Time of Dying

Time of Dying

Due to the retarded uploads on this site, I have been reduced to changing what would normally be italics to /sjlkd/ and bold to *adfksk*. Generally, if they take place between // they are Hinata's thoughts. If they are between the // and the // are part of the giant, bolded section, then those are Naruto's thoughts. Sorry if this confuses you. This uploading style pisses me off. Thanks.

*~~*

Hinata twisted, lashing out at her attacker with the gentle-fist style, desperate to escape.
She knew when she entered the battleground that she would face tough opponents, but she never guessed that she would end up fighting Orochimaru.

/This/, she thought as she dodged the traitor's sword, /is Naruto's fight./

As she dodged another sword thrust, Hinata reached out, hoping to strike a critical blow on the sannin. With cruel delight, Orochimaru caught the Hyuuga's arm mid-strike, trapping the girl. Running his grotesque tongue over his lips, Orochimaru grinned. The sannin ran his tongue over her face, circling her eyes.

"Such a gift, wasted on such a worthless girl," he cackled at her disgusted, frightened expression. "Oh, well."

The traitor released her, hurling her backwards and ruthlessly planting his sword in her gut.

Gasping, Hinata coughed up blood as her hands encircled the blade protruding from her abdomen. Black crept around the edge of her vision as she pitched backwards, falling to the ground. She fought hopelessly to keep her eyes open as she watched the monstrous sannin walk away.

Bleeding severely, she attempted to drag herself to safety, but found she couldn't move. Panicking, she tried to cry out for help, but found she couldn't scream.

/Naruto-kun/, she thought desperately. /Help me./

/On the ground I lay
Motionless in pain
I can see my life
Flashing before my eyes/

"Hinata! Hinata, can you hear me?" Sakura wailed, shaking the bloody girl. Hinata was pallid, and her lips had turned blue. "Tsunade-sensei! Hinata's dying!" Dismayed, the Hokage ran over to assist her student.

/Dying? I'm dying?/

"Hold that sword steady, Shizune. Sakura, on the count of three, give it everything you've got," Tsunade placed her hands on Hinata's icy face.

/I can't die! I haven't told Naruto-kun, yet!/

"One," Shizune's grip tightened on Orochimaru's deadly blade.

/I have to tell Naruto-kun that I love him!/

"Two," Sakura's hands pushed tightly over Hinata's heart.

/I have to tell him…/

"Three!" Chakra swirled heavily around the four women, whipping around Tsunade and Sakura before plunging into Hinata's body.

"Oh, thank Kami," Tsunade choked back a sob as the vibrant blue chakra flowed into the dying girl.

/That I love him…/

"No!" Shizune howled. Tsunade and Sakura whirled. The same vibrant blue chakra was thrashing out of Hinata's wound, winding up Kusanagi's blade and hilt, and dissipating into the air.

/Dead I fall asleep
Is this all a dream
Wake me up
I'm living a nightmare/

"Oh, Kami, no!" Tsunade shrieked. "Again! We have to try again!"

/Hi, Hinata-chan…/

/Hey, Hinata-chan, over here…/

/What's up, Hinata-chan…/

/Hey, Hinata-chan, wanna go get some ramen with us…/

/I really like people like you, Hinata-chan…/

/I will not die
I will not die
I will survive/

"Tsunade-sensei, it's not working," Sakura wept gently, pushing as much chakra into the ebbing girl as she could.

"Go get Naruto," the Hokage rasped, stroking Hinata's ebony hair morosely.

Sakura rose, sprinting across the battlefield with bitter, furious tears in her eyes. Enemies traversed her path, and she cut them down reflexively.

"Naruto!" she screamed in anguish, her voice tearing her throat raw.

"Sakura! Sakura what's wrong?" Naruto darted over, slaughtering foes left and right.

"It's Hinata! Hinata's dying!" Sakura latched onto Naruto's arm, collapsing and retching in horror.

"What? Where? Where is she?" Naruto trembled in terror.

"This way." The two raced back across the front lines, littering the battleground with the bodies of interfering adversaries.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto wailed as he approached his fallen comrade. Hinata's skin was waxen, and Tsunade's fingers trailed feebly through Hinata's midnight hair.

/Naruto-kun…/

"Look, she's still breathing!" Naruto dropped to his knees. His fingers trickled over her neck, discovering a fragile pulse.

/I will not die
I'll wait here for you
I feel alive
When you're beside me
I will not die
I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

"Why can't you save her?" Naruto turned to Tsunade, his face twisted in grief.

"The sword's neutralizing our chakra. And if we remove the sword, she'll bleed to death," Tsunade bit her lip as tears flowed in rivulets down her face.

"There's nothing we can do," Shizune whispered, leaning against the Kusanagi and weeping.

"No! No way! I can't accept that!" Naruto roared. His vision bled crimson, and he stood before Kyuubi's cage.

*****"Kyuubi!" Naruto thundered at the gloomy cage.

"How dare you address me, mortal," two luminous, ruthless eyes stared from behind the bars.

"Do you know a way to save Hinata-chan?" Naruto shouted, fists clenched in rage.

"The dying girl?" Kyuubi's teeth glistened murderously as he enunciated the words.

"Yes!" Naruto approached the cage, his heart beating mercilessly.

"I do," Kyuubi rumbled, lurking as close to the seal as possible.

"Tell me, quick!" Naruto grasped the bars, staring fiercely at the fox's bloodthirsty eyes.

"No," the fox laughed heartlessly, retreating into the depths of its prison.

"You bastard! I'll beat the answer out of you!" Naruto dove between the bars, racing after the monster's tails. "Fight me, you bastard! Give me the answer or I'll kill you!"

Kyuubi turned slowly, grinning madly, death in its crimson eyes.

"Let's make this fun," it hissed, tails lashing in homicidal glee, "Since I can't kill you behind this seal without trapping myself." Its eyes flashed a brilliant crimson as it stalked closer to its prey. "Make me give up, and I'll tell you how to save the girl. Fox-promise. And don't worry about doing it quickly, time doesn't pass so quickly in here. Trust me."

"You're on, you bastard-fox!" Naruto lunged, Rasengan in hand. "I won't lose!"

Kyuubi loosed a chilling laugh, clubbing the blonde from the air with a tail.

Breathless, Naruto grabbed his chest as he writhed in pain on the floor of Kyuubi's cell.

/On this bed I lay
Losing everything
I can see my life
Passing me by/

"No, I won't lose," Naruto gasped as he forced himself to his feet. "I have to save Hinata-chan."

/Naruto-kun…/

/Um, this is for you, Naruto-kun…/

/You can do it, Naruto-kun…/

/I believe in you, Naruto-kun…/

"I will beat you, you stupid fox!" Naruto roared, throwing himself at the demon.

"Foolish mortal," the fox laughed. "I will enjoy destroying your spirit."

"No chance!" Naruto focused, splitting his conscience into clones. The fox roared in laughter as they circled him, looking for a way to harm him.

"Try again," it snorted, squashing each clone under the weight of his tails.

"Aaaah!" each Naruto shrieked in agony.

"I don't know how you could be so foolish, little mortal," Kyuubi grinned as each tail lifted a Naruto clone off the ground, "but I must say I enjoy your stupidity."

"What are you talking about?" each Naruto wheezed as a tail squeezed firmly. "I'm going to kick your ass."

"Suit yourself," the fox snickered, heaving the clones one by one against the concrete walls of his cell.

The original Naruto flinched with each sickening crack. Pieces of his consciousness drifted back to him as their physical bodies were destroyed, and with their return, he could feel the overwhelming agony of being hurled against the dense wall over and over.

"Aaah, stop it, you sick fox!" he wailed in severe pain.

/Was it all too much
Or just not enough
Wake me up
I'm living a nightmare/

Finally, only the original Naruto remained in Kyuubi's clutches.

"Had enough, little mortal?" It snickered, lifting Naruto next to its face. Naruto could smell the fox's rank, decaying breath, and could feel the heat wafting off its immense body.

"Never," Naruto rasped, his body broken, but his spirit impenetrable.

"Why do you insist on such agony?" the fox asked curiously as it pinned him against a wall, languidly digging its claw into Naruto's abdomen.

"Because I have to save Hinata-chan," he whispered, lifting his blazing eyes to meet the fox's. "And because I refuse to lose to a bastard like you!"

/I will not die
I will not die
I will survive/

"Then I have to teach you a lesson, little brat, that you won't forget. I can't have you risking your body like this every time a mortal breaks." Eyes blazing, the fox pierced Naruto's stomach.

Blood gushed from the wound, and Naruto hacked up more. Kyuubi slowly removed his claw, before licking the blood off placidly, letting Naruto fall hundreds of feet to the ground.

Naruto felt his conscience dimming as he fell. The ground was hurtling up to meet him, and hot blood poured from his stomach wound.

/I believe in you, Naruto-kun…/

/I will not die
I'll wait here for you
I feel alive
When you're beside me
I will not die
I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying/

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto roared, hands whirling with twin Rasengan. As he crashed into the earth, Naruto slammed his attacks down with all the force he could muster. The two attacks ricocheted off the ground, and he flew back at the fox at blinding speed.

"Stupid fox," Naruto thundered. "Don't ever underestimate Uzumaki Naruto!"

Shooting through the air, Naruto pulled a kunai from his pouch. The fox turned and growled at the annoying mortal.

"Take this!" As Naruto passed the fox's face, he dug the kunai deep into its left eye, using the leverage to catapult into the creature's left ear.

"Aaaargh!" The fox roared in agony as blood poured from its eye.

"Do you give up?" Naruto shouted.

"NOOOOO!" Kyuubi railed, shaking its head ferally in an attempt to remove the ninja.

"Then I guess you're gonna find out why they call me the number one hyperactive ninja!" Naruto yelled maniacally, delving deep into the fox's ear.

"Get out of there!" Kyuubi barked, scratching at his ear desperately.

"Sorry, foxy, I'm too far in!" Naruto shouted, beating on the fox's eardrum.

"Stop! Stop right now!" the fox shook its head in agony.

"Give up?" Naruto shrieked the question.

"Never!" the fox rammed its head against the wall in a frantic attempt to remove its loud host.

"Then I guess I'll never stop!" Naruto laughed dementedly, beating the fox's eardrum as harshly as possible.

"NOO!" Kyuubi wailed.

"Here comes the kunai," Naruto chirped, running the blade gently across the eardrum.

"I give up! I'll tell you how to save the female!" Kyuubi roared.

"Promise?" Naruto dragged the blade over the fox's eardrum a second time for emphasis.

"I promised before! Foxes can't break their promises!" Kyuubi roared. "Now get out!"*******

"Move back!" Naruto cried at the three medic-nin.

"It's no use, Naruto," Sakura whimpered. "She's nearly gone."

"I can save her! I know how!" he flung the women off Hinata's nearly lifeless body.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Tsunade watched in horror as Naruto began to transform. His hair lengthened, his nails became claws, and his teeth became fangs. With almost arduous lethargy, his eyes bled purple and his whisker marks deepened. A crackling purple energy began to form an orb around him.

"Naruto! This isn't safe!" Tsunade cried, reaching out for her successor. As she touched the energy sphere, it jumped in size, surrounding Naruto and Hinata and repelling the three medic-nin.

/I will not die
I'll wait here for you
I feel alive
When you're beside me
I will not die
I'll wait here for you
In my time of dying /

The transformed Naruto lowered his hand to Hinata's heart, transmitting small waves of purple chakra into her body.

With agonizing sluggishness, the Hyuuga opened her eyes.

"Naruto-kun?" she whispered, her heart beating with a throbbing happiness.

"Do you trust me to save you, Hinata-chan?" His purple eyes burned into her pale ones.

Hinata nodded, too blissful to speak.

"Okay," he exhaled shakily. "Then die."

Hinata felt her heart halt instantaneously.

If that's what you want, Naruto-kun…I trust you…

Naruto leaned over Hinata's corpse, tears streaking from his eyes.

I will save you, Hinata-chan…

The three medic-nin wailed outside the barrier. They beat the shield in frustration, tears streaking down their faces.

Slowly, Naruto shaped seals, biting his lip in concentration. As the blood flowed down his neck, he prayed for Hinata's safety.

Finishing the seals, Naruto gathered the blood on his fingertips, painting a delicate design on Hinata's marble neck. Tenderly, he folded his hands over her neck, lying his head on top of his folded hands.

"This will work," he whispered. "It has to. Believe in me, Hinata-chan. I believe in you."

**/I will not die

I'll wait here for you

I will not die

When you're beside me

I will not die

I'll wait here for you

In my time of dying/**

"What's he saying?" Sakura shrieked over the torrential crackling of Naruto's shield.

"I can't tell!" Tsunade yelled back.

"Look!" Shizune pointed. As the energy shield began to shrink, the three kunoichi crept closer.

Closer and closer they approached, until the sphere no longer surround Naruto, but floated sedately over Hinata's heart.

"Now," Naruto whispered mournfully.

The energy ball descended slowly, morphing into Hinata's skin. Eyes closed, head down, Naruto grasped the Kusanagi's hilt and tore the sword from Hinata's abdomen.

At the same moment, Hinata gasped loudly, rising and clutching her stomach in anguish.

Dislodged, Naruto rolled onto his back, a calm, delighted grin on his face.

"Don't touch it, Hinata-chan," he whispered.

Hinata looked over at him in surprise, and gasped again as she felt her wound begin to heal.

"Naruto-kun, look!" she whispered in awe. She turned to show him, but he lay unconscious on the grass.

"Naruto-kun!" she clambered over to him, worry etched onto her face.

"Don't worry, Hinata," Tsunade said gently, amazement shining in her eyes. "I suspect he's very tired after that. See, he's still breathing."

"And look, Tsunade-sama," Shizune pointed at the battlefield. "The enemy's retreating."

"It's a miracle," Sakura whispered, watching the small army of broken leaf ninja drive off Orochimaru's overwhelming forces.

"It sure is," Hinata whispered, planting a small kiss on the sleeping Naruto's lips.