"Naruto?" Hinata asked, waking Naruto, who had just drifted off to sleep. He picked his head up off her shoulder and looked at her sleepily. She didn't even seem to notice he'd been sleeping, and stared at him seriously. Whatever she wanted to talk about, Naruto knew he couldn't just laugh it off or anything.

"Yeah?" he asked. He stretched and returned her serious stare, letting her know he would answer as honestly as he could.

"You said something a while ago. That you're becoming something. What was that about?" She noticed him flinch, but did not take her eyes from his. She saw a mix of emotions there, the most identifiable being fear.

"You heard that, huh," he said softly. He let out a quick, yet heavy sigh. "I was hoping no one caught that, or at least forgot about it by now. But I'll tell you. And there's something else I've been meaning to tell you, too."

Hinata nodded, though she hadn't been expecting that. She'd expected maybe a sigh and a 'I can't tell you', but certainly not that and more. Then she looked into his eyes again and felt torn at the agony on his face.

"You see, there's this thing," Naruto began lamely. "No. You know I have that nine tailed beast inside of me, right?"

"Yes?" Hinata said, uncertain. Everyone knew about it. It had spread around Konoha in time less than an hour, and that was when everyone started hating Naruto, and avoiding him. No one gave him a fair chance, and it had angered even the little Hinata back then.

"Well, something has gone wrong. I haven't had the chance to tell Tsunade yet, but I'm afraid. Afraid of what it will do." Naruto looked at Hinata, not even trying to mask his feelings. He wanted her to know just how seriously he was afraid of himself. She gulped and had to cross her arms to keep from hugging him and all his pain. He needed to tell her this, and it probably had to be now. Hinata didn't know when next they could talk alone, with Naruto watched 24/7.

"What are you afraid of, Naruto?" Hinata asked slowly. She nearly gasped when she saw the tears fall from Naruto's eyes. He was clenching his fists and looking away, but no matter what, his face just showed the pain and fear he must have been feeling for a long, long time. Hinata watched as Naruto looked every which way, except for her direction. He didn't seem ashamed, just scared.

"I don't want you to hate me, Hinata. Not you. Please, please do not hate me. You are the one person I can't have hating me." Naruto grabbed her hand, and the panic in his eyes nearly made Hinata panic. She took a deep breath and, without thinking, placed her forehead against Naruto's.

"You should know this by now, Naruto. I can't hate you. I will never be able to hate you. Nothing could make me."

"Even if I killed someone dear to you?" Naruto asked, testing the girl. Hinata felt awful, seeing how many layers would have to be peeled back until anyone saw the real Naruto. He was so guarded. Hinata could only guess how many times he'd been betrayed, or even how many times he'd had to betray. This person was not a child, and yet, felt like he needed someone as much as a child needed it's mother.

"Naruto, even if you killed Neji, I couldn't hate you," Hinata said, voice cracking as her own tears spilled out.

"Do you really care about me?" he asked, using his thumb to brush away some of her tears. He chuckled lightly when she hiccuped, but still waited for the answer. Hinata closed her eyes, resting her forehead against his again.

"I really do care about you, Naruto. You're a dear person to me." In her mind, she was thinking she'd never cared about someone as much as she did Naruto, and never would, but somehow, she couldn't say it. First, she decided, she had to get Naruto to trust her, and maybe get him to care for her just as much.

"Then I'll tell you," Naruto said quietly; so quietly, in fact, Hinata almost missed it. "All of it. Starting with this." Hinata watched with interest, but feeling a little embarrassed, as Naruto lifted his shirt. She stared in horror a moment later. All over his stomach were black lines coming from his seal, red and angry, and decidedly painful looking. All over, literally, were large purple spots, or small wounds, some of which were bandaged, though blood still spilled through. Hinata then noticed Naruto's shirt. It had stains all over the inside from blood, and that it wasn't only one, but two shirts. She also noticed the small spots on the outside of the first shirt, and saw some blood had made it's way through the first layer.

"This, Hinata, is what I'm becoming," Naruto said painfully. "And I'm afraid I'll hurt you when this takes over, because-" He covered his stomach again, and Hinata watched as he rolled up his pants, seeing bandages everywhere, black and red peaking through at the very bottom, near Naruto's ankle. "I'm becoming a monster," Naruto finished. 

And boom, serious again. I suck at trying to make it not serious, apparently...though I guess I wasn't really trying. I might update one more time tonight. I'm in a writing mood. Hope you enjoyed!