What makes a Man and what makes a Monster
Written by Silent Soul Ken
Assisted by Baron Von Nobody
Summary: It had been a day like any other day, until the giant meteors hit. All those in the blast radius find themselves still alive, having awoken in a new place, but things are not what they seem…


Chapter 5
Love and Loss

Naruto and Hinata looked at the mall in front of them, "Hmmm nice mall," he said.

She looked at him, "How is it here?" She asked.

He shrugged, "I'm not trying to think about the school, or Ichiraku…" he said and she nodded at his point the two went in. About 5 days had passed since they had confessed and had made way for the mountains. They found a cave and entered it and after some navigating they found the mall. They were astounded to find it still had everything in it… well mostly everything. Some stores were ransacked but enough was around to get clothes, neither were shy to change in front of each other and when they walked out they had new clothes and bags filled with more. Despite their gorging neither gained a pound… well Naruto didn't, Hinata found her breasts to be a few sizes larger than before. Naruto smiled as Hinata came out with a new top and pants while she had a bag with several more. He was wearing what he usually wore, a black open trench coat that had extended to his ankles, black pants, and the long white headband. Both had at least 2 weeks worth of extra clothes, "Looking good." He told Hinata she smiled.

She nodded at him, "You look good too." she said.

He smiled, "Eh I like this look… so where are we gonna eat next? We gotta get ready." She looked at him concerned.

She walked up to him, "Get ready for what?" she asked.

He sighed, "As awesome as it would be to stay here we can't. Not only that but… I feel something is watching us… something really angry. We gotta move not only to explore this place but we got to find good materials to build a boat." he said.

She frowned but nodded, "Very well ," they left. As they did a figure glanced out from the door of a shop watching them with piercing white eyes.

They would discover that his feelings were accurate, they entered a shop, and began getting bags ready to travel. Naruto paused his ears picking up the light sound of the ceiling groaning, he looked up just in time to see a strange bird-like beast dove from the ceiling. He instantly began to transform, but the instant Naruto tried to transform and attack it backed off flying out of range and pelting him with objects. Naruto growled as he punched and backhanded the objects and even used his tails to batter them away. "Hinata get the bags and go I'll deal with this!" Naruto shouted. She nodded and taking the bags she ran off. Naruto kept trying to get in close but the bird just kept out of reach. 'This is pointless! He's probably waiting for me to turn back to normal!' he kept knocking stuff away as the bird slowly pushed him out of the store. Naruto's ear twitched as he heard the growl from Hinata. He ducked down and she shot her spines. The bird though flew out of the way and then it gave a shriek and flew away. Naruto watched it till it flew down a passageway then he turned back to normal.

Hinata reverted back to normal as well, as she had grown more accustomed to her body she gained knowledge on how to mix her own chemicals. The spines she had shot were a powerful paralytic, but they had missed. Had they hit it would've knocked the bird out for at least a few hours. "You alright?" she asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, but we better move it. Start getting all the supplies we need, which is gonna be a lot, not just food and water but crafting supplies too it's gonna take a while." he said.

-One week Later-

Naruto walked up to the center most part of the mall where the ruined remains of the fountain. He set down his heavy bag and sighed he rotated his shoulders and neck all three popping loudly. He sat down and thought about the week.

Throughout the week the bird creature had been attacking Naruto as much as possible and both were starting to show the results of it, while Naruto's wounds had healed some had been severe enough to leave a scar. Said scars were on his shoulder, his left lower leg, the side of his torso, and a gash on his neck. The bird attacked him with it's own body as well as weapons it had taken from various stores. Some of which included firearms Naruto could still remember the pain of the shotgun shells in his torso. He would've died had Hinata not intervened by throwing her spines and placing her body protectively over his. The bird shrieked but it flew away. He could remember how painful it was for Hinata to gouge into his body to pull out the slugs. It took a long time to heal because he contracted lead poisoning. During which Hinata refused to leave his side. It took him 2 days to fully recover but when he had he was stronger than ever as his body adapted.

After that he began to load up on items he could use at range; baseballs, darts and even knives from a weapons shop. Whenever the bird appeared the two fought with such ferocity that the two destroyed sections of the mall. Most would say that Naruto was the winner as the bird retreated and the fox just regenerated from the fight. But he was being worn down mentally and physically. He wasn't one to shy away from a fight but fighting day after day from anywhere from one to four hours each time was exhausting. However his latest battle was the most fruitful as he had landed a solid blow. He had thrown a baseball at the bird hitting it's wing and it fell. Naruto seized the chance to run up and bring down his knee on the beast with a powerful pivoting strike that had delivered a devastating blow to the bird as the bone had broken. He didn't kill the bird as it used a makeshift bomb consisting of several M-80's and a bag filled with gunpowder to escape. But he was sure it wouldn't attack him again so soon that it had been yesterday. He stood there waiting for Hinata to appear. He had sent her to get food while he mostly got drinks and supplies to build a boat. He learned how from his Godfather's friend who was a detective that spent his free time building boats and toys. It was a long and arduous process but he could do it within a month or two.

Unable to sit still he then transformed into his beast form and began to practice his movements to get even better at fighting. He had learned a lot but ultimately he felt as if he could keep improving. The hardest bit was controlling his tails. He remembered movies of alien creatures that used their tail not only as weapons but as a third hand. Technically this meant he had 5 hands he had to learn how to use them. That was still proving to be quite a difficult feat, he had to learn how to control it, and transforming he began to try and figure out how to use his tails. He had narrowed it down to mostly his mind and his fingers to a certain degree. He was silent as his tails twitched responding to his thoughts. He began to move them in sweeping motions, he felt them responding to his thoughts, he moved his finger, and they curled. He then began to think of a complex motion and moved his fingers one tail whipped forward striking a bench then whipping around rapidly. He then sent his tail at the fountain wrapping it around then his third also wrapped around it. He dug in his toes and attempted to try pulling it, it cracked but he felt his body get pulled by the tails. He released his grip and his tails went back to normal.

His human mind said 'Well I made some progress, time to pack it up and go,' but his animal instincts told him to stay on guard so he did. He stood there watching it when he heard a scream… Hinata's scream. He turned to see her running from a large spider-like creature her huge pack on her back. The beast was huge, as big as an elephant, black-red hairy body and large mandibles with a distinct human face above said mandibles. He turned to face the beast when he heard a click then a clattering near his feet. He looked and saw something on the ground, the words 'Flashbang' was written on a small can like object. His eyes widened and he tried to transform back but it was too late. It exploded, and since he was in such close proximity with his enhanced hearing all sound ceased to exist while his vision went white. He couldn't even hear his own scream but he felt the warm liquid pouring out of his ears and knew he was bleeding from his ears, not a surprise considering what happened to him.

Naruto then felt the beak hit his back digging in, he lashed out blindly but he swung at empty air. He then felt it the claw raking at his eyes, digging in he closed them to blackness, blood pouring out only for the wounds to heal up. He then used his only sense of his nose, he hadn't used it much but now it would be critical, he smelled it. The scent of the spider's mouth reeked of rotten flesh, Hinata's own lizard-like smell of her transformed state… and the birds. It was behind him and he lashed out with his tails whipping them wildly, he felt it connect hitting the bird not enough to knock it away but enough that he capitalized on it and wrapped his tails around the leg. He used his tails to swing it around then he sent it down into the ground he felt the claw slash at his tails hoping it cut it off, but it would fail his tails were more than just bone and flesh they were hardened muscles.

Hinata saw Naruto body slam the strange bird with his tails, she huffed in approval and turned her gaze to the spider before her which hissed and snarled. She mixed her poisons well to create one that could possibly kill this beast. She normally would have preferred something more temporary but her body was aflame with the desire to protect her mate at ALL costs. Besides she knew she was guilty of blood shedding and killing. She would accept her taking of life and use it to grow stronger never looking back on it but not enjoying it, never mourning but never forgetting. She launched her spines, since the spider's body was so huge none of them missed their mark. Two dug into its face one into it's abdomen and another into a leg, it shrieked as the poisons began to fill it's body. It shrieked and screeched staggering backward falling over it's own massive legs. As it retreated she turned back to Naruto who was panting blood from now healed wounds on his body. She saw the bird creature flying away crookedly. It's flight path random and shaky. She went to Naruto whose eyes were originally white but were slowly regaining color, she licked his blood both as a means of comfort and for a desire to keep his essence inside of her, to solidify her vow of love to him. A look around showed that the spider was gone.

The only place she didn't lick was his ears and for that she went to her back pack which she had thrown aside and grabbed the medical kit she had found and using it she wiped the blood from his ears Naruto's ears twitched as his hearing returned, "Hinata?" he asked finally.

She hushed him gently, "Shhh… you're hurt." She spoke softly.

He smiled, "I can hear again." he said it was true after hearing her voice he heard the splashing of water from the fountain, with every passing second his hearing was improving more and more. He rubbed his ear, "That damn flashbang was so loud I thought I was gonna be deaf for the rest of my life." This of course was never going to happen not unless his ears were cut off and acid poured into the wound to prevent it from healing.

Hinata smiled and kissed him then she looked at where the beast had flown off, "That bird I think I've seen it before." she said.

He looked at her, "When did you see it last time?" He asked.

She frowned, "I don't know, I try to think but it's all hazy like if it was during one of my times as a beast." she said.

He looked around, "That bird is familiar to me too, those eyes… they seem familiar like I've looked at them many times. It's that… condescending look that makes me think of…" He was silent. He could remember those eyes, he had seen it so clearly the look of utter disgust, that Naruto was somehow beneath him… "No… not him…" Naruto said he began to realize who it was, "Beneath you," he looked at Hinata then he said it, "Neji…" he said.

Hinata looked at him, "Neji-san?" she asked.

He nodded, "Gotta be only he looks at people like that especially me no idea why though." he said he reverted back to his human form.

Hinata sighed as she reverted back to her original form she grabbed some under clothes from the bag and put them on. Just enough to cover her top and lower bits though most of her above clothes were torn. "Well Neji-san was asked by my father to protect me from those that would… alter my views about the company. You know my father owns some major corporations, yes?" He nodded, "Not that many people would say it publicly but the corporations have rather bad policies to some of the workforce he doesn't know about it but people have been laid off for trivial reasons. Also he has done some rather illegal activities to maintain funding for the corporations as a whole. Some of the students have parents that know about this. I'm sure you've heard of the investigations?" She asked.

Now that he knew, his Godmother was among those that investigated, "Yeah though no proof was found there was a staggering amount of evidence to it but not enough to fully convict them. If he was convicted, though it would mean your family would be ruined forever, wouldn't it?" he said.

She frowned, "I… I don't care." She said, "My family lost all it's heart and soul a long time ago. They lost it when my mother died." she said.

Now Naruto knew about this, "She was assassinated wasn't she when a Yakuza group tried to kill your father?" she nodded sadly.

She took a shaky breath, "My father was taking money from the Yakuza, he paid it back in full but then they tried to blackmail him with their involvement my father didn't take that well and killed the group blackmailing him. However enough had survived, that they attempted to get revenge." she paused as she summoned the courage to continue, "One day we were heading out for dinner it was my birthday, it was me, father, mother and my little sister. We just pulled up to where we were eating when suddenly the head car blew up. Instantly my father told the driver to go, we left but we barely got to the street light when we were hit by a truck. It hit the right where my mother and sister were. Father and I were unconscious, mother… mother died on impact she died… protecting Hanabi. They thought we were dead, but me, father and my sister survived. Father was beyond furious, he had his men hunt down the men, their families and any relatives that they had and he had them all tortured for over 2 years, by the time he finally had them killed they were utterly mindless, he had broken them beyond reason." Naruto was shocked.

He hadn't expected that, and he thought Neji had been exaggerating with his threats, "Well shit." he said simply.

She nodded, "After that my father… didn't care much anymore about me, my sister… well that's not true all he cared about after that was keeping us safe. He assigned Neji to me and his brother to my sister. Apart from them we had a shadow staff at either one call at all times. Should something happen to us they would track down whoever did it and would do what they did to those gangsters." she said.

Naruto let out a, somewhat guilty, sigh of relief, "Well good thing he's not here or I'd be in trouble." she looked at him then she kissed him passionately.

She gazed at him fiercely, "I'd never let him hurt you!" she said hotly. She felt it again a strange burning in her chest but it faded as she calmed down. "Come see what I brought it might help out." she said. Naruto nodded and the two went to look at their products. Naruto mostly had tools, and supplies needed to make a stable boat big enough for them both he had even bought a large camping tent big enough to give them plenty of room to not only sleep but also set up a fire for cooking. Hinata mostly had food and medical supplies. She even brought some cooking utensils including a portable stove that ran on gas.

Naruto smiled, "Good thinking let's get some gas canisters we gotta be careful with those though so they don't rupture." he said and the two went to find a nearby hardware store. They found one and Naruo got a 24 case of portable gas canisters and one large propane tank. With those in hand and secured properly the two began to make their way out of the mall.

As they left a young man with black hair standing on a second floor platform, he smirked, "He's trapped in this… 'illusion' but I'll make him remember… all of this… is fake!" he snarled, his body began to crackle with electricity.

-A Mountain Pass-

Naruto shuddered as he entered the tent from the pouring rain, it had been 4 days since they finally exited the mall and ended up hiking the giant mountain, passing by Haku's grave. Naruto told Hinata of Haku's story and they spent the following two day's traveling up the mountain which ended up being connected by a mountain range. They had seen the beaches on the far side of the range from the top of the began their way through, but on the fourth day, today heavy rain began to fall, and the two set up camp on relatively even ground. They had their packs inside and Hinata pulled out the portable stove. Naruto had been out making sure nothing was around them. "Nice I'll set it all up." he said and he began to put it together making sure to lay down a wet towel on the ground so that it didn't burn the bottom, when it was all set up he turned it on. The fire lit and as it did he grabbed the frying pan, and some ingredients and began to cook.

-Several Hours Later-

Naruto and Hinata sighed as they rubbed their stomachs having eaten a great deal of food. They had plenty more as well thanks to Hinata's packing, they had gotten food that was not only filling but easy to package in great quantities. The remains of canned food, and wrappings for steaks and a reclosed bottle of cooking oil was strewn around them. Naruto looked at Hinata, "That was a good meal." he said and he busied himself with disconnecting the portable stove and he put it away carefully. He then set the bag aside and turned to Hinata who was already pulling off her wet clothes. Neither were embarrassed as they stripped, when their clothes had been put up using the tents upper supports to hang them to dry of course they would need to be thoroughly washed. Fortunately they had quite a few spare clothes, the two laid down on the now clear floor and kissed. She felt his prick rubbing against her groin and she growled in his throat.

The night was spent in lustful passions they had spent hours making love the rain offering a lovely cadance for their passions. Eventually though they relaxed, and got out the sleeping bag one very large one no need to bring two they snuggled in. She leaned in to kiss him again, and he returned it gratefully when they parted she put up her arm via her elbow and she looked at him, "So how does one build a boat out of what we got and extra trees?" She asked.

He sighed, "It's a really long and pretty complicated process but with the supplies I got we can do it. But let's talk about it tomorrow let's just sleep for now ok?" he asked.

She nodded and then saw it, a weary hesitation and look of fear in his face for the briefest of seconds. She wanted to ask but he was already closing his eyes and breathing softly. Normally he snored but ever since he had first laid with her he hadn't done that anymore that being said she had felt him sometimes turning in his sleep and when she woke up to see the matter he mumbled in his sleep. She relaxed and watched him closely her eyes ever patient for her suspicions. Minutes passed, then an hour and nothing she sighed wondering if she was just imagining it then she felt it his body starting to twitch. She watched her breath held, his face wrinkled. His breathing quickened, "S-Sto… Stop…" he moaned, "D-Damn… you… damn… YOU!" he growled, "N-Not your pawn!" His body was starting to transform. Hinata reacted fast, she reached for his head and pressed it against her bosom he was growling but as the scent of her body entered his nostrils he began to calm down. He became still then but his body twitched and his brows furrowed every now and then he began to mutter. "S-Subject 009… dreaming… bond… subject… subject…" She listened as his mutterings became whispers and hugging him close she laid her head against his closing her eyes.

When she next woke up she saw sunlight, and instantly felt the loss of Naruto's body against hers. She got up rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and ignoring her nudity she got up and exited the tent, she was about to shout when she saw Naruto crouching over the portable stove with a pair of shorts on. He turned to her, "Hinata something wrong?" He asked.

She looked at him then feeling the hot sun on her skin, she went inside and grabbed some undergarments and put them on. When she was dressed she got back out and sat next to Naruto watching him with concern as he stirred the large amounts of bacon. They were silent then she had to say it, "Are you ok?" She asked.

He looked at her, "Yeah why?" He asked.

She shuffled then she leaned in and nuzzled her face into his shoulder, "Last night you were muttering something about 'not your pawn.'" he stiffened at that, "Then you said something about subject 009 as well." he was still stiff then slowly he relaxed.

He sighed then he lowered the heat on the bacon, "So I've been having dreams, I told you this… sometimes I see… things like as if I was alive some other time… in it was Sasuke, Sakura… Shino and a whole bunch of other people." Hinata didn't interrupt him, "Sasuke… Sasuke gathered them together and we tried to build up a society we were doing good then… this giant thing came and it destroyed everything and absorbed people. I wanted to fight but Sasuke wanted to run away. I don't know what he did but the next thing I remember I was on a mountain and I was arguing with him… telling him the people weren't his pawns… he kept saying that it didn't matter cause this place wasn't even real." he said.

Hinata wanted to speak but she stayed silent, "Then after a while the dream… changed… I smelt something familiar and all of a sudden I was… in that tube again and people were talking… one of them said well you heard…" he said.

She shook her head," All I heard was 'Subject 009, dreaming, and bond,' not sure what that means though." she said.

Naruto was silent, "I don't know…" he said, "But I'm getting hungry let me finish cooking if you wanna help take out the other stove I'll set it up for you." he said what he didn't tell her was that the voice said more than just that, they had said, 'Expanding the dream world… he's becoming…' the rest became muddled so he wasn't sure what he saw. The two cooked a variety of foods, bacon, eggs, and corned beef when they had eaten everything they got dressed and continued along the mountain.

-Three Days Later-

Naruto sighed as he looked at the next mountain ahead, "7 days of climbing these damn mountains and yet I get the feeling we'll never make it to the beach." he said. He could've sworn the beach didn't look so far away from where he saw it… and yet he felt like the island was much bigger than he saw it originally… as if… someone, somehow was creating more land. The words from last night echoed in his mind 'Expanding the dream world…' he felt it in his gut… that those words were true… that this… all of this… was… a… dream. He then heard it beating the wings… not close but far off in the distance. He could just barely hear it over the wind, "Neji is here." he said.

Hinata blinked and looked around, "Where?" she asked.

He smiled, "he's in the distance… I don't think he'll attack." he said.

She looked at him, "How can you be so sure?" She asked.

He looked at her and began to list off the reasons, "His main objective is to protect you, I've shown not only can I do that but I have the potential to be stronger than he'll ever be. I get stronger every time I fight, not only that but my regeneration abilities are far stronger than his. What takes him a few days to heal, it takes me hours sometimes even minutes. He knows I can protect you, but he's going to watch to make sure I don't do anything too… intimate…" he said.

She smiled, "Well it's too late for that." she said, "I know it hasn't happened but… if it should I'm ready for it." she said he knew what she was talking about. He didn't know how he would do as a father himself but he was willing to give it a go… but they were still young plenty of time to get ready for it.

He placed a warm hand on her shoulder, "Let's talk about that once we get to the beach." he said. The two continued their journey watched by two pairs of eyes one mildly hostile, the other cold satisfaction.

-A day later-

Naruto sighed as he began setting up the tent for them to sleep, Hinata was setting up the portable stove. Naruto was starting to wonder if he wasn't stir crazy or something, the beach shouldn't be this far. He remembered that it should've taken them at least 5 days to get there. But they were now approaching 8 days… something wasn't right. He then heard it, Hinata's faint gasp and the sound of approaching footsteps. He stopped what he was doing and turned he saw… someone he hadn't hoped to see and his eyes narrowed with suspicion and dislike. Standing there was Sasuke Uchiha, he was shirtless and wearing torn shorts he had a smug grin on his face and his eyes stared at Naruto with a mad focus. "Naruto… only someone as dumb as you would think to escape… 'this' with a boat." he growled.

Naruto smirked, "I don't wanna hear that from the king of high and mighties… you're too afraid to get some blisters on your hands after all." Naruto retorted. They stared at each other "What do you want?" Naruto finally asked after a long silence, he smelt something familiar… on Sasuke's body.

Sasuke smirked, "Your help getting out of this… Illusion." Naruto was silent, "You know I'm right none of this is real I remember… and so do you I know you do." he said, "You have the dreams don't you? Of a life you already lived yet you clearly didn't do lately?" Naruto lowered his head frowning knowing this was true. "This world isn't real it's just a fake created by someone in our brains!" he said pointing at his head.

Hinata stepped forward, "Do you have any proof of this? It sounds like empty accusations to me!" she said reasonably.

Sasuke scowled at her, "Shut up you fucking cow I'm talking to someone worth something." he snapped.

Naruto let out a animal growl and stepped in front of Hinata a hand held protectively over her, "Don't you dare insult her! I'll rip off your skull if you do it again!" he snapped.

Sasuke laughed, "You? Last time we fought it was a tie, but I know all your tricks now if we fought again I would no doubt be the winner this time." he said, "After all," he turned and reached down and grabbed something he then pulled up a bloody and mangled arm. "After all I was able to beat that damn bird which you had so much trouble against." He threw the arm at the two and Naruto could smell the bird… or rather Neji's scent. This arm did indeed belong to him, "Quite amusing it was to snag him out of the sky. Should've seen the look on his face as I sent him hurtling to the ground he broke my fall quite wonderfully even if it meant I broke his back into millions of pieces." he said.

Naruto could feel his anger boiling as it did dark clouds began to roll in crackling with thunder. Sasuke looked up smirking, "You think this is by chance? No they want us to fight and fight I will if it means waking you up from this dream." and he began to change Naruto watched as his body expanded his legs merging together to form a snake lower body, his chest broadened with muscles and scales began to form his arms swelled briefly then compacted turning large muscles into powerful compact ones. From his back large black-blue spikes, as did a pair of leathery wings while his own skin had blue scales with black markings like lightning bolts dotted here and there. HIs face became serpentine and completely covered in scales. There was nothing even remotely human there, even his hair became spikes made of a hardened substance not unlike the spikes jutting from his back up. Naruto growled, he knew why, Sasuke was a dragon-like creature not unlike Hinata but there were several differences, Sasuke's scales were not only stronger they were harder as well if he just punched them outright he'd be doing more damage to himself than to Sasuke.

The spikes on his back would allow him to use his most deadly ability, his power to control lightning… control was overstating it he could channel lightning and direct it he could also absorb and shoot it back out whenever he wanted. Basically as long as there was a storm the advantage would go entirely to Sasuke… now that he thought about it he remembered fighting Sasuke during a storm too… 'It will suck if this crazy fucker is right but everything… is sadly lining up!' Naruto transformed as did Hinata. Sasuke let them know he had the advantage. There was nothing that either could do to defeat him. At least that's what he thought, before Hinata charged at him and she swung her tail he saw the spines and didn't think much but his instincts warned him to not get pricked he slithered away from the first 4 and grabbed the last one and he held it up to his nose he sniffed and smelled it.

He smirked, "Poison interesting… well I should take you out first like I planned to anyways but I really gotta now." he said he thrust his back up and his spikes extended up already the rain was falling and lighting crackled but as he did this Naruto sprang forward and his claws were outstretched they then began to grow lengthening to the length of daggers and he slashed at Sasuke. Though Sasuke's scales were tough he knew their weakness they could be sliced from his body. Sasuke snarled and slithered backwards to avoid the barrage of slash attacks. "So you do remember!" Naruto's face scowled at that but Sasuke knew he was right Naruto remembered their previous fight so he knew that Naruto would do everything to prevent him from absorbing lightning to fight. He also realized that Naruto remembered that while his scales were strong against impact they could be ripped from him by being slashed and making his skin vulnerable to strikes which was Naruto's forte.

Naruto kept the barrage Hinata hanging back to mix more poisons and grow more spikes to hurl at Sasuke. Inside her pride as Naruto's mate demanded she help him fight more upfront but her own intelligence told her to let Naruto do most of the work. Something about Sasuke unnerved her, he was completely unafraid of the fact she was an Apex Predator, even before she transformed and afterward he was still unflinching. His instincts would've told him what she was and yet he didn't even show a hint of fear. She would have to watch out for whatever he had planned. Lightning cracked and thunder flashed, Sasuke's smirked, it was thundering now meaning that he didn't need to actively force it down anymore chances of him being struck now were high… everything was proceeding exactly like last time except this time he would win.

With everything set up Sasuke began to strike back he dodged under a claw slice and raised up a hand to grab a follow up then swung his fist so that it hit Naruto's lower left abdomen right where his liver should be. Naruto grunted as he felt the blow and he coughed up blood as his liver was damaged partially he backed off. Sasuke went low slithering forward his body crackling with electricity. He raised a fist and punched Naruto's face, it connected and the electricity flooded the fox's body Naruto roared with pain as he fell electricity sparking off from the rain drops. Naruto fell to the ground his muscles spasming slightly from the left over electricity he felt the hand grab his neck and then pull him up. He gurgled slightly at the strong grip, and felt the fist hit him on the nose. Pain surged through his head, blood spurting from his nostrils blocking his sense of smell. Then another fist into his side he felt his ribs groan under the blow but they held firm of course they would hardened by his battles his bones wouldn't break so easily. With that he countered by raising his foot between them and placed it on Sasuke's stomach Sasuke tried to retreat but Naruto grabbed his arm with desperation and his toe claws sunk into the stomach and he was about to slash down when he felt electricity flooding his body.

He gurgled at the energy flooding his body and when it stopped he fell back unconscious. Sasuke huffed, "Too easy." and he raised his hand his fingers pressed together. His nails extended slightly and began to crackle with electricity. This caused a bolt of lightning to strike his back now he was charged up he could use lightning more readily he would kill Naruto then get the bitch. It was then that something unexpected happened, Hinata struck she lunged at Sasuke bowling him over, he had been so focused on Naruto he had forgotten her. Her fangs came down on his shoulders and she bit down with incredible force. Sasuke cried out as he felt the pressure of her bite, his scales prevented his skin from being broken but the pressure was enough to cause actual pain. He roared and his skin sparked she jumped back but he felt something hit his chin as she jumped off to avoid the electric sparking from his body.

Hinata hissed as she stood protectively over Naruto. Her chest was glowing slightly and she inhaled then blew out a greenish yellow cloud out from her mouth. Sasuke instantly felt his instincts tell him to move as the cloud suddenly liquidized and fell above him. He rolled just in time to avoid the liquid which began to eat away at the ground. 'Acid? I might not know everything about her but I'm sure that's new! No I must kill her now!' he charged up the electricity in his body and once again it served as a lighting conduit.

Hinata frowned she knew she couldn't win the fight, Sasuke like Naruto was an experienced fighter not only that he was extremely intelligent he could figure out her weaknesses easily. So for now she would make two very special poisons one not actually being a real poison. During the time they had spent looking for supplies and medicine Hinata had actually injected herself with some antibiotics and adrenalines in order for her body to process and start producing similar formulas for various needs. Right now she was creating a stimulant which would not only revive Naruto but up his overall combat efficiency. The other was a powerful paralytic which would hopefully stun Sasuke long enough for Naruto to kill him. She couldn't beat him… she knew that… but Naruto could, however even with her stimulant Naruto's body would still need time to regenerate the fried synapses from the various electric shocks.

She hissed at Sasuke again who growled back they stared at each other, a flash of lightning and they lunged at each other. Hinata let her instincts guide her dodging and countering each strike and Sasuke did the same. To the ordinary person they would've been evenly matched but an experienced fighter would've seen the gap, Hinata's counters were wide and were leaving her open for great periods of time. Sasuke didn't dare strike as he was aware of her tail but slowly he was becoming bolder and during a counter he ducked to the right and slammed a fist into her stomach. It was a solid blow but her scales protected her from the a good portion of the damage, not as much as his would as she still felt the pain but enough that she could take a few blows before real damage sunk in… at least that's what she had thought till she felt a jolt of electricity flowing through her. She reacted quickly slashing with her wing claw at his arm and succeeding in tearing off some scales. He withdrew his hand quickly, he snarled at her and she hissed back then inhaled deeply and breathed out more of her acid at him this time however the acid changed. Instead of a cloud it was a concentrated stream of liquid, he slid to the side to avoid the melting acid. Though some of it had gotten into his tail, he hissed with pain and quickly shook it to remove what little acid got on him.

It was this moment that he realized that she was a true competitor, true she didn't have his or Naruto's battle skills but if she gained said skills she would be a true force to be reckoned with. He then realized there was only one way to eliminate her, her instincts though unhoned would recognize danger. He held up and he placed his fingers together in a wedge shape. Lightning crackled from his back and from the sky a bolt fell and his fingers became covered in deadly blue electricity. He smiled at her then turned his gaze to Naruto.

Hinata instantly knew what he was going to do and she hated him for it. But she didn't hesitate, her instincts screaming to run and save herself but she wouldn't she would die before she left her man, her mate's, side. She leaped in front of him as Sasuke shot forward like a bolt of lightning even though it took less than 3 seconds, time seemed to slow so much that she felt every nanosecond of it. His claw burning and melting her scales while simultaneously pushing through, her body trying to toughen up only to get ripped apart and cauterized. His claws scraping the lower portion of her heart ripping it open and blood cascading out. She felt his hand twisting ripping into her body even more as he pierced through her rib cage and her hand reaching up to grab his, mustering just enough strength to stop him from piercing through to her beloved.

She gasped and coughed blood pain flooding her body… such intense pain that she thought she could never experience again. She had felt it since her mother died… it wasn't a physical pain it was more emotional… she felt… sad that she was dying… dying before she could be truly useful. She coughed as her legs began to falter she sunk down as Sasuke pulled out his arm and licked her blood with malicious glee. Her hand, still in the grab that stopped Sasuke's hand, reached for her heart; she felt it torn and throbbing weakly. She had about a minute before she died so she did three things. First she grabbed her heart and tore it out and laid it on Naruto's chest, second she raised her tail and flicked it with the last bit of strength where it embedded into his leg and dislodged her final poison near it. Finally she slumped onto his body her upper body turning human too weak to turn the rest of her body back to normal. "I'm sorry… Naruto… my beloved… mmng… it seems… I won't see the ocean… take… care…" Her eyes dulled and she died with a small smile on her face.

Naruto felt it, a surge of energy as Hinata adrenaline filled barb pumped it's medicine into him. He had fully recovered but just need a stimulus and boy did he get one. He opened his eyes and felt the warm wet thing on his chest and grabbed it. He held it up to his face and saw the heart he raised his head and saw Hinata. He stared at her for several seconds then he opened his mouth wide and placed the heart into his throat, he swallowed then he sat up and pulled her close and held her tightly. Hot tears streaming down his face as he held her lifeless body close. "You are sooooo fucking PATHETIC!" Sasuke shouted, "Any fucking second her body will just poof out of existence do you know why? Because you, me, her and everything about this place is fake!" Naruto's muscles began to bulge and he let out an incredible roar so loud and powerful that the very air trembled. He released Hinata and turned to Sasuke.

His eyes were blood red and his face was now covered in a thin red yellow fur. His muscles were bulging making him look bigger and his tails whipped around wildly. "I don't give a shit! What I feel for her is real and she was real to me!" and he struck with such speed that Sasuke barely avoided the powerful punch. Sasuke struck back with a hard punch but Naruto grabbed it and pulled Sasuke in and held up his other clawed hand but released him and jumped to the side to avoid the electric surge. Sasuke growled at Naruto's foresight and he punched the ground sending a wave of electricity toward Naruto's new position. Naruto jumped soaring over Sasuke and landing behind him he turned slashed at Sasuke's back. Sasuke's wings came down and took the slashing blow and he grunted as his scales were ripped, revealing the soft flesh from 4 slash marks.

Sasuke whipped his lower body at Naruo and wrapped around his legs and pulled tripping the fox beast. He then wound his body around Naruto's and wrapped his arms around his opponents neck not hard enough to knock him out but enough that he was restraining him. Naruto bucked and writhed but even with his now enhanced rage induced state he could barely fight off the snake dragon. "Listen to me dumbass! All of this fighting is pointless! Whoever is pulling the strings, we're just giving them what they want! Think for a sec! Did it seem odd that no matter how far you walked, you were still nowhere near the shore of this island?! And for that matter, why are structures and buildings we remember all over the place? It is because this place isn't real! It is just a simulation of some sort, run by our captives to study us or something!" Naruto, calming down enough to stop thrashing about, and starts to listen to what Sasuke has to say. "Nobody else remembers what goes on, because they are using some sort of method to erase their memories... but you and I are resilient to this process. For me, it is because of the electricity my body lets off... for you though, it is your hyper regenerative ability, you forget, but your body eventually restores the lost memories... That is what your dreams are all about..." Naruto growled.

He lowered his head, "Yeah you're right I get weird dreams, and hear voices from inside of something… and what you say makes sense…" He admitted.

He felt Sasuke's grip slacken, "Finally you're getting it!" but this was a mistake.

"However!" Naruto threw his head back and slammed the back of his skull against Sasuke's nose. This was enough to stun Sasuke long enough for Naruto to pull free then grabbing Sasuke lower he pulled and slammed his upper body into the rocky ground. This overall did minimal damage but Naruto used it to stand on Sasuke's back. He growled and held up his claws which lengthened once again and he leaned down, "That gives you no right to do what you did to Hinata or the others! People who were depending on us and you left them for dead to save your own hide!" and he slashed at Sasuke's spikes. Sasuke howled as 2 of his spikes were cut off by Naruto's incredibly sharp claws. He still had four left Naruto jumped back though as they sparked with electricity.

Sasuke then got up and turned to Naruto and rubbed his nose, "You stubborn idiot… fine then if you won't listen to me this time… I'll make you listen in the NEXT LIFE!" and he charged Naruto. The two began their deadly duel again, Naruto trying to slash at Sasuke while Sasuke responded with his powerful blows.

As before Sasuke showed a clear advantage, making Naruto snarl, 'I can't beat him like this he knows how to fight on an intellectual level but I fight with my instincts… my instincts…' it was true Sasuke was trained to fight, and he understood how to do it. Naruto however was a natural born fighter his only problem was learning techniques, he found that being told a technique was useless he learned better when a technique was either shown or used against him. It didn't hurt that his godfather used to be a well-respected martial artist in his youth. Naruto literally had years of fighting techniques beaten into him… and it was time to draw upon it. He jumped back and avoided a powerful punch that split rock. Sasuke raised his fist and looked at Naruto ready to strike when he saw Naruto was going down on all fours his eyes closed.

Sasuke felt his instincts tell him to keep fighting but he wasn't bound to his animal side, 'What is he doing?' he couldn't help but wonder. He watched as Naruto's body twitched and bulged his fur standing up and a low growl coming from his throat. Then after several seconds Sasuke grew bored and he held up his hand which crackled with electricity. "Ok you had your moment time to end this!" he approached rapidly and struck Naruto with a blow to his face. Naruto was thrown up and landed on his back. He coughed up blood and grunted, he rolled onto his front and clenched the ground. "Pathetic! I expected more but it seems this time I'm not gonna die with you! I'll find my own way out of here…" and he raised up his hand which coursed with lightning, "now die!" and he thrust it forward only for Naruto's tail to rise up and wrap around his hand soldily. Sasuke blinked, "Like that will-!" suddenly his arm was jerked and he was pulled forward and he gasped with pain as Naruto's claws slashed his chest and then followed with a powerful blow to the slashed area. With his scales sundered he felt the full impact of the blow and he clutched his chest as all air was forced out.

He didn't understand what happened when another slash happened so rapid he could barely see it, 3 all aimed at his chest. He slid back just in time to avoid the punch, "Fffhhh…" Naruto exhaled, "It took some fucking convincing…" he stood up and revealed his eyes which were a solid purple color. "But man and beast have come together to fight." he snarled. What happened in Naruto's mind took hours mentally but on a physical level it took about a minute. He had retreated to his mind and found the animal in him, whatever part that wasn't already fused with his psyche from his already instinct driven mentality.

Sasuke growled, "Don't think you can beat me like that I'm greater than any human or beast mixing the two is just increasing my already incredible chances at killing you!" he snarled and he held up his hand and fired a bolt of lightning at Naruto who hopped to the side on all fours and then he rocketed toward Sasuke like a stone from a sling and struck Sasuke's softened belly again this time with his head. Sasuke felt the blow and he bit his teeth down hard to prevent the blood from gushing from his mouth. Then he turned his body and with his feet he slashed at Sasuke's right side. Sasuke grunted and his wing suddenly swung in and the joint slammed into Naruto's face making him fall to the ground. Sasuke then punched down on Naruto's throat but the fist was caught. Naruto used his tails to push his body up and he slashed at Sasuke's face getting his cheek but not much else. Sasuke's body surged with lightning again and Naruto groaned with pain releasing his foe. However he had adapted and was already turning to perform a powerful claw slash at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke ducked and slammed a fist into Naruto's rib making him stagger another fist into the gut hitting Naruto's liver again, causing blood to erupt from Naruto's mouth and onto his body. Naruto staggered back and his tails whipped at Sasuke striking his chest and causing him to stagger back as well. They took a second to recover before engaging in a flurry of blows Naruto mixing slashing with powerful strikes. Sasuke hitting in Naruto's vital areas, which would of normally been enough to knock out or outright kill someone but with Naruto's healing powers it was more of a taxing blow. Lightning crackled in the sky as they fought time became a blur all they cared about was killing the other. A powerful blow from both to the face made them slide backward several feet. They huffed as they stared at each other, Naruto was bleeding from several wounds and blood was leaking from his mouth. Sasuke's skin had been slashed brutally and were bleeding freely while his face had some slashes on it. Not enough for Naruto's blow to take full effect… but enough that he was having some swollen bleeding sores.

The two looked at each other with burning hatred, then Naruto held up his hand and clenched it into a fist. Sasuke held up his own in that wedge knife formation electricity surging from his body and toward it till a sound not unlike the chirping of birds sounded. Technically Naruto was gaining the upper hand his body was going into overdrive healing the various bruises and impacts he had been hit with but the healing was exhausting him. Sasuke glared lightning struck him and suddenly he had vanished, Naruto barely had time to register as he felt the hand piercing his chest straight through his heart ripped out as heat accumulated in his chest. He then felt it his body trying to pump blood only to falter as his heart was out of his body through a hole in his chest. Sasuke panted as he was before Naruto and then he pulled his hand out and revealed Naruto's heart. "I win." he said and he threw the heart off the cliff where it splattered down to the bottom. Naruto stood there gasping his legs shook then gave out making him fall to his knees. He knelt there gasping and clutching at the hole while Sasuke smirked and then began to move toward Hinata.

He was angry "Pointless all this shit, I'll find a way out on my own. But before I do best to-" but he barely finished when he felt it a presence behind him. He turned his head just in time to see a hand reach for his throat. He saw Naruto standing there his eyes glowing a bloody red, saliva and blood mixed as he gave a gurgling growl, Sasuke opened his mouth and no sooner had he done so then Naruto thrust his other hand forward Sasuke felt something hit the back of his throat, he gagged as Naruto held it there then felt his body starting to slow down.

Naruto grunted and gasped as he said his final words to Sasuke, "They say the brain… can survive the loss of the heart for up to 6 minutes… It gives me enough time to say that… ugh-hugh!" he coughed out blood, "to say in the end she beat you." Sasuke could still see and when Naruto retracted the hand in his mouth Sasuke saw one of Hinata's spikes lodged into Naruto's hand. "Her paralysis is… useless on me… but against you?" he gave a blood grin, "It means we win!" and Naruto began lifted Sasuke up high then he released him as Sasuke fell Naruto slashed rapidly at his face roaring as he did! Sasuke felt the slashes cutting him up his eyes, his nose, his neck, and his scalp! The doping effect still propelling him forward to do this but it was wearing off and the injuries began to hurt again.

Then before Sasuke's body touched the ground Naruto threw a powerful right straight. The blow connected Sasuke felt it hit him solidly he then felt it the neck muscles tearing and his skin peeling away while his bones inverted. Then Naruto slammed a foot down shifting his weight and pushed hard. Sasuke's head parted from his neck and flew off into the distance Sasuke screaming as he was beheaded. Naruto fell onto Sasuke's twitching and weak body grunting as he did as he felt more blood spurting from his gaping wound which was slowly closing up. Maybe if he had more time he would've regenerated his heart, maybe if he hadn't done what he did he might've lived… but all he knew was that he did not regret his actions… at all.

He panted as he crawled to Hinata still in his beast form as it would give him the strength to do this final act. He paused over her body which had reverted completely back her human form. "I'm sorry Hinata… I wasn't strong enough to protect you… but I'm… nghk… strong enough to do this!" and he grabbed her body and stood up with wobbling knees and began to head for the ocean. He didn't know how much time he had left his vision was blurring and his ears were growing dull but he knew the rain had stopped… quite miraculously. He walked and walked his feet moving automatically, his mind thinking of his time with Hinata, meeting her, laughing with her, fighting her, helping her regain her humanity, loving her… and holding her close feeling her breath on his skin and her scent in his nostrils. 'Fuck I hate to admit this but I hope that prick was right… and this was all just some kinda simulation…' his vision was blurring so much he could barely see… but it was enough to see a drop, even with his bloodied nose he could smell the faint smell of salt and water. Just enough to know he had made it to the ocean.

He smiled, "Fuck you… you fucking prick…" he growled, he felt it now his brain shutting down one by one he moved barely seeing the edge and positioning himself so that he was kneeling on the edge. He looked at Hinata's face which looked so content and satisfied. He then spoke his final words, "We will meet again, I don't care how or whatever... I will find you, and we'll be together again..." He then felt it his body seizing up but he held onto her tightly, he fell to the side and as he did he saw the clouds… which were… changing shape… taking on a distinctly… humanoid appearance, he then heard whispers of words too faint to make out. He hit the water and the blurriness faded into darkness… and with that Naruto Uzumaki died… or did he…?

He heard faint words, "Transfer… simu… beastial stu…" He didn't understand… and he faded with those words echoing in his head.


A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter apologies for the lack of updates but I'm working on alot of things at the same time so alot of my time is taken up! What lies in store for next chapter? Coming closer to the truth of everything! Till next time!