A/N: After a long wait, the chapter is finally here! It's not betaread by anyone so I hope you forgive this little Finnish girl and tell me if there are any grammar mistakes or anything else. Oh, does anybody want to betaread this story for me in the future? Any kind of help from a person experienced in English would be greatly appreciated.

Kinumi: Did I ever tell you that I love you? (In a platonic way) You're the most encouraging reviewer I've ever had! Thank you so much!

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Second chapter: Staccato

Hinata quickly took a few strokes to distance herself from Naruto, feeling a little too insecure with him so close to her.  Especially because the glint in Naruto's eyes told her a little more than his words did. After there was a good three meters' gap between them Hinata ceased and raised her eyes slowly to look at Naruto's face. Her heart still started thumping faster every time she glanced at him, even after she had been his friend for many years. She didn't even know why she was so strongly attracted to him. He had the looks, alright, but Hinata wasn't all that confident that that was what she liked about him.

Maybe it was because of Naruto's eyes. His eyes were so lively and strong, so very much unlike hers. His eyes were full of emotion and energetic when hers were plain white. If she looked into Naruto's eyes she could see what he was thinking and feeling. According to one old saying she had heard, one's eyes were the door to one's soul. If so, then Naruto's door was always open for visitors, be they friendly or not. Behind that door there was a room, simple yet very comfortable, not too full but not empty, either. When somebody came there they would not see everything with one glance but if they wanted they could visit him more and find out equally more.

But when the door to Hinata's soul was opened there was a dusty room with only a few pieces of furniture. There were many doors surrounding the small room and more doors behind the previous ones again. When people came there they would not look at the dark corners or the ragged walls of the place, they would only cast one fleeting glance around them and then leave. She was like a huge maze and only a few people had bothered to search for the owner throughout the place. But it was not like she wanted anyone to know more about her than the little bit she let them to be aware of.

Now, however, when she shyly looked at Naruto's eyes she could not see the usual Naruto smiling back at her. There was only a dark chill in the place of what was usually warm and welcoming. She grew more skeptical the more she looked at him trying to figure out what was wrong with him. Why had she not noticed this before? Why did she have to be so damn occupied about something else when Naruto was certainly not himself at all? Her eyes grew purely concerned when she looked at him again, this time noticing that her glance was returned.

She blushed no matter how hard she tried to prevent the blood from rushing to her face and lowered her eyes. The small voice in her mind, very observant as usual, screamed to her that his gaze had swept lower than where her face was. She thanked the night for being so dark and the moon for reflecting itself from the surface of the black water making it impossible to see anything below. It was not that she thought herself ugly, she had gotten over that a long time ago, but only that she was not what Naruto hoped her to be. She knew she was stupid to think like that because Naruto would probably never return her feelings but she wanted to cling on to the little thread of hope she had been given when he had wanted to spend time with her for the first time. No matter how tiny that hope was she still refused to give up.

Small ripples reached her chest and she was pulled away from her thoughts. Naruto took another step closer to her in the cool water, reaching his hand over the surface. Hinata wondered what he was about to do with it but he just left his hand floating in front of him. He was under the water from down his navel and the water drops on the upper half of his body sparkled with silver in the moon light. His skin was pale and his hair appeared to be almost white, creating an interesting contrast with the dark background of the lush forest.

Nine Tails was trying to figure out the best way to get the fun he wanted. He would of course be satisfied with only the young woman's body but he doubted the owner of his body would forgive him that. The boy could do something suicidal afterwards and the Demon wasn't so fond of dying that he'd want it. And there certainly weren't going to be any female Demon Foxes hanging around the Konoha Village so that he could have his way with them. So the best way was to have it, Nine Tails grinned toothily, their way. If he could deceive his little prey to believe that she wanted it as much as he did it'd go out smoothly. Of course, smooth wasn't actually what he wanted from it, he rather preferred the rough way, but this female in front of him didn't look like the most enduring person and he had to consider her feelings too. He had never been in a situation where he'd have others' feelings to think about and he was pretty sure he'd avoid those kinds of situations in the future.

He had already been ready to claim the body before him as his own but had changed the direction in midair and left his hand wander on the surface of water instead of exploring the sweets of a human body. He could see that the woman -whatever her name was- was a very calculating and wise person. She was not by all means as shy or hesitating as she let herself appear. He could see right through the mask on her face that even though she blushed easily and stammered even easier she was determined and wanted to be stronger. During all the time the Demon had spent surveying the world of humans through the bars of his prison he had begun to understand human beings more and more. And the more he found out the more amusing it got. Those weak little things could make him roar in laughter with their pitiful attempts to be real ninjas and assassins.

He saw the reaction on the girl's face even though she lowered her face to hide it, that she had secretly thought the hand he had raised would have been laid on her cheek. So, behind the mask lay still another aspect of her, a sensual being, yet very unyielding to admit it. The Demon smirked mentally and observed the woman more. His gaze slid down her body and even though she believed he couldn't see anything of her below shoulders he could see perfectly fine every curve on her slender body. The predator suffocated another smirk tugging the corners of his lips and concentrated fully on his victim. What was even more amusing than the fact that she was completely clueless of what was going to happen to her was that she deep down inside in her heart had hoped that a situation like this would occur.

Nine Tails had hard time recognizing this as the same girl he had set his eyes on years ago. The woman had grown in both mind and body during the time he had surveyed her. He had long time ago also realized that Naruto loved and even wanted the girl more than he himself was aware of. Why else would he have chosen her as his prey? The silly boy believed in love but Nine Tails had to return him to the real world. No emotion lasted forever. There were only two dominating instincts that held their power in the world of men: the will to live and survive and the will to propagate. Even insects knew what they had to do to survive but humans had a difficult way of attaching feelings into mating. They so intently insisted that love was a part of generating, had even renamed the verb to suit their own tastes better but that was all false belief. Their pathetic excuse for the desire to produce an offspring for them was love.

The Demon Fox almost snorted at his thoughts but then remembered the female in front of him and decided it was better to not make himself look any more suspicious than he already to appear. Drawing himself away from his well of thoughts again he observed the woman with slight interest, still trying to come up with the best way to launch his attack on her. On the other hand… Maybe he'd just do it his way. Her head was bent slightly to look shyly to her left and her cheeks were flushed. It was only a matter of time before she would start swimming again. Her hands had found their way to twitch in front of her rather nervously and the Demon was sure that that habit was one of those Naruto found so appealing in her. Or had found. He had no intentions on giving the body of his host so easily back to its original owner, at least not before he had gotten his fun and while he was at it, why not destroy a few villages in the same time?

He looked at her for another few moments before finally forming a plan in his twisted mind. He smiled slyly to himself and spread his arms with the intention of beginning to swim in the crystal-like lake. The glassy surface broke when he glided in the water gracefully with slow but firm strokes. It took him only a few seconds to reach the middle of the lake and then turn back to Hinata. Her appearance in the black water, with her pale skin and dark blue locks of hair was one the Fox considered attracting in human mind. In a moment she had swam to float near him, with her face under the water to almost nose. She would have looked like a crocodile -not at all appealing anymore- observing her prey, had she wiped the scarlet from her cheeks and the shyness from her eyes. The Nine Tails would have preferred a feistier companion but this lamer one would have to do. Hers was, after all, the power the Fox had noticed years ago.

It was only a pity that the boy he inhabited was far too slow to notice the needs of a human body. But the Fox had his needs and if Naruto was too dumb to notice his, the Demon would just have to do what he saw the best. And be it sad for the boy or not the Fox was now in command and didn't care about anything else but himself. And the most important thought in his lust-clouded but still abnormally cunning mind was to get the fun he had come for.

Hinata was in the meantime sneaking quick glances of Naruto's eyes, those incredible eyes she liked so much better than her own. She still couldn't shake the feeling of something being wrong from her mind but basking in that ethereal beauty Naruto offered her distracted her a little. She had always despised people who looked only at the outer selves of others' and for that reason she felt guilty for enjoying his looks. She felt like she wasn't allowed to hold attraction for good-looking people because she knew that her looks certainly didn't make the world anymore prettier place to live in. But she comforted herself with the knowledge that it hadn't been Naruto's face that had been appealing to her when she had gotten to know him -it had been his infinite desire to become stronger and his immense ability to appreciate himself even when everyone else had been kicking his head, telling him he was a failure.

Suddenly she without any specific reason blushed more scarlet than she thought was possible and had a strange urge to run away from everybody or dive to the water and hide her face. It was the last option she chose to be more benefiting and dove straight away to nearly to the bottom of the lake. Only then did she think that now she had a clear view of the man who was above her, swimming mindlessly in small circles. Her eyes widened at the thought and she kept them firmly closed so that she wouldn't offend his privacy. Not that he cared about it anyway, as he had just previously ran before her stark naked. A few bubbles escaped Hinata's mouth as she got so flustered at her thoughts that she began shaking vigorously. Forcing herself to calm down she took a deep breath-- and gulped a huge amount of water to her lungs. She felt her breathing organs burning with pain and her brain beginning to scream from the lack of air and coughed hard, forgetting to try to stay under the water.

The fox noticed Hinata's strange behavior under the water and it didn't take him long to realize that she was drowning. The wild thought of his only prey dying drove him to dive for her and pull her above the water. She had ceased from coughing but then again, she wasn't even breathing anymore. Naruto quickly swam to the shore and pulled her to the ground, attempting to make her breathing easier. He figured that it would be best to roll her to her side so that she wouldn't choke on the water she had inhaled. Placing his hands on her shoulder and hip he rolled her to face him, with her dark bangs covering her pale face. As he saw that she was still neither coughing up water nor breathing he tried to quickly find a way to save her. He was not by all means worried about her life but only that the victim he had chosen to suffer the consequences of his lack of fun would die without him even trying to stop it. He could of course take her to the village where there were many people capable of healing her but somebody would certainly notice that he wasn't Naruto but Nine Tails and that would be yet another delayer in his intentions.

Sighing in frustration caused by the girl's inability of getting herself alive again he was forced to use his skills to heal her. The Demon brought his hand to her throat and with a little effort forced the water out of her with chakra. The technique had been used as a brutal mechanism to draw a victim's inner organs out of its body through the mouth but he could change the course of the chakra a little and thus get her back to life. Hinata almost immediately coughed the water and some blood up but didn't move from her lying position trying to regulate her breathing. She slowly blinked and opened her eyes, then noticing how close Naruto was, blushed and as if due to an instinct tried to cover her body from his eyes. She immediately started to mumble incomprehensible words which most of them Naruto missed but he could catch one questioning utter, "How?"

Nine Tails shrugged, not practically jumping with joy if he'd have to explain his healing powers that Naruto wasn't capable of doing. Hinata dropped the subject as if reading his mind -which she thankfully didn't- and noticed that a lock of hair was covering her left eye. She was still lying on the grassy ground, covering her body, wondering why Naruto wasn't getting up to save her from the uncomfortable moment of being stared at naked and trying to get the annoying bang of hair out of her eye. She tried to remove it without moving her arms from around her body but after successfully failing she got up and sat on the ground with her legs pulled to her chest to block any invading glances to her chest. When she got her hands free she brushed her hair from her eyes and stopped to look at Naruto for a moment.

Her eyes widened and she nearly fainted again when she saw him looking directly at her without any signs of decency. She pulled her legs even tighter against her chest and nearly shrieked at him to even try to look as if he wasn't staring at her chest of all places! She was almost insulted by his rather rude actions but in the same time was flattered that he didn't look away in disgust at the sight of her. But then again he couldn't see anything of her private places because she covered them with her legs. She stammered without really meaning to say anything but somehow her mouth formed a question, "Uhh… Naruto-kun? Are you alright?"

The Fox was pulled away from his rather interesting thoughts concerning the certain someone who was facing him by her question. He reluctantly lifted his gaze to Hinata's eyes, after letting it trail on her bare shoulders, noticing the fine skin shivering under his consuming eyes. Not bothering to bite back the smirk playing on his lips he gave his entire attention to the woman before him. She was nearly fainting from the clear lust in his eyes. He was surprised that as horrified as she was, she was not running away from him screaming that he was trying to rape her. Well… If she didn't start to warm up to him that would be the case. Making it clear that she was wanted, his reply came out in a nearly purr-like whisper. "Yeah… Never been better, actually…"

Hinata swore that she would have melted to a puddle of goo if she didn't have her dignity preventing her from such actions and the gnawing feeling that Naruto wasn't himself propping her on the back. However, even rational thoughts couldn't help her from feeling incredibly fluttery. A rosy color rose to her cheeks as she lowered her gaze to the green grass beneath her. Her toes absently fiddled with the small leaves when she tried to think of something smart to say. But failing, like many times already during the evening, she decided to shut up and let the silence surround them. It didn't take long for Naruto to break the silence, though.

"Are we still going to swim?" He prepared to put his plan into action as he waited patiently for Hinata to answer.

"Y- yeah, I- I'd like to", was her soft murmuring reply.

Naruto got up, knowing that Hinata would remain on the ground for a little while so that he'd get to the lake, and began to walk to the lake. But just as his foot touched the water he accidentally slipped on a water-slicked stone and miraculously, while flying in the air like the time had been slowed down, turned to face Hinata and landed over her. Hinata toppled backwards and firmly on her back as Naruto fell on her. Hinata braced herself from the fall instinctively and squinted her eyes shut, stiffening her neck to prevent the gravitation to yank her head uncomfortably to hit the ground. After the moment of shock was gone she noticed that something still wasn't in the way it should have been, because there was a weight on her body. Her eyes shot open as she felt Naruto's warm body against hers so tightly. Shocked, she tried to wriggle from under him. "What- what are you doing?!"

The demon hid a smirk and silently congratulated himself on succession to fulfill the plan's first stage. Ooh, he suddenly felt so alive again! Even though the arousing of a human body was different from the Fox's own experiences he enjoyed the feeling of the woman's lithe form against him -quite a lot, truth to be told. Ignoring her question, he pretended to be too shocked from the fall and didn't move.

Hinata was extremely uncomfortable in her position and tried to move away from him. It was not that wasn't aware of sex, she just wasn't expecting it to come out in a way like this.  She was scared of the change in Naruto. This wasn't the Naruto she loved! Suddenly, as if only now remembering that she had arms she brought them to his sides and tried to forcefully remove him but he was incredibly heavy comparing to what he looked like. Every part in her body screamed that it was wrong but she couldn't do anything about it. Finally giving up she resisted the urge to smack him across the face and instead let out a strangled yelp, "Get off!" She didn't want to think that it was Naruto who was lying on her in such an intimidating manner.  Her legs were tangled with his and she felt utterly helpless being pressed against the cold ground with a man who had, from the looks of it, gone completely mad.

Finally the Fox lifted his head and looked directly in her eyes making sure that she saw the pure lust in his eyes. Then he shackled her arms with his hands preventing her from moving them. He caught a glimpse of horror in her eyes but there was also a mortified glint in the look. She opened her mouth to scream at him and the Demon took the advantage of that move. Crushing his mouth to hers he muffled her cry, making her stiffen at the feeling of his hungry lips against hers. She was too shocked to do anything and that was just what the Fox had wanted. Grounding his legs between hers he saw her eyes opening wide at the sudden feeling. She managed to tear her mouth from his and gasped sharply, her face now white from the horror. She was nearly suffocating due to the weight on her chest.

"What's wrong with you?!" Hinata cried and tried to free her arms. Something was terribly wrong. Nothing in her life had felt as wrong as this! "Stop! P- Please stop! I don't want this!"

The Fox only gave her a despising look before lowering his mouth to her throat. He felt her squirming vigorously beneath her trying to free herself. Her accusing cries soon turned into pleading ones but the Demon was far too engulfed in his lust to bother to worry about her. She would give up in some time, anyways. It couldn't be helped that he had to do this to her. If she would have noticed his feelings earlier it would have been easier for the both of them. But apparently Hinata wasn't as helpless as she seemed to be; a grunt of pain escaped from the Demon's throat as she kneed him hard between the legs. His eyes flamed dangerously before he attacked her mouth again, nearly choking her with the force. Hinata tried to fight back but it was futile in front of Naruto's inhuman strength. Tears swelled in her eyes and poured down her cheeks, splashing to the ground.

He suddenly heard a faint voice in his head. It couldn't be--! His fears were affirmed as the voice screamed at him in violent volume. The brat who owned the Fox's residing place had woken from the deep sleep he was supposed to be in! How could this happen?! Were the boy's feelings for the girl so immense that they won the powers of the almighty Fox? He nearly howled in frustration at the complexity of human beings. Now he would once again be thrown back to that stinking prison the fourth Hokage had made, because even if he was in command now, the owner was in advantage when it came to controlling the body. The Fox had merely caged Naruto in the same jail he had been in but it seemed that the boy had gotten free. Nine Tails knew that Naruto would soon take over the body but he still had time to give Hinata a parting gift. He ducked down on her throat and bit down on her flesh hard, drawing out blood. He moved his tongue against the pulsing vein, licking the blood away. Hinata let out a small scream of surprise and tried to escape his iron grasp.

Then, unexpectedly Nine Tails went completely limp, giving Hinata time to muster her remaining strength and wriggle away from under him. But she had not even stood up when Naruto moved again. This time, though, he didn't attack her as she feared he would. Hinata felt a sharp-edged stone under her fingers and grasped it to use it as a weapon if necessary. Naruto stirred, blinked a few times and then turned his head towards Hinata who was still sitting on the ground, panting for air and looking more bewildered than ever before in her life. Naruto's head shot up and Hinata nearly jumped out of her skin when he sat up abruptly, with an expression of pure confusion on his face. Hinata's fingers tightened around the stone and she held her breath, as if trying to be invisible in front of Naruto.

Obviously failing at coming up with any clear explanation to why he had been lying on the ground with a stinging pain between his legs he looked at Hinata. The look in her face made him even more, if possible, surprised, as her eyes reflected only helplessness, confusion and fear. What had happened when he had been unconscious? Wait a minute--

Why had he lost consciousness?

Hinata stumbled backwards and tried wildly to think of an escaping route. Why hadn't she thought this could happen when she had decided to go to swim with him?! Why had she been so stupid? Of course a drunken, straight, perfectly healthy man would do something like that! It felt like there were two Narutos before her: a wild, animal-like one and the one who was kind and now sat utterly confused in front of her.

Naruto tried to think of an answer and finally decided that he had nearly drowned and then somehow managed to get on shore before losing consciousness. He suddenly realized that he was in front of a woman without a thread of cloth on him and tried to cover himself so that Hinata would not be plagued by the sight of him. But then again, why was she naked, panting and looking like a scared animal? His eyes lingered on her face and then he finally noticed the ugly-looking bruise on her throat. His eyebrows rose questioningly but before he could ask he counted together one plus one he came to a solution he couldn't believe.

"You slept with Kiba!"

Hinata looked like she had been slapped to the face. She couldn't have looked more insulted and she was just about to slam her hand to his cheek when she realized that Naruto didn't know what he had done. Her mouth opened in surprise but as much as she wished to utter something befitting the situation she only managed to incredulously snap a sharp word filled with pain and bitterness at him.

"W-what?!"

She rose to her feet, completely forgetting her nudity and took a step backwards. She had endured enough for one evening! He had nearly raped her (though she wondered why he didn't seem to remember it), nearly snapped her aorta with a bite and then accused her of sleeping with Kiba. She suddenly didn't feel like tolerating it at all. Tears reformed in her eyes as she stared at Naruto who didn't understand the offense in his question. Naruto looked somehow as lost as she was even though she didn't understand why. How did he not remember? Hinata took in a wavering breath and shuddered violently.

"You… Idiot!" The tears fell down her cheeks even though she tried to hide her weakness. Naruto rose up and looked nearly as confused as she did. He took a step closer, not knowing what made Hinata cry and tried to put a hand to her arm to comfort her. Her head snapped abruptly up and she slapped his hand away from her. Tumbling blindly backwards she didn't see were she was going and suddenly hit her back to a tree. That was the final poke to push her over the limit: she broke completely. Nearly screaming in confusion she slumped down not caring about the bits of bark that scratched her back. Tears were now freely running down her cheeks and she felt light-headed. White stars dotted her sight and she laid her head against the trunk to clear her mind. She felt like a tight fist was wrapped around something inside her and it hurt incredibly much, a pain she had never experienced before.

Naruto, clueless of what to do, sat down in front of her and this time she didn't slap him away as he clumsily set a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, I'm sorry", he apologized with his straightforward attitude. He really didn't understand why he had offended her so badly that she burst into tears. There was nothing wrong with sleeping with Kiba although he himself wouldn't do it. After a moment of silence between the two Hinata calmed down and wiped her face with her hand. Sighing, she faced Naruto and saw that he sincerely meant what he had said. She couldn't hate him forever for losing control for one minute, could she?

"Why would I sleep with Kiba?" she asked softly.

Naruto was still for a moment and then shrugged, not really knowing why. But then, if it hadn't been Kiba to mark her in such a brutal way it had to be--

Him.

He had done it. He had hurt her.

His eyes widened as he realized the truth like a splash of cold water to the face. "I- I didn't… Did I?" he stammered, not believing himself. How could he do such a thing to the kindest girl in the world?

Hinata smiled sadly, as if apologizing and shook her head a little, not wanting Naruto to start blaming himself of her fate. She lowered her eyes because she didn't want Naruto to see the lie that lay the. Only then did she notice his hand patting her shoulder soothingly and felt a jolt of nausea hit her. Was it due to his attack before that she couldn't stand his touch? She didn't want to not be ale to be near Naruto! She shook her head again, like trying to usher the thoughts away from her.

"Then… who?" Naruto didn't understand! There was no other possibility than that it had been him who had hurt her. But why didn't she blame him about it? He put his other hand on her free shoulder and pulled her up from leaning against the trunk so heavily that it bruised her back even more. Hinata didn't answer, only shuddered under his touch and closed her eyes. She was clearly in great discomfort and Naruto wondered if it was because of him. If he had indeed violated her then he could fully understand her reaction but how had he done such a thing to her? Then, the freezing water of truth spattered on his face again -it had been that fucking Nine Tails. All confusion in Naruto's head vanished and now the pieces matched each other terrifyingly well. He didn't remember because the Fox had somehow managed to sneak up on him and caged him to the prison and then had freely used his body as his tool. Not to talk about Hinata's.

The Fox had hurt her and Naruto couldn't forgive him that. Naruto slumped backwards, losing every sign of sanity in his mind. Naruto had been too weak to protect Hinata. Naruto had not been there to save her from the Demon. But Naruto's body had attacked Hinata and that was all she knew. He couldn't tell her he was the Nine Tails, could he? But how otherwise could he explain to her that he hadn't done it? He stared at the ugly wound on her throat, unable to break his gaze from it and unconsciously lifted his hand to the bruise. Hinata jumped at his touch and tried to move away but Naruto's hand on her shoulder prevented her from leaving. He knew that he was making the matters only worse if possible but he also had to explain to her somehow. Hinata went stiff as a rock and gathered her legs and arms close to her body using the limbs as a shield against him.

"Hinata, I- I'm sorry!" Naruto suddenly burst and searched for any kind of reply from her eyes. But when her eyes remained in the dull, silver color reflecting only his own face back at him he knew that it was in vain. He had already hurt her beyond all imaginable boundaries and she would probably never forgive him. But she had to understand! He had never thought that he would need to tell somebody about the fact that the Demon who had nearly destroyed the Leaf Village was living inside him. But apparently now was the time for that situation. "Please, listen to me before you decide to kill me."

Naruto sounded so affirming that Hinata had to look at him. The immensely apologizing expression in his eyes made some of her shield crumble and she nodded slightly, informing him that she wasn't gong to run away despite her own awful state. Naruto sighed in relief and pulled his hands back to his sides to give Hinata a more comfortable area. He drew in a deep breath, trying to think of the best way to tell her the truth. The whole truth. And what was a better way for telling the truth than to tell it without circling and avoiding, to just say it bluntly, without decorations?

"I'm the Nine Tailed Demon Fox."

He waited for a smack on the face, for a kick to the stomach but certainly no what Hinata did. Or rather, what she didn't do. She only stared at him with disbelief showing in her eyes more clearly than anything. She nearly snorted at how easily believing Naruto thought she was. In the same time it hurt terribly to think that he told such a lie to her to make her believe that it hadn't been him to use her. But instead of snorting a broken, bitter laughter escaped her lips. It echoed in the night hollowly and the hair at Naruto's neck in the strange voice. She could have forgiven him if he had only said that he had been the one who attacked her and had only lost his control over… male hormones or something. But why did he have to lie?

"D- Do you seriously think I'd believe that?" Even if she was humiliated, disappointed, betrayed and sad she couldn't help her voice from shaking. It was about time she learned that in this world, only strong survived. And if she wanted to be strong she couldn't have silly childhood crushes break her. That was the moment she decided she'd never fall in love again. If it hurt so much to be lied at by that precious person she never wanted to have one.

A silly childhood crush… That was what it was. Nothing more.

"But- what else can I tell you if not the truth?!" Naruto was nearly crying now. Resisting the urge to shake Hinata and beat some sense into her head he only grasped her shoulders and forced her to look into his eyes. And he was greeted by an icy look when his eyes met hers. There was no usual Hinata smiling back at him warmly, there was only an expression of one who has given everything and received nothing in return. Even if it felt futile he had to try. "How else could I have beaten Neji so many years ago? How else could I have survived all the fights I have gone through if not with the power of the Demon? You saw me fighting that day, against Neji--"

"No I didn't. So I don't have to believe you." Hinata's cold, unwavering voice halted him.

"But- but- please, you have to believe that it wasn't me, it was the Fox inside me! Please, Hinata!" Naruto pulled her close to him and pressed her tightly against his chest burying his face in her neck. Hinata didn't do anything, only stayed immobile as if she had frozen. That was what had happened, her feelings were now thrown inside a cube of ice and nothing could escape that jail. An expression of angriness and sadness mixed together vaguely crossed her features before she regained her control and forced her face to remain blank. Naruto noticed that she stiffened and pulled back to face her, only to see that she did not react to anything he did or said. Making alcohol freeze would have been easier than to read Hinata's mind.

How could she build up that horrendous wall around her like that? The Hinata Naruto wanted to hold was not there, as the Naruto Hinata had wanted to be with hadn't been there either. But to think that the most forgiving and kindest person of all could change so much made Naruto want to kill himself. He was the one who had turned her into the coldness so maybe it was right if Naruto would be thrown there, too. Naruto's hands sagged back to his sides but he didn't move away from her, still trying to make her believe him even though it was nearly impossible in her state. It was the act of a desperate man trying to hold on to his love as tightly as he could even when deep inside he knew that he would have to let her go. This decision was not for him to make, only for Hinata.

After what seemed like hours Hinata finally gathered enough strength to stand up. She leaned against the tree with one hand and looked down at Naruto. He was now the one whose face resembled an empty page in a book, as he stared before him with blank eyes. Hinata stepped away from him, not understanding herself why she felt like the matters were only getting worse. She had always been careful with everything. She had been slow with her feelings towards Naruto, she had been slow to get stronger, she had been slow to become the heiress of her family. But in one quick moment her life backstabbed her like this and crashed down on her. It wasn't fair. It just simply wasn't fair that she was treated like this when she had given her everything and received nothing but lies in return.

She walked silently to her clothes, pulled them on quickly and without a second glance back, left the forest clearing, her solace of peace, behind her back. There was nothing for her there, not peace anymore now that she knew that every time she would come there the memories of one deceiving night would come haunting her. Somehow, the feeling of hurt and weakness didn't decrease as she walked further away from the clearing. Somehow, she felt more like a betrayer than the betrayed.

Somehow, it all felt so very wrong.

Naruto stood up a long while after Hinata left, not cared about anyone worrying about him being away for so late. His brain couldn't make sense into it. He, too, vaguely remembered how clothes were worn and managed to, after three times of trying, pull his T-shirt and pants on. He stood in the middle of the clearing, staring with blind eyes to the sky as if demanding the answer from the stars. He didn't receive one but still continued his demand. Why was it so that he was always kicked at the head? Why was it that he always hurt those near him the most?

Why was it that he kept on asking these questions?

He walked up to the tree and could almost see Hinata standing before it, blushing like she had done when he had asked her to swim with him. Almost but not just. Then, without thinking, he turned around and opened his mouth in a silent cry as his fist hit a tree violently, making the bark fly with the blood from his knuckles. He heaved a few deep pants and then did the wisest thing he could come up with: smacked himself hard across the face, sending himself to topple to the ground on his back. He brought the back of his hand to his eyes, shielding them from the moon. "Shit."

In the middle of the forest, where the moon didn't cast its cold eye, a lone woman stood, staring at the ground before her feet. Nothing moved around her, nothing moved inside her. It was as if the world had stopped breathing, just so that this one person could hear her own heart. The silence continued until a wrecked sob escaped from somewhere between her mouth and chest, burst out and was left dully floating in the night air. No echo answered it and nothing reacted to it. The woman fell on her knees, then face flat on the ground and brought her hands to her head, clutching at the dark bangs desperately, trying to prevent herself from exploding.