A/N: I am such a bad author, I left all of you hanging for a month and a half.

Well, let me update you all with the fact that school has started and has been going for almost 2 full months now. And this would have been out faster if I wasn't on the volleyball team. Oh happy happy joy.

I was waiting to finish up some artwork before I put this up, but that wasn't done because I have spent all of my extra time working on my Vampire Knight Halloween cosplay as I told you all before. I wanted to finish the artwork before I did put this up but I felt I was depriving you all too long. Loverly vicious circle, isn't it?

Though, I am putting up what I do have done up on my Deviantart page. Have fun looking at them.

Now ignore my dithering, and read and review the story!

Chapter 16 – Fear of Embracing

Ah. This was the piece of the puzzle she had been missing for years now. She remembered she would sometimes follow him around, undetected when she was younger. She would watch him, wondering why he would look so sad sometimes and worked so hard, almost bringing himself to the point of tears.

The look in his eyes now was an echo of that same determination from something Hinata did not know. Yet, she could tell easily now he was scared.

"There's something I want to tell you about that."

Her stomach lurched but she kept her composure.

Naruto took a deep breath. He would let her figure it out but he would give her the most basic fragments. She had a great deal already but she was missing a few major details.

"When is my birthday?" he asked.

How did this have anything do with the demonic aura? "October 10." Hinata replied immediately.

"What happened that day?

"The Kyuubi no Kitsune was killed by the Yondaime, who died from the effort."

Naruto was shaking his head before she even finished. "That's not what happened. The Yondaime died, yes, but he couldn't kill the Kyuubi."

What? "How do you know this Naruto-kun? What really happened then?"

He clenched his jaw, trying to hold back the moisture in his eyes that threatened to break free. He never imagined telling this to someone that mattered so much would be so hard. "Remember all the myths and legends about the raw power of the Kyuubi?

Hinata nodded warily, a cold pit forming in her stomach.

"Do you think all of that could be destroyed by something only a fraction as powerful?"

"So the K-Kyuubi is…still alive?"

"Yes." he said gravely.

The last piece settled in place and she froze. "Y-you're th-the…the…"

Aw crap. She had assumed the worst possible thing. The tears he could not hold back anymore started running down his face she said it, the thing he feared most….she looked just like the villagers did.

"Hinata-chan, no-"

"Kyuubi."

She shrank away when his hand twitched towards her.

"Hinata, please-" Naruto's eyes were pleading.

"No, no, no, no, no, no…" She shook her head rapidly in denial.

"Hinata!"

She hadn't even noticed it but she was suddenly lying halfway on and halfway off her futon. Naruto was on top of her, forcing her to look at him. His face and eyes were livid and desperate, the pain of how difficult this was for him shown by tears.

"Hinata-chan, please, listen to me. I'm begging you. You don't understand. I'm not the Kyuubi."

"B-but you just said-"

"No you got it all wrong. The Kyuubi, more, specifically his spirit, is alive within me. I'm his jailer."

She just stared at him in disbelief.

"By some cruel twist of fate the Yondaime sealed him within me the day I was born. I was the only child available so it had to be me. If I could, I would have turned back time and been born a day earlier or later, just so I wouldn't be the monster everyone saw me as." Naruto slumped backwards off of her and hid his face in his hands. "So now you know." What will you do, Hinata-chan? Run and hide? Scream and leave me here, broken? "Just like the villagers did to me." he whispered to himself.

She laid there for a good minute, slowly digesting the information. Then she steadily sat up. "That…" She trailed off. "I have to go." Hinata scrambled to her feet and opened the window, letting the cold December air blast into the room.

Naruto looked at her back sadly the moisture trying to escape his eyes again. "Will you stay?"

She had one foot on the windowsill and looked down, refusing to meet his eyes. "I…I don't know." And then she was gone.

He grabbed a fistful of his bangs and took a deep breath. He could only hope for the best.

Hinata sat in the highest branches of the huge sakura tree, looking into the dark sky. She was shivering from the frigid air but she paid no attention.

Up here in the clear air, his confession seemed all the more real. Not that she had doubted or thought it was a lie, but outside, where she was more in tune with nature, things like mighty demons became believable.

Hinata's head was spinning with a million different questions and thoughts, each being replaced by another before she got a chance to answer. Despite the buzz, she had enough control over herself to focus on the few questions that mattered.

First, what did she think about him now that she knew the truth? And from that, would she run?

It was…hard. Hard knowing that he could unleash a power that could crush mountains and cause tsunamis with a wave of one of his chakra tails. Yes, right now she was scared. Not fearful of him though, because she knew that he would never hurt her.

The legends surrounding the Kyuubi told of its great power, rivaling that of the gods. Anybody outside of Konoha would laugh at her if she told them she had seen him with her own eyes because he hadn't been seen in an over decade. Occasionally there would be the claim that someone saw a Kitsune here or there but those were few and far between and not one of them ever had nine tails. The fact that the greatest and most powerful demon to ever walk the land was inside her best friend, crush and fiancée was a bit astounding to say the least, because it was a living legend.

And after all of this, her feelings for him didn't waver one bit. They stood as solid as ever but her judgment had been clouded by a fog of fear. That had melted into being merely terribly afraid.

Hinata realized that now she shared this burden with him and that when the villagers back in Konoha looked at him, hatefully and with fear, that it would hurt her too because she knew the reason. She shivered, not because she was cold, but because they knew nothing of the real Naruto and believed him to be the demon, just like she had first thought.

As she contemplated all of this, the image she had of Naruto slowly morphed from the red-eyed beast to the blue-eyed, tortured expression she had last seen him wear. She didn't see the monster anymore; she saw a boy. And she realized that while the monster was part of the boy, it was not the boy. She still loved the boy; she just now knew that he had a secret part to him. She didn't care if he had a third eye or two heads. If he was hurt, she would fear for him, nurse him, help him in any way she could because she still saw him as what he was: human, through and through. Not now and not ever a monster.

With that last thought, Hinata had answered herself a million times over.

Sasuke walked down a road that followed the coastline. The sea breeze played with his long hair sometimes and his emotionless face gave away nothing of what was bubbling inside.

Frustration like no other was eating away at him. Since had left Konoha, it had been six months of wandering. Six months and nothing had turned up that would point him in the direction of Orochimaru.

He had decided first that he would wander among the Northern Countries and see if he could find the Hidden Village in the Sound. As it turned out, there was no Village, no city like Konoha, which greatly surprised and frustrated him.

Sasuke had traveled through every single one of the Countries, except Earth Country because he thought they wouldn't let any Nin from Konoha within their borders, missing or no.

He had listened to every word, every comment, every superstition about the Sound ninja and followed each of those leads, each turning up empty. Not once had he seen a Sound Nin though all this time, unlike Nins from other Villages and Countries. He had even gone to the all night bars in hopes to catch one but they didn't even show their faces then.

He had begun to lose hope and become angry with himself for going out on this stupid excursion but he convinced himself that this was the only way to get enough power to rival that of his elder brother, Itachi.

Another thing he had to worry about were the posters he had begun to see that had his face on it and a 100,000 ryu reward for his capture. Those he had only seen within the past few weeks, and he had heard some rumors about him as well.

Sasuke wandered off the path towards a clump of trees situated by the shore. He jumped into the middle branches of the least visible and farthest tree from the road. In an effort to calm himself, he sat down, relaxed against the tree, closed his eyes and cleared his mind so it was a blank page. The sun, warm on his face, was helping, soothing and soon he was drifting, drifting, drift…

"Excuse me."

The soft voice woke Sasuke and he shot up ready. He activated his Sharingan and checked in every direction.

In the next tree over stood a girl about his height and age. She had long brown hair that reached to her lower back and a kind face and smile. She wore a pair of geta and a green robe with a wide black sash tied around her mid-section which made her chest seem a bit larger than it actually was. She had no pack, but she had a brown pouch tied behind her left hip.

Ah, she was a ninja, just like him.

There was something so familiar about her, but Sasuke couldn't exactly put his finger on it and tell what it was.

"Sorry," she repeated, "I didn't want to startle you but I was just wondering who was here since I felt the presence of someone's chakra."

Definitely a kunochi.

"Huh?" Sasuke said.

"There are no shinobi that live in the area except for me. I wasn't sure if you were living here now since your chakra wasn't moving." She said politely.

"I was just passing through."

She nodded in agreement and gave a small smile. She bowed. "I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Momochi Haku."

That's where he had seen her before!

Sasuke smirked. "You know, we have met before."

She frowned and quirked and eyebrow. "Really? I don't seem to remember you. When and where did we meet?"

His smile stayed, enjoying this game. "Last time we met, you nearly killed me."

"I've killed and spared many. Please tell me who you are." A hint of annoyance crept into Haku's voice.

"My former sensei killed your former sensei, Momochi Zabuza."

Her face went blank for a moment. Then… "Oh!" Haku loosely pointed at him and the quirked eyebrow returned. "You…I was fighting you on the bridge, right? You and your orange friend?"

Sasuke looked amused. "Yes."

"But I don't remember your name…" she continued. "I don't think I even got it then. Which brings us back to you and why you're not telling me your name."

Sasuke scowled, his fun ruined. "Hn. Sasuke."

"Don't you have a last name?"

"I am the last of my line and I abandoned both my family name and village some time ago." His words were harsh.

Haku bowed again. "Forgive me, I am just curious. It's nice to meet you again, Sasuke-san. Would you like to stay the night at my house?"

He paused for a moment, debating, and then passed it off as hospitality and not love interest. She was different than the girls at home, polite and cultured rather than swooning and obsessive.

"Sure, but I will leave immediately at dawn."

She jumped down to the ground lithely. "Follow me."

He did, through the trees, across the road and through a field that was dull yellow with late winter weeds. Finally, they stopped next to a very small cottage that was situated next to a rice paddy.

She unlocked the door and led him though a large room that served as a kitchen and a general use room. A low square table was positioned in the center. Two sliding doors created two more rooms off from the main room and Haku opened the one on the right. It was completely empty save for some boxes piled in a corner. "This is where you will sleep. Until dinner is ready, you can do whatever you like."

Sasuke bowed out of respect, something he did rarely. "Thank you." He dropped his pack and went back outside. There was a small area of hard packed ground that was flat and worn from use. A single post stood off to one side that had much evidence of being beaten from numerous kicks and punches.

The sun was a few feet above the horizon and Sasuke estimated that he had about only an hour or so before it got dark, so he activated his Sharingan and punched an imaginary foe to his left.

Since he had left Konoha, his eyes had been activated to the third tomoe stage from a group of bandits. They had attacked him when he had made camp one night in the woods just off the road. In the fury that had resulted, every single person of the thirty or so that were part of the group was dead. Sasuke had killed them all mercilessly and thought nothing of it, only that they were first of the many to come. He had later gone through the bodies of each for gear and spoils and found one of the posters asking for his capture.

Sasuke continued with slaying his imaginary opponents, ducking, dodging, blocking, countering until he noticed Haku standing outside the house, watching him.

"You're very skilled," she began when he stopped, "but I still bet I can beat you in hand to hand combat."

"Hn." Sasuke turned away. "I doubt it. I'm much stronger now than I was before when we first fought." No emotion colored his voice.

"Gomen, I came out here to tell you that dinner is ready, not to comment on your taijutsu." she said with another bow.

Sasuke sighed and followed her in, taking his dirty and worn sandals off at the door. He was immediately struck by the smell of hot food. The table was set for two so that they faced each other while they ate. A standard meal of fish, noodles and rice was steaming in between them.

Sasuke sat down, served himself a bowlful and muttered an "Itadakimasu" before taking a bite. He chewed slowly, checking for any poisons she might have added and found none.

"What, does the food taste bad?" Haku asked, seeing his expression.

He swallowed. "No. I still do not trust you even if you are generous with your hospitality because you are my former enemy and that there is a huge reward out there for my capture. I was checking to see if you managed to slip something in."

She nodded, understanding exactly where he was coming from.

There was another moments silence before she asked, "Why is there a bounty on you? Have you defected from your village?

Sasuke chose his words carefully. "Yes. I decided to leave because there isn't power there anymore for me to get. I realized that in order to reach my goal, I would need more power than they could offer me so I left to go find more myself."

"What goal?"

"To kill my brother and thus avenge my clan. I won't let anybody stand in my way."

Haku let it drop. By the way that Sasuke talked about it, it was something he didn't like nor want to discuss.

Silence pervaded again until both were done eating.

"Goodnight." Sasuke said politely as he rose from the table.

"Sasuke-san."

He turned and looked at her. "Yes?"

"Would I be able to join you?"

"On what?"

"Your journey. I'm tired of this tranquil life. Even after all this time and all this fighting and killing, I've found a peaceful life doesn't suit me. I want to travel again. I will not tie myself to you. I will leave when you ask me to. If you get captured, I will try my hardest to free you to repay you for this opportunity."

Sasuke studied her carefully. "I'll think about it." He stepped into his room and slid the door closed.

Naruto swept aside a punch from Hinata, only to be surprised and caught in the side by her ridgehand. The blow knocked the air out of him even if it wasn't to the chest or stomach. He quickly recovered and caught her left leg as it came up to round house kick his stomach. He twisted it so she lost her balance and began to fall but she planted both her hands on the dojo floor and twisted back to kick him with her right. Her heel got him on the back of the head.

Lights exploded in Naruto's vision and he lost his grip on her leg; Hinata used this to sweep his feet. She pinned him in a bodylock before he could react.

Naruto struggled and writhed, trying to get out, but it wasn't called a bodylock for nothing now, was it?

"Not even foxy can help you now." Hinata smugly mumbled in his ear.

Seeing as she was right, that if he wanted to win this sparring match he would have to draw on the Kyuubi's power, Naruto slacked in Hinata's grip and tapped the wood floor twice with his elbow. "Alright, alright." he grumbled. "You got me. Again." They separated and kneeled, facing each other, waiting for Myuri's next lesson or assignment.

Hinata looked away and bit her lip in an effort not to smile at those last four words. This little habit had replaced her typical reaction to blush at his comments lately. She quickly peeked at him out of the corner of her eye and caught him giving her this bewildered stare, like she was the most interesting thing in the world. This wasn't the first time either.

Naruto watched her, wondering and thanking the gods that she knew the truth about him and wasn't bothered at all about it.

He remembered that night, that cold December night two months ago, was the worst night of his life, even more so than all the lonely nights when he was a child. Why did she have to matter so much to him?

He had waited in Hinata's room for her to comeback from wherever she had gone off to. While he was awake he was constantly terrorized by the thought of losing her to the fear of the Kyuubi. When he had dozed off against the wall, his nightmares constantly showed a huge, clawed, orange paw reaching out from the darkness behind large iron bars and stealing Hinata from right in front of him.

It was nearly dawn when he had woken, and he had felt a heavy weight on his shoulder. He looked down and there was Hinata-chan, sitting next to him and her head resting on him. She was asleep like he had been and a faint smile graced her innocent pale face.

Naruto had smiled and as he did so, his heart swelled to three times its size for her. The gratitude and relief he felt for her was overwhelming. He put and arm around her to keep her warm since she had left the window open and rested his head on hers, smiling also. He couldn't believe what best friends they had become, a bond so strong that it couldn't be broken by the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune.

A small, subconscious seed had been planted that night, and now it began to break free of its shell and lay down its first root in the fertile soil.

The following morning was nothing short of amusing with Hinata and her surprise at his shift in position.

"That was a good match." commented Myuri. "Both of you as quick as lighting in your decisions and movements." We might even be able to start sword training earlier than I anticipated. He looked outside at the snow as he stood in the doorway. "Come. It is time for dinner."

The students put on their freezing cold sandals and made a dash from the Dojo to the main house. A fire was burning in the fire pit of the room and they warmed themselves next to it.

Dinner was complete liberation from the late March cold. Everything was delicious as always thanks to Meng and the topic of the latest Naruto-Izumi debate was over whether or not an Uzumaki sword could cut through a ninja tool made of folded steel. Hinata ate silently but happily next to Naruto, glad that he had regained much of his self esteem after their sparring match.

Life was happy, life was normal. Not even the Kyuubi mattered. Life would go on.

He knocked on Haku's door since it was impolite to go into the room of a lady uninvited. "Haku-san, are you awake?" He was dressed and ready to go.

"Hrnmmm…?"

"You can come with me. But as soon as I find what I am looking for, you will have to leave."

There was a pause. "Domo arigato gozaimasu, Sasuke-san. I will be ready in a moment."

Sasuke waited as he heard her rummaging about in her room. It was a few minutes before she opened the door dressed in travel clothes and a pack over one shoulder. Sasuke walked outside and waited for her again. She locked all the doors with a key on a ring then stood next to him a sighed.

"I'm going to miss this place. I'm going to have to come back someday."

Sasuke turned and followed the worn path back to the main road.

"Let's go Haku-san."

A/N: TaDAAA!! You like it? Well, I'm glad you did (or didn't).

Whe sentece Haku says to Sasuke, the one that sounds like really complicated Japanese near the end, it's a very formal way of saying thank you. I say it every time I bow out of (finish) karate class.

Ok I can't say much more, right now I need to go post the art stuffs and then walk ten feet and finish my costume. Bye!

IBP

Next Chapter: "Naruto-san, Hinata-san, nobody will forge your own blade for you."