Chapter 4 already? ... How the time flies.

---

In the depths of Konoha forest, lies a serenely beautiful clearing known only to a select few, one of which is Naruto. The afternoon sunshine filtered through the overhanging branches to fall onto a small pond, shimmering placidly in its light. The entire clearing was masked from the outside world by a thick barrier of thorny foliage and exotic wildflowers seemingly meant to dissuade any casual passerby. It contained wildlife in plenty from the white and brown rabbits that commonly strayed into Konoha to emerald green hummingbirds that flitted from flower to flower. Here, you could lose your senses and sit, staring for eternity.

"This p-place is…" Hinata was at a loss for words. Natural beauty like the clearing was not exactly commonplace. Naruto grinned at her as she drank in the sight. He had had a feeling that she would like this place. Naruto cleared his throat.

"So Hinata, you wanted to talk to me?" Hinata blinked rapidly. Yes, she had wanted to explain her theory about Naruto's transformation. She nodded and the two seated themselves in the middle of the clearing.

"W-well it's not m-m-much and m-maybe y-you already knew th-this." Hinata began to fumble around inside her pocket.

"O-okay l-look a-at this." Hinata produced a small painted parchment from her pocket. It had been folded many times and gave off a general aura of being ancient. Unfolding it carefully, she flattened it out in front of them.

"This is Kyuubi." Naruto scanned the picture. It was just an artist's rendition of the demon fox that had terrorized Konoha. He looked back at Hinata.

"And your point is?" he had a feeling that he knew what was coming but that didn't make the truth any easier to accept.

"W-well i-isn't i-it obvious? K-Kyuubi i-is trying t-to t-take o-o-over your body!" Hinata waited for some sort of reaction from him.

"I s-suppose the t-transformation w-will b-be complete wh-when y-you g-grow n-nine tails total." She added.

Naruto just allowed himself to fall over in the grass and stared wistfully up at the sky. Meanwhile, Hinata stowed the picture away.

"I've always known." Naruto's voice broke the silence. Hinata looked at him questioningly.

"I've always known that Kyuubi would never just let me live like a normal person." His fox ears drooped slightly. Hinata didn't know what to say.

"Because of Kyuubi, my childhood was a living hell, how can I expect him to leave me alone?" Naruto sounded bitter as he remembered those hateful memories of his past. Hinata laid down next to him, wondering what she could say.

The clearing was silent for a few moments, besides the chattering of the birds. Finally, Hinata decided to speak.

"I-I'm n-not sure a-a-about y-your childhood N-Naruto b-but I-I do kn-know th-that ever s-since I met y-you, I've a-always a-a-admired y-you…" at this point Hinata began to blush bright red.

"I-I mean y-you w-were always s-so h-happy i-in the a-academy b-but I-I knew th-that it couldn't h-have b-been easy f-for you! Y-you j-just k-kept t-trying a-and th-that w-was s-something I-I could n-never do." She received no reply from the person next to her. Hinata suddenly felt very self-conscious. Her blush deepened.

"I-I guess wh-what I'm t-trying t-to s-say i-is w-well, I-I kind of, s-sort of, y-you kn-know, I-I th-think I've fallen in love with you." She finished without a single break in the end. There. She had said it. Hinata was puzzled. She had just confessed but only silence called back.

"N-N-Naruto?" the breath caught in her throat. The air felt like dead weight. Hinata's worst fears had come true. Naruto didn't love her, probably never did, and now they couldn't even be friends. She turned to him, fear clearly portrayed on her face, and gasped.

***

Naruto was sound asleep. Hinata sighed in relief.

'Thank the Gods!' she thought. She was a little disappointed though. Here she was, finally plucking up the courage to tell him everything and he chose this moment to fall asleep. But in retrospect, it was probably for the best. After all, it was still too early to be making confessions. Hinata sighed again and edged closer to Naruto until they were shoulder to shoulder. She blushed again. She could've stayed like this forever, in a beautiful place with the person she loved. She let sleep overtake her.

***

Kyuubi awoke. He grinned to himself as he stared out through Naruto's eyes. It was much easier to take over the kit's body when he was asleep. He tried to stand but he was held back. Kyuubi looked down and smirked. A young black haired woman was clutching his right arm tightly. She was sleeping too so Kyuubi saw no reason to kill her.

"So the kit finally procured a mate." He muttered. "How cute."

He detached the girl from himself and checked himself over. Kyuubi couldn't regain his original demon fox form, but Naruto's body would suit him just fine with a little practice.

'Ears, check, whiskers, check, three tails, check." He thought with an evil smile. The third tail was the most recent addition. Kyuubi knew he didn't have much time since the transformation wasn't complete but he could enjoy himself for now. His stomach growled. Kyuubi's eyebrows rose slightly. It had been years since he had eaten anything.

"Right. Hunting. What fun!" he said, flexing his claws. Kyuubi fell on all fours. Two legs were no good for chasing down prey. He bounded away into the forest.

***

"Naruto no!" Hinata watched in horror as Naruto laughed. Neji was injured badly. Naruto had done it. No, not Naruto. This was not Naruto. It looked like him but it's eyes glowed red in the moonlight, and it was laughing at Neji's pain. Hinata gasped as nine tails fanned out behind it.

Neji turned weakly to Hinata and held out his hand to her. He was bleeding from a large wound in his stomach.

"Hinata get out of here! He'll kill you!" he cried urgently. Hinata took a shaky step back, but the thing wasn't going to just let her leave. It dropped on all fours and began to run towards her.

"No!" Neji dragged himself up and blocked it's movement. "Go!" he cried turning to Hinata again. She had no choice but to run for her life. A sudden flash blinded her and she opened her eyes to another nightmarish scene. Konoha was in flames and people scattered all around her like scared ants. She was compelled to look up at the Hokage Tower. At its tip stood the demonic version of Naruto. It had Tsunade in its grip. She struggled in vain against it.

"Heed my words!" it shouted to the people below. "Konoha and its rule ends here!" so saying, it delivered a vicious stab to Tsunade's heart.

"Noooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!"

***

Hinata had never yelled so loud in her life. She sat up, panting. It was only a nightmare this time.

'That thing was Naruto after the full transformation!' she thought in alarm. 'I can't let it come to that! I won't let it come to that…' she turned to Naruto, only to find empty space. Her eyes widened. She stood and glanced around rapidly, as the panic rose.

"N-Narutooo! Wh-where are y-yoouuu!?" her heart thumped faster. Where was he?

---

Phew! If I put this off any longer, someone would've killed me. Anyhow, I like how this is turning out and I hope you guys will stick through it with me till the end! So dear readers, could you please put the name of your fave chapter in your review? Thanks.

BTW, does Hinata stutter in her thoughts?

Till the next time!

Kira.