Wow, guys. I gotta say I'm touched by all the positive reviews I've gotten for this story, not to mention all the follows and faves. For someone like me, who can fluctuate anywhere from pre-time-skip-Hinata-level confidence to how Hinata was right before she got caught in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, it's a huge boost in confidence to know something I wrote is so well liked. So thank you all. Really. ^_^
And I even got my first threat to keep writing! Well, for this story. One of my other story's earned me my very first threat, but still. As weird as it sounds, it makes me happy that someone wants me to continue that badly. Hahaha. And as long as it remains joking and not creepy, I find threats for me to continue amusing and flattering. XD
So as is my tradition, I will thank my reviewers for the last chapter by name. DoodleMonstah (who has the honor of threatening me first XD), xKunoichixAngelx (I'm sorry you couldn't be the 70th reviewer like you wanted), Rose Tiger, Chewie Cookies (read his stories, everyone! And bug him to update faster! :D), MYK-ON, WolfCoyote, thor94, Djwerewolf, Era-chan, everysongisyours, dragonball256, Dragon38996, StormSurfer, Zamrok, and the guest reviewer, thank you all. ^^
And a super special awesome thanks to DoodleMonstah for drawing the new cover art for this story. For giving me my first threat and drawing the cover art—you rock, DoodleMonstah. ^_^ If you ever feel like drawing something for my other stories, that would make me even happier. XD Also, I believe I promised a reward in the form of a short story or an omake, so if there's something you'd like me to write outside of this story, let me know, DoodleMonstah. ^^
Now, as the title suggests, this chapter is the debut of Gadget Girl. And an interesting bit of trivia is that isn't the name I originally had in mind for Hinata's superhero name when I started this. When Naruto called her that the first time, it was just meant to be a quick, possibly one-time joke nickname. But most of you liked it so much that I reconsidered and decided to use it. :)
So here it is! Chapter 9: Gadget Girl!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or any other reference in this story that might have a copyright attached to it. However, I've got the Kitsune Ninja, Kyuubi, and Gadget Girl working to change that. :P
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Kitsune Ninja and Kyuubi raced from the Hyuuga mansion, heading toward the center of the city. As they were running, Kyuubi noticed the Ninja had a downcast look in his eyes.
"Kit, is something wrong?"
The hero looked up at his fox partner running alongside him. "Yeah, I guess. It's just...I was about to tell Nata who I am when you showed up."
"Oh. Well, I'm sorry I interrupted," Kyuubi said sincerely.
"No, that's not it. I'm actually...kinda glad you did," Kit admitted, averting his gaze downward again.
"Hmm? Why is that? I thought you wanted to tell her," the nine-tailed fox questioned as he and his partner scaled a building to take to the rooftops.
Kitsune Ninja sighed. "I do—or I did—until I started thinking of some stuff again."
"Which would be?"
The hero sighed again. "Stuff like 'what if my being basically a mutant ends up creeping her out' and 'do I really have a right to drag her into this.' I mean, I'm just endangering her life just by being her friend as my normal self, ya know. So I just don't kn—" Kyuubi cut him off by whacking him over the head with one of his tails. "Ow! That hurts, ya furball!"
"Good! 'Cause there's plenty more where that came from if you don't knock off that melodramatic bullshit right now!" the fox yelled angrily. Kit could only blink in surprise at his friend's outburst. Taking a calming breath, Kyuubi told him, "She already knows you—the hero—is different. I'd bet my tails that knowing who you really are won't change anything. As for putting her in danger," Kyuubi looked the Ninja in the eyes, "as long as you're giving her a choice in the matter—both in helping us and associating with you—then what harm are you causing? The only thing you have no right to do is make decisions for her."
Kitsune Ninja smiled beneath his mask, and a happy light returned to his red, fox eyes. "Yeah, you're right, Kyuubi. Thanks! Now let's go kick this monster's ass so go back and tell her!" He put on a new burst of speed and leapt to another building.
"Sounds like a plan, Kit!" Kyuubi grinned ferally as he rushed after his partner.
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Meanwhile, minutes before the fox heroes would arrive on the scene, Kabuto was talking to the monster through a radio device clipped to the monster's ear.
"Remember your orders. Try to kill them if you can, but if not, get their scent and retreat. You can ambush them later then."
"Understood," the monster growled out in response.
"And don't kill anyone other than the hero and his pet. The lab can't be responsible for any collateral damage that isn't property," Kabuto added.
The creature just grunted in response before turning around and continuing flipping cars and causing general destruction to lure in the heroes.
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Kitsune Ninja and Kyuubi paused on the roof of a building just long enough to take in the scene before jumping into battle. They saw the street below was torn up all over, cars were either flipped or thrown into buildings, and there was a police barricade on either side of the street containing the monster where it was, but the police were making no move to actually subdue the creature. The monster itself was the most disturbing sight, though. It was around the size of Kyuubi and also walked on all fours. The body was that of a lion's while its head was more like a wolf's with a mane. The tail was like a snake's.
"What the heck does that sick bastard do in his lab all day? Sew animals together at random?" the Ninja asked sarcastically.
Kyuubi let out a short bark of laughter. "Kit, you have no idea. Let's just get down there."
"Right!" he nodded.
With their fox agility, Kyuubi and Kit were down the building and on the destroyed street in seconds, and wasting no time, they rushed the enemy. The Ninja threw a few shuriken at the monster, mostly to catch its attention more than injure it, while Kyuubi grabbed a downed car with his tails and slammed it into the monster's side when it turned to face the source of the shuriken. Blindsided, the wolf-lion-snake hybrid rolled a couple of times before coming to a stop while the car used to hit it landed upside-down on the other side of the creature.
There was the sound of a distraught man's voice screaming, "My car!" followed by excessive weeping, but the Ninja ignored it as he charged the enemy while it was down.
The creature stood up in time to receive a slash across its face from the hero's claws. It swatted back but missed, and then Kyuubi jumped on its back, digging his claws into the monster's hide and trying to get its throat with his teeth through the creature's mane. The monster responded by throwing itself backward, slamming Kyuubi into the ground underneath it. Rolling off the fox, the monster slashed him across the chest before jumping away. The fox cried out in pain, but managed to jump to his feet and leap away as that same car from before was tossed at him.
As he dashed toward the enemy, Kitsune Ninja let out a chuckle when he heard that man's voice lamenting about his car again. Suppressing his amusement, the Ninja unleashed a roundhouse kick, which was reinforced by his kinetic barrier, to the monster's face, breaking a couple of its teeth and sending it flying toward a building. Kyuubi then threw what was left of that car at the monster. The hunk of twisted metal and plastic smashed into the hybrid, sandwiching it against the building.
There was the distant sound of the car's owner declaring vengeance on all things mutant just before the car's remains were shot off the building by a powerful kick from the monster. Kyuubi flattened himself to the ground, and the scrap heap sailed over him harmlessly. However, this left the Ninja, who was behind his fox partner, suddenly in the way, and the hunk of jagged metal crashed into him.
Opening his red eyes and lowering his arms that he had raised in an attempt to protect himself, Kitsune Ninja saw the remains of the car lying on the ground before him and the bluish light of the energy used by his barrier fading away, and amazingly, the shields had managed not to shatter. "I really need to thank Nata for this invention," the Ninja thought to himself before turning his attention back to the enemy.
The monster stood by the building it had crashed into, bloodied and breathing heavily. A second of silence passed, and then the creature charged at the two heroes. Reaching Kyuubi first, it knocked the Nine-Tails out of the way with a tackle and continued on toward the Ninja. As it neared him, it spun around, catching the hero's leg with its snake tail and slammed him to the ground on his back. The kinetic barrier hadn't recharged much at all from stopping the hunk of metal before, but it had enough power to prevent injury. However, the Ninja was still left winded. The monster took the opportunity to pounce on the hero, aiming to take his head off with a single bite, but Kit recovered enough to slash at the monster's face again. And before the creature could try again, it saw Kyuubi running toward it. In a split second, the creature concluded its best course of action would be to get the Ninja's scent and retreat. Holding the hero down with its paws, it took a big sniff of his chest, memorized the hero's scent, and still managed to dodge out of the way of Kyuubi's tackle. It then turned and ran down an alley without a moment's hesitation.
After a quick, confused glance at each other, Kitsune Ninja and Kyuubi pursued the monster, but it managed to lose them by jumping down a manhole. There was no way either hero could track the monster by scent through the horrible stench of the sewers, and there were too many tunnels to just try their luck. So they had to give up the chase. The Ninja was about to suggest they go home when Kyuubi told him they had to make a long, winding detour to return home rather than just running straight there. When asked why, the fox explained to his human companion that the monster could track them back to their house, so they had to make it harder, if not impossible, for it. Seeing the logic of the plan, the Ninja agreed, although he let out a groan when he realized how much sleep he was losing on a school night.
After an hour of running all over the city, leaving false trails and occasionally splitting up, Kitsune Ninja and Kyuubi finally returned home. The boy then changed back into Naruto, took the fastest shower of his life, and then fell exhausted into his bed. The fox—now in his normal fox form again—hopped up on the bed next to Naruto and told him he would keep watch while the boy slept just in case the monster found them anyway. Naruto barely had time to thank him before unconsciousness took him.
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The next morning, Hinata, dressed in a lavender T-shirt and black pants, was standing at the end of her driveway looking anxiously down the street in the direction of Naruto's house. They were supposed to walk to school together again, but he was late. She had been trying to call him for several minutes, and finally, his groggy voice came over the phone.
"Hello?"
"Naruto! Where are you? We're going to be late for school!" Hinata exclaimed into her phone.
"Wha..?" There was a short pause where she assumed he was looking at his clock and then, "OH CRAP! Sorry, Nata! I'll be right there!" And he hung up.
Hinata giggled as she pictured Naruto's panicking face and his mad scramble to get ready for school.
Unbeknownst to the girl as she waited, a pair of yellow eyes watched her from the beneath the bushes that grew beside the stone wall that surrounded the Hyuuga mansion. The monster, exhausted and cross from searching for the heroes all night, had been looking for a place to catch a few hours of sleep before it continued its search when it caught a whiff of a scent that had been on the human hero the night before. Looking upwind, it saw a blue-haired female human standing a few yards away.
Narrowing its eyes, the monster stealthily crept closer to get a better look. Analyzing the bluenette with its eyes, nose, and ears, the creature determined that the human female seemed to be of average strength for one of her species, maybe even a little on the weak side. The monster could also tell that her scent was definitely the other scent it smelled on the human hero last night.
Now, the monster may have not reached full sentience like Kurama, but it was close and as a creature made up of three different predators, it knew enough about hunting to understand one particular strategy available to it to catch at least one of the heroes.
Bait.
This female had a connection to the hero, and it may just be enough to lure the hero out.
However, as the monster moved to pounce, a wave of pain shot through its body. Its injuries from the fight with the heroes were not yet healed, and the monster knew it would be best to recover more before setting up its trap. Deciding to wait until later to capture the blue-haired human, the monster moved into a small wooded area of the Hyuuga grounds to rest and recover.
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The second Naruto hung up his phone, he practically flew out of his bed and rushed to get dressed. Clothes were sailing almost comically through the air as he dug a clean shirt and pair of pants out of his closet and more went flying as he searched for his coat and headband.
Had he been awake, Kurama would've found the scene funny, but as soon as he woke Naruto up by biting the boy's hand so he would answer his phone, the small fox had passed out exhausted on the bed. Naruto figured Kurama wouldn't be awake until he got home.
Fully dressed, Naruto raced downstairs, grabbing a cereal breakfast bar on his way out the door. Once outside, he ran only slightly faster than the average person, inwardly cursing that he couldn't run at full speed because someone might see.
"Hinata!" Naruto called out with a wave when his blue-haired friend came into view.
"Good morning, Naruto," Hinata returned the greeting as the blonde stopped in front of her. "Nice to see you finally decided to show up," she teased.
Naruto laughed while scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry 'bout that, Nata. I was up a bit late last night."
Hinata knew about the monster running around the city last night, so she understood why he'd been up late. But of course she didn't mention it. Instead, she said, "That's okay, Naruto. It's not like Kakashi-sensei will be there to count us late."
"True. But we should get going either way." He held out his hand, and Hinata took it with a nod. Then the two of them walked to school hand-in-hand.
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Other than Naruto struggling to stay awake through some of his classes, the school day passed without incident. The Namikaze talked to his new friends more, Ino made a few small attempts at flirting with him, Sasuke nodded "hello" to him, and Neji even seemed to be keeping a respective distance, although that didn't stop the white-eyed boy from glaring. Naruto was a bit disappointed that Guy-sensei didn't pick Neji to be his sparring partner too; the blonde hero really wanted his rematch with the arrogant Hyuuga. But he knew he couldn't openly provoke Neji or just attack him without potentially pissing off Hinata's dad, so he just had to be patient. Naruto would get his chance eventually.
When school was out, Naruto said goodbye to Hinata, telling her he would be at her house later to work on homework, and she walked home alone while he stayed behind to wait for Iruka. As she walked, the Hyuuga heiress couldn't help but feel a little lonely and her hand a little cold without her blonde crush next to her with his big, strong hand holding her small, soft one.
Hinata let out a longing sigh. "Don't be so needy," she mentally scolded herself. "You don't need to be with him every second, and you'll see him later. And this gives you time to get some stuff together to become Gadget Girl." A big smile broke out on her face at the thought of being able to fight alongside Naruto, and the excitement she felt compelled her to start running home.
As the bluenette passed the wall that surrounded her home and started running up her driveway, the monster sprang from the bushes and charged toward her without making a sound. Hinata was still smiling even as a large paw descended on her head, knocking her out. She never knew what hit her.
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Shortly after Hinata left, Naruto was at Ichiraku Ramen catching up with his sensei and adoptive older brother Iruka. He also met Iruka's girlfriend, who was also Teuchi's daughter, Ayame. She was a fair skinned, brown-eyed girl in her early twenties with long, brown hair tied up in a white bandana. Her white robe that was her restaurant uniform fit well on her slender frame. Naruto could see why his adoptive brother liked her; besides being pretty, Ayame was also kind and energetic. She even gave Naruto his first bowl on the house because he was a close friend of Iruka's.
An hour passed with the two friends catching each other up on what had been going on in their lives since they last saw each other, and the conversation of course led up to more current events. Naruto heard from Iruka how he had started dating Ayame a few months ago, and then Iruka asked the boy what brought him to Konoha.
"Oh, Mom and Dad had some stuff to do with Mom's side of the family. They said they were gonna be gone for awhile and didn't want to keep me out of school, so I couldn't go with them. I moved here to live with my grandparents while I go to school," Naruto explained a little sadly as he stared down into the remains of his fourth bowl of ramen.
"I see," replied Iruka, catching the dejected tone in the boy's voice. "Have you at least heard from them?"
"No," Naruto sighed. "But my mom's family lives in Ame, and things aren't exactly stable up there. Finding a safe time to call and on a secure link isn't exactly easy."
"Ah. Well, don't let it get you down, Naruto," Iruka said with a comforting hand on the blonde's shoulder. "I'm sure they're fine, so don't worry. Now, tell me about how you came to be such good friends with the Hyuuga heiress." He gave the boy an amused smirk.
Naruto grinned at him even as a tiny blush crossed his cheeks. "Well, it all started a week after I got here..."
He launched into the tale about how he met Hinata when he saved her from the three bullies in the park and then carried her to his house so his grandmother could treat her wounded ankle. From there, he continued on by telling Iruka about how much he had in common with the bluenette. The sensei smiled fondly at his little brother figure as he watched the boy's face throughout his tale. He could see the genuine affection and care that Naruto had for Hinata, and it made him happy to know that Naruto had made such a good friend, if not something more.
By the time the whisker-faced boy finished his story and Iruka was done lightly teasing him about his obvious feelings for the girl, the sun was starting to set, and the blonde hero decided he should get going so he could work on homework with Hinata. Iruka left the money for their meal on the counter, and the two of them said their goodbyes to Teuchi and Ayame before getting into Iruka's car. The sensei then dropped off Naruto at the Hyuuga mansion, telling him he'd see him tomorrow at school.
Needless to say, Naruto was in a rather good mood when he knocked on the Hyuugas' door. He had no idea that good mood was about to be replaced with a strong sense of dread.
"Master Naruto? What are you doing here?" George asked when he opened the door.
Naruto cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean, what am I doing here? Didn't Hinata tell you? I'm here to work on homework with her if that's alright."
"But...Lady Hinata has not returned. We assumed she was with you," George told him with growing apprehension.
"What...?" Naruto's heart fumbled for a second as the ice-cold feeling of his Instinct covered him like a layer of frost. "No, I...I had something to do after school. Hinata walked home by herself..."
George just stared him for a moment before asking, "Did she mention possibly going with another friend?"
"I was supposed to come here to do homework with her, so she would've told me if she went somewhere else," Naruto answered, and he checked his phone just to be sure. "Yeah, there's no messages from her." He looked back up at George, and both men knew something was wrong. With his blue eyes burning with determination, the blonde hero said, "I'm gonna go find her. George, you should probably let her dad know she's missing, but I will find her."
"Understood, Master Naruto. Good luck," the butler replied.
Naruto spun on his heel and took off for his home to get his fox partner. Along the way, he tried calling Hinata many times, but the phone just continued to ring before going to her voicemail. "Come on, Nata... Pick up your phone! Please... Please be okay..." After the seventh try, he decided to leave a message. "Nata, this is Naruto. I just stopped by your house and you weren't there. Call me back if you get this message. I hope you're okay..."
Upon reaching his house, Naruto decided against going in through the door when he considered the possibility that his grandparents might stop him from going to look for Hinata. He made his way to his window, deciding it best that his grandparents think he was still over at Hinata's house. He jumped up and held onto the window sill, and thankfully, Kurama wasted no time letting him in. The boy then explained to his fox friend what happened and why he felt Hinata was in danger. Without a second thought, Kurama suggested they change to their hero forms and investigate.
Minutes later, Kitsune Ninja and Kyuubi were back at the Hyuuga mansion using their supersensitive noses to search for a sign of the blue-haired heiress, and Naruto's stomach twisted in worry as he caught Hinata's scent with the monster's. Catching the trail, they took off after the monster.
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An hour of searching later, the Ninja and Kyuubi found themselves outside an abandoned warehouse on the northwest edge of the city. The building was old and deteriorating; many of its windows were broken, the metal walls were patched with rust, and there were many empty, metal crates scattered around outside the building.
"Hinata!" Naruto thought worriedly, and he charged toward the main door. But Kyuubi shot one of his black tails after the boy, catching him around the waist and pulling him back roughly.
Landing on his butt, the Ninja looked up at his fox partner with a scowl. "What was that for?!" he yelled.
–Shut up!– Kyuubi growled in his face. –You can't just charge in there without knowing the situation inside! You need to stay calm!–
Chastised, the boy whispered back, "Right. Sorry."
The fox sighed, hoping that no one inside the building heard Naruto yell, and he motioned for the boy to follow him behind some of the old crates so they could discuss what course of action would be best to take.
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Meanwhile inside the building, Hinata was doing her best to stay calm. When she had returned to consciousness, she was greeted by none other—besides a raging headache—a sight that she could only describe as a scene straight out of some cliché superhero comic or movie. She was chained by her wrists, hanging from a metal rafter inside a dark building, the only lighting was one dim, low-hanging bulb, but even with the minimal lighting, she could tell she was in some sort of warehouse from the metal crates stacked around the area and the cement floor beneath her feet, which were barely touching the floor. From the small amount of light coming from the numerous windows, Hinata could see the area she was in was rather spacious as well. Adding to the cliché was the pair of yellow eyes watching her from the shadows and the cloaked and hooded man standing a few feet away before her. She tried to see the man's face, but the glare on his round glasses prevented her from seeing his eyes.
Cliché or not, however, it was still a frightening sight to find oneself in.
"Ah, you're finally awake," said the man in a smooth voice that sent chills up the bluenette's spine.
"W-Where am I? Who a-are you?" Hinata asked fearfully.
The man folded his arms and held his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "And now what exactly would you gain by learning that? You would still be captured and completely at my mercy."
Hinata swallowed. "W-W-What are y-you g-going to do with me?"
Ah well, that depends. You see, my experiment here," he paused as the creature with the head of a wolf, body of a lion, and tail of a snake crept out of the shadows. The bluenette's breath caught in her throat at the sight of the creature. "Informs me that you have the scent of the Kitsune Ninja on you, and I have an interest in...shall we say, meeting him."
"S-S-So I'm b-b-bait," Hinata concluded, beginning to shake in terror.
"Smart girl," the man remarked with a smirk.
"B-B-But h-how do you know h-he'll c-come for me?" she questioned, genuinely curious despite her apprehension to learn what this man knew of her connection to Naruto's secret identity.
The man shrugged. "Honestly? I don't. There could be a number of reasons why you have his smell on you, or how he happened to have your smell on him when my experiment fought him last night. You could know him without knowing who he really is, or he may have saved you from something else earlier on that night. Or maybe you do know who he really is.
"If you happen to know him at least as he is normally, then he should be looking for you. Otherwise, I'm sure the disappearance of the Hyuuga heiress is sure to draw the attention of our city's hero. And if he doesn't show up, you'll at least go for a nice ransom from your incredibly wealthy family.
"In the meantime," he pulled out a scalpel and started toward her, "I'm going to find out whether or not you know who he really is."
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Naruto, following the plan to sneak in and scout the area first, lithely made his way into the warehouse through one of the uppermost windows and crouched on a rafter. His fox-like eyes adjusted immediately to the gloom, allowing him to see as well as if the room was in broad daylight, and he took a moment to observe his surroundings. Seeing a dim light hanging low in the center of the room, he concluded that was where Hinata must be and started making his way silently over there, leaping from rafter to rafter until he was closer to the center. Running along one rafter, he came to a halt when he saw Hinata hanging from a chain below him, and a cloaked figure holding a blade was approaching her.
"G-Get away f-from me!" Hinata screamed as she struggled against her chain.
The man paused. "Tell me what you know about your hero, and I won't have to make a single mark on that pretty face of yours."
"N-No! I d-don't know anything ab-b-bout him! J-Just let me g-go!" Hinata lied, not wanting to betray Naruto.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought you wouldn't be cooperative. Sad, really," the man shook his head in disappointment and started walking toward her again.
Hinata was screaming again, and Naruto decided not to waste another second. Crouching over where her chain was attached to the rafter, he dug his claws into the roof beam with one hand to keep himself from falling and reached down to grab her chain with the other. Then he heaved upwards, pulling Hinata easily into the air with his super strength.
The man blinked in surprise behind his glasses as he watched the heiress fly up to the ceiling with a shocked squeak, but he couldn't quite see where she was once she was out of reach of the light.
Naruto caught Hinata in his arm and set her down next to him. Motioning for her to be quiet, he let out a loud howl, –KYUUBI! NOW!–
Down below, the main doors to the warehouse were blown open, and the large, nine-tailed fox stood silhouetted in the doorway, his red eyes glowing with rage. Kyuubi let out a wordless roar and slammed his tails into the crates nearest to him, sending them flying toward the hooded man and the monster.
Both enemies managed to avoid being hit, and as the man got to his feet, he plunged a syringe into the monster as he shouted, "Experiment L7821! Kill them no matter the cost!"
"Yes, Master!" the monster roared as it charged at Kyuubi. Meanwhile, the man escaped out of one of the ground-floor windows.
The Ninja turned to the blue-haired princess beside him. "Stay here, Hinata." She nodded, and he jumped down from the rafter onto the nearest stack of crates that was piled high up toward the ceiling. Making his way down, he dashed at the monster, shouting, "Kyuubi! Go after that guy! I got this!"
"Right!" the fox responded, breaking off from the fight with the hybrid creature and leaping out the window the man had escaped from.
The monster ran after him as if to stop him, but it was intercepted by the Ninja's fist smashing into its face. The force of the blow sent it rolling end over end backwards, finally crashing into a stack of crates, which collapsed on top of it. A moment passed in silence, and then suddenly the pile of crates exploded out from the monster, causing Naruto to have to duck for cover to avoid the metal shrapnel. When he stood back up, he was shocked at what he saw.
Whatever the man had injected into its system caused the creature to become even more monstrous. Its fangs were now more like a snakes—thinner and dripping with venom—and it's body was larger as its muscles increased in size. Its tail also grew longer and was whipping around wildly, destroying everything it hit as if it were made of metal.
The monster lowered itself into a crouch and then pounced at the hero.
From up on the rafter, Hinata watched Naruto dodge and dash around as he tried to avoid being hit by the now-more-powerful monster, and she wanted desperately to be able to help him. Looking around the warehouse, she suspected there might be something she could use in the back of the room. While Naruto continued his deadly dance on the floor, Hinata struggled to slip her hands out of the chain, and she eventually succeeded, although her hands felt like she'd nearly broken them in the process. However, she still managed to hold onto the chain well enough to swing down to the floor safely. Once her feet hit the cement, the blue-haired gadget mistress sprinted toward the back of the warehouse in search of something she could use to help her blonde hero.
Meanwhile, Kitsune Ninja was running out of ideas. Dodging forever obviously wasn't going to get him any closer to defeating the monster, and everything he threw at the creature was annihilated by that tail. Getting close wasn't an option either—superhuman healing or not, Naruto was pretty sure he wouldn't survive being hit by that tail, much less be able to explain such an injury if he did. And he certainly had no idea how well his body would hold up to the monster's venom should he get bit.
Flattening himself to the ground to avoid another swing of that tail, Naruto thought, "I need a plan and fast!"
While the Ninja dodged for his life, Hinata was in the back of the warehouse. She had managed to switch on a few lights, and once the area was illuminated, her eyes fell on some machinery that had been abandoned and left in disrepair as well as a few tools. Grabbing the tools, Hinata walked over to one of the larger pieces of machinery—an old forklift—and set about earning her title as Gadget Girl.
Naruto took a chance and grabbed the monster's snake-tail as it sailed over him again, digging his claws into the scaly skin to hold on. His plan was to use the tail to throw the monster, but that plan was contingent on Naruto actually being able to keep his feet on the ground, which the monster was not about to allow. It tossed him all around, smashing him into crates—his kinetic barrier doing a valiant job of protecting him from injury—and finally Naruto let go and tumbled across the floor. As he struggled to his feet, the monster charged forward, slashing at his chest with its claws. His shields managed to deflect the blow just enough before shattering so that the claws only made some shallow gashes. However, the pain still knocked the hero down with a gasp, and he lay on his back propped up on one arm, holding onto his wound with his other hand, and watching the monster stalk toward him.
As it came closer, it suddenly stopped as a rumbling noise echoed through the warehouse. Naruto recognized it as an engine just seconds before a forklift burst through a pile of crates and crashed into the monster before it had a chance to react. The forks of the forklift had managed to impale the creature's unprotected side, so it was mortally wounded even before the forklift rammed into the wall. Hinata jumped clear just in time.
When the echo of the crash faded, Hinata stood up slowly, her limbs and body feeling rather banged up but otherwise fine. She immediately ran over to Naruto, who was still sitting on the floor holding his chest. But he was also looking at her in shock.
"Na-er, Kit! Are you okay?" Hinata asked as she knelt beside the hero. The mixture of adrenaline and relief made her stutter disappear again.
"Yeah..." he groaned. "I think I'll be fine. But what the heck was that?!" He pointed at the destroyed forklift that was pinning the monster to the wall.
Hinata gave him a grim smile and leaned close to whisper, "Well, you didn't want to make me 'Gadget Girl' for no reason."
The Ninja let out a chuckle that made him wince in pain. "Heh. Yeah, but dang! I wasn't expecting you to pull off something like that. Hehehe...ow...!"
"Hold on, Kit. I'll be right back," Hinata told him with a concerned look before she ran off toward the center of the room again. After a bit of searching, she found what she was looking for and ran back to Naruto. He saw that it was her school bag, and Hinata said, "I'm surprised this managed to stay on me while that thing carried me here, and even more surprised that I could find it in this mess. But I'm glad I could. Here," she took out a towel from her bag and used it to dab at the gashes on his chest. "I always keep a spare, clean towel in my bag in case something happens to my gym towel at school."
"Thanks, Nata," the hero said with a small smile behind his mask, and even though Hinata caught his use of her Naruto-given nickname, she didn't react. She already knew it was him.
"No, thank you. You did save me again after all," she pointed out. The bleeding had stopped, and the gashes were already almost healed. Still, Hinata thought it best to help them along and took out more of her healing cream from her bag. As she started applying it to the wounds she told him, "You're almost healed, but this should help. It'll at least sterilize the injuries."
"Again, thanks. And you're the one who ended up saving me with that forklift, so I'd say we're at least even," Naruto chuckled again.
"Well, good. But if we're going to be working together, we shouldn't be keeping tabs on who owes who for saving whose behind," Hinata giggled.
"Uh, right," Naruto agreed with a slight sweat-drop.
Hinata helped him to his feet, and Kyuubi came back into the warehouse through the window. "So how'd it go?" Naruto asked him.
"He got away, but I know who he was," Kyuubi replied. "I'll explain..."
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
When Kyuubi had ran after the hooded man out the window, the fox already knew the identity of the human he was chasing. Kabuto Yakushi—Orochimaru's top scientist who rivaled the snakelike man in his sadism. The worst things Kurama had experienced during his time in the lab had been administered by Kabuto under Orochimaru's direct orders. The mutated fox hated the silver-haired man as much as he hated the man's snakelike master. As he chased Kabuto, who had jumped on a motorcycle and was currently breaking the speed limit to get away, Kurama was determined to do everything in his power to tear the man's head off as soon as he caught him.
The two dodged around the traffic on the streets—many people were swerving off the road upon seeing the horse-sized, black-as-night, nine-tailed fox—and as soon as Kyuubi had a clear shot, he used two of his tails to lift a parked car and throw it at the fleeing Kabuto. He was actually aiming to hit the silver-haired, mad scientist, but sadly he only managed to block his path and force him to stop. Kabuto immediately jumped off the bike and pulled out a gun in one hand and a syringe in the other, which forced Kurama to stop in his tracks as well.
"Well, well, well. It's nice to see you again, Experiment F0009," Kabuto said with false cheer.
"Don't call me that," Kyuubi spat in anger. "I escaped your sick madhouse, and I have a name now."
"Ah, yes. No doubt your new master wanted to give his pet a name," the scientist taunted, his face a mixture between a smirk and a sneer.
The fox slammed several of his tails against the asphalt, causing many cracks and fissures in the street where they struck. "He is not my master! He is my friend and equal as well as one of the few good humans left in the world!"
Kabuto shook his head as if disappointed. "Is that what you think, F0009? How sad. Just because you're sentient doesn't make you on par with humans. Sooner or later, he will show you that he thinks of you as a pet, not a partner." With a growl, Kyuubi crouched in preparation to pounce, but Kabuto stopped him with a wave of his gun. "Ah, ah, ah! You don't want to die today, do you?"
"Do you?" the fox retorted with a snarl. "You and I both know I could take every round in that gun and still managed to kill you before I died."
"And yet, you don't seem eager to go down killing me," Kabuto countered. "I have no interest in dying to kill you either, so how about we make a deal? I go back to the lab while you return to your new master, and we settle this some other time."
Kyuubi growled at the "master" comment, but otherwise nodded. "Fine. But when we meet again, I'll show you just how much of a beast I still am when I tear off your limbs one at a time before I take your head!"
The scientist just shook his head again. "We'll see about that."
And with that, the two went their separate ways. Kabuto jumped back on his motorcycle, and after watching him leave, Kyuubi returned to the warehouse where he had left Naruto.
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
"And that's what happened," Kyuubi concluded his side of the night's events.
Without a word, Naruto walked over to the large fox and put his hand on his shoulder. Kyuubi gave him a confused look, and the boy asked him, "Kyuubi, you don't believe him, do you? That I think of you as a pet?"
The fox turned his head away to stare at the body of the wolf-lion-snake hybrid that was still sandwiched between the forklift and the wall. After a moment, he sighed and said, "No. Your treatment of me seems no different than the way you treat others of your species, and for that, I'm grateful to you. However, it's not easy being the only one of your kind to reach this level of intelligence, and I'll admit the way your grandparents treat me gets a bit tiresome. But they don't know that I'm not a normal fox either."
Naruto let out a chuckle. "Yeah, 'cause if they did, they wouldn't have been so surprised about the fact that you learned to use the bathroom!" he joked, eliciting a laugh from the fox as well. Then the boy surprised Kyuubi by giving him a brief hug. "Kurama, you may be grumpy a lot of the time and call me an idiot on occasion, but you're still my friend. Fox or human, you're my partner in crime-fighting, and one of my best friends."
For a split-second, Kurama smiled at Naruto, but then his expression quickly turned to one of reproach. "Kit! You used my name!"
"So? Why does that matter?" He glanced at Hinata. "Is it because—mmf!" He was cut off by the bluenette's hand coming over his masked mouth, and when he looked at her in surprise, he noticed her gaze wasn't on him. He followed where she and Kyuubi as well were looking and saw the monster was still alive. And looking at them.
"So you finally noticed," the monster remarked, slipping in and out of beast speech, but Hinata was still able to understand it as well as the two animal-speaking heroes beside her.
"How...how are you still alive?" Kitsune Ninja asked.
The monster let out a low, dry laugh that turned into a cough, and blood ran from its mouth. It just shook its head in answer, though.
"P-Probably b-b-because the f-forks in it are k-keeping it f-f-from b-bleeding out," Hinata surmised, stuttering because of the gory sight and knowing that she caused it even if it was to save Naruto.
Both the Ninja and fox nodded, accepting that as a plausible answer, then Naruto spoke up. "But why didn't you guys want me to say anymore? It's not like..." he trailed off. He was going to say that it wasn't like the monster was going to live long enough to tell its masters what any of them said, but just thinking that made Naruto feel like a callous person. The creature may have been an enemy and may have tried to kill them, but that didn't change the fact that it was forced to and that it was now the one dying.
Kyuubi knew what the boy had been about to say and was proud of him for being sensitive to not finish the thought out loud. The fox felt too much empathy toward the monster for what it had gone through to feel merciless toward it. But he answered the half-asked question anyway. "We stopped you because it has a listening device on it."
"Huh?" Naruto voiced in confusion.
"R-Right there, K-Kit. Y-You can s-s-see it in its ear," Hinata told him while pointing at the monster.
"You can remove it. I no longer have a reason to kill you," the monster told them, turning its head slightly to bring its ear closer to them.
The fox and two humans glanced at each other for a second, and then Naruto shrugged and took a step forward. Hinata grabbed his arm to stop him, and when he looked at her, he saw the worry in her eyes.
"I'll be fine," he reassured her. She gave his arm a squeeze before nodding and letting go. Kyuubi, however, made Naruto grab onto one of his tails, so he could pull the boy back quickly if the monster tried anything. Then the blonde hero walked over to the bloodied, broken creature, pulled the small device off its ear, and crushed it in his hand, grinding it into dust just to be sure.
Before he could walk away, the monster looked up at him and said, "Hero...do me a favor..."
"What is it?" Naruto asked.
"Kill me..."
"What?!" Naruto yelled in shock. He heard Hinata gasp behind him and felt Kurama tense through the tail he was still holding.
"Please..." the monster begged in a whisper.
Naruto looked back at his companions, not knowing what to do. Hinata had her hands covering her mouth and tears were running down her face, and Kyuubi was looking solemn. Finally, the fox spoke up.
"It is dying, Kit. At least show mercy and end its pain."
The Ninja sighed, closing his eyes for a moment while he pulled a kunai out of his pouch—he didn't want to use his claws for the job like he had with Minizilla, the lizard monster. Opening his eyes again, he turned to his fox partner. "Kurama, do me a favor. Don't let Hinata see this."
The fox nodded and moved another tail to cover the bluenette's eyes, but she pushed it away. "I'm s-strong enough t-to handle th-this, Kit," she told Naruto with some indignation.
"I don't doubt that, Hinata. I just don't want you to see me doing this if I can help it," he replied sadly.
"I und-derstand, b-but I'd r-rather not be t-treated like a n-naïve child," she said and after a pause, added, "I w-won't think l-less of you for th-this, you know."
Naruto sighed again. "If you insist." He turned back to the monster, which lifted its head to expose its neck.
As the hero placed his blade on its throat, the creature said, "Hero...I wish you luck...in killing my masters..."
"Thanks," Naruto replied, his voice grim, and he slashed quickly across the monster's throat and stepped back. There was a gush of blood, a few choking noises, and the light faded from the monster's eyes. It was dead.
"Kurama?" Naruto asked after a moment passed.
"Yeah, Kit?" the fox responded in a subdued voice.
"I hate Orochimaru."
"Heh," the fox laughed dryly. "This is just the tip of the iceberg of all the horrible crap he's done. But we can't dwell on that now." He turned to Hinata. "We need to get you home."
She just nodded silently, and Naruto, having cleaned his blade and put it away, came toward her and pulled her into a hug. "You okay?" he asked.
She nodded again with her arms around him. "Yeah...it's j-just a...lot t-to take in."
He was about to respond when they heard police sirens outside the warehouse—apparently the Konoha Police Department had finally decided to see what was going on at the old building as well as find the large fox that had caused several wrecks that evening. The Ninja just had Hinata jump up on his back, and the three of them left out the back of the warehouse.
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
Hinata was having the ride of her life. Once away from the warehouse, the Ninja and fox had taken to the rooftops, and while scared at first, the Hyuuga heiress soon found the experience of almost flying from rooftop to rooftop exhilarating. She was actually pretty disappointed when they stopped.
They were halfway back to the Hyuuga mansion when Kitsune Ninja halted on top of a large building. Letting Hinata down from his back, he said, "Before we go any farther, you and I need to finish our talk from last night, Hinata."
"You mean about who you really are?" she asked, and in the back of her mind, she was grateful she had calmed down enough not to stutter anymore.
"Yeah," the Ninja nodded.
"Before you show her," Kyuubi began as he sat down by them, "I'm curious to see if she can guess."
"Sure, okay," Naruto agreed with the fox. He looked at Hinata. "I'm sure ya know, though."
"Yup!" she giggled. "You're Naruto."
The boy laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Aw...What gave me away? Besides you being able to tell when someone's lying, that is."
"Well, there was that, but you kind of reinforced the suspicion by saying 'ya know', scratching the back of your head like you're doing now, calling me 'Nata', and calling him," she gestured to Kyuubi, "'Kurama'."
Naruto was shocked that he had done all that without realizing it, and Kyuubi burst out laughing at him. "Kit, you really are an idiot! Glad we could trust her, ya know! Hahaha!"
"Shut up, Kurama!" Naruto said indignantly while shaking a fist at his friend. "No one ever accused me of being the most observant guy out there, ya know!"
The fox stopped laughing just long enough to say, "That's because they know you're an idiot, ya know!"
"Stop makin' fun of the way I talk!" Naruto shouted angrily.
Hinata watched them bicker for a minute longer as she tried to gain control over her own giggling. When she finally succeeded, she stepped toward Naruto and laid a hand on his shoulder. He immediately stopped shouting at Kurama to look at her.
"Naruto," the heiress began as she reached toward his face, "I would still like to see you. Without the mask..."
Kurama, sensing the two humans were about to have some sort of moment, rolled his eyes and made himself scarce, leaping down to the alley below.
Naruto grinned. "Go ahead, Nata," he told her, and his grin faded as he closed his eyes.
With both hands, Hinata pulled down his mask and saw with the light of the full moon those familiar whisker-marks and the pair of lips she had found herself dreaming of kissing ever since she first met their owner. Looking back at his eyes as they opened again, she saw the familiar blue of Naruto's normal human eyes.
A sly smirk appeared on his face as he leaned closer to her, his lips just inches from hers. "Like what you see, Nata?"
She was about to respond without words in a way that many would consider far bolder than what they would expect of the shy Hyuuga when Kurama's head popped up over the edge of the building. "Hate to ruin the moment," the fox said sarcastically, "but we should really get her home now before her family has the city torn apart looking for her."
"Seriously? You couldn't give us just a few more seconds?" Naruto asked with his face scrunched up into a pout. Hinata just stood there in silence, her face crimson with embarrassment. The fox just laughed at them, and Naruto said, "Alright, fine. Stay up here with Hinata and bring her down when I call. I gotta go change back into my normal stuff." And he jumped down in the alley to change in relative privacy. Once that was done, Kyuubi brought Hinata down and then turned back into his normal fox form. Then the three of them made their way back to the Hyuuga mansion as Hinata called her father to tell him she was on her way home.
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
The Hyuuga heiress was never more shocked than when her father embraced her, relieved that she was safe. She had just finished explaining what had happened—that the monster that had rampaged downtown the previous night had grabbed her and the Kitsune Ninja saved her. There was no point in lying to her ever-perceptive father, but she left out being kept in a warehouse and the hooded man who threatened her. Thankfully, Hiashi was just so relieved his daughter was safe that he didn't press for details.
The Hyuuga elders, however, were a different story.
"How did this monster keep a hold of you for so long?" one of the two female elders asked her.
"W-Well, I w-was unc-c-conscious f-for most of the t-time..." Hinata hesitantly stammered out.
"Tch," came a small scoff, and Naruto looked in the direction it sounded from. His blue eyes hardened as they fell on Neji, who was looking at Hinata contemptuously.
"And when you came to, why did you not simply free yourself?" one of the two male elders asked next.
"I-I c-c-couldn't," Hinata replied looking down at the floor.
"Typical," said the other female elder. "Too weak and useless to even protect herself."
"A failure as always," put in the only elder who hadn't spoken yet. "And now we're indebted to that masked madman for saving our worthless heiress."
Naruto couldn't see her face since she had her head bowed so low, but he knew Hinata was crying by the slight shake of her shoulders and the drops of water he could see hitting the floor by her feet. He looked up at Hiashi, wondering why he wasn't defending his daughter, and he saw the man was making a monumental effort to restrain himself if the throbbing vein in forehead was any indication on the otherwise stoic face. Seeing all this, Naruto was about to fly into a shouting, insult-filled rant against the elders, but sharp claws digging into his shoulder stopped him. Glancing to the side, he saw Kurama, who was sitting on his shoulder, give him the slightest shake of his head, reminding the blonde to keep his cool if he was going to say anything at all.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto cleared his throat and asked calmly, "May I say something?"
The elders regarded him with contempt, considering him beneath them because he was not a Hyuuga and because he had a wild animal on his shoulder, while Hiashi allowed a ghost of a smile to show on his face. "You may speak, Mr. Namikaze," the leader of the Hyuuga family said.
"Thank you, Lord Hiashi," Naruto replied with a respectful bow of his head. Then looking at the elders he stated, "I'm just wondering something. How was Hinata supposed to free herself from a monster that was reported to be capable of throwing around cars and tearing up roads? A monster that police reported was thrown into a brick building by the Kitsune Ninja and yet it still got up and managed to run away?" He turned back to Hinata's father. "Lord Hiashi, I'm assuming that as the head of the family, you're the best at the Gentle Fist style, right? Could you have saved yourself from such a monster?"
"No, I don't believe I could have," Hiashi answered immediately, grateful to Naruto for defending his daughter. "Even with our superior fighting style, we are still only human. A monster that could easily crush a person like a mere bug is nothing to be trifled with." He gave the elders a pointed look, and they averted his gaze, knowing what he said was true but unwilling to apologize for their harsh, unfair words to Hinata. Hiashi folded his arms and said, "Elders, you can see the heiress is safe, so there is no longer a need for you to be here. You are excused."
The elders looked at him in shock for dismissing them, but the stern gaze of his silver eyes made them think twice about arguing. With a stiff yet respectful bow, the elders left the foyer to their rooms deeper within the mansion.
Then Hiashi turned to Neji. "Nephew, might I ask why you failed in your duty to keep the heiress safe?"
Neji bowed and answered, "My apologies, Lord Hiashi, but it was my understanding that she was coming home with Namikaze and did not need me there."
"Are you trying to excuse yourself from your duty?" Hiashi asked sternly.
"N-No, Lord Hiashi." Normally, Neji wouldn't expect to be punished by his uncle for anything, but neither Hinata nor Hanabi had ever been kidnapped before.
Hiashi, however, was motivated to punish his nephew for a bit more than an understandable lax in serving his duty. Rationally, Neji had no reason to walk his cousin home because she was supposed to be in the company of another, but that did not excuse the derisive scoff Hiashi heard his nephew utter when the elders were being unreasonable to Hinata. To be quite honest, Hiashi was in no mood for Neji's attitude.
He opened his mouth to issue his nephew's punishment when the quiet voice of his daughter stopped him. "F-Father, p-please don't punish Neji-nii-san. H-He didn't kn-know that N-Naruto wasn't with me."
"Yeah, I should've told you I wouldn't be able to walk her home beforehand," the Namikaze added, but not to defend Neji. He just didn't want Hinata to be upset.
Hiashi considered their words for a moment before speaking again. "Fine. However," he pulled Neji aside to speak to him where Hinata and Naruto—if he didn't have superhuman hearing anyway—couldn't hear him. "If I hear you scoff at my daughter again when the elders are being unreasonable, I will not let it slide. Is that understood?"
"Loud and clear, Lord Hiashi. I apologize." Neji bowed his head again.
Hiashi nodded and said, "You are dismissed." As Neji left the room, the Hyuuga leader walked back over to his daughter and her blonde friend. "Naruto," he caught the boy's attention. "Thank you for finding my daughter, and thank you for standing up for her against the elders. There are many times I wish to speak my mind against them, but I'm afraid their position makes them capable of taking retribution."
"No problem, sir. I would've taken on that monster myself for Hinata if the Kitsune Ninja hadn't gotten to him first!" Naruto declared, feeling silly for referring to the fight with the monster as if he wasn't the one fought it. Hiashi just chuckled at the boy's bravado and his daughter's reaction as she stared at the boy with a blushing smile. But then Naruto's face turned serious as he asked, "What retribution could the elders do to you, though, sir? Aren't you the leader of the Hyuuga family?"
Hiashi sighed. "Yes, I am, but there are limits as to what I can do against the elders. And it is not for my own sake that I worry." His eyes flicked to Hinata for a second, and Naruto understood what he meant. If Hiashi spoke out against the elders too much, they could take revenge by imposing harsh rules and punishments on his daughters, including having one of them become a Branch Family member.
"I understand, sir," Naruto said simply.
"Good," the older man laid a hand on the blonde's shoulder. "And while I never want to discourage you from defending my daughter, I still must ask you to watch what you say. The Hyuuga family owes you for bringing the heiress back, so the elders will likely let your 'insolence' toward them slide. But you should be careful in the future."
Naruto nodded. "Understood."
Withdrawing his hand, Hiashi returned the nod. "So, Naruto. Will you be walking my daughter home from now on?"
"F-Father," Hinata began, getting a little tired of being talked about as if she wasn't there, "I-I can t-take care of myself."
Hiashi looked at his eldest daughter, and a soft smile slowly appeared on his face. "It's not about that, my daughter. While it's true that your skill with the Gentle Fist could use improvement, that is not the reason I wish for you to be with at least one companion while you are outside of this house." He glanced at the blonde boy before continuing, "And there is no logical reason for me to expect Naruto here to be able to protect you from a monster or even against an armed adversary. But he would still be able to run for help in the event you were captured again. You must remember, Hinata, that you are the heiress of our family, and as such, there will be people who will try to kidnap you if not worse. You are safer in numbers."
Hinata nodded as her gaze fell away toward the floor between them. "I understand, Father."
"Don't worry, Lord Hiashi. I'll make sure to keep Hinata safe," Naruto said to the Hyuuga leader.
"I will trust you to keep to your word," Hiashi smiled. "Now, it is a school night, so I suggest you get on home, Naruto. I'll leave you two to say your goodbyes." And with that, the man turned and left the room.
Once they were alone, Kurama jumped off Naruto's shoulder as the blonde turned to Hinata and wrapped his arms around her. Feeling her arms go around his waist, Naruto nuzzled the girl's hair and breathed deep her scent of cinnamon and lavender. He was so relieved that she was safe. The entire time he and Kyuubi were searching for her, he kept thinking of all the horrible fates that could've befallen his princess. He didn't want to have to let her go to go home; he wished he could stay by her side all the time. And the fact that his secret was officially known to her was a huge relief as well—he finally had someone besides Kurama to talk to about his secret, and it made him feel even closer to his blue-haired friend.
Hinata also felt closer to Naruto after the events of the evening. He had saved her once again—once again risked his life for her, and she managed to save him during the fight as well. The knowledge that she actually managed to be useful made her feel confident for once in her life, and she knew it was all thanks to Naruto. Because of him, Hinata was able to find the courage use her talent for tinkering with machines to defeat a monster and save her best friend.
Feeling bold and grateful, Hinata turned her head and kissed Naruto's whisker-marked cheek. Surprised, the boy looked at her and briefly thought about capturing both of her soft lips with his own, but thought against it when he considered three facts: her father might see and not be happy about it, the foyer of her house wasn't exactly the most romantic setting for a first kiss, and Kurama was watching them. So Naruto just quickly returned the gesture by kissing her on her cheek.
Leaning his forehead against hers, he said, "See you at school tomorrow."
Hinata smiled. "Yup. And we have some things to talk about."
"Hehe. Yeah, I know. I'll explain everything. You just get ready to officially join me," he told her.
"Don't worry about that. I'll be ready to go tomorrow night," Hinata replied with determination in her lavender eyes.
Naruto grinned at the sight. "Sounds good...Gadget Girl."
*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*8*
Finally! It's freakin' done! You guys have no idea how hard this one was for me to write. I don't know why either. The ideas just didn't flow as freely as usual. So if it sucks...well, that's too bad.
ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION! ATTENTION!
Do I have your attention now? I have an important author's note here, and I'm hoping that even those of you who would normally skip this stuff will read what I'm about to say here.
Now, I've had quite a few of you ask me about Minato and Kushina and what they're doing. Rest assured, I have not forgotten about them. They will make their way back into the story eventually—don't worry. Remember, people, this story's still in single digits in terms of chapter numbers, and Naruto's side of the story still hasn't gotten off the ground all the way yet. Just be patient.
Which leads me to another question that I need to address. I've been asked how long I plan for this story to be. My answer: I have no idea. Seriously, there is no set plan for this. I have ideas for the story and am working toward them, but each chapter is made up as I go. I don't plan on this being some epically long, 50+ chapters story, but that possibility is not ruled out either. There is no set plan. Believe me, I have bad luck with plans, so it's better that I don't have one here. I'm along for the ride just as much as you guys. The only difference is I'm in control of where this ship is sailing. XD
And one more thing, some of you are taking the superhero inspiration a little too far. Again, Spider-man—or more specifically, how he gets his abilities—was just the inspiration for the story. I don't know enough about his enemies to copy them even if I wanted to, and I know more about Spider-man than any of the other superheroes out there. Well, except maybe Batman, but I'm not using anything from his character or story either. So those of you who have asked me about Hinata becoming Black Cat, I gotta be honest with you—I have no idea who that is. Seriously, the only "Black Cat" I know is a manga where Black Cat is one of the main character's names (and he's a guy, not a girl like Hinata), and the only "cat" I know of with the superhero stuff is Catwoman. So if you guys are referring to that manga, I don't remember it enough to make a reference to it, and Hinata's not becoming Catwoman either. Or at least, I'm not using Catwoman as inspiration for anything. So I just wanted to clear that up. My knowledge of the DC/Marvel superheroes is extremely limited, and the only intentional reference to any of them is Naruto's becoming the Kitsune Ninja at the beginning.
Hope that answers any questions/concerns!
Now! For the moment you've all been waiting for!
Lame pun time!
Which American president was the least guilty?
Lincoln. He was in a cent.
XD
Please review if you're enjoying the story, and I don't want my author's note to discourage any of you from giving me suggestions. Your suggestions give me ideas. I may not use what you suggest, but then again, I might. Or it may inspire something else. Either way, the more ideas I have, the faster I'm able to write. Like I said before, I struggled quite a bit with this chapter, and I would like that to not happen with future chapters. So please, feel free to share your ideas and let me know if you're enjoying the story. It also helps me to know the story is loved. ^_^
And hey, I got to release this chapter on my birthday! My birthday gift to you all. ^_^ Hope you liked it!
Until next time!
