Hey guys! First off, I'm kinda disappointed in the amount of reviews I got last chapter! You guys can do better than that! I know I didn't post for a month… well… I guess we are pretty much even now. OK! So review more this chapter! At least ten! BTW there are only 19 more reviews until the 400th review! I will be giving away a mini prize but for my 500th reviewer I will give away a mega-grand prize! So be sure to review as much as you can! Anyways I saw that you all really like Naru-chan so I'm kinda worried that you all will hate me by the end of this chapter. There is a fight scene is this chapter and im not really sure how well I can write fight scenes but I hope you all will forgive me if I suck at it.
Disclaimer: These disclaimers are as useful as an inflatable dart board or a solar-powered flashlight or a scratch and sniff sticker at the bottom of a pool.
Naruto turned around and his heart seemed to climb into his throat.
"Orochimaru…"
Meanwhile, Hinata had just woken up. She stuck her hand under her pillow, expecting to find to the warmth of Naruto's jacket. However, it was not there. Hinata frowned. She began every day by cuddling with Naruto's jacket. She was already missing home.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes sleepily. She looked around for Naru-chan, but he was no where in sight. She got out of bed and began looking for him. She looked around the dark apartment for several minutes, before she heard a faint noise.
She gasped as she saw Naru-chan curled up in a corner, whimpering. She ran over to him and held him in her arms. "Aww, poor Naru-chan! What's the matter? Are you hurt?" She tried petting him, but Naru-chan was shaking quite vigorously.
"Maybe you're hungry?" Hinata said as she looked through all the cabinets for some food. Unfortunately, she had just moved into the apartment and thusly had no food to give the whimpering fox.
"Listen, Naru-chan. I'm going to the store to get some food. I'll be right back, ok?" She took Naru-chan into her room and placed him on her bed. She bent down to kiss him on the head and then left the apartment.
As she shut the apartment door, she realized she had a tough choice to make. She could either take the long way to the store and avoid the Hyuuga complex or take the short cut, but the short cut would take her right beside the Hyuuga front gates. She decided that it was for Naru-chan's sake and that she needed to get back to him as soon as possible.
She ran as quickly as she could towards the store, preying that her father would not see her. However, as she ran by the Hyuuga complex she saw a familiar face and it called out to her.
"Hinata! Wait!" Neji yelled as he ran after Hinata. He reached and grabbed her shoulder and spun her around so he could look her in the eyes.
"Hinata… I need to talk to you."
"I'm not coming back!"
"That's not what I want to talk about. I want to talk about Naruto."
Hinata started listening, suddenly she was interested. "What about him?"
"Well… Back before the Chunin exams I was a different person. However, after I beat you in the preliminary exam, Naruto was furious. I remember him jumping down from the rails and swearing on you blood that he would defeat me."
Hinata's eyes widen. He swore on my blood? Did Naruto really care about me back then?
"Throughout our battle, I could tell he was fighting for your honor. H never gave up. He would die to protect his friends. I … I just want you to know that I approve of your feeling for him and I wish you the best of luck." Neji said as he bowed his head.
Hinata gasped. She knew how hard it was for Neji to show respect like this and it warmed her heart to know that her happiness was this important to him. She reached out and hugged him.
"Thank you, Neji. You'll never know how much that means to me."
"Hinata, come home. I miss you. And I know Hiashi misses you too even if he is too proud to admit it."
"Do you really think so?" Hinata asked hesitantly. She had not planned on going back home, but she could not lie to herself. She was homesick.
"Oh my god! Naru-chan! I completely forgot!" Hinata yelled as she took off running.
Neji followed after her. "Who?"
"This little fox I found. I need to buy him some food."
"Mind if I join you? I want to check out your new area of residence."
Hinata smiled at him. "Of course."
Several minutes later, Hinata and Neji had picked some pork chops and were back at Hinata's apartment.
"Naru-chan! Lunchtime!" Hinata called out as she set the plate of pork on the ground. Neji was sitting on a couch beside her.
"Neji? Does father really want me back?" Hinata whispered as she sat next to him.
"I'm not sure." Neji said sheepishly. 'But he defiantly has been depressed recently. I think if you came back and made some compromises, he would be happy to let you back in."
Hinata said nothing. She was too deep in thought to respond. Naru-chan had not eaten his food…
"Naru-chan…." Hinata cooed. "Where are you?" Hinata got off the couch and began looking for the baby fox. She found him still curled up and trembling in the same corner he was in when she left.
Hinata picked up a piece of the pork and held it up to Naru-chan's nose. "Come on, Naru-chan. Eat."
Still, Naru-chan refused to touch the pork and continued to whine and tremble.
"It looks like he is afraid of something…" Neji noticed. "Strange… this fox bears a strange resemblance to Naruto…"
Hinata suddenly gasped. "Naruto… Naru-chan, is Naruto in danger?" As Hinata asked this the fox stopped trembling and jumped into Hinata lap. Obviously, this was Naru-chan's way of saying yes.
Hinata held Naru-chan close to her chest and prayed for Naruto's safety. Neji sensed Hinata's worry and placed his hand on her shoulder.
Meanwhile, Naruto really was in danger.
"Hello there, Naruto. It's been quite a while since we met. Did you miss me?" Orochimaru asked with a hiss on his lips.
"How could I ever miss a monster like you?!" Naruto roared, his eyes already turning red.
Orochimaru grinned. "Now why would you go and say something like that? I thought we were friends. We have sooo much in common."
"I have NOTHING in common with YOU!" Naruto shouted in fury. He dashed forward with his fist reared back. However, as he Naruto drew close to Orochimaru, Orochimaru vanished into the ground.
Naruto looked around, confused. Suddenly, Orochimaru's tongue burst from the ground and grabbed Naruto's leg. Naruto was lifted high into the air, slammed into the ground, and then tossed towards Lee.
Lee rushed to his friend's side. "Naruto! Are you alright?"
Naruto stood up shakily and wiped the blood from his forehead. "I'm fine. Listen, I need you to run back to the village and warn the Hokage. She needs to know about this.
"But Naruto…Can you handle him by yourself?" Lee asked, worried about his friend.
"It doesn't matter! You must warn the village. Run as fast as you can!" Naruto yelled as he charged towards Orochimaru. Lee turned away from his friend and took off running towards the village.
Naruto swung his fist towards Orochimaru's face, but Orochimaru's tongue swirled around Naruto's fist and tossed him aside. "I'm so disappointed, Naruto. I'd thought you would almost as good as Sasuke, but you are an ant compared to him."
Naruto roared in anger as red chakra began to flow out and surround him. One tail began to from behind him. Orochimaru suddenly appeared behind Naruto. "Again with the tails? Naruto, you are so predictable." Orochimaru pulled a sword from his mouth and stabbed Naruto through the stomach.
Despite his wound, Naruto swung backwards and nailed Orochimaru in the face. Orochimaru flung backwards, landing several feet away. Naruto knelt down from the incapacitating pain from both his wound and the burning chakra around him.
Orochimaru stood up slowly. "I had forgotten how persistent you are. It won't happen again." Orochimaru said as he ran towards Naruto, sword in hand.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto shouted as ten clones popped up around him.
"Don't insult me!" Orochimaru shouted. "I have seen you do this dozens of times! I know that the real you is always the one who stands safely in the back!"
Orochimaru dashed forward, cutting his way through several clones, towards the Naruto standing behind the rest. Orochimaru jumped over the group of clones and stabbed the one in the back. However, the said Naruto puffed into a cloud of smoke.
"Oh? So you hide yourself among the clones? How clever. But nowhere near good enough!" Orochimaru said as snakes flew out his sleeves. All of the clones were instantly bitten and destroyed. However, Naruto was nowhere in sight.
"Oh my… Where could you be?" Orochimaru taunted.
Suddenly, Naruto burst from the ground below Orochimaru. He shoved his hand into Orochimaru's mouth. "What's the matter? Aren't you going to grab me with your tongue?" Naruto grinned wickedly. "If you aren't going to use it, then I'm going to take it away!" Naruto grabbed Orochimaru's tongue and ripped it out.
Orochimaru staggered back, screeching in pain. Then he opened his mouth widely and another Orochimaru climbed out. "You will pay for that, Naruto!"
"Bring it on!" Naruto shouted.
Orochimaru grinned. "You're going to regret sending your friend away." He made a series of hand signs and yelled "Exploding Boa Jutsu!" Several snakes erupted from Orochimaru's fingers and rushed towards Naruto. Naruto dodged backwards, evading the snakes.
Orochimaru, however, was busying making hundreds of hand signs. "Crushing Snake Wave! Piercing Snake Bite!"
Huge, black snake erupted from the ground beneath Naruto and tiny white snakes slithered towards him from behind. The black snakes grabbed onto Naruto's legs and wrapped all the way around his body. There were several loud cracked as the snakes broke Naruto's bones. The small white snakes crawled up the black ones and stabbed their sharp tails though his body. Finally the first snakes coiled around Naruto's legs and blew up.
Orochimaru cackled as a mushroom cloud blew up over Naruto. "At last! The Nine-Tailed brat is dead!"
Meanwhile, Hinata was still trying to feed Naru-chan. "Come, Naru-chan. Please eat."
Suddenly, the little fox stopped moving. He hung limp in Hinata's hands. "N-Naru-chan? Naru-chan!" Hinata yelled frantically.
Neji activated his Byuakugan and checked the fox's vitals. There were none. Little Naru-chan was dead. Neji laid his hand on Hinata's shoulder and shook his head. Tears flowed out of Hinata's eyes as she hugged Naru-chan. She had really wanted to show him to Naruto.
Hinata gasped. If Naru-chan is dead then… Naruto… NO! Naruto can't be dead. He can't!
"Hinata… We should give him a proper burial." Neji said.
Hinata nodded her head.
They took Naru-chan and buried him in the garden next to the apartment. Looking upon Naru-chan's grave Hinata made a vow to herself. If Naruto survived and came back to the village she would tell him exactly how she felt about him. But first she had some things to sort out with her father.
Hinata wiped the tears from her eyes and walked towards the Hyuuga complex. Neji followed her and was silent the entire time.
Minutes later, Hinata strode through the front doors and into the courtyard. Her father was training there, like always. When her eyes met his, Hiashi stopped training and walked over to his daughter.
"Hinata? What you doing back here?" Hiashi asked with no emotion in his voice.
"I need to talk to you. It's about Naruto."
"Relax." Hiashi interrupted. "Yesterday is Yesterday. If we try to capture it we will only lose tomorrow. Besides, I already know how much you care for him. And although I don't agree, I can't blame you for your choice. You're so much like your mother in that way."
Hinata gasped. Her father rarely ever spoke about her mother. She shook off the surprise and stepped closer to her father. "I was wondering if I could come back and live here."
Hiashi frowned. "If it were up to me, yes, but sadly it's not. There are rules and once you leave you can't come back. I'm sorry.
Hinata hung her head. It saddened her to know that she could never return home, but she hadn't expected anything better.
"Do you mind if I get my stuff?" Hinata asked her father.
"Go right ahead." Hiashi said. Hinata walked to her room and gathered her things into a suitcase. The last thing she packed was Naruto's jacket. She held it close to her face and nuzzled against it before putting it in the suitcase. After she was done packing she headed back downstairs.
"Alright. I bought a small apartment about a mile away. I guess that's where I will live now."
I'm sorry, Hinata." Neji said.
Hinata faked a smile. "Hey, don't worry about me. I'll be fine." Hinata waved good-bye and walked back out the front doors. She decided she better walk back to her apartment to unpack her things.
Once she was back home and unpacked, (Naruto's jacket placed underneath her pillow), her thoughts drifted back to Naruto. I hope he is safe. I don't know what I would do if he died…
She decided she would go to the Hokage's office to ask about Naruto's mission. She was still worried about the Orochimaru thing. And after Naru-chan's death… Hinata shook her head. She refused to think about that any longer.
Several minutes later, Hinata was outside the Hokage's office. She knocked on the door softly. She could hear loud, agitated voices from inside.
"Enter."
Hinata opened the door slowly. She gasped when she saw Lee standing in the room in front of Tsunade. If Lee was back then Naruto must be too.
"Lee? Is Naruto with you?" Hinata whispered hopefully.
Lee's head hung sadly. "No. We were attacked by Orochimaru and Naruto stayed behind to try and hold him off."
Hinata's world crumbled around her. "H-He's f-f-fighting Orochimaru by h-himself." She couldn't believe it. Naruto didn't stand a chance against him. He was a Sanin!
"We have to go save him! Naruto could die! We don't have much time!" Hinata yelled frantically, tears beginning to pour out of her eyes.
"I already have sent Kakashi and Guy. They should arrive there shortly. Please calm down, Hinata. They would never let Naruto die." Tsunade said in a soothing voice.
Hinata took a deep breathe. She trusted Kakashi to keep Naruto safe, but what if they were already too late? What if Naruto was already… Hinata couldn't even think about the next word.
Please, Naruto. Please be safe.
Meanwhile, the dust around Orochimaru was starting to clear. "At last! The Nine-Tailed brat is dead!"
Suddenly, Orochimaru stopped laughing. "What?! How can this be?"
The dust cleared completely. Naruto was standing there in full Demon Cloak with four red chakra tails flowing out behind him. Naruto's chakra erupted out of him with a loud roar. He burst forward at a frightening speed and punched Orochimaru into the ground. There was a large explosion and a huge crater appeared around Orochimaru.
Orochimaru climbed out of the large hole he had been punched into and spat out blood. "You really are intriguing! But I came prepared this time." Orochimaru reached into a pouch and pulled out a piece of paper with the word 'Seal' on it.
The Nine-Tails controlling Naruto did not know what this paper was, nor did it care. It charged forward with a primal roar. Orochimaru vanished in a cloud of black smoke and reappeared behind Naruto. He reached forward and placed the seal on Naruto's back. However, a large claw jumped out of Naruto's back and pierced Orochimaru though the stomach. Orochimaru staggered back, bleeding quite heavily.
Unfortunately the seal was already in place. Naruto slowly returned to his normal state, however, most of his skin had been burned off. Orochimaru held his hand to his gaping wound. "Damn him. I did not think he would be able to damage me this badly. And two more Jounin are on the way. I do not have the energy to fight any longer." Orochimaru said as he disappeared into the ground.
Minutes later, Kakashi and Guy arrived at Naruto's broken and bleeding body.
Kakashi knelt next to Naruto. "I'm sorry, Naruto. Once again I have arrived too late." Kakashi picked up Naruto and carefully placed him on his back. "Come on, Guy. We need to get Naruto to a hospital immediately."
Guy nodded and followed after him.
Phew! How was that? I thought it was a pretty good chapter! Anyways the next chapter might have a kissing scene in it… I'm not sure… maybe it will and maybe it won't. You will just have to wait and see. How is that for a cliffhanger? Oh and only 19 more reviews until the 400th review so make sure you review! The prize will be you get to pick Naruto and Hinata's first date! Good Luck!