Hey guys and gals, sorry for the late update. I had some internet problems yesterday and decided to re-edit the chapter I had written and decided that I hated it. So i rewrote it completely. Anyway, here's CH 6, let me know what you think! Be sure to review, please and thanks!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters in the manga or anime! They all belong to Masashi Kishimoto! If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing a fanfic!

Key:

"Speech"

"Kyūbi and other large beings"

Thought

"Normal Speech Emphasis on a word Normal Speech"

A/N: This is my first ever fanfic, please go easy on me. I'll accept any friendly advice you're willing to give to help make this story better. Thanks in advance!

WARNING: THIS FANFIC IS RATED M FOR A REASON! THERE WILL BE BLOOD, GUTS, SEXUAL CONTENT, ETC. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

CH 6: Frustrations and Release

Naruto and Hinata had gone outside the walls of the village to give the blonde shinobi some space to think. He had sat on a rock for over an hour, perfectly still. Hinata sat watching him from a few yards away. She noted that red-orange circles appeared under Naruto's eyes, meaning he had entered Sage Mode for some reason. She assumed that it was somehow easier to think that way; maybe he was at peace in that form or something. She wanted nothing more than to walk up to Naruto and hold him and tell him everything would be ok, but she understood that Naruto needed space right now. So she stayed where she was, watching and waiting for Naruto to move.

After about an hour, Naruto stood and walked over to Hinata. His sage chakra had yet to dissipate, so the rings around his eyes and the golden iris' were still there. She thought he looked strong like that, but she preferred his normal, blue eyes much more.

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting. I'm alright now." Naruto smiled at her.

"It's alright. You sure you're alright Naruto-kun?" Hinata reached for his hand and held it tightly. "Because I'll understand if you need a little more time to think about everything."

"Yeah… I'll be ok." Naruto said, trying to reassure Hinata. Unfortunately for Naruto, Hinata wasn't buying his fake smile. She'd seen it many when Naruto was hurt but tried to act strong for the people around him. She knew he was hurting, but she didn't know how to help.

"Naruto-kun, please don't lie to me. I know you're hurt, I can see it on your face and in your eyes. You're hurt by what Sasuke's done to you, to everyone in the village. I understand that. But you don't have to act so strong all the time." Hinata said trying to get Naruto to open up to her about his problems.

Naruto was reluctant to show any weakness to anyone, let alone Hinata. He had refused to show anyone that side of him from the time he was little, when villagers constantly harassed him because of his tenant. He stopped crying in front of other people because when the people didn't see tears, they would leave him alone. He built up a barrier over the years and he was afraid to let it down, especially to someone he cared deeply about. At the same time, he knew he could trust Hinata with what he was feeling at the moment because of Sasuke's betrayal. It wasn't the first time she had seen him cry, nor was it the first time that he had made his doubts about himself known to her. But the fear of the past was causing an internal struggle about what to do.

Hinata could see the battle raging within Naruto's very soul through his piercing blue eyes as he starred off into the distance. She wanted into this part of Naruto's life, not because she believed it would bring them closer, but because she knew he probably didn't have anyone that he felt comfortable talking to about his problems, even though she could think of at least a dozen people off the top of her head that would be more than willing to listen.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said, reaching her hand to cup his cheek to turn his gaze towards her own. "Please, let me help you. You're not alone anymore. You have friends more than willing to help you come to terms with your thoughts and feelings. You don't have to hold it in anymore, you can trust us…you can trust me."

Naruto starred down at Hinata's pale lavender eyes and saw all the love and compassion she held for him as if it was written for him and the world to see. She truly wanted to help him, and Naruto knew he could trust her. So why was he hesitating? He couldn't understand it. He wanted nothing more than to break down in tears and tell her everything he was feeling at the moment.

"Hinata-chan… I'm—I'm not very good at this kind of thing. I haven't let that side of me be seen by anyone in a long time. And I'm afraid to let anyone in, even those I care about as much as I care about you." Naruto explained the reason why he wasn't revealing his thoughts to her.

"I understand. I know it's hard, but you can't just keep all of those feelings inside; it's not good for your health or your soul. We all want to help you Naruto-kun. But you have to let us." Hinata said with a soft, caring smile. "Let me help you."

Naruto continued to gaze into Hinata's loving eyes as she spoke. After a few minutes of silence, he smiled lightly and shook his head before taking her hand off his face and interlocking their fingers. "Shikamaru's right, you women are very troublesome. But I don't think I'd have it any other way."

Hinata giggled lightly, "Does that mean you'll tell me what's wrong?"

"Yeah." Naruto said as he began to walk with Hinata next to him towards the Hokage monument. If he was going to spill his thoughts and feelings about everything that just happened with Sasuke to Hinata, he wanted to be alone and at the place that calmed him the most.

Hinata didn't know where Naruto was going, but figured it was somewhere more private so not everyone would see him in a vulnerable state. She was glad Naruto was letting her into this part of his life, and hoped that after this he'd be able to open up more easily and to more people. But she also silently celebrated her victory of being the first person Naruto was going to open up to about his problems.

The two walked in silence until they reached the monument, when Naruto picked Hinata up in his arms bridal style and jumped to the top of the monument with just three jumps, leaving Hinata amazed.

"How did you do that?" Hinata asked wide-eyed.

"Training with toads helps." Naruto said with a smirk.

Hinata giggled, "I bet it would. I've never seen anyone jump that high before."

"Ero-sennin could get up here in two jumps, he always beat me in jumping contests. He could beat some of the toads on a good day." Naruto said with a small smile remembering Jiraya.

"You miss him, don't you?" Hinata asked knowingly.

"Yeah," Naruto simply said as he turned to look out over the village.

Hinata followed Naruto's line of vision and was awestruck at the view. She had never been to the top of the monument before, but she could see why Naruto would come here to be alone. The view was absolutely breath taking.

"Beautiful." Hinata said with a smile as she looked out over the village as engineers and architects worked hard to repair the damage done during Pein's invasion.

"You should see it when the village isn't a wreck." Naruto said knowing fully how much better it looked at night.

"I'm sure I will," Hinata said, turning her attention back to the blonde whose arms she was currently in. It was then that she noticed he was still carrying her. She became embarrassed and blushed lightly, "A-ano… Naruto-kun? You can put me down if you want… I know I'm probably heavy."

Naruto looked down and realized that he was still holding Hinata and blushed bright red. He looked away in embarrassment before saying, "N-no, you're not heavy at all. But if you want me to put you down I will."

"N-no, I was just worried about you. I don't mind… but it might be easier to talk if you did…" Hinata responded. She was thoroughly enjoying her time in Naruto's arms, but now wasn't the time to be thinking of herself. She was here for Naruto and she was going to try to concentrate on the task at hand, regardless of how romantic the setting and view was.

"Y-yeah, you're probably right." Naruto said as he reluctantly put down the Hyūga clan heiress.

"So… what are you gonna do Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, figuring that she would have to start the conversation about Sasuke.

"…To be honest… I don't know, Hinata-chan." Naruto said with a sad look.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, stimulating further response.

"Sasuke was my best friend, the only person our age who acknowledged me for a long time." Naruto began. "He was my rival, but he was so much better than me at first. He pushed me to get stronger so I could beat him one day. I worked every day for hours so that he would look at me as someone who could help him get stronger too. I finally felt like I caught up to him enough to actually provide a challenge to Sasuke during the Chunin Exams. But instead of being excited for the challenge and happy for a friend who could make him stronger, he got jealous at how fast I improved. All I ever wanted was for him to acknowledge me as a worthy opponent and a friendly rival.

"After I brought back Tsunade baa-chan to fix Sasuke and Gejimayu (fuzzy-brows [Rock Lee]), he got even madder at me. I didn't understand why he was so mad, so jealous that I had become strong enough to be a good rival. He called me weak, a failure, and a drop out… I couldn't take it anymore! So I tried to shut him up and prove to him I wasn't weak. We fought on the roof of the hospital, and Sakura-chan tried to interfere with the fight and almost got killed by my Rasengan and Sasuke's Chidori. But Kakashi-sensei stopped us.

"After that, Sasuke was really cocky about how much damage his Chidori had done to the front of a water tower he hit with his Chidori. I was kind of upset that the damage my Rasengan caused to a different water tower was so small in comparison. But Kakashi-sensei later told me that my Rasengan had completely destroyed the back of the water tower and that Sasuke likely saw it and was pissed. It wasn't too long after that when Sasuke left Konoha forever. Instead of our rivalry bringing us together as friendly rivals, it tore us apart and made us enemies." Naruto finished with a stray tear streaming down his right cheek.

Hinata too had tears rolling down her cheeks, understanding the need to be accepted by those around you.

"It's hard when someone like that betrays you. I want nothing more than to bring him back here and have things go back to the way they were before, but that's not realistic anymore. I understand that now. Maybe when he was still with Orochimaru, but not anymore. He's attacked a fellow Jinchuriki and became allies with the very organization that wants to capture me and take the Kyūbi out of me to use for who knows what, I can guarantee it's not good." Naruto said while clenching his fists. "I know what I should do… no, what I have to do. But knowing and doing are two different things."

"What is it you think you have to do to bring him back?" Hinata asked, though she knew where he was going.

"…There's probably only three ways this could happen. The first way is I beat him within an inch of his life and drag his ass back to Konoha. The second way is I kill him and drag his ass back to Konoha, which would probably result in Sakura-chan hating me for the rest of my life, which I'm willing to accept if it means preventing more death. And the final way is that I get killed or captured because I'm not strong enough or because I hesitate to kill him if necessary, which right now is the most likely." Naruto said with a serious face.

"How could you say something like that? You don't think you can beat him?" Hinata was shocked that Naruto thought he couldn't beat Sasuke right now.

"Not if I can't kill him…" Naruto said with no confidence.

"And why not?" Hinata was getting angry now. She couldn't believe that Naruto would think of himself as weak. She never wanted to hit Naruto before, but if he said one more thing like that she just might.

"Because he won't give up until he's dead, and I'm not sure if I'm capable of killing someone who's the closest thing to a brother that I've ever had." Naruto said sadly.

The anger that had slowly been building inside Hinata dissipated with Naruto's last statement. She understood; it's not that Naruto thought he was too weak to kill Sasuke, he wasn't sure if he could kill someone as close to him as Sasuke was. It'd be like asking him to kill Master Jiraya or Lady Tsunade.

"I understand," Hinata said after a moment. "I have faith that when the time comes…you'll make the right choice, whatever that choice is. I'll stand by you no matter what, for whatever you need, always." She finished with a smile.

Hinata's smile and declaration to always stand by his side took Naruto's breath away. It amazed him how much love she held for him deep within those pale lavender eyes of hers. He felt like an idiot for never noticing it before she told him. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Hinata's waist and pulled her close to him.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan. That means a lot to me. I just hope you're right." Naruto said, the tears slowly trickling down his face.

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun. You'll beat him and bring him back here to face what he has done, one way or the other. Besides, you won't be alone." Hinata said trying to boost his confidence.

Naruto remembered his friends who had always stood by his side. They were more than willing to help train him for his fight with the Uchiha traitor, as well as to fight alongside him to help defeat him if necessary. But Naruto was going to make sure he could take down Sasuke on his own, so no one else would be put in danger.

"Yeah, I know." Naruto said with a smile. "Everyone will help me get stronger so I can beat him. You'll be there."

"Forever, no matter what happens." Hinata returned his smile.

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. He wrapped his arms around Hinata's slender waist and pulled her close to him and let the tears stream down his face like never before. He had spent countless hours sitting atop the Hokage monument looking outside the village walls for any sign of Sasuke, only to be let down every single time. All the pent up emotions he had been feeling for the past few years about Sasuke were finally set free.

Hinata responded by wrapping her arms around Naruto and pulling him closer, allowing him to rest his head on her shoulder. She allowed him to cry in peace, simply stroking his back to calm him down once he had finished the display of emotions. She felt bad for making him cry like that, even though she had no control over the reason he was crying. But she was determined to help him come to a decision about Sasuke once and for all. She felt him start to pull away and looked up to see him wiping his tears.

"Sorry about that, I guess I kinda lost it for a minute." Naruto said, embarrassed.

"Don't apologize. You needed that, and I wanted to help. There's no shame in crying." Hinata said with a small, reassuring smile. "Feeling better now?"

"Yeah, I am. Thank you for that, Hinata-chan. It means a lot." He responded with a smile of his own.

"Anything for you, Naruto-kun." Hinata said, "Do you know what you have to do now?"

"Yeah, I've gotta train hard so I can kick Sasuke's ass and drag him back to Konoha!" Naruto declared with confidence.

"Good," Hinata said, placing a warm kiss on Naruto's cheek, "That's the Naruto-kun I know!"

Naruto blushed bright red and touched the spot Hinata kissed before turning his head away in embarrassment, much to Hinata's pleasure. She was glad it was Naruto that was the one left blushing and embarrassed instead of her for once. She decided to continue her boldness and Naruto's embarrassment by pulling him closer and laying her head against his chest before saying, barely loud enough for Naruto to hear, "…and love."

Naruto's heart began to race, and he knew why. He understood why he felt this way around Hinata, why he wanted to hold her… kiss her so badly every time they spent time together. He knew now that he cared for Hinata not simply as a friend, but something more…

Hinata never expected Naruto to respond in the way he did. She expected him to pull her closer and whisper a soft 'thank you', maybe spend a little time cuddling as they looked out at the village as the sun began to set to the west, only to end the night in the same limbo they always did… but she was wrong.

Naruto pulled away from Hinata and looked deep into her eyes, as if to confirm the feelings she had for him… and that he had for her. He saw Hinata start to fidget under his gaze, becoming slightly embarrassed by starring into his eyes for so long. Eventually, once Naruto was satified with what he saw in Hinata's eyes and what he felt within his very core, he ended his gaze in favor of something…better.

Hinata didn't have much time to react before she felt Naruto's lips crash gently into her own. It was a completely new sensation for her, but she enjoyed it thoroughly. His lips were rough against her own, but not unpleasantly so. Her whole body tingled, rippling out from the epicenter that was her lips. The contact lasted only a moment before Naruto pulled away slightly, which Hinata hungrily gave chase soon after. She pressed her lips against his once again; craving the contact like nothing she craved before.

Naruto, who hadn't had enough time to register the feeling of their first real kiss, was delighted that Hinata gave chase when he retreated to plant a kiss of her own on his lips. He was surprised at how soft Hinata's lips felt against his. He had never felt so alive before in his life, and it felt good to feel this way. This kiss lasted only a moment longer than the first, but left both shinobi breathless.

Naruto didn't know what to say as he starred into Hinata's eyes once again. There was so much he wanted to say, but couldn't articulate his thoughts enough to say it. Luckily for him, he received more time to think as Hinata hungrily pressed her lips against his for a third time. The sensation of her soft, moist lips pressed against his own continued to amaze him. Something so simple had profound consequences on his senses.

When their third shared kiss ended Hinata locked eyes with Naruto once more, begging for him to express the emotions that she saw in his cobalt eyes. Naruto was more than happy to comply with her wordless request when Naruto once again pressed his lips against hers.

The two blindly made there way to the wall that was the mountain behind them, Hinata's back leaning against the mountain and Naruto pressed close to her as the two continued their kiss. Hinata couldn't believe this was happening. She had dreamed of Naruto kissing her this way for so long, she was afraid this was a dream. She backed away enough to look into Naruto's eyes before speaking.

"Naruto-kun…?" she said with a blush staining her cheeks.

"Yes, Hinata-chan…?" Naruto said with a blush of his own.

"This…this isn't a dream, is it?" She asked, almost frightened.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle before leaning in to capture Hinata's lips once more. He only made contact for a brief moment before backing away to ask, "What do you think?"

"If it is, it's the most realistic dream I've ever had and I never want it to end." Hinata said as she pressed her lips to his once more.

Naruto backed away enough to say, "Me either," before going back for more. He couldn't get enough of this, neither could. But both knew they eventually would have to. Unfortunately for the two of them, that time was sooner than they thought.

"Naruto, you up here? Tsuade-sama said to come find you and that you'd probably be up here. She said that she'd like to talk to y—." Yamato failed to finish his sentence as he walked up to find Naruto and Hinata, leaning against the side of the mountain kissing.

The arrival of Yamato scared both shinobi apart from each other, causing Hinata to faint in embarrassment.

"Great! Just great! Tell Tsunade baa-chan to shove it! Can't you see that I'm busy?" Naruto yelled at Yamato.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but orders are orders. Please go straight to Tsunade-sama's office." Yamato said, trying to diffuse the young, angry blonde.

"Fuck that! I'm staying right here!" Naruto said as he sat down next to Hinata's unconscious body.

"Naruto," Yamato said as he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Are you disobeying a direct order from the Hokage?" He asked while activating his 'Yamato Glare'.

"N-no…" Naruto managed to say.

"That's good, because I was worried I might have to do something terrible to get you to go." Yamato said as he increased the threat in his voice.

"That won't be necessary!" He said as he ran full speed towards the Hokage tower, Hinata in his arms, leaving Yamato as far behind as he could.

I'm going to have to have a good, long talk to Tsunade baa-chan about interrupting me when I'm busy… Naruto thought angrily as he ran towards the tower. He looked down at the sleeping Hinata and smiled. Well, I guess it's not that bad.

End CH 6

Well, there's chapter 6! I hope everyone liked it. I couldn't really think of a way to end the chapter, so I just left it here. Basically chapter 7 will be a continuation of chapter 6. Because I rewrote this chapter, I have to rewrite chapter 7 as well. So expect an update either tomorrow night or Monday night, Tuesday at the latest. Let me know what you think everyone! Please review, thanks in advance.

Until next time,

CBM-1701