Disclaimer: I swear I don't own naruto

Chapter Nine

I dare you to hate me

Itachi glared across the room, the tiny Heiress and heart monitor allowed him little movement. But that didn't stop him from placing the Heiress on his bed; it didn't stop him from activating the Sharingan even though he was told not to.

Pain laced over his vision and he was quickly drawn into the jinchuriki's mindscape, it instantly reminded him of a sewer. Without the smell, but still it was all too familiar the vile chakra that was seeping over him.

Itachi knew that naruto was hot headed, something he no doubt got from his mother Kushina. But to have the Kyuubi constantly lingering in the back of his head, whispering to him and taunting him with that vicious but so terribly strong chakra.

It was no wonder the boy had lost his temper so easily, even he could feel the allure of power. Something he did not want, something he despised because of its catches.

The water was slowly beginning to make its way up his legs, stooping just at his chest. Itachi could only imagine what the Kyuubi was up to now; a low growl met him as he realized that the boy was being slowly drowned in its chakra.

Twin pools of blood red eyes glared at him from behind rusted bars, pearl white fangs bared at him.

"Why are you here Uchiha? You do not belong in this place." Sickly hot breath washed over him, his nose twitched as he thrust his hand towards Naruto.

The Kyuubi roared and flailed as both Itachi and Naruto were drug out of the mindscape. Itachi hissed and grabbed at his eyes, the blood smearing his face in a small flurry of rivers.

Itachi knew he shouldn't have used the sharingan, not in his fragile medical state. But he had to do something lest the Kyuubi got loose, which thankfully did not.

Now he only had to face an angry blonde.

"What the hell was THAT! Why did you- Why are you with Hinata- Why is- what are you doing here!" He finally decided, obviously having forgotten the earlier incident.

"The Hyuuga Heiress retrieved me from both of your missions you fool. I am here because the Hokage bids it so, I did what I did because I would rather not deal with the Kyuubi rampaging. Hinata is with me because she is my nurse, your friend also whom you have struck because you let your anger rule you. You let the Kyuubi convince you against your own ideals Uzumaki." Naruto's eyes widened several degrees.

Him? Strike down Hinata? Who would try to hurt such a sweet girl? She was the first of the few people who had believed in him, surely he didn't…

"You did, and the sooner you realize that the better Uzumaki. Because you will need time to convince her it was not you, even then you will have to reveal yourself as to being a Jinchuriki." Itachi's eyes narrowed as Naruto walked over to Hinata, he couldn't see much through his bloodied eyes but he could easily tell Naruto was trying to see if someone had hit his friend.

"I there's no way I did that! No way! I wouldn't do that to my friend! Your lying you have to be lying!" Itachi grabbed Naruto by the throat just enough to shut him up as the blood dried over his eyes.

"Uzumaki Naruto I have done many things I am not proud of, but let it be known that anyone who has ever raised a hand against their own brethren, even once, never dies a decent death. I came to that conclusion years before I should have, and I accepted it as a child. I accepted it when I killed my clan, my family." Naruto's eyes widened, it almost sounded as if Itachi loathed himself and regreted killing the Uchiha clan.

It didn't make any sense from the Itachi he knew, the one that was out to kill him.

"So prepare yourself Uzumaki for even I have been ready to embrace death, only an angel made me linger here in this world. I do not know her." He dropped the boy onto his rear, leaving him looking up like a child expecting punishment as his eyes filled with tears and confusion.

A self-loathing that Itachi knew very well. Itachi swept his arm towards the fainted girl before continuing.

"I know you do not remember, but you MUST regain control of your temper lest this happen a fourth time." Naruto froze, how did he know about Jiraiya and Sakura?

"I do not wish to see you fall to my own level for protecting this village, but to become Hokage Uzumaki you must gain the respect of others. Whatever respect I previously held for you, is diminishing rather quickly. Do not strike out merely because you have been angered, the third hokage did no such thing. Even if he felt like he should have. Right now, you are of no worth to the Hokage status." Naruto glared but sunk into himself even more.

"You're right." He sighed and got up walking slowly back to Hinata, whom Itachi loomed over like an ominous shadow should something go amiss.

"How can I become Hokage, if I attack my own friends? How can I become Hokage if I can't even bring back one friend to the village? How can I? When I can't even control myself!" Naruto bent his head down, tears flowing as Neji entered the room, a solemn look painted into place as he held two files given to him previously by the Hokage's assistant Shizune.

"I'm so sorry Hinata." His hand covered her cheek tenderly; she would never forgive him for this. There was no way she could; Naruto would avoid himself too for his unexcused actions. The shy sweet girl, the one who gave him motivation in the training grounds for the chunin exams.

Had he truly lost her? He frowned; it was always because of the damned Kyuubi! Jiraiya almost died and Sakura always shied away from him for weeks after those incidents! But Hinata, oh Kami she was too sweet for this! She wasn't strong enough to handle the fact that he was a fucking demon in disguise no matter how many times he was told he wasn't.

A soft tiny hand placed over his as Itachi's chakra swirled with Hinata's own, almost like giving her a little nudge. Encouragement, nothing to fear whispered in her thoughts.

"D-don't c-cry N-Naruto, I-it wasn't y-your fault. I d-don't h-hate you. I c-could never h-hate you." She had been scared of him truly, but he obviously hated himself for doing what he had. Hinata couldn't hate him, not when he was wallowing in his own self-loathing for what he had said and done.

"But Hinata I-" Itachi cut in, interrupting the boy brought a smirk to his face at his indignant cry of annoyance.

"Naruto Uzumaki Hinata has forgiven you, for whatever reason I do not care to know. Take it, for not many are as open hearted as this girl." And Itachi meant it to, it was almost as if his earlier words rang true of her being an angel.

She was his angel; she had saved him when he deserved nothing less than death. Even now she forgot about her own injury and was hurriedly cleaning up his eyes, muttering something under her breath about being too arrogant to have survived this long.

Hinata tsked and gently drug him to his bed, reconnecting all the heart monitors into place onto his arms and neck before realizing that she had to replace the ones on his chest.

She turned a deep red, and promptly fainted onto him. He stiffened instantly at the er..contact that was being pressed against him. Neji glared and cleared his throat holding the two files in the air like a beacon. Itachi's eyes widened momentarily forgetting the girl who had passed out onto his chest.

For there like a beacon was Uchiha Itachi's AnBu file, and medical records. Hinata's journal was following it shortly and Itachi knew things weren't going to end well. How dare they?

How dare they dig up that so called mission?

Author's note: Okay some of you more than likely hate me for the last chapter, completely and totally understandable. But I tell you it was necessary for the plot later on, so yes 'Reviewer' it was to thicken the plot nothing more nothing less. Honestly I love everyone's favorite blonde. So it's not him, just the plot.

Also 'leerocks' I also cringed went I went back, and trust me I know how Naruto is. So don't worry it won't happen again, as stated above it was only for the plot nothing else.

Anyway drama over for reviews I hope you continue to read, even after that particularly horrible Naruto ooc last chapter!