Journey of the Three Failures

by Kurouga of the Ink and Snow

Uzumaki Naruto's defeat at the hands of Hyuuga Neji changed the course of history. Now an outcast Naruto, Hinata, and Lee must flee Konoha to become stronger, and ultimately save the very village which scorned them. Strong Naruto, Hinata, and Lee. Dark!Neji, Nice!Hanabi. Epic length. NaruHina. COMPLETE!

7. To the Wolves

J3F\\\ Journey of the Three Failures

Chapter Seven

Yo!

I'm a little late, but still – merry Christmas, happy holidays, happy new year! Thanks so much for all your reviews, favorites, and alerts!

I just watched the shippuden movie… I REALLY wish Neji and Sakura had gotten more action, but anyways – the Land of Demons in this fic is in no way related to Demon Country! Completely different, sorry!

And now……

Disclaimer: Anyone else think Kishimoto-sensei ought to write a "fan"-fic, even a short little oneshot, just for the heck of getting to say that he does, indeed, own Naruto? Sigh… No, I do not own NARUTO.

---

throw to the wolves- to sacrifice someone, especially in order to save oneself.

Journey of the Three Failures

Seven: To the Wolves

Naruto ナルト

We retreated ten yards in the cover of the smoke bomb Lee threw. The shark-man looked amused, while the Uchiha looked just the opposite, if anything.

Have they caught on already? Okay then, we hold them off for as long as we –

"How stupid do you brats think we are?" the taller man asked with a sharp-toothed grin, and before I could blink the now unwrapped tip of his sword had run all three of us through.

---

Such was the gist of the memories that came to me from the three shadow clones – two of which had been under henge – as we fled. Crap! They weren't fooled for two seconds!

"The kage bunshin are down already! Just who are those guys?"

"Uchiha Itachi," Hinata whispered, "He was a Leaf shinobi. A few years ago he single-handedly slaughtered almost the entire Uchiha clan. I don't know anything about the other one, b-but Itachi is said to be impossibly p-powerful… If they catch up–!"

A sparkle of reflected light. Two kunai knives flashed in from straight ahead. But they weren't aimed at me.

"NO!" I cried, and before I even thought about it my hands were in the seal and two shadow clones appeared, one shielding Hinata and the other Lee. They gasped in surprise as the clones grappled with them and vanished just as suddenly. Th… they could have died. They c-could be dead right now…

"Naruto-kun!"

"Huh–?" Something crashed across my face.

The next thing I knew I was landing on my back with a grunt. I sat up and groaned, slowly shaking my head to clear away flickering stars. And Mr. Shark-man was fifteen yards away and slowly walking closer.

Flinching, I got up and turned – only to see the cold-eyed Uchiha barring my path.

"There is no escape, Naruto. Come with us, and no one will need to be harmed," he said, approaching at a walk. I gulped, but my mouth and throat were very dry.

Two more figures entered the clearing at a sprint, giving the sword wielder a wide berth before dashing toward me. Lee placed himself between me and the blue man, and Hinata swept past, eyes shut but Byakugan active, to face Itachi. The two stood protectively close on either side of me.

"To get him, you must first go through us," Lee declared icily.

"R-right," Hinata added, her body trembling but her voice firm.

"Well, well. Fancy meeting you here of all places, Hyuuga heiress…" Itachi remarked tonelessly. "You've grown."

"What do you want with Naruto?" she said, the slightest trace of venom tipping her words. "What do you have against him?"

"Get up, Naruto-kun," Lee muttered under his breath without turning to face me. I nodded and did as told. Realizing the two had already removed their leg weights, I knelt to hastily do the same.

"We have nothing against the boy personally. It is simply Naruto's misfortune … that his tenant happens to be the prize that the Akatsuki seek."

My teeth ground together as I glared intensely at the man. "So you don't want me, you want what's inside of me?"

"The Kyuubi no Youko?" Lee murmured, "What could they want with it?"

"Listen," Hinata whispered quickly, "Naruto, stop glaring at him. Both of you, whatever you do, don't make eye contact with Itachi. The only two things that can stand up to Sharingan at his level are Sharingan at and equal or higher level … and the Byakugan. I can see him with my eyes closed."

"Hinata," I said to the still trembling girl, "What exactly do you think our chances are here?"

"What are you three whispering about over there...?" the other man asked.

"…Next to nonexistent. Itachi alone could probably kill all three of us at once."

"And," Lee added, "we hardly know a thing about this other one–,"

"What am I, an afterthought?!" the man yelled. "I'm insulted! You mean none of you have ever heard of Hoshigaki Kisame, of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist?!"

"AH!" Lee cried, and in a flurry of movement his katana were drawn and holding off Kisame's sword.

Kisame appeared surprised. "…How did you get your hands on these swords, boy?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. "Surely that annoying little pest Kozue is still in good health…?"

"I killed Kozue Kuri." Even forced through teeth clenched in effort, the words were clearly not spoken in pride. "With his own blade."

"Arrogant brat must've kept reckless to the end, I see," Kisame chuckled. In little over the time it took me to blink, Lee's arm was slashed by a graze from the man's sword; the blade bristled like it was alive, its strange scaly surface flaring up to shred.

"Hang on!" I cried.

"Lee-k–!!"

I turned my head to see Hinata beginning to fall, wide-eyed, at a blow Itachi dealt from behind. My eyes snapped shut before they could meet the Uchiha's crimson gaze.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!!"

I opened my eyes, surrounded by twenty copies of myself. The two Akatsuki shinobi were standing next to each other a short distance away. As Lee helped up Hinata, who had fallen shivering to her hands and knees, the clones and I replaced around a few times in a rapid shuffle.

"They're solid," Kisame growled, "Which is the real one?"

"…I can't tell," Itachi stated.

I thought so. It looks like they want me alive… Me … but they didn't care about the others. Hinata could transform into me, but Lee couldn't. Wait – of course!

"Henge!" I shouted, and the clones followed suit so that the clearing now contained eleven Hinatas and twelve Lees.

"Clever, but futile," Itachi said. "Even if I weren't able to see your chakra, there are still other telltale differences setting two odd ones out. For example, only one of you…" I gasped as he appeared near me in the midst of our group. "…is still shaking from my first attack." A fist flashed past me, and I turned my head in time to see Hinata hit the ground, tumbling to a stop fifteen yards away.

"Hinata!"

"And you're standing differently from the rest!" Kisame declared, charging and taking a swing at Lee. He narrowly dodged the fist, but a few blurring moves later he too was hit.

He sprang to his feet. "Just stay back, Naruto-kun! They are still unable to determine which is you!"

"Right!" the clones and I chorused.

He sheathed his katana, apparently needing all the speed he could get. "Kaimon, Gate of Opening," he murmured, and all but vanished with speed. A green blur began assaulting Kisame, and though no blows were landed the man took to defense for the moment.

I felt a kage bunshin being dispelled, and then another, and looked to see Itachi tearing through the small army with ease, destroying clones one by one with a sharp but controlled punch or kick. I created ten more, and then substituted before he could pinpoint my location; every time he neared me I would create a few more and replace away.

My limit's about eighty… I'm running out of chakra too fast! I replaced again. While I still have enough left, I need to try…!

I yelled a keyword of the idea, and the clones and I quickly shuffled before the Uchiha could catch me. As far from him as I could get in the crowd of replications, I bit my thumb and smeared blood on my right palm, and the bunshin all simultaneously did the same. We formed the seals together.

"I! Inu…!" we chorused. A clone traded places with me as Itachi started to get close.

"Tori! Saru…!" He seemed to recognize the seal sequence, and now attacked more spontaneously to try to catch me by surprise. Of the ten scattered clones left, one luckily substituted me out of the way of an attack in time to be dispelled an instant after.

"Hitsuji!" Three remaining clones and I each slammed a palm to the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!" As the pattern sprang outward across the ground from my hand – and not those of the clones – Itachi leaped away in precaution, landing crouched on the side of a tree.

Come on out, Chief…! I thought as a haze of smoke burst out.

"Jiraiya!" squealed a six-inch tall, red colored toad as it sprang into my arms. "We thought you were – we thought you … you … Who the heck're you?!"

"Yeah, well I was about to ask you the sa–! Wuh-oh!" I said as Itachi dropped to the ground and the three clones were each dispelled by a swiftly thrown kunai between the eyes. "Just get outta' here!" I said, hurriedly setting the toad down.

The man vanished, and appeared again two yards away, a kunai drawn…

Ching-ching-ching-ching-CLANG!

Before four deflected shuriken even hit the ground at Itachi's feet, his kunai was holding off one held by Hinata.

"You won't touch him!" she growled, and I saw that the whites of her eyes had become black.

"H-Hinata…" I whispered. My heart was pounding, my knees were shaking. I couldn't feel my legs; I fell down.

"Get back, Naruto!" she barked.

Because it's me they want, I realized.

"Hn… You're in the way," Itachi stated, and in a flash her kunai was on the ground and Itachi's fist was in her gut. She folded her arms across herself and staggered backwards a few steps before falling to one knee next to me, head down, unblinking a moment in shock. "I don't have time to play with you right now," Itachi said.

"Alright," I heard Kisame yell, "Now you're getting annoying!"

The man threw Lee by a hold on his ankle to send him flying twenty yards. He cried out as his back struck laterally across a tree, and he curled inward in a trembling heap on the ground.

Itachi glanced in the direction, and Hinata attacked.

His hand clapped onto her fist. "I'd rather not kill you, Hinata."

"Kuso!" she swore, drawing back her left hand.

CRRACK!

"AAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

I blanched at Hinata's blood-curdling scream as she fought desperately to pull away from the man. Itachi stared on emotionlessly as he continued to crush her hand in his.

"I won't ask nicely again," he said darkly, and his fist met her face, and she hit the ground in front of me, tears streaming from her eyes and blood leaking from her mouth, whimpering quietly in pain.

Itachi's eyes met mine, and my breath caught. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed.

The man started, turning his head. "Such chak–?"

"I HAVE NO CHOIICCCE!!!" Lee's intensely fierce roar drowned out Itachi's voice as something large and black and speckled with red clouds went shooting past me.

Kisame sat up with a hand over his nose, and looked at Lee – who had quickly become the center of attention. The boy's hair danced wildly at the chakra flowing from him, and his skin darkened to a reddish tone.

"Naruto, please cover for me!! Fourth Gate Shomon, Gate of Pain – OPEN!!!"

Itachi scowled, his eyes only slightly wider than usual. "How many can he–?!" He dodged an angry kunai stab from Hinata. "Kisame, stop him!" he shouted, blocking the following slash with his own knife.

"FIFTH GATE TOMON … GATE OF CL-CLOSING…!"

Kisame rushed by. A blow from Itachi sent Hinata thudding solidly into a tree next to me.

Cover for him…? Cover for him!

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!"

Ten clones appeared in Kisame's path and threw themselves at him, yelling and screaming and throwing kunai and paper bombs and smoke bombs and attacking furiously and wildly, and five more popped around him while he finished destroying those ten–

"OPEN!!!"

And Lee vanished in a whirlwind, leaving a wide-eyed Itachi to slash a kunai at empty air with a gruff grunt of frustration.

And as Kisame angrily shoved a fist through the last of the clones, a green bullet barreled into him full force to send him sailing. I shielded my face from an explosive, buffeting blast of wind and dirt and dust and snow as the blur bolted past in pursuit.

---

Lee リー

I must do this quickly!!

I raced ahead of the Kisame man and kicked him into the air with all my strength; he shot straight up at an incredible speed. I crouched, and then sprang after him, pushing off one tall tree, and then another and another as I ascended rapidly, shooting between ten tree trunks and leaving splintering dents where I left them. In a second I was rocketing above the treetops, passing by the still rising man.

"THUNDER BOLT KICK!!!" I shouted, plummeting and crushing and reversing his upward momentum with a foot in his abdomen.

"GAHK!!"

"Not YET!!" I darted to the side as he fell, and pushed off a tree to shoot past him, landing a punch as I did. As soon as I reached another tree I launched myself at him again, striking as I passed. He was almost held in place from the sheer swiftness with which I repeated this, his descent all but halted as I struck more than a dozen times in the next second. "MAD DANCE OF INFINITY!!!"

I shot to a space above him, pivoted in the air, and sped down toward him again. My whole body was beginning to burn.

Last time … the Lotus could have destroyed me. If Gai-sensei had not stepped in when he did, that sand probably would have crushed me. Last time … my Hidden Lotus was not enough.

I slammed into him with a foot and a palm.

But this time, if I do not finish the job, Naruto-kun and Hinata-san will be…

Kisame's eyes widened further as his fall halted abruptly; the bandaging tape from my arm I'd wound around him during my 'Dance of Infinity' had snapped taut, the other end held firmly in my grasp.

I have only just mastered it. I never imagined … it would be so soon.

"SIXTH GATE KEIMON, GATE OF JOY – OPEN!!!"

With a yell I yanked him back toward me.

To protect my friends…!

"HIDDEN LOTUS SEISHUN RENDAN!! BARRAGE OF YOUTH!!!"

I let my youthful energy explode like never before, concentrating, channeling everything I had into nothing more than pummeling the man with a hundred strikes of passionate ferocity as we descended, fighting through the pain and spinning into a finishing kick that sent him hurtling into the ground.

Now for the other!! I charged for Uchiha Itachi, and he spewed an immense ball of red flame. I cut to the side, and he scowled as I sprinted toward him, drawing my katana. There is no time to spare!

I slashed. He moved. I raced through a series of attacks, but could do nothing more than graze him twice.

He was dodging – he was actually dodging me!

The Uchiha sidestepped and snagged my arm, and his other hand clamped onto my neck. Before I could escape, I was forced to look into two glowering crimson eyes suddenly inches from my own.

Not … good… I thought as the world swayed, spun, and finally faded.

---

"…Uhh…" I slowly sat up, blinking to clear my head.

"Lee-kun! Thank goodness you're awake!" Hinata cried.

Naruto looked up. "You had us worried sick, Bushy Brow!"

Confused, I shook my head. "Naruto-kun, Hinata-san – what happened exactly?"

"You sent 'em running with their tails between their legs, that's what happened! After you passed out the Uchiha scooped up his injured buddy and made a break for it!" Naruto explained with a grin.

"He's right, Lee-kun – you saved our lives!"

"W… we made it?" I said as the girl embraced me, "It is really over…?"

Naruto nodded. "It's all thanks to you!"

He moved to join the hug, and I gasped. I tried to move away, but Hinata held me in place.

SPLAK!

"What … why…?" I gasped, wide-eyed in shock as my arm dripped with blood from the kunai that had been aimed for my side.

"Oh, darn. And here I thought I'd fooled you," Naruto said, his voice suddenly wicked, as he shoved the knife further into my forearm. I yelled and jumped away, quickly on my feet. I dodged as he threw the kunai stained with my blood.

My good hand twitched for one of the katana, and froze.

I would not pull a blade on them.

"What's wrong?!" Naruto was suddenly attacking; I barely blocked in time. "You know we've all been thinking about it!" he shouted as he continued to throw blow after blow; I blocked, but my moves were sluggish. He was too strong. "So we thought Hey, what better a time than now when you can hardly move?!"

"NO!" My foot flashed up, catching him across the face.

"That the best you can do?!" He recovered in a flash.

My almost-brother shoved a kunai into my belly, and did it smiling.

I suppressed a cry of pain and distress, and swung my fist.

"Too slow!" he taunted, grabbing my arm and vaulting over me. In a moment my arms were behind my back in a firm hold.

And my almost-sister's palm connected with my chest. Crimson spurted past my lips, speckled her remorseless face.

"Wh-why are you doing this?" I sobbed.

Hinata smirked. "Because you're too strong. No hard feelings, right, Lee-kun? We had to get you before you got us."

"It is not t-true… I do not believe it!! Release! Release!! KUSO, RELEASE!!" I screamed, unblinking in desperation, my eyes trained on hers even as she drew back a hand glowing with chakra.

"Just think of how powerful we'll become," Naruto chuckled darkly, "Hinata and I'll constantly be trying to surpass each other, and we won't ever dare risk letting ourselves fall behind the other."

"KAI! RELEASE ALREADY!!! WHY IS IT NOT RELEASING?!!"

"Sorry…"

"…Lee-sensei."

Her hand met my chest, stabbed my heart with a white-hot spear of chakra. And with that, I lost all hope.

"TRAITORS!!!"

---

Naruto ナルト

I held my breath for the seconds their eyes were locked, the world hanging utterly motionless as Lee's appearance returned to normal. His teeth clenched as he began to tremble violently. And then–

"TRAITORS!!!" he roared, eyes rolling back in his head – but even as he was going limp, Itachi's fist cracked into his jaw. He went sprawling to the ground, drooling and motionless, a horrible expression frozen on his face.

"What did you do?!" I screamed.

"…Genjutsu," the man answered simply, not bothering to look toward me. "Beginners of your type often find nothing more frightening … than the prospect of the so-called 'way of the missing-nin'…"

I gasped. Genjutsu. Lee's greatest fear. Traitors. The 'nukenindo.'

"You monster… You MONSTER!" I cried.

Paying me no mind, the man drew a kunai.

My hands met in a seal – the seal – and as I visualized where they were to appear, I shouted commands in my mind.

He stepped toward Lee.

"STOP!"

He halted, and eyed me with a frown.

I glared back, and gulped.

"D-drop … the kunai."

Itachi very slowly held his arm to the side. His kunai clattered to the ground.

"B-b-boss…" squeaked one of the five wide-eyed clones standing around me. The five terror-stricken shadow clones whose trembling hands held five kunai knives at my throat, eye, stomach, heart, and kidney.

"One wrong move," I whispered, my own hands ever so slightly vibrating on a kunai I pointed straight at my neck, its flat resting beneath my jaw, "and you can kiss Ninetails goodbye."

"…You bluff."

"I'm not kidding here. The demon's closed off from me now – I'm just as vulnerable as any regular person, and there won't be any speed healing. Take one step, try to catch any one of us in a genjutsu, and you know what the rest of us'll do. If you think you're quick enough to take out all five and secure my hands at once – before any one of us detects you've done a thing – I dare you to try. I've given my doppelgangers orders, and I know you can tell they're positioned to stab and stab hard."

Itachi's hands, again very slowly, rose empty into the air. A moment later his eyes turned black. "So what now, Naruto? It would appear we've reached a stalemate … but I think you should know, Kisame and I will be rather frustrated if we fail our mission."

"What do you mean…?"

"Kisame won't be pleased to learn we came all this way for nothing. If he is at all able to move when he wakes, I can guarantee you that that boy at least will be cut to ribbons." I scowled, and his face remained cold. "In fact, I promise you. If you die, I'll see to it personally that Hinata is soon to follow…"

"Kuso… You lousy…" My eyes moistened; tears slid down my cheeks as I glanced to the two, both unconscious. "…Fine, then," I whispered. If they wanted me, they could have me and me alone. "If I go with you … will you leave these two alone?"

He nodded. "No harm shall come to them..."

I took a long, deep breath. And then, one by one, the kage bunshin around me vanished.

Pop.

…I'm not afraid.

Pop.

This is how it has to be.

Pop.

Lee, Hinata… I'm sorry. I smiled sadly.

Pop.

But it's better this way.

Pop.

All three of us … don't need to die–

"NAARUUTOOO!!!"

A cry of rage and despair – and too suddenly for me to comprehend someone had lunged forward from behind and come to stand on my left in a crouch, her right foot forward, right arm extended upward in front of me. The kunai I'd been pointing at myself was flipping harmlessly through the air, forcefully knocked free of my grasp.

Then the hand became a fist, and the arm came down and back, and the wind was crushed out of me by a brutal elbow strike to the stomach. The force kicked my feet from under me as my body snapped double; I crashed to the ground, groping at my midsection in shock.

An unnatural chill permeated the air. I looked up at the person, who now stood in a slightly hunched posture a few feet in front of me. The one who gave off this sinister aura whispered in a very slow growl, "What's wrong with you…?!"

Wincing, I got to my knees. "H-Hinata – don't be stupid! The t-two of you don't have to d-die here!"

"Baka," she spat dangerously, turning her head to stab me with an icy, black and white gaze. I flinched, and finally noticed. Her skin was snow, her hair was ink. Three dark rings had encircled her neck and visible left wrist, and her angry snarl displayed a set of black fangs. And the striped markings on her face…

I gasped. This looked familiar.

She turned her head back to the Uchiha. "I can smell it, Naruto … but I'm in control … for the most part."

Itachi's Sharingan reawakened. "…Interesting," he remarked casually, his emotionless face revealing nothing of his thoughts.

Hinata growled, his voice further enraging her. Her entire body trembled eerily as the menacing sound continued to roll from deep in her throat, her clawed hands flexing angrily. A wave of bloodlust hit the air, and it was made plainly clear. She trembled not with fear, but with anticipation. She wanted nothing more right now than to slash, to rend, to maim, to break. To destroy.

To utterly destroy Uchiha Itachi.

Which probably meant she wasn't thinking too rationally.

"If you're coming, come…"

"No, Hinata, don't–!"

"With PLEASURE!" she barked harshly.

For a moment she almost disappeared; Itachi was instantly standing a meter from where he'd been, and Hinata, in a low crouch, went skidding to a halt behind him from her charge.

Eyes narrowed in virulent malice, she took two swift, long strides on all fours and rose to lash out with claws. The man sidestepped the swing, and Hinata spun out of the overshot move as she went hurtling by, and attacked again.

Itachi blocked a fist, and Hinata raced through strike after strike, pelting him with blows that were all avoided one way or another with no apparent effort. The Uchiha merely observed her, not fighting back. The two blurred through movements, and Hinata fought gracefully, fierce yet flowing.

At one point on the receiving end of a throwing move, she flipped nimbly so that her feet met the trunk of a tree. From the higher point she shot out toward Itachi, who dodged her claws as always. Her outstretched hand impacted the ground, and the other hand swiftly followed for balance; her foot sharply flashed toward his face, and as it was blocked by a forearm the foot shoved off to quickly spin her body around in the other direction. Her feet lowered to the ground in a beautiful sweeping kick, and as Itachi jumped the attack and her feet returned to the earth, she transferred her spin into a backhand fist that swung violently for her foe. As it was caught she followed through with her other arm, lashing across herself and aiming to slash the blocking arm open. He pushed her away, and the tip of a black nail passed a half centimeter from its target. Hinata's back foot rose, and she exploded into a backwards roundhouse kick.

I almost wanted to shout something like 'Fight smart!' or 'Watch yourself!' as she attacked wildly, but didn't for the imminent sense that the instant the cold-eyed man decided to defeat her, she would be defeated.

…Or worse.

And then, Itachi moved too quickly for my eyes to make sense of it. A precise hand chopped at Hinata's back with a sharp thump, and she crashed to the dirt.

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"k-k-kuso…" I hissed, eyes tightly shut, forehead resting on the cold ground. My hands, both the uninjured and the recently broken, curled into trembling fists that clasped dry grass tightly, and my claws dug into my palms. I coughed weakly, and could feel moisture on my lips. "Kuso…!"

I turned my head, opening my eyes. Sitting in a daze fifteen yards away was a pale-faced Naruto, looking scared and very confused. I looked up to see Lee, unconscious and drooling in front of me; a blank look was plastered on his face, and his knuckles were white from the two katana still locked in his hands.

You two … I'm sorry…!

My eyes snapped open, and my head slowly rose an inch.

I smell it…

The mark throbbed violently, pleadingly. My nose twitched.

Blood…

As I began trembling, my tongue unconsciously flickered across my mouth.

The blood of … Uchiha Itachi…

The sword, the katana blade in front of me. The edge. Red. Lee had grazed him.

It … it smells so…

In a long breath I carefully took in the scent on the blade resting before me. My heart began racing at its brilliance, and a rumble began rolling up from my throat. But I held myself back.

'So what will you do now, koinu?' a dark, vaguely familiar voice questioned. 'Teetering precariously on the halfway mark between your kind and mine… To shrink back and succumb to the inevitable… To lose yourself in the thirst for death, the desire to slash, to rend, to break, to kill. Ah, will or will not the pitiful little puppydog risk it? Choose quickly now, koinu. Show this man your power, show me your power, if you dare…'

What to do, which way to go? How to possibly choose–?

'…Tell me, koinu – How does it smell?'

The corners of my mouth twitched upward as resistance was shot down by desire.

The smell of death … ever so suddenly…

It smelled good.

Energy churned within me as I lowered my head, tongue sliding hungrily across the thin line of red on the blade. I smiled in exhilaration, my mouth opening as a fourth black ring burned into the flesh of my neck, each forearm, each ankle. Then I welcomed power and instinct to claim me.

---

Naruto ナルト

I was scared. I was scared.

Hinata – sweet, timid, perfect (Perfect...? Well, yes, pretty much, perfect) Hinata – now possessed an eerie glint in her eyes, and an insane, toothy smile of glee spread wide across her face. A smoky mist of black fog enveloped her, clinging to her body in a light haze. Finally, her eyes took on a more rhombus-like appearance as they were both outlined along their bottom and outer sides by a thin line of black.

Abruptly, I found myself scared for a new reason. She was a yard away from Lee … smiling and openly radiating bloodlust only a short, short few feet from his vulnerable, prone form...

I caught myself, disbelieving, but before I could berate myself for such a thought she slowly turned her head to slash the silent Uchiha (who had flickered fifteen yards back) with her gaze.

He held out a hand … and beckoned.

And Hinata's right arm was buried to the shoulder in the tree he'd been in front of. Having shifted a foot to his left, he now stood behind her.

"So you're quicker than before … and yet, you leave yourself wide open…" He blocked the elbow that lashed for his ribcage. Hinata whirled to face him as she yanked her arm from the tree trunk; it came free with the bandaging tape shredded messily, the arm scratched up and streaming with a weird black substance, but oddly enough no blood–

Oh.

Itachi dodged neatly as she turned her hand to swipe with claws in the same motion that had freed her arm. Hinata's hand curled into a fist – but Itachi moved before she could attack, and I cringed as his fist shot hard into her abdomen.

But she attacked anyways.

I saw it flicker across his face as he dodged her fist. For the briefest of instants, Uchiha Itachi had honestly been taken by surprise.

Hinata exploded into a series of violent movements, be they with feet or hands, fists or claws, soles, heels, knees, or elbows, whirling, swinging, swiping, flowing, lunging. All were again avoided with apparent ease on Itachi's part, until he suddenly attacked, his fist connecting sharply with her cheek and following through in such a motion that she was forced toward the ground.

I could see her face clearly as the hit landed; her mouth popped open and a few droplets of spittle escaped it, but her eyes – one squinted slightly – remained open and pointed toward her foe. She reached so that her hands met the earth, and her foot flashed to Itachi's head. His hand clapped onto her ankle.

Their eyes locked for several seconds, Itachi's face unreadable as Hinata glared fiercely with a teeth-baring snarl, blood trickling from one corner of her mouth.

"…Do you feel no pain, or simply ignore it?" Itachi wondered aloud. In reply Hinata pushed her hands from the ground and curled forward while her ankle was still in the man's grip, going for his face with her claws – but her attack fell short as he pulled on her captured ankle, spun in a tight circle, and flung her away. She sailed twenty yards, twisting in the air so that she landed on her hands and feet.

"Useless…" Itachi stated, "Why do you smile? For all your strength, you're fighting like a wild animal…"

Hinata didn't seem to hear him. Her crazed eyes were wide as she cocked her head slightly and gave a disturbing, crooked smile.

"I'll kill you," she stated, a simple eager expression of mirth. She snickered quietly, and then was silent a short moment. Then she exploded into laughter, and bloodlust rained.

My stomach lurched hard.

Oh shi–

"I'LL KILL YOU!!!" she roared savagely with a sadistic smile of glee, and with a crackling burst of dark chakra a fifth set of black rings appeared. Her back arched slightly as her fangs jumped a half centimeter in length, and the light haze of smoky black flames that rolled lazily about her thickened only very slightly before sprouting an appendage resembling a misty black tail at the base of her spine, and two foggy ear-like structures atop her head.

"Come and try," Itachi said calmly, and in a moment Hinata was advancing toward him in elegant strides on all fours.

Itachi's hands flowed though a number of seals as if they were one before he spewed an immense sphere of fire.

Recognition seemed to glint briefly behind Hinata's eyes; her hands rose from the ground to smack through a well-memorized chain of signs. Itachi's blaze had almost reached her when she spat a billowing stream of flame.

Itachi's fireball won. Hinata's charging form was overtaken, swallowed up by a lethal cloud of orange.

My heart skipped a beat.

The Uchiha looked up.

And from the flames a rapidly spinning figure broke into the air, emerging and rising high above the ground. Hinata uncurled her body and hovered a moment at the peak of her leap, knees bent as one standing in a crouch, one eye opened wider than the other, a wolfish, bloodthirsty grin still plastered on her face, and her left hand clutching her right shoulder. Her hand clenched, and her claws drew blood.

As she began to fall toward her foe, she spun to her left in a circle before lashing her arm in a backhand swing, loosing a feral cry. Five blades of black energy seemed to roll off her dripping claws, expanding and lengthening as they hurtled for the ground. Itachi flickered to safety; a cloud of dust was kicked up as a few trees were felled by the strange technique.

Hinata crashed into the cloud – and a moment later erupted from it toward Itachi, a fist swinging forward. He lunged in with a punch, but Hinata blurred from its path in a whirling motion. In an instant she was on the ground to the side, held up by her arms, a heel swinging back to connect with his knee.

A sickening crack … and Itachi's knee went the wrong way.

An anguished cry … and Hinata's face lit up with excitement.

She vanished, materializing as she slashed deep gouges across the man's back. Again she momentarily phased out of existence, flickering into sight only a moment a few yards in front of the falling man – and again as her hand plunged through his chest.

POOF!

A – a kage bunshin… I was almost grateful for that.

Meanwhile, Hinata's thrill twisted into fury. She had been out for blood, and now stood outraged at the disappointment. She turned her head to glare at the Uchiha, who now stood twenty yards away.

She turned, and suddenly I was on my feet.

"Stop it!"

She charged.

I leapt into her path, and her eyes focused on me instead.

A clawed hand rose, and I shut my eyes.

I heard short breaths, gasping and irregular. My eyes opened, and I gulped as I saw the black claws hovering a centimeter from my neck. A few more inches, and my throat would have been ripped out.

Her hand trembled and shuddered every few seconds, clearly itching to do just that.

"Naru…to…" she whispered, her harsh voice hoarse and a pained expression on her face. For several moments we stared into each other's eyes.

"Hinata, you're not yourself! I know you're stronger than this – don't let this thing control you! It hurts to see you like this… The Hinata I know isn't a ruthless fighter, and she could never take joy in killing someone!"

"Naruto, you…" Her nose twitched. Suddenly her teeth locked with a snap, and her eyes turned wild as she gasped sharply. She drew back her hand, claws spread and prepared to slash.

An inch from my face, the deadly claws curled into her palm.

"Get the hell out the way!!" she roared as her fist slammed into the side of my face. The world flashed and sparkled dizzyingly before I crashed to the ground, the taste of iron quickly entering my mouth.

Hinata… I thought, turning my head and watching as she barreled toward Itachi on all fours. You fought the mark with everything you had, and it wasn't enough. You are still in there somewhere…

Five yards from the man, Hinata gave an animalistic cry as she pounced forward, claws raised.

But can't you see that this guy isn't even taking you seriously? Eventually he'll have to finish observing … and when that happens–

Itachi's foot was suddenly above his head level. Hinata's charge was broken so abruptly, and her head snapped back so sharply, so alarmingly far back as her feet left the ground and her eyes rolled and blood shot from her mouth, that I fell all color drain from my face. The well-timed kick sprawled her out on her back before Itachi with a heavy thud of dead weight, and she lied motionless with a shocked expression stuck to her white face, mouth open and eyes open with only their black sclera showing.

…N-no…

I struggled to pick myself up, and stumbled a moment once I had.

Was she breathing…?

"Hinata…?"

It … didn't look like it.

"Hinata!!!" I screamed, running heavily toward them.

Moisture rolled down my cheeks.

"NOOO!!" I yowled madly, "No, no, no, no, n–!!"

So suddenly did Hinata rise and leap straight for Itachi – and so instantly was Itachi standing a yard to the side with no apparent signs of motion, a foot catching Hinata across her ribcage – that I could do little more than stand baffled as Hinata went from lying seemingly lifeless one moment to upright and receiving a solid kick in the ribs the next.

Her glowering eyes widened slightly as they remained focused on the man. She followed through with the swing she'd thrown even while her mouth was flying open to admit a sputtery sound of pain and a sharp spurt of black as the kick was sinking in. She reached flexibly across herself, and her claws grazed his side.

He anticipated wrong – who wouldn't? I don't think there are too many enemies who'll attack you while they're getting their ribs busted…

He frowned, and Hinata's pained grimace twisted into a grin.

And in a quick, graceful motion Itachi had jumped, spun in a sharp circle, and planted a heel on the center of her forehead.

I saw her clench her teeth – then I gasped as something went flying past me. I whirled in disbelief in time to see her small form shoot into the treeline, vanishing from sight with the dark.

All of it probably happened in two seconds. With a loud crack one of the tall, slim trees was suddenly falling over. Five or six others generally aligned with it vibrated or swayed, as they were glanced no doubt, and amid them another was felled; then, accompanied in a moment by a solid and booming THWACK! that resonated sharply, a tree thirty yards away, one well taller and thicker than most others around it, gave a shudder. And promptly began to tip over.

I gaped in horror, frozen stiff as I watched the great tree lurch toward the ground, unable to wrap my mind around it even as I stared. It met the earth with a great rumbling boom, and numbness washed over me.

I imagined a corpse, broken and bloody on the forest floor, bent in the wrong places or at unnatural angles, or maybe even crushed under the tree, squashed flat like the most insignificant little fly…

"You," I growled acidly, my voice laced with pure hatred. My teeth ground together as I turned my head to the Uchiha. A familiar drag pulled at the seal on my belly: a force that acted in response to my emotions, that at one time would have drawn the Kyuubi's chakra into my system. Now I merely felt a fruitless tug for the energy blocked off from me, a straw sucking at a dry glass.

Kuso… I tugged harder, trying to use my chakra to pierce through the barrier, to force the link open myself. Lee and Hinata – those two had put out everything they had to protect my sorry hide, while I sat back and stared like a coward, too frightened to do a thing. And now… I didn't care if it killed me. Uchiha Itachi would pay.

My efforts proved useless. Frustrated, my shoulders shook as I shut my eyes and sobbed. "Kuso… Why Hinata? Why d-does everything a-always have to happen to Hinata? It sh-shouldn't be like this… What did she ever do? To anyone?! It should've been me. It's me you want, right? Why did you have to k-kill Hinata? Why?!"

"…She was growing annoying."

My nails dug into my palms, and I bellowed a wordless cry of rage as I ran at him with a fist raised, sight blurred with tears.

There was pain, and I was on the ground. After sobbing a moment, I turned my face out of the dirt. "T-teme," I whispered miserably, looking up at the emotionless face of the man.

He looked up, away from me. "Hn," he said, shutting his eyes and lowering his head with the slightest trace of a smirk. His gaze drifted to the side. "It would seem I'll need to use more force after all."

"……Wh–?"

"HRRAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!"

With that angry cry a black and white blur came rocketing from the treeline. In a fluid motion, a flash of speed, Itachi drew back a fist and darted forward.

She's alive!

THUD.

A heavy spray of blood shot from Hinata's mouth as she was halted abruptly. Itachi had lunged in and used her own power against her, catching her midstride to forcefully bury a fist in her gut. Unlike several of the others, this blow had clearly gotten through to her; her eyes were impossibly wide, out of unfeigned shock or pain or maybe both, and her jaw hung slack. The two were unmoving for several moments.

"O…oh…" Hinata breathed as if in surprise as she went limp, her body slumping over and her arms falling strengthlessly; her right hand, which had been raised to attack, brushed Itachi's cloak and grasped feebly through unconscious reflex with weakly trembling fingers. All at once markings faded, black hair went blue, fangs and claws shrank, rounded, and whitened into normal, human teeth and nails, aura faded tail, ears, and all, and eyes retook their natural appearance.

As Hinata had keeled over, stunned, the fist in her stomach (which I had a feeling was the only thing keeping the girl from hitting the ground) uncurled into an open hand. Itachi neatly turned her to the side, hooking his arm around her waist to hold her up, and his other hand pulled down at the neck of her jacket and shirt. During this Hinata's unblinking eyes remained wide and unfocused, her deadened gaze directed aimlessly at the ground. Itachi studied the back of her neck a long moment.

"This is … the work of Orochimaru…" he remarked.

Hinata's milky eyes blinked slowly, losing some of their glaze, before shutting tightly as her teeth clenched in a grimace. In a moment she shuddered and began gasping and coughing weakly, peppering the ground with red droplets of blood.

Darn it, you fool… Why didn't you run when you had the chance?

"But how did he manage to infuse that power with it … and why on earth would he produce something so unstable? Are you a test subject…?" he mused in light curiosity, gently stroking the mark as he gazed at it with his Sharingan eyes.

"Y-you … get your filthy hands off of her!" I said weakly, trying and failing to get to my knees. I wouldn't sit here and watch him treat her like some kind of animal!

Itachi glanced toward me. "There's been a slight change of plans, Uzumaki. Hinata will be coming along with us as well."

"Never gonna happen!!" I shouted, struggling with renewed efforts.

"…Naruto-kun is r-right… You won't be t-taking anyone today…"

"Hinata?"

Her eyes opened slightly. "I haven't qu-quite … been defeated yet, Uchiha," she spat.

"Big words for one in your position," Itachi noted.

"Oh are they…? I really th-think you're the one … wh-who ought to start reassessing your position about now…"

"What are you prattling about…?"

"You overestimate yourself … and are too c-certain of your enemies… I really can't believe you haven't noticed yet. You can see chakra, can't you? I want you to look v-very closely at my arm … or more specifically, my hand."

Itachi's eyes widened as he gasped with a start – the greatest show of emotion I'd probably ever see from him. He released Hinata and backed away a step; her knees wobbled weakly, but she stayed on her feet and moved with him. Her now open hand, for whatever reason, still clung to the man's cloak…

I gasped as it hit me, and I realized that 'unconscious reflex' may have been intentional and premeditated. All of it. She'd charged on her two legs instead of down on all fours, she'd taken the hit, and now…

"Thanks for buying me time, Naruto-kun," she said icily, her bloody mouth set in a scowl as she glowered at the Uchiha with dangerously narrowed white eyes – a Hyuuga deathglare, of all things. And almost as if on cue, her sleeve fell back to reveal the complex medley of hastily drawn black markings now decorating her bare forearm. This time it was no accident.

Hinata's hand was stuck – to Uchiha Itachi's middle.

His hand snapped to her wrist, trying to detach her hand from him. Growling softly in frustration, he tightened his grip. Hinata flinched, but she never stopped glaring.

"Break my wrist if you w-want … it won't make any difference…"

With looks to kill, Itachi's hand went for her neck instead. "Let go of me," he hissed poisonously. Hinata shut an eye in pain.

"Sorry … but th-there's only one way … I c-can do that…!" Her left hand grabbed her arm as her other eye snapped shut. She grunted as her hand began to radiate a blue glow with the chakra trapped within it. She couldn't wash the ink off, meaning she needed to break the seal with sheer pressure of chakra alone. Energy sparked around her hand as she channeled still more chakra; sweat beaded her forehead and cheeks, and her voice tightened as the glow rapidly intensified. "But … if you … INSIST… Unh…!"

"No," Itachi whispered, eyes big. His free hand suddenly produced a kunai. The knife flashed for Hinata's wrist–

BOOM!!!

And went sailing unstained through the air as the man cried out, and an enormous, lightning-sharp crackling of energy, a blinding flash of blue-white, blasted the two apart.

Itachi staggered backwards as his feet met the earth, and crimson jumped past his locked teeth, spattering his chin and his cloak. He looked up to see Hinata, who had been blown ten yards, on one foot and off-balance, beginning to fall, her half-open eyes losing focus, and a cocky grin of triumph weakly adorning a pale face drawn tight with pain.

A growl of fury, of outrage, tore from the man's throat.

Hinata flinched hard, stiffening as she was captured by his murderous crimson gaze.

Before a gasp could even escape her, the sole of Itachi's shoe was smashing into her face.

I uttered a wordless cry of protest.

She crashed headfirst into a tree, her body glancing off like a stone, crumpling like a ragdoll.

NO!!!

And an immense force wrenched at the seal.

---

The air here was stale, damp and unclean. A rhythmic plit of dripping water reached my ears every few moments. My vision came slowly, first in colors, and within the course of five seconds sharpened to reveal the iron bars of an immense prison before me. I recognized the yellow-tinted chamber in an instant, even before a deep, rumbling laugh rolled from the depths of the cage.

"Fox – you there?" I asked excitedly.

"I am, gaki… I take it I was missed…?" The kitsune chuckled again.

"Hardly. So what am I doing here? Has everything healed up? Are we ready to open the link again?"

"Yes … and no…"

"…What does that mean? Which is it?" I asked, and I noticed for the first time that the fox's rumbling growl of laughter carried a tone more malevolent than humored. I frowned uneasily as the chuckles escalated. "Hey … did you hear me–?"

In a flash of orange I was knocked across the room, slammed against the far wall. The tail coiled around me like a snake before I could fall.

How? How the heck had the fox reached me?!

"B-but I thought…?!"

"Your keirakukei has fully healed, you gaki … the seal, on the other hand, has not."

The demon bellowed with full-blown laughter, and the room was bathed a hellish red as its chakra raced to fill it.

"Nnnoooo!!" I howled as the blazing wall of demonic power crashed against me, forcing its way into my body, converging on my center. A huge amount of the kitsune's boiling red chakra bored and twisted its way into my belly, and soon was being steadily drawn in at a staggering rate.

The last sound I heard was the monster's roaring laughter.

---

Naruto ? ナルト

"Hahahahaha… AHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

I hadn't felt so good – so alive – in thirteen long YEARS! My glorious chakra poured from the seal, enriching, invigorating my puny body, racing over my skin in a thick cloak of boiling dark crimson.

"YOU'RE FIRST!!" I roared as my eyes landed on the man, five tails dancing joyously behind me. Five, only a fraction of my boundless power – MORE than enough! I'd turn the fool into a bloody smear on the ground!!

I collected and unleashed a sphere of pure, concentrated chakra from my mouth, and it covered the distance in an instant. The mortal worm just barely dodged – too slow, too slow! – and the missile crashed through the trees, exploded behind him, knocked him forward.

"NOW you DIE!!!" I shouted, instantly beside him, kicking him in the chest, but he blocked, but he was sent crashing into the trees, vanishing from sight.

"You thought YOU could conquer the great Kyuubi no Youko, KING of the TAILED BEASTS?!! Foolish MORTAL – FEEL OUR WRATH!!! Kyuubi is INVINCIBLE – I AM INVINCIBLE!!!"

I loosed another sphere of energy into the forest; it EXPLODED, blasting down trees with more force, more true, sheer, destructive POWER than a dozen, five, TEN dozen shinobi paper bombs could EVER hope to produce!! I threw my head back, spread my arms, and roared with laughter as a shockwave rushed by, as a plume of smoke shot into the air! Then I turned my head and fired into the trees again! And again! And again!! After THIRTEEN wretched YEARS wasted in that place – for now, this I could settle with GLADLY!!

"What's wrong, UCHIHA? You WANTED something with me – WELL HERE I AM!!! Why don't you come out NOW, so we can TALK about it face to face?!!"

I reached across myself with both arms, concentrating chakra until the raw power churned in a hyperactive frenzy within me, collecting it in my chest, my throat. I swept my arms out and unleashed a heaven- and earth-shaking roar of might, and the surging wave of chakra was ignited into a sea of red flames, a rushing, crashing, towering, BLAZING tsunami that washed out into the forest!!! The pitiful forest that would NEVER be enough to hide the coward, to shield the wounded rat from my wrath!

"AHAHAHA – AAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!" I screamed as black smoke billowed from the flaming forest, lit such a wondrous array of red and orange, and the dancing flames leaped and twisted and roared to my laughter!! I tensed my muscles, prepared to spring, to dive in and seek out and snuff out the life of the human surely fighting, struggling so desperately with all the meager whole of his pathetic shinobi skill – fighting for his WORTHLESS existence! He would meet his end at our claws!

"Naruto!"

She ran in front of me, so laughably slow that I could have killed her ten times over for all the time she took! She spread her arms as though to stop me – as if to stop, ME!!

Get OUT OF HERE, IDIOT!

"You wanna go next?" I hissed to the girl. Perfect! While that other one was busy burning to a crisp, I would have some fun with the disgusting wolf bitch.

I chuckled as tears streamed from wide white eyes and down the terrified weakling's face. "Naruto, wake up! I know you're there somewhere! You've got to fight this monster!"

"H…Hina…ta?" I mumbled slowly, blinking.

"Naruto-kun," she gasped, "I kn-knew it…"

"Hinata, I – I'm scared! The fox is t-t-taking over my body! I'm scared and everything hurts so b-bad!"

She placed her hands on my shoulders, her jaw locking a moment. "You've got to stay with me, Naruto!"

"Oh, Hinata," I moaned, shutting my eyes and moving closer. "Hinata, Hinata…" My hand snapped onto her neck. "You gullible little fool," I growled, a smile sliding across my face as I lifted her off the ground.

"Na…ru…to…" she croaked, struggling weakly, pathetically, and her locked teeth began to point, her sclera going dark as black chakra coiled around her burning neck, attempted to protect her!

"You waste your time, worthless DOG!!" I laughed, raising a hand coated in a claw-like cloak of energy.

"Please … Naruto-k-kun … don't give in…! I believe in you – uhn! D-don't you – recognize me anymore…? Please … Look into my eyes!"

I gasped. Her eyes, her beautiful eyes, tear-stricken and pleading! Utterly terrified – she was terrified, of me! But even now, even in her position, she was far more so terrified FOR me!! She still cared – for that reason she refused to abandon me, hadn't done the smart thing and run away!

"Naruto…kun…" she forced out as her breath ran thin, "I-it's me… Hinata…"

PUT HER DOWN!!! It pounded in my head, sparked and crackled through every nerve ending in my body, and my hand snapped open in compliance as if burned! No! This couldn't be! Oh, yes it could!

"RUN AWAY, you FOOL!!!" I roared furiously, cursing myself inwardly as the mortal FILTH! flinched, but maybe that was good, yes, I could scare her away! No, I already knew that wouldn't work! The stubborn freakin' idiot wouldn't stop until she succeeded or DIED–!

"DIE!" I shouted!

"NO!!" I screamed! And my claws jerked to a stop, one stupid, measly, blessed INCH from taking out her throat!

"Curse you … wolf … Hinata-chan – WHY DON'T YOU GET AWAY?!!!"

"B-because..." she gulped, "Because I'm your friend… And I already know you'd do the same for me, no matter what the risk."

"Hinata-chan… I'LL TEAR YOU IN HALF–!"

Her arms were around me.

CRAAAP!

KILL her!

No!

YES!!

I grimaced as I fought to kill her, fought to resist.

"Hinata … I'm b-burning you…!"

"This is nothing!" she whimpered. That VILE black chakra, thankfully it was helping to protect her! CURSE it!! "I'm n-not going to leave you!"

"It's no use – it's FUTILE, scum, I AM – the f-fox is too strong!!"

"You're stronger, N-Naruto-kun, I know you are!" she cried. "You're – you're the strongest person I've ever known! I won't stand by and let this happen – I can't! Naruto, I promise … No matter what, I'll stay with you!!"

"Damn it, Hinata! Why can't you just FORGET about me already?!"

"Because… Because I love you, Naruto!"

My eyes widened. My heart skipped three beats.

Pink face – avoided eye contact – "If you want, I c-could … I could show you my test…" – always staring from across the room – "When I look at you, you f-fill me with s-such, such admiration!" – mumbling, stuttering, breathing fast – wonder why the heck that weird girl's following me again? – "I just think … you're an incredibly strong person, Naruto!" – sometimes even fainting – our eyes, locked – What's this … this feeling? – recognition behind murderous white eyes – "Get the hell out the way!" – All made sense.

BDMP.

"…Hinata…"

"Please, Naruto, you've got to keep fighting! F-for me…" she sobbed.

"Hinata … I … I think I–," Love? Love? I tossed and twisted the word around, repeated it in my head a few times, and at last I mentally nodded. Love. "Yes, I f-feel the same – I th-think I love you, too… Hinata … I don't…" Very slowly, very carefully, I embraced her trembling form. "I don't want to hurt you… Listen to me; I need you to do something for me. You'll have to be strong, Hinata…"

"What i-is it…?"

I met her eyes a long moment. And I realized I truly would do anything, whatever it took, to protect this girl.

"Hinata-chan … Kill me."

Her eyes snapped wide.

I cringed as the fox screamed deafeningly in protest, sending pain shooting through my head, blades of agony twisting though my body, violent shouts searing in my ears. Growling, I wrestled it back.

Her head shook very slightly. "No."

"Hin–!" I felt her stiffen against me as I lurched and vomited blood over her shoulder. "Hinata – I'm in a-AGONY!! While I've got the demon suppressed, I'm begging you – pl-please, be strong!"

"I won't do it!" she cried, distraught, "There's got to be another way–!"

"Hinata … forgive me, but there is no other way!" Holding her tight, gripping her arms, and warring against the voice that demanded I break her spine or all-out incinerate her to ashes, I focused on the wild, destructive chakra, intensifying the opaque cloak of red coating my body. My sharp teeth clenched as her scream pierced my ears, and I saw four black rings burst onto her suddenly pale neck in automatic self-defense as before; her mark was supplying enough aura to shield her.

I was starting to bleed everywhere, after all. She shouldn't be able to resist.

I loosened my constraining embrace, so that she would be able to move.

"…N-now who's the baka... baka," she growled, flinching in restraint as the fifth ring appeared. "You r-really thought … I w-would be th-that easy?" Her claws dug into my shoulder, her teeth grinding angrily in a snarl. War raged behind her wild eyes. She was fighting, hard.

"Kuso… Times like these … I really w-wish my stubbornness hadn't r-rubbed off on ya'…" The demon attacked again by surprise, managing to infect me with a wave of malice. I grunted in pain as I staved off its undefiable iron will, our thirst for the wench's blood, my boundless, indomitable POWER – No! Darn it, I couldn't keep this up much longer! "Just do it already!"

"No," she growled, shutting her eyes. Her left hand pulled slowly away from me, drawing back in preparation to strike. Her clawed hand twitched and trembled, and with a violent shudder she rested her forehead on my shoulder, her back arched as if in pain. My sharp ears caught a strange sound in a few seconds, and I pinned it down as the awakening of her Byakugan. That made enough sense. Her eyes were closed, and she would probably want to find a good place to strike – to make it quick and painless as possible, for both of us. With that hand shrouded in chakra, I had no doubt she could pierce through me, aura cloak and all.

A sound of frustration leaked past her teeth as she shook, unable to do it.

"There, don't feel bad after this. Remember, I asked you to. If you care about me, you'll help me–,"

"Don't make stupid assumptions, idiot," she growled, "I'm protecting you my own way!!"

Her hand shot toward my abdomen, fingers straight and aligned, with just enough force for her claws to slice through the aura and puncture my skin. A stabbing knife of chakra speared through me, stinging like heck.

What the–?

A breathtaking yowl of pain erupted in my head. A wide-eyed Hinata jerked her hand away, latching teeth onto her arm to keep from attacking me. And everything turned black.

---

"Curse that wretched wolf!!!" The kitsune's bellow pounded through the prison chamber as the seal flared with a sudden black energy. Across the room, the damaged slip of paper was coated in darkness and sending energy violently crackling out over the bars – and racing over the five tails reaching through the bars – as the strengthened seal did its job. The tails previously coiled around me jerked away, retreating back into the prison.

"Hinata … You're a genius!" I whispered.

"Fools, all of you!" the fox barked. "It makes no difference, the end result shall be the same! You think Juuken and some pathetic recreation of that weakling Houkou's chakra will be enough to stop ME?!!"

The Kyuubi's prison suddenly filled with blazing energy, throwing everything in the now red-tinted room into sharp relief and flinging the shadows of the bars across the floor. The chakra built up behind the seal's barrier until it was a raging mass of violent dark crimson, condensed to such a degree that I could see nothing beyond it save for the demon's furious eyes. The barrier of the seal crackled in retaliation, until finally the cloak of grey-black energy burst from the paper.

An ocean of red exploded toward me.

I raised my arms instinctively, and a barrier of blue sprang up around me in a shroud before jumping to extend a few feet in front of me. The wall of fox chakra hit, and I was driven away until my back crashed into the wall. Chakra must behave differently in here, I noted, unblinking in shock as I held up the protective dome of chakra shielding me.

I grunted in effort as the red energy warred against mine, fought to consume me again. I could do nothing more than hold my shield in place; my hair danced wildly at the amount of energy I was putting out.

"That's right," I said, "My chakra … is probably about the only think resistant to your chakra…"

"But how long can you keep it up, gaki?" Kyuubi chuckled. "What is your limit? A minute, or perhaps two? My power is immeasurable, virtually limitless!!" To emphasize he shoved his chakra against mine in a sudden, unexpected heave; my teeth locked almost painfully as the crimson jumped almost a full yard closer before I halted it just a half foot short of my outstretched hands. Trying to push it away again was useless; it felt like I was pushing against a mountain. Which meant every inch lost wouldn't be gained back.

And I was losing strength.

The Kyuubi's power was only intensifying around me. "Do you understand? Your struggles are futile!" roared through the chamber. A tail crashed against my barrier, and I felt like I'd been slammed by a sack of bricks; I lost my breath, and a knee hit the floor as a huge chunk of my strength was expended in my defense. Another tail attacked before I could fully recover, and another slammed in, and another and another, and I turned my head away and screamed.

Sheer willpower kept me from giving in as I withstood it all. The crimson chakra was thick red around me, and mine a fluorescent blue in concentration. Only an inch of blue energy remained to separate the red from my hands; my palms burned, and my arms fought the desire to bend, to be forced back under the horrible pressure. My back was pressed tight against the wall behind me. Frequently a spark of red would snap through the shield like a miniature lightning bolt, burning sharply when it touched me. I couldn't go on.

"You're done, boy…" the fox growled, and I saw the outlines of five tails rising in preparation. The finishing blow was coming. "This will end it. Surrender yourself, give me your body to control, and I promise it will not be painful…"

It was true. Even I knew I wasn't about to defeat it.

"Sorry … but I don't know … the m-meaning of surrender! You'll just h-have to … come and get me!"

"So be it! This is the end!!!"

The five tails rushed toward me, aiming to pierce through the barrier.

A grim smile.

"Heck. No."

And I turned my palms up and swept my arms back, abandoning my shield and all resistance just before the tails hit.

And the roomful of chakra, pressurized, condensed chakra that had focused and focused into a thick mass of crimson as it had pressed constantly against my defense, was suddenly provided a release. Me.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

It converged on me from all directions, blasting, shooting into me at an enormous rate. Every second more than a hundred times my body's average chakra must have come exploding into me. My body would never be able to take it.

I screamed, the fox screamed, and our agonized cries were one. It tried to withdraw its power, but I wouldn't let it. I was helping the energy attack me, pulling on the chakra already moving toward me and drawing it in myself.

The boiling rain of chakra finally subsided, and I fell numbly to my hands and knees, impossibly weak and enormously strong, sore, stiff, and strengthless but somehow electrified. I shuddered at a flare of the pain still burning inside me. The room blurred up, and even as my head spun I glared at the fox with the last of my strength. It was whimpering, scratching and pawing, ramming its head against the bars, trying desperately to break the damaged seal. To escape the imminence of the encroaching inevitable.

"Well, well, well. Look at the great invincible Kyuubi no Youko now…"

"NO, YOU IDIOT – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"Kamikaze attack…" I whispered with a smirk. "I'm dying, fox. And I'm taking you with me."

The demon roared madly in outrage, in desperation, turning and throwing its entire body against the bars of its prison.

The bars were dented, and a small bit more of the crackling paper seal browned, blackened, crumbled away.

A massive claw slammed onto the ground outside the prison. Tails fought to pry groaning bars open. The failing seal could only sputter a few sparks in protest.

With an angry yell I reached for my chakra and swept a leaden arm forward.

A bolt of violet purple shot for the seal.

Kyuubi no Youko roared in pain as the seal's barrier crackled and sprang to life. Sharp sparks of yellow light exploded outward along the cage, viciously attacking the protruding tails, paw, and muzzle. The bars lit up with energy and snapped straight, and the kitsune was bodily flung away from them, crashing into some far wall with a great booming thud.

A blinding flash of purple light flared from the seal.

A blanket of darkness slowly slipped over the world.

And as my life faded, a demonic voice gently reached my ears.

"There is no question now… You are his son, aren't you…?"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

It was tempting. It was tempting.

Slash him open and spill his blood all over the–

NO!! Horrified, I jerked my hand back and locked my teeth onto the arm, as much to keep from attacking him as to flee the sharp urge to clean the few delicious-smelling drops of fresh blood from my hands, both of which options striking decidedly appealing. If I tasted it, I feared, I would want more…

I hurriedly tucked the other arm behind me. I leaned away and stilled my feet, allowing myself to topple onto my back, pinning myself down as well as I could. I writhed with a muffled cry as I struggled against the seal, my back arching as grasping tendrils of the intoxicating darkness crept to further their hold on my heart, my mind, my soul–

That's ENOUGH! I thought forcefully, and gasped as the mark's power receded. I felt my body returning to normal, and soon I removed my arm from my mouth, panting heavily once I was fully myself again. When I tried to sit up, I cringed; I was pretty banged up, and now also sported very light burns on my neck, hands, forearms, and face, where my skin had been exposed.

"N-Naruto-kun…" I weakly crawled to his side. I'd been so scared – What if I had hit the wrong point? What if I had seen wrong, guessed wrong, and ended up hurting him like Neji had in the Chuunin Exam? But he was peacefully sleeping, his face sickly but the gentle rise and fall of his chest immersing me in relief.

He was alive.

This relief was rather short-lived. It vanished for the most part as Uchiha Itachi shot from the still blazing trees, his cloak singed in several places and his face dirty, bleeding at the mouth, yelling an angry attack cry as he advanced toward me, a kunai in hand. I was suddenly in front of Naruto, drawing my own kunai, shrieking as the man leapt to kill me.

"Ehehehehehee… That … will be quite enough."

I wasn't sure when I closed my eyes, but after a few moments passed I found myself opening them warily.

The man stood a yard away, mouth hanging open and a look that almost resembled terror on his face as he gazed as something in the air behind me. He took a step back, pale with unfeigned shock, and against my better judgment I turned around.

Air rushed into my lungs.

Water. That was a LOT of water. And it was coming straight toward us.

The wave stretched into the overcast sky in the north, higher than imaginable and rising still as it rushed toward the shore.

Itachi turned sharply. "Kisam–!"

Kisame was unconscious, right where Lee had left him.

Itachi turned back, shoving past me and glaring at the wave as his hands formed the snake hand seal. The man hesitated, and then dropped the seal with a growl and blurred to his teammate's side, quickly hoisting him off the ground. It hadn't taken him long to realize no fireball could stand up to the rapidly approaching wall of water.

I snapped out of my trance. It was going to be crashing through the first trees at the beach soon. The whole place would be flooded in the next fifteen seconds. I scooped up Naruto's unconscious body and raced to Lee. I lied Naruto over the older boy, and then focused my chakra before picking them up together. With the two in my arms, I sprinted at the nearest tree and dashed up its side. As the momentum of the sprint faded, I could quickly tell I wouldn't be able to keep going for their weight; I pushed my feet off the tree, leaping upward to another. I jumped again, and again, and once more, and then I slipped.

I screamed only a second – suddenly the fall stopped.

The Uchiha was crouched on a tree's side, holding Naruto with an arm around the boy's waist. His other hand, hanging down, had caught a fistful of the front of my jacket – perhaps on a whim after he'd snatched the blond away – and as my terrified eyes held his emotionless ones I was certain he considered dropping me. But he had no time for indecision.

"Hold onto him!" he barked over the steadily loudening roar of water – and before I could blink the man – the heartless villain who had crushed my hand, bruised my ribs, broken a tree with my back, and nailed me in the stomach – flung me to the relative safety of the treetops. I held on tightly to Lee as we sailed into open air, landing gently on a patch of branches in a tall tree. I turned.

"Narut–!"

I yelped as the unconscious boy burst from the foliage, straight into my arms. Itachi soared above the trees from a leap, and just as he began to descend toward the tall one we were perched in – he was sliced in two by a racing disc of water.

I-it's not natural?!

POOF!

I turned my head to the north and saw it. The wall of water was ten yards away, towering well above the tallest of the trees.

I pulled my friends in close, shut my eyes, and screamed.

The roar of crashing water was everywhere.

…Interestingly enough, the feel of it was not.

I opened my eyes. "What … the…?"

The water had parted to form a nice, dry sphere of air; we were surrounded by blue as it rushed and flowed rapidly around us. I almost wanted to reach out and touch the liquid, but was too stunned, too incredulous – and too stricken by a gut-wrenching dread that we should be dead by now, that maybe we would die right here at this very moment, or this one, or maybe now – to do a thing save for gawking like an idiot. Seconds stretched into an eternity. At some point I started as something landed on my head, and it then jumped off to land in front of me.

"Yo," the toad said with a hand raised in greeting. I blinked.

…I'm going insane.

"So… You doing this?" it asked, gesturing to the bubble around us.

I shook my head. "Uh-um, n-no, no I'm n-not…"

"Why d'ya look so pale? You never seen a talking toad before? Oh, sorry, I'm Gamakichi!"

"H-H-Hinata. H-Hyuuga Hinata. Nice t-to m-meet you."

Soon the water level had declined to a point that a small bit of the grey sky above was revealed. In another few moments it lowered past my eye level, and I could see that the very tallest of the trees were beginning to poke through the glossy surface. I could also see the Uchiha standing on the water, holding his partner up with ease, and I knew it spoke volumes for his skill as a shinobi that he had not only survived, but done it without getting wet. I saw Kisame stir weakly, and he fell down but stayed above the surface when Itachi dropped him without warning. All of these things I saw were insignificant details, however. My eyes were drawn and glued to one thing and one thing only.

The giant wolf monster standing only a hundred feet away, five tails swaying loftily behind it as it returned Itachi's glare.

"Houkou, the wolf-dog of five tails, I presume…?" the man asked coolly.

The beast gave a snorting bark. "Oh, so you know of me? Then I surely won't need to ask you twice when I say to leave them be. Leave now, mortal, and I may just spare your life…"

"I'm afraid that is not an option," Itachi said, his Sharingan awakening.

"FOOL!" barked the wolf, and Itachi stiffened, grimacing.

"R-release!" he gasped. His eyes focused in an instant, and he jumped aside from a shower of water spears that were racing toward him. From nowhere lightning suddenly sprang to life on the surface near him, and as he raced away it bolted after him. He jumped toward a tree – but a fierce gust picked up, whisking him toward a rising tentacle of water. The man spun and formed a set of seals. A stream of flame shot out … the fire bending impossibly and curving to the side almost as soon as it left his mouth to swiftly wrap several times around him. He yelled out – and then a band of water encircled him and crackled with electricity. He screamed.

"I-Itachi!" Kisame cried.

A log splashed into the water.

The Uchiha surfaced with a gasp near his injured partner, grabbed onto the shark man, and body flickered.

Did he run aw–?

Ice shot down my spine as a hand draped itself over my shoulder and a cool, smooth voice leaked into the opposite ear. "For whatever reason, it would appear the beast refuses to harm you."

I gulped.

The tailed beast growled. "Begone, bijuu hunters…"

I saw in the corner of my eye as he nodded. "We're leaving, Kisame."

"Grr… The brat's right here, right in front of us…!"

"You're badly wounded; so am I. We're in no condition to fight a bijuu like this one. We will have another opportunity…" He spoke louder, just enough that the angry wolf could hear him, "Besides, this one isn't ours to capture."

The man ruffled my hair as he stood, Kisame's arm around his shoulders. "Farewell, Hinata … but I can promise you we'll be meeting again."

They were gone.

"Good riddance," the beast said, glaring into the distance for several seconds after.

...Maybe it forgot about me–?

"Koinu," it said in acknowledgement, turning its head to meet my eyes, and I squeaked in surprise.

So, this is the being that's been calling me… I thought, staring up at the great wolf towering above the trees. Its thick fur was the purest snow white, and contrasted by a pattern of jagged black stripes almost resembling those of a tiger. Intelligent blue eyes outlined in black sat above a proud muzzle tipped by a black nose, and two black fangs protruded from its mouth. The five-tailed bijuu looked lithe and strong, and held an aura of elegance and power.

In one swift bound, it was standing directly in front of the tree I was in, and it leaned its head down so that its eyes were level with mine. Its nose was less than a yard away; I could feel foggy, warm breath on my face, and was conscious of my hair swaying every few seconds at a light breeze.

"We meet at last, koinu…" The wolf-dog closed its eyes and gave a long, exasperated sigh. "You were supposed to come to me, not the other way around… But I suppose I can't exactly blame you for being held up by those fools… Anyways, go ahead and hop on."

I blinked. "…What?"

"Hop. On. My snout."

I blinked again.

"Would you rather carry those two back to the ground yourself?"

"W-w-w-well, n-n-n-n–,"

"Or would you prefer a ride in my mouth?"

I blanched.

"I'll have you know I am being extremely generous, now – why do you look like you're about to pass out?"

I nervously stammered my answer in a mumble.

"Come again?! I'm a what, now?!"

"A d-d-d-dem-mon," I squeaked, my poor heart racing a thousand miles a minute.

It snorted, eyes narrowed. "I am highly offended. We prefer the term 'tailed beast.' Well… except that crazy cat, maybe. Then again, the Kyuubi, too … yeah, he'd definitely take it as a compliment… And then, actually…"

It sounded so sinister earlier… I thought, staring on as the canine realized that perhaps it was indeed the only one that took offense at being called a demon. I shook my head. "A-ano… I am v-very sorry f-f-for offending you, great honorable Houkou-sama!" I said, bowing my head. "You truly aren't wicked or h-horrible a-at all!"

"Why thank you!" the bijuu exclaimed, five tails swishing happily in the air.

I stood up and took one step… only one.

"…What's the problem now?"

"Erm, w-w-well, I mean – y-you live in the L-Land of De–,"

"Fine, you know what, call me what you want! My offer expires in three, two–!"

"O-okay!"

"H-hey, don't forget about me!" Gamakichi chirped, jumping onto my head.

The Gobi lowered us all to the drenched ground, the water having receded back to the ocean. With a curt shake of its head it tossed us off unexpectedly; I sucked in a breath as I landed on my side, and rolled over cradling my ribcage. "You okay, kid?" the toad asked, and I moaned a 'no' in reply. The tailed beast, however, paid me no mind. Its attention had been drawn to Naruto.

"So it's true… The great Kyuubi no Youko, the Nine-tailed Demon Fox, King of the Bijuu…" A growl emanated from its throat. "This is your fate? The only one to defeat me, the one who made a fool of me all those centuries ago … and look at you now, sealed up inside some human boy and ever so weak and vulnerable…" The wolf chuckled darkly, completely different from just a few moments before. The tone of its voice set alarms off in my head.

"No!" I cried, rushing in front of Naruto just as a paw rose and flashed in. It stopped short of crushing us both, and moved away to return to the ground.

"Stand aside, koinu."

I shook my head. "You're not going to hurt him."

The Gobi's eyes narrowed as it lowered its head to glower down at me. "I said move."

"No," I answered, holding its gaze.

I gasped as the mark pulsed angrily, several times in rapid succession. My teeth locked at the pain, but my gaze didn't falter as Gobi stared me down. Its sharp black teeth were bared menacingly as a low growl ripped from its throat. "I beg you to reconsider, koinu," it spat.

I shook my head, a small cry escaping me as the pain crept up in intensity and stabbed through me at odd intervals. I wanted very badly to scream and cry and curl into a ball and plead for it to stop.

But I didn't. I only glared back at the wolf towering over me.

"And what do you intend to do, little dog? Fight me?"

I don't know why – I don't know why I did it. But in a flash I'd drawn a kunai knife, and now held it in a ready position in front of me.

Surprise flickered into its blue eyes, and the pain ended. The Gobi was probably in disbelief of my idiocy, wondering what kind of foolish genin I was to have the temerity to challenge it.

My eyes were wide, but I stood my ground in determination. "If you want to hurt my friend … you'll have to go through me, first."

For several seconds we were silent. Then Gobi chuckled softly.

"That settles it, koinu. You pass."

I… Wait, what?

"I wasn't all too sure before… Heh," the tailed beast gave a laugh, the gentle glow in its eyes again as it sniffed me curiously after a moment of scrutiny. "So you're what, almost five feet tall? You can't weigh more than ninety pounds, and you stutter when you speak. Facing the facts, you're not that outstanding a kunoichi, either. You're small and weak even for a human, and yet you would face me. Even knowing in all certainty that you would lose, you would face me…" It drew itself up to full height, "Gobi, one of the most powerful beings to ever roam this world. You are strong when you must be, and can pull through when you need to, for you possess courage and determination. For this, I suppose, I will not harm the Kyuubi no Kitsune now. A human who dares stand up to me… I guess you're worthy after all. Congratulations, Koinu; you've earned my respect."

Relief, hesitantly at first, finally washed over me. "U-um… Thank you, Gobi-sama," I said with a bow.

"Now, I'll assume you'd like to know why you're here…?"

"Hai," I answered, trying not to squirm as I resisted the urge to poke my fingers together, to avert my gaze, to reveal my anxiety.

"Well, the truth is…" The wolf lied down, injuring who knows how many trees in the process, and rested its head on crossed paws in front of me. "I think I can help you help me protect Konohagakure no Sato."

I was thrown off again, and it must have showed on my face as the Gobi sighed.

"Sit down, Koinu; I've got a story to tell."

Hesitantly I did as told, sitting down near Naruto; I doubted the beast would risk an attack on him with me so close by.

Gobi closed its eyes, and was silent and still for so many moments it could just as easily have been asleep. With a deep breath, it began.

"Long ago, two teenage shinobi who would later on become known as your First and Second Hokage were good to one of my children in a time of peril… The young brothers came across her and kindly saved her life, and as we great beasts do not accept favors from humans, I felt myself to be in the debt of the two mortals. Decades later, they created one of the first shinobi villages, and I made an oath in order to pay the debt that still weighed terribly upon me – and thus ever since I have made a point of seeing that the place does not fall into dire peril."

At this it briefly glanced Naruto's way as its eyes opened. So aside from whatever defeat it apparently suffered long ago … there's another reason for it to be at odds with the Nine-tailed fox…

Its blue eyes drifted to me as it continued. "Not quite so long ago, another mortal came across one of my beloved pups and slew him. I was enraged, mad with fury at losing my child at the hands of a human – and a Leaf Village shinobi, at that!"

"But … why would someone do s-such a thing? For … for g-glory? Who…?"

"Ha – I think you've heard of Orochimaru?"

"Him…" I said with a hint of bitterness, nodding. That seemed to fit.

"Yes, the man took several vials of the pup's blood, I can only assume for some kind of experimentation – but apparently whatever he was after wasn't in my child's blood. My pup's death wasn't good enough, his blood not strong enough or pure enough for the mortal … so years later he travelled to the Land of Demons and sought me out instead…

"I was careless with my vengeful desire to destroy the man; in the brief clash that ensued, he managed to draw my black blood with his sword before he fled and escaped me. I would have chased him down, but he ran to Konoha and I am unable to go near the place.

"The blood of an immortal is powerful; Orochimaru used it to develop that seal as an imitation of my power. He slowly honed it, perfected it to his liking, tested and retested it … and a couple of months ago, he afflicted your cousin with the curse. But he hadn't once anticipated the degree of influence I held over the mark he forged of my blood…" The Gobi chuckled softly. Its face then hardened once more.

"Listen to me. The man's ambitions place a great deal of Konoha in peril, something I have sworn to put forth an effort to prevent. He has wronged both me and my entire family, and shamed us all with his theft and corruption of our blood for his own petty purposes and desires, and yet I am unable to get at him. At this point, I will do anything within my power to hinder the vile snake. It just so happens that one moon ago, I received one chance opportunity to decimate a key figure in his plot…"

I did not like where this was going…

"I won't lie, Koinu. When you activated your subjugation spell over that boy … it was I who reached out to take hold of the instability of his reacting Blood Seal and push it to kill him."

It waited, possibly curious as to what reaction I'd take. I couldn't be too angry with the Gobi; its reasons were understandable. "I won't lie, either," I said, "I'm very glad you didn't succeed."

The wolf nodded slightly and continued. "I had almost succeeded in snuffing out his life when he began fighting off the mark – he was fighting me, for you. Even so, he hadn't the strength to stop me, and I was soon prepared to end it. I would have, too, if not for a sudden thought occurring to me – why settle for merely taking the Hyuuga boy's life? I had the opportunity to possibly achieve far more in the long run toward the cause of thwarting the foul snake, and that opportunity, that prospect, lied in none other than a certain weak, strong-spirited little kunoichi of Konoha…

"So I shoved a thought into your cousin's head; while he was finding equal solace and agony in the scent of your blood, I proposed the option that would make all the pain go away and save both your lives... He took the bait with no second thoughts, and lost enough of the mark that he was able to deactivate it. Meanwhile, I reached out to you the instant that mark appeared on your neck. I kept your heart beating, slowly mended your lungs and ribcage, and then began knitting together torn muscles and tissues, repairing broken bones, going to great lengths for you … and even as you healed, slowly but surely, the curse was already beginning to transform you as it had your cousin. You've been disgruntled frequently at the depth and extent of the sounds you now can hear, at how many new and subtle scents you can pick up. You've surely noticed that your muscles are stronger, your bones denser than before? If it weren't for the effects of the mark, I'm certain you'd be in far worse shape than you are now."

I winced, recalling my spill with that tree. It had hurt terribly – it was still hurting now – but nothing had broken badly. In fact, I remembered being dazed only a few moments before pulling the left side of my body from under the tree, rolling over and ripping the shredded bandaging tape off my arm, drawing a brush from my kunai pouch and opening the flask of chakra-infused ink-blood mixture at my hip…

"You've saved me more than once…" I said, meeting the wolf's eyes. If it weren't for the Gobi, Neji and I would both have died that day a month ago. "Arigatou gozaimasu, Gobi-sama… I thank you, but I have to ask… Please, if you ever do get the chance again, I'm begging you not to make another attempt on my cousin's life…"

"Oh, but I doubt there will be another chance. It worked then only because it was still early on, and his mark fairly fresh … but as Orochimaru's influence on him and his power over the boy's mark strengthens, my sway over him steadily declines. In a few months, I probably won't have any effect on him at all. You see, Koinu, curse seals of countless natures and varieties have been around for centuries and dwindled in the last fifty or sixty years as most were looked down on or forbidden. The ones produced by Orochimaru are likely among the most complex and sophisticated the world has ever known, but those he develops all share one common point in that they grasp and thrive on the darkness within their hosts' hearts. You Neji is completely losing himself to the darkness and the seal, and in turn is only becoming easier for his master to control each and every day… and for all his supposed 'genius,' the dolt doesn't even realize it."

I opened my mouth, only to be cut off.

"Which brings us to why you, pitiful koinu, are ideal for assisting me. This Blood Seal of Orochimaru's devise is not like the rest of his curse seals; so long as my influence over it exists, it doesn't have to be purely evil … meaning that it could actually awaken even without darkness to cling to and build on, and be utilized as a 'clean' curse seal."

"I don't follow…" I said.

"What I'm saying is that the mark has taken to you, Koinu, body and spirit alike. For whatever reason, using its power doesn't wear on your body as it does your cousin's. And frankly, there isn't nearly enough Darkness in your soul for the curse to root and take hold of you, leaving you immune to its deteriorating effects as well. If Orochimaru were to try to attack you through your curse seal, I have a hunch he might actually fail. Your soul… It's just too unnaturally pure."

"Am … am I really that…?" I didn't know – special? Weird?

"Koinu… You fought unrestrained and yet retained your sense of discrimination to a degree that you did not attack your comrades. You went utterly feral and yet managed to channel it against your single target. You were more beast than human inside, but you maintained the rationality to speak, to plot and deceive, and even called to memory a seal formula to jot onto your arm! And after you allowed the mark to take hold of you with almost all its strength, you broke away from it with relative ease, almost at will.

"I waited to intervene because I wished to see your potential, to decide whether or not you were worthy … and in my eyes, you proved yourself. Considering it was your first true use of the seal, your handling of it was masterful."

I didn't think so; the way I saw it, I had lost myself and turned into a raging savage. "But…"

"By the fifth level, I guarantee you – your Neji would have been striking down everything that breathed in a berserk rage." It let it sink in, and I remembered – at the second level, Neji had been trapped in the seal's hold, unable to escape it. "Let's face the facts, little dog – it's like the seal was created for you. That's why … I feel even more strongly now that we are meant to join forces here. I know it was the right choice to draw you into this, Koinu. If you can master the seal, and allow it to synchronize with your body and become a controlled part of you… Well, there's one advantage you can have that Neji never will." The five-tailed wolf stood slowly. "You have mine and my family's support in your quest, Koinu. You're special; of that much I am certain. With the wolves on your side, the Hidden Leaf may just have a fighting chance yet."

It placed a paw on the ground before me as I got to my feet as well. A puff of smoke burst from beneath the paw, and it pulled away to reveal a thick black, white, and grey colored scroll more than three feet long. I looked up questioningly.

"Sign this summoning contract in your blood … if you agree to ally yourself to the wolves."

I nodded and knelt down, but my hands shook as I reached for the scroll. Uncertain, I paused.

"What's wrong? Scared to sign the contract from the evil demon dog?"

Yes.

"N-n-no," I denied, cursing my stutter, and bit my lip nervously as I carefully placed my hands on the scroll. It wasn't like I didn't trust it, but still…

"Do you trust me?"

Surprised, I looked up into its eyes. Its gentle gaze held mine a long minute.

"…Yes."

"Then open it up, at least, and take a look at history's other wolf-allies."

It nodded encouragingly as I looked down at the large scroll, and in a moment I rolled it open. A row of columns was revealed inside it, and all but the first two were empty. Written in those two columns, tinted lightly with the scent of blood, were two names that took my breath away.

"Shodaime-sama … and Nidaime-sama…?"

"It's not easy for a mortal to earn my respect, Koinu … and it is all save impossible for one to gain my trust. Sign you name, pure-hearted koinu, if you will help me protect the Village Hidden in the Leaves…"

I took a deep breath, determination in my eyes.

"Right."

I bit my thumb, and in the third column I signed.

日向ヒナタ

Hyuuga Hinata.

As the wolf instructed, I smeared the fingers of my left hand with my bleeding thumb, and then stamped all five in a space at the bottom of the column.

The Gobi nodded, and told me to stand. Once I had, it lifted its paw and slowly, carefully reached toward me. "Trust me," it said gently as it placed the tip of one sharp, black nail at the center of my forehead, and another over my heart. I couldn't help its occurring to me that if the bijuu happened to lose balance, it could crush m–

"Seriously, Koinu, stop squirming. If you keep moving like that I might accidentally crush you."

I hadn't realized I was moving, but somehow I was suddenly too scared to tremble.

Gobi's eyes glowed a powerful blue, and a strange tingling washed down my body like cool water. My breath caught, until in a few seconds the wolf's paw drew away and returned to the ground; I wobbled and suddenly dropped to my knees, gasping softly.

"That is all I need say to you now. Farewell, Koinu."

"W… wait!" I said as the beast began to turn. "I need to ask you something…"

Gobi looked back to me. "Go ahead."

"The – the full moon… Is there any way to prevent the transformation?"

It actually smirked, in an odd, wolfy kind of way. "I would recommend trying to master your full moon state eventually … but perhaps that is indeed for another day. Alright, I'll tell you – there is a sort of temporary cure … and you're in luck, as I believe you've already been acquainted with it…"

---

Hanabi ハナビ

"Your cooking's great as always!" Chouji said to Shikamaru's mom as we all dug in to supper.

"Chouji, stop flattering me, you sweet boy," she said, smiling pleasantly at the Akimichi and jokingly pinching a spiral-tattooed cheek.

Shikamaru groaned exaggeratedly. "I envy you. It sure would be nice if she babied me like that every once in a while…" he muttered with a pout, earning a light whack over the head from his mother.

She glanced over our group of five crowded around the small table as each of us giggled or at least smiled, but her own face slowly fell. "It's just awful… You five are growing children, and…"

By the time she trailed off, all the former cheer in the air had dissipated. I knew what she was thinking; this was our first real meal in days.

My mind wandered as the conversation drifted to the overcharging. Of the shops still permitted to sell to ninja who had not turned in their Konoha hitai-ate and other suspected rebels, they were coordinated in being forbidden to sell to us at all some weeks, and in the weeks they did we were charged up to double price, 'by order of Lord Hokage.' The genin had taken to finding small jobs and tasks around the village, but more often than not were turned down or severely underpaid.

We'd been eating a lot of shinobi ration bars lately. The tasteless things were inexpensive, nutritious, and capable of staying perfectly fresh for months.

"They're just taunting New Konoha now," Kiba was saying as I tuned back into the conversation. "No doubt now war's on the horizon – the only question is when."

"Kiba!" Chouji whispered sharply, and the dog-nin looked up, surprised. Yoshino-san's head had lowered to hide her face, but none of us could miss the glistening droplet that rolled down her cheek and plitted onto the table. She covered her face with a hand, and then stood and left the room.

"…Baka," Sakura said quietly.

"I know," Kiba sighed dejectedly, laying a fist on his forehead.

"Mendoukuse…" Shikamaru muttered without the slightest trace of annoyance. "Go wait outside," he told us, standing and heading after her. "Mom!"

---

Hinata ヒナタ

"Lee-kun… Please w-wake up…"

"Uh…" His eyes opened, and he croaked groggily, "I … am alive…?"

I smiled. "Thank goodness…"

He blinked, looking to me – and terror flashed across his face.

CRACK!

…Didn't see that one coming, I thought, teeth snapping together as something impacted my jaw and threw my back against a tree behind me.

"Oww…" I said, "Okay, I was completely off-guard, but this r-really isn't the best time for a test, Lee-k–." My eyes opened, and widened. "Lee-kun … wh-what're you…?"

"Y-you tried to kill me," the boy whispered, his hand trembling on the katana held at my throat. His other hand had clasped a fistful of my jacked at one side of my collarbone, and was now pressing almost painfully to pin me to the tree.

"L-Lee… What are you t-talking about?! I don't know wh-,"

"Liar!" he growled sharply, anger on his face. His unblinking wide eyes didn't stray from my pleading gaze as he continued to gasp raggedly, his body twitching disturbingly. "You tried to blow up my heart!!"

"I could never do such a thing, and you know it!" I cried, and whimpered as the pressure on my clavicle increased suddenly.

"I would not have thought you capable either…" Another sharp jump in the pressure. "But I was gravely mistaken…"

I searched his wary, blank eyes, dark with hatred. My friend, my comrade, my almost-brother ... was about to kill me. "P-please listen to me!" I whimpered, "A genjutsu must have gotten t-to you – it wasn't real–!"

The blade's cold edge rested at my throat. "I am not falling for that, Hinata – you wanted to get me, before I got you…" His eyes turned savage – his hand stopped trembling. "I am not letting that happen."

Our eyes remained locked a moment.

Then I saw his arm starting to move, caught the tiniest hint of the beginnings of the motion that would slit my throat – and shoved my boot into his stomach.

The katana lightly nicked my neck as he was forced away and stumbled onto his feet. He was weakened from the Lotus earlier; as I advanced I easily ducked a slash, hand-chopped upward at his wrist with enough force to disarm him, and pounced into him before he could draw the other blade, throwing him five yards, pinning him against another tree with a forearm across his neck, and slamming my right palm into his chest. His eyes shut tight in fear, in anticipation.

"Wh… I do not understand!" he whimpered at my seeming show of mercy. I released him, and he slid weakly to the ground, falling into a sitting position.

"Tell me, Lee-kun," I growled, "Which hand did I try to murder you with earlier?"

"Y-your right," he said in a moment, sounding confused as he was terrified.

"And that's probably because Itachi didn't know about my arm when he caught you in the genjutsu."

Lee's jaw dropped as it came to him.

I calmly pulled back my sleeve, revealing the four dark lines across my forearm. "Remember? I couldn't kill you with my right palm if I wanted to."

"…Kami-sama…" he breathed, stunned. Then he broke down crying.

Without a second thought I knelt to comfort him, and he threw his arms around me, cupping my head in his hand, holding me tightly, and bawling his eyes out as if he feared I would disappear.

---

Hanabi ハナビ

"I just can't take it, Shikamaru!"

"Mom … we're ninja of Konoha. Try to understand. We can't just back down and give up on the village. Our … our duty is to protect–,"

"You've never been determined or passionate about a thing in your life! Why now?! Why?!! It would be better for everyone if you just gave up on this New Konoha joke already!"

"Mom…"

"You're just children! You don't belong fighting a w-war!"

"Even if we are just kids–!"

"So what if they're 'just taunting' you now?! That girl is thin as a rail, and poor Chouji looks thinner every time I see him! What's next, Shikamaru? Will you be dragging yourself home with broken bones? Will they just decide one day to paper-bomb us into oblivion? You can't be involved in this! If you can't get your friends to give up, then fine – but I'm ordering you to turn in your headband! And then … they'll let you see your father, and you can convince him to do the same! I c-can't bear it anymore… I can't take this spending each night w-wondering whether Shikaku is dead or alive, wondering every single time you leave the house whether I've s-seen my b-baby's face f-for the last time!"

"Mom…" he whispered as her sobs reached our ears. "I can't…" There was something strange in his voice as he trailed off. "Get some rest, mom…

"Guys, you can stop hiding out there."

Kiba, Sakura, Chouji and I started and exchanged guilty looks before we stood. Shikamaru hopped past us out of the window we'd been hiding under.

"Chouji, Kiba, and Hanabi, you take the ones in the north. Sakura, Akamaru and I'll cover the south. Pass word to the other teams that we're meeting in two hours at the regular location."

"Shikamaru… What're you planning?" Chouji asked.

The Nara boy turned to us, tears streaked down his determined face. "Cowering and waiting around won't get us anywhere. If the rest of New Konoha agrees, we're going on a recon mission to the prison … as our first step toward freeing the village council."

---

Lee リー

The meditating girl's eyes snapped open as she started abruptly. Her hands clasped at her hair as she gasped through her teeth. "It's almost time…" she whispered past suddenly pointed teeth, the sclera of her eyes going dark.

–"Lee-kun… I need your help with something…"

"A-anything. Name it.–

She shuddered violently with a stifled cry, and her skin whitened as the markings quickly appeared.

–"Gobi said … there're only a few ways to prevent the transformation."–

I looked at the item in my hands, and then up at the round moon in the sky. Hinata-san was seated facing away from it; if her eyes saw it, all hope would be lost.

–"I could physically exhaust myself, it said – if I had about five hours to spend running myself to severe fatigue, or on the day before a full moon, twenty."–

An aura formed around her as she trembled in silent agony. Her nails finished changing into claws. I saw in the corner of my eye as the toad sitting next to Naruto's still unconscious form twenty yards away yelped and jumped behind the boy.

–"It's impossible for me to sleep when the full moon is near … and next to impossible for me to remain unconscious for long, if at all."–

She fought not to cry out as she shuddered again, and in a moment a chilling, long growl reached my ears.

"Hinata-san!"

"Not yet…" She spoke through the growl, her voice different, harsh, almost alien to my ears.

–"There's just one sure way … but it won't be pleasant."–

Black and white eyes met mine, quickly beginning to turn wild. "Now!" she barked. Her hands came together, each slashing the other's palm open in the same move. I held out the purple flower, and as her black-streaked hands clamped onto its stem, my hands clapped onto hers.

Hinata jolted like she'd been hit by lightning, and–

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

She screamed madly as waves of black chakra shot away from her, rapidly being expelled from her body. She turned her head away, fighting furiously to withdraw her hands as she cried out again. I grimaced, teeth gritting at the scream as I held her hands together, with much physical and mental effort preventing her from pulling away. I stared unblinking as the transformation taking place continued before my eyes, as her scream morphed into a roaring cry.

Black energy surged from the mark, shot over her body, and raced down her arms and into the flower at an incredible speed, and I could feel the river of darkness rushing beneath my fingers as I continued to hold her hands firm. Suddenly the transformation was reversing. She never stopped screaming.

Once the curse's power had been sucked from her, I felt Hinata's own familiar chakra being drawn into the flower. I loosened my grip, and realized that at some point she had stopped resisting; she did not let go of it.

"That is enough, Hinata-san! You can–!"

The silent girl shuddered and fell stiffly onto her side, mouth hanging open, eyes blank, and knuckles white on the flower that was draining her life at an alarming rate.

She was already unconscious.

"HINATA!!" I screamed, lunging to pry open her locked fingers. I freed her right hand. Her body convulsed violently every few moments; red was pooling at her mouth. I succeeded in freeing her left, and flung aside the stupid aconite, the wolfsbane, that had nearly killed her.

Why? Why did you not say there would be such a risk?!

I rolled her onto her back, and checked to find a dangerously weak pulse.

"Kuso…!" I swore, feeling no flow of air when I placed a hand beneath her nose. I pressed my mouth to hers, initiating cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR. I switched to chest compressions, muttering as I did so, "Kuso! Kuso! Kuso!"

---

Neji ネジ

I fingered the small pill in my hand, the pill that had been given to me a day after the previous full moon. What was the reason for that, I wondered? If he'd provided it today or yesterday, I would have a fresh reminder that the full moon was approaching. In giving it to me a month early, did he hope that I might lose track, that by the full moon I would have forgotten about it? But to my chagrin, I almost had.

–"O-Orochimaru-sama…! Permission to l-leave the village for the night?"–

I had sprinted all the way there, only to be left in suspense as I waited at the door, fidgeting, biting my nails, wringing my hands, biting my hands, pacing nervously for twenty-two nerve-wracking minutes before I was allowed to enter with my request. Then I had sprinted all the way here.

A breeze rolled through the Konoha Forest clearing, and I shivered. I wanted to pace around, to move, but doing so would mean risking a glimpse of the moon, and if that happened–

I shuddered suddenly. It was time. I raised my hand to my mouth, but the instant I was letting go of the pill a second shudder hit me. The capsule bounced off my lip, fell to the ground.

I swore heavily, searching through the long grass with trembling fingers. I couldn't transform here – I hadn't expected anything to go wrong, I was too close to the village!

"Byakugan–!" I almost cried out as it failed, a sharp bolt of fire stabbing between my eyes. I continued searching with my hands as my skin steadily paled. I didn't have much time!

I turned, swearing again as my eyes shut; I'd nearly looked at the moon. Lowering my head, I began sniffing for it, using the rapidly heightening sense to my advantage.

There! I grabbed it, and this time slapped the whole hand over my mouth, threw my head back, and swallowed. That was … too close… The shudders ceased, and I watched as claws vanished, as color returned to my hand.

Then I hit the ground.

---

Hanabi ハナビ

A fine mist of dew glistened on the blades of grass as the sun's rays began rolling over the horizon, cascading across the land like a veil of gentle warmth.

We waited in anxious silence when the crackle of Shikamaru's earpiece ended.

"Everyone's in position. It's time to go." At Shikamaru's hand signal, he Chouji, and Sakura flickered from the tree.

"Good luck," Kiba whispered under his breath, and I nodded in agreement.

They were heading for the village prison – and not all too certain of what they would find.

---

ナルト / リー / ヒナタ \ ハナビ \ ネジ

End Chapter Seven

Naruto: So… the seal's power came from a giant wolf…?

Neji: Right… And?

Naruto: So how come you get tiger stripes when you use it?

Neji:…

Naruto: I mean, ya' look like you should be singing crappy jingles in corn flake cereal commercials…

Neji: ...You know what?

Naruto: What?

Neji: IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!!!

Naruto: AHH! Okay, wolf-dog, I believe you!

Neji: Crap… Is this thing on?! Um… Lee!

Naruto: TeeChNiCaL dIfFiCuLtIeSssssz!1!1! (static)

Lee: Hinata-san is breathing again, but the two are still unconscious. I am starting to get worried. What happened to Naruto-kun, anyways? I do not even know! Now I have only a fast-talking little curious frog to keep me company, but he has quite the interesting story to tell…

Hanabi: Meanwhile, a mysterious new ally of Konoha reveals himself!

Neji: And loyalties are tested – but whose side are you really on…?

???: Who dares summon me, the great K–?!

Lee: Shush, new character! You must not reveal your name in a preview!

???: You telling me what to do? Fine. My name is–!

Neji: Next is Chapter Eight: Where Loyalties Lie until we can think of a better title! Someone cut the mic!

Darn it! I didn't expect the Akatsuki battle to end up that long… But I only update about once a month, so long chapters are okay, right…?

I know, I'm mean – I scared you with that idiom definition at the beginning! I guess it was more like he tried to throw himself to the wolves, to save the others, if that even makes sense. ;)

Every time I write a chapter, Word says it has so many words, and then FanFiction says it has a whole lot more! Does that happen to everyone? It's like, hundreds of words' difference between them! I'm editing it now, and I wrote down how many words it said the chapter was, 19,768. Just to test it, I added a five word sentence and saved, and now it says 21,675! I don't get it!

Next is a more Konoha-focused chapter, and expect it to be a shorter one! What? Why are you laughing? I'm serious! Fine, I don't know…

How was the chapter? The Akatsuki battle? Lee's lotus, Hinata's curse seal? Was Kyuubi Naruto's part done well? I tried to make it like the line between Naruto and Kyuubi was blurred. The Naruhina - good or lame? Was everyone in character? What did you think of Gobi – were its reasons believable? Btw, I realize the 'Legend of the Tailed Beasts' on Narutofan isn't a real legend… I just don't really care ;) so Gobi is the master of elements and illusion!

Please tell me if you liked the chapter!

Laters!

:o)Hinata0321:o)