Happy Wednesday Morning Everyone!

I literally just finished this on Wednesday morning. Again I'm very glad laziness didn't take over. It's tempting though. Anyway I hope you enjoy~

"Kyuubi Speech"

"Midnight Speech"

"Everyone else's speech"

"Thought Speech"

Chapter 30
On with the story

Before...

"You all have much to discuss. There is only one more condition that I'll bring up today, the rest you can review in the documents provided."

The woman explained while rising from her kneeling position.

The Konoha counsel looked to her expectantly. She answered their curious glances with a wide, devilish grin.

Now...

Lavender eyes stared down at the ground as the girl walked through the empty hallway of her school. Hinata maintained a faroff gaze.

"I haven't seen him in over two weeks. What am I going to say? Sorry I can't could see you since I couldn't sneak out like usual because the complex was on lockdown? That's so stupid. What kind of excuse is that Hinata?" The girl berated herself inwardly while making her way to class.

She'd been like this for a while. The lockdown was too tight. There were too many eyes watching. Hyuuga eyes. Quite frankly, she'd didn't want to get caught trying to leave. She didn't want to have to answer questions, to explain. She didn't want to have to lie. Especially not to her father.

The girl's head was filled with self deprecating thoughts like those even as she made it to the room of her class. The door was open. Even though she had gotten to school so early someone else was already there. She walked in looking around. It was empty, all except for one person. The person who she was anxious to see. Naruto.

Naruto was in his usual spot in the very far back of the class near the corner. Seeing him made her more nervous than she could ever remember being. It had been so long and finally he was right there. The girl fidgeted uncontrollably while taking tentative steps into the room. She was feeling so many different emotions. Guilt from letting herself be away so long, excitement and anxiousness from finally getting to see him. Even fear from the possibility that Naruto might be resentful that she was too weak and too afraid to come see him.

As she approached Naruto stood up from his seat, standing now in the isle and looking down upon her with a warmhearted expression. He stood in that familiar elegant manner, scanning the girl's face. She wouldn't make eye contact with him.

"It's nice to see you Hinata-chan." Naruto spoke out sweetly, the effeminate tween growing a tender smile.

Hearing Naruto speak made Hinata freeze. It felt like an eternity since last she heard his voice. She stood in front of him now with her head bowed, the girl's body trembling uncontrollably. Small droplets peppered the ground beneath her. Without warning Hinata suddenly threw herself at Naruto, wrapping her arms around his neck and laying her forehead along his collarbone, hiding her face.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun. I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." Was all she could whimper out as the girl sobbed uncontrollably.

Hinata was a complete mess, sniffling as her voice got caught in her throat. Naruto maintained that gentle smile, slowly wrapping his arms around her waist and clutching her firmly in his grasp.

"Shhh, it's ok. You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm just glad to see you." Naruto whispered directly into her ear.

Naruto's high pitched voice was soothing, almost motherly. Hearing him speak that way made the girl shudder. He sounded different. Strong. Hinata pulled her head back to gaze up at the him with teary eyes.

"It's not ok Naruto-kun. I should have come see you. I should have found a way. I should have..." But the girl's words were silenced as Naruto's lips pressed against hers.

Naruto engaged her in a small kiss. Hinata's flesh burned bright red, the girl melting under the treatment. She let out a heavy breath when their lips parted. He tasted as sweet as always. Her train of thought was completely gone, the only thing she could think about was that kiss which made her heart flutter. Naruto released a little delighted high pitched giggle when seeing her reaction. His laughter snapped Hinata of her daze. He was definitely different. She marveled at him as if he was some sort of god.

"Speak no more of that. We are together now, that's what matter. Ok?" Naruto insisted in a stern yet reassuring voice.

Hinata was so thrown off by his confidence. She'd almost forgot what that was like. He'd been so meek for so long. The girl nodded with a dreamy expression.

"Ok."

"Good. How have you been?"

One of Naruto's hands rose up to slide along the back of Hinata's neck, delving his slender fingers through her hair. Hinata laid her forehead against his shoulder, looking down with a subtle smile as she began to tell Naruto about what she'd been doing for the past two weeks while school was cancelled. Naruto caressed and massaged into the back of her head, holding her tenderly and securely against his petite form. She couldn't maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds. This was so nice. He was back to his old self.

They didn't have time to speak about very much as their classmates began to enter. They planned to do some much needed catching up when they could have more privacy. For now Hinata moved into her seat with Naruto sitting next to her. Their hips squished together, the two immediately entwining their fingers. They exchanged affectionate glances before shifting their attention to the rest of the room as it filled.

After several minutes most everyone was seated. It had been two weeks since anyone had seen each other so there was quite a bit of a reunion. This reunion was a little more anxious than before. Mostly because many students had known someone who was lost to Naruto and Kyuubi's attack. Including Hinata.

When a certain raven-haired boy entered the room he drew quite a bit of attention as always from the female persuasion of the class. He walked forward with a cool swagger, his hands tucked into this pockets.

"Morning Sasuke." Multiple girls chimed at once.

"Hm." He replied in the careless manner he always did while heading to his seat.

Kiba tilted his head to the side a bit, staring at Sasuke, focusing mostly on the teen's arms.

"Dude you been working out?" Kiba questioned, noticing the muscle that was developing on the boy's body.

Sasuke scoffed.

"Obviously."

Kiba chuckled and shook his head.

"Always making us look bad."

"Whatever." Sasuke replied while walking up the steps towards his seat.

Many were surprised when Sasuke passed by his normal spot. He kept moving until he came to where Naruto and Hinata sat. Naruto was at the edge of the isle.

"Hey." Sasuke stated nonchalantly.

Naruto smiled warmly towards the boy before bumping Hinata's hips to signal the girl to scooch over. Even Hinata was a bit thrown off. Despite how close they'd grown recently Sasuke still never sat next to Naruto. The reason was made immediately apparent. They drew a lot of attention. Literally every pair of eyes in the room was on them as Naruto made room for Sasuke.

"Morning Sasuke-kun." Naruto chimed sweetly.

Sasuke smirked, plopping down next to Naruto. Many were in shock from the seat that he choose. Sakura, Ino, and a few other girls were glaring daggers towards Naruto. He ignored them, choosing instead to stare forward with a contented smile. Hinata glanced back and forth between the two boys before bowing her head.

"I never realized they had become so close? So much has changed." Hinata thought to herself.

"Morning class." A loud voice called out.

Iruka stood in front of the room holding a clipboard, his voice causing most everyone to swivel their heads back towards him.

"Morning Iruka-sense." They all chimed out at the same time.

Sakura and Ino were still sending lingering glares back to Naruto but snapped back to attention when Iruka passed by and lightly tapped their desks with his clipboard.

"A lot has been going on recently. I won't ignore that fact. I understand many of you haven't seen each other in quite some time. We all know someone who was lost that day." Iruka paused to gauge the reaction of the class.

There were a few solemn faces around the room, even a few sniffles as well. Iruka nodded in understanding, placing his hand along the shoulder of a nearby girl who was rather upset. He gave her an empathetic gaze.

"I'm glad to see you all safe and well. Today's class will be slightly different. I'll explain in a moment. But first I want to introduce a new student that will be attending our class from this day forward." Iruka announced drawing more than a few surprised expressions.

"A new student in the middle of the school year?" Shikumari spoke up mimicking the thoughts of the rest of the class.

Iruka nodded.

"An exchange student. We've been given a number of signs of support from our allies and various interested parties. This exchange student is one of many signs of support. For top secret reasons the exact village she comes from is not to be discussed. She is our ally and I expect the best of you." Iruka lectured.

"Yes Sensei." The class chimed again as Iruka knocked on his desk twice.

As he did the door to his office opened and out step a pale skinned girl.

She sauntered to the front of the room with confident steps, turning to face the students. A few quiet murmurs began when her appearance was revealed.

"Class, meet Midnight. This is of course a codename to safeguard her true identity." Iruka explained.

Quite a few were a bit taken aback, especially as they took in her appearance. There was a silent consensus among the students. She was gorgeous.

Midnight stared forward blankly with those big, black eyes of hers. She stood with her arms hanging limply at her sides, head tilted slightly, her intense gaze barring down on the class almost challengingly.

Shikumaru in particular was taking in her features. He sat with a lazy posture, his arms behind his head. Though his eyes were scanning her up and down. She was so pale, but not in a sickly way. More like the moon. She seemed dangerous based on her posture and expression. Despite that he couldn't help staring at her pretty face. The girl's look was unique, exotic. Her silky black hair flowed down to her ankles, highlighting her angelic white skin in an eerily beautiful way. Shikamaru wasn't the only one to notice the large fluffy black fox ears atop her head which twitched lightly. He could even see the pink insides of her ears. Shikumaru shifted a bit, crossing his legs.

"Jeez, get a hold of yourself Shikumaru." Shikumaru thought to himself while forcibly turning his gaze away to avoid staring.

"She's really pretty. I wonder if she like potatoe chips." Choji mused inwardly.

"Man she's hot. Dude, look at how big her chest is. Might be the biggest in class. Those ears are the best part though. They are like an animal's. I should probably ask her out before someone else does." Kiba was visibly drooling.

Shikamaru, who was sitting right next to Kibo, elbowed the boy in the side, snapping Kiba out of his infatuated daze.

Shino's attention was partially focused on her ears, but mostly on her black eyes.

"What kind of Kekkei Genkai is that? I don't know any village that has fox ears and black eyes. Even the Uchiha clan who had black pupils and black irises still had white sclera. The entirety of her eyes are black, like a barn owl. Who is this girl?" The boy thought to himself cautiously.

"No no no no. Not more competition. First Naruto now her? It's ok, calm down. Maybe she's gay or something. Right. She seems kind of masculine. No need to worry." Ino ranted within her own head in a panic, lamenting Midnight's beauty.

Sakura stared at the girl with a conflicted expression.

"She's really pretty. But at the same time she's kind of intimidating."

Despite Iruka's introduction of her Midnight began to walk forward without a word. This was rather unorthodax since most would have gave a polite greeting and short introduction at this point.

"Midnight it would be fitting to introduce yourself to the class." Iruka called out to her.

Midnight stopped in her tracks, turning to the side to cast a dull gaze towards Iruka out the corner of her eyes.

"I'm Midnight." She stated in careless tone before continuing forward.

Iruka frowned from her lack of enthusiasm. The hairs were standing up on his neck from the way she looked at him. Her eyes were like a predatory barring down on prey.

"She clearly doesn't want to be here. Why did the hokage assign her to me?" Iruka questioned inwardly, waiting patiently as Midnight looked for a seat.

"Hey you can sit next to me if you want." Kiba called out while rubbing his nose and averting his gaze.

Akumaru barked out in agreement from atop Kiba's head. Midnight glanced from Kiba to Akumaru before walking past them.

"No thanks."

Kiba dropped his head in defeat. From his side Choji gave Kiba a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Midnight moved to the back of the class to where Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were sitting. All eyes were on her as she stood next to Sasuke. They stared at each other blankly before both grew matching smirks. Already knowing what was going to happen Naruto bumped Hinata's hip again, signalling the girl to scoot over. Hinata instantly began to move. Maintaining those matching smirks Sasuke and Midnight raised a hand before bumping fists with each other.

Naruto and Sasuke moved over to give Midnight space. The girl then dropped down right next to Sasuke to the shock of everyone.

"Do they know each other?" Sakura questioned in a worried tone.

"I've never seen him act that way towards anyone." Ino had a similarly worried voice.

"How does Sasuke seem to know everybody? He's hogging everyone. How is a guy supposed to get a date when he's around?" Kiba lamented.

"Ok class let's focus." Iruka clapped his hands to get everyone's attention.

Everyone's head swiveled back to him. He nodded in satisfaction before continuing.

"This first week back will be a bit different. As you all know our village is still recovering from the attack two weeks ago. Many of us have lost people close to us. Despite that we are rebuilding, we are still strong. We are still standing. That's our strength, our unity. All of us working together as one. To emphasize this we will be heading into the village today to help with reconstruction. I expect you to take the time to catch up with your peers and show our citizens what it means to be a shinobi. Show them that we are there when they are in need."

The class gave understanding nods. The Chunin nodded back respectfully before putting his clipboard away and heading towards the door, everyone promptly followed.

The class made a long journey towards the inner village together. They walked as a big group with Iruka leading the pack. Midnight, Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata walked next to each other. Many eyes were on them, the quartet being the subject of quite a few gossiping whispers.

"Do you think Sasuke and that girl are together or something? They seem really close?"

"I was actually thinking that Naruto and Sasuke were a thing."

"Two boys? You think they are...

"It wouldn't surprise me. Sasuke has never shown interest in any girl in class but he and Naruto hang out a lot."

"Well Naruto and Hinata hang out a lot as well. They could be together. They hold hands all the time."

"I don't think so. I have a sixth sense for these things. My money is on Naruto and Sasuke being secret lovers.

"No way."

The voices went on. Midnight's black ears were twitching as they walked. She let out an audible snerk, drawing Sasuke's attention. Sasuke quirked his brow at her in question.

"You're ever the popular topic Sasuke-kun." Midnight whispered with an amused smile.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"Not my fault."

"Like you don't enjoy it."

The boy looked away from her carelessly.

"I don't."

Hearing that made Midnight let out another audible snirk. She reached over and punched Sasuke in the arm.

"Yea whatever, you love it." Midnight teased playfully.

Sasuke glared at her before punching her back in the arm. Midnight let out an little chuckle and bumped hips with him.

"Dork."

Sasuke sent an annoyed glance at her but couldn't help the subtle smile that formed on his lips. Midnight matched his smile as the two went silent and continued to walk side by side.

The class was looking on with amazed expressions from Sasuke and Midnight's banter. No one had ever seen Sasuke be that casual with anyone.

Naruto had a satisfied smile plastered across his face. Seeing them get along so well brought him endless joy.

Sasuke and Midnight hit it off almost immediately, their personalities complimenting each other. Both were fiercely competitive and had their own reasons to work extremely hard to become stronger. Midnight was one of the few people that Sasuke respected. She also treated him with great respect. In the week or so that they'd been training together the two had bonded, forming a younger brother/older sister type relationship.

The mood shifted when the class got to the inner most area of the village. There were large construction areas through out. Many building still showed the remnants of Kyuubi's attack. The area looked like an earthquake had hit.

Iruka moved forward to talk to one man carrying two buckets of cement. The two seemed familiar with each other. After a moment Iruka turned around and waved to his class.

"Alright we'll start here. We'll have you split up into groups." He called out while giving out assignments.

Naruto, Sasuke, Midnight, and Hinata chose to be on the same team. Sakura and Ino joined them to be with Sasuke. For the next hour or so Ino and Sakura tried to get close to Sasuke only for him to completely ignore the two.

They switched jobs frequently, mixing cement, carrying steel beams, chopping logs. Sasuke and Midnight did most of the heavy lifting. For one job Sasuke and Naruto ended up working together, measuring and cutting some wires to the proper length. Ino and Sakura were both rather annoyed at how close Sasuke seemed to be to Midnight and Naruto.

After a few hours the class gathered together for their lunch break, settling in a grassy field nearby. The quartet sat next to each other with Hinata unpacking her lunch.

"I brought enough for everyone. Even you Midnight." Hinata stated in a sweet tone while offering the girl a few rice balls.

Midnight gave Hinata a warmhearted expression, taking what Hinata offered.

"Always so sweet."

Hinata bowed her head with a small blush, reaching for another rice ball to share.

"Always? You talk as if you've known me for a long time." Hinata commented in a tentative whisper.

Midnight's grew an amused grin.

"Let's just say I've heard a lot about you, isn't that right Naru-chan?" Midnight questioned towards the effeminate tween, sending a knowing glance towards Naruto.

Naruto released a tiny, high pitched giggle, raising a dainty hand in front of his mouth as he did.

"Midnight you tease too much." Naruto commented in a light hearted manner.

Midnight stared at Naruto with a haughty gaze, licking her lips.

"I tease the exact right amount." She insisted.

Naruto began to lightly twirl a finger through his blonde bangs from Midnight's gaze, idly passing Sasuke a rice ball. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Even out in public you both have no shame." Sasuke commented with a mildly annoyed huff, shaking his head.

Naruto lightly batted at Sasuke's shoulder.

"We can't help it."

Sasuke turned his head away.

"It's embarrassing."

Hearing that caused another little giggle to erupt from the blonde. He learned forward to wrap both of his arms around Sasuke's nearest arm, clinging to the boy.

"What's wrong with showing a little affection?" Naruto questioned while laying his head along Sasuke's shoulder.

Sasuke couldn't help the subtle blush that tinted his cheeks. Sasuke squirmed from the contact. Naruto was so soft and he smelled rather nice. One troubling thing about learning of Naruto's true demonic heritage was that Naruto no longer held back his affection.

Sasuke huffed and bit into his rice ball.

"So bothersome." Sasuke complained, though he made no attempt to free himself from Naruto's grasp.

"Mhm." Naruto hummed pleasantly.

Hinata watched the scene with a wide eyed expression. A little smile graced her lips as she silently enjoyed observing the playful antics of the group.

While Naruto and Midnight teased Sasuke a certain pink haired girl had finally had enough. She and a group of girls were seething. Most everyone's attention where on the quartet. Sakura finally got up from her seat. Ino grabbed her wrist.

"Just let it go Sakura. I know how you feel but what are we going to do?" Ino said in concern.

Sakura shook her head while stomping her foot in a tantrem. Ino let go of her immediately. Sakura then stormed over to where the quartet sat.

"Naruto, may I speak to you in private?" Sakura asked through gritted teeth.

Naruto swiveled his head to look up at the girl, her demenor being apparent. Despite that Naruto instantly complied, nodding his head and rising from his seat to take that elegant posture. He gave the girl a pleasant smile.

"Of course Sakura-chan." The boy replied sweetly.

Sakura ignored this, grabbing his wrist and dragging him several feet away, further into the grassy field.

Hinata had a worried gaze upon her face. She was fidgeting nervously. She knew what this was about but she didn't know what exactly to do about it. She didn't want to cause a scene for fear of upsetting Naruto. He stopped her from doing just that the last time. Midnight and Sasuke however narrowed their eyes.

"Just what the hell do you think you are doing?" Sakura asked in a restrained rage.

Naruto stared at her stoically, pausing to choose his words carefully. He didn't want to upset her any further.

"I'm just being friendly. I told you I'm not interested in boys and I'm seeing someone else. You don't have to worry about that." Naruto explained in a calm, reassuring voice.

"I don't believe you. Hugging up on him like that. That's not how you treat someone who is just a friend. I said it before and I'll say it again, stay away from him." Sakura barked out now while poking Naruto harshly in the chest.

Naruto frowned subtly but otherwise maintained his delicate poise. His reaction was starkly different from the first time she threatened him. He seemed...indifferent. Naruto let out a soft breath before turning his head away from her. Seeing such a disrespectful gesture only angered the pink haired girl more. She jabbed him even harder in the chest with her finger.

"Do you hear..." She began before being interupted.

Midnight stood in front of her now, the demoness staring harshly at Sakura, their faces inches apart. Sakura hadn't even seen Midnight move. One moment Sakura was looking at Naruto the next she was staring into a pair of pitch black eyes.

Midnight placed a finger against Sakura's chest, flicking it lightly. The force of that little shove sent Sakura flying back. Sakura's was lifted off of her feet, the girl's form launching backwards only to crash violently against the ground. This came as a shock to everyone, the whole class watching.

Iruka ran over to the scene in a panic.

"Midnight, what is the meaning of this?" He shouted while kneeling down next to Sakura and checking on her.

Sakura's body was covered in scrapes and bruises. The girl sat up shakily, staring in fear at Midnight. Midnight sent the girl a scornful gaze before reaching to the side to grab Naruto around the waist. She then tugged the girly tween close in a possessive hold, causing Naruto to let out a high pitched squeak.

"Touch him again without permission and you'll lose that finger." Midnight stated hauntingly before turning her back to them and beginning to walk away.

"This is absolutely unacceptable! You can't assault your fellow classmates no matter how much they may upset you." Iruka holowered in alarm.

Midnight paused, turning her head to glance back at Iruka with those piercing eyes of hers.

"Or else what?"

Midnight's voice was completely calm, but her demeanor was clearly threatening, predatory. Iruka froze up, the chunin quite frankly speechless. Midnight waited for him to speak. Iruka turned his gaze away, backing down to everyone's surprise.

Seeing his defeated expression Midnight turned her head away from him and continued to walk with Naruto clinging to her side. Naruto looked back with an empathetic expression towards Iruka but stuck by his Love.

When Midnight got back to Sasuke and Hinata they were both standing up. Sasuke gave Midnight a small nod before joining her side. They began to walk back to the contruction site. Hinata hesitated, looking over to Sakura and Iruka before quickly scampering forward to Naruto's side, joining the group. She kept stealing glances over to Midnight and Naruto, noting how close they were. She kept her thoughts to herself, a conflicted look in her eyes.

Iruka was helping Sakura up on her feet and tending to her scrapes with a medkit. The entire class watched the scene in astonishment, no one speaking up for quite a while. Kiba was the first to break the awkward silence.

"...Woah."

Thanks for reading! Please review~

Midnight joining the class should be interesting. Tell me what you think! I think I've figured out the dynamic between Midnight and Naruto in terms of their romantic personalities. When I write I need to have certain words in mind to describe a character. Helps me know how they'd react in different situations. When I think of how Naruto is romantically with Midnight I think of Strong, graceful, sensual, feminine submission. In terms of Midnight I think of Playful, raunchy, masculine dominance. When I think of Naruto towards Hinata that is a little less fleshed out but I'm still building towards it. Naruto would have kind of a...tender, gentle dominance. Hinata is Hinata. You all know her. Anyway I'm just rambling at this point. See you Sunday!