Disclaimer: Do I really need to put this? If so, then here goes: I do not own any animes including Naruto! How many more times do I have to say this before it sinks in?!

FYI: I live in the United States, and so, am used to its monetary system rather than Japan's. I have no idea how to convert cost from American to Japanese costs, so I'm sticking with American monetary system. So don't be freaked out if you see dollars in the story!

Warning! I won't be reviewing until after the Xmas holidays. There is a cliffhanger at the end of this chapter. So…just let you know now!

"This is normal conversation."

These are thoughts.

Bijuu (demon) voices/speaking/thoughts

Enjoy!

-Into the Abyss….Chapter 6-

December 21 XX05

The sun shone through the light curtains and into the room. The sole occupant rubbed her eyes and had little trouble waking up. Naruto barely looked like she had any sleep. She shuddered as she remembered parts of the nightmare. Falling buildings and screams were aplenty in front of a burning background. A large shape could be seen in the background but no matter how hard Naruto tried, she couldn't make out exactly what it was. The same dream had been plaguing her sleep since the beginning of December. It was now December 21 and Naruto's night had been punctuated with dreamless slumber and alternated with a screaming Konoha.

After going through her daily routine, Naruto hurriedly packed up the box lunch that she had made for Hinata and herself and rushed out the door. Today was supposed to be a fairly warm day considering the fact that it was winter. Of course, they were in Fire Country so the chance of snow was definitely as a minimum.

As Naruto made her way to their meeting place, a slow sort of tingling was running down her neck. Not a good type of tingling either. The feeling progressed and intensified as the child walked down a fairly empty street. Only a few other people were on the street but no one paid attention to her. The feeling turned chilly as a large cloud moved to cover the sun. A dark shadow made the street even dark. Duck! The intense voice screamed in her head and Naruto automatically ducked and rolled to the side. It wasn't very graceful, but it worked. Naruto glanced and paled as she noticed several senbon lodged in the ground where her head would have been.

Naruto looked around but didn't notice anyone suspicious. She hesitated. To go meet Hinata, go to Jiji to tell him what happened, to go home? I'll go to Jiji and tell him what happened. He'll probably send someone with me to go meet Hinata. Naruto decided. She grabbed the senbon carefully and made her way to the Hokage in a quick manner that hopefully didn't seem too suspicious.

-Hokage Tower-

Sarutobi took a puff off his pipe. The news that Naruto had just given him made him contemplative. In the privacy of his office, the Sandaime wondered who was interfering this time. Danzo was busy with Ne. The civilians were getting ready for Christmas, and other shinobi were focused on missions.

He had gotten one of his Anbu to escort his charge to visit the Hyuuga heiress. That was another issue he needed to think about. Only a couple of months had passed since the Kumo incident and tensions within the esteemed clan was still a little bit high. What worried him most was that several of his undercover reports revealed that the Uchiha clan and Hyuuga clans were sort of at odds with one another. It seems that Fugaku was just a tad bit more smug than usual whenever he was around Hiashi.

After all, the Sharingan is considered the ultimate dojutsu. And they would never had let someone try to kidnap one of their children. The Sandaime sneered softly to himself. He didn't mind bloodlines and was especially proud of the noble families that aligned themselves with Konoha. Sometimes, though, he couldn't help but wonder just why the Uchiha had such large egos. Sarutobi sighed to himself.

"Antisocial, stuck-up, and egotistic shinobi…just the thing I was hoping for when I reclaimed the hat," Sarutobi muttered to himself. He said softly to the empty room, "Minato, this should have been your job."

-Back with Naruto-

"Bye Neko-chan!" Naruto waved to the Anbu leaving. Hinata was waiting patiently with her usual bodyguard, Aizen, for Naruto to say her goodbyes. Today would be the last day that Hinata would be able to see Naruto until after the New Year and both girls were hoping to spend the remaining time just having fun.

"Ano, what do you want to do, Naruto-chan?" Hinata asked shyly. It was too cold to go swimming, but too sunny play outside for too long without getting overheated. Of course, that's not a problem for the two ninja-to-be, but that's beside the point…going on…

"Mmm…,"Naruto mused, "Ah! How about we go to Hokage Mountain!"

Hinata looked worriedly at her friend. Hokage Mountain was good and all, but there was nothing to really do there but see Konoha at a large view. A small, barely noticeable disgruntled look showed on Hinata's face, and Naruto was able to discern her thoughts.

"Never mind. How about we go Christmas shopping instead?" Naruto asked. "I still have a couple of people to buy for!"

Hinata thought for a moment before agreeing. She too needed to buy a gift for her father, little sister, and older cousin Neji. This way it would be more convenient without her father looking over her shoulder. Hinata and Naruto had agreed not to give each other gifts but rather spent time eating takoyaki instead.

So the two girls went shopping. Hinata was happy that she actually had someone to ask opinions on for certain objects while Naruto knew she wouldn't be mistreated or overcharged in the presence of the young Hyuuga heiress and her guard for the day.

After shopping, the two girls ate their bento lunches and then proceeded to go their separate ways. Naruto decided to check up on her garden, even though it was winter, and made some preserves and jams out of the few fruits she was able to collect. She hurriedly took a shower and then wrapped her gifts for the Hokage and Kyoya-nii. Naruto frowned to herself as she looked at the pitiful amount of wrapped gifts. I can count the number of my precious people on one hand. It feels so lonely sometimes.

A deep voice rumbled, "Then how about you come visit me?" Naruto jerked her head up. She looked around her room and saw no one. The blonde shook her head. "I must be more tired from that senbon incident and shopping than I thought."

She chuckled softly to herself before deciding to take a nap. As she lay down on her bed, she felt a bit weird…well weirder than usual. A sudden jerk from her stomach, navel?, made Naruto feel like she was falling. Falling into a never-ending pit. Never stopping at all. Until she landed abruptly. Wait what? Naruto shook herself. Gathering herself and her thoughts, Naruto stood up and looked around. When she looked behind herself, she paled.

Naruto recognized the figure standing tall and high behind bars. "Kyuubi no Kitsune."

A long and sharp row of teeth showed. "Welcome, my jailor."

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Yay! So Naruto finally meets her prisoner! What does the Kyuubi want with her?! Is it good, bad, naughty, or all of above? Is the Kyuubi male or female? Hungry or sleepy? What's with all these questions?!

Hope you enjoyed this latest installment!

Updated 11/27/12

Thanks to all those that had voted on my poll to help with my other story, Ripples in the Ocean.

Note: I won't be updating anymore stories until after the Xmas Holidays due to Finals and stuff. Have fun without me for a while. Hopefully, I don't take that year off again…