Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, nor do I plan to do so. It's all the work of the wonderful mangaka, Kishimoto Masashi.

A/N: I'm fully aware that the plot in this story is more than similar to starah's "Heat". I'll make the path differ from starah's storyline before long so don't come yelling at me about it.

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First chapter: Prelude

It was a busy and noisy evening in the Ichiraku restaurant and almost every table was full. People were chattering with each other and eating -what else than ramen. The air was warm and damp from the steaming cups of ramen. The cook was really having a hard time trying to have every client's dish ready in time but even though the service might have been a little slower than usual nobody complained -it showed the people's love for the Ichiraku. It was a famous restaurant, with the best ramen in the whole country -that's what the customers boasted- and the chef of the place being the nice and friendly person he was.

One ordinary customer could be seen sitting in the table slurping his ramen. The man was currently in a state of deep drunkenness, but however, for him to be drunk was very unusual. But since it was his birthday, it could be forgiven. He wasn't exactly partying, only having a cup of ramen and sake, a lot of sake, with a friend.

Uzumaki Naruto waved his hands in a huge round motion as he told about the events of his day to his friend, Inuzuka Kiba. They both were laughing loudly, ignoring the few stares that were thrown at them. At the age of eighteen, they were still as immature as they had been in their childhood. Surely, they both had grown into tall and handsome young men but their behavior was nothing like their looks.

In their drunken state their speech was unintelligible but they didn't care. The most important thing in their minds was to have fun, and hell, they were having fun celebrating Naruto's coming of age, the time when he would handle the responsibilities and maturity befitting an adult

Naruto had never really cared about things like partying for birthdays and such but Kiba had insisted that they'd go for a quick ramen. They ended up eating many, many cups of noodles and drinking sake. Sake wasn't exactly the liquor to get one easily drunk so they had had to order great amounts of that, too. Well, Kiba ordered. Since Naruto wasn't officially an adult yet, only after a couple of days, he wasn't allowed to order or drink alcohol. The chef of Ichiraku, of course, saw that Naruto drank half of the sake Kiba bought but didn't say a thing. He liked the young ninja and heck, you only turn into an adult once in your life so he let the matter be.

Naruto didn't complain about the bills; it was Kiba who paid. And Kiba didn't complain; it was his parents who paid. Kiba wasn't dependant of his parents but since they had offered to pay he allowed them to.

They were planning to spend the rest of the evening at Kiba's apartment. He had left home two years before when he had become a Jounin because the work required his absolute attention. He couldn't have the peace he wanted living with his parents. And Naruto, of course, had lived all his life alone although Kiba had asked him to move in with him. Naruto had considered it seriously but in the end he had decided to live alone. It would've made a too huge alteration to his life since he was used to living alone.

The two were very close friends and shared everything. What Naruto often said, -What is mine, is mine. What is yours, is also mine- described their friendship perfectly. They could come and go from each other's apartments as they liked without the other being annoyed. That habit could cause troubles when they'd find girlfriends but that wasn't a current matter in their lives. They spent almost all of their free time together and grew closer and closer all the time.

"Sshould we get goin'?" Naruto's voice wavered considerably. He grasped Kiba's shoulder and grinned at him widely showing his usually white teeth -now there were remains of ramen between them giving him a foolish appearance.

Kiba stared at Naruto for a while, trying to get some sense into the statement Naruto had made. He blinked rapidly, probably to clear his sight and to dry away the tears formed in his eyes because of Naruto's reeking breath. After shaking his head to clear his head so that he could get comprehensible words from his mouth he stretched his face into a lazy grin and nodded.

"Yea, we shouulld…"

Kiba turned to the chef who had a moment's break from the customers and blabbered to him something about the bill. The chef miraculously understood what he was talking about and handed him the bill. After paying, Kiba turned back to Naruto and grabbed his collar in a friendly manner. Dragging him away from his obsession -ramen- Kiba wobbled out of the restaurant with Naruto on his heels.

"Whheere's yer ap- ap- apaartmeent?" Naruto's mind was so muddled that he couldn't probably tell a chipmunk from a donkey if he had to. He leaned heavily against Kiba who was just as drunk as Naruto. It appeared that Kiba, too, had forgotten where he lived so the two only walked to where their drunken feet took them.

The two seesawed on the streets of the Leaf village. Small fires here and there lighted their way. The late evening was peaceful, without any trace of concern. People forgot to worry about anything in the times of peace and that's how it should be, a life with no worries.

Without any rational thoughts Naruto and Kiba soon reached a forest near the borders of the village. They stopped for a moment to steady their breaths after the 'long' walk from the Ichiraku to the border. Naruto would later swear that they had walked at least five miles when they actually hadn't proceeded even half a mile. Pitiful, isn't it?

"Aare wee gooin' theree?" Kiba motioned towards the dark forest. The fires didn't reach this part of the village and it was getting dark.

Naruto nodded hazily and pulled Kiba after him to the forest. The line between the forest and village was very clear. Even in the outer sides of the forest the trees were thick and tall and the air hung over them like a curtain. There were no trails or any clearings.

It was a mistake to come here… Naruto thought vaguely in his drunken mind. His gaze lazily glided on their surroundings, trying to notice anything worth his attention. Finding none, he cast a quick glance at Kiba beside him.

Painted lines, in the color of blood, ran from under his eyes to his lower cheeks. His hair defied gravity and refused to settle on his shoulders normally. It was a black spiky mess and the tousled look was only more prominent when he had his hood over his head. The mess of his hair could well be attributed to the result of Akamaru's comfortable position on Kiba's head inside the hood. Kiba's eyes were black and the pupils formed the shape of slits. The one other thing that made his appearance unusual was his fangs. Especially for a person who was grinning constantly -like Kiba- the fangs raised some wonder among other people. But they suited him very well, giving him a somewhat wild and animal look.

Kiba's form was tall and his body was well built from all the missions and training he had had. He was resolved to become one of the Leaf's best ninjas so his training program was very well planned, leaving only a little time for himself. Akamaru, too, had grown but a little over the years. He would never be what his ancestors had been, a huge and fearless ninja dog, but he was still the greatest help Kiba could imagine when it came to battles and missions. Akamaru's high senses of smell and hearing were of use many times and he gave Kiba his company in the endless hours of nights during missions.

They trotted forward carelessly but both knew that the other one was on alert. Even though they were dangerously drunk the ninjas in the back of their minds kept their places. Their reflexes didn't rest even at night -that showed their huge progression and determination as ninjas.

Suddenly, they came to a clearing. They both were lamely astounded because even though they had raced through the forest for so many times that they had lost count in them neither of them remembered that there was such a place.

Kiba burrowed his eyebrows, trying to recall if he had been there before. He looked at Naruto who looked just as dumbfounded as he. It didn't take long for them to start investigating the supposedly new area. Huge trees framed the clearing, making the atmosphere feel like there was some danger approaching. But at the same time they created a certain feeling of safety and calmness.

Naruto walked -or rather, wobbled- to the center of the clearing and looked up to the sky to see an almost full moon staring down back at him. Stars had accompanied the moon, lighting the clearing almost completely. The light was white and cold, not the warmth of the sun but they didn't mind.

Kiba stayed where he was, looking at the blond haired boy. The light from the moon made him look like a statue staring up at the skies. If only Naruto had lifted his palms up he would have truly made a great painting. Suddenly, Kiba heard a sound of soft singing. His ears perked up and his gaze slid to where the sound was coming from. Kiba walked slowly to Naruto, to not attract the interest of the one who was singing.

"There's- there'sh- there's shomeone singing", he whispered to Naruto as quietly as his swollen tongue allowed him to. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to have any sense of cooperating with the owner and Kiba's voice came out as a nearly shout-like eruption. He squeezed his eyes shut, wincing at the painfully loud sound waves he had made.

Naruto snapped out of his thoughts and turned abruptly to Kiba crying out, "What'sh yer problem?!" They stared at each other furiously for a moment before Kiba resigned himself and retreated.

"You know, I jussht heard someone shinging." Kiba pointed at the way he had heard the sound. Then he mentally slapped himself, because the singing had stopped. It could only mean that whoever it had been had noticed, sensed, or heard them. Well, it wasn't a too difficult task to hear them when they were making sounds enough to attract the attention of the villagers' miles away.

"I don't hear anything." Naruto stared at the direction of Kiba's finger and tried to concentrate on listening but it was hard with something banging in his head like a torpedo. He shook his head a little but the banging sound only increased. Damn, he cursed silently. I drank too much sake… It was surprising to find even that bit of clear sense from his mind at his state.

"Well? Shhould we go and look?" Kiba once again motioned towards the source of the sound. Who knows, the singer might still be there. They had to find out.

Naruto nodded and started wobbling towards the point Kiba gestured at.

"It'sh thish way, you idiot." Kiba pulled at his collar once again but apparently a little bit too hard because Naruto lost his balance and tumbled over him. They landed with a loud 'thud' on the ground in a messy pile of arms and legs. Naruto found himself staring straight at Kiba's eyes that were only millimeters away from his owns.

"Eyaargh!" Naruto's furious yell could probably be heard in the Sand Country.

Kiba sighed in exasperation. That's it for a surprise attack. Then he was flying in the air, with his stomach hurting from Naruto's not-so-friendly kick. Well, I could've gotten up… He made his second uncomfortable landing in the evening, this time on his back. Air was knocked out of his lungs as he met the ground rather painfully. After a moment, the stunned feeling released his body and he got up gathering his remaining pride.

Naruto was still lying on his back, staring at the sky. He had seemingly forgotten that they were supposed to go to look for the singer as his hands were crossed behind his head comfortably. His eyelids were dangerously closing. Kiba hurried to kick him to his side, not painfully but hard enough for him to wake up from his trance.

"Get up, you shnail!" Kiba ordered. It didn't take long for Naruto to be up under Kiba's commanding stare.

Soon they were both up and clear again. They had sobered slightly after leaving the Ichiraku but both were still muddled enough to defy every rational thought. Not that they were rational when they were sober anyway. They took a second try to get to the direction they wanted to and this time they succeeded. They seesawed to the forest again after entering the clearing.

Kiba strained his ears to hear any unnatural voices. The only thing he heard was water's splashing. There had to be a pond nearby. Interesting, but they didn't remember any ponds or lakes either. It felt like they were in a completely unknown forest.

The splashing sound grew louder and louder all the time until it was right behind only a small area of trees. They strayed through it and entered yet another clearing, only this time it was smaller than the previous one. And one other intriguing thing was that there was indeed a pond on the other side of the clearing.

But what attracted their curiosity most was Hyuga Hinata who was sitting beside the pond, with her legs crossed under her. Her back was facing the two young men, hiding Hinata's expression and keeping it secret if she had noticed them or not. Her back stood straight and tall, her family's blood giving her some added tallness. Even her back was solemn and honorable even though they couldn't see it clearly due to the darkness.

Naruto found -in his messed up mind- every bit of Hinata very adorable. He could spend the rest of his life viewing Hinata's full-clothed back. Naruto found nothing to say, he only stared at her still immobile form.

Kiba looked at Hinata for a brief moment and noticed that a lonely and sad aura was surrounding her. Then he turned to look at Naruto and saw the whiskered boy staring at Hinata with his mouth hanging open like a fish, utterly incredulous and amazed.

Took him long enough to notice that she deserves his attention… Kiba had always acknowledged Hinata's deep caring for Naruto. In her childhood it had been a mere crush but during the years it had evolved to something deeper, more serious, like a bud blossoming into a beautiful flower.

When they had been young and Kiba and Hinata had been in the same team he had hoped that Hinata would look at him at least once like she looked at Naruto. But never had he earned even a glance of that pure caring from her. Surely, she respected him and they were friends but that wasn't the type of caring Kiba had wanted. But those feelings were long dead and buried, leaving him only with a deeper will to protect her and be her friend more so than an indifferent teammate. He had succeeded in that -they were close friends even outside the training. He had watched Hinata's growth during the years and had seen her gain more self-confidence and strength. The Hyugas had slowly started to accept her as she was and slowly the innocent girl was making her way under the list of the honored family members.

Now, as Kiba watched Naruto's expression change from astonishment to wonder he understood that those two were meant to be with each other. Neither of them had ever been loved and they just could find that love in one other. How can they not notice it? This needed his help. It was his mission to get those two together. Too bad that Naruto was too stupid to recognize his own love for Hinata -it was clear, to everyone but him and Hinata- or see Hinata's love for him. And Hinata was far too shy to ever confess her love for him. Ooh, this is going to be difficult.

Then, suddenly, the silence that had fallen over them was broken by Hinata's clear voice.

"Why are you here, Kiba-kun, Naruto-kun?" She hadn't even turned around but still had identified them. Hinata's voice was soft as usual but there was a certain edge to it that was definitely different. Her voice, even if it was barely above a whisper, was filled with determination.

Both men were silent for a while before bursting into a drunken laughter. The sound made Hinata jump and turn around with bewilderment in her eyes. The two ninjas had covered their surprise by laughing foolishly, Naruto scratching the back of his head and Kiba grinning so widely that his fangs showed. They didn't answer for a while but only remained in their places watching Hinata.

"I thinkssh we got lossht…" Naruto was the first one to open his mouth. His constantly closed eyes were even now shut but it was an incredible fact that he could still see normally from behind his closed eyelids.

Hinata looked at them with a blush rising up to her cheeks. She had sensed the two a long time before they had even entered the clearing. She had been very surprised when they came to her, though. Maybe they had heard her singing… She blushed even more at the thought of her pitiful singing. It must have sounded moronic to them. But this was nevertheless a hidden place, even if it was in the middle of a training forest. Most gave up coming there when they had to go through the dark woods but Hinata loved the place. It was a place full of quietness and calmness, nothing bothered her -except the few determined ones to get there or the ones foolish enough to get lost and find their way there. Like Kiba and Naruto.

Hinata looked at the laughing Naruto and once again remembered why she so deeply loved the boy. His high spirits never failed anyone even though they were rarely returned. Nothing made this boy feel bad for a long time, he always cheered up immediately and if nothing else could help, then a bowl of ramen made him happier. Of course, Naruto too had his serious side but that was a very unusual to meet with that side of him.

Naruto was handsome, at least in Hinata's mind. His appearance was very original with those still all-orange clothes he wore and his spiky blonde head. Naruto had gotten taller, and was now only a little shorter than Kiba, but his hair gave him some more height. His body wasn't exactly the most well built one -surely, he was in a good shape but he was thin and slender. When he opened his astoundingly huge eyes, many were stunned by their color. It was a deep blue, like a sky before storm.

When Hinata surprised herself actually staring at Naruto she blushed even more. Now the men started to notice something strange in her face, too. Her body temperature rose by thirty degrees at their stares and the blush spread to her neck. How can they be drunk and still look at me so closely like I had nothing on me?! Hinata was too occupied in her thoughts to notice that Naruto had come to sit next to her. Only when his hand touched hers softly she noticed it and her head shot up abruptly, nearly shocking Naruto away from her.

When Naruto leaned closer to Hinata, the strong smell of alcohol filled her nostrils. In her mind, Naruto was a tad too close to her than he would have been in his sober self and when Naruto just kept getting closer and closer to her, she really began to feel intimidated. Is he going to... kiss me?! Hinata frantically thought about getting out of his way but her thoughts were interrupted by Naruto, who fell down on her lap, having misjudged his sense of balance.

Hinata let out a small "eep" and completely froze in her place. Naruto's nose was digging at her unmentionables and it took only a moment for Hinata to grasp the sides of Naruto's head and lift him up. When she saw his face he looked dazed and giddy. And then Naruto did something that made Hinata very, very scared.

He licked his lips… hungrily.

The Hyuga suddenly began to realize the extremely dangerous situation she was in. She was alone, without anything to protect herself with, it was night, and two men were with her. … Replace that with two drunken men. What if they'd try to take advantage of her? Could they rape her? That was a high impossibility but still there was a chance for it to happen.

Hinata got up warily and looked at the two men in front of her. Kiba was still standing, though a little wobbly but Naruto was where she had left him, lying face-first on the ground. They didn't seem suspicious to her but she decided to be on her guard anyway. After some silence Hinata was the first one to open her mouth.

"You didn't answer my question yet." She brushed a bang of bluish-black hair behind her ear and let her eyes trail from Kiba to Naruto.

Kiba crinkled his face in a thoughtful manner and raised one eyebrow skeptically. "What queshtion?"

"Why are you here?" It appeared to be useless for Hinata to try to get an intelligent word out of them but as she had nothing else to say and she didn't want an awkward silence between them she made her futile attempts for a rational conversation. She had the answer quite clearly in her mind. They just heard my singing and came to look who's being tortured…

Kiba thought about it for a moment before turning to Naruto who had successfully gotten up from his position of digging the ground with his nose. "Whaddya shay, Naruto? Why're we 'ere?" he slurred and tapped his chin with a finger.

"I- uhh- dunno." He took a few shaky steps towards Hinata but apparently his body refused to cooperate due to the amount of alcohol he had had during the evening and turned him around, leaving his feet the way they were. Naruto ended up stumbling on his legs and fell to the ground again.

Hinata sighed in frustration. This is hopeless. She struggled for something more to say but finally decided to stay quiet. Naruto's loud breathing and Kiba's absentminded humming filled the air anyway.

Suddenly, Kiba came up with an idea. "Let'sh go ta shwim!" he announced merrily and looked around, seeing the two staring at him. "What? Did I shay shumtin' funny?"

Naruto, apparently, had nothing against the idea of swimming but Hinata did. For the sake of all good in this world, what kind of woman wouldn't? She decided to make herself clear and told the guys, "We, uh, don't have swimming suits or anything such…" Her voice became silent as the two men were obviously not listening. They were getting their clothes off, throwing them to the ground.

"No!" Hinata desperately yelled. "Don't--", But it was too late. The two men had already stripped all of their clothes off and were now running to the pond. Hinata covered her eyes with her hand and crossed her other arm to her chest. I'm ruined for life. She wasn't actually disgusted when she saw the naked ninjas running on the grass but she didn't quite enjoy the moment anyway.

She decided to leave for the time being so that Kiba and Naruto wouldn't have a chance to see her uneasy state. Surely, those two were drunk but they should still have some kind of sense of rationality! She turned her back to the boys and started to walk away as quietly and quickly as possible. She heard water's splashing behind her and gulped. Was it a mistake to leave? This was probably the closest she and Naruto would ever get, even though he was drunk. Should she waste the moment?

Naruto noticed Hinata's missing presence and turned around to call her to get her there with them. What had she talked about swimsuits? Oh yeah, that they didn't have any. Well, apparently that was the case but who needed those? Once again, the answer struck him, she was a woman. Of course she'd need a swimming suit when she was with them. Or did she?

"Oi, Hinata! Come 'ere!" Naruto waved his hand to get Hinata's attention.

Hinata slowly turned around but before she was fully facing Naruto and Kiba she asked, "Are you under the water decently?" This is embarrassing… She waited for Naruto to get the answer out of his mouth.

Naruto wondered what Hinata meant and turned to Kiba to ask for help but couldn't see him anywhere. Only a few bubbles were there where Kiba was supposed to be.

"Huh? Where'd he go?" Naruto scratched the back of his head and while busying himself with this mystery, he forgot to answer Hinata. Kiba had disappeared in the blink of an eye, without a sound. Suddenly the realization hit him. Somebody sucked him into the stratosphere!

"Hinata! Kiba's not 'ere!" Naruto sobered from the situation and he could actually speak without much slurring.

Hinata turned to wholly face Naruto and saw that he was, indeed, alone in the water. Hinata was silently thankful that his private parts were under the surface. She had a second to admire his beautiful body before mentally slapping herself out of the staring. Concentrate on the main thing! she ordered herself.

It was weird that Kiba had disappeared. The water wasn't deep enough for him to sink and drown but where else could he be? Naruto tried to see him under the water but failed.

"It looks like he isn't here… But you could be", Naruto said to Hinata with a grin.

Hinata blushed scarlet at Naruto's words. Could she go to swim with him without a swimsuit? It was dark enough so that anything under water couldn't be seen. Well, everything that doesn't kill me strengthens me. She stepped closer to the pond, hesitating. The moon shone down on Naruto, giving him a god-like glow, but the cold light left Hinata in the shadows and she gladly welcomed it.

Maybe I could… For once in my life do something I want to.

She looked at Naruto whose face was full of that sincere and gentle emotion. He didn't say anything more, he didn't want to push Hinata but he smiled encouragingly to her. She didn't want to do anything she'd regret later.

A small voice screamed to Hinata to think rationally and be the sane person she usually was but Hinata told the voice to take a hike to the Sand Country. This was her evening, hers and Naruto's. She wanted to leave the cage where she had been living her whole life and do something of her own free will. Who cared about the consequences? She could always leave the pond if Naruto became too intimidating and besides, Naruto wasn't even that drunk anymore that he'd try something funny.

Hinata stood there for a while, looking at Naruto. "Alright. I'll come." A heat rose to her face and she was thankful for the shadows covering her so that Naruto couldn't see her. Hinata went behind a tree to take her clothes off. Where am I throwing myself into? She began to have regrets but then remembered that this was her will even though every single principle told otherwise and she wanted to be with Naruto.

In the same time, when Naruto was gazing at the stars and waiting for Hinata to come, Kiba was looking at the two from behind another tree. He had decided to leave them alone because his promise was yet to be fulfilled. It was best if he just let their relationship evolve on its own without him meddling into it -at least not for the time being. He silently pulled his clothes on without drying himself and decided to head to home. He hummed a happy little tune in his mind while searching the right way to home.

When Kiba was planning his evil little plot and Hinata was blushing fiercely behind the tree taking her clothes off, Naruto gazed at the stars, feeling an odd sensation creep over him. It was a strange feeling of tingling on his skin, a heat that came from somewhere inside him despite the cool water. His arm suddenly tensed without his will and Naruto really began to wonder if he couldn't hold his liquor. The feeling was gone as soon as it had come to him and he decided to ignore it.

Hinata came from behind the tree, the blush on her face now cooling down a bit. She was thankful that Naruto was facing the other direction so that she could slip into the water without his noticing. The water was cool and Hinata shivered slightly -maybe because of the water or maybe it was Naruto's affection, she didn't know.

Naruto felt the water surface quiver and turned around to see Hinata in front of him. She was under the water to her chin but that didn't stop Naruto's eyes widen at her beauty. The moon reflected itself from the smooth surface of water, making the water look like it was black marble. The tingling sensation crept up Naruto's spine again, the hair in his back rising.

Hinata walked slowly in the water, her arms instinctively covering her chest even though she knew Naruto couldn't see her. And did it bother if he even did? She had never thought about using sex appeal to catch more of Naruto's attention, she was just happy with the caring and friendship he offered her. Did she even want anything more serious, deeper? If she would tell Naruto that she had loved him for the most of her life, would it destroy their relationship? Would the atmosphere between them be awkward? She didn't want to risk the friendship they had so she kept silent, harbored her feelings inside her.

She was now so deep in the water that her feet didn't reach the bottom. She began to swim, with slow but strong strokes. They didn't speak anything for a while, Naruto only stood on his feet, the upper parts of his body above the surface and Hinata swam slowly, stopping once in a while.

The kunoichi started to wonder why Naruto was so quiet all of a sudden. It was usually he who filled the silent moments between them, not with idiotic blabbering, but telling stories, talking about his missions and Hinata listening silently. Why she enjoyed being with him was the fact that he was so easy to be with. He never asked uncomfortable questions, not even unintentionally because he knew Hinata so well not to talk about things he knew would hurt her.

But if Hinata was unhappy Naruto would always ask her if she wanted to talk about it and listened if she wanted to, comforting her sometimes with words and sometimes with just being there for her. And it worked the other way around too. Even though Hinata was silent and shy she was full of sympathy for those who needed it. She was the solace of comfort for Naruto who had come to notice that he found rest and calmness whenever she was around him.

The silence stretched between them. Hinata was now just floating in the almost middle of the small lake and Naruto was still standing motionless. Hinata wondered if something had happened to him and decided to go to him. She swam the little gap between them and without rising from the water she touched Naruto's arm lightly.

Feeling the soft touch on his arm Naruto jumped a little. He had been so lost in his thoughts that he had not noticed the time passing by or had he paid attention to Hinata. The strange, ominous feeling still hovered over him, as if unwilling to leave. When Naruto turned to Hinata, however, she was shocked at the sight that met her eyes.

Naruto's eyes. They were no longer the impish clear blue color she knew better than her own eyes. They were dark, dark blue, the pupils only slits in the middle of the raging ocean of iris. They were full of pure emotion, the feelings swirling in his eyes like storm clouds. Hinata took a hesitating step closer and forgetting her own decency she brought her both hands to Naruto's arms.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was so full of care and concern that the power over Naruto wavered a little. But not enough.

Naruto wasn't in her reach anymore. The Nine Tails had taken over him. When Naruto finally understood his feelings for Hinata the sly fox decided that it was time for him to have some fun. Naruto had been fighting the Demon Fox for quite a while, for many years but now he had finally broken nearly completely free. Ever since Hinata and Naruto started becoming closer and closer to each other, the power of the Nine Tails in Naruto grew.

In the beginning, Naruto had just seen a dream. He had been in the Demon Fox's cage and they had talked -well, if it could be called talking considering Nine Tails' hatred for human beings. The fox had announced that he would not stand still anymore, he wanted freedom. But since the seal made by the fourth Hokage was so strong he couldn't get free, he decided that instead, he'd torture Naruto until he gave up and willingly resigned.

Naruto had thought that it was a mere dream until one day when he was training with Hinata the fox talked to him again. The mighty fox knew every part of Naruto's mind, even the parts he himself didn't know existed. The Nine Tails saw right through the barrier around his feelings and felt Naruto's love for Hinata. He took this as an opportunity to get the fun he wanted, be it unmoral as it may.

Naruto had bravely fought the Demon Fox's rage, silently bearing the burden on his shoulders. After that little coincidence the fox had kept low profile for a few months. Then it happened again. When Hinata and Naruto were swimming in a lake near the village Nine Tails decided to drop by again. This time, it hadn't been so easy for Naruto to get rid of him, no matter how strongly he fought.

After that, Naruto realized that Hinata was somehow included in the Demon Fox's plans -why else would he disturb Naruto only when he was with her? Naruto would have wanted to stay away from Hinata to prevent any harm happening to her but she made it almost impossible, coming to visit him by surprise every now and then and being his dear friend as she was.

Nine Tails' visits became more usual all the time. First he had had almost fourteen years. Surely, Nine Tails had met Naruto before that but it had only been with Naruto's training that required the fox's chakra. But when he started to become more intimidating, and started to try escaping of Naruto as Naruto and Hinata's friendship grew. Then it had been a year -or two, who counted? The years turned into months, months turned into weeks until Naruto had to struggle with himself almost daily.

He had kept it secret from everyone else but now he regretted it. What if he broke free and hurt Hinata? If that happened nobody would ever know that it was Nine Tail's doing. Naruto would never, never hurt Hinata but if the fox broke free he couldn't stop it.

Now Naruto was beyond Hinata's care and love. The Nine Tails had its power in Naruto and decided it was time to celebrate. Blinking slowly for a few times the fox in Naruto's body turned his eyes back to the normal sky blue color so he wouldn't scare Hinata away. She was a big part of his plans anyway…

Hinata was looking at Naruto's rapidly changing emotions and when his eyes finally returned to the blue color she knew so well she heaved a sigh of relief. He was alright now. But Hinata still felt a threatening aura emitting from him. A strange, insecure feeling filled her but she decided to ignore it. Nothing would happen, right? Right?

'Naruto' turned to give Hinata a full grin when they both suddenly noticed how very indecently Hinata was standing in front of him. Hinata immediately blushed red as a tomato and a mischievous fire lit up in Naruto's eyes.

Hinata quickly bent her knees and disappeared under the water almost completely stammering incomprehensible words. "I- I- I- I'm naked!" Her face could have heated the entire pond if she had been under water.

"It's alright, I didn't see anything", Naruto quietly assured her. This will be more amusing than I ever thought. The fox was enjoying the moment with all his will. There was no need to tell Hinata that whatever she did to hide her beautiful body he could see it. It didn't matter if she was under the water or not, he could still adore her slender form with all his desire.

Human beings, in their helpless, weak, and pitiful forms can be so charming.