Hey all! I was gonna upload TDZ and YOT, but kinda wanted to get this chapter done first lol.

Just an fyi, I'm going on holidays really, really soon, so this will PROBABLY be the last chapter of STWF that gets posted this year :)

Pic of Hakuba :)  --->

Third Person’s POV

Ashley holds onto Naruto tightly, her body trembling and her face buried into his neck, sobbing softly. Naruto holds Ashley just as tight, his left hand stroking her hair, his cheek resting on her head.

“Why didn’t you tell me Ashley?” he eventually whispers, making the girl shake her head.

“I was….I was scared to” she admits quietly, biting her lip, not wanting to lean back and look Naruto in the eyes. Why should she have been scared to tell him? Of all people, Naruto would have been the one person to understand her, and she knew that!

“Scared?” Naruto repeats, pausing for a moment, seemingly thinking this over. “I guess……I guess I can understand that. But still, you should have told me Ashley. I had no idea you were a Jinchuuriki too….”

“Nobody knew” the blonde informs Naruto softly, sniffing. “Well, besides Kakashi Sensei. He knew…..And my friends from the Land of Ambience know.”

Naruto’s hand stops stroking Ashley’s hair, as he leans back slightly and looks down at her. Ashley’s fuschia eyes flick up, only to drop back down to Naruto’s chest. She can’t stand to see that wounded look in his blue eyes; it makes her feel so guilty….As if she’d just stabbed a baby deer or something.

“You told Kakashi Sensei” Naruto asks, sounding hurt, “But not me? Why would you tell him? He wouldn’t understand you the way I do…”

“I know” Ashley sighs wearily, rubbing at her visible eye. “I didn’t even want to tell Kakashi Sensei, but I kind of had to. Back during the Chunin Exams, when Kakashi Sensei had taken Sasuke away after his fight, Orochimaru appeared-”

“Orochimaru?!” Naruto exclaims, his features hardening. “What did he want?”

“He wanted Sasuke of course” Ashley says bitterly, her nose wrinkling. She still missed her stupid cousin, despite the length of time it had been since she last saw him. “And when he mentioned something about my power, Kakashi Sensei began asking questions. Because he protected me from Orochimaru, despite my bad attitude, I sort of felt obliged to tell him.”

Ashley forces herself to look up into Naruto’s eyes, only to see him staring at her, seemingly deep in thought. Her hands grab onto the front of Naruto’s jacket, bunching it up.

“Naruto” Ashley addresses, sounding almost pleading, “I’m so sorry for not telling you about my Demon. It was such a mistake, because I know that you, out of everyone else, would have understood me perfectly. I don’t know why I doubted you, because you’ve always come through for me before…..Please don’t hate me for keeping this a secret from you!”

Naruto suddenly smiles warmly at his teammate, his eyes hooded. He runs his knuckles across her chin playfully.

“I could never hate you Ashley-chan” he chuckles, giving the slightly surprised girl a closed eye smile. “Especially for something like you being afraid.”

Ashley blinks a few times, before smiling tiredly.

“I’m still sorry though” she says honestly, lowering her gaze from Naruto’s smiling face. “I was just….afraid that you, and everyone else, would see me differently….Treat me differently. I just wanted to be normal….”

Naruto nods slowly, understanding her meaning. When he was younger and everyone hated him for the Demon trapped inside of him, he wanted nothing more than to be like everyone else. Acceptance hadn’t come easily to him, nor to the other Jinchuuriki he knew. Gaara.

“Ashley!” a frantic voice cries, making the two blondes’ heads snap up. Ashley sees everyone running towards them, with Saffire and Kiyumi leading the pack.

Before Ashley can tell them to slow down, Saffire and Kiyumi dive onto her, wrapping their arms around her neck tightly. Kiyumi continues sobbing, her worry for her sister’s well being overwhelming her. She’d already lost her Mother and Father, so the last thing she needed was to lose her big sister as well.

“Oh Ashley!” Kiyumi snivels, burying her face in her sister’s hair. “I was s-so scared for you!”

“Are you okay?!” Saffire exclaims, grabbing Ashley’s face and looking her over swiftly. “Your skin looks kind of burnt, and you’re covered in bruises! Ashley please tell me, are you alright?!”

“I’m fine Saffire” Ashley giggles awkwardly, wincing as her best friend and sister crush her between them. “B-But I can’t really breathe…”

“Oh!” Kiyumi cries, abruptly releasing her sister at the same time as Saffire. “Are-Are you sure you’re okay? I mean, that was very intense….”

Ashley pats Kiyumi on the shoulder, smiling reassuringly at the panicked blonde.

“I’m fine Kiyu” she promises. “I’m sore and tired, but I’m okay. Thanks to Naruto….”

As Ashley and Kiyumi glance over at Naruto, a teary Saffire suddenly throws herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck and catching him by surprise.

She leans back, grabbing his face in her hands and staring into his eyes with her own tear filled ones.

“Thank you Blue Eyes” she says softly, looking ready to bawl her eyes out. “If it weren’t for you….Who knows what would have happened to Ashley. Thank you for saving my best friend….”

That said, Saffire leans forwards and closes her eyes, giving Naruto a grateful kiss on the cheek, before releasing his face and returning to my side.

Naruto stares at her with wide eyes, his face turning bright red. He looks down at the ground, subconsciously touching his cheek with the tips of his fingers.

“I…Um, I mean….” Naruto stutters as he glances back up at Saffire, who smiles at him, looking uncharacteristically shy. “You’re welcome….I uh, I’d do it again in a heartbeat! I’m happy to give my life for the ones I love!”

Ashley’s eyes widen slightly, as she stares at Naruto. Before she can say anything however, the rest of the group reaches them, all wanting to see if Ashley’s okay.

“Are you alright Ashley?!” Ino cries, hands clasped together under chin. She was still quite shaken by the scene she had just witnessed. It almost seemed surreal….

“That was intense” Choji adds, sweat dropping and glancing around at the damage Ashley and Sora had done to the forest.

“That was quite the fight Ashley” Lee says, kneeling down on one knee and smiling softly at the bewildered blonde. She felt a little claustrophobic with all of these people suddenly surrounding her. “I am glad that you seem to be doing okay.”

“Th-Thank you Lee” Ashley says with a nod, as she feels Naruto place an arm around her, holding her protectively. He did feel quite protective of her at the moment, considering she seemed so uncharacteristically vulnerable right now.

Kiba, who had been about to sweep his Angel up into a massive hug, suddenly pauses in his movements. He glances at Naruto and Ashley suspiciously, eyes narrowing at the way Naruto is holding her. He couldn’t hold her like that! That was his job!

Ashley looks up, as Sakura suddenly drops to her knees beside the blonde, worry evident all over her face. She leans forwards and hugs Ashley gently, not wanting to further injure her friend, before leaning backwards and quickly scanning Ashley’s body with her keen eyes.

“You’ve got a lot of bruises and cuts” the pinkette explains, performing a set of hand signs. “But I have a feeling that there’s a fair amount of internal damage as well-”

Ashley holds up a hand to stop Sakura from healing her, giving the confused girl a tiny smile.

“It’s okay Sakura” she assures her. “I’m okay at the moment.” Sakura frowns, the green aura fading from her hands.

“But-”

“Ruff!” Akamaru barks, interrupting Sakura as he bounds up to Ashley and licks her cheek, wanting to see for himself that she’s okay. “Ruff ruff!”

“I’m fine Akamaru!” Ashley giggles, trying to shove the large animal away from her. “Really!”

“Ruff!”

“Ashley?” Yamato addresses seriously, catching the blonde’s attention. Seeing her wary look, Yamato rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, not really sure whether to bring the situation up or not. “About before…..What…What was that?”

“Oh yeah!” Ino cries, snapping her fingers. “You looked just like Sora at one point! How did you do that?”

“Did you use your Sharingan to copy his Jutsu?” Lee asks eagerly, eyes widening.

“That wasn’t a Jutsu” Atsui scoffs, crossing his arms and earning an elbow in the ribs from Kurai.

“Be quiet Atsui!” she hisses, glaring at the green haired boy from beside her now conscious boyfriend. Shimei winces slightly, still in a little bit of pain, despite the healing job Sakura had done on him. “Let Ley-chan explain it to them!”

“Actually…” Sakura says slowly, pushing herself to her feet and tapping her chin, brows furrowed. “You looked just like Naruto at one point as well Ashley-”

“Alright!” Naruto suddenly cries, growing frustrated with everyone’s questions and comments.  He now knew that Ashley didn’t want to talk about it, and he didn’t want her to feel cornered or anything. “Leave her alone guys! Try shutting up for a second!”

Everyone casts Naruto questioning looks, as he rises to his feet and gently pulls Ashley up with him, keeping one arm wrapped protectively around her.

Kiba narrows his eyes further, seeing the way Ashley clings tightly to the blonde boy, her face angled towards his chest. Though it angered him to see Naruto holding his Angel like that, it hurt him even more to see her holding him back as well. If it was comfort that she wanted, why wasn’t she clinging to him? If it was someone to defend her, why hadn’t she run to him?

“Stop being so damn insensitive!” Naruto snaps, eyes shining in determination to keep Ashley from being judged.

Kiba growls lowly to himself, as Ashley tilts her head back and smiles softly at Naruto, patting his shoulder.

“It’s alright Naruto” the girl sighs, dropping her eyes from his face. “I don’t mind their questions…..It’s been long enough.”

“Well…..alright” Naruto gives in, before giving the others a warning look. “But if any of you hurt her, I’ll make you regret it!”

Kiba scoffs under his breath, before abruptly turning around, deciding that he can’t stand to see or hear anymore of Ashley and Naruto’s loving behaviour towards each other. If that’s what makes her happy, so be it!

The silently fuming Inuzuka stalks away, heading towards Sora, who is lying motionlessly on the ground. Kiba glares down at the obviously injured boy, his hands clenching into fists.

“Damn you Naruto” he growls under his breath, holding in the urge to punch something.

“I think they can handle the truth Naruto-kun” Kiyumi speaks up softly, gazing around at my Leaf Village friends. “If they care for my sister as much as they say, their feelings towards her will not change.”

“Huh?” Choji asks, question marks appearing above his head.

“What are you talking about?” Lee inquires, glancing between Ashley, Naruto and Kiyumi in confusion.

“Why would we change the way we feel about Ashley?” Sakura questions, her green eyes locked on my face, filled with anxiety. The pinkette was now worried that something was wrong with her dear friend…

Ashley takes a deep breath, closing her eyes momentarily, before looking up and glancing at Naruto. He gives her an encouraging grin, as Saffire pokes out her tongue and gives Ashley two thumbs up.

“Well…..” the blonde reluctantly begins. “I know you’re all wondering what happened to me just before, when I beat up Sora……The truth is I….I um….I’m a….Ugh dammit….I’m-”

“You’re a Jinchuuriki as well” Shikamaru suddenly speaks up, his arms crossed and his eyes locked on Ashley. “Aren’t you Ashley? That form you took on pretty much gives it away.”

Everyone gasps, before whirling around to stare at Ashley with wide eyes, a few people’s mouths hanging open in shock. Ashley freezes, staring back at Shikamaru.

“Shikamaru you jerk!” Naruto shouts, stepping forwards, when Ashley grabs his arm. He pauses and looks back, seeing the girl shaking her head.

“I-It’s okay Naruto” she whispers. “They need to know…..I can’t keep it a secret any more.”

Ashley steps forwards and looks up at her friends, hands trembling slightly.

“Shikamaru’s right” she finally admits, closing her eyes and hanging her head. “I am in fact……..a Jinchuuriki……”

Ashley waits, expecting to hear mocking laughter or whispered insults, but instead, her ears are met with silence. Perhaps they were all too busy giving her looks of disgust to say anything?

“So, you’re just like Naruto then?” Ino asks slowly, glancing between the two Jinchuuriki.

“A Jinchuuriki!” Yamato laughs with realisation, smacking a palm to his forehead. “That explains your huge supply of chakra!”

“What kind of Demon is it?” Lee asks, eager to learn more about this sudden and very unexpected revelation.

Ashley’s head snaps up, giving her friends a bewildered look.

“What?” Sakura asks, seeing the confused look on her friend’s face. Ashley shakes her head, running a hand through her hair.

“Why….Why aren’t you guys freaking out or running away from me….or just….something!” Ashley explodes, throwing her arms in the air, totally confused by everyone’s reactions to her news.

All the Leaf Ninja exchange looks, before chuckling quietly and grinning back at their bewildered blonde friend.

“Nothing about you has changed Ashley” Shikamaru explains with a shrug. “You’ve always been a Jinchuuriki and we all liked you.”

“Just because we know you’re a Jinchuuriki doesn’t mean you’re going to be any different” Ino giggles, shaking her head like Ashley’s crazy. “You’re still the same person!”

“And besides” Choji adds, grinning at Ashley. “Naruto’s a Jinchuuriki, and we all still like him!”

“Despite him being an idiot” Sakura says with a wink.

“Hey!” Naruto cries indignantly, to which everyone begins laughing. Naruto joins in as well, as Ashley glances around at her friends, intrigued.

How is it that she’d managed to make such wonderful friends? Despite keeping her Demon a secret from them, and having just about released it in front of them, they didn’t think any less of her at all. How could they all be so accepting after seeing that display?

Ashley suddenly smiles to herself, silently thanking each and every one of her friends for being the people that they were. Who knows where she’d be without them?

“Hey you guys!” Kiba suddenly calls, causing everyone to turn around. “Sora’s kind of knocked out! Maybe we should get him to the hospital or something?”

“Oh right!” Naruto cries, eyes widening with concern. “Sora!”

Ashley winces. She’d beaten him out of his Nine Tails form, so he probably wasn’t doing too well. Suddenly, Ashley’s legs give out from underneath her, causing her to drop towards the ground.

“Ashley!” Kiyumi and Sakura cry, as Naruto manages to catch the injured girl before she can hit the ground.

“Sorry Naruto” Ashley laughs awkwardly. “I guess I’m not doing so well myself…..”

“Don’t worry Ashley-chan” Naruto smiles. “I know how bad it feels after your Demon takes over.”

“I will help you with Sora!” Lee calls to Kiba, jogging over to him and leaning down to help lift Sora up. “Oohh, he is heavier than he looks!”

“He’s a fat ass…” Kiba mutters wryly, still in a sour mood.

“Naruto, it’s okay” Ashley whines. “I’m okay. Well, I’m okay enough to walk anyw-”

Ashley is cut off, as Naruto rolls his eyes and sweeps Ashley’s feet out from underneath her, opting to carry her bridal style back to the Village. She was stubborn, he’d give her that.

“N-Naruto!” Ashley cries, as Saffire crosses her arms and pouts.

“No fair Ashley” she complains. “I kissed him and he isn’t carrying me! How do you do it?”

Naruto bites his lip, holding back a smile, as he looks at Saffire’s cute pouting face. Ashley merely gives Saffire the finger, before the jealous Minami turns to locate her Guardian.

Kiba shoots Naruto a withering look as he and Lee begin carrying Sora back to the Village. He was furious with the way Naruto was touching his Angel so freely, although he wasn’t too impressed with the way she was letting him touch her. What was she doing? Did she actually like him or something? Had she always been this way with Naruto?

Ashley turns her head around and catches the look of hatred on Kiba’s face, her stomach suddenly dropping. Her eyes widen slightly as he growls under his breath, before turning away and glaring ahead of him.

Ashley swallows thickly, watching as he and Lee walk ahead of the group, an angry vibe seeming to just emanate from him.

Ashley feels tears coming to her eyes. Kiba hated her; it was clear in his eyes. He was obviously disgusted by her Demon, by the fact that she was a Jinchuuriki.

“Shimei!” Atsui calls, Tsumetai hanging from his shoulder. “Help me carry Tamashi will ya? He’s still unconscious!”

Yamato suddenly looks down, feeling someone tugging on his sleeve. He is met with the imploring face of Kiyumi Minami.

“Excuse me, Captain…..Yamato was it?” she asks, to which the Jonin nods. “Can you please carry my Guardian Keilor for me? He was injured in one of the blasts, and can’t walk at the moment.”

Yamato glances over at the large Wolf, only to sweat drop.

“Uhhh…He looks kind of….big” the man says awkwardly, not really wanting to carry the canine all the way back to the Village.

Yamato reels backwards in horror, as anime tears suddenly begin pouring down Kiyumi’s face and she clasps her hands together under chin.

“Ohhh” she sobs. “But Keilor can’t walk, and you look so big and strong! I thought….I thought you’d be the only one who could carry him….”

Yamato blushes slightly, as a tiny smug smirk crosses his face.

“Well, you know” he laughs. “I was in the ANBU after all!” With that, he jogs over to the lean Wolf and scoops him up into his arms.

“Dude” Keilor complains, blue eyes hooded. “You can’t like, touch me like that without asking first! Ow! I’m injured don’t forget! The shadow Wolf totally stabbed me and took away some of my mojo….”

“Huh?!” Yamato asks incredulously, sending Kiyumi a bewildered look.

“Heehee…” Kiyumi giggles under her breath. “Sucker…”

Naruto suddenly shakes Ashley in his arms, making her eyes shoot open.

“You alright Ashley-chan?” he asks, concerned. The Minami nods, her eyes drooping again. She was so sleepy……But she couldn’t fall asleep! Hakuba would try to take over again.

“Yes….I’m fine Naruto” Ashley whispers, her closing eyes landing on Kiba’s back for the hundredth time. How could he hate her? She didn’t think he was like that but…..apparently she was wrong.

Naruto looks down, only to see that Ashley has fallen asleep, something that worries him.

“Guys?” he calls, catching everyone’s attention. “We better hurry back to the Village. Ashley’s just fallen unconscious….”

Ashley slowly opens her eyes, groaning softly shaking her head. She glances around, leaning on her hands and knees, seeing nothing but black. The cold air causes Ashley’s skin to break out into goosebumps.

“Where…” Ashley trails off, suddenly spotting something up ahead of her. “Huh? Hakuba?”

The large Demon remains silent, sitting back on his haunches and staring straight ahead of him. Ashley pushes herself to her feet and runs towards the Demon, her feet clacking loudly against the black floor.

Ashley places a hand against one of the many metal poles barring Hakuba inside a small cage, tilting her head to the side.

“Hakuba?” the blonde asks again, a small puff of warm air escaping her mouth. Hakuba ignores Ashley, staring out of what looks to be a very tiny window, seemingly floating in the blackness.

“Hakuba, what are you looking at?” Ashley asks curiously, finding the Demon’s silence strange. “Are you…..okay?”

Hakuba blinks his glowing red eyes slowly, releasing a low breath. He sits with his shoulders hunched, tails lying in a mess on the floor behind him.

“I am merely yearning for the thing I want most of all” Hakuba says simply, his voice lacking any emotions. Ashley frowns in confusion, not understanding what the large Wolf is talking about.

“What you want the most?” the blonde repeats, squeezing between the bars and cautiously approaching Hakuba, watching him for any signs of an attack.

Hakuba ignores her presence however, content to stare through the tiny window. Ashley jumps a few times, trying in vain to see out of the high window, before pouting in frustration.

She almost falls over, when she is suddenly elevated into the air, towards the window. Looking down, Ashley sees that she is standing on one of Hakuba’s tails, the Demon having lifted her up to see out of the tiny window.

Glancing briefly at the preoccupied Demon, Ashley turns and looks out of the window, her eyes widening.

“How pretty….” she breathes, taking in the beautiful scene before her. She sees a grassy field, full of colourful flowers and plants, with giant trees sweeping up into the air and blocking out the sun in places. Their leaves are an array of different greens, with beams of sunlight pouring through them and casting tiny spots of light across the ground below. A family of delicate looking deer skip through the clearing, stopping at the crystal clear lake running past the window, before running through the water and disappearing from view.

Hakuba’s red eyes travel to the enchanted girl beside him, her eyes wide and sparkling with wonder. Obviously she was as captivated with the forest’s beauty as he was.

“Don’t judge me for my actions” he suddenly rumbles, making Ashley jump with fright. She hadn’t been expecting the Demon to speak. She turns and glances at Hakuba, seeing his red eyes focused back on the scene outside of the tiny window.

“What would you do to regain your freedom, if you had lost it?” Hakuba asks in a low voice, eyes drifting to lock onto Ashley’s.

“My…My freedom?” Ashley repeats, confused. “What are you talking about?”

Hakuba sighs irritably, before lowering Ashley to the floor and turning away from the window, his tails sweeping through the cold air.

“Hakuba?” Ashley calls, watching as the Wolf walks away, disappearing into the darkness.

“Hush” Hakuba orders, completely vanishing. “And allow me to show you my meaning…..”

Ashley looks around in confusion, blinking. What did he mean by that?

The deer race through the forest in a panic, their eyes wide and their ears turned backwards. They leap over the plant life and skid under fallen logs, desperate to get away from their pursuer.

Suddenly, an almost supernaturally huge Wolf with ten tails bursts through the foliage, bounding after the nimble deer, purple eyes narrowed with focus.

He closes in on the deer with ease, his speed not hindered at all by his massive size. Despite the creature’s size however, he was quite young and not yet at his full height or weight.

The large Wolf suddenly opens his mouth, chakra beginning to form into a large sphere in front of it. As the Wolf snaps his jaws closed, the orb of black chakra shoots forwards at a blinding speed, colliding with one of the deer and sending it soaring through the air. The young creature grins to himself, before leaping onto a rock and launching himself into the air, catching the injured deer in his jaws.

Landing back on the ground easily, the Wolf drops his catch on the ground, tongue lolling contentedly. The Wolf shakes himself, all ten tails wagging with satisfaction for his latest success.

He was getting much better at hunting, if he did say so himself. The Wolf glances up, as a beautifully coloured bird flits past him, it’s incredibly long tail feathers flowing through the air gracefully. The Wolf scrunches up his face, wondering whether it would be worth the effort of trying to catch the bird, before the smell of freshly caught deer hits his nose.

Shaking his head and turning to his meal, the Wolf decides that bird chasing can wait until later.

                                                **********

The Ten Tailed Wolf lowers the front half of his body to the ground, wiggling his behind in the air. He growls playfully, glaring at the tiny, grey coloured Wolf before him, mimicking his actions.

“Grrrr……” the normal sized Wolf growls, tail flicking back and forth, before the canine bravely leaps at the huge Wolf.

The larger canine barks, allowing himself to be tackled by the normal Wolf and rolling over onto the ground. The grey Wolf chomps on the larger’s ear, tugging on it playfully.

Soon, more Wolves begin appearing out of the foliage, eager to join in on the fun. They growl and bark at each other teasingly, not afraid to bite and taunt the larger Wolf as they play.

The larger Wolf shakes himself, having managed to rid himself of three young Wolf pups, before they decide to come back for more. He grins as they growl at him, lowering themselves to the ground.

If they wanted to cheat and gang up on him, he’d show them!

                                                **********

The large Wolf tips his head back and howls at the sky, the stars sparkling prettily in the sky above him. Chuckling contentedly to himself, the huge creature then bows down and takes a drink from the cool, clear water of the running river before him.

Stifling a yawn, the Wolf stretches his legs out in front of him, eyes scrunching closed. He then walks in a circle, before dropping to the ground tiredly, tails curling around him comfortably as he drifts off into a peaceful sleep.

                                                **********

Having chased the rabbit towards the edge of the forest, the large Wolf suddenly skids to a halt, hearing strange screaming sounds ahead of him.

Ignoring the rabbit as it scurries into some bushes, the Wolf raises his head, ears perked up as he cautiously walks forwards, trying to get a better view.

He blinks in surprise, watching the strange creatures from the safety of the forest, as they scurry back and forth, waving their arms in the air in a seemingly frantic fashion. The Wolf watches, fascinated, as a large pack of vicious looking Canines tear through the small Village, leaping for the tiniest creatures and tearing down what seem to be the flimsy dwelling places of the strange creatures.

“No!” one of the creatures with long hair screams. “Not my baby! Leave her alone!”

The large Wolf watches as one of the canines attacks a smaller version of the two legged creatures, viciously ripping off one of its arm and tackling it to the ground.

The large Wolf winces, not liking the shrieking sound that the smaller creature is making, like a baby deer in pain.

Suddenly, more of the two legged creatures appear, though all of these ones seem to have red fur on their heads, and colourful markings on their faces.

The Wolf’s eyes widen, as the newcomers begin throwing long objects with pointed tips at the other two legged creatures. They fall down helplessly, as the sharp objects pierce through their flesh, spraying blood everywhere.

The Wolf narrows his eyes, as a seemingly mocking sound escapes one of the newcomers mouths, while it points at one of the dying creatures as it drags itself across the bloodied ground.

Not entirely sure of the situation, but having decided that the red furred creatures are evil, the Wolf lowers himself to the ground, teeth bared.

He suddenly explodes out of the forest, feet pounding the ground as he races towards the creature making the strange sound.

With a vicious roar, the huge Wolf leaps at the two legged creature, knocking it to the ground and crushing it under his massive weight. The Wolf whirls around, as more of the creatures begin screaming and fleeing from him. Spotting more of the red furred creatures, the Wolf takes off after them, focusing another ball of black chakra in front of his mouth.

As the sphere of chakra hits them, it explodes, tearing the creatures to shreds and spraying the ground with their blood, something that brings the Wolf great satisfaction.

The animal suddenly whirls around, feeling something bounce off of his hind quarters. Purple eyes flicking down, the Wolf sees one of the strange creature’s weapons lying beside him on the ground.

The Wolf growls angrily at the creature who threw the weapon, making it scream and flee in the other direction; a couple of the remaining creatures following it.

Hearing vicious barking behind him, the Wolf flicks his large tails angrily, slamming them into the incoming canines and sending them flying in all directions.

As the rest of the red furred creatures leave, the ones that had originally been living there all turn to the large Wolf, staring at him incredulously.

Was it on their side? One of the smaller creature’s steps forwards, hand extended up to the Wolf’s face.

“No Ikeda!” a larger of the species cries, pausing when the Wolf looks up at her.

“Puppy?” the tiny creature asks, smiling up at the huge canine. The Wolf tilts its head, before leaning down to cautiously sniff the little thing.

The Wolf pauses, as the little creature’s hand stroke his muzzle, sending a tingling sensation down his spine. That felt nice!

The Wolf’s tails automatically begin wagging, much to the little creature’s delight, if her squeals are anything to go by.

Suddenly, on of the larger creature’s steps forwards, smiling and holding out what looks to be some sort of large, cooked bird.

“Thank you for helping us” the creature says slowly, though the Wolf does not understand its words. He watches as it places the bird down on the ground in front of him and steps backwards, watching expectantly.

The Wolf glances back down at the bird, before grinning and tucking into the bird, happy for the treat. As he eats, more of the smaller creatures approach him, patting his legs and running their little fingers through his fur, making him bark happily.

Perhaps he should stay, if he was going to keep getting food like this. Plus he enjoyed having the little creatures patting him!

                                                **********

The Wolf wags his tails, lowering his front half to the ground, his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.

“Come back Okami!” one of the little girls cries, charging at the beautiful silver Wolf.

“Catch……Catch me” the Wolf says slowly, still having trouble with the human’s language, despite visiting them most days for nearly two years. “Catch!”

“I will!” the little girl laughs, smirking determinedly when two of her friends decide to join in the chase.

“We’re all gonna get you Okami!” a little boy warns, standing before the Wolf and grinning. “We’re gonna win!”

“I am numbered” the Wolf sighs playfully, before pausing. “I mean, I am out numbered.”

As the three children dive at him, the Wolf pretends to be hurt, rolling onto his back and allowing the children to climb onto his stomach.

“We got you Okami!” the little girl announces, throwing her arms in the air triumphantly. “We win!”

“So you did” the Wolf chuckles. “Good…..Good job children. You would all make wonderful Wolves.”

“Grrrr!” the other little girl growls, pretending to be a Wolf as she slides down to the ground.

As the large Wolf rolls back over, the children having decided to run off, he spies a few of the adult humans subtly watching him from the entrance of one of their tents.

He turns his head away slowly, convincing himself that the dark look in their eyes is all in his imagination. He’d noticed the humans watching him more and more closely in the recent months, though he didn’t know everything about these humans, so he didn’t think too much of it really.

                                                **********

“I am so tired…” the Wolf sighs, flopping down onto the ground and crossing his paws. Resting his head down, the Wolf’s purple eyes begin to close, tired from having played with the children and the long hunt he had been on earlier today.

As the Wolf begins to doze off, he hears a clinking sound behind him, but, assuming it’s just the humans, decides to ignore it.

Suddenly, something is flung over the Wolf, making his eyes shoot open. He spies what looks to be interlocked joints of metal covering his body, like a net.

“We got him!” someone cries triumphantly, making the Wolf turn around. His eyes widen at the sight of the men behind him, spears, knives and chain mail nets in their hands.

“What is the meaning of this?” the Wolf asks in confusion, the chain mail heavy on his body.

“You posses great power Okami” another man speaks up. “The other Clans fear us, and we have decided to take over them all! We just need your power to finish the job!”

“My power?” the Wolf repeats slowly, his brows furrowing. “My power is not to be used for domination and instilling fear in others. It is to protect and bring peace!”

“That’s all very well Okami” one of the men sneers, gripping his kunai. “But if you don’t agree to aid us, we will make you do it!”

The Wolf eyes the knife warily. “You would betray me for power?”

“You’re just an animal” the first man laughs mockingly, eyes shining. “You will make a nice rug when we’re done with you.”

The Wolf’s eyes widen as all of the men begin laughing. They really were going to betray him.

“I have done nothing but protect you and your families for these past two years” the Wolf argues, feeling hurt. “And this is how I am thanked? Are we not friends?”

“Friends?” one man asks incredulously. “With a Wolf? Ha! You are nothing animal! If it weren’t for that power of yours, you’d be nothing but a pair of boots for me!”

Having heard enough of the human’s taunting, the Wolf suddenly rears up, throwing the heavy metal net off of him, before dashing towards the safety of the forest.

He ducks and weaves as weapons are thrown at him, as well as angry words and vicious threats.

The Wolf runs for a good two hours, before coming to a stop, panting heavily. Why had they betrayed him? He had thought those humans were his friends?

Being a Wolf, he had never experienced anything like betrayal before, as his Wolf friends were incredibly loyal. Humans certainly were very different from the Wolves…

*Fast Forward A Few Years*

The large, silver Wolf sighs, trudging across the rocky mountain side, tiny flakes of snow beginning to fall from the sky. The creature shakes himself, causing a flurry of the white specs to fly off of his pale fur.

“Too cold” the Wolf mutters, looking down and watching as his large paws leave tracks in the thin layer of snow beneath them. “Horrible stuff…”

The Wolf continues his ascent up the mountain, at times having to leap to higher cliffs and bounding from rock to rock.

Upon pulling himself up onto another ledge, the Wolf freezes, hearing a strange, yet familiar sound coming from up ahead of him. His ears pricked up, the Wolf cautiously stalks towards the sound, squinting his eyes as the cold wind begins to turn icy.

Soon, the familiar scent of human reaches the Wolf’s nose, as the crying sound grows louder, signalling that he is drawing closer to the distressed sounding human.

Peeking over the top of a rather large rock, the Wolf spies a human child sitting huddled in the snow, his arms wrapped around his knees and tears streaming down his face. The child cries miserably, shivering and pulling at his thick jacket, trying to keep warm.

Against his better judgement, the Wolf jumps over the rock and slowly walks towards the human, who he has assumed is lost.

The child, upon spotting the approaching canine, stumbles to his feet and takes a step backwards, eyes wide with fright.

“Do not be afraid” the Wolf says lowly, the cold wind making his voice sound huskier than normal. The child takes another step backwards, edging closer to the ledge, and a very sheer drop from the mountain side.

“No no” the Wolf urges softly, still walking closer. “Don’t walk backwards. I will help y-”

The Wolf is cut off, as the child takes another step backwards, causing some of the rocks under his foot to give way. The child screams in terror as he suddenly disappears over the edge of the cliff, making the Wolf’s purple eyes shoot wide open. He bounds forwards, skidding to a halt at the cliff edge and looking down.

He breathes a sigh of relief, seeing that the child had managed to land on a small boulder protruding from the cliff face.

“Reach up child” he murmurs, crouching low on the cliff edge and squinting his eyes against the icy wind. “I will pull you up.”

The child, too scared to move, shakes his head and begins crying pitifully. He huddles as close to the cliff as he can, one foot hanging over the edge of the boulder he’d landed on.

“I see something up here!” a voice calls, the sound carrying across the wind and reaching the Wolf’s ears. The child hears the voice too, causing him to call out frantically.

“I can hear him!” another voice cries, hurried footsteps crunching through the snow towards the Wolf. Deciding to focus on the child, the Wolf crouches back down and stretches his neck down, trying to get hold of the child’s jacket to pull him up.

“Hey!” someone shouts. “There’s some sort of Wolf over there!”

“Daddy!” the child screams, recognising the male’s voice. The child’s Father freezes, his eyes narrowing at the creature on the cliff ledge.

“He’s trying to get at my son!” the man thunders, raising his arm in the air. “Do not let him touch my son!”

That said, the Wolf cringes, feeling a sudden stinging pain in his left flank. He ignores the shouting behind him and finally manages to clamp his jaws down onto the back of the child’s jacket, leaning back to pull him up.

“Release him beast!” the child’s Father commands, raising another knife into the air, his eyes narrowing at the sight of his child in the Wolf’s jaws.

The Wolf gently sets the boy down on the ground, before raising his eyes to meet the man’s.

“You misunderstand me hu-” the Wolf is suddenly cut off, as three of the humans suddenly hurl their large knives at him, aiming to kill.

The Wolf is able to dodge two of the knives, before slipping backwards as he is hit in the side with the third knife. As his back legs slide over the cliff edge, the Wolf scrabbles desperately at the rocks, before he falls and disappears over the side.

He yelps as he drops down the mountain side, slamming into rocks and cracking his head against a thick log as he tumbles.

With a heavy thud, the Wolf comes to a jarring halt as he crashes into the ground, lying motionless in the snow for a few moments. Managing to get his breath back, the Wolf slowly opens his eyes, groaning in pain. Though he was tough, that trip down the mountain had not been pleasant.

Rising to his feet, the Wolf reaches back and yanks the sharp knife out of his side, before spitting it out onto the ground, flecks of his blood splattering on the snow.

Looking back up the mountain, the Wolf pulls his lips back and bares his teeth at the humans. Growling under his breath, the Wolf turns away, limping off into the forest.

                                                **********

Hakuba’s POV

*Flashing Forwards A Few More Years*

“Earth Style: Stone Column Spear!” one of the Ninja cries, slamming his hands together and forming swift hand signs as he sprints across the ground behind me.

I push forwards, as huge spikes of rock suddenly begin tearing through the ground, aiming to impale me and stop me in my tracks.

As one of the spikes suddenly rips through the earth in front of me, I leap onto its side and push away from it, soaring over the heads of the Ninja pursuing me, before hitting the ground and darting in the opposite direction.

“Oh no you don’t beast!” a female Ninja sneers, leaping through the trees just behind me.

“Leave me!” I bark angrily, sick of always being pursued and hunted by humans. Why do they wish to possess and control me so badly?

“Yeah right!” the woman laughs, before suddenly tossing a heavy chain at me, a large hook like feature attached to the end.

I dive to the side, narrowly avoiding the weapon, when another chain is thrown at me, wrapping itself around my hind leg, causing me to fall to the ground and skid on my side, sending up a cloud of dust.

“Good shot!” a third Ninja compliments, appearing before me and grinning down at me nastily, his hands on his hips.

“I don’t wish to hurt you human” I pant, trying to push myself to my feet. The other three Ninja suddenly appear before me as well, all laughing mockingly and elbowing each other in the ribs.

“You won’t hurt us” the only female instructs. “We’re going to take you back to the Village, and you’re going to help us gain control of the other Villages as well. You’ll be our Village’s ultimate weapon!”

“I am no weapon” I growl, rising to my feet, my lips pulling back into a fierce snarl. I whip my tails around angrily, slicing through the thick chains around me easily, causing them to drop harmlessly to the ground.

The Ninja suddenly grow serious, taking up defensive stances and glaring at me determinedly.

“I will belong to no Village” I continue, my body shaking with my pent up anger. “I will not be owned by any human! I will keep my freedom!”

“We’ll soon make you forget what freedom is” one of the males smirks, performing hand signs, as the others leap for me. “You’ll forever be on a leash from now on!”

My anger getting the best of me, I open my jaws wide, glaring hatefully at the four humans before me. Chakra begins forming into a large sphere in front of my mouth, the Ninja now skidding to a halt and giving me wary looks, seeming unsure of what to do.

“I belong to no one!” I thunder, snapping my jaws closed and sending the large sphere of chakra spiralling towards the now panicked humans. I grin as the chakra explodes upon impact, killing the Ninja immediately and tearing the surrounding trees from the ground, spraying blood and debris everywhere.

Whirling around, I begin running back towards the forest before any more Ninja are deployed to follow me.

‘Humans are never to be trusted’ I growl in my mind, glaring at the trees ahead of me. ‘They are nothing but greedy, malicious beings who think of nothing but themselves……I will kill them before they try to enslave me ever again!’

                                                *********

Ashley’s POV

I look around with widened eyes, taking in the utter devastation around me, as a stinging wind tears at my hair, causing it to whip around wildly.

“What’s going on here?!” I shout over the wind, holding my hair back from my face, having to squint against the whirlwind. “Hakuba?! Hakuba where are you?!”

A sudden explosion behind me makes me scream in fright, before shards of rock begin raining down on me. I whirl around, my mouth dropping open and my eyes widening, despite the razor wind.

I see an enormous Hakuba, at least three times as big as the form I’m used to seeing him in, his ten silver tails whipping around behind him agitatedly. His teeth are bared in an aggressive snarl, purple eyes glowing, full of rage and hatred.

My eyes widen further at the sight of Hakuba, so familiar, yet so different at the same time.

He slams his clawed foot down on the ground angrily, causing it to tremor violently and almost making me fall over. Black, ominous chakra swirls around his body, pulsing into the air and flowing in large waves.

“You don’t intimidate me Beast!” a calm voice calls over the powerful wind, making Hakuba roar up at the sky, before looking down and focusing his eyes on a shadowed figure off to my far left.

“Sage” Hakuba spits, chuckling tauntingly to himself. “You are the most arrogant of all the humans, facing me like this and declaring your lack of fear. You will never defeat me!”

“No” the man corrects, his face obscured from my view. “It is you who is arrogant Beast. You possess great power, and it clouds your judgement. I will not allow you to roam free and wreak havoc on the world anymore!”

“What can a puny creature like you do to a magnificent creature like me?” Hakuba scoffs, shaking his head and grinning sinisterly. “I dare you Sage, do your worst!”

The shadowy figure places his palms together, seemingly ready and willing to take on Hakuba’s challenge.

“You will regret your decision Beast” the apparent Sage sighs, making Hakuba laugh again. “In answer to your question, I am going to take your power away from you, and then send you to a place where you will never hurt another human again.”

“And just where is this mighty prison?” Hakuba mocks, narrowing his glowing eyes. “The centre of the earth? The bottom of the ocean? I will escape any prison you put me i-”

“No” the man interrupts, performing a set of very complicated hand signs. “I am sending you to the same place as the Sun and the Stars. You, foul Beast, will be sent high into the heavens, never to return to Earth again.”

I gasp, throwing my hands over my mouth and looking over at the shadowy figure, as Hakuba’s eyes widen in surprise.

“Hakuba” I whisper. “His eternal prison became the Moon. This is when…when the Sage of the Six Paths created the other Nine Tailed Beasts!”

                                                **********

I watch as the handsome young man with black hair and fuschia eyes stands in front of the stone wall, head hung low and his wrists chained to the stone.

I see the way the other fuschia eyed people look at him, hear the whispered curses and hurtful insults. I see the black haired man slowly look up, his wounded eyes taking in the scowling faces before him, before his head drops once again, ashamed of what he had become…

                                                **********

The young teenage boy smiles and waves at his parents, before slamming the door behind him and running towards his school, fuschia eyes shining and his shoulder length brown hair breezing out behind him.

As the door closes, the woman lowers her hand and sighs, the fake smile she held dropping from her face.

“Why was it our son?” the man questions rhetorically, hands clenching into fists. “Why not someone else’s son?”

                                                **********

The older woman steps down from the high step, stumbling slightly and bumping her shoulder against the wall. She’d been unwell for quite some time now, and she knew it was only a matter of months before she’d be gone.

Breathing heavily, the woman brushes her long blonde hair behind her ear, looking around for someone to help her down the rest of the steps, too weak to do it without falling down.

A few young men brush past her, shooting her annoyed glances over their shoulders, before smiling politely when they catch her eye. The older woman sighs, fuschia eyes dropping to the ground.

“So much for being hailed as a hero…” the woman murmurs lowly, recalling her husband’s words.

“Mother?” a female voice asks, making the older woman look up. She sees the smiling face of her daughter, one hand stretched out towards her, and the other resting on the head of a cute, little blonde girl.

“Here, I’ll help you” the woman says, shooting the two young men that had walked past her Mother a dirty look.

                                                *********

I watch the two little blonde girls running through a grassy field, two young Wolves chasing behind them. The two little girls giggle happily as they try to escape from the grey and navy Wolves, before one of the girls collides with something hard, making her fall over backwards. The girl shakes her head, before glancing up and blinking a few times.

“Sorry bout that Mister!” she apologises, giving the man a bright closed eye smile. “I wasn’t looking where I was going!”

The man smiles, reaching down and helping the little girl to her feet.

“It’s quite alright young Miss” the man chuckles, waving as he continues on his way.

“Are you alright Milady?” the small navy Wolf asks, his aqua eyes wide with concern.

“Yup!” the five year old me grins. “Come on Kiyu, let’s keep playing!”

As my sister and I run away from Ace and Keilor again, I see the smile drop from the man’s face, replaced by a look of pure disgust. My eyes narrow as he wipes his hand on his pants, as if he had picked up some filthy germs when he touched me.

“Damn monster child” he grumbles. “Should be locked away in the underground prison…”

I drop to my knees, tears beginning to stream down my face. All of those Jinchuuriki….All this time, I thought we were hailed as heroes for containing the Ten Tailed Wolf, but in reality…….We were just as hated as all Jinchuuriki are….I had thought that my fellow Minami were above that silly fear and hatred, but they were just too cowardly to act like that to our faces….

I was never a hero. I, and the other Ten Tailed Wolf Jinchuuriki’s, we were all just…..freaks……..

                                                *********

 Third Person’s POV

As Ashley cries into her hands, Hakuba suddenly materialises out of the darkness, eyes locked on the sorrowful girl, before he turns back to the tiny window. He releases a low breath and sits back on his haunches, content to stare solemnly out at the beautiful forest again.

Ashley, hearing Hakuba’s breath, abruptly lifts her head up and looks at Hakuba, a feeling of horrible guilt washing over her like a wave.

“I’m so sorry Hakuba…” she says softly, making Hakuba’s ears prick up. Without moving his head, the Demon’s red eyes travel over to the girl, taking in her shaking body and her tear stained face.

“Sorry?” the Wolf questions lowly, looking uninterested.

“Yes, I’m sorry!” Ashley cries, hugging herself tightly and climbing unsteadily to her feet. “You were right! All this time….All this time I’ve been judging you for the way you act, without even knowing your past…Without know what made you the way you are today!”

Hakuba remains silent, turning his head to face Ashley, his red eyes narrowing dangerously. Ashley runs a hand down her face, shaking her head.

“We….We made you this way” she babbles, more to herself than Hakuba. “Humans made you like this….It’s no wonder you hate us! It’s no wonder you hate me! I get it now, I completely get it…”

Ashley’s eyes suddenly well up again, as Hakuba’s ears lower until they’re lying flat against his head, his lips twitching up into a silent snarl.

“I’m so sorry Hakuba” Ashley repeats, fresh tears spilling over as she looks up at her Demon. “But I can’t give you the one thing you want! I can’t give you back your freedom!”

“I don’t need your sympathy!” Hakuba suddenly growls, leaping to his feet and baring his teeth down at Ashley. “Or your pity! I didn’t show you my life so I could gain your friendship! Such things are lost on me, and I certainly don’t need the friendship of such a weak, pathetic, worthless little-”

Hakuba cuts himself off, as Ashley suddenly launches herself forwards, wrapping her arms around one of Hakuba’s leg and hugging it tightly, burying her face in his soft fur.

Hakuba’s eyes widen slightly, before he roars and rears backwards, flicking Ashley away from him roughly.

“Don’t touch me!” he spits, glaring at the blonde hatefully, as she pushes herself to her feet. “Stay away from me brat!”

Ashley stares up at Hakuba determinedly through her tear filled eyes, mouth set in a firm line.

“Hakuba….I’m sorry that I can’t grant you your freedom” Ashley says sincerely. “But I promise, I will never do anything to further weaken your belief in the human race. I’ll do everything I can to restore it!”

Though they had been through so much together, and despite the many times they had angered each other to the point of wanting to kill each other, Ashley had decided that maybe Hakuba wasn’t so bad after all, if his beginning in life was anything to go by. Maybe if she helped him, he’d go back to being the care free creature he used to be, and he’d forget about wanting to destroy the human race and wreak havoc across the world.

“That will never happen” Hakuba scoffs cynically. He eyes Ashley strangely however, perplexed by her sudden change of heart. There was no way this arrogant, disobedient little brat would ever really help him…….Was there?

“I don’t need your help, your pity, or your friendship!” Hakuba snaps nastily, tails flicking agitatedly. “We have never been friends, and we never will b-”

“Why can’t we become friends Hakuba?” Ashley interrupts, watching the Demon seriously. “I cared for you as a child, I’m even the one who gave you a name. Why can’t we be friends?”

Hakuba remains silent, ruby eyes searching the young Minami’s fuschia ones slowly, unsure of how to answer her when she seems so sincere.

“I can learn to trust you” Ashley adds, smiling sadly, “If you can learn to trust me….”

Scoffing quietly to himself, Hakuba suddenly rises to his feet and turns away, fading back into the darkness.

“Hakuba?” Ashley calls, frustrated that the Wolf is just walking away without answering her.

“You are asleep” Hakuba informs Ashley, glancing back at her as his form begins vanishing from sight. “You are asleep, and I have not tried to take over your body…..Now wake up………”

Ashley’s POV

I slowly open my eyes, the light streaming in from the window hurting them slightly.

“Unghh…..” I moan, lifting my hand and rubbing at my eyes. “So bright….”

“Ashley-chan!” a happy voice cries, making me pause. Turning my head, I am greeted by the sight of Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Kakashi Sensei all sitting around my bed, staring at me.

Now, just in case you're a bit confused, all that writing in italics was a montage of flashbacks from Hakuba's past. Obviously I didn't go into great detail or anything, but I'm pretty sure you got the gist of it. Hakuba got screwed over quite a few times, poor guy :3

Now, please vote and comment if you enjoyed. OR! Just vote an comment coz this was an extra long chappy! :D

Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, and remember to stay safe okay? Lots of silly people out and about of the Christmas holidays!

After this chapter, who kind of likes Hakuba and wants to give him a bit of a cuddle? I do! xD