For the next ten minutes an outside observer would have had a hard time following what was going on. Even Copy- Kakashi or Sasuke would have had a difficult time keeping up with the sheer speed the two fighters were moving at. From time to time both Naruto and Rekku attempted to do hand seals, but even basic Jutsu's like Kawarimi took far too long to activate, and things as simple as climbing a tree using chakra would have taken to much concentration away from the fight at hand, Parry and thrust, attack an counterattack. The two were barely visible blurs crossing the clearing.


Where are you Hinata-Chan?

Kurenai and Ten-ten had attempted to follow Hinata when she darted into the forest after Naruto, only to find that the raging snowstorm turned them in circles inside of two minutes.

"Sensei!"

Yelled ten-ten

"Without Hinata to guide us we are only going to get more lost. Face it somewhere in this woods there are two very powerful chakra signatures, but with this blizzard it's just too difficult to track them. We need to find shelter before we freeze!"

Kurenai had been about to reply when she had suddenly felt a chakra spike and then…

"Ten-ten! JUMP!"

Luckily for them both ten-ten and Kurenai jumped aside just in time. Seconds later a bar of flame blazed through the area they had been standing.

"Kurenai-sensei, I REALLY don't want to get any closer than we have to! I know that Hinata is around somewhere, but even with her eyes there is no way of knowing where the fight is. I say we dig in and take shelter until the storm blows over."

Nodding at her Kurenai began to dig into the snow bank, making a crude shelter for the two of them.

I'll find you when this is over Hinata. Don't worry; I don't leave my friends behind.


Jiraiya was currently deep in contemplation.

Damn am I glad that the moron didn't bother with a basic chakra sweep. I'd be hung and dried by now. I wonder who the guy that saved me is? The chakra seems familiar, but there is still something… odd about it.

Almost an hour ago Jiraiya had felt a brief flare of energy that he had thought was Naruto, at least it felt a lot like Naruto's chakra had when he pulled power from Kyuubi. After a few moments however Jiraiya had dismissed it as something else for two main reasons. The first being that it didn't have the bloodlust or evil he associated with Kyuubi's chakra and the second being the fact the moments later a SECOND chakra had flared up that DEFINATLY had killer intent. But where Kyuubi's chakra had always seemed to burn with intensity, this new demon chakra had seemed Ice cold.

Well, the bleeding has finally stopped. Lucky for me there was a rabbit that was to close to the battle, or he would have had me for certain that time. I wonder. Perhaps I can get just a LITTLE closer…

After a moment Jiraiya did just that. Skirting the edges of the newly formed pond (Naruto's tremor attack had tapped into an underground stream) Jiraiya was cautiously making his way closer to the fight when he hit his head.

OUCH! KAMI DAMMIT, THAT HURTS! WHAT THE HELL DID I HIT ANYWAY? THERE'S NOTHING IN FRONT OF ME!

Actually there IS something in front of you, you just can't see it.

Of course there isn't. The only thing that could possib… WAIT ONE DAMN MINUTE, WHO ARE YOU AND HOW ARE YOU READING MY THOUGHTS?

Calm down. Shit your loud aren't you? No wonder kit was so excitable.

Wait, you must be Kyuubi. Tsunade told me that you were training Naruto… where are you? Where is the kid? And why the HELL aren't you with him?

Mentally Kyuubi was doing the equivalent of rubbing his temples.

Alright already. If you stop YELLING I'll answer. Yes I'm Kyuubi, Yes I'm training Naruto, I'm almost directly in front of you, he's fighting that Rekku fellow. And I'm trapped in a pentagram… I think that covers them all. Now, give me a hand getting the hell out of here.

And why should I do that?

Because if you don't your practically handing all my knowledge to the Akatsuki.

Good enough reason I suppose, alright how strong is the pentagram?

He used the five major characters.

...You're screwed. That's permanent, no way out.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, now shut up and listen. It's not a complete seal yet and I found a way through, unfortunately it's going to require a lot of concentration on your part.

Alright what do I need to do?

Do you know the five part unsealer?

Yes.

Alright, use that against the barrier, but add the fox symbol to the end as a focus. If you can bore through at one point I should be able to rip a hole big enough to escape from.

Here goes.


Back in the clearing Rekku and Naruto had finely broken up for a few seconds both were panting and both were obviously tired despite there respective chakra sources.

"You're quite good with that thing kid. Sure you won't re-consider? We could make you great you know."

One minute, All I need if for you to drop your guard for one damn minute. Then I've got you.

"I told you before creep. There isn't a snowballs chance in hell that I'll join you. So stop asking."

Circling each other carefully the two fighters kept a wary eye on each other. Once again however Rekku was planting seals in the ground on each pass. What he didn't realize however was that Naruto was dropping seals right on top of his, as well as on the opposite side of the circle.

"So, what now kid? Are we going to call this one a stalemate?"

"Nope. I still owe you for what you did to Hinata-Chan and Ero-sennin."

"Well if you don't want a draw…"

Rekku stopped directly across from where he had placed the seals. Naruto stopped directly above them.

"Then it's a pity you won't have anyone to save you again. Unseal: Suspend-no Jutsu"

To his surprise Naruto just smiled

"Unseal: Counter: Siphon-no-Jutsu."


Alright Kyuubi, do your thing, I don't think that I can hold this much longer.

OK, here goes nothing.


Rekku jumped, but he wasn't quite fast enough. There was a brief flare of light, and then… Staggering Rekku was forced to work his arm in an attempt to get his chakra circulating again.

"OK kid, that's a new one. Who taught you that move?"

"Kyuubi."

"Kyuubi… ah yes, I had nearly forgotten about him."

Unfortunately for Naruto the fact that Rekku had managed to dodge the main part of the siphon meant that he already had full use of his arm again.

Running through a quick series of seals before Naruto could react Rekku gave a triumphant smile as the pentagram flared up again with Kyuubi obviously still trapped inside.

"Checkmate kid. I don't know how you were drawing power from him while he was trapped, but Kyuubi is totally cut off now. There is no escape, and no way to break the pentagram anymore."

Once again Naruto's emotions nearly overcome him. In the space of a few hours he had lost three of his precious people because he couldn't act first enough. First Jiraiya, all that was left of him was a blood spray at the edge of the clearing. Then Hinata, who was still frozen in the act of pushing him out of the way, and now Kyuubi. His constant companion for the last couple of years. Naruto almost broke down right there. Rekku seeing an apparent weakness in Naruto's stance suddenly rush in, intent on delivering the final blow he didn't realize what was happening until it was too late.

I've got him. One more threat down and one more obstacle out of the way. Goodbye kid your going to a better… wait. WHAT THE HELL!

Even as Naruto's emotions threatened to overwhelm him his new knowledge was combining with his rage. Out of sight Naruto had begun performing a Jutsu that was rapidly becoming a trade mark for him. Ducking under Rekku's sword stroke at the last moment Naruto thrust his hand into the Akatsuki chest and whispered.

"Rasengan."

Blood flew everywhere, no small amount of which was Naruto's. He had ducked the blade true, but he had failed to notice the Kunai that Rekku had thrown before charging. He had therefore also been hit in the chest. Even worse was that Rekku had used his demon's chakra to re-enforce the power behind it. The blade had passed all the way through Naruto's chest, and the chakra that had been used to power the blade up almost completely destroyed one of his lungs in the passage. Rekku on the other hand fared even worse. He had taken a Rasengan directly to the heart, if that wasn't enough Naruto had released the winds the moment his hand made contact. The damage, extensive as it was, wasn't beyond Numaka (the demon yeti if you forgot). That is of course, until you counted the additional damage to both lungs, as well as the blood veins and chakra paths. Rekku was as good as dead, and he knew it. Rekku was dead, and Naruto was seriously hurting.

"Hahaha. You got me good kid."

Rekku's breathing was becoming more labored even as the fragments of his heart attempted to keep circulating his blood. Naruto on the other hand remained where he was. Kneeling, just behind Rekku Naruto was starting to feel the depression that Kyuubi had spoken of set in. Already the memories he had received were fading, and the loss of knowledge was almost as painful as his physical wounds.

"One question… How? We've been watching you for some time, but I've never sent that weapon before, and you've never practiced any of those Jutsu's before either? Where did you get them?"

"K…Kyuubi"

Naruto was having a hard time focusing; His chest wound just wasn't closing. Naruto had become used to Kyuubi healing him almost instantly; it wasn't Kyuubi's chakra that had done it. Chakra in itself didn't heal a thing, it required direction, and Naruto had already lost that portion of Kyuubi's memories.

"H..he gave me… his m..memories when I spoke to him. They are fading so fast though… so f..fast. why? I knew it all. Everything he knew I did to. Amazing Jutsu's, lost seals, even the entire history of the world… all of i..it, it's a..all fading."

Rekku's vision was fading. He had only moments left, yet he felt that he had to throw out one last comment.

"So it was just luck after all. Good fight anyway kid… and because you were such a good opponent I'll give you a little advice. Run. When I die the world is going to go white, and I doubt that even your pretty flames will protect you enough. And the best part is… you'll never make it. Bye kid. See you in hell."

Naruto had only moments to react. He was about to spring away from the gathering chakra he felt when his eyes fell on the statue of Hinata only five feet away.

Hinata-Chan.

Naruto jumped toward the remains of one of his precious people.

A least I can leave a body for your father to bury.

And true to Rekku's word the world went white.


Kyuubi and Jiraiya sat breathing hard, neither said anything, but both were thinking about the same blonde haired young ninja. Both of them had gotten very lucky. Kyuubi had gotten lucky because just after escaping from the pentagram (and leaving a shadow clone behind) he had witnessed the chakra flare up that marked the pentagram becoming permanent. Jiraiya was lucky because after witnessing Rekku's demise Kyuubi had realized what was likely to come next. They had both run for it after watching Naruto jump across the body in an attempt to escape. Both were now feeling guilty about their decision now, but neither could have done anything considering the fact that they where both almost out of chakra from breaking the pentagram. Jiraiya was the first to speak, yelling to be heard above the roaring blizzard that was radiating out from the clearing he said

"Do you think he made it?"

Even with his exceptional hearing Kyuubi had a hard time understanding what it was Jiraiya had asked, but after a few seconds of contemplation he answered

"I'd say he had one chance in five. With that kids luck I'd say he got out no problem."

"Eh?"

After repeating the comment five times Kyuubi was finally able to get the sannin to hear him.

"Good. But I think we may need to find shelter this storm might last a WHILE."

Suddenly blinking Jiraiya peered cautiously around the tree that he and Kyuubi were hiding behind.

"I think it's done."

Kyuubi said in a regular tone of voice

"Err. Sorry about shouting that last word in your ear. I didn't expect the storm to die so soon."

"No worries, I understand. Well, what should we do? Night is falling soon; do we look for the kid in that?"

Kyuubi jerked a thumb over his shoulder toward the center of the clearing which was now buried in forty foot snowdrifts

"Or do we set up camp for the night and look for the kid in the morning."

Jiraiya thought for a moment before answering.

"We set up camp. If the kid is alive he'll either be doing the same thing, or he'll be searching for us."

Kyuubi nodded before starting to carve a windbreak into the side of a snowdrift

"So tell me Jiraiya-Sama have you ever read Ichi- Ichi- paradise? It's got to be one of my favorite stories."

Beaming with pride Jiraiya responded

"Kyuubi, I think you and I are going to get along just fine."


Naruto on the other hand was faring MUCH worse. Battered and broken Naruto had collapsed. After springing across Rekku Naruto had managed to throw up his strongest possible fire shield between himself and the twisted remains of his foe when the body had exploded. Snow and Ice chunks had immediately blown him backward into Hinata's frozen body. Several times chunks of Ice had broken though the shield. Only by throwing himself in front of Hinata's body had Naruto managed to keep his Hina statue intact. The cost was pretty heavy though, Naruto had broken two ribs and punctured his other lung in the process of his protection, he had also managed to break his left leg and right arm. After he had broken his leg Naruto hadn't even bothered trying to watch the incoming threats. He had knelt down and wrapped his arms protectively around Hinata.

I'm so sorry Hinata, if I had only been a little faster. Or a little bit more attentive I could have save you from this.

Naruto hardly noticed when the hits stopped coming. Had he looked up he would have realized that the snow had piled high enough to prevent the larger part of the attack from hitting him any more. At the moment he was just a little to distracted by other things. Hinata had started to melt. Slowly the ice had fallen off her face and clothes, Naruto, couldn't stop himself, he ran his fingers through her damp hair, and wiped away the trickle of water that had begun running down her face. Closing his eyes Naruto buried his face in her hair and whispered.

"I'm so very sorry Hinata-Chan."

"Sorry for what Naruto?"

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you how much I liked you, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you how much your encouragement meant to me. I'm sorry that…"

Naruto's voice trailed off,

"H… Hinata-Chan?"

Naruto jerked his head back and his fingers froze stopping where they had been running through her hair moments before.

"Y… You're alive?"

Hinata giggled. Sometime during the attack she had woken to find Naruto holding her tightly. At the time her mind had been working sluggishly but as she had warmed up further she had heard Naruto whispering to her, and decided to answer.

"Yes Naruto-kun, I'm alive,"

Reaching up Hinata took Naruto's hand from her hair and positioned it just below her collarbone.

"Can't you feel my heart beating?"

Looking away Naruto blushed and stammered out.

"H…hia."

Hinata was wondering what had suddenly made Naruto so nervous when it struck her where she had placed his hand. Bare centimeters above her…

"Eeep"

Dropping Naruto's hand it was Hinata's turn to blush.

"S..sorry Naruto-kun"

"Heh no problem Hinata-cha…"

Suddenly Naruto collapsed backwards his hand clutching his now ruined lung.

"NARUTO-KUN"

Surprising herself Hinata darted forward and caught Naruto. Managing to soften the jarring to his broken body.

"Looks like this one is going to be a little harder to fix neh hina-chan?"

Hinata's eyes began to tear up. Looking over the wounds that Rekku had inflicted Hinata realized that there was no way she could possibly keep him alive long enough for a search party to arrive with a medic.

"Am I that bad Hinata-Chan?"

Hinata couldn't say anything. Through the silent tears she managed to nod.

"Looks like I'm going to have to get some help then."

"N…Naruto. I..It's I… I can't."

"Shhh I know it's pretty bad Hinata-Chan but don't worry I'll find a way to…"

Naruto's voice trailed off as one of Kyuubi's memories floated through his mind. In his head he watched though Kyuubi's eyes as a man who looked vaguely like himself was instructed by a black phoenix.

"And should your body ever be broken beyond repair, call to us. We will not fix you completely, but we will do enough to ensure your survival until another can finish the job."

"Hinata, I think I know what I need to do, but unfortunately you won't be able to come with me."

"I know Naruto-kun… but before you die I really need to tell you that I Lo…"

Naruto raised his hand and covered Hinata's mouth.

"I need you to carry some messages for me Hinata-Chan. Tell Tsunade-baba what happened, and if you run into sensei tell him that I'll be back. I don't know when but I WILL return you hear?"

Taking his hand away from her mouth Naruto only listened to the first words out of her mouth.

"Of course Naruto-kun."

Was what he heard. What she said was

"Of course Naruto-kun, we will all return on the last day. But before you go I really need to tell you that…"

This time Hinata was cut off by the sight of Naruto dipping his thumb in the blood in his chest and running it down the tattoo of a feather on his right arm.

"Juichoise no Jutsu"

Letting his hand fall to the ground Hinata was shocked to see a small red bird spring up. The bird wasn't the surprising part though. The surprising thing was that it spoke.

"Whatcha want Kid?"

"Get me to the boss I'm hurt badly, tell him I need the last rights healing ceremony."

Looking up and down Naruto's body the phoenix emitted a sharp trilling that sounded a lot like a whistle.

"Damn, you sure know how to mess up your body kid."

"Hurry up will you? It's getting hard to breathe, and I'm willing to bet that all the blood leaking out of my chest isn't a good thing."

"Alright here we go."

Hinata watched in awe as both Naruto and the bird disappeared in twin puffs of flame.

I missed my chance again.

With that Hinata sat down and cried.


Me: OK first things first. I don't know wether to laugh or cry. out of everybody who responded only two people got mad at me for appearently killing off Jiraiya earlier in the fight. everyone else just swore to break every bone in my body if I didn't bring back Hinata.

Naruto:'BLEHHH' Thats right Ero-Sannin they like Hinata-chan better than they like you.

Jiraiya: Impertinant punk, just you wait, I'll get you yet.

Me: Anyways... I just kind of found that funny. so, on with the reviews.


Sleepy Kitty:
'snaps a quick picture and then hides camera' Yup funny how that works isn't it?

boredathome:
Yes, unfortuantly it has. Did you know that if you sign up will send you an e-mail when authors on your watch list update? Oh yes. He is dead, and she's not. good enough? ;)

Dragon Noir:
OK, glad you approve of the pairings, as for the questions I missed last time; It's a secret, Yes, Yes, He's not a summons freak, Not yet but maby later, Yes, He got beat, Sit inside the circle when caught, OK, and the number three is fine.

Darak:
As you see I didn't, and your wrong. Naruto's raw power is roughly equaly to a sannin, but he has a LONG way to go before he's on the same level. He was able to fight on-par because Kyuubi gave him a temporary memory dump which is fading fast. This is going to lead to depression, fighting, and fluff. Probably in that order. just wait and see before you judge.

Dragon Man 180:
Your right, they were. Unfortuantly where I picked this story up Haku was alrady dead. however for comic releaf I might have to do a scene of Haku kicking the crap out of Rekku with Kami as the ref. As for Gaara, he knows that naruto has a demon, and that shukaku isn't as strong. He's going to stay the hell away for a while.


Alright People, One more chapter down. Probably one more and i'll end this arc and start number three. or perhaps I'll just keep going... we'll see. Thank you to everyone who I didn't answer specifically, even if I didn't say anything directly I want you all to know that I greatly value your input. Keep it coming. Also, I think I said this before, but I'll say it again. I'm accepting challenges for one-shots. so if you have a set up you'd like to see, write me an e-mail and I might just do it. No Yoai requests though please (male male matches) I don't much care for those types of stories.

Thanks, Keep reviewing.

Sincerly,
Manatheron