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Chapter Text

Naruto ran through the trees with Kakashi and Sakura not far behind. They were nothing but blurs as they dashed from tree to tree. The breeze blew through Naruto's hair and he grinned. It was such a beautiful day!

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the deer were grazing. The weather was warm, and the breeze was pleasant. There wasn't a cloud in the bright, beautiful blue sky. It was perfect weather.

It was also a wonderful day for our young hero. Naruto Uzumaki had just recently returned from his training trip with Jiraiya. Once he had gotten back, he enthusiastically greeted all of his old friends and teachers. He managed to spend some time chatting with them about their adventures in the Leaf without him. It was a fun reunion, even the part where Granny Tsunade punched him through the window for calling her Grandma.

But, the best part about returning had to be Sakura.

During his training trip he had missed her dearly, and was constantly worrying about her. He knew how much she cared for Sasuke, and he had been concerned about how she was holding up. Once he returned to the village, he sought her out. He was relieved to find that not only was she doing okay, but she was also nicer to him!

Well, okay, sort of nicer to him.

Okay, she wasn't hitting him as much. That was something! She would even hold civil conversations with him! Those little moments of them just sitting down and talking made Naruto's day. He just wished that she would agree to go on a date with him. If things kept heading in this direction, she just might!

He turned his head to look behind him at his teammate. She noticed his gaze and sent him a small smile. Naruto sent her a large grin in return before turning his attention in front of him.

Team seven was currently on their way back to the Leaf. They had been sent on a short C rank mission after Kakashi had administered the second bell test. The mission was simple enough: head to a nearby village and pick up some special herbs that Tsunade needed for medication. It was a very easy task, one that was supposed to ease them back into working together as a team and completing missions with one another.

It went off without a hitch; they paid the money, and collected the box. Now they were on their way back to the Leaf. Naruto was hoping to ask Sakura out. He didn't know why, but today seemed like a wonderful day to start a brand new relationship. The weather, the plants, and even the animals were juuust right.

Why wouldn't she want to date him? He might sound cocky for thinking this, but he had gotten quite handsome over the years. He's also gotten stronger, more focused, and he's definitely matured. Kakashi even allowed him to carry the container with the herbs! That's how much he trusted the young blonde! He may not be as cool, calm, and collected as Sasuke, but he's improving. He was quieter now, and he actually thought before he spoke. Sakura was sure to date him now!

Naruto glanced behind him to once again admire his pink haired crush.

He chose the wrong moment to do that.

Before either Sakura or Kakashi could warn him, he ran into a branch. It nailed him in the gut causing all the air to leave him. The container flew out of his hands and into the forest floor below.

Both Kakashi and Sakura stopped near Naruto to make sure he was alright. The fox container held on to the branch as pain exploded from his gut. Tiny black spots clouded his vision as he stared off into the distance in a daze.

"Naruto, are you alright!?" Sakura questioned, her voice was laced with concern.

Naruto slowly detached himself from the branch. He clutched his stomach in pain.

"Yeah, I should be fine." He wheezed out. He was definitely bruised, he just wasn't sure if it was internal bruising or external. Hell, it might be both!

'Here, allow me." Sakura carefully placed her hand on his stomach, just underneath his. A bit of red dusted his cheeks as a nice warmth radiated from her hand. A green light surrounded her hand as she healed him. She kept her eyes on his stomach. Naruto wanted her to gaze into his eyes while she did this, it might lead to a kiss like so many other times in his dreams. His heart was pounding against his ribcage and it threatened to burst through his chest. He could smell her floral perfume, it fit her wonderfully.

Her beautiful pink hair was blowing gently through the wind, Naruto wanted to run his fingers through her luscious locks. Although her body hadn't developed much while he was away, he was fine with that. He just wanted to wrap her in a hug and never let her go.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. She pulled her hand away and stepped back.

"There, all better." She told him.

It was true; all the pain had receded from his stomach. He was at 100% once more.

"Thanks Sakura! I don't know what I'd do without you!" He praised her with a bright grin.

"Although I'd hate to interrupt this little bonding moment you two are having, it's best if we find those herbs." Kakashi interjected.

Naruto scratched his cheek and let loose a nervous chuckle. "Heh, yeah. Sorry about that." He apologized.

"It's fine Naruto. It was just an accident and those happen all the time, we'll just find the box and head back home." Sakura reassured him.

"Right then, let's go!" Naruto proclaimed loudly. He was getting that date today!

He ran down the length of the tree he was on. He made sure to dodge all of the branches in his path. Kakashi and Sakura were following close behind. It wasn't long before they reached the forest floor. They had landed in the middle of a small clearing; multiple animals scurried away at the sight of them.

Naruto swept the clearing with a glance. He couldn't spot the container anywhere. It must've landed a few yards away from here.

Not a single word was exchanged as the remaining members of Team Seven split up to search the area around the clearing. Sakura went left, and Kakashi went to the right. Naruto parted some bushes as he went center.

The blonde male kept his eyes trained to the ground as he brushed past low branches, and a flurry of small plant life. After a couple minutes of searching, Naruto formed his fingers into a familiar seal. He needed to speed up this process if he wanted to get home while the sun was still up. Call him impatient but he had a woman to woo!

He went through the familiar process of gathering chakra when he heard some screaming and a few vicious snarls and growls coming from his right. It was only thanks to his ninja reflexes that he managed to step out of the way in time to avoid being crashed into. All he saw was a flash of white, and he smelled some lavender too. The speeding object was only a blur, and a breeze followed it as it zoomed by him.

It was too big and quick to be any creature he could think of from the top of his head.

"Naruto! Did you see where it went?" Sakura asked out of breath as she stumbled through the trees with Kakashi. She sounded urgent.

Naruto quickly nodded his head. "Yeah, whatever it was went that way." He pointed in the direction it had taken off in. He was surprised to find that not a single blade of grass was out of place. It was like the creature had never passed by at all.

"Good, come on, it has the container!" Sakura informed him as they started after the creature.

Naruto sped up at the new information. He didn't care what animal It was, he would skin it alive if it refused to return the box to them! Although he was hoping that it would just cooperate with them. The trio of ninja traveled for an estimated 20 minutes before they spotted the strange beast again.

Naruto stopped dead in his tracks when he got a good look at it. It was at the far end of a clearing, it was next to a tree with the container of herbs in front of it. It was carefully sniffing at it , and peering down at it with very curious eyes. Thankfully the container was fine, it wasn't opened, cracked, and it didn't appear to be chewed on.

But that's not what caught Naruto's attention.

What really garnered Naruto's attention was the creature itself.

Or, the creature herself.

She was half human; half cat. She was currently on her hands and knees, and he examined the blue cat ears on the top of her head, turning this way and that. Her hair was also indigo, and it flowed past her shoulders and barely touched the forest floor. Naruto blushed as his eyes traveled farther down her body.

She wore no other clothing besides a fur bra that covered her large, pale chest. Her breasts gently moved with each breath she took. She also wore a pair of underwear made from the same material as the bra. As you can imagine, this left most of her body bare for wandering eyes. And boy did his eyes wander.

Her stomach was nice and flat, but also had a bit of muscle too. Her hips were wide, just the perfect size for bearing children. Her thighs were thick, perfect for a man to hold on to as they rode her. Her legs were just as pale as the rest of her body, and they were toned to perfection. Her plump, perky ass was high in the air. It looked so squeezable; he could already envision himself touching it. An indigo colored tail caught his attention. It was located right above her butt, and it was waving back and forth methodically.

Her behind rose higher as she moved her head closer to study the container. His attention was switched to her face at the slight movement.

Her eyes light lavender, and they held no pupils. They were like two moons, so big and beautiful He wanted to get lost within their depths. Her nose was tiny and cute, he watched in amusement as it wiggled a bit when she inhaled a large whiff of air. Her lips were a cute ruby red. Both her upper and lower lips were luscious and full, they looked so soft. He wanted to kiss them, to feel them against his rough ones.

All in all, she was perfect. She reminded him of one of those strange humanoid creatures from Pervy Sage's magazines. He would never admit it, but he took quite a liking to those issues. He guessed it was the inner anime pervert inside of him. The difference between her, and those other girls was that she was real, and she was a few yards away from him. She also had more curves, and she was much better endowed than the others.

He snapped out of his fantasies when she opened her mouth. He felt his stomach drop. That was another difference between her and the models in the magazine.

They had normal teeth, and hers seemed perfect for sinking into the flesh of any animal she happened upon.

Her mouth was packed full of razor sharp teeth that threatened to tear any man apart. Each one was pointier than his sharpest kunai. It was a blessing that she seemed to have the same number of teeth as any normal person. But his attention was also drawn to her hands, and her claws. As a matter of fact, even her feet had claws. This was not just a cute little kitty. She was a predator with natural weapons.

Painful natural weapons.

"Stop!" Sakura yelled. Naruto refrained from jumping out of his skin.

He understood why she was yelling. It appears that their feline foe was about to sink her teeth into the container.

She jumped a bit and her eyes and ears darted around. She instantly locked eyes with them and hissed in anger. She pushed the small, plastic box behind her. No one moved as she growled menacingly. Her nails had grown a few centimeters, and her tail was whipping back and forth violently. The hairs on her ears were standing on edge. It was clear that she was on edge and might attack if one of them approached her.

Naruto swallowed thickly. He took a brave step forward. Her eyes snapped to him. Her snarl became more vicious as she tensed up, ready to snap.

"H-hey now, calm down, we just want the box." He cooed to it as he moved in a bit closer. She snarled even louder. His approach didn't appear to be working. Then again, his only experience working with cats was with the hell beast Tora. Hopefully this creature was much more willing to listen to reason.

"Nice kitty, good kitty." Naruto cooed again. He placed his hand in front of him.

This had an odd effect on the feline. She stopped snarling, and her tail stopped whipping about. She looked perplexed at his offered hand.

"There there, aren't you just a sweet little kitty?" Naruto murmured with more confidence. He made sure to keep his pace slow, although the young woman had stopped snarling, she could still attack at any moment. He just needed to get close enough to subdue her and allow Kakashi and Sakura to retrieve the herbs.

He was a foot away from the catwoman. He paused when she growled softly at him. He kept his hand out; her eyes were glued to it. A bead of sweat rolled down his neck when she crawled towards him cautiously. He didn't move a muscle, her eyes would flicker up at him every once and a while.

Once she reached his hand, she brought her face close to it. Her gaze flickered back up to his face for a moment. He sent her the best grin he could muster. She dropped her gaze back down to the outstretched limb.

She brought her nose in contact with his hand and sniffed it quickly before retracting it quickly. She tilted her head to the side, her eyes becoming more curious than cautious. She dipped her head forward and sniffed his hand again. This time, she didn't pull back. A light bit of red dusted Naruto's cheeks as she eagerly sniffed his hand. It was like she was trying to bury her head in his palm!

She finally pulled back her head and smiled brightly at him. Naruto blushed a bit more and looked away from her. An attractive girl looking up at him with such trusting eyes while she was on her knees did things to his lower regions. Things that might cause him to be slapped.

"Um, good kitty. Now, can I have that container back?" Naruto requested politely. She wasn't as hostile as before, so there was a chance he wouldn't need to knock her out.

The feline female nodded her head eagerly at him. She backed up a bit, and used her tail to grab the box. She moved it in front of him and waited with eager eyes for something.

Naruto scratched his cheek. Well, that was easy. Now what was going to do?

"Okay, um, thanks I guess. My name is Naruto, what's yours?" He decided that he might as well introduce himself. She could understand him, so what was the harm in making a new friend?

He didn't see it coming. One minute, he was peering down at her, then there was a blur and he was on his back. He let out a gasp in pain as his head collided with the forest floor. He quickly noticed that a very warm and curvy body was pressed on top of his.

Two hands were clutching his shoulder tightly and a nose was buried in his neck, inhaling his scent deeply. He stopped himself from moaning out loud, the young feline's body was moving across his sensually, especially on top of his crotch area. His eyes widened when he felt her warm, wet tongue lap at his neck. He grunted a bit before placing both of his hands on her hips. He tried to gently pry her off.

Unfortunately, this only caused her to purr and let loose a moan. Naruto's face resembled a tomato at this point.

Both Kakashi and Sakura were stunned at this spontaneous display of affection. Kakashi did mentally cheer Naruto on. The young feline was quite attractive, and she appeared to be around Naruto's age. He just hoped she didn't have any fleas…

Sakura could feel some anger rise up inside of her. Who was this strange girl, and why was she getting so cozy with her teammate? As a matter of fact, why was Naruto not doing anything about it? She grit her teeth and her hands became fists at her side. That orange wearing idiot hadn't changed at all! He was an even bigger pervert than before! She bet that he was only acting differently to get into her pants. When she got her hands on him was dead!

"Excuse me? Could you please get off?" Naruto requested hoarsely. His throat had gone dry. When did it get so hot?

Thankfully the young woman heard him. She didn't get off of him, but she did detach her face from his neck. She brought her face uncomfortably close to his. She tilted her head from one side to the other. Then she grinned at him

"Hi! I'm Hinata, not kitty! But it's okay, you can call me what you wish! I could never deny my mate anything!" She chirped happily.

Naruto's eyes furrowed in confusion. Mate? What the hell was she talking about?

He didn't have time to voice his concerns as her lips met his in a passionate kiss.

Naruto's eyes bugged out of his head. Just what the hell had he gotten himself into this time!?

Chapter Text

Naruto wasn't sure what to do. The feline female on top of him continued to kiss him like there was no tomorrow. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, it was just unexpected. He also felt a bit uncomfortable kissing a half naked cat- girl in front of his team mates.

Especially since one of them was his crush.

Even with the audience, he couldn't deny that he was enjoying the experience. Her lips were rough, no doubt from the harsh environment of the woods. Still, he enjoyed how eagerly she molded her lips against his. As if she had been waiting years to finally have this moment with him.

As someone who had never been popular with the ladies, this attention filled him with a deep satisfaction.

His eyes widened even further when he felt her slip her tongue into his mouth. He flushed as her tongue explored his cavern eagerly. Her tongue swept over his teeth and gums, and the roof of his mouth. She rubbed her tongue with his, attempting to get him to participate. His appendage caressed hers awkwardly. Naruto's only heard about this type of kissing, he's never actually experienced it. Her sensual movements were arousing him, but he was restraining himself from doing anything irrational.

Her tongue was wet and incredibly warm. He almost fainted when she felt his tongue reach the back of his throat. Just how long was that thing? A warm heat began to pool in his lower area as he imagined more things that tongue could do. He could feel himself starting to sport an erection as a result.

Just wonderful.

He was thankful when the strange girl finally pulled away. She looked confused.

"Why aren't you kissing me back my mate? Have I displeased you?" She inquired.

"Look, Hinata right?" She nodded her head in confirmation. "I am not your mate. I think you have me confused with someone else." He explained to her. He had no clue what she was talking about. But if it was anything like animals, he knew he didn't have a girlfriend or wife or whatever. He didn't even know what exactly she was!

She furrowed her eyebrows together. She leaned into his neck and sniffed him again. She did it a few more times before drawing back with a large smile.

"Nope, you smell like my mate, so you must be my mate!" She exclaimed happily.

"I am positive I have never seen you before in my life. Maybe me and your mate have the same body wash or something." Naruto hoped that this young woman would listen to him. He would definitely know if he had run into someone like her before. Pervy Sage had managed to get him drunk a few times before. But he'd be damned if that was enough for him to forget meeting an oddly attractive human-cat hybrid!

He was even more baffled when she started giggling at him.

"Oh, my mate is a silly human!" She chuckled. She rested her head on his chest and sighed happily. "I forgot for a few seconds that you humans have an odd ritual of courting someone to check if they're your mate. It's so much simpler to be able to sniff them out my love" She purred out.

Naruto was befuddled. He had a very attractive girl lying on top of him, and claiming that he was her mate. He didn't think this could get any stranger.

The young woman lifted her head back up. "So, are you ready to mate with me?" She asked him.

"What?! What the hell do you mean!?" Naruto was stunned. Was she talking about sex? She wanted to have sex right now?

Her only response was a sensual grind of her hips on top of his erection. If he wasn't fully hard before, the friction created sparked pleasure that raked up his spine, and he was tempted to grind back. It was only by the strength of the gods he was able to clench his teeth and keep still. Thankfully, she stopped her movements before he could embarrass himself in front of his still present team.

"Yeah, you seem ready to mate with me. Do you want to start now? "She asked him again.

"No, we cannot mate right now!" Naruto answered quickly. Sakura would hate him forever if he did something like that in front of her with a girl he just met! He wouldn't risk it!

"Oh." The female looked away sadly and her ears fell in dejection. Naruto felt a bit of guilt wash over him for upsetting the poor girl. She may be extremely strange and slightly disillusioned, but he still didn't mean to upset her.

He opened his mouth to apologize when she beat him to it.

"I'm sorry, I should've known better." She apologized mournfully.

"It's fine. If you cou-"

She cut him off. "No, it is not fine. I should've known you'd want to be on top. Forgive me, my mate."

Naruto wanted to hit something. How was he supposed to talk to this girl if she kept her mind on sex? Thankfully she climbed off of him. She rolled on to her back on the ground next to him.

"There, now can we mate?" She questioned him eagerly.

Naruto immediately shot up from the ground and to his feet. He shook his head back and forth rapidly and waved his hands in front of him.

"No! We can't mate!" He protested vehemently.

She contemplated his answer before nodding her head. "I understand now."

Naruto sighed in relief.

She rolled onto her stomach and got on her hands and knees. She wiggled her behind a bit.

"You want to mount me in the standard mating position. How silly of me!" She wiggled her butt a bit more and peered at him from over her shoulder. A larger grin was plastered on her face.

"Please, mount me as you wish!"

Naruto's eyes twitched. Seriously, what was up with this girl? Although, her offer did look enticing…

"Excuse me? Miss? As amusing as this is, Naruto has to return home. I'm afraid he can't mate with you right now." Kakashi intervened.

Naruto was grateful for the interruption. He didn't know how to reject the young girl and have her actually listen. She might just bend herself into multiple other positions. A lot of other positions…..

Her head snapped towards Kakashi. She eyed him for a bit before switching her attention to Sakura. Sakura narrowed her eyes at the half naked feline. Hinata hissed once before vanishing. Naruto stumbled a bit when she latched on to him a second later. She was clutching his left arm tightly and pressing her body against his side. Her posture was tense again as she glared and hissed at Sakura.

The pink haired female took a step back and widened her eyes a little. The cat creature was actually quite threatening. She placed both of her hands in front of her to show she was no threat.

The young woman stopped hissing but maintained her glare. She didn't trust this female around her mate. He was hers and hers alone!

"Look, how about we all just return to the Leaf and figure things out?" Kakashi suggested. He didn't want any fighting right now. They were having such a nice day, unnecessary violence would only ruin it.

"We? Even her?" Naruto asked, gesturing to the female clutching his arm.

"Yes, I'm sure Tsunade will be very interested to learn about her. Plus, it doesn't seem like she'll be leaving your side any time soon."The Jonin pointed out.

"What!? But sensei, she could be dangerous!" Sakura protested.

"She seems fine to me." The young feline was currently snuggling with Naruto's arm.

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the feline. She didn't trust her. She also didn't like how that girl was getting so comfy cozy with her teammate. It burned her to the very core. But she knew she couldn't argue with her sensei. And he did have a good point. They needed to figure out what exactly she was and where she came from. And if she were a threat that needed to be dealt with accordingly.

"Fine!" She whirled around and stomped through the forest. "Let's go!"

Kakashi followed after her while shaking his head. Teenage girls could become so emotional at times. But he had bigger concerns. He kept his aloof demeanor but his mind was racing attempting to recall hearing any information about anyone ever looking like this before. Was she an experiment of Orochimaru? Or was there some other nefarious group out there creating monsters? He couldn't even get a chakra signature from her, causing even more concern from him. He could only hope that her sudden attachment to Naruto would keep her docile while they figured this out.

Meanwhile the blonde was completely baffled. He was aroused, tired, a bit annoyed, and worried about how upset Sakura seemed. He didn't ask for this to suddenly happen to him. But it didn't mean he didn't kind of like it either. He felt a small tug on his sleeve, breaking him from his thoughts.

Naruto peered down at the hybrid clutching his arm. She gazed back up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

"Will you please carry me?" She requested, her voice pleasant and kind. Her eyes were so hopeful, they even watered a bit. There was no way he could deny her. She really was a humanoid kitten.

He bent his knees a little and waited for her to hop on. She squealed in happiness and detached herself from his arm and hopped on his back. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and tightly gripped his waist with her legs.

"Meow! You are such a nice mate." She purred.

"It's no big deal." Naruto played it off. She was as light as a feather.

"Yes it is! You're so strong too! And handsome! Meow!" She praised him.

Naruto blushed at her compliments. His ego swelled at her words. He walked a bit straighter and puffed out his chest a bit more. He was starting to like this girl! Kakashi sensei was right; she would be no trouble at all. If he could convince her that he wasn't her mate, things would be perfect. They would all talk to grandma Tsunade, figure out what this girl was and where she came from, and maybe they could find a way to rid her of this illusion about him. They might even find her actual mate, who knows?

The only downside is that Sakura is upset at him. It would take a miracle to convince her to go on a date with him now. Oh well.

"Hang on tight." He cautioned the girl. She clutched him tighter as he jumped into the trees and dashed from branch to branch. He was a bit behind his teammates because he didn't want to jostle around the girl on his back too much. They all traveled together in complete silence. Each one of them lost in their thoughts about this newcomer. The only thing that could be heard was the female purring and sighing on his back. On occasion, her nose would bury itself in the back of his head, where she would inhale his scent further, causing goosebumps to rise on his flesh. One time, he almost lost his balance when he felt her place a small kiss behind her ear.

Kakashi signaled them to stop once they were close enough to the village gates. They all stood on a high branch in one of the trees.

"Look, um, Hinata? You can't walk into the village like that." Kakashi told her bluntly. He was right. She would garner a lot of attention if she was seen.

It seemed clear to everyone but one person.

"Huh? How come? I've been around other humans before. And I've been fine." She responded.

"Really? So no one's ever tried to...do anything to you?" Kakashi asked.

"I'm a predator. If they do, I just kill them." Her blunt response caused an instant but subtle change in the air. Her voice remained soft, cute, and sweet. But the three shinobi knew they were dealing with someone who could cause a lot of problems within their village in an instant.

"Well. You see, we come from a village of shinobi's. Not just humans. Now I'm not sure how familiar you are with shinobi, but many of us are very difficult to kill and you'd end up very hurt if they saw you. We are very protective of our people in our village." Kakashi explained.

The cat girl remained silent, her head tilted to the side from over Naruto's shoulder. It was like her words suddenly made no sense to him.

"And, you know, I have a lot of friends in the village. I'd rather not see them hurt you or have you hurt them. So..."Naruto quickly jumped in to try and also help with the situation.

It seemed to work.

She brought a clawed finger to her chin. "Hmmmm, I guess I can go fully human…"

"You can?" The three shinobi inquired at the same time. Just what exactly was this girl?

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I just don't want to because it makes me feel vulnerable and weak. Like a newborn cub. If there were danger I couldn't protect myself, or my mate."

She rubbed Naruto's shoulder to emphasize her point. A gesture Naruto found oddly comforting.

She sighed sadly. "But, if my mate wants me to…"

Damnnit! She was upset again! Naruto couldn't stand the sight of anyone's misery, especially not this girl's! The way her ears flopped down, and her eyes watered tugged at his heartstrings. And it didn't help that she seemed genuinely sweet on him!

"How about this, you find a way to hide your ears and tails, and I Body Flicker as fast as possible through the village and into Granny Tsunade's office?" Naruto suggested.

The girl immediately came back to life on his back. Her arms became a vice around his neck as she gripped him tightly. He had a hard time getting any air in.

"Oh thank you so much! You are such a smart mate!" She chirped. She nuzzled the back of his neck.

"That doesn't change the fact that she'll be half naked. That'll still raise some questions." Sakura pointed out.

Naruto gulped a bit at the hidden anger in her voice. He was dead meat when the two of them were alone. She did appear frightened of his new feline friend, maybe he should keep her around as a safety precaution.

"I can wrap her up in my jacket." Naruto concluded after some thinking.

Sakura flooded her arms in front of her chest and rolled her eyes. "Yeah, like that will cover much." She grumbled under her breath.

"Can you get off my back for a moment Hinata?" Naruto asked. She meowed and kissed the back of his neck, right underneath his hair. He tried to ignore the pleasant shiver that sent through him.

She released him from her grasp and stood on her own two feet. She held her hands behind her back and smiled at him with big doe eyes. If it wasn't for her earlier comment, he would assume her claws were for show and that she wouldn't harm a fly. Naruto unzipped his jacket revealing his black mesh shirt. It hugged him tightly, outlining his muscles. He offered her his jacket.

"Here, put this on."

Instead of taking it, she tilted her head. Her eyebrows furrowed once more. "Why do I have to wear that?"

"Well, you can't just waltz into the village like….that." Naruto tried to explain to her.

"Why not? What's wrong with the way I look? Am I ugly? Does my body displease, mate?" She questioned him. A hint of sadness entered into her voice.

Naruto immediately shook his head. "No! It's just that there are going to be a lot of men staring at you because of your state of clothing and…" Naruto wasn't sure how to convince her to put on the jacket without upsetting her. She didn't seem like the type to care if guys stared at her. It would also further draw them a lot of unwanted attention.

"Oh! I understand. My mate doesn't want other men to stare at me! I will wear this….Ja kit if it pleases you." She chirped. She took the jacket from his hands and draped it over her shoulders. She held it like it was a blanket. She grinned at him. It was clear she wasn't used to wearing clothes.

"Um, okay. Now hop on, we have to get to Grandma's office." Hinata squealed and threw herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and gripped his waist with her thighs. The feeling of her chest against his back made him blush.

"I can't believe it! You're already taking me to meet your family! I can't wait to introduce you to mine!" She squealed as she snuggled even closer to him.

"Tsunade isn't my actual grandmother! And please loosen your grip, you're choking me!" Naruto choked out. She had one hell of a grip!

"Oh, sorry! And if she isn't your grandmother, when can I meet your grandmother? Oh! When can I meet your family? When do you want to meet my family? When should our families meet each other?" She fired off question after question.

"I…I don't have a family." Naruto mumbled solemnly. Being reminded of his home situation was always depressing to the young lad.

"What…? You're an unclaimed child?" Tears filled her eyes. "I am so sorry! I have plenty of family to share with you! We can share! You will never be alone again!" She promised.

Her words warmed his heart. This was the first time anyone's offered to share their family with him. It was very sweet of her. Very misguided and the situation would be straightened out soon, but he appreciated the kindness all the same.

"Thanks Hinata, I appreciate the offer." He thanked her sincerely.

"It's no problem! What's mine is yours and what's yours is mine! That is the motto you human lovers share with each other right?"

Naruto grinned before shaking his head. He had to get to Tsunade to figure things out. She still thought they were mates, although Naruto was reconsidering whether or not this was a bad thing. She was very sweet, and had an amazing body. She was also very eager to hug and cuddle him, something Naruto has desired since he was young. She seemed perfect.

But still, she was someone else's lover. After they cleared up this mix up, she would probably go out and search for him. Leaving Naruto all alone once more. But hey, he could patch things up with Sakura.

"Alright, let's go. Hinata, hide your ears and tail." Kakashi ordered. He didn't want to interrupt this

"Hm, Okay!" She squinted her eyes, and pursed up her lips. Her ears didn't just flop down. They completely flattened down against her skull, until he could barely see them. She then ruffled her hair, hiding her ears further. She then slid her tail underneath his jacket, hiding it from view.

Sakura had been right, the jacket stopped mid thigh, leaving the rest of her toned legs for wandering eyes.

"I'll talk to the guards, you three head to the office." Kakashi commanded them.

Naruto and Sakura nodded. Naruto grasped Hinata tighter to him, holding the small of her back with both of his arms.

"Are you ready for this? " He assumed she'd never traveled using the Body Flicker jutsu.

She purred in response. She buried her head into his back. Naruto didn't hesitate and immediately flickered, Sakura did the same.

The two appeared in the village, close to the gate. They performed the jutsu a few more times before they arrived inside the Hokage's office.

The fifth Hokage, Tsunade Senju was seated in her chair and chugging down a bottle of sake while she signed some paperwork.

"Granny! We need your help!" Naruto announced loudly, making his way to her desk.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead. She shot up from her desk and reeled her fist back. "You brat! I told you to never call me by th-" She was cut off by a ferocious growl that now reverberated throughout the office.

Hinata had shot off of Naruto's back.. She was now standing in front of him in a protective manner. Her knees were bent and her claws were sharper than before. They were around two inches long now, and they had sharpened dramatically. Her teeth were bared and her ears were pulled back and her fur stood on end.

"Don't touch my mate!" She growled out threateningly. Why did her mate know all these females? Although this female smelled way older than him, she was still trying to harm her mate. Hinata would not allow that.

Tsunade's hand fell limply to her side. She blinked a few times and tried to comprehend what she was seeing. There was a girl in her office with cat ears and a tail, snarling at her. She claimed that Naruto was her mate, and was now prepared to strike the blonde Hokage. She ran through this information again in her head. She blinked once more.

Nope, she was still there.

Kakashi chose this perfect moment to arrive. He eye smiled at the shell shocked Hokage. "Good, you're not busy. As you can see Lady Hokage, we ran into a very interesting character on our mission."

His voice snapped her out of her state. She directed her anger at him. "What the hell Hatake! I asked you to bring me back some herbs! Not a human cat hybrid!" She snapped at him.

He held out the white container. "Don't worry, we have the herbs, we just brought along someone else."

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose. She did not have enough alcohol in her system to deal with this.

"Hinata calm down, this is the same woman I mentioned earlier, remember?" Naruto tried to calm the girl down. It wouldn't do her any good if she attacked the Hokage.

Hinata stopped growling.. Her claws retracted a bit and her ears returned to normal. She latched herself onto Naruto's arm and glared at the older woman. She would be nice, for now. But if any woman made one move on her mate, they were finished!

"Okay, first question, who is she, and what is she?" Tsunade decided to begin with the simple questions. Like Kakashi earlier, her mind was also racing to see if she could recall if she had ever heard or seen anything like this. Perhaps Jirarya might know something about this?

"Her name is Hinata and she's a….a something." Naruto answered.

"Oh you silly mate! I'm a….a…what's the name you humans use for that really big black cat?" She asked him.

"A panther?" Kakashi replied.

She nodded her head enthusiastically. "Yeah! I'm a panther!"

They all sweatdropped at her answer. There was no way that this young lady was a panther.

"What do you mean when you say panther?" Tsunade questioned her.

"I mean that that's what breed I am of my kind. A panther." She chirped.

"What exactly is 'your kind'?"

Hinata pursed her lip in thought. "I'm not sure what to tell you. As far as I know, there is no human word for my species." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Do you all look like this? Where is the rest of your kind? Why do you call Naruto your mate?" Tsunade fired off all of these questions.

"Why are you asking? You guys don't know about us? I've been taught about humans since I was a cub." Her tone remained unhostile. Just baffled about their lack of information about her.

There was a brief moment of silence as they all took in the information. An unidentified group of things that they've never heard of, who've heard of them. Tsunade definitely needed Jiaraya's input on this as soon as possible. And if he had no information then he needed to get some.

"Actually Hinata I don't know about Granny Tsunade, but I never met or heard about anyone like you before. I'd like to learn some things, if you're willing to share." He could only hope he wasn't coming off as manipulative. But Naruto knew the answers were important. And he was genuinely curious.

It worked.

"Okay mate!" She gave him a beaming smile. "Well first, the rest of my kind doesn't look like me. We have a wide variety, like horses, wolves, fish, and bugs! We live out waaaay far in the west. All of us have the ability to switch to our more human forms, but I prefer not to. I lose my claws and my teeth and it makes me feel weak."

"Anyway, I call Naruto my mate because that's who he is!" She buried her face into his shoulder and sensually moved her body against his. Naruto tensed up at the feeling. It would be very bad if he got an erection in front of the Fifth.

"I think you might be confusing him for someone else." Tsunade informed her.

Hinata shook her head, releasing a small chuckle.

"You see, where I come from, determining a mate is very simple and efficient. The females are separated from the males for most of their life. The only males allowed around the females are family. Then, when the female turns 15, she is introduced to multiple unmated males. She uses her main sense in order to pick out the male. For the females who are like me and rely on their nose, they sniff out their mate." She explained.

"What? How does that work?" Naruto asked. He wasn't sure how sniffing someone could help determine if they were the one for you.

"It's because my kind was given a blessing. It's what you humans call a blood string or a blood hook or whatever. The females can smell the soul of the one that they will spend the rest of their lives with." She buried her face into his shoulder again. She took a deep whiff of his scent and sighed happily.

"The male will smell incredible, like all the females' favorite scents rolled into one. His scent is also supposed to ignite the female's hormones so they can begin mating as soon as possible."

"Mating?" He reiterated. He could only hope his face wasn't as bright red as it felt. So she actually did want to try having sex with him in the middle of the woods? What would have happened if it was just the two of them all alone?

"Yes, mating. How else will we have children?" She giggled at him.

"Wait, so where you come from, the females sniff out their mates, and then they immediately start having children?" Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. This sounded ridiculous.

"No, some females can hear their mates, and others can taste them. It depends on what they use to find their prey. Also, they could start having children right away, but that's generally up to the couple. Some like to wait awhile." She corrected her.

"If finding a mate is so easy, why are the males separated from the females?" Kakashi questioned.

"Because it would be best if the female didn't bond with any male besides her mate and family. It could lead to some trouble and extreme drama. If the male and female get really close, then when the female mates with another male the male she bonded with before will get jealous. He might even ignore his actual mate and that would just destroy her." Hinata shook her head solemnly.

"What happens to the female if the mate rejects her?" This time it was Tsunade who asked. She knew of the knucklehead's crush on her apprentice. She was worried about the consequences if he were to reject this girl.

"The female will become extremely depressed and inactive. She'll refuse to interact with anyone else, and she will most likely starve herself to death."

Naruto felt like a weight had been dropped onto his shoulders. He didn't want this girl to kill herself, but at the same time he's loved Sakura for such a long time. He wasn't sure if he could give that up for someone he's just met. And she was so nice too! And despite all that if he wanted to be with his childhood crush he'd be the direct result of her death? This situation became infinitely less amusing and knots formed in his stomach, making him sick.

"But it happens rarely, most males accept the female with open arms."

"Really?" Sakura was very skeptical of this. "So the men are just completely fine being with this woman they barely know?"

Hinata nodded her head. "Of course they are! Us females make sure to please our mate in any way we can! Once we mate with them, their happiness and satisfaction is our first priority! We play with them, cuddle with them, and make sure they're never upset! The only people that would receive as much love would be the children they have together!"

"You seem really excited about children. " Kakashi observed.

"Of course I am! I can't wait to become a mother! I want to love and cuddle my babies just like my mother did for me!" Hinata chirped.

"So it's the women who have to take care of the children?" Sakura was angry at this. The woman not only had to please the males, but they had to take care of the children too? How sexist was that?

"Well yeah! The females are the ones that breastfeed! And the males do help; the females just spend more time with them. The males do watch over the children, but they generally do the hunting, the females can't really bear to leave their child alone for the first 6 years of their life."Hinata explained.

"But how do you know so much about sex and all of this stuff?" The question blurted out of Naruto's mouth before he could stop himself. He could feel two pairs of eyes glaring holes into his head. But he couldn't help but be curious. He could blame Pervy Sage for his sudden question.

"I went to lessons about it from the age of 6 until 15. I was taught everything I need to know about sex, children, and fighting. Although I was mostly taught how to hunt by my mother." Hinata told him happily. She was ecstatic that her mate wanted to learn about her!

"So your kind has a school?" Tsunade was very intrigued.

"I guess, if that's the word you humans use. I was also taught human there, although it's a bit difficult at times. "

"What else were you taught there?" Tsunade was interested in this strange world.

"Well, we're taught how to write and communicate with other species besides our own. We were taught about nature, and what plants could be used to heal, and which ones were poisons. We learned about each other, like I learned about the spiders and the butterflies and squirrels, and they learned about me." She recalled her time back at those lessons. She missed her friends; they had been so much fun to play with!

"Hey, earlier today when you called me an 'unclaimed child' what did you mean?" Naruto hoped it wasn't an insult.

"You said you had no family which means you're unclaimed. Where I come from, all the parents mark their children in some way. I was scented, this means that I ingested some of my parents blood and energy. If someone were to sniff me, they would be able to tell who my parents are. If you're an unclaimed child, it means that you've lost your parents. But don't worry, you can join my family! My mother would just love you! And my father would try to kill you! It will be so much fun!" Hinata informed him with a large grin.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Right…." He wasn't excited about being cat chow.

"Does your society have a leader? How many of you are there? What do you prey on?" Tsunade was full of questions. The fact that such an intelligent being existed was incredible. And all without her knowledge?

"Of course we have a leader! He's my father!" She exclaimed. Her chest puffed out in pride.

"Your father is the leader?" Naruto repeated in shock. "So you're like the princess or something?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "I guess, I know that a lot of males wanted to mate with me because of this. It's the same for me and my brothers and sisters. And going back to your questions, there are a lot of us out there. We dominate the western lands. We also eat whatever is in our diet. For me, I eat anything besides plant life and insects. I have preyed on a couple of arachnids before."

A look of disgust crossed Sakura's face. "So you guys prey on each other?"

"What!? No! Of course not! I meant I prey on the normal animals that you humans are used to." Hinata blanched. She would never eat her friends! That would be awful!

"Why don't you prey on each other?" Kakashi asked.

"Why don't humans eat humans?" Hinata shot back.

"Why don't bears eat bears? No species eats itself because they want their kind to live, and to prosper." Sakura retorted.

"Yeah, exactly, we want our species to prosper." Hinata agreed with her.

"Yes but wouldn't it help if you hunted the others? So your species of panthers survived and prospered?" Kakashi asked again.

"No, that's not the way things work. For example, my mother is a panther, but my father is a wolf. We can breed with anything really, but it's mostly our kind. Sometimes we breed with humans. Right my mate? "She pecked him on the cheek.

"Sure…" Naruto scratched his cheek. Damn, he didn't think he'd ever blushed this much ever. Okay, so, he might be willing to give this a try. As long as she didn't pressure him into anything.

"So what does that make you? How is a leader chosen, and how do they maintain order?" Tsunade fired off again.

"And can women lead this society?" Sakura questioned.

"I am a panther; the child can only be one thing. But each child might be different. I have 3 brothers and a sister who are wolves. The next leader is chosen in a contest of strength, wit and morals. The contest is held only when the leader calls for one. My father maintains the peace through a series of meetings, trials, and negotiations between all of us. He really is amazing. And yes, women can be the sole leaders."

"Yes, are all the females as endowed as you, my naughty little kitten?" A very familiar and perverted voice asked.

They all turned towards the window as Jiraiya climbed. He was eyeing Hinata with a very dirty look in his eyes. He let loose a perverted chuckle as he peered at her chest.

Hinata pressed herself closer to Naruto and hissed at the unfamiliar man. Naruto groaned, it had started out as a simple day, why did things have to become so complex?

It was a pain being him.

Chapter Text

"Back off Pervy Sage!" Naruto warned him as he wrapped his arm around Hinata's waist. He wouldn't allow any girl to be subjected to his research! Especially not one so sweet!

"Awe come on Naruto, learn to share! She would be perfect for my research!" Jiraiya pleaded, that look of perversion never leaving his face.

"No! Only my mate can touch me! "Hinata hissed. Her claws were once again elongated. She flexed them. "Back where I come from, the punishment for touching a claimed female is what you humans call neutering!" She warned him.

Jiraiya halted in his tracks. He eyed her extremely deadly claws; they were perfect for ridding any man of his privates. He had been beaten in the past, and tossed around like a rag doll. Plus, he didn't think the girl would go through with the threat. He was the great Spy Master of the Leaf; he wouldn't be able to do much if he was missing his manhood. But at the same time, those claws were sharp…

Hinata sensed this strange man's indecision. She growled. "I have done it to 27 males in the past 3 months! I don't care what your position is; you are not exempt from this law!"

"I will allow it. Maybe then you'll stop peeking in bath houses." Tsunade backed the girl up. Maybe now the women of the Leaf could bathe in the hot springs without having to worry about him peeping. It would certainly save her some paperwork.

The men in the room gulped at her threat. Kakashi and Jiraiya made a mental note to leave Hinata alone, while Naruto feared that there were things he could do that warranted castration.

Hinata could smell her mate's fear. She beamed up at him. "Don't worry my mate! I would never hurt you!" She promised.

Jiraiya cleared his throat. "Well, if I can't have you…" He grinned perversely again. "Maybe you can introduce me to another fine specimen such as yourself!" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Hinata pursed her lips in thought. "Well, maybe one day a female will mate with you, but that's not likely. Our kind doesn't usually mate with humans. The last time that happened was around 100 years ago."

Jiraiya's face fell. He cried mentally, having one of those females around would have been great.

The blonde Hokage snorted. "Oh please, like anyone would want a pervert like him as a mate."

"Well of course they would!" Hinata chirped, completely missing the sarcasm in her voice.

"Really? It's fine to be perverted in your home?" Tsunade was aghast. She pictured multiple Jiraiya's running around and causing mayhem.

"Yes! But it's only okay if you're perverted with your mate. And where I come from, it's usually the females that are the perverted. But if the male is perverted too, it brings more excitement into the mating process."

"More excitement?" Some blood leaked from Jiraiya's nose.

"Of course! I mean at school, they only teach us the basic 60 mating positions, if you're perverted, then you can do the rest of them!" She exclaimed proudly.

"60!?" Kakashi and Jiraiya exclaimed in unison.

"Yes 60, I think for humans your limit is 52 right? I sometimes forget you have a very limited body structure. You guys can't shift your bones around to make you more flexible. And you can't stick to very high places." She chuckled to herself; she could be so empty headed sometimes!

"Stick to places?" Jiraiya's mind was racing with what that statement could possibly mean.

"Yeah, stick to places. You know, so you can mate upside-down."She explained to them.

"Can you mate upside down?" Jiraiya pulled out his notepad; this was definitely going in his next book!

Hinata pondered this question for a moment before answering him. Naruto tried to look uninterested while he waited for her answer.

"Well, it depends on what position we mate in. But yeah, I can think of 10 positions I can do upside down. I just need to hold on with my claws. I would say my teeth also, but I'm not sure how heavy my mate is, so I can't say if my legs could hold him and still thrust in and out."

Naruto blushed. He was overwhelmed with this type of information. Where in the world did this girl come from? Her in-depth knowledge of sex far outweighed his own and he felt a bit insecure. Perhaps he should’ve listened a bit more to Jiraiya’s more perverse lessons...

Jiraiya and Kakashi had to swallow their envy. Naruto was one lucky bastard!

"So are those all the questions you have? Because I would really like to mate now." Hinata gave Naruto another small peck on the cheek as her body once again rubbed against his.

"I have one more question. Why are you all the way out here? Shouldn't you be with the rest of your kind?" Sakura asked. The presence of Hinata irked her. It was the same feeling she used to have around Ino-Pig during their time in the academy. She also needed to shift the conversation to something more PG. The idea of her teammate having sex with this...cat thing disturbed her.

"Oh! Well, we actually do come to this part of the world often. We come if we can't find a mate within our own kind. Then we go back and try again, and the process repeats. This is actually my second time here." She admitted sheepishly.

"So you were sent here alone?" Tsunade asked. If she was the daughter of their ruler, it didn't seem like a wise thing to allow her to journey by herself. But it would make sense as to why she hadn’t heard of any reports of groups of animal hybrids walking around.

"No, I was traveling with a group of my friends. But there were some…Complications and we were separated from each other. Now I don't know where they are." She sighed softly. She then perked right up. "But that's okay, I'm sure I'll run into them eventually!"

Tsunade nodded her head. "I see, I know what to do. Naruto Uzumaki, I have a mission for you!" She announced.

"Huh? What is it, Granny?" Naruto was confused. What spur of the moment mission was he going to be assigned? Would Hinata come with him?

"Your mission is to take care of Hinata! This means feeding her, and living with her. It's obvious she won't leave your side so the best choice is to teach her how to live among us." Tsunade told him.

She wanted to investigate this further. Since Hinata appeared friendly as long as her relationship with Naruto wasn’t threatened, this was the best choice in terms of keeping her docile. And besides, she looked at Naruto as a grandson. It was nice to see someone doting on him. He deserved it after all he’d been through.

"So, I should take her with me back to my apartment?" Naruto inquired.

"Apartment? Those have beds right? You humans like to mate on that right? We're gonna mate soon, is that what I'm hearing?" Hinata was shaking with excitement. She would finally have her mate fill her! After years of finally waiting she was mere moments away from eternal happiness and companionship!

"Yes, bring her to your apartment. I'll have Sakura and Shizune take care of her clothes. She's going to need some if she wants to walk out into the village." Tsunade explained to him.

Sakura blanched. She had to do what? "But I-"

"SHIZUNE! GET IN HERE!" Tsunade yelled, cutting off the pink haired girl.

It only took a few seconds for the door to open up and Shizune walked in holding Tonton.

"Yes Lady Tsunade, do you need me to get you more sa-"She stopped in the middle of her sentence when she caught sight of Hinata. Her mind froze as she tried to compute what was in front of her.

"No time to explain! Hurry up and take the girl's measurements! You have some shopping to do!" The busty blonde instructed her.

Shizune set TonTon down and did as she was told. She took some measurements of...whatever was standing before her. At one point she gave herself a subtle pinch to ensure she wasn’t dreaming. Was she a summon? A strange experiment from Orichimaru? Based on the subtle look Tsunade gave her, those were questions for later.

Hinata separated herself from her mate as she allowed this new female to…"measure" her. She didn't seem like a threat. The strange woman was paying more attention to her than she was her mate. She would permit this female around her mate; she was more trustworthy than the others since she didn't threaten physical harm. That was better than the other two so far. She also had a small pig, also sniffing at Hinata. She enjoyed that, any animal lover should be a decent person, right?

When she was done taking her…."measurements" She stepped back and gawked at Hinata. She was almost jealous of the strange girl, she had a perfect body! If this was a summon or experiment perhaps Jiraiya had something to do with these, because Shizune was stunned.

"So do I take her home now?" Naruto asked. Maybe once he got there, the two could talk things out and he could lie down for a while. He felt like he deserved to after such a hectic day. He refused to even acknowledge the small part of him that wanted things to be more private between them.

Tsunade nodded. "Yes, I will send someone to your house with her clothes tomorrow. Go home and rest, you look like you need it brat."

Naruto nodded. He scooped Hinata up in his arms once more. She purred and wrapped her arms around his neck. Naruto bid his teammates and the Sage farewell before flickering away.

"Sakura, Shizune, you know what your task is, you can go. Kakashi, you're dismissed." The three of them left the room. She turned her attention to the pervert who was now peering at her chest.

"Now you, what did you come here for?" Tsunade asked.

Jiraiya grinned. "Well, I was gathering information for my very important research when I noticed my protégé carrying a strange bundle in his arms. My perverted senses were tingling so I had to track him down. But what a shame, that girl would have been a perfect specimen." His eyes became glazed as he fantasized about the young girl.

Tsunade clenched her fist and grit her teeth. She reared her fist back, and was ready to smash it into her face, when he put his hand up. His expression became more serious.

“I heard everything through the window. In all my years of traveling and gathering information, I’ve never heard of her or her kind. Have you?” He asked her.

Tsunade placed her arm down and shook her head.

“No, not at all.”

“You think she’s being honest?”

Tsunade weighed the question.

“I do. She took no interest in the Anbu in the room. I noticed her eyes darted to each of their locations before focusing back on Naruto. It does seem like her one and only concern is being that brat. Which, good for him. And I’m sure Sakura will be happy.”

“You want me to watch over them?”

“No, her only hostility seems to stem from any interference in their relationship. See if you can find any information at all regarding her kind. Especially see if you can find any information about these friends of hers wandering the area.”
Jiaraya gave a grave nod.

“Oh don’t worry. I am determined to find any and all of her female friends. You don’t need to worry about that at all.”

This time Tsunade didn’t stop her fist from smashing into his face.

Naruto and Hinata reached his one bedroom apartment without any problems. They did jump out of their skin at the sound of an extremely loud crash somewhere in the distance. Naruto placed Hinata on her own two feet; they were standing in the middle of his living room.

Hinata moved to his couch. She prodded it with her finger and sniffed it.

"What is this? "She inquired, peering at the very strange object. Was this where her mate would finally become one with her? It didn’t appear very comfortable, but she wasn’t one to complain.

"It's a couch, you use it to sit on and relax. But it's very uncomfortable to sleep on." Naruto informed her.

She slowly seated herself on the couch. She wiggled her butt on it before relaxing completely. She grabbed one of the couch cushions and hugged it close to her body. She buried her nose in it and inhaled. It smelled exactly like her mate.

Although Naruto had to admit that she was really cute, they needed to talk about their relationship. Or, their prospective relationship.

"Hinata, listen, we need to talk." He told her, placing himself next to her on the couch.

"Okay! I am ready to listen! Can we mate after we talk?" She was fully willing to give this couch thing a try if that’s what he wanted. As long as they got to be together, that’s what was most important to her!

"It's about the whole sex thing. Hinata, I'm sorry to say that I don't have strong feelings for you yet." He confessed.

"That's okay! Where I come from, it Is very natural to mate before you have feelings for the other person. We believe that physical contact helps bring our kind together!" She informed him. Her new mate still had so much to learn.

"Yes, but us…humans like to bond emotionally rather than have sex. I hope you don't mind, but I want to get to know you better before we mate. I want to take things slow." The blonde jinchuuriki explained.

He felt bad not being entirely honest with her. He knew some people, including his two teachers, would love to have casual sex. It's just..wasn’t what he was ready for. At least not yet. This whole situation was emotionally and mentally draining to him.

Hinata pursed her lips. He wasn't rejecting her, but he didn't want to mate with her, not yet.It still hurt, yes. And she could feel her tail flicking and squirming in irritation. But her more human side understood. She learned that humans experience sex differently than her own kind did. She was never really taught what that meant, and suspected her own teachers couldn’t answer that question. But she had waited years to find her one true mate. If this doing things the opposite way was needed, then it’s what she would do!

Hinata sat up straight, pure determination sweeping through her. She would become the most incredible mate to him ever! She would be so perfect that he would just have to mate with her!

She nodded her head vigorously. "Yes! I promise to take things slow!”

Naruto grinned, he was happy they worked things out so well.

"Hey Hinata, have you ever heard of a TV?" Naruto asked her.

"Yes, but I've never seen one in person." She admitted.

Naruto grabbed the remote from the table and turned the TV on. They were giving some anime about pirates, Naruto's heard of it, but he's never actually watched it.

"Here, watch this; I'm going to take a shower. Then I'll come join you, alright?" Hinata wasn't listening; her eyes were wide as she gazed upon the strange magic box. What was going on? Why did the people look so strange? Why could that one boy stretch himself so far? She knew it was supposed to show her things. But this was...amazing!

Naruto chuckled at her awed expression. "Alright, I'll be in the shower if you need anything."

Her ears flicked in his direction to show she heard him. She was intent on figuring just what was playing out in front of her eyes.

Naruto strode into the hallway and entered the bathroom. He closed the door but didn't lock it. Just in case she needed him for something.

He stripped naked and stepped into the bathtub. He turned on the water and allowed it to cascade over his body. He tilted his head back and sighed, this is exactly what he needed. Naruto often showered in order to clear his thoughts. The only sounds were that of the water hitting the bathtub. There was only him in here, him and his thoughts.

And boy, did he have a lot to think about.

He was torn up about Hinata being here. Although he did tell her that he wanted to get to know her first, a part of him still belonged to Sakura. She had been the apple of his eye for years now. He recalled the very rare moments when she was kind to him. When she chose to be, she was a really sweet girl. She was also very strong, and smart. Naruto admired her for her strength, and her will to not give up. She saw that determination inside of her whenever she chased after Sasuke. It was like him, no matter how hard he rejected her, she would be up and at it again.

This brought up another major point.

Sasuke.

Naruto recalled the promise he made to his pink haired crush to bring him back to the village, no matter what. Although Sasuke was like a brother to him, the only reason he promised to bring him back is because Sakura begged him to. But he failed. He had failed her. Even though Sakura told him it was fine, he still saw that broken look in her eyes. Team 7 was reduced to three members, and Naruto felt responsible. He was upset to leave to train because he wanted to stay and console Sakura, he thought it was his fault she was so depressed. She appeared to be doing better now, but Naruto still felt he had to dedicate himself to her. At least until he could bring Sasuke back. He just didn't want to abandon her like the avenger had.

But at the same time, Naruto was tired of being alone. He spent so much time by himself, with nobody else to talk to. He just wanted someone to hug him, to talk with him, to just be with him and accept him for who he was. He wanted to be comforted, and to be loved. He desperately craved some form of attention and affection. He could remember the nights he had spent crying himself to sleep, drowning in his own sorrow.

Now here was this strange girl offering him everything he desperately craved on a silver platter. He wanted affection; she couldn't keep her hands off of him. He wanted attention; she barely looked at anyone else. He wanted to speak with someone, she gave him all ears. Hell, he craved a family, and she offered to share hers! To top it off, the girl had the body straight out of his wet dreams. In another time and place, a girl as pretty as her would never approach him. But here she was, offering to have sex with him. Why? To give him his own family! It was like a dream come true!

The young blonde sighed and grabbed the shampoo. He turned around, keeping his back to the shower head. He carefully washed his hair, contemplating what he should do. He made sure to get out any dirt and grime that might've been hiding within his blonde strands.

He sighed as the relaxing water hit his back. It was still a bit sore as a result of the training with the Super Pervert. He could really use a message.

"Man, I wish I had someone to wash my back." He mumbled unhappily.

"I could do that for you!" Hinata offered.

"Really? Thanks." Naruto thanked her. She was such a sweet girl.

Her hands made contact with the center of his back. She smoothed her hands over his rigged muscles, and moved up to his shoulders.

"Ah, thank you Hinata, WAIT, HINATA!" Naruto spun around in shock. What the hell was she doing in his bathtub?

The young feline was sitting on the couch. She yawned; the show about the very strange stretchy boy was over. It was very short, but enjoyable. In the small time span she found herself rooting for him and his pack.

Now, there was some shorter stuff about people trying to make her buy things. She wasn't sure how that would work, they were stuck in a box and she was out here. These humans were so odd. The concept of money was already strange enough. Now one had to give it to the box people inside their homes? The idea caused Hinata to snort.

Then, it was as if lightning struck her. She recalled what her mate told her. He was in the shower. Hinata knew that meant he was bathing somewhere within this very small living area. It was so different from the wide open field she lived in. But that meant it would be really really easy to find him.

She wanted to join her mate now. She knew that he wanted to take things slow, so she decided that she would only wash with him. She did it all the time with her family and her friends. It was the same with grooming; it was a moment to bond with one another. She knew that humans had large areas called "Hot Springs" where they took baths together. So Hinata figured it must be the same with them.

She would just go in, and help him wash. It would be a nice bonding moment. They could learn more about one another, and Hinata could see what her mate looked like naked and he could also examine her. It was an amazing idea if she said so herself.

She sniffed the air; she followed the most recent trail her mate left behind. She found herself in front of a door; she could hear water running inside. She opened the door and stepped inside of the steaming bathroom. She used her tail to close the door behind her and tried to peer through the steam. She could make out the outline of her mate through the curtains.

She removed the very little clothing she had. Well, they were actually a part of her pelt. The more human she became, the easier it was for her to remove her pelt. She would usually have to shed her fur for the summer, and then wait for it to grow back for the winter.

She carefully pulled back the curtain and stepped into the tub. Her mate had his back to her, and she was standing a bit behind the shower head, so she wasn't getting hit with the water. She admired her mate's back, since it was the only thing she could see right now.

He was a strong male; there were some scars on his back to prove that. He had broad shoulders and strong biceps. It explained how he could carry her. His back was extremely tense. She could tell he was in pain, or at least sore. She smiled when she gazed at his butt, it was very cute. Like two apples.

His thighs were taunt, and he had strong and well muscled legs. Her mate had a very nice body, she was very pleased. She just hoped he was as pleased about her body.
She then heard his request to have his back washed and offered to do it. She was ecstatic when he agreed. She couldn't wait to have her hands on him!

She was buzzing in excitement as she placed her hands on him. His skin had small indents from all the scars he's received. She could feel the power in his body as her hands explored his back. She was enjoying this, and she was just washing his back!

She traced her hands to his shoulders, making sure to be gentle; she didn't want her claws to scrape into his skin. She almost jumped out of her skin when he yelled and whirled himself around to face her.

She purred at the sight of his front. He had tanned skin that was almost bronze. The water trailed down his chest and unto his hard earned six pack. She followed the water's path as it led to an enticing V, that led straight to his manhood.

It was long, she estimated 8 inches. It was just as tan as the rest of him, and it hung from a bush of blonde hair where two heavy sacs hung.

She wanted to know what it looked like when he was aroused.

It was like it heard her call. His piece started to rise as she watched in rapt attention. It rose slowly, until it was standing proudly before her. She could now see the enraged head more clearly since it was pointed in her direction. There veins running up and down his length and it pulsed under her intense gaze. Her mouth watered, she wanted to taste him.
Naruto blushed as she peered at his trembling erection. He couldn't help but to get hard at the picture she made. Her breasts were pale, soft globes tipped with hard cherry colored nipples. He could finally see her sacred place as his eyes trailed past her smooth, flat stomach. Her flower was completely bare, not a single trace of hair was found leaving his hungry eyes to explore without any obstruction.

He didn't mean to get hard, it just happened.

"Hinata!" His voice snapped her out of his thoughts.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing in here!? I thought we agreed to take things slow!" He reminded her. As much as he tried to fight it, his eyes continued to flicker from her breasts, to her face.

"Oh, I am! I’m only in here to help you bathe! Isn't that how you humans bond? It's what we do." She explained to him.
Naruto swallowed thickly. He knew he should reject her offer, he should just send her out of the bath kindly. He was positive she would listen.

But at the same time…..

"Sure, it's fine if you wash me." Naruto croaked out. His throbbing need agreed with his decision. He was a sex deprived teenager. His hormones managed to win this battle.

Hinata beamed up at him before she frowned. Her face slowly twisted into one of pure terror. She didn't know how she missed it before, but now she could clearly see a large scar on his chest. It was close to his heart and it was quite difficult to see since it's faded after so long. It was practically impossible to spot unless you were searching for it.

She was horrified; the wound must have been deadly. Someone had tried to kill her mate!

"Hinata, what's wrong?" He questioned in concern. Her sudden change in facial expression worried him.

He nearly slipped and cracked his head open when Hinata tackled him in a hug. She pressed her body as tightly to his as she could.

"I am so sorry!" She sobbed out, tears streaking down her face. She almost lost the chance to meet him! What if he had died? Who was this person who tried to murder her beloved? Hinata's grip tightened as a startling realization hit her. This person might still be alive!

She gasped; whoever they were could try and hurt her mate again! They might succeed! She would not allow that to happen! She would just have to kill anyone who tried to attack her mate!

Naruto's eyes rolled into the back of his skull. Her incredibly warm, soft body was pressed against his. His throbbing piece was pressed against her stomach, and she was once again moved her body sensually against his. He could feel her soft breasts and hardened nipples against his own hard chest. With the way she was moving, it was like he was receiving a full body-to-body massage. It was incredible.

"Oh don't worry mate! I will protect you from anyone who tries to hurt you!" Hinata declared, tears still flowing from her eyes.

"Wha..?" Naruto couldn't focus. Her delicate grinding against his erection was sending pleasurable shocks down his spine.
Hinata placed a kiss over his scar from his last fight with Sasuke. He would've read more into it if she didn't press herself closer to him. He wrapped his own arms around her waist as he gave into the wonderful feelings.

"Oh my!" Hinata was pushed out of her protective thoughts by her mate gently grinding his erection into her stomach. She purred and rubbed her body even more against his. If this was what he needed then this is what she would give him.

He deserved it after almost losing his life to whatever monster had attacked him.

Naruto released a low moan. His hands moved from her back to her nice firm ass. Forget Sakura, and forget getting to know her! He was a man with needs dammit!

Hinata let loose a moan of her own at her mate's hands. It felt so good to have his hands roam her body, squeezing as they went. She felt a lower heat in her lower region. She felt some liquid slip down her legs; she was ready to mate with him.

No! She couldn't mate with him! She made a promise to him and she never broke her promises! She couldn’t allow this to progress to full on mating.

But at the same time, he was so hard. She could feel his stiffness calling out to her. It wouldn't be fair to leave him without some sort of release. She had to please her mate some other way! She had been taught other ways to pleasure a man besides mating, like using her hands, her mouth, and her tail. She wasn't positive her mate would be up to the last one, but she was definitely going to try the other two methods!

Hinata placed her hands on his shoulders and gazed up at him. She stood on her toes to try and kiss her mate. From what she's learned, kissing was another way of humans confirming to their lovers that they were ready to start the mating process. She was well aware that kissing could mean other things, but she would learn as she went along.
Naruto received her message loud and clear. He tilted his head down and met her halfway. Their lips met in a passionate kiss under the water. Her soft lips pressed against his rough pair and they groaned as pleasant chills ran down their spines. Hinata decided it was time to take things to the next level. She once again slipped her tongue inside of his mouth. She was pleasantly surprised when he participated. Since she already had the opportunity to explore his mouth, she decided to allow him to roam hers.

Naruto groaned and tilted his head, deepening the kiss. He carefully ran his appendage over her sharpened teeth. He explored deeper into his mouth, drawing out her tongue to join him. They sensually danced with each other, rubbing and moving together. . He trailed his hand up to her front, moving up from her stomach to carefully cup her breasts. He squeezed her bountiful breast gently and mentally smirked at the moan that slipped from her. He pushed her back gently, leaving enough space for his hand to pinch and pull at her nipple. She tensed up, before pushing her chest into his hand as he pulled at her hardened peak. He brought his other hand up to play with her other breast.

Hinata's tail thrashed behind her wildly as her mate played with her body. She really wanted him inside her, to bring her to the heights of pleasure before spilling his seed into her. But, her code of honor would not permit her to do that. He might realize after their mating that she had broken her promise, and he might hate her. She would rather die than have her one and only despise her!

Hinata reached in between them, and she carefully wrapped her digits around his throbbing member. Naruto broke their kiss and shuddered. He buried his head into her shoulder as she stroked him in a riveting up and down motion. Her warm fingers were so soft, they felt so incredible as they tightly gripped his manhood. He shivered when her claws gently scratched him; he panted harshly and placed open mouth kisses on her shoulder.

Hinata was enjoying his groans and grunts in her neck. She doesn't have much experience or knowledge when it came to this method of pleasuring her mate, but she was glad to know she was doing a good job. She tried to be careful with her claws; it would be disastrous if she were to accidentally cut him. But he didn't mind at all when they made slight contact with his piece, he appeared to enjoy it. Hinata gripped him tighter and increased her pace. She wanted to make him come, to finally reach that special place she's heard so much about.

"Gah, Hina!" Naruto was having a very difficult time forming a sentence. The waves of pleasure slammed into his brain pushing out any form of thought. He bucked his hips into her hand as a tightening feeling formed in his abdomen. He was so close; he just needed one last push.

Hinata sensed her mate's need for release. She pursed her lips in thought as she tried to think of a way to bring him over the edge faster. She recalled one of her friends informing her that a man's balls were extremely sensitive to touch, even more so than his mating stick. She brought her other hand from his shoulder and gently cupped his sac. She firmly squeezed them.

That was the final push he needed.

Naruto threw his head back and bellowed out her name. His release slammed into him like a Tsunami, sweeping him away into the most intense depths of pleasure he's ever felt in his life. His mind went black as he shot out load after load of his seed. His body jerked as he rode out the sensations. The pleasantness eventually faded, leaving him completely wiped out. He leaned most of his weight on Hinata as he attempted to calm himself down.

Hinata was more than happy to allow her mate to rest upon her. She was extremely satisfied with herself. She managed to bring her mate to great pleasure, and she kept her promise! She was one step closer to winning him over!

Hinata brought her hand up to her face; there was some gooey white liquid there and the water was quickly washing it off. She stuck out her tongue and lapped at the remaining substance. She knew it was her mate's seed, and she enjoyed the taste. This means she could try the other method of pleasing him without making a mess!

When Naruto finally regained the ability to stand without the fear of falling over, he turned off the water. She stood straight and as Hinata looked up with confusion.

"Why did you stop the water? I thought we were going to bond…" Fear crept up in her. Did she mess up? Was he upset with her?

"Maybe some other time." He huffed out. He was still a little tired after that intense burst. He couldn't believe he allowed that to happen. But, it was the most pleasurable experience he's had in his life. He glanced down at Hinata before quickly tearing his eyes away. She was still naked, and there was a chance he would become hard again. He had to restrain himself.

"Oh, Okay!" Hinata agreed. He wasn't mad at her! Relief flooded her system. They could groom each other another time. She was just so grateful that she had to opportunity to feel him cum by her hands. She wanted to do it over and over again.

Naruto opened the shower curtain and grabbed the towel he always had on the towel rack right next to the shower. He quickly dried himself off before handing the towel off to her. Hinata clutched the strange piece of cloth her mate had used. She didn't know what it was, but she mimicked his movements. It wasn't long before she was as dry as him.

He noticed her soggy clothing on the floor. He was confused, what happened to them?

Hinata brushed past him and picked up her now ruined pelt. She sighed; her more human version of her fur didn't do so well in any wet places. If she wanted a new one she would have to transform into her original form, and then shift her way back down into this form again. It was such a bothersome process.

She picked them up, and they fell apart almost immediately. "Is there any place I can dispose of these?"

Naruto nodded his head. "Yeah, just put them in that bin. "He was referring to the trash can next to the toilet.

Hinata dumped her clothes inside and sighed. Now, she had nothing to cover herself. She wouldn't mind the nudity if it wasn't for the fact that she couldn't leave the house with her mate. Well she could, but she would have a horde of horny human males after her tail.

Again.

And then there’d be even more neutering and more problems she didn’t want to deal with.

Naruto noticed her frustrated look and told her to give him a second. He went into his bedroom and threw on a simple pair of grey sweatpants and faded black shirt. He quickly grabbed a pair of old shorts he wore when he was young and an old t-shirt. He quickly rushed back into the bathroom where Hinata was waiting patiently.

Hinata eagerly accepted the clothes from the future father of her children. She had some trouble, but she eventually slipped them on with no problem. The shorts hugged her snuggly. They were basically Daisy Dukes on the female feline. The shirt was also quite snug on her. It clung to her skin, outlining her breasts. Naruto swallowed at the attractive image she created.

He hadn’t anticipated her looking so delicious in his clothing.

"Um, come on. We can watch TV together until they get here." Naruto suggested hoarsely to her breasts. He just couldn't draw his eyes away.

"Okay!" Hinata chirped. She raced past her mate and was seated on the couch in no time at all. This was her chance to snuggle with him!

Soon, Naruto and Hinata were both on the couch. She was glued to his side while Naruto had his arm wrapped around her. This time the TV was showing another anime featuring a man with orange hair and a really big sword fighting off monsters.

They sat in silence, just enjoying the other's presence. They waited and waited, but for some reason, Sakura and Shizune never showed up. Naruto found himself happy at the lack of interruptions. And while the two didn’t speak much, he found himself enjoying her presence immensely. Occasionally, she would start purring. The noise and vibrations further soothed him, and he found it adorable. If this was what the future held, he really liked it so far.

It was finally dead of night when Naruto yawned. He was ready for bed. He was about to tell Hinata he was packing it in when he heard her gentle snores.

He peered over to find her sound asleep by his side. Without the constant threat of her trying to have sex with him, he was able to examine her facial features. Despite her overall sinful body, her face was delicate, and sweet. His heart softened just looking at her. He grabbed the remote and switched the TV off. It had been giving a very odd anime about a boy hitting people over the head with a golden, bent baseball bat.

He gently lifted Hinata bridal style. She stirred a little but that's it. He carried her over to his bedroom and laid her down on his bed, pulling the covers over her. He gently slipped in beside her. She latched herself to his side. Naruto chuckled; even when she was asleep she couldn't stay away from him. Naruto enjoyed having her pressed up against him. It's what he's dreamed about as a young kid. He decided then and there that having Hinata around could be really fun.

He closed his eyes and allowed his dreams to take over. He couldn't wait for a new day of adventures to begin.

Chapter Text

Dream Sequence

Naruto Uzumaki sat on the grassy forest floor of a forest. It was an extremely beautiful day; the sun was up, shining high in the air. There were birds singing as they danced around the clearing. Naruto sighed and tilted his head back as a gentle, calm wind brushed past him.

He heard a quiet giggle beside him. He opened his eyes to find his emerald eyed crush seated next to him. Her short bubble gum colored strands were flowing in the wind. She was dressed in a white sundress and matching sandals. She looked absolutely divine.

He remembered now, he was on a date with her. The two of them were in one of the many forests in the Leaf. They sat in a wonderful clearing, surrounded by trees and the beauty of nature. He inhaled, her sweet perfume wafted into his nose.

"Here, would you like one?" Sakura offered, offering him a small, bright red strawberry.

Naruto's cheeks flushed a bright red as she offered him the fruit. It's been one of Naruto's dreams to have his crush feed him food, and now it was actually happening. He leaned his head forward, ready to sink his teeth into the delicious looking fruit.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and rumble. They could hear harsh, thundering footsteps, hundreds of them. Both Naruto and Sakura shot up as angry roars echoed through the forest.

"What the hell is that?" Naruto asked in complete shock.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to sit here to find out!" His companion exclaimed before darting into the woods behind them without a single care for the blonde's well being.

Naruto would've called out to her, but another roar shook the forest as the beasts continued their mad dash through the woods. Naruto stood on his feet and formed a hand sign. He cursed in his head when he realized that he couldn't use chakra. . He decided the best solution would be to follow Sakura's lead and run like the wind.

The branches and bushes scraped and scratched at his skin as he attempted to flee through them. But alas, it seemed hopeless. No matter where he ran, or how fast, the strange group of creatures were always directly behind him. He wasn't sure why they were following him, but he wasn't about to stop and ask them any questions. He wasn't in the mood to become anyone's lunch today.

It was like the heavens had other plans for him. Naruto's fate was once again sealed by his negligence to pay attention in front of him. A small branch that had fallen from its tree laid in his path. He noticed it a second too late, and stumbled over it before landing hard on the ground. His face lay in the dirt before he groaned and picked himself up. He sat on his knees as he rubbed the dirt away from his eyes. Once he was sure he would be able to see without any obstruction, he paused.

There was silence.

The roaring was gone, the ground was now still, and the absence of sound rang loudly in his ear. It was odd to the young man. Even if whatever had been chasing him decided to stop, there should at least be the sounds of birds and insects flying around.

Naruto shook his head. There was no time to be concerned about that now. He still needed to keep moving, just in case those strange beings decided to come back. He stood up fully and brushed some dirt off of his person. He cracked his neck before walking forward.

He didn't make it far.

A shadowy figure jumped down from a tree and landed in front of him. He moved back, his body tense and ready to either run or fight at a moment's notice. Sweat rolled down his face as a deep growl rumbled from the person they remained crouched on the ground in front of him. He moved back, his body tense and ready to either run or fight at a moment's notice. Sweat rolled down his face as a deep growl rumbled from the person they remained crouched on the ground in front of him. His heart nearly jumped out of his chest when the strange person shot up suddenly.

He was now face to face with…Hinata.

She smiled at him as her tail waved happily behind her. She was back to wearing her fur bra and underwear once more. Naruto sighed in relief when he realized it was just her. He had been worried for a second that it was one of the strange creatures from earlier.

"Hey Hinata, what are you doing here?" He questioned her.

She responded to his question by smiling and tilting her head to the left.

"Uh, Hinata?" He called out to her. Her staring was making him awkward.

She giggled at his flustered countenance. She started making her way towards him, her eyes hooded and filled with mischief.

"I just came here to see my mate. But I found him with someone else. I don't like to share, mate. Did you know that?" She purred out.

Naruto shook his head back and forth rapidly. He didn't like the smile on her face, mostly because it allowed him to get a good view of her extremely sharp teeth. Perfect for ripping and tearing at flesh, and probably bone too. He backed away from her as she came closer to him.

He just didn't trust that look in her eye. It was the look of carnal hunger and anger, one that threatened to rip him apart.

He was finally pressed against a tree, with no method of escaping. He was worried about what his former feline friend planned to do with him. He shivered as a pleasant chill went down his spine as she pressed her entire body up against his.

"Mate? What's wrong? You seem a bit tense. Maybe I should fix that…" She spoke in a very sultry purr while maintaining eye contact. His eyes widened at her words. How exactly did she plan on relaxing him?

He received his answer when her hand shot down into his trouser and grasped his semi hard manhood. He groaned as she carefully stroked him up and down. He clenched his teeth and threw his head back as the pleasure overwhelmed him. Her soft, dainty hand felt like heaven. He didn't think it could get any better than this.

Hinata decided to prove him wrong.

"Oh, my poor mate! It seems like I need to do more in order to relax this tense muscle."

She slid down his body, an action Naruto paid no mind to. Well, he paid no mind to the action until she pulled down his trousers once she was at eye level with his crotch. Naruto shivered and peered down at her with half lidded eyes. He watched with lust filled eyes as she slowly placed his length into her mouth.

He groaned as her hot, wet cavern slowly encased his entire piece as she carefully slid him into her mouth, it would be very bad if she cut him with her teeth. Naruto finally threw his head back when he hit the back of her throat. Her tightness was pure heaven, a delightful experience that nearly forced him to his knees. He closed his eyes and tilted his head back as she bobbed her head up and down his erect pride.

End Dream Sequence

Naruto's eyes fluttered open as he was roused from his incredible dream. He could feel the disappointment stirring in him as he stared up at his plain white ceiling. He knew those types of dreams were wrong, but the fact that Hinata wasn't actually there, doing that to him was-

"Fuck!" The curse escaped his lips as a tidal wave of pleasure slammed into him. It was very similar to the sensation he was feeling in his dream. Another pleasure filled curse escaped his lips as a long, wet, dexterous tongue massaged every part of his manhood. He gripped the sheets beneath his fingers and threw his head back when he felt some teeth gently scrape against him. The slight pain sent sharp jolts of pleasure through his system.

Naruto managed to control some of his movements and looked down. Sure enough, there she was. The blonde haired ninja groaned once more at the sight laid out before him.
His extremely attractive new friend and supposed "mate" was kneeling in between his legs. Her cute, round butt was wiggling high up in the air, her tail slowly waving itself back and forth.Her clawed hands were placed on the inside of his thigh. They remained mostly still, but at times they would squeeze and stroke the flesh underneath them.

Naruto's breath halted when he saw her soft, pink petal-like lips wrapped around his tanned and hardened member. Her eyes remained focused intently at the task at hand. Naruto felt some masculine pride fill him at the fact that such an attractive girl was sucking him like a popsicle in the middle of a heat wave.

"Gah! Shit!" Naruto moaned out when Hinata decided to add in a purr each time he made it to the back of her throat. He was getting closer, he could feel it.

He reached one of his hands up and intertwined his fingers into her silken blue locks. Hinata halted in her movements when she felt her mate's hand grip her hair tightly. It wasn't enough to hurt, but it definitely gave her the message that she should stop.

She halted in her movements, confused on why her mate wanted her to stop. Was this not good enough for him? Her worries were quickly appeased when Naruto started thrusting in her mouth. He moved his large piece past her precious lips and to the back of her throat. Hinata purred in delight at her mate's obvious enjoyment and enthusiasm.

"Fuck!" Naruto cursed as he increased his speed. Her purr sent wonderful vibrations along his shaft. This had to be heaven; he now truly understood why the Pervy Sage wanted him to sleep with women all the time. If this is what oral felt like, sex must be complete and utter euphoria!

He clenched his teeth, he was getting close. But he still needed a bit more to push him over the edge. Hinata knew this, so she started purring and humming in the hopes that her mate would fall into that wonderful pit of bliss once more. Naruto lasted only a little while longer under her incredible ministrations.

"Fuck, Hinata. Gah!" He managed to gasp out as he exploded into her mouth. His eyes rolled completely into the back of his head and his back arched off of the bed. A wave of ecstasy washed over him, drowning him in a sea of pleasures. It was like each and every single individual cell was set ablaze by the gentlest of fires.

And he loved it.

Naruto finally calmed after what seemed to be an eternity. He panted heavily as a bit of sweat rolled down his face. This orgasm took more out of him than the one from the day before. His cheeks were flushed, and the air slowly cooled him back to normal temperature.

"Good morning mate! How did you sleep?" Hinata asked perkily from between his legs.

Naruto looked down at her. She was still in her, well his clothes. There was a very large smile stretched across her face. Her joy was so immense it was as if she was the one who had been pleasured! Naruto gave her a small smile.

"It was fine. But why did you…?" Naruto trailed off at the end. He didn't want to come off as ungrateful, but he heard a lot of women complain about how awful it was to give head. He knew she was more…."enthusiastic" about sex, but still, shouldn't the same thing apply to her?

Hinata just giggled at him. "Oh, my silly, adorable mate! I did it because I wanted to. It's my job to please you, so I will try my best to do just that every single day!"

Naruto flushed even brighter, but some joy filled his heart at his words and his mind traveled into the gutter. She wanted to do this to him every single day….

But still…

"You don't have to do that. I don't want you to feel like you have to please me every single day. Although it would be nice!" He added that last part when a few tears started to gather in her eyes.

It was really an odd twist when it was someone else who couldn't live with the slightest hints of his rejection. Usually it was the other way around, and the rejection was as subtle as a fist to the top of the head. It was a nice change of pace for him to be the one asked for attention. In fact, he really enjoyed it. But he hated making her feel hurt. It was an awkward and conflicting feeling inside of him.

"Alright, but I will pay you back somehow." He vowed to her. He made a mental promise to repay her for all the kind things she's done so far, and all the other kind deeds she plans on doing in the future. He wasn't exactly sure how he'd do this, but he was going to do his best to try.

Hinata just smiled and shook her head. He was going to question her when she started to move up his body. Naruto turned an even darker shade of red; his face was lit up with a burning heat as her cleavage was exposed to his hungry eyes. She was slinking up his body in a very attractive, and seductive manner. His heart thudded in his chest as he let out a small shaky breath. He was excited for whatever she decided to do next.

The young blonde was mildly disappointed when all she did was lay her head on his chest and snuggle up to him. . A warm feeling spread throughout his body as she cuddled up against him.

"Oh, my kind mate! You don't have to pay me back for anything! I just want to make you happy, no payment is needed. All I need is you." The female feline explained.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I figured as much. But it wouldn't be fair if I didn't do something for you."

Hinata was going to respond to her wonderful, amazing mate when she smelled something. Her eyes widened as she remembered exactly what she did before pleasing him. Her head shot up off of his chest.

"It's ready!" She exclaimed happily.

Naruto tilted his head in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Hinata just grinned at him, her smile was shining. She shot out of bed so fast all he saw was a blur. She landed on all fours in front of his bedroom door.

"Come on, come on, hurry up!" She beckoned him. She sped out of the door without another word.

Naruto put on a pair of jeans and followed after her. A very delicious and familiar smell hit his nose after he exited his bedroom. He followed his nose and it led him into the kitchen, where Hinata stood near the stove, placing something into a bowl for him. Naruto took a guess on what it was, but he thought it was too good to be true.

Hinata finished placing whatever it was inside of the bowl. She whirled around in order to give him the food.

"Here you go! I hope you like it!"

When he saw exactly what she had made for him, it was like the gods had shined their rays of luck down upon him. He could hear a chorus of angels singing, and he had to stop himself from crying at the beauty of the situation. Inside the bowl was one of the most delicious delicacies known to man.
Ramen.

Naruto wasn't sure where she learned to cook, or where she got her skills from, but he was so ecstatic he didn't even care.

"How…" He was speechless; he could barely get the words out of his mouth.

She pushed the plate into his hands. He grabbed the bowl, the warmth that radiated from it seemed to light up his whole body.

"I hope you like it! I'm not sure I did it like I was supposed to, but I really, really tried!" Hinata told him. Naruto nodded dumbly.

He carefully grabbed the chopsticks. He took a few noodles and blew on them gently. He placed the noodles inside of his mouth and chewed. He nearly moaned as the wonderful flavor exploded inside of his mouth. Each time he chewed it was like a new burst of flavor in his mouth. He quickly shoveled more noodles into his mouth the moment he swallowed. He quickly devoured the meal, it was better than Ichiraku's!

Once he was finished, he eagerly drank the broth. It was incredible; he licked his lips when Hinata broke him out of his thoughts on the amazing bowl of ramen noodles.

"So you like it right?" Hinata asked, eyes dancing in amusement.

Naruto blushed; he was slightly ashamed of his actions in front of a sweet girl. He knew that he ate like a pig; it was something Sakura has told him a million times. He really didn't want Hinata to think of him as some sort of slob. He didn't want her to look down on him, that would just be the worst.

"Um yeah. That was absolutely incredible! Where'd you learn to cook like that?"

Hinata's cheeks reddened as a result of his praise.

"Well, I was taught by one of the teachers. Once they were sure I couldn't sniff out my mate like the rest of them could, it was decided that I be placed into a more special program. They taught me how to cook, and how to use some of the things that you humans have. Like a fridge, I know what it is and what to do with it." She explained to him.

There were several other foods she knew how to cook. She was glad that he didn’t ask her about her other meals. She would rather surprise him in the future. Before she had found her she was ashamed at having to learn all the human related skills. Now she was grateful she’d be able to use them to please her mate.

"That makes sense." Naruto told her. A sudden thought then occurred to him. "Hey, how long have you been in the human world? Shouldn't your family be worried?"

She giggled at him. "Of course they're not worried! We are all bonded, so if I die, then they would feel the loss of one bond, mine. And I've only been gone for two months, nothing to worry about."

"Two months!" Naruto exclaimed. Here in the village, if someone was gone a week without any type of contact Granny Tsunade would send a squad out to find them. Well, he might have been stretching the truth, but still. He couldn't fathom how they could be so sure that one of their own wasn't in any kind of danger.

"Yeah, it's common for us to be away from family for an extended period of time. Especially when we're out searching for mates. We're usually gone for 6 months. So two months away isn't that bad." Hinata assured him.

"But what if you're gone for more than 6 months, but you haven't died yet? Then would your family become worried?" The blonde male questioned her.

"Maybe, but they'll most likely assume that I've met my mate. Which I have." At the last part, Hinata gave him a look filled with nothing but love and adoration. Naruto's cheeks reddened slightly and he looked down.

"Right. But how do they know if you met your mate or not?"

"Well, me and you would have to become permanently bonded, and you would be joined by blood into my family, and me into yours. They would be able to sense that change."

"Permanently bonded? How do we do that?"

"We mate of course! Well, there's a little more to it than that, but mating is the most important thing!" Hinata answered happily. Her demeanor then became grim.

"But, you don't want to mate yet, so we will wait to bond."

Naruto felt flattered, and a little guilty. It was clear as day that she wanted nothing more than to mate with him, but he just couldn't do it. He wanted to get to know her first. She seemed too good to be true, and he's had his heart broken a few times by other people. He wanted to make sure that this was real first. He did have 4 months to really get to know her before her family became worried, he was sure that would be a sufficient amount of time.

"So, tell me about your family." Naruto requested. If he was going to request that they get to know each other, then the very least he could do was take the initiative and ask the questions.

Hinata cocked her head to the side. "Like what?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe their names and a little about them."

"Oh! Of course!" Hinata nodded her head eagerly. She was ecstatic that he wanted to know more about her. Well, more about her family. But that was okay! Family was an extremely important factor in her life. Especially since one, hopefully one day soon, he would be joining her family.

"Well, I have a twin, and her name is Hiromi, and she is mated to a nice young male. I have three brothers, who are all triplets and all mated. From youngest to oldest, it goes Han, Hino, Hato. And then I have two twins as my oldest siblings, both mated. One is Honoka, a girl, and the other is Hoshio!" Hinata listed.

Naruto sweatdropped."Um, what are your parent's names?"

"Hitomi and Masahiko."

"I'm guessing your mom named you and your siblings."

Hinata gasped and her eyes widened. "Yeah! How did you know?"

Her mate must be very intelligent. She had been told humans were smarter than her kind to make up for their complete lack of physical prowess.

An even larger sweatdrop appeared. "Just a lucky guess. So is it common for your kind to have more than one child at once?"

"Yeah, isn't it the same with you humans?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, it's the exact opposite for us."

Her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. That was just so bizarre to her. How could there be so many humans around if they only gave birth one child at a time? It didn't add up in her mind. But she shrugged it off. She wouldn't have to worry about that. She would give her mate a lot of children, maybe four or five at a time. That would be incredible!

"Hinata? Hey Hinata?" She was snapped out of her little day dream about cute little blonde headed kids running around by her mate's voice.

"Yes?" She purred out in response.

"Um, well, I'm not sure when Shizune and Sakura are going to be here, but I'm heading into the shower. If one of them comes by, will you be able to let them in?" Naruto informed the young girl with a nervous blush on his face. The way she purred really messed with his head.

Both of them.

"What? You're gonna go bathe? Can I come? Please?" Hinata pleaded with big, lavender eyes. He wasn't sure he could deny her.

" Please my mate?" She grasped his hand and brought it up to her face where she nuzzled it. "It would be a wonderful chance for us to bond!"

There was no way Naruto could deny her. It was an innocent request, and he was sure he could control himself. Well, he hoped he could. And besides, yesterday they managed to refrain from having sex with her. At worst it might just be a repeat of the previous events. And that wasn’t bad at all.

"Alright, come on." Naruto agreed. He placed the empty ramen bowl on the table and gently pried his hand away from Hinata. He turned and started walking towards the bathroom when he nearly stumbled and fell due to the added weight on his back.

It was Hinata.

Hearing her mate agree to bond with her nearly made her scream with absolute joy. She wanted to start as soon as possible! So she hopped on his back. It was very possible and common to just bond through very simple physical contact. And this contact was completely non sexual so her mate was bound to find it very enjoyable.

"Will you please carry me there?" She asked him while her head was buying itself into the back of his neck.

"S-sure." Naruto croaked out. He could feel every inch of her magnificent curves against his back. It was heaven and hell mixed together at once as his erection already began straining against his boxers. He ignored it, and made his way to the shower.

He carefully walked into the bathroom. He tried to ignore the heat in his face due to Hinata constantly rubbing and pushing herself against him.

Once they were inside the tiny room, she reluctantly got off of his back. She realized that she needed to in order for them both to undress. But she missed the contact. And, Naruto missed it too. But he wouldn't tell her that. It wouldn't do either of them very good if she was clinging to him 24/7. It would be nearly impossible to complete missions. Or to really complete anything else in his life.

Naruto made sure not to face her as he stripped. It made him feel a little self conscious that she was watching him. Hell, he could feel her eyes eating him! Although, this was a nice boost to his ego. A really nice boost in fact. The thought of him being physically appealing to the opposite gender was incredible to him. He couldn’t resist flexing his muscles here and there in order to give her a little show. He suppressed the small smirk that came when he heard her softly purring in approval.

Naruto didn't turn around when he heard the rustling of clothes. He knew that she was probably completely naked behind him. And despite putting on a show he still felt a bit shy at the idea of facing a fully nude Hinata. Her body and personality were so far out of this world that it left him flustered.

The blonde decided to busy himself with getting the bath ready for them. He opened the shower curtain and switched on the water. The bathroom was nearly silent besides the sound of the water hitting the bathtub floor. Naruto placed his hand under the water to determine when the water was hot enough for both of them. Butterflies were fluttering in his stomach as the water temperature rose.

Hinata watched her mate curiously as the water was jetting out of a strange silver object. She knew this was called a bathtub, and it was the place where humans bathe themselves. She just didn't know the names of all the parts that made up the bathtub. As a matter of fact, she barely understood why humans bathed in a small little tub thing. It was small, there was barely enough room for two people, and it took some time for the water to reach the right temperature. It was much easier bathing in a stream, or lake. Or even in those really nice caves where the water was really hot. Those were perfect for the winter.

Hinata shrugged it off, maybe it was because they didn't want to see each other naked. Or they didn't want to be seen naked! But that still wouldn't make sense. What was wrong with being naked? She thought that the humans believed nudity to be a sign of innocence. So why wear the clothes? Especially since when the weather became really warm, humans barely wore any clothing at all! Well, the women barely wore clothing. They looked so odd wearing clothes so tight it was like their body was trying to escape.

Oh well, humans will be humans. As her people would always tell her.

"Is it ready yet? "She asked. The few minutes had dragged on as an eternity for the young girl. She desperately wanted to bond with him! She hadn't bonded with anyone for the past month and a half!

Naruto started a little. The sudden sound of her voice piercing through the silence scared the shit out of him for a second. His heart was thumping loud in his chest. He wasn't even sure why he was so nervous! Well, he did know. It was because he was about to knowingly step into the shower with a member of the opposite sex, someone who was pure sex with legs, and "bond". His nerves were strung high.

"Uh, y-yeah. Just st-step right in" He managed to stammer out.

"Okay!" Hinata brushed past him and entered under the shower head. She giggled, the water hitting her felt really nice. Almost like standing under a waterfall. Okay, so the feeling wasn't even close, but she could still pretend it was. She heard the blue eyed ninja enter into the tub behind her. She whirled around to face him, a large smile on her face.
"Alright! Let's begin the bonding!" She announced happily.

'Don't look at her chest. Don't look at her chest. Don't look at her- Dammit!' Naruto mentally cursed as his eyes strayed from her face .They landed on her amazing set of breasts. They were milky white, with amazing pink little nipples at the end. He wondered what it would be like to taste them…..

"Naruto? Where do you keep your cleansing tools?" Hinata asked him. She knew where his eyes were, and she didn't mind in the least. Every single part of her being, mind, body and soul was his now. He was free to stare, and touch any part of her body he wished. But if any other male tried anything, they would be in for a very painful experience.
"Oh, um. Here.” Naruto grabbed a bottle of liquid soap that was sitting on one side of the bathtub, and then he grabbed a washcloth from a rack outside of the tub. He squeezed some soap into the cloth and then handed it to her. She beamed up at him.

"Thanks! Now turn around, I want to start with your back!" She instructed him.

Naruto did as he was told. He was relieved by her orders: it would be much easier to hold in his nerves if he wasn't staring directly at a naked woman. He felt her press the wash cloth against his shoulder blade, and begin scrubbing gently. It was like a very nice massage, and he enjoyed it. She rubbed it in circular motions, making sure her circles became a little bit bigger each time.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Hinata questioned him after a few moments of silence.

"What?"

She halted her actions at his confusion. "Well, it's time for us to bond. You need to tell me a little about yourself. While I cleanse your body, I must also cleanse your soul. So this is where you talk to me about any troubles you've been having." Hinata elaborated.

"Oh, alright." He was touched by her efforts to respect his desire to get to know one another. He was also immensely embarrassed he allowed himself to become so distracted by her supple, soft, naked body.

She continued washing him slowly as Naruto tried to think of any problems he'd been having. He couldn't really think of any recent ones. Well, besides the slight emotional conflict he's been having over her. But that was all he could think of at the moment.

"I've got nothing. What about you?" He asked her in return after a few seconds of thinking.

Hinata raised an eyebrow. She was sure that he had some problems going on in his life. Maybe he just felt she wasn't ready to know of them yet. She pursed her lips. Maybe if she asked him some specific questions, he would be able to answer her.

"What about that scar on our chest? I'm sure there's quite the story behind that that you would like to get off your chest." Hinata tried to keep her voice as casual as possible.

She kept her demeanor calm, but on the inside she was dying to know the answer to this question. Just the thought of some no named monster trying to kill her beloved mate burned her up on the inside. She just had to hear the story surrounding it. Maybe there wasn't anyone out to kill her mate, maybe he was perfectly safe! But if not...If there was someone out there who was a threat to her beloved...

"Oh….You saw that huh?" Naruto frowned. The last thing he wanted to talk about right now was Sasuke. The pain and utter betrayal he felt when his best friend, his brother, left was unbearable. He wasn't sure he was ready to talk about it. Especially not with someone he barely knew.

"Yeah, I wanna know who did it and why. I don't like the thought of someone out there hunting you down and trying to kill you. I can't stand the thought of losing you." She admitted, her tone soft, and serious.

Naruto was flattered. It was really nice to know that she cared deeply for his well being. Maybe it was alright to tell her a little bit about what happened…..

"Well, there's nothing much to worry about. The person who did this isn't hunting me down." He assured her.

"But they're still alive?" She asked. There was an edge to her voice, probably due to anger.

"Yes, he is." Naruto's hands clenched into fists. "And I promise I will bring him back!" He vowed once more, determination ringing loud in his voice.

"WHAT?!" Hinata shrieked in shock. Her mate wanted to bring this psycho back!? The hell was wrong with him!? "You can't do that!"

"Excuse me?" Naruto turned himself around to face her. There was some anger in his eyes. "I have to bring him ba-"

"Over my dead body! I won't allow you to be killed by this….this…Monster!" Hinata interrupted him with anger present in her eyes also.

Naruto's usually bright blue eyes darkened as he narrowed his eyes at the petite woman. Hearing her call Sasuke a monster hurt something deep inside of him. He tried to calm himself down, but only because she didn't know the whole story yet.

"Look," He nearly growled the word out at her. "He isn't going to kill me, and he certainly isn't a monster. He was like a brother to me and-"

"Brother?! Brother?! I'm sorry, but I don't know of any brothers that actually try to kill each other! Well, at least mine don't! And how do you know he won't kill you? It looks like he came really close! What's stopping him if you give him a second chance!?" She shot those questions back at him. She couldn't believe her ears, this was just absolutely ridiculous!

"Because I know him!"

"And you didn't know him when he tried to take your life? What are you even saying to me?"

Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He needed to make her understand, and yelling at her and arguing wasn't going to help.

"Look, me and him were very close. " He ignored Hinata's snort of disbelief. "And Sakura is in love with him, and I promised her I'd bring him back. I never go back on my promises so I have to do this."

Hinata's mouth was now open in pure disbelief. Her mate was willing to sacrifice his life for a boy, who already tried to kill him, just so some girl could be happy? What twisted part of human society had she walked into? She inhaled deeply before exhaling. This was not time to judge him; she just had to guide him into the much safer path of all of this.

"Look, how come this Sakura girl can't just bring him back herself?"

"What?" Naruto was befuddled by her question. It was honestly something he never really thought about.

"Well, she loves him, and he's gone. Wouldn't it make more sense if she went out and found him? That way the two of them can be somewhere probably private to work out their feelings. And who cares if it's a dangerous journey, if she truly loves him then it shouldn't matter. True love triumphs over all." Hinata offered him. It made a lot of sense for this girl to find this almost murderer. They can be reunited, and her mate would be safe.

Problem solved, right?

"Well…" Naruto trailed off in thought. She had brought up a good point. Why doesn't Sakura find Sasuke instead of him? She was supposedly head-over-heels in love with the guy. She's also been training under the strongest woman he knew, so she would be able to put up a pretty good fight. Naruto shook those thoughts out of his head.

"Well, she might get hurt in the process, and she is too precious for me to sit back and allow that to happen. Plus, I already promised her and it would go against my code of honor to break that promise." Naruto explained to her gently.

"I see." She bowed her head down, her hair covering her face. Her ears drooped down also. Naruto couldn't help but feel a little guilt bubble inside of his gut. He hesitantly placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

" But…." Hinata trailed off, unsure of how to proceed without seeming selfish. But her emotions were overwhelming her. Grief, anger, and fear. She had found him, finally found her mate, and yet he had a personal code of honor to put himself in danger.

"But what?" Naruto urged her to continue.

"Can't you just break a promise this one time? Please, for me?" She pleaded, her head tilting upward to peer up at him. He could make out tears in her eyes.

He opened his mouth to answer but she interrupted him. It was easy for her to tell that he was going to say no. She grabbed the hand on her shoulder in both of her hands and carefully flipped it over. She nuzzled her face into the palm of his hand. She kept her eyes closed as she did so.

"Please? I've waited my whole entire life for you. I've spent so many days, so many weeks, and months searching for you. Now that I've finally, finally found you, I don't want to lose you."
Naruto's mouth opened and closed several times. He wasn't sure how to respond.

"Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to find my mate. My mother and father were always so happy together, it was incredible. To me, love like that was worth everything and anything. Not only that, but everyone around me was always talking about how amazing it was being mated, and how it changed their lives! I desperately craved a mate, I craved love, I craved my very own family with little cubs!" She smiled, before it quickly fell into a frown.

"But, when the time came, I didn't find a mate. After watching my sister, and brother, and brother, and brother, and brother, finally find their mates and be happy, I was so excited to also find that bliss! But, nothing. Hiromi found a mate just fine. But I, couldn't find anyone. I was so sad. I thought I would just be alone forever. It was a silly thought, but it seemed like a very real possibility to me. But when they sent me out to the human world to find a mate, I kept my hopes up! And I was let down once more."

Naruto could feel his heart ache for the young girl. He moved to cup her cheek, she opened her eyes and smiled at him.

"So I had to go back, alone. I once again kept my head up and started looking to find a mate amongst my kind, but nothing. So I had to head back into the human realm. My only comfort were other friends who were also unmated. "She sighed and looked down; a few tears escaped her eyes.

"Then we were all separated and I don't know where they are. I was all alone for one of the very first times in my life. It wouldn't have been so bad if I knew where I was, but I managed to land myself in a part of the human world I hadn't ventured into yet. I ran into some very mean people and they tried to…" She trailed off and stared down at the floor.

Naruto frowned; he was very concerned on who she ran into and what they did to her. The thought of anyone hurting her brought an uncomfortable feeling to his gut.

"I was ready to give up, to throw in the towel. I just lost all hope in the thought of being happy with a nice, kind, caring mate. But then, I met you." She raised her eyes to meet his and gave him an incredibly warm smile.

"The moment when I sniffed you, and you turned out to be my mate was amazing! I wasn't going to be alone anymore; I had found you after all this time of waiting! I would have kids; I would have someone to care for me almost as much as I cared for them! I would never in my life ever have to be alone again! But now you're telling me that you're willing to throw that all away? And for virtually nothing? I can't…I can't bear to see that happen! I don't want you to die!" Naruto was taken off guard when she threw herself against him, wrapping her arms around him tightly. Her body was shaking hard, it was obvious she was crying.

"It's not that I don't think you're strong! It's just…I can tell that you wouldn't try your best to fight this person. If he went to kill you again, you would allow it."
The young blonde bit his lip. She had a nice point. He would never aim to kill Sasuke. And he felt that the feeling wasn’t mutual. He gently wrapped his own arms around her and held her in his arms as he considered her words.

Sasuke was like a brother to him. He had risked his life for him. And Naruto felt, he truly felt if it weren’t for Orochimaru’s influence he’d still be in the village today. He wanted to save him from the darkness he was sinking into. But did that mean potentially leaving Hinata in her own pit of despair? If he became seriously hurt...or worse, what would happen to her? Could he really leave someone who’s been so sweet and kind to him all by herself?

He didn’t know.

Hinata could sense her mate conflicting with himself. And she hated it. She hated this ridiculous situation. She hated this person who tried to kill her mate. She hated the girl who couldn’t go get her lover. And she was frustrated at her mate for not forsaking all of them and deciding to live happily in the woods with her, where it would be safer. But she knew one thing. Humans were complex creatures. Their relationships were very complex and different from what she was used to. There were going to be customs and ideas and things that she didn’t understand, but she’d have to learn.

And she would do it, for her mate.

If he felt this was important to him, then as his mate there was only one thing she could really do.

"But if you won't give up your promise, I will make one." Her head shot up. Her eyes were narrowed and filled with pure determination and dedication. "I will be there with you! And I won't allow this person to end your life, even if mine has to be sacrificed in your stead! Because no one will take you away from me, no one!"

She would stand by his side. Whoever hurt her mate would have to strike her down first in order to get to him! And that was her promise!

He grinned down at her in complete awe. He had to hold back the urge to cry. He's never had anyone promise to help him, and he's certainly never had anyone promise to give up their life for him. He was now very sure that his young girl was perfect for him. But he mentally vowed to make sure that no one ever came close to hurting her. They would pay very, very dearly if they did because he was becoming very attached to her and very quickly.

"Thank you Hinata." He was genuinely grateful for her support in this.

"It's no problem at all my mate! Now shall we continue to bathe and bond?"

Naruto was about to accept her offer when a loud voice cut him off.

"Naruto! Where the hell are you? We brought the girl's clothes!" Sakura's loud voice rang throughout the apartment.

"Naruto? "Shizune's voice also called out.

His stomach dropped as fear pooled into the pit of his stomach. Sakura and Shizune were here, and he was in the shower with a naked girl with his arms wrapped around her. It wouldn't be long before both women found him in this position. And when they did…

Hinata wouldn’t have to worry about Sasuke killing him.

Sakura would do it here and now!

Chapter Text

Naruto started to panic. He mentally cursed himself for giving Sakura an extra key to his apartment. He also cursed his awful luck. Why did they have to show up when he was in the shower with an attractive girl? Couldn't they have waited a little while? Or they could've at least knocked on the door as a little warning. He thought that he should've at least been given the chance to escape the cruel beating that was bound to occur.

"Mate? Is everything alright? You look troubled." Hinata asked him in concern. 

His demeanor had changed from relaxed to completely rigged and stiff the minute those two women arrived. Not only that, but he had also stopped hugging her. He had even taken a small step away from her. Hinata did not enjoy the extra distance between them, no matter how small it was. She recognized the voices as the pink haired woman and the black haired woman from the day before. She knew that they weren't his enemies, so why was he so frightened?

Naruto opened his mouth before snapping it shut. He decided it wouldn't be the brightest idea to joke about his death with her. She would most likely take it very seriously and attack Sakura and Shizune. He didn't want that to happen.

"Don't worry. It's nothing, really!" He assured her.

Hinata gave him a pointed stare that told him that she wasn't buying his words.

"Well okay. It's just, the two of them might be angry that you and I are….You know…..In the shower together…" He tried to explain.

"So? I don't care if they're angry. I'm only concerned with you, and you alone my mate. Those two are just going to have to deal with us being in the bath together!" She declared with no hint of hesitation. But then she furrowed her eyebrows together and cocked her head to the side.

"Wait, why would they be upset about us being in the bath together? It's not like your lovers to either of them….Right?"

The mere thought of her mate being involved with someone else left simmering with a possessive rage. It also made her feel queasy, and inadequate. If that were the case then there would only be one solution to the problem. She’d have to end the lives of both those women. She could only hope that her mate wouldn’t mind. 

Naruto shook his head back and forth frantically. "No of course not! It's just that-" Just then, his worst nightmare came to fruition. The bathroom door creaked open.

"Naruto, why didn't you answer me? And where exactly is Hinata?" Sakura was now speaking to him from the doorway. Her voice came off sweet, but Naruto wasn’t deceived. 

He knew he was caught because of two reasons. The first being the very accusatory tone in Sakura's voice when she asked him about Hinata's whereabouts. And second, he knew full well she could now see the outline of the two of them in the shower.  He guessed that the only reason she asked was to test whether or not he would be brazen enough to lie to her face. It would help her decide on how brutal the beating would be.

He was conflicted about what to do. Should he try and lie his way out of this situation? His naive mind tried to conjure up a situation where maybe she didn't know, and she was just honestly asking him a question. But he knew that was highly unlikely. Sakura knew that he wasn't alone in here. All she wanted now was for him to admit it. The blonde cringed. He had been made painfully aware of how strong she had gotten while he was gone. He didn't want someone with her strength wailing on him. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But it was Hinata who made the decision for him.

"Um, yes, I'm in here! Is there something you need from me?" She was still looking up at him with nothing but concern. He really wished he could soothe over her worries without having to lie to her. But he knew that wouldn't be possible.

"Oh really! It's so odd that you two are in there together. Shizune and I have your clothes, Hinata, so you can come out and try them on, while I have a little talk with Naruto." The pink haired female told them, with false sugary sweetness in her tone. It was so disgustingly pleasant that it caused shivers to run up his spine.

He really hated his life sometimes.

"Alright, we'll be out in a moment." Hinata responded.

 She wasn't exactly sure what was going on. Had she and Naruto broken some sort of sacred rule? She doubted that the two of them were just bathing together. There was absolutely no harm in that. Yet she could easily detect a threat of violence from the young woman. Why anyone would want to hurt her mate was beyond her. But what befuddled her more was the level of fury that was displayed by this other woman.

She shrugged it off. It didn't really matter to her anyway. Anyone that tried to hurt her beloved would suffer. It was as plain and as simple as that. She didn't care who the person was. Whether they are his teammate, his former lover, or even his family, she would protect him from them. Although Hinata really hoped she wouldn't have to fight off any relatives of his. She strongly believed that families had a strong bond, and one should never have to bear their own blood. But if she had to, she would be ready to attack any relative of his that posed a threat.

If that oddly hair colored female thought she was going to harm a single hair on his cute blonde head, she was in for a rude awakening. Hinata already disliked the girl for threatening violence against her mate before, and because she was one of the sole reasons he was risking his life to bring back some murderer. She also had a sneaking suspicion that there was more to their relationship than she was being led to believe...

She shook her head out of her thoughts. She had to focus, now was not the time to get jealous. She noted that the pink headed one had left the bathroom. She and Naruto were alone once more.

He was still extremely tense, and had a painful grimace on his face. His head was facing straight ahead of him, but his eyes were looking at the ceiling. It was almost like he was praying.

"Hey," Hinata cupped his cheek with her hand. She tilted his head downward, and their eyes connected. She detected the fear that was present in his gaze. It caused her heart to clench. "It's going to be alright my darling mate. I will protect you with everything I have, alright?"

Warmth flooded Naruto's system with her comforting words and gestures. He did feel some shame in her vow to protect him. She shouldn't have to do that. He didn't want her to become the target of Sakura's rage just because he was too frightened of her to do anything back. It was also an extremely foreign feeling. He was used to risking his life to save the lives of the people around him. He couldn't really recall many moments where the opposite had happened. It was extremely rare in the young boy's life that someone would risk their life to save him, and mean it.

"You don't have to do th-mmph!" Naruto was cut off by a pair of soft lips pressing against his own. She pulled away before he had the chance to respond.

She smiled up at him, and stroked his whiskered cheek. No words were really needed. Naruto was amazed to find that she understood what she was saying despite her lack of words. He had heard before that couples could form that type of silent bond, but only after they'd spent a couple of years together. It was really comforting to the young blonde to have this type of connection with her, and he hoped that it would strengthen in the coming years.

He smiled at the feline female. He could really imagine himself being with her for the rest of his life. It would certainly be an interesting life for the both of them.

"Come one, we better get out before Sakura comes back and forces us out." He told her, and reached over and turned off the water.

He thought he heard her mumble something along the lines of 'I would like to see her try...' and some inaudible grumbling after that. Who knew she could be so feisty? Naruto thought it was attractive.

"Here," He handed her one of the towels he kept in the bathroom. "You can dry yourself off with this."

Hinata graciously accepted it and rubbed the cloth over her body. She was extremely happy to find that her mate was more or less back to his normal self. And she had spoken to him without using words! Although the moment was brief, it excited her greatly. All mated pairs had that ability, and it would only become stronger as they spent more time together. They should one day have the ability to communicate entirely through their gestures and eyes, with no words needed at all. She couldn't wait for that tie to arrive!

But for now, she had a problem on her hands. A walking, talking problem that interrupted her time with her mate. She wasn't sure how violent the other woman was, but she would take both of them on if they made a move to hurt her mate.

"Here, you have to wrap the towel around your body like this." Naruto demonstrated by wrapping his own towel around his waist, covering his privates.

He figured that she wouldn't know how to properly cover herself using a towel. Or maybe she would know. She did know how to use a stove to make him some delicious ramen. So she wasn't completely clueless on how things worked in this civilization. He would have to speak with her at some point about what she did and didn't know.

"Umm…." Her ears flattened into her hair and she cocked her head to the side. She was the most adorable person Naruto had ever met in his entire life.

"Thank you my mate ... .But why do I need to cover myself? You're my mate and you've already seen me naked. And the only people in this living space are those two women. So it should be fine for me to head out like this, right?"

Dammit, he just wanted to kiss her. She was so cute. But at the same time, she was extremely sexy. She was holding the towel in one of her hands. Her naked body was still on display for him to view.

"Yeah but it would still be considered inappropriate for you to be naked. They wouldn't really appreciate you walking around my apartment like that. Unless you're at a hot spring, shower, or changing room the general rule is to keep your clothes on, regardless of who's around." He explained.

He knew that he would be in even more trouble if she came out of the bathroom in the nude, and he with a towel. It would seem like he had done that completely on purpose. Or at least like he had talked her into remaining unclothed. He believed in Hinata's vow to protect him, but she couldn't be there all the time. He and Sakura would have to be on a mission together at some point, and when they were…

He mentally shivered.

She pouted. "Fine, I'll cover myself up. Even though it still doesn't make any sense to me…." 

She tried to follow his instructions about wrapping the towel around her body. But both she and Naruto made a small discovery. The towel wasn't big enough to properly cover her. If she tried to cover her breasts completely, it would leave her butt bare. If she tried to cover her bottom, it would leave an overwhelming amount of cleavage out for the world to see. Hinata shrugged her shoulders and decided it would be better if she covered her ass.

"Alright, I am ready to go!" She chirped happily.

"What…? Oh! Alright," he coughed. "Let's go." Naruto was a little distracted. Her exposed cleavage was enticing him to pull the towel off of her completely. He had to continuously remind himself why she couldn't be naked.

He quickly opened the door before all reason had the chance to leave him. She stepped out of the bathroom ahead of him, and he followed after her. They both made their way to the living room. There were several shopping bags on the ground and Shizune was seated on the couch. Sakura was angrily pacing the living room floor. She was grumbling something about beating a certain perverted blonde to a bloody pulp. Shizune was trying to persuade her to calm down.

"There, there Sakura, I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. If you give Naruto a chance to explain himself, you'll find that this situation isn't that bad." She placated the furious girl.

"Oh please! I'm sure that pervert somehow manipulated her into the shower with him. Hell, he's probably already tricked her into sleeping with him! When I get my hand on him I'm going t-"Her ranting was cut off by a furious female voice.

"You aren't doing anything to him! My wonderful mate has been nothing but kind and gentle with me! I haven't done anything that I didn't want to do. And so what if we bathed and slept together? I don't understand why either of those would be a big deal, and I fail to see how they involve you." Hinata nearly spat the words out.

She wasn't pleased with this female's attitude. Especially since this was her mate's territory, she better treat him with proper respect or get out. Hinata would be very happy to drag her out by her hair. She was raised to always be extremely kind and respectful to others when inside their territory. If they were being gracious enough to allow you to visit, you would have to watch your attitude and behavior. It was also customary to bring one gift with you as a small word of thanks.

Looking at all the shopping bags, it was obvious this female did at least one thing right.

Still her attitude was outrageous. To not only be upset that they had washed each was already crazy. But she was also upset that she and her mate had rested together? Hinata had known intimacy between humans and her kind were different. But she didn’t think it was so drastic that her and her mate sharing sleep together was considered somehow wrong!

"Actually um, Hinata?" The human panther hybrid snapped her attention to her mate. She grinned at him; all traces of her fury were gone.

"Yes my mate?"

"When she says you slept with me, she means that um…We…You know…" He was rubbing the back of his head as his cheeks reddened. He wasn’t really sure how to say this to her. "Bonded together." He decided that was the least embarrassing way to word it.

"You mean saying you were sleeping with someone is the same as saying you mated with them? You humans are more confused about mating than I thought." Hinata was perplexed.

 She was one hundred percent sure that sleeping and mating were two completely different activities. One required a person to lie there completely unconscious and unaware of the outside world. It also required a lack of movement. The other activity she knew would require a lot of movement. It would also cause extreme pleasure, and the ability to further deepen the bond between two people.

Now, why in the world would humans connect those two activities? In a human’s mind, what did those two activities have in common? She wasn’t sure she even wanted to know.  She knew most couples would fall asleep together after mating. She knew you could mate with someone if they were asleep, though she knew they wouldn't be asleep for long if that happened. It was something she knew happened over here with the humans. And back home it was common to perform oral sex on the male while he was asleep.

But still how does that turn int-

"You know what? Why don't we all calm down? We brought some clothes for Hinata to try on, and we certainly didn't come here to fight." Shizune attempted to play peacekeeper between the two women.

She knew Sakura was extremely strong, and could cause very expensive damage to this building. She didn't know what level of strength Hinata was on, but she figured it wouldn't be anything to scoff at. Either way, Tsunade had told her to keep things as peaceful as possible until more information could be gathered on the young girl.

Sakura huffed and folded her arms. "Fine." She agreed. 

She could always get that pervert back another day. And although she wouldn't admit it, she was extremely bothered by Hinata's words. How dare she speak to her like that? Sakura was sure she knew her teammate far better than this wild animal of a person. Sakura contemplated also giving this girl a piece of her mind…

"Alright! I would hate to fight and destroy my mate's home. So let me see these fabrics you would like for me to wear." Hinata would think more about sleeping and mating later. She vowed she would somehow find a connection between the two of them if it would help strengthen the connection between her and her mate. Perhaps he could explain it to her?

"Yeah sure, let's see what you two brought her." Naruto was cheering on the inside.

 This had to be the very first time he's escaped one of Sakura's beatings without running away! He would have to repay Hinata for this glorious moment. He knew she would love it if he were to completely ravish her young and supple body. Which, by the way, still looked extremely tempting in the small towel. He tried not to make it obvious that he was staring at her chest. He didn't want to really ignite Sakura's flame of fury. Still, his eyes flickered over to her to catch a quick peek at her tempting body. 

Shizune started digging through the bags.

 "Sorry it took us so long to get back to you. It took longer than expected to buy her all the right clothes and we had to cut holes in certain places to make sure her tail could fit through. Plus, I just wanted to find her a cute outfit! She is just so adorable!" Shizune paused for a moment to gush.

"Thank you for your kind words, human. You are also very pretty!" Hinata really liked this woman. She wasn't violent, she was respectful, and she complimented her! It made her feel a bit warm inside. Kindness wasn’t something she was used to experiencing when it came to the human world. Hinata made a mental note to spend more time with this short haired female in order to get to know her better. She would have her mate do the same.

"I wouldn't exactly call her adorable, especially when she's always half naked. Why couldn't you have worn a bigger towel?" Sakura questioned bitterly.

Hinata shrugged her shoulders and turned her attention to her lover. "I don't know, mate, why is my towel not larger?"

Naruto scratched his cheek. "Well, I didn't think you would have to wear a larger one. I thought that would fit you just fine. Looks like I was wrong." He chuckled nervously. He could feel Sakura's gaze burning into his skull.

"That's alright! I don't mind at all! Although, I would have preferred it if I were nak-"

"There you go! The perfect outfit for you!" Shizune announced happily. She handed Hinata a bag filled with a certain set of clothes she had picked out.

"Go try these on inside the bedroom, and call us if you need any help."

Hinata accepted the bag. She furrowed her eyebrows together. 

"What about my mate? Shouldn't he be dressed as well?" Leaving her man naked with only a flimsy piece of fabric covering him wasn't on her agenda.

The three others in the room sweat dropped. They had somehow forgotten that their blond companion was still completely naked. Naruto hadn’t been the only one completely distracted by Hinata’s towel struggling to contain her chest. Sakura and Shuzune were a bit jealous. 

"Give me a second!" Naruto rushed into his room. He was nothing more than a blur. He slammed the door shut behind him. A few seconds passed, and they could all hear him rummaging inside of the bedroom.

He came out of the bedroom a moment later completely dressed. He was outfitted in his usual jumpsuit. But his jacket was left unzipped, revealing the black shirt underneath. It had a large orange spiral on the front. Hinata thought he looked very dashing.

"You can use the bedroom now."

"Thank you my mate!" Hinata headed into the room with the shopping bag. She paused for a second in order to place a loving kiss on his cheeks. She also threw a harsh glare in Sakura's direction. It was a warning not to touch her mate in any way, or there would be very dire consequences. Hinata could still sense the anger flowing through the pink haired woman, and she didn’t care for it. 

She closed the door behind her. Hinata immediately dropped the towel and stretched her limbs.

'Now, it is time to put on these…Clothes.' Hinata thought to herself. She grabbed the bag and dumped the contents onto the bed. She then tossed the bag into a random corner of the room.

She carefully examined the different fabric. She was happy that she recognized all of them. She had either seen them at a distance, or had tried to put them on at one point. But she knew she would have some difficulties with this. She tried to recall what she had to put on first.

'Hmm… I think these go on first. ' She picked up a pair of plain purple panties. There was a small hole on one side; she knew her tail could fit through it. She stepped into the larger holes, and pulled the fabric up her legs. She took a moment to adjust to having this strange material cover her crotch. It didn't feel painful, or uncomfortable. Just slightly off. It would take her some time to become used to wearing it.

She then went over her choices on what she should put on next. She distinctly remembered that there was an extremely small shirt that women had to wear. It was so small that all it did was cover their breasts. Since it was so much like her pelt, she knew she would like it. Maybe she would be able to get away with only wearing that and the underwear fabric while she and her mate were in his home.

'Aha! There it is!' She picked up the black bra. It took her a full minute to put it on. When she slipped the strapped over her shoulders, she became quickly aware that they weren't supporting her breasts like they were supposed to. She searched for some sort of button or strings to tighten the bra's hold on her chest. Thankfully it was a bra that had its little hooks on the front. But even those took some time to properly attach. It was difficult for her to get all the little hooks to go inside their respective holes. It took her several other seconds to move and adjust the bra so it fit her chest properly.

Hinata sighed once she was finished. She was confident in the belief that putting on the rest of her clothes wouldn't be that difficult to put on. All she really had left was what she knew was a shirt and pants. She could put those on with no problem. She slipped them both on with little troubles.

Now Hinata stood in the middle of the bedroom completely dressed. She wore a purple short sleeved shirt, and black pants which also had a hole in the back. She smiled triumphantly. She had conquered the pieces of fabric and had managed to dress herself properly! There was much for her to be proud of!

But her smile slowly slipped off her face. She started fidgeting. She felt like she couldn't breathe, these clothes were way too constricting. She's never worn so many clothes at once. And never had they covered so much of her skin before. She began to pull and shift the clothes away from her body. She needed to get out of these right now! It was much too hot for this much of her skin to be covered!

An idea popped into her head. She stared at her sharpened nails, and then back to the fabrics suffocating her skin. She grinned manically, she was sure no one would mind if she…."Fixed" the clothes to better suit her, right?

Naruto sat on the arm of the couch awkwardly. Sakura was still glaring a hole into the side of her head, but luckily she wasn't making any movements to hurt him. He would most certainly have to do something for Hinata. She was protecting him even when she wasn't in the same room as him! That was absolutely incredible.

"So Naruto, are you enjoying your time with little Hinata?" Shizune asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

"Yeah, she's really something else. But in a good way. She's really kind, and sincere, and she's just so cheerful and innocent. It's really hard not to like her, ya know?" He answered her with a small smile.

Sakura snorted. "Yeah, and I'm sure her body has nothing to do with you liking her…"

"Well, I admit that Hinata is extremely beautiful. No, scratch that, she's probably the most beautiful girl I've ever seen in my life. I guess I'm just a really lucky guy to have her fall into my life."

Naruto didn't know it, but his words had dealt a blow to Sakura's ego. She was very used to him idealizing her, and treating her like a princess. She knew from his words that those days of him doting over her and constantly complimenting her were over. She didn't really know how to take that news.

"Well I think that's wonderful! I'm so glad that you found such a special girl to be with!" Shizune told him. She thought of Naruto as a little brother. She had always held a small amount of dislike for Sakura and her treatment of him. He would always look so sullen heartbroken that it would just tear her up inside. She felt like she could trust this new girl with him. She's already proven to be more caring and sweeter than Sakura.

"Well actually she found me, and she sorta just chose me. I'm really happy she did though. I'm looking forward to all the time we're going to spend together." He admitted.

"That's just so cute! You too are absolutely adorable together!" Shizune gushed. She would have to take a picture of the cute little couple eventually.

Some red dusted his cheeks. "Hey! Nothing about me is cute! I am a man and-"

"I'm finished! Does my appearance please you, mate?" Hinata had thrown open the door and stepped out of the room. This, of course drew their attention to her and her new outfit.

And boy, what an outfit it was!

She was wearing small booty shorts and a shirt that stopped just above her belly button. The shirt was a V-neck that dipped low enough to reveal her exquisite cleavage. Some blood dripped from Naruto's nose. He mentally promised to buy Shizune a gift for choosing this outfit.

"What!? Shizune what the hell were you thinking!?" Sakura asked in shock and anger. This revealing choice of clothes once more reminded Sakura of the areas where she lacked certain traits. It made her feel insecure, and she hated it!

"I, uh, those are not the clothes I gave to her I swear!" The older woman exclaimed. Although she had taken the girl's measurements, she was still surprised by how well endowed she was. She wondered if there were any tips this girl could give her on how to make her chest larger….

"Oh, that's because I cut them up with my claws! I'm sorry, but I'm not used to having that much of my skin covered up by anything that's not my fur. I can stand blankets, but anything else." She shivered. "That's just awful."

"Wow." Naruto muttered. He was trying very hard to suppress his erection. He would be absolutely mortified if he gained one in front of Shizune and Sakura.

Hinata grinned before disappearing. She reappeared embracing Naruto tightly. She buried her face into his chest and purred. He tensed, and she could feel a bulge pressing against her stomach. She was giddy with excitement. Her mate was aroused! That meant that he really enjoyed her clothes!

"You cut them with your claws? But they look so professional!" Shizune complimented her.

"Yeah, maybe you should get a job making clothes. It would be better than sitting on your ass doing nothing all day." Sakura removed under her breath. 

Hinata’s head snapped towards her making it very apparent that she had heard her. 

Shizune decided to speak up before any fighting could occur. "Actually, Lady Tsunade has some special plans for Hinata."

"Really? What does she want with me?" And more importantly, would it cut into the time she wanted to spend with her beloved?

"Since Naruto and Sakura need a third member for their team, she was thinking about making you their new member. But first she has to set up and design several tests for you to pass to make sure you have what it takes to be a ninja." Shizune informed them.

"Really!? You mean I won't have to be separated from my mate!? I'm so glad!" She was indeed so overjoyed that she jumped up and wrapped her legs around the blonde's waist.

"Did you hear that my mate? We can spend even more time with each other!" She gasped and looked up at him with wide eyes. "Maybe I can find my other friends! Oh this will be so much fun!" She returned to squeezing the life out of him.

Sakura was livid. She couldn't believe that Lady Tsunade was actually considering replacing Sasuke with this girl!

"Shizune, let's go. I want to have a talk with my lovely teacher." Sakura growled out. She didn't give the other woman a chance to reply, and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

"I better make sure she doesn't harm anyone on the way there. I'll be sure to visit again soon; I want to spend time with the most adorable person in the world!"

With that, Shizune left, following after her irate companion.

This left both Naruto and Hinata alone together.

Naruto moved to the couch and sat down on it. Hinata was now seated on his lap, straddling him. She placed her head into his neck and sighed happily.

"Aren't you excited mate? We get to be on the same team!"

Naruto smiled. "Yeah, I am."

He was concerned about what would happen to Sasuke once he was brought back. Would he be placed on a different team? Or would he be placed back on Team Seven? If that happened, where would that leave Hinata? But that didn't matter. He was already picturing having Hinata as his replacement.

The idea of having this little ball of energy around him all the time was appeasing. He was a little worried that they might not accomplish much though. He knew her body would cause him to lose focus. And what if she went into heat while on a mission.

Wait…..

Could she go into heat?

He couldn't recall if she had already talked about that.

"Um, Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"Um, can your kind go into heat?"

“Yes, of course we do!” 

“Oh, alright. Is it the same heat that uh...your animal counterpart goes through? Or is it different?”

Hinata frowned at the question. She pursed her lips in contemplati"Um...I’m not really sure.”

He raised an eyebrow. "Huh? What do you mean you aren't sure?"

She ducked her head and a bashful grin took over her features. She poked her fingers together, a gesture Naruto found to be extremely cute.

"Uh, well, um…I think we may have had a class talking about our kind going into heat…But um, my friends, and my sister and I sorta skipped it…" She stared at his chest as she said this.

Hinata felt ashamed of herself. She'd heard about how important school was to humans, especially the combat ones like her mate, and how they never missed a day, even when they were sick. Of course this information had come from her friend who was wrong about most things about humans; she could have been right about that. Her mate must think she's so irresponsible!

"Wait, you've skipped a class?" He asked, bewildered.

"Yes, uh…Actually I've skipped several." She confessed. There were several seconds of intense silence. Hinata was waiting for him to scold her for missing out on her classes.

"That is so awesome!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. He couldn't believe it, she skipped her classes too! What else did they have in common?

"R-really?" He wasn't upset with her? Oh joyous day!

"Yeah! Hey, have you ever pulled any pranks?" He asked, a child-like excitement shone in his eyes.

Hinata ducked her head and her skin became flushed. Oh no. Was this now a test of character from her mate? The only thing she could do was be honest and hope he still accepted her. 

“Maybe. Just once or twice. Nothing horrible! Just a few on my siblings and frie-” 

Hinata was pleasantly shocked when his lips crashed into her own pair. She kissed him back with the same amount of enthusiasm.

This was truly the start of an incredible relationship.

Chapter Text

Naruto was absolutely thrilled, he couldn't help but to kiss her. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing! This extremely cute and sexy girl had to be a mere figment of his imagination! She was just too perfect to be true. Maybe he never actually made it back to the Hidden Leaf village. Based on how well things were going for it was more than likely he had died on the way to the village. Or maybe, just maybe after having so many years of isolation and an all around shit life this was finally his reward.

But he had a foreboding feeling that things wouldn't stay this perfect for very long. When he had moments of happiness, of human connection like this, they didn’t tend to stay long. Like with the Old Man or with Sasuke...

He really hoped that he was just being paranoid.

The two of them finally pulled away from each other. Hinata buried her head into Naruto's neck and smiled softly. He found the action adorable, assuming it was part of her overly affectionate behavior. In reality, Hinata felt a little...overwhelmed. Her cheeks were a bright red and her lips tingled. Her mate giving her such a passionate kiss left her feeling more than just excited. It left her stomach fluttering and her nerves shot. She couldn’t bear to have him know how much he had affected her. 

She couldn’t risk appearing weak in front of her newly acquainted mate.

Naruto leaned back against the couch and wrapped his arms around her. He closed his eyes as he and Hinata sat there in a peaceful silence. He appreciated her lack of sexual advances in the moment. Don’t get him wrong, his teenage brain was beyond excited to have such an attractive young woman desperate to sleep with him. But to have a moment like this was nice too. It felt so...so comforting. It gave him something he hadn’t realized he’d been missing in his life. Hinata,at most, would sometimes place a delicate kiss upon his neck. The feeling sparking the gentle lapping of lust within him.  The young man was trying to grasp just how incredible the girl sitting on top of him was.

 He pondered what else the two of them had in common.

"Mate?” She asked, her fanning across his neck.

"Yeah?"

"Has that female ever hit you before?"

Naruto ran his hand through her hair, enjoying the softness of her indigo locks.

"You mean Sakura? Well yeah, she's hit me before. I remember when we were younger she would do it all the time!" Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he recalled the antics of Team Seven.

Hinata gasped and pulled her head out of his neck. When she looked up at him, her eyes were wide and mouth dropped. Pure shock and horror was written all over her face.

"Why? What were you doing that would make her harm you? As a matter of fact, why would allow her to lay her hands on you?" Hinata just didn't understand why anyone would want to hurt her mate! It baffled her.

No.

It enraged her. 

The thought forced something ugly and unforgiving to gnarl deep inside of her. This was her mate. Hers. He belonged to her and no other female should dare lay a finger on him. He was wonderful, perfect and amazing. To touch him, to hurt him...

A low growl started rumbling low in her chest, unnoticed by the blonde. 

"Well, I mean I would always…." Ask her out on a date.

Naruto paused, the last part of his sentence caught in his throat. 

He didn't know how she would react to the fact that he had feelings for someone else before the two of them met. Hell, he was still into Sakura the very day he ran into Hinata! How would he explain that to her? The dream he had that night was still vivid inside his mind. He knew she was possessive of him; she had made that much clear. And he could guess whatever reaction she would have to the news would be terrible. He figured she would either become extremely depressed, or become so enraged that she attacked Sakura.

He certainly didn't want either of those things to happen.

"…bother her. I would annoy her a lot and she would react by hitting me. It's no big deal; really I have a hard head, so it didn't really hurt me." He chuckled nervously. He wasn't being completely truthful with her. It hurt like hell whenever she hit him. But he didn't want Hinata to know that. She might decide to take action by violently attacking Sakura in retaliation.

Hinata's eyes narrowed for a split second and her left ear flicked. Those moments occurred so fast that Naruto didn't catch them. Hinata wouldn't ever call her mate a liar, but she could easily tell that he was sugar coating the details. His slight pause, nervous laughter, and she could hear the slight change in the tone of his voice and her heart beat increased. Those were very clear and obvious signs that he was lying.

She was hurt; she wasn't sure why he felt the need to lie to her. She tried to push down the sense of betrayal inside of her. Maybe he just didn't trust her enough yet. She knew that these types of humans, the ninjas, weren't very trusting of outsiders. She had only known him for a day, and he wasn't used to her customs. It would make sense if he were weary of her and didn't want to tell her about every aspect of his life.

But she vowed that she would get him to trust her! Until then, she would have to respect his decision to keep certain information away from her. But she refused to be lied to.

She especially didn’t need him to lie for the sake of another female. She forced the growl within her to subside so she could speak to him. 

"Naruto, listen, "she cupped his cheek with her clawed, the tips of her nails caressing his soft flesh, "you don't have to tell me certain things if it makes you uncomfortable. I understand that as a ninja, you probably aren't a very trusting person, I get that. But please, please don't lie to me. I find it to be very disrespectful." 

Her claws gently scratched his cheek as she said this. It wasn't enough to hurt him, but it was enough to assure him that it would be hell if she ever dug them into his skin.

A small chill went down his spine. He could sense a slight threat in her words and actions. It was odd because she's already clarified for him that she would never lay her hands on him. She was more likely to harm herself than him. But the hidden threat was still there, it was extremely strange.

From Hinata’s perspective there was no threat of harm. Just a promise. A promise to mark him in the most visible way to remind him of who owned him. He could always do the same to her. And she was raised one should never lie to their mate, the one who owned them mind, body, and soul. 

He swallowed hard. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"Hush." She placed a finger over his lips. "It's okay. Just don't do it again, alright?" She smiled as he nodded his head.

"Good! I can most certainly wait until you trust me enough to share all of your secrets with me! So don't you worry about having secrets! I do have some of my own you know." She winked at him.

Naruto grinned as relief swept through him. But he didn't really know when he would tell her about his crush on Sakura. Maybe after he knew for a fact she wouldn't go ballistic and brutally attack his teammate. Not only that, but there were also the other secrets he would need to inform her of. His heart swelled with some guilt. She should have the right to know that she was "mated" to the container of the nine tailed fox. How would she react to that? Did she even know about the tailed beasts? This was such a mess. 

He mentally vowed to address the matter with her soon. If she truly would stay with him for the rest of their lives, she would need to know about the type of scorn she would have to endure by mere association with him. But then again, he figured she wouldn't really mind about how the villagers treated her. Her general apathy towards humans in general was clear. And it wasn’t like she was human and could seamlessly fit it in with everyone else in the village. 

Still, the idea of sweet little Hinata being shunned in any way due to her connection with him broke his heart. After all these years he briefly noticed the villagers greeted him with a cold indifference rather than the distant disdain he had been accustomed to. She deserved more than that, being the ray of sunshine that she was. Especially when she appeared to be so far from home and her family. And he had none of his own to give to her... 

He also hoped she would never, ever find out what his childhood had been like. If she did...

Naruto winced.

With her animal-like rage tendencies he wouldn’t be surprised if she tried to declare war onf the Hidden Leaf. Or, at the least attempt to drag him away from the village and back towards her home. He doubted she’d understand his desire to protect the village that had shunned him so much. Sometimes...sometimes he didn’t even understand it himself. 

Naruto decided to save those thoughts for later. They left him feeling heavy hearted.

Hinata removed her finger from his lips and gave him a quick peck. She then sighed and once more placed her head in his neck.

"Boy, you really love smelling me."Naruto chuckled. 

"Of course I do! You smell so incredible! I love it. Your scent is just the most incredible thing to me. Right next to your amazing personality and fantastic looks." She purred out.

Naruto smirked. This girl was doing wonders to his ego!

"Really now?"

Hinata nodded her head.

" Yeah! You even taste delicious! I could spend the rest of my life licking every single inch of your yummy body."

Naruto felt a different type of warmth flood his body. Shit, why was she so sexy? He didn't think she was even trying to be seductive! He really needed to remove his head from the gutter if he wanted to get to know her better. Having an emotional bond with her would be the only way he could sleep with her. Yet, the gentle flames of lust he had felt early rose, and he could feel his boxers tighten. He shifted, moving her so she wouldn’t notice. 

"So um, tell me Hinata. What type of secrets do you have that you can't tell little ole me?"He decided changing the subject would be the best course of action. 

Hinata giggled. She could tell that he was joking, and didn't really expect an answer. She also knew that he was trying to change the subject without being too obvious.  She knew exactly what type of effect her words had on him. She really, really, really, wanted to get a rise out of him. She considered it revenge for how flustered he managed to make her earlier. If one of them was going to be nervous, it was going to be him. The panther in her purred, loving the idea of dominating her precious mate.

Plus, seeing him flustered with that cute little blush on his cheeks was the most precious thing ever! And she wanted to mess with her cute mate a little bit more….

She wrapped her arms around his neck and played with his blonde strands. She flattened her ears against her head and widened her eyes.Her bottom lip stuck out in a little pout. She knew this gave her a more innocent appearance. It was taught to her in her Human Attraction class in order to seduce a mate, or to get out of trouble when coming into contact with humans without resorting to violence. 

"Well, I can't tell you all of them all. But there is one secret I guess I could tell you about. There's something that I've always wanted to do." She kept her voice light, and soft. It carried an air of hesitation, just to fully sell it. 

Naruto raised his eyebrow. He was surprised that she would actually be willing to tell him one of her secrets so soon. Maybe it came with them being "mated" with each other. She might feel more compelled to tell him her secrets. It made him feel guilty. He wanted her to tell him secrets because she wanted him to, not because she felt like she had to.

"You know, you don't have to tell me anything."

Hinata smiled. "No, it's alright, I want to tell you."

She leaned in close and placed her lips right next to his ear. She made sure to gently move her body against his.She shifted until she could tell she was right on top of his growing manhood. He tensed beneath her. 

"Well," her voice changed to a very sultry purr she hoped would drive him wild. "I've always planned to participate in a certain activity with my mate once I found him. It involves a lot of hard work. And it'll leave the both of us hot and sweaty."

Naruto's cheeks turned bright red. His member was hardening in his pants. The fact that those words were coming out of her mouth was so....And oh Kami, was she purring? The vibrations traveled down her chest, straight down to his cock.  He could also feel the heat from her core grinding on top of his crotch. Naruto wouldn't want to be in any other position in the world. It would only be better if they were in a hot tub while she was feeding him ramen noodles.

A fantasy he tucked away for another time. 

"Oh r-really?" He cursed himself for his stutter. But he couldn't help it. It was like there was a fog in his mind causing him to lose focus. All he could think about was her and the pleasant sensation running through his body because of her.

"Yeah. It also involves a lot of touching. So what do you say? Do you want to do this with me one day?" She made sure to nibble on his ear, her tongue flicking out to lash at his skin. He grunted, his hips jerked up to meet hers while she pressed her body as close as possible to his. To be honest, this was turning her on quite a bit too. But she tried to hide it.

"S-sure." He couldn't think straight at all.

 The only thing on his mind was her naked body underneath his as his hands roamed her skin. They didn't have to have sex. Maybe he could repay her for the little gift she gave him this morning. He had no experience, but damn, the idea of spreading her legs open, and lapping at her pussy seemed like the best idea he’d ever had in his entire life. What would she do? What would she sound like? Would she whimper and plead with him to keep going? Would she be rough and demand that he keep eating her out until she told him to stop.

He really needed to know. 

"Are you sure? I haven't even told you the name of the activity." She asked with a coy smile. Her sharpened canines grazed his flesh, causing him to hiss. 

 "Then tell me.” They were both surprised at how demanding his voice came out. But damn, he had never been so horny and riled up and turned on in his life. 

"Alright." She made sure that her lips brushed his ear every time she spoke.

"Would you be willing to one day," Her voice was sultry and filled with need. "Play tag with me? It'll be super fun!"

And then her voice changed back into the same bright and cheerful voice she usually had.

 "Oh fuck yes!"

Naruto's eye nearly rolled into the back of his head. His hands grasped at her ass cheeks, groping her delicious globes of flesh. He was ready to strip her bottoms from her and to complete her request of-

Wait.

Then her actual words struck him.

"Wait. . . What?" He was extremely confused. 

Instead of her suggesting that he spends hours upon hours ravishing her body, she wanted to play a game with him?. Hell, he even expected her to ask him to allow her to ravish his body! But instead she wanted him to play tag? That game that only children ever really play? He was so baffled he stopped all movement.  That didn't make any sense at all.

His confusion ended when Hinata burst into a fit of giggles.

"Ha ha! Your face! Hahahahahaha!" She covered her mouth in a poor attempt to stop her laughing. She laughed so hard that she actually fell out of his lap and onto the carpeted floor. She lied on her back as she continued to snicker. Her mate's stupefied expression brought joy into her heart. She couldn't believe she had really tricked him! Her human mate had been duped by her. 

Naruto still couldn't comprehend what exactly happened. She had been messing with him. She had pranked him. Something that had never happened before. He was always the one pulling the pranks. No one had ever dared pranked the prankster, lest they faced his wrath tenfold. But Hinata was completely unaware of his history.  He grinned; it was definitely a nice change of pace.

Mentally though, he filed this even away. He was not going to let this slide. Sexy cat woman or not, she was not going to out prank him. No one was. 

"Oh, you think you're funny do you? Well here I come to take my revenge!" He descended upon the girl and dug into her side in a wrath of tickles.

Hinata shrieked in even more laughter. "NO! HAHAHA! NO PLEASE NO! HAHA! WHAT ARE YOU DOI-AHAAHAHA, WHAT IS THIS HAHAHAHAAHAHA!"

The blonde shinobi was on his knees on top of his companion. Hinata was squealing and squirming underneath him. She desperately wanted to escape from this odd form of torture. Or at least that's what it felt like to her.She’d never experienced this before. She had play fights with her siblings where they'd bite, scratch and pin one another. But this was strange. Everywhere his fingers touched,he would wiggle and force laughter from her. Was this some sort of human magic? A secret technique? 

Is this why she was warned to stay out of her human form for long???

"Then apologize! Say you're sorry for being mean to little ole me." Naruto demanded.

 There was a large grin on his face. Her laugh was beautiful. Plus this was the first time he could recall ever tickling someone. It was a nice, new experience for him. It helped that she seemed utterly defenseless. She would block one please, and then squeal in complete shock and surprise when he simply switched to a new tickle spot. 

"HAHA! ALRIGHT! I'M SO SORRY! I SWEAR! HAHAHA!" There were tears sliding down her flushed cheeks. And regret filled her. Her mate was so devious for her attack. She could’ve attacked him back, but her stomach hurt from laughing and her cheeks were strained. And...she was having a lot of fun.  

"Well. . . . Alright, I'll accept that for now. I hope you've learned your lesson." He ceased his vicious attack on her. But he didn't move from his position on top of her. He enjoyed the view a little too much for him to just move.

Her eyes were closed and she lay still beneath him as she tried to catch her breath. He noted briefly that her ears were turning in every direction possible at a fast past. It was like they were working overtime because her eyes were closed. That was certainly interesting. Her cheeks were flushed with a blush that spread down to her stomach. She was as red as an apple. A small smile was on her which was slightly open so she could inhale air. Her large chest rose and fell with each breath she took.

"I will get you back for that. Whatever that was" She told once she had calmed down some. Her eyes opened and her ears stopped moving around as much. Amusement dances in her gaze as she peered up at him.

Oh she didn’t know about tickling. Perfect, he was not going to explain it to her. Instead, he was going to use it against her every single chance that he got. 

He chuckled before standing up. He offered her his hand. "We'll just have to see about that. I am the pranking king after all."

Hinata placed her hand into his and allowed him to help pull her up. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and buried her head into his chest. "Well, it's a good thing that every king needs a queen."

She was surprised when he leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "You're right about that sweetheart."

Hinata blushed at the endearment. She was absolutely ecstatic that her mate considered her to be sweet! And since sugar is sweet, that means that he must think of her like sugar! Since most people like to eat stuff with sugar, that must mean that he wants to eat her! Her sex life was going to be absolutely incredible!

But, he had also called her heart. Like love. Like maybe he loved her? He was her mate of course. Love would come naturally. But the idea that he might love her already left her flushed once more. The butterflies tried to make an appearance in her stomach again and she needed to keep them away. 

 "Hey, you know what we should do?"She asked as she pulled away enough to peer up at him. 

"What? Will it be another activity that will require touching, and leave us both hot and sweaty?"He teased her. 

The hybrid giggled and shook her head. "No, not really you big silly! We need to go outside and explore!"

"Explore? What do you want to explore?" Naruto wasn't too sure that Granny would allow them to just leave the village to explore anything outside the village just yet. 

"This village! We need to explore it! This is my first time here, and I want to take a look around. I want to go through the places where you humans buy your items! And I also want to venture into your woods! I heard that all of your animals are super tiny compared to ours! I want to see if that applies here. So please can we? Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!" By the end of her sentence she was jumping up and down in anticipation.

She was the only one of her kind here, and this was her mate’s home! She could go and spread her scent everywhere and mark this entire place for just the two of them. It would teach any single females to back off and leave them be. The idea left her thrilled. But the thing that got her really excited was her mate showing her off to his friends and people he knew. The two of them would walk all around the village with her on his arm, a clear display of their union. That left her vibrating with excitement. 

Her mate, laying  his own claim on her. 

"Alright, calm down. We can go. But we need to cover your ears or else it'll freak people out. I'm pretty sure that Shizune and Sakura brought some sort of hat so you can cover your ears. "

"Yay!" She pounced and wrapped her arms and legs around him. He was nearly knocked off of his feet. "Thanks so much! Now we need to find that hat!"

In a split second she was off of him and rummaging through the bags and bags of clothes.

Or, at least that's what Naruto assumed she was doing. He couldn't see her at all. He was very impressed with her speed. One second a bag would be sitting on the floor and the very next the contents would be strewn all over the carpet. His eyes couldn't keep up. He wondered how she had become so fast. He knew most ninjas couldn't travel at speeds this high. He wondered if she’d be interested in sparring with him. She would need a test of her skills if she would be heading out on missions with them. 

"Found some! There are five of them and they're all in the same exact bag! How clever of them to do that! Meow!" Hinata was at the right side of the couch with a pile of hats in front of her and an upside down bag in her hands.

He blinked and she suddenly had one of the hats on top of her head. It was a light purple sun hat. It was simple, yet elegant.

"How do I look?" She asked him. Naruto figured she would ask him that question every time she donned a new outfit.

"You look very nice. But we still need to do something about your tail. Maybe if you had on a sweater or something. I'm sure that there's at least one." He took a look at the small piles of clothes scattered on the floor and spotted a light blue sweater. The way it was stitched made it look like it was handmade by somebody's grandmother's mother.

"Here, you can wrap this around your waist so no one can see your tail." He tossed it to her. She caught it and stared at it.

"Um….Tie it around my waist…Uh…..How exactly do I do that?" She asked him bashfully. 

She wasn't used to any of these clothes. She was certain she had never been in contact with cloth like this one. It was really furry and it had long sleeves. She recalled seeing these types of clothes whenever it was cold. That's generally when humans would wear them. She felt pity for them, it must be challenging for them not have pelts that they can shed and grow at will.

Her mate came towards her and took the sweater from her. "Here, I'll show you how to do it. You just take the sleeves and wrap them around your waist. Then you tie them together like so."

He double knotted the sleeves without making it too tight. "There, that should do for now. It would be better if I could use a Genjutsu, but unfortunately I'm not well versed with those. Sorry."

"You don't have to apologize for anything! This does mean that we can leave your home right? We get to explore this village! Let's go!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him to the door.

He chuckled at her enthusiasm. He allowed her to take him to the door. She tried to open it, but she was struggling since it was still locked.

"What? What is this? Why won't you open!?" She grasped the knob and twisted and tugged.

"Hinata, you have to-"He tried to explain what was wrong when Hinata gave a hard tug. She pulled the door knob right out of the door.

She growled and narrowed her eyes at the metal in her hand. It had indents of her finger on it. She chucked it behind her. It hit one of the walls and went right through it. She turned her attention to the door and hissed at it.

"How dare you, tree barrier. To trap my mate and I here inside here!" She lifted her floor and kicked the door. It flew off the hinges and crashed into the wall of the hallway. It remained buried there.

"Uh…." Naruto sweatdropped. Her emotional whiplash was more than a little confusing. He just hoped it would never be aimed at him.

"Yay! Hurry mate, that evil wood is now gone! We can continue on our journey!" Hinata's anger had completely vanished.. She continued to drag Naruto out of the open doorway and into the hallway.

"Yeah…Sure." He summoned some clones inside of his apartment to clean the mess she created. He made a mental note to teach her how locks worked. He didn't want a repeat of this incident.

Hinata's ears picked up the few pops the clones made when they appeared. "Huh? Mate, did you hear that?"

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm just making sure the mess in there is cleaned up." He explained to her.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry about that. I didn’t know that you had to fight your way out. I should’ve let you do it."She apologized.

"Um no Hinata. The door was locked. It just needed to be unlocked, fighting was not needed.” He tried to be as polite as possible while he explained this to her. 

Her head whipped to his. Her face turned a bright red, and he could see her tail thrashing around underneath her sweater. 

“W-what? I thought-Oh no, I’m so sorry! I was just so excited to go out, and it wouldn’t open, I d-didn’t”

He paused their walking to place both his hands on her shoulders.

“Hey hey, it’s alright. I’ve broken plenty of things in there. Besides, like I said I’ll make sure it’s taken care of. So no worries alright? Don’t apologize for being you.” 

Hinata beamed up at him. Her eyes shining in gratitude and unshed tears.

"Thank you my mate! You are just so kind!"She wrapped herself around his arm, and tugged him to continue walking. 

"Um, about that. We need to make sure that no one really knows what you are. One way to do that would be by making sure you sound at least a little normal. So try and call me by my name, alright?" He instructed her. 

"Your name? You mean…Na….Na..Naruto? That's your name right? Naruto?" The name felt weird on her lips. But if it's what her mate wanted her to do then she would oblige.

The blonde, hearing his name slip her lips was pleasant. It left him feeling warm, and he felt a familiar stirring in his pants. Damn, she made him feel like a complete pervert. 

"Yeah, good job. And if anyone asks, I'm your boyfriend and you're my girlfriend. We ran into each other during my training trip and fell for each other while I was staying in your village. We had to separate because your father didn't approve, so you ran away and we met up again. Do you think you could remember that?" He opened the door this time and the two of them headed outside, and into the crowded village.

Hinata blushed. How was she supposed to remember any of those things? She didn't even know that he went on a training trip. And boyfriend? Girlfriend? The two of them weren't friends. They were mates, lovers. They were bound by the gods above. Why couldn’t she just say that? Were humans really so devoid of true eternal love? 

 "Well, no, I can't. But l will just let you explain things to other people if they ask."

The blonde sighed. "That's fine for now. We can work on our story later. For now, let me show you around this place! That's Toshiro's grocery store, and across from it is Hana's grocery store. Both of them are in a fierce competition. It's been like this ever since the two of them divorced. Then there's..."

Hinata tried to absorb every single word that came out of her mate's mouth. But she was distracted by something. There was constant whispering among the people. Wherever they went, people paid close attention. Hinata would understand it if they were just questioning who she was. She was a complete and total stranger who just appeared virtually out of nowhere. But that's not all she was hearing.

"When did he get back?"

"I hope Lord Jirayia used stronger seals on him."

"That girl...is she some type of offering?!"

"Is our village safe with him here? What if those men come looking for him again?."

All of the whispers ran along those lines.There was a general fear regarding her mate. Almost like he was some fierce predator of the village that they should all be wary of. She felt offended by some of the comments regarding her. Most were curious about her connection with him. Others though seemed concerned she were forced to be by his side. 

Hinata made it a point to cling closer to him in solidarity. 

She was...well she was in awe. This level of hushed fear and intimidation he managed to gather without any effort was incredible. Her mate, her Naruto , must be strong. Perhaps she could witness him showcase this incredible strength to her one day. The idea sent a sharp shiver down her spine. Her center throbbed, and she licked her lips, excited at the prospect. The only comments that really bothered her were ones made about this group.

No matter how much she strained her ears for information, it was all vague. But her panicked heart could discern that some people might be after her mate? As if they wanted to harm him? 

Hinata wasn’t sure how worried she needed to be about this. 

She focused on Naruto, gauging his reaction. 

It was like he didn't notice it at all! He was still talking, and pointing out different buildings. She knew he could hear them. His body had tensed up after the few humans started whispering about them. But he wasn't doing anything about it.Instead, her mate appeared bothered by these statements. They were causing him distress.

That was enough for her. 

"This is one the libra-"

"Ma- I mean, Naruto, can we go into the woods? I feel more at home whenever I'm in a wooded area surrounded by animals." She asked sweetly. She was secretly boiling in rage inside. She didn’t know who was after her beloved. But she’d fight them with everything she had and more. . But she wouldn't do anything until she understood the situation better, and had a list of names, scents, and details about their appearances. 

"Of course! Can finish giving you the tour of the village later." He body flickered both of them to the middle of the woods.

 They were next to a log, which would be perfect for them to sit on. It was near an old training ground that he would train in privately. He was relieved to be away from the villagers. He couldn’t hear their exact words, but he knew that they’d been talking about him. Based on the way Hinata had fidgeted and moved against him, he figured she could hear every word. He tried his best to pretend to be unaffected, but it twisted him up in knots. He prayed they weren’t saying anything terrible about him or about her. He wouldn’t be able to deal with that, not when he was having such a nice time with her. 

"Here we are! I hope you like it! It's probably not as large as the one you're used to, but it's pretty decent. Plus, there are even larger forests. Like the Forest of Death. We can go there if you want. I'm positive the animals in there would give you more of a challenge than the ones in here. But it's a restricted area, so we might run into some trouble if we try to hea-"His rambling was cut short by Hinata. She placed her finger over his lips.

"Mate, hush. There's something that we have to discuss." No one was around, so Hinata figured she didn't have to call him by his name at the moment.

"Like what?" He asked when she removed her finger from his mouth.

"Don't pretend like you don't know. What were those other humans talking about? Who are they so scared of? And why are they so scared of you?” Hinata was desperate to know these answers.

Naruto pulled away from her and rubbed the back of his neck. He did what felt natural and plastered on a fake smile. So they were talking about him and his status as a container. Great, just what he needed right now. 

"Hehe, so you noticed that. Well, it's not really that big of a deal, honest. I've gotten used to it so-"

"Not much of a big deal! Are you sure? It sounds like maybe you’re underreacting?" She pushed. He had the same nervous ticks earlier, when he was lying. The feline needed a clear understanding of the danger he was in. 

"Hinata, it's no big deal because I've gotten used to it. It doesn't bother me anymore. So just forget it, alright?" Naruto just wanted to drop the issue. He's been treated like this for so long that it didn't faze him anymore. For the most part.

Hinata pouted at him. 

"Used to it? Not such a big deal? Drop it? I...So you don’t have men coming after you?" She asked.

“Oh.” His hand dropped from his head. “That’s what they were talking about?” 

The Akatsuki? He could’ve felt relief if the reminder of the organization hadn’t damn near sucked the life out of him. The group is constantly on the hunt, waiting to rip the nine tails out of his body for some nefarious purpose. He was happy the villagers' conversations aired on the side of caution instead of outright hostility. But this created a new dilemma. 

He didn’t know how to explain who the group was without explaining the nine tails to Hinata. And he really really didn’t want her to worry. He also didn’t want her to fly into a rage and decide to try and fight them herself. No, that was the worst option.  Before, the threat of the Akatsuki seemed like such a lonely issue. They were after him, and that's all he had to worry about. 

But now...

Hinata stood, her pale lavender eyes staring back at him, waiting for an answer he didn’t know how to give.

His heart lurched. What if something happened to her? What if they decided to try and hurt her to get to him? Knowing how much Hinata revered him, if worst came to worst he would want her to run. To get as far away as possible. But he knew instead, she would throw herself into danger if it meant saving him. He could feel his throat closing, and a panic began settling over him. Was he strong enough? He hadn’t been able to stop Sasuke from leaving. The Third was dead and he hadn’t been there. Could he, at this very moment stop someone like Itachi if he decided to kill Hinata to get to Naruto? 

He didn’t know. He didn’t think so. He wasn’t strong enough, he wasn’t good enough. He-

A soft, pale hand cupped his cheek, bringing him back to reality. Hinata watched him, her eyes narrowed as she studied him. After several seconds of silence where he struggled to explain himself, she gave him a small smile. 

“It’s okay.” Was all she said.

It wasn’t okay at all to her! What was going on! How was she going to protect her mate if she was missing so much vital information! This would never happen back home. Threats were dealt with immediately. It wasn’t much of a choice. It was either attack or become attacked. The idea of planning, strategizing and biding one’s time had long since been beaten out of her. 

But what she did know was that now wasn't the right time to have this discussion. She could tell that this conversation was causing him great distress. She deduced from his fake smile that he was used to completely masking his pain. These men caused him a great deal of pain, and made it difficult for him to discuss.  It was probably even more uncomfortable since they'd only known each other for a short period of time. She may have been pissed, and she may want answers right here, and right now, but her mate's happiness was her first priority. And at the moment, she was making him unhappy. She needed to fix that.

On top of that, she could easily hear other people. The closest ones were nearly a kilometer away, which to her was pretty damn close. This was an open, public area and he was probably feeling very exposed. This issue was private, and he's been dealing with it for a long period of time, that much was obvious. 

So she resigned to wait. She would wait until the two of them got to know each other better. She would wait until he told her why the villagers feared him. She would wait until she learned more about his past, and all the sorrows he had ever felt. She would wait until she was accustomed to the mindset, and the social rules of the humans. Then, and only then would she allow herself to talk to him about this.

But there were still a few things she wanted to tell him at the moment.

"Mate, for now, I will drop the subject. I know that it isn't something you wish to discuss with me at the moment." Naruto's shoulders sagged with relief.

"But," she cupped his cheek. "Understand this. I am your mate. I will do everything I can to protect you. My life is your life. And know that nothing you say will ever drive me away from you. No matter what. I’m your forever, and you can use me as you wish. Even as a shield.” 

"But Hinata-"He wanted to argue with her. He would never allow her to become a meat shield for him!

“And when we become fully mated it’ll be the same for you. We will shield each other. It’ll be a partnership.” She interrupted him.

He relaxed a bit at her words. He never wanted to put her in danger. But her words eased him, and caused his heart to do a small happy tremor. 

"Alright, that's fine, I guess. Just don’t go jumping into danger on my behalf” He decided to concede to her at the moment. It was the least he could do when she was so understanding towards him. Her ability to understand him without words, to know exactly what to say to comfort him despite just meeting him.

He needed to do more for her. He wanted to do more for her. 

“Cmon, enough being serious. Let’s actually go explore the woods more. I can show you some of my favorite spots.”

Hinata squealed and leapt at him. She knocked both of them off of the log and onto the forest floor. She lay completely on top of him, with her arms around his waist.

"Thank you mate! I would love to!" She showered his face in multiple kisses. In reality, she could tell that the tension had lifted from him. Seeing him in better spirits instantly raised her own. 

He laughed, basking in her attention, causing her to pepper him in even faster smooches, her own joy rising with his own. 

"Hinata!"He laughed, he raised his arms, ready to tickle her when she stopped. He pouted, sad he wasn’t able to have his own fun with her. 

"Good! Now come on!" She was off of him in a split second and on her feet. She offered him a hand up. "I heard a stream nearby! Is that one of your favorite spots? Maybe you and I can swim in it! Or catch some little fishes!"

Naruto marveled at how fast her moods could change. He had yet to find out if that was a good thing or a bad thing. But for now, he would allow her positive and upbeat attitude to sink into him.

"Sure." He placed his hand into hers, and immediately he was pulled to his feet. Hell, she nearly pulled his arm right out of his socket! She had one hell of a grip that was for sure. He wondered why she allowed him to tickle her earlier. She could've easily escaped him. He rubbed his poor shoulder.

"Oops! I am so sorry! Did I hurt you? I know that sometimes I have trouble controlling my strength, and I get so excited sometimes. I’m sorry, I’m really sorry. Oh my poor little mate! Could you forgive me? I’m sorry. “Hinata rambled, nearly in hysterics.

"It's fine. I'll just have to teach you to control some of your strengths. I mean geez, if you're already this strong, I would hate to have to fight your dad!" He joked.

She cocked her head, completely missing what the joke was.

"Well, yeah when I said he would tear you to shreds, I wasn't really-"She paused and stood up straight. Her eyes gained a blank stare, and her head snapped to the left.

"Hinata? What’s wron- oof!" He was interrupted when she suddenly tackled him, hard.

They both fell to the ground, Naruto's head smashing to the forest floor. He groaned in pain. He was surprised when something flew over them and crashed into a nearby tree. It nearly cracked in half from the collision. Had the two of them remained standing, the object would've crashed into them.

He was immediately on guard when the strange object spoke in a confused voice. "Hmm, I guess Ugly didn't like my honest opinion…."

Naruto closed his eyes. He wanted to smash his head into the forest floor beneath him.

Why?

Because the person speaking was none other than Sai, one of the members of Team 8.

He could hear other, angry voices yelling in the distance. One of those voices belonged to Sakura.

It was time for some hell to break loose.

Chapter Text

'Please, someone, just kill me now.' Naruto thought to himself miserably. 'I mean, my life wasn't perfect, or even all that good, but right now would be the very best possible time for me to die. Especially since I have an incredibly gorgeous girl on top of me…'

Naruto Uzumaki was in a bit of a pickle. He was currently lying on the forest floor, trapped there by not only extreme pain, but also by the body of his bubbly new lover. He kept his eyes closed because he didn't want to face any of the questions that would soon come his way. He could hear Sai, the pain in the ass, groaning slightly as he pulled himself out of the tree. He could also hear the enraged voice of Sakura, and her stomping in his direction. She was probably coming over here to finish off her poor victim. Not that he would be mixed. Sai properly deserved whatever painful death was coming his way. 

The other voices of his friends also rang out clear, only adding to his predicament. 

The voices included both Ino and TenTen, who both avid haters of perverts to the point of committing violence. Although they still weren't as bad as Sakura it still spelled trouble for him considering his situation. 

He was currently underneath a girl wearing very little clothes. He knew that if they saw him in this compromising position, he would most likely be a dead man. He wouldn't be surprised if, despite him being underneath her, they accused him of being some sort of perverted degenerate. Either that or they would take one look at Hinata and accuse her of being some sort of slut.

The voices were only a foot away, so Naruto kept the frown off of his face. But the uncomfortable fire of anger had been lit inside of him. He didn't want anyone calling her names. She was sweet, and certainly didn't deserve to be insulted. But he was sure that if any of the girls dared speak to Hinata like that, she would certainly give them a taste of her claws. Which was good, because Naruto didn't really feel comfortable laying his hands on a woman, especially one of his comrades. He could only hope that perhaps he wasn’t giving his friends enough credit. 

It had been several years since they had last seen each other. Perhaps the general cattiness that had fueled most of their interaction with each other had faded away. 

If not...

"Mate?" Hinata's voices brought him back to his unfortunate reality.

Despite knowing the consequences he would have to face, Naruto opened his eyes. The concern in her voice was enough to make him realize that if he continued to play dead, it would've led her to panic. And even though she had hurt him when she decided to tackle him, he didn't want to make it obvious. He was positive that she would've started to cry.

Bright blue eyes peered into light lavender ones.

The seductive young lady on top of him grinned in relief, her shoulders sagging.

"Oh good! You're okay! I was worried that I hurt you. But you're not hurt! I'm so happy I could just-”

She didn't finish her sentence, instead, she opted to eagerly press her lips against his own pair.

He probably should've pushed her away; especially since he was positive his friends would break through the trees within the next few seconds and see him. He was also aware that simply kissing could ignite into a very heated make out session. Right now would not be the optimal time for the two of them to partake in an activity like that. But, at the same time, he probably didn't have that much time left on the Earth anyway, so he might as well enjoy his final moment to the fullest.

He moved his lips against hers. She shivered, and he could feel some rumbling from her chest. Naruto figured that it was just her purring in delight. Hinata's body once more started sensually grinding down into his, which lapped at the flames of his lust. Her warm, wet tongue prodded at the outside of his lips. He was about to open them when an enraged voice interrupted them.

"SAI! YOU BASTAR- wha…?" Naruto separated from Hinata soft lips and sighed.

'Well, here goes nothing.'

Naruto turned his head to the right, and saw standing only about a foot or two away, was Sakura and several of his friends. Although shock was the primary emotion among the group, he could clearly see the anger still present in Sakura's eyes.

A large, sheepish grin made itself on his face. 

"Hey there guys!" He greeted them. "How's it going?"

Their shocked expressions didn't change. Naruto figured that it was a lot of information for them to process. There was a gorgeous girl they’d never seen before now on top of him, fully enjoying his presence. The idea that any member of the opposite sex would be so attracted to him probably blew their minds.  Except for Sakura, since she had seen the two of them together already, and in a more compromising position. It didn’t seem to do much to temper her already sour mood though.  Her anger quickly became the prominent emotions on her face.

"Naruto! What the hell do you think you're doing? You do know that this is a public training area, right?" She snapped at him.

"I believe that Dickless was about to engage in sexual activities with this girl. She must be desperate." Sai spoke up.

The blonde snapped his head in the other direction to send one of his own heated glares.

"Sai, you bastard! I told you to stop calling me that!" Sai gave him one of his fake, creepy smiles.

"But it's true. I'm just making sure you know that. As a matter of fact, is Desperate aware that you have nothing between your legs?" The pale boy asked in sincere curiosity.

"Oh trust me; she's aware of a lot of things about him." The pinkette chimed in, not bothering to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"But I'm not done with you, you bastard!" Relief flooded Naruto's system once Sakura's attention was switched back to Sai. He was in the clear for now.

"What are you talking about?"

Sakura clenched her fists at her side. It was easy to tell that she was just itching to punch him again.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about! Take back what you said to me, now." She demanded through her grit teeth.

"Oh." The smile appeared on his face again. "You mean what I said about you being a flat chested witch, and that it didn't matter how many new shirts you brought, it won't change anything about your chest size or ugly face?"

Naruto swore he could see steam coming out of her nose. Her entire body was trembling with rage.

"Yes, that. Take. It. Back."

"But why should I? It's completely true, and I learned that honesty is best when it comes to friends." Sai replied.

Naruto smirked internally. It appeared the gods have once again favored him.  Sakura was just about ready to explode, and beat Sai again. That would give him and Hinata the chance to sneak away before anyone had the chance to question them. They would be too concerned with saving Sai's life. Then, the two of them would be alone, and they could think of a backstory for the two of them. Then the next time they met up with his friends, they would be able to properly answer questions.

But, not all plans work out. Especially not one that Naruto had only come up with in such a limited amount of time.

Hinata carefully observed the interactions of the humans. She was far more tense and on guard than her mate realized. She was on high alert the minute she had tackled her mate to the ground. Despite her cheerful and welcoming disposition, she wasn't a trusting person. She was the opposite, always wary and concerned about any new people she met. It was the way she had been raised. Entering into any new area meant a whole new world of threats of dangers that would be ready to take her life at a moment’s notice. 

And with humans? That lesson was multiplied tenfold. She needed to wear a mask of smiles and keep a sunny disposition to ensure no one was alerted to how closely she was monitoring them. She had allowed her guard to drop only once while living among the humans, and it was a key reason why she was all alone now. No, she had to always watch, but never let anyone know she was watching. 

While Hinata had been kissing her mate, she had been carefully studying the potential enemies. She, being the apex predator that she was, used her nose in order to do so. She had already noticed the fact that there were three females within this group; two of them were unfamiliar to them. It's partly why Hinata was kissing her mate. There was also one male, but she was already taken so it didn’t matter. She wanted these new females to see them, so that they would know that he was completely off limits. The humanoid feline realized that he was a very handsome male, and that there were probably several females that wanted to claim him.

That sure as hell wouldn't happen while she was around!

Once the all too familiar pink haired female bursts through the tree line, Hinata remained in place until she spoke. That's when the bluenette decided that she had staked her claim, and that it would be best for her to check out the other threats that stood less than a couple feet away from her and her beloved. Hinata wanted to gauge their strengths in order to determine whether or not she would be able to take them in a fight.

Her gaze immediately went past Sakura whom she determined was the cause of the body that had flown into the tree. Hinata was willing to admit that Sakura was strong, but the barely clothed girl was positive she would be able to take her down if need be. Instead, she focused her attention towards the three girls whom Hinata had yet been acquainted with.

The first woman was a brunette. She looked a little older, and had her hair up in two odd large circles. But, Hinata was more concerned about other things besides that. This girl also had a large…thing on her back. It looked like a large sheet of paper that had been rolled up. Most concerning was the fact that she was wearing baggy clothes and gloves, which stopped Hinata from fully observing her. This severely limited the amount of information Hinata could get from her. She could do little else but move on to observing the other female.

The very instant that Hinata laid eyes on the blonde, she instantly hated her. This female had blonde hair, a shade lighter than her mate's. A large chunk of this hair was being used to cover one of her teal eyes. But what really caught Hinata's attention was the startling lack of clothes that covered her body. She revealed the same amount of skin as Hinata, and maybe even more! And when Hinata thought about the reasons why she might wear such promiscuous clothing, anger bubbled inside of her.

This blonde either wore clothes because one, it was more comfortable, two it helped her move her body better to fight, or three, she was using the outfit in an attempt to attract males. It certainly wasn't the second reason. There was very minimal bruising, and scratching on her body. Hinata couldn't find any on her hands, and there weren't that many on her legs. Her body, although tense, was not in a way that said she was a close range fighter. She just didn't have that certain rigidness in her stance that most people had when they were used to being extremely up close and personal with someone trying to kill them.

If she was wearing this outfit because it's what made her comfortable, then Hinata would just learn to deal with it. Even though there was a chance that her mate would find her clothing attractive… But even if that was the case, Hinata still wouldn't want anyone to suffer from the uncomfortable feeling that came from wearing dreaded clothes. But, if it was the first reason, then she better watch out. There was no way Hinata was going to allow her love to be seduced by some other girl. Especially not one that had a chest size comparable to her own! And she was beautiful as well, an actual threat. 

Hinata would just have to make sure that her mate knew exactly how incredible her breasts were….

So this blonde was a threat, but more so to her love life than her physical well being.

But Hinata's observations were cut short once she heard what the really pale boy said about the pink haired female. Part of it was true, this girl was flat chested, startlingly so. But what did it matter? Peering at the pink haired female, Hinata found her to still be attractive despite her chest size. And it appeared she was strong for a human as well. Nothing to be ashamed of at all. 

"That doesn't matter! And there's a difference between being honest and butting into a conversation that has nothing to do with you!" Her angry face flushed red. "Or my breasts, you pervert!"

"But you have no breasts, that was just me being honest and helpful. I wouldn't want you to buy a shirt with the thought that they would make your breasts bigger, when it really wouldn't. Now you can spend your money on other things." Sai pointed out.

Hinata watched the interaction with much interest. To talk about another female’s body like this, it was simply so interesting. If this happened back home, this male would’ve been killed by the pinkette’s mate. She supposed things were different here. She wondered if her mate would defend her if these types of comments were made about her. She would certainly hope so. 

"I don't care Sai! You can't just say things like that!" Sakura growled. Her rage was just about ready to explode into a brutal beating. 

Hinata tensed, sensing that the situation was quickly becoming very dangerous. As it should. These were comments that should lead to bloodshed. Naruto felt her body stiff, and got ready to jump up and leave with her. Neither of them wanted to be caught in the crossfire of whatever this was. 

“Well it’s nothing new. Dickless and I have talked about this before.” Sai said, his empty smile turning to the couple on the ground

'What? Sai, no, what the hell are you doing?' The whiskered blonde wanted to bash his head repeatedly against the ground. That was just an absolute and blatant lie. Naruto didn’t think he’d ever had a private conversation between him and Sai. He explicitly avoided the creep. Something about him always felt so off and uncanny and Naruto hated it. Not to mention he just appeared out of nowhere after graduation. 

He just couldn't understand what would cause him  to stir up trouble like this. Now, Sakura's entire wrath was aimed at him. And based on the low grumbling coming he could feel coming from Hinata’s chest, there was no way she would allow the two teammates to handle this amongst each other. 

And even Hinata realized this. She was primed and ready to defend her mate. 

“Naruto! You pervert, where the hell do you get off talking about me like that?” Sakura spat at him. 

She had been pissed at him for the past day now. This whole situation with this strange girl had left her feeling upset, angry, and just fuming. Hearing that her close friend had attacked a deep insecurity of hers left her spiraling in a manner she hadn’t anticipated. She was absolutely ready to bash someone’s head in. And it had been years since that someone had been Naruto. 

In an instant, Hinata was off of the blonde, and standing in front of the medic-non. 

“Back off.” She hissed. Her teeth bared, showing off her elongated canines. Her fingers flexed at her side, her claws growing bigger. 

“Excuse me? This has nothing to do with you. This is between my teammate and I, so you back off.” Sakura stepped closer, not all intimidated by the display. It only served to piss her off more. 

“Trust me, you will lose and I don’t want to hurt you. Leave my m-Naruto alone.” Hinata threatened. 

This did not calm things down at all. This is not how things were supposed to go. This slutty catgirl was not supposed to be here. Sakura had struggled and bled,cried, and trained by herself under Tsunade for years. She was left without either of her teammates, helpless and wondering if they were both safe. And now that Naruto was finally back, the two of them couldn’t even spend time together like they used to. And they had, for a brief period of time Team 7 had been almost like she had remembered it. But that couldn’t last now could it? No, instead this humanoid freak was interfering with everything and she couldn’t stand it. 

" Who the hell do you think you are?" Sakura didn't think it was possible for her to hate someone she had just met. Especially not to this extent! But to stand and act so high and mighty was frustrating. She worked hard to prove that she could be an ally to her team once they were all together again. And this girl thought she could beat her? Please. 

"Yeah! Who exactly are you?" Ino interjected, with a question of her own. This not only temporarily ended the heated tension between the two women, but this was also the question of the minds of the other Rookies. 

"Yeah, and why the hell were you kissing Naruto?"

Well, almost everyone. This question came from Kiba. He was slightly jealous of the fact that Naruto had such a hot babe locking lips with him, while Kiba struggled to find a girl. It just didn't seem fair.

"Um..." Hinata wasn't sure how to answer those questions.

 She was quite aware of the fact that she wasn't supposed to expose what she was to every human she met, and that it was generally supposed to remain a secret. Especially in this place, where danger seems to lurk in every corner. But these people knew her mate, and appeared kind of close to him. So, did that mean that she could freely tell them what was going on? Or did she still need to lie to them?

And what type of lie could she come up with that would be believable?

"Her name is Hinata, and she's my girlfriend." Thankfully, Naruto answered those questions for her. He sat up, and cringed. The pain from being tackled and colliding the ground was still potent. It was still making itself known to Naruto, but thanks to the healing powers of Kyuubi, it was fading. Not fast enough for his liking though. He couldn't really move without having sharp jolts shot through his head and chest.

"Really?" Kiba raised an eyebrow. He wasn't buying the story at all. "She's your girlfriend?"

Kiba wasn't convinced of this for a second. It didn't matter that he had spotted the two of them with their lips locked. It just was not possible that he would be able to get such a sexy girl in such a short amount of time. There's no way that a loud mouth idiot like Naruto could go on a mission for a couple of days, and come back with a brand new girl on his arm. He did not have the skill, or charm needed to pull that off.

'"Yes, she is. You got a problem with that dog breath?" Naruto snapped at him. He had finally made it onto his feet. But the second he stood up straight he nearly doubled over in pain.

"Agh!" He grunted out, clutching his stomach as a sharp stab of pain jolted through him. It resonated from the spot Hinata had impacted when she tackled him. He hadn’t realized moving would make it hurt so much. 

'Holy hell! Hinata's strength is unbelievable! And she wasn't even trying to hurt me! I need to avoid pissing her off at all costs. I might not make it out if I do…" He thought while pain surged through him. He really hoped that the damn fox would hurry up and finish healing him.

"Oh!" The very next second, he felt one clawed hand on his shoulder, and another one snaking its way into his shirt. Naruto shivered slightly as the hand ran soothing circles on his bruised skin.

"I'm so sorry! Are you alright? I really didn't mean to tackle you so hard. I just didn't want you to be hurt. But now you're in pain because of me! Oh, I just…" Hinata trailed off, not completely sure how to use her words to apologize for screwing up so horribly. She was just an awful mate! She should've remembered that humans were very gentle and fragile creatures. Well, at least in comparison to her species.

'Weak!' A deep, guttural voice snarled in her head.

For a brief moment of time, all the feelings of love and admiration she felt for her mate vanished. Instead, a deep guttural shame and anger filled her. She was overcome with a sense of disgust and disappointment. The feeling of repulsion seized her being so strongly that she almost recoiled away from him.

Then, as quickly as it came, the feeling vanished. 

Hinata promptly ignored it. She currently wasn't in the mood to listen to her more primal side. It was usually very helpful, but she knew that right now, it wouldn't be anything more than a headache. But she knew that her mate, more specifically what her mate was, was an issue she would need to address at a later point in time. As a matter of fact, it would be best if she did it by tonight. But that wasn’t the issue at hand right now. 

"It's fine. I'm a fast healer, so I should be better soon." He tried to reassure her.

But Hinata's worries weren't easily laid to rest. Especially not when the grimace of pain was still present on his face. He was also leaning over a bit, leading Hinata to conclude that it must hurt for him to stand upright properly. All in all, his words weren't at all convincing.

And a little part of her was angry at him for lying. It was one thing to lie to her in order to keep a secret. It was a completely different story to lie to her about his health. How was she supposed to take care of him if he did that?

"You're lying." She pointed out softly. But her eyes held sternness in them, while her eyebrows were pulled together in a frown. She was upset with him, that much was obvious.

"Well I-"Naruto's explanation/apology was cut short when Hinata shushed him.

"No, it's okay I forgive you. We should just focus on making sure that the pain goes away." She said while she continued to tenderly caress the front of his body.

Naruto shivered, and a tinge of red dusted his cheeks. Her hands were soft, and warm, and the circles she made while touching his skin widened, ensuring that her hand came closer and closer to his lower regions. Although she had managed to maintain skin to skin contact with him since the two of them had met, he really wasn't used to it. Never before had a girl ever touched him this intimately, or this often. The sensation she brought to him was absolutely incredible, and he was becoming aroused. He knew that Hinata would be completely overjoyed if she saw him with an erection.

But Naruto knew that would lead to a very uncomfortable situation. Gaining an erection in front of his friends would probably be the most embarrassing thing to ever happen to him.

"Umm Hinata…"

"Yes? What is it? What do you need?" She asked him eagerly.

"Could you-"Naruto was cut off by her in a similar fashion to the previous day.

"Could I what? Could I kiss you to make you feel better? Well of course you could! You don't even have to ask." Hinata dropped down to her knees not a second later. She moved to lift up his shirt in order to start peppering him with kisses.

"Uh, no no no! That won't be necessary! He exclaimed, stepping away from her. He knew well enough that if she laid one kiss on his skin, he would, without a shadow of a doubt gain an erection.

"Aw, are you sure? It would be no problem at all for me to do it."Hinata offered.

Truth be told, although she was eager to please him once more, there was more to it. She wanted to be sure that the women, especially the blonde one, realized that Naruto was her man and her man alone. Back in her home, the kiss would've been enough to alert other females to stay away because the two were mated. But she's heard stories about human females being cruel enough to go after a male who was already in a relationship.

So far, Hinata hasn't run into any females like that. Or maybe she has, and just didn't realize it. But she wouldn't let her guard down regardless. All she wanted to do right now was the health of her mate, and ensuring that everyone in this clearing knew that he was hers.

"I am one hundred percent positive." Naruto remained adamant, much to the dismay of the territorial young lady.

"Are you really sure? You know that I would love nothing more than to please you. It is my job after all." Hinata continued to push him.

'Now if I could just get him to agree, I can cover his glorious body with kisses and licks, then there's no doubt that he will get an erection. And that will hopefully send the other females that he's attracted to me, and that they stand no chance! And then I won't have to worry about anyone stealing him away from me. '

"Alright, alright, I think I can see what's going on here." Ino spoke up, narrowing her eyes at Hinata, who was still on her knees.

"You do?" Both Naruto and Hinata asked at the same time. Naruto was very worried that the two of them had been found out. He didn't know how Ino figured it out, and he was concerned about how his friends would react to Hinata being the strange hybrid that she was.

Hinata was worried, but not about being found out. Instead, she was more concerned about the female in general. Not only was she pretty attractive, but she was also smart. She was also apparently smart enough to figure out that something was up with her and her mate. Hinata planned on upping her game to ensure that her mate kept his eyes on her only. But, her more primitive instincts told her that this blonde female was a threat, and that she would need to be dealt with. But that voice was far in the back of her mind, although it did concern Hinata that it appeared louder than it had been the previous day.

"Yes, I do! Naruto, I can't believe that you would sink so low that you would sink so low to pay some girl to pretend to be your girlfriend!" Ino accused him sharply. Her hands were fist at her hips.

"Wh-what?"

"Excuse me?"

"It's kind of obvious Naruto." TenTen chimed in with disappointment displayed clearly across her face. She had known that Naruto had gone off on a training trip with a man who was infamous for his perverted ways, but TenTen never really thought that Naruto would sink to this low. It was extremely shameful.

"Woah, woah, woah, that's not what's happening at all!" Naruto threw his hands up and furiously shook his head. He was happy that Ino hadn't caught on to the true nature of their relationship, but he was still mortified by the idea of paying someone to be with him. He would rather be alone than do something like that.

"Oh come on Naruto! Do you really expect us to believe that a hottie like her," Kiba gestured to Hinata, "would really agree to willingly go out with someone like you?"

 The theory that Naruto would have to pay to get this extremely attractive girl to go out with him was the only thing that really made any sense. For some strange reason, be it as a prank or as a ploy to make Sakura jealous, he probably paid someone to pretend to be his girlfriend. 

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I could totally get a girl on my own if I really wanted to! And that's exactly what I did!" Naruto vehemently defended himself, despite knowing it was a complete lie. 

He had to admit it, he knew that in any other universe, a girl like Hinata would never give him the time of day. At most, the two of them would probably just be friends. He couldn’t imagine the two of them naturally meeting and falling in love with each other. 

"Oh really? You mean while you were away on one mission for a couple of days you managed to get a girl, a pretty cute one at that, to agree to be your girlfriend? And then you managed to convince her to come back to the village with you and leave her entire life behind? Do you really expect us to believe that?" Ino asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Well,uh…" Naruto really regretted not thinking of a better cover up story before taking her outside. The one he already concocted would only work for random villagers. Not his closest friends who could easily call out his bullshit. 

He desperately wished he had the foresight to plan things ahead. How the hell was he supposed to answer her question? She had made some really good points, and now he couldn't think of an answer. It figures, it's why he would get in trouble for his pranks. Either he was caught doing it, or he just couldn't lie well enough to get out of trouble. He wished he would've at least polished those skills while on his training trip.

“You’re wrong.” Hinata piped up. She stood, standing proudly next to her mate. She would not allow them to slander his good name with claims that she would need to be paid to be in his company. 

"Oh, care to explain then?"

"Naruto managed to completely capture my attention like no one else. From the moment we met, I knew that he was the one for me. He is so nice, sweet, and wonderful, how could I not want to be with him? And my home is a pretty dangerous place, so why wouldn't I want to come here with him?" Hinata shrugged her shoulders.

"But it's okay if you don't believe me. Think what you want, it doesn't matter to me. Because no matter what you think, it doesn't change the fact that Naruto and I are together." Once she finished speaking, she proudly went over to her mate, and wrapped her arms around him. 

She gently pressed her body up against his, being mindful of his injuries. When he hugged her back, she resisted the urge to purr. Hinata realized that if she did, then the other humans would become even more suspicious of her. Instead, she just held him, hoping that he could just feel how content she was.

The group was silent for a moment as they took in her words. TenTen was willing to believe it. Since she was one of the last members of the group to meet the blonde, she was far less exposed to how annoying and loudmouth he could be. So it was easy for her to believe that this girl was interested in Naruto, and TenTen could easily see why. He was a generally nice person, albeit a bit irritating. But if this girl could put up with that, then the brunette could see their relationship working out.

On the other hand, Sakura just rolled her eyes. She was still annoyed at being completely ignored. And she was still pissed about the very rude comments made by Hinata and Sai earlier. That's why she decided it would be best for her to hold her tongue while Naruto struggled to think of a believable cover story. It was just like that blonde idiot to not think before he acted, or spoke. But Sakura refused to lend them a helping hand, not until Hinata apologized for her words.

Ino and Kiba were still a little skeptical about the whole situation. Sure, she sounded convincing, but that could just mean that she was a really good actor.

"I still don't know…" Kiba muttered.

Sai on the other hand, was completely for it.

"I believe them." The pale, wounded boy spoke up.

"Realy? You do?" Ino was shocked by this. She knew that he was socially inept, but she didn't think he was completely gullible too.

Naruto was just as stunned as she was. He always saw Sai as nothing more than a complete and utter jerk, and annoying too. But now, Naruto had to reconsider his thoughts. Maybe the guy wasn't as bad as Naruto originally thought. Or maybe Sai managed to change while Naruto had been on his training trip.

"Of course I do. I read in my books that there are women in the world who have oddly low self esteem and they're willing to just about date anyone. She must be one of the desperate ones. I thought I already said this." Sai explained with a fake smile plastered on his face.

Every single thought about the pale boy flew out of Naruto's mind the second he finished speaking.

"Sai, you bastard! Didn't you hear what she said? She's with me because she really likes me, not because she's desperate!" His anger grew even more when Ino and Kiba nodded their heads, agreeing that what Sai said was more believable then Hinata just liking him for him.

“I guess I can buy that." Kiba conceded.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Naruto exclaimed, upset at being ignored.

"I just think there has to be more to it than your stunning personality. " Kiba muttered to himself.

The feline decided to be helpful and interject. She felt she knew exactly how to put everyone at ease about her feelings towards her mate. 

“Sex!” She blurted, beaming up at her mate. 

Any type of angry retort Naruto had died in his throat. His mouth dropped open, and he gazed down with wide eyes at his companion.

He heard his friends make various noises ranging from snorting, to gasping and choking on their spit. 

“Hinata!”

“Yes, my ma-Naruto was amazing. We had sex the first day we met. And just did it multiple times. It was so incredible, I knew I would never feel like that ever again with any man.”

At this point Naruto was flushed a deep red. That was definitely not what he wanted to be part of their fake love story. He preferred the romantic approach earlier. He was still a virgin for Kami sake, how was he supposed to compete with these expectations? He doubted anyone would even believe-

“Makes sense.” Ino nodded her head sagely. “ I completely understand. I wish you two the utmost happiness.” 

“What?” 

“Thank you!”

Naruto and Hinata spoke at the same time. Hinata was so happy. It appeared that that female was off the table as a threat and she respected her place by Naruto’s side. She was so happy that her lie worked out. But it would only be a lie for a little while longer. It wouldn’t be much longer before the two of them were entangled in a web of passion that would leave her desperate to be bred by her handsome mate. She could imagine it now, the two of them sweaty, naked, and completely engrossed in one another. 

"Well yeah, but I'm also wondering about you, Naruto." Inuzuka narrowed his eyes at the blue eyed ninja. Someone was still bothering him. "How come after years of being in love with Sakura, you're suddenly over her?"

That question nearly knocked all the air out of him. That couldn't have been the worst question. For one, this was another question he couldn't answer properly. And two, this question revealed information he had desperately hoped to keep from Hinata until a later date. But now, she knew, and he felt that it would only lead to trouble.

"Hey, that's right! What happened to your crush on Forehead? From what I can remember, you were all over her before you left. I hope you’re treating this new relationship seriously and not just messing with this poor girl" Ino pointed out, only sealing Naruto's fate even more.

"I do recall him asking her out quite a bit, now that I think about it." TenTen added, tapping her finger against her chin.

"Maybe Dickless is trying to use this far more attractive girl to make Ugly jealous. "Sai proposed.

This would normally be the point in time where both Naruto and Sakura would angrily yell at Sai because of the crude name he had given them. Yet, both were preoccupied with Hinata, and they were attempting to gauge her reaction. They could tell that she had tensed in Naruto's, and she had started to tremble slightly in his arms. Sakura's body tensed and she prepared herself for an attack. Naruto's reaction was to press his body closer to hers, and rubbed her back in a futile attempt to calm her down. Normally, in the presence of a potentially outraged female, Naruto would do his best to get as far away as possible, lest he be hurt. But he felt that would've been the worst possible thing to do in this situation.

Plus, he guessed that he wasn't in any real danger since he figured Hinata wouldn't hurt him. Or, at least that's what he was desperately hoping. He was so wrapped up in the petite woman in his arms that he completely ignored all of the comments being made by his friends.

"Hey, you okay? Hello? Hinata?" Naruto asked her softly, whispering gently into the hat, where he knew her ears were.

But Hinata was a little too out of it to really hear him.

'My mate is in love with someone else. My mate is in love with someone else. My mate is in love with someone else.'

Hinata repeated the phrase over and over again in her mind like a broken record. She didn't want to believe it. She just wanted to think that these humans were nothing more than a bunch of liars, but that would be false. She could tell that they were indeed telling the truth through her advanced senses.

That absolutely destroyed her.

It was like she had been punched in the gut, and had every ounce of air knocked out of her. Her widened eyes stung with tears that threatened to fall as depression really started to set in. And although her eyes had widened, she couldn't really see anything at all. Instead, all she could see was darkness. Just completely and utter darkness.

She felt cold, dark, and extremely alone.

Hinata just couldn't understand it. She just couldn't comprehend what she had done for the gods to hate her so much. She had patiently waited years to gain the ability to detect her mate. Then she waited months, very painful months before she was finally able to find her beloved mate. And now, now that she finally had him, his heart already belonged to another.

Her more human side was completely crushed by this awful realization. Devastating, heart wrenching grief completely consumed her entire being. She was entirely numb, and wasn't too sure how she was still standing. Worst of all, Hinata honestly didn't know what to do with herself at that point. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and die.

But, her more primal side had a solution very different to that.

Instead of being depressed, her more primitive side was absolutely seething in rage. That side of her saw Naruto as part of her property, an item in her territory. He ultimately belonged to her, and only her. The fact that he had feelings for someone else translated into someone coming in and stealing what rightfully belonged to her. This side of her did realize that there was still a chance at them being together. All she would have to do is get rid of the female that had originally caught her mate's attention. But usually, this primal side was kept extremely hidden, and it was never the dominant personality that controlled Hinata's actions.

Now, things were a little different.

Hinata's more human side had completely let her guard down. And the repeating confirmation that her property loved someone else only added to the beast's anger. This was the perfect time for the primal side of her to escape and enact revenge. And that's exactly what happened.

It all occurred within a split second.

One moment, Hinata was slightly trembling within Naruto's arms. In the same second, she was tackling Sakura, sending the both of them tumbling through the forest, crashing through several trees and traveling a surprising distance away.

"Shit! Hinata, Sakura, I'm coming!" Naruto yelled, quickly giving chase to the two women. He hoped that he could catch them before they seriously hurt each other. After a couple of seconds of taking in what happened, the rest of the group followed after him. They were each prepared to take out Hinata if need be.

"Ugh!" Sakura wasn't too sure what was going on.

She heard a sound akin to a wild animal growling. She felt something grasping her throat in a vice-like grip, preventing her from getting any air into her lungs. She was also aware of the fact that her feet were no longer touching the ground. Instead, she was airborne. Her back and her head both recognized the feeling of several objects smashing into it. Yet, the pain had yet to set in.

Once she hit the ground, she slid a few feet before stopping completely. Her hands immediately slid to her throat, and she tried to pry the hands off of her throat. In the back of her mind, she connects the growling and the hands around her throat back to Hinata. Someone who was now trying to kill her. But that wasn't at the forefront of her mind. Currently, she was seeing black spots in her vision, and she desperately needed to break free so she could breathe.

The green eyed girl packed as much strength as possible into her leg, before she kneed her attacker in the gut. Hinata's body flew into the air, leaving Sakura to tend to her wounds. She sat up, pain shooting through her spine. She felt warm liquid traveling down her back and neck. She figured she gained several cuts from crashing into trees, and from Hinata's claws digging into her flesh. Her body wracked with violent coughing as she desperately tried to get air into her lungs.

She managed to calm down fairly quickly, and became focused enough to begin the process of healing herself. This when her own rage set in.

'That bitch! I can't believe she actually tried to kill me! What exactly did I do? Kami, I knew she was going to be pissed when she learned about that idiot's feelings for me, but I didn't think she would actually try and attack me like that. I also didn't expect her to be so strong. That knee in the stomach had enough force to incapacitate most people, but…' Sakura peered up at the trees above her head.

'I'm not really sure if that did any real damage to her.'

Meanwhile, up in the trees, Hinata was struggling. The hit to the gut had been physical this time, and it really hurt. All the air was knocked out of her. As she flew upwards, she crashed into several tree branches, breaking them with her back. Finally, when she lost her momentum, she simply crashed into one branch. She was able to swing her body on to a lower branch that had been a little out of the way of her flight up here. She landed onto it with the same amount of grace as a newborn gazelle. She clutched her abdomen and doubled over in complete and groaned. The amount of pain that exploded from her gut was absolutely incredible.

For a human girl, she could really quite pack the punch.

The injured girl heaved over, and she spat up blood. From what she could tell, either all of her ribs were broken, or some of them were broken and the rest were fractured. Either way, it really hurt. Each breath she took caused her immense pain, and not enough air entered into her lungs. The metallic taste of her own blood filled her mouth, nose, and every inch of her airways, choking her. If she were a lesser being this would’ve killed her. Fortunately, it snapped her primitive side back in her place. Unfortunately, this was the normal Hinata, and she was still extremely pissed. Except now, she could plan her attacks a bit more strategically.

'Now, she can hit hard. Far harder than I thought.' She thought.

She had underestimated this human. Far underestimated her. These humans that fought, these ninjas, she knew they were stronger. But this level of strength was incredible. It paralleled a few of the beasts she had fought back home. It certainly outmatched anything any other human had thrown her way. 

A familiar tingling sensation flowed through her body sensation flowed through her body. Her teeth started extending even more. And a couple new ones grew in the empty space where her wisdom teeth would be. Her claws also extended, and her height grew by a couple more inches. That caused some tears to appear in her clothing as they struggled to remain on her body. Every single sense of hers heightened, giving her a much better feel for the world around her. She could also feel her body beginning to heal itself. In her natural form, these injuries would've been healed within seconds. And the closer she shifted to her natural form, the faster she would be able to heal. But this was good enough for now.

She peered down at the forest floor below. She saw Sakura, and a growl escaped her lips. Not only did this human have incredible strength, but she also had the ability to heal herself. Or, at least that's what she assumed she was doing with her green glowing hand. The cuts Hinata had inflicted vanished under the glowing hand. 

Pure hatred and adrenaline filled her system as she thought about fighting the girl down below. This female was going to be a bit of a challenge, and Hinata would enjoy taking her down. And once she did that, her place at her mate’s side would be fully and completely secured. She wouldn’t have anything to worry about. 

Using the claws in her feet and hands, Hinata leaped to another tree directly behind her target. She carefully crawled down the tree trunk. She then attacked once more, leaping at her enemy. To her surprise, Sakura whirled around, her fist prepared. Thankfully, she missed by a mere inch, and Hinata tackled her to the ground. She made sure to place weight onto Sakura's legs to ensure that she wouldn't be able to use them to attack. Hinata also grabbed both her arms, and restrained them against the ground.

"Let me go!" Sakura demanded, struggling to in the hybrid's grasp. She was surprised at Hinata’s own strength. She figured it had to do with her more feral appearance. 

In response, Hinata lowered her head so that their noses touched. She released a menacing snarl. The ninja took this opportunity, and thrust her head up, smashing her skull against Hinata's. This was the one moment where her large forehead came in handy. Hinata's own skull took a very hard hit, and she blacked out for a split second. That second was long enough for Sakura to get one of her hands free, and she cocked a fist back. When she tried to hit Hinata, it was too late. The lavender eyed girl had already regained her bearings, and caught the fist.

Hinata resisted the urge to yelp as she felt, and heard something in her arm break.

'I really need to stop underestimating her.'

A smirk appeared on Sakura's face, as she gloated for a second that she managed to harm her opponent. Hinata responded by gripping her fist as tight as possible, causing several bones in her hand to break. She released her broken limp, and in an instant, had her claws wrapped around Sakura’s throat. She tried to tighten her grasp to crush her neck, only to wince a the immense pain that shuddered through her body. Her arms was broken, most likely in more than one place. 

Damn this human.

In retaliation, she used her other hand to snap Sakura’s wrist. 

Sakura bit down hard, in an attempt to stop herself from screaming out loud. As a result, blood dribbled down from her lip from the amount of force she placed behind her bite. Having several of her bones broken at once had to be the very worst pain that she had felt in her entire life. But she wasn't going to give this girl the satisfaction of hearing her scream in pain. Thankfully, she could hear Naruto and the others calling her name, and they were quickly approaching the scene. Hinata's hat and jacket had been knocked away during the struggle, which exposed her for what she really was.

Hinata realized this as well. But instead of running away to hide, she decided to act as quickly as possible. She opened her mouth, and lowered her razor sharp teeth down to Sakura's throat. She was fully prepared to sink her teeth into her flesh and take a bite out.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" First, she heard her mate. Then, after many 'poofs', her nostrils were filled with his overwhelming aroma. It caused her to pause. The scent of her love, flooded her and calmed some of the inferno that had gripped her.  She didn't even have a second to process this information before there were several whooshes, and a thick cloud of smoke covered the area.

"Ack! Naruto, what the hell?"

"You jerk, why'd you do that for?"

"Now how the hell are we supposed to find them?"

She heard several complaints coming from the voice of the other humans because of the thick fog, which apparently her mate created.

"Hey, listen up, flea bag." Sakura spoke up softly. She ignored the low growl Hinata released at the insult. "As you know, Naruto, your mate, cares about me a lot. More than he cares about you. What do you suppose he'll do when he finds out that you killed me?"

The pinkette hoped that her words worked. She could feel the sharp jagged points of Hinata’s teeth right at her aorta.Hinata was too close, and possibly too strong for her to risk trying to beat her off. She hoped her words would be enough to make her back off. 

And it worked. Her words hit Hinata hard. She immediately pulled her mouth from Sakura's throat, and narrowed her eyes at her. But Sakura continued speaking, completely unfazed.

"I mean, you could kill me if you really wanted to. Just know that when you do, Naruto won't ever forgive you. He will never agree to fully be your mate, and you'll spend the rest of your life alone. Because trust me, he won't want anything to do with you afterward. But whatever, it's your choice."

Hinata stared deeply into Sakura's eyes ,who in turn tried as hard as possible to remain as cool and collected as possible. Despite her best efforts, Hinata could see straight through her exterior. The scent of fear permeated off of her. This young woman clearly knew that she had been in a really bad position. Yet, Hinata also detected some truth in her words. 

It presented her with two really bleak options. 

Kill this girl, and lose her mate. Or she could let her live, and possibly get together with her mate, which meant losing her mate. It seemed to be a lose-lose situation either way. And Hinata knew she only had a couple seconds more to make her choice.

Reluctantly, she released Sakura's hands from her grip. The ninja didn't have a second to gloat before Hinata, in her anger, entangled her claws in her bubblegum pink hair, and yanked the two of them close. Several strands being pulled out in the process. She made sure they were nose to nose. 

“You live now, human, but mate is mine. You stay away from mate. Mine." Hinata promised her voice, raspy and strained

She still fought with the urge to kill the female. Kill her and be done with it. Her mate would submit regardless. Hinata wasn’t human, she was better than human, and she could make him submit. She wanted to. But she didn’t want to. She couldn’t. He was her lovely mate, and needed her to be better. He needed her to be more like him. 

More human. 

"Whatever." Sakura mumbled to herself. "Not get off me."

"There you two are!" Naruto's voice rang out as he appeared a foot away from them. Hinata could hear the sound of footsteps close behind him. She did the wise thing and ran off before his other friends could see him.

"Wait, Hinata!" He called after her. He started to follow her, before he paused in his tracks. He switched his attention to his pink haired teammate who had seen better days. "Sakura! Are you alright?"

She rolled her eyes, and sat up albeit, with some struggle. "Yeah, just peachy." She answered sarcastically.

"Great!" The blonde said, barely glancing at her. He quickly created a shadow clone. "Cover for me. And help Sakura if she needs it."

With that, the blonde was off once more. Their other companion appeared just as he was leaving.

"Naruto! Where do you think you're- Oh my Kami! What happened to you?" Ino asked, her anger cut short by her shock.

"Woah, Ugly, you look worse than usual!" Sai commented, not really concerned about her well being. His eyes darted around, looking for the mysterious girl. Disappointment loomed inside of him. He had been able to instigate a fight between the two of them, but no information had been garnered. Oh well, he still had information he’d be able to report. 

Sakura rolled her eyes. As Ino and TenTen rushed over to her aid. She was very thankful for their help, since she was in an extreme amount of pain. She turned her head and narrowed her eyes in the direction that the pair had run off in. She needed to have a very long conversation with Naruto about all this. 

That girl was dangerous. 

Naruto rushed through the trees in desperate search of Hinata. No matter how many times he called out her name, he received no response. It was frustrating. Or maybe this was a good thing. He wasn't really sure what he was going to say to her once he did catch up with her. Was he supposed to apologize? What the hell could he even apologize for?

'Oh, hey there Hinata. Listen, I'm sorry for getting feelings for someone else instead of waiting eighteen years to bump into you. I promise, it won't happen again.'

That sounded stupid, even to him. But if that's what she wanted to hear, then he would say it. Honestly, he was scared. He was worried that Hinata hated him, or at least she didn't care about him as much as she did before. The very idea of her acting coldly around him made him shudder. He really wanted to give their relationship a chance, and it was obvious that she didn't fully understand that. He desperately needed her to.

"Hinata! Please, if you're not going to come to me, at least let me come to you!" He called out to the trees. "Please! I just want to talk with you! Come one, I do want to make things right! Please!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when there was a large crash. It sounded almost like a large tree falling over. He quickly changed directions, following the noise. He hoped it would lead him to his cat-eared lover.

"Hinata?" He burst through a large clearing, his head moving back and forth, rapidly trying to find her.

"Yeah?" He heard her sullen response. She was at the edge of the clearing where a small river ran through it. Her ears flopped down sadly, and her finger was gently stirring up the water.

He was very relieved to find that she wasn't angry anymore, but sad Hinata wasn't much better. He preferred to see a smile on her face. It's what suited her best. And now, it was up to him to bring that cute little smile back.

He took in a large breath, and made his way towards her.

Chapter Text

'Okay, okay, come on Naruto. You can do this. You can totally calm down someone who's very obviously pissed off. Especially a pissed off women. Especially a woman who’s pissed off at me.  I may have failed every single other time I’ve tried to do something like this, but that doesn't matter. I can do it this time.' Naruto mentally prepped himself as he nervously approached the crestfallen girl.

She wasn't making any move to run away, or to attack him. Based on his former experience with girls, this was a very good sign. To him, it meant that he still had a shot at fixing the situation and making up with her. All he had to do was be very careful not to agitate her any further. As gingerly as he possibly could, he sat down next to her on the grass.

There was an awkward and tense silence as neither of them spoke. Hinata remained completely silence. The only movement she was making was the continued stirring of the river with her finger. Her head remained tilted down, hiding her sullen eyes from his view. Naruto was just openly staring at her. It was like he believed that if he stared at her long and hard enough, he would be able to immediately know exactly what to say to her to fix the situation.

The strategy didn't at all work. His mind remained blank and absolutely clueless on what to say to her. It was one of those very, very rare moments when he wished he had actually listened to Pervy Sage when he rambled on and on about women. Maybe if he had actually listened, he would have an idea on what to do right now.

The longer the silence stretched on the more unbearable it became to him. It was difficult to see such a bubbly person so downtrodden. He knew fully what to do with an angry woman. All he had to do was beg for forgiveness while dodging their blows. But seeing Hinata here, just so sad and still unnerved him. He felt guilt  itching away at his conscience. Despite their short time together, he knew if their positions were reversed she’d be all over him trying to fix the issue. And he couldn’t even think of a single thing to say to her. 

Yet he was supposed to be this super awesome mate of hers. He left more like a piece of shit. 

"Listen," thankfully, Hinata decided to start the conversation. "Ma- I mean, Naruto."

A strange pang shot through his chest at the sound of his name coming out of her mouth. Naruto wasn't sure if the feeling was good or bad. Hearing his name escape her lips was extremely nice. The pleasant way his name slipped out of her mouth left him with pleasant shiveres. Yet, he was all too aware that her using name wasn’t anything good. Not now at least. Her enduring nickname for him was sweet, and he enjoyed it. Hearing her use his name felt almost like a step back between the two of them. 

"I've been thinking a little bit, and I've made a decision." Hinata announced, still without looking at him.

"O-okay." Naruto responded. A small heaviness entered into his chest, causing his heart to tighten. He balled his fists in laps and tried to focus on keeping his breathing heavy. She had barely said anything, yet he felt like the world was closing in on him. 

"I've decided to, to," she paused, her shoulders shaking as her decision weighed down on her. "I've decided to go back home!" She managed to blurt out.

There was a beat of complete silence. Naruto didn't say a word as he digested the information given. Hinata waited in bated breath for him to digest the information.

"Oh." Naruto replied simply. A void began to settle inside of him as he tried to digest the news.

Hinata sat beside him, trying not to let her utter devastation become visible. It was quickly becoming a losing battle.

His lack of reaction crushed her. An avalanche of pain and sorrow crashed over her heart. She reached up and settled a hand over her heart to soothe the constant pain shooting through her heart. Her vision blurred and her eyes stung as tears collected in her eyes. He didn't care. He really didn't care about her. She was hoping that he would beg her to stay with him. Just a little bit. Just enough to allow Hinata to know that the time the two of them had spent together mattered to him. She knew that she would cherish every single moment the two of them had spent together, no matter how short their time together had been. He could, at the very least, pretend that he would do the same.

Hinata shook her head, struggling to hold back a sob. That wouldn't be fair. She was leaving for him. In order for him to be happy with that girl, she needed to be gone. It was best that he cared nothing for her. It would mean that her exiting his life would cause him no pain whatsoever. Hinata could leave, and he and that pink haired one could live a happy life together.

Even though Naruto belonged to her, and only her, He was her mate and no one else's and he was going to be with her no matter what! No pink haired little human of a girl was going to take her mate away from her.

He was hers!

Hers! Hers! Hers! Hers! Hers! Hers! Hers! Hers!

"So, when are you coming back?"

"What?!" The felines exclaimed in a voice far louder than necessary as her head snapped to his direction. She was still overwhelmed. Flooded with feelings of grief, shock and extreme possessiveness over her mate.  A sharp jolt of pain that sprouted into her neck due to whiplash, causing her to wince. 

"Huh?" Naruto gave her a wide eyed, stare. Like he was expecting to be punished for his question, but wasn’t exactly sure why. 

"Oh, I-I'm sorry! Did you want me to come with you?" The blonde asked, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his head." Sorry, I didn't realize that's what you wanted. Hehe, I'm a little slow to hints like that. But hey, I can totally go if that's what you really want! Well, I guess it all depends on when we leave and how long it's going to take for us to come back. We could maybe leave sometime this week, I'm not sure. I don't have any missions lined up, but I'm not sure if Granny Tsunade would approve of me leaving right-"

"Mate! Oh, uh, Naruto!" She interrupted him. She berated herself for the slip up. At this stage it was just so hard for her to use his name. It devastated her beyond words that they’d never move past this initial stage of their courtship. 

"Huh? Yeah? Sorry, was I rambling again?" He chuckled lightly, but she could tell he was forcing the laugh out. It came out disjointed, and too loud to be natural.  "Sorry, I do that sometimes. What were you trying to say?"

"Naruto, listen. I'm going home, and I'm not coming back." She explained to him.

"Oh. " His eyes shifted away from hers, eyeing the lake in front of her. " I’m not sure, Hinata. I mean, the Hidden Leaf is my home, and I don't know if I can just leave it. I already told you I want to become Hokage, and I can't do that if I'm living somewhere else. Maybe we could visit your home frequently instead. If you don't mind that is! I know your home is probably very important to you an-"

"Naruto!" She had to once more cut through his nervous babbling.

"Yeah?" His eyes briefly met hers, before snapping away from hers to peer out at the trees.

"Y-you're not coming with me." She told him bluntly. Once more, there was a lack of reaction on his part.

"Well how is that going to work? It's going to be hard for us to be together if we're in two different places. I guess it's not impossible; we could switch off between visiting each other. I just think it would be easier if the two of us were in the same place. We could give your way a try if you really want to do it like that-"

"Naruto…." This time, her interruption was softly spoken. She didn't at all think her mate was stupid, and knew that he understood what would happen.

And indeed he did. Naruto's head lowered. His spiky blonde locks covered his eyes, and his hand fell limply by his side. He was hurt. He didn't want her to leave. She was very attractive, very attentive, and seemed genuinely sweet. The time he spent with her, he enjoyed. Having her in his home made him beyond happy. He liked her that much he knew. He knew he didn’t like her as intensely as she liked him, unfortunately. He wasn't sure what the exact extent of his feelings were, and maybe he wasn't positive that his feelings would go beyond what they were now. And his feelings for Sakura were….

He certainly didn't know about that. Just a couple of days ago, he was completely gaga over her. Had she asked him out, he would have been all over her. He was the only girl that he ever sought after, and the only one he's ever had feelings for. Now along comes Hinata. He knew his feelings for Sakura were still there. But feelings for Hinata were sprouting. Feelings that only grew further with the realization that she was actually returning them. And now she was informing him that she would be leaving him.

If there was one thing that he was absolutely sure of in relation to his feelings for her, it was that he didn't want her to go. Especially when she had made it clear that the two of them not being together was a death sentence for her. Naruto, in good conscience, could not allow that to happen.

"Please, Hinata, I'm sorry. I was going to tell you about Sakura, I promise! I just, I just didn't want you to become upset and attack her. You know, like you did just a few minutes ago." Naruto explained, his eyes meeting hers, begging her to understand.

This time, it was her who decided to turn away. Her attention returned back to the pond.

"It doesn't matter what you say. You're not changing my mind."

'Please don't beg me to stay. Please don't, because how am I supposed to leave if you really want to stay with me? Please, just stop. I'm leaving so you can be happy with that girl. Can't you see that?'

'That's right. You better beg. Show me your submission my silly, little weak mate. I will never leave your side. And I swear I will rip that female's throat out before you have the chance to be with her. YOU ARE MINE!'

Hinata's hand shot up from her chest to touch her head. What was going on with her? Why were both of her sides coming out? And why were they clashing so badly? This wasn't supposed to happen. She needed to find a nice, quiet place, and sort herself out. After she sorted this issue out.

'Yes, after I make sure that Naruto's fine with us leaving.'

'Yes, once my mate realizes that he belongs to me, I won't have to worry about him turning to other females.'

Or maybe not. Her thoughts were clashing in a way that was jerking her back and forth. Both sides of her wanted two completely different things. Unless one of them folded, it would be impossible for Hinata to make a decision.

"Hey, are you alright?"

Hinata nearly shrieked as her mate's voice appeared right next to her. Her already pained neck snapped once more in his direction. She found his face just inches away, his wonderful, gorgeous, incredible blue eyes boring into hers. They completely captivated her. She drank in their deep blue, not realizing that she was drowning in them. She further lost herself as his scent washed over her. It was far too indescribable, especially with her limited vocabulary. It flooded her nose, and infiltrated her thoughts. All the negative feelings she had became replaced with her mate’s unique,overpowering scent. She could hardly think with him this close. All she knew was that she wanted to completely bask in it. To bury herself deep within his stench, and never leaving.

It didn't help that on top of his delicious, mouth watering, aroma; he was also very attractive. The gods did well in blessing her with a mate. His skin was a crisp, light tan that made her swoon. His tan also made his sculpted boy even more delectable to her. His bright, sunny blonde hair matched that of the sun. It held the same bright, warm feelings, but lacked the burning intensity that would often hurt her eyes. And his eyes, his gorgeous, sky colored eyes pulled her in, and kept her focused on him and nothing else. 

Her headache and inner turmoil diminished. All that remained was the deep seated desire to remain by her mate's side. To hold him, to love him, to please him, and to become one with him. Lost in his expressive, deep sea colored orbs, she allowed her mind to be consumed with thoughts of him, and their future together. An image popped in her head with her, curled up by his side underneath the nice shade of a large oak tree. In front of them, she envisioned blue and blonde haired children scurrying around in front of them. Chasing each other, and tackling each other with shrieks of delight. Yes, it was absolutely perfect, and it was a type of perfection she could only achieve with the person seated besides her. It was a dream that she absolutely needed to reach.

"..ello? Hello? Hinata? Are you okay? Do you need to go to the hospital?" Naruto asked, waving his head in front of his face.

He was relieved to see that the resigned sadness that filled her was now gone.Instead it was replaced by the same time of adoration and lust that he had seen before this little incident with Sakura. .It meant her feelings for him were still very prevalent. His shoulders sagged in relief, a huge sense of dread vanished from the pit of his stomach. Still, he didn't know if she still planned to leave him later. He also needed to somehow ensure that Hinata wouldn't attack Sakura again. But he didn’t know how to go about asking for both of those things. It seemed like asking for one meant forgoing the other. 

First and foremost, he needed to snap her out of this odd daze.

"Hinata!" He yelled, while slapping his hands together in her face. The combination of the volume of both noises managed to snap her out of her love struck daze.

"Huh? I'm sorry mate; I was lost in my thoughts. How can I help you?" Her former cheery disposition was back. There wasn't a trace of sadness left in the young woman.

For a brief moment, Naruto contemplated leaving the issue alone. Her gloomy behavior was gone, and that also appeared to be the case with her desire to leave him. She was fine now. The two of them could head back to his apartment, and continue on happily with their budding relationship.

Except when it came to him and his missions with Sakura. Then the same problem would occur again. Or maybe he would have to deal with something much worse. Especially if Tsunade was seriously considering having her become a part of the team. 

He mentally sighed. He didn't want to, but he needed to discuss this issue with her for multiple reasons. It wasn't something he could put off, for one. He had already tried that plan, and it had failed miserably. They needed to try and clear the air about their relationship, and his feelings for Sakura at this moment. It was imperative that Hinata also knew not to attack Sakura. It was kind enough for Granny to allow Hinata into the village. That was an extremely generous action she had taken as Hokage. However, if she found out that Hinata was attacking her ninja, then there's no doubt that Tsunade's kind nature would quickly run out.

Especially if the ninja Hinata was constantly attacking was Sakura, her beloved student. Granny would already be upset if she caught wind of this incident. Hinata was not only a complete stranger to everyone there. By all means, she wasn’t even human. A complete unknown in every sense of the word. Naruto was sure that Jiarya was already on the case of training to find out even more information about her and her species. Her displays of anger could lead to a complete lack of trust between her and the village, and that could be possible to regain. She needed to be on her best behavior.

Naruto needed to make sure that Hinata understood this.

"Hinata, I'm really sorry." He apologized in the softest, most sincere voice he could muster. He figured that would be the best place to start. 

"Huh? Sorry for what?"

'Here goes nothing.'

 "I'm sorry about Sakura." He explained.

"O-oh…" Her ears returned to their flattened state, and her ears veered away from his. Her shoulders slumped as she took keen interest in the grass below them.

"I was going to tell you, I promise! It's just….I was scared that you were going to…attack her." He winced as she flinched away from him. Her posture slumped lower, and a red hue colored her cheeks.

'Great job there Naruto. You managed to upset her even further. You might as well tell her to get out of your life at this point.' He berated himself. 

Still, he pressed forward. He recalled her words about physical affection. That was important to her and her kind. So maybe…

Bracing himself for a fierce fist to the face, or some similar type of resistance, he grasped both of her hands. The blonde yanked her towards him, causing her to fall into his chest. He wrapped both of his arms around her, keeping her there. He was relieved when instead of pushing him away; she adjusted herself, so she could better fit into his arms. For a brief couple of seconds, the two of them simply embraced each other.

For a few silent seconds, the two of them simply enjoyed their embrace.

"I'm sorry for attacking her." Hinata finally spoke up. Her voice was muffled, as her head was buried in his jacket, breathing in his scent. It calmed her more primal side, which began to protest at the idea of apologizing. "If you want me to, I'll l-l-l-leave."

She winced as a deep, infuriated wail filled her head.

'No! I refuse to leave! I will die before I allow some other weak female to dare lay her filthy hands upon my mate. He can beg and plead with me to leave, I'm not going anywhere! HE'S MINE!'

"NO!" Naruto blurted out, causing her to whimper in his arms. His volume was much louder than before, and her sensitive ears heard him loud and clear.

He grasped her shoulders, and pulled her away a bit, so he could stare into her eyes.

"Please, don't leave me!" He pleaded. His aqua orbs were begging her to stay even more than his mouth was.

"I don't know… You and that other girl c-c-could b-b-b-be-"'happy together without me.'

Hinata was trying to be a good person. She was trying to put her mate's happiness before her own, but the words wouldn't come out. She couldn't outright say that she was fine with another female shacking up with her intended. She just hoped he understood what she was trying to say.

"No, there's no way that would happen." The blonde protested.

"Yes, there is. You l-l-love her."She spat the last word out. "So when I leave, there shouldn't be a problem."

"Yes there would!" Naruto insisted. "There are a lot of things wrong with what you said. First of all, if you leave, won't you die? "

Hinata's eyes once more strayed away from his. But Naruto wasn't having any of it.

"Hinata, look at me!" He demanded. His tone was sharp, leaving no room for argument. It caused a small shiver of pleasure to run up her spine. The demanding voice in her head purred out in agreement. 

As ordered, her eyes snapped back up to his.

"Answer me. If you leave, you'll die, right?" The fierce intensity of his eyes was only matched by his voice.

"Y-yes…" She mumbled out unconsciously. His small display of dominance was very distracting. It was very welcomed, but she struggled to really focus on the conversation.

"Then that's just one reason why Sakura and I would never work as a couple. I couldn't get together with her knowing that it would cost you your life. Okay?" His tone became much gentler at the last word. "And plus, Sakura would never be interested in me. She's already completely in love with someone else, so she'd never agree to go out with me. So there's no reason to worry about her."

Naruto gave her a wide grin. He expected her to be happy, and relieved. She now knew for a fact that he didn't want her to die, and that he and Sakura would never get together. On those terms, their relationship was pretty safe. Sakura, the only girl he's ever been interested in, was a no go. And he could never, ever leave her because he just couldn't bear the thought of this sweet, incredible girl dying. Especially not when all he had to do to keep her safe was to remain in a relationship with her. That sounded pretty great to him. It was certainly something he was positive that it was something that she needed to hear in order to feel better.

However, the poor, clueless young man was baffled when tears welled up in her eyes. His smile sank off of his face, and panic arose.

"So," Hinata sniffled. "The only reason you're with me is because you feel sorry for me? And the only reason you aren't leaving me for that other female is because she's not interested? If she was then would you-"

"NO!" Naruto shouted.

Once more, the young woman couldn't help but flinch at the sheer volume of his voice. Her poor, abused ears were ringing. But the pain in her two feline appendages didn't compare to the sharp pain that had jolted in her heart. She was in a pity relationship. Apparently, nothing about her was desirable to her mate. She was hoping that maybe her body was one reason for him to remain with her, followed up by her personality.

But nope.

"M-Naruto." It still felt weird having that name slide off of her tongue. "You don't have to lie to me. I understand what you're trying to tell me…"

"No! You don't! I mean, yeah." One hand left her shoulder, and instead moved to rub the back of his neck. He glanced away from her, trying to think of the perfect thing to say to her. His apology thus far had been awful, and only hurt her more. And he was honestly trying! He still hadn’t managed to convince her to stay with him. He did his best to ignore the panic building up inside him. He really didn’t know what to do or say, and cursed his lack of experience. But he knew that they could work it out. 

They had to.

"Yeah, I'm kind of with you because you'll die if I leave you. But that's only because you're a really great person." His eyes flickered back down to hers." You've been really great to me this past day. You've honestly been the nicest girl to me, and you've shown me more affection than I've ever seen in my life to be quite honest."

Hinata frowned when he released a small chuckle. She didn't know what it was, but that laugh sounded off to her. She couldn't figure out why the laugh was wrong though. She just didn't like it. It was different than his earlier forced laugh. It caused an ache in her heart. 

"So I really don't want you to die Hinata, you're too great for that. That's why I want you to stay here, with me."

She wasn't completely convinced.

"But what about that other female? You still have feelings for her don't you? How can you be with me if you just want to be with her?"

A part of her hoped that he would simply disown all the feelings he had for said girl. That he would tell her that it wasn't really true, and that he had gotten over her feelings for that female a long time ago. Or that he was so attracted to Hinata, and that he was completely over his past flame. That could happen right? Because he was human, right? And unlike her species, the males here could change their feelings from one person to another.

…right?

Her limited knowledge on humans, and his silence at her question left her deathly afraid. She braced herself, preparing herself for the possibly harsh rejection that might come out of his mouth.

And she wasn't the only one in turmoil.

Naruto tried to think of the best way to explain that he and Sakura would never get together, that wouldn't sound as awful as it had before.

'I could just tell her that I'm completely over Sakura.' He contemplated that idea. 'Yeah, then she won't feel so bad, and she probably won't attack her ever again. Buuuut that would mean lying to her and that won't work out well. Especially because she can tell when I lie. Then what the hell do I say to her?'

The blonde wished that his feelings for Sakura would just disappear. But they couldn't. He had carried a flame for years, and years of his life. She had been the one and only girl that he had strived to be with. Just two days ago, had she genuinely agreed to date him, he would have jumped in complete joy. But now, if she were to become interested in him like he's always wanted, what would he do?

Would he say yes?

His gaze remained trained on the hybrid in front of him. The blatant fear in her eyes made his chest tighten her. He was hurting her. His lack of response was deadly to her. Such a pretty face should never look so sad. She was so nice, and all she really wanted from him was, well, him! She just wanted to be with him in the same manner that he had wanted to be with Sakura. Except if he rejected her, her life would end. This was a huge point looming over his head. It was almost like a burden.

Maybe one day Sakura would return his feelings. But he still wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave Hinata.

Maybe, after years of being together, he would still love Sakura. But he wouldn't be able to bring himself to leave Hinata.

Maybe after decades, the two of them wouldn't love each other. And Naruto would not leave her. If it would lead to her death, then he could suffer the fate of enjoying her wonderful presence for the rest of his life. 

But based on the information she had given to him, the two of them were meant for each other. They were essentially soul mates, and there was a huge chance that they would be happy together. And she was the first girl to ever like him romantically. And she was incredibly sweet, and affectionate.

'And, she had an incredible body.' His more perverted side giggled.

In addition to all of that, he really liked her. So far, it was a delight to be with her. And he had told her that he would at least try being with her.

So no.

As of right now, no matter how nice it would be if Sakura asked him out, he wouldn't agree to be with her. He had Hinata now, and he wanted her.

"Yes, I do have feelings for her." He started off.

"Oh..."

"BUT, I do have some feelings for you too." A smile stretched across his face at her shift in expression. The sheer amount of hope shining in her large lavender eyes was blinding. But it was a fresh change from the fear and grief that had plagued them before.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, and I already told you that I want to try things with you? But I can't do that if you leave. If you really want to go-"

"NO!" This time, it was Hinata who did the interrupting. Her mate recoiled a bit away from her, surprised by her outburst.

"I mean, no." She mumbled out, a small blush sprinkling on her countenance. "I'll stay, if you really want me to…"

Naruto's grin widened and he used his hand to gently cup her cheek.The relief that filled him almost took his breath away. She was staying, and she was allowing him to touch her. He could easily add forgiving to the list of amazing qualities she had. Hinata closed her eyes, and pushed her face into his hand. A deep rumbling escaped her throat.

"Of course I do. But you really can't attack Sakura, okay? You'll get into trouble." He told her, his thumb stroking the soft plains of her cheek.

"Mmmm, okay." She mumbled out. His hand was large, and warm. The contact sent slow, gentle chills down her spine. She wanted to feel his hands to rub even more parts of her body.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. The drama was over for now, and both of them were back on course. For now, he also had Hinata's word that she wouldn't attack Sakura. He wasn't positive that she would be able to control herself, but he was sure that she would at least try.

Unbeknownst to him, there was a storm brewing inside of her mind, one that she would have to deal with. There's also the issue of his friends, and their suspicion about Hinata, and where she came from. One far more curious than he had let on. Not to mention his furious teammate Hinata had tried to kill. And the plethora of other problems that plagued the both of them.

But right now, that didn’t matter. Right now, they could enjoy each other’s presence. 

"Hey, how about the two of us head back to my apartment? I think we've had enough excitement for today." He suggested. With her inside of his apartment, the two of them were less likely to run into any more issues. 

She released a long, drawn out, deep throated 'meow'.

Her eyes opened half way, and she stared at him through lidded eyes.

"Okay" She purred out, in a voice that brought heat to his groin.

"G-great." His mind sunk deep into the gutter. It conjured up many images of them doing far more than just cuddling, or talking.

He carefully gathered her up into his arms. He jumped through the trees, away from his other friends. He sped through the trees, very, very eager to be completely alone with her, with no one to interrupt them. For good reasons, of course. Just excited to be able to get to know her more. Had nothing to do with how she wrapped her arms around his neck as he ran through the woods. Or how she buried her face in his neck, and rubbed and purred into his skin. He completely ignored the way his lower region tingled, as she caused desire to spread through him.

Okay, maybe he did move through the trees a little bit faster as a result. 

Yes, the two of them still had issues that they needed to work out. But for now, in this instance, things between them were as fine as could be.