Author's Notes:

This is the last of D-Spiral story for me...

End Author's Notes

Chapter 4: The Maidens of Konoha

Naruto sat on the grass, once again attempting to battle and subdue his inner darkness. The past few days had been rough, for all involved parties. Yamato could tell Naruto was straining to find his inner darkness unlike the first day with Karin's sensory help. Karin, meanwhile, was doing everything she could to not focus on him. He wasn't sure what had happened, but he knew the two of them were having difficulties.

"What's wrong with the two of you? For the past three days, the two of you haven't made even noticeable progress." Yamato, who'd finally lost patience at the unproductive sessions, chimed in.

Karin rounded on him angrily, "Naruto just doesn't want to find his darkness, he's too busy thinking about other things, it isn't even worth focusing on him right now!" she shouted, gesturing angrily towards him as he slowly got to his feet.

"Karin, I am just having a little difficulty… I've been feeling really… positive lately…" Naruto sort of trailed off, unable to really express his actual thoughts as he clambered to his feet.

"See? There he goes again! He's hiding what he's thinking and he's not thinking about confronting his darkness at all!" Karin argued.

"Fine fine! I'll do it, we're starting again!" Naruto angrily called out and sat back down in a huff. Karin rejoined him seconds later and started to focus.

"Naruto! Slow down! That's too much!" she shouted, but he didn't seem to heed her. Yamato startled in reaction and looked to Bee. The dark-skinned man nodded and they both clapped their hands together after forming numerous hand seals. The suppression techniques activated seconds after Naruto's features started to take on a more bestial appearance. His chakra bubbled over and the first tail began forming only for it to suddenly be pinned under several wood-formed dragon-images and for the sudden appearance of an apparition of the Eight-Tails slapping Naruto backwards. The blonde tumbled backwards and left the horrible chakra behind, almost as if he'd been torn out of it. The bestial 'after-image' of his chakra dissipated and Naruto's features returned to normal.

"That's it, take a break, both of you stay put. We're going to have to talk this over." Yamato commanded, Bee nodded agreement and released the technique that had unlocked his bijuu powers temporarily to subdue the emerging Nine-Tails chakra. The two of them looked at Naruto and Karin and saw a strange play of emotions on the faces of both.

Naruto looked ashamed at his sudden loss of control, the first time since his lessons had really begun. He was looking anywhere but Karin, who had her gaze cast down at the ground and seemed very upset. She looked lost in her own thoughts and Yamato had a guess, but Iruka came forth and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to her, you take Naruto." Iruka didn't wait for Yamato to reply and walked over to Karin, offering a hand up off the ground. "C'mon, take a walk with me. We should chit chat a little. I've got some suggestions for techniques too."

Yamato looked at Naruto: "Oi, you, lets go, we'll go the other way and have a little talk about just how dangerous it is for you to be trying to prove a point about your powers." Naruto shook off his dazed state and made a small mumble of assent and followed the man as he led the way.

Bee sat down and closed his eyes, focusing inward. Bee. You felt it didn't you? That boy has an absurd amount of power. I can't even imagine how strong he'll end up getting if he can master the Nine-Tails, but you and I both felt it. The fox isn't going to cooperate easily. Bee smiled and said aloud (and inside as well, but with no one around anymore he needn't concern himself with appearances), "Got that right, he ain't like you, he's a grade-A pain in the ass foo'." Oh for the love of…! Bee, stop rapping. This is serious, if that boy can't get a hold of things, we're all in a lot of trouble. "Got that right, he and that fox need to get tight." …I wonder if that Karin girl is really a good idea? You saw the way she's been looking at him. "Yeah, and the darkness he can't reach is because he's kinda got the hots for teach." Only you would call that 'kind of', he likes her, she likes him. It is clear as day, that's the thing causing problems lately. "Better not be askin' me to go and be steppin', boys and girls deserve what they be gettin'." No, I am not going to try and tell you to break them apart, but they need to master their emotions. She can't focus on him, and he can't put her out of his thoughts . "Ah, you got me there, but they sure make a cute pair. Give them a bit longer, if they resolve it on their own they'll just get stronger! WHEEE!" For once, I agree with your idiotic rapping. After that, the Eight-Tailed beast fell silent within him once more and Bee looked around. "Wonder how long a break we takin? I think I'll get some food, my stomach's achin'."

"So just what is eating you up so badly Naruto? You've not been yourself these past few days at all. You can barely focus, you seem in a good mood during training but you can't accomplish a thing. What's going on?" Yamato inquired, having already finished his lecture about the dangers of the fox and on Naruto taking it lightly.

Naruto shook his head, trying to clear the heavy air of being sternly lectured before he replied, "It's nothing…" but could tell from one look on Yamato's face that no amount of dismissal was going to get him to drop it. "Okay, okay, the problem is one of uh… um… a female kind?" Naruto blushed a bit, obviously embarrassed and not sure how to really go about saying it all. This was one of those problems that the young man had clearly not really faced before or even given voice to his thoughts on it until now.

"Oh geez, I had figured it was this kind of thing but that didn't make me ready to hear it." Yamato resolved himself to try and help, "So is it with Hinata?"

"Yeah, it is." he replied.

"Okay, well-" Yamato began.

"And Sakura" Naruto interrupted.

"…caught between two?" Yamato was surprised and opened his mouth to continue before Naruto interrupted him again.

"And Karin."

"…Naruto, how did you wind up torn between three girls?" Yamato asked, before he could even stop himself.

"I don't know! Sakura was kind of always there… and… well, yeah, Hinata was always there too! Now Karin's here and my thoughts are all muddled about it!" Naruto poured out as though he'd had no one to even mention this to yet and was glad for any kind of audience.

"Naruto, I'm not so sure you should tell me every little detail-" Yamato began.

"I like Sakura, she was my first crush, but she's so heavily in denial about Sasuke and then there was that fake confession to me that I think was kind of real. It's strange, I want to like her but it doesn't feel like I really like her. It is-" Naruto cut off as Yamato's terror face appeared.

"I don't want to know! This isn't your job to spill your heart out to anyone. Do you wanna die?" Yamato asked him, taking advantage of the effect his terror-face has on Naruto. Naruto shook his head side-to-side in sudden silence and Yamato continued. "Good," he dropped the terror-face, "so here's what you're going to do Naruto. Stop, take a few minutes, and think about how you feel on each one. You're going to have to resolve this, and if I even attempt to help you it is only gonna hurt your efforts with all of them."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes, fortunately not seeing Yamato roll his own eyes at Naruto's silly gesture of concentration to 'think'. How do I feel? Well… let's see…

Sakura. She's so pretty, I've always been interested in her, haven't I?

Hinata. She's the purest, nicest person I've ever met. She's always been around me, and always trying to help.

Karin. The new girl… she's different, she's beautiful and I enjoy her company so much… she's so unique.

He opened his eyes slowly, "I feel like it's gonna take more than a few minutes…"

Yamato chuckled, "That's something I can understand. Fair enough. Well, how about you-"

"Naruto!" a voice called out, the two turned to see the newcomer, and recognized him instantly.

"Oh! Neji! Hey!" Naruto called back, waving at him. "Can I get a minute?" he asked Yamato, obviously happy to have been bailed out of the difficult topic.

Yamato nodded, "I'll let you two chat, I've got to go confirm a few things with Iruka and Bee. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone." Naruto flashed an idiotic grin and made a noise of agreement. Yamato shrugged, knowing it was the best he was going to get and figuring he wouldn't be too far away even if something were to happen he'd sense it instantly.

Neji approached Naruto, walking past Yamato and the two nodding in recognition of each other. Naruto beamed at Neji, that familiar grin of random fortune on his face. "Juken!" he shouted and slammed a palm into Naruto's chest with blinding speed that sent him hurtling back.

Naruto rolled in the dirt and slowly dragged himself to his feet, "Hey, what the hell! What was that for!" he yelled, clutching his chest. Iruka and Yamato started to move forward at the sight of the fight, but Bee said something that stopped them.

Neji fell back out of the combat stance he'd adopted to land the blow and walked towards Naruto. "Relax, I didn't use much, just enough to vent some frustration at you. You know why I did it too, so don't play dumb. You can't keep ignoring my cousin, I won't stand for it."

"I wasn't planning to… really, it isn't like that." Naruto's pained expression changed slightly, no longer a wince of physical pain, now one of a more internal turmoil. "It's just that… well…"

Neji shook his head, "This isn't something I care to tell you how to do, only that you actually do something. Your cowardice and avoidance of it is a mockery to everything you've shown me thus-far about yourself. Naruto, you're better than this. You never give up on things or take the easy way out. Quit ignoring your responsibilities here!" Neji's voice had raised a bit, driving the point home to Naruto with a ruthless efficiency.

Naruto was honestly surprised to see Neji actually showing concern for his cousin. Either he's gotten better about this kind of thing, or it really is serious… he sighed aloud, his thoughts drifting a bit back to that moment…

She had leapt in and swung at Pain, he had dodged it effortlessly, clearly an opponent far greater than anything she could handle. Naruto had seen it in her face, she both knew Pain was too strong and didn't care. She was throwing her life on the line for him.

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto!" she'd shouted and Naruto had begged her to fall back against such a foe, but she had only calmly told him "I know…"

All of his begging and arguments had fallen on deaf ears. "I'm… just being selfish…" she'd said, before adding "I'm here of my own free will."

After that, she had said words that he did not, no, couldn't forget. "…I used to always cry and give up… I nearly went the wrong way… but you… you showed me the right way… I was always chasing you… wanting to overtake you… I just wanted to walk with you… I just wanted to be with you… you changed me! Your smile saved me! So I'm not afraid to die protecting you!" she had shouted, and Naruto knew exactly what she would say next.

"Because I… love you…" and then she'd attempted to attack Pain. Naruto bitterly remembered the result, feeling the anger, sorrow, and outrage welling up inside him once more. He quelled it, she was okay, so he needn't let that foulness take him over again. He hadn't been ready for it, he still wasn't sure how to take it. Part of him had known all along, but the rest of him didn't think it at all. He found even then he would've dashed her hopes if it could've meant saving her from that, but seeing the look in her face he knew he couldn't. That… and something had held his tongue. He had begged her not to fight, but after she'd finished saying her piece, he couldn't even speak at all.

Naruto shook his head. "Neji… that isn't what I want. I don't even know what I want right now. I can't entirely-" Naruto began meekly…

…and was solidly punched in the face. No 'gentle fist' style, just a raw blow to the cheek that staggered him backwards. "Snap out of it! What's wrong with you? The Naruto I knew wouldn't be this confused, this dismayed, and this helpless. The Naruto who beat me and showed me a way that even these eyes could not see would never ignore a friend." Naruto's expression kept growing more and more somber under Neji's withering barrage. "I don't care if you don't return her feelings, that's not my business, but she deserves to hear your feelings about her from you, regardless of what they are… and she deserves to hear it now."

"He's right, ya know." Another voice chimed in. Naruto, who'd been rubbing his face turned to see the newcomer.

"Ino?" He asked, a little confused why she was here and not liking the look of it.

"Hi Naruto… sorry to butt in like this, but I feel he's got the right idea and you can't really stall this any longer."

"I'm not stalling!" Naruto complained, throwing up his arms in frustration at the way everyone had been treating it.

"Then what are you doing?" Neji demanded.

"I… I don't know." Naruto replied, unable to look back at him.

Ino held up a hand to stop Neji who looked as though he were about to get violent once more. "Beating him up any more won't do any good. He's already clearly suffering through this on the inside." She said calmly, and saw she was right when Naruto looked towards her as though grateful for the support. "But… Naruto, you can't act like this only bothers or effects you. I know Sakura is going through a lot of turmoil over this and I'm sure Hinata is too. Neither of them are going to do anything past what they've already done. I can't imagine either of them being brave enough to approach you… and they really shouldn't have to."

"Wha… what did Sakura do? She was lying about that confession to try and get me to leave Sasuke to her." Naruto asked, confusedly.

Neji sighed and shook his head but Ino just chuckled a bit, "Classic Naruto… that was the first time she could say something like that to you, you don't really think she made up every last bit of it do you?"

Naruto looked skyward, as though an answer would fall from it, or like he could fly away and avoid all this. He took a deep breath, "You're right. Of course there was more to it… even I could tell that. I just didn't want to really see it."

Ino reached out and put a hand on his shoulder comfortingly. "Look, I have a hunch on where your fancy lies… and I'm sure Neji does too-" she saw him nod "-and whoever has it, you need to tell them all anyway. It's your responsibility."

"Well, I have a strange relationship… erm… I have mixed feelings about them all. It isn't something I can easily explain."

"But! Your hesitation is gonna be your undoing if you keep it going like that." A new voice chimed in, a bark accompanying it that revealed it to be none-other than Kiba with his best friend Akamaru. Naruto groaned at the arrival of yet another person here to give him a 'talk' about this, but stifled it quickly enough to not really show it or anger any of the three. "If you keep this inside and don't do anything you're gonna wind up like… sorry Ino…" He paused, hesitant, but Ino had a sorrowfully resolved look on her face, she already knew what he was going to say and nodded for him to continue. "Well… like Sakura. She's still trying to keep it all bottled up inside and sort it all out herself without telling anyone or expressing it fairly or honestly to the people it involves. Heck, look what she did last mission! She screwed us over, nearly killed herself, and got you all poisoned up! Then she's back here acting like she's some high authority because the Hokage likes her as a star pupil, and theeen-" he started to continue but a loud 'ahem' from Ino made him remember that he'd already made his point and was now simply bashing her.

"Uhh… yeah! So…" Kiba tried to recover, but Ino cut him off.

"The point is, Naruto, you need to take responsibility, you're not a kid anymore."

"Maybe he still is." Neji teased, causing Naruto to fluster, but Ino held up a hand to stop everyone from fighting or commenting.

"Okay, that's enough. Let's go." Ino turned to leave with Neji and Kiba, but stopped, "Oh, I've got to ask him one more thing, you two go ahead, I'll catch up." The other two nodded, kept walking, and slowly struck up conversation between themselves, mostly about Kiba's disappointment that he'd missed Neji hitting Naruto.

Naruto stared awkwardly as Ino walked back towards him and leaned in close to whisper. Before she began, Neji turned, apparently unable to bear a comment from Kiba (something along the lines of "Wow, didn't know Ino could boss you around!") and shouted "Naruto you have three days! If at that point you haven't talked to Hinata, you'll have to deal with me, and I won't hold back!"

Naruto groaned. Oh great, a time limit . He heard Kiba laughing and then promptly dodging blows from Neji, but the two left. Ino only shook her head and laughed a bit before leaning back towards him. "I'm going to help you a bit."

Naruto's eyes widened and he was suddenly very interested, and she led him away a bit so as to be completely out of earshot. Naruto was oblivious to the funny looks this got, Iruka chuckled, Bee had to hold back outright laughing, and Yamato had his face in his hands, thinking Naruto had 'broadened his horizons' even farther.

Ino sat down on a fallen tree log, kicking her feet up to the remains of a branch to sit in a pixyish pose while Naruto stood nearby. "So…!" she said, grinning, obviously enjoying her role in this.

Naruto scratched the back of his head absentmindedly. I never knew Ino enjoyed gossiping… then again, I don't really see her that much. "So you said you'd help me out somehow, right?"

Ino nodded, "That's right. I know who all has your fancy…"

Naruto was shocked out of his confused posture, "How do you know?"

Ino giggled, "Oh come on Naruto, you're not exactly good at keeping things private." He said nothing in response, only staring back at her determinedly. "But then again, that's a good thing in some ways… and you're more courageous than anyone I've ever known. Truth is," she looked away as her face turned a bit pink, but then turned back with a mischievous smile, "if you were just a bit cuter I'd be interested in ya too!" and stuck her tongue out at him.

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Come on, don't say things like that, it's already bad enough!"

Ino recoiled a bit in surprise, "Oh? Bad enough? You're the only guy I know who'd say having the interest of three girls is bad. Of course, that's only because you can't be there for each one. You'd never mean it negatively. I know that."

Naruto had caught on one word and ignored everything else. "Three?"

Ino smiled warmly at him, amused at both his innocence and his curiosity. "Yes, three. Unless you've been even busier than I thought and there are some I don't know about… but that's just unlikely." She tapped a finger to her lips thoughtfully for a moment, stopping in time to interrupt Naruto just as he opened his mouth. "I know Hinata loves you, I don't think anyone in the village doesn't know that. So I don't really have anything to tell you aside from the fact that one is clearly your move."

Naruto nodded his begrudging agreement.

"As far as Sakura goes…" she sighed loudly. "I want to tell you to choose her. I want you to help her… but… I can't. She's in so deep in her own mess now… the only one who can help her out of it is her. Until she's ready, even if you were to respond to her feelings in kind, she wouldn't be able to handle it. I only… well… be good to her. She is more fragile than she wants to think she is."

Naruto nodded, and Ino was pleased to see that he seemed to have resolved himself entirely to making sure Sakura wasn't hurt in the end. "You've got it Ino, I'll make sure she's okay no matter what it comes to. I promise."

Ino hopped down from the log and poked Naruto. "That about covers it! But don't go approaching any of them until you know yourself for certain! Don't go feeling obligated, figure your own heart out and go from there. If you're still not ready, tell them that you're not ready, not any of us… but only if you really mean it. No more using that excuse!"

Naruto got flustered, "Hey! What about the third!"

"Oh?" Ino looked genuinely confused for the moment and saw the angry expression on Naruto's face. "Oh! Heh, well, c'mon, you don't need to really be told do you?" Naruto started to get flustered and she could tell he wasn't going to drop it at all. "Okay okay! Well, let me put it this way. If my guess about how you feel is right, then my guess about her is right too."

Naruto stopped to think about it, staring down towards the ground to kick at a tuft of dirt. "I think… that makes sense…" he said absentmindedly before turning back up to look back at Ino only to see a log sitting there with a smiling face painted on it. He turned to look rapidly left and right before seeing her standing near a distant tree.

"Sorry to cut out on you, but I can only tell you what you already know! It'd not be fair to gossip on the girls that heavily, besides, I think we both know you already know what you want and from who!" she shouted from the distance.

Naruto stood flabbergasted before shouting back: "That's not fair, you never told me all about the third one!"

Ino's giggle could faintly be heard, "Naruto! Come on, we both know you have a thing for the redhead!" she shouted before she vanished behind the trees.

Naruto sighed, knowing it'd be pointless to try and chase her. She'd said her piece… and she was right. I really didn't need to hear what she had to say, was it really that obvious to everyone? he shook his head, clearing that thought away when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto, we're taking the rest of the day off after some agreement. You've got to get your head on right. No more accidents or mishaps during training, we can't afford it and Bee says that he needs to investigate something." Yamato's voice came from behind him.

"What? But we barely started!" Naruto complained, never one to give up training and turning around to face him. His tone fell flat at the end of his complaint, Yamato had his familiar terror face present.

"Really want to argue that with me?"

"Ahh… no… that's okay. Uhm, what is Bee investigating though?" Naruto choked out in reply, obviously defeated by the face Yamato used regularly as of late.

He dropped the terror face, "Well, it's classified. I can't just up and tell you. Besides, another reason is that Iruka insists you need a day to get your 'affairs in order… before you have one'." he shrugged, "those aren't my words by the way."

Naruto looked confused but quickly snapped out of it. He mustered his most sincere tone he could manage and pushed all the earnestness into it he could: "Alright, I'm going to go spend some time alone. Please don't send anyone after me, I won't try anything stupid."

Yamato considered it for a moment, "No, but we'll keep a nice distance. Fair?"

Naruto paused to consider it, "not going to get much better am I?" he smiled awkwardly, saw the nod from Yamato and then added, "Yeah, sounds good. I'll be on top of the Hokage monument."

Yamato seemed about to reply but then dropped it without saying anything. He turned around and walked away, waving to Naruto as the blonde youth walked in another direction.

The stone underneath him was firm and reassuring, he sat on it while quietly looking out over Konoha's reconstruction. The village was slowly rebuilding itself back into something that looked like what he'd known. A lot of people would be upset about it never 'being the same' again, but that's okay, times change. The people are alright and that's what really matters. He thought quietly about it, but then he sighed. That's not why you're up here Naruto. You have to figure this out… let's start with Sakura. He stared up at clouds moving through the sky sluggishly, almost as reluctant as he was to really consider the things he knew he had to at the moment.

His thoughts drifted to the pink haired girl that he knew was going through a hardship of her own. He thought of her when she had long hair, when she had short hair, covering everything he knew about her from the first time he saw her to the last time he saw her this weekend. She's a good person, she doesn't deserve a lot of what she puts herself through. Unfortunately… she's so hung up on Sasuke… there was a time when I felt like I loved her. It was when I failed to bring him back… that's when it changed . He groaned aloud, never having quite come to terms with that particular failure. It wasn't that he couldn't forgive himself for it, it was more that it never stopped hurting whenever he recalled it. Still, that's when it all changed. I realized that even if I'd brought him back, she'd never look at me the way she looks at even the memory of him. Especially with the way she swore she'd help the next time. She's been trying so hard and I just want to help her. She feels more like a sister I never had. He shot to his feet. "That's it!" he shouted out loud to himself. She's like a younger sister… I would've said older once upon a time, but she's going through a crisis right now that… well, honestly, I have to help her through it. She's always sort of counted on others, doesn't really seem like a big sister! Anyways, that's how I feel about her, one of my best friends, one of my… family really. Like the rest of Team 7. He nodded, a smile growing on his face at his success of figuring it out.

A large grin on his face, he sat back down. "One down, two to go, eh?" he gave himself a fake punch in the arm. Alright, who is next… well, if we're going in order of how long we've really known them. Hinata. His grin faded instantly, he knew it wasn't going to be easy at all. He had come to his conclusion on Sakura pretty easily, but her recent troubles had made her more easily understandable. Hinata, on the other hand… I can't lie to myself on this one. I like her. What happened with Nagato… that's proof enough right there. I wouldn't have responded even half that violently without my emotions being directly involved. Every time she comes closer to me, she gets more and more hurt. First with Neji… then over the years there've just been more, the way she stood up to Nagato was almost certain, only his own powers had brought her back from her suicidal charge. He leaned downwards, unable to really face out at the brightness around him and staring instead into the shadow he cast on the rocks. Hinata… I want to protect you… I want to keep inspiring you… he gazed outwards into the horizon. I don't know what it is you see in me with those eyes of yours, but whatever it is, I don't want you to lose it because of me.

Hinata… I think… I think she's better off without me entirely. Err… hmm, no, she's my friend. Probably my best friend in all of Konoha, she's the only one who'll reliably stand up for me. He chuckled, remembering the Chuunin exam when she tried to help him cheat. Always risking absolutely everything about herself to try and help me… I want her to be safe. I don't think she'll ever be that way the more she tries to be like me and around me. So… I always want to keep her safe and protect her and she's my best friend, but she's not… he stopped and continued aloud. "She's not you. Is she?"

He looked back upwards. "I can try and fool myself all I want, but she's not you… Karin." How did all that start? His thoughts drifted to the way he'd first seen her, in the middle of an argument with Sakura. She'd been full of fire and energy, and… I have to be honest with myself at least, she is pretty. The way her hair falls unevenly and haphazardly on one side but perfectly smooth on the other. The way she always straightens her glasses with her arms folded. At first, I really thought I was interested just because of the fact that she knew about Sasuke. That may have been the reason I first gave her my attention, but… every time I saw her after that…

Naruto leaned back and lay on the rock, staring upwards, arms spread wide. I keep seeing her, and now this training together. It's like fate. How would I not feel this way about such a pretty girl… and she's not like Sakura or Hinata. She's so full of her own person. When she's unsure it's so cute, she does her best to hide it but it only makes it more plainly visible. She doesn't hide who she is. "Wonder who that reminds me of!" He laughed aloud at his sarcastic comment. She's a lot like me in her own way.

I'm getting off topic. He reminded himself. It's not like Sakura, who was a crush and is now more of a sister. It's not like Hinata, who is my friend and always will be someone I want to protect. I can argue all the reasons for why I might feel things for Karin… but the truth is. I feel them. There's no use lying or trying to guess about how it started. The point is… I'm in love with her. He smiled at the thought.

"Now… how the hell… do I tell any of those three?" his smile vanished and he slapped a hand across his face. "This is going to take a while…"

She sat in her room, staring up at a dot in the distance. She was looking at the Hokage monument, and could just barely make out a figure on top of it. "Maybe I'm new here, but that seems a bit disrespectful. Who would stand on the monuments besides the Hokage?" She shook her head, not really wanting to, but forcing herself back to focusing on her earlier thoughts.

I only like him because he's like Sasuke! she thought, trying to rationalize her out of control emotions. "Except he's not like Sasuke. He's everything good that was in Sasuke with none of the bad." she admonished herself aloud. Yeah, well he's not six kinds of hot like Sasuke is! Sasuke had that raw sex-appeal that makes a girl shiver! she gave a mock little squirm to help emphasize her mental point; acknowledging that even if she had written off any interest in Sasuke, she could still think he was sexy.

"Except…" she brushed her hair out of her face a bit with a casual gesture. "Except Sasuke didn't make me smile. He never made me feel safe… and happy… and wanted." She stared back at the dot trying to distract herself, but it was useless. Sasuke's smile never made me giddy and speechless. She sighed, suddenly and vividly aware that she was fighting a losing battle against her own emotions. She blushed a bit before adding, "and he is kind of cute…"

"Wait wait, this is all normal, he's a hero figure here! I'm just getting attached to his reputation and all his talent!" she slapped a fist into an open palm as though she'd found the solution to her troubles. But that isn't true. You didn't know about any of that until later. You don't care about it either. The first time you saw him all you thought was that he was an idiot who was willing to throw his life down to stop Sasuke. She put her hands to her head, hoping to drown out the unmistakable truth in her mind. He's a hero, sure, but he's a great person too. In fact, he hasn't let any of that get to his head. He's as determined and courageous as he always has been.

"Yah…" she took off her glasses and started cleaning them on a cloth she pulled out of a pocket. "…and this isn't just some silly idolization. This isn't some crush on the first remotely handsome, and relatively sane… at the time… hottie that gets brought into the lab. Here I'm free to make my own choices, and surrounded by good people. This isn't anything like Sasuke… or anyone else for that matter…" she put her glasses back on and turned around to go outside. She sighed a bit, more amused at herself for what she couldn't deny as the truth any longer: "I'm in love with that blonde idiot." she said and closed the door behind her as she left.

The two of them sat on the benches in one of the many parks damaged and shattered by Pain but slowly growing back. Sakura sat quietly on a bench opposite Tsunade, the two facing each other across the walkway. Tsunade's face was one of concern and worry, while Sakura had an expression of disinterest but kept it 'polite' as though a matter of business. The two hadn't spoken in nearly five minutes, and aside from their unbroken stares at each other, no one would know they were there together; Sakura having been summoned by an assistant to come and speak with the Hokage.

"Sakura…" Tsunade attempted to start conversation again.

"I don't need to hear it, I know what you're trying to say, but it's not the case." she replied curtly.

"I'm only trying to help…"

"That's the problem! Everyone is trying to help resolve some issue I don't even have!" she shouted, angrily gesturing as she did. "I don't need any guidance about how I feel, I need to get stronger to stop Sasuke!"

Tsunade shook her head slowly. "What Sasuke did and continues to do is not your fault Sakura. Naruto too. You can't hold yourself accountable for everything bad that happens with the people you care about. We all have our own problems to deal with, don't go borrowing troubles you can't solve from others!" She took a deep breath to calm herself of the frustration she was feeling at how disinterested Sakura looked.

"Look, Sakura, you are strong enough. No one can argue it. We've all seen your determination and spirit." she saw the impatience on Sakura's face and continued more vehemently. "Stop that, really listen! You are strong, you just can't expect to be strong enough to beat him and you're not an underhanded person who would be good at sneaking a kunai between his ribs. You're a good person, that kind of murder isn't your style. You've only had difficulty because the circumstances have been completely wrong."

"The circumstances are my power not being enough!" the girl yelled in reply.

"No! It's because you don't put any trust in your allies and don't put any value in yourself! Stop trying to do it all on your own, you've got to forgive yourself all of this. That you couldn't do it alone doesn't mean you're a bad person or need to improve. Let others help you do the things you can't do by yourself. Even Naruto lets others help him. More than any of that…" Tsunade paused, catching her breath in surprise at how vehemently she was attempting to argue this point, "…you've got to let Sasuke go."

Sakura looked as though she'd been slapped, the indignity causing her to angrily clench her fists. "…let him go?" she measured out her words with careful precision, only keeping herself from yelling at Tsunade through intense effort. "How could you tell me to do that? How can you encourage Naruto so much and then ignore me like that?"

Tsunade started to try and correct her, but Sakura yelled out before she could be told anything else. "I'll get stronger! I just don't know how yet! Maybe instead of trying to tell me to give up you should try and help me!"

A long silence followed, neither one saying anything as Sakura began to feel a bit of guilt while Tsunade searched her own feelings. Damn it all if I don't know where she's coming from. How long did I rage about losing Orochimaru to darkness and madness? She sighed loudly and stood up, removing her light jacket.

"Alright Sakura." she began, seeing her face brighten at what looked like the Hokage getting serious. "You've got too much aggression in you, I'm out of practice, and neither of these are good for either of us. C'mon, we're going to go a few rounds. Maybe I can beat some sense into you, or maybe, just maybe, you'll beat me and realize that even with that kind of strength, you still can't do it all alone."

Sakura pulled on a familiar pair of gloves, enjoying the feel of them stretching tautly. She found it comforting and reassuring in a way, as though it reaffirmed her strength. She fell into a readied stance, her hands coming up in front of her and clenching into fists. "Don't hold back." she demanded.

Tsunade readied herself, gathering her chakra around her and into her fists. "I don't intend to." and flung herself at Sakura, true to her word, with enough force to shatter a mountain. The pink-haired girl ducked to the side, slapping the side of Tsunade's arm with a chakra-infused hand to stagger her sideways before lunging in with a blow to the side. Tsunade caught the fist with her other hand, their chakras cancelling each other out so only the basic impacts of fist on palm were felt by either.

The two leapt away from each other, recovering their balance before Sakura went on the offensive. Tsunade deftly dodged or cancelled the blows, passing up a few openings to strike her back. She's so ferocious, she's giving up opportunities and attacking when she should be more careful. She's too obsessed with winning and being hostile. Tsunade saw an opening that was glaringly wide and took it, landing a blow that sent Sakura hurtling backwards.

Surprisingly, she landed on her feet after tumbling with the momentum. She coughed once and wiped it away, checking to see if there was any blood and smiling when there wasn't. "I told you not to hold back!" she yelled and lunged in to attack once more.

She's faster now! Tsunade thought, surprised that the blow would only spur her on and having to react more quickly to stop her hits. I wonder… she waited for a good opening and again delivered a blow, Sakura smashing into a pile of supplies from the impact. She sprung to her feet, and this time when she wiped her mouth she saw the smear of red on her glove. Tsunade hesitated, wondering if she had gone too far at the way Sakura trembled a bit.

"Yeah… that's it…" she muttered to herself more than anyone else, and she started to run towards Tsunade. Dashing erratically only to jump at the last moment, pouring energy into her fist and delivering a diving punch. "Take this!" she shouted, clearly enjoying the fight.

Shit! Tsunade was forced to lunge to the side, dodging desperately out of the way of the blow that cracked and broke the ground under its impact. That would've killed me if it had hit. She's serious about this… but is she getting stronger because she's being hurt or is she giving in to her inner darkness too? Either way, we can't keep this going too much longer! Tsunade resolved herself to the fight just in time to dodge a flurry of attacks from Sakura. She swerved out of the way where she could, attempting to cancel out the ones she couldn't dodge. She felt her skin break a little bit, the impacts not entirely being mitigated. She's putting way too much into this, this has to end now!

Tsunade made to catch a blow but instead let it slide past her hand, she saw the surprise on Sakura's face and took advantage of that moment of vulnerability. She grabbed Sakura's arm as it passed her and twisted into a spin, throwing Sakura past her. I've got to be sure . She thought, unfortunate as it was, that if she tried to 'throw the match' Sakura may well wind up trying to kill her or at least severely wounding her. She moved in a flash, suddenly in front of an upside-down Sakura as she flew through the air. Tsunade delivered three quick punches and a kick that slammed Sakura out of her fall and into the ground. The pink-haired girl coughed up a mouthful of blood and Tsunade felt a horrible pang of guilt, but knew she didn't have a choice.

"There!" Tsunade said, wiping the sweat from her brow with her forearm. "Now, hold still, I'll heal you up." She said, concentrating slightly to fix the damage she'd sustained first. Sakura made no reply, staring up at the clouds, practically staring through them. When Tsunade started to lean down to help her up, talking as she went to try and keep things calm. "Look, if you bottle all of it up, you get sloppy like that. You can't just keep it all caged inside and let it out at anything you don't like. Quit repressing it all, I mean, you care for Naruto right? You really like him," she said as she began to heal her, "but you don't let him think it was anything but a Sasuke-related ruse. Stop cheating yourself out of anything you want by obsessing over Sasuke!"

She realized she'd gone too far moments after she said it, but it was too late. Sakura slapped her hands away roughly. "You just wanted to prove how weak I am!" she nearly cried, "you didn't want to help at all, you just wanted to remind me I can't do anything!" Tsunade started to object but Sakura dragged herself to her feet, shoving away from the older woman, and ran away, not waiting to hear anything else Tsunade called after her with.

Tsunade sighed. "Oh Sakura…" she felt awful, not sure how to help, or if she even could. Sakura was so deep into her own problems she refused to let anyone else bring her out of it. I'm going to need to have you watched… for your own good. Ironic… you wanted Karin observed for security risks, but now I've got to set people to watch you to keep you safe… from yourself if necessary.

Naruto walked confidently through the streets, drawing a few glances at the 'hero' but most people were too busy repairing the town and trying to return it to a familiar level of normalcy. He was headed towards the Hyuga manor, having finally resolved his issues and decided how he was going to handle things. I just hope they go how I've envisioned them, I'm not sure how I'll deal with a curveball in this. He started to feel a bit doubtful and hesitant, but shook it off quickly. Why is the number one unpredictable ninja trying to become predictable! No wonder everyone told me to get this all sorted out. I'm already starting to not act like myself!

He kept walking, his mind continuing to cook up different doubts as he determinedly quashed them. He was feeling the jitters of confronting not one, but three separate girls; each of whom he had different kinds of feelings for and each one was one he liked. At one point when he was even beginning to feel the pressure too greatly he had groaned, "Can't I just fight a few more Akatsuki members instead?" He was convinced that a drawn out battle against a monster would be simultaneously easier and less painful.

In mid-complaint, he felt a sudden pang of chakra nearby. "Sakura? Granny-Tsunade?" was jerked out of him before he could stop himself, immediately concerned for both. That was both of their chakra's… but I can't tell who they're fighting… his stomach turned with a bitter possibility that drifted through his thoughts. They're… fighting each other? But this feels too strong for that, even in training this is too much. He couldn't feel anything past that initial pang and that worried him all the more. "Sorry… Hinata… wait for just a bit longer. I need to do this first." he said aloud, reaffirming it to himself as he closed his eyes and slowly stilling his movements.

Moments later, his eyes flashed open with his sage-mode fully activated. He glanced around, even though the chakra was all but gone, his suddenly enhanced abilities let him hone in on it. With the location fixed in his mind, he suddenly relaxed, letting his nature chakra dissipate and sage mode fade away. "Ino is with her, I don't have to rush…" he didn't confess that he also didn't want her to see him in sage mode… given the last thing he'd put it to use for around her.

The silence of the room was oppressive. The black-haired girl sat in a posture of meditative relaxation, but her features seemed to be straining under intense concentration. Veins throbbed around her eyes as she activated the technique that was the signature skill of her family. Even with her eyes closed now, she could 'see' entirely around her for a truly large distance. She used where she was in the Hyuga's enormous estate as a measuring point for herself; if she was near the center, by testing how far she could 'see' she could measure the range of her Byakugan ability.

I can't let another incident like that happen. Not just for him, but for the pride of the Hyuga family… she wasn't used to thinking that way, but a near-death experience… Or did I really die? she had never been quite sure about it. Still, it has a weird way of giving you more insight, you see what's really important to you. She mused idly, remembering that Naruto had not yet even responded to her confession. He probably doesn't feel the same way… she started, resolving herself to not get upset over it like she always did. But that's okay… I just wanted to tell him how I feel… unfortunately her efforts were not entirely successful and a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"You know, when you cry while using Byakugan, it can get extremely uncomfortable and weaken the effectiveness of the technique." A young girl's stern voice interrupted her internal monologue that had in-turn interrupted her training.

"Hanabi…" she began slowly, in a calm and friendly voice tinged with frustration.

"I challenge you! I have exceeded your abilities and will become the pride of this noble family. I will surpass even Neji's talent!" she declared, readying herself in the Gentle-Fist posture in front of her older sister as she yelled her challenge.

Hinata stared at Hanabi for a long moment, nearly a whole minute before she put a hand to her mouth and started to giggle when she saw the corners of Hanabi's mouth twitching upwards into a smile.

"Damn! I thought I had you!" Hanabi cursed, already out of her stance and now laughing as well.

Hinata managed to stifle her giggles long enough to respond, "you were so serious! You'd have actually got me, but…" Hinata pointed to her eyes with one finger, "I could see how hard you were straining not to smile."

Hanabi flopped down on the floor, landing unceremoniously on a cushion "No faaair! The one time I'm gonna pull it off and you just have to be using your Byakugan already! I'm serious 'bout the eye thing though, if you keep that up while crying they itch like crazy and it doesn't go away for hours."

Hinata's stifled giggles came back in full force, Hanabi joining in because Hinata's giggle was too cute not to be contagious as well. It was a few minutes before either girl resumed talking. The two had long since come to a friendly understanding with one another. Given the nature of the clan, they both used to endure endlessly harsh regiments of training. Now, however, with Neji's status as an unmatched prodigy, the clan heads had grown far more lenient and no longer attempted to compete with him through Hinata or Hanabi to make them the strongest Hyuga. As a result, the idea of Hanabi and Hinata being in deathly feuds over who was the strongest, had become more of an inside joke to the two of them.

Slowly, Hinata rose to her feet and walked towards an open courtyard. Hanabi followed quietly; because, despite their feud becoming an inside joke, they still enjoyed sparring… it was a more fair fight than attempting to train with Neji. They stopped, facing each other and bowed gently.

"Best of three?" Hanabi smiled, slipping into the Gentle Fist posture. Hinata nodded, assuming her own. "Then let's begin on the usual cue…" she said and both concentrated as they closed their eyes, waiting for which one would act first.

An intolerable stillness and silence passed for a few moments until Hanabi lost patience and her eyes flicked open, fully activated with the Byakugan bloodline ability of their family. Hinata's own eyes slowly opened, her Byakugan activated in response to Hanabi's as she immediately began deflecting blows from her younger sister. Hanabi had the advantage, for the most part, of her youthful energy as well as her small frame allowing her to take advantage of openings Hinata couldn't, just like it reduced the size of target spots available to Hinata. Of course, Hinata had not only experience and reach, but something else that seemed to be rebuffing Hanabi each time thus far.

Usually the two were mostly even, Hanabi being able to launch a ferocious attack against Hinata's timid personality that would lend her the necessary advantage against her older sister. Today, however, Hinata was responding to it calmly and seemed utterly confident in her abilities. Two rounds later, Hanabi angrily shouted, "best out of five!" only to lose another round shortly afterwards.

"No fair! When did you get so strong? Did it happen during that invasion thing?" Hanabi whined, having never been told how close she'd come to being an only child, the family had forbid Hinata to share that detail until Hanabi was 'ready'.

"Hmmm," Hinata replied, thinking carefully, "you could say I did. More accurately, keep fighting. I'll explain as we spar, it'll make more sense then." Without hesitation, Hinata charged towards Hanabi, suddenly pressing the attack instead of being purely defensive and counterattacking. The younger girl was hard-pressed to keep herself in the fight at the sudden change in Hinata's familiar fighting style.

"It's not about being the strongest." Hinata began, speaking in a calm rhythmic tone that fit into her fighting style as though it were the music accompanying a dance. "Fighting without purpose only breeds hatred and without purpose you become lost in conflict." Hanabi attempted to listen carefully, but was forced to consider the words first with her subconscious rather than fully contemplate them or else she'd take another hit. Although they were sparring, a solid hit from the Gentle Fist style always hurt, no matter how much anyone held back while using it. Strangely, however, Hanabi realized that this was forcing her to hear and understand Hinata before she was allowed to reply or interrupt her. "Strength comes from goals." She continued, knocking Hanabi down with a powerful blow only to wait until the younger girl rose to her feet, unwilling to back down from the fight and knowing that if she were to give up now, her older sister would stop talking.

Hinata smiled warmly and proudly, confirming Hanabi's guess as the two resumed their sparring, its intensity growing greater with every moment as the younger girl poured everything she had into it. "Even a goal as simple as becoming 'superior' can lead to unimaginable strength. This was what drove Neji to be the greatest Hyuga." Hanabi knew that well enough, Neji was a terrifying opponent even in sparring matches, his talent was unrivaled in all the Hyuga clan. She dodged a blow and listened for more that she knew was coming.

"It's belief." Hinata threw a blow that Hanabi dodged, the sound of their expelled chakra creating shrieking noises as it was dodged or deflected, still her voice remained calm as she fought. "Having something to believe in will make you the strongest you can be." Hanabi realized suddenly that on this subject, Hinata was rapidly increasing her ability as though the speech was empowering her; and if this was Hinata's full potential, then she might actually be able to give even Neji a challenge. "Even Neji learned that courage and belief can conquer anything." and with a single blow sent Hanabi sliding backwards in a guarding posture at least seven feet.

The younger sister nodded slowly, seeing the power that currently radiated from Hinata. The calm but phenomenal strength even while she had a warm smile on her face. "I hope that makes sense to you." and bowed gently to her little sister as she let her Byakugan fade and her placid expression return.

Hanabi did the same and said, "You win, I can't measure up to that. You have the same expression Naruto had when he defeated Neji in the Chuunin exams." She saw Hinata blush a bit, but that was normal when anyone mentioned 'him'. "I remember thinking that it'd be impossible for Neji to lose that fight. Then I saw Naruto's face and just… well, I just knew. Even without the Byakugan I could see the absolute determination he had." Hanabi saw her sister nod, realizing that Hinata had seen that expression on Naruto more than she had.

"He's the person I want to be. That's my goal. I want to be able to protect everything dear to me. I want to be able to say I'm a ninja every bit the same way he is."

Hanabi smirked at Hinata's statement, deciding she'd had enough of 'serious Hinata' and wanting to get her blushing and flustered. More of a consolation prize for her having been so soundly defeated. "Do you like him?"

Usually this made Hinata red-faced and unable to do more than squeak a reply. Today, however, Hinata only made an embarrassed smile and replied, "Yes, I love him very much. He's important to me, even though I don't think he feels the same wa-" her sentence was cut off as Hanabi delivered a leaping kick that sent Hinata sprawling.

"Owww!" Hinata groaned, rubbing where she'd been kicked and staring with a confused look at her younger sister who was currently gritting her teeth angrily.

"You get all confident and strong out of nowhere and then you just give it up before you even know? If he's everything you want to be, then why are you so quick to think he wouldn't want to be with you? Better yet, be like him and accept that things don't always go your way. I've heard about all the business with Sasuke, and Naruto was the one who let him get away! It eats him up, but he doesn't just write it off, isn't he still trying to bring him back?" She paused to catch her breath, the first time she'd stopped since she began her angry rant. Hinata tried to speak but Hanabi cut her off, continuing to yell despite being the only two present.

"What would he say if you gave up so easily? He'd tell you to keep trying! Look at him, if he gets beaten, he just jumps back at it twice as hard! Look, just tell him you like him, if he doesn't feel the same way about you then who cares about him anyway? Don't fall apart and lose who you are because if he doesn't love you then he's an idiot and you deserve someone much better!" As she finished she stood, panting for breath, and red-faced at how hard she'd been yelling.

Hinata stared in shock, and slowly rose to her feet. "Heh…" she began with a bit of a giggle, covering her mouth, "Hanabi, you know, you may just be stronger than me in the long-run."

Hanabi shook her head rapidly, "No way. Nope. Not a chance. You're the one who stood up to Neji and to Pain." She saw Hinata's face turn pale, Good luck keeping that my older sister pretty much died from me like some kind of secret! she thought with a fair bit of scorn, having beaten a few of the other members of the clan until they revealed what half of them were extremely inept at hiding. "You fought both of them knowing the kind of foe you were going up against. One without remorse for killing… you went to fight knowing you'd probably die. I don't have that kind of conviction." Hanabi started to sigh, having been unable to meet Hinata's surprised and horrified face and feeling a bit of guilt for having gone to the trouble of finding out before Hinata could tell her.

The sigh was completely interrupted by a sudden hug from her older sister. Hanabi hugged back somewhat timidly, it was an unusually fond gesture from her normally reserved and shy sister. Hinata whispered into her ear, "When you find the one for you, you'd be amazed at just how far you'll go just to see them smile in your direction."

He had arrived at the park, it was deathly still and Naruto wasn't quite sure why he found that so unsettling. These places used to be so full of life, instead there's only a few tree saplings growing back, nothing to rustle in the wind. Wonder when it'll get back to the way it was. He found that thought ironic: 'the way it was', was hardly something you could ever get back to. What I'm about to do is proof of that beyond anything else . He noted with a grim seriousness.

He saw, on one of the benches, the familiar figure and hair of Ino, sitting close to the bowed form of Sakura whose head was in her hands and shaking gently. Naruto sighed seeing that she was, or at least had been, crying. He took a deep breath and walked closer. As he got near, Ino looked up and saw him. He heard her say something to Sakura about coming back in a few minutes.

She walked towards Naruto, staring at him for a moment before her face lit up a bit. "She's not doing great," she whispered to him as she walked past him, "but it's good to see that look on your face. That's the 'hero' everyone is talking about and the Naruto I remember." She patted his shoulder once, as though she wanted to say more, but left without another word.

Naruto walked towards the bench Sakura was on, trying to start a conversation a few times between him and the girl who had not yet even looked up. Each time he opened his mouth, nothing came out. Finally he managed, "So what happened?"

Sakura lifted her head and stared at him for a long moment. It was a hard stare, full of rage and despair, agony and helplessness. He found it hard to believe this was the same Sakura, he'd never seen her this genuinely conflicted and upset with no one but herself it seemed. She finally responded, "I'm weak and it is destroying everything I care about."

Naruto sat next to her and shook his head. "You're not weak, you just think you are supposed to do everything. You can't. Not even I can do everything alone. Without Chiyo I wouldn't have saved Gaara. Without Jiraiya I would have been taken by Akatsuki right after the Chuunin exam that Orochimaru attacked." He stared at her hard, "Stop trying to do things by yourself and you'll see. Sasuke did this too, he wanted to stop Itachi all by himself and look where it got him."

She hiccupped a few times, trying to control herself from sobbing more at the mention of 'him', and started to reply, "…but"

He shook his head firmly again. "Sakura, I won't tell you not to want him back. I do too. I know you still have feelings for him. The same kinds that you can't bring yourself to accept that you have about me too." He leaned back just a bit, staring upwards, he found it helped him keep himself collected… it was harder to cry at that angle too.

A strangled noise of protest escaped her as though she wanted to lash out angrily, but couldn't in the face of the certainty with which he'd said it.

Naruto continued on, "I care for you Sakura. I always have and there's nothing you can do that will stop me from always caring. You were my first crush-"

"Naruto, you-" she tried to interrupt, tears slowly spilling down her cheeks onto her lap where her hands were clenching and unclenching, but he spoke over her.

"Please, let me finish, if I don't, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to say it all." He sighed, I can't let her talk, she'll start to respond to it and be hopeful, if she takes it the wrong way, it'll destroy her. "Like I was saying, you were my first crush. I wanted nothing more than to call you my girlfriend… I can remember all the things I did and still never got noticed over Sasuke as anything more than a bother. I even impersonated him once just so you'd look at me that way; but I realized that wasn't ever really meant to be on the day you came to me and begged me to bring back Sasuke." He saw her shoulders start to shake, as though she was torn between being shocked, laughing, and outright sobbing.

"Despite all that, it was good in a way." A tear ran down his cheek unnoticed by either as he spoke. He saw her visibly tense at that and continued quickly before she could scream at him for it. "What I mean is, I realized what we all are. What you and Sasuke are to me. I didn't feel like my love was being spurned anymore. You two, and Kakashi even as well, you were my first family…" another tear fell quietly. He hadn't realized how difficult it would be without her interrupting him even. "Team Seven will always be that for me… and I'll protect it from anything, even myself if I have to."

Sakura stared at him, speechless at the way he was pouring his heart into what he was saying. She wanted to reply that she wanted more, But what can I do? He's right… I've never given him any of the things he's deserved or would need to feel that way about me too. She sobbed once slightly, trying to figure out what she could say; but he kept on before she could even begin to know where or how to reply.

"I love you like a sister, and I always think of it now as bringing our brother back to Konoha. I wish I could be more for you, be what you want me to be, but I'll always be there for you when you need me. I'm sorry, I can't be anything more than that though…" He made it clear he was finished by hugging her, tightly, even as she started to cry uncontrollably. She didn't even really hug him back, just sort of sagging into his arms and bawling all her pain. She kept trying to reply with things explaining how she was "torn between the two of you", "I don't want to keep loving him", "doesn't want to lose him", and more. Naruto kept holding her and apologizing, unable to do much more for her and angry at himself for it.

Several minutes passed, Sakura's crying subsided into slow sobs, her half-attempted explanations having faded away. Naruto remained silent, thinking better than to try and disturb her for the moment. A finger tapped his shoulder. "Hey, I think we should switch." Ino said, and Naruto nodded, slowly separating from Sakura and letting Ino take a position similar to the one he'd had of hugging her. Ino smiled over her shoulder at Naruto and whispered: "Thanks, I hope it'll help her move on, for now though, you should probably get going."

Naruto walked away, not looking back, straining from the effort of keeping himself facing forward. He didn't want to see Sakura crying anymore and knew he couldn't do anything else at the moment… and the few tears that ran down his face he didn't want seen by anyone. I'm already upset enough that I can't be there for all of them in the way they want, and in some cases… need… from me, I have to be strong for them and for myself.

Naruto silently plodded towards the Hyuga and his next unwanted, but necessary, encounter. He wasn't in a hurry to do what, again, he had to; but he did feel more confident about it. Maybe this is what it feels like to be a Hokage… having to know that people will be hurt because of your decisions. Having to tell them to do things you know will cause suffering. It isn't all glory and looking cool; there are bitter elements in everything, no matter how badly you try to ignore them. Despite his thoughts being somber, Naruto actually smiled. He felt he had matured quite a bit and the understanding he'd gained was something that he felt would only make him a better Hokage in the end.

He arrived at the Hyuga manor while sorting out his thoughts and considering his options. Surprise and a flash of doubt took the smile from Naruto's face How have I already walked so far? he thought, not entirely sure he was ready for it. His hesitation had him looking uncertain and unconfident, but he forced a friendly expression back to his face. No, I didn't come this far and resolve myself to this only to ignore her again. I've done that for long enough, it's gotta stop here and now. Naruto nodded once, more to himself than anyone else, and knocked on the large doors before him.

After a few minutes, the door to the open sections of the compound surrounding the large main building creaked open slowly. Naruto turned to face the opening and saw the familiar features of Hinata. He opened his mouth to say 'hi' only for her to let out a choked noise that was part gasp part squeal before the door slammed closed again. Ah. Guess everyone was right on that one… Hinata used up just about everything she had to actually even say what she did to me. Although… it's funny, this same shy angel is the one who stood up to Nagato…

He was about to knock again when the door opened again. "Uhm-m-m… H-h-hi Naruto…" She barely managed to whisper. "What can I, I mean, why are you… uhhhh… I mean, do you want to come in?" Her face was a light shade of pink that Naruto found endearing and adorable, the sight of which only further heightened his sense of anxiety about it all. He nodded and she showed him in, leading him to a spot in the courtyard near a small well-kept fountain pond.

Naruto stared around, having never been inside such a luxurious place, even its courtyard far exceeding what Naruto usually experienced in regards to living conditions. He shook his head gently in surprise and disbelief: Again, I'm somewhere I always wanted to be and when I'm finally there I wish I wasn't. "Good," he said aloud, "I had wanted to speak to you alone."

Immediately Naruto realized he could have worded that a bit better when he saw Hinata's face go from pink to a deeper shade of red. "No! Not like that," he began, but corrected himself, "well, kind of like that, only-" he paused, again realizing his bumbling through this had her near-fainting. She had her hands on her face, looking at him between her fingers as she tried to both simultaneously hide her face and pay attention to him. "Aaahhh… how do I say it… I need to talk about 'us'." he finally managed.

The hands slipped from her face and the blush faded. She stared off into the distance, not really seeing anything but not meeting his eyes. Naruto hung his head almost shameful for what he had to do next because he could tell that she realized why he'd come and that she no longer seemed optimistic about it. He hated that he had to prove her right. He started to explain himself, as best he could, to her.

"Hinata… I won't even lie… I want to love you. You deserve every bit of it and more, and in a way, I do, but…" he sighed loudly, trying to stall to word his statement better. "I honestly, and I know this sounds horrible… I hadn't really thought about things that way until you said them."

Hinata turned, and quietly asked, "But… I barely saw your reaction to what happened to me… but I saw it. How could-"

Naruto knew the question was coming and answered before she could struggle to word it properly. "Hinata, you're the first person to ever tell me that they love me. You're also my friend. I'd say one of my best, in fact." Naruto saw her smile at the memories, and kept at it. "The truth is, I admire you. You do everything I do even without having this," he put a hand over his stomach, right on the seal, "inside you to let you cheat and succeed at it. You've faced down situations without having such a powerful thing helping you cheat and survive them."

Her eyes widened a bit, shocked at his confession of admiring her instead, unsure how to reply to it at all or where it came from. "Think about it…" he said quietly, looking away from her. "It's kind of why I fought so hard for your cause against Neji. You should've beaten him, and if it wasn't for this monster in me, I wouldn't have been able to stop him." He shook his head violently. "I know I inspire you, and I don't want that to change. I didn't want to tell you that a lot of my ability to do what impresses you so much, isn't entirely my own."

"No-" she began, attempting to cut him off, but he spoke over her.

"I want to keep you safe, and I don't want you to lose the role-model I've been to you-" He said, but this time Hinata's voice found strength and cut him off instead.

"No! That's not it! It wouldn't change anything if we were together… and I want to tell you right now, you're wrong. My eyes are every bit as good as Neji's and I'll tell you what they see. They see the energy of that monster, but the heart of a good man. You might think it's only because of the Nine-Tails that you could defeat Neji, or Pain, or any of them… but you're wrong. It is because of you that you could defeat them. Because you never give up even when everyone else says you should."

Naruto stared in awe at her, she'd gotten outright angry at how he'd downplayed himself and that was unusual for her. "But in the end, the most important thing to me, is keeping you safe. All the times you do things either emulating me or making me notice you get you badly hurt. It's…" Naruto felt his eyes tearing up, he cursed under his breath, not wanting to show how much it really got to him. "It's not easy to bear that kind of responsibility."

Hinata giggled a bit, catching Naruto off guard entirely, she saw his reaction and replied quickly, "You're so silly sometimes… you think I'll stop being like you just because you're not interested in me in 'that' way? Besides… it's funny to hear the man who wants to be Hokage talking about having trouble with responsibility."

Naruto stared blankly for a moment and then reached up to scratch behind his head in an embarrassed 'you caught me' kind of gesture. "Well, I didn't say I couldn't bear it, but I put you in harms way too much and I don't want that. I don't want my best friends getting hurt so much entirely over me!" He saw her crestfallen face, realizing how he'd mostly shot down her efforts to persuade him out of his decision. "Hinata, I'm not trying to hurt you, I just wan-"

"Okay." she cut him off unexpectedly.

Naruto blinked in surprise a few times and opened his mouth to reply but she held up a hand to stop him, putting it over his mouth gently. "It's okay. I'll let you go. I can see it won't work out, not right now at least, anyways…" she sighed softly, no noise coming from her but the gesture obvious. She took another deep breath and held it before letting it out. "But there's a condition." she finally added.

Naruto nodded, still dumbstruck and unable to reply.

"The condition… is… uhm…" she started to blush, her two fingertips coming together and pushing against one another. "It is… ah…" her face turned further red, her lips trembling, "to umm…" she stammered, barely able to form words at this point she was so nervous. Finally she just closed her eyes and almost-shouted "Iwantonekiss! likeyoumeanit!" she blurted out, so fast that Naruto wasn't entirely sure what she'd said.

He stared blankly at her for a few more moments, wondering just what it was she said before it finally clicked. He paused for a few minutes, wondering just how much effort it had taken her to get that out. She was still nervously playing with her fingers while he tried to overcome the shock of such a request coming from Hinata of all people. He finally found the words to reply to her: "Are you sure? I mean… wouldn't that make it… worse?"

She shook her head slowly and whispered, as though afraid to speak louder again, "No, I want to know what it's like or I won't be able to move on. I'll spend every moment forever wondering and I can't live with that kind of thing always hanging over me. You should understand what I mean, right? I promise if you do this, I'll move on." Her earlier talk with Hanabi was actually giving her the strength to keep at this. The conversation had helped her get over the 'end-of-the-world' mentality that would normally have accompanied this kind of thing in her mind. She smiled at him knowingly, and he realized despite his doubts, this wasn't something he could try and convince her out of. He saw the honest sincerity that she had - arguing with her would be pointless and cruel.

"Okay, for you, I'll do it." He said, already regretting it but feeling like his choice in the matter was already made for him. If it helps her get over me, I can't deny her that. It'd be too cruel. Besides, I owe her this much at least. I mean, she really is the first one to actually say that and actually mean it. He shook his head, What the hell am I talking about like this is some kind of money transaction? She wants me to kiss her! Can I do that? Can I really do that? Of course I can, but should I? Naruto's mind raced through possibilities and meanings, he'd agreed to something very serious without really considering it. Now, belatedly, he was considering it and realizing she may be more at peace with this than he was.

What really drove that point home was the way she turned towards him with her eyes closed and trembling with nervousness. No going back now. You gave your word! His mind rallied itself to what he saw and realized that he had to do. He leaned towards her, and then gave up trying to go for that impossible angle and turned to outright embrace her. Her eyes shot open in surprise even as he closed his own eyes, holding her tight as he pressed his lips to hers. It was soft, Naruto couldn't believe how soft her lips were, their warmth was overpowering and the smell of her was intoxicating as he held the kiss longer still. He felt her hands wrap around him gently, holding him lightly even as he powerfully gripped her. The kiss dragged on and on, Naruto uncertain of when to stop or if he wanted it to stop while Hinata never wanted it to end. After the unbelievably long kiss, which had only lasted a few moments in reality, the two separated slowly. Naruto released her from his embrace and she shrank back a bit, a tear slowly sliding down her face. She appeared diminished and relieved at the same time, almost drawing strength from the act itself it looked like.

She wiped it away with a sudden flick of her hand, hoping he hadn't noticed it. Neither one spoke for several minutes before Naruto finally broke the silence just as Hinata tried to. "I hope that helps yo-" he began.

"Thank you, that's what I-" she said at the same time. Both stared at each other for a moment and then laughed a bit. They each had a flushed face, though Hinata's was far a deeper blush than Naruto's.

"You'll be okay, right?" He stood up, almost as though it would help him shake off the sudden sensations burning in his body and maybe distract himself from them. He bobbed a little bit in place, nervously, Is this how it always felt being around her? This is kinda unusual, I've never been so comfortable but nervous at the same time.

She stood up and faced him, and he saw an expression he hadn't seen on her since the incident with Nagato. "I gave my word that I'd be fine, and I will be." She held out her fist, a gesture so unmistakable that Naruto was forced to respond to it the same way. It was, after all, his gesture. The very same he'd taken towards Neji and the very same posture he took whenever a situation evoked his utter conviction. He suddenly realized what to say, and she nodded once, as though reading his mind.

Together, the two of them shouted aloud: " We will never give up, we will never run away, we will never go back on our word! That is our Nindo! Our Ninja Way!"

Nearly an hour later, Naruto walked the streets of Konoha feeling a storm of emotions like he had when he resolved himself earlier that day; now, however, he was at the eye of the storm. It hurt, what he'd had to do with Hinata and Sakura, but his encounter with Hinata had reaffirmed his decisions. He still worried about Sakura, but Hinata he knew would be okay. He felt calm, relaxed, and altogether confident in himself. "Thank you, Hinata." He again muttered aloud, having already done so several times since had left her home. He resolved himself to help her however he could and whenever she needed it. If anyone has earned and deserves all the happiness they can get, it's her. Konoha's bravest and shyest angel .

Naruto kept walking, he was looking for the last one. The only one he had good news for… and hopefully had good news for him. He was nervous about that particular bit, extremely anxious to hear how she would reply. I did the right thing though, by telling the others first. I won't just play both sides, waiting to get turned down before I turn down others. He nodded his head, a small "mmm." of agreement with his own thoughts coming from him. As he walked, he realized one all important fault in his plan - I don't know where to find her…

Without letting that deter him, he kept walking onwards slowly, hoping to run into Iruka or her before too long had passed. After nearly another hour, the sun was setting and Naruto was starting to grow despondent. The confidence he'd gained from his talk with Hinata had faded and even the anxiousness of the last talk he knew he had to have was dwindling away. He stared up at the Hokage monuments, considering again if this kind of scenario was a usual thing for them. This is what it must feel like, sending teams out to do missions that may get them hurt. You worry, you wait, you worry and wait more, does it all wear them down? Is that how they are able to stomach it so impassively? Did the Third or my Father, the Fourth, have to endure this kind of thing? Naruto kept musing, wondering on it again as an interest for his future. Despite the fact that he constantly and brazenly paraded his desire to be the next Hokage, Naruto knew better to think of it only as a simple thing of being 'the best'.

It has a lot of difficulty to it, a lot of different angles. Seeing friends and allies hurt… sending them to get hurt even! Forcing myself to hurt Sakura and Hinata for the good of everyone involved really did open my eyes on this one. You guys, he thought, looking at the monuments again, didn't have it easy, did you? I wonder if the Uchiha clan endured one too many forced hurtings… Naruto reflected on the 'past' that the masked man had told him. He again wondered how much of it was true, how much of it was a lie. He'd researched into it a bit, but unsurprisingly the documents were sealed and what he could get to was cryptic beyond measure. Something to ask Shikamaru about, if anyone could figure it out, it'd be him . Naruto grinned, he knew his friend well enough to know they wouldn't turn down a simple enough request… after a little effort and motivation of course. Shikamaru was, after all, notoriously lazy when unmotivated.

Naruto decided that he might have to wait until tomorrow to actually speak to the final girl, turning to head back to his room, when a glint caught his eye. "Huh?" He turned sluggishly, his energy for the day mostly spent on emotions and introspective thoughts. He stared up and realized he'd been looking at a person sitting on the monuments. He'd only thought it was a blemish of some kind in the stone. Naruto was surprised, he thought he was the only one who ever went up there. Well, better at least see who it is… he mused, having nothing better to do at the moment and wondering if he'd have a better chance to see her unmistakable hair color from higher up.

She sat hugging her knees, folded up on herself gently and cursing her own hesitation. After a long internal struggle, Karin had resorted to using her sensory technique to locate Naruto, but had dismissed it quickly because she didn't want to appear desperate. Not that anyone can tell I'd be using the technique! And not that I'm desperate! Gah! What is wrong with me? She mentally berated herself for dropping her sensory abilities too soon more than anything else. She'd realized, almost without surprise, that Naruto was the one atop the monuments; but when she arrived, he'd left. She didn't know how long he'd been gone from up there because she had dragged her feet as she went. She was reluctant to start up that particular confrontation.

Unfortunately, rather than finding relief in his absence, she'd only grown more and more flustered. At first she'd thought to use the time to rationalize things, to collect her thoughts. Her goal was to come to a dignified and reasonable dismissal of these powerful feelings she was having. It had not had the desired results; instead of rationalizing away the feelings, they'd only grown embarrassingly stronger. Eventually she'd even thrashed about in an extremely embarrassing fashion, glad there was no one around to have seen her far-from-elegant display of frustration and confusion.

The only conclusion she came to, in the end, was to sit there. She figured the place was comforting to her, and she needed that at the moment. It's a great view… even when this place is damaged it is a sight to behold. I like it here. Warmth. That's the real big thing. I forgot what it really felt like… superiority, rank, power, all of those things don't have much merit without warmth and happiness. She sat quietly, her arms now resting on her knees instead of hugging them for reassurance. Her chin was lightly balanced atop her arms. Despite her inner thoughts raging wildly around a dozen and a half different concepts, her outward appearance conveyed a calm peacefulness.

Approaching from behind, Naruto was shocked when he realized who it was atop the stone faces of the previous Hokages. The red hair was unmistakable and Naruto couldn't help but grin, Is she that much like me that she comes up here when she needs to think too? He doubted it, but the thought made him smile anyway. He wasn't sure what to say yet, so he quietly walked towards her without alerting her to his presence. Odd, a sensor-type can be so wrapped-up in her thoughts that she misses such an unhidden presence as mine…

No sooner had he thought this, of course, than she startled and turned towards him, an angry expression no her face as though she were about to scream at whoever was bothering her solitude. A moment later, the expression had vanished to be replaced by a blush that tried to match her hair. She opened her mouth to say something… and paused, closing it again. Again she tried and again she closed her mouth without saying anything. After an awkward silence of what felt like hours but was more likely only a minute, she managed a: "…hey."

Naruto smiled Was she always this cute? She's acting almost like Hinata… Naruto's smile vanished and he realized now was the worst possible time to be thinking about other female friends. He expelled those thoughts from his mind and realized he hadn't responded to her yet, so he quickly blurted out: "Hi."

She smiled at his stumbling reply, and quickly shook her head, Oh my god, why is even a 'hi' making me smile? she thought, uncomfortable with her sudden display of uncontrollable vulnerability. Maybe because you knew he'd come back up here and you'd wait forever for that? Her conscience chided at her and her internal argument kept going for a little while. Even while she slowly lost the battle about how happy she was he'd "come to her" and not the other way around in end, she tried her best to carry on conversation. "How're you holding up?" she asked while her mind raged at her emotions.

"I'm okay, it's been a long day, I'm just glad to see you." he sounded as confident and self-assured as she'd seen him since he spoke to Sasuke.

She was embarrassed at just how appealing that confidence was to her. "Why was it a long day?" she replied, stalling for time.

Naruto sighed and took a deep breath to explain himself, readying himself for how bad he felt this was going to sound. "I was clearing things up with people. Explaining to them where they stand with me and where I stand with them. I couldn't bring myself to let things go in any direction more than they already had." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply again, obviously rallying himself against a lot of emotional memories that threatened to overwhelm him.

"Hm?" She was a bit confused, but didn't want to show it, "What do you mean? Why?"

"Because I know what direction I want things to go in-" he said as he stepped towards her.

Overwhelmed by the confidence and his step toward her, she lost her internal mental battle and interrupted him. "Naruto… I… I…" he watched her with a sudden intense interest, she closed her eyes and scrunched up her face with the effort it took to say it, but managed to whisper: "I like you."

Naruto's eyes widened and his expression went to one of shock, he hadn't expected it to be mutual or even guessed she'd want to say it first. When she opened her eyes, he was still in a state of awe that turned her face a shade of pink. She struggled on through it, not content to leave it at just those three words. "I really mean it, at first I thought it was this hero-crush thing, or maybe because you saved me even! But then I thought about you more and more, I couldn't get you out of my head, and then you saved me from Sakura… you keep saving me. I look at you and I see everything good in a person and I kept comparing you to Sasuke, and I didn't want to, but it just happened. You two are so much alike but you're such opposites at the same time! I had a crush on him, he was handsome and sexy, but this is different I don't just feel like that around you! Wait! No no, I mean, you're handsome and sexy too, but-Ah! I just meant that you've got more going for you than just looks, and well, I like you, I really do, I'm always thinking about you and I was so happy that I had an excuse and a reason to spend more time with you because of that training thing and I don't want it to end after that!" She had worked herself into practically crying, her sniffles punctuating parts of her rant trying to explain herself and somewhat 'justify' her position to him.

"I like you too." He replied, a smile full of happiness and compassion on his face as he said it.

She kept on her ranting having not heard him or registered his words in her mind yet, tears welling up in her eyes as she did. "I understand if you don't like me. You only met me what, a month ago? Not even! I know it's sudden, you probably don't even care and that's okay, I don't even know why I feel this way so suddenly either. It's just… it's just… wait…" she stared at him, her mouth agape. "You… you do too?"

He closed the distance on her even more, her face going as red as her hair as he wrapped his arms gently around her. "Yeah, I do. You accepted me when we first met and that didn't change at all when you found out about my 'secret'. You keep helping me, when you're around, my head is clear, I know what I want. I want the beautiful red-haired Karin that I see before me." He moved in closer to kiss her. Tightening his embrace until their bodies touched, the warmth of them palpable in what little space remained between the two of them.

Karin was panicked at the mix of emotions at play in her. There were still tears running down her face but now she was sure they weren't from being upset anymore. Now she was nervous and overwhelmed, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him to stop, instead she blurted out: "This is my first kiss!" managing to yelp it as he got closer still. As much as it embarrassed her, she had hoped it would avert what she saw coming, or maybe it would at least lower any overpowering expectations he had of her. And why do I want that? Shouldn't I aim to impress him instead? I should-

A second later, it didn't matter. Naruto pressed forward, heedless of her outburst, and pressed his lips to hers. The softness of her lips was a wonderful sensation and he breathed in her scent when he remembered to breathe, only furthering his intoxication in her. He didn't break the kiss even for a moment, he only continued to move his lips against hers, pressing one kiss after another on her. Naruto's mind was blank, everything other than the sweet smell of her, the warmth of her body against his, and what felt most important to him: he could hear and feel her heart beating rapidly against his own.

That same second later, Karin was struggling in his embrace for a reason she didn't even understand. Struggling wasn't even really the appropriate description for it, she more accurately squirmed in his grasp; finding it difficult to outright surrender to the sensations. She wasn't sure how to react, it was so sudden that she clenched and unclenched her hands at her side. After only a moment of kissing him, however, she felt any apprehensions vanish without a trace. Her arms came up around him, lighter than his embrace, but still tight and now clenching a handful of his jacket in each fist. She lost herself in the kiss, taking in every detail with an acuity that put her sensory techniques to shame. She felt a strange tingling in her entire body, as though a small electrical current ran through it. She couldn't focus on just one aspect of him that she liked, she was completely immersed in it and enjoying every bit beyond any comprehension or guesses she'd had moments before. He felt safe, he felt warm, moreover, it was the happiest she'd been since… since… she couldn't remember ever feeling this much delight at a previous moment of her life.

The kiss went on and on, smaller extra kisses being pressed into it that Karin didn't even consider to be 'separate' at all. This was all one new sensation to her and she was surprised in the urgency with which she threw herself into it as well. She'd never known anything like it, whenever his lips withdrew from hers, she pressed in against him tighter. Kiss after kiss the two shared; tentative at times and aggressive at others.

After several minutes, the close embrace broke, Karin's face flushed completely and her lips trembling while Naruto's expression one of dizzy giddiness. There was a long silence between the two before they thought to break their embrace. Instinctively, Karin threw out her hand and caught Naruto's as he let her go. Her expression making it abundantly clear that 'holding hands' was not optional at the moment.

Oh my god, was that…? It felt like… I think it was… Karin struggled inside herself to make sense of everything that had just transpired, her free hand touching her trembling lips. Will they stop trembling after that? I don't feel like they'll be still without his against them anymore! She stood, awestruck while Naruto simply stared at her with a tender smile on his face and a sparkle in his eyes she hadn't noticed before. Why's he looking at me like that! It's only making me feel more strange and embarrassed! I should-! and then she felt a great relief from it all. A sudden an enthusiastic lack of concern for trying to figure it out. She could do that later, for now, the warmth in her hand and the smile on his face were all that mattered.

"Karin…" he whispered to her.

"Y-yes?" she replied equally quietly, not sure why she was whispering but feeling it was appropriate; as though something desperately secret had just happened. But why does the idea of it being a secret make me feel less happy about it?

"You look beautiful when you smile, really truly smile." He said it in a small voice, as though it were meant for her ears alone.

The comment made her avert her eyes, embarrassed but still grinning like an idiot about the whole thing. "H-hey…" She tried to stammer out a question but only got that far.

"Yeah?" He had moved closer again, he was holding her in his embrace again and both of them seemed extremely content as she slowly nuzzled against his chest, leaning into him.

When did I get so dizzy? she mused, but managed to speak up, louder this time because, in her current state she thought she had to speak over his heartbeat and my own! for him to hear her. "Can I try my technique? I'm… I'm curious. I want to know what this looks like and feels like with our chakra."

Naruto giggled a bit, earning a very stern disapproving look from her as she pulled back slightly before he clarified: "Sensing our chakras? It isn't even our first date!" He chided as he laughed.

Karin, for all her desire to be angry for his terrible pun, was won over by his contagious laughter and only lightly socked him in the chest to get him to stop. "I'm being serious…" she protested lightly, as she returned to her previous position in the close hug, unwilling to give it up over a bad joke.

"I'm sorry, go ahead."

Her eyes had already closed just to focus on her other senses so close to him, so she had only to release her technique again instead of focusing . Oh my god! she clasped a hand over her mouth to stop her gasp.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the concern and worry evident in his voice.

She stopped her technique a moment later and disentangled herself from his embrace. "Ah…" she tried to begin, scratching the back of her head in an absentminded gesture she'd unknowingly picked up from him. "…your chakra is kinda…" she weakly began, but saw the completely confused look on his face. "Naruto, has your chakra ever flared up before?"

"Umm, a couple of times?" he replied, adopting a posture similar to hers.

"Well, let's uh… let's say normally you're like a candle's flame." she started, holding up her fingers to give a clear size estimate.

"Okay…" he replied, not entirely following her.

"Right now, you're more like the sun." and she pointed to the nearly-faded sunset. He tilted his head, slowly taking in what she'd said before his eyes widened.

"Does that mean my inner darkness is gone?"

She hung her head. So much for him getting what I meant. She shook her head. "No, it's still there, just somewhere very remote. Right now your chakra and energy are so radiant I think ninja four villages over would notice it without try…ing…" She paused for a long moment.

"Karin?" he asked, slightly confused by her pause.

Four… villages… over… would notice… it? "NARUTO!" she ran forward and squarely slammed a hand into his head. He gave a sharp 'ow' and she kept whacking him repeatedly. "Quick quick quick!" she yelled in a hushed voice, "put it out! Put it out! Everyone's going to notice it!" Unfortunately, Naruto had no idea how to 'put it out', especially when he could only smile up at Karin acting like he'd seen her before when flustered and called on something she found embarrassing.

"Karin!" he managed to get her to pause her assault with his use of her name.

"Huh?" she asked, poised to deliver another strike and having stopped halfway.

"Did you know you're even beautiful when you're angry?" He beamed with delight at this comment.

She hesitated for a moment, blushing under the compliment before she realized it only made him and me too, dammit happier and so she resumed her attack, trying vainly to suppress the overwhelming joy pouring from him… and her too, but she didn't bother admitting that her chakra was also glowing radiantly with her own delight.

Elsewhere, in a dark room barely lit by a few half-heartedly flickering torches, a masked man sat on a throne. His arms were set so that his hands were folded in front of him with his fingers threaded together. Another presence made itself known, slipping slowly 'out' of the wall, as though it had been one with the stone a mere second ago. The newcomer was 'half' a person split from top to bottom, the other half appearing as though it had been melted off. It was an entirely white body of a spongy, strange material, with spikes protruding from its waist in an unorganized pattern. It opened its mouth, "Sasuke is stable. He will be able to use his new power in a week or so."

The masked man smiled, not that any could see it, but he couldn't contain his excitement. "We'll have to move him soon then. While he's still unable to fight the decision. He's a stubborn idiot, that one, and I don't want him in a position to go rampaging again unless I'm directing it." He leaned back, resting his hands on the armrests of the throne this time. The darkness hid everything about him except one red eye full of greed and contempt that could faintly be seen reflecting the dim torchlight from behind his mask.

In a sudden flash of motion, a third figure joined the two. This one appearing using the traditional doorway and so a ways in front of the two already present. The newcomer wore a robe, but it bore the symbols associated with a cobra. "Madara Uchiha." it said, as though determining this was, in fact, the right place. "This was a pain to find, do you know how well hidden you are?" the voice under the hood teased.

"You…!" the white half-man angrily complained.

Silence came from the masked man that the newcomer had spoken to; until, a moment later, he finally spoke: "Don't mess with me, wretched spawn of Orochimaru. Crawl back to your egg and pray the shell will keep you safe without your parent-serpent."

The hooded man smirked and threw back his hood, revealing a face covered by scales and other snake-patternings around his eyes. A large white snake coiled protectively out from the bottom of his robe as he did so. "Knew it was me, huh?"

"How could I not? Kabuto, you are easily recognizable, ignoring the fact that this eye of mine cannot be deceived." the masked man replied casually and uninterestedly even while the white man held himself still despite his outrage at their lair's invader.

"Well, I'll get straight to the point then. I brought you a gift." Kabuto smirked, the snake in his robe depositing two bodies onto the ground. Neither bore any signs of life anymore, but one was unmistakably a Konoha ninja, the other was from Kumogakure.

"Get to the point."

"I know you received intel from your defeated ally. Unfortunately, it is wrong." Kabuto waved his hand at the bodies in front of him. "These two were carrying false information to corroborate it. Kisame was defeated, the information he sent to you is outdated. I'm sure you've heard about that giant turtle island where they planned to take the two remaining jinchuuriki?" He didn't wait for the masked man to reply, assuming he was right already. "They aren't there. It's a trap. If you go there, you're only wasting your effort and energy."

The man sat up in the throne. "But you know where they are, I take it?"

Kabuto grinned wickedly, "of course I do. Do I have your interest yet?"

"What do you want?"

"I want Sasuke. The last living Uchiha aside from yourself." Kabuto brazenly declared.

"and if I say no?" Madara replied, leaning forward to reveal his mask. The act startled Kabuto visibly, he had not expected the mask to bear a repeated circle-pattern matching the pattern of the legendary Rinnegan eye dotted with the markings of a Sharingan as well, and to see that one of Madara's eyes was now, in fact, the famed Rinnegan. "I see you've noticed it. Don't dare underestimate me, you abomination. I'm nothing like anything you've ever dealt with before; even in your twisted experiments."

"If you say no, I can always help against you." Kabuto replied blithely, "Frankly, I'd rather be on your side. It seems like the winning side. Of course, I can always help the other side… there's this experiment I've been running, it finally paid off. It's really neat," he paused, making sure he had both of their attentions, "I can neutralize the First Hokage's cells."

"WHAT!" The white creature shouted in outright anger and surprise.

"Silence Zetsu." Madara commanded. "Interesting," he was slightly surprised behind his mask, Orochimaru you bastard, how much did you really know? He clapped slowly. "Alright, we'll figure out the specific terms now then, consider me curious. We'll figure out what happens with Sasuke later." He stood up and walked forward a few steps. "In the meantime, you are going to show me what you're bringing to my side of things. Hold anything back and I assure…" he glared angrily at Kabuto, "I'll pry everything valuable out of your soul and leave your lifeless husk where none shall find it with these eyes of mine!"

Kabuto bowed his head low, "…so it begins." is all he muttered under his breath.

In absolute darkness in another room, a figure lay silently on a bed. "Brother… your power was incredible… I hope you will be able to see our deserved revenge and the revival of our clan…" Sasuke held a hand above himself, towards the ceiling he could not see. He tensed momentarily and lightning danced around his hand. "…so much strength… and it's still growing…" He lowered his hand and placed it over his face in thought. Naruto… let's see even the beast within you overtake me now.

The terrors of Akatsuki have begun to move, but what else stirs? The Sound of Defeat!

Well this the story , My story starts here…..

Thanks D-Sparil.