Chapter Nine: Revelations

Hinata walked up to the sitting form of Naruto. Naruto looked up and smiled. "Hinata-chan! You're okay!" Hinata frowned, and looked down at her feet. "…It was you." Naruto gave a confused look at the Hyuuga. "Wha--?" Hinata grabbed Naruto's shoulders. "It was you! You did this--The girl, me, Gaara…That damn demon inside you killed that girl and nearly killed me and my boyf--!" Hinata raised a hand to her mouth, embarrassed at the thought of almost accidentally calling Gaara her "boyfriend".

Naruto was silent. "…So it wasn't a dream…" Hinata lowered her and again. "What? You knew…?" Naruto shook his hands. "No! Well…Not really. I--I had a dream that I had killed that girl, and that I had attacked you and Gaara, but…I didn't know that was for real…" Hinata sighed, and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "We have to tell Tsunade, Naruto. She'll know what to do!"

Tsunade sighed. She stared out the window as the two Chuunin stood behind her waiting for a reaction. "So…The Kyuubi is getting the better of Naruto…" Hinata nodded. "We don't know what to do, and since you're the Hokage, we thought you could help us." The Hokage turned to the Chuunin, and shook her head. "I can't." Naruto clenched his fists.

"What! Why--You're the Hokage! Why can't you help me?" Tsunade turned to Naruto. "The Hokage can't do everything, Naruto! To stop this would require moving the Kyuubi into another person, which wouldn't do us much good and would most likely kill you, or another solution is just to wipe you off the face of the map!" Naruto lowered his fists, loosening his hands. "So…Either way, I would have to die to stop it." The Hokage nodded. Hinata turned to Naruto. "Naruto, I--I'm so sorry…"

Naruto ran from the room, down the hall, and past the Chuunin that had been listening in. Sakura had been listening as well. Naruto stopped by her, staring at her. Sakura just stared at him back, knowing that inside, he was ready to die because he knew he could be responsible one day for her death. Naruto shut his eyes, tears streaming down them, and continued to run. Sakura raised a hand out to him. "Ah--Naruto--!"

A hand grasped her arm, and she turned to end up gazing into the eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. "Don't go after him--There's nothing you can do, just like the rest of us." Sakura frowned, upset, and buried her face into Sasuke's chest. Sasuke looked down at her, but instead of usually pushing her away, he put his arms around her and held her close to him.

Naruto ran out of the building, Hinata chasing after him. "Please, Naruto! Wait--No one is going to let you die!" Naruto turned back to her, still running toward the forest. "I have to keep going, Hinata--There's gotta be another way to stop myself and save my friends without dying!" Then Naruto stopped, and Hinata came to a halt. "But, if I have to die to save my friends…"

An image of the pink-haired Chuunin Sakura turning to him ran through his mind--She waved at him and smiled as a black-haired boy named Sasuke jumped down from a branch he was resting on.

Naruto bared his teeth, tears streaming down the sides of his face. "..Then SO BE IT!" The blonde-haired Chuunin burst into the forest at full speed.

Hinata continued to stand where she had stopped. "Naruto…" Hinata fell to her knees, placed her face into her hands, and began to cry softly. She heard footsteps approaching her from behind, and turned to see Neji and Tenten running towards her. Tenten kneeled beside Hinata. "Hinata, where did Naruto go?" Hinata turned towards Tenten, and then to Neji. "He…He went to go find a way to stop the Kyuubi on his own…" Neji looked up towards the forest, and Hinata stood up to go back. She stopped by Neji. "Now you know, Neji-niisan…You can't blame Gaara-kun for any of this." Hinata strode back to the building.

Gaara still laid back against the tree, the blood on the bark from where he had punched the surface fading away. Gaara opened his eyes, and watched as Naruto appeared through the trees. Gaara smirked. "Get a taste of real life, Uzumaki?" Naruto stopped running and turned toward the Sand-Chuunin. "You--You were there too."

Gaara scoffed. "Yeah, you get the point now. You can't control the power that's in you and you hurt everyone around you, no matter how special--Take it from someone who knows." Gaara clenched his fists. "My demon almost made me destroy someone for caring about me."

Naruto had an idea. "Hey--Since you are like me, you would know how to get rid of the demon, wouldn't you?" Gaara looked up at the blonde-Chuunin. "Why would you want to know?" Naruto grabbed the collar of the Sand-Chuunin. "I DON'T WANT TO HURT THE ONES I CARE FOR!" Gaara smirked at the Chuunin once again. "Humph. Why are you asking me when I can't even control my demon?" Naruto let go of Gaara.

"So, you can't tell me either…?" Naruto began to walk away. "Looks like I'm going to have to die after all." Gaara turned back to face the sky. "So, you're just going to give up like that--Hey, I've been like you are now for sixteen long years. I'm still standing, and it hasn't mattered to me who I kill." Naruto glared at Gaara. "THAT is why I can't hold up with this--It DOES matter to me who I kill!" Naruto ran off further into the forest. Gaara turned to where he had left. "So long, kid."

The Chuunin sat together in a group. They were all silent. Sakura sat quietly with her head leaning on Sasuke's arm. Sasuke had his head leaning on his hands, the same fashion as they were when he had first met Naruto in their small feud that had ended in one hell of a shove into a kiss. Of course, everyone remembered that. Ino sat next to Shikamaru, occasionally looking up and shooting a secretive glare at Sakura.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee sat across from them, with Lee trying to avoid looking at Sakura leaning against Sasuke. Hinata sat by herself. Finally, Lee spoke up. "Heh--To think that so much could happen in a few days." Tenten nodded. "I know…And Naruto could die if he can't find some other way to get rid of the Kyuubi." Sakura sat up. "There has to be some way we can help him--We can't just let him die." Hinata nodded. "Sakura's right. But not even Tsunade knows what to do…The only person that would know what to do would have to be--!" Hinata put a hand to her mouth. Ino looked to Hinata. "What is it?"

Hinata stood up and began to back away. "I…I have to go to him…" Ino jumped out of her seat. "Uh-uh, no way, Hinata--I mean, we all know that he's innocent with the murder and all, but--He's still possessed, don't you think he'll try and--!" Shikamaru stopped her. "You didn't see what we saw," he said, moving over to Neji and Tenten. Ino looked around. "What? What am I missing here?" Lee moved over to Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino. "It's more like what we didn't see." Hinata blushed, and ran out. "Ah--Hinata!"

Ino was about to run after her when Shikamaru grabbed her arm to stop her. Ino gave him a look. "And you are one, stopping me, and two, holding my arm why?" Shikamaru rolled his eyes, and turned slightly red. "Don't look at this the wrong way." Ino shot her glance at him, also turning red. "Well, will you let me go or not, Shikamaru?" Shikamaru scowled and let go. Lee looked at the three silent faces that knew what had happened. Lee began to get an idea of what was going on. "They've found an interest in one another, haven't they?" Tenten and Neji looked up. Shikamaru turned to Lee, and nodded.

Muahahaha. ….Ehe. Go on to Chapter 10, please