Note: this is the first chapter of my new story yes, but I won't start to write the next chapter until I've finished Fox in the Rain which should only be two chapters, maybe three if needed, then of course I also need to update my other story Uzumaki Galaxy, anyway I hope you enjoy this story.

For as long as I can remember, I've been different I guess. People had always given me glares like just being alive was a crime. Like I have done something terrible that I didn't know about. Sadly, when I was twelve, I had found out that I was the Jinchuriki for the Nine Tailed Fox. When I had heard about that, I thought that my life was over, that this was why people had hated me and that I would never be accepted for who I was…

Though that changed when my teacher, Iruka had stood up for me.

So much has happened since then, I made so many friends I could count on and so many people who tried to help me out and me trying to help them out in return. Though, just as I had completed my last mission… is when my life turned on me…

"Sasuke, we're going to be fine. Just hurry up you're slowing us down teme." Said the orange clad shinobi. Looking over his shoulder, the orange clad shinobi ran his hand through his blonde locks, happy that while on his training trip he had managed to come home after two and a half years, and of course had left again when he had heard about a 'Sasuke Sighting' so to speak.

He of course had managed to convince Sasuke to come back since, for some strange reason the Uchiha had a change of heart and had said he would come along. Though, the young man couldn't help but wonder what he was to do after they got home. His bright blue eyes stared at his best friend. Sasuke hadn't changed much over the two and a half years.

Sasuke's hair was a little longer, two locks of hair framing his face with the back styled out in spikes, in a way resembling a duck's rear end. He wore an open robe that showed off his chest and the Uchiha symbol on the collar. Which was a red and white fan. He also wore dark blue pants with a blue cloth hanging from halfway up his stomach to his knees. Next he wore black arm guards that covered his forearms and stretched up to reach his upper biceps. Finally, Sasuke also wore a purple rope belt around his waist, tied in a bow, in which he carries his sword. To finish off his outfit was the black shoes that reached up just under his knees, leaving his ankles bare and a strap over his foot just under his toes.

The only thing that changed about Naruto was his height, and his muscular build then of course his jump suit. Which is now orange and black with black on the sleeves and over his upper chest before going down the center with orange at his sides, while his pants are completely orange. Next of course were his shoes, instead of them being blue shinobi sandals, were black.

"Naruto… has Sakura said anything about me at all? You know… since I left…?" Sasuke said with a strange voice that was a little odd to hear it from him though Naruto figured that it was normal since he did just have a sudden change of heart.

"Sasuke, when isn't Sakura talking about you? We may be sixteen now but some people don't change." Naruto said with a big grin on his face before he started to walk forward. The young man did let out a sad sigh, no matter what he couldn't get Sakura to let go of her love for Sasuke. It seemed that it was pointless to even try to get her to stop her love. Maybe this was for the best, so long as Sakura was happy, maybe then he could be happy for her instead of being happy with her.

Running a hand through his hair once again, the young man looked ahead, thinking that maybe they would be back in Konoha by tonight or tomorrow. Speaking of which… now that he looked Naruto couldn't help but notice that see that it was night. Shaking his head, the young shinobi knew that this was going to be a long night but at least they would be home soon.

Sasuke sighed softly; Naruto could tell that he hated all the walking as much as the blonde did. It was rather weird that Sasuke had a sudden change of heart but he wasn't going to complain about it. Not at the moment anyway. "Do you feel that?" asked Sasuke, causing Naruto to look around. He didn't feel anything weird so there couldn't be anything wrong right?

"Maybe it's all in your head teme."

"I'm telling you baka; I'm sensing something wrong…"

Naruto shook his head, just thinking that Sasuke had lost it. It may as well just be something that messed with his head a bit. There had to be something wrong with Sasuke, why else would the guy think that there was something else in the forest? Suddenly, a beast jumped out of the forest, tackling Naruto to the ground.

Yelping out in shock, Naruto is pinned to the ground and stared up at the beast that stood over him. Staring at him were a pair of glowing yellow eyes with black slits, surrounding its body was black fur but what bothered him was that it stood on hind legs and had hands and arms like a real person but a muzzle like a wolf. Naruto didn't know what this thing was but he knew that he had to make sure that Sasuke got back to the village… Shaking his head, Naruto grabbed onto the monster's wrists and stared at Sasuke as he said "get to the village! I'll be fine!"

Sasuke glared, as if saying that he didn't want to run. That it would ruin his pride but Naruto just shouted at him. Telling him to get the hell to the village and to send back up right away. There was no way that he would be able to keep this thing back for long and he knew that. Naruto watched as Sasuke ran as fast as he could, after Sasuke left, Naruto started to fight the beast. He had to make sure that he could keep it busy while fighting this thing.

Yet after the beast slammed its huge hand into Naruto's face, was when Naruto's world went dark.

Naruto groaned softly as he wondered through the forest. He didn't know how long he had been walking for, or how long he had been fighting against that beast for. His body felt like it was on fire, felt like his body was going to fall over at any given minute. Blinking his tired eyes, the young man looked up and blinked slowly as he titled his head. Whatever was going on, he didn't know… all he could make out was the trees… trees that looked like they were spinning in his line of vision.

'Gotta… get home…' thought Naruto as he blinked his tired blue eyes. His top had been torn to shreds, and he was covered in blood. He didn't know if the blood belonged to him or the beast that had attacked him. The young man had thought about that beast over and over again, though no matter what, he just couldn't think on what was going on. In fact, it almost seemed like no matter what, he couldn't remembered if the beast was dead or if it had ran off or even if he had somehow knocked it out.

Giving a sad smile, Naruto looked down and he couldn't help but notice that even his long pants were in tatters. The only thing he could think of that hadn't been torn was the headband that he had placed in his pocket after he had found Sasuke and had started to bring him toward Konoha.

Shaking, the young man wrapped his arms around his body as he tried to feel some warmth. He didn't know why but he felt so very cold. It felt like his entire body was shivering right from his very core. Hell, it felt like his body temperature just suddenly decided to drop just like that. Maybe it was all in his head… maybe it was from lack of food and lack of water. He didn't know when was the last time that he had managed to eat or drink anything… Everything had felt like it had been nothing but a blur.

Giving a sad laugh, the young man tried to get himself under control, Naruto knew that this was going to be a long trip home though he couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for him to get home. Everything started to look the same, making him think that he had somehow forgotten how to get back home to Konoha. 'Maybe I did forget… everything is so foggy and hazy…' thought Naruto as he tried to keep himself standing on his feet.

"Can't… stop… must keep… going…" he moaned, his body feeling heavy like lead. He knew that this was going to be a long battle; the young man had felt like everything was going to be a tough battle, a battle with himself. Shaking his head, Naruto looked up and squinted his eyes… he could have sworn that he saw something far ahead though he couldn't be sure if it was really there, or if it was all in his head once again.

Rubbing his upper arms, Naruto took a deep breath as he mumbled that there was no way that it could be real. That this whole thing was just all in his head, that it wasn't really there and did just his mind want to play tricks on her again. "I wonder how the others are doing…" whispered Naruto as he tried to get his thoughts onto something. Maybe if he thought about the friend's that he had made over the years, he wouldn't have to worry about his thoughts playing tricks on him…

With Kiba, the dog lover, knowing him he's running through the forests or in the park with his dog and friend Akamaru. For as long as Naruto could remember, those two had always been together since Kiba has had the small dog since they were kids. Though that was to be expected since all members of Kiba's clan got a dog companion at a young age.

Then of course there was Shino, in a way he was like Kiba, but only with the companion of the clan. Shino's clan keep bugs in their bodies and in exchange for the insects help, the insects feed on their chakra. Though, Naruto had always found it scary and very creepy that he kept bugs in his body and would always talk about it… Not to mention, there was how he could always tell the difference of ramen when he ate them, like when he could tell when something had been changed when others couldn't have noticed at all.

The last person he had thought about was Hinata… frowning, Naruto stopped for a moment as he thought about her. For as long as he could remember, Hinata would stare at him and when he would go near her about something she would go red and faint. The more he thought about it the more he wondered if she had some kind of health problem that people should look over her about.

In a way, she was the only one that had been nice to him… Sakura was always mean yet she had her moments but… he never heard a single mean thing from her. Taking a deep breath, Naruto kept his focus on Hinata, thinking that maybe her kindness, the kindness that she had always shown to him would be enough for him to keep going on this trip back to Konoha… In a way, he could recall thinking about Hinata while he was fighting that monster… that was the only thing that he had kept him going was thinking about Hinata.

Looking up, Naruto blinked when he saw the gates of Konoha… he couldn't believe it… he made it. Unless, this was one of fates cruel ways of tormenting him… Soon, Naruto fell onto his knees, then he fell forward as the world went dark… thinking that this was the end of him.

A young woman wondered through the village of Konoha. She had long blue hair that reached her waist and trimmed in a princess style with two short locks framing her face. Her lavender coloured eyes looked around the village, though she had dark circles under eyes, which stood out thanks to her pale skin. Ever since Naruto had disappeared days ago, she had gone out every night to try to find him along with her team mates. She also wore a loose fitting, long-sleeved, lavender and cream zip-up jacket with lavender cuffs over mesh armour with navy blue pants and black, low-heeled sandals.

Her jacket was a little torn from being out late last night though it was worth it in a way, even if she had nothing to show for it. Shaking her head, the young woman wrapped her left hand around her right elbow as she tried to think if Naruto was okay… he was a strong shinobi and… and he would have come back unless something was holding him back right? That had to be the only way…

Though, she also couldn't help but think about the monster that Sasuke had described before the Hokage had to talk to him about his punishment. He had said that the monster almost resembled a wolf that could stand on its back legs and had the arms and upper body of a very well muscular human yet had a muzzle and long pointed ears like a wolf and of course was covered in dark fur. That was something that had bothered her a little bit but at the same time it just seemed a little unreal. There was no way that there was such thing as a monster that looked like a human and a wolf. Though, then again there was a monster fox that had attacked the village sixteen years ago.

It made her think… maybe it was possible for a beast that looked like a wolf and a man could have attacked Naruto on his way back to the village. Plus, Sasuke wasn't one to lie even if he was consumed by hatred. Though there was still the chance that he had thought that he saw the monster instead of really seeing it. 'Either way, I'm still going to find Naruto no matter what.' thought Hinata with certainty. She had to find him; she just had to find him. He still had to follow his dream, and she would make sure that he got to see his dream come true no matter what.

Inhaling softly, the young woman knew that no matter the cost, she wouldn't give up on her search for Naruto. Even if Kiba and Shino tell her time and time again she just wouldn't give up. Her love for the blonde shinobi prevented her from doing that. She smiled softly, closing her eyes for a moment as she pictured the day when Naruto would become Hokage. The thought of seeing his grin, the idea of him becoming the Hokage that he so rightfully deserved after all the hard work he does for the village.

Looking up at the sky, Hinata could still it… even as she turned her gaze at the Hokage monument, she could see a carved out carving of Naruto's face in the stone, for him to always be remembered as the greatest Hokage to have ever lived.

Smiling gently, Hinata started to make her way to the gate. Maybe if she looked around in the forest, she would be able to find him… She would be able to find Naruto in the forest during the day instead of the night… She would give up any and all sleep just so long as it would give her a chance to find the orange clad shinobi. Sure, at night he may be sleeping and making it easy to find him since he would stay in that one spot, but he wouldn't be able to call out to anyone, during the day he would be moving but at least he could call out to her and she would be able to track his chakra better if it was in motion.

Looking up at the gate, the young woman wondered if this would be the day that she would find Naruto. This just had to be the day that she would find him… As soon as she finds him, she'll confess to him of her feelings… she'll do it at long last. Inhaling deeply, Hinata knew that it may seem a little silly to say it when just coming home after a mission but it would still be worth it. Closing her eyes for a moment, the young woman took a deep breath as she tried to get herself to relax. Maybe then, maybe then she would finally feel better to know that she had finally confessed her love to the man that had captured her heart at long last.

Opening her pale lavender eyes, Hinata gave a soft and gentle smile as she started to walk up to the small stand just by the gate. Telling them that she would go back on her search for Naruto. Though she would stay in the forest so she wouldn't get in trouble since she didn't have permission from the Hokage to leave the border of the Land of Fire as of yet. Once they nodded to her request, Hinata saw that they started to open the gate and just turned as she waited for the gate to fully open so she could leave…

Yet, as it slowly opened, the young woman couldn't believe her eyes. Lying on the ground was a blonde haired young man… torn orange pants and covered in blood. "Get a medic! There's someone bleeding!" shouted Hinata as she rushed forward as fast as she could. There was no way that this could be Naruto could it? The closer she got, the more she could see… it was Naruto. She recognises those whisker marks anywhere.

"Naruto!" shouted Hinata as she knelt by his side and turned him over, using the small amount of medical jutsu that she had learned from the Hokage just in case her team mates were ever injured. The young man slowly opened his eyes and just stared at Hinata for a brief moment… "Oh Naruto, you're home! You're finally home! I never gave up trying to find you." Hinata said in joy, tears starting to pool in her lavender eyes.

"H… Hin… Hina… ta…" whispered Naruto before his eyes closed once again. Eyes widening, Hinata went back to healing him, waiting for the medics to come but… she was just glad that he had finally returned to the village at long last.