My Darling Naruto, My Sweet Kyuubi

Hinata sank further into the bath, until the hot water reached just over her lips, breathing through her
nose she enjoyed the smell of the herb bubble bath that the inn supplied, and enjoyed the energy it seemed
to give her. As if the water was washing away all the doubts she had about Naruto and herself, as well as
cleaning away the grubbiness she felt from what had happened with the demon inside Naruto and from having
been in the same clothes for so long. Clothes which now hung up on the clothes wire above her head to dry.

She would have liked to drift off to sleep there and then except for the odd drip of water from the clothes
drying above her head, both hers and Naruto's clothes. Her thoughts drifted towards the boy she'd admired
and loved for so long, she had thought about it most of the day but now that her body felt cleaner and she
felt so much calmer her thoughts also seemed to brighten and become clearer.

"I love him!" She said it to herself, and knew it was true the moment the words left her mouth, it felt so
good to say them. She had spent all day soul searching, trying to get her feelings for Naruto organised,
even more so with the discovery that she would have to share him with a demon.

Naruto sat on the edge of the double bed with a towel wrapped around his waist, he'd already grabbed an
extra pillow and blanket from the front desk on his way back from the public baths. Although he had washed
and hung up his clothes in the bath of his room he knew that Hinata was looking forward to a warm wash and
so he had decided to use the public baths and give her some space. He stared at the bathroom door, straining
his ears to hear if she was okay in there, a part of him worried that she might be crying in there because
of what he had done, most of him wanted to join her in there as he'd had the whole day to think things over,
and he would do whatever he could to put things right by her, even if she didn't want him any more.

Although he was staring at the door, his thoughts seemed to prevent him from noticing the door open, or the
damp blue haired girl step out into the room wearing only a towel wrapped around her, tied around her top so
that it pulled her breasts together creating more cleavage and stopping just above her knees. She wore a
bright red blush across her face when she saw Naruto staring in her direction, her hands coming up in front
of her and fiddling nervously while she looked down at her feet, not knowing that he hadn't noticed her yet.

Hinata looked at the blanket and pillow laid down on the floor in front of him and broke the silence with a
voice that was mixed with sadness and matched her puzzled expression. "A separate bed?"

Naruto's eyes focused on the girl before him, taking in every inch of her body he felt himself blush from
head to toe, still he tried to put on a smile as he replied. "I thought it was best... After..." His smile
faded as his voice trailed off, worrying that if he spoke of what happened it would bring the pain of what
happened back into her thoughts and make the atmosphere of the room unbearable.

Unbeknownst to Naruto, Hinata had already faced most of her fears while she had been sat in the bath, she'd
done nothing but dwell on them all day long as well as in her dreams the night before. She had already decided
to keep moving forward in her life, and she wanted Naruto to be a part of her life, she took a couple of steps
towards Naruto, her eyes never leaving his eyes widened when she bent down in front of him a little and said
the words that she felt in her heart "Naruto-kun. I Still love you".

Naruto's heart jumped at the sound of her voice, although she had said the words in little more than a whisper
they had been words that his heart had been straining to hear since the incident, and it hurt him so much
when he thought about what he was about to do. Tears formed at the corners of his eyes and he fought them back
as he turned his head to the side a little, so that he was looking at a point on the wall behind her ear but
not so far that he couldn't still see her face and see the reaction that his words would have on her.

"I love you too, but we can't be together..." He saw Hinata smile as he had said that he loved her but when he
had continued he had seen the look of pain and anguish on her face and had suddenly trailed off, finding it hard
to continue. He didn't want to hurt her but if he was with her then he would always worry that he might hurt her
indirectly if when the Kyuubi took control.

"Why? What are you saying?" Hinata stepped sideways, moving herself back into Naruto's line of sight, staring
straight into his eyes as the first tear rolled down her cheek. It was the first time Hinata had ever shouted,
at least her first time to speak to him in anything more than a quiet and timid voice. She was slightly taken
back by her own voice, it sounded strained and wavered uncontrollably.

"What about the Kyuubi?" Naruto stood up, Hinata straightening as he did so making sure that her eyes kept
contact with his. Naruto stood still for a moment, scared that by admitting what he was about to it would make it
worse, that he would lose any control he had over the Kyuubi. "Ever since I found out about the Kyuubi living
inside me I think I've started to merge with it." Naruto paused and looked down at his right hand, clenching it
into a fist and the opening it again several times, as if testing that he could move it, that he could control
his body. "Since the first time I used it during a mission I have felt the bond growing, that time it took only
partial control of... Then again during the chuunin exams it took partial control... At first I thought it was
just a merging as soon after I learnt to call his power and chakra at will, yet the more I used it the more I
could gain from the power." Naruto stopped clenching his hands and looked back into Hinata's eyes, trying to
smile that only succeeded in looking like a sneer. "Every time I used it the power came to me quicker and with
more force, like it was changing me to use it better. After what happened with you I think all it's done is
make it easier for the demon to use me for his own purposes, to take over my body and control me at will..."

"I will stand against Kyuubi... To be with you..." Hinata quickly closed the small gap separating them, burying
her head in his chest as her body was racked with sobs that rocked her small delicate frame and tears rolled
down her cheeks uncontrollably. "I love you so much, I have done for so long. Now that we're here I will do
whatever it takes to keep you! Nothing else matters, not even the Kyuubi"

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her hair, the tears flowing freely
from his eyes and the scent of the Hinata's skin fresh from the inn's soap filled his nose.

"I'm not scared of the Kyuubi any more!" Hinata wasn't sure that it was true, but it's what she wanted to be the
truth and she felt that saying it would somehow make it so, for both of them. She tilted her head and rested it
against his neck and chest, his chin resting gently on her head and she knew that if she could be like this with
him, this close to him for the rest of her life then nothing else mattered.

"You're not scared of me? You will face me?"

Even with Naruto's head resting on her head so that she couldn't see his eyes she recognised the change in
his voice and felt the disgusting chakra that was leaking out of him, despite her brave words earlier she felt
her knees go weak and swallowed hard.