Downfall of the Light 2
Chapter 9: Acquaintances Reunite
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Warcraft3. I have been saying this for almost as long as I can remember, so don't sue, because I need my funds to get into college or university! I am already poor, don't make me any worse or this story will literally die! Yes, die so none of you will see another update!
Legend:
"...": Speech
'...': Thoughts
Scenario changes are listed in bolded italic brackets!
AN: Nothing can be said about my late update. My reasons, you ask? It's always the same for crying out loud. School, homework, work, parents, poor availability of free time... you know the drill! Also, nothing can really be said here either, I am getting really tired from everything and I just want a break. Just to tell you all before hand, chapters will only come out slower and slower because school is now rushing everything. At the same time, I really want to finish this volume as soon as I can because I need some time to cool off. Anyway, I hope you guys like this updated chapter, feel free to criticize anything that you might think seems awkward. I wouldn't be surprised though, I did rush this after all.
One last note, I am going to post the next chapter as Rated R, just in case anything happens in the near future. This might not necessarily mean that the lemon is anytime soon, I just feel the maturity should increase since the issue of love is brought on a lot more. You have been warned since this thing requires an older youth audience and I intend to put it this way. As for questions, I hope the chapter answers it on it's own because I don't think I need a Question and Answer Period.
I want to thank these people for reviewing: greyfox885, warprince2000, AkiaBinZaid, sephynarutocloud, En Satsu Koku Ryuu Ha, DotDotDotMan, Dragon Man 180, Night-Owl123, Place-your-name-here, HinatasBiggestFanBoy, Fujimaru-kun, hyuugaman, Lahmikhara, HikaruOfArrow, jasx316, Your-Bones-Akin, Jacob Kessler, joekool, Crutches, nArUtOhInAtA fOrEvEr, Gopu, Daniel of Lorien, anonymous, violentlycheerful, nonengel, hattuteline, kenshin2103-kun, DeathWolf, Crimson-Strike, Alexires, Yet, stoictimer, Wormkaizer, Father Malvado, TriAce-Gaara, darkshaman817, Patch5129, evilmustardman
AN: Let the saga rage on...
Naruto blinked a several times hearing that last statement made to him. Marriage? Him and Hinata? In a matter of seconds that the words reached his head, the main vital organ on the left side of his chest nearly came to complete stop. The colour of his lifeless gray yet slightly beige face was clearly drained, his throats was clogged due to unexplainable worries and distress, nothing seemed to be working in his system.
"What is your answer, Naruto?" asked Hiashi. Hinata was in absolute delight, she never dreamed that this proposal would come out this quickly, not to mention her goal was to be Naruto's bride in the future, she felt like the happiest girl alive at the moment, everything was going in the right direction. She immediately snuggled closer to her lover with the most pleasant smile on her visage, she was dying for his answer.
"Isn't this a little sudden?" questioned the dark assailant trying to keep his cool in the best of his ability. "How am I suppose to answer this..."
"I know it is a bit unexpected,"
"It's too unexpected," corrected Naruto rather seriously. "I can't give you a response like this."
"You are the perfect one for Hinata," explained Hiashi. "You are the only one she loves..."
"I love her too, yes, but I am only sixteen, sixteen and I don't even know how to conduct my own life completely and you expect me to take care of someone as a lifelong commitment? Hiashi-sama, Hinata-chan is and always will be important to me whether she is a friend or lover but getting married too soon could lead to absolute tragedy."
"You don't want to marry me, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata truly sad.
"I didn't say go through the ceremony," continued the current Hyuga heir. "I just want you to dedicate yourself more to her, I want you two to be engaged."
"Engaged?" questioned the Death Knight. "No, how is this possible?"
"Naruto-kun..."
"Hinata-chan," he said holding her soft cheek with his corrupted hands. "I do love you... but I can't accept it so soon... I am not ready."
"If you love me... you would marry me," said Hinata pulling him closer to herself. "Please..."
"Not now, Hinata-chan," he state softly as he kissed her on the forehead before turning back to the Hyuga heir. "I will decline your kind offer, Hiashi-sama. I will need more time to consider it... a demon can never be that intimate with a human." Naruto spoke the last words nearly in a dark hiss to himself. With that, he left the library with a silent and short bow, Hiashi was stunned at his reply.
"Father..." said Hinata sadly. "Why did you make such an offer like this? Now he is as confused as ever!"
"I never thought he would refuse, he does love you with all he has." Hiashi stated.
"But... you know he is a demon and you know how depressed he could be when his blood gets to his romantic life... that's why Naruto-kun never does anything too intimate..."
"Do you want to marry him, Hinata?"
"Of course I do, I want to be with him forever." Hinata then stood up and headed towards the exit. "I'll talk with him, have a good night, father."
"Take this will you," said Hiashi as he tossed her a small object, which Hinata caught easily with her quick reflexes. "Give this to him and he will decide what to do, okay?"
Giving a nod to her father, Hinata gently left the room and went after her Naruto, she wanted to understand his full reason.
(Meanwhile, somewhere else in the Hyuga mansion)
"Naruto-kun!" called the Hyuga heiress as she quickly ran to him right before he entered his room. The assailant's eyes widened as the girl took him down in a wild tackle. In a blur, the demon male was flat on his back in the hallway with the young girl on top of him hugging him closely. Feeling very warmly at the moment, Naruto couldn't help himself but to enjoy the situation he was in, despite how awkward it was to lie like that on the corridors.
"What is it, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto with a slight grin.
"Why?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you act all innocent," she said whimpering. "Why won't you marry me? Is it that you don't like me? Am I a nuisance to you if we are together forever?"
"No, of course not, Hinata-chan," justified the demon hunter. "But don't you think it's a bit too soon for us to be married? We are only sixteen and I just came back... that is just too sudden..."
"People in noble clans usually get married at this age," cooed Hinata as she leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, while doing so, she made sure his chest felt her busty chest. "You are from one yourself."
"My treacherous clan?" asked Naruto forcing himself not to snicker. "They are more of a disease that needs to be exterminated than a clan that is respected. I know no such tradition."
"Naruto-kun... I don't care about anything, I only want you, I want to love you and I want you to be happy. I always wanted to be with you, living without you by my side makes me so lonely... for the past three years... it was the most unwanted experience that I have faced."
"I know I've hurt you, Hina-chan," he said while placing his hands on her narrow waist and caressing it gently giving her a very good sensation of pleasure. "I didn't want this either... I love you but this proposal isn't something small... my demonic blood... it's just so confusing, I don't want to corrupt you with my blood, how can I make you happy if I can't be intimate with you?"
"I already said that I don't care," said Hinata now claiming his lips into a kiss with a soothing voice. "I don't care who you are, all I know that you are the Naruto-kun that I love and willing to do anything with you. I trust you with everything, and you will be the only person that I will ever love."
"But... I don't know what will happen... what if it kills you?"
"I doubt that will ever happen," replied Hinata now seductively. "If it corrupts me, let it be then."
"I don't know..."
"Are you going to let this thing bother you for the rest of your life?" she asked but her voice was firm and serious. "You may be a demon, but I love you. Are you just going to allow your weakness to bind you from happiness? Do you intend to live the rest of your life in worry and fear?"
"No... but my situation is different..."
"How is it different?" she retorted in question. "I am willing to discard everything, and so can you, don't you see I am willing to do anything for you and with you. I am willing to become like you and I don't care what I sacrifice to achieve it."
"Even if your clan hates you, Konoha despise you and no one will look at you the same way?"
"Most importantly, will you hate me if I become a part demon?"
"I would never hate you, Hinata-chan," said Naruto sincerely.
"Then I don't see a problem." With that said, Hinata took on the initiative and kissed him passionately on the lips. Her kisses were seducing, after three years her way of showing love was stronger than before, Naruto really didn't know how perfect Hinata could be to him. At the same moment, he was beginning to doubt himself, doubting that if he had what it takes to completely satisfy his loving girlfriend and possibly future wife. His uncalled for absence did much more damage than it seemed, he was glad that Hinata took this so well, any other person would've rejected him for being so irresponsible. Hey, he deserved it regardless of his intentions. His own melancholy made him completely in deep thoughts, Naruto was no longer even paying attention to what Hinata was doing, and he wasn't even returning any emotion, he was like a lifeless doll whose eyes are staring at emptiness.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata called out his name when she stopped her kisses on him. "Are you there?" Hearing his name, the dark assailant snapped back to reality blinking a several times.
"What?" asked Naruto kind of weakly.
"I felt like I was kissing a dead body."
"Sorry..."
"Were my words too harsh on you? I'm sorry..."
"Don't be," reassured the Death Knight. "I was just thinking of something, that's all."
'Only Naruto-kun could manage to be not lost in a kiss,' thought Hinata to herself silently. 'His demonic blood crisis always made him extremely cautious in life, he had been living like that so he's so accustomed to it that he would never get too close in any sort of intimacy... like as if it's a forced habit. How can he ever be happy like this if he doesn't open up... I love you so much, Naruto-kun, please take me...' The Hyuga girl then took out the object that her father gave her moments before from her pocket, with her free hand, she took her lover's hand and opened it. Naruto was confused at what she was doing but once he felt that she placed something into his hand, his curiosity took over.
"What's this?" asked Naruto as he pulled his hand back slowly to see what the item was.
"Please consider father's offer, Naruto-kun."
"This is the engagement ring..." he choked out sitting back up slightly while Hinata encircled her arms around his fine body in an embrace. "Hinata-chan, I can't accept this."
"Yes, you can," she said making his right hand into a fist to secure the ring. "I... I want to give this to you because I want you to know that I am willing to marry you."
"Hinata-chan... do you really want to marry a demon?"
"I will tell you something," said the Hyuga girl shyly with a shade of crimson. "Ever since you were my friend, I have always been fond of you, I wanted to be like you because you could express yourself so well... you had a dream, you did everything you can to make people see your ideals."
"You talking about that dream of me being a Hokage?"
"Yes."
"I gave that up a long time ago, Hinata-chan," replied Naruto. "Ever since my blood had been influenced by the demon within me, I saw many things that I never imagined before. I was able to look back into my memories once in a dream, and Kyubi-chan was the one who showed it to me when she was still evil. Despite that she was evil back then, those memories showed me a lot."
"What did they tell you?"
"Fateless cowards in Konoha do not deserve my power of protection." Naruto declared. "The reason why this place isn't burning to the ground is because there happens to be people that I care about living here and they will hate me if I destroyed their homes. My hatred for Konoha never diminished from my heart, and the last thing I will ever do is to follow in my father's footsteps and help those fools who hate me. If they want my respect, they have to earn it and no one except the people I know here personally deserve that respect."
"Naruto-kun... you helped a lot for this village... despite what they did."
"Because I did it for your sake, for Sakura-chan's sake, Sasuke, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, Jiraiya-sensei, your family... you are the one who truly deserves my care, remember that."
"Naruto-kun... I feel the same way, you are really the only person who deserve my love..." She then turned slightly red. "Because... when I was young... I always wanted to be your bride... do you think I am silly?" The Death Knight was shocked at her words, he knew Hinata loved him ever since she was young but he really never expected that Hinata would love him this much when she was just an adolescent, she loved him so much that she wanted to marry him. Were Hinata's feelings always this strong? They indeed loved another that it was no silly crush thing that usually last for a month, this was true and genuine love.
Thoughts from the past began to kick in, a few years back Hinata already told him that she wanted to give him as much love that she could be able to, that of course was sex. She was ready for it, and he was like a complete coward, in fact, that was not the appropriate time to do that kind of thing since she was drunk but what about now? Naruto knew eventually he would make the decision to accept Hinata as his wife, because in a matter of months he would get everything back to normal in his life. He would be able to support himself with stability, he would become an official ninja of the village, and he would have no reason not to accept Hinata as his fiancée. He indeed loved her, this phrase was mentioned many times in the course of his life but what happens then? What would a wife want from a husband, of course it would be the action that he feared most in his life, the invitation of making love.
Was he experienced, no, definitely not, but that wasn't something that he worried about, Hinata wouldn't mind because she loved him for who he was. The main issue had to be his blood, even though the girl clearly stated that she didn't care, did that ease him any more from before? Despite how much he believed her, Naruto didn't believe himself, he couldn't make a conscious decision to simply let go of his difference and just follow Hinata's footsteps, the main reason was fear.
Like explained before, he feared what he didn't know, it was human ambition. If his demonic blood would be a great aid to Hinata and he had clear knowledge of it, he would have nothing to fear and just allowed his own lustful desires to take over his mind. Certainly, the Hyuga girl wouldn't mind since he was the only person that she would ever share her body with, and more importantly, she wanted this very badly. However, the real issue was that he didn't know what was going to happen. What if the result wasn't a positive one? What if she became a full-fledged demon who would become even more powerful than he and who he can't tame and control? That alone would cause Naruto to commit suicide after he kills her. Or worse, what happens if she died after the blood entered, like how AB type blood can't be injected to a person who has B type blood, the person will really die. He didn't know what would happen and the safest thing to do was not to a thing that could risk, he would never do something without knowing the results, if this was avoidable, he wouldn't take it.
Believe it or not, the Death Knight was surprised that he was never one who had a sexual appetite, he never thought about this subject even when he was alone as a Hidden-nin. He had no desire for it, even when many very attractive women were hinting for him to make love, the dark assailant would simply ignore their foolish requests. He believed that intercourse should be saved for that one special person because the meaning of this gift of satisfaction would be fully realized when it was done with the one he loved. Because this was something he would share with one person, that person was obviously Hinata. The meaning of making love would no longer hold any meaning if his body was shared by many other people, the excitement, the desire, the lust would no longer be there, and one of the last things he was going to do was to pointlessly waste his body like that. However, remembering who he was ever since he was 6 years old, that wonderful gift in life will not be in his grasp, nor he wanted it.
What seemed like eternity to Naruto was only a mere seconds for the Hyuga girl, when he actually paid attention to her blushing face, his mind quickly jolted back to reality. Hinata then raised her eyes to meet his, the blank expression that was practically plastered on his face, Hinata playfully punched him on the shoulder with a pout.
"You don't think I am some kind of weird person of thinking that do you?" she said still punching him. "I really love you and I always wanted to be your loving bride... Naruto-kun, I love you so much."
"I love you too, Hinata-chan," said Naruto rather stoically but truthfully. "I will accept your kind gift... I hope I will make the correct decision in the near future."
"You better," teased the girl as she kissed him on the cheek. "Don't make me wait too long, okay?"
"I won't."
"You tired?" she asked as he helped her stand back up. He nodded slightly as he pulled her closer by the waist, a mischievous smile came across her lips as she tip toed so her lips would be closer to his ear. "I want you, Naruto-kun..." she whispered seductively, to add a bit more alluring temptation, she nibbled his ear. His eyes opened up a bit more but he wasn't affected in any way.
"Aren't you a little lustful tonight, my dear Hinata-chan?" Her face flushed slightly before she gave him another kiss on the cheek.
"I miss being alone with you," Hinata said as she embraced him with an alluring and charming smile. "C'mon, I miss you." At that point, Naruto's heartbeat began to beat according to panic mode.
"We don't need to be that intimate do we?" he said as Hinata began to swoon over him. "Hinata-chan... I just got back... I'm getting hungry..."
"I can feed you something else," The Hyuga girl then began to sweet kiss him softly and delicately. "I guarantee it's much better."
"I don't want to trouble you..."
"I insist, my dearest."
"No need, I'll see you later!" In a really un-Naruto-like fashion, he kissed Hinata and took his leave in a sprint, however, a devilish and naughty grin appeared on her face as her hands gathered chakra.
'I won't let you escape, Naruto-kun' thought the Hyuga girl devilishly. "Aerial Shackle!" In an immediate response, she unleashed a bright orange beam and then opened to be a chakra net.
"What!" shouted the Death Knight as he turned his head back to see an essence trying to hunt him down. Next, his body was captured by this chakra generated net with Hinata reeling it from behind him.
"I got you, my Naruto-kun," Hinata cooed seductively as she pulled the Aerial Shackle towards herself.
"No, no... I don't want to, get me out of here!" he yelled as he was being lured back to her without a choice. "This is a clear violation of my human rights, I demand justice!"
"Come on, I know you want it too, don't keep me waiting."
"I taught you this, why are you using it like this?" asked Naruto not exactly mad but not really looking forward to the events that may happen in the near future. "No, I order you not to use it for naughty things!"
"Just this one time?" Hinata begged with a cute, charming, and yet seductive puppy look which was nearly irresistible to any male, the dark assailant clearly knew this wouldn't be the only time for certain. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely..."
"That's not a good thing you know," reminded Naruto who was already in her arms at this point, he no longer was able to break free.
"You know you want it too." With that stated, the Hyuga girl pushed him into his room and what they did afterwards was very self explanatory, very naughty things but not completely yet. The Hyuga heiress intended to enjoy some alone time tonight, for knowing Aegis so long and it was Naruto all along, she was determined to put their personal time they should've been with another for these 9 nights and make it completely wild. Yes, to the boy, it was as similar as visiting hell on judgement day.
(The next morning)
Being a very light sleeper, the Death Knight woke up immediately as soon as the sunlight peered into his corrupted demonic eyes. The images that displayed last night were still present in his head, the actions they did the previous night was definitely something that Naruto hadn't experienced in a long time, indeed he would've been a fool to miss such a make out session with the girl he loved. The nightgown she was wearing last night made her body luscious, it was translucent making her lingerie visible to him. Her body was indeed perfect, as if the divine heavens created the ideal human lady. If he didn't have enough self-control, he would've allowed his desires to take the best of him. Turning his head to his left, his lovely Hinata was sleeping peacefully beside him with a cute smile on her face, every now and then she would give out a pleasant mewl. Her presence relieved him, seeing her no longer having this emptiness within her soul certainly was a good thing for he really didn't want to see his Hinata suffer the same experience again.
Remembering the encounter with Rin last night, Naruto decided what he should do for today, reveal the true identity of Aegis to everyone who knew him personally in this village. What troubled him was that how would everyone react? He mostly concerned towards the reaction of Neji, Lee, Tenten, Sakura, Sasuke, Jiraiya, Shizune and most importantly, Tsunade. Things weren't showing much promise, he had been here for 10 days already, what could he say to justify himself? It didn't matter too much at the moment, what he should focus on was how to break it to Tsunade first, she was the Hokage after all. After planting a soft kiss on Hinata's forehead, the assailant went into the bathroom to get himself ready for the day.
Within 15 minutes of showering and other daily 'drills', the assailant came out of the bathroom with a different set of dark clothing. This time, however, this was his usual clothing when he was younger, black pants, a small undershirt covered by a black vest along with a indigo jacket. As usual, his right arm and hand was bandaged to cover up a long scar made by a katana. He grinned when he saw his gorgeous girlfriend was starting to wake up, giving an adorable yawn. Walking to the side of the futon, kneeling beside her, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her up in seconds.
"Good morning, Naruto-kun," greeted Hinata meekly since she was still quite tired, even when she was tired her movements were elegant and graceful. With the sun's light shining on her, she was like an angel who was awake from the divine brightness, not like he would openly admit it to her though. "Did you have a good sleep?"
"I had an okay one," he replied in a stoic tone. "Did you?"
"I had a beautiful one."
"You had a good dream, I suppose?"
"I did, it was wonderful..."
"What was your dream about?" he asked. When she blushed deeply hearing his question, the Death Knight decided to drop the subject. "You still seem quite tired, Hina-chan. Maybe you shouldn't have been so active last night."
"It was worth it..."
"I need to look for Tsunade this morning," explained Naruto softly. "You want to come with me?"
"Of course I would come," said Hinata giggling. "I think you would need some help today."
"Help? What do you mean?"
"You would need some help explaining I mean."
"Thank you."
(Meanwhile, somewhere else in Konoha)
"You are up exceptionally early, Sasuke-kun," said Sakura, who was in the kitchen of Sasuke's apartment fixing breakfast for the two of them. "Shouldn't you sleep a little bit more since today is your day off?" As the Uchiha gave a silent grunt while walking into the kitchen, when he saw Sakura's back view, he immediately wrapped his arms around her dinky waist to make a warm embrace. Sakura gasped when she felt his sudden touch, but she then returned with a devilish grin filled with much naughty thoughts.
"Good morning, beautiful," said Sasuke, kissing her on the cheek with their faces millimeters away from another. Sakura took possession of his lips as soon as she heard his voice.
"Good morning to you too, Sasuke-kun." The Uchiha observed his ever so attractive girlfriend, he indeed love her. Not only that she was the perfect one for him in every aspect, she was also very appealing to his eyes. At the age of sixteen, Sakura stood 66 inches tall and with a very fit body due to incredible amount of training. Her pink hair reached near her rear end these days, it appeared like the girl didn't want to cut it after all this time. Not that he cared though, Sasuke still believed her long hair made him desire her even more. To him, Sakura was a goddess, her facial image was just absolutely charming, her breasts were just the perfect size, let's just put it that it would make a guy drool for long enough, her waist was narrow to an extent that it could almost rival Hinata's, her legs was pure elegant. Sasuke loved everything about Sakura, from physical features to her heart. Sakura was still a chunnin these days, her mission records since she achieved this higher level was clearly impressive, the Hokage would consider her as a specialist of Konoha. Today, Ino and Sakura are not only very good friends, people would consider the second eternal rival but with a much better meaning than just one on one contest, they would compete at almost everything but mainly at the amount of missions they accomplished. So far, both seem to be even.
Sasuke was like many other handsome guys that Sakura knew, but of course, she believed that he was the best among them all. The Uchiha was 73 inches tall, he stood even taller than her former teacher, Kakashi. His body was well built, but definitely not in a ridiculous fashion that it seemed scary, it just showed people that he was very athletic. His hair remained the same except at the tip at the back, nowadays, he had a very short ponytail that made his appearance even more appealing to women. However, it was for Sakura to admire. Despite how many fangirls knew he had Sakura as a girlfriend, they were still determined to win his heart. Deep down, the Sharingan user was glad that he was an Anbu member, since the mask covered his face almost all the time when he was on duty. For special reasons, Sasuke had a lot of different masks so no fangirl would know it was him when he was on duty alone.
Sasuke was proud to be an Anbu until recently for Hyuga Neji, the leader of his team, was also beginning to attract female attention when the duo were on patrol one day. Not only that the girls were chasing Sasuke because of his attractive good looks, they made a new discovery that Neji was in the same category. These days, the Uchiha and Hyuga duo would stick together at all costs to save themselves from a lot of grief. Obviously, Tenten and Sakura took this as a perfect source of entertainment, seeing them panting from exhaustion was something amusing to witness.
"So," continued Sasuke giving her another kiss on the cheek. "What are you fixing for breakfast this morning?"
"The usual egg sandwiches with a glass of orange juice." Sakura replied as she shook her body slightly telling him to let go since she needed to finish the food. "C'mon, I don't want to burn the eggs you know."
"But I happen to like it here just fine."
"We can have our fun later," she whispered seductively. "I can hardly wait myself."
"You really are an impatient one, aren't you?"
"You have been having late night shifts these days that I rarely see you at night anymore," she reasoned in a whine. "You hardly make yourself available anymore..."
"Sorry, Sakura my dear,"
"Can you make yourself available a little later?" she asked giving him a wink. "Please..."
"Sorry, I need to look for Rin-san this morning," said Sasuke while Sakura gave him a confused look, even though he was still holding her close, his expression became quite serious.
"Rin?" He nodded. "Did something happen?"
"It was kind of weird actually..." explained the Uchiha. "It happened when I was patrolling... until I saw Rin-san's signal flare. I went there to check what was going on and when I arrived there... I saw Rin-san was in pretty bad shape, and Gaara was there too."
"Why were they..."
"I don't know, but I saw Gaara's shirt was stained with blood... it looked like it was his blood too... All I can figure out is that Rin and Gaara were fighting someone just before and it looked like they lost."
"Rin and Gaara losing a battle?" asked Sakura in disbelief. "Why didn't the person just kill them when they lost... that means that stranger is really strong to defeat them. Sasuke-kun, did you manage to see who it was?"
"No, Neji and I only found those two."
"That is strange..."
"I am surprised that happened too, Rin-san told me and Neji that she would tell us everything today. I really need to know what is going on."
"When do you need to meet with your team?"
"Soon, I would be leaving after breakfast," replied Sasuke. "C'mon, Sakura, finish those eggs..."
"I would as soon as your hand stops holding onto my breast." Sakura stated calmly not hinting that she was enjoying it or feeling awkward. The Uchiha smiled sinisterly before she groaned slightly telling him to move away. Disappointedly, Sasuke went over to the kitchen table and waited patiently for his breakfast to be served, at the same time, his mind couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night with Rin...
(Moments Later)
"Come in," said Tsunade in a clear tone not carrying any signs of drowsiness when she heard the door knocking. Hearing that recognition, the two youths outside silently entered without making a sound, and the male made sure the door was shut behind them after the girl entered. "Oh, Hinata, Aegis-san, good morning."
"Good morning to you too, Tsunade-sama," said Hinata politely with a smile, giving a bow. When she saw Naruto just dead silent without saying a word, she nudged him lightly in the arm.
"Yeah... good morning, Hokage-sama..." said Naruto in a weak voice. Tsunade chuckled seeing that display just now, it was amusing. "What's so funny?"
"When did Hinata start correcting your manners, Aegis-san?" asked Tsunade with a clear grin. "Don't tell me you two are already a couple already."
"Well..." Hinata squeaked shyly with a blush. "We are..."
"Maybe you can ask Hinata-chan that afterwards, okay?" interrupted the Death Knight rather not amused.
"When did you start calling Hinata with a chan, Aegis-san?" teased the Hokage.
"It's not that important."
"Sure it is, Aegis-san," said Tsunade. "Ever since Hinata's boyfriend died three years ago, didn't you know that she didn't allow anybody to call her Hinata-chan? She made sure that she kept some distance towards people, especially towards the people who are male."
"What?" asked Naruto eyeing Hinata slightly underneath his shades.
"You really didn't know? I am surprised that she didn't say anything about it. Don't tell me Hinata has a liking for you, you youth sure remind me of the old days..."
"Tsunade-obachan, can you please stop it on this subject?" questioned the dark assailant. As on immediate impulse, the Hokage did something that was completely natural.
"Naruto, how many times have I told you not to call me old!" shouted the slug sannin. When she figured out what she said, Tsunade saw Hinata giggling heavily. At the same moment, she couldn't believe what kind of words actually came out of her mouth, what made her say that and how did Aegis know this nickname?
"Naruto-kun, she recognized you without you needing to say anything." Hinata teased as she giggled harder. Naruto, on the other hand, was grunting with irritation,
"No, she didn't, Hinata-chan," corrected Naruto. "It was a natural impulse for her, that's how she always reacts when someone calls her oba-chan. I happen to be the only one who says it though, Itachi and Kisame-sempai's name for her is even better."
"What is it?" asked Hinata holding on to his arm wanting to get her way. "C'mon tell me!"
"I think it was single and intoxicated witch?" Hinata was laughing afterwards, Naruto couldn't help but at least cracked a snort. When the delinquent duo finally quieted down, the dark assailant turned his head towards the woman sitting behind the desk with a very blank expression on her face. Her brown orbs were just staring at his shades, watching it continuously without the need of blinking, Hinata was feeling a little awkward at this point but Naruto still kept a grin.
"Aegis-san... you are..." Tsunade managed to choke out as Naruto removed his sunglasses away from his eyes to reveal his fully activated Unholy Sight pupils, which were clear teal.
"Yeah, oba-chan," said the dark assassin. "It's really me, Uzumaki Naruto." Hearing his name, the Hokage stood up from her chair with astonishment and slowly made her way to the demon boy. She did this without saying a word, when she was standing a foot in front of him, she raised her hand to touch his cheek. Hinata watched the Hokage worriedly, she wondered what kind of emotions were bottling within her. For Naruto, he simply watched her carefully with understanding eyes, he allowed to accept any kind of punishment he rightfully deserved for committing such a wrongful absence.
"Naruto..." said Tsunade with a trembling voice. "Is it really you?"
"Yes, Tsuande-chan," whispered the assailant softly. "It is really me."
"Naruto!" The older woman then immediately engaged him in a tight motherly hug, which obviously really took the demon hunter aback, he really didn't expect such an emotion being expressed by her. Doing what seemed right, Naruto hugged her back. In a short amount of time, the Hokage herself was crying, this wasn't something that anyone could mark for the leader of the village was suppose to be strong minded, but right now, that belief didn't concern the sannin, all she wanted to do was to cry it all out. This was Naruto, this had to be one of her greatest moments in her life, she couldn't believe his baby brother came back, he was alive, really alive and well. Seeing this joyful reunion, Hinata allowed herself to cry a little bit, this was just so overwhelming. "I missed you so much! You can't believe how happy I am, little brother!"
"I am young enough to be your son, Tsunade," corrected Naruto amusedly. As of result, he got a deep kiss on the cheek instead of a whack on the head. Again, Naruto was surprised at this action but he still enjoyed it.
"I can't believe that you are back, Naruto," said the crying Hokage as she kissed him again like a mother. "I was so worried about you!"
"Don't worry, Tsunade-sama," replied Hinata softly. "Naruto-kun has been taken good care of himself."
"Yeah, I was more worried about you guys," stated the dark assailant rubbing his big sister's back to sooth her from that emotional outburst while tugging Hinata close with his other arm. "No need to be concerned about me, as long as you guys are safe, I am very relieved."
"How could you say that?" asked Tsunade as she looked up to the male who was at least 4 inches taller than herself, he had really grown tall and not to mention handsome. "Do you know how awful it has been without you? No one has been happy ever since you were gone! Jiraiya stopped being a pervert and began to write depressing novels, Shizune lost a lot of her usual optimistic spirit... Sakura was deeply down for a long time... Sasuke felt very powerless not to be a good help to Sakura and tried very hard to maintain the safety of Konoha, Rin... she was just as devastated as Hinata, she practically cried herself to sleep because she loves you so much... Gaara blamed himself for the entire thing, he believed that you shouldn't have left alone... Neji felt that he lost a good friend, Lee felt guilty for not being able to help... you hurt a lot of people, Naruto!"
"I know I pained many people," replied Naruto with remorse. "But I couldn't return until now for a reason... I love Hinata, I love you and Rin, do you think that I don't want to come back sooner?"
"Naruto-kun..." whimpered Hinata softly with despair. "You need to tell her..."
"I know..."
"What happened, Naruto?" asked the Hokage half breaking that embrace to achieve a bit more distance. "Why didn't you come back until now? Did something happen?" Naruto nodded sadly while Hinata put held his available hand a bit tighter to give him reassurance. "Tell me." Giving a small grin, Naruto explained everything that he needed to tell her. After the long conversation, the Death Knight proposed a pleading request. After hearing it, Tsunade nodded and allowed the proposal to be granted.
(Later that day, outside the ninja academy)
"Hey," called Shikamaru along with Ino on his back to Sasuke and Sakura, who were standing next to a slide in the playground field. "You guys are here too?"
"Yeah," said Sasuke a little bit grumpy. "I suddenly received an urgent message saying that me and Sakura were to meet here in this location in ten hundred hours. When we got here, there was nothing."
"Hey, wait," said Sakura. "You two are called too?"
"Yeah," replied Ino as she jumped off Shikamaru's back after enjoying that pleasant ride. Of course, the now jounin, gave a silent troublesome or rant. "We just received the order not too long ago."
"I really don't care what I am doing here..." mumbled the Uchiha.
"Why so grumpy, Sasuke-kun?" asked Ino kindly. "It's not like you to be even moody at me, when I am not even your fangirl. I am Shikamaru's fangirl now!"
"Don't say such troublesome things, Ino..." growled Shikamaru lazily.
"It's not troublesome, Shika-kun!" she corrected with authority and with a bit of teasing. "Don't you like it that I am your only fangirl? I know you like that."
"Yeah... I guess..."
"You're right, Ino," said Sasuke with a grin. "It's really not like me to be moody towards you and the others, care to guess what is actually bothering me?"
"Today's your day off?" asked Shikamaru randomly.
"Bingo."
"What do you think this thing is about?" asked Sakura to the entire group. "I don't think Hokage-sama would call us all here for no reason now would she."
"I don't think so either," said Ino observing these memorable surroundings. "But don't you feel kind of depressed when we come back to these grounds all the time?"
"What do you mean, Ino?" questioned the pink hair girl.
"This place always remind us of someone we once knew... this was the first place that we met him..." It was clear to all of them who this him was, it had been so long since they saw him. "Do you remember how you got to know him, Sakura?" Shikamaru and Sasuke's eyes closed with grief, hearing anything about the young Death Knight always made their hearts ache with remorse, but yet, remembering him was also a good thing for it reminded them to be strong in life.
"Yeah, Ino... I remember... it was the day of the genin graduation where he appeared mysteriously. Even before he passed away, he was a very dark and silent person but he also had a wonderful side, maybe that's why Hinata loved him so much. I remembered that I had a crush on him..."
"A lot of us did," reminded Ino sadly but with a smile.
"And I thought that he was blind since he wore a blindfold..."
"You were silly back then," said Sasuke in a depressed tone but not angry. "We all knew he was a guy with a lot of heart."
"I really thought it was an unfortunate thing that he and Hinata became my teammates..." continued Sakura. "Because I wanted to be with Sasuke-kun more than anything."
"That changed soon, didn't it?" asked Shikamaru understandingly. Sakura nodded slowly.
"Naruto-ni-chan considered Hinata and I his closest friends, he even acknowledged me as his little sister and took care of me... he really wasn't the cold hearted guy that I thought he was... I began to understand him more and more each day, I also understood why Hinata cared for him so much and why he returned it..."
"Are you angry that he didn't pick you?" asked Ino.
"I never would, Ino, because he never forgotten me even when Hinata and him were very close, he taught me how to be strong, his guidance and wisdom is the reason why I am still being a shinobi today. I do love him, he's the brother that I never had... the last time we were together in the chunnin exam... I was so worried that he died to protect Hinata and I."
"Naruto would never allow anything to happen to any of us," said the Uchiha as he knew his girlfriend was trying to hold back tears, he saw this very often when Naruto was brought up. "He even died to grant the village a 5th Hokage, he lived his life as a very noble guardian..."
"I know... but after knowing his deepest secret, do you think we deserve his blessing?" asked Sakura now crying. The remaining three grimaced immediately with grief, they clearly knew what the secret was. "We all know why he left 11 years ago, because the village hated him... and yet he does so much for this wretched hellhole, even for me, a person who liked him because of looks! He liked me and appreciated me because of my heart, he... he loved the friends he had despite that he is a demon, Hinata pushed aside all differences and accepted him, she felt it was worth it to be with him... why did he have to die? Amongst everyone, why did Naruto have to die?"
"He was a great shinobi of Konoha," said Shikamaru looking at the sky. "Especially during the invasion 3 years ago... he fought with everything he had to save everyone of us... whether he is a demon or not, I feel nothing against that, we can't hate him because of that... Naruto is not a demon in my eyes."
"He never will be," said Ino. "It was very painful when Hinata told us about his bloodstained heritage during the funeral... why she believed that he was Konoha's hero, who knew such a dark secret was behind such a wonderful person, it's so unjust... very regrettable..."
"It has been over 3 years," Sasuke said following Shikamaru's action observing the clear blue sky. "I really do hope that he would return soon... Konoha hasn't been the same without him."
"He's been missing for so long..."
"It's really hard to keep this faith up..." murmured Sakura nuzzling closer to her boyfriend.
"But as long as the blade is still here," said Shikamaru.
"There is always hope."
"You guys talking about Naruto?" called a voice catching all four of them off guard. When Shikamaru turned his head in a vigilant fashion, he was surprised to see Neji, Tenten, Gaara, Rin and Lee standing in a group.
"Hello." Ino said silently.
"Sorry," said Neji. "We weren't trying to listen to you guys on purpose..."
"It's okay, Neji," said Sakura. "It's not the first time that we have mentioned about Naruto-ni-chan."
"Don't get too depressed, Sakura-san," said Lee in a more positive tone, the last thing he wanted to do was to be depressed to influence the others. However, he himself wasn't feeling too happy about this. "Naruto wouldn't want us to be like this..." It was then when Neji, Gaara and Rin were completely silent, as if they were wraiths lingering in existence.
"Neji-kun," said Tenten. "Is something wrong?" The Hyuga male shifted his head so his eyes would meet hers, worry and anxiety was all the weapon master managed to see. "Neji..."
"Naruto may be a lot closer than we all imagined..." said the Hyuga genius. That statement caught everyone's attention immediately, Rin lowered her head even more when she heard it, Gaara simply held her shoulder with reassurance hoping it would be helpful.
"What are you saying, Neji?" asked Sasuke.
"This is not a joke!" said Shikamaru.
"I... I heard a conversation last night between Hinata-sama and Hiashi-sama..." said Neji. "I knew there was a third person in there."
"Who was it then?" asked Tenten. "Is it Aegis-san?" Hearing this, Rin's curiosity took the best of her but her face still remained rather down. Neji nodded. "What did they talk about?"
"I didn't listen to it fully though... but I heard that Hiashi-sama wanted him to marry Hinata-sama..."
"How's that possible?" asked Ino.
"Why would her father let just anyone marry Hinata?" questioned Sakura. The others are just as surprised except for Rin and Gaara, who listened to this attentively.
"But the thing is... Aegis isn't just anybody..." continued Neji.
"Isn't he just a Hidden-nin?" asked Tenten worriedly. "Who is he?"
"Aegis?" asked Shikamaru. "What kind of name is that? How come there was a Hidden-nin that arrived here and none of us know about it?"
"Because we don't need to know," said Neji. "So far his missions have been rather simple, but at the same time, simple enough to achieve prosperity in Konoha."
"But, a Hidden-nin is a big thing though!" argued Lee, however, Neji just gave his good friend a smile.
"It doesn't really matter now, more importantly, it's who he really is that counts."
"What? Did you lost it?"
"Aegis is just his code name... his real name was called by Hinata-sama enough times during the conversation. I personally thought it was absurd when I found out that Hiashi-sama arranged a marriage for Hinata, especially when she loved no one other than Naruto. However, when I heard his name, it all made sense since Aegis is Uzumaki Naruto." At that point, most of them turned frozen solid. Metaphorically, not literally.
"What did you say..." said everyone except for Rin and Gaara.
"You're lying..." said Sakura trembling a bit, soon turned into emotional distress. "It can't be... Naruto-ni-chan is alive... why didn't he..."
"It's true, Sakura-san," said Rin finally. "Aegis is Naruto-ni-san! Gaara-chan and I fought him last night... he told me everything... He told me why he didn't return!"
"Now it makes sense..." Sasuke whispered to himself in a quiet voice. "It was Naruto, no wonder Rin-san and Gaara weren't able to beat him. Knowing him, that guy must've went through even more living hell than before..."
"What happened, Rin?" asked Ino now a bit impatient, even she wanted to see Naruto again. "How did you find out that it was Naruto?"
"It doesn't really matter now," said Rin. "Ni-san is in Konoha, and he wouldn't leave this place until he tells us the truth. I got a very strong feeling that this is what this meeting is about."
"I can't believe it..." Words came out of Sakura's lips weakly. "I can't believe he is really alive..."
"Let's look for Naruto then!" suggested Lee with high spirits. "I want to see how strong he really become! This time, I will challenge him myself!"
"He beat Rin and I last night as a team," said Gaara silently but not cold. "What makes you so sure that you can beat him on your own?" He gave the Konoha green beast a grin to tease his mind.
"Don't worry, Gaara," said Lee confidently but not in a hyper manner. "I've got my team to help me with that." Rin, Sasuke and Neji snickered.
"I got an idea!" exclaimed the pink hair girl energetically.
"What do you have in mind?" asked Tenten curiously while Sasuke gave his girlfriend a message that she got his attention.
"Let's surprise Naruto-ni-chan when he comes here."
"How do we do that?" questioned the Nara jounin. "I don't think he likes surprises."
"I know that," retorted Sakura. "We have to do something that he likes."
"Such as..." said Sasuke gesturing the girl to continue. Telling everyone to gather around, Sakura whispered her devious little plan to all of them. In a matter of minutes, all of them gave the mastermind an acknowledged nod, the plan will commence immediately. With a dark snicker spread all over her face, the girls in that group waited patiently for their prey to arrive.
(Currently with Naruto and Hinata)
"Naruto-kun..." called Hinata to catch the demon's attention when they walked down the very quiet streets. Hearing her voice, Naruto turned his head around to meet her eyes. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah..." said the Death Knight silently, the hidden emotion had to be another case of dejection.
"Don't lie to me, Naruto-kun."
"What are you saying?"
"You are worried, I know you are."
"And I don't have a reason not to?" countered the Death Knight with another question. "I know I want to get this thing over with, but at the same time, it's hard for me not to feel a bit nervous."
"It'll be okay," she said holding his firm hand with her own soft and white one. When she looked up to check on his expression, she was a bit sad that his neutral face didn't change a bit. It wasn't a cold expression, no, but rather it was a face that showed much trouble and confusion. "Naruto... please talk to me... I don't want to feel like I am talking to air..."
"Yeah..." The Hyuga girl didn't believe this was a response, those words seemed awfully blind. In fact, she felt that he became a lot more distant ever since her father offered that proposal, every time when he wasn't talking to anyone, his mind would be drifting like a wild tornado trying to solve all the conflicts he had in his head. She clearly knew when this action was taking place since his eyes would be scanning at absolutely nothing, and soon his movements would be like a mindless being without a soul. Naruto didn't look like a zombie, no, it was very unique and yet made her very concerned.
"Naruto..."
"What?" he snapped clearly annoyed. "Sorry... I didn't want to shout at you on purpose."
"Naruto-kun..." she said again but thinking of the appropriate words, the last thing she needed right now was to sound awkward to him. In truth, Naruto wouldn't mind since he loved her voice, but to Hinata, that would ruin image.
"Are you upset that I'm not saying anything to you?" asked Naruto not looking at her, however, his voice was very understanding. The Hyuga girl nodded with a sniff, it was then when the dark assailant pulled her closer by the waist making her gasp. In a swift maneuver, he pulled her in a tight embrace. This was definitely an unexpected move, and as a result, the girl blushed deeply. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, it's just that a lot has been on my mind... I really want to have some time alone..."
"Is it because father made that proposal to you last night?" Naruto nodded as a response. "Naruto-kun, I know that was very sudden but do you really don't want to marry me? If you feel so strongly against it... we don't have to be..."
"No," said Naruto interrupting her. "It's not that I don't want to be engaged with you... I know you are the person for me but... such commitment at this fragile stage... You know I can't be that intimate with you, I'm afraid that I will make you unhappy."
"You won't make me unhappy if you stay by my side forever," murmured Hinata as she rested her head on his shoulder. "I love you with all my heart... it's okay if we can't be intimate..." She said that last part in a dead whisper, but the Death Knight still heard it as clear as day. It pained him not to be able to make his princess to be fully satisfied.
"But..."
"I know you can one day," said the young heiress understandingly. "I'm willing to wait."
"Hinata-chan..."
"I want to tell you that I am willing to go all the way, I want you to be comfortable and live a life with no regrets..." continued the Hyuga girl. "I want to make you the happiest person in the world because I know you would do the same to me. Naruto-kun, it doesn't matter if you are a demon, I love you no matter what you are. Don't let your blood decide fate for you, you have to live the way you want to live, only you can discard the barrier between sadness and happiness."
"But..."
"I don't believe that anything will happen," she continued giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I feel safe and secure knowing nothing will happen, I trust you with everything so please have more confidence in yourself. There is nothing wrong with you, and I know you will come through this... just like you always did before."
Naruto was shocked, words couldn't even form in his mouth. Who could've known Hinata had such influence, who knew her words contained so much wisdom? She deeply trusted him after all this time, and yet he was still this pathetic. It was only natural to consider a bit more about this subject, but not in such a paranoid manner. All he did was worry her, Naruto couldn't help but to scold himself for still being such a moron! Her words were supportive, she will always be there for him to take that next step forward in life, with her by his side, why didn't he give it a chance? Why was he being such a coward? Whether he was a demon or not he knew he loved her sincerely, it was as clear as day. How did his melancholy get the better of him, he just didn't understand how he could've been so blind? The girl wanted to be engaged with him to take their relationship further, and here he was, fearing of the issue of making love. What a moron, he thought, the way to deal with fear was to overcome it, not to back away from it so it could corner him. Hinata was right, he needed to get his act together and build this confidence that he needed, she was the person that he wanted to marry, why not accept it and make everyone's lives happier? Without a single doubt, he finally decided to take it one step further and with Hinata beside him, there was no possible way that he would fall.
"Hinata-chan," he said finally after 5 seconds in a very grateful voice. "Thank you."
"For what?" asked the Hyuga girl confused.
"For everything... I am so glad that I've met you, without you, I really wouldn't know where I would've taken my life into."
"You are a person I love," she said holding him tighter. "I want to see you happy."
"Me too, Hina-chan. Hey, you want to know something?"
"What is it, Aegis-kun?" The Death Knight smirked hearing that name from her, he clearly knew this must be her nickname for him from now on.
"How do you like it if I accept the engagement? There's no point in making my princess waiting, right?" At an instant, his lips were seized by her incredibly sweet and soft one, it was so surprising that he didn't have enough breath to last very long. When she drew back with a sinister grin on her face, Naruto wondered what she could be smiling about. He knew she was extremely glad that he made that decision, but that grin really puzzled him.
"Where's my ring?" asked Hinata immediately with demanding eyes, her lips were forming a devilish and teasing grin. The dark assailant's eyes opened widely, this really wasn't what he expected to hear.
"What?"
"Oh, you heard me," she said with much authority. "Where's my engagement ring?"
"I haven't bought it yet..."
"Then why are you making that offer when you have nothing to give me?" Hinata questioned with a very straight face that even Naruto didn't know if she meant it or she was acting. "You are asking me to get married with you, so give me the ring and I want it now."
"Are you going to say no if I tell you that I don't have the ring yet?" he asked choosing the most accurate words, even so, he could tell those weren't the best he could come up with.
"I won't marry you then."
"You're not serious!"
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding!" she replied laughing out loud. "You can be so gullible, Naruto-kun!"
"Well, you were a very convincing actor, Hinata-chan."
"Thank you, hey, what kind of ring are you going to buy me? I want a beautiful one you know."
"No matter what kind of ring I get, it would never be as beautiful as you." That compliment earned him a good kiss on the cheek, Naruto decided to sweet talk her more, her kisses were just too good to pass. "I'll get it as soon as I can, okay?" She nodded and nuzzled closer to him, the Hyuga girl was just so delighted, nothing could ever spoil her cheerful mood now.
"Should we get going to the academy?"
"Yeah."
(Moments later)
In less than ten minutes, the shinobis of divinity and darkness both arrived at the ninja academy, the same academy that they graduated over 3 years ago. The Death Knight eyed every corner of the designated meeting area with vigilance, something was just not right... it was too... quiet. Hinata found it strange too, her clock did say five minutes to nine thirty, knowing her closest friends, they should've been here by now and yet this place looked absolutely deserted. What in the heck was going on here? It couldn't have been a coinsidence that everyone happened to be unavailable today, but at the same time, this didn't look like much of an ambush either. No one would set a trap near the central district of the town.
"Where could everyone be?" asked Hinata as she walked closer into the vicinity. However, Naruto's hand blocked her advance, she decided to follow his lead.
"Something's not right..." said Naruto as he now activated his eyes into a deeper extent behind his shades. "It's way too silent here... do you feel like you're being watched?"
"I definitely feel a sense of presence here," she answered in a more cautious tone. "This is strange..."
"Indeed... this feels like a trap..."
"I can reveal it, Naruto-kun," Immediately, she started to form a set of simple and frequently used hand seals but only to be halted once again. "What's wrong?"
"The Byakugan hand seal would cause a commotion," explained Naruto in a silent whisper. "We don't want any reckless chaos created... if you need to reveal genjutsu, do it in a way that they don't know that it's being revealed."
"How though?"
"If the jutsu is simple, we should be able to see through it but this... but this... it's a very highly skilled genjutsu..." At that point, Naruto focussed more chakra into his eyes to achieve maximum versatility of his vision. In seconds, his eyes were able to detect many signatures nearby, not to mention able to view 9 invisible shinobis just standing there completely concealed. His eyes told him everything, and in the edge of his eye, he could see one of them throwing a series of weapons right at his direction. Flinching immediately, Naruto made a backward flip as the shinobi weapons struck forcefully into the ground, Hinata also followed his suit when she sensed the presence half a second after him. However, sensing a chakra source coming from his right in a charging speed, the Death Knight quickly used his chakra to propel himself back in a quick glide to avoid.
"What's going on..." asked Hinata to herself as she prepared for combat. "Is this an ambush?"
"No..." said Naruto as he saw three girls standing about 10 meters in front of him. "Sakura-chan, Ino-chan and Tenten are right in front of me right now... this entire academy is under an effect of genjutsu..."
"What?"
"You can drop this illusion," said Naruto. "I can see right through it." The three girls simply grinned.
"You aren't a Hidden-nin for nothing," said Sakura as she dispelled the entire illusion. As she commenced the action, it revealed Sasuke, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, Rin and Gaara leaning on the swing poles observing the battle. "You have some skill seeing through this illusion."
"It was too obvious," said Naruto. 'She utilized the Wind Walk's invisibility ability into this illusion... Sakura-chan has become much more stronger...' "I am not here to fight, I am here..."
"You have been here for ten days without any of us knowing," said Ino. "We don't like sneaky guests who intend to hide themselves from the public like they are a hidden plague."
"You clearly know I am a Hidden-nin, and I saw you before." Naruto said pointing at Tenten.
"I know you are one, Aegis-san," Tenten responded with a grin. "But we girls happen to be curious of how strong you really are. You know how mysterious you are, right?"
"What the heck does that have to do with anything?"
"Simple," said Sakura with authority. "I want you to spar against the three of us."
"I would not accept such an offer..."
"I don't think we are giving you a choice."
"What are you saying?"
"Sakura-san," pleaded Hinata. "Please stop this, don't fight him!" She then looked at the rest of her friends, they seemed to be as amused as the other three girls, Hinata didn't like this at all. 'Why did this become so awkward?'
"Don't worry, Hinata," said Ino along with a wide smirk. "We won't hurt him... much."
"We just want to have a bit of excitement," reasoned the weapon master. "It'll be fine, he is a Hidden-nin, am I right?" The dark assailant's eyes narrowed hearing those words, it seemed like those girls really wanted a battle, but for what reason? He couldn't grasp it, not like he was able to anyway since this scenario was just too strange. Sakura, Ino and Tenten never did this before, what would cause them to have such behaviour?
"You left me no choice..." said Naruto as he generated chakra into his army knife to open into combat position. "If the only way for you guys to listen is for me to use force, I will do it." 'Naruto-kun...' said Hinata in her head nervously. 'Be careful...'
'That's the Naruto-ni-chan I know,' thought Sakura with an inward smile. "Get him!" Immediately, Tenten jumped high into the sky as Ino and Sakura both charged at the assailant at that exact instant. An irritated grunt escaped Naruto's mouth in a hiss, this wasn't something that he expected. The least he could was to prepare for the worst case scenario. Narrowing his eyes noticeably, the Death Knight raised his left arm to a strong guard as Ino projected a heavy kick. Once the contact was made, Naruto was surprised at the strength that was given, however, with Sakura coming in from the side he had no time to just stand still. With a shift of his body in a fast reaction, the demon quickly evaded a clearly high impact punch that was aiming for his face, that was a close one but Sakura didn't like it one bit.
In a coordinated fashion, Ino lowered herself in a quick pace and took out a kunai to stab his leg, seeing this action, Naruto defended with his army knife. Once the collision was made, the Death Knight didn't know what was worse, their teamwork or their quick reflexes since Ino prepared to attack again with a snap kick. Not having enough time to dodge, Naruto took the hit completely but with a defensive guard. Smirking, Sakura seized this chance for her to step in. He winced as the other one came at him with a weapon in her hand, as if it was a natural impulse, the Death Knight elevated his leg to perform a kick. A grunt of frustration was heard when he struck nothing but air, but his eyes went wide open when the two girls suddenly leaped away.
'What?' Once he read an incredible amount of chakra source in the air, he cursed himself for not remembering Tenten was preparing for an attack. Suddenly, a series of teal lightning beams were being fired at him from afar, he sensed this was Mana Flare beams but Sakura wasn't even using the Mana Flare.
"Take this!" shouted Sakura as she continued her wildfire to distract Naruto from paying attention to Tenten. 'She utilized her attacks in such an effective way... Sakura-chan indeed is strong.' thought Naruto as he defended by slashing each attack. The pink hair girl flinched angrily seeing her attacks didn't even phase him, as she launched more all she did was made him to increase in agility to defend against all. Currently, Tenten smirked knowing her jutsu was complete, it was then when she decided to release it.
"Cast Down no jutsu!" exclaimed Tenten as she practically hurled the incredible amount of chakra waves down at the dark assailant who had his hand occupied. He cursed mentally as if that was a natural response when disaster broke loose, without thinking he fired a Chain Lightning right at Sakura to buy some time for him to defend the next incoming attack. Sakura screamed as the flares struck her heavily in the chest, luckily Ino caught her in time before more damage was dealt. After thinking of the wisest options, he decided to jump back. Once the Cast Down attack struck ground, the earth violently exploded in a ferocious ignition. The dark assailant never saw that happening when he witnessed this a long time ago, it was obvious that major improvements were added in their key techniques.
"Damn..." shouted Naruto as he fell on the ground on his back, he was obviously in pain due to then sudden ignition. Not allowing him to have any rest, Sakura leaped high into the air forming a series of hand seals to engage the next offensive. In a flash, 6 Sakuras appeared with a kunai in their hands ready to strike. 'Damn, it must be the Mirror Image... this could get annoying...'
"Sapphire Lightning!" yelled Ino as she generated chakra into a long whip. In a simple slashing motion, Ino easily controlled the whip to attack Naruto who was still on the ground. Gathering a bit of thrust, the assailant quickly rolled the opposite direction as the lightning whip disintegrated more of the earth, with a hand boost Naruto reached high to the sky and Blinked right in front of Tenten.
"What?" said the Chinese looking girl as the dark warrior made a flip kick to send her downwards. To his frustration, the weapon master managed to land on her fours completely unharmed by the crashing impact. It was then when a multiple Sakuras, defying all laws of gravity since they used their chakra as a source to walk on air, got behind Naruto and gave a strong kick. To their surprise, all of their attacks missed the dark assailant as he vanished from existence, Tenten and Ino's eyes widened.
'Crap.' Sakura said in her head as she saw the assassin appeared behind her clones a second later, with his blade completely filled with chakra. Giving a loud battle cry, one of the Sakuras leaped back at him attempting to give a punch, however with a tilt of his body the attack was completely missed making a clear opening. Putting a smirk on his face, Naruto quickly bashed his knee into Sakura and soon rushed his large assassin army knife into her. As a result, the girl disappeared in a cloud of smoke showing him it was only a Mirror Image. In three heavy slashes, three more Sakuras were destroyed, and with the last one, Naruto used the Aerial Shackle to capture one and then dived down to the ground at high speed.
"This is not good," said Sasuke observing this with half amusement and half concern.
"He's really lethal, isn't he?" asked Neji knowingly with a grin.
"Oh no, Sakura-san!" shouted Lee as the victimized Sakura was slammed to the earth surface in a deadly impact. Lee was relieved when that Sakura disappeared in a smoke as well, she was also an image but if all of them were images, where was the real Sakura?
"Why you!" growled Tenten angrily as she unleashed a legion of weapons at the Death Knight. Taking out his demonic energized sidearm and focused his sight on the incoming shirukens and kunais, he fired. As the chakra beams struck all the weapons with extreme accuracy, it violently exploded making the attack utterly useless. Naruto snickered while Tenten, on the other hand, stood their in astonishment.
'Ni-san's got really good at this,' said Rin in her head.
'This looks really bad...' thought Neji seeing Tenten in stun.
With a screechy battle cry, Ino engaged the Sapphire Lightning again and practically whipped them at Naruto in a frenzied manner. Her attacks were random and unpredictable, Naruto knew he couldn't use normal logic to get her. As he pointed the tip of his sidearm at Ino, he then fired at random. Seeing this attack, Ino raised her whip of electricity to intercept it immediately making Naruto flinch. It was then when he sensed another signature coming from behind. 'Shit!'
"I got you!" declared Sakura energetically but yet very deadly. She suddenly deactivated her Wind Walk invisibility and leaped slightly to achieve momentum to attack. "Critical Punch!" To her surprise, the assailant grabbed her fist swiftly to hold her in that position for that one second. She gasped as his readiness, who would've known he was this good? With his bladed arm in a striking position, he prepared to plow it into the girl's body area, Sakura simply prepared for the worst.
Just when Sakura believed it was over, her opponent cried in pain as the Sapphire Lightning made a searing slash on his left arm. Hinata gasped when she saw her lover being attacked like that, not to mention when the attackers were her closest friends. She wanted to cry out his name and run to him but she didn't want to reveal Naruto's identity like that, she was so confused. Not wasting any time, Sakura released herself from that grip easily and gave a forceful punch to his face.
"We got him!" called Ino to Sakura along with a wink. Hearing her words, Tenten then took out her two Dragon Scrolls and tossed them to the air, at the next second, she leaped up to the sky herself as the scrolls surrounded her. Sakura followed suit as well, in a matter of moments she also surrounded herself with a powerful green chakra shield, it was clear this was the Mana Flare. "Come here, you!" teased Ino as she unsheathed an 10 inch dagger from her back and dashed at the Death Knight for a melee combat. A smirk came upon Naruto's face seeing this aggression, Ino was foolish to fight in his preferred grounds for he himself was a melee fighter. As the dagger and knife clashed, both warriors seemed to be very satisfied with another's performance.
"You're good at this, my lady," said Naruto with a dark grin.
"You're not that bad yourself, Aegis," replied Ino mischievously. With a twist, the blond hair girl lowered herself to give a vicious stab right at his hips. However, noticing this attempt Naruto raised his leg and kicked her away. Seeing Ino was out of firing range, the remaining two shinobis decided to unleash their long range pursuit.
"Fire!" ordered Sakura as she commenced her deadly pursuit. Sensing this plan a long time ago, Naruto smirked devilishly as he himself had a few surprises for these lovely ladies, however, just when he was about to act, Ino released her Sapphire Lightning and constricted Naruto making him completely immobile. To top it off, this process was very damaging.
"I can't let you do that," said Ino as she wiped her chin. "You have to stay here for us to play with." In a flash, both Tenten and Sakura's deadly attacks came forth full force, a tortured gasp was heard as the weapons and chakra flares made contact to the assailant. Hinata nearly screamed when she could've sworn Naruto was on the ground defenseless, without another thought, the Hyuga girl rushed to his aid to see if he was alright. Once they stopped their aerial attacks, Sakura could clearly see his brother was down, guilt rushed to their system when they felt they overdid it. Everyone gathered around Naruto with Hinata in her arms 10 seconds later, by the looks of it, he seemed to have fainted.
"Let me take a look at him!" said Sakura rushing next to Naruto with teary eyes. "I'm so sorry..." Sakura cried holding her brothers hand. "It was just a surprise for you... I know that you don't prefer all mushy hugs and stuff... so I wanted to put this welcoming in this fashion... I am so sorry!" Rin, on the other hand, had quite an amused grin on her face, since she was standing near the back, nobody other than Gaara noticed it. Grinning mischievously, Naruto suddenly opened his eyes and jumped on his mastermind sister while pinning her on the ground by the wrists. Sakura blushed deeply when she saw her brother right above her, everyone else other than Hinata, Rin and Gaara gasped with shock. It was then when Hinata laughed out loud, Rin couldn't help but giggle cutely herself while the Sand-nin grinned.
"So, you were the leader behind this little stunt, ne, Sakura-chan?" asked Naruto teasingly. "I should've guessed my little sister always had it in her."
"Naruto-ni-chan... how did you..."
"I have my ways, so, it looks like you guys already know it's me without me telling you guys. You sure saved me the trouble."
"Can you get off me, Naruto-ni-chan?" pleaded Sakura. Without further question, Naruto loosened her grip but only to be countered when the pink hair girl jumped back on him instead making him the victim. Tenten and Ino aided Sakura immediately to make the demon's life a tad bit more difficult.
"You have to expect them pulling things like this more often, Naruto," said Shikamaru smiling.
"You have no idea how many times I fell for that," said Sasuke.
"You guys not mad at me for leaving?" asked Naruto who was still being nailed by the three girls.
"No, not after what Rin have told us..." said Lee very sincerely. "You are a really good guy... and a good friend."
"If she told you that... that means..."
"Yeah, we all know that you have a demon sealed within you," replied Neji kindly.
"And you were Konoha's hero," added Tenten.
"Not to mention the rookie 9's reliable guardian!" finished Ino happily.
"How do you guys know though?" questioned a very shocked and confused Naruto. He thought that they would be the ones to be stunned, not the other way around. In truth, this was very hard to swallow at the moment, it wasn't everyday that everyone knows his darkest secrets and takes it so... casually. His mind darkened immediately, he didn't know what to do.
"Hokage-sama and I told everyone about you in your funeral," said Hinata silently. "We just didn't think that secret should be kept a secret any longer because you were assumed to be dead."
"Hinata..."
"You shouldn't feel guilty about it," said Tenten.
"It's not your fault." Ino stated with reassurance telling him that he wasn't to blame.
"You guys don't despise me for being a demon? Even when my blood is at ninety percent corruption?" asked Naruto really wanting an answer. "I am a demon... one with demonic blood I am the reason that... the village hates me, I am..." To his surprise, Sakura hushed him with a finger to his lips. "But, Sakura-chan... I hid this from you..."
"It's okay, Naruto," she said warmly. "You had your reasons for doing so. You still loved me when you were a demon, what difference is it now? I still love you today."
"Ni-san," Rin called. "I feel the same way."
"You saved our butts last time in the exam, remember?" asked Shikamaru with gratitude.
"But I..."
"No buts, Naruto," interrupted Sasuke grinning. "You are our friend, one of the greatest friend and shinobi in Konoha."
"You live to protect your loved ones," said Lee. "We can never hate you for that."
"You really don't hate me..."
"We would never hate you," said Hinata truthfully.
"Because you never did anything that would make us feel that way," added Sakura with a warm smile. "You're my brother, no matter what happens." Everyone nodded in unison as a response.
"Thank you..." Naruto stated completely touched by their words.
"These are your true friends, ni-san." Rin stated in a very delighted voice.
"We won't abandon you for that kind of difference," finished Gaara. "You and I are the same after all." That statement somehow made the Death Knight chuckle, it was so true, if the gang accepted Gaara, why wouldn't they accept him? Rin was right, these people are his true friends and these are the same people that he would live to protect because they are that worth it.
"Now," said Neji. "Since everyone has given their words of encouragement to you, let me give you mine..." At that time, all the youths turned to look at Neji who was coughing slightly. "Hinata-sama is a nice girl, just marry her, okay?" Everyone nodded in agreement other than Hinata and Naruto.
"I'll tell you guys in more depth later, okay?" suggested the assailant.
"It's good to have you back, Naruto-kun," said Hinata as she gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Konoha finally feels complete with you here." As Naruto glanced up at the late morning sky, he smiled in agreement which made everyone's spirit to rise. For the first time in many years, his soul and mind finally rested down in peace. With Hinata and all his friends by his side, there was nothing anyone or anything can do to destroy this powerful bond. Demon or no demon, not any one of them differentiated him because they were his genuine companions. These people were worth his care, and it is also his friends that gave him the will and mind he needed to follow his life in the right path. Finally, everything was coming together as one. Today was a good day, a very memorable day indeed.
AN: Remember, this fic will go up to rated R next chapter so don't start ranting when you don't see it in the PG-13 section, you have been warned. And also, next chapter will come out in 6 to 10 days because school is being a living hell, aside from that, I pledged my leadership in my church so my life would no longer be that smooth. I hope to see your words in your reviews if you decide to type one, more importantly, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Feel free to question anything that you might not be able to understand, I will try to answer it in the best of my ability. Criticism are allowed, feel free to do so but do it honestly instead of typing "You are a terrible author!" because that doesn't help me to meet your needs and also it doesn't help me write any better.
As of this moment, I need to take a break from writing fan fiction... things are just piling and my mind just has nothing to offer, if you happen to have good suggestions for plot, I will be glad to hear it because my mind is absolutely empty... somewhat. Thank you once again, I hope to finish the next chapter as soon as I can if I have enough power to change the education system!
