Hyuuga Hinata opened her eyes and scanned around quickly.

White… Am I dead

"Oh good, your awake."

Startled Hinata sat bolt upright.

"What? Who? …"

After a moment she stopped and re-assessed her situation. She was not dead. In fact she was in a hospital. If the white walls hadn't given that away the nametag reading

"Hi, my name is
Berra
And I'm your nurse"

Would have been a dead give away.

"A..Anno Berra but um… w..Why am I here?"

"Hmm? Poor dear don't you remember anything? Pity we hoped you could tell us what had happened"

"W..Why do you say that Berra-sama?"

"Because from all accounts you just kind of popped into appearance in the middle of a crowded intersection. In fact, you were almost hit by a cart."

"Um… when was this?"

"Well let me think… its three o-clock now, so if you were out for five hours… about Ten-o-clock this morning."

Hinata's mouth hung open

"T…ten-o-clock?"

"You sound surprised Hinata-sama. What is the last time you remember?"

"I…But… but just before I set out it was five-o-clock AM… I was… I… I…"

Hinata then remembered the demon saying

"This is a pocket Universe time does not pass here. It will exist only as long as we fight."

Hinata toppled over again and the nurse clucked her tongue before checking to be certain the girl was still breathing.

"Poor dear, the shock must have gotten to her again"

With that she wrote a quick note and left.


Naruto woke up, as was his custom, he didn't open his eyes yet however.

You Baka Kitsune, Why oh WHY did I let you talk me into this training schedule.

Naruto lay there a few more moment waiting for an answer. When he didn't get one he cautiously opened one eye. It would have been JUST like Kyuubi to move him into the middle of a tree at night just HOPING for him to roll over. What Naruto saw however had him sitting upright in stark terror.

NANI! FLAMES? What in the name of KAMI-SAMA is going on?

Quickly he thought back. He could remember waiting with Kyuubi at the odd shadow palace, he remembered the banishing ritual or whatever it was that Kyuubi had used on him. He remembered the odd looking white Phoenix, and the discussion he remembered…

"Shit. They killed me. Man, Sensei is going to be SO pissed off. 'Sigh' Such was life I guess."

Naruto continued to look around the room. It was rouge hewn stone that was more or less unadorned and fires burned in all four of the corners.

Fire… so this is hell hmm? Odd I would have expected it to be hotter… wait if this is hell what's up with the bed?

Indeed now that he noticed it the bed he was laying on was pretty comfortable. It wasn't extravagant by any means, but it compared pretty well to his bed back in Konoha.

Hmmm I defiantly remember flames, then that odd tattoo on my arm flared up, and then…"

"Humph, you've finally woken up."

Naruto whipped his head around and stared, there hovering above one of the flames was a phoenix. It wasn't very large, but its coloration was the same as the feather had been.

"Who are you?"

"Apparently I'm the way you got in. Therefore I am your guardian until such a time as the elders are willing to listen to you."

"Guardian?"

Asked Naruto in a flat voice. The Phoenix gave him an arrogant smirk.

"To be honest Warden would probably be a more accurate term. It appears that you found the feather I lost in that bar while attempting to locate the Kitsune Kyuubi."

Naruto looked at the bird and frowned.

"Why exactly were you looking for Kyuubi-sensei?"

The phoenix gave an unmistakable start.

"What do you mean by SENSEI?"

Naruto snorted.

"I asked you first."

"You are OUR prisoner"

"I am no-body's prisoner, you may detain me at the moment, but I come and go as I choose. I am my own master and none shall hinder me for as long as I live. I have passed through the flame and been found worthy, you will speak to me as an equal or not at all. I am Uzumaki Naruto, and I have said all I intend to say."

Naruto wasn't sure why he had added the bit about the flame but a calculating look entered into the phoenix's eyes. There had been one other human who had been found worthy in all the long years since the Uzumaki, and HE hadn't made it past the second test. Although this human probably would not either, the Phoenix could not help but be just a little bit impressed in spite of himself. (No small feat ) Here was a human who was at an obvious dis-advantage and yet he held himself with the utmost poise and dignity. On top of that knowingly or not he exhibited courage, and a purity of heart rarely seen among humans.

Naruto gazed unblinking into the eyes of the phoenix before him wishing desperately that he dared to blink. One of the last pieces of advice that Kyuubi had given him was to appear as unruffled and, outwardly at least, as imputable as he possibly could. In fact Naruto could nearly hear his voice… If nothing else it will show to them that you are utterly unafraid to meet them as equals. If you truly wish to mend the past you must accomplish that above all else, for the phoenix will NEVER give allegiance to one they do not see as an equal

Well Kyuubi, if arrogance is seen as assurance then I've made a good start, if it isn't I'm probably dead.

The Phoenix however interrupted his musings.

"Well if you are quite finished, you have been granted an audience with the lord of the eternal flame."

This could get interesting

Once again Naruto was engulfed in flames.


Hinata awoke again. The shadows didn't seem to have shifted much across the room. She sat up in bed and looked around again.

I wonder how long I was out this time.

Hinata was about to get out of bed when her teammates walked in.

"Good morning Hinata-chan"

They said in unison and then after a quick look at each other they walked over and sat at the foot of her bad.

"Hinata-chan" started Ten-ten "We feel that we need to speak to you of something quite important."

"But before we do I think me need to make some exceptionally clear points about what happened last night." Said Ino fishing the sentence for her.

Hinata was beginning to get a little bit worried. After all as far as she could tell all that they knew was that she had failed to come back last night…

"To start out with I… WE both feel that we need to apologize to you. I don't know what it was that happened to you, but Ino and I both agree that we shouldn't have left you to care for us." Said Ten-ten

"We trust you implicitly" Ino hastened to add "But you shouldn't have been burdened with a couple of teammates who couldn't have defended themselves. That is unfair to you, also…"

Again Ino and Ten-ten shared a look

"I believe that we may have suggested some… less than appropriate Ideas. In fact I vaguely remember you dissuading me from having some… less than ladylike behavior."

Hinata meanwhile was blushing from embarrassment. Normally she was the one doing the apologizing. The fact that her new team-mates felt they owed her an apology was a new experience for her. So when both of her teammates got up and sank to their knees she almost died of mortification.

"Can you forgive us Hinata-chan?"

Hinata nearly choked,

"A..Anno um please get up. I..I don't deserve this… Its not your fault."

Ino and Ten-ten stood back up.

"So, what did Happen Hinata-chan?" said Ten-ten

"Yes, where did you go?"

Hinata didn't really want to go over it all, but under the steady gazes of her friends she told them most of the story. For some reason she didn't feel that they needed to know that the necklace was the problem. She did tell them that the demon were looking for a key, but she left out the part where they claimed that Naruto's necklace was the key they were looking for. Ino and Ten-ten were a good audience, they gasped at all the right places and Ten-ten even gave a little gasp when Hinata told about the demons unfolding their wings. Ino visibly trembled when she head that the 64 point attack had no effect on them.

"Wow Hinata and they thought that you had this key?"

"Um, yes I suppose that they did"

"So, how did you defeat them?"

"I…I don't know." Hinata hung her head "all I remember is a bright flash of white light and then… I woke up here."

"Well Hinata-chan you certainly deserve your rest, Kurenai-sensei stopped by earlier but apparently you were still asleep at that point. The hospital staff says you should be able to move around in a couple of days. Apparently you were almost completely out of chakra."

"Don't worry though; Kurenai will stop in again later."

"Anno um I don't mean to be rude, but will one of you return Naruto-kun's necklace for me?"

Both of the girls gave her an odd look.

"What? What did I say?"

"How" Said Ino leaning forward "did you get your hands on Naruto-kun's necklace?"

"And why" said Ino "didn't you tell us you had it sooner?"

"Um well you see, just after I went back to the bar, I noticed that Naruto-kun had dropped his necklace."

"This was before the demons jumped you?"

"y…yes"

"Hmmm, well good thing you kept it, he'll probably want it back"

Thank Kami-Sama that they are to busy thinking about Naruto-kun to think about the implications.

"Ummm I… I assumed so."

"Well, just hand it to me, and I give it to him" said Ino

"Or I can" chimed in ten-ten.

The two gave each other evil looks before both held out a hand to Hinata. Who was beginning to look worried.

"Well?" Said Ino "where is it?"

Hinata reached up to where the pendant was hanging and grabbed… Air?

Oh NO they GOT IT.

Hinata felt like weeping, in fact she would have if she hadn't been so tired. Ino and Ten-ten saw this and forgot about the necklace in their haste to tuck Hinata in. They made certain that she had plenty of blankets and fussed over so much that Hinata finally fell asleep while they argued about the correct number of blankets necessary to keep a sick person warm. Hinata's last thought before drifting off to sleep was to regret losing Naruto's necklace for him.


While this was happening Uchiha Sasuke was getting a little bit desperate. He had been allowed to move about under ANBU escort, but for the last couple of days he had stayed close to home. When Tsunade came by to visit him on the second he had explained away the lost patch of hair as having an accident while training. She obviously didn't buy it, but she could easily guess what had happened even if she said nothing. Sasuke on the other hand had decided that he couldn't stay in his manor forever and so on the third morning after the 'Nara Incident', as the ANBU called it, He went out walking again.

Naruto, I know now at least a little bit what it must have been like for you. All these cold looks. Hell the only people that don't give me cold looks or worse are the type of people that I wouldn't want to be seen in public with. You may not have been liked much, but it appears that death has softened your image in the eyes of many villagers.

Sasuke sidestepped deftly as the man who ran the Raman shop spit on the path in front of him.

The worst part of this is that I can agree with most of their attitudes. 'Sigh' you probably had no clue what kind of effect you had on people. Honestly I don't know if you ever will. Well, there is nothing I can do about it now. I know that you live, but as part of my re-admittance I have sworn not to reveal that information.

Without thinking he caught a stone thrown at him from a little boy in front of the flower shop that Ino's family ran.

I tried to talk to Kiba yesterday… His mom met me at the door and swore that she'd set the dogs on me If I wasn't out of her sight in under three seconds. I haven't even TRIED Shino's place. I don't think that I want to… Chouji avoids me like the plague, Neji has already SHOWN how much HE hates me. Hell, from what little I can gather the Hyuuga's are just WAITING for me to come to close to their mansion. There are so few people left that I dare even ask for forgiveness. To be honest I think that I will be an outcast until the day that YOU are willing to forgive me Naruto. Even then the best I can hope for is to be tolerated…IF you accept me back that is.

Sasuke walked along in silence for a while longer. Trying this problem from every angle. He had attempted to see Kakashi a day or so ago, but he had been 'Occupied' from what Sasuke could see Kakashi and several of the other Jounin were playing cards and drinking. That alone was a rare thing to see, so Sasuke hadn't pressed. Nor had he gone back. Mainly because Kakashi had been sitting in the middle of the floor meditating when he had looked in window, and shortly after his knock he had heard a couple for 'Puff' sounds. He recognized them, it was the same sound he heard whenever Naruto made shadow clones.

The only person that I haven't visited is Sakura, and after what I said to her even I am not foolish enough to think that she still harbors any feelings toward me.

Sasuke drifted off toward the Hokage monument. A short time before the Chuuin exam he had been wandering around trying to lose his fan club when he had seen Naruto slip away through a tree. Normally Sasuke would have assumed that he was off to play one prank or another, but Naruto was rumored to have hiding places that not even the ANBU could find. Sasuke had followed him about half way there when he decided that following the dobe would only make him look a fool. Besides as far as Sasuke could tell Naruto was making a beeline for a blank wall.

Well, I have nothing better to do. Perhaps it's time to see where it is that dobe went.

With this thought he walked under the shade of a tree, and for all purposes, disappeared.

Moments later the four ANBU that had been following him stopped in confusion. Scanning left and right they attempted to find Sasuke's trail, but they had lost him.

"You don't think he was kidnapped do you?" said the bear mask

"Nope even that traitor couldn't have captured without a trace." Said the eagle

The wolf interjected "Reminds me of that disappearing trick that Naruto used to pull, you remember it don't you?"

"How could I forget" Said the cat "but never fear, he has twenty four hours to return, after that." She cracked her knuckles "we get to start hunting Uchiha."

"Think we should tell the Hokage?" asked the bear

"Why bother?" asked the wolf

"Because the Hokage has taken a special interest in this case" said the cat

The eagle shrugged "as you wish"

With that the four of them disappeared toward the Hokage tower.


Looking up into those great burning eyes Naruto couldn't quite suppress a quiver, he dropped his gaze. Monato Siame lord of the phoenix and keeper of the eternal flame gave a triumphant grin, he and this annoying brat had simply sat and stared at each other for the last hour and a half. Neither had said much and either had blinked only once a minute, even that small movement was quite a concession for either. Until Naruto dropped his eyes neither had spoken, Monato did so now.

"It is as I suspected, my mind is the stronger, see how the pathetic human quivers in anticipation of my displeasure? See how he trembles in fear?"

With each word the pitch of his voice had grown louder. The last word was said at a roar with the entirety of the assembled beating their wings.

"See how this worms shak.."

"You are mistaken."

It was a simple statement but the force and utter certainly it held made it carry throughout the entire hall. In seconds the hall went from resounding uproar to absolute silence.

"You see,"

Said the voice growing more silent with each word

"I am not so easily cowed as that. You have mistaken my intensions 'Oh Mighty Monato'"

Even as quiet as he was the words were they reverberated throughout the hall, sarcasm nearly dripping off the title.

"It is not fear that makes me tremble,"

Suddenly Naruto whipped his head up and looked directly into the eye of the Phoenix before him

"It is eagerness"

Monato tried his best to maintain his gaze, he held his head with a feverish might, but in a meager minute he was forced to look away again.

This is FAR to much like the last time I faced an Uzumaki, Last time it was shame that dropped my gaze, this time…

He shivered

Such intensity.

Naruto continued to hold his gaze until the Phoenix before him was shifting uncomfortably before him. Finally allowing his gaze to drift around the room Naruto was pleased to find that there were none present who could hold under his gaze for more then a few seconds. It was said that god made man and gave him dominion over all the beasts of the earth. To a few he also gave power over the beings the held dominion over the foundations of the earth and the keys to the pillars of heaven. Uzumaki Naruto was of the latter. His gaze said that were none that he feared and very few that he had found to be his equal. This was not arrogance, just a silent truth that shone in the eyes of the once-hyper ninja.

Clearing his thought roughly Monato Siame keeper of the eternal flame managed to bring the abashed attention of the Coven back to himself.

"What is it that you want?

He had been about to attempt to re-enforce his position by calling Naruto 'child' as he had to Uzumaki in generations past. But when Naruto turned to look at him again the word had frozen in this mouth. The look the boy fixed on him made him want to shiver like a newly hatched fledgling.

"I do not require much."

Said Naruto in that deceptively quiet voice again (This was something he had learned from studying when Ikura sensei was at his most effective form.)

"Once long ago there was a great wrong committed."

The entirety of the Coven shifted slightly. None liked the fact that this HUMAN might have more leverage than that gaze held. That was quite enough for anyone to possess.

"This wrong was laid at the feet of a certain clan. They acknowledged the wrong and attempted to make reparations."

Again the Phoenix stirred. This time only the older three fourths however as the rest were to young too know what he was speaking about.

"Unfortunately the head of the clan that was wronged was foolish and hard headed to a fault. He refused the reparations, and in the process trampled a centuries old agreement between the two clans."

Now the wisest turned their heads to look at Naruto more clearly. In the beginning it had been doubted that the Uzumaki had any living members, rumor said that all had been killed when the Kyuubi had attack some obscure (to the Phoenix anyway) village in fire country. The fact that the self proclaimed guardian would turn on his country remarked on more then the fact that the blood debt had died unpaid. It seemed to many of the elders that they might have been wrong however.

"To the best of my knowledge I am the last remaining member of the once mighty Uzumaki clan. So, to the restoration or ruin of my clan I now stand before you. I will not bow in supplication as some of my ancestors did. I call upon you to once again offer the ancient oaths. I will not demand reparations, for both sides have been washed in blood a thousand times over. I simply request a new beginning for myself. I offer a chance to repay a debt that has stood for thousands of years, but I do not demand it. I offer you a choice,"

Naruto paused to think quickly, he had been going over that little speech in his head for the last hour, just hoping for the right time to use it… Now it was time to drive in the last of the speech and then let them decide.

"I hand you your honor, make a decision do you choose continued dishonor in the eyes of the last Uzumaki or will you choose the path of honor, swallow your pride, and ask again for forgiveness. I give you twenty four hours to decide. In that time I will wait in my rooms. You," Naruto pointed to the youngest present "will return me."

The young phoenix gave only the slightest twitch of it's head toward the Majestic lord on his seat of power. At the slight nod both he and Naruto once again vanished in a puff of flame.


Naruto sat in the center of the floor in the room assigned to him. He had sat meditating since he left the council room almost a day ago.

Now time will tell, according to Kyuubi twenty four hours will seem a short deadline to them, and an eternity to me. But it must be done, and if I am correct the deadline is approaching rather rapidly.

At the slight sound created by four phoenix appearing he couldn't help but give a satisfied smile.

Now is the time He thought to see what blood flows in my veins. Father I WILL make you proud.


Akugin Ashura: Thank you

nonengel: thank you, I know that He's a little bit OOC, but it's only around sasuke, Shikamaru might be relaxed as all hell whenever possible, but I get the feeling that he'll fight to the death to protect his friends. A traitor should just burn at the soul of someone like that.

boredathome:NOOOOOO you CAN'T steal my sourse of pleasure you CANT! On a lighter note I was tempted to blame my lack of posting on you just to watch the rest stone you, but it wouldn't have been true so I couldn't bring myself to do that. So tempting though.
PS. I realize that you probably respond more to Hinata in danger than you do naruto because lets face it, the story can go on without Hinata, it really can't without Naruto.

Timeshifter: 'shrug' My problem is that I LOOK like a jock... well an athlete anyway. There is Irony in this somewhere. I look like a jock, act like a confidant and read like a bookworm. As for the endings... Whats the point of sleeping if your mind doesn't have something to do? cliffys are fun to dream about, thats why I write them. I made this one a lesser cliffy for you piece of mind however.

Monaki-cheung: I KILLED Hinata-chan? How DARE you even INSINUATE that I'd do such a thing-) sorry I took so long to update, I know it hasn't been explained yet, but it will be.

Kitsune-Itai: (Blandly) Naruto's just going to come back and everyonce will be Buddy-buddy again? Pshaw! How boring would THAT be? I'm going to make the little shit WORK to get back their trust. that is of course IF I let him get it back... I probably will eventully, I may even give him the killing blow on snake boy in the distant future... I haven't decided how soon Naruto is going to come back. It's got to be long enough to make Sasuke stew in his own juices and yet soon enough to keep him from blaming Naruto again... a fine balance you see.

Dragon Man 180: I was actully tempted to do just that, but I decided to let... something else happen... I'll tell you in a chapter or two.

To everyone:Sorry it took so long, I know that I left you all at a cliffy, and that it was evil of me, but I really did mean to finish sooner. Unfortunatly life cut in again, I hope none of you hate me... 'sigh' I guess what is to be will be though... In the bright side I got lots of in-depth reviews this time, Keep um coming! Thanks, Now and always,

Sincerly,
Manatheron