A/N: MORE THAN SEVEN HUUUUUUNDRED REVIEWS! This story is now past that mark! You guys are the best! When I first created this story I never once thought that it would graduate to become the massive and phenomenal hit that it is to day! And to top it all off, this is my longest chapter to date! Reviews inspire me to write like this so I just want to say...
...THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!
But I've held ya'll up long enough! Now...
...onto the next chapter! =D Fair warning! Elsa shows a dangerous, dark side of her in this chapter, and honestly, its a little scary. Those who don't want to see that, this, is your last chance to leave. WHY?
Because Elsa goes hardcore YANDERE in this chapter.
Remember, she's radically different in this story as of this chapter given what happened in the last. I mean, something like that, coupled with having your heart broken...yeah, that'd drive anyone crazy
Also!
THIS STORY JUMPS TO M-RATED IN THIS CHAPTER! And yes, the title is inspired by Christina Perri's hit song, Human. The song's just so jaggedly SAD and painful and so ELSA that I had to use it, and listening to it gave me a major head rush while writing this. Hope ya like it! To those who suspected it, this Hinata ain't the shy, stammering girl we knew in the series. She's quite a bit like her Road to Ninja counterpart and oh dear lord, this is going to call all sorts of chaos...
...and yup, there's heartbreak in this chapter. I won't say for who! AND ANOTHER LEMON!
"She's the only one I want. I...I can't live without her."
~?
Human
Fuck all kinds of duck.
Many thoughts flowed through the mind of Uzumaki Naruto when the girl with the ebon hair-Hinata!-kissed him, but looking back, he thought that phrase summed it up nicely. For a moment, just a moment, the fire in his veins turned to ice and he froze. A familiar pain flared in the back of his mind, the pain of something forgotten. He knew this girl. Knew her, and his heart ached in her presence. Snatches of sound and memory like daggers in his mind, stabbing, slashing, slicing and oh crap-
"Do you have to do this?"
A sigh snaked through his mind.
"I made a promise to Sakura-
"He's a traitor! Let the Anbu hunt him! I don't want to loose you!"
"Hey, I'll be fine. I've got Shikamaru and the others with me."
...baka."
"I'll come back, Hinata-chan."
"You better!
Her lips on his; desperate, hungry, fierce. Fleeting.
"I love you. You know that, right?" Pale orbs, once so shy before that fateful confession, warming him now with the heat of her ardor. Her love for him is fierce as flame, and he loves her for it even more. He laughs, his hand moving to cup her cheek, sighing now as she nuzzles into that palm.
"Love you, too."
'No!' he hissed to himself, struggling to shake free from his past. 'I don't want to remember this!'
Part of him did. The rest, didn't.
For a moment-just a moment-he wondered if it might not be so bad to think; to remember. To lose himself in the cloud of memory and just let it all come back, dive into those happier times and never emerged, fall into the waters of his past and simply let it all wash away, recall everything
Then he saw Elsa.
No.
Anger sparked. Flared up, breaking the ice. The past was just that. His past. Hinata was. Elsa was his future. His life. Love. Everything. She was fragile-just like him-but that was okay; because they were both broken in their own odd ways, twisted and warped by their pasts and families both. With this final resounding thought, he took his past self, his memories before Elsa in hand...
...and he crushed them. Pushed them back, buried them so deep, refusing to look at them ever again. Never again.
"Get the hell off me!"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" A new voice barked. "Naruto, its only Hinata! She's not going to hurt you!"
He caught sight of a brown-haired boy, skimming over his feral features at a glance. Kiba. The name sprang to mind even as the Inuzuka struggled to calm him-
-only to be met by a wall of fire.
"What the hell?!"
Lightly singed, the shinobi staggered back, hurriedly patting himself down, throwing off his jacket to extinguish the flames.
Naruto's mind scraped at his skull like a caged beast desperate to escape, his thoughts blending angrily together as Elsa got further and further away. LEAVE ME ALONE! A wall of concussive heat shot forward, knocking everyone backwards, everyone crowding on him, trying to speak with him because he didn't want to hear them, didn't want to talk to them just needed to get away...
"Enough!" Someone was barking, shouting orders over the din of his flames, someone he couldn't see in the inferno. "Kiba, retrieve the girl and bring her back! Tell her its a misunderstanding! Preferrably before Naruto burns down the village!"
"But Asuma said-
"Go!"
NO!
Snarling, Naruto shunted the last of his half-remembered memories aside and shoved the girl in his arms, propelling her backwards. That look of confusion, shock, of hurt, almost froze him again. Almost, but not quite. Elsa's sob hurt even more, the sight of her turning, fleeing, running-the fire in him flared even more brightly when Hinata tried to come back, tried to step into his arm and speak to him. He didn't want to hear it. Didn't need the foggy sensation her voice brought on.
"Hey, wait!" she cried at his back. "Naruto-kun!"
"Go away!" steaming, he shrugged out of her grasp, half-stumbling when she grabbed at his sleeve. "I don't know you!"
"Yes, you do!"
"Like hell I do!"
When she touched his face, he felt tainted. Unclean, somehow. Despite the confusion in her eyes, the righteous, baffled anger, the sheer ardor there, he lashed out at her with all his might.
His hand cracked out, mercilessly, sending her sprawling.
Something seemed to break in the dark-haired girl then, her fierce expression shattering like so much glass. A lifetime ago, it would've paralyzed him. Now? Now, he felt only the tiniest pinprick of guilt for this strange, sad, sorrowful girl whom he'd forgotten. Just a touch of remorse, and he stubbornly quashed that the moment he felt it. Refused to feel it, as he stared down into those teary, lavender eyes.
"Please, what did I do wrong?" she begged, sobbing softly. "Just tell me what I did wrong...
The elemental hesitated a heartbeat longer. "You didn't do anything," he said. "The guy you knew...
His eyes drifted back toward the village, toward what appeared to be a rising pillar of ice in the distance. With both hands, he took the door of his past and slammed it firmly shut behind him. His feet carried him forward slowly at first, like a train building steam; then he was moving. Jogging. Running. His future ahead of him, his past, fading at his back.
...he died!"
In a jet of flame, he too flight and departed.
For only the second time in her life, Elsa ran from Naruto.
Her heart lurched even as her body scrambled into action, broken pieces scrabbling at reality that wasn't quite there. She pushed past unfamiliar faces, darted through crowded streets, all the while consciously aware of the burning heat in her face, the pain in her eyes as she cried icy tears. One poor sod didn't get out of her way fast enough; her shoulder brushed his and the poor fellow found himself frozen solid in the time that it took to blink an eye.
Shouts and screams followed her as she fled.
"Kami!"
"He...is he dead?!"
People tended to avoid her after that. She didn't blame them. The frozen man would likely live provided someone thawed him out by the end of the day. She couldn't say the same of her heart. It wouldn't. It felt frozen, hard, brittle in her chest, crumbling into dust with each passing second. Words in her head, knives in her heart; he'd built her up and now she'd fallen apart.
'Stupid!' she cursed herself, powers flaring fiercely, 'Stupid, Stupid, STUPID!' Had she been in her right mind she might have balked at this-because in her sorrow she was physically affecting her now, a pillar of ice rising as she stomped down, a veritable frozen tower forming for a single step. Instinct carried her as much as the ice now, lifting her a solid mile high into the air in the form of a twirling ramp. Wind fluttered in her face, freed from the confines of gravity, she traveled
But even her element couldn't last forever.
Eventually the ramp gave out, depositing her in unfamiliar territory. Elsa didn't care; she just kept moving.
The dark pillars of Konoha's forest walls -a training ground, perhaps?- greeted her blurry vision, the imposing color of the trees doing nothing more than to throw her off, confuse and misdirected her. Elsa stumbled and staggered and tripped over roots, not caring where she was, where she was going, so long as it was away from him. Nothing else mattered.
When at last she could run no more, when her legs refused to carry her any further than they already had, she collapsed.
Ungraciously, too.
A foot chose to stumble over an upturned root and she fell, sobbing into the dirt, uncaring for what it might do to her face-her complexion-or the agonizing sound of her cries trickling into the steadily frosting forest. Her powers threatened to rage, spiral out of control, consume everything around her. Maybe she should let them. Let it happen. This village had done nothing but cause her pain.
'It's not fair. I loved-love!-him! So why...why does it always hurt so much...
Looking back, she didn't know how long she sat there, grieving. It could have been hours. Most likely, it was probably only a few minutes. When at last she cried herself hoarse, when her body simple refused to give her anymore tears, then, and only then did she allow herself to rise. The anger, when it came, surprised her with its vehemence. Intensity. One moment she'd been reeling, cursing herself for having loved and lost-the next, a searing wave of indignation crashed down around her heart.
A spark of atomic anger glimmered to life inside of her, heated and furious. What right did she have to him? That harlot! Bitch! Whore! She had no right! Everything had been fine between them before she'd shown up in that damn dress. Yes, it was fine. blessedly, wonderfully fine and she'd been so happy, so content, and now it hurt, hurt, hurthurthurthurt...
Seething, she created a small mound of rounded ice and sat upon it. The cold never bothered her, anyway. No, it certainly couldn't bother her as much as-
"Woof!"
Her body bristled, an icicle forming in hand as something came crashing through the undergrowth. Something large. She sat there what felt like an eternity, readying her faltering power, preparing to strike. Whatever it was, whatever strange creature was stalking her, it would not catch her unawares. The Ice Queen was determined to fight, and fight she would...
...until she finally saw it.
She was looking at...a dog?
A very large dog!
A great big brute of a beast with a white, snowy coat, it came bounding out of the brush before her very eyes, paws grinding to a halt in the frozen tundra. The moment it saw her it paused, cocked its head, and whined, trying to make sense of her. There was just something so indefatigably human about the gesture that she let her guard down. Almost against her will the anxiety slipped away, melting through her fingertips.
...what?"
The canine nosed her hand and offered a plaintive whine, followed by a lick. A small, rueful smile tugged at her lips.
...I don't suppose you can talk."
Another whine.
"Didn't think so."
Despite her sorrows, Elsa smiled and stroked him behind the ears. "Hey, boy. What're you doing out here?"
"Oi! Akamaru!"
Just like that, the tension came flooding back. She started at the sound from the brush, jerking upright. "Who's there?!"
It was him. The boy from the gates.
"Yo." he waved uneasily. "I'm guessing you're Elsa."
"What do you want?"
"To help...I think."
The silence was telling.
Kiba sighed, planting both hands firmly in his pockets. "Look, I don't really know you, but I do know Naruto. When he says something-when he loves someone-he damn well means it. That's the problem." She heard his footsteps come closer, ignored them, until he sat beside her. "C'mon, you're our guest here. I ain't gonna hurt ya. But I will tell ya the truth. When Naruto loves someone...he really loves someone. That makes it...odd, I guess, for everyone."
Unable to ignore him any longer she raised her head, giving him a despondent look. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean."
Dark eyes flashed.
...he loved Hinata first."
Ah. There it was. And just like that, the burning rage in her belly turned into a frozen lake. Her eyes burned bright, the peak of her fury plunging to subzero lows. Kill her. The thought of taking life, once so frightening to Elsa, felt perfectly natural. She would find the girl-Hinata-who had started this, and she would kill her. It was the only reasonable thing to do. She would freeze her slowly and shatter her into a thousand pieces-then she would reconstitute them and break those pieces again and again and again until there was nothing left-
"Oi," Kiba grunted. "You're leaking killer intent."
A dangerous look flashed in her eyes, her head tilting to regard his within a frightening recompense. "Probably because I'm thinking of killing someone." Inwardly, she laughed. If she couldn't have Naruto, no one could, of that much she would make certain. Part of her gibbered that this was madness, that this wasn't her, that she was losing her mind but she didn't care. The sun of her heart was dying. All the warmth was turning to ice and with it came a clear, crystal, cruel clarity.
No one could have Naruto but her. If she didn't want to feel this pain then she would prevail to prevent it. No one could have Naruto but her. Certainly not the Hyuuga wench...
"If you think of going after her-
"You'll what?" the temperature dropped around them, her next words emerging in a frozen plume. "Kill me?"
The Inuzuka made a squelching sound, shivering slightly at the frozen death he saw in those orbs. "I'd...prefer to avoid that. Naruto would roast me alive...
"Then get out." she hummed softly. "Before I kill you."
Kiba got. So did Akamaru.
"Alright, I'm going, I'm going. Sheesh, you're a nasty little thing when yer really angry, ain'tcha?" he sounded almost sad as he trekked off. Then the bastard -the insufferable, annoying, meddling little bastard!- paused, sniffed, and smirked. Before she could ask what the devil he was up to, the Inuzuka placed both hands to either side of his face and gave a loud halloo at the top of his lungs:
"Oi, Naruto! I'm done talking, bro! She's all yours! You can stop hiding out there now. C'mon out!"
Elsa's entire body went red in a bright, atomic blush. All the anger she'd felt, everything she'd tried so hard to hold onto, it slipped right through her hands.
The moment she heard the new footsteps, she started crying all over again. It was too much. She just couldn't handle it. She couldn't...
"Elsa, I-
She refused to so much as look at him, instead erecting a wall of ice between them in the form of a frozen line of trees. For a moment, both blonde's balked at the impromptu nature creation. Goddess. Her powers really were evolving, weren't they? She felt fierce. Strong. Wild. Ice frosted at her fingertips, powerful and primal, just begging to be released. Unleashed. On him. But no, she didn't want to do that...no, wait. Yes, she did. He deserved to feel the pain he put her through, he deserved it-
"Leave me alone." she tried to get away from him, to no avail.
"Will you just listen to me?!"
Elsa started as Naruto's fist obliterated those frozen trees, turning the towering oaks to so much crumbling ash. The sudden display of violence-the pain in his eyes-genuinely frightened her. Flames flickered around him like a wildfire, black, purple, red, blue, gold-white, even a smattering of green. Such were his emotions, raging across the entire color spectrum. He started forward-
-and cringing, she shrank back.
"Why are you here?" the own venom in her voice startled even her. "I though you were busy with her?"
"Please," he croaked, "Just hear me out. I'm begging you...I don't care about her! She took me by surprise, is all!"
"LIAR!" the vehemence of her shout sent him rocking back on his heels. "Kiba told me! You loved her!" A wave of ice accompanied her words, blasting him back, forcing his flames to flair and defend. "Maybe I should kill her!" she shouted over the clash of their elements, sobbing, "I should kill her, and everyone-anyone-who tries to take you from me! I-" words died when he started to move.
Crumpled on the ground he found his footing. Flames flared. Consuming him, utterly.
"You ruin me! So I should kill them! Kill them all!" A scream, raw and angry and sad tore itself from her throat as he strode forward into the deluge, unto her, unflinching, uncaring for the sorrow and grief hurled at him, taking it in stride. Ever advancing, ever moving. "Maybe then it'll stop!" Still, onward he came. "Maybe it won't hurt!"
"Well then, maybe you should, 'ttebayo!"
...w-what?"
The ice guttered out of her hands in the same instant that his palms closed over them. Naruto stood before her now, a living entity of fire, his eyes streaking with golden-blue energies. It didn't hurt. Desperate, she tried to tug away. Naruto wasn't having it. Strong arms hauled her forward into his smoldering chest, refusing to let go.
"If it makes you happy, then you should do it." he continued, stroking the small of her back. "That's all I ever wanted for ya, you know? To see you smile. You're my friend and-
"-oh, thank you ever so much, my friend!-"
"Stop that. You didn't let me finish." his voice cracked at her like a whip, cutting through the bile of her voice. "This isn't you; its not how you feel."
She laughed at that; it was a sad, lonely little sound. "How would you know? You seemed too busy smooching that girl to know anything about my feelings."
"You're my best friend, El, and I lo-
"I HATE YOU!"
Slap.
His hand came out of nowhere, releasing her waist to carom painfully off her cheek. She gawped. Naruto had never struck her before. At least, not intentionally. As she looked on those burning eyes faded, replaced by a pair of true blue sapphires, the ones she knew and loved. A hand rose, cupping her throbbing cheek. Despite that, she couldn't help the first words that tumbled past her lips:
"Y-You hit me...
"Yes." A blink. "I did. And I'm sorry for that. You weren't being yourself."
"I do hate you." the words were a whisper. "You...you're always burning me...
He looked stricken at that, dousing his flames even further, despite the lack of pain she felt.
"But I love you!"
"Go away." she demurred, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. "Let me go. I don't want to talk to you."
He didn't budge, but he did release her. Almost immediately, she spun away. Trying to ignore the words at her back.
"Elsa-chan...I can't live my life without you. I see that now." When she didn't answer, didn't turn, he pressed his hands together. "I never wanted to hurt you. Then, or earlier."
"I told you to go-
He did not.
"So, I've made a decision. I want you in my life. You, and only you. Now, and forever." He was making something, forging an item of some sort, but she was determined not to look. It hurt too much to look him in the eye. She heard the sizzle of metal being made, created in his flames, and stubbornly clenched her jaw, fighting off tears. Then, he did something strange. Instead of approaching her, he bent downs, low to the ground, as though praying for forgiveness.
The sheer incredulity of such an act broke through the wall of her grief and caused her to turn around. What she saw there turned her blood to ice.
He'd dropped to a knee.
"What?" her heart stopped, hammered, then stopped all over again as he held out a hand. "No...no. Wait. Stop! What're you doing?!" Words squeaked out fruitlessly as he raised his gaze to her; because Elsa knew. She knew, knew knew what he was doing-what he was saying-because Mama had told it was the same thing Papa had done for her and oh-dear-sweet-lord she felt like a little girl again, wishing and praying for this moment and now it was here and oh god she was crying...
"Marry me." it wasn't a request; it was a plea, heartfelt and sincere.
Elsa felt her mouth work wordlessly.
"I...I...
All of her existence came to a head in that instant.
Piece by painful piece, image by iridescent image, Elsa saw her life flash before her eyes. Saw it all. From the moment of their first meeting to now. All those years. Every one of those tender, loving moments, instances of agony, of betrayal of pain and hurt and love. They'd fought and squabbled and misunderstood one another, made up, and fought again. All of it had, this winding, wicked journey, had led up to this very moment. She loved him. He was her heart. Her soul. Her all.
And she knew her answer.
...yes."
Strange how one word could bring such sweet, blessed relief. But it did. All the anger drained right out of her like a cracked sieve. Her hand reached out, taking the ring from him, sliding it onto her finger. It fit well, she thought, and that possessive part of her whooped in delight at the physical manifestation of their love. He was hers. And she was his.
"Oh, its lovely...
She took a long moment to savor Naruto's stupified expression. He looked frozen, as though his brain had simply ceased to exist. To think. Function. Oh. Maybe he had. A thread of worry stitched itself into the tapestry of his thoughts. Just a little nervous, the Ice Queen dared to wave her hand before her beloved's face. "Naruto?" she whispered. "Naruto? Hello? Are you intheeee eeeep!"
Then he pounced.
"I FREAKING LOVE YOU, DATTEBAYO!"
They went down in a tangle of arms the moment they collided, her squealing, he laughing. All the tension between them shattered, burned, and turned to ash. She wasn't sure who landed first; only that someone did; a moment later they were bound up in one another, tumbling. Ground gave way beneath them and away then went, rolling down down the bank, into a nearby stream.
When at last their wayward tumble had ceased, Elsa found herself atop her beloved blond. He lay beneath her, the water and smooth stones smoldering slightly, blue eyes glinting in the fading light afforded by the thick leaves of the forest. Then he did something very strange, an impish grin lightning his whiskered cheeks.
"Do you wanna build a snowman?"
"Hmm?"
He pointed at the riverbank.
Elsa nearly burst into a fit of hysterical giggles when she realized what he'd meant. Her joyous outburst had not only frozen everything but the stream in which they lay; the babbling brook ran harmlessly on amidst the thick snow conjured by their conflicting elements. She suddenly felt twelve all over again. But she wasn't twelve, and after yesterday, she was all too keenly aware of his flushed face, his hard body against hers, those strong arms rising to cup her hips...
"No," she decided, "I think I have something better in mind."
"Oh? Do tell-mmph." He grunted in surprise. "Well, that's very, mmm, persuasive, much better, ah, then building a snowman...but I've got one better."
He rose to greet her, his lips touching hers, then her neck, her chest, fingers teasing her breasts through the thin dress. Elsa moaned softly as she felt her nipples grow hard under his gentle touches, desire peaking like an ever-growing wave beneath his ministrations.
"Moh, stop teasing me!"
"But I'm so very good at it." he teased, fingers reaching up to twine through her hair. The braid fell away almost immediately, freed her flaxen tresses to tumble down her back in all their great golden glories. Elsa found herself laughing, burying her own hands in the shaggy mop that served as his own hair. Perhaps she should leave it like this. sNaruto really did have a thing for long hair.
Smiling, she leaned down to kiss him again, her mouth molding to his, mind willing the frozen dress-and he his leathers-from her body as she began to grind against him, consumating their impromptu vows. With that, Elsa realized, it was official. She was engaged. Engaged to be married. To him. Naruto. The one person she loved more than anyone else in the world. Nothing -no one!- would ever come between the two of them ever again; if they did, she resolved to end them in the most painful fashion possible. With his blessing, no less! It was everything she'd ever wanted. It was...was...
Bliss.
"You're mine," she purred possessively, rocking gently against him. "Only mine." her fingers bit into his chest, hastening her up and down motions as she bounced atop him. No one else can have you." A growl greeted those words and he surged up to meet her. Startled, Elsa went down with a muffled yelp, arms flinging around his neck in desperate support.
There was no need.
He lowered her down gently, as though they were making love amidst satin sheets, not here in the untamed wilds.
Now it was she who felt the cool waters of the brook against her bare back, she who cried and writhed beneath him, she who locked her legs around his waist, urging him deeper, to hasten his thrusts. Her sensitive skin was aching, burning up, freezing, all at once as he hammered her home.
"Yours." he agreed, kissing her hotly, caressing a breast, never once ceasing his thrusting into her. "Always."
The two elementals took each other gently, unlike last time. Nor did they leave the forest for some time.
They spent the next few hours learning every intricacy of one another, exploring every nook and cranny. Time was taken, given, received. No rush. No hurry what-soever. Let the old village worry and fuss and fret over their disappearance. There was only him, only here. Only the here and now as he emptied his seed into her, as her tongue tangled with his, gentle cries of all too-happy delight spilling out amidst the shivering branches, the very air vibrating with the intensity of their love.
Elsa liked it. Loved it. She wanted it to continue...
Forever.
A/N: And there you have it! Happiness abounds! She said yes! Yes yes yes yes! Expect little blond-haired, blue-eyed kids running about in the future. Gah, all the angst here killed me to write, but I am proud to say that its well behind us now as the story continues onwards and upwards!
...The events of Frozen ought to be quite different with them involved...will Naruto and Elsa make it out of this one alive? But the story doesn't end here! Now... at long last... we see the Elemental Nations in this ficlet! Naruto is the LAST jinchuuriki remaining, and all bloody hell is about to break loose!
So...in the immortal words of Atlas...
...Would You Kindly Review the story of this humble man? Sadly, no fighting preview this time! Tis a surprise! And a major earthshaker!
(Preview)
Naruto grunted, shunting Kakuzu's smoldering corpse off his arm. The ancient shinobi toppled from his appendage without so much as a sound, his corpse turning to ash the moment it struck the ground. A second blast of fire picked up those ashes and scattered themselves on the winds.
"That's for Elsa," he snarled. Blue eyes cut across the field, seeking her amidst the fighting bodies, amongst the battle for the village proper-
Then he found himself staring into a pair of dead, rippling eyes.
"Hello, Uzumaki Naruto." Pain smiled, "We have come for you.
One word encapsulated his existence in that instant.
Fuck.
What will happen?! FIND OUT NEXT TIME! R&R! =D