A/N Reading the reviews, I've found that people detest Hinata for siding with the village; I blame myself for not making it clear enough that there was another reason for Hinata to do what she did. What would you do if tons of people were exploding into multiple bloody bits all around you, hmm? I just want to make it clear that Hinata did care about Naruto more than the village, she was just terrified of all the blood; seriously, think of Hinata from the manga/anime and imagine what someone with her personality would have done. Naruto, on the other hand, had taken it the wrong way, and decided that Hinata wanted him to die. Sorry for any confusion about that! Also, while reading the first episode/chapter of Naruto in the manga, I found it quite different than the anime! Apparently they don't specify Naruto having ever been without the demon inside him; it sounds a lot more like the Fourth Hokage sort of created Naruto for a container, rather than sealing the demon inside him, and therefore technically Naruto is a demon, and it was just altered in the anime. That's just what it sounded like to me, though. I, for one, prefer Naruto to be a human being. But you have to admit, why not just seal the Kyuubi in something that isn't alive? Wouldn't that make more sense? Ah, well… That would completely destroy the plot now, wouldn't it? Okay, I know, this is possibly the stupidest author's note you've ever seen. Just read on… Oh, and I purposely made the chapter title similar to that of an earlier chapter, "A Taste of Blood."

Chapter Eight: Kill, Kill; A Feast of Blood

The group entered the village where Naruto was suspected to be.

"Hey," Shino asked a young girl carrying a bucket of water. "We're looking for a blonde-haired blue-eyed boy with whisker-like lines on his face. Have you seen him?"

The girl took a step back and gave a gasp. "Umm… Of course not! Not here!" They must be tracker ninja, by the look of the headband. Well, they won't get Naruto, the girl thought.

"We aren't trackers," Neji assured her, guessing her thoughts. "If we were, we'd be wearing masks."

"There's no Naruto here," the girl told them, and covered her mouth as she realized the mistake she made.

"Take us to Naruto, or take him to us. We just need to meet him… We have some… Apologies to give him…" Tenten murmured.

"APOLOGIES? THEY'RE MORE THAN APOLOGIES!" shrieked Sakura. "THE COUNCIL TRIED TO TAKE HIS LIFE! AND YOU SAY WE ONLY CAME TO APOLIGIZE?" Sakura gave a look of disgust. "Oh, yeah, I can picture that! 'Hey Naruto,' we say, 'We're sorry that you nearly got killed, will you come back to Konoha now?' Oh, that will sound really convincing, Tenten!" Sarcasm was put into every word.

"Sakura has a point. Naruto won't believe us," Hinata murmured. "If only we had some sort of proof…"

"I'll go get Naruto," the girl said quietly.

Five minutes later she came back with a smiling Naruto. "What is it you wanted to show me, Nana?" he urged her. Suddenly he looked at the group the girl was pointing to and gasped.

"Those scary people want you for something, Naruto-senpai."

"Umm, Nana-san, why don't you go play hopscotch with Ichigo-san and Sunako-san right now while I handle the scary people?" Naruto suggested, trying not to scare the young girl. "While you're at it, go tell Tristeza-chan not to worry when I don't get back, alright?"

"Okay, Naruto-senpai!" Nana obeyed cheerfully, dashing off.

"What is it you want?" Naruto asked the group after Nana left. The forehead protector he wore was still bearing the scratch across the Leaf-Village symbol.

"We want you back, Naruto-kun!" Hinata sobbed. "We're extremely sorry! It was the council members who planned everything! Tsunade-sama didn't even have a say in the matter, and she's the Hokage!"

"Why would I trust you again?" Naruto asked, as a few people in the small village left their houses to see the event. "Trusting you after what happened… For me, that's like asking me to trust a demon. In fact, it's worse. I trust the Kyuubi more than I trust you guys right now."

Not that it doesn't make sense to trust me.

Be quiet.

"Please forgive us," Naruto-kun!" Hinata sobbed, rushing to hug him. Naruto gasped as the shy ninja cried and stained his shoulder with tears.

"Naruto…" Sakura whispered just loud enough to be heard. "I really am sorry, Naruto… For calling you a demon… I didn't know you were a Jinchuuriki! I didn't know how far that insult would carry!"

A shove, and Hinata fell to the ground. Naruto's face had an unreadable expression. "After all that has happened… You expect me to come back with you… To come back to a wretched life of only being noticed through pranks?"

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata whimpered. "Please… Naruto-kun… Come back! We really are sorry, please!" Hinata took a deep breath before adding, "I loved you. I still love you. You're the reason I've tried to become stronger, Naruto. You taught me not to give up! And I won't give up, I won't, not until I bring you back!" Another pause.

An eternal silence.

"I'll bring you back to Konoha…" Hinata whispered, "If I have to break both your arms and legs to do it!"

Naruto gasped. Why was the scene so familiar?

He thought carefully.

"I'll bring you back if I have to break both your arms and legs!" The exact words Naruto had said to Sasuke not to long ago…

"If you want a battle…" Naruto replied, "Then we'll do it farther away from this village. Nobody innocent should be harmed."

"Hinata-" Neji murmured, about to grab her shoulder.

"No, Neji," she stated firmly. "I will fight him."

"Fine. Let's go," Naruto said simply, walking off and being caeful to check over his shoulder every few seconds. Tristeza followed them, along with Nana. They wanted to see the battle and make sure Naruto was safe.

"Alright. Here's fine," Naruto said as they entered a clearing. The old feeling he got before a battle seemed to be one he hadn't felt in ages… In fact, the jolt of excitement was too strong to handle. A moment later, he found himself standing over a bloody heap.

"Sakura!" everyone cried out. Naruto took a step back and gasped.

"Damn you, Kyuubi! Damn you!" he muttered, trying to hide the tears.

In my opinion, that's one enemy out of the way.

"She's dead… What have I…" Naruto gazed down, horrified. Sakura's arms were severed off, her throat-the esophagus-was visable, torn and bloody. Her heart was ripped clean out, and by the taste of his own mouth, Naruto could tell that he had done it with his teeth. And… "It tastes…" he murmured after a pause, his eyes turning red, nails turning to claws, teeth to fangs. "Good." Hinata bravely took a step forward.

"I'll bring you back, Naruto-kun…" Tears fell to the ground. "I'll bring you back…"

Horrified gasps came from Tristeza and Nana as they realized what had happened.

A/N Okay, all of you who don't think I'm reading the reviews where people want me to kill off Sakura, you can stop accusing me now. For those of you who were horrified at the scene you just pictured, well… That's your own fault for not reading the rating. Besides, it isn't that bad. Anyway, if you've noticed that I've been adding more honorifics as the story goes on, good for you, because I just recently figured out the meaning of all of them, between –san, -kun, -chan, -senpai, -kohai, etc. For those of you who don't know this stuff ('cause I sure didn't until now) I'll put a little guide in the next chapter's author's notes. Okay… As to the story, Hinata and Naruto's battle comes next. Yay!