Underlined speech is thought.

Italicized speech signifies emphasis put on words or a change in tone. You should be able to figure it out from the choice of words and the character.

CAPITALIZED SPEECH IS YELLING.

These are … interruptions in …speech caused … by things …like laughing,…crying, thought,.. and…others.

Words-with-dashes-between-them-consistently-signify-when-a-character-is-talking-too-fast-to-understand.

Bold words are author notes.

I may …create-something.. improvised-by- … combining-the.. above.

(Previously on "Demon's Last Decision." Dieing thanks to an attack from Sasuke, Naruto winds up in his mind. The fox tells Naruto of two options, each only being able to save one of their lives. The choice that saves Naruto's life winds up being the only available choice. Kyūbi still manages to teach Naruto about kitsune law. The transformed Naruto wakes up in a hospital room. Moments later, Kakashi and Sakura visit him, but only manage to make him angry enough to leave the village. Tsunade catches wind of this and ends up sending Shino and Hinata after him. The hanyou Naruto made no effort to treat the pair nicely. The rather one sided fight ended with Hinata pined to a tree. Now what will Naruto do?)

Date of this chapter's release, October 5th, 2008; 12 days after previous chapter.

"A Life choice"

Naruto stepped back from the limp Hinata. She began to fall to his left but a trio of tails gently caught her. As he looked at her face, all his focus was on the trail of blood coming off the sides of her lips. The words she spoke to him replayed in his head, minus the interruptions. "I said that we would bring you back. I won't go back on my word. That is my nindo, my ninja way." His mind filled in the last two words as she didn't get a chance to say them. "Why Hinata? That's my ninja way. Why would you take it as your own?"

Part of his mind tried to tell him that it was a lie, but it was quickly squashed. Hinata proved that it was her ninja way not once but twice. She did it not through words, but through actions. Another memory flashed through his head. It was the time before his match with Neji. It didn't take much longer for his highly intelligent kitsune mind to put two and two together. For the first time in a long time, tears of despair escaped his eyes. "You… admired me."

His eyes quickly found the piercing wound a few inches under her chest. Not even thinking about it, Naruto gently wrapped all of his tails around her body and rushed in the opposite direction he was originally heading. This time, he had a reason to run full speed. If anyone conscious was traveling with him, the trees would become only blurs. Naruto also made sure to run only on the ground, so there would be as little vertical movement as possible.

He reached the city in just fifteen minutes. Luckily there were not enough pedestrians on the streets to force him to take it to the roofs or make any sharp turns. He would have gone to the hospital, if it weren't for the fact that they would reject him because of his new appearance. He did make sure to give the area a look. When he didn't see the person he was looking for, he headed for the one place he could think she would be, the Hokage tower. Thankfully, the distance between the two buildings was not much.

He leapt on top of a building and made another leap, strait towards the window of the Hokage's office. With a roar and a burst of chakra, the window was shattered. As soon as he landed into the room, he had to dodge a supper powered punch from Tsunade. Her expression was at first angry, but she became confused when she saw Naruto's pleading gaze. She then took notice of the blood on his clothes, face, and hands. After only a quick glance at Hinata's unconscious and bleeding form, she glared at Naruto fiercely. "Put her on the desk."

Naruto was completely unaffected by the glare or the anger in the woman's voice. He turned around as a tail was used to sweep the desk clean of all papers; and then gently placed Hinata onto the desk as he was told to do. The medic expert immediately went to work, starting with the puncture wound. "Naruto, where is Shino-san?"

The carrot-top snorted. "Shino, I doubt that I hurt him too much. At the most, he has a few broken bones and bruises all over. What I want to know is whether or not she will be okay."

It was Tsunade's turn to snort. "Please, injuries like these are child's play for me. A minute later, and she will be completely stabilized. Were just lucky you only pierce her lung, and that the piercing is small." He voice became far more serious. "I want you to tell me what changed your mind. You wouldn't inflict injuries like these unless you were dead set on leaving."

Naruto looked down somberly. "She told me that she wouldn't go back on her word; that it was her nindo, her ninja way. That is my ninja way. When I was just a few seconds from killing her, she imitated me. I realized that when I thought that I would no longer find respect in the village, I was wrong. But now, I have ruined that chance."

The door swung open, ruining the moment. A frantic voice called from the doorway. "Tsunade-sama, I heard that Naruto just came back." When she took notice of the rooms other occupant, she blushed from embarrassment. She bowed quickly. "Gomen, Tsunade-sama, I guess you already know."

"Shizune." She stood up at the serious voice. "I want you to order two of our medic-nin into the forest to look for Shino. Make sure they have a stretcher."

"H-hai Tsunade-sama, I will get right on that." She left in a hurry.

Naruto was glad that she didn't take notice of the injured Hinata or of the fact that Shino was sent after him. "I guess that when you get an order like that from the Hokage, you forget about everything but the order itself." He turned his head back to face her.

Only a few seconds passed before Tsunade picked up the Hyuga and began leaving the room. "I am taking her to the hospital where she can get some rest. You stay here so I can deal with you later." Naruto nodded in acceptance

A few minutes passed as Naruto stood in the room alone. He was unsurprised when the door opened suddenly. Tsunade bypassed him and sat in her desk. "I already know why you chose to leave and why you chose to return. So, why didn't you think about the consequences of you leaving? What about Akatsuki. If they got their hands on you, it would have been great trouble for you, if not for the rest of the world."

"I wasn't thinking about them. Besides, I am pretty sure I can handle them as I am. I am far more powerful than before."

"Don't be a fool. We only know about a small number of their members. We are severely lacking in information. For all we know, they could be plenty strong enough to take you, even with all of your new power. Believe it or not, the Kyūbi has been defeated."

Naruto snorted in annoyance because he could see no counter to her words. "So, what now?"

"Right now, I want you to go to your apartment and stay out of trouble. That means not letting anyone who would react badly to your appearance see you."

Naruto snorted again. "Tsunade, do you know when Hinata will be awake?"

She glared at him. "And what in the world makes you think that she wants to see you."

Naruto looked down somberly. "I want to…apologize to her."

The Hokage's glare intensified. "Do you really think that a simple apology is enough to fix this? You have no idea how much you hurt her.

Naruto turned his head so most of his orange hair hid his face. "I plan on doing a lot more than just saying gomen. I just need one chance to tell her how sorry I am."

Tsunade growled. "Fine, she should be conscious tomorrow. You can visit her then. Until that time, I want you to stay out of sight." Naruto turned his head back to face her and nodded, and walked towards the open window. "There is something else before you leave. Naruto stopped so Tsunade could approach him. Next thing he knew, Naruto found himself face down on the floor with a powerful fist on his spine. "THAT, is for everything you did tonight." A few seconds passed before Naruto stood up as if nothing happened. He turned towards and nodded in acceptance before jumping out.

Although he remembered that he was told to go to his apartment, Tsunade did not say for how long. Naruto decided to change his clothes then leave. He headed strait for the hospital. Knowing that entering the establishment was a bad idea, the hanyou used his chakra and claws to scale the sides of the building. It did not take him long to find the window with Hinata's scent around it. He then stood up on the side of the building, just above that window. All of his tails began waving around him mystically. "Kitsune Style: Fading Existence." Soon, he faded from view. "This Kitsune jutsu should be enough to keep me out of sight."

Back in the Hokage tower.

Tsunade walked through a set of large doors. Behind it was one of the top banes of her existence, number one being paperwork. Assembled there was every member of the shinobi council. "It is lucky that this is a shinobi affair, or I would have to deal with the civilians too." Tsunade mentally cringed at that thought.

She quickly took her seat. As she expected, Danzo was the first to stand. "We are here to determine the actions to be taken about the demon. Not only has he taken the form of the Kyūbi, but he has also injured two of our shinobi. These crimes cannot be ignored." Homura and Koharu stood up and nodded at these words.

Tsume was next to stand. "As much as I hate to say it, I agree with the elders. His recent actions have given us plenty of reason not to trust him."

Now it was Shibi who stood. "I concur Tsume-san. Naruto-san has given us little reason to trust him." The elders smiled, knowing that with the logic of the Aburame on their side, they could not lose this debate. "For this reason, I believe that he is not a threat."

The elder's expressions became scowls. Everyone looked at him with shocked eyes, excluding Hiashi and Shikaku. Tsunade was the one to speak. "A-Aburame-san, would you care to explain."

Danzo was next. "Hai, you have never shown any trust towards the demon in the past four years; so why now? Let us also not forget that one of the shinobi he injured was your own son."

Shibi nodded and spoke as if he ignored Danzo's last comment. "Shortly after the Kyūbi attack, I conducted research on Kitsune Demons. I went as far as to commandeer text from Akuma no Kuni. (The Land of Demons.) From these texts, I learned that Kitsune Demons have a knack for practical jokes. They also demonstrate the ability to transform into beautiful women. Naruto-san demonstrated both traits. This is the reason for my previous animosity. I believed the demon to have some hold on Naruto-san's mind."

"I suggest that you get to the point. We do not have much time."

"We have plenty time Danzo-san." The elder growled under his breath. "It is safe to assume that Naruto-san has indeed become a Kitsune Demon. It is also safe to assume that he has all other traits of Kitsune Demons."

"And what would those be; get on with it."

"These traits would be high cunning and intelligence. If he truly desired to destroy this village, he would have done one of two things. One, he would have remained in the village. He would have done as much as possible to gain our trust. Two, he would have killed the shinobi who were sent after him. Once things died down, he would wait until we let down our guard before striking. The two sent after him are safe in the village and should be at full health in a day or two. Another trait is that the power of a Kitsune Demon is dependent on its number of tails, nine being the maximum. Naruto-san has that number, so it is safe to assume that he is just as powerful as the original Kyūbi. If he wished our destruction, he would have already done so."

Now it was Shikaku who stood. The way he slouched proved his status as a Nara. "These are good points Shibi, but I am not fully convinced. I think that it is best that we observe him for any signs of being a threat. Any drastic action could make him angry. That would be a highly troublesome situation. All in favor of observation." The elders and Tsume sat down as the remaining of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Tsunade stood.

Danzo stood up. "All in favor of taking action." Tsume and the other elders stood up. Danzo turned his eye towards Hiashi. "Why do you not vote Hiashi-san?"

With his head unmoving, Hiashi turned his gaze towards the elder. "You forget Danzo-san that in order for the council to take any action, a two to one vote is necessary. At this point, my vote does not matter. Either way, I don't care what happens."

Danzo once again growled under his breath. "Fine, I shall change my vote to observation."

Tsunade stood. "The vote is closed. Naruto will be kept under watch by the ANBU until the time comes for us to take further action." She did not hesitate to leave the room. The rest of the council followed before going where they want. "That went better than expected." She went home to get some well needed rest.

Back with Naruto.

Enough time has passed for the sun to start appearing on the horizon. The constant movement of his tails rendered him invisible to all who looked to where he was. Beneath the illusion, his reddish ears twitched at the sound a door opening. He could easily tell that this was happening in Hinata's room.

He heard the visitor beginning to speak. "This has gone on long enough Hinata. Time and time again, you have proven yourself incompetent. It is a wonder that you were allowed to try for as long as you have; but enough is enough. When you return to the compound, you will go to your proper place. My only regret is that you are not able to hear me right now. Sayonara, daughter."

Naruto scowled deeply from where he hid. "Hinata, things have become very hard for you in just a few days. First was being hospitalized by someone you admired, then this. But, if you would have it, I would like to alleviate your stresses."

The carrot-top leapt off of the building's side without a sound. In untraceable speed, he raced to a forested area. Slowly, he sat on the branch in a meditating position. It didn't take him long to enter his mind.

This new mindscape looked fairly different. Instead of looking like a sewer, his mind looked like a forest maze. The trees to his left and right were so close together, that they formed a wall without gaps. The leaves and branches curved perfectly, forming a half tube over the trunks. The thing that didn't change was how dark and depressing it was.

It didn't take the Kyūbi Naruto long to find a door labeled, 'memories'. He opened the door and walked in, closing the door on the way. The room looked like a hall made sided with two long bookcases, both with countless scrolls stored in them. The hall itself was only about eight feet high with a black roof. Naruto strolled through the room endlessly. He eventually reached a wall where a pen was writing on a scroll by itself.

His head turned to the right where the last two scrolls caught his attention. He scoffed at the last one and grabbed the one above it. "The laws of the Kitsune Demons." He unfurled the scroll quickly. Naruto opened his red eyes to see the forest of Konoha. He stood up from his crossed leg position. With a twitch of his left ear, he disappeared.

The ANBU who found Naruto was felt surprise at the hanyou's disappearance, but not nearly as much when he felt himself restrained from behind. "Care to explain why you were watching me."

The deep, guttural voice got the ANBU shinobi trembling slightly. "I-I was ordered by Hokage-sama to keep watch over you."

Naruto scoffed. "Is that all; I thought you were here to try and kill me. Feel free to watch me as much as you want. Just make sure that you don't get too annoying."

Naruto left, leaving the ANBU alone. He began rubbing his neck where Naruto's arm held him before giving chase.

Given the time, the carrot-top had only one destination in mind. He leapt across rooftops far too fast for any civilian to see. With one powerful leap, he entered the Hokage's office through the still broken window. He growled to himself when he saw that the room was empty. He was glad though, because Tsunade's scent permeated the room.

He leapt backwards just enough to exit through the window. As he fell, his tails began swirling around him. "Kitsune Style: Fading Form." When he landed, Naruto looked just like he did before the transformation into a hanyou. "This should keep the villagers from freaking out too much."

The now blond Naruto walked along the streets as he followed Tsunade's scent. Although this Kitsune jutsu changed his form, it did not get rid of his extrasensory abilities. Because of this, he could still hear the words of the villagers. "It's the demon. What does he think he's doing; trying to look like his human self? Does he really think we can't see through that?"

These words were barely a whisper, but were loud enough for Naruto to hear. His hands clinched in anger. "It looks like my new secret is already out. What a bunch of annoying baka." It didn't take long for Naruto to find where Tsunade's sent was. He groaned in annoyance. "It had to be the hospital." He then sighed. "Oh well, this just means that I don't have to bring her back here."

Naruto walked into the building and straight to the halls. One of the nurses noticed this and stood in his way with her arms out. "Where do you thing you're going. We don't need a demon disturbing our patents."

Naruto growled. "I don't feel like dealing with this. I don't plan on disturbing anyone and I don't plan on letting anyone get in my way. You have two choices here. Get out of my way or I'll make you. The latter choice will cause far more disturbance than the former. It's your choice." The nurse felt shaken at those words and let her arms drop. Naruto simply walked past her. "Good choice."

Naruto walked up the stairs, following Tsunade's scent. He entered the door labeled third floor. He saw the woman on the left side of his vision. She saw him as well and approached. "Care to explain why you look like you did before becoming a demon."

Naruto turned serious blue eyes back to Tsunade's golden ones. "It is just an illusion." The area around Naruto became hazy as everything changed back. "Is Hinata ready for visitors?"

Tsunade nodded. "Hai, but I am not sure if it is a good idea for her to see you this soon."

Naruto looked down with a saddened expression, which looked a little misplaced on his demonic face. "Please, I just want a chance to apologize. That is all I ask."

Tsunade sighed. "Fine, but at the first sign of distress, you have to leave; understood." Naruto nodded, signaling the woman to turn and lead the way."

As soon as they turned the corner, they saw one of the doors opening and someone walking out of it. The woman had cascading black hair, scarlet eyes, and matching lipstick. She wore what looked like large bandages that were still worn tastefully. There was a scarlet sleeve over her right arm. She looked towards the pair and immediately started glaring.

Flashback.

The woman walked into the room she knew her student to be in. "Hinata-chan, are you alright."

The girl in the bed turned towards the woman and gasped. "K-Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai clenched her teeth at the sight. Hinata's eyelids were reddened and puffy. The woman walked forward until she was right up against the bed. She sat down on the bed at an angle. "Feel free to let it all out Hinata-chan,"

Hinata sniffled before lunging at her sensei. Kurenai moved her hands through the shuddering girl's hair in a comforting manner. She paid little attention to the growing wetness where Hinata's face was against her waist. The jonin found that she had to wait a fair amount of time before her charge lifted herself up. "H-he's gone; N-N-Naruto-kun is gone. I-I failed."

"No Hinata-chan, didn't you hear. Naruto-san has returned to the village. Your mission was a success. You didn't fail."

"N-no, he changed. H-he isn't N-Naruto-kun anymore. H-he's d-different. N-Naruto-kun would have n-never done what N-Naruto-san did."

Kurenai watched empathetically as Hinata resumed her shuddering and crying. "She is using the honorifics of san and kun to differentiate between the new and the old Naruto. Gomen Hinata-chan, but there is nothing we can do. Naruto has changed in not only body, but in mind as well. I don't think we will ever get the old Naruto back."

Tear drops fell onto the bed as Hinata nodded. "H-hai."

Kurenai stood up. "Hinata-chan, be strong." She started to walk out of the room. "Life has been hard for you Hinata-chan. I can only hope that it will get better."

Flashback End.

Kurenai tensely walked over to Naruto until they were face to face. "What are you doing here?" The anger in her voice wasn't hard to miss.

Naruto was impassive to this. "I have come to apologize to Hinata."

The jonin felt her rage build within her. A clap sound could be heard as Kurenai did what most women would have done in her position. "Do you really think that a simple apology will be enough? Do you have any idea of the pain you put her through? To her, you were an idol. A large amount of her faith was put in you. You shattered that faith."

Naruto now had his clawed hand on the cheek Kurenai slapped. "Whether or not what I do is enough of an apology is up to Hinata. I won't know if it will be accepted unless I try. Allow me to at least do that."

Kurenai growled loud enough for the others to hear. "Why should we let you?"

Naruto closed his eyes in thought before reopening them. "Because, it will give both of us closure."

Kurenai took a deep breath to calm down. "That makes sense. Fine, but don't take it too far." She turned her eyes towards the Hokage. "Will you keep your eyes on him?"

Tsunade nodded. "Hai, I will." They walked in opposite directions, Kurenai preparing to go elsewhere, Naruto and Tsunade going to Hinata's room. The woman stopped at the door and turned towards Naruto. "You stay out here while I tell her that you are coming." Naruto nodded. The blond woman walked through the open door.

The Kyūbi Naruto waited patiently next to the door. He could easily hear the conversation in the room. "Hinata-san, someone is here to see you."

"W-who is it?"

"It is Naruto. He wants to apologize."

"N-N-Naruto-san, a-apologize?"

"Hai, he is apparently very sorry for what he did to you. Is it okay if he comes in?"

A long uncomfortable silence passed before she spoke again. "H-hai, it i-is o-okay."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief that he didn't even know he was holding in. "She is willing to hear me out." He opened the door himself, not waiting for Tsunade to do it. She scowled at him for this. Hinata was only able to look at Naruto for a few seconds before looking away. She couldn't help but remember the look he was giving her the last time she saw him. Naruto easily saw this. "Hinata, please look at me."

She did so and got a good look at his eyes. "Those eyes, that determination; It is just like Naruto-kun." She could not look away.

Naruto steeled his nerves for what he was going to say. "For Kitsune Demons, there are laws we must obey. These laws are interwoven into our bodies. In other words, the punishments for breaking these laws are automatically carried out when we break them."

He had Hinata's full attention but Tsunade's mind went down a different path. "What is the point of this?"

Naruto held his fist out to Hinata and gave her an even more determined look. "The highest of all Kitsune laws is that if a Kitsune Demon breaks a blood oath, their life is forfeit." Both females were now trapped by the power of his words. "Hinata, I promise to do all you ask of me from this day forward." In the silence, you could hear a pin drop; but in this case, it was a plop.

There is something that I have to mention. I have only planned this story out to the third chapter. I do have an amazing last chapter planned out but I have no clue what kind of events could take place before this.

This is where you the reader come into play. I need ideas and fast. If I don't get enough good ones, then I will just complete the story without them. These ideas will have to take place during the time skip, or shortly after. I hope for some good ones. You can send these by either PM or by review. I do accept anonymous reviews.

I would also like to ask my readers to go into my profile and check out the stories I have listed. There is something for everyone.