Okay, new chapter. I feel good about this one…

In response to a review for chapter 2, I'd like to put this in where everyone can see it… Yes, this is strictly Naru/Hina. In fact, I asked my friend (The same one who edits my fics, I think that's called being a beta… Anyway, me and him co-author a couple stories) if I should make it a NaruHarem, and he scolded me for it…

So yeah, just Naruto and Hinata… Might have some pairings for other characters (In fact, I'm open to suggestions if anyone has any…) but as far as Naruto goes, he's a one-woman-man in this fic. (I was thinking about having Naruto date Ino a bit before realizing his feelings for Hinata, but I scrapped the idea)

Okay… "Normal Speech" - "Demon Speech" - 'Talking in head' -'Demon talking in head' -Normal Thinking -Demon Thinking

I personally think that even if Naruto and Kyuubi could talk to each other normally, then they would both have their own little part of Naruto's head where the other can't hear them… Basically, they're not TRYING to talk to each other then…

Now all I need to do is remember all this myself… oi…

Naruto had been living in the Hyuuga Compound for the past three years, having moved into a slightly reclusive room (just far enough away from Hiashi's daughters for him to feel safe having him there) soon after Hanabi's birth. Hanabi was surprisingly healthy, considering that she was born prematurely. Aside from the fact that her lungs were slightly underdeveloped, she was in perfect health, and even that was corrected before the week the medics had requested to keep her was over. She showed no signs of the disease that afflicted her mother, and much like her sister, had learned to speak by the age of two. (That is to say, she was able to form basic sentences at that age) Of course, this soon proved to be a problem, as Hanabi sided with Hinata in her nigh-constant requests (and occasionally demands) for a little brother.

Eventually, their parents simply gave in, and tried to have another child; which had been born around eight months ago. Hinata and Hanabi were ecstatic when they found out they now had a little brother, just like they wanted. Hikari and Hiashi however, thoroughly protested having any more children. Three were enough…

Now, Naruto and Hinata were off to their first day at the academy. Hikari was thrilled, Hanabi was jealous, Hiashi was indifferent, and Hiatari was at the age where he just went along with whatever emotion his mother felt. In this case, he cooed happily in her arms. Neji and Hizashi were there too, Neji had volunteered to show them around before they inevitably got lost. (Neji wouldn't admit it, but he spent a good portion of his first day using his Byakugan to find his way around the place…) Hizashi on the other hand, glowed with pride, which was what his brother should have been doing then, but honestly, Hizashi was proud enough for both of them…

As the three walked down the street away from the Hyuuga Compound, Hiashi asked; "Are you sure they'll be alright?"

Hikari smiled. "Don't worry; I've made some arrangements…" She said, as Hiatari giggled in her arms.

---

(Almost two weeks earlier)

Hikari was sitting in the waiting room to see the Hokage. Sarutobi had said 'If it has to do with Naruto, I have no problem with you coming to me directly…' And this had to do with Naruto…

When she'd finally been let in to see him, Sarutobi asked; "So, Hikari… I hear you have something to discuss with me regarding Naruto?"

"Erm… yes, Hokage-sama… but it has to do with both Hinata and Naruto…" She said, fidgeting slightly. She was a little embarrassed to be asking the Hokage for something so trivial… "I was hoping you could make sure they were in the same class at the academy…" Sarutobi smiled as she continued. "Hinata is open and expressive with Naruto, Neji and Hanabi; but she's still far too timid and reclusive when it comes to meeting new people…"

"And Naruto is great at meeting new people." Sarutobi finished her sentence. "Don't worry, Hikari… I had already planned for them to be in the same class."

Hikari smiled and bowed, turning to the door as she thanked the old man repeatedly.

---

(Present - Konoha Academy)

"Wow… you sure do know a lot about this place, Neji…" Naruto muttered as he looked around, only half paying attention to the older boy. Instead, he was busy trying to keep Hinata from bolting out the nearest exit, tightly holding her hand as he led her through the halls.

Eventually, the three came upon a door, which Neji opened. "And this; should be your room…" He said.

Naruto led Hinata into the room as Neji waved and walked down the hall. They were a few minutes early, and several of the other students had already arrived. Naruto had seen each of them around town at least once before… The Uchiha boy, sitting in the front-left corner, trying to blend into the wall as a blonde and pink pair eyed him curiously from afar. An Inuzuka boy laughed while playing with his dog, the Nara boy was asleep in his seat, and then there was… "OI!" Naruto yelled; "You're an Aburame kid, right?" At Shino's barely audible grunt, Naruto continued. "I love bugs! I wanted to start a bug collection, but Hikari said it wasn't nice, so I just started bug-watching instead! Bugs. Are. AWESOME!!!"

Despite all of his self-training, Shino was lucky he wore the standard Aburame coat today, as he couldn't seem to keep from smirking. Upon seeing there was another girl in the class, the pair previously eyeing the Uchiha swooped in to drag Hinata off to a trio of seats. "So, what's your name?" The blonde asked.

"Hi-Hinata…" She mumbled.

"Hinata, huh? That's a pretty name… I'm Ino, and this is Sakura."

"So, who's your boyfriend?" Sakura asked playfully. Hinata just squeaked and blushed in response.

"Come on, you two were holding hands when you came in…" Ino added. Hinata responded how she always seemed to under pressure from people she didn't know… she tried her best to curl into a ball and hope it'd all just go away…

"Well? We're talking to you…" Sakura said, as Naruto came up behind her.

"Heheh… sorry about Hina-chan… She's just really shy." Naruto chuckled.

"Naruto-kun!" Hinata said, before latching herself onto his arm again.

"Heh, hey Hinata…" Naruto muttered. Then, other children began filing into the room, followed by their new teacher.

"Hello class, my name is Umino Iruka, but you can call me Iruka-sensei." He said, writing his name on the board. "I am one of your two teachers, my assistant, Mizuki, will be joining us later in the week."

As the chatter between the students died down, Naruto muttered; "This guy's a little weird, huh?" While standing between Kiba and Shino, who both gave him curious looks. Hinata had taken it upon herself to start playing with Kiba's dog, Akamaru.

"Now, go ahead and find a chair, I personally don't believe in assigned seating." Iruka said, and after each had done so, continued. "Now, before I get to know each of you, do you have any questions about me?"

Naruto, who was currently seated between Hinata and Shino, raised his hand, and bluntly asked; "Where did you get that scar?"

Iruka chuckled. He knew that was going to be one of the first three questions, at least. "That's a story for another day… Anyone else?"

---

The rest of the morning was interesting enough… The questions continued with topics like; 'What rank are you?' 'What kind of missions have you done?' and 'Why do you have pineapple-hair?' The last of these having been asked by either Sakura or Ino, no one could tell as they were then fighting over the two seats next to Sasuke. Iruka then had the entire class introduce themselves, which went smoothly until it was Hinata's turn. Instead, Naruto introduced her to the class.

That was about all they had time for before lunch. Not surprisingly, everyone chose to eat outside when they were given the option to do so. Iruka seemed nice. A little too nice… Naruto decided he'd find out whether he was really a teacher or some sort of shinobi wannabe…

He never got the chance, however. Naruto sat at a table outside, along with his new friends; Shino and Kiba (and Akamaru, of course) as well as Hinata's new 'friends' Ino and Sakura, with Hinata sitting just to his right, refusing to part with him.

Sasuke was just minding his own business, for the most part, walking around while eating a sandwich. Of course, he was walking because he wanted to stay ahead of the small crowd of girls that had begun to follow him around. When they drew near, however, Hinata curled herself as tightly into Naruto as she could. She was already getting used to the few people she was sitting with, but she still hated crowds…

Sasuke saw this, and immediately swallowed the half-chewed bite in his mouth. "You're afraid of other kids? You know, my family always said the Hyuuga were weak, but you're just pathetic…" He said, before he began to walk away again.

Naruto stood up, nearly dragging Hinata up by her death-grip as he glared down at his food. "Did he just… insult Hinata?" He asked.

"Yup… I think he did." Kiba chimed.

Naruto walked away from the table, shaking his arm free from Hinata's grasp as he caught up to Sasuke. When he was ten feet behind him, he yelled; "Don't you ever talk about Hinata that way!"

The raven-haired boy turned smugly, as if it wasn't worth it to give heed to the violent tone in the blonde's voice. "You've seen it for yourself. She's weak. And by the look of her, she's going to STAY weak. She's just not fit to be a shinobi." As he turned away, Sasuke added; "So why don't you just run back to your little girlfriend and play dolls or something… It's not like either of you'll wind up good for much else, dobe."

Sasuke took another bite of his sandwich as he resumed his walk, several of the girls following him chuckled as they passed Naruto. Something in the boy just snapped. Dashing forward with stealth and speed befitting an apprentice shinobi, Naruto leapt into the air, spinning as he brought his foot down on the base of Sasuke's skull.

After flying (and rolling) several feet, Sasuke immediately shot into a curled sitting position, holding the back of his head while air hissed through his teeth as he inhaled. Everyone seemed to have a different reaction to what had just transpired; Sasuke's 'fangirls' were standing stock-still with looks of horror on their faces, Hinata was curling into a ball, biting her thumb as she watched her childhood friend fight for her honor, Kiba was actually cheering them on, Shino sighed as he slowly shook his head, and Ino and Sakura were currently swearing up a storm at the blonde's blatant disregard for the safety of 'their Sasuke-kun'.

The Uchiha boy was soon to his feet, glaring at Naruto with eyes that promised pain. The battle was over before it even started. If Sasuke had recognized Naruto's stance, he would've known better than to charge blindly into battle. In the five seconds between Sasuke's first punch, and Naruto catching his kick, the Uchiha hadn't managed to land a single blow on the boy. Much to the contrary, Naruto seemed to dodge most of the blows with relative ease, only having to block twice (including the aforementioned kick) Needless to say, Sasuke wasn't expecting to be flung over ten feet with a palm-strike to his stomach.

As Naruto had already turned to walk back to his friends and his food, he didn't see Sasuke pulling himself up on all-fours, coughing up blood. Kiba was the first to speak (aside from Ino and Sakura, who were still yelling) "Dude… you… are… AWESOME!!!"

Shino sighed and shook his head again, stating a single word; "Repercussions…"

Hinata was silent as she watched Iruka and several teachers she didn't know tend to Sasuke. After telling the others to get him to the nurse, Iruka walked over and grabbed Naruto by the back of his collar, and dragged him away into the academy building. Naruto did little else than wear an irritated look on his face as he tried to fit the last of the food he'd grabbed into his mouth. It was almost like he expected to be punished…

'You done it now, boy…'A vast, echoic voice sighed.

'Yeah…' Naruto thought. 'Wait a second… I didn't think that, and I don't have an imaginary friend… so am I crazy?'

The voice cursed under its breath. The boy shouldn't be able to hear him yet… 'Uhh… No. You're perfectly sane kid… I'm… your conscience!' The Kyuubi said, a plan swiftly forming in his mind. Outside the realm of Naruto's perception, the demon thought; If I'm nice to the kid, I can trick him into doing anything I want him to!

'But I thought having a little voice in your head telling you right from wrong was just a metaphor…' Naruto retorted.

'You're special kid…' Kyuubi said. Every child likes thinking they're special, especially if there's some sort of proof…

---

"Why would you do that Naruto?" Iruka asked. They were currently in one of three uncomfortably small rooms used to punish 'really bad seeds' in solitary detention. Iruka spent his share of time in here, about five hours was enough to make sure he never wound up back here again… And Naruto had just spent the last three hours of class in here. Several people had been called in, including Sarutobi and Hikari, who were standing out in the hall without Naruto knowing they were there.

"I had to teach him a lesson. After all, he insulted my Hinata…" Naruto said coldly, staring at the floor.

"'Your' Hinata?" Iruka asked curiously, as Hikari and Sarutobi smiled out in the hallway.

Realizing what he'd just said, Naruto's eyes went wide, and he decided if nothing else, he couldn't make it sound any worse… or so he thought. "YES! MY Hinata! You got a problem with that!?"

The first reaction Hikari, Sarutobi and Iruka had to this was shock. This went far beyond preserving her honor. It almost seemed to border on obsession… And that thought scared them. "Naruto…" Iruka started, only to be cut off.

"He hurt Hinata's feelings, so I hurt HIM." Naruto stated firmly. "I won't let anyone hurt Hinata, in any way WHATSOEVER!" Naruto was now standing, having backed Iruka into a corner, flailing his arms as he exclaimed.

Everyone seemed relieved when a new conclusion surfaced. He wasn't obsessed with Hinata, he was obsessed with her safety. Which made some sense after Hinata's attempted kidnapping five years ago… He'd killed a man to keep her safe, and now everyone there was sure he'd do so again in a heartbeat.

Iruka chuckled. "Okay, Naruto… just, tone it down a bit, alright? It's all well and good that you want to protect your friend, but you're not allowed to hurt the other students, do you understand?" Naruto looked to the floor for a moment before firmly nodding. "Good, then let's get something to eat… I'm sure you're hungry, and there are a few other people here to see you that would agree with me…"

---

(Approximately one and one-half years later)

"Hokage-sama!" Hizashi yelled, bursting into Sarutobi's office. Before the old man could ask what was happening, he was interrupted. "It's about Naruto…" Hizashi continued, panting slightly. He'd obviously sprinted the entire distance here.

Immediately, Hizashi handed the aged Hokage a clipboard, attached to which were several papers of varying size. Once Sarutobi had looked the entire thing through, he wore a worried, yet accepting expression. He knew something was bound to have gone wrong… "I shall try to contact specialists to deal with the problems…" Hizashi nodded as Sarutobi spoke. "The 'incident' six years ago… why does everything seem to lead back to that...?"

In the end, it took a total of two weeks to assemble the people Sarutobi thought were best to handle the situation… Yuuhi Kurenai, being a longtime friend of Hikari's, was an obvious choice for one of the tasks. His students Jiraiya and Tsunade, though neither of them particularly wanted much of anything to do with it for completely different reasons… Tsunade's student, Shizune, who refused to be left out of something like this, and finally Iruka, having heard about what was going on, volunteered to help whether the others wanted him to or not. These five people, along with Hikari and Hizashi, were standing in Sarutobi's office, staring at the old man behind his desk.

"I assume you all know that we are here to discuss a particular problem involving Uzumaki Naruto… or more specifically, the Kyuubi sealed inside of him." Sarutobi said solemnly. "The sad truth is that the seal holding the Kyuubi within Naruto has been weakening for the past six years." Aside from Hikari and Hizashi, who already knew this, everyone gasped at what the old man said.

"That is impossible, and you know it!" Jiraiya said suddenly.

Sarutobi nodded. "Yes, it should be… The Shiki Fuujin used to seal the Kyuubi is flawless, IF it is given time to properly set. Approximately five to seven years…"

"However…" Hikari said, "A little over six years ago, only three years after the sealing, Naruto tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra in order to save my daughter…"

"Since the seal was still unstable, it was unable to properly attune itself to both Naruto and the Kyuubi." Hizashi stated.

"Which is why you are here, Jiraiya…" Sarutobi said. "You are one of the greatest seal-masters I have ever known. You are to either devise a method of repairing the Shiki Fuujin, or creating a tertiary seal to stabilize the two the Yondaime put in place."

"And what about…" Tsunade started, but the old man wasn't finished.

"Kurenai, it has been confirmed that Naruto has been in communication with the Kyuubi for at least a year due to the seal's degradation." Another gasp ran through most of the room, save the two Hyuuga. "You are to instruct the boy in meditation techniques to block out his 'imaginary friend'. If possible, I would prefer he not know about the Kyuubi yet, if at all. However, it seems impossibly unlikely this current turn of events will allow this."

"Why not-" Kurenai started.

"…Have a Yamanaka teach him?" Sarutobi finished her sentence, and she nodded. "Because, simply, you have known him through Hikari for several years, as such, he is both familiar with, and comfortable around you."

Kurenai nodded. "That makes sense… he is only nine after all…"

"Iruka, as you won't leave this subject to those I have chosen to help take part in this…" Iruka chuckled dryly as Sarutobi said this, scratching the back of his neck in a familiar fashion. "You will serve as emotional support, especially should Naruto find out about the Kyuubi." Iruka nodded sharply. "Tsunade and Shizune…" Sarutobi started, turning to his pupil and her apprentice. "You are to look into several… adverse side-effects in those close to Naruto." At a confused look from most in the room, Sarutobi clarified; "The Kyuubi's chakra has not been completely contained within the seal these past six years. As such, otherwise unexplainable phenomena in the physiology of those close to him have appeared over time…"

As Sarutobi gave the clipboard he'd received two weeks prior to Tsunade, she was shocked. "Impossible…"

"Yes…" The old man continued. "The girl, Hanabi, has almost literally no immune system. Yet she hasn't been sick a day in her life. Her older sister, Hinata, has shown an interesting mutation in her Byakugan…" Sarutobi motioned for her mother to explain.

"Hinata…" Hikari started, unsure how exactly to describe it properly. "While most Hyuuga can only see tenketsu and chakra tunnels, Hinata has also shown the ability to see the cardiovascular, muscular, and nervous systems…"

"Meaning…" Tsunade started.

"That with the proper training, she could very well surpass even your medical expertise…" Sarutobi added, once more finishing his student's sentence.

"We don't really know of any more abnormalities, which is what you'd be checking for… finding the ones we haven't already, and deciding what we should do about the ones we have found." Hikari said.

"So now, you each know what to do… I'll let you decide how to go about it." Sarutobi said, essentially dismissing the group.

Out in the hallway, Iruka went with Jiraiya to plan, Tsunade left by herself to get drunk and Hizashi was late for training with Neji. This of course left Hikari, Kurenai and Shizune to their own devices. "So, how have the kids been lately? Any news on Hinata and Naruto?" Kurenai asked playfully.

Hikari giggled as she pulled Kurenai and Shizune into a little circle to try and keep others from overhearing. "Well… about a month ago, I caught the two of them 'experimenting' with each other, so I decided to give them 'The Talk' right then and there!" Hikari said, still giggling like a schoolgirl. "You should've seen their faces! They still can't look each other in the eye… I've never seen either of them so red!"

---

Kurenai was the first to approach Naruto. Moreover, she hid her initial intentions behind 'chakra control lessons'. Once she'd found Naruto, she led him into a fair-sized room. He was expecting to be alone, however.

In a neat little row were Hikari's three by age; Hinata, Hanabi and Hiatari, all looking up at him curiously. A split second later, Naruto and Hinata's eyes met, and they immediately looked away from each other, blushing profusely. Neji was also there, already seated in a comfortable fashion, trying to meditate. The first thing that Naruto thought when he saw him, however, was that Neji was probably trying to pump enough chakra into his butt to float…

"Aww you two…" Kurenai cut in. "Naruto, Hinata… you really shouldn't be embarrassed about it. It's a perfectly natural thing to do at your age…" This, of course, only made them glow an even brighter shade of red…

It didn't take long for Neji to deduce what Kurenai was talking about. Between her words and the way Naruto and Hinata were, and had been acting for a while, the Hyuuga boy soon found himself in a fit of laughter.

---

Jiraiya was next. He took Naruto out to a woody stream near the outskirts of Konoha. A beautiful place, beams of light shooting through the treetops, hundreds of moss-covered trees blocking out the rest of the world, and a crystalline stream running through it all…

Naruto was having trouble coming to terms with the fact that this was so close to home… it looked like a whole other world. "You know, we're not out here to sightsee…" Jiraiya said. "I should be out doing research, but instead I'm taking care of you…"

"Hey! It's not like I asked you to be here old man!" Naruto yelled.

"Just take your shirt off…"

"What!?"

"There should be markings on your stomach. I need to see them…" Jiraiya said, irritation flooding his voice.

"Oh… well… yeah, sure." Naruto said, taking his jacket off and lifting up his shirt.

Jiraiya kneeled down so the seal was at eye level. Sarutobi-sensei was right… He thought. It should only show when he's molding chakra, but here it is, plain as day…

"So, what're you lookin' at?" Naruto asked.

"How long has this been here?" Jiraiya asked, looking up at the boy as he pointed to the seal.

"For as long as I can remember… why?"

"Do you know what this is, by any chance?" Jiraiya asked slyly.

"Well… I'm pretty sure it's a tattoo… might be some family crest? I never knew my folks… but it looks more like a seal of some kind. What for I dunno, I mean… seals are there to hold something back, right?" Naruto's words left Jiraiya dumbfounded. The kid knew it was a seal, or assumed as much…

Or to hold something in… Jiraiya thought, before shaking his head to rid himself of his stupor. "Well, you're right. It does look like a seal, and I've never heard of a family crest tattooed on the stomach… So…" Jiraiya's tone dropped to a dark and serious note, which held a surprising hint of curiosity. "Have you ever heard of something so powerful it needs to be sealed away into a person?"

---

Jiraiya spent the next half hour conveying the entirety of his knowledge of the nine Biju in order, followed by a recital of the exact happenings of the night of the Kyuubi's sealing, never touching on the fact that the boy in the story was Naruto. The old pervert was hoping Naruto would figure that out on his own… "So, what do you think of that?" Jiraiya asked.

"Wow…" Naruto said suddenly. "Sucks to be him…"

Jiraiya felt the sudden urge to smash his face into the ground. This boy was dense. Abnormally so. "How the hell aren't you getting what I meant?" The Toad Sage asked, more than simply frustrated.

"Oh, I didn't mean me… I meant Kyuubi." Naruto said, pointing to the seal on his stomach. "All I eat is ramen, rice, bread and things like that… I don't envy ANYTHING that lives down there…"

Now it was clear… the boy had said it simply as a means to break the tension. Jiraiya had to admit, this kid was a lot more cunning than he let on… "So then… Now that you know who your… guest is, I bet you want to know why I told you in the first place?"

"Because the seal's failing…" Naruto said bluntly.

This kid was smart. Jiraiya hated smart kids. They had a bad habit of making him look stupid… "How the fuck…?"

"I've been hearing it talk to me for the past year-and-a-half. It keeps getting louder, and I keep getting stronger." Jiraiya was, once again, dumbstruck. He hated it when kids these days seemed to know everything… it made him feel obsolete. "So, after hearing that, it all fell into place. The voice, the spite, the fact that all I had to do was act stupid and everyone just let themselves act however they wanted without giving a damn about right and wrong…"

Now this brat was just getting irritating… "So you were pretending to be all loud and obnoxious… just so people would think you were an idiot?" Jiraiya asked.

"Well, yes and no… I really do like being loud and obnoxious, I just know when to be quiet too, although I don't usually show it." Naruto said, before chuckling. "Spend an hour with Hiashi and you LEARN to shut up…"

Jiraiya couldn't help but smile, if only a little. "So, now that you know all about the seal, and what it's keeping in… you want me to fix it?"

Naruto shrugged. "With what little research I've done into seals, I really can't say what'd happen with a botched seal of this magnitude… so, tell me, what is most likely going to happen if you don't fix it?" At the worried look Jiraiya gave him, Naruto yelled; "And don't sugarcoat it just because I'm a kid dammit!"

Jiraiya chuckled. "Nine years old and already trying to be a seal master? Damn… the nostalgia is getting to be too much…" Naruto gave him a confused look, and Jiraiya clarified. "You're too damn much like your father, kid…" Jiraiya mentally cursed. DAMMIT! By Kami, I could've said 'my former pupil' or even 'Yondaime' would've been better than what I said... this is going to take a lot of explaining...

"You… you knew my father?" Naruto asked, caught in a shocked stupor.

"And your mother, kid…" Jiraiya said, sadly. "I was one of the few people to even know who your mother was…"

"So!? Who were they!?" Naruto yelled.

"I can't tell you. Hell, I shouldn't have said anything about your dad in the first place…" Jiraiya said in the same sad tone. "But anyway, you wanted to know what was going to happen to you, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. So now pick a topic and stick to it dammit!"

Jiraiya sighed. "Well, I'd say you've got about a decade before your body just gives out or explodes, given you don't go insane and get yourself killed by then…"

Naruto froze. He did tell the old man not to sugarcoat it… but… 'Explode'? He had to be kidding… right? "E-yeah… sure… fix the seal…"

"I thought so…" Jiraiya said, chuckling as he brought out a scroll, a brush, and ink. "Now, I'm going to make a copy of the seal so I won't need you there for all my research, okay? Now, didn't I tell you to just take the shirt off?" Naruto looked down, realizing he'd been holding his shirt up the entire time.

---

Every afternoon, Iruka took Naruto to Ichiraku's for dinner (Or on some days, lunch, since he couldn't make it at dinner-time) where they'd talk about anything and everything. After Naruto told Kurenai he knew exactly what was in him, she explained the true purpose of their exercises. Tsunade and Shizune examined everyone who had any more than minimal contact with Naruto, including his entire class, and found no new abnormal factors. Naruto also redoubled his research in both the public and private Hyuuga libraries regarding seals, in an attempt to be of use to Jiraiya in repairing the Kyuubi's seal.

It was around four months later that Jiraiya, along with Sarutobi and Naruto's help, finished designing a viable tertiary seal. In all honesty, repairing the Shiki Fuujin would have been nearly impossible for anyone save the Yondaime himself…

During the time it took to devise the seal, Naruto had learned to block out the Kyuubi, regained the ability to act normally around Hinata, and learned basic medical jutsu alongside her under Tsunade and Shizune's tutelage. Shizune even convinced Tsunade to remain in Konoha to complete Hinata's training…

On the day of 'the resealing' as Jiraiya was calling it, he and Naruto were in a dark room underneath the Hokage Tower, surrounded by several people. Sarutobi, Hikari, Hiashi and Hizashi were there, as well as Tsunade and two ANBU squads should anything go wrong, and the elder Ino-Shika-Cho trio (Yamanaka Inoichi, Nara Shikaku, and Akimichi Choza) who'd overheard talk about it and insisted they take part. (Or rather, Inoichi and Choza were dead-set on attending, while Shikaku was dragged along by his old teammates)

"Naruto, you ready?" Jiraiya asked, double-checking the brushed ink symbols on his right arm.

"As ready as I'm gonna be…" The blonde boy replied. He was currently shirtless, bracing himself against what appeared to be a T-shaped piece of woodwork, built specifically for this purpose.

Around the Kyuubi's seal were six swirled-flame-shaped points drawn outward. Before anyone had time to contemplate the sealing, Jiraiya had already slammed his palm into Naruto's stomach. "YOUKI FUUIN!!!"

The ink on Jiraiya's arm wound onto Naruto's stomach, winding around the six flame-points before converging on the Shiki Fuujin and encircling it. After the seal had been completed, a perfect ring of symbols lay between the Kyuubi's seal and the six flames. The wood had splintered and cracked under Naruto's grip, especially noticeable when he fell to his knees. "Jiraiya… sensei…" Naruto muttered as the Shiki Fuujin slowly faded, followed by the Youki Fuuin.

"Yeah, kid?" The perverted Sannin asked.

"That hurt… a lot worse than you said it would…" Naruto muttered as he lost consciousness.

Wow… this chapter really shot out, huh? It just seemed to write itself… Well, I'll probably continue on through another chapter or two, since I've been thinking them through lately, and I want to get my ideas down before I forget them…

Also, it saddens me to say so, but this fic'll probably take a backseat to another one; which may actually be a good thing. Currently, SoAS (the other fic) is somewhere between one third or half finished already. I already have the bigger points in it figured out, as well as the max. chapters I'm wanting to put into it. TBH (this fic) is a LOT more lenient in these regards. I have no idea how many chapters will be in it, and I have no idea how I'll END it. So, just be patient. In a month or so, when I finish SoAS, chapters for TBH should come pretty easily…

(I make it a rule to only have two active fics at most, and since FoW (the OC fic which no one seems to like) is kinda… dying… It's probably gonna' go on hiatus until me and PK (PalookaLord) can get back into it)

Okay! Now, before you go harping on me all 'They wouldn't touch each other! They're just kids!!!' Honestly, yes. They are kids. Kids are curious. Thus, if one little kid is comfortable enough with another little kid, (especially of another gender) touching may very well ensue. In my fic, Hinata and Naruto are VERY comfortable around each other. Thus, neither would have any real problem getting naked or 'experimenting', at least before they realize (or are TOLD, as with 'The Talk') the implications of it. If they HADN'T gotten 'The Talk' when they did, they may very well have wound up 'friends with benefits' before getting into any sort of relationship.

Oh, and yes. Quite a few of the adults are conspiring to get them together.

By the way, in case you hadn't figured it out already, Naruto knows Jyuuken. Which isn't very surprising when you think about it… if anyone spent a good five or six years sparring with half a dozen Hyuuga (Neji, Hinata, Hanabi, Hiashi, Hizashi, and Hikari) then you'd learn a thing or two about their fighting style, with or without proper training. The fact of the matter though, is, after a few years, they just gave in and taught him the style. The biggest thing you need to know about Jyuuken is; YOU DON'T NEED TO BE A HYUUGA TO USE IT. All it is, is expelling chakra, which any shinobi can do. It takes extensive training to excel at it though, and you need the Byakugan to use it to its fullest potential. Naruto can't see tenketsu. He can however, pump chakra into someone's gut and cause internal bleeding, hit their arm and damage muscle tissue, pump enough chakra into their heart to kill them, or scramble their brains with a palm to the forehead. Jyuuken isn't the ONLY fighting style Naruto learns, however, and by incorporating Jyuuken into other styles, he bypasses the need for the Byakugan completely.

Youki Fuuin – Youki means 'container' or 'vessel' while Fuuin means 'seal' or 'sealed'. I was considering calling it 'Assaku-Youki Fuuin' (Compressed Container Seal) however, I thought this name was too long.