Hinata was strolling around in her village, humming softly. "Hey girlie!" She turned to the voice, facing a woman with purple hair and another with black hair. "Kurenai, Anko..." She knew the dark haired haired one, as she was who schooled her in reading and writing, but the other she only knew by sight. "So, just between us, did you nab a man or what?" The Hyuuga blushed hard. "What?!" Kurenai stepped on Anko's foot. "Ow!" "Don't make such personal questions in public." Then she put her hand on Hinata's shoulder. "Come to my house, it's better for what we want to ask you." What was going on?

The poor girl was fidgeting on her seat under two gazes, a cup of tea was left untouched in front of her. "So...? Spill the beans already!" She fidgeted harder. "I... I'm not in a relationship..." Purple eyes narrowed. "Bullshit, you're like when she hooked up with that chimney!" Anko had gotten up, very worked up, pointing at Kurenai. "Don't call Asuma that!" The adult women seemed that they would start a cat fight. "Erm..." Their attention shifted. "I... I might... have spent time with a male..." It wasn't a lie, but if they knew the truth... "Ooh! Now we're talking!" "Pipe down! What did you mean with that?" They waited for an answer. "Um..." What could she say? She didn't even know what was their relationship, or at which point it was.

Now that she began thinking about it, she did some things that she would never do in normal circumstances. 'I trusted him with my safety... I told him about my family situation... he even almost saw me naked!' Her face began burning, making the duo of women very curious. "What now?" "Sh... she must be trying to find a way to tell us." The purple haired one pouted. "But she's redder than when I caught you and the chimney in the same bed!" Hinata heard nothing, too absorbed in her inner world.

Her heart was throbbing faintly. 'What is this feeling?' She clutched her chest, not understanding. "What do you feel?" Kurenai had grabbed her shoulders softly. "I don't know... now that I started thinking about it, I'm feeling weird..." She tightened her hold as the throbs got stronger. "I'm saying! She's acting like you did right before you figured that you loved that monkey!" Uh? Love...? Was it possible? A warmth filed her chest at the thoughts. 'I... love him...' Anko began nudging her friend. "She's got it badder than you did. Heh!" The girl bolted out of there. "You scared her away!" "Who said that it was my fault?!"

Kurama was feeling bored to death. He had already chased down all the rats that tried to eat his belongings, he had read some of the thickest books to pass time, and now he was juggling some fruits that he got from nearby trees. From time to time he threw up one and chomped it, not caring about the seeds. He didn't understand, he had been alone for a long time, already gotten used to the loneliness, so why now? He huffed, not wanting to know the answer. After the fruits were all gone, he began browsing through the knick knacks he had looted until now, sorting them to pass time until she called for him. 'Ring... collar... bracelet... the hell is this? Whatever, locket... earrings...'

His ears flicked up. "Hrm?" He got up and dashed to that place, his heart beating a little harder. The familiar scent sent his nerves in overdrive and a large smile almost split his head in half. Landing heavily and lifting some leaves and dust, he greeted Hinata, hugging her. "Hey." "H-hello..." He frowned, she was so red and warm. "Are you with a... fever?" Kurama almost panicked when he saw her sway a little, holding her arm. "I'm... I'm fine." He lifted his lips in a haf snarl. "No, you're not, I can sense it. Go home, stay there until you get better." He began pushing Hinata to the beaten dirt walkway until she walked for herself. "Take care." He watched as she disappeared between the trees, feeling a prickling in his chest. 'Strange...'

Hinata was unable to tell him. But maybe even if she told him, he wouldn't understand what she meant. This would give her more time to work what her exact feelings were. 'But it felt good to see him again...' She shook her head, feeling the flush rising again. 'Stop! Why does this happen now?' She recalled what used to happen when she still had feelings for Naruto. 'Wait... so I don't feel anything for him now?' Her head began hurting a bit from overthinking. Luckily she was close to the treeline.

Days went by as the woman and the beast met in secret in the forest, with him eventually showing other powers to her, like when she fell in a river and he had to dry her clothes with his control over fire. It had been a very embarrasing event for her due to the need to undress, luckily he caught on quickly and covered his eyes at the sight of her blush then, borrowing a tail to stay in the safe side. When she stopped taking books from the library, the few people who knew her routine felt that there was something amiss, but left it alone after a while, seeing as she was completely fine.

The hunters began coming onto strange tracks, that defied logic. They belonged to a fox, but it was as big as a bear's print and they came only from the hind paws, never the frontal ones. The men began wondering about it, exchanging ideas over beer, leading to a spark of greed in their minds. Such an unnatural being would bring fame to whoever slayed it, and they wondered how much the pelt could fetch. Sasuke had noticed that Naruto had gotten noticeably pale after hearing the news, but assumed that he was afraid of meeting the animal alone. 'I'll get it, and the Hyuuga won't have any choice.' He smirked to himself, the woman was the only one who hadn't fallen for his looks, so there was the thrill of the chase. As for the blonde, he was nervous. He had to find it before someone else did. 'Sakura...' He gripped his fists.

The woman for whom the Uzumaki fell for, Sakura Haruno, had a grudge towards the local beauty, Hinata. She felt threatened by how the men flocked to the Hyuuga, even her beloved Uchiha. 'I bet that it's all a front! That wench must have bedded many men! To think that nobody can see past her looks...' She was biting her nails, thinking of ways to get at her bitter rival. She had once tried to spread rumors, counting on the gossip-loving housewives, but her efforts were for naught and she had even received glares. 'Chet! I must find something!' Then it hit her. 'Her trips to the forest! I'll find out what she does there!'

Kurama had noticed the movements of the hunters, they were starting to follow his tracks, forcing him to be extra careful to not let them meet Hinata. It would be bad if they found out about their connection. Thinking of this, he told Hinata of his plan in their last meeting. He intended to stay away until the hunters lost interest. She clutched his paw on her hands. "But..." She didn't want any harm to befall on him. "Okay." She accepted it, even though she wanted to say 'stay'. They shared a brief hug before he leapt away. But they didn't notice that they were watched.

'Found it!' The pinkette smirked from behind a tree. 'Your mask will fall!'

Sorry for that Leonas, it's my style of writing, where each paragraph is a scene, kind of. Did it get better now? Read and review, please!