I do not own Naruto. Do not bother asking. You do, i get writers block.

Chapter III

The snapping of twigs, the rustle of leaves, the scraping of shoes on rocks, and the heavy breathing of someone out of breath flowed smoothly through the forest.

A lone figure darted between the trees of the forest, making little more noise then a rabbit running from the hunting fox. Blackness swallowed the figure as dusk set in, and more darting figures surrounded where the first had gone.

As the night wore on, the sounds of a struggle could be heard. Swearing, screaming, and smacks were all audible as the combatants fought fiercely. Two hours later, when the sun was coming up, the sound of a thud resonated across the tranquil morning in the forest.

Hyuga Hinata was tied to a tree and eight men surrounded her, pointing and laughing. With a loud groan, she came around and saw the blurry shapes of men surrounding her. She realized that her mask was off and her weapons were at her feet.

One of the men pointed and said, "Well, look what we found in our forest? A lovely little girl. What would one such as you be doing here? Shouldn't you be in some home, being pampered by someone?"

Hinata spat at them. "LET ME GO!"

Another man spoke. "After all the trouble we just went through to capture you? I think not."

The first man spoke again, "Now, kindly tell us where you are from. If you do not, the consequences will not be pleasant…"

She spat again. "I won't tell you anything!"

The first man smiled and said, "You know, we were just going to kill you and make it quick. But now, since you won't say anything, I think it's only right that we reap the fruits of our labor."

Hinata realized what he meant and started screaming again.

"Go on, scream. No one can hear you. We are in a deep part of the woods. But trust me; you're going to like what we do to you."

Reaching out to touch her, he was less then an inch away from violating her breasts when a kunai whizzed between the two. Despite the fact that it had missed, it didn't stop the knife from turning around and sawing through his wrist. His hand dropped and it instantly caught fire, destroying any chance of reattachment.

The man howled and recoiled from the wound. Everyone looked around from where the kunai came from, but saw nobody on the ground. The next instinct is to look up, and look up they did.

Above them stood a tall youth who was wearing a dark green jacket, t-shirt, pants, boots, and sunglasses. He was well built and had dirty green hair that stood up in spikes all along his head. The kunai that he had thrown was being twirled on his index finger, and he looked angry.

"Who are you?" one of the men dared to ask.

The youth cocked his head to one side, as if considering whether or not the question was worth answering or not. "My name is not important. Now, leave the girl alone and walk away, and I won't have to kill all of you."

One man snarled and pulled out his own kunai. "You think we're going to obey some snot-nosed like you, kid?" He held the knife to Hinata's throat. "You back off, or the girl dies."

He sighed and vanished. The men relaxed, thinking that he was gone. However, in the span of half a second and eight blows, all of the men were out for the count. He walked over and cut Hinata free, who collapsed after her fight with the men last night.

After making sure she had no life-threatening injuries, the youth turned away, and that's when Hinata caught a flash of red on his otherwise green upper arm.

After noticing that fact, things just started falling into place. The spiky hair, the placement of the pouches, the way he walked, the way the kunai was twirled, all of it seemed so familiar to Hinata. And suddenly it clicked.

"Excuse me, sir?" she asked haltingly.

He stopped and tilted his head. "Yes?" He replied.

"I was wondering if I could have to honor of knowing your name."

The youth sighed again and turned around fully. "Like I said to those men, my name is of little consequence. It does not change who I am. If you do not have any further questions, I must go. I have many things on my time."

She bit her lip. He wouldn't tell her his name, but there was one more way to confirm who she thought this person was.

"Then, please. Tell me about that cloth on your shoulder."

With inscrutable eyes, he replied, "Why do you care?"

"It's just that the rest of your clothing is dark green, camouflage. But why do you carry that cloth on your shoulder."

He sighed and muttered, "Very well. I will tell you this. This cloth is the only thing that I carry on my person that shows where I came from. It was given to me by a person who I considered a dear friend, but now I just don't remember. In other words, I carry it as a memory, and like my name, it is of little consequence to my person."

Hinata rapidly linked up all of this with what she already knew. That last statement had locked in the truth to her. When you thought about it, everything fit just right. The cloth that she had given away was red. If you looked carefully, you could just make out a faint symbol.

"Naruto-kun… is it really you?"

The youth froze in place. Before she could draw another breath, his kunai was at her throat and she was in a headlock. "How do you know my name?"

She tried to speak out a response, but before she could start, his hand chopped her windpipe and she blacked out instantly.

He made a stretcher out of chakra and placed Hinata on it. Afterwards, he sat down and started talking to himself, or rather, what seemed like talking to himself to an outsider who was not familiar with him and his secret.

Hey, Kyuubi, you lazy fox! Wake up! I have something to talk to you about.

Inside the bars of his cage, the nine-tailed demon fox stretched and yawned, showing massive teeth and a horrible smell.

Yeah, kid? What do you want? And I must tell you, I'm not giving chakra at the moment, so don't bother to ask. You know our agreement.

She knows my name. How did that get out? I'm pretty sure that I haven't said it in these parts. Have you been babbling on one of your hunting trips?

The fox snorted. As if I would. Remember, if your existence got out, Hunter-nin would be sent out, and I don't care how strong you claim to be, you can't be alert all of the time. If you get killed, I die; it's as simple as that. We affect each other. That's why I don't go tearing apart villages anymore.

Naruto flexed his hands and used some rope that he always kept in his pouch, tied Hinata up, gagged her, and slung her over his shoulder. Yes, and look at I get in return, a better killer instinct and a liking for rabbit meat? I still think that mixing our charka was a bad idea, but since you INSISTED that we do so, I had to.

You didn't HAVE to, you know, so quit complaining.

Well, it was either that or to have a voice nagging me inside my own head telling me bad stories and even worse jokes.

Oh, come on, they're not that bad… knock knock.

Enough. Let's get back. I have to prepare the Kuchiyose no Jutsu that's going to let you go on your hunt. That takes a few minutes AND I'm starving for a good pot of beef ramen. Damn that Jiriaya, not bringing any instant ramen on this trip. And settling near a town that doesn't sell it… what was he thinking?

Oh, yes, your hunger. I GET TO EAT WHAT I WANT ONCE A MONTH AND THE REST OF THE TIME I'M STUCK EATING WHAT YOU'RE EATING! AND ALMOST EVERY OTHER TIME, IT'S THAT DISGUSTING STUFF THAT YOU HUMANS TRY TO PASS FOR FOOD!

Sheesh. Calm down. I would let you out more often, but I can't. We both know how much you eat every time I let you out. If I let you out more then once a month, then you're going to start attacking the local livestock. I try to eat as much meat as I can, but we only have a handful of animals.

Kyuubi rolled his eyes but didn't say anything else. What else was there to say? Every time that he went out, several dozen animals would die. Rabbits, badgers, and even deer were all fair game. It was only thanks to the fact that Naruto didn't let him out more that there was still game in the forests.

They leapt from tree to tree, slower then usual due to Hinata's weight. He stopped by a small brook, drank as much water as he could, splashed some on her face, and took the gag out of her mouth.

Hinata had trouble breathing as she slowly opened her eyes. She saw the man who had rescued her and then attacked her after she had said... Wait, what had she said?

"Alright, girl, it's time for you to talk. Who are you; where are you from, and how do you know my name?"

"Naruto-kun! You don't recognize me? What's happened to you?"

He sighed, put away his kunai, and pulled out a hilt that he lit with a blade with a whispered word. "Now, answer my questions or I'm going to have fun with this sword."

Holding back a tear, she said, "My name is Hyuga Hinata. I am from the village hidden in the leaves, also known as Konoha. I am here because-"

The man's eyes widened and he keeled over.

Hinata was shocked by his response. "Naruto-kun… wake up… wake up… please… Naruto-kun…"

He did not reply.

She was shocked, but tried to do a substitution jutsu so that she could get out of the ropes binding her. To her horror, she couldn't draw any chakra from within herself. When she tried to grab a kunai from her pouch, there were none left. She could only wait while she watched Naruto shake his head and move back into a sitting position.

"You are from Konoha?" he asked, his voice barely more then a whisper.

"Yes." She replied, almost as quietly.

"THEN YOU LIE!" Naruto roared, tears spilling down his face.

Bewildered, Hinata said, "No, it's the truth! I come from Konoha and I was sent to spy on the sound village…" She stopped when she saw that his hands had curled into fists. Why was that fact so disturbing to him?

Finally, after five minutes of staring into each other's eyes, he said in a slightly choked voice, "I know you lie because I saw with my own eyes, the destruction of Konoha. Now, tell me the truth. Where are you from? I can believe the fact that you were sent to spy on the sound village, but-"

"I am not lying. I am from Konoha."

"Prove it."

"Untie me, and I will."

"Fine, although, if you try to run, I will kill you without hesitation."

Hinata nodded and reached into her pocket and pulled out her forehead protector. There, imprinted in the metal, was the hidden leaf insignia. Naruto took one look that the symbol and keeled over again.

Inside Naruto's head:

Kyuubi, do you know this girl?

Yes, you idiot. Even I remember her.

From where?

I could tell you, but it would be easier to show you.

Flashback:

"Hey, Hinata! I didn't really expect to see you here at this time of day. Why are you here?"

She blushed even deeper as she said, "I-I-I heard that y-y-you were g-g-going on a m-m-mission."

"You could say that, yeah."

"Wh-wh-when will you b-b-be ba-ba-back?

Jiriaya walked over. "That depends on him, young lady. We could be back in an hour, or never at all.

She squeaked at the prospect of never seeing her Naruto again. However, she maintained a semblance of composure. "I ha-ha-have a p-p-present for you, Na-Na-Naruto."

Hinata reached into one pocket and withdrew a red cloth, imbued with the leaf village's symbol. "Um… do you wa-wa-want me to t-t-tie it so-so-somewhere?"

Naruto looked over himself. "I guess…"

End flashback

So that's how she knows my name… Kyuubi, you damn fox, why didn't you tell me who this girl was earlier?

Kyuubi rolled his eyes again. Because, you moron, you wouldn't let me. But we still have to make sure that this is not an imposter. Remember, someone may have taken the headband of a Konoha Ninja and posed it as their own. We would have figured out an regular imposter by now, but thats not to say that someone with a high ammount of skill could mess with us.

You don't have to remind me.

Naruto came back around and was still somewhat dazed. Hinata was splashing some water onto his forehead and was blushing slightly. He groaned and sat back up, rubbing his eyes. Could this be true?

"Hinata… is that really you?"

She blushed again. "Yes, it is."

Naruto sighed. He hated to do this, but it was necessary. "Prove it. Give me three good reasons why I should believe you."

She frowned. "Well, me recognizing that bandanna on your shoulder is one thing, but there is also this." She reached down her shirt and pulled out a necklace. The same necklace that she had worn for the last seven years. The same necklace that Naruto had left with her before he had left with Jiriaya all those years ago. The same necklace that she cherished more then any other of her possessions.

"That makes two. Do you have anything else to prove who you are?"

"Just one more." She whispered, and feeling reckless, hugged him. Hinata felt herself instantly go red and feel light headed. Within seconds, she was a red as the sunset and fell forward, passed out from the daring thing she had just done.

Yep, the fox observed, it's definitely her. No one else would even bother touching you before, except for maybe that ogre woman who would send you flying after one of your stupid comments.

Oh, so you did like the nickname made by Konohamaru? I haven't seen him in so long. In fact, I haven't seen anyone in years. I think its time we returned, but I can't tell Hinata that. Sigh… this is going to be harder then I thought. When you locked that part of me away, I never thought that I would miss it…

Listen to me, kid. If I hadn't locked that part of you away before you started training, it would have driven you insane. What you had to go through to unlock your abilities, even I don't like to think about. But if I unlock this, you will have to go back to your village. Are you sure about this?

Hmm… on second thought, I think I could get a little stronger while training out here. Come back to me in a month or two and we'll discuss it then. In the meantime, we need to get home. I don't know if hunter-nins are nearby, but I don't need them finding our sanctuary.

Kyuubi rolled its eyes and fell back asleep, but Naruto knew that he agreed. Picking up Hinata gently, bridal style, now that he knew who she was, he leapt from tree to tree again, speeding their way home.

(Half an hour later)

Hinata shook her head and slowly opened her eyes. After dislodging the last of the buzzing from her ears, she looked around and saw that she was next to Naruto, who was scanning the horizons for…, something. What it was, she didn't know. But her movement must have alerted Naruto, who turned and smiled at her.

"Good to see you're awake. I was beginning to think that you would never wake up. I need to show you how to get into my home. I'm not there a good chunk of the time, so I don't want you locked out while I'm gone."

Hinata nodded and stood up, brushing the dirt from her clothes. Looking at Naruto from the corner of her eye, she marveled at how much he had changed in seven years.

He had grown, grown really tall. Easily six feet tall, he was well built. Not really bulky, but still strong-looking. His stance showed that he was ready to fight at any moment. His eyes were still as blue, if a bit lacking of the spark that was always there seven years ago. Apart from that and the hair, there wasn't really that much different about him. He still had the look of an overeager person, ready to fight at the smallest provocation from anyone else.

Making a rapid series of seals, he slammed his hand into a nearby pine tree. Instantly, the ground started shaking and a house rumbled into view. He motioned for Hinata to follow and went inside.

To say the place was a mess would have been a major understatement. It looked more like a storage shed then a place to live. Old bathtubs, toilets, bed frames, mattresses, sacks of unknown contents, and other junk littered the area. On top of all of that, a thick layer of dust had spread everywhere and mice could be heard scurrying around the moment they had entered.

"Umm… Naruto-kun… do you live HERE?" Hinata asked with some incredulity.

Naruto laughed and replied, "No, of course not. Even I wouldn't live in this kind of filth. This is merely the antechamber, the final barrier to the real house. Now, to get in here, you have to make the order of seals that I'll tell you in a second, think in your head, 'come forth' and slam your hand into that tree, kind of like you would do to summon something. The seals are Tiger, Dragon, Ox, Rat, Horse, Horse, Sheep, Dog, Monkey, and Tiger. Got that?"

He walked over to one of the bathtubs that was on its side and heaved it over with a groan of rusty hinges "Good. Now, to get into the house proper, you have to come over here and lift this bathtub, like so. After you get it up, just slap it again."

Naruto finished his explanation by forming the seals required, slamming his hand into the ground again, and fell into a deep shaft. Hinata could hear him yelling as he fell, "WOOHOO!"

Hinata smiled and repeated the seals and followed Naruto into the depths of the tunnel. After doing several major curves, she slid out and hit a cushion next to a couch. She straightened up and looked around, amazed by what she saw.

In stark contrast to the dust-filled rooms upstairs, this room was furnished, although it was clear it had been done by men. None of the chairs matched, the table had some small chunks missing from its legs, and the sofa looked a tad bit under stuffed. In any guy's eye, this would be the perfect home.

Naruto was already over in the kitchen, peering into a series of clay pots and swearing softly. Hinata walked over, marveling at the ceiling, which was carved out of solid marble.

"Naruto-kun… what's wrong?"

Naruto just grinned and rubbed the back of his head again. "Eh, nothing major. I'm out of water again. I don't have running water down here, so I have to go get it myself. There's a stream nearby which provides me with a lot of stuff. Scrap Metal, water, news of the world, stuff like that. I also installed a shower there, next to a waterfall. It doesn't have a curtain though, so keep an eye out peeping toms."

She blushed cherry at this, although Naruto didn't really seem to notice. Still as clueless as ever, I guess. I'm glad that didn't change… although… if he's this dense, how could I ever… tell him?"

Naruto didn't pay any attention to Hinata, instead motioning her toward the rest of his home. "Now, over there is the restroom with a flushing toilet. I installed it two years ago, but I only use it if I have to. Getting water down here is a pain. And over there," he pointed, "is my study. Jiriaya made me build one, so I've got a fireplace there, a wall bookshelf crammed full of books, and three armchairs. I don't know why he installed three of everything here, but I suppose he had a reason, eh?"

Hinata nodded, too nervous to speak. Even though she had grown bolder in the last seven years, it all seemed to go away when she was around Naruto. The house was indeed impressive. There were even gas burners and electricity. No doubt they were produced locally, as this house was totally isolated. The study was paneled with cherry and had an olden and modern feel to it, all at the same time.

"And over here," Naruto said, pointing, "Are the bedrooms. Luckily, Jiriaya had already built them, so I didn't have to carve them out of solid marble. Anyway, the one in the middle is mine, so take your pick of the other two. There's nothing really fancy inside, just a bed, nightstand, alarm clock, wardrobe, and a lamp. If you want anything else, just come with me when I go to the town next week. I'm due for my annual visit."

"Well, that pretty much covers it. Do you have any questions about the house?"

Hinata was still swallowing that such a thing could exist down here. "Umm… just one. H-h-how do yo-yo-you get food?"

Naruto barked out a laugh and replied, "That's a problem that the pervy sage and I figured out a long time ago." He walked over to some window boxes. "This started as one of my training, but it saved so much money and time, we just decided to make this our way of feeding ourselves. Now, what fruit would you like?"

Hinata blushed again; he was asking what she would like to eat? "Umm… I-I-I, umm… could I have a peach?"

"No problem. Now watch carefully." He walked over to a small tree and grabbed one of the branches. Closing his eyes, he focused his chakra- Hinata gasped at the amount available to him- and let it flow into the tree. In seconds, the small branch was bending under the weight of a fully ripened, juicy, and yet still crunchy peach. He pulled it off and walked over to Hinata and placed it in her hand.

"Try it. It's just as good a produce grown the old-fashioned way. It just grew a lot faster."

She blushed and took a cautious bite. The peach was delicious and juicy, like a peach would be at the peak of perfection. It was heaven to her mouth and to her empty stomach, which hadn't had anything to eat for the last day and a half.

Naruto had turned back to the boxes and right before her eyes, made several stalks of highly modified wheat grow in front of him. He used his finely controlled chakra and swiped all of the seeds off, put them in a small mill nearby, and motioned for her to come over to the bathroom.

She followed; still busy eating the peach as modestly as she could without showing her hunger.

Naruto nodded at the closet and said, "Go grab a towel and take a shower. There's a path that leads toward the waterfall. Don't worry, I won't peek on purpose." That statement made Hinata blush crimson again. "I'll be further downstream, refilling our water supply and catching fish. Don't worry about contaminating the water, it only takes five minutes and the fish will be fine. If you need help, just shout."

She nodded again and grabbed a towel from a rack inside. After making sure that it was clean, and it was, she asked. "Umm… N-N-Naruto-kun? How do you g-g-get out?"

He stopped while picking up a small pipe… "Hmm… I did forget to mention how to get out, didn't I? Well, if you follow me, I'll show you. Unless, of course, you want to stay here."

Before she could reply, Naruto jumped to a small door and opened it. After peering inside, he swore and stuck his hand inside. A moment and a blue flash of chakra later, the door opened to reveal a swirling vortex of green energy, supported between two crystal focusers and a rotating arm. The arm was keeping the chakra from clumping together and the crystal kept it from dissipating. An perfect portal.

At this point, Hinata was beyond speechless. Everything in this house was either crafted from or used chakra in some way. If she had tried to live here by herself, she wouldn't make it more then an hour in without collapsing from exhaustion.

"All you need to do is-" he said crouching slightly, "Hop in!"

With that last statement, he vanished with a soft pop. The portal jiggled slightly, like a fire in a calm wind, and then it settled back to its original spot.

Hinata grabbed onto to the door and hopped in. The next moment, she was sitting next to Naruto and a small brook. It gurgled gently as it ran by their spot, clear as crystal. Naruto was already busy rattling off a rapid series of hand signs but still managed to point her in the way of the waterfall.

She nodded and walked off, with him finishing the signs and pointing his finger at the pipe, which started to gurgle as it sucked up water.

Naruto-kun has sure changed a lot in the last seven years. Then again, if I had spent seven years alone, I would be different as well.

Author's Note:

Yo. Whats cooking?

Yeah, you may have seen that i posted this a day early, or rather, three hours after i posted the last chapter. I've had these two chapters ready for days. The only thing that i was missing was the thing where people fall with their feet sticking up. I finally figured that out around six PM today, so ive got these two stories up. Chapter IV is about ~50% completed. Should be here in a few days, escpically with the long weekend.

Anyway, sorry about the characters being somewhat OOC. Remember, Naruto's been isolated for seven years with noone but Kyuubi for company, so expect him to act a little strangely. Hinata knew that he was fine, but after seven years? Imagine how you would feel. This series by itself will stand for some time, and im not even beginning to sctrach the plotline that ive got cooked up. I also plan to do at least one sequel. Im not promising anything, but if i dissappear for like, six months or something, its because ive got a major case of writer's block. Thats the main reason im here.

I started writing fanon again because i wanted to get around the writer's block on my book, but ive found it so enjoyable that ive decided to stick with it. Timeless was meant to be a one-shotter, but i just dont think that a one-shotter would have done my skills justice. But here we go, chapter III. i need to quit blabbing so much at the end.

With the best of regards,

Xingster