AN: And I'm back once more with a new chapter! Sorry for taking so long again. Just got a bit lazy, and before I knew it, 2 months had already gone by without me making a new chapter for this. And that brings us to now. Now, as I have made one for my other story, I plan on possibly making a poll for this story. I'll take some of the popular girls you all mention in your reviews, and make a poll based on whether or not I already have plans for them. Look forward to it some time down the line. Now, let's get this chapter rolling! See y'all later

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

"Tailed Beast"

Chapter 4

Mindscape:

Naruto woke up in what appeared to be long hallway with water on the floor. Trying to gather his surroundings, he looks around in an attempt to figure out where he was. He slowly got up and began walking down the hallway, feeling drawn to something at the end of it.

He didn't know why, but he felt a sense of familiarity here. Despite never coming here, he feels like he's been here before.

Upon reaching the end, he comes across a large space, along with what appears to be giant bars with a large seal in the middle of them all. Strangely enough, the seal seemed to have a large wrinkle over it.

Where was he? How did he get there? And what were these bars there for? These questions plagued Naruto's mind as something began to manifest behind the bars. He slowly approached the bars in order to get a better look. Reaching the bars, he looks past them in order to see what exactly the bars were holding back. Suddenly, what appeared to be a giant eye came up right in front of Naruto, looking right at him.

This eye was massive, red and had a slitted pupil. The pupil alone was almost half as big as Naruto's entire body. Naruto, taken aback by this, falls backward onto his butt. He was frightened by this creature. And if the eye was this big, how big was the rest of it? He got his answer as the rest of this being began to manifest.

Before Naruto can even process what was happening, a humongous orange fox with 9 waving tails appeared before him. This being... This fox...

"Wha... What are..." The words just couldn't come out. The mere presence of this fox was enough to make Naruto wish he could jump out of his skin and run away.

"Hm... Looks like my jailer finally decided to pay me a visit. To what do I owe this honor?" The fox asked sarcastically.

"Uh... Who are you? Where are we?" Naruto managed to asked. The fox merely scoffed.

"All these years I've been stuck here and you don't even know of me? Looks like you humans are more pathetic than I initially thought." The fox said.

"What do you mean? Just what are you?"

"Come closer and I'll tell you all you wish to know." Naruto, although speculative, decided to go along with it as to find his answers. But, right as he got close to the bars, a pair of giant claws appeared, nearly cutting right into Naruto. Naruto, freaked out, fell back on his butt similar to before. The fox let out a dark laugh at Naruto's reaction.

"W-what the hell?! What did you do that for?!"

"Because your misfortune provides me the only entertainment I can get."

"Ok, but that still doesn't answer most of my questions!" Naruto shouted irritated. So far this fox or whatever it is has only been

The fox chuckled darkly as he looked down at the boy. "Why don't you go and ask that Hokage you seem so fond of? I'm sure he'd love to let you in on everything. That is... If he doesn't lie again."

"What? What did the old man lie to me about?"

"Everything you naive little boy. Now leave here. I'm already getting a headache just listening to your questions." The fox said before laying down on it's arms and closing its eyes, in an attempt to sleep.

"Huh?" Naruto could feel his subconscious being pulled back to reality. "Wait! What do you mean by everything?! What does he lie to me about?! Who or what are you?!" Naruto shouted as he slowly began to close his eyes.

Before he's gone however, he sees the fox smirk before finally giving a reply. "The Nine Tails." The fox said darkly.

Naruto's eyes would have widened in shock if it wasn't for them closing as he was pulled back to reality. With all the memories from this experience being fresh in his mind.

xXx

Infirmary:

Naruto shot up suddenly as he awoke in a cold sweat. As he came up, he accidentally slammed his forehead into Iruka's face, causing the chunin to back up and hold his face in pain.

"Ahrg! Naruto! What was that for!?" Iruka shouted.

"Iruka-sensei? What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

"I came here to check up on you. You're in the infirmary right now." He explained as he rubbed his nose. Naruto looked around as he recognizes the area he was in.

"What... happened? How did I end up in here?"

"I was hoping you could answer that. I had you and Hinata go to put away some papers in the storage room. After a while, neither of you two came back, so I sent Sakura and Ino to check in on you two. They came back saying you got injured while in the storage room and had to help Hinata carry you here." Iruka explained.

"Oh... Wait, where is Hinata? Did she get back to class?" Naruto asked.

"Nope. Apparently, she insisted on staying here with you to watch over you in case something happened. She really was concerned for you, you know." Iruka said with a smile.

A small blush came on Naruto's face. He slowly but surely started to recall the events that lead up to him getting knocked out. Including him and Hinata's little... moment. "Yeah." Looking around, he didn't see her, making him question her whereabouts.

"Don't worry. After I showed up, I assured her that you'd be fine and insisted that she return home." Iruka stated. Chuckling a bit at the memory of him catching Hinata in what he thought was an indecent act.

Flashback:

"I-I swear it's n-not what it l-looks like!" Hinata stuttered embarrassingly, still atop Naruto's lap.

"H-Hinata? What's the meaning of this?" Iruka said, having not moved from his spot the moment he got in.

"I was j-just checking to s-see if he had any injuries on his t-torso!" Hinata explained, not wanting her sensei to see her actions as... She blushed at the thought. It wasn't that she wasn't tempted to do so. Naruto was unconscious and they were all alone. No one would have known... 'No! Bad Hinata!' She berated herself. Naruto's physical health came first.

Iruka's eyes widened in realization. "Oh... I guess that-Wait... Then why are you on top of him?"

Flashback End:

Iruka couldn't help but sweatdrop at the memory. Hinata was so innocent... But also too naive to completely understand her new feelings.

"Oh, that's good. I wouldn't want to keep her here." Naruto said before getting up from the bed and stretching a bit.

"Anyway, Naruto, do you feel... strange? In any way?" Iruka asked.

Naruto thought it over for a second. "Now that I think about it... My stomach does feel a bit sore. Maybe something hit it before I passed out." Naruto said, not wanting to say how it was Hinata. She was probably just really embarrassed and freaked out.

"Yeah... Well if it continues to be like that, let me or the Hokage know, alright?"

Naruto flinched at the name a feeling like some sort of bad dream, what happened felt so real. And that fox didn't look like anything his mind would even come up with. And if what that fox said is true, just what was he hiding from Naruto that required him to lie to him? "Sure..." He said lowly as he looked down. Naruto slowly got up and out of bed. "I think I'll be fine for now Iruka-sensei."

"Are you sure?" Iruka asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'll just sleep it off. I mean, you know how quickly I heal right?" Naruto said, giving Iruka his signature grin to help put the chunin at ease.

Iruka sighed. "Alright Naruto. Be sure to get some rest alright?"

"You got it." Naruto said as he started walking towards the door. "See you later sensei!" He said before racing out the room.

Iruka sighed as he got ready to close up the building.

xXx

Naruto's Apartment:

Getting home, Naruto started up his usual. Throw off his shoes, stretch a bit, boil up some water, and wait the long and excruciating 5 minutes it takes for it to cook. He was currently changed out of his orange jacket and into a black tshirt and some dark orange shorts, his casual attire for when he was home.

As he waited, he thought over the events that transpired earlier that day. A small blush appeared on his face as he remembered his and Hinata's actions before getting caught.

Hinata, despite him somehow not noticing before, was incredibly cute. Cute in a way that Sakura wasn't. Hinata was cute in that both her appearance and her shy mannerisms just made you want to grab her and cuddle the heck out of her. And he, by now, was completely aware of how soft and warm her body was.

But while she was cute, she also had a bit of a more... sexy side. That was more prominent when they were having their little *ahem* moment. The way she had unzipped her large jacket, revealing her larger than average breasts. While they were not the biggest he has seen, not even close, even he knew she was larger than the rest of their class. It's sad she hides them behind her jacket.

Naruto immediately shakes out those thoughts, not wanting to objectify Hinata based on her looks alone.

'I mean... She's definitely nice. She's gentle, sweet, seemingly warmhearted... How have I not noticed her until now?' Naruto wondered as he stared down into his cooling ramen.

Before he could think anything else, he hears something. What sounds like feet shuffling towards his door. Strange. He never knew his hearing was this sensitive. Shrugging it off, Naruto gets up and heads to his front door.

Opening up the door, his eyes widen in surprise.

"Hinata?"

"N-Naruto-kun!" The now revealed Hyuuga said in surprise as she had yet to even move her hand to knock on the door.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked, confused by Hinata's actions.

"I u-um..." She said quietly with a blush as she shyly fidgeted her fingers.

A small blush worked its way to Naruto's cheeks as he watched Hinata, finding her shy mannerisms adorable.

"I... w-wanted to c-check up on you... I had t-to leave before y-you woke up... S-so I wanted to s-see if you were o-ok." She managed to stutter out before looking off to the side.

This surprised Naruto a bit. He knew Hinata was a caring person and all, but coming over to his home simply to check up on him? If he didn't know any better, he'd think she had a crush on him or something...

Naw. There's no way she felt that way towards him. Even though she kissed him earlier... a lot...

Naruto's eyes widened a bit before looking at the shy form of the Hyuuga heiress. "..." It... just couldn't be... Could it?

The two stood in silence for what felt like hours. That was until one decided to finally break the silence.

"U-um..." Hinata said, breaking Naruto out of his thoughts. "I guess... I-I should get g-going now... I'd h-hate to be a bother."

Seeing her getting ready to leave, Naruto suddenly grabbed her shoulder, surprising Hinata.

"Wait." He said before slowly realizing his actions, seeing her get more flustered by the contact. He gently releases her arm. "I mean... Would you... like to come in? I mean, you're already here so..."

'H-huh? Going into... Naruto-kuns home?' Hinata thought with a blush, hoping for the life of her that her voice doesn't fail her.

"I-I um... I w-would um..." She stuttered, hating herself for being unable to say yes. Where did all that confidence she had earlier that day go? So, she went for the next best thing, she rapidly nodded her head.

Naruto couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle at Hinata. "Well, come on in." He said, moving aside to allow her entry.

Hinata nodded with a soft smile before slowly moving past him into his small apartment. Being the first time she actually got inside, Hinata looked around a bit. The place was actually not a complete mess. While yes, there were things such as dirty dishes and the like, but it seems Naruto kept his home fairly decent.

"Sorry if the place looks a little dirty." Naruto said. "I never really have guests over."

"T-that's ok N-Naruto-kun. It's n-not that bad a-actually." She said with a smile.

Naruto let out a sigh, glad that she didn't seem somewhat disgusted over his home.

As she looked around, Hinata notices a small potted plant by the window. She walked over to it to get a closer look. 'This must be what Naruto-kun was talking about earlier.' She thought.

Naruto notices her by his plant. "Oh that. That was one of the plants I was telling you about earlier." He said as he made his way over to her.

"Yeah... Y-you know... It's hard t-to see you N-Naruto-kun as the g-gardening type."

"Yeah I know. But I need it to help with my concentration. At least that's what the... old man says..." Naruto said before getting noticeably quiet.

'That's strange... Why did Naruto-kun get all quiet so suddenly?' Hinata wondered.

"Anyway Hinata," He started. "about earlier..." He said, changing the subject.

Hinata immediately got flustered, knowing this moment was bound to come.

"U-uh... W-what about i-it?" She asked shyly.

"W-well um..." Naruto then cleared his throat, trying to find the right words. "I just uh... wanted to ask..."

Hinata braced herself for whatever Naruto was about to say. He no doubt thought she was some kind of weirdo for what she had done. She looked down in shame, waiting for Naruto to say exactly what she thought.

"Hinata..." She closed her eyes shut. "Do you... like me?"

This immediately made Hinata shoot right up. She stared at Naruto with a shocked expression as almost all of her blood rushed right towards her face.

"W-what...?"

"Um... I asked you if you... liked me. Y-you know, like a crush or something?" Naruto said, a soft blush tinting his cheeks.

Hinata was completely frozen. Naruto, her longtime crush, has just figured it out. What was she going to do? She should have known he would have come to the conclusion after the stunt she pulled. But what now?

"I-I... I..." It felt as if even her own voice was too embarrassed to come out and form sentences. And not only that. With all the blood gathering to her face, her consciousness was slipping.

Hinata began to shake slightly as she attempted to and failed to say something. This however, made her eyes tear up slightly.

'Why... Why can't I just tell him...' She wondered. 'If only... If only I wasn't so weak...' Hinata closed her eyes as she teared up a bit.

"Hinata?" Naruto asked, concerned as he sees her starting to almost cry.

'... No! You have to do something! Even if you can't say it, just... just...'

In the blink of an eye, Hinata wrapped her arms around Naruto's neck as she pulled him in. A massive blush on her face, her and Naruto lips collide.

Naruto's eyes widened as he feels Hinata once again suddenly kissing him.

Although, the kiss felt a bit different than before. While last time, many of Hinata's true feelings were muddled down by immense lust and passion, this kiss felt more... gentle, more tender.

Almost as if she was trying to convey her real answer, through her actions, without her passion and hormones getting in the way. She needed to let him know how she really felt, and this was the only way she could.

Naruto slowly closed his eyes as he gently held onto Hinata's hips to keep her close.

Hinata's eyes loosened up as she feels Naruto both accepting, and returning the kiss. She could barely hold her happiness. She had finally managed to convey her feeling to her hero.

And by the looks of it, he will accept them.