Sorry for such a massive delay. Anyway, let's keep rolling.

CHAPTER 8: WILD SIDE

Dear diary:

The last couple of days have been amazing! Hanging out with Naruto this much is so much fun! I've never been happier. Whenever I leave for a mission, I try to finish up as quickly as possible to go back to the village and see him again. As a result from being around him so often, I feel that he can trust me a lot more than what he used to. I can tell he has as much fun as I do when we're together. Although, there's something very peculiar about his behavior recently. I know he's happy, but the way he shows it is so… endearing. It's almost as if we have been friends forever and now he can't let me go. Maybe it's because he enjoys being with me more than he used to now. Sometimes, it's this behavior that makes me go back to my timid behavior, more than usual, in front of him.

These couple of days have been priceless. There's no other way to describe it. I've been having the time of my life whenever Naruto is around. He's always on my mind, but recently, I've been thinking about him more deeply. When I'm laying in my bed, I imagine he's beside me, holding me and stroking my hair. I feel his body pressed to mine as I think of a sweet kiss between us. When I'm alone, I look to the sky and feel like I'm staring into his eyes. I feel warm on the inside and my heart beats strongly. I feel a tingling sensation all through my body. I know it's trying to tell me something and I think I know what it is. There's no denying it. I no longer have a crush on Naruto. It's more than that know. I'm positive that I'm in love with Naruto now. This thought almost gives me the courage to say this to him. I feel that my love is stronger than my fear. But, what if I'm rejected? What if Naruto doesn't feel that way? What if he still thinks of Sakura? How will he react if I tell him? Will he be happy? Angry? Sad? I just don't know. I can't tell him that until I'm absolutely sure that nothing serious will come from that. I have to find the right moment for us to talk.

"…So, it was part of like my job, at least that's how it looked like, to get him out of those places. He would get so drunk, he would forget about me. Of course, due to my age, I couldn't get inside these clubs. So, I had to transform so I looked like I was at least 18. So, when I got inside, he would be sitting right at the bar with some girls around him and they would be talking about whatever. There was this one time when I was just like three steps away from him and then, out of nowhere, this drunken girl would approach me and ask me to dance. I said no, but she was grabbing me by the jacket. I had to do this crazy maneuver to replace myself with another guy instead. I just had to swing her around a bit until she launched herself somewhere else. Anyway, I finally reach the Pervy Sage and I'm all like. "Hey, what the hell's going on? You said you'd be back at the hotel by three. It's five in the morning." I know that it was a little rough for me to be strict with the curfew of an old man, but this guy is supposed to be training me. Now, here's where it gets annoying. Pervy Sage starts talking like he's such a wise guy. He's like "Hey, buddy. Look, you think you know, but you have no idea. I've been around the block a couple times." And I was like, "Well, maybe it's because you're too drunk to find the damn hotel, Pervy Sage." Now..."

Naruto was interrupted by Hinata, who started laughing heartedly. Naruto, perplexed, looked at the girl walking along with him. Hinata quickly faced the opposite direction when she saw Naruto looking at her, blushing. He sensed an undeniable charm coming from her friend's multiple reactions.

"Wow, I've never heard you laugh like that."

"Well, it's just that that was a funny line you just did."

"You…think I'm funny?"

She nodded.

"Hmmm, never seen myself that way.

"Why?"

"I dunno. Maybe I really haven't tried being that funny."

"Well, you know a lot of funny stories and the way you describe them really help."

"You think so?"

"Uh-huh."

He smiled at her.

"Thanks."

"It's nothing, really." Hinata looked bashful again.

"So, do you know any funny stories?"

"Funny stories? Hmm… sorry."

"C'mon, I'm sure there's at least one."

"Well, umm… there was this time when Kiba, Shino and I were out training in the fields. Kiba and Akamaru were practicing their dynamic marking, Shino was working with his bugs, and I worked on my Byakugan. It was all going fine until I heard an argument between Kiba and Shino. When I got to where they were, Akamaru had peed on Shino's coat. It was scary to just listen to him talking to Kiba. He and Akamaru's knees were shaking. Suddenly, Shino let out a huge swarm of his insects and both Kiba and Akamaru ran as fast as they could, begging Shino to stop."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, he's always in a bad mood."

Hinata felt happy that Naruto laughed at her story. "Well, he's not that all bad. He's a good friend. He gives good advice and looks well after me and the others."

"He does, huh?" He let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?"

"You know what? I envy you guys, Hinata."

"Why?"

"I wish I could get along with my team as well as you get along with yours. Maybe that way, many things could've been avoided."

"Naruto…" She saw his eyes grow cloudy all of a sudden. She thought of something to make him feel better. The only thing she could think of is putting her hand on his shoulder to reassure him that he was not alone. She gathered her courage and raised her hand. Just when she was about to feel his jacket, he burst into laughter.

"W-What is it?"

"O- Oh, it's nothing." He tried to catch his breath. "It's just that I remembered something that's just hilarious. You know that Shino never-"

A white flash followed by a thundering blast in the sky cut his sentence short. The clouds had turned grey and all spots of sunshine were gone. Both ninjas felt tiny drops of water land on their faces when they turned to the sky.

"Whoa, we better hurry." Both picked up their pace towards the Hyuga district. The tiny droplets quickly turned larger and heavier. The wind's movement grew more intense by the second. It was difficult for the both of them to see clearly through the thick rain. Naruto felt his foot bumping into something and collapsed to the ground. His face sank into a puddle of muddy water.

"Naruto!" Hinata turned to help his friend. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. C'mon, we should be almost there." They continued their way towards Hinata's house. Both were being dragged down by their wet clothes. Soon, the gates to Hinata's family district were in view. They both got across and looked for the Hyuga's main household. The both seeked refuge under the small roof above the door.

"Heh, talk about bad timing, don't you think?" Naruto remarked.

"Don't you want to come in?"

"Really?"

"I mean, you can wait for the rain to stop."

"What about your dad? Won't he kick me out?"

"Don't worry. He's not at home. He had to attend a meeting with Lady Tsunade tonight."

"Well, alright. Let's go in."

Hinata opened the door and showed Naruto the way in. He cleaned his shoes and dropped themon a rug at the entrance and shook his head to dry his hair. He wiped his eyes to get some water out of them.

"You can hang your jacket here." She signaled a hook by the door. "Naruto, what is it?"

She noticed how distracted Naruto looked. He was staring down the long, extending hall before him and the several levels above him. He walked in small circles, admiring the vastness of the household.

"THIS is where you live?" He turned to the Chunin. "This is a palace!"

"Y-Yeah." She realized that Naruto only lived in a small apartment. He wouldn't be used to seeing such large homes.

"My apartment is a piece of crap compared to this! You come here everyday?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. This is awesome!"

"Naruto… The men's bath is upstairs. If you want, you can take a shower there."

"But, won't your family mind that?"

"Don't worry. Here we only live my father, my sister Hanabi, Neji and I. I think Neji's out of town so you don't have to worry. You can borrow one of the men's robes while your clothes get clean. When you're done, the cleaners are on the east wing.

"OK, thanks. What are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll shower, too. In case you need anything, my room is on the third floor."

"Thanks."

…………………………………………………………………………………………

"Ahh, this is great." Said Naruto when he stepped out of the shower. He was wiping his head with a towel with one hand while carrying his dirty clothes with the other. He had borrowed a robe from the bath. Underneath he had the same pair of boxers he was wearing. He was looking for the laundry following Hinata's instructions. It wasn't difficult to find the proper washing machine and soap to get his muddy clothes clean again.

"Now what?" He asked himself. For a while, he circled himself looking at the surroundings of the Hyuga's main household. "Better check if Hinata's done." He climbed two flights of stairs to get to her friend's room. Oddly enough, her door was the same as all others. For a moment, Naruto thought he was mistaken.

"Hey Hinata, you done?" He knocked. No one answered.

"Hinata?" He called again. "What is that girl doing?" He stuck his ear to the wall. He could hear her, humming a small tune. Once again, the sound of her singing mesmerized him. It was just as enchanting as before. He slid the door open a crack just enough for his eyes to peak across. He could see her standing in front of her mirror. She was rubbing something on her face. Occasionally, she would stop to observe herself and fix her jacket zipper. She tried fixing her hair in different positions and continue adding something to her face.

'What is she doing?' He thought. He turned away from the door when he heard a soft noise from behind him. He muffled his gasp with his hand so Hinata wouldn't realize he was there. He nervously looked around for any signs of movement. He heard the same sound again, only this one came from inside his head. It was a soft growl that sounded like a purr.

'Kyuubi?' He thought. 'You say something?' The demon didn't answer. 'C'mon I mean it!' Silence again. He frowned when he realized he was being ignored.

"Guess I can take a look around for now." He sighed.

As he explored the house, he realized it was a lot more immense than what he thought in the first place. Each floor had vast hallways, reaching out in great proportion. One of the rooms he found was a large bedroom. It had a king-size bed and lacked coloring in the walls. Several portraits were hung from the walls, showing a family of four. Naruto recognized Hinata, looking much younger. The girl beside her looked like her but looked a couple of years younger than her. That was her sister Hanabi. The eldest women in the picture was beautiful. He had never seen her before. He immediately assumed that must be her mother. With nothing but a look into her eyes, he realized the kind of person she was. Someone who was kind and gentle. Finally, Hisame Hyuga looked much happier than what he could recollect. Seeing him smile felt awkward, knowing the kind of person he was. This room was obviously the master bedroom.

The next room he wandered into was very similar to Lord Hyuga's with the exception that there were no pictures. He assumed he was in Neji's room. At the other end of the hall there was a room with no door. He curiously walked in, where large bookshelves scratched the ceiling and extended from wall to wall. He got dizzy just trying to imagine the number of books and scrolls the Hyuga family kept. There was very little variation from one to the other with the exception of a couple on the left hand corner of the shelf in the center. He picked one of those randomly. The front was decorated with small paintings, drawn by a child probably, and in the center there was an individual picture of everyone in the main household, including Hinata's mother. Naruto realized his hands were shivering. He felt something hot inside his body causing him to sweat nervously. Even for a simple picture book, he thought it was a beautiful thing. He looked around, making sure no one was watching him. He gently opened it.

The first pictures were of Lord Hyuga and his wife. Hiashi looked much younger. The picture was probably from when the two were still dating. The following pictures were of their wedding. He wore a dark kimono with a tail that reached the floor while the bride's was blue. The thought of Hinata's father smiling was once again bizarre for Naruto. The next page showed pictures of Hinata soon after she was born. Joy flowed inside him seeing how the Hyuga's family started to grow. It was odd that suddenly, Hiashi wasn't smiling anymore in the pictures. Not even being by her wife's side made him happy. Also, his wife looked weak and worn down. Not a single one from then on showed any signs of a smile coming from him.

'Something must've happened before Hinata was born…' Naruto thought. He continued looking at the pictures, seeing how the young Kunoichi started to grow up. When he reached Hinata's two year old pictures, her mother was missing. Instead, she was replace with Hinata's younger sister. Hanabi and Hinata were happy together, which was in contrast to their father.

'This must be after their mom died…' he thought.

Naruto grabbed a nearby chair and sat down to look at the pictures more comfortably. He saw how both sisters grew up together during their early childhood. They did everything together, from playing in their garden, to helping each other with any menial task. He would occasionally find a picture with Neji, who shockingly enough, didn't have the brood seriousness he boasts today. Soon, Hinata's appearance in the photographs was more familiar to Naruto, more like he remembered her when they became genin. Strangely enough, from then on, Hanabi's picture were only with her father, none of them were smiling. Hinata's pictures were now with Kurenai. Hinata wasn't as happy as she was in the previous pictures.

'This must be when the fight begun…'

Less variety of pictures were at the end of the album. The most notable one would be a group picture of Hinata and her team three years ago and one in present time. Everyone was happy, with the obvious exception of Shino. No one was fighting or giving a mean look to one another. It was a group in perfect harmony. Naruto felt slight envy and self-depression with that picture. Moving on, there were images of Hanabi, now a full-fledged genin. There was a solo picture of her and her headband, wrapped around her neck just like her sister, with her group. He didn't recognize who were the other ninja. The final page had solo pictures, much like in the cover, only everyone was their present age. In Hinata's picture, she was leaning back on a tree with her hands behind her back. The sun was peaking through the branches, making her hair shine. Her pearly eyes were showed a somewhat enthusiasm, not very common for her, and her smile was warm, so much it felt like a kiss. It was a perfect photograph in everyway. Naruto's mind left him as he watched it. His nervous sweating was coming back and his hands quivered yet again. In his mind, he saw himself in the picture, standing next to her with his arm around her shoulders. They would be so close; no air would go between them. He stroke the picture softly as if expecting it would react somehow and come to life. A compelling idea swirled in his brain, one that made him even more nervous. He carefully pulled the picture out of its place and slipped it into one of his robe's pockets.

"What are you doing?" A voice from behind made him shout in terror and jump to his feet. He rotated and barely saw a small blur zip by and disappeared by the side of the door.

"I wasn't doing anything! I swear! It's just a, uh… nice…pictures?" He nervously smiled. The figure behind the door shyly revealed itself. Naruto's first thought was Hinata, but the girl was too short for a fifteen-year old. She had similar eyes, but her hair and her skin color was a bit darker. She wore a ninja headband just like Hinata; around her neck.

"Hey, you must be Hinata's sister, Hanabi."

"Yes." She bowed her head with her hands folded in front of her lap. "You're a friend of my sister?"

"That's right. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." He said with a smile. Hanabi looked away for a moment, timidly.

"Yes, I've heard a lot about you from my sister."

"Really?" He looked a bit doubtful.

"Yes. She says you're an incredible warrior. Actually, I think I have seen you fight before. It was three years ago when you fought my cousin during the Chunin exam finals. I never thought anyone could defeat him."

He smiled. A little color appeared on his cheeks. "Well, I do what I can. Hey, I heard that Hinata's heart was acting up during the fight and couldn't see the end."

"Yeah. She was a bit sad she couldn't see you during your big moment."

"Guess it couldn't be helped. So, how you doing?"

"Me? Well, I just became a Genin so I don't think there's much I can tell you."

"Well, I'm still a Genin myself, so why not try me?"

"You're still-" Her surprise was obvious.

"That's right. It's kind of a long story. You see, I had to leave the village a couple of years so I kinda fell behind. But I'm not worried. I always thought words like Genin and Chunin are fancy words that people use so other people know how many exams you've aced. You can be a great ninja no matter what's your ranking."

"Really?"

"Totally. Knowing where you come from, I'm sure you're gonna be an awesome ninja, just like Hinata and Neji."

"T-Thank you." She looked away again. Naruto didn't see she was slightly blushing.

He placed the book he was holding back in its place. "Sorry about this. I was waiting for your sister and I got a little bored."

"That's OK. Don't worry."

"You guys did that book?"

She nodded. "Me and Hinata like to make picture books."

"Hanabi." Hinata's voice drew closer when she called out for her sister.

"Hi, Hinata. Had a nice day?" She waved back at her. When she came into Naruto's view, he could see something different about her face, something he wasn't able to tell. He could also sense a sweet smell coming from her.

"Hello, Naruto. Sorry to keep you waiting." She bowed to him.

"He was looking at our picture books." Hanabi said.

"Really? Did you like them?" She asked Naruto.

"Is that perfume?" He asked.

The girl looked like she wanted to hide her face inside her jacket.

"You see, I…it's a new perfume so…I wanted to try it-"

"Are you wearing make-up?" Naruto noticed she had batted her eyelashes and powdered her face. When Hinata looked up, the boy was only inches away from her face. She tried to back away, but he moved along with her.

"I've never seen you wear make-up before."

"N-Naruto, I- I- just thought that… since we had you as a visitor here, I…" She was too nervous to finish the sentence.

"Hinata, you don't have to do that for me. Looks nice, though." He scratched the back of his head, facing down. He was blushing a bit. It was nothing compared to Hinata.

"So Naruto, are you hungry?"

"Oh, yeah. I'm starving."

"How about I make you some dinner."

"Sounds great. I'd forgotten that you were a pretty good cook."

Hinata's bright cheeks showed no signs of dimming down.

"Hanabi, would you like to join us?" Hinata invited her sister.

"Sure." She answered gleefully.

"Can you guys hang on a sec? Gotta use the bathroom." He took off back to the men's room. Both girls watched him dash down the hall.

"He's the one father's been warning us about, right?" Hanabi asked. Her sister nodded.

"He's not at all as he makes him out to be."

"I know."

…………………………………………………………………………

"Concentrations of rogue ninja in the eastern countries have been decreasing. The strange thing is that there have been no reports of any village sending in their forces to stop their advance." Shizune informed the people in the Hokage's office. Tsunade was sitting in her usual chair. To her right, the village elders observed the map on the desk. To her left was Hiashi Hyuga.

"So what do you propose?" Shizune asked Tsuade and the elders.

"We already sent a squad to investigate that area four days ago. They have reported decreasing numbers just as you mentioned. A lot of them seem to have retreated, but no one knows where."

"Do you think there could be any connection to Orochimaru?"

"We have no new leads on that, so we can't know for sure. We'll have to continue our investigation."

"That's why you brought me here, isn't it?" Hiashi asked.

"Exactly. We hope that if we employ a level of Byakugan at a Jonin level, we could use it for our own investigation on the whereabouts of Orochimaru's plans, as well for other pruposes."

"Such as?"

"Itachi Uchiha, the last of the Akatsuki."

"You fear for the safety of the Jinchuruki?"

"His name is Naruto." Tsunade's voice was cold.

"I'm sorry, but if that is a requirement, I'm going to have to decline."

"What? You can't!"

"Sorry, but the least I have to do with that boy, the better."

"It's a direct order from your superiors! You-" One of the elders started.

"Wait, I'll handle this." Tsunade interrupted. She sighed and rubbed her brow.

"Look Hisame, I understand why you hate Naruto, but you can't blame him for what happened. It was completely out of his control. It was the Fourth's decision for him to be the host of Kyuubi. If you continue holding on to the past, you'll keep hurting yourself even more as time goes on."

"You'll never understand-"

"Yes, I do. I also-"

"It's not the same. You never had anything to do with that monster." He stormed out of the room and shut the door fast behind him. With arms crossed and dead eyes, he walked out with haste.

"Lord Hyuga?" A young voice came from the shadows of a corner. Out stepped Sakura, her stare was fixed on the man.

"You must be Tsunade's disciple. What do you want?"

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Hanabi, how about you get started with some tea?" Hinata's sister obliged and started boiling some water. She meanwhile washed her hands and poured some water into a large pot. She set it on the stove and lit a fire beneath it.

"Need some help?" Naruto asked.

"Don't worry. It's fine, really." She felt that a meal made with her own two hands would give the food a bigger value. She poured some dried noodles into the pot and a current of steam floated out. Naruto's nose tickled with the delicious smell of noodles, which made him happy. The savor of that smell made him get up to his feet and walk all the way to the pot. Hinata got startled.

"Smells great."

"T-Thanks." She smiled shyly, trying to restrain her awkwardness. Naruto began sniffing into the air again. This time he headed for where Hanabi was making the tea. She too was nervous for having him so close.

"What is that? It smells so sweet."

"It's uh, spearmint."

"Really? I've never had spearmint before." He curiously circled the pot. Hanabi backed away a little. Soon, Naruto jerked his head upward and started sniffing into the air again. He circled the kitchen, occasionally opening cabinets and pulling out spices, conserved goods, and even took a look inside the freezer. Both girls questionably observed, not fully understanding what he was doing.

"Hey, Hinata. Try this." He threw a small plastic can full of red powder. "Throw it in with the noodles."

"Um, Naruto…"

"Trust me." He said looking sure of himself. Hinata couldn't deny the look on his face. She poured some of the powder into the pot, turning the water light red.

"How about this?" This time he brought a bottle with a dark sauce inside to her.

"You like barbecue sauce?"

"Mmm-hmm" He nodded.

"Alright." She poured some of it into the pot.

"Catch!" When Hinata turned around, half a dozen eggs were flying at her. She quickly reacted and caught them all one by one.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" She said laughing.

"Helping you out with dinner."

"You can cook?"

"I have no idea. I'm just mixing stuff that smells tasteful. Maybe I'm just thinking of some Ichiraku ramen right now."

Hinata giggled. "You sure miss that, don't you."

"You have no idea." They both grinned at each other.

Naruto continued bringing different spices and condiments over to Hinata. She would pour some into a spoonful of ramen and they would both have a taste. She would also occasionally recommend something to Naruto and he would let him taste it. Hanabi could really tell they were enjoying themselves while preparing dinner. There was something very spontaneous about both their behavior and how they interacted. She was surprised by her sister, who slowly seemed to forget that now Naruto was standing beside her all the time. Soon, Naruto brought out some meat. She brought out a tray a couple of large knives and started chopping away. She easily chopped her piece in nice little squares while Naruto was struggling with a messy work.

"Here, let me help." Said Hinata when she was done. She grabbed Naruto's hand. Naruto gulped a bit.

"Thanks." He said in a shaky voice.

"No pro-" Before she finished, she realized she was holding Naruto's hand. She had gone into autopilot. She had spaced out while her hand automatically sliced the meat.

"Hinata, watch you're gonna– HINATA!" He grabbed her by the forearm and pulled it upward. She was still holding the knife. She rattled her head to come back to her senses.

"What happened?"

"What do you mean what's going on?! You were about to chop off your own hand!" Hinata looked down. On of the hands she was using to hold down the piece of meat was right at the edge of a cut.

"U- Sorry. I feel a little distracted today." She apologized embarrassed.

"Well, I guess it's fine as long as you're OK."

"Right." She answered. They both continued slicing away. Naruto jokingly put his hand before Hinata's so she wouldn't cut herself. They both laughed.

It wasn't soon until the entire house was amiss in the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. Naruto's thought of tasting it made him hear a celestial chorus. Hanabi and Hinata had set the main dining room table and served tea for three people. Hanabi was sitting across from Hinata. Naruto came out the kitchen with three large bowls steaming with ramen.

"Chow time!" He said with glee. He handed one to Hanabi, the other to Hinata, and saved one for himself. He picked a chair and sat next to Hinata. She froze for a while just before she took a sip from her cup. Naruto cracked separately a pair of chopsticks and started digging into his plate. Both girls giggled for watching him eat with such gusto. When he realized this, he looked up with his mouth covered in soup, laughing a little embarrassed.

"This is delicious." He added. "Thanks." He wiped his mouth.

"Well, you did help a lot, Naruto."

"Yeah, but you're the real cook."

"Actually, I'd say you know your cooking well."

"Really? That must've just slipped out of me, I guess. I should try making my own recipes more often"

"You could try some of my sister's, too." Hanabi added.

"That'd be awesome! I'd love to eat like this every day!" He resumed eating, this time with more self-control.

"I-I'm sure you would." Hinata said. There was a glisten in her eyes and her face was scarlet. A vision of she cooking everyday for Naruto made her happy. He took a look at her. She immediately reached for her cup and took a drink. Naruto twisted his head to his side as a sign of curiosity.

"Hey Hinata, don't mind if I ask but…why do you like me so much?"

A prolonged squirt of hot tea was spewed from Hinata's mouth while her face simultaneously started burning. Hanabi had to duck to avoid it.

"OK…" He said awkwardly while sweat dropping.

"N-Naruto, I'm sorry!" She apologized. "I uh- just, um… burnt my tongue."

"Umm…how about I rephrase what I just said. Would that make you feel more comfortable?"

Hinata was disappointed in herself to make it look obvious that she wasn't at all secure about talking about her emotions. She didn't answer.

"OK, what I meant is that you really seem to…look up to me or, uh…what's the word? Oh yeah, appreciate me for what I do. Is that why you're always so nervous and uncomfortable around me or something?

Hinata mind was as blank as her face. She had no idea what to answer. It was a relief that Naruto hadn't accurately guessed the truth, but she still had no words to say.

"Well, Naruto…" She started off slowly. "… I am like this is because… I just uh… feel a bit… "

"What?"

"You see… I feel that… you have something that I wish I had but I just can't no matter how hard I try." She took a more sincere tone. One that was almost intriguing to Naruto.

"Go on." She now had his full attention.

"You see Naruto, you're the bravest person I know."

"C'mon, you don't mean that." He said blushing.

"It's the truth. You have something that I haven't seen in nobody else. Something that is far stronger than any ninjutsu or genjutsu…confidence.

"Confidence?" He asked.

"Yes. Not only do you have the strength and the courage to keep going no matter what odds you face, but it's something not a lot of people today have…the ability to make others believe in you."

"What do you mean?"

"Every time I see you fight, you are always so determined to face a challenge head-on and you don't let any doubts within you make you turn back on the challenge."

"Well, there was the fight with Neji during the Chunin exams. You talked me into that."

The kunoichi's bashfulness was just getting larger.

"Well, I knew you had it in you anyway. I guess you only needed someone to make you realize it. I wish I was more like you. It's hard for me to speak my mind the way you do. If I did, maybe my father wouldn't have given me the cold shoulder when I was younger."

"Wow…" Naruto said surprised. "I've never thought about it that way. Thank you, Hinata." They shared a short stare into each other. Soon, the atmosphere turned awkward and they both turned the other way with red cheeks.

"But…you have to admit you're not as timid as you think you are."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. I don't think I can remember a time three years ago when we could just sit down and talk like we're doing right now. Still, I think the way you are right now is just fine."

Hinata went speechless.

"Ever since the last outbreak, I've been thinking a lot about things. I realized that even though people can change, for the better or worse, the part that was who they were before will never disappear. Sure, things about you can change, but deep down, you will always have a part of you that you used to be. So even if you are more confident of yourself right now, I can see you are still kinda timid. I think you should stay that way. After all, that's the Hinata I've known all this time. If one day I woke up and find out that people aren't who I thought they were, that would suck."

"You mean you're…OK with who I am?"

"Totally. That's why I believe that I can find Sasuke and bring him back. Sakura will always love him and that's something that I've learnt the hard way. The best thing I can do is to make her happy that way."

Both of them didn't realize that Hanabi had already left the table.

"Besides, I think you're really strong, too."

"No way." Hinata hadn't noticed she was fidgeting her fingers again.

"I'm serious. I know better than to mess with the Hyuga clan. The Byakugan is just kickass. And that "Gentle Fist" jutsu is killer. I wish I could do that. Personally, I think it's better than regular pain."

"Regular pain?"

"Yeah, you know. Take for example Grandma Tsunade. She can punch right through a chest. That's regular pain. But you, OK I'm gonna use Neji as an example, can puncture into a person's chakra network and you start feeling like you can't move and then they can hit you right in your heart or your lungs and make you bleed from the inside out. I've even imagined that they can adjust your nervous system and mix it all up. Like when you try to move your arm, you wink or something like that. That is super pain and it rocks."

Hinata showed her enjoyment for Naruto's wild idea with a short laugh.

"Well, I've never tried that, but I could."

They both laughed again.

Hinata started slowly tossing her food around the bowl with her chopsticks.

"I don't think I've ever seen myself the way you see me, Naruto."

"You Just need to be more confident of who you are."

"No, I'm serious. Thank you. This has really helped me."

This time it was Naruto the one who was blushing.

"Um, sure. No problem. It's my thing after all to help people."

They were silent again. Naruto shifted in his chair and got a bit closer to Hinata.

"Hey, I just remembered." He dug into his pocket and pulled out two yellow squares of paper.

"I got this from Iruka-Sensei. I wanted you to try something." He handed it two her.

"Now, I want you to focus just a little bit of chakra into your hand and you'll see what happens."

"OK." She did what she asked him without questioning what was going on. She focused chakra into her hand and the small piece of paper went wet.

"What happened?"

"That means your chakra has a water element nature?"

"What does that mean?"

"There was a time when Kakashi-Sensei was giving some new training to me where I learnt that everyone has a different chakra element nature." He took his piece and held it up in front of Hinata. In the blink of an eye, the paper was sliced in half.

"I learnt that I have air element nature."

'Damn it!' He thought. 'Iruka-Sensei is on to me.'

"Well, I guess it makes sense. I've felt it's easy for me to control water, like when I practiced my Eight Triagrams Sixty Four Palms."

"Exactly. I just felt like showing you just so you know what your strong point is. Now that you know, you can make your own techniques based on water. That's what I've been trying to do. You should check out my Rasengan Shuriken."

"Sounds nice. You know what? Since the human body is mostly water, I think that what you were saying about controlling people's nervous systems could be done with water control."

"Hey, yeah. That's what I'm talking about new moves!"

After that, they continued eating until they had their fill.

"I'm stuffed." Said Naruto. "We should do this again sometime."
"I'd love to." Hinata agreed. "Thank you for coming." She then noticed the sudden silence that had fallen over the house. She looked outside the kitchen window and saw stars in the sky.

"It stopped raining."

Naruto stood beside her, watching the sky clear out.

"Guess I better check if my clothes are done. Be right back."

When Naruto returned, fully clothed, both sisters escorted Naruto to the door. He quickly slid his sandals in and walked out.

"Thank you for stopping by."

"Thanks for having me. I had a good time. So Hinata, I'll see you again tomorrow?"

"Sure. We can start making our own jutsus."

"Cool. Well, good night." Hinata waved back at him.

"See you later, Naruto." Hanabi said. The blonde ninja hadn't taken five steps before he turned around and faced the two girls again.

"Say Hinata, can I ask you something?" Hinata took an odd look at Naruto. He was looking meek all of a sudden.

"I was actually thinking that maybe we could try something different from training tomorrow." He scratched the back of his head.

"Different? Like what?"

"Well maybe… just if it's OK with you…I was wondering… if you'd like to… I don't know, go-"

"NARUTO, GET IN!" Hinata reached for him and pulled him inside the house with a quick jerk of his sleeve. Hanabi shut the door. They started running towards the other end of the house.

"What's going on?"

"My father's coming."

"What!?" Terror was on his face.

"He was just running up the path. I can feel he's angry. You have to get out of here."

"Through where?"

"The back door. You have to leap over the wall and no matter what you do, just keep running."

"What about you?"

"We'll distract him to give you a chance."

"Will you be OK?"

"Don't worry. We'll be fine."

The girls showed him the way out. They pointed the wall and Naruto took off.

"I'm sorry!" He shouted as he left.

"It's OK." Hinata answered. Both she and her sister ran back inside, hoping to run into Lord Hyuga. To their fear, when they got to the front door, their father was nowhere in sight. Both looked at each other. Both had gotten a pain in their chest, a sign of the danger approaching Naruto.

The young ninja kept running as fast as his feet allowed him to move. He was aware that the Byakugan could easily spot him, so he had to keep pressing onward. He jumped from rooftop to rooftop an all fours. He felt the raw power taking over him, accelerating his entire body. This feeling of danger, the fear of the enemy catching up to him, was starting to bring about the primal instincts inside him.

'No. Not now. Not here!' he thought.

'I'm afraid you don't have a choice.' The voice inside his mind replied.

'No. You're not my master. I control YOU!'

'You don't stand a chance against him. Together, we can kill him.'

'SHUT UP!' He could see Kyuubi's face, poking through the bars of his cell, looking at him in the eye. He drew closer and closer by the second.

'I can't put these people in danger. I have to get out of here.' He changed his direction to the northeast.

'I can reach the village gates faster if I go through here.' He planned. He followed his instincts and navigated the thick heads of the trees. When he got to a clearing, he tried to jump across it in a single leap. Halfway through, he felt a hard blow land on his shoulder, making him collapse and land on his face. All feeling in his arm was lost. He weakly got up and turned to face Hiashi Hyuga, his eyes burning with the power of his Kekkei-Genkai.

"You should count yourself lucky you have the Hokage to protect you, Jinchuruuki. She just doesn't see you for who you are. You are a menace to everyone you cross paths with. You don't deserve to call yourself a ninja."

Naruto glared at him and grinded his teeth.

"You don't deserve to call yourself a father. If you were, you would've looked after Hinata instead of casting her off."

"That's is not your concern! You will not be involved with my family again, understand?"

"Father!" Hinata landed behind Hiashi. "Please stop." She had her hands over her chest.

"You're defending him!?" His voice became darker.

"He doesn't deserve this! Please leave him alone!"

"You will put the well being of this monster before your own father? That's treason!"

"Father, you don't know what you mean." Her voice started cracking and her eyes were glistening with tears. Naruto was struck by the impact of this image.

"Don't you know what he has done to our family? To me? To you?"

Hinata didn't comprehend.

"When the nine-tailed fox attacked fifteen years ago, your mother was still pregnant with you. She had no choice but to go to the front lines and help the other warriors. I failed to protect her from the beast. She was struck right in her heart. When the medical corps took her in, we all feared neither of you would make it. The damage your mother had taken would never be reversed. I was devastated. But still, she endured your birth and even brought about a second daughter. It was then when all her strength was gone. A few days after Hanabi was born, she passed away. Many of the heart's veins were broken simultaneously. She died in an instant. We couldn't save her."

The air around them had become heavy and smothering. Again, Naruto felt someone was squeezing his heart. Hinata was trembling. Her crying had stopped but it looked it would resume at any moment. Hiashi stood there, almost as if expecting some positive reaction in his own favor, but she only looked downward; her eyes were misty, detailing that she was in her thoughts, thinking about what she should do.

"Well?" his father demanded an answer, but there was none.

"Answer me!"

"Father…" She started softly, "…I understand why you must feel this way for Naruto…but I think what you're doing is wrong." Hinata had taken a more serious appearance, almost angry.

"WHAT?" Hiashi was stunned. Naruto looked into the girl's eyes. They were beaming with a sense he hadn't seen coming from her since he saw her fight Neji during the Chunin preliminaries.

"Why should Naruto be blamed about something he couldn't control? Why should he be held guilty because of what the demon did? You really think that he asked for it to happen? He had only been born when Kyuubi was sealed inside him. Naruto is nothing like him. He's kind and wholesome. He would never hurt the people of this village. Why can't you understand? You must forget about this grudge you hold against him!"

"You don't care about your own mother!?" Hiashi looked deadly.

"I'm sad I couldn't be with her much longer, but I don't want to blame Naruto. Why can't you do as well?"

"Hinata…" Naruto was amazed by Hinata's bravado. Her timid wallflower demeanor had been cast away. In its place stood another Hinata, one with security and confidence, enough to speak up against her father. Hiashi was motionless. His face had a neutral expression. He closed his eyes and exhaled profoundly. In a flash, he disappeared from Naruto's sight. He looked around but there were no signs of him. The next thing he knew, he heard Hinata shout out in pain and collapse to the ground, unconscious.

"Hinata!"

Hiashi Hyuga appeared right beside her; his left arm was extended outwards.

"Hinata, you have failed me."

Naruto saw it all happen, almost as if in slow-motion. Hinata's cry, her fall, her painful landing, her father attacking her without remorse. His entire body was overcome by an intense shiver. His eyes were getting foggy, almost as if he was going to lose consciousness. He grasped the dirt ender his hands tightly. His breathing was becoming accelerated and ferocious. His eyes were turning bloodshot red. He growled at the offender. The anger inside of him was making red chakra leak out violently, more than before. Hiashi observed the transformation in horror; how his skin was being peeled off and his blood was mixing with the foul energy. It covered him from his head to his feet. His hands and fee turned into claws of blood. His face was dark and no longer human. The ears of a wild animal formed on his head. Five tails were sprouting, wildly waving in the air. Kyuubi had been unleashed. Its roar echoed in the distance.

Hiashi took a fighting position. Kyuubi dug his hands into the ground and sprouted around Hiashi , trying to slash him. He gathered chakra in his palms and used his gentle fist to defend himself, but when the hands would be repelled, they would come back. It was as if he was fighting giant snakes. He had to constantly dodge while maintaining the offensive. Kyuubi was not going to slow down. The energy pouring out from him was burning the wildlife around them. Hiashi tried to approach the demon, quickly dodging his attacks. He gathered all his strength and attacked with a blinding display of Gentle Fist. He punctured Kyuubi's body with his chakra, enough to send him off flying a couple feet and falling to the ground. He immediately got back up and roared again.

'Impossible. That layer of chakra can protect him from any attack? Just what is this creature?'

They were both at a standstill. They both wanted to end this as soon as possible. It was all a matter of who attacked first. Hiashi took his position again and Kyuubi stood on his hind legs. He opened his mouth and out came of stream of pure chakra straight towards the Hyuga leader. He jumped into the air to dodge. The display of raw power surprised him. He witnessed the destruction of such power. Before he could react again, a tail was coming straight for him. He deflected it with a fast kick. Just then, another came. He had to shift his entire body in midair just to have a chance to counter.

'He only attacks by extending his claws and its tails towards me. The concentrated chakra must be too much for him to move.'

When he touched down, he charged towards Kyuubi again. He wanted to end it with a single blow. He jumped at him to acquire momentum, but he was shocked to see the demon charging at him to. Hiashi was rammed by the force and the weight of it. His face was slashed right across the chest and one of the tails slammed him into the ground. He lay there with no signs of continuing the battle. The beast roared in victory.

Kyuubi took notice of Hinata, still passed out. He slowly approached her and examined her and snThfed her. He observed her without the intent of attacking her. He gently pressed his head against hers, almost as if he wanted her to get up. He purred softly. When she started opening her eyes, he backed away. She slowly lifted herself just enough to see what was happening. When he saw Kyuubi in front of her, she gasped and tried to back away. The monster growled at her reaction. This was the first time Hinata had seen Naruto's transformation up-close. She didn't know what to do. She was afraid of being attacked, but when she realized the demon showed no signs of wanting to fight, deep inside, she was more relaxed.

"Are you...Kyuubi?" The demon didn't answer. "Is Naruto going to be OK?"

Unsure of herself, she stood up. She was still weak from her father's attack. When she saw he was down, she feared for the worst.

"Father!" She ran to his side. She kneeled by him and made a hand sign.

"Byakugan!" She shouted. She examined his inner workings. His chakra network was unstable. The wounds were deep. They were like burnt marks, only more tense. His body was struggling to control them. Hinata pressed on several of his chakra points to increase the flow to the wounded areas.

'He's going to be alright. Thank goodness.'

Kyuubi was still looking at her, who seemed to be at peace; with no desire for killing. Hinata was estranged by it. She wondered why would a beast only known for bringing destruction not attack without caring if it's friend or foe.

"You're not going to hurt me?" She got back up and slowly started to get closer. She was nervous, not because she feared for her life, but because she feared for Naruto. Kyuubi didn't move. He was sitting on all fours, waving his tails high.

"Byakugan!" She shouted when she was right in front of it. She could see the intense chakra surrounding Naruto's body, which was only a silhouette inside the animal-like shell.

"Is Naruto going to be OK?" She asked. The demon only tilted his head to his right. She was starting to feel better knowing she wasn't in danger. She held out her hand, and hesitatingly, placed it on Kyuubi's head.

'It's warm.' She said. It was then when one of Kyuubi's tails vanished. He looked at Hinata. There was something about his look, while it was almost impossible to make out anything, that made Hinata think it was happy. She smiled.

Kyuubi suddenly picked up his ears and wrapped one of his tails around Hinata. He jumped forward to narrowly avoid a huge block of wood rising from the ground which formed a dome. He slid into a landing and let the girl go. Hinata looked around her and saw they were surrounded. In front of them were Sai, Yamato, Tsunade, and Kakashi. Other Jonin and Naruto and Hinata's friends were there. Kyuubi growled angrily at his attackers. The tail he had just retracted sprouted again. He took a step forward.

"Yamato, on my signal." Tsunade glanced at him. He nodded and prepared a hand sign. Kyuubi realized this and charged at full speed ahead.

"WAIT, DON'T!" Hinata shouted, but it was too late. The demon had a one-track mind.

"Lady Tsunade…" Shizune looked nervously at the Hokage.

"Wait for it." She answered. She eyed the incoming monster in the eye. She was prepared for anything. The surrounding ninja felt compelled to do something, but the fear was just too much.

"Lady Tsunade!" Shizune was losing patience.

"Not yet!"

Even Yamato started sweating nervously. The demon got ready to swing its claws at them.

Earth Style! Black Swamp!" A voice was heard shout out a jutsu. The ground surrounding Kyuubi started to become loose and muddy. He felt as if he was being swallowed by the earth. It violently shook its tails and burst chakra in all directions. Jiaiyra appeared in front of the demon.

"NOW!" He shouted. Yamato stepped up to the demon and applied a binding jutsu around it to prevent its movement. Kyuubi's body fell heavily against the muddy floor. Yamatp got close enough and punctured the demon right in the chest. The glow of the First Hokage's necklace shown from beneath the layer of bloody chakra. The demon started convulsing and the energy started to fall away. Hinata got close enough to see how the angry beast slowly transformed back into Naruto. He was covered in his own blood and his entire skin had what looked like burnt marks. It was painful for everyone to see such a scene. When all was over, the ninja, too weak to stay conscious, fell. Jiraiya and Tsunade immediately went to him and started giving him attention. All the other ninjas got closer too.

Hinata!" Neji called to her. She saw him coming along with all of Squad 8. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"

"I'm…fine. He didn't hurt me." All looked at Hinata with surprise.

"Neji, Father needs medical attention!" She pointed at him. Her cousin quickly ran to his uncle's side.

"What do you mean he didn't hurt you?" Kurenai asked.

"He…protected me."

"What? Why?"

"I-I don't know." She said stuttering. Everyone was confused. All four turned to the small crowd, where from the center was coming the glow of Tsunade's medical jutsu. They were all asking themselves the same question inside their heads.

From afar, Sakura had been watching it all happen. She clutched her heart as her tears started falling. She turned away and ran as fast as her body would allow.