"Talking."
Thought.
"Kyuubi talking."
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It was a cold winter morning. A blanket of slowly melting snow covered the forest floor, interrupted only by twigs and roots sticking up through it. Naruto, having failed to find any prey, decided to fish. He was standing waist deep in the water. He did feel cold, but between Kyuubi's healing and the fact that he had been in the wild for over five years, it didn't effect him much. Watching the water's surface carefully, he spotted movement. Not wasting a moment, his palm flat, with his fingers extended out straight, he thrust his claws into the water. A taijutsu expert would call the attack a spear hand, Naruto didn't know nor care about that,he just thought it was the easiest way to catch a fish. His spear hand pierced the fish through it's side.
Having caught his meal, the boy left the water and took a bite out of his fresh catch. As he sat there and consumed his meal, the wind changed. Carried on the wind was a smell that caught the feral child's attention. Mixed in with the various other odors was a very familiar scent, along with the stench of two males.
"Be wary of those other scents, brat. Don't forget your training."
Naruto closed his eyes, slowed his breathing, and focused his awareness inward. He started searching for his kitsune energy like the Kyuubi taught him years before. As he was searching he couldn't help but remember back to that day.
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An eight year old Naruto was washing himself in a stream. He had just been interrupted from finishing his latest meal, a young deer. He was showing some scrapes and small bruises from a scuffle with a pack of hungry wolves. His worse injury was a bite on his right thigh, where a wolf had jumped him and drew him away from his kill. As he was dealing with the aggressive wolf, the other pack members grabbed the deer, and fled. In a fit of anger, he grabbed the wolf by the upper and lower jaw, and forced them apart as hard as he could. A sickening crack sounded out in the area of the woods. The wolf with his now broken jaw tried to escape from Naruto's iron grasp. It was a futile attempt, as soon as it tried backing away, Naruto twisted it's head counter-clockwise in a quick blur, snapping the wolf's neck. In pain and with a limp, Naruto decided to write the rest of his meal off, and take a quick bath. As he was finishing his bath, he heard Kyuubi growling in his mind.
''Stupid brat. What good are you, if your meal gets taken away by a bunch of filthy mutts?''
''Shut up, ya mangy fur-ball,'' Naruto grumbled. ''I was outnumbered and injured. What was I supposed to do?'' Naruto lamented, while getting out of the stream.
''Use your kitsune powers, brat. You may only be a kit, but you should still have the Kitsune Illusion.'' Naruto was flabbergasted. He had no idea what kitsune powers were, but they sounded interesting.
"Kitsune...Illusion?'' Naruto stumbled out. If he had these powers, he was currently unaware of how to access them. ''Um, Kyuubi? How do I use these powers?''
''As each kitsune is different from one another, it is different for each kitsune. The first thing you need to do, is locate your powers. You do that by focusing your awareness inside of yourself. Shut out the rest of the world, and concentrate. For me it is an orb of shadows inside my mind. Once you locate it, you will need to try and manipulate it, to do as you wish. In this case, you will want it to cover you in an illusion of invisibility. As you age, your power will grow with you, and grow stronger. All of our abilities are based on illusions, but we can make illusions that seem so real to the one viewing them, that it will affect them as if it were reality.''
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It took Naruto a couple of days to find that center of power in himself, but when he did, he practiced with this technique till even the animals of the forest couldn't sense him. As he located his kitsune power, he couldn't help but smirk as he noticed, not for the first time, that it had the same shape as the seal on his stomach, and the color was a dark royal purple. Manipulating the outer edge of the swirl, he forced it to cover over himself. Almost as if someone was erasing him from existence, he slowly disappeared from view. He started to follow the scent of the girl who meant more to him, than anything else in this world.
The pair of Kumo nukenin had been traveling non-stop since they kidnapped the Hyuuga girl the previous evening. The sun was almost directly overhead, and a slight breeze was blowing from the north-west, gently stirring the snow on the ground.
"Hey Takeru, let's stop for a break," the black haired chunin said.
"Yeah, Saburou, that sounds good. We should have put enough distance between Konoha and us to allow for a small break, and the village will be patient as long as we return with the Hyuuga bitch," the blond jounin returned while standing Hinata, who was gagged and had her arms tied behind her back, next to him. ''I am glad we stopped. This bitch keeps on kicking me,'' he growled while pulling out a bit more rope. ''If she keeps at it, I might just break both of her ankles. So, Saburou. What are you going to do once we get our nukenin status revoked?'' He asked while tying up the now shaking girls legs.
''I don't know, Takeru,'' Saburou hesitantly stated. After a few moments of thought, he replied, ''Maybe I will take my share of the reward, from the Hyuuga's eyes, and settle down. Ya know, start a family.''
After about one minute, with Saburou staring intently at Hinata, had passed, he lustfully stated, "Too bad we don't have the time. I'd sure like to have an heir with the byakugan. Not to mention the fun I could have while making it." The chunin grinned lecherously and began to approach the Hyuuga heiress, whose eyes widened considerably in fear, "Well I suppose since we are taking a breather, a little fun won't hurt." Saburou's grinned widened as he started untying the knot on his belt, ''Kumo never did say anything about bringing her back as a virgin after all.''
Sensing a chakra surge accompanied by a flood of killing intent the blond jounin reacted quickly. "Look out!" He yelled to his friend. A shimmer appeared behind Saburou, and was upon him in an instant.
Saburou turned, just in time to avoid getting his spinal cord severed, only to have his stomach slashed open from one side to the other. Clutching his stomach to hold in his organs, he began looking around. Then he saw what seemed to be a red haired boy fade into existence charging his blond haired companion on all fours covered in an intense red aura.
Takeru saw the boy, covered in a red aura, charging him with a look of unbridled rage and a red haze emitting from his glowing eyes. Naruto reached the blond and sent a flurry of vicious slashes at him quickly forcing him on the defensive and away from the girl. The man's attempts at a defense were feeble at best compared to the demon child's onslaught, however. The jounin dodged to the side of a downward slash, right into a side swipe. The power of the attack forced his guard to the side and removed a chunk of flesh from his shoulder. After receiving the injury, Takeru channeled as much chakra as he could into his legs, and jumped as far away from the crazed kid as he could; holding his injured shoulder.
The berserk boy threw his head back and let out a demonic roar which echoed through the forest. Dropping back to all fours, Naruto turned back to the disemboweled chunin. The nukenin felt what blood he had left drain from his face, as he stared into the piercing ruby eyes that glared at him. He couldn't move as the boy charged him due to the risk of his bowels spilling out and the overpowering feeling of his killing intent, not that his speed would have allowed him to get away. In less than a second the demon child was on him, his claws tearing through his ribs, as if they were wet tissue, one on each side shredding his lungs. He wanted to cry out in pain from feeling his lungs getting slashed as the youth took firm hold of his ribs, but the pain, shock, and what was left of his lungs filled with blood, prevented it. His wide eyes stared into demonic vermilion orbs, no thoughts filled his mind, only fear and pain. Naruto roared in Saburou's face as he snapped the man's ribs and pulled them apart, effectively opening the chunin's chest and exposing all of his organs to the outside world. Darkness approached the edge of Saburou's vision. Naruto reached into the dying man's open chest cavity, he grabbed the erratic beating heart, and ripped it out. Saburou felt immense pain, and the last thing he saw before he succumbed to the abyss of death, was the demon child holding his still beating heart.
Dropping the life beating organ, Naruto turned back to the blond jounin who was snapping out of the shock of seeing his companion killed in such a brutal manner in a matter of seconds. He was slowly fighting off the berserk demon child's killing intent. Once he was in complete control again, he dropped a couple exploding notes, and channeled enough chakra for them to go off in a couple seconds. He then began racing through hand seals in an attempt to pull off a jutsu before the youth was on him again.
As the youth came charging towards him, Takeru used a quick kawarimi with his partner's corpse. Naruto jumped over the corpse, just as the exploding notes went off. Saburou's corpse exploded sending half-cooked pieces of flesh and shrapnel, from many destroyed kunai in a demented form of a claymore mine everywhere. Small jagged red hot metal tore deep into the boys body, as he was sent flying into the tree's canopy. Hissing to himself in pain, Naruto channeled as much of the Kyuubi's chakra as he could. All along his body his flesh started to split open, peel off, and heal nearly instantly. After a few seconds small bloody pieces of metal slowly were pushed out of his body. Tears of blood fell from his eyes, as Naruto howled in fury and pain, as he stopped channeling that amount of the sealed demon's chakra.
During this time, Takeru decided that he needed to get as far away, from this demon in a boy's body, as he could. He grabbed the bound Hinata, and fled as fast as he could. Naruto tracked him from the treetops, as he allowed his body time to heal up from his cauterized wounds.
Stupid, brat. What were you thinking? How many times do I have to tell you? In an ambush, always take out the leader first.
Naruto scowled, ''You heard him as easily as I. He was going to mate with her.'' Biting his tongue to stop himself from growling, he continued, ''I couldn't control myself, a part of me snapped. The last thing I remember, I was preparing to circle around to attack the blond guy, then the next thing I know, I was in the treetops wounded. What the hell did he do to me? I have never felt so much pain before."
A low amused laugh was the Kyuubi's response. "I guess I can forgive you this one time for your ignorance. It is amusing how little you know about your own body, and the instincts that come with it."
Naruto was fairly close to going haywire from Kyuubi's roundabout reply, ''Just tell me, I am neither in the mood, nor have the time for these stupid games. I still have to destroy that bastard. I will kill anyone who threatens my mate!'' Mate?! What the hell is wrong with me? Why am I thinking of her in those terms?
"Ha ha ha, it looks like the brat is growing up. I will explain it in the simplest terms possible, so your inferior mind can understand, brat. Demons age, just as humans do. Granted demons slow down the aging process after they come of age, or as humans term puberty, and we are nigh immortal. After we come of age, our bodies start searching for a mate; someone who can bear us strong healthy children. Our mates are decided from the choices we are aware of, as long as they fit the right criteria. You were kind of on the short end of the stick being as you have had only one female companion in your whole life to choose from. It looks like you are almost completely healed from your previous wounds, I will explain the rest to you later. Now you must go save your...mate."
Naruto's head was spinning, with the influx of information he had just received. I want her to bear my children? I want to mate with her? His cheeks turned a bit red as his thoughts turned in that direction. It makes sense now. Why I always found her scent enticing, and yet, at the same time calming. The only thing I know about mating though is from what I have seen the animals do here in the woods. What if she doesn't want me, or if she has found someone else in the village, since I have been gone so long? He shook his head, to clear it of the depressing thoughts. None of that matters at the moment. First things first, let's get her away from that soon to be corpse. Naruto pushed some of Kyuubi's chakra into his arms and legs for a speed boost. He quickly sped in front of the fleeing nukenin, and landed in front of him.
Takeru skidded to a stop less than two feet from the demon. He knew he wasn't going to get away without a fight. He grabbed Hinata, by the back of her coat, and tossed her to the side. As Naruto's eyes tracked Hinata's short flight, Takeru made a couple of hand signs, hoping to finish his seals before the young demon's attention was back on him. His hope was in vain, as Naruto saw Hinata land safely, if not a bit roughly, on the ground a few feet away. As Takeru was on the final seal, Naruto reached forward and grabbed the man's left wrist. The demon boy gave his hand a sharp twist, causing a spiral fracture through the ulna and radius bones in the other's wrist. As the nukenin gasped, he followed up with a spear hand to the man's gut, which never reached. The chakra built up for a raiton jutsu, having nowhere to go, exploded in the man's hands. The resulting explosion blew the two apart a good distance, slamming Naruto into a tree and causing the jounin to skid across the ground.
Smoke lifted off of Naruto, as he removed himself from the snapped and nearly uprooted tree. He looked around for his prey. Seeing him nearly forty feet away, he noted the man's body was charred, and he was missing both arms. Not even bothering to notice his own missing arm, Naruto growled and began after the jounin again.
Takeru, using the last of his energy and with great difficulty, sat up. What he saw terrified him beyond words. The boy was charging him on all fours again, supported on an arm that appeared to be formed of nothing but red chakra. Within the chakra he saw bone and muscle begin forming at an alarming rate. He was completely helpless as the demon child was upon him. The youth used his still regenerating arm, encompassed in red chakra, and sliced clear through the blond's throat.
Hinata looked on in horror at what played out before her. She was frozen in place by the brutal display and overwhelming killing intent. She knew that she was next upon seeing her captor's head go flying. She felt her heart stop, as the boy turned his glowing glare towards her. She wanted to flee. She knew she had to get away, or the demon would kill her. She wanted too, but she was still bound; too horrified to even attempt to escape the ropes. Pale lavender eyes locked with his glowing eyes of crimson. She felt panic well up as the youth started walking towards her.
The glow faded from the, still red, eyes, and Hinata felt the effects of the killing intent fade. For the first time she was able to clearly see the boy's face. Though many of his features were different, many were still the same. He leaned down to remove her gag and ropes.
He looked into her eyes, and said, ''I promised, I would always protect you.''
"N-Naruto-k-kun?" She asked softly, not entirely sure she believed what she saw before her. Then she looked the boy up and down, finally noticing the utter lack of clothing. She blushed more brightly than she had previously in her life at the sight of her crush in the nude. The effects of everything that had happened finally caught up to her. The stress of being kidnapped and her fateful reunion with her Naruto-kun overwhelmed her senses. Her head suddenly felt too light, and her eyes started to flutter. Darkness quickly encroached her vision.
Naruto was barely able to grab Hinata, before her head hit the forest floor. Quickly becoming concerned about his mate's well being, he gave her a quick once over to make sure she wasn't injured. Once he was finished with the examination and was content when he found no signs that she had been hurt; other than some slight chafing where the ropes had rubbed her skin. He was, however, quite agitated at the scent of the other males coming from her. The boy lifted her and started back towards his den.
The two arrived at his cave a short time later. Naruto, using his claws, sliced away her offensive clothing, that smelled of the other men, and placed her nude form in the soft bed of furs. With her resting peacefully, the youth left and rushed to where he left the corpse. He wanted to make sure that it was removed before it attracted any unwanted attention.
With the dead body looted and disposed of, he returned to his lair. Arriving outside the entrance he peered in to see the sleeping form of the girl still in his bed. Reassured, Naruto followed the edge of the mountain to a small waterfall, which he used to clean the blood and gore off of himself.
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Hinata woke up. She felt warm and wrapped in something soft. Not again. She thought sadly. Not another dream. Why do they haunt me? Why can't I see him again? She refused to open her eyes in hopes to drift back off to sleep and dream again. Even if it was a nightmare at least she was with him. Then she noticed as more of her drowsiness faded. The warm, soft feeling wasn't from her silk gown or her blankets. They felt fuzzy, almost like fur. The girl only had time to become aware of the fur, only to have her attention caught by movement. She felt warm flesh and toned muscles pressing up against her back.
The young Hyuuga remembered the kidnapping. She quickly began to grow frightened. Making sure to maintain her composure, she quietly and carefully removed herself from the bedding, trying to ensure she didn't awake the person with her. Having successfully crawled out and exposing herself to the night air, she became aware of the fact that she was completely devoid of clothing.
Knowing she wouldn't last out in the cold without any clothing, she began running her hands through a set of seals. Completing them she whispered, "Byakugan!" With her bloodline limit now active the girl began searching the cave for her clothing. Her scan brought her gaze towards the bed she had escaped from. When her search brought her to the head of the bedding, her eyes locked with the confused look of the lairs other occupant. Her fear began to intensify. Then she recognized the other occupant.
"N-N-Naruto-k-kun? I-is that r-really you?" Hinata stuttered out hopefully. The boy, who was now supporting himself on an elbow, nodded at her, confirming what she had hoped. Hinata, in an ecstatic state, forgot about her lack of clothing, and ran up to the boy; giving him a tight hug. After a moment she noticed the sensation of her bare chest pressing against his. The female eep'ed at the realization that she was naked and hugging the crush of her life. She quickly grabbed the fur that Naruto was using as a blanket to use it to cover herself up until she found her clothing. What she saw was the still nude form of the boy laying on a pile of furs that she had, up until a matter of minutes before, shared with him.
"I-I-I... W-w-w-we... D-did w-w-we...," She stuttered, her mind awash with fantasies, until a trickle of blood fell from her nose, her eyes rolled back into her head, and she fainted again.
Hearing Kyuubi's dark laughter, Naruto's confused look increased and was mixed with concern at seeing the Hyuuga pass out again. He went over to her and gave her another thorough examination to ensure she really didn't have any injuries. This task was made easier by her utter lack of clothing. Still unable to find any wounds on her, aside from a slight nosebleed, he shrugged and carried her back to the furs with him, grabbing the one she started to take and using it to cover them up with.
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Hinata awoke to the sun poring in through the caves entrance. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings quickly brought back memories of the previous night. Blushing fiercely, she lifted the makeshift blanket and verified her nude state. After noting that she was alone in the cave she searched for her clothes, and other than her jacket, came up empty handed. She used one of the furs on the bed as a makeshift skirt. As she was putting her jacket on she heard a voice come from behind her.
"Good. You're awake. I brought us some food," the males voice said. Hinata turned and saw, the still nude, Naruto coming in the caves entrance. Making sure that she didn't look at anything other than the boy's face, the girl quickly turned away feeling her cheeks burn bright crimson.
"N-Naruto-k-kun, w-why a-aren't you w-wearing any c-clothes?" She inquired, embarrassed, without daring to look at the feral child.
"Why would I? They only get in the way," was the reply.
"Aren't you cold?" The girl asked trying to give weight to her argument.
"Not really," Naruto replied.
Hinata prepared to make a comment about it being indecent when she remembered the implications of when a male and female slept in the nude together. "N-Naruto-k-kun, l-last n-night. D-did w-we?" She stuttered, her blush growing more fierce.
"Did we what?" He asked with a hint of confusion in his voice.
"Y-you know. T-that," she offered.
"That what?" Naruto replied more confused and with just a hint of annoyance in his voice.
By this point Hinata was rubbing her index fingers together. "D-d-did w-w-we h-have s-s-s-sex?" Her blush spread to cover her head and run down her neck.
"Sex?" the boy wondered as he tilted his head in confusion, the annoyance now gone.
"Never mind," the female responded. If he doesn't know what I'm talking about then I'm sure it didn't happen. "Why were we sleeping together without clothes? You seem to not wear clothes, but why wasn't I in mine?" She inquired.
"Your clothes reeked of other males. So I removed them, and began placing my scent on you," he replied.
"Your scent? Why would you need to have your scent on me?" She asked, unsure of what he was talking about.
"To mark you as my mate," He responded nonchalantly.
"Your mate?" The Hyuuga exclaimed, wide eyed, quickly turning to face the boy, the torrent of emotions quickly causing her to forget he was undressed. When she realized what she did, her gaze shifted down to a certain part of the males anatomy before she eep'ed and turned away again. Having seen what she saw, she felt the beginning of a nose bleed, no longer able to tell where her blush ended.
Her train of thought quickly returned to where it was earlier with that incident. "You need to wear some clothes," she commented in an embarrassed manner.
"Why?" was the only reply.
"You just need to," she said back.
"No thanks," he stated unconcerned.
"Please?" She asked in a soft, pleading voice.
"How will I put my scent on you if I do?" the boy inquired.
The argument continued this way for the next few minutes until Hinata had an idea. "I'll make a deal with you," she looked down at her index fingers as she rubbed them together, "If you wear clothes during the day, I-I w-won't w-w-wear any at n-night."
"That would be an agreeable idea," Naruto stated in an offhand manner. "Only one problem. I don't have any clothes."
Hinata, who found herself looking at the pile of furs they used as bedding, had another idea. "I know, I'll make you some clothes. I have a needle and thread in my field kit," she said.
"Yeah, fine, whatever," the boy grumbled, tired of the clothing discussion.
Hinata grabbed a bear fur and threw it to Naruto. "You can wrap yourself in that until I get your clothes done," she said. The red haired boy was grumbling, looking down at the fish in his hands, when a large piece of brown fur fell on his head. His grumbling intensified as he shook off the pelt, it was finally loud enough for Hinata to hear. She turned to see that Naruto was holding both fish with his mouth as he wrapped the bear pelt around himself, obviously agitated. "N-Naruto-kun, I-I'm s-sorry," she pleaded, fear evident in her voice as she remembered what he had done the previous day.
"It's fine," he mumbled reassuring the girl, as he made sure not to drop the fish, while looking down and making sure the wrapped pelt wouldn't fall. When he was content with his work, he took the fish from his mouth and tossed one to the girl. "Catch!" Hinata caught the fish reflexively.
A smile spread across her face. "I know, I'll use these to make us dinner," she stated happily. "Um... Where do I cook these? Where's the fire pit?" She inquired as she searched around the cave.
"What fire pit?" He inquired.
"What do you mean? We can't eat these raw," the girl reasoned.
Naruto smirked. "Why not? Don't you like sushi?" He asked sarcastically.
Hinata looked at the fish she was holding. "We have to cook these to get rid of the bacteria."
"They're fine," came the muffled reply. Hinata looked up as Naruto ripped another chunk of the fish off and began chewing it. She felt her stomach turn and was feeling a little nauseous. They had learned about eating raw animals, as a survival technique, in the academy. It was even rumored that they had to so in survival exercises their final year, but hearing about it and actually seeing it were two totally different things.
The girl turned her face away to avoid seeing the feral boy tearing into the fish as if it were a piece of fruit. "Naruto-kun, we really need to cook these. They'll taste a lot better," she continued in an attempt to convince her crush.
"Taste fine to me," he replied as he continued devouring his catch.
"If I eat it like this I'll get sick," she stated sadly, grasping at straws in an attempt to convince him.
"Get the thing ready. I'll go get some wood," he said to Hinata's surprise. I can't let her get sick. Damn. I guess I'll just have to deal with anything it attracts. Naruto thought, his animalistic instincts taking dominance to protect his mate.
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Naruto returned a while later with a decent collection of wood for a fire. When he entered the cave he noticed a pot filled with snow and the cleaned fish sitting on top. Looking into the side chamber he saw Hinata sitting on their bed sewing. Dropping the wood to the side, he walked into their bed chamber.
"Wood's in there," he said, catching the girls attention.
"Oh, Naruto-kun, welcome back," Hinata offered, looking up from her sewing. "I'll start on dinner. I found some pots, cooking utensils, and spices in the other chamber. I figured I'd make us some stew." She smiled at Naruto as she sat her work to the side. Getting up, she went to the main chamber to begin preparation of their meal. I can't believe this isn't a dream! I'm really here with Naruto-kun. I'll be sure to make a special meal for him. She smiled inwardly as she took out the flint and steel from her field kit and sparked it on some kindling, starting a fire.
Naruto, leaving Hinata to her work, went to the back chamber and dug out his newest scroll with the intention of reading it again. Once he found it he returned to the main chamber and unrolled it, looking over it intently as the smell of Hinata's cooking began filling the cave. The girl, curious as to what her friend was doing, looked up from the pot she was stirring and saw him reading a scroll she thought she recognized.
"Um... Isn't that Konoha's Forbidden Scroll of Seals?" She inquired.
"Don't know," he replied without looking up. Hinata moved closer to get a better look.
"That is the forbidden scroll," the surprise was evident in her voice. ''Where do you get it?''
"I found it," he replied in the same distracted voice, still not looking up.
"Found it? Where?" She asked still eying the scroll.
"On a corpse," he was still showing that he was paying little attention as he read.
Hinata gave up getting any real answers on how he came into possession of the scroll, and returned to her cooking. As she stirred the pot, she asked, "How many jutsu have you learned from it?"
Naruto finally gave her his full attention as he looked up from the scroll. "How many jutsu have I learned?" He returned the question.
The girl nodded, "How many?"
"None. I don't know how to use jutsu," the male returned in a slightly somber tone. Hinata paused in her stirring to look at the boy.
"You don't? Well, we'll just have to remedy that," she said, giving Naruto a cute, reassuring smile. Of course he doesn't. She chided herself. He hasn't been to the academy, and he seems to have been living in the wild all this time. "I'll start teaching you after we eat." Naruto looked at her with a hopeful smile. When he remembered all of those scrolls he had memorized, his smile only broadened.
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After they ate, Hinata spent the rest of the evening teaching Naruto the different seals used for jutsu along with henge to give him something to practice with. He was outside of the cave practicing, and she was sitting next to the fire, enjoying the warmth, as she thought on the compromise she reached with her crush about the clothing situation. She was embarrassed and nervous about the idea, despite the fact that they had done so the previous night, not that she was entirely aware of it at the time. She sat the gray wolf pelt she was sewing to the side, as her train of thought became more and more distracting, and began to stare into the small fire. She snapped out of her daze sometime later to realize she was no longer alone.
"Naruto-kun, what happened to you? What happened that day?" Hinata inquired in a somber tone without breaking her gaze from the hypnotic dance of the flames. This question caused the boys look of elation, at learning to use what he'd read about, to fade. His facial expression grew distant as he focused on that day over five years ago.
"After I left the alley to draw them away, a member of the mob that had been chasing us used an attack that went straight through my stomach," he began. Hinata remembering that scene, all too well, grew a little depressed, and missed what was said next. Then her attention returned to the demon boy.
"When I awoke, I was in a sewer ankle deep in blood. A badly damaged cage was in front of me. On the cage was a damaged ofuda scroll that read 'seal' with only darkness beyond it. I approached the seal to see red eyes staring at me, and barely avoided large claws that tried to rip me apart. I was staring at the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune," he continued.
"Kyuubi no Kitsune? But the Yondaime Hokage killed him. He died doing so," she interrupted in a shocked voice.
"He may have died, but it wasn't killing Kyuubi. He died sealing the demon in me, and that attack somehow damaged the seal causing me to change," he responded. She listened in a mix of shock and horror as he related what had happened to him the years since he had fled the village, the training under Kyuubi, the battles, and general hardships. "And that's when I found you," He concluded. Having finished his story, he stood and left the cave to practice his jutsu and distract himself from the memories, and to give Hinata the opportunity to absorb what she had just heard.
The fire, long since forgotten, had become little more than a pile of glowing embers. The girl, unsure as to what to think or do, sat there overwhelmed with what she had just learned. The crush of her life had the dreaded Kyuubi no Kitsune sealed in him, and the seal that imprisoned it was damaged, allowing the Kyuubi to force his chakra through Naruto's body. The demonic chakra altered him in such a way as to turn him at least partly into a demon. Poor Naruto-kun. How hard this must have been for him. To suffer this alone. Well he isn't alone anymore, and I promise I won't let him handle this by himself anymore.
Naruto heard his friend leave the cave. He kept his back to the entrance and continued going through the seals for henge. He didn't even respond to the footsteps coming up to him. He did, however, freeze mid hand seal when the girl wrapped her arms around him, from behind, in a hug.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun," Hinata said in a comforting manner.
"For what?" Naruto responded, dropping his arms to his side.
"For everything that happened to you. It had to be rough," the girl replied, resting her head on his shoulder. Naruto didn't respond aloud to the last statement, he reached up and grasped her hands with one of his, and sat there taking in her scent as she held him. After a couple of silent minutes, Hinata spoke up again. "Come on, Naruto-kun. Let's get some rest." She entered the cave, removed her makeshift skirt and jacket, and climbed into bed. Shortly after she felt Naruto climb into the bed with her and pressed up against her back. She felt him bury his face in her hair, and inhale deeply. The girl felt a fierce blush and wiped away a small trickle of blood from her nose. This is going to be a long night, she thought to herself, but it'll be worth it. As long as I'm with Naruto-kun. She smiled contently and pulled the fur blanket more tightly around her, as she snuggled up closer to Naruto. Before she realized it she was asleep.
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Sarutobi took a long pull from his pipe, a look of concern on his face. Before his desk stood a member of the Hyuuga branch family and a jounin. A couple of minutes prior the jounin gate guard arrived after the Sandaime sent for him upon hearing the news of the Hyuuga Heiresses disappearance. "And you say she walked through the gate alone with a distracted look on her face?" The old man asked the dark haired jounin.
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the guard responded.
"And you didn't see her or anything happen to her after that?" Sarutobi continued, making sure he had the details of the jounin's story.
"No, Hokage-sama," he replied.
The old man turned to the Hyuuga branch member, "There has been no word from her and no one has seen her, correct?"
The branch member shook his head as he voiced, "No, Hokage-sama."
"I see," Sarutobi said, mostly to himself, before turning back to the jounin and taking another pull from his pipe. "Send for Hana Inuzuka and Kurenai Yuuhi. You are dismissed." The dark haired guard nodded and left. Looking at the Hyuuga again, Sarutobi gestured towards a chair. "Have a seat. It may be a bit before they arrive." The branch member, doing as the Hokage suggested, took a seat. The two sat in silence as they waited, the old man smoking his pipe.
After ten minutes of waiting, the first of the jounin Sarutobi sent for arrived. The dark haired, crimson eyed kunoichi entered his office. "You wished to see me, Hokage-sama?" She inquired.
"Yes, Kurenai, but we're still waiting for Hana to arrive before I explain. Please, have a seat," the old man gestured at a chair next to the Hyuuga. Kurenai, upon seeing the branch member sitting there and knowing they were waiting for an Inuzuka, began growing very concerned about her young friend.
Another five minutes passed before a second female entered the office. She wore dark gray pants, a dark shirt, and a green jounin vest. Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail, she had red triangles on both cheeks, and a flower tattooed on her upper arm. "Greetings, Hokage-sama," she said with a bow.
"Hello, Hana," he returned, "Now that you're all here I'll explain the situation," the other two occupants of the room stood and approached the desk. "It's been brought to my attention that two days ago Hinata Hyuuga, heiress of the Hyuuga clan, entered the woods, outside the North Gate, and has yet to return. So far no signs of what happened to her has been found. The three of you are to search for her. Report any findings to me. This is a Rank B mission as of this time," Kurenai paled visibly as her fears were confirmed. The three, having received their orders, left the Hokage's office to prepare for their mission.
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Naruto was having difficulty sleeping. Between his no longer sleeping alone, as he had done for his entire life, and what Kyuubi had told him the previous day about his instincts, his mind was too occupied for rest to claim him. Having decided he wanted some fresh air, he climbed out of the makeshift bed, making sure not to disturbed Hinata, and left the cave. Once outside he climbed the rock formation. Upon finding, a spot a short distance up, that was devoid of snow, he decided to lay down and look up at the clear, star filled night sky.
"It's time for us to talk, brat. Whether or not you've been aware of it, you have already been displaying your demon instincts. You've protected your den and your territory from other humans, and you didn't run them off. You killed them. You wanted to prove you were superior and maintain your alpha status. You even protected your mate with extreme prejudice which, as loathing as I am to admit it, made me proud. The look of pain and shock on his face, it had been too long since I had seen such a sight. Then you followed that up with rubbing your scent on her, marking her as your mate. It's only a matter of time before your instincts drive you to mate with her," Kyuubi said in the boy's head, enjoying the discomfort caused by the last couple of sentences.
What if she doesn't want to? He asked his captive mentally.
"She's your mate. Thus it is her place to mate with you," the fox responded.
What if she has another mate in the village? I have been gone a long time. He continued his mental line of questioning.
"Then prove your status as Alpha and take her," the demon returned.
What if...
"Enough 'what ifs!' Your giving me a headache! Damn brat," Kyuubi snapped.
Naruto's mental conversation with his tenant was interrupted when he heard Hinata scream from inside his den. He jumped from the landing he was on and quickly made his way into the cave. Inside he saw Hinata panting and covered in a layer of sweat, a look of terror in her eyes. The girl, realizing she was no longer alone, turned towards the cave entrance to see the demon boy's silhouette. Seeing this her eyes widened as she screamed again. She tried scooting back only to press her back against the wall.
Naruto sniffed the air, only to find the normal smells in the cave. Confused and concerned, he began walking towards Hinata. "Are you okay, Hinata-chan? What happened?" He asked approaching the girl. When he reached the trembling female he sat on his knees in front of her. The girl only looked at him in wide eyed horror. "Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked staring into the frightened Hyuuga's eyes. The boy reached out to the girl only to have her flinch away.
"Please don't kill me," the weak female voice pleaded before she broke out into tears.
"Hinata-chan?" It shocked him to find out she'd even think he'd hurt her. Not knowing what else to do, he grabbed her and pulled her to him in a tight hug. "I won't hurt you. I promised I'd protect you, and I intend to keep that promise," he whispered in her ear, reassuring her. The embrace shocked her out of her tears, and the words broke her out of her shock. Taking note of her surroundings for the first time since she awoke she saw she was still in the cave. Realization hit her and she wrapped her arms around Naruto as she began sobbing.
"I-it was h-horrible, N-Naruto-k-kun. I-I-I h-had a n-nightm-mare. I-I-I dreamt you w-were tr-trying to k-kill me," she choked out between sobs.
Naruto pulled away a bit and lifted her face with his hand under her chin. He took note of her features, her disheveled hair, her tear streaked cheeks, and then he met her blood shot eyes with his. Their gaze locked, he spoke, "I'd never hurt you, Hinata-chan. I promise I won't let anything hurt you or take you away from me." His words caused her heart to skip a beat, and he pulled her back into a tight hug. Once Hinata had calmed down Naruto offered, "Come on, Hinata-chan, let's get some rest."
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The jounin team was trudging through ankle deep snow down a path through the woods. Hana and her dogs, the Haimaru Sankyodai, were in the lead, following the girl's scent. Kurenai was in the center of the formation, and the Hyuuga branch member was in the rear with his byakugan active. They had been following the trail for three hours. Kurenai looked up, through a break in the trees, and noted the gray, cloud filled skies. It looks like quite a storm is coming. I hope we find her soon. "See anything, Retsu-san?" She asked the Hyuuga behind her.
"Nothing yet, Kurenai-san," he returned, still scanning the area with his bloodline limit.
Hours had gone by without any sign of Hyuuga heiress. Evening was setting in, and the snow had began falling more and more rapidly. Their formation stopped when one of Hana's dogs began growling while sniffing the air. After a moment it turned and began barking to the Inuzuka female. Once it was done, the young woman turned back to the other jounin . "He says that there's the overpowering scent of a demon in the air. It's mixing with the other scents, nearly drowning them out. We need to hurry!" She relayed the information and they all broke into a run.
Minutes later, Retsu spoke up, "There are signs of a battle." They arrived at the battle site and began searching for signs of Hinata. All they were able to find was a charred and mutilated corpse and metal fragments. Retsu scanning around with his byakugan noticed another battle site a few minutes run from the current spot, ''I see another battle site ahead.''
The storm picked up as they were rushing to the area ahead of them. A small hole in the ground, that was quickly filling with snow, a splintered and uprooted tree, and a patch of red snow, with a small glint of metal, was all they saw upon arriving there. Deciding that time was not on their side, they each went to a separate area of the site. Kurenai was examining the hole. Well the ground looks charred, but not enough to be a Katon technique. Maybe a Raiton technique? Damn we should have brought Anko. She is a skilled Battle Reconstructionist. She could probably tell us every step that happened here. Getting up she headed over to the blood soaked snow where Hana was, ''Please tell me that's not Hinata's blood.''
Hana Inuzuka looked at her Haimaru Sankyodai questioningly. After a couple growls, she looked at Kurenai, ''No, they say that the blood here smells heavily of the male kidnappers scent. The amount of blood on the ground here would signify a mortal wound. The man, a Kumo nukenin judging by this hitai-ate I found, died here, and then was carried off somewhere.''
Kurenai sighed in relief, then frowned, ''Carried off, why? What would the purpose be, I wonder?'' Shaking her head clear of that mystery, she asked, ''If both of her kidnappers were killed, then where is Hinata? Do you think the demon killed her as well?''
Hana was about to tell her, that the dogs hadn't picked up the scent of Hinata's blood, when Retsu called out to them. Rushing to the shattered tree, they saw him holding on to something around two feet long. At first, Kurenai thought it was a snake, but as they neared him, she realized it was an arm. Hana's dogs started barking, causing Hana to stop short, and look at them incredulously, ''Are you positive?'' Hearing a short bark in reply, she nodded. ''That's the demon's arm.'' Retsu's pale eyes widened, and he quickly dropped the arm, as if burned by it. Hana smirked at his obvious fear, while Kurenai quickly grabbed some spare cloth to wrap it up in.
When their search turned up nothing else, Hana spoke up, "We need to head back. The storms only going to get worse."
Kurenai, refusing to give up, responded, "We can't just give up! Can't we just follow the demon's scent? We can't abandon her!"
Hana grew annoyed with the woman's outburst. "It's not like I want to leave her. I'd like nothing more than to find her alive, and take her back to the village. However, you have to look at the facts. There's the scent of a demon in the air, and that badly burned and mutilated corpse. Even in the off chance that neither the demon nor the nukenin, who kidnapped her, has done anything to her, the snow has covered their scent. We don't even know where to go from here. There's nothing we can do. If we stay here any longer we risk getting caught in the blizzard," she reasoned. Kurenai was unable to argue with that logic, as much as she hated to admit it, she lowered her head in defeat. After having successfully convinced Kurenai that they had to head back, Hana pocketed the scratched Kumo hitai-ate, and with that in hand the three turned and started going back the way they came.
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It was late afternoon and a light snow was falling. Naruto was hunting for the pair's dinner while Hinata sat on a rock next to the river, listening to the soothing sound of the current. She was thinking back to what Naruto had told her earlier that day about his instincts. It was a lot to take in. Some of it was confusing, some of it was frighting, and some of it was embarrassing.
Her mind was snapped back to the present when she heard growling coming from behind her. She turned to notice that she had been surrounded by a pack of wolves, and, by the way they looked, she could tell they were hungry and had found their next meal. The girl stood and entered her jyuuken stance, in preparation to defend herself as one of the beasts stepped forward. She began the seals to activate her bloodline only to have to dodge to the side to avoid the first wolves lunge. No sooner had she dodged the first one than she saw the second one charging towards her. The Hyuuga barely had time to dodge the second attack. Her reflexes took over; allowing her to successfully evade the lunging beast, escaping without any injuries. As the animal was flying by she slammed a chakra imbued palm into it's side causing it to emit a loud yelp. She spun back around towards the rest of the pack just in time to see a wolf too close to dodge. Grabbing it and using it's momentum she fell backwards flinging the surprised beast into the river.
The wolves, seeing their opportunity, charged the girl as she was preparing to flip back to her feet. One jumped and landed on her chest, causing her to fall back to the ground. The beast's face was right next to her's growling, it's fangs bared. A bit of saliva dripped from the animals maw onto her cheek. It turned it's head, opened it's mouth, and lunged for her throat. Hinata closed her eyes, fully expecting to die. The next thing she heard was a loud yelp as the weight was removed from her chest. She opened her eyes to see Naruto crouched in front of her. He was wearing the bear pelt, blood was covering, and dripping from, his claw, and his blond tipped red hair danced in the breeze, looking like a manifestation of living flame.
The boy let out a low growl and dropped to all fours as a red aura encompassed him, eying each of the animals in turn. Hinata got up and saw that between Naruto and the wolf pack was a single wolf, with it's side ripped open, laying in a patch of red snow. The beasts stepped back, while growling at the demon child, going on the defensive. One began barking at him. The boy figured it was the leader, and raced towards it, any snow that came in contact with his blazing aura instantly evaporated into steam. The gray wolf backed away from the charging youth, and jumped to the side to avoid his lunge. It then returned the lunge, intent on sinking it's fangs into the boy's side, only to get a back fist to the side of the head. The moment it was dazed was all the time Naruto needed. Before the animal had the chance to recover he was on it, he sank his fangs into the animals throat, and using his hands to hold it down, ripped it's throat out. Blood began pooling around the, quickly cooling, corpse.
The youth, blood covering and dripping from his chin, turned to the rest of the pack which, after seeing their leader die, began fleeing. Refusing to let anything that threatened his mate get away, he gave chase and killed each in turn. Until the last one was dead. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and claws as he returned to the river. When he arrived he saw Hinata sitting on a rock with a worried expression on her face. She looked up as he approached, and, upon seeing him, ran up to him and threw her arms around him.
"Are you okay, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked his mate.
"I'm fine, Naruto-kun. How about you? Are you hurt?" She returned.
"I'm okay, it'll take more than a pack of mutts to take me down," he reassured her.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun," she said as she snuggled closer.
Naruto looked at the gray sky over the river and felt the wind pick up. "We need to return to the cave. This storm's only going to get worse,'' Naruto glanced at the dead wolves, ''At least we have plenty of food to last us for a while."
Hinata nodded against his bare chest, not wanting to break the embrace.
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The jounin team had arrived back at the village around dawn. By this time the wind was blowing quite fiercely and the snow fall picked up, obscuring vision more than ten feet in front of them. They had their fur lined cloaks, which they brought just for this reason, wrapped tightly around themselves to keep them warm. Knowing the Hokage was going to be at his tower before long, the three made their way there to inform the old man of their findings.
After arriving at the tower, they didn't have to wait long. Upon entering the tower and seeing the jounin waiting, he invited them into his office for the debriefing. After Sarutobi sat at his desk, he gestured to the jounin to start. Hana, who was standing in the center with Kurenai to her left and Retsu to her right, stepped forward and began.
"We traveled into the woods, following the trail of Hinata Hyuuga and two males, which we believe to be Kumo nukenin, for roughly twelve hours. Close to the twelve hour mark one of my Haimaru Sankyodai picked up the scent of a demon. Near to where we first noticed the scent of the demon was the signs of a battle. We found signs of an explosion, with a badly charred and mutilated corpse. We also found metal fragments of varying sizes. From that location Retsu was able to see another battle site further on. When we got there, there was a broken tree, which seems to have collapsed from a heavy impact, as well as a hole in the ground about 2 foot deep, and about 3 feet in diameter, about 40 feet away from the hole, and opposite of the tree, was a giant patch of blood-stained snow. Half buried there we found a kumo nukenin hitai-ate. Sir, I think you should know, we recovered an arm from by the tree, that is from the demon,'' she nodded to Kurenai who pulled the wrapped up arm from her pack and laid it on his desk, ''We were forced to give up the search when the weather worsened and the snow covered up the scent trail." Hana, her report done, took out the scratched Kumo hitai-ate and placed it on the Hokage's desk.
Sarutobi listened intently to every detail as he took out his pipe and loaded it. As the report was finished he lit his pipe and took a long pull from it. "The arm of a demon? Was there any signs of Hinata Hyuuga?" He inquired as he surveyed the jounin. He noted Retsu wore no expression on his face, Hana wore the expression of one in front of an official, and Kurenai looked visibly distraught.
"No, Hokage-sama," the Inuzuka woman responded.
"Was there anything note worthy on the man's corpse?" The Sandaime inquired, trying to make sure everything is covered.
"Nothing that looked to have survived the explosion, sir," the jounin spokesman replied.
"And these metal fragments you spoke of. Tell me about them," he pressed.
"They were fragments of varying shapes and sizes. The pieces appeared to have been charred, but we were unable to to make out any detail on what they might have originally been," the woman offered.
"Did you bring any of these fragments?" The old man asked after taking another pull from his pipe. Before the Inuzuka could respond, Retsu stepped forward pulling some fragments out of his kunai pouch, and placed them on the desk before stepping back. Sarutobi, holding his pipe in one hand, grabbed a larger piece of the metal fragments with his other, and began examining it closely. After checking it thoroughly, he sat it back on his desk. "It appears to be a metal fragment from a kunai. I'll have someone perform some analysis jutsu on it, and the arm later," he said, "Unless there's anything else to inform me of, you are dismissed. Kurenai, I would like you to stay." The three jounin nodded, and the Inuzuka and Hyuuga left the office, leaving Sarutobi and Kurenai alone.
"Have a seat, Kurenai," he told the jounin. After she took a seat he continued, "You're quite close to the Hyuuga heiress, are you not?"
"Well I don't see her much, but I worry about her. Ever since her mother died she hasn't really had a good family life. Everyone knows how Hiashi is to her. I wonder if he even realizes she's missing at this moment," she responded.
"So you view her more like a sister then?" He inquired, continuing his line of questioning. Kurenai gained a contemplative look at this question. Sarutobi, wanting to leave her to sort matters out, resumed smoking his pipe. After a minute the realization dawned on the crimson eyed woman that she did, in fact, view Hinata as a younger sister.
"Yes, Hokage-sama. I see her like a little sister," she replied.
Good, that girl could use a positive influence like that. The elderly Hokage thought to himself. Out loud he said, "I'm glad to hear that, Kurenai. I know this time has to be rough on you. I assure you when the storm dies, we'll send more search parties to locate her."
Kurenai smiled a small smile at this bit of comfort and bowed to the elderly man. "Thank you, Hokage-sama."
"There is no need to thank me. It's my job to care for everyone in this village. One thing I would like you to do, though. I would like you to promise me that when we find Hinata you'll show the girl that you care about her," he said looking at the young woman.
Her smile widened at this. "Of course, Hokage-sama," she returned.
"Good, then you're free to go. It'd be best to get home before this storm worsens," he said sagely. The woman nodded and started to leave. Before she got to the door, she paused and turned.
''Hokage-sama, if I may?'' The Sandaime Hokage nodded at her to continue, ''I wish to volunteer to be on the rescue missions, that is, if you don't mind?'' He smiled slightly at her, and nodded to let her know he understood and agreed. Kurenai turned and left, closing the doors behind her. The old man, once again alone in his office, reloaded his pipe and turned to look out the window at the storm. His thoughts drifted back to the boy he viewed as a grandson who disappeared years ago. Gazing at the faces of the Hokages on the Hokage Monument, Yondaime's face in particular, a small, though sad, smile crept up to his lips. A single tear fell from his eyes as he remembered the hyper active blond.
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A week had passed since the blizzard had stopped. Three feet of snow covered the ground. Hinata, having finished Naruto's clothes, made herself a warmer garment out of the wolf pelts. Naruto, having successfully learned kawarimi and henge, began working on other jutsu. He picked most of them up quickly, but none more so than genjutsu techniques. Kyuubi had told him, it was most likely because genjutsu affect the mind, and his kitsune powers do the same. Hinata wanted to return to Konoha, but she knew, even with her new clothes, she would freeze to death long before reaching it. She was sitting next to the fire, a small pile of firewood a short distance away so she could keep it from dying. To one side of the cave was a larger pile of wood that had been set there to allow to dry. Food had not been an issue due to the wolf corpses, which were preserved in the snow, and the dried rations they found in the storage area in the back. Naruto was sitting across from her working on the seals for a new genjutsu. She looked across the fire at her friend. He was wearing a gray shirt made from a wolf's pelt, the fur was on the outside, and dark brown pants which had the fur on the inside. She herself wore a gray fur shirt and gray fur pants.
"Naruto-kun," she said getting the boys attention. When their eyes met she flinched slightly, still unused to seeing vermilion slitted eyes instead of the sapphire orbs she remembered from her youth. "When the snow melts I'm going to have to return to Konoha, and I want you to return with me," she continued.
Naruto completely forgot about working on the jutsu at this loathsome turn of events. "I can't return to that place. You remember how people treated me, and what happened. Why don't you stay here with me instead?" He reasoned.
"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I can't live like this. I want to finish the academy and become a ninja. When the snow melts they'll probably send a search party for me. Please come with me. We can go to the academy together," she pleaded.
Dammit, I have to choose between my den and lifestyle, and my mate. Grumbling he stood up. "I have to think," he said as he turned and walked into their 'bedroom' leaving a depressed Hinata behind. She sat there looking at the flames, mentally berating herself for putting Naruto in that situation, but she knew she wouldn't last living like this.
An hour went by and the fire was dying down. Hinata, who was beginning to succumb to exhaustion, made her way to their sleeping chamber. Removing her clothes and quickly climbing under the covers, to escape the cold, she felt the fur of Naruto's shirt, and realized that he was still dressed. This compounded her depression as she turned away and curled up, trying to force herself to sleep. She was up half the night depressed at the situation and hoping he'd take her up on her offer and return to the village with her.
It was about midmorning when Hinata woke up. The girl noticed she was alone in the bed, and looked around the cave, failing to find her crush. She quickly grabbed her clothes and got dressed under the blanket to avoid exposing her naked flesh to the cold air. Once dressed, she went into the main chamber of the cave and found Naruto poking a fresh fire with a stick. "Naruto-kun?" She asked in an attempt to catch the boy's attention.
Without even turning to look at her, he said in a voice that made it clear he wasn't happy about the idea, "I'll return with you." This caught the girl off guard. She stared at the feral child's back.
"W-what?" She stuttered out.
He turned and looked over his shoulder at the girl. "I'll return to Konoha with you," he confirmed. Hinata smiled as her fear and depression bled away.
She ran up to him and hugged him from behind. "This makes me so happy, Naruto-kun. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you again," she said in a relieved tone.
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Three weeks had passed since the conversation on returning to Konoha. The snow had melted enough to allow for the pair of youths to travel without the risk of Hinata freezing. The pair were packing Naruto's belongings in one of the burlap sacks when the boy looked up, catching Hinata's eyes with his.
"Hinata-chan, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he said nervously.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" She asked, curious as to where this conversation was going.
Naruto looked down as he nervously asked, "I was wondering, will you be my mate?"
"Aren't I already your mate?" She asked confused.
"I'd like your consent," he said without looking up.
"Real intelligent, brat,'' Kyuubi sarcastically stated. ''Give her an out. Damn you and your human honor," the voice in the back of his head chided him.
"Of course, Naruto-kun," she said with a smile. To reassure him of her decision she hugged him. Pulling away she saw Naruto return her smile. The pair of happy youths finished packing the boy's belongings in the sack. Hinata had been surprised to see Naruto had had a considerable sum of money just thrown haphazardly in a pack. Hinata strapped the forbidden scroll to her back and Naruto slung the bag over his shoulder as the two prepared to leave their cave for the last time.
A/N:
It took longer for him to heal the shrapnel damage than his amputated arm, due to the fact that the shrapnel would have cauterized the wound, taking an extreme amount of time healing, compared to the simple regeneration of his arm. He helped speed it up by channeling Kyuubi's chakra to the point where it was literally burning his skin away layer by layer, and rapidly forming new layers under it, until he burned away the cauterized section of his wounds.
As usual, I enjoy receiving reviews. Again I'd like to thank my prereader Endymionrose for the kick ass job he does. Enjoy.