Warning. This chapter contains graphic scenes of a dark nature.
"Talking."
Thought.
"Kyuubi talking."
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A firm blanket of white still covered the ground, being reinforced by a light snowfall. The pair had been traveling for a couple of hours. Naruto was leading Hinata at a leisurely pace. The girl was a couple of steps behind and to his left. She was sporting a slight blush on her cheeks due to the fact that Naruto was holding her hand as he lead her. A small smile graced her lips as she thought of them holding hands, and at the thought of returning with him.
Naruto knew the woods very well and knew where Konoha was, though he tried to avoid it. He came into proximity of it a few times while he was hunting. His emotions were battling between being happy about Hinata consenting to being his mate and being upset about leaving his life behind to return to a village that hated him.
The feral child's internal debate ceased when he caught a scent in the air. Getting a larger intake of air through his nose he could tell it was obviously human, and that there was more than one. He peered back at his companion to notice she had her head tilted down slightly, still distracted and oblivious to anything out of the ordinary. He decided not to alert her, making sure to keep his pace up, he focused inwardly to the source of his kitsune abilities and created an illusion to cover the pair and hide them from any unwanted attention. The knowledge of chakra and it's control he had learned from Hinata allowed him to make the illusion complete enough to completely hide even their chakra signatures. After making sure they were well hidden, Naruto sniffed the air again to get an idea on the heading of the humans, which he could now count out to be three, all female. He noted that it had become decisively stronger, as if it was heading directly towards them. Not wanting to risk an encounter and risk putting his mate in danger, he switched directions figuring he'd take a round about route towards the village.
"What are you doing, brat! Go after them!" Kyuubi demanded in the boy's mind.
I will not put my mate as risk for the amusement of some demon! Naruto reasoned. The fox demon only growled in response, unable to argue with that logic.
Hinata was snapped out of her musings as Naruto changed directions and pulled her arm, a little harder than she had expected, to make sure she followed. "Is something wrong, Naruto-kun?" She asked, puzzled.
Naruto turned to look back at the girl he was leading. "Nothing's wrong, Hinata-chan," he offered with a smile. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just, well, when you changed directions you pulled my arm a little hard and it hurt," she said a little sadly causing Naruto to stop. He instinctively released her hand as he turned to look back at her. No longer being distracted by her thoughts and having her hands free, she brought them up to her upper arms and began rubbing them in an attempt to warm up. The demon child took this as a bad sign.
"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan, I didn't mean to hurt you," he said with depression evident in his voice as he lowered his face to look at the ground. He took this opportunity to discretely take in a whiff of the air. He was upset about hurting his mate, but he wasn't going to risk her because he faltered. The scent was steadily growing stronger, verifying his concern.
"It's okay. It just caught me off guard," she said in a reassuring tone. The boy didn't even look up.
"Then why are you rubbing your arms?" He inquired, his depression growing, as he inwardly devised a plan to get them somewhere safe.
"Oh this? I'm cold so I was trying to warm up," she replied. This revelation sparked an idea in the boy's mind. He looked up, relief quickly replacing his depressed expression.
"I know just the place," he said with a smile of someone who just had everything fall into place. He reached down putting one arm behind the girls knees and used the other one to support her back as he lifted her to carry her in the bridal fashion. Carrying her in his arms, he took off running and rapidly started hopping through the trees to a destination he thought would be perfect to hide in and allow her to warm up.
"N-N-Nar-ruto-kunnn, I-I ca-an wa-a-lk," she said with her voice being interrupted from the constant jolts of his leaping run. Although she enjoyed the warmth and proximity with her crush, she was concerned about him hurting himself. He didn't reply, however, as he kept up the rushed pace he had set.
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Dusk was setting in as the pair arrived at a small cave next to a creek. This was a place Naruto was very familiar with. He had spent the first year of his new life in the wild living out of this very cave. Having reached his destination, he set Hinata on her feet. The girl looked around curiously.
"Where are we?" She asked as her gaze continued taking in the area.
"This is my first den. I figured it'd be a good place to set up camp, and to let you warm up," he replied.
"Your first den?" She inquired as she quit looking around and rested her gaze on the feral child's face. He nodded as he put his arm around her and ushered her inside. He had lost the scent of the humans a while before reaching the cave, but he wasn't going to take the chance, and he wanted to let her get warm. She looked around the small cave, taking in every detail of her crushes first home outside of Konoha.
"It isn't much, but it'll do for tonight. We should reach Konoha tomorrow," he said gazing, dispassionately, at his former home. Hinata was so happy that he'd share something so important to him with her, even though she didn't know how little he really cared about the cave. The only reply he got to his statement was a hug. Despite not knowing what it was for, he quickly returned it.
"Let's get some wood and start a fire," she said happily.
''We can't. I have been picking up the scents of humans in the area, and I don't think we should draw attention to ourselves,'' he responded causing her to glance up at his face.
''Humans?'' Hinata asked, ''Isn't that a good thing? It could be a search party out looking for me.'' Hinata's hopeful look quickly deflated when Naruto shook his head in a negative manner.
''It could also be more of those ninja who kidnapped you,'' Naruto hugged her tighter as he continued, ''I am not about to risk your life on a fifty-fifty chance. You are my mate. If you get injured, especially because of a careless risk I took, I...I don't know what I would do.'' Hinata, who had laid her head against his chest, felt her heart pound in her chest at hearing this. As she felt him lean his head down to inhale her scent through her hair, she relaxed, and slowly closed her eyes.
After a few moments, he released her, and took off a bag he had strapped across his back. He opened the large burlap sack, and started rummaging through it. He began pulling out various furs that he had brought with them. When he had them all on the cave floor, he tossed Hinata one of the largest ones. "Wrap yourself in that. I'll prepare a bed for you."
"What about you? Aren't you going to sleep in the bed, too?" She asked, curious about the fact that he used 'you' instead of 'us.'
"No, not tonight, Hinata-chan. I'm going to guard the den in case the humans finds us," he replied as he went about the task of preparing a bed for his mate.
"You don't have to stay up all night. I can stand gua...," she was cut off by a glare that said no arguments. After the demon child returned to preparing the bed, she spoke up again, "Won't you get tired?"
"I'll be fine. The demon blood that runs through my body, can sustain me for a week without sleep, if needed," he replied as he continued his project. The girl gave up, realizing she wouldn't be able to change his mind. A few minutes later, he stood up with his task complete. He turned to his companion, "Why don't you get some rest. I'm sure the furs will keep you warm," he offered, "I'm going to go sit watch at the entrance." Hinata looked down and noticed he had left a few of the larger furs to the side for her to use as blankets. Naruto had already left through the entrance of the cave, leaving the girl alone. He's going to get cold sitting out there alone. She thought to herself as she was looking at the furs he had set aside. With a resolute nod, she grabbed one of the furs and made her way out the entrance.
Naruto was sitting on a rock right next to the mouth of the cave. He had expanded his enhanced senses to cover the surrounding area so he would be aware of any risk that came their way. He was aware as Hinata left the cave, though he didn't react. He kept his attention on the area. He allowed himself to become slightly distracted, however, when she walked up next to him and wrapped a fur around him. The boy took a breath in through his nose while she was next to him, thoroughly enjoying her scent.
"I thought you might get cold," she said, her arms still around him from where she wrapped the fur around him. He looked up at her as she offered him a warm smile before moving to sit next to him. She looked forward as she began to talk again. "Are you nervous about returning tomorrow?" She asked.
"A little," he replied, trying not to think of what the next day would hold.
"Everything will be okay, Naruto-kun," she said in an attempt to reassure him. He didn't respond as he continued looking forward. When she didn't receive any response, she looked at his face to see if she could determine what he was thinking. What she saw, playing through the boy's eyes, was doubt. "Naruto-kun?" She said a bit louder to get his attention. Naruto turned and met the girl's worried face. "Are you having doubts?" She asked, unable to completely hide the fear in her voice.
"No, I am just a little worried," he replied. ''I am worried that, when they see me, they will throw me back out, or even try to kill me. One of the things Kyuubi taught me, while I was out here, is that humans have always hated what they fear, and they fear what they don't, or can't understand. It didn't make much sense to me back then, when he first said it. I just thought he was spouting some bull, trying to sound all-knowing and wise. After awhile, I started thinking how the villagers always treated me, as if I was some plague victim, and it started to make sense. They either didn't know, or didn't care, how the seal held the Kyuubi back. They just saw the demon child. Whispering it, as if to say it aloud would bring the Kyuubi back to raze the village to the ground.''
Hinata's smile had fallen as Naruto started reminiscing about his past. "I won't let anyone treat you like that anymore, Naruto-kun," she professed. As he turned his head to look at her, she summoned every ounce of courage at her disposal, "You promised you would always protect me. You may not need me to protect you physically, but I make this vow to you, I will never let any one treat you with anything less than the respect you deserve." Naruto's eyes widened, as she was making her vow. When she was finished, he smiled at her deviously. "Um... Naruto-kun why are...you..." Hinata's question petered out, her eyes widened dramatically, and her heartbeat picked up a staccato rhythm, as Naruto gently lifted her chin with a clawed hand. He slowly started to lean forwards towards her face, and Hinata quickly blushed a bright red. Oh...Oh...Naruto-kun is leaning forward...He is so close to me...Is he going to k-k-kiss me.
As Naruto's bangs gently brushed across her forehead, she had time for one last thought. Be gentle with me, Naruto-kun. It's my first time. Naruto turned her head slightly, and softly licked her from the base of her jaw, across her cheek, and to the edge of her ear. He...licked me. The intimacy of such an act quickly overwhelmed her, and she fainted in Naruto's arms. Naruto smiled and pulled her close only devoting a small portion of his mind to the enjoyment of holding his mate; the majority of his mind being focused on the area around them.
An hour had passed, night having had long since taken a firm hold over the sky. Naruto shook Hinata's shoulder slightly with his hand. This only succeeded in causing the girl to snuggle closer to him. He shook her again with a little more force. A small, soft 'Hmm?' came the semi conscious girl's reaction.
"Hinata-chan, why don't you go to bed?" He asked the drowsy angel curled up against him.
"I want to stay here with you." Her voice was still soft, indicating she still wasn't completely awake. Naruto looked over at the girl's face. Her eyes were closed and her face looked peaceful. He decided that he couldn't really bring himself to wake her so he picked her up, being careful not to disturb her, and carried her into the cave, placing her on the bed of furs he had made. After he laid her down, he covered her with the furs he had sat aside for her to use as blankets.
Naruto returned to his rock near the entrance. He sat down and shifted his focus outwards to make sure there was no threat in the immediate area. When he was sure nothing was around he allowed a portion of his mind to drift back to the events that transpired over the previous three weeks.
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It was growing late, and the pair sat, in their den, across from each other. Hinata was staring at the fire in contemplation, and Naruto, pleased with his progress so far, was working on a new genjutsu from one of the scrolls he memorized. He was figuring out the details rapidly as his focus was shattered.
"Naruto-kun?" The girl across from him said, causing him to look up. He saw her flinch slightly when their eyes met, but let it slide. She had been through so much lately, and he had changed a lot. "When the snow melts I'm going to have to return to Konoha, and I want you to return with me," she continued.
Damn. He cursed mentally, completely forgetting about the genjutsu he had been working on. Aloud he said, "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 hoped to change her mind.
"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. Naruto was realizing that he wouldn't be able to change the girl's mind.
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 in to the next chamber. When he arrived, he was too distracted to worry about removing his clothes and simply climbed into the makeshift bed. I promised I'd protect her, and I very well can't do that if she's there and I'm here. He growled. I also promised I wouldn't let anything take her away from me. He didn't like it, but kitsune were forced to adhere to their word. As part kitsune he too was bound to his word, and he really didn't want to twist any of his promises to his mate. Sure he could force her to stay, but he wouldn't do that to her.
"You could always teach them their places," Kyuubi chimed in, a hint of blood lust in his voice.
Naruto nodded mentally to his tenant. I really don't have much of a choice in the matter. I promised her, and I can't go back on my promise. I will return with her, but I will NOT let them walk all over me anymore. I'll teach them who's the alpha in that pack.
Kyuubi was laughing in his head. "Yes, brat! Put them in their places! Tear the place asunder! Teach them who's superior!" He reveled in the thought of a blood bath. The ground stained, and the rivers flowing with blood. His laugh grew more maniacal.
With his decision made, the demon boy rolled over and allowed himself to drift off to sleep. He was completely unaware of when Hinata joined him in bed, or the dismay she felt.
Naruto awoke early the next morning. He quickly and quietly left the fur bed and made his way to the main chamber. He sat there contemplating on what he was going to do. He was still left very agitated about the situation, and he had other thoughts playing through his mind.
"Alright, brat. It's time I teach you how to use another one of your abilities." Kyuubi said into his prisoner's mind.
Not right now. The boy thought to his tenant.
"You listen here, brat! I will not be shrugged aside because of some pathetic little human emotions! You WILL listen to me! You WILL do as I say! Is that clear!" The demon growled at the youth, enraged at his attempt to push him aside.
Naruto growled inwardly at the demon fox, but allowed it to continue, knowing he'd not receive any peace until he complied. "Gather some wood. I'm going to teach you how to use your kitsune-bi," the kitsune ordered. The boy retrieved some dry wood from the pile and placed it in the fire pit. "Now focus on your center of power. Draw on the power, and try to focus it to make a flame. Envision the flame in your hand at first. Later you'll be able to do more with it," Kyuubi told his vessel, and left him in silence to practice this new ability. Naruto focused inwardly on his center of power. Holding his hand out to the wood in the pit, he drew on a bit of the power as he focused on the image of a flame in his hand. A small flame about half the size of a baseball, that glowed with a mixed blueish white hue, appeared in his hand. He reached his hand forward and touched the white-blue orb to the wood, causing it to ignite instantly. He extinguished the flame, and recreated it a few more times, until he was sure he had it down.
After a time, he had quit practicing, and, grabbing a stick, began prodding the dying fire to expose some of the unburnt portions of the wood. He heard the stirring and shuffling in their bed chamber, as well as the steps leaving it, but didn't react to any of it. "Naruto-kun?" She asked, failing to hide the depression in her tone.
He was still rather upset with the idea, but he couldn't abandon his mate. Not wanting to let her see how upset about the idea he really was, he didn't turn to look at her as he answered the unspoken question. "I'll return with you." With this statement he could feel the girl's eyes boring into his back even more.
"W-what?" He heard her stunned voice stutter out.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he steeled his features as he looked over his shoulder at the girl. "I'll return to Konoha with you," he stated again. He saw the look of doubt and depression on the girl's face fade, to be replaced with a smile. She ran up to the boy, fell to her knees behind him, and threw her arms around him, giving him a hug from behind.
"This makes me so happy, Naruto-kun. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you again." The relief in her tone was evident. He patted her hand with his, as he turned back to look at the flame. Maybe this won't be so bad after all. He thought to himself, with a small smile creeping onto his lips.
The next three weeks were occupied with Hinata walking on cloud nine at the thought of returning to the village with her long lost friend. She had spent the days teaching Naruto some of what she had learned at the academy so far, hoping that he might be able to join her class. The boy, however, was dealing with a lot of inner turmoil, only a portion of it being from the idea of returning to the village. He hid it well though, and was slightly mollified by all he was learning, as well as the constant smile plastered on his mate's face.
At the end of the third week the snow had melted enough to allow safe passage to Konoha, and Naruto, making good on his promise, had began gathering his stuff early that morning. We're leaving today. I'm going to have to ask her today.
"What are you going on about, brat? What does that inferior mind of your's have planned?" Kyuubi asked, annoyed. None of your business, fox. He responded to the voice in his head as he continued packing away his scroll collection. This caused Kyuubi to growl, "Damn you, brat! How dare you speak to me that way! Now answer me!"
The boy's inner argument was interrupted as the cave's other occupant entered. "Good morning, Naruto-kun," she said in a soft voice, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
"Morning, Hinata-chan," he responded, packing away another scroll.
"What are you doing?" The girl asked, still a little out of it, as she walked up and sat next to Naruto.
"The snow has melted enough for safe passage. I figured we'd start for Konoha today," he said as he continued his packing.
This completely snapped Hinata out of her drowsy state. Letting out a squee, she threw her arms around the feral child, smiling from ear to ear. After breaking the embrace, she began helping the boy pack his possessions.
After a brief time packing, Naruto looked over at his mate as she turned his direction to place a ring in the sack. She looked up and locked eyes with his. "Hinata-chan, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," he said in a nervous voice. Damn, this is harder than I thought.
"Yes, Naruto-kun?" She asked in a curious voice.
"What are you doing, brat?" Kyuubi asked, annoyed with his prison, and the state he was in.
Ignoring Kyuubi's inquiry, he looked down nervously and continued, "Will you be my mate?"
"Aren't I already your mate?" She asked in a confused manner.
"I'd like your consent," he said without looking up. I'd like to know you accept me.
"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. She pulled him into a hug, which caused Naruto smile as well. The pair returned to the packing. Once all of his belongings were packed away, Hinata strapped the forbidden scroll to her back, and the two youths left.
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The jounin team was trudging through the ankle deep snow, their cloaks wrapped tightly around them to keep the wind and snow at bay. Hana and her dogs took point again, she was followed by Kurenai, and in the rear was a purple haired, browned eyed kunoichi. Anko was chosen to join this mission in case they came across another battlefield. The three were making slower progress than usual as they searched to try to locate the demon's or the Hyuuga heiress' trail.
"What the hell are we doing out here in this damn snow again?" Anko grumbled.
"We're out here to locate Hinata Hyuuga," Kurenai called over her shoulder in an annoyed tone at her friends agitation.
"And why am I here again? It's way too damn cold," Anko's grumbling continued.
"You're here in case we stumble across another battle site, and you wouldn't be so cold if you wore real clothing instead of that fishnet, skirt, and trench coat," Kurenai responded, her agitation growing. Anko's grumbling continued, but she didn't say anything else as they continued the search.
The jounin trio had been searching for hours and night had fallen. They still found no signs of what they were searching for. Having failed to find any leads, they decided to stop and set up camp. Anko got drafted into the first watch, Kurenai volunteered for the second, and Hana took the third. Anko's watch was filled with annoyed grumbling, but otherwise was uneventful. Kurenai spent her watch thinking of her missing sister figure, again it was uneventful. Hana's watch was spent in the company of her dogs. Slightly before the sun began to rise, the Inuzuka woman woke her companions. Once awake, though Anko was reluctant about the idea, they ate their rations and set off again.
It was about an hour later before the Haimaru Sankyodai picked up the scents they were looking for. They barked their communication back to the Inuzuka woman, before they began leading them. The jounin women followed the dogs as she relayed to her team what they had just told her.
"They said they found the demon's and Hyuuga's scents, and that they're still fairly fresh." A hopeful look spread across Kurenai's face at the revelation of Hinata's scent being fresh. If the scent is still fresh... She may still be alive. The crimson eyed jounin thought. They followed the trail until it brought them to a rock formation that held a cave. Upon their arrival one of the dogs turned and let out a series of barks and growls. Kurenai and Anko stopped to hear Hana translate the information for them. "He said that the area is permeated with the two scents. It seems they've been here for quite a while. Let's see what we can find," she said as she relayed what her dog told her.
The group split up, Hana and her Haimaru chose to check around outside. Anko and Kurenai both cautiously stepped into the cave, in case there was something inside waiting for them. Entering the antechamber the jounin pair discovered signs that it had been occupied. A small pit dug out, surrounded by rocks, with ashes lining the bottom. A small pile of wood set to one side. They silently crept to the left chamber first. When they looked in they saw it was completely bare. Finding it empty, they moved to the back alcove. Inside they found a couple of burlap sacks, a few crates, some broken, and some pots and cooking utensils. Moving on to the last room they found it vacant as well.
"I'll see if I can find any tracks here in the cave," Anko volunteered, not wanting to be out in the cold any more than she had to be.
Kurenai nodded to her friend. "I'll go check the back alcove. See if I can discover anything in those containers," she offered. She went to the back, while Anko started covering the ground with a fine tooth comb. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for in the dirt that had accumulated on the floor.
"Hey, Kurenai. I found some foot prints," Anko called to her friend in the other chamber. The brown haired jounin left the back of the cave and joined the purple haired woman, standing next to her. "Look," Anko said as she gestured to a pair of foot prints, one was a pair of boot prints while the other appeared to be bare. Kurenai nodded as she concluded the same thing as her purple haired companion. She whistled to their third companion. Hana was there in a matter of moments, her dogs following behind her.
"What did you find?" The Inuzuka woman inquired. Anko gestured the woman over, then pointed out the tracks when she stepped up next to her. "Two sets of foot prints, one set booted, and the other bare," Hana said off handedly as she checked the prints. "Find anything else?" She asked as she turned to the two jounin that had searched the cave.
Kurenai was the first to start. "Some supplies in the back. A few spoiled rations in the crates, and some cooking utensils. A couple burlap sacks were back there, but they were empty. There's a fire pit over there," she gestured in the direction of the pit, "and a pile of wood to the side over there," she then pointed to the pile of wood. "The two side chambers were empty," she finished.
Anko spoke next. "After Kurenai and I checked the cave to make sure it was vacant, I found these prints. When I found them I called Kurenai. She, then, called you," the purple haired special jounin reported.
"This entire area is covered by their scents. There are numerous trails branching off, but there's no way of telling which is the most recent," Hana informed the other two of her findings. "I think it would be best if we reported our findings back to the Hokage. If the Hyuuga heiress is still alive and in the area, he'll most likely want to send out more teams to find her. We should hurry. It sounds like the cave has been abandoned from what the two of you have said," she continued.
The three left the cave, and began rushing, full jounin speed, back towards the village. No longer needing to find a trail, the three took to the trees to cover more ground. Along the lines Kurenai ended up in the lead. She was in a much bigger hurry than the other two. She wanted to report as soon as possible to make sure that if Hinata was still alive, she would be safe soon.
Kurenai was the first out of the woods. When the village gates came into view, she saw numerous bodies laying on the ground, Maito Gai was recovering, from his infamous jump-kick, before a boy with blond tipped red hair, who was wearing a gray shirt and brown pants, and Kakashi Hatake appeared behind said boy, chopping him in the neck, knocking him out. "Naruto-kun!" The distraught female voice drew her attention to someone she had failed to notice prior. She saw a girl with dark hair, dressed in gray, run over to the now unconscious boy. The woman recognized her immediately.
"Hinata?" She asked herself silently.
"What the hell!" Anko's yell caused Kurenai to jump slightly. She wasn't even aware of her team mates catching up to her due to the spectacle at the gate.
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"We're almost home, Naruto-kun," Hinata said in a voice laced with happiness when she recognized the woods. She took the lead, and didn't notice the down trodden look on the feral child's face.
Almost back. Naruto thought as echoes of "Demon brat" rang through his mind, accompanied by memories of the various beatings he received from the villagers in his youth. When the gates came into view, the events of that final night began running through his head again. Hinata, noticing Naruto was falling behind, reached back and grabbed his hand as she increased her pace.
The scene had finished for the third time when Naruto was snapped out of his thoughts. "Halt!" The male voice snapped his mind back to the present. He didn't hear anything else as he looked at the origin of the voice. The face he saw started changing before his eyes to one he remembered from his past. The scarred face looked directly at him as it's lips moved. When their eyes met, Naruto entered into a defensive stance and unconsciously began channeling chakra. The man's eyes widened as his face faded from the scarred jounin from his past to the one who stood guard. Next thing he heard was an alarm sound and the gates slam shut.
"Yes, brat! Kill them! Kill them all!" The anxious voice in his mind demanded. Naruto turned towards the second guard, who had just activated some complex looking seal next to the gate, and saw a kunai slicing through the air. He spun his body around the kunai as it neared him, using the momentum of the spin to pluck the kunai out of the air. At the end of his spin he threw the weapon back to the chunin guard, and started charging at him. He quickly closed the distance to the chunin guard, who was recovering from dodging the kunai, and punched him in the temple, causing him to black out. His first target out of commission, he turned to the jounin who had just finished the hand seals of a jutsu.
Lifting his left hand, which he made a ring with his index finger and thumb, to his mouth, he cried out, "Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!" He quickly inhaled a deep breath, then exhaled through his hand. The fire based chakra in his hand mixed with the air he was exhaling created a giant flame, which burned through the air towards Naruto. Naruto, seeing this blast of fire, quickly used his kitsune illusion to cause himself to vanish. The guard, losing the demon boy, halted his jutsu, and he scanned the area in search of his target. The search came to an abrupt end when he felt a small spike of chakra right before something slammed him in the back and flung him through the air. He twisted to try and gain control of his undesired flight, only to slam into a tree. His last thought, as his consciousness faded, was wondering where in the hell that tree had come from.
Naruto reappeared, and his illusion of a tree faded, as a trio of ninjas landed after jumping over the gate. Hinata could only watch in horror as the events of that night played out on a grander scale. They were trying to kill her Naruto-kun, just because he was who he was, as he said they would. Growling, the feral child decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try one of his new jutsu. Forming a cross seal with his hands, he said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Six shadow clones appeared around him, each encompassed in their own red aura. He saw the two new ninjas on the sides, both wearing chunin vests, charging towards him. The one in the center, in a jounin vest, was going through a series of seals. The six Narutos dropped to all fours in preparation to avoid the onslaught, and spread out. The two charging chunin found themselves face to face with two Naruto's each, leaving one in the center, and two that had seemed to have vanished.
The jounin, upon completing his hand seals, bit his thumb, drawing blood, and slammed it into the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!" Next to the ninja appeared a gray-black wolf, it was roughly four feet tall and had piercing yellow eyes. It locked eyes with the center feral child, who had began charging it on all fours. The wolf snapped out and bit down on the boy's head, only for the boy to disappear in a puff of smoke. It was so distracted by the smoke from the first boy that it failed to notice the second one coming from the side, nor did it notice the hand seals he was completing. "Aryuusan Kisoku!" The canine had only had time to hear the words before it's head, neck, and flank were completely encompassed in a viscous green liquid. The summoning jounin stared wide eyed as his acid covered companion howled in pain. Turning towards the source of the acid, he was met with the bottom of a fist that was already mere inches from his face. He began to dodge to the side, underestimating the hammer hand's speed, and had it connect with his cheek, cracking the bone, and sending him flying off his feet.
The chunin on the right looked over as he dodged one of the pair of attacks that flew at him, he saw his companion go down as his summon vanished into smoke. He dodged a sweep with a back flip, and while he was flipping he flung three kunai at the red head standing over his companion. They embedded themselves in the child's back, only for him to vanish into a puff of smoke. Cursing as he landed, he turned back to the taijutsu match he was having with the pair in front of him. He attacked with a punch, punch, kick combo, only to have them dodged effortlessly. His focus was forced to shift from the one that had just ducked his kick to the one who had lunged at him. He jumped to the side, starting some seals. He completed the seals as the ducked one slammed his fist into his stomach. When the smoke cleared, the feral clone saw he had punched a dent into a log. Letting out a growl, the pair of demons began searching for their target. "Magen: Jubaku Satsu," a voice said from an unknown location. The feral children were still sniffing the air so they had no difficulty locating the invisible chunin. Over estimating his jutsu, the chunin never expected the attack that broke his ribs and sent him to the ground. From the pain in his chest and blood pooling in his mouth, he could tell that his lungs had been pierced by bone fragments.
The final chunin, having just dispatched one of the clones with a palm strike to the sternum, saw the three Narutos closing in on him. He cursed the burning in his arms from where his strikes connected, and were subsequently blocked by, his opponent's aura. He weaved back and to the side, to avoid a hook kick that had been aimed for his head. Continuing with the momentum, he did a back flip, while attempting to kick his assailant. Naruto dropped to the ground, and threw his leg out, taking out one of the ninja's supporting arms. Using his remaining arm he pushed off, and did a haphazard and sloppy flip, Upon landing, the three circled around him and lunged at once. One going low, one for his stomach, and one for his head. He jumped to avoid his attackers. As he rose in the air, he pulled out a couple shuriken and pegged two of the tumbling Narutos in the back, causing them to vanish into a puff of smoke. At the apex of his jump he was met with a severe pain in his back as his momentum was violently shifted forward. The momentum was promptly halted as a new burning sensation claimed his arm. He only had time to turn and see red hair and red eyes as he was flung toward the ground. Between the speed of the throw and the pain in his back the ninja's attempt to right himself ended with him landing on his back instead of his head, compounding the injury from where the demon child elbowed his spine.
Naruto didn't even make it to the ground before the next wave was upon him. Six more ninja bounded over the wall, three shinobi and three kunoichi. As soon as they cleared the wall they let loose a hail of kunai and shuriken. The boy on the ground vanished into smoke, and the one in the air was hit by numerous of the projectiles. Seeing how badly he was out numbered, the boy's red aura intensified as his eyes began to glow. Reaching into his center of power, the youth expanded his illusionary power outward. The gates faded as the ninjas landed, everything within eye shot became the image of an overgrown woods. A sense of vertigo hit each of the new additions to the fight as they lost their sense of direction. Each one made a hand seal, accompanied by "Kai!" as they attempted to break the genjutsu. Much to their dismay, their attempt failed.
The first one went down in no time at all as the red head jumped out of one of the illusionary trees, and struck her in the back of the head. They all went to converge on him, only for him to jump into another tree and vanish. The remaining five backed into a circle, and entered a defensive stance, to make sure they didn't get sneak attacked again. Two of them saw the boy charging right at them, much faster than they expected from someone his age. They warned the rest as they launched a hail of kunai and shuriken at the boy who, upon the weapons reaching him, disappeared as if he was never there. Hearing a dull crack, they turned to see the second kunoichi collapse to the ground. The cracking of twigs warned them of an approaching person, and an eldritch howl on the wind, worried them as they pulled out their kunai and prepared to throw them, upon seeing their target.
A gasp from the final kunoichi brought their attention to a creature that they had never imagined could exist, except in their worst nightmares. In the forest's dim light, it seemed to be a bulky ever shifting mass, colored a dark purple, with a body that looked to be the texture of wet leather. Innumerous eyes slid around on it's ever changing form. As it slowly slithered it's way towards the group, a mass of tentacles slowly ripped out of its body in a black spray of ichor and goo, which upon hitting the ground started eating a hole in the forest floor. The horrified ninja all started throwing shuriken and kunai at the horror before them, but they seemed to do no damage as after tearing into the creature, its chaotic form would just cover the wound up.
Deciding as one to change tactics they switched to ninjutsu, they started forming hand seals, when three of the tentacles shot forward with the force of a bullet, and seemed to stretch to an impossible length, one wrapping itself around the kunoichi's arms and torso, the others knocking the three remaining shinobi off their feet. The smell of decay, and an acrid scent reached the ninja and they had to force themselves not to gag, as the tentacle retreated, pulling the nearly completely immobilized kunoichi with it. As the tentacles retracted, they seemed to disappear into the creatures form, until only the tentacle holding the kunoichi remained outside. It's corrosive fluid seeping out of its pores were dissolving parts of her clothes and weapons, as the remaining tentacles writhed around in an agitated manner.
As if sensing her helpless state the agitated tentacles started undulating against her in a disturbing manner. Seeing this the three shinobi jumped to their feet and charged the nightmarish beast, hoping to draw its attention off the nearly nude kunoichi. As their charge neared completion, the forest itself seemed to come alive. The trees reached out and grabbed at them, while their roots ripped out of the ground trying to trip them up. Busy dodging, they never saw the tentacles that reached out and wrapped around their legs. The horror whipped the three male ninja against the ground over and over, seeming to ignore their pained cries, and the sickening snaps of broken limbs, until they went limp in its grasp.
Naruto stared, horrified, as his illusion started acting out, almost as if it had a will of its own. Seeing the abyssal creature flinging out two more tentacles to wrap around the two unconscious kunoichi, he decided enough is enough. Pushing his kitsune powers into the creature, he came upon a consciousness, that should not have been there. A dark, terrible mind had seemed to latch onto his illusion, and was trying to manifest itself through the curtain that separates realities. Naruto quickly realized, that the illusion was no longer being powered by his kitsune powers, but rather by this entities will. Upon closer examination of the denizen of darkness' mind, was a whirlwind of confusing thoughts and emotions. His willpower was quickly assaulted, and he was lacking in any real mental defenses. He was helpless in a matter of a few moments, a bystander to the coming atrocity.
The mind battle had only taken a couple seconds, and Naruto was feeling dizzy and sick with the mental thoughts, currently entering his mind, on what the beast was going to do to the three kunoichi. The only kunoichi of the group who was still conscious was whimpering in fear and revulsion as the tentacles started their macabre dance across her and her fellow kunoichi bodies. Naruto could feel her fear give the creature more power. More tentacles ripped from the creatures body, winding themselves around the kunoichi's arms and legs pulling them spread eagle away from their bodies. As they were held completely immobile, a couple remaining tentacles merged together to form a single thick tentacle, which slowly crept up her leg. As it slid past her mid-thigh, her eyes rolled up, and her mind shut itself down. Naruto couldn't help but think Thank the kami, Hinata is outside the illusion.
The monstrosity seemed to suddenly stop, and Naruto felt it's mind slam into his. His memories were laid bare as it raped its way through his mind. Quickly realizing that it was searching out Hinata's location, through his memories, Naruto started trying to stop it's onslaught of his memories. As his memories of the last hour started replaying through his mind, at an extreme speed, he redoubled his efforts to halt them. His efforts were in vain, however, as it mentally batted at him as if he were a fly. Blood pouring out of his mouth, nose, and ears from reliving the past hour in a couple seconds, Naruto collapsed onto the forest floor.
Mentally and physically exhausted, Naruto slowly started to drag his body towards the ancient horror. He started drawing chakra to revitalize his body, as he was inching his way towards the creature. It almost seemed amused by his futile attempt to stop it. Naruto felt the forest around him waver and shift, as the creature started altering the illusion to include Hinata, so it could feast off of her as well. A flash of inspiration struck him suddenly, and Naruto acted upon it, while the nightmarish beast was busy altering his illusionary world. Grabbing every last piece of his kitsune powers, Naruto reinforced his mind with the memories of the past month with Hinata, and slammed his will into the creatures mind, while simultaneously pushing all his energy into overloading the illusion. The ancient horror made its first sound since its conception. It howled a mournful eerie cry. It seemed to echo for an eternity and yet lasted no more than a few seconds. Naruto felt it's chaotic mind fade back behind the curtain from which it came.
Naruto saw Konohagakure reappear as the illusionary nightmare forest disappeared. He fell to one knee panting as he had used every ounce of energy from his kitsune powers to make that nightmarish illusion shatter. "Good illusion, brat. You remembered my story of the ancient horrors that reside in the darkest realms of man's dreams, and the deepest depths of the oceans. In a couple years, you might even have enough power to summon and control a real one."
Naruto was about to respond, completely horrified at how evil and depraved that creature was, when a voice cried out, "Dynamic Entry!" The boy looked at the source of the voice to see a man, clad in green spandex, with a his black hair cut into a bowl cut, and large eyebrows, flying at him with his leg extended. The boy, completely exhausted, threw his arms up, barely able, to block, but he was forced back a couple feet. The youth prepared to face his new attacker when he felt a chop to the back of his neck. He could feel himself falling forward as his world faded to black.
Hinata watched as a ninja clad in black, with a black mask and black hitai-ate covering his left eye, a green jounin vest, and gray spiked hair, appeared behind Naruto. He didn't have the chance to react, even if he had noticed him, before the ninja chopped the back of his neck with the bottom of his hand. The boy crumpled and fell forward. "Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled as she ran to her crush. When she reached him, she entered a jyuuken stance, fully intent on protecting him.
"What's going on here?" Everyone's attention was drawn to the new voice. Turning to look, everyone saw Sarutobi drop down from above the gate, followed by three animal masked figures.
Maito Gai, the green clad jounin, turned towards the elderly Hokage, extended his right arm, with his thumb up, closed his left eye, and gave a big toothy grin, entering his good guy pose. "Yosh! My eternal rival and I just knocked out this demon before he had the chance to extinguish the fires of our village's youth!" Gai said, warranting an eye roll from Kakashi, the black clad ninja.
"It seems he only knocked out most of the other ninjas. It looks like he put a couple of these through the ringer though. I would suggest we get a medical squad here as quickly as possible," Kakashi Hatake followed with his customary lazy tone.
Sarutobi turned to one of his ANBU guards, "Go retrieve a medical squad to see to these ninja. You need to make it quick, we don't know the condition they are in." Turning back, he saw someone, he hadn't seen for a while, standing over the boy. "Oh, Hinata, it's good to see you're safe. What happened here?" Sarutobi asked the girl after noticing her. She proceeded to tell him about Naruto channeling chakra and the following ninja attack. With the Hokage being distracted, the two special jounin began tending to the injured with the little medical jutsu they did know.
"After they knocked him out, I thought they were going to try to kill him so I stepped in," Hinata finished her story.
"I see. Let's go somewhere more private to discuss this. I'm sure more than these," he gestured at ninjas that had accumulated while Hinata explained, "will be showing up. Follow me," he finished as he began to turn to leave, stopping only to tell the ANBU he spoke with previously to carry the boy.
"Okay, Hokage-sama. I just need to grab our stuff," she said as she went over to where they had dropped Naruto's belongings. Sarutobi watched her, and saw a very familiar scroll.
"Hinata, if I may ask, isn't that our village's Forbidden Scroll of Seals? How did the two of you come by it?" The elderly Hokage asked.
"Naruto-kun had it. He said he found it on a corpse. He didn't say whose though," she responded.
"Did he learn any jutsu from it?" His line of questioning continued.
"I know he read it a lot, but I don't know if he learned any jutsu from it. I do know he didn't know how to use jutsu until I taught him the hand seals," she offered.
"I see," the Sandaime said. He turned to another ANBU, "Take that and lock it away," he said gesturing at the scroll. The ninja nodded and complied. Hinata, with the sack of Naruto's belongings, followed Sarutobi and the ANBU that was carrying Naruto into town.
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Naruto was in the illusionary forest, being held down by vines, that had pinned him to a tall oak tree. Hinata, was currently being held upside down, naked, by the ancient horror. As she called out to Naruto for help, a tentacle shoved it's way into her mouth and into the back of her throat, causing her to gag around it. Naruto screamed in impotent fury, trying to release himself from the steel-like vines. A thick tentacle tore out of the top of the multi-eyed creature, and made it's path downward to Hinata's virgin entrance. A dark mocking laughter rang out, as it shot down into her quickly, as Naruto screamed.
Naruto sat up and yelled, "Hinata!" The first thing he noticed was the fact that he was sitting in a bed covered in, sweat soaked, white linen sheets, and was in a white room. He began looking around the room, noticing an identical, unoccupied bed near the opposite wall. In between the beds was a window with white curtains. Around the room he saw unfamiliar machines.
"You're awake, Naruto. Are you all right?" The voice drew his attention to the foot of his bed. He saw an elderly man wearing a red and white hat, with the kanji for fire on it, and a white robe. He noticed Hinata quickly making her way to his side, with a worried look on her face.
Naruto nodded his head, "Hey gramps. I am fine, it's just an aftereffect of a jutsu I used earlier. It's nothing to worry about." Taking a few deep breath to steady himself he sat up, grabbed Hinata's hand, and asked, "What happened?"
"There was a spike of demon chakra originating from around the gate. When I arrived there I found you on the ground unconscious with Hinata standing over you. She told me about the whole fight at the gate. I hope you bare them no ill will. After the Kyuubi attack they've been quite paranoid of such things, and rightly so," Sarutobi informed him.
"They attacked me, and I defended myself," Naruto shrugged, "I made sure not to kill any of them. I knew my return was going to be hard enough to begin with, without me having to slaughter a bunch of people the second I arrived. Don't expect me to show mercy like that again, though. Mercy is a weakness, I can ill afford," the youth reasoned to the old man.
"Damn you, brat! You disappoint me. The perfect chance for revenge and you squander it because of your human sentimentality. Worthless!" Kyuubi berated the boy. Naruto only grunted in response.
The Sandaime, not liking what he had just heard from the child, decided to change the subject for the moment. Going back and retrieving a chair, he said, "It's been years, Naruto. Why don't you tell me what happened and what you've been up to?" At his request, Naruto began relating the story of the events that transpired the last few years, beginning with the incident with the mob and ending with the trek to the gate. "Well that would explain the red eyes and hair," Sarutobi said to himself, as he gripped his chin. Then he turned slightly towards Hinata, and looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Your mate huh? And she agreed to this?" He asked the boy.
"Yeah, gramps. She agreed to it before we left," Naruto responded.
"And you both slept together before that?" The old man inquired, turning a discerning eye towards the boy.
"W-we d-didn't d-do anything, H-Hokage-sama," Hinata stuttered, her blush betraying her embarrassment.
"Yeah, I was just doing it to put my scent on her," Naruto chimed in.
"Your scent? Well sounds innocent enough, if a little odd," turning to Hinata, he continued, "Since you're his mate, wouldn't that make you Hinata Uzumaki?" The old man laughed. Hinata's blush spread to cover her face.
"You know, old man. You have a point," Naruto said, taking Sarutobi's joke seriously.
"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered, emotionally confused about this unexpected turn in the conversation.
"You're my mate. It's only fitting you have my last name," Naruto reasoned. The elderly Hokage's laughing intensified.
Getting his laughing under control, Sarutobi decided to spare the girl any more discomfort for the moment to allow her a chance to adjust to Naruto's reasoning. "We'll discuss that more later. Naruto, there's something I want to ask you about your arm."
"What is it?" Naruto asked curiously.
"About a month ago, a jounin team, who were tracking Hinata's kidnappers, found an arm at the scene of a battle. It appeared to be from an eleven year old boy, and had some notable demonic qualities. Strangely, it hasn't even started to decay. Do you know anything about this?" The old man inquired.
"Oh that? My arm was blown off in the fight against Hinata-chan's kidnappers," he responded.
"But you have both arms," Sarutobi stated, a little shocked.
"Yeah, I just regrew it," Naruto said as if he was saying the sky was blue. This caused the old man to look at him as if he had grown three heads and sprouted a tail.
"You can regrow lost limbs?" Sarutobi could barely keep the awe out of his voice. Naruto nodded. "You know most people can't do that right?" He asked. Naruto only shrugged his response.
The old man was brought back to the present from his mental wondering by another change in subjects. "Hinata-chan wants me to attend the academy with her. I already told you about the training she gave me over the past month," Naruto said while looking squarely at the old man.
"Well I can get you into the academy, but I can't be sure I can put you in Hinata's class. I'll probably have to put you as a first year student," the old man said contemplatively. This elicited a growl from the feral child. "Now that I think about it, if what I heard about what happened at the gate is true I can probably get you into her class. I'll need to personally see what you're capable of, however," he continued. He was shocked when the boy, girl, and entire room faded. He found himself in a white void, unable to sense anything. He attempted to break, what he believed to be a genjutsu, with "Kai." His attempt failed. After a moment the silence was broken by a familiar boy's voice.
"Proof enough for you?" The voice echoed with a feral tone.
Sarutobi nodded and said, "That'll do." With the elderly man's acceptance of the show of power, everything came back to his vision as the void vanished.
"What about teams?" The young female's voice spoke up.
"Teams?" Naruto inquired.
"When students graduate from the academy, they are assigned as three man teams under a jounin instructor. You seem to have a knack for genjutsu so you'll probably end up on Kurenai Yuuhi's team," the Sandaime Hokage informed him.
"I will be placed on Hinata-chan's team! If not I'll just simply follow her team, abandoning my own," Naruto explained. He refused to be separated from his mate.
Sarutobi nodded, understanding his sentiment. "I'll see about arranging it, assuming you both pass."
"Um, Hokage-sama? The girl's voice was uncertain as she drew the elderly man's attention. "I don't think father will like me being Hinata Uzumaki and being Naruto-kun's mate. He may try to put the caged bird seal on me."
"Caged bird seal?" Naruto asked before the old man had a chance to respond.
"It's a seal that allows the main Hyuuga family to control the branch family with one hand seal. It causes extreme pain to spread throughout their bodies nerves, and if held long enough, it can kill the bearer," Hinata responded, the despair evident in her voice. Naruto jumped up, growling, as his eyes began to glow.
"I will not allow them to touch my mate," the feral child growled.
Mentally cursing the fact he couldn't smoke in the hospital, Sarutobi raised a placating hand. "Calm down, Naruto," he said, "As Hinata Uzumaki, she is no longer bound by the Hyuuga ways. I'll assign a couple of ANBU to watch over her and make sure no such attempts are made. And, Naruto. There are laws against attacking villagers, especially them attacking you. I ask you don't kill any of the villagers. I'll assign a couple of ANBU to you as well, to make sure the villagers stay in line. I'll reinforce everyone's knowledge of the law against attacking you. Our shinobi are well trained in discipline, so they shouldn't attack you. However, If a shinobi does attack you, please do not kill them. We still have not completely recovered from our last war with Iwa, and the Kyuubi incident. Now as you are basically asking for political asylum from the Hyuuga clan, I have a request to make of you, Naruto."
"Yes, old man?" Naruto asked.
"I would like to ask that you donate some of your blood each month, so that we may research it," Sarutobi asked as he thought of the medical implications this could have.
Naruto, happy with all that the elderly Hokage was going to help him and his mate with, quickly nodded his consent.
"Thank you. I have some matters I need to attend to. I'll see about finding you a place to stay. You're both free to go after a medical ninja withdraws some blood from you, Naruto." That said, Sarutobi excused himself and left.
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Having left the pair, Sarutobi went back to his office to prepare to accommodate the return of his surrogate grandson. Upon reaching the waiting area before his office, he saw Kurenai sitting there, torn between joy and confusion at what she saw at the gate. "Hello, Kurenai. What can I do for you?" He said drawing her attention.
"Oh hello, Hokage-sama. I was wanting to ask about Hinata and what happened at the gate. Is she okay?" Kurenai asked as she looked up at the Hokage from where she sat.
"She's doing fine. Let's go into my office where we can discuss everything," the elderly man offered as he entered his office, followed by the kunoichi. Sitting at his desk, Sarutobi took out his pipe and began loading it. "Have a seat," he said as he packed the tobacco. Kurenai sat as he instructed. She was waiting for the elderly man to finish before she spoke. He took out a match and used it to light his pipe. "Now how may I help you?" He asked, taking a long, soothing pull from his pipe.
"What happened to Hinata when she disappeared?" She asked when prompted.
"She was kidnapped by a pair of kumo nukenin when she left the village and entered the woods outside of Konohagakure. About a half days travel away, they stopped to rest, where they got attacked by Naruto. He took her to his den after freeing her, where she has been since," he said in an informative tone.
"So that really was Naruto she was with. What happened to him?" Her voice betrayed the shock she felt at what she just heard.
"What I'm about to tell you is classified. When Naruto was ran out of town about five and a half years ago he was injured. From what I can piece together, the chakra from the Doton Jutsu damaged the seal holding Kyuubi. Apparently not enough to free the demon, but enough to create a bridge between the seal and his chakra coils. Which allowed their chakra to completely intermix and alter him at the genetic level. He grew in the woods under the kitsune's tutelage. I guess it would be most accurate to say he is now a half demon," The old man responded. This only shocked the crimson eyed kunoichi more.
"A-a half demon? And he's with Hinata?" She exclaimed with worry about her younger friend.
"There's really nothing to worry about, Kurenai. If he wanted to do anything to her, he would have done so already. Aside from their unorthodox sleeping arrangements, there's nothing to worry about. He even took her as his mate," Sarutobi said as he inhaled from his pipe again.
"His mate?" She yelled, forgetting who she was talking to. After she realized what she had done, she froze. "I'm sorry, Hokage-sama. I'm just concerned about Hinata," she apologized as she bowed.
"It's quite alright. I can understand your concern," he said in a placating voice.
"What was the unorthodox sleeping arrangements you mentioned?" She asked.
"Naruto needs to put his scent on her to mark her as his mate, so they sleep together in the nude," he said fully expecting another out burst.
The color drained from her face as images of the two youths sleeping together in the nude and doing perverted things played through her mind. "Th-they sleep t-together n-nude?" She stuttered, embarrassed.
"They assure me that they do nothing untoward. It's one of Naruto's new instincts," he offered in an attempt to calm the stunned woman. When the female visibly calmed, he continued, "While I have you here, I do have a request. Naruto doesn't have a place here in the village, and Hinata is no longer a Hyuuga. Things will certainly get bad when Hiashi finds out about this past month. He is not allowed to put a caged bird seal on the girl, but she will most certainly be without a place as well. I would like to request that you allow them to stay with you, if it is no trouble. I will give you a stipend to help support them."
"I don't know, Hokage-sama," she said, overwhelmed with everything.
"That's okay. You don't have to decide right now. Just let me know when you do. Now if you'll excuse me, I have matters I must tend to," Sarutobi responded as he emptied his spent pipe. Kurenai mechanically stood, bowed, and left the office.
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Naruto and Hinata arrived at the outer gates to the Hyuuga compound. They were greeted by the branch members standing guard. "Oh, Hinata-sama. You've returned. Are you well? Is everything okay?" One asked the girl. Before she had the chance to respond, he turned to the other guard. "Go get Hiashi-sama. Let him know Hinata-sama has returned." The second guard vanished into a whirlwind of leaves.
"Hello Retsu-san. I'm doing okay. May I enter?" She asked the branch member.
"I'm sorry, Hinata-sama. Hiashi-sama instructed us to hold you here when you returned," Retsu replied. The three sat in silence for the next couple of minutes, until Hiashi arrived leading the second guard.
"So the weakling returns," he said as he looked down at Hinata, a look of disdain in his eyes.
"Father?" Hinata asked, stunned at the cold welcome she came home to.
"The main branch has no room for a weakling like you. I have announced Hanabi as the Hyuuga heir. You are hereby a member of the branch family," he continued, his tone still cold.
Hinata didn't even get the chance to respond before someone, previously unnoticed by Hiashi, growled out, "You bastard!" That was all the warning Hiashi needed to dodge the boy's lunge and claws.
"What the hell?" Hiashi stated angrily.
"Naruto-kun!" Hinata yelled to the boy who attacked her father.
"Naruto? The demon brat? You've returned? I guess it's time I put you down once and for all," Hiashi said as he entered his jyuuken stance. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" Naruto didn't have the chance to move before the attack began. "Two palms." He struck two tenketsu. "Four palms." Four more closed. "Eight palms." The attack continued. "Sixteen palms." Naruto felt every strike. "Thirty two palms." His strikes blurred. "Sixty four palms. Now you die, demon!" Hiashi finished his attack. The boy collapsed to his hands and knees, breathing heavily. "Still alive? We'll just have to remedy that." The Hyuuga sire didn't get the chance to make good his threat. Naruto looked up at the man, his eyes alive with the glow of red chakra. His aura encompassed his body as he prepared to show the man the error of his ways. Hiashi was taken aback by this turn of events. "How is that possible? I closed his tenketsu."
"Naruto-kun! Don't!" Tears and desperation laced Hinata's voice.
Naruto let his aura die away. "Get your things, Hinata. I will not allow any mate of mine to stay with this man," his voice burned with barely contained fury.
"That will not happen. Come, Hinata. It's time we apply your caged bird seal," Hiashi said as he reached for the girl. Naruto prepared to lunge, and remove his arm if he touched her. It never happened.
A voice spoke up, defusing the entire situation. "I apologize, Hiashi-sama, but we can not allow that. Under order of the Sandaime Hokage, no one is allowed to place the caged bird seal on Hinata Uzumaki." The company looked towards the voice to see two figures wearing black with white animal masks.
"Hinata Uzumaki? What the hell are you talking about? She is Hinata Hyuuga, my daughter, and no one, Hokage or not, is allowed to interfere in clan law. I will place the caged bird seal on her if I so choose," Hiashi spoke with a fury of his own.
"Naruto Uzumaki took her as his mate, and they sought asylum from the Hokage. At the time of their mating the Uzumaki clan was not a part of Konohagakure so we have no legal say in their arrangement, nor did it recognize Hyuuga clan laws. Even now that they are a part of Konohagakure, it was stipulated, that no one from this village is allowed to harm them, without severe repercussions. You are not allowed to touch her, and your clan laws no longer apply to her," the voice returned calmly. Hiashi let out a growl of agitation and stormed off. Naruto, though still angry, had been calmed by this turn of events. The masked figures accompanied Hinata to retrieve her things, both to help carry them, and make sure nothing happened. A boy with long, brown hair, and a head band wrapped around his forehead, glared at everyone present after witnessing the events that took place. Most didn't notice him, Naruto was too distracted by his anger, and the ANBU didn't care.
There was also a second spectator that no one had noticed. I misjudged that kid. He looked like he was about to kill that bastard just for talking to her wrong. I like him. Time to go let the Hokage know my decision. The crimson eyed woman vanished in a whirlwind of leaves.
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Naruto and Hinata, along with the two ANBU, were walking the village streets. Many people were glaring at them, and many of those were whispering about the demon, but none made a move due to their escort of ANBU. After walking in silence for a while, Hinata, without looking up, asked sadly, "What do we do about a place to live, Naruto?"
"We could always return to my den," he offered, knowing it was going to be shot down. When no reply came, he continued, "I don't know, Hinata-chan. I'm sure we'll figure out something. If nothing else, I can try to build us a cabin in the woods." Kurenai, who had been following them for some minutes, took this opportunity to make herself known.
"Hinata," she yelled as she ran towards them. Naruto and Hinata quickly turned towards the woman. The ANBU, who knew she was there, but were informed by Sarutobi that she was no threat, didn't react. After catching up to them, the jounin continued, "So, Hinata, long time no see. Who's your friend? Is he your boyfriend?" The last said as an attempt to tease her. She was disappointed when the girl didn't blush. Well I guess if you sleep in the nude with your crush, you wouldn't be so easy to embarrass.
"Oh, Kurenai-sama. This is Naruto-kun. He saved me when I got kidnapped, and took care of me," Hinata smiled as she talked to the woman, welcoming this distraction from her troubles.
"Now what did I tell you?" Kurenai mock scolded.
"I'm sorry, Kurenai-san," she returned.
"That's better. Now what's this I hear about you not having a place to live?" Kurenai asked.
"Well, I'm no longer living at the Hyuuga compound, so I need to find a place to live," she said, depressed at being reminded of her troubles a bit too soon.
"Really now. Finally got fed up with the way they treated you huh? Tell you what, you and your boyfriend there can come stay with me," she said, still playing her roll of not knowing what's going on. Hinata was shocked about the offer.
"You mean it? We can stay with you?" She asked hopefully.
"I don't know. Can we trust her?" Naruto asked his mate, staring at the woman dubiously.
Kurenai turned to the boy who just spoke. "What? Don't trust your mate's older sister?" She said jokingly, then turned to give Hinata a wink. The girl just stood there with her jaw hanging open. His mate? She knows? What did she mean by older sister?
"You're her older sister? She told me she had a younger one, but never mentioned an older one," the feral child said, still eying the woman.
"Really? I'm hurt," she said jokingly, still riding the emotional high of Hinata not only returning, but getting away from her bastard of a father, Hiashi. "I'm not really her sister. Just close. So what do you two say? Want to take me up on my offer? Better hurry before it expires," she continued.
"We will. Thank you, Kurenai-nee-san," Hinata spoke up. She turned and nodded at Naruto, who was staring at her questioningly.
"Good. Come on. Let's go home," Kurenai said as she turned and motioned for the group to follow.
The group soon arrived at the apartment. Entering, Kurenai motioned to one of the closed doors. "That'll be your room. Sarutobi already told me about your sleeping arrangement. I can't say I agree with it, but I won't stop you. That is, until you do something that warrants me putting an end to it. In other words, nothing perverted." Understanding dawned on the girls face before she, Naruto, and the ANBU took their belongings into the room to drop them off. The ANBU disappeared after dropping off the items they were carrying. The rest of the day, and well into the night, was spent catching up between the group. As the trio were preparing to retire, Kurenai spoke up to say one last thing. "Oh, I was supposed to tell you two. Hinata, you're going to resume the academy next week, and, Naruto, you'll be attending with her. The two of you will be in the same class. I've heard your pretty good with genjutsu, Naruto. I'll have to have you show me sometime." That being said, the woman went to her room, leaving the two children. They retired to their room as well after taking a few minutes to absorb their new surroundings.
The rest of the week was spent with mostly everyone adjusting to the new arrangements. Naruto, who kept having nightmares, woke up periodically throughout the night, for the first couple of nights. They quickly tapered off as the week wore on, and he and Hinata prepared for his classroom debut. Naruto could smell that Kurenai had been mated, but when Hinata asked her if she was seeing anyone the woman denied it. He even heard the woman sneak out in the night a few times. The next day, the three went to a training ground, and Naruto showed the woman what he knew, specifically the kitsune illusion. To say Kurenai was impressed would be an understatement. After the display of skill, the woman took up training the two in her free time.
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"Attention class. Today we have a new student." The man speaking, was in his early twenties, had brown hair that was pulled back into a spiky topknot. He was wearing a gray-green chunin vest, a dark blue hitai-ate, dark blue pants and a shirt with red swirls on the shoulders. Just below his brown eyes was a scar that ran horizontally across his nose. Having the classes attention, Iruka called out, "You may enter now." The class saw a boy with blond tipped red hair enter. He was wearing a gray fur shirt, dark brown pants, and dark brown leather boots. The thing that caught there attention the most, however, was the red slitted eyes. Iruka motioned the boy to join him at the front of the class, which he did. After entering the room, Hinata entered and made her way to her seat. Everyone was too distracted by the new boy to really notice her yet. "Class, this is Naruto Uzumaki," a couple of people saw the hatred gleaming in the man's eyes. He turned to Naruto, "You may take your seat next to Hinata." The man didn't know why, but he was instructed to have the two sit together. Everyone became aware of Hinata's presence when her name was mentioned, though they still watched the new student. The room's sound level rose as various students talked amongst themselves, about the new kid.
Ino Yamanaka, who was sitting next to a girl with long pink hair, had long bleach blond hair, her eyes had black iris' with blue pupils. She was dressed in a purple shirt and skirt, with white cloth wrapped around her legs and torso. She couldn't pull her eyes off of Naruto. The rumors of what had happened the week prior had, like wildfire, quickly spread and grew throughout the village. She was enthralled looking into the slitted red eyes of the boy, whose aura and posture seemed to scream, look out danger. So this is the boy who killed dozens of jounin and ANBU to protect Hinata. Why can't I find someone like that? He looks absolutely delicious. She thought as she stared dreamily at him. She giggled quietly as visions of a scantily dressed Naruto and Sasuke catering to her every whim, danced through her head.
A black eyed boy with black hair, who was dressed in blue and gray, stared at him loathingly. How dare someone like that have such power! I am an Uchiha! It should be mine! Outwardly, he only let out a hmph.
Chouji Akimichi, a chubby boy with brown hair and swirls on his cheeks, who was wearing a cream colored shirt and scarf, green jacket, and gray pants, with bandages on his wrist to his forearms and running from his shorts to his sandals, glanced at the boy through the corner of his eyes as he continued eating his chips. He elbowed his friend who was sleeping next to him, "Hey, Shikamaru. What do you think of the new kid huh?"
Shikamaru Nara, the aforementioned brown eyed boy who had his black hair pulled into a topknot, wearing a mesh shirt with a gray jacket over it and brown pants, was too busy staring at the back of his eyelids to look at Naruto. He mumbled something about troublesome new kids, who made his friends interrupt his sleep.
Sakura Haruno, a girl with long, pink hair and teal eyes, who was wearing a red shirt and black, skin tight shorts, didn't even acknowledge the boy as she stared, hopelessly, at Sasuke, while subtly trying to make her forehead seem smaller.
Shino Aburame, who had dark brown, spiky hair, and was wearing sunglasses, a buttoned up gray coat with a high collar, which concealed most of his face, and black pants, just followed the boy with his eyes, while, silently, he raised an eyebrow.
Kiba, wearing his customary black fur lined gray jacket and gray pants, with his dog, Akamaru, on his head, glared at the boy after the rumors he had heard, and smelling his scent on Hinata. "I can't believe that new kid," he said to his dog, "He has his scent all over Hinata. I'm going to have to make sure he learns better than to mess with my woman." The small dog barked his agreement to him.
The chatter by the other students commenting and looking at the new kid, caused Iruka to tell them to quieten down. The rest of the morning went by with Iruka teaching a distracted class. Naruto ignored all of the eyes upon him as he listened to the lessons. The class was boring to him and he hated it, but he was there for Hinata. Said girl was sitting there, following the lesson.
The first portion of the day went slowly for the feral child. The class was now taking a break outside. Naruto was waiting for Hinata, who had left him there to go ask one of her classmates for their notes so she could catch up. The demon child's boredom was cut short when the Inuzuka boy stormed up to him. "What the hell is your scent doing all over MY woman?" He yelled.
To Be Continued.
A/N:
Here you go kiddies. Be sure to tell your friends. Thanks goes to my prereader Endymionrose. And remember, reviews make the world go round. (Pr. Note: They do?! I thought it was "The Law of Conservation of Angular Momentum". Newton must be rolling over in his grave.)
Legend:
Magen: Jubaku Satsu - Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death - Rank B Genjutsu - With this jutsu, the user can make themselves disappear, allowing them to approach their target unnoticed. Once completed, a tree and roots will grow at the target's feet and restrict their movements. Once the opponent believes that they are captured, the user can then appear above their opponent from the tree's trunk and kill the target. In the Kurama clan filler arc of the anime, this jutsu seems to be quite versatile, with a wide range of variations on the standard nature theme. In addition to the disappearing and tree-growing effects of the jutsu, the user can produce flowers, seedpods, vines and multiple trees.
Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu – Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique – Rank C Ninjutsu - Utilizing a large amount of chakra, a large ball of flame is produced when the user exhales in a style similar to fire breathing. The user places one hand close to the mouth, igniting the air by mixing the breath with the chakra in the hand.
Time for some Omake goodness.
Omake 1:
The jounin gate guards were still on edge about what had recently happened. The image of the demon boy was still fresh in their mind, making them jumpy. The chittering sound only served to unnerve them more. They watched as a black haired, blue eyed man, dressed in a black t-shirt, black pants, and black shoes, approached. The thing that caught them most by surprise was what the man had on his shoulder. Sitting on his right shoulder, staring right at them, was a squirrel. The pair was unsure as to what to think of this strange man. When the man reached the gate one of the jounin stopped him. "Who are you, and what is your business here?"
"I am King Sven, Lord of All Squirrels, Hoarder of the Nuts, and Keeper of the Cracker. I have come here to find someone," the man said energetically.
"King what? Listen you loon, leave now before we have to hurt you," the jounin said, annoyed.
"What! You have angered the squirrels!" King Sven exclaimed.
The pair of jounin laughed at the mad man until the chittering grew louder and the ground began to rumble. The next thing the guards knew, they were staring as a blanket of gray, covering the ground, came out of the woods. They could only say one thing as they watched the encroaching hoard. "Oh Shit!"
Disclaimer: I do own King Sven, Lord of All Squirrels. Be prepared to see more omakes of him later.
Omake 2:
It was late evening, about one in the morning. Asuma had decided he'd surprise Kurenai, and let himself in by picking the lock to her one bedroom apartment. After entering he quickly and quietly made his way to the door to the bedroom. He was not prepared for what he saw when he opened it. On the floor at the foot of the bed was the blankets. In the king sized bed, from left to right, laid Hinata, Naruto, and Kurenai, and none of them had a stitch of clothes on. Naruto was laying on his back. Hinata was curled up and had her head on his stomach with her arm across his waist. Kurenai had her head on his shoulder, her arm across his chest, and her breast pressed snuggly against him. It only took the man a second to notice the boy was staring right at him. When their gazes met, Naruto got a grin that relayed his message perfectly.
"Oh yeah, it's good to be the king."