CHAPTER SIXTEEN – Present Day, human world, village of Konohagakure
(a huge tear segments the page in two; it is held together by tape)
; Ha ha ha, ; The laughing echoed. A dark chamber she was locked in, pitch black except for a mild light that illuminated the floor exactly four feet around her in every direction. Hinata could not see the body from which the deep voice came, but could instinctively sense the evil in the being. She whipped around as she could feel his presence moving around her, analyzing her movements, hearing her breathing. Tempted by her scent, which made love to his nose against its will, he looked at the girl who was unable to see him with hungry eyes. ; ha ha ha, ; his laughter continued, in the unique language of fox demons.
"Wh..who...who...who the hell a...are you?" She barely made her words come out, she was so scared.
; I know you can understand me, he spoke. ; I have given you a gift, ha ha ha...
She fell to her knees, quivering. Her question she repeated, barely. "Who...are...who are you?"
; You don't know who I am, do you, Hinata? ; The massive Kenzo stepped from the shadows. So scared she urinated on herself, she felt every inch of herself quivering in sheer terror. The seven foot tall blonde demon grabbed her by her abdomen and lifted her to face level. ; I've seen the way you favor my son, and now I've made you his, ha ha ha... Then the demon vanished and her surroundings changed dramatically. She was kneeling in the clearing in a forest, the calm summer wind blowing.
"Hinata! HINATA!"
She recognized the voice immediately. It was a voice she could always find comfort in. "NARUTO-KUN!" She fought her aching, terrorized legs, and they gave in, allowing her to stand. She ran and leapt into his arms. "Oh, Naruto-kun!" But she immediately noticed that something was very wrong. "N...Naruto-kun?"
"Ha ha ha..." His normally comforting face was contorted in a wicked smile. She saw Kenzo in his eyes.
Instantly she began trying to pull away from him. "L...Let go...Let go of m...me.. Naruto-k...kun!" The harder she tried to pull away, the tighter his grip became, and the louder his cackling got.
"HA HA HA!"
Eventually she felt her spine beginning to crack; by this point she had both feet against his chest and both hands against his arms pushing away but her strength was nothing compared to his. "NA...NARUTO...NARUTO-KUUUN!"
; HA HA HA! ;
"Hinata-chan!"
A struggling girl fought a pair of hands on her shoulders. "No! Naruto-kun!"
"HINATA-CHAN!"
"NOOOO!"
Finally a pair of lavenderish-white eyes opened up; a nightmare had ended. "Na...Naruto-kun?"
"Hinata-chan, are you okay?" The figure was not him.
She shook the fear out of her mind as she realized it had been a nightmare. "Ky...Kyuubi-sama?"
The female fox demon rubbed the girl's hair and poured liquid into her mouth. "Drink this, it'll quell the burning."
Hinata wiped her forehead. "Why'm I so hot, Kyuubi-sama?" Sweat poured off of her.
"Your aura is changing," Kyuubi replied, "you were given a sample of fox demon blood from my former love interest Kenzo, and fox demon blood changes humans into youko."
Hinata had another concern. "Wh...where's Naruto-kun?"
She shook her head "He's not seeing you for awhile."
The Hyuuga looked crushed. "Why?"
"When a female human first turns into a fox demon, she gives off a unique scent..." she went on to explain the whole thing.
A figure barged down the halls of the medical center of Konoha. Naruto had had quite enough of being told no. He needed to know exactly what condition Hinata was in. A random ANBU stopped him. "Honorable son, I know you want to know how Hinata is doing, but I've been given strict orders not to let you in."
He grabbed the man by his neck. "Do you really want to try and stop me?" His display of killing intent seemed enough to make the man back down. Free of inhibiting factors, he continued down the hall. The door standing at the end opened up and a familiar face came out.
"Now son," Kyuubi stated, "I know you want to see Hinata, but I can't let you see her..."
He interrupted her. "Mom, I need to see her. NOW."
"Son, I'll tell you she's fine but I'm not letting you see her."
"I'm getting through that door whether you like it or not, mother," he calmly warned.
Kyuubi rolled her eyes; there was no way she was going to stop him short of beating the hell out of him. "Fine," she relinquished. "But take this."
Naruto looked at the object handed her. "Mom, are you serious?"
She nodded. "Yes I am. I don't want something...eventful happening."
Naruto rolled his eyes, and passed her up.
He opened the door to the private medical room, and stepped in. It hit him all at once. He noticed her pulsating aura, the transformation of her into a fox demon being complete, and also her newly-formed demon tails and ears had appeared. She saw him and he noticed that her canine teeth had slightly elongated. But it was a greater feature that he noticed. It made his muscles tense; it made him want her badly. Some animalistic instinct found itself clawing away at his reasonable sanity, and he wanted nothing more than to tear her clothes off and make love to her right then. Sweat began to pour off of his face. It was the smell.
THAT's why my mother gave me the incense, he thought. The smell.
A human female transforming into a fox demon for the first time went into heat unwillingly. Hinata, without wanting it, gave off a chemical that emitted a smell that male fox demons found irresistible. Naruto inched closer to Hinata very slowly, barely lifting his feet off the floor because he doubted his ability to control his emotions. A driving force like this he had never felt before. Fortunately, he knew something else: this phase would only last five days as opposed to the usual week for older fox demons.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried.
"I can't come any closer, Hinata-chan," he explained, his voice slightly crackly due to his conflicting forces of will. "I can't guarantee my ability to remain sane." She began to sit up in bed as if to stand, but he quickly raised an arm to stop her. "No, don't. For your sake, don't."
Hinata slid backwards into bed. "You...your mother...gave me a brief explanation, but...I was hoping you'd tell me what went down."
"You were administered a drop of fox demon blood from Kenzo, my biological father," Naruto explained, his fists clenched. The scent was still quite strong, and his will weakening. He took an incense from his pocket and lit it with fire, blowing out the flame so the smoke would counteract the air. It helped, albeit a very mild improvement. "The demonic blood was spreading through your system, poisoning everything it touched. My mother counteracted the destructive effects, but the side effect of you turning into a fox demon was unavoidable.
He coughed and began backing towards the door. "I'm terribly sorry but I have to leave the room now. I'll check on you tomorrow." He stepped outside, and predictably, his mother stood waiting like a hawk eyeing prey.
"I'm impressed, son, your will is definitely stronger than your father's was whenever my time would come around," she admired. "I find that to be honorable of you." A stern expression appeared. "But I don't want you seeing her again until this passes."
"I care about her," he argued.
"I know you do, I see it in your eyes, son, but you have animal instincts like any fox. If you lost control and tried...something...she'd be completely powerless to fight you off. For her sake you have to stay away."
"I WILL find a way to resist the scent."
She shook her head. "None of our kind has in ten thousand years. Why do you think there's a major population increase right about the same time in hell each century?"
Despite his mother's words, he came back to her room the same time each day for five days. Animal meat he killed himself he'd bring each time. At first she resisted, but she required the extra protein in her diet, and began eating the fresh kill. She was new to being one of his kind, so he started her out small and slow. He figured he'd wait until her second or third month of being a fox demon before he'd take the ultimate step of introducing her to human flesh—as had always been a dietary requirement of youko—but for now animal once a day would do. The scent seemed just as strong each time, but his willpower never waned and he found himself getting closer each day, until the final day, when he could stand next to her without succumbing to instinct.
Then it passed and she was medically cleared to return to duty. However, he'd have a lot of training to do.
One morning, she'd been blindfolded and had thick earplugs in her ears. She'd been taught how to conceal her demonic features by genjutsu, like he did, and now the next step he took. "Your senses are many times what they were, Hinata," He explained. She believed him; despite the thick fabric she could see the surroundings as clear as day, despite the thick plugs everything seemed amplified. "Over the next few days we'll be getting you used to your new senses, and this took me quite some time."
Training went by, and his trio of genin had an extra trainee in the form of Hinata. But as they went about their lives, invisible eyes watched their every move.
A/N: I apologize for the briefness and crappiness of this chapter. But calculus, physics, and human anatomy make parts of my brain that usually work towards creativity work towards other things.