Simplicity is Complexity

by OpposingForce

Three years of absense can create a lot of gaps in friendships. Despite that, however, on his return he realizes someone still loves him deeply, and yet he can't seem to find the heart to love her. NaruHina.

19. All Hope is Lost

Simplicity is Complexity

Chapter 19: All Hope is Lost

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto, and I don't own Guilty Gear XX.

AN: Greetings, my fellow readers, and here is my special tribute to you all, yes. After over 30 days of no update, I present to you this humble creation of mine, in which I call Chapter 19 of SIC. Oh, yes, stone OpForce for being so busy; shoot his legs for keeping us wait; and why is he so lazy? It's real sad, really, since school was taking its hold on me, as if it has some sort of sexual attraction. Talk about an unwanted hindrance.

For those who received my emails for reviewing, yes, that does mean that your reviews held some major significance in one way or another. And yes, if you really do want me to respond in your reviews, feel free to tell me so. I do want to help in the best way I can. Whoever asked me if I am an author or an authoress, well, I am not a woman. I am a full-blooded guy, unfortunately. Then again, it would be equally terrible if I was born a woman. Life is not too fair, isn't it?

Instead of my rambling, perhaps it would be more fitting to start reading now. I will meet you all on the other side when you are done. Just so that you know, this chapter was a very tough task to do. Please enjoy it like you all usually would –if not, more.

(Outskirts of the Trade Districts of Konoha)

I kept running and didn't want to stop, rather, maybe my body didn't know how to slow down, nor did I care at this point, and perhaps I could not afford to give up some time to care. In addition to the dangerousness of reckless running down a lane of pedestrians and window shoppers, I dared to pick up my pace after I made a sharp turn before I discerned that the central trade districts of Konoha were around me. This was bad news, indeed, for I failed to realize where I ran to whenever I was in a desperate panic. In a real mission, this might be a troublesome weakness to cope with, and I was referring to my fellow comrades.

In fact, my teamwork ability was so critically, shatteringly low that it was best to send me off on solo missions just in case Konoha didn't want to suffer from any "Expensive Failures" or "Crushing Disappointments".

Instead of busying myself with senseless thoughts, I immediately went back to focus on the demonic chakra presence. Although I did not want to perceive it to be true, but my senses detected that it was slowing down, as if it was all a deliberate act to mock my skills. There was no reason for Anthris to prolong her pursuit; at least I couldn't think of anything from the bottom of my head for now. Then again, perhaps she might be taking these moments to plan out how she would amaze me whenever I dropped my guard down. Needless to say, if I was too cautious, that in itself could create an evident frailty. However, that caused a problem to surface like an anvil smashing my skull upon release. I didn't know what was considered too careful, or at what point it was classified as careless. The happy medium was always hard to find, and up to this day, it had been a distinct hassle for me to become better. Hell, if I was better during my younger days despite that I was only fifteen, and sixteen in six months or so, I would still be in my human body than this shell of un-holiness.

I didn't want to know what Anthris wanted from me, but there was something I would demand out of her when we encounter again. That artifact witch! How dared she to betray my trust!

Something that outrageous was a hard thing to ignore or to forget.

I wanted to forgive her as my humanity took over momentarily, yet, regardless, I specifically ordered her to stay away from Hinata in the best of her ability. And revealing herself was not in the deal we agreed on, in which at the same time my normal self claimed back the throne to regain the mentality control that was unbelievably lost. This was uncalled for indeed, in fact, it was perfectly unforgivable. Did she find that much amusement to see me suffer? This was no joke, I was serious, and I hated this. How could she do this to me? My, she was really threatening me to keep her dry. I knew we were just joking the last time we discussed about it, but now, however, I was planning to make that illusion a dreadful reality.

Actually, come to think of it that was exactly what I was going to do. I refused to touch her, and thus, nothing could possibly leak out of her –unless she did it herself. Wasn't it her that said feeling herself with her own two hands was not fun? A shinobi always took the disadvantage to their advantage, as professional jounins have said as though it was a customary law of the ninja, and that was how I like it –I wouldn't have it any other way.

That demon woman did not have a choice but to deal with the consequences that she justly deserved. She bought this upon herself! The fault was her own. Anthris better regret twice for double-crossing me. I could not simply discard this as one of her pranks and pointless stunts, for it was much greater than that, and the punishment would be severely dire. That was a promise I could keep.

I never took pain away; I inflicted it, and with quite an enthusiastic passion as well. To me, it wasn't much different from playing a game, in which I could not possibly lose.

In spite my outrage, I was still afraid deep inside. In fact, I felt cold suddenly just pondering about it. Whether I demanded myself not to wander and avoid such thoughts it was senseless, since by then my mind was already thinking it before making its own analysis towards the subject. My confidence suffered a great drop, and I knew it bitterly.

Whenever I was down, my mind usually began to hallucinate on dangerous outcomes.

This was my creator I was agitated at; the authority of it all gave chills down my spine. Even if Anthris did wrong me, a sense of obedience suddenly kicked in no matter how much I wanted to fight it. To my disgust, I clearly knew that I could actually allow myself to bow to her in order to repent for my sins, pleading for full forgiveness -although the fault was not my responsibility from the start. This seemed so hopeless! Why must I enslave myself to this anguish? Just because she was my master, was it a must to obey regardless of the demands that leave her mouth? This was unfair… unjust to the most extreme sense!

Did my life just become a public distribution to the general public to poke their damned noses at like it was their business? Was this what living as an undead was all about doing tasks beyond my will and humiliate me during the process for the sheer fun of it? Aside from the biological changes, I had a conscience like the living. If Anthris tickled me, would I not laugh? If I wounded my shoulder, would I not cry? If I was cut by a sword, would I not bleed? I gave my aid to help Anthris feel like a woman, how did that supposed to feel? What was I supposed to feel? I saw every part of her, what else could be more demanding and unreasonable?

I did everything.

Anthris could not be hated for changing me into what I am. I did not mind or complained once that my bloodstained heritage brought ill fortune to my life. I did not find it a problem for her to help me open my eyes and see the truth behind the illusions of the devastating reality, in which I was pretending not to comprehend in spite I had a pretty clear knowledge of what society viewed me as. Instead, I humbled myself and praised her and thanked her for all she had done. If it wasn't for this beauty, in which never gave the impression of demonic aspect, I might still be slipping down cliffs and pointlessly waste good durable arms before have a need to kill someone else to look for another one. Arms never came free if I recalled, and they were definitely not cheap, either. My new brilliance was keeping the death rate at normal, so to speak, and it was somewhat an insult to me when I read the statistics in a magazine that I bought during that day when I felt utterly bored.

However, as a living demon, it was impossible for me to appreciate everything I faced with the same level of enthusiasm, and consequently I did hate one thing. I kept it as well hidden as I could. I did not hate Anthris for introducing me to the realms of sex… who I hated was I, Uzumaki Naruto, for relenting in it. I enjoyed what I become… a corruptive, repulsive, dark monstrosity that found sexual arousal as a fuel of encouragement, and yet I had physical charms as 'The Dark Mysterious Boy', in which could get away with nearly anything. I had the skills to tame all the women I most wanted if I used my hands, and it was downright disgusting and revolting, and inexcusable even! I wanted to yell and scream at the world for possessing such a despicable talent, and verbal insults only could go so far or do so much. I wanted more. I needed more.

And not long after my deep desperation, I found the salvation.

Once I started to touch Anthris, however… everything seemed to be forgotten. My worries, my hatred, the suffering, that nauseating dread that filled the air too constantly for its own good, all of the weight was lifted off my shoulders as a blessing.

Oh, the irony…

After all this time, who would have guessed that it was my demon master that held onto my salvation; and soon enough I yearned for more if I wished to escape the wretched realism of reality. In a way, this was a drug, and, like all drugs, it got me highly addicted -fast.

As days went by, it had become evident that I wouldn't be able to live life like I used to without the presence of my demonic guardian. Her chakra was a desirable essence of the past, but not that I didn't need it for I required it to stay alive; I no longer craved for it, and yet I wanted something else from her. Anthris' body, yes, my antidote to this constant poison that reeked on forever until this planet perished, was indeed intoxicating. I wanted to feel her emotions, her lust, her desires, her pains, her unique and true animal instincts, and the carnage that made her a demon to begin with… Damn, these lifeless eyes that made me look blind saw it all, and consequently it brought out the devil within my soul as well before it possessed my undead self as its new ruler. In exchange, something remarkable ignited; it imprisoned my foolish old-nature in the dark depths of my sub-consciousness as abolishment, never to be seen again for many years to come.

Call it fate, but this little eventful tragedy of mine took place on the very same night of our first sexual experience, in which involved me having to touch her and nothing else, and I remembered something vividly. It became too clear, too real even.

I recalled her crying… weeping actually… or was she wailing? My hands penetrated her mercilessly, and they only went faster with more protest… I remembered how she begged me to stop after she had enough, but I refused viciously before I went against her wishes and forced her to climax dozens and dozens of times as she almost went dead from exhaustion. Anthris was still conscious in the end of it all, yet she offered no resistance by the slightest when she realized she was powerless in the hands of her dark creation, which now looked like a soulless carnage that was born to slay and wound than a sarcastic undead. Her lovely lower body was drenched and still dripping with her own sexual juices covering her legs (and crotch, of course) when I moved my hands away, and her face was filled with tears of honest sadness due to her weeping.

I tasted her fear.

Did I care? Now I did, needless to say, with much remorse. Back then, I wouldn't have minded if I literally penetrated her to death.

My dark side, the darkness that I cast away for the goodness of the world for as long as I could remember, broke free that night… And he 'raped' my creator, the one woman that gave him a new life. He raped her… and then soon enough he claimed the seat as my dominant nature before changing all the perspectives I once had in the past. This was how I thanked her; this was how I thanked her! She gave me a second chance that I did not deserve and asked nothing in return, and thus, I took advantage of her when she wanted emotional healing, and then made her come to oblivion! I was a monster. Just because I had a body of an unholy undead did not make me a lieutenant of darkness. I wanted to comfort myself with those varieties of relieving thinking, and in spite of that I knew it did me no good when characteristics of an unforgivable defiler had infested with its entangling roots in the depths of my heart. Not only was I an atrocity externally, everyone who knew my heritage could consider me as a full fledged malformation (who should not have been trifled and tempered with) of pure despicableness when my mind was more defiled than those of Satan's.

Rivaling with the devil was a bad place to be, and yet my dark side relished it.

This was the undead warrior that I had consciously become, and I loathed it deeply with a driving passion.

There wasn't anyone to put the blame on, since it was my own limitation that pushed me into whatever I was today. If I were stronger back then, perhaps my old self would have lived, or maybe then it could be playing a much more significant role than a trapped prisoner who had no hope of being free -until I met death face to face. But he didn't survive; part of me was celebrating delightfully as I stomped on his grave, yet another part worried in sorrow.

The current self and the old self rested on the opposite sides of the extreme scale. Indeed that was true. And how I wished for intellect and emotional strength back then, in which never came to me despite my prayers. I truly wondered what kind of person I might end up to be if I stood in the line of the happy medium. Sometimes picturing that impossible being in my fantasies did bring forth a smile on my face, since I knew that was a man that would be able to love Hyuuga Hinata properly and romantically. Hyuuga Hinata deserved a person that treated her right and fair, because she was so lovely that it was pitiful to have her receiving any less.

The adorable Hyuuge princess, I am afraid, was that worth it.

To be blunt, I doubted that I was suited for the job.

Hating for what I am was one thing, but having Anthris banish my ideas of the future with Hinata and replacing it with her own, like it was superior and better compared to my thoughts when I knew myself the best amongst everyone else, was another. This was not right, and this was the type of injustice that made my blood boil easily. In my human body, the frailty, the utter uselessness of it would not allow me to withstand such rage, and in no time I could set up a world record, in which included having a fifteen year old boy dying from irregular blood pressure that only happened, in all honesty, to those who were at least in their thirties.

Making history was just a start, and my dark negativity suddenly caused me to remember a saying I heard from a song, which said, 'History is made by stupid people'. In that spirit, I strongly believed that my death would indeed encourage further studies of the mutations of various diseases, so to speak, just in case such tragedies were to befallen on humanity once more. Perhaps it was somewhat overconfident of me to assume this far, yet I was so certain that everyone in this cursed town would be rejoicing once they found out that the demon boy was the guinea pig. If I were the first to die, then their loved ones would still be alive, relatively speaking, because I took the bait out of courage, pride, and honour.

And to think that I could actually get some gratitude out of that… As if I was going to receive gratefulness from those damned fools… like that was ever going to happen… Who was I trying to kid? For living as long as I have under this new blessing of knowledge, I should know better that my influence had no affect on those villagers who buried their deep hatred for me, as if it was a part of their daily practice. The only gift I could present to them, in which they would accept with actual pleasure and appreciation, would be my head separated from my body, then at last a smile would reach their features as dying at that precise second was a fear of the past.

A dilemma involving a fifteen-year-old boy suffering from blood pressure irregularities would be a rare case that conceivably happened in one out of a million. In a utilitarian's point of view, sacrificing that one to save millions was the right way to go, and a part of me agreed with that philosophy to a limit. As a matter of fact, there was a utilitarian in all of us, just like how humans were introverts and extroverts, and never excessive on just one side of the scale. Seriously now, would the world go through all that trouble to risk a million people just to save that one individual, in which had no special significance, incredible talent, promising future, or a family that loved him? Hell, did anyone even love him? In all due respect, the world was not as nice as most lame ducks interpreted to be. Life, in my darkest interpretations, was hard, life was long, and life was definitely unscrupulous and unfair even when I was trampled on the ground already. If I just so happened to be that one person out of a million, then it made it all better for the insignificance of my existence was given more of an excuse to ignore.

I expected a parade to happen real soon, too.

Sometimes, I didn't know if it felt that good anymore to be right. Everything seemed so helpless once I put my mind into it.

As I was saying before my curious intelligence wandered through the unnecessary domains of disease and death and other trivial and yet appeared-to-be-vital subjects, I was still not happy with Antrhis. She may be my creator, but when I put some rationality into it, I came to realize that Hinata was not her business. If I wished not to be associating with the Hyuuga princess in a romantic level, then I had the right not to do so. No one had the power to force me into doing anything that I had no desire of. Romance could not be sparked up under enforcement and restraint. If Hinata thought that I would fall in front of her feet with only her slaves and lieutenants doing all the work, she had another thing coming. I loved her, I loved Hyuuga Hinata, but I could not yield myself to that kind of love despite her qualities. Was I afraid? When I narrowed it down, I was deeply frightened to deal with the truth… I was afraid that Hinata would not like who I am, and I had a very good cause to feel this way. All my problems were beyond the tolerance of a human being, and yet somehow merely imagining Hinata rejecting me in her absolute furiousness was something my frail heart would die against.

What made it worse was that I knew she had plenty of reasons to be disappointed –all odds were against me today.

---

Men were never the greatest multi-taskers. Indeed, my new self was a great deal more logical than my twelve-year-old human self however, I never had much liking or lenience when it came to numbers. As much as I hated statistics, as the information were nothing but a bunch of numbers that the authorities may change to shift tides to their advantage depending on the argument and it was especially used in political statistics, I gave a declaration of defeat to see that this figure about males was legitimately acceptable -miraculously. There was a reason to everything despite how stubborn I might be to stick with my instincts than be swayed by the ones of others. However, during the moments of my witty pondering, it was more than obvious that I slowed down in my running where I should have been making the quickest dashes to gain the most benefit. To correct that, I brushed all unnecessary thoughts away before making a dedication not to get sidetracked –unless something came up.

Just when I wanted to speed up in my sprint, I was forced to come to an immediate, yet gradual but quick nonetheless, halt when I found Shikamaru and Chouji standing in the middle of the road. I grunted audibly to perform such a task with my wounded arm, in which I naturally would not have a problem if my body were fine. If I didn't start to slow down twenty meters ahead, I might have ran over them, and with all three of us having a vacation of injuries as a wonderful outcome out of this providence, in which could have been avoided by all means.

In spite that Shikamaru was fully aware of my sudden presence, he and Chouji made no effort to step aside. To put it in words that even a commoner could understand, they expected me to do all the work, and they even grinned, in which was especially shown on Shikamaru's face, when I actually managed to stop completely just when I was inches away from striking them. Judging from my agility, I could have potentially broke their nose or something within those lines, but it was more than likely that the collision could have done me more harm than I would do to them. When they suffered from a broken nose, my spine might have snapped in two. In all honesty, the least they could have done was leap out of the way… Whatever, as long as everyone was okay, I guessed I was a happy camper.

Those irresponsible wretches… I'll hack off their legs the next time…

This was a good moment to take a look at my surroundings, and I did so in silence. To my right, I noticed they were standing in front of a small shopping centre, in which only had slightly over twenty shops or so since the electronic notice board on the wall clearly stated it that way. Despite the size, it was a popular enough place for most teenagers our age due to the coffee shops, small department stores that sold commonly used electronics, card shops, whatever. This building was attractively flashy -I gave it that much credit. Judging from the style of the whole building, it gave me the impression of a typical mall for teens where they could purchase the most 'in-it' stuff. If I weren't in such a jam, maybe even I would have gave it a shot.

Malls these days did not shock me like those times when I was still young. Back then, I marked my favoritism towards these shopping malls by the qualities of their food court –especially the ramen that they served. Yes, indeed I was a ramen fanatic, and it was more than crazy for a young boy going around every place in town to make thorough examinations of various foods when he wasn't even a professional food critic. Needless to say, it was quite an expensive operation, as in expensive failure when it applied to my career as a shinobi. Tense; as in past tense; as in I couldn't do that kind of thing anymore when it almost got me to reach financial bankruptcy when I only knew how to overspend. In a way, I could mark it as 'Uzumaki Naruto's Happy Moments'; a historical story that could bring a smile on your face instead of making you frown in utter disgust.

Nowadays, social places such as malls had barely any affect on me, and not without reasons, no doubt. The choice of words, my dear friends, was something that played crucial roles no matter what age people were, and shockingly its importance only grew larger as our years went by. In my agenda, there were only malls that I would enter, and those that I wouldn't. In different towns the shopping malls used various words to put on the signs that guided their customers to ever so needed washroom. The affectionate, small, friendly towns often used the word 'bathroom'. Normal towns such as Konoha, where it was busy, prosperous, and civil preferred neutrality, thus they used 'washroom'; and lastly the rich snobbish towns would prefer 'restroom' just so they could sound smart and better and then feel high-class by using it.

The Sound, however, gave me the creeps. Yes, I have been to the Sound, but I never managed to find Sasuke –not like I would really want to talk to him anyway. Besides, someone with his social status would not simply run around in public as though he was actually trying to cause attention for people to know his whereabouts. I lost my passion to find him, yet I could not say the same for Sakura. If I thought the Sound were just a bunch of people who loved to carry this sense of militaristic charisma on their facades before, well, I'd be damned. My discoveries shocked me to no end when I found out that rumour (about the charisma) was not half of it. In fact, Orochimaru indoctrinated his vengeful and venomous beliefs to the people in a person level. Everything the people saw, heard, or did reflected this war spirit, as if it was constantly reminding them that life was war, and living in Sound's purpose was to defeat those who opposed the leader that created this home. To connect with whatever I was trying to prove earlier, it was no wonder why people referred to washrooms as 'Refuge Area'.

I remembered once I found out what this 'Refuge Area' was, the first thing I did was fled out of that despicable, rotten, corruptive hellhole as quick as my undead legs could carry me.

Having all that said… it was quite a marvelous opportunity to witness that this shopping centre managed to attract someone to the likes of Nara Shikamaru. Knowing him, the only two people that could virtually had a chance to persuade him was Chouji and Ino, and even they had quite the hard time back in the old days. Today, I expected Shikamaru's lazy attitude to have descended to an even lower level where only his wife (which I prayed was Ino when the day does arrive) could force him to do anything despite the importance. At the same time, how they were just out here and not doing anything was not something that appeared logical.

Personally, simply loitering around the streets was not the most eventful activity when it came to hanging out –especially not providing that an attractive mall like the one before them was begging for entry and exploration. It was stupid! If it were up to me, I would at least check it out for the sake of not being so ignorant around my hometown just to see if people used 'Refuge Area' for their washrooms.

It was the lazy chunnin that acknowledged my arrival although he somewhat realized that my sudden entrance was not a deliberate one. "Hey, Naruto," Shikamaru greeted me lazily, obviously oblivious to the current dilemma I was facing.

"Good afternoon to you, too, Shikamaru and Chouji," I greeted back in a paranoid fashion as I turned my head back frequently enough to scan if Anthris was heading my way. She seemed to have stopped, but I couldn't let my guard down now. Any carelessness could lead to my downfall. No doubt, my queerness definitely sparked up an element of surprise in the negative aspect.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" asked Chouji, somewhat concerned over my well being than his bag of chips for that one second.

"I-I-I am fine…!" I hurriedly said with panic written all over my face. "I am fine… Yeah… Why wouldn't I be?" Now I was trying to stir up a conversation, and my stammering did not seem to help in the way I wished. I knew I was making this worse without anyone having the need to tell me, but I kept on going, as though I was trying to deny the facts with horrible endurance. "Hey, what are you guys doing here? Why aren't you inside?"

"I don't really give a damn about what's inside, Naruto," the most experienced Chunnin, so to speak, replied, yawning a little to exaggerate his point, "I only came here because Lee wanted to come."

"Lee?" Just imagining that man with these two other guys just didn't look proper. I might not have said anything else, but Shikamaru's sharpness pierced through me more effectively than Hinata's skillful intuitions. He knew exactly what I meant without having a need for me to project a voice.

"Lee-san said that Sakura and Ino were in here, and he said this might be the day that he could ask Sakura out on a date," said Chouji, now munching away on his snacks like they were the last shipments this town had. Maybe I was losing it, but it felt much better for me to have him paying attention to the listener as he talked. I actually liked him when he was thin. Now he was fat again, or even bulkier than before to be more specific and critical… Talk about a waste of good looks… Unlike him, I couldn't live without my charms, for it gave me what I desired from specific women when the moment was right. In a way, it was a gift that called out for abuse.

My cunningness had no limits.

"Had he not learn how to give up yet? I am surprised with his endless persistence."

The ponytailed chunnin smirked a little at my words, which sounded quite contradicting to my old nature. Encouraging others to declare forfeit was not an art I admired -according to my old self, that was- but now, I sought for another method that made life happier in an delusional sense, in which was another form of ignorance. Nowadays, I found my peace by being sober, and I intended to keep it that way for as long as possible. Instead of urging others to complete dreams that was knowingly impossible, what was so bad being more realistic and discourage such arrogant thoughts before they got themselves hurt with regret? Hinata wouldn't like to hear that at all.

"It's not like Sakura doesn't like him," Shikamaru said. "They are very good friends as a matter of fact."

That comment almost offended me. Did Shikamaru and Chouji seriously believed that I was totally clueless about the relationships my friends, or maybe now merely acquaintances, shared with another? Due to the fact that their comment had no intention to hurt me, I allowed it to slide. "I know that. Still, Sakura doesn't see Lee as the dating material type of man. No offence to Lee, of course."

"You know Lee is hard-headed," said Chouji in a considerate manner and agreeing with me wholeheartedly, "We try to tell him, too, but it's hard, you know. His stubbornness is almost unbelievable. He is kind of like you, in a way."

"Don't compare me with that guy," I told him sternly, finding my old pathetic self to be a despicable sight to image. "I am nothing like that. You can say I gone through a renewal, and the treatment made me see things right for once. It's almost an insult to imagine Lee and I to behave equivalently, for I ensure you that I do not take Lee's actions and behaviour as a precedent."

Shikamaru smirked at my answer, as though he expected something to that level. His mental detection skills never ceased to have limits. "And from my opinion, I think you are right. You've really grown up, Naruto."

I thought of a witty reply, and I had no problem showing off my impressive sarcasm –only if the timing was right. I was just about to respond, however, I saw Lee coming out from the automatic doors with a very refreshing smile on his face. What ailed him to be this delightful? I was glad, to a degree, since it carried no perversion in it today unlike that time at the hot springs before I got myself to the E.R. That was truly a vacation of injuries, and I didn't want to go back there anytime within this month. Something bugged me, it kept telling me in my mind that the hospital and the Hyuuga mansion was soon going to be my second homes. When he did notice my presence, I merely gave a short wave to give my smallest acknowledgement. The Green Beast of Konoha then approached my other two friends, in which made me feel like someone who just so happened to be there and my sudden disappearance wouldn't make any impact whatsoever, yet they were nice enough not to comment on it out loud. To be honest, it did hurt me a little, but I kept it quiet.

"So, how did it go? Did you find Sakura?" asked Chouji, crunching on more chips than his mouth could stuff as some of were pointlessly wasted as it hit ground. I was fairly interested at the outcomes despite myself.

"She said that she is busy on that day," replied Lee in a strikingly cool manner, as though it did not bother him that he got rejected -again. This ignited my curiosity further with effectiveness. "But I did manage to talk to this guy when I was outside the coffee shop. Like, wow, I just, like, met a guy and he's real cool and stuff. After I told him about my taijutsu skills, and he's, like, goes on saying, 'Come back to my training place and show some moves to me,' and I go, 'I totally kick ass with moves!'

"So then he say, 'Come and train with me,' and I spun around with my Konoha Senpuu and then showed my victory dance where I own people by spanking them, and then he gets all excited and stuff! He looks at me happily and tells me, 'Yeah, yeah, that's what I do, too!' and I am surprised that he likes to own people in taijutsu like, you know, me. Maybe I should, no, I will go to that guy's training place sometime and, you know, train up on my moves-"

I caught plenty of problems in those words already. As a friend, I had to give my input when I understood the situation as plain as day. "Lee…" I interrupting in a warning tone with much doubt soaked in it.

Lee caught the tone in my voice and tried to reassure me with his confidence. "No, no, it's cool, Naruto-kun, he's a really cool guy-"

"No, Lee, listen. You don't want to go to his place."

"But, Naruto-kun, he likes good and cool fighting moves-"

Shikamaru decided to step in and spoke, and just in time, too. "No, no, no, Lee… what Naruto is trying to say is that… well, he likes gay moves…"

"Well, of course he's not good enough to know moves like Gai-sensei-"

"No… you're not getting it, I am talking about G-A-Y gay moves."

"Oh, you mean like he likes to be cheap?"

Why was I trying so hard for an imbecile? It must have been my humane conscience that told me to keep on going despite the hopelessness of it all. I knew Shikamaru just wasn't direct enough just so he could save some pride for Lee, but in my opinion, drastic measures was no longer an option if clueless morons truly needed that extra push to gain that seed of knowledge regardless of the horrors after receiving it. As far as I was concerned, knowledge brought fear. Letting out a frustrated lamentation, I relaxed slightly before I tried again with semi-refreshed spirits. Lee gave me such a confused face when I spoke again; as if whatever we were sharing was foreign information. "No, damn it, no. No, that's not it. He's gay… Like, I mean, he likes guys… He likes to ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- and he puts his ------------------------------ in some other guy's ------------- while ---------------------------------------------- and moves -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"

I went on for a good, long, revolting minute.

After absorbing everything I said with the same clueless look for the past minute, Lee, at last, reached a compromise. He screamed like a girl as he made a horrifically quick dash towards the east direction. Thank goodness he didn't run anyone over, since I doubt that he could halt himself in time if someone was in the way, and that was because he was not as skilled as I was when it came to speed. Agility, unfortunately for most people, was my primary attribute. The Green Beast's yells and cries could be heard from a distance away, and it was a fascinating exploration to understand how outraged and disgusted he truly was. Shikamaru and Chouji, who didn't want Lee to be go complete berserk to the innocent under his frenzy, in which this was even more horrific during the times Lee took in alcohol despite the minimal amounts, immediately chased after him, and it left me a conscious decision to either follow them or not. Knowing my own position, I didn't think that lingering here was the most prudent decision.

Perhaps it wasn't a dumb idea to once again be aware of my current crisis. I had grown a little relaxed –way too much according to my taste.

Still, something troubled me. Why did Anthris stop her advances? Maybe I spoke too soon, since I suddenly detected her presence right behind me in her spiritual form. I instantly froze. In one wrong move, the situation immediately shifted to her favour. Having no other choice but to stand still, I fearfully anticipated her next words.

"I found you," she cooed in my ear with the most delectable voice. I expected a lot worse, and it was such good news to realize that she was being affectionate. I chose to return a bit of my own, but not without the anger I still manifested for her earlier. It would appear that I might need to save it for later, in which I promised to release it once we were alone.

"Looks like you did," I said in a whisper so people wouldn't think that I was talking to thin air like some guy who needed to live in a mental institution. I prayed that I was silent enough, and from the looks of the pedestrians and other shopkeepers, they weren't suspecting a thing. So far so good, I thought, continuing at this pace was ideal. "So, what took you?"

Anthris smiled charmingly, like always. For someone who watched her smile everyday, I was bound to have picked up the insignificant features that she used to represent different emotions in her smiles. She was being cunning today, in which matched a fox's nature completely. Perhaps that was why I took this art under her wing, and it had served me well after all these years. Humanity was a foolish breed -that was something Anthris taught me during the very first conversation we had, in which didn't include either of us demanding something out of another. Correct that, I should have said in which she didn't demand something from me.

"I was here a long time ago, if you must know. I just lowered my chakra signature to make myself less detectable, and then I hid somewhere so your eyes won't catch me."

"So, this time you lowered it to absolutely nothing so I won't be able to sense you at all? That must be a benefit of the spirit form," I commented, somewhat bitterly to know her cunningness had no bounds due to her perfect stealth. It was utmost impressive, and how I prayed for her to teach me. Better yet, she could give me a few pointers so I could develop it into my own individual skill. Sadly to say, Anthris liked to keep that skill to herself so she could sneak up on me whenever to her liking. She had already slipped into my bed more than once, in which required me to change the sheets afterwards. "So, you caught me. What do you want from me?"

"Let's not talk here," Anthris said, "I don't want those living imbeciles around you to picture you as a mental retard."

I chuckled in the most silent way I could force myself to. Luckily, I controlled it well and only laughed for a millisecond before my solemnity restored itself. It was amusing to see Anthris so downright towards her feelings; for it nearly convinced me that she was an undead like myself to have such an prejudice on those who were still alive. "What a nice reference you have for them, Anthris,"

My demon master grinned lovingly to see me smile, and in her standards, my happiness was contagious, too. What did she even see in me? "Thank you. Are you going or not?"

I pulled my shoulders back to break out of the stiffness; for my body grew a little tight by standing idly. "So be it," I told her with a smirk as I leaped high to the skies without warning. "Follow me." In less than an instant, I vanished out of thin air as I used 'Tsuyoshi-Shiki Teni'. My demon master, suffice to say, followed suit without delay.

(Minutes later at Training Area 44, Forest of Death)

Coming out here was not mandatory, I knew that much. Wasting more chakra than required from the 'Tsuyoshi-Shiki Teni' was not exactly the most provident choice when my body needed all the power to regenerate the joint at my left arm. Besides, who knew how much more running I needed to do from here on end? However, everything I did had its reasons. I had a feeling this place was safe enough from Hinata, and I placed all the chances I had on it although my talents never blessed me with excellence in gambling.

Perhaps I could take the initiative to pay for some lessons in that field. Tsunade seemed to be the awfully good choice somehow, and the image of her as another teacher of mine just did not look promising to the slightest. Kakashi was a pervert; Jiraiya was a drunken pervert; and this Hokage, so to speak, was a drunk and a constant gambler who lost matches from a ratio of one hundred and twenty nine to one. How the hell did I survive from looking up to people such as those?

The question should not be how was I living under their wing; rather, the more plausible answer should be why was I allowing this to fuck me up?

"I think this should be far enough," I spoke out loud in a normal voice than my whisper as I returned to reality after performing the last 'Tsuyoshi-Shiki Teni', and then landed on the metal fence gracefully despite of my half malfunctioning left arm. "Hinata wouldn't be able to detect me if I am at least ten kilometres away from town. I seriously doubt that her eyes could see a distance this far." Deep inside my heart, I detested that advantage of her bloodline. Those eyes made her look beautiful, it complimented her charming nature, and now it even blessed her with abilities that many would die for… I didn't understand how she could hate them… I loved her eyes… more than she thought I did, and I was so willing to show her my feelings.

"I really don't see why you should be scared, Naruto-chan," commented Anthris as she returned to her physical humanoid form in a distance that was ten meters or less away from me. I cringed my eyes evilly at her to see that Chinese red dress we were discussing about earlier. The breast area never looked tighter, as though the fabric was about to explode from the ever so growing size of whatever it was attempting pitifully to conceal. I was more worried if the bust-line of the dress was initially made to be loose for virtually all women, but in this case, it barely fit. Was Anthris' pair of breasts actually getting bigger in spite her age? Fuck that, I didn't want to think about it. Then again, perhaps her dress could rip if she just bent down by the slightest. It did bring forth some mirth, I must admit, and it wasn't like my demon master didn't have an ambition to be seductive in front of me. It made me feel vital and important –for a split second before my wit dominated my rationality.

"I am worried."

"You have nothing to be concerned about,"

"It's a great time for you to shut up now. You and I have a issue to settle, and you got some answers that I want."

Anthris grinned sinisterly, like a villain. "Really now? What is it that you want from me?"

I discarded her attitude for the time being. "What the hell happened to Hinata? What did you do to her?"

"I did nothing but introduce myself to her when she came in to check up on Rika-chan."

I glared at her before I leapt off the fence to land safely on my two feet. My rage then took the better of me in a flash, and I surely wasn't expecting to lose my cool so easily. "I told you specifically not to reveal your identity!"

"Oh, come on, Naruto-chan, you should have known what had to be done ahead of time. Do you seriously expect Hinata not to be able to discover my presence once she entered the room Rika and I were in? Remember this well, she is a talented shinobi and a woman worth marveling at. She sensed a new presence the instant she opened the door, and with her eyes she saw right through the spiritual form. The Byakugan is a formidable technique, Naruto-chan, and it's best for you to remember it well the next time you battle someone with that kind of ability up their sleeve. Personally, I think it was Hinata's lack of killing intent that she wasn't able to defeat you. She announced every lethal attack of hers out loud before she executed those three seconds later like it was all a deliberation. You created too many openings. It was a surprise how you managed to pull it off."

A grunt escaped my lips. My pride was quite wounded by then, knowing that Hinata was actually going easy this morning whereas I was really trying to save my sorry ass from those deathblows of hers. My overdrives, no matter how lethal and versatile they were, it could not match the powers of an instant death where 64 (actually it was 64+32+16+8+4+2126) tenketsu points, or pressure points in modern English, were disrupted as effectively as the initial attack intended to be. I had it easy. I have really grown weak. As if things were bad as it was by this time, receiving a lecture from Anthris seemed to be more damaging than all the other lessons I drove myself to absorb and learn. Actually, it was more of an indoctrinating process. There was an element that I could not catch whenever I felt disappointment coming from her, since Anthris never expressed her negativity fully, and thus I knew there was more of her wrath on the way like a never ending quest. Truth be told, it wasn't pleasant at all, and it was that much more significantly worse knowing that this came from my master and creator.

"I will take that as an insult…"

"You better,"

Suddenly, my rage flared up two folds. Why was I looking apologetic? She was the one who wronged me! I had to pull it together, I couldn't cower like this or I would be putty in her hands –not like I wasn't in that predicament already.

"Okay, shut up for a second," I said with renewed confidence. Anthris looked at me surprisingly to see me regain that bone of self-belief, in which she thought I lost ever since I obeyed her every command regardless of the unreasonableness of it. "I've got something to ask you, and you better answer. Why did you betray me?" I sounded hurt, really hurt. It was not my intention to show fragility in my speech, but little did I know that betrayal was a sin that my soul, despite how I never seemed to care for anything, could not endure well. Perhaps self-reflection could do its wonders after I get myself out of this conversation. It sure looked like that missing a several meditation lessons had gotten me into quite a considerable mess.

"I didn't betray you," Anthris said in the most sincere voice her nature could muster, in which was a lot. She almost looked offended to see me accusing her as such. Luckily, she was not angry –yet, anyway. "Hinata discovered me."

"And why should I believe that?"

She countered immediately with haste. "And why would I lie to you?"

"Like you don't have a reason to?" I challenged bitterly.

"What are you saying…?"

I had a dark snicker sneering across my face by then, and I sure made good use of it, too. "You have been sabotaging my mental abilities for not controlling my libido ever since I have met Hinata. You want me to lose to her and allow her to do whatever she desires with me. In fact, you are the reason why I ended up realizing that I loved Hyuuga Hinata, and I was trying my hardest not to fall for her when I knew my horrible past. You were always the daring type, my master, the kind of person that loves physical affection, and what was better than sex was of course none other than sex. That is why you always abandon your post whenever Hinata is in the mood, and conveniently, it serves your ambition a little too well to simply ignore such opportunities. You will whine and complain like you can kill yourself if you had the power to make a difference, and my crisis is not any different, but instead of protesting this time, you tried to trap me with every little stunt you can muster."

Anthris looked utmost offended, and she made sure she gave me a piece of her mind before I treaded on any further. "You accuse me in making your life a living hell?"

"It's not the first time I have panicked over Hinata," I retorted, "And I don't panic over anything ever since my little internal metamorphosis. I take pride at my calmness and cautious demeanor, and any means of destroying it is a declaration of trespassing on territory that should not be trifled with."

My demonic goddess sighed airily, as if she was quite agitated and worn out from my actions. "Do you have to use such an extensive range of vocabulary to explain your point? And I am not trying to make it difficult for you, Naruto. Why do you see me as a sexual crazed maniac and nothing else?"

"Aside from the fact that you are my demon master who recreated me and nurtured me by blessing me with skills beyond normal standards, you are a woman who very womanly feelings behind that authoritative persona that you use as my master. Ever since we became close friends, or rather very, very close friends even, we have saw through another's weaknesses and strength to know better. Deep down, you are just a lonely girl, and I… well, you know what I am."

Anthris looked away painfully, which nearly got her sobbing when her fragile heart could not take painful blows if it became excessively stressful and hard to take, and knowing my master, my hurtful words wounded her more than anyone else's due my importance in her life. It sucked having dedication with anyone, for freedom seemed further and further away as the pact continued to build stronger. What senseless devotion this was, and especially during times I wished to tackle things my way without hindrances in between –it sure appeared that my fate was sealed like a lich's consecration to their own superior being who gave them new powers. In the end of it all, everything had a price, and my bond rested on the same level and shared an outcome that was identical to all the precedents in the past.

"Why are you so afraid?" my master questioned me suddenly as she pushed away her anger prematurely until it was to be dug up for further use later on. "What is there to be afraid of, Naruto?"

"I don't know…" I admitted instead of denying it. My existence was already a problem, and, sadly to say, these minor romance stuff was only an appetizer to the main course that was inconveniently on its way. "I just need more time to think about how to tell her everything… Well, not like she doesn't have an idea now, thank you very much. Now it would be best to look for appropriate answers to all those questions… Damn it all, why did you and Rika have to ruin everything? I was planning to do it myself eventually."

"As if you have the guts to tell her anything!" Anthris countered back. It had been a long while to see this sincerely outraged, and I knew seeing her angry was not a good thing. Perhaps it could have been just me, but the atmosphere tended to grow dark, but warm and hot though, when there was evident rage, and it could be due to the fact that her primary magic skills involved fire and shadow. Anthris' auras were always considered noticeable, and as her emotions got high, it usually affected those around her. "You drove Hinata nuts with your incompetence!"

"No, that's not true, Anthris. It's Hinata who-"

"Don't argue with me," she insisted as she cut me short. "Hinata have had it with you. She makes it obvious that she loves you, she does everything to give you hints on advances, and all you do is just watch her idly and then pretend that nothing happened. Sure, you may plant a kiss or two on her cheek or forehead, but that is not what she wants."

"You listen to me, you demonic artifact," I scolded, now obviously taking the initiative to stir up an argument. Anthris appeared to be furious and with a good cause. "Hinata, as kind as she may be, will not accept me for what I am. Humanity, actually, no, the living, rather, will not see past this fusion of negligence and fear for the undead. She is alive, and I am dead, and therefore, we don't match no matter how she feels about me. Besides, she loves the old me, not this monstrosity. My heritage will destroy her, Anthris… and it's already a mistake for me to be associating with these… people… we have stayed here for too long… Why did we have to come back here instead of looking for the legendary 'Undercity' where all the undead have gathered to live in peace… or not so in peace… That's beside the point. It's where I belong now, Anthris, whether I like it or not. We can establish new friendships and forget about the past, we don't need them and they don't need us, and hell, I am certain that we will be forgotten in less than a day! In fact, maybe we can set our own sense of justice against those who have wronged us in the past and-"

My master, who I deeply cared for, slapped me hard across the face.

I touched my heated cheek slowly as I watched her serious, yet saddened, face with shock in my eyes. Anthris was threatened to cry, and it was out of despair and disappointment. I haven't seen this in a long time, and I didn't expect myself to witness it again ever since I was blessed with talented intelligence, and due to it, I thought I wouldn't be dumb enough to make Anthris be like this again. For topics that I wished to be right on, it always seemed that fate, or perhaps reality, loved to prove me otherwise, and, of course, it had happened more than just once.

Anthris decided to speak first, but her voice appeared to be trembling slightly. In fact, her frailty became more evident with the second word. "Naruto… you…"

"Itai ja ne ga… (That hurt)" I grunted a little impatiently as my face started to sting, as though the stinging in my left shoulder was not enough. "What was that for?"

I recoiled as if something just bit me once I saw the raw anger in her bloody red eyes. Suddenly, I found it kind of strange how she had dark green hair to her features. In all honesty, it made her look even more frightening, as though it was a natural talent of hers to freak the crap out of those she wished to manipulate. "Coward…" she sobbed fiercely and hissed at the same time. A second later, tears streamed down her face. "You… stupid, revolting, goddamned coward… I can't believe that I fell in love with a coward!"

Yes, at times such as these, some reaction would be appreciated, as some normal living people would have it, who thought emotion was higher than anything else, but I was always taught to remain calm regardless of how hopeless the situation appeared. I knew I was now in deep shit, as usual; it would certainly look like misfortune would never leave me until I smartened up to another notch, in which was never enough since my new intellect was not sufficient to tackle more troublesome dilemmas unless more training and experience was given. A never ending cycle, as I would kindly put it, one that would never vanish as long as humanity existed, and that was the same for the dead, too.

I sighed in return. "Coward, ne… I surely wasn't expecting that…"

"When did you turn out like this… I never taught you to be this helpless… The Naruto I know wouldn't just back down and cower because of a girl!"

"She is not a normal girl!"

"Just because she loves you? That is a pathetic reason."

"I know it is, but-"

"I think it's time for you two to talk it out, Naruto-chan," Anthris suggested out of the blue.

I gasped at her idea in horror, but not due to the suddenness of it, rather it was the aura that I detected the minute she finished her sentence.

My demon master vanished like she never existed before me, and yet I knew better, for an apprentice it was crucial to understand the master's strong points, in which represent cunningness, craftiness, and agility to the extreme sense. The first instinct that came to me was to leap forward to evade before a shattering earth-slashing sound was made from behind me. I rolled roughly a several times in spite my injured arm, trying hard to prevent the pain from sinking in any further than necessary as I turned my head back to inspect the damage that was caused.

There she was, Anthris, my demon master, with her signature weapons in her hands, in which was a pair of dual-wielding flashing light twin swords. The blade, not including the handle, but it was made with dark demonic mithril, was sixteen inches long with a slight curve. In addition to the uniqueness, the blade itself seemed to be forged with a crystallized element that made it feasting for the eyes, for now it was a beautiful transparent blue armament, as though it radiated chakra. In fact, with demonic blood as the dangerous reagent that made earthly metals into devastating tools of magic, these two blades were definitely weapons that surpassed any technology this era could provide. The sight was marvelous to behold, and when it was wielded it could give the user immense power and versatility; it was clear that anyone would want to get their hands on one to have the advantage in battles. Although the blade was made out of a mixture of truesilver and demonic vanadium to reach a charming blue exterior, I knew it possessed more fire attacks than possibly imaginable. Actually, the cerulean colour was a display of wonder, and also a sign that the fire abilities were at a level much higher than those of a normal caliber, in which I could not ignore that simply. Blue flames; hotter than fire… and with a bitter frost aftertaste after being singed by it to enhance the deadliness.

This certainly looked bad. I haven't dealt with her powers in a long time, and I wasn't expecting myself to engage them in such an awkward situation. As though this wounded arm was bad enough, now this greater force stood in my way, too, like it had a genuine liking to hinder the choices I had in life just to make things more difficlut than they should be.

"Kuso…" I cursed, noticing how the aqua colour weapons had a light, but significant, aura developing around it.

"You have grown fast, Naruto-chan," Anthris said, gracefully twisted herself elegantly to straighten herself to stand at full height, which was sixty four inches, with her right sword pointing towards me and the other behind her back. "I thought I was going to be quick enough to get you on the first shot. To be honest, I was planning to do it painlessly, but seeing how you have gotten so much more swifter and sharper, it looks like I have to take things a little more seriously, ne?" Whether she sounded sweet and seductive in her speech, I knew better than to fall for that trap. So, she was planning to capture me… this was not a hard task for her at all… and my thinking proved to be right as my unique scanning abilities kicked in.

I did not like what I read.

Anthris (Dark Demon Goddess): Level 16.

Attack: 370; Agility: 840; Intelligence: 490

"Crap…" I grunted inwardly again.

"You aren't doing that bad yourself, Naruto-chan," commented Anthris as a giggle escaped her lips. "It's such a pleasure to scan you, too."

Blast it all, I almost forgot that whatever I knew, she knew as well –if not better.

Uzumaki Naruto (Undead Assassin): Level 9.

Attack: 130; Agility: 610; Intelligence: 260

And this was incredible.

When did I gain this much more power? Ever since I came back here, I haven't done any additional training at all, and thus, how could it be possible? Perhaps it was the racial benefits of being an undead, since, as Anthris said it, my body grew stronger with each foe I defeated, and that included being revived from near death situations like my critical blood loss I had over a week ago. It may indeed appear that I should get hurt more often just for the sake of gaining strength; once this little ordeal was over, I would make a pact, in which involved having me meeting death every single day voluntarily. I was tired of this lack-of-power weakness, and despite I never made noticeable frustrations, it didn't mean that it didn't bother me.

If I wasn't taking the initiative back then to eliminate this evident weakness, perhaps now was a great time to deal with it once and for all. I loved Hinata, yes, but I wasn't planning to be abused by her daily just because I lacked a way to defend myself. Endless torture was not the purpose I was resurrected, and if it was by any chance, well, I was more than willing to chop off my own head and bury it than to endure it. My previous life was a mistake from low intellect, now I planned to set things straight –or straighter, anyway, knowing relentless chaos haunted my trials just because they had nothing better to accomplish.

"Any last words?" my demonic guardian inquired in the most alluring fashion as the energy from her aura increased. My body began to feel numb from this gradual development of hers, in which caused me to react with clenched teeth and fear, as though I didn't have enough to worry already. Her true motives revealed itself for a split second, in which I caught, once that glint of dangerousness flashed quickly before it was swapped with the fake aspect she carried at the moment. The art of being a professional liar belonged to her and her only -oh, how I tried to imitate her although my powers were limited.

One day, one day I would be as skilled as that demon.

Her question suddenly sparked up a witty response. Even if my answer was not the most prudent reply knowing that I was the prey and she was the predator, I needed to save as much of my dignity and honour as I could in order to make this defeat of mine unlike any other. Pride, whether I win or lose, in which I preferred to receive either outcome from intelligent decisions, stood as my primary concern above all that mattered in a fight, and I intended to keep it that way even if it sounded a little rash and improper. Perhaps this was something that I could improve on –only if I was allowed to see daylight again after this.

"You will stay dry forever," I snickered darkly as I spoke. How Anthris tempted me to laugh when she carried a horrified expression on her beautiful visage! When she realized what sort of major weakness she showed, I knew I was in for it.

Indeed, I was right once more.

She disappeared.

Without any warning, I felt that her powerful, yet delicate, legs suddenly entangled my waist. My whole body, as a matter of fact, was trapped in her hold –tightly. I couldn't move –hell, speaking became an evident problem. Nevertheless, I attempted to struggle, yet surely enough that ended in utter failure when my undead body could only produce the least amount of physical strength among every shinobi I knew. To make matters worse, perhaps even Hanabi was able to beat me if I arm-wrestled with her, and soon enough my left shoulder cracked painfully as my demon master gave little effort to lock that area. Next, I noticed one sword rested against my neck in a flash, and before I could even make note of it, Anthris performed one of my favorite attacks, but I never thought my own attack would be used against me. From what I could see, this was a form of backfire self-infliction, also I thought this was some sort of accident my old self would do sometime in his pathetic life just because he had nothing better to do.

I prepared myself for the worst case scenario.

"Genrou Zan!" my demon master declared loudly as she heavily swiped her energy charged sword against my upper body and neck with one clean cut. The neck-breaker did it; it was much more effective with the sword as a seasoning sensation of pure agony; the lingering burn did absolute wonders to drain all the power my body desperately tried to recover; and it didn't take too long for me to fall over without an ounce of resistance on my part. Yes, I was down, but not unconscious yet. However, I knew my abilities would not keep me up for long, therefore, I gathered as much insight as I possibly could during the limited time I was awake.

Seriously now, the next bit of exhibitionism from my eyes was not within reasonable bounds of surprise. I was speechless, dumbfounded, mute, and to an extent, I could even say I suffered from a heart attack.

"I think you overdid it," another woman's voice reached my ears from a distance and coming closer with each passing second. I knew this voice, so I gave it my best to see who it was. To my dismay, I found Rika approaching Anthris, who was now running her hand through her incredibly sexy, and silky, hair. "You do know that Naruto is hurt."

"Can't be helped," said my demonic guardian with a sigh escaping from her tiredly. "If I don't do this, he will run away again. He certainly got a lot faster, if you must know. If he was at his best, I would be having trouble to catch him. It must be from those times that he was trying to escape Hinata-chan, and he got so much practice out of it, too. Poor girl she is… What brings you out here, Rika-chan?"

"I was hiding here just in case Naruto did something funny. Hinata-chan told me that this was the most strategic place Naruto would go to if his intention was to get out of her sight range."

She was kidding, right? I couldn't believe what I was hearing! Fortunately, I was down for the count for them to catch my panicking face.

And my thinking continued from there.

So, Hinata already predicted my movements and actions… I was playing her games the entire time! How could this be? Why was I losing this bad? Just when I thought I had the upper hand, never did I realize that I was never going anywhere I was still at square one wandering in circles! It was all over… Uzumaki Naruto faced a defeat that scarred him for life, and it was all because of a girl's undying ambition to claim the love interest of her life, also the love interest did a fabulous job at making her miserable and lonely. When I placed the dilemma in Hinata's perspective as I thought about it with some depth and analysis, was this crisis my own doing then?

Anthris chuckled maturely before she made her weapons vanish from the naked eye. "And what do you wish to do to stop him, Rika-chan? You don't know any techniques. What if you got hurt?"

Rika intelligence did not fail on her, as if she was prepared for that sort of inquiry ahead of time. "Naruto, yes, is a dark man… and it makes him so charming that way… and desirable… and loving…" Anthris gave her a sly grin, and Rika immediately knew that she was fantasizing about me again unconsciously. Her blushing certainly gave my demon master a great deal of amusement before Rika shook away her adorable blush. "No, no, no, what I am trying to say is that, well, even if he looks mean and serious, he is good at heart. If I embraced him, I don't think that he would struggle free to hurt me during the process. He wouldn't hurt a defenseless woman at all, I know that… because he is so considerate…"

Rika did have a point. If she were to hold me, would I ever break away from her forcefully? Sure, there were times that Rika embraced me at the wrong moments, yet I never handled her roughly. Seeing Rika crying because of me was as bad as that time I fell off 'The Cliff', in which made me into what I was today. "You may be overestimating him, Rika-chan… I never seen him this scared… besides that time he knew that he was going to die for good if I didn't make him the undead body he uses now…"

"What are we going to with him now?" asked my violet haired friend kindly as she kneeled beside me.

"Hinata-chan and him need to talk it out one-on-one," said Anthris, lifting my limp, non-resisting body from underneath before resting it on her shoulders supportively. "My little apprentice wouldn't learn if he keeps running away, right? It's sad, really, since he wasn't like that before."

"I think Hinata-chan will take good care of him," Rika stated as she volunteered to aid my master.

Hinata, Hyuuga Hinata was going to take good care of me? That never sounded more ridiculous. It was ideally despicable and perfectly disgraceful. Hiashi gave birth to a monster with a divine mask, and that same devil was going to be by my side until I recover? Sure, the girl might not hurt me in any physical way, as she said she loved me so very much, however, my emotional stability could not say the same. I would be destroyed for certain, for her seductiveness and charming behaviours could lure in anyone she desired, and knowing Hyuuga Hinata, I was the only person that matched the requirements she had in mind. Hinata's nature was nasty; it was nasty by nature. Even so, I loved her. What made her so charming? Was it because she was a living contradiction like myself? Yes, it had to be, and her physical beauty ever so complimented the attraction I felt. In my eyes, Hinata was perfect.

Energy drainage was never a good sign, and as a result from suffering from that sickness my pondering ended abruptly as my body could not sustain to remain conscious. Sometimes after a humiliating defeat, sleep was, surprisingly, a pleasant medicine to temporary make you forget the shame and other things you didn't want to think about.

I wished that most of the time I could sleep forever.

---

From my indoctrinated experience, it usually took a several hours for me to wake up if I went through a state of abrupt unconsciousness, in which meant I went unconscious not from free will. Despite that I was out of commission, my primary senses did not truly fade. My rest was comfortable, a little oddly comfortable for a wounded man. The pain that had bugged me for hours, in which I kept well hidden from everyone, had finally vanished, as though it was a sign that the torment was over. The undead certainly had a fabulous skill in healing –especially at night. Even so, where in the hell was I? As my mind grew more awake each passing minute, my previous worries started to surface before infesting it with fear, panic, and hysteria. Suddenly, everything seemed to grow hot.

Not wanting to face reality just yet, but I knew it was something I couldn't escape for long, and gathering all the courage I had left I slowly tried to open my eyes. Somewhere in the back of my mind I figured that my predator captured me successfully and easily –everything pointed out to that result. Despite how comfy I was sleeping in this unknown spot, this room, which was still pitch black to me since I had my eyes shut, was the prison that I must stay in until I settled the disputes that must be solved with Hinata. Destiny had planned this thoroughly, and no matter what I tried to do to alter it, it definitely had proven useless for a mere undead warrior to have the power to toy with fate.

I, in a way, was not fit for challenging for superiority.

Then, I felt my left cheek was touched with a soft, delicate hand before it began to rub gently.

"Naruto-kun," I heard a divinely voice calling out to me. It started out as inaudible muffles, but as my head grew clearer the voice only got more alluring.

"Isn't my name always a good word to start with," I said sarcastically, now fully conscious but I kept my eyes shut. Seconds later, I moved my head away to avoid contact with her hand.

"Naruto-kun, what's wrong?" Hinata asked with sincere concern as she leaned in closer to show her intimacy. I now opened my eyes. My first reaction was jolt like something bit me once her beautiful visage and body was the only thing within my sight range. Hinata gasped to see my react with some hostility, and she relaxed once I softened my behaviour to be more welcoming. She figured that her appearance was indeed shocking, and it did bring her quite a bit of satisfaction for her to realize how much of an affect her physical attributes were doing to me. By now, she must have known that my mental defenses against her were slowly degenerating to nothingness.

"Where am I?" I questioned instead of answering her inquiry.

"You're in your room," she cooed soothingly and deliberately in my left ear. "You have been sleeping for quite a number of hours, too. I was so worried about you."

"It's so like you to be concerned over the well being of others, isn't it, Hinata?"

"Why are you being sarcastic now, Naruto-kun? Do you want me to not care for you?"

"I was not being sarcastic, but I can't ignore the fact that I am not a little annoyed."

"Annoyed? Are you unhappy?" she asked as she kissed me on the cheek, and her breasts behind her silky white blouse unintentionally rubbed across my chest delicately and yet noticeably at the same time. The softness of them could go without giving them some credit, and damn I felt more of a pervert than ever before. As quiet as I might be, somehow Hinata just knew what I was giving my attention to even if it was just for the briefest moments. But she caught me, and that was all that mattered to her. Every victory had its purpose, as she would say, and this one was no different.

"As intelligent as you are, my dear Hyuuga Hinata," I said with evident sarcasm this time around. "I can't imagine you to be able to see nothing but delight generating from my current situation. Shall I classify you as one who is overly optimistic, or do you prefer mentally retarded? As mean as it may sound, I can be satisfied with both as long as my analysis does prove to be correct to an extent."

Instead of giving me a big reaction, whether it involved having her make a mocking enraged face or squeezing me to death, Hinata pouted adorably as took my shoulder and used it like a pillow as if it belonged to her and her only. Not even Anthris and Rika would be able to lean on it again after she declared total ownership. How my two lovely girlfriends would react to that statement, I wondered. Indeed, I believed that losing my shoulder as a comfort was quite a shame, and not to mention a fact that was very hard to swallow after years of claiming me for granted whenever their mood was down. At instances where their salvation and emotional provider was threatened to be lost forever and be given away to someone else, seriously… what would Rika and Anthris be doing to stop this? As much as I loved Hinata, I knew how much she wanted to keep me to herself –just like wounded soldiers who desired for all the medical attention when needed.

"You're mean," she whined as she pulled me to a sitting position before 'forcing' my head to look at her face directly. My throat failed to project anything once I saw her beauty. As a matter of fact, my body defied me when it decided that this was not the time for my mind to be witty. In short, I was mentally dead. But she was so beautiful, so delicate, and so sweet that I almost wanted to love her instantly.

I snickered darkly in return, in which always seemed to make the Hyuuga princess frown whenever she had to witness it with her two eyes. She must have been asking herself what she should do in order to change a guy such as myself at least a hundred times by now. A spectacular performance of dedication and persistence indeed –Hinata was a natural unlike me who called it quits just because I happened to have met my maker in a premature fashion.

"Oh, why can't you kill me?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Kill me, Hinata,"

"Why do you want such a thing?" she asked me with genuine trouble. It wasn't her voice that bothered me. Rather, it was the action she decided to use upon my reaction. In a bold move, she cradled me for a second and then she placed my head slightly above her breasts to rest there comfortably before she continued her emotional healing treatment -as though having her personal area being completely invaded by an undead male was perfectly fine. "Poor Naruto-kun…" the Hyuuga girl continued to coo motherly as she was oblivious to my discomfort no doubt. I agreed that her ample chest gave her a wonderful aspect to increase her physical sexuality, but sadly enough it was not a mandatory need to feel her softness in depth. Perhaps Hinata was doing this to undermine my will and mentality. After all, somewhere in her vast creativity did lay the mastermind I feared.

"I faced an ideal humiliating defeat, in which makes the victor laugh endlessly every time he remembers such a disgusting yet hilarious victory. As the loser, my dear, it is truly an immense challenge not to think about the fact how I was the cause of everything, as though I brought this tragedy upon myself due to my laughable mistakes that could have been easily changed to alter the entire situation to my favour."

"Naruto-kun…"

I removed my head off her chest so I could breathe properly than to blow air to make her oh-so-sensitive breasts to experience my breathing. "So, I beg of you, Hinata… please kill me…"

She paused. Right after that, she started to stare. In another ten seconds, she gathered enough strength to speak up. "Naruto-kun… may I ask you something?"

"Do ask away, my dear,"

"Are you… Naruto-kun… ano… ano… well…"

Was she stammering on me? This was an advantage that I couldn't possibly pass on. "You can tell me anything, Hinata."

She smiled when she heard my encouragement, in which her kind smiles were always so charming. "Whenever I hear these lovely words from you… I wonder if you mean what you say sometimes… about you not loving me but you sound like you love me so much…"

"I care about you, Hinata, and you know that, right?"

"And I care about you, too,"

"Then what is the problem then?"

"Naruto-kun, what I want to know is… what I want to know is… Uzumaki Naruto, are you afraid of me?"

It was my turn to halt in my tracks before I began to absorb what she was grasping at. Somehow, in a miraculous turn, I actually summoned the power to give out a forced laugh. "Afraid? What could have ailed you to believe such a ridiculous thought? You are being silly, my dear."

Hinata, instead of feeling better after my statements, countered shrewdly. "I see fear in your eyes." It was all she said.

I knew it was not the right time for me to give in. "It's your misconception. No matter how hard I try, I cannot seem to find myself to understand your predicament. Do pardon my ignorance though."

"I love you, Naruto-kun…"

"I know you do, Hinata, and maybe you love me enough to let me go."

"To let you die? Never."

I only tried again, but this time I was very gentle with her. "Let me go, Hinata,"

Hinata was shocked and a little furious at my stubbornness. Even so, she kept her emotions at a calm state nonetheless. "How can you order me to kill you after it took Anthris-sama, Rika-chan and I so long to catch you? I didn't get you back here to watch you die on me, my love. I am refusing your offer. I am not going to let you go due to your selfishness."

And she wasn't selfish…?

"So that's how it is…"

Hinata then shifted to a topic that was less depressing. It was just so like her to be optimistic and cause the least amount of problems to float around for the sake of everyone. "How are you feeling, my love?"

I snickered weakly as I drew air. Did it get heavier or was it my imagination? As I glanced at Hinata, it did not appear that she was suffering from the difficulty that just surfaced. "When did I give my consent for you to call me 'my love', my dear?"

"Same goes to you," she countered softly yet alluringly with a heartwarming grin. "But I like it when you call me 'my dear', because it makes me feel special and happy inside." So she did like me referring her as 'my dear' after all. Of course, it was no surprise when she loved affection of every kind –especially if it came from her love interest. "You still haven't answered my question yet. How are you feeling?"

"Weak," I told her honestly as she placed herself to sit another inch closer. "It sure looks like I am already using my backup battery…"

Hinata blinked her eyes twice as it showed much confusion instead of understanding, in which she was dying to achieve. "Backup battery?"

I laughed a Merlin's laugh. "I guess there is no point in concealing anything at this stage of the game. In fact, I am getting anxious over our climax. Hinata, you do know what I am, right? Other than a demon carrier at birth… I returned to my home after three years as an undead warrior. I am dead, Hinata… what you see here is nothing but artificial flesh and disease copied from my living DNA that is from my head."

She nodded to my words, yet I wondered if she did that for the sake of doing something than to bore me. "Are you afraid that your undead heritage would frighten me? Do you think that I might not accept you for whatever you might have become? Naruto-kun, my love, I love you too much to not love you… and your beauty is only skin deep, for I love you for who you are, not what you become."

Her affectionate speeches were never good –I meant for my emotional soul, but most normal people would have fallen for it immediately like it was a drug as compelling as crack. "You have no objections whatsoever? You are just going to take it and then live life like it is normal? That's unexpected of you, my dear."

"I didn't say anything like that."

"Indeed?"

"You have to tell me everything you know in exchange."

"I thought that Rika and Anthris would have spilled enough," I assured her, obviously I preferred to keep quiet than continue talking. In fact, I was having a hard time staying awake despite my hours worth of rest. "Do I have to tell you about my backup battery, Hinata?"

"Most preferably, yes,"

"I am nothing but a demonic puppet," I said with evident power drainage. "What a wretched life I have here… and this battery that I speak of… is how much life I have left if my demon master cannot supply me with chakra any longer. Blood today is nothing but a secondary attribute to keep this body moving… the real reason why I am still alive is all due to fractions of Anthris' chakra pumping through my body. When all my remaining energy is used up, I will deteriorate away. Funny… I wondered if my body used up most of my energy to have a fast recovery… in exchange of shortening my life because my chakra provider abandoned her post… I know what you want to ask, yes, why would Anthris do something like this, correct? I guess she wants me to declare forfeit under pressure… This is going a bit far indeed…"

The Hyuuga princess wrapped her arms around my waist. Soon, she used one hand to take my left one around hers before she pulled us in more closely. Lastly, to tie up all that she had done to make our embrace warm and welcoming, she placed her head on my shoulders after she planted a touching kiss on my cheek. "I love you, no matter what, Naruto-kun, even if you are already dead… I think it is wonderful for Anthris-sama to bring my lovely Naruto-kun back to life… Now I can be with him forever and ever…"

I hated to break her moment, but I didn't want her hopes to be too high when the little fantasy she was speaking of was far from the truth. "Anthris did not revive me for your sake, Hinata. She didn't know of your existence nor was she thinking about you at all. It may be selfish, but she was considering herself above anything else. Sorry to burst your bubble if I did so…"

"Is loving an undead person… you know… alright?"

"I should be asking you that question. It's not like I am taking a risk here for falling romantically in love with a human."

"Because I don't care, Naruto-kun,"

"Even if you don't care, I won't be able to last long if Anthris doesn't come back into my body."

"I won't let you die." Hinata said, but her voice was trembling weakly but it was displaying frailty regardless.

"Well, then where is that artifact bitch with my precious chakra? Under critical energy insufficiency, my own regeneration cannot compete against the process of depletion, and that's why I will degenerate. What; is this how it is? Now my life is placed on the line and I will die if I don't give in? Fine, if you want it that way, then kill me, I don't want to live anyway! I say I have thirty minutes at most. The clock is ticking-"

My collar was yanked hard before my whole body fell forward beyond my control. Right in front of me was the most ferocious Hyuuga Hinata my eyes have ever seen –and she did not look too friendly. If I tried to calm her down, the situation would not look too different from putting my hand in a cage that belonged to a tiger than had not been fed for a month. "I will hate you forever if you die on me, Uzumaki Naruto," she told me with the most straight face her gentle nature could muster, in which was oddly effective. "How dare you take away the only thing that I love in life? How can you take that away from me when I love you so much?"

"Damn it, Hinata, that dream of yours had been taken away ages ago! Two years to be precise! You are pursuing a dream that doesn't exist anymore. I am dead, and you should be visiting my grave on my every birthday, not talking to me face to face and actually get a response from this revolting dreaded unholy shell! So take what you have and leave it! It's already a miracle that I am here, so what don't you just accept the facts that humans and undead don't mix; just like how guys do not find masturbation fun with a dildo!"

"As long as you are here, it exists, my love," Hinata told me in the calmest way she could muster, in which was breaking away faster than she wished for.

"What you crave for is almost obstructing the natural balance of earth. Loving an undead when you are a human is almost as wrong as for a guy to love a guy romantically. If you love me, the morality of it is just wrong, and it's not much different from an invitation that invites gays to be gayer before they start adopting families of their own. They will look at you and say, 'Hinata here is loving a being from another species, so why can't we love someone else of our own species? Isn't an undead more ridiculous than a gay male?' Your actions will be a glorified, yet subtle, declaration for new revolts and new rights. Families in the future may look like this, 'Dad, can we play ball?' 'I don't know son, are you gay enough yet? You know how angry you will make one of your two dads if you don't kiss your coach on the lips after you win the game.'

"Perhaps I can give you another instance. Don't you find it gross to be tempted by someone of the same sex that you have no in because you don't share their sense of romance? Have you been grossed out on how gays can affect you? If you have not encountered any hints of homosexuality for over three years, you are good enough to be a priest. From my experience, a gay man from one of my missions asked me this: What will I bring if I ever get stranded on a desert island? What are the odds, but I answered anyway. Well, no I didn't, but he definitely did. And he told me that he would definitely bring along Shakespeare's Hamlet for the sake of reading the friendship between Horatio and Hamlet, a musical from Ichigara Sousuke and Shinokito Alexis (and Sousuke is just so hot, as he said, but Alexis is good, too), and finally for a companion, he would surely bring Oscar Wilde.

"'Oh, Oscar,' he would say, 'Your presence can light my fires any day. Just so you know, a lot of people don't know that I am gay, and even less people want to know that I am a shinobi. And Oscar, amuse me, say something funny; do your Wilde thing.' Damned devil of hell. That sounded so very gay. Gay gay gay gay gay… augh, I can't shake off this despicable feeling of monstrosity… But nonetheless I got my point across, correct? Do you see what I am saying, Hinata?"

The Hyuuga princess, despite her intellect, failed to comprehend my complex speech. "How does the subject of homosexuality come to this topic of ours?"

"It's just an example of how your romantic feelings towards me is a abnormality, an unforgivable action that has the potential to create history. History, I am afraid, is made by stupid people, and you don't look dumb to me, Hinata, so don't do something like that. In that spirit, my lovely dear, an undead should be with an undead, and the living associate with other livings. You mate and make love to create a family, or there is that slight chance that people simply do that as an excuse to lose their virginity, but we don't do that. We use advanced shadow magic from high and mighty demonic influences, like our vessels, to find a corpse and forcefully make it come back despite it may be against their will. A fresh, usable corpse is a fresh good body that is ideal for the growing undead community. It is different between us, and we, for the safety for both sides, should not cross paths."

Hinata, on the other hand, refused to believe in my philosophy and careful thinking. To her, it was nothing but blasphemy, and she made that point fairly clear, too, despite women did tend to have plenty of hidden meanings in their most simplest speeches. The made me realize something in horror; better late than nothing, really. What if she planted her subtlety in the words before? Did I pass all of them? Maybe I played some of my cards right? Perhaps, if luck would have it, I fucked up completely. I demanded optimism to generate even if it was a deliberation to destroy my character. Then again, the tendency to fuck up came to play once more.

To be blunt, I achieved a spectacular failure that not even world genius failures could grasp in their lifetime.

"We will cross, Naruto," Hinata commanded soundly as she pushed me onto the bed as I fell back on my back. "We will definitely cross." How could she make four easy words to hold some much terror? No, I needed to get a hold of my ground! This could not be happening to me.

"We shall not, Hinata," I stated firmly while her whole body was now completely above mine, attempting to seize every bit of control that she still had no possessed just yet. Frustration was evident on her gorgeous, but dangerous, charming features. For a master of detecting subtlety, Hinata, sometimes anyway, was very easy to read. It was not a task that I would consider too challenging. Perhaps it was how she was raised, or she was a fanatic and admired honesty to the extreme. Who cared about that now? If I did not regain what I lost, then all would be lost –on my end of the bargain, of course. She gave me a stare with no words, as though she expected me to know what she wanted. What made it all worse was how I did know exactly how she felt. "I'm serious."

"And I am serious as well. So what is your point?"

"Don't you love me, Naruto-kun?"

"I do love you, but in my own way, and I definitely love you enough to let you go free and safe –safe from an undead that can ruin your life where it deserves to be perfect in every way more than words can tell."

I closed my mouth, thinking carefully of what I just unleashed out of my lips when perhaps I should have done that before I spoke. Because, from what I could see here, Hinata loved what I just said with a deep passion that she could rejoice and dance. The will of affection flooded in her eyes before she looked almost lusty. "Care to repeat what you just said, Naruto-kun? Please?" The frustration in controlling her delightful emotions was detected from her, and knowing her desperation she wanted sincerity over anything else.

"I don't remember," I feigned my knowledge deliberately. The Hyuuga princess then smiled cruelly.

"I knew you were going to say that. So allow me to refresh your memory. You said you loved me, correct?"

"What I meant to say was-"

"You love me, I know. You don't have to say anything more. I love you, too."

"No, not that way, Hinata!" I insisted but to no avail. "You are misunderstanding-" I was then silenced by a finger to my lips, and then it gently poked its way to the insides of my oral cavern.

"I am misunderstanding nothing," Hinata fought on with her opinions than to comply to mine. "You love me, and I love you. Don't you think it's perfect now?"

I took her hand and removed it from my mouth so I could speak. "Hinata, no, that does not make it perfect-" She shut me up with an affectionate touch, and then she finally lowered herself well enough that her body was in ideal contact with mine. Indeed, I loved the softness of her body –everything about her was so… soft. In fact, the two parts I felt most significantly were her ample breasts and the area near her pelvis, which was delicately grinding around the spot above my crotch. I was confident that she wasn't doing it on purpose… but then again, perchance her cleverness and deceitfulness surpassed mine by a major percentage that made me cower in shame.

"That means you admit that you love me. I am so happy." She then lowered further so her lips touched my cheek. Needless to say, she took this chance to kiss it tenderly. Her kisses were, in many ways, very majestic.

"Hinata, no, stop this… this is not what we should be doing…"

Her reasoning made me freeze, and her hands resting around my neck did not make my troubles go by any easier. "Think of it as a celebration. We can discuss about your undead heritage a little later, that issue can wait. You, on the other hand, I can't wait to have." And she advanced with graceful primal instincts as she took my lips and smothered it with her own ever so delicately before it became hot and passionate seconds later. Once again, we were making out, and if it got any more intense, we wouldn't be simply making out for we could be making love.

Hinata, sometimes I wondered how I could fall in love with a charming girl like Hyuuga Hinata; perhaps the same went for her, like how could she ever find love in a man like myself? The world indeed had a lot of mysteries yet to be discovered, and this wonderful creature, who loved me, was surely something that was not anything in the ordinary. I, for one, knew I could not find peace with anyone on the lines of average, but Hinata was a challenge that not even an cunning, professional liar undead assassin could take on without using all his wits.

I was defeated and beaten at my own game.

In short, I surrendered to her love completely.

Hinata, no doubt, loved it. She knew I was hers to claim.

AN: Yes, Chapter 19 has come to a close. In a few more chapters, SIC is coming to a real end, and you can all expect something… oh, I don't know, dirty? Hinata and Naruto are a fun pair to read, aren't they? So spontaneous, yet so dangerous… I almost wanted to say, so sweet, and yet so neutral… Hope you all liked the story up to this point. I must say Chapter 19 was a pain in the ass to write! If you have any ideas that you wish to see happening later on, don't be ashamed to suggest it. I am open to ideas, since I don't really have much right now myself. Thank you all for the support up until now. I certainly could not have done it without some desperate guidance of some of my dear friends. To my sempais out there, thank you.

Now, OpForce must call it quits before his own body starts to deteriorate. See you all again on chapter 20.