head to deliver and ax kick down on top of Naruto. Still with his arms in his sleeves Naruto took a single step to the side to effectively dodge the attack. As soon as Sasuke's foot hit the ground he twisted his body into a punch which again Naruto weaved past, dropping under Sasuke.

Hinata watched the scene with amazement as Naruto danced around Sasuke's assault seemingly effortlessly. She could tell that Naruto was much faster than Sasuke. After a while of hitting air Sasuke growled in frustration before performing a series of backflips, retreating from Naruto. He then threw another barrage of shurikens towards Naruto, who again easily dodged it. But those shurikens were followed by a huge plume of fire which seemingly engulfed Naruto's body.

Hinata went wide eyed at the sight and jumped up from her seated position.

"Naruto-kun!" She shouted out in a panic. Sasuke stopped his flame, having formed his hands into seals and blown fire from his mouth. But as soon as those flames stopped Sasuke felt something tickling the back of his neck. Slowly arms began to wrap around Sasuke's neck. Sasuke turned his head to the side to notice Naruto right behind him, untouched. And now Naruto was engulfing Sasuke in a hug, Naruto laid his head along Sasuke's shoulder while softly glancing at the boy.

"Almost Sasuke." Naruto stated in a playfully teasing manner. Sasuke tried to move but found his body wouldn't respond. His muscles were frozen. He could only watch as a aura of unfamiliar energy began to gather around them. Sasuke's eyes darted about as a thin layer of red chakra began to engulf both of their bodies. The sheer power of it made Sasuke shake.

From the side Hinata watched with a horrified look on her face. The power of that chakra which was emanating from Naruto made her legs weak. She eventually fell down onto her knees and stared in awe.

"Let me show you a bit of who I really am." Naruto whispered gently into Sasuke's ear before flaring his chakra. As he did so the entire area was engulfed in a wave of thrashing red chakra which lashed out violently. There was panic clearly in Sasuke's eyes. The earth was literally shaking under his feet. He couldn't help a single tear welling up in his eye and pouring down his cheek.

Upon seeing that Naruto gasped before pulling away from Sasuke and letting that red chakra recede back into Naruto's body. Naruto could feel Sasuke's fear. Naruto instantly dropped down to his knees and bent over, bowing towards Sasuke as Sasuke's body was released from it's paralysed state. Immediately Sasuke fell over on all fours, looking to Naruto out the corner of his eyes. He had a horrified expression which quickly dissipated when noticing Naruto's behavior.

"I'm so sorry Sasuke. I shouldn't have done it that way. I just wanted to show you. I'm sorry." Naruto whispered in a tender, vulnerable voice while wrapping his arms around his own body. Sasuke didn't know what to say or think, watching someone with such power bowing before him. Hinata watched the scene dumbfounded as well. But she gasped when seeing a bit of tears forming at the corner of Naruto's eyes.

Immediately she jumped up and ran towards Naruto leaping at him and engulfing him in a hug. Naruto went wide eyed, catching her at the last second and falling over on his back with Hinata on top of him.

"It's ok Naruto. We understand. Thank you for sharing this with us." Hinata whispered in a desperate tone, trying to soothe Naruto's sadness. Her head was buried in his chest, arms wrapped around his body. Naruto held a look of genuine surprise on his face before nodding and sitting up, keeping his arms wrapped around Hinata's waist to hold her close. One of his hands trailed up to entangle in the hair on the back of her head,

By now Hinata's face was bright as a tomato, but she didn't pull away from his grasp. Sasuke watched the entire scene with mixed feelings, sitting down now and leaning back on his hands.

"What are you?" Sasuke questioned in apprehension. Naruto looked over to Sasuke with a tender smile, still cuddling Hinata's form to his body.

"You'll just have to find that out." Naruto stated in a sultry manner, back to his normal self. Sasuke thought about those words for a second before nodding his head.

"That price you mentioned. What was it?" Sasuke asked now. Naruto raised a brow at that response before chuckling.

"So now you're interested." Naruto questioned, which drew a small nod from Sasuke.

"It's quite simple really. Your friendship." Naruto stated before looking down to Hinata who was staring up at him.

"Is that fair?" Naruto asked the both of them. Hinata just silently nodded her head. Sasuke held a confused look on his face but still nodded his head.

"Yea."

Behind the furry black tail wrapped around Naruto's neck Midnight watched the entire seen closely. Her eyes were focused on Hinata, who was still curled against Naruto. She stared on in a thoughtful manner before finally receding into Naruto's mind. Or more specifically, Kyuubi's cage.

Kyuubi's cage was no longer just a cage. Instead of the dank sewer, Kyuubi's cage now looked like a large, sunny, grassy plain. There were no bars in sight. Midnight in her demon form walked through the grass, no end to that grass in sight. She eventually came upon where Kyuubi was settled.

Kyuubi was in her humanoid form, the same as Midnight. Kyuubi wore her normal red dress, lying on her back in a lazy fashion, staring up at the sun. She'd also been watching the entire scene play out. Midnight walked over and laid at Kyuubi's side, reaching over to hold the woman's hand. Kyuubi entwined her fingers with Midnight's and turned her head over to look at the black furred fox.

"Something on your mind Darling?" Kyuubi questioned, already knowing the answer. Midnight turned over and pressed her body into Kyuubi's, snuggling against the older woman.

"Do you even have to ask?" Midnight questioned with a huff. That response caused Kyuubi to released a soft chuckle. She moved her other hand to wrap around Midnight's mid section to pull the girl even closer. The side of Midnight's face was now laying on Kyuubi's covered breasts.

"I told you you'd have competition. Plus, you should be happy." Kyuubi stated in a nonchalant manner. Midnight frowned and looked up to Kyuubi's face.

"How am I supposed to be happy about this?" Midnight stated with a pout on her lips. Kyuubi just rolled her eyes.

"First of all Naruto is still a child. He hasn't chosen yet. But even if he does choose someone else, if the person he chooses makes him happy then what is there to pout about?" Kyuubi questioned while entwining her legs with Midnight's. Midnight suddenly went wide eyed in realization before frowning.

"Oh gods. Now I feel stupid. I think hanging around these humans is really getting to me." Midnight stated with a huff which caused Kyuubi to release a little chuckle. Kyuubi then rolled over suddenly so that she was on top of Midnight, Midnight now on her back.

"They can rub off on you so you have to be vigilante. Especially since we can feel their emotions. But you can't let them corrupt you. What you were feeling. It's called Jealousy. The humans have an entire word for it because they can't feel each other's emotions. So their jealousy blinds them and makes them unable to see the big picture. Jealousy is a big part of how they destroy each other." Kyuubi explained while leaning up to nibble lightly at the tip of Midnight's ear. Midnight closed her eyes to enjoy the treatment, squirming beneath the touch.

"Thank you Kyu-chan. I'm still trying to adjust to this world. Every day I experience the feelings of these humans. So much of it is so dark. I don't know how you managed to stay sane being here all alone for as long as you were." Midnight said while wrapping her legs around Kyuubi's waist and clinging even closer to the woman.

Kyuubi nodded her head before tearing her mouth away from Midnight's ear to look into the girl's face with her intense feral, red slitted eyes.

"You just have to remember who you are. We are demons. Because of who they are, they can never know what we have. You have to hold on to the connections you have, that you remember. You have to remember what it is like to be among your people. Peace, love, happiness, kindness. The humans they only know these things on a superficial level. Because of their jealousy, their greed, their hate. You have to remember that we are who we are, our society is the way it is, because we don't have those things. And when you realize that, it's far easier to shun those feelings. To enjoy what you have, to focus on what really matters." Kyuubi explained. And as she spoke her lips drew closer to Midnight's. And Midnight could do nothing but stare adoringly up to her idle.

"How can we protect Naruto when he lives in this type of world?" Midnight asked in a dreamy fashion. Kyuubi just smirked when hearing that question.

"By destroying them." Kyuubi answered cryptically before pressing her lips to Midnights. Instantly Midnight arched her back and wrapped her arms around Kyuubi's neck, a pleased purr emanating from her body. Kyuubi growled out animalistically when hearing and seeing Midnight's reaction. It had been so long since she enjoyed this little ritual with someone of her own kind. And dammit if it didn't feel good.

That's the end of the chapter. Please review.