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The Huntress and the Monster

Written by SSK

Edited by Slicerness

Prologue

The Coldhearted Huntress and the Noble Beast

Makishima Senzo sighed as he woke up to the crow of the rooster. Dressed in a loincloth he got up, ignoring his wife's mumbling. He grabbed his pants, putting them on and heading to the bathroom to care for his teeth.

He finished quickly and went to grab his shirt, ready to work for the day. He put on his sandals and opened the wooden door. Light shining in his face, he raised his hand to block out the sun's rays long enough for his eyes to adjust. When he could see he lowered his hand. He saw others getting out of their homes ready to tend to the livestock and farms. Being a resident of Kanzen Village he was used to the long hot days, the only problem he really had was the forest at the edge of the village. The forest itself was nice and abundant with fruit, animals, and herbs.

What made the forest trouble was the monster that lived there.

Monsters: Creatures of varying shapes, sizes, types, and abilities, however they all had one thing in common; the urge to consume flesh animal or human. Some monsters could disguise as humans while others looked like giant beasts.

There were also rumors of monsters as large as castles, however there had been no actual sighting of such monsters yet. He went to his pen where the cows were and sighed as he heard them moo. He came to the fence and looked at his cows, all 8 of them scuffing the ground and mooing. He went to get some hay when he stopped and looked at his cows. He ran a quick headcount.

Last night there were eight cows, but right now there were seven. "What?" He hopped in, looking for another cow, he barely had to walk inside the pen when he saw the red grass and broken fence. The red grass continued till it disappeared into the dark canopy of the forest.

-Mayor's House-

"Mayor we've left the forest alone so we don't earn the wrath of the monster that dwell there, but this morning I find that my cow's been killed and eaten by it!" Makishima shouted.

"Do you have proof?" The Mayor asked evenly. He was an old man with a bald head, hazel eyes, and a large white beard. "For all we know it could've been another village."

"How would killing a single cow benefit any other village?" Said a villager, a grumblings of agreement following his question.

"Put a bounty on that thing so a Hunter can come and kill it!" Makishima shouted angrily.

"Putting a bounty is no easy thing it requires money, lots of it-" The Mayor began but was silenced by a large bag of gold being set down by a big burly man who happened to be the blacksmith for the village.

"Already done." Said a woman walking forward. "If we don't get this problem taken care of now then we shall soon find our children and loved ones missing from our homes!"

The mayor grumbled. "No, I will not do so, perhaps this is just ill fate at work." He said, "I do not think this will happen again." The old man said, to the crowd's disapproval.

"Fine, if you won't post a bounty then I'll defend my livestock myself!" Makishima said angrily walking out, pushing past others. Makishima's wife walked up to the mayor, anger on her features.

"If my husband dies tonight, it will be on your head!" She threatened quietly with a glare. The mayor nodded but remained steadfast.

-Later that Night-

Makishima stood in front of the fence, a pitchfork in his hands and his eyes fixed on his cows. Everyone else was in their home asleep or preparing to sleep. His wife came outside a look of worry on her face. "You can't do this, if a monster comes it'll tear you to shreds!" She shouted.

"Go back inside!" He snapped.

She flinched at the harshness but did as he asked, still worried about his safety.

The farmer stood firm, 'I will not allow my cattle to be slaughtered, I need them!' Makishima supported his family with his cattle's milk and 'fertilizer'. His cattle weren't the best around or anything, but it was of good quality that it paid for food and supplies. His head drifted thinking about the money and his eyes began to droop, only to jerk up as he heard a roar. He jumped to a ready stance and held up his pitchfork, expecting to see a monster only to find his cows were safe. There was mooing coming from another fence and he didn't think, just acted.

"Wake up!" He shouted running towards the noise as lanterns lit in the nearby houses followed by people pouring out. Moments later the cow making odd noises was silenced.

He arrived just in time to the cow get dragged in, its head gone, neck stump leaking blood. He heard the growl of the monster and could see its large body in the faint moonlight just before it disappeared into the woods. Many of the villagers came with pitchforks in hand seeing the leftover carnage. They didn't even stay to talk, they swarmed toward the mayor's house shouting. The mayor sighed from his bed as his wife turned over and looked at him.

"You have no choice now." She said.

"No, I cannot, I believe it is better to leave it be... but with this latest killing I cannot say no any longer." He got up, groaning as his back creaked with ache and age. He walked to the door and opened it, "Where is Apko?" He shouted into the crowd.

A young man stepped forward. He had a rather lean, thin body with developed leg muscles. "Write a bounty and deliver it to the Hunters Outpost in Kaginga." The mayor ordered. The messenger nodded and went off to carry out his task.

"There, now you get your Hunter. I hope there are no more objections?" The mayor asked grumpily. The sound of agreement made him snort. "Now rest and keep watch. It should be a few days more before a Hunter arrives." He suggested before slamming the door closed, irritated by the people he governed.

-The next day, Midday-

Satoru stood at the village entrance, part of the new guard that had been made in the morning. He stood at the village entrance while others stood near the ranches to fight against the monster should it strike. He yawned, bored out his mind. He was placed here should a Hunter come, though the chances of that happening were 100-1 considering they had only send for one last night. He looked around trying to find something entertaining when he saw it, a figure walking toward the village. He held up a hand to shield his eyes from the sun and he looked closer someone was coming, someone with a sword on their back - a large one from the look of it, as he could see the tip bobbing near their leg. He lowered his hand and called out to the village, people began to swarm the entrance looking at the figure who became clear as they walked in front of the sun.

It was a woman wearing a well traveled cloak that was somewhat tattered near the ends with a hood that was raised. From the cloak a sleeve covered her right arm around her bicep was a small bandoleer with small daggers across it. The cloak parted slightly revealing a fullbody fishnet mesh that was torn in places. Also below it was the remains of what was originally of what appeared to be a bodysuit it was reduced to small strips around her breasts and waist along with arms and leggings. One could also so shiny gauntlets on both arms which were slightly dented and scuffed as if having seen a previous battle. Her left arm, lacking a sleeve, was adorned with three sepreate pieces of armor as well, a forearm guard, an elbow joint with a sharp spike, and a pauldron upon her shoulder. All three were just as knicked and tarnished as the gauntlets.

On her legs were the remains of possibly another body suit, because this was of a lighter purple to the other's royal blue, which stopped just above the two leather wraps she kept them up with around her thighs. The wrap on her right leg contained several holsters, all housing more daggers. She wore leather boots with a metal plating on the top..

"Where is the monster?" She asked, her voice calm, yet holding a regal air to it. They all pointed to the forest, "I see... stay here, I'll take care of it." She walked forward, heading to the forest.

When she passed them, the crowd got a better look at her sword. It was enormous, at least as wide as she was, almost as long as she was tall, with a single edge. The blade was silver, but barely any of this color was visible beneath black stains of monster blood that covered the sword in thick splotches. She walked to the forest then paused and grabbed an unlit lantern and continued walking into the forest. She quickly vanished under the foliage.

"So that's the Hunter... Huntress would be more appropriate at this point though." Came the voice of the Mayor, it was then a small boy came forward.

"What's a Hunter?" He asked, only to be met with silence.

The Mayor eventually sighed and answered, seeing as no one else was going to. "Hunters are humans that have modified their bodies through various ways some using alchemy, magic, or even by grafting or fusing their flesh with monsters. All with one goal; to have the strength to fight monsters on equal footing." The elder explained. "They are cutthroats and while they have their reasons to fight they will and can stab you in the back if you don't pay out. Luckily for folk like us there are enough Hunters that they've learned to at least be polite to their clients lest they be denied a job for another Hunter. As long as we pay her when the job is done, we'll be safe." The elder finished.

"So is she a nice person?" The boy asked.

"We will see young one, we will see..." The Mayor said cryptically.

-The Forest-

The Huntress walked through the woods, the monster's home. She had fought many monsters and was well aware of their habits. They tended to either be in the darkest parts or caves if they were ground based. However some monsters, mainly those with aquatic capabilities, stayed in ponds or lakes. She looked at the ground, carefully examining the grass. Mainly animal tracks of varying types but she could see large footprints. Possibly a bear, but also potentially the monster she was after. She knelt down, looking closely and even touched the print. It was deeply set in the earth, indicating a great weight, and judging the direction of the print the owner was heading southeast. She walked forward, lantern in hand.

After roughly half an hour of tracking she found a cave only to pause at the mouth.

She reached into her robes and pulled out a red stone, which she blew on, causing it to spark. She then took the lantern off the sling on her shapely hip and held the stone close to the wick. A red spark jumped from the stone to the wick and lit the candle.

She stashed the stone and stood straight once more, lantern in one hand and her other grasping the hilt of her massive blade and unsheathing it from her back, holding it in one hand without a hint of difficulty. She cast her gaze around carefully, walking slowly inside. She didn't make it far before a warning growl reverberating through the cave. "Who comes and why?" A deep voice said.

"I, Hinata of the Black Blade, have come to kill you for threatening the lives of the people." Hinata announced fearlessly.

Another growl reverberated around the cave, this one angry.

"Leave. I wish no harm to you, but I will if I have to." Once again came from in the cave

She heard steps and the ground shook slightly. She raised the lantern and threw it down, smashing it and throwing the oil around into a larger puddle to provide more light at the cost of the flame's lifespan. The cave lit up, and she saw a large gold and red furred monster with its teeth bared, on all fours.

It leaped at her the second it was visible, but she swung the blade in a wide arc, causing it to fall short. It slashed with its claws, but she parried calmly and thrust her sword forward, only for the monster to bat the slab of steel away with a backhand punctuated with a grunt of effort. She didn't hesitate and spun around, using the swords weight to build momentum for a devastating attack.

The monster's eyes widened and he barely managed to duck in time, just a scant inch from having both his ears shaved off. The monster leaped back and Hinata followed suit, letting the weight of her blade cause her to slide backward.

She immediately brought it up again in a ready stance with both hands, her gaze fixed on him. She then charged again, swinging her blade quickly, spinning it around her body from hand to hand to quickly and effectively strike. The monster stepping back, only to bump into the cave wall. Reacting with the reflexes of his species he ducked down, slamming a fist into the ground, which caused a rock to jut up and block her attack.

Her blade being stuck in the rock didn't faze the Huntress and she lunged forward, burying her own fist in the boulder, smashing it to bits. Her wind up swing would have sliced the monster in half, but she had to turn it into a hasty block as he swiped a claw at her. This turned out to be a feint, and she didn't react fast enough to block the tail that suddenly appeared and hit like a hammer strike at her mid section.

She crumpled to the ground with a wheeze and a large clawed hand slammed down onto her. She flinched, expecting her end, only for her eyes to snap back open to see his claws her spread perfectly enough to trap her in place, but not allow her movement. She tried to move but only ended up making shallow cuts on her armor, his claws sinking into the metal like butter.

She stopped and froze as the monster then leaned forward, the light from the still burning puddle of oil finally catching his face, revealing his features. She was surprised to find an angular but definitely human face looking at her with red and gold hair and slitted red pupils, topped with large ears that were currently pressed flat against its head. His mouth opened and she saw rows of sharp teeth. Her struggles began again as a low growl built up in his throat, but to no avail.

She almost yelped in more surprise as the monster retracted his claws with a 'shink' and grabbed her, his large hands wrapping around his midsection just below her breasts before throwing her bodily a dozen feet towards the entrance to the cave. She landed hard on her left shoulder, and even rolling with the landing left her aching all over.

She looked up, prepared to dodge, only to take a step back as her sword landed and buried itself three feet in the ground in front of her. She looked up just in time to see a large rock crash down on the pile of oil, extinguishing it, concealing the monster once again.

"Leave me be, I wish to be left in peace." Came it's voice, followed by the ground shaking in a way she recognized as him walking away. She stood up, wincing as her entire left arm tingled and twinged with pain.

She was smart enough to recognize her own defeat. With a grunt she grabbed her sword and pulled it out of the ground in a spray of earth before placing it back into it's custom magnetic sheath on her back. With a swish of her cloak she turned on her heel, heading back to the village.

-A few hours later-

---

Hinata exited the forest to see the villagers watching her. "It proved stronger than I thought... I will kill it however." She said confidently. Some seemed hopeful, while others were distressed. She ignored them, long since used to varied responses for her every action. "Is there a healer?" She asked.

An old woman walked forward in response. She had pale blond hair and bright green eyes. She stood slightly hunched and gestured with her head, not saying a word. Hinata joined the woman and followed her to a hut.

The older woman pushed the door open and entered. Hinata followed right behind her, and saw various plants in pots, and cabinets filled with vials full of both liquid and preserved herbs. There was a low fire that was heating a metal tea pot.

These were signs of a good healer, Hinata commented to herself.

"Sit on the chair." The healer commanded. Hinata did so, placing her sword against the wall and sitting on the wooden chair. "What's the problem?" She asked.

"Left shoulder and arm." Hinata replied.

The Healer drew closer as Hinata disengaged her armor and placed it on the table, her arm hanging limply, a bruise on her shoulder.

"Hmmm... not a problem, just need to put it back in." The Healer diagnosed. She went over to her cabinet and opened it up, pulling out various items and putting them into a bowl. She then grabbed a hammer and began to pound the items into paste. She poured this mixture into a pan filled with water over a flame. She then placed a strip of cloth into it. She waited for about 4 minutes before she grabbed the pan and walked over to Hinata.

She grabbed the cloth, not bothering to wring it out, and placed it on Hinata's shoulder, where the goopy mixture slid down her body, but completely covered her shoulder. The Huntress didn't even flinch as the steaming rag was placed on her bruised flesh.

"It'll soak under your skin and heal your bruise. Your arm is disconnected though." Hinata smirked at that.

"Again? Well I can put it back in, where did it dislocate from?" She asked.

The woman walked over and observed closely. "The back, so you need to push it back in."

Hinata nodded, the woman then grabbed her and slammed her shoulder against her body. Hinata hissed out a groan between her teeth, the pain of her arm reconnecting was one she had experienced a few times already. She tried to forget the instances though, for even though she emerged the victor they were still painful to remember. "So what method did you choose, hm?" The woman asked.

"Alchemy." Hinata replied.

"Ah, you'll need a strengthening potion then?" The woman said easily.

Hinata narrowed her eyes; this woman seemed to have previous knowledge of things a lot of people were completely clueless of. Admittedly she was a Healer, but still, it was cause for at least some suspicion.

"No, not me I'm... different from the usual cases." She shut her mouth and the woman just gave a grunt. Hinata grabbed the cloth and pulled it off, checking her skin. She was surprised, pleasantly so, to find that her skin was its usual color. Hinata stood rotating her shoulder and grabbed her sword.

"Indeed you are different, such fast healing power..." The woman said thoughtfully, "I'll be here should you need aid, good luck." The Healer said and she went back to her table. Hinata nodded and left to practice with her sword.

-The Outskirts of the Village-

Hinata swung her sword, aiming to minimize her swing breadth for quicker and faster attacks. While she had fought in caves before the monsters knowledge of its home had cost her the win, she needed to get him to the open, damaging him quickly and precisely as she did. She focused and could see the monster in front of her. It's red and gold furred body, the large powerful hands, it's quick tail and it's... face. She stared at that face, so human it was almost disarming. 'NO! Do not forget why you fight! It's a monster it has no pity!' She stabbed forward. 'Nor remorse!' she swung her sword up. 'Nor humanity, it will kill you if it gets the chance!' Her sword wobbled at this.

'But he didn't kill me...' That thought halted her anger she lowered her sword thinking on its words.

"Leave me be, I wish to be left in peace."

Why would it say this if it attacked the villagers livestock? Hinata tightened her grip and began to swing. She didn't have time to ask she had a job to do.

30 minutes later Hinata finished her practicing, her body sweaty and her muscles throbbing. She felt them expand then contract, now stronger than ever. She stood up, not even breathing hard - if anything breathing easier than ever. She sighed then sheathed her sword and headed back to the village, where the villagers were in their homes eating and readying for bed. Hinata herself could still move but it would be best to rest. She looked around to find people outside looking at her nervously.

She continued to walk till she came to an old man sitting on one of several chairs at a fire stirring a bowl of stew. "Hello Huntress... care for some cod stew?" Hinata nodded and sat down on the chair. The old man grabbed a bowl and poured the stew, large pieces of fish meat, potatoes, and broth fell in before he handed her the bowl. She blew on it gently and tilted the bowl slightly to allow her to test the temperature. It touched her lips and she lowered it, still scorching.

"Ha ha, even with your body you're still human." He said jovially, "Allow me to introduce myself I am Mayor Tokido Taska, I watch over my sheep of villagers." He said looking at the people crowding around them they bristled at this. "Good people, if a bit spineless."

"Do they follow from your example?" Hinata asked.

"I'm a man who believes things should be left as they are not to be disturbed. That being said however, should the need arise I will arm myself. But unfortunately I'm too old for those times. My body is weak yet my spirit strong." He said.

The people listening nodded, remembering the old tales of their mayor. He had been a soldier for the army and had fought many great warriors, some he won against, many more he lost to. He had a warrior's spirit and backed down from no challenge. But he was old now and weary, age having taught him many lessons.

Hinata sipped on the stew again, it was cooler now safe to drink even. She looked around for a spoon and the mayor gave her one. She took it gratefully and raised it as a type of toast before she began to eat the stew. It was hearty and flavorful, she continued to eat.

"It saddens me slightly," He said she didn't turn her gaze but she raised her head slightly indicating she was listening. "That someone so young and beautiful is doing this type of thing, I will not divulge into your past but I ask you this... what future did you have originally?" Hinata continued to eat quietly. She finished and set the bowl on the ground.

"One of leashes and shackles," She said simply and she stood up. "Thank you for the food, is there a place I can rest?"

He wordlessly pointed to a building that had the words Inn on it.

"Thank you again, good night." Hinata said respectfully in return.

-The Next Morning-

Hinata woke up to the brightness of day shining down the window. She raised her hand, blocking the rays of light for as long as her denial would work before she groaned and sat up, stretching, the bones popping in response. She turned her body to the side of the bed and was ready to stand up when she heard shouting. "What's happening?" She asked the Inn Keeper, a young man.

"Another cow got axed last night." He replied.

Hinata stood there thinking on that the monster she fought. It was big and heavy, it should've caused the ground to shake. She thought on it when the shouting interrupted her. "They seem to think you're inefficient." He said.

"They have no idea how hard it is to kill these beasts, I'm more than enough." Hinata said firmly. She grabbed her armor, slotting it on before she grabbed her sword and walked out. The crowd stopped shouting and retreated from her glare alone. She looked at them all, her sword in hand, which was quickly driven into the earth in a blur of speed, causing them to retreat even further.

"Your mayor was right, you are spineless." She taunted, and they seemed angry and offended but didn't shout. "I hope that you have enough money to feed yourselves for this summer and winter, because it'll cost much more to hire someone else." She warned, "I'll take care of this, I swear I will, but be patient. Monsters are not deer or pheasant that can be hunted on a whim." She then grabbed her sword and put it on her back.

She walked to the forest but paused seeing the trail of red grass. As she looked at it she felt her stomach tighten and knew that whatever this lead to was trouble. She looked at the forest then at the path before she decided to follow it. The path was pretty clear, making it easy to follow. Eventually it led her to a clearing, which was covered in blood. The monster probably fed on the other cows here.

She stood up and looked around before deciding to explore the forest to see if there was a place she could perhaps lure the monster and kill it in a trap. As she walked she was unaware of the eyes glowing from a darkened path watching her before vanishing into darkness.

-The Forest Depths-

Hinata paused then she crouched and sprung up, grabbing a branch and pulling herself up. She stood on the massive branch and looked down. The base of the tree had a large clearing, the branches of the oak were many with thick bushels of leaves. She could set up some positions for spare weapons should her sword get knocked out of her hand. She went to the tree and drew her sword and swung it, quickly creating a marker on the bark, she then placed her sword back and headed to the village to prepare.

-Several Hours Later-

Hinata had everything laid out, the trick was luring the monster to the location to kill it. But she had a plan, the monster didn't seem to like fire, so it didn't take much convincing to get the villagers to give her a jar of oil. She had the jar in hand, a torch on the ground, standing outside the lair of the monster.

"Were it not for the fact you were trying to kill me I'd applaud your persistence. Now leave, today is a very bad day for you to try this stupidity." The monster growled from the shadows.

"Then come out and meet your maker!" Hinata challenged and she threw the jar inside. It shattered, oil spilling out.

"You don't know what is happening here..." The monster said coolly.

"Explaint it to me then," Hinata said silence, "then burn," she said as she tossed the torch. However, before it even touched the ground it was smacked back to her. She shifted to the side slightly and her eyes tracked it as it flew into the grass behind her, the deadened yellow stalks smoldering before eventually catching fire.

"Very well then, we'll fight." The beast rumbled before it emerged from the cave. It was hunched, but it raised itself as it exited. Hinata drew her sword as the monster looked at her with that human like face, it's ears pressed against the back of its head. "I think I let you off to easily last time... the injury you'll receive will be severe for most, but if you are a Hunter you should recover easily." It said and it suddenly lunged at her.

Hinata grabbed her sword, raising it to block. She turned the motion into a spin slash, the air whistling as the massive blade cut through it.

The beast snarled as she connected and withdrew its hand. She saw the red tail and she jumped over as it swept under her. She saw the fist coming next and held the blade vertically, the creature stopping to prevent cutting itself. She landed and held her ground, watching it carefully. The monster withdrew its fist, only to slam it into the ground. Hinata jumped back in surprise as the ground buckled around her.

The beast charged, spinning into a whirl of gold and red and its tail shot out. She parried it with difficulty, surprised by how solid it felt. A fist came and she blocked it, only to find out the hard way it was a feint as she was backhanded hard.

She staggered back, glaring. She charged again, swinging her sword in quick motions now that she was out in the open. The beast dodged the blows and parried what it couldn't, but she saw it was having difficulty, especially with its slightly injured hand. She began to make attacks in a specific direction, forcing it to use it's wounded hand to block. Hinata was so focused on her goal that she never saw the other hand reaching for her.

She barely caught it as the claws tried to run her through and desperately thrust her sword forward. The hand fell back and the creature swayed backwards, only to bring its head forward, ramming her stomach. She grunted, but dug her feet in and used the pommel to strike its head.

The creature yowled and it raised its head up, throwing Hinata into the air, surprising her. She tried to find the ground, but only managed to flail in the air before its hand grabbed her and slammed her into the ground. She hit the ground face first, her body almost comically staying upside down, balanced on her head, for several seconds before she finally toppled over.

Hinata managed to stumble to her feet, her body aching. "I should kill you..." The monster growled. Hinata screamed in pain as she suddenly felt a fist come down her arm. Her humerus bent briefly before snapping clean in two.

"Now go... I have to recover just as much as you do..." The monster said before it lumbered back into it's cave to heal it's wounded hand.

Hinata gritted her teeth as she tried to stand; she felt a sense of rage, puzzlement, and indignation. She eventually stood and looked at the cave, then turned to eye her broken arm. She looked back, "You'd best stop holding back! I won't not stop until you're dead!" She hollered.

She got a growl for a response, so she grabbed her sword and began to journey back to the village, unaware of another set of eyes watching her from the shadows before they vanished.

Hinata was at the edge of the forest when she felt the ground shake and heard a snarling. "So decided to finish the job did you!?" She grabbed her sword and turned. She saw very briefly a dark form before she was backhanded and sent flying into a tree. She hit it hard and fell to the ground in a heap. She felt the ground rumble and she raised her head, her vision cloudy. The black form advanced when suddenly she saw red and gold appear before her. However, that was the last thing she saw before she blacked out.

-Healer's Hut-

Hinata opened her eyes and sat up, wincing as she felt pain from her arm. She then saw the Healer bent at table grinding up herbs. "Awake are you? Your arm is already fixing itself, whatever you did to yourself works quite well." The Healer remarked.

Hinata laid back down. "What happened?"

The healer chuckled. "What happened was you collapsed outside the village. Luckily a farmer found you and brought you here."

Hinata was silent. 'But I didn't collapse outside the village... which means... it... he_, saved me. But why?'_ She'd never been as confused as she was now in her entire life. But with that confusion a curiosity was forming in her. 'What if he's different from normal monsters?' She wondered, and knew that the next time she saw him it would be the question to ask.

Hinata got up, "Thank you for treating my wounds, I think I'll rest for now." She said before turning to leave. "Very well try to be more careful next time; underestimating your opponent is a technique that gets people killed." Hinata paused then exited out. She headed for the inn hoping to get a good night's sleep.

-Next morning-

Hinata awoke her internal clock setting her off, she looked to see the inn keeper was gone from the front and was probably asleep. She groaned as she got up and moved her injured arm it hurt still but nothing that some small swinging exercise wouldn't help.

Hinata sighed as she held her sword with one hand, swinging it with some difficulty. The loss of her good arm was serious. She swung her sword down, firmly planting it in the dirt. 'And yet he came to rescue me when I was attacked... why?' She couldn't shake that fact, no matter what she thought her mind kept getting pulled back to that. 'I'm his enemy, I tried to kill him twice now, and yet the worst he's done is disable me temporarily. Something isn't right here... or should I say something isn't as it appears to be.' She stood there pondering that for several moments before she pulled her sword out of the earth and began swinging it again.

She then heard a rustling and she turned quickly her sword pointing at the source. "Whose there?" She demanded, only for a boy and two girls to come out of a pile of hay, the boy looking weary while the girls both looked excited. "What do you want?" Hinata said coldly.

"Ummm... we-we were wondering how are you so strong?" Said one of the girls. She had brown hair and strange symbols on her cheeks like upside down red triangles.

Hinata was silent, staring at them, but then she turned away.

"Leave." She said.

"B-but-" The other girl stuttered, possessing short red hair and blue eyes.

"You do not want this life... believe me when I say that I never wanted this." Hinata said, "I would do anything to reclaim what I've lost." She said sadly, turning to look at them again. "Treasure your youth and your friends. The life of a Hunter is one of solitude, pain, and misery."

The kids looked at her, realizing the answer they were getting was far more serious than the one they had built up in their heads. They suddenly felt very embarrassed and walked away.

Hinata looked down at the ground, the angry tears starting to come. "I would trade anything to regain what I've lost!" she snarled quietly, her grip on the sword tightening. She sheathed her blade and turned to the forest. Inhaling deeply, she closed and exhaled slowly. Opening her eyes with a calmer head she began to walk forward. As she did she was aware of the eyes watching her. She didn't care because what she was about to do would matter to her and her alone.

-The Forest-

Hinata stood before the cave, a lantern in hand. She could hear a rumbling inhale and exhale coming from it and even some low growling occasionally. She walked in and the rumbling stopped while the growling increased. "It seems you didn't learn your lesson... Leave, today is a very poor day to fight me." The creature said from inside. Hinata, however, continued to walk. "I am warning you Huntress, today you will die if you approach any further."

Hinata ignored him and continued walking, eventually the red and gold ball was bathed in light, which proceeded to unfurl, revealing the monster. He stomped his hands on the ground causing the cave to shake. His face was different this time, looking like a hybrid of man and animal with his fox like snout, his ears larger now. "Leave, this is your last warning!"

Hinata stood, not budging. Her eyes narrowed as she heard the steady, drip, drip, drip of blood falling. With a quick look she saw the fur on his arm was a darker red than the rest, the red liquid falling onto the floor where it was puddling.

She set the lantern down and sat down. "No, I think you are bluffing." She said calmly. The beast snarled and attempted to raise itself, only to flinch as it used it's injured arm to do so. He released a whine seemingly against his own will and slumped back down. He stayed that way for a second, unwilling to anger the wound any more before he finally ducked down to lick at it.

"What do you want?" He asked finally, defeated, his bluff called.

"To talk." She said, only to scowl at his loud derisive laugh.

"Now you wish to talk? Well you can forget it and leave, I have no time to waste words on a Hunter." The beast said before he once more curled up into a ball.

Hinata remained where she was, silently watching as the ball of fur expand and contracted steadily.

"... Ugh... very well, what is it you wish to speak about... human?"

Hinata smiled slightly at another victory. "What's your name?"

The ball was silent then it unfurled, the monster shuffling forward till its face was a few feet from hers. She found a now fully human face looking at her curiously. It was then she realized its eyes were pure blue with circular pupils, another human-like trait.

"Naruto..." He said simply, his gaze focused intently on hers, silently questioning. She looked it over, the majority of it's body was covered in red fur while the hair on it's forearms and lower legs was moe of a golden color. The fur on it's belly was lighter as well though, forming a strange sort of spiral symbol. It's hands and feet red fur, but she couldn't tell if this was because the hair color was different or simply because the two areas were dirty, thus darkened. His face was curious, there seemed to be fur around the sides but directly on his face the hairs were very short and thin, more skin than fur. She finally decided to answer his silent question.

"I'm Hinata, Hinata Hyuuga." His ear flicked but otherwise he didn't react. "Why do you avoid fighting?" She asked, getting to the core of her conversation. He growled and finally looked away.

"Fighting is pointless, all it does is cause pain and sadness... nobody gains anything from fighting other than injuries and a false sense of pride." He said, gently laying down, his head raised slightly to look at her. "I've already... why do you hunt monsters?" He suddenly said trailing off from his original sentence.

"...My family was killed by a monster... in particular the monster known as 'The Mirror Demon'. It slaughtered my family and nearly killed me. I managed to escape and since then I became a Hunter to find and kill it; I won't stop until I do." Naruto watched her quietly, aware of her angry glare.

"Then why have you come to speak to me?" Naruto asked, lowering his head and curling it into his arms.

"You... you saved my life." Naruto gave a noncommittal grunt. "Why did you save me?" She asked.

He was silent, as if he was thinking of an answer. "I was taught that all life is precious, no matter what. Life is a gift we are given only once and as such it must be viewed as precious, for it is a fragile gift that cannot be kept forever." He finally answered.

Hinata was surprised by the rather deep and philosophical answer. He raised his head and held up his arm, fully revealing the gash. To her surprise the wound was nearing the end of normal healing process. He gave it a few licks then lowered it again.

"Was that from saving me?" She asked.

He directed his eyes back towards her, away from his arm, then lowered his head again. "Yes." He said simply, almost uncaringly.

"I'm sorry." She said.

He raised his head suddenly, "Why?" He asked, confused.

"I... It's because I was trying to kill you."

He was silent watching her curiously. "You were keeping a promise, doing your duty, which is to hunt monsters..." He stood up and began to walk to the back of the cave. "Leave, I grow tired of talking. Besides, I doubt your clients would like to hear that you're conversing with the enemy."

Hinata wanted to respond, but she saw the reason in his words and she backed down.

"I'll... come back tomorrow." She said slowly.

"I pray you don't." Naruto responded as he curled into a ball again.

As she walked out she looked back to the ball. She couldn't help but feel that the monster, instead of making his parting comment in anger, instead had a sense of self-loathing as if... she turned forward, intent on returning tomorrow.

-The Village-

Hinata passed the tree line and was unsurprised to see the villagers standing there glowering at her. "Have you slain the beast?" One of them demanded.

"Break your arm and go in there, tell me how it went." Hinata said coldly "Besides, it has moved from it's previous position. I'll need to track it down before I finish it."

"Very well, do not take too long. We need our livelihoods more than you think." One of the villagers said in what could be seen as a threatening tone before the crowd scattered.

Hinata headed for the Inn to rest on the words of the monster.

-The Next Day-

Naruto looked at his wound, it was healing slower than usual. Then again he had fought another monster. He decided to go out to hunt for some food, hopefully he would find a boar. He began to walk when he heard shuffling from his cave entrance. He paused and crouched, ready to attack.

"Hold, it's me, Hinata." A familiar feminine voice called.

Naruto stopped and he raised himself. "I told you to not come back!" He snarled angrily.

"And why should I listen to you?" She snapped back.

"...Don't you think that you're putting yourself at risk doing this?" He snarled.

"I can handle a few farmers." She said dismissively.

"Do not insult them! They're good people!" He snarled, slamming a fist on the ground.

"And yet they want you dead." She said.

Naruto fell silent, having no further rebuttal.

"...Why have you returned?" He asked.

"To talk, I am... curious about you. You aren't like any monster I've encountered. You seem more... human, than them."

He growled at that but it died quickly.

"I am not human... hmmm." He looked back into the cave at something. "Leave, I must eat." He said, his stomach rumbling audibly. He was ready to move when she threw a pack in front of him. He paused at the sudden noise and movement, but used his good hand to open it. Inside he found several large hunks of meat.

"Is it enough?" She asked.

"...Yes..." He said reluctantly before he lowered his head, his tongue coming out to wrap around the meat. Hinata heard the bone crunch in his jaws and barely resisted the urge to react. The only times she'd ever heard such a sound was when something bad was happening, like a civilian was being devoured by a monster. Despite knowing better, she still found herself on guard and unable to fully relax, and likely would remain that way until he stopped eating.

"So how do you survive normally? How do you get food and water?" She asked, watching as he finished the meat.

"There's a creek nearby that I go to for water. As for food, I hunt whatever won't be missed from the forest." He said, lowering his head to eat more.

"So you don't really need much to eat then? I doubt there's many animals in the forest that could satisfy you." She said.

"It is more than enough for me!" Naruto growled.

"Okay, don't get angry!" She snapped back, his short temper getting on her nerves.

Naruto grabbed a meat chunk and bit into it, pulling the meat off it the bone. It slid into his mouth where he chewed then swallowed before he continued. "There are plenty of animals here in the forest; birds, bears, boar, wolves, and many others. This place flourishes with life, however... lately food has been hard to find for me." Naruto admitted.

"Perhaps... it's whatever it was that attacked me?" Hinata said thoughtfully, hand on her chin.

"Perhaps. I don't venture out of my cave save to eat or explore every now and then. How is your arm?" Naruto asked suddenly, finishing another hunk of meat.

"I'll be fine, I should be healed up by tomorrow." She said knowingly.

"...Thanks for the food." He commented eventually, grabbing the rest of the meat and pulling it out, handing the empty bag to her. "...do you wish to see something?" He asked.

"What?" She asked.

He seemed to change his mind. "Never mind. You should head back, just in case the villagers get concerned." He said quickly. Hinata looked surprised but shook it off with a nod. "And this time... do not come back." He warned again.

Hinata smiled wryly as she stood. "Why should I listen to a monster?" She said over her shoulder as she left.

Naruto grabbed the meat and continued eating in silence.

'Once again the fates seem fit to taunt me with their incessant japing. Still... it seems there's another monster here.' He swallowed. 'The question is, why did it move in and when? Either way I better be careful from now on.' He thought, cautioning himself. 'But I can say that today wasn't unenjoyable, I talked with her... Hmph, well things should be interesting.' Naruto thought as he crunched the last piece of meat and swallowing. "Still thirsty." He decided, licking his lips before he got up and left the cave as well.

-The Next Day-

Naruto laid his kill on the ground, a large boar and a wolf that he'd caught. He bit into the flesh of the wolf and jerked his head, tearing it apart. He chewed the tough meat and swallowed, turning his head just in time to see Hinata walking down.

"It seems that I'll have to get used to this." He attempted to grumble. She had another pack on, which seemed larger than before. He also noted her once broken arm was moving normally. "Your arm has healed I see." He said.

"Yes." She replied as she placed the pack down and opened it. He saw her lift up a pot and raised an eyebrow.

"You plan on staying?" He asked.

"No, I just felt like cooking away from those vultures." She said.

"So then... I think today I'll ask the questions." He said as she pulled out a bucket.

"Ask away." She said.

"What was your previous life like, before becoming a hunter?" He asked.

She froze then lowered the bucket slightly.

"Personally I'd prefer you wouldn't ask that, but it is true I've been asking enough personal questions..." She set the bucket down and went over to the wall. She seemed to have trouble stilling herself as she began to pace. "I had a family... A father, a sister, cousins. I was part of the Hyuuga family line and we were renowned for our combat history and strategic capabilities as well as our expertise with negotiation. But one day my family was... butchered after being tortured by a monster and... I'd rather not go into it." She said haltingly.

Naruto bowed his head. "I'm sorry. Family is... a precious thing." Hinata sensed a type of sad knowledge in those words. Almost as if he had in depth knowledge on the subject. "Go, I will ask no more today." He said.

"No, there's nothing wrong with asking just... not that please..." She requested.

"I understand." Naruto said before he laid his down on his hands, closing his eyes, thinking on her words.

-5 Hours Later-

Hinata was boiling some stew using various things she picked up from the village; Naruto watched her quietly. They had been quiet and it was starting to unnerve the both of them. Hinata however was surprised to find that Naruto was true to what he said. "Um... well anything you'd like to ask?" she asked nervously.

He raised his head slightly. "Aren't you afraid?" He asked.

"Of what?" She asked, her gaze on the soup, a rather wry smile on her face as she predicted his next words. Her prediction were proven wrong though when he clarified with, "The villagers."

That took her by surprise. She was expecting him to say 'monsters', 'me', or maybe even just 'death'.

"Why should I be afraid of them? They're just a bunch of sheep that are too scared to do anything." She said.

"Don't be fooled, they can be quite brutal and deadly if they choose to be." Naruto said.

"And yet why do I feel like you're giving them too much credit?"

Naruto growled. "I am not giving them credit I am telling you to not underestimate them." He said.

"Very well, I just find it odd that a monster is sympathizing with a human so strongly." Hinata commented.

"Even with their faults there are redeeming qualities in humans. You are a prime example." He said.

"Oh, how so?" She asked, now curious.

"Hunters are supposed to hunt monsters, not make friends of them, even if a monster were to save their life." He said. Hinata wordlessly stirred the stew and she let him continue. "A monster has to die to bring peace to the villagers, even if it is momentary a human will choose a moment of peace over a lasting nightmare." He said. "Pretty soon you won't be able to lie to them and when that comes about you need to kill me." She sensed his conviction.

"Does it have to be this way?" She asked him.

"Maybe, maybe not... the stew is ready," He said, pointing to it. She looked down and nodded in agreement. The stew was made using fish, meat, tomato, basil, and various herbs and spices. She grabbed a ladle and a bowl and poured stew into the bowl, thick chunks meat with smaller chunks of fish filling the bowl. She placed her bowl on the ground and reached into her pack to pull out a wok. She poured most of the stew into the wok, leaving enough for a second helping for herself, and Naruto grabbed it with his hand, the wok fitting perfectly inside his grip. Hinata grabbed her bowl and blew on the stew before eating.

The two ate in silence, Naruto finishing before Hinata and licking his lips slowly. "Very good food," He said, "I take it you will not be returning to the village tonight?" He asked.

"I will, but I didn't know how long I would be here." She said, polishing off her second bowl.

"I see... well it's late, you should head back." He said.

She paused, a look of contemplation on her face.

"Could I sleep with you?" She asked suddenly.

"Why?" He asked, his head shooting up and his ears swiveling.

"I... don't know but... I feel comfortable with you, more comfortable than with any human I have ever met." She admitted. He looked at her quietly for several long seconds before he nodded slowly. He stepped to the back of the cave and laid onto the ground. She looked at the position, tilting her head in confusion before she noticed that his body was formed into a type of circle.

She realized that he was inviting her to come. She reached into her pack and pulled out some flooring and grabbing the rest of her stuff and placed it inside the cave against the wall before she walked forward. She saw his tail was raised and when she walked into the circle he let the tail fall, completing the circle. She set the flooring down and began to remove her armor. Naruto's head laid onto his hands his eyes flicking to her then the ground rapidly, seemingly unsure of exactly where to look.

She set her armor aside, Naruto's tail swiping it away from them within reach, but out of the circle. She was about to lay down when his tail brushed her front. She found that it was surprisingly warm and the fur bristled, allowing it to cover her body completely. She nodded in thanks and saw his head on his hands his eyes closing. She leaned back, her head resting on his furry mid-section. She could hear his inhale and the sound of his heart beating. The two sounds acted as a type odd lullaby that lulled her to sleep. She sighed, warm and content, a day well spent in her mind.

-Morning-

Hinata hummed slightly and nuzzled her head against the soft fur her head was resting on. In her sleep she'd moved around, finding soft places along his body, trying her best to nestle in and get comfortable. She was unaware that Naruto himself was shifting, unaccustomed as he was to having something else with him in his cave, much less on his body. He shifted as she moved across his body. Eventually though they had come to a position they were satisfied with where he was lying on back while Hinata had some nice soft fur to lay on. So deep in their sleep they never even woke up.

Hinata was the first to awake, humming pleasantly, pleased she'd found a rather soft pillow.

It wasn't till it gurgled that she opened her eyes and raised her head, yawning and stretching. She scratched her head, running her hands through her lightly tangled hair to get it away from her face. She breathed in deeply and was suddenly aware of a strong, musky scent filling her nostrils. She blinked her blurry eyes and leaned back, adjusting her legs so she was straddling Naruto's... something. She blinked a few times to check exactly where she was situated only to freeze as she stared wide eyes at what was she'd been using as her pillow: Naruto's balls.

Once she regained the ability to move and snapped out of her shock - and suspicious lack of mortification - she caught sight of the red pointed tip of what she could only assume was his penis shrinking back into it's sheathe. There was a thick strand of transparent goop trailing from the tip to her cheek and she brought up a hand to feel at her face, only to discover that half her cheek was covered in the stuff.

She really didn't want to dirty her own clothes with the stuff, but her body was reacting to the strong smell and feeling of being covered in an alpha male's essence - something she didn't think was possible, considering how much she'd modified herself - so she scooted back and leaned forward again, rubbing her cheek against the fur of Naruto's belly to clean herself off.

She heard a grumbling behind her and all but leaped off of the monster, landing in a clumsy roll. She tried to fight down the blush that covered her cheeks and managed to succeed by the time Naruto rolled over and opened his eyes, stretching like a cat before he actually stood up on sleep lagged legs.

Hinata felt her eyelids droop as her cloudy gaze locked onto the orbs she'd accidentally slept on. The surprise and panic had worn off and now she remembered what woke her up. Gurgling. She'd initially thought it was Naruto's stomach, but no, it was the large balls between his legs. Balls didn't gurgle, that was insane, they just weren't built like that.

Her eyes grew more glazed as a line of drool made it's way down her chin, her mind running rampant with that thought and what it meant. Without any female monsters around Naruto was probably incredibly backed up, more so than any human could be, apparently. All that cum just building up and building up without any way of release, growing thicker and thicker; millions, possibly billions of little semen swimming around, waiting to be released, and like sharks after a bloodied prey they would surely find their target. They would penetrate the egg they so sought after, fertilizing her-

That train of thought ended with a loud crack as the Huntress punched herself square in the face as hard as she could without shattering her own jaw.

'What the FUCK_!?'She roared mentally, ignoring Naruto's cautious stare at her sudden and strange behavior. _'Not a peep out of my sex drive in five years and suddenly I'm literally gushing over the thought of being hosed down in Naruto's cum like some kind of... some kind of cum addict?!'

Admittedly she had noticed men before, after she'd been modified, but it hadn't been on the same level. It was always her noticing how well formed they were in a more... observational sense, like how nice their jawline was, or how well kept their hair was. She hadn't felt any sliver of lust, and she had, until roughly five minutes ago, firmly believed her sex drive was just gone, an unintended side effect of how thoroughly she'd been changed.

"Morning," He said with a yawn, his mouth opening wide, even with his human-like face she saw rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

"G-good morning," She said, going to grab her armor and put it back on.

"Something up?" He asked casually. She shook her head. "Hmmm I'm gonna go get breakfast then... there's plenty out there, wolf, rabbit, boar, bear... anything you fancy?" He asked.

"Umm... I guess some rabbits and a boar will do." She said.

"Alright," He stepped over her and walked out of the cave while Hinata stood there, her hand on her previously slimy cheek.

'I wasn't aware that monsters had... large ones. Females must be large in turn, I wonder what- stop , becoming friends with a monster is one thing but copulating with it is another!' She thought steely. She grabbed her armor, slotting in her lower armuor pieces; she needed her arms to skin the animals. She reached into her metal boot where a skinning knife was hidden. She pulled it out and examined it, nodding as she found it could use a sharpening. She then grabbed her pack and pulled out a whetstone and began to sharpen the knife while she waited for Naruto to come back.

She eventually stopped, having made it so sharp that it pricked her finger, and looked at the entrance. By her reckoning it had been ten minutes since he left she wondered if the other monster had somehow found and was now fighting him. She shook that thought off with a burst of annoyance. She knew hunting could take longer, she had just gotten it into her head Naruto could do it faster due to his agile body. Still...

She looked at her sword, which was with the rest of her armor. She hesitated and was about to grab her stuff when the ground shook and a shadow settled over the cave. She waited, her skinning knife in hand, now very capable of doing more than just skinning. Eventually the shadow walked in and she lowered her knife when she saw Naruto. He was carrying three rabbits in his mouth by the ears and a boar under one of his arms. The boar itself was larger than most, about as big as an adult wolf or a bear cub.

He walked forward, setting the prey down in front if Hinata, and she noticed his face looked more like a fox's than human. He shook his head and it reverted back to the human face.

"I was right, something is hunting the forest down to extinction, took me longer than usual to find some of these." Naruto said.

"To find these?" She questioned, curious about that statement.

"Well I still hunt, but me and forest have a... mutual agreement of sorts, born from trust I don't overhunt the animals here and they provide a reasonable catch. But this new monster... it's in a feeding frenzy, I hope. If not..." He paused at that, then he laid down.

"What are you going to do?" Hinata asked as she grabbed the rabbits and began to skin them with practiced ease.

"Fight it, I suppose." He said lamely.

"Are you scared?" She asked.

"I am not scared!" He snarled angrily.

"Good, because I can help you." She said.

"What?" He looked at her surprised, "Why?"

She looked at him as she finished skinning the third one. "It's obvious that you're strong, but this monster is stronger if it was able to hurt you."

"I'm strong enough, there's nothing that can stop me you should know that!" He snarled. She was surprised by this sudden outburst, as well as the genuinely angry face, his lips peels back to reveal very sharp teeth. He then seemed to pause and he looked away. "I'm sorry, that was rude of me." He said, his voice heavy with regret.

"No, it's my fault, I shouldn't of called you weak when you've repelled my assault twice and saved my life." She apologized. They were silent and she went to the pot but Naruto raised himself.

"I'll get water." He said. "I'll be quicker." He added as an afterthought. She handed him the bucket and he held it with his teeth as he lowered himself to all fours. He ran out of the cave while Hinata began to look through her bag for seasoning, getting ready to chop up the rabbits.

-Naruto-

Naruto scooped the water from the creek into the bucket he set it down and looked around. He could sense the animals watching him. He raised his head, sniffing many scents filled the air, all of them familiar. He tried to smell something unfamiliar, but he was having difficulty. This beast wasn't dumb, and while it's power was great Naruto was confident that his own power would win the day. However it wouldn't hurt to have Hinata supporting him.

He stopped as his mind brought up a mental picture of Hinata from the night before, dressed in nothing but chest wraps and a small fundoshi, neither of which did anything to hide her figure. He shook his head, blinking in surprise; he didn't think he could still think of female humans that way anymore. He grabbed the filled bucket and headed back.

-Naruto's Cave, 3 Hours Later-

Naruto ate the hunk of cooked boar meat that Hinata had cooked for him while she enjoyed the barley with rabbit soup. He tore the juicy and flavorful meat up with his teeth while Hinata favored a more sedate eating style. "So how are we gonna start searching?" She asked.

Naruto chewed the meat, enjoying the flavor. He gave a hearty swallow, licking his lips as he did. "Well, I suppose once I'm done eating we could check the western part of the forest." Naruto then looked at Hinata. "However, whether or not we find it you must head back and check the villagers. I'm sure they're problem worsened in your absence, whatever it may be." He then lowered his head to tear off a huge piece of meat.

"Do you know why they asked me to hunt you?" She asked him.

"No." He said simply.

"One of their cows was taken a few days back and they blamed it on you." She said.

"...I see..." He said simply and he continued eating.

"Doesn't it bother you?" She asked.

"Some days yes, others no. Humans are selfish creatures usually thinking only of themselves, they have the potential to be good but their selfish ways often diminishes that value." He said he then bit and tore off the last chunk of meat while Hinata finished. She had to admit he was right on the money when it came to the behavior of humans. He swallowed and looked at her. Hinata scooped up what little vegetable and grain was left in her bowl and gulped down the rest of the broth. "Well then, shall we get going?" He asked.

She nodded and began putting on the rest of her armor.

The two walked outside and Naruto stood up on his hind legs. Hinata once again marveled at how large he was when he wasn't making an effort to stay low to the ground. He dropped down on all fours and looked at her. "Care for a ride?" He asked, lowering his body slightly. Hinata stared at him for a moment, not expecting the offer at all, but she quickly recovered and climbed on his back, trying to avoid pulling his reddish gold fur.

"Don't worry about my fur, you'd need to really try to pull that stuff out. Just hold on tight, I'm going to go near full speed." He warned.

Hinata made sure her sword wasn't anywhere near Naruto's skin and grabbed his fur, taking his advice to heart and knotting it for a good hold before leaning forward and giving him the okay.

Naruto walked forward a few steps to confirm this before he suddenly took off, zooming through the forest, jumping over bushes, ducking branches and leaping off larger trees. Hinata held on hard, surprised at his agility and flexibility.

After running for about 4 minutes Naruto slid to a halt and he lowered his body. Hinata jumped off, her legs feeling a little bit like jelly she eventually stilled herself. She looked around, this particular forest had thicker foliage and gnarled branches and trees. "So this is western forest?" She asked.

"Yes... be careful, there are predators here, and while they pose little threat to me you might find yourself overwhelmed." He warned, his voice accented in a way she'd never heard before. She looked over to see his face was that of a foxes, no trace of human left. His ears where longer and larger in this form, and she could only assume he could hear better because of it. Hinata reached for her sword pulling it out.

"What makes you think it's here?" She asked.

"A feeling in my gut, also this forest has grown quiet as of late. Something is killing the population here and forcing them to leave. Few things can do that, Hunters, suicidal and numerous colonists, or a monster; one that chooses to feast in large amounts instead of moderation." Naruto explained.

"I see..." She said. They began to walk, Naruto raising his head and sniffing the air, growling every now and then. "Do you know it's scent?" She asked.

"Not in great detail, but I will find it. The scent will be unfamiliar to me, so I should be able to find it by eliminating what I do recognize." He said, raising his body to sniff. When he did this Hinata got close to him her sword held up one hand steadying the blade, watching his back so he could focus entirely on tracking. He also shifted his ears, turning them this way and that, trying to find even the faintest of possibly odd sounds. He growled, snarling even, "Damn it all... I'll find this damned beast if it's the last thing I do!"

Hinata turned to him. "Calm down, I understand your anger but we need a cool head here." He huffed, but his growling ceased. "Did you not get a good look at it that day?" She asked.

"No, I was preoccupied." He answered.

She blushed lightly, guessing correctly that he meant he was focused on saving her life. She changed the subject. "Did you manage to find anything distinct?" She managed to say coolly.

"Yes, it had saber teeth." He said.

"That's not much to go by." She said.

Naruto shook his head, disagreeing. "In the world of monsters? It's significant, it means he's a higher breed of monster." He explained, "Monster usually have a common body formation, but there are those that happen to have something that puts them above the norm. These monsters are quite deadly and should not be taken lightly."

"Either way, we won't know till we kill it." She said.

"Indeed." He affirmed as he cast his gaze up. He crouched and leapt onto a tree, holding onto the branch with one hand, his feet firmly planted on the side of the trunk. His ears twisting back and forth for almost a full minute before he growled and dropped back down. "It's not here." He declared.

"Dammit... Which means this was a waste of time." Hinata said hotly.

"Not entirely." He argued. "If it's not to the east, then where could it be...?" He said to himself. He cast his gaze skyward, with the somewhat thick canopy it was slightly hard to tell if it was nighttime or just the trees blocking everything. "You should go back to the village. They'll want to know how you've progressed in killing me." He said.

Hinata held back the angry groan, born from a desire to just beat the crap out of the impatient villagers and leave. Naruto was right though, if she didn't come back they might think she was dead.

"I'll be back tomorrow, try not to go after it. I... don't want anything to happen to you." She said.

They walked back in silence, this one far more comfortable, companionable even, than the silence between them in the cave had been.

• The Next Day-

Hinata sighed tiredly as she stood before the entrance to Naruto's Cave. Things had gotten worse this time, three cows had gone missing in her two day absence and the villagers were getting very restless. They had began gathering more money to hire another Hunter, one more skilled - or at least better known - and on the letter. The ground shook and she looked to see Naruto walking out. He paused, seeing her distressed features even as she tried to assume a calm face. "What's wrong?" He asked.

She looked at him, wanting to lie, but found she couldn't.

"It's the villagers, they want me to kill you by tomorrow they're... they're gathering money for another Hunter." She admitted.

"I see... then we should find the real culprit soon." Naruto said, his voice chillingly calm.

"How can you be so casual about this, I could be forced to kill you, do you really want to die?" She shouted.

"No, I don't, but if my corpse will ease the people then I'm willing to risk it." He said

Hinata snarled, slamming her sword down into the ground as hard as she could, burying most of it in the earth. "Don't you dare say that! Do you see your life as so meaningless you'll throw it away so the village can be relieved for who knows how many hours until the other monster kills another one of their cattle?! Because if so kneel now and save me the trouble."

Naruto refused to meet her eye, and eventually he began lumbering west. "Come, we'll search more." He said distractedly, his mind almost consumed with her words and the feeling behind them.

"Hmph." Hinata grunted lightly as she ripped her blade from the dirt and followed.

With that the two once again resumed their search. They spent hours looking through the forest, hoping to find the monster framing Naruto, but their efforts seemed to be in vain.

"Tomorrow we settle this..." Naruto said as they arrived back at his cave. "Just so we're clear I have no-intention on holding back." He then turned his gaze forward.

"Damn it all! I don't want to fight you, I really, really don't!" Hinata cried, "This is idiotic and pointless, you know that! There must be another way, I can't kill you!"

He looked at her, his eyes dancing with grim amusement. "You could before, all you need to do is remember what it was and use it to kill me." Naruto said, "Go, this is the last time we are allies." He turned. "There's always the possibility of running away... with me, if you want." He said before he disappeared into his cave.

Hinata stood rooted in place, speechless, not sure what to do. How would the world treat them? Even if they made it seem like Naruto was a tamed beast, serving a slightly similar role that a hound would a bird hunter, they still might encounter trouble from all sides. Not to mention what nasty things the village would spread about her for skipping out on a job. Separate those were easy problems to deal with, Hunters that were good at their job got away with all kinds of things, but combined? They'd be killed in their sleep, or lynched out of every town they tried to enter.

She could... kill them all? She certainly had enough rage pent up from their impatience to easily complete the task... but from his almost fond words it was a very likely possibility Naruto would hate her for it.

"AHG!" She screamed and slammed her armored fist into the nearest tree. The trunk, four times as thick as she was, was turned to sawdust, the rest of the tree toppling over with a mighty crash.

Why couldn't this just be simple? She was a Monster Huntress, she hunted monsters, it was supposed to be straight forward. She sighed, rage leaving her as she glanced back at the cave. "Bastard... All your fault..." in the cave Naruto carved the ground with a claw. He finished and looked at the picture he had drawn then he blew it away lowering his head to sleep.

-The Next Morning-

---

Hinata sat near the fire, her sword held over the flame. It would do nothing but heat the sword up. Her blade was specially made out of Mythrilian ore, a metal that was nearly unbreakable. Today this black sword would be even blacker with Naruto's blood, everything screamed at her to not fight him. But she had to regardless of whether or not it was right or wrong. She closed her eyes and stood up before she stabbed the sword into the ground. 'Monsters are evil, they prey on the innocent and spread fear to all.' Said a hard voice.

'Not Naruto.' A softer one insisted.

'Monster trick the greedy and manipulate those that can be.' Hard said.

'But Naruto cares not for money and sees good in all.' Soft insisted.

_'We have a duty, and regardless of whether or not we like it it's something we have to do, and he wants us to do it. We cannot be rude enough to ignore his request!'_Silence answered her.

Hinata opened her eyes and grabbed her sword, swinging it a few times then held it steady before her. There was no other way, but she would make sure that after he died that she would find that other monster and eviscerate it! She steeled herself and headed for the forest - she paused and looked behind at the entrance of the little town seeing the villagers clustered watching her.

They would make sure she would go in alone and come out with a corpse. She turned her gaze forward and continued to walk. She knew how to get Naruto's place but she wanted to take her time, she wasn't even remotely confident she could kill him.

She had grown, attracted to him. He was gruff, stubborn, and rude, but even despite this he had shown maturity and great faith in the potential in humans. He was kind and trusting, despite the villager's anger at him he didn't blame, fault, or even think them stupid for it. He just wanted them to be happy at the expense of himself. How could such a pure and noble heart be trapped in the form of a monster?

Then there was the villagers, spineless and selfish, they had been trying her patience. She was tempted to say fuck them and let someone else take this but she couldn't. Her hands trembled with anger she clenched them tightly to still her hand.

"Something wrong dearie?" She looked to see the Healer walking toward her, a rather amused look on her face. She turned her gaze forward, not wanting to answer. "Doubt is heavy... it's hard to remove, especially when it goes against something you've always believed in." Hinata was silent; this woman was not ordinary... not even in the remotest sense. After this she would ask her about her past if possible. "Well, can't stand here forever, your time is limited and your choices even more so... but I know you will make the right choice." The old woman said as she walked away.

Hinata stood there not sure what to do.

She breathed in deeply, letting the air fill her lungs. She exhaled slowly and walked in. Hinata maneuvered into the forest through trees, bushes, rocks, and low hanging branches, mind plagued with doubt and hesitation. She continued to walk until she came to the clearing in front of Naruto's cave. She sighed hesitating and walked toward the entrance. She held up her sword, looking down the dark cave. She was about to enter when she heard a loud roar. She turned her head in the direction of the sound. Another roar followed by another one sounding like a shrieking cry. She ran heading for the source.

She smashed through bushes and sliced off branches, going at full speed. The trees thinned and she felt the ground rumble and heard snarling cries. She spun, her back hitting a tree. She peeked out carefully.

Naruto was in a clearing where the moon was shining down, snarling and snapping at his foe. A foe that Hinata could see clear as day with the moon shining.

It was a larger but thinner monster, with small powerful muscles. Its face resembled a tigers save the large saber teeth that jutted from the corner of its upper lips, looking to measure in at just above one and a half feet. It's fur was a mix of gold and black in a tiger pattern and at the base of it's spine it had long tail that smacked the ground, cracking it. The monster snarled, Naruto hunched low, his arms wobbling. Hinata could see various wounds on Naruto's body; she was surprised, he was so strong, how could he have been injured?

It was then the other monster charged. Naruto swung a clawed hand, only for it to stop. Naruto's hand slashing thin air, and only once he'd completed his swing did it lunge forward, it's teeth slicing into his arm. Naruto snarled and spun around to snap at it, but failed as it rolled out of the way, it's tiger tail raised as it got to it's feet, glaring at Naruto.

Naruto huffed, his chest was scuffed thanks to the teeth and his right arm was going numb. He growled as he remembered how this fight had come about.

-Earlier-

Naruto drank from the stream, gulping down the cold water. He raised his snout and shook it water spraying. He cast his gaze up, the afternoon sun was setting in. He flicked his ears, 'Did she lose her nerve? Well... I'll... miss her, oddly enough.' He thought on that sentence. He couldn't deny that he his annoyance and eventually curiosity had grown into a grudging fondness. She had, as much as he hated to admit, impressed him and earned a spot in his heart.

He sighed then turned, ready to head back to his cave when he heard a rustling. He paused, normally he would have ignored it, but he felt the ground shake with the rustling so he lowered his stance, his tail flicking side to side and his ears pressed flat. He looked around slowly, his eyes scanning his ear listening for the faintest sound.

Nothing...

He straightened himself then got on his hind legs and looked around, no sooner had he done this then a blur shot out, tackling him. The two rolled, smashing through trees a trail of destruction in their wake. Naruto trying to get on top only have feet hit his stomach, forcing air out. He slammed into a rock, grunting in pain as his back cracked slightly.

Snarling he stood up, looking to see his quarry. He paused, watching it as it began to circle, and Naruto found himself doing the same. The two stared each other down, looking for a weakness or an opening, growling, threatening each other. The monster suddenly made a move.

Naruto slashed, but just as he did the other monster paused for just a moment before it jumped forward, it's teeth biting down on his arm. Naruto howled and retaliated by slashing, only for it to tug on his arm, throwing his balance off. Naruto's attack fell off course, digging into the ground, carving into it easily. The other monster leaped back, now fully aware of his power. It licked Naruto's black blood from its teeth and hissed then howled a screeching roar.

Naruto snarled, his teeth bared. This other monster was quick. However the main power was behind it's jaws. If he could avoid them he could win with his strength. He snarled then made a feint. It braced, and Naruto then lunged again, his claw raised.

The monster howled as it got hit hard and fell onto the ground, rolling onto its back.

Naruto pressed the attack, and the monster snarled as it raised its hind legs, catching Naruto and pushing him up and over.

Naruto's shoulder crashing into a rock and he howled. Groaning, he grabbed his shoulder the sound of breaking wood sounded. He looked up to see the trunk of several trees collapsing just before they fell on him, on cracking him in the head, dazing him temporarily. The monster didn't relent as it jumped onto the trees, his weight pushing them down harder.

Naruto roared and pushed with all his strength, sending the trees and monster flying.

The monster shrieked as a tree hit it and it fell onto its back. A tree crashing onto its stomach. Naruto, sensing a moment of weakness, pounced, but the other monster pushed the trees off and rolled out of the way. Naruto landed hard on the trunk, feet denting the thick log, and looked at his prey, only to have a claw come at his face. He raised an arm, sparing his face but howling as the nails cut his flesh open, his arm spurting blood.

With that the monster began taking potshots at him, slowly whittling him down. Naruto's wounds slowly became more severe. He was weak now; his strength cut down to half, if he could get a good blow he could end it. But his legs were seriously hurt and his arms were wobbling. They were till usable, but for how much longer was a question he couldn't answer.

The other monster snarled as it neared him, sensing his weakness. Naruto hoped it would let it's guard low enough that he could get a good hit on it. The monster's strategy was the strategy of a winner, as cowardly as it was. Naruto couldn't delude even himself; if this kept up he would die.

Hence he was then surprised as the monster howled and staggered. He looked behind it to see Hinata standing there, sword dripping with black blood as it had been stabbed into the monster's leg. The monster hobbled away, but it was a feint and it roared as it lurched forward and swiped at her.

Hinata parried the attack, not even flinching at the powerful blow. Naruto's blows were easily twice as strong, and this speedy beast was no match for her in a straight strength contest either. Hinata kept her feet ready to move if need be, her stance open, but mostly reactionary. She wished to be calm but her heart was thumping against her chest. Even as experienced as she was with combat each and every battle was a life or death struggle.

The monster hissed at her, furious at a new opponent joining the fray. It swung and she ducked down, only for the beast to lunge.

Hinata jumped, soaring into the air. She came down, her sword aimed at its back. She cried out in both surprise and pain as the monsters tail smacked her out of the air. Naruto moved his body lumbering toward the other monster slowed by his injuries. The monster saw Naruto and it spun around and leaped at him. Naruto cried out as it tackled his injured arm. He raise a hand to smash it when it's large saber tooth sunk into his arm, piercing through it.

Hinata stood up and she saw Naruto get injured. Something inside her snapped and she ran forward, her face darkened as she jumped up high and came down blade point first, impaling the monster's left shoulder.

The monster released Naruto and rolled in an attempt to crush Hinata. However she had jumped off and sliced at it's saber tooth, sheering just the tip of one off. The monster's roar was so loud that Hinata clapped a hand to her ears. Naruto winced but saw his chance. With a low growl he charged the other monster, ramming it with his shoulder.

The monster was knocked over, it hissed then it began to retreat but Naruto, wanting to finish the job tried to hurry after it, only to growl in pain, huffing as his body found itself unable to move.

Not good, he needed to rest and recover, but he couldn't let that monster get away either! He growled then his body collapsed, no longer able to support his weight. He gave a frustrated roar and laid still.

Hinata, who had finally let go of her ears, went over to Naruto. "Are you okay?" She asked, worry filling her and chasing away the other, more negative reactions.

"No, I'm not," Naruto hissed, "I need to rest... and you... you need to kill me." He coughed and gave a groan as blood spat out of his mouth.

And then she punched him square in the nose.

His head jerked the blow was powerful and sudden and his nose and snout was hot with pain. "Ow!" He turned to her, "What was that for?"

Hinata grabbed her sword and slotted it onto her back. She then went to Naruto's arm, pausing before she grabbed the cut tooth and wrapped it up, when it was secured she continued walking to Naruto's arm and grabbed it, hefting it onto her shoulder.

"I'm tired of you saying you need to die just to satisfy those pathetic, egotistical and self-righteous villagers! Don't you dare defend them! By rights now you owe me because I saved your life, which means you do what I say till you repay the debt!" She growled.

Naruto gave a laugh and moved his legs as best he could, still retaining feeling in them. The two kept going till they got to his cave and were inside. Naruto scooted to the wall and he panted.

Hinata looked at him, lying there. It was odd, she felt... pity and a slight amount of disgust. To see him so weak and vulnerable it made her angry. He was strong, brave, noble even and kind. To see him like this, she clenched her hands angrily, she would make that other monster pay.

Naruto panted tiredly, and once he had thing under control and was no longer seeing black spots in his vision he looked at Hinata. She seemed upset, and he was about to chuckle when it suddenly hit him. A desire, hidden, yet poking out every now and then it had done so several times. Now though it was stronger, he felt it in the past but it had been easy to suppress. He then realized something, and as he did he knew she had to leave. "Hinata leave now!" He exclaimed suddenly, louder and more panicked then he intended to.

"What? No, I'm staying you're horribly injured I gotta get you back to-"

Naruto roared at her. "Leave, today is not a good day. Please... I don't want to hurt you!" He said, his voice cracking slightly. Hinata was stunned by the response as she watched him lower his head, teeth gnashing and sweat dripping from his furry brow.

She reached for her sword. "Naruto what's... going on?" She said slowly.

"Gahhh! I... can't control myself...! It's..." He smashed his head back against the cave wall. "It's my mating season!" He growled out.

"Eh?" She blinked, her sword lowering enough the tip hit the earth.

It was then that Naruto's tail shot forward and wrapped around her leg, tripping and pulling her violently toward Naruto. Her sword, already held in a limp grip because of her surprise, fell out of her hand with a loud clatter before she was face to face with Naruto. He had his human face again and his blue eyes, now sporting slit shaped pupils, were changing color, darkening to a purple and even red before he tensed up and they changed back to blue with effort.

"Ah Naruto wait I-I'm-" Suddenly he brought his head to her chest she could feel it nuzzle into her cleavage, the metal mesh doing absolutely nothing but irritate his skin before he raised his head and opened his mouth. She was quicker though, and had a hand pressed to his lips before he could begin speaking. "Stop, wait, Naruto before-before we do this I want to say something." He growled quietly, eyes now a stable-ish purple, but he made no move to stop her. "I... lately I've been thinking about you... in a way I never thought I would... My body... my body desires you and... so do my thoughts, I guess what I'm trying to say is... I... like you." She confessed, blushing more than she would ever admit.

Eyes lightening and widening, Naruto looked at her in surprise. "You like me?" She nodded looking slightly embarrassed. He shook his head as his eyes darkened again "Grrrr... I want you... I NEED you..." He growled, forcing out, "Not because of-grnnngh, my mating season. I've thought of you in a more romantic light as well." He was furrowing his brow.

Hinata could tell his reason was losing out to his animalistic urges to procreate, and their confessions given and the air cleared for now she stood up and began to remove her armor, metal mesh netting, and clothes as quickly as possible while Naruto fought for self-control. She threw it as far as she could to give as much space as possible. She was about to remove her chest wraps when Naruto suddenly swept her feet out from under her with another tail swipe.

She fell with a meep and he hovered above her, growl turning to a purr as he observed her body, then his head lowered, rubbing her stomach. She felt the vibration from his purring and shivered as his face rubbed against the underside of her breasts.

Hinata gave a sharp inhale at that, he rubbed his nose and then lifted his head. He observed her bandaged chest then he held up a finger, a claw glinting. Hinata gulped, it seemed as if Naruto wasn't partially in control, otherwise she was sure he would've ripped right through her and tried to mount her with his... it was then she thought back to what she'd seen a few mornings ago. She'd just seen the very tip, and it was enormous! She struggled to even think about how big the entire thing must be. And every inch of it was going to be penetrating her soon, or at least every inch Naruto's considerable bulk could force into her, spurred on by his instinctual need to bury himself as deep as he could within the female to release his seed.

She was brought out of her thoughts when he sliced her wraps and her breasts sprung out. Hinata gasped slightly as her breasts were hit by first the cool air of the cave and then the hot, heavy breath coming from Naruto. She had kept them tied up for so long she'd forgotten just how sensitive her breasts were, not to mention how large they were without being restrained. She looked down at the large breasts that jiggled for the first time it what must have been months, not counting when bathing, her nipples so sensitive they were standing erect almost instantly.

He sniffed her nipple then his tongue came out and licked the breast. Hinata moaned loudly both in pleasure and surprise, her fingers digging up dirt as they clenched.

Above her, Naruto could feel his dick slide out, wanting to plunge into her, but he held himself back; he wanted to explore her outside before he gave in and plunged her depths. He looked at her crotch where her strange panties rested, covering her openings. Nostrils flaring, he lowered his head towards the wet... garment? He had no idea what they were made of, it was like metal weaved together like cloth. He sniffed, smelling her juices, his face momentarily stretching as his instincts made another push, but he paused and forced them back down, his face returning to it's relatively human shape before he continued.

He began to lick, and Hinata cried out once more. It was so weird, she barely remembered masturbating when she was younger, lying in bed and idealistically fantasizing about the handsome boy she would one day marry. Now, to have a monster licking her most sacred place, was... oddly exciting. Her back suddenly arched, hands fisting another two handfuls of earth as a strong orgasm took her completely by surprise.

Naruto's nose was assaulted by the smell as some of her juices fell onto his lips. Instincts momentarily flared back up, but he raked his claws at the ground as he asserted himself again. He stiffly reached for the panties to gently remove it, and if they were made from anything else they would have torn like wet tissue paper. As it was he just slid them off of her roughly.

Hinata, not even remotely bothered by this, breathed heavily as her pussy was forcibly laid bare, dripping heavily onto the cave floor. Naruto licked her again, his tongue widened to get everything on her puffy labia. Hinata gasped and gave spasms as she felt the rough texture of his tongue.

Naruto was quite engrossed in his taste testing, but not enough to ignore the tingling of his injuries, which started steaming, and the way his loose shoulder joint began resetting itself. He hissed through clenched teeth - thankfully withdrawing his tongue before he clamped down - in sudden pain as his once crippled arm became functional again. He looked at his arm, flexing the fingers before he looked at Hinata.

The girl in question panted, confused as to why he stopped. Naruto looked at his arm again then turned back to Hinata. "You're full of surprises." He said.

"W-Wha-AHHHHH!" She screamed as he licked her again, this time his tongue poked forward pushing inside. She felt it slither inside of her, rubbing her inner walls as it did. As he licked up more of her juices he felt his wounds starting to close. Something about Hinata was enhancing his healing abilities. He would have to ask her about it later, but right now he was occupied.

Hinata's body was reacting in ways she never expected, she felt hot and itchy. Each lick of Naruto's tongue was so rough and hitting so many soft spots that she was surprised that she wasn't orgasming every time he licked her. Even without cumming though she was in nirvana, every lick pushing her to heaven for a few seconds before coming down only to get pushed up again. She then felt his nose rub her breasts and she reached up and stroked his ears, causing him to purr louder. His tongue then began to lick her breasts.

Hinata bit her lip, moaning gently. "N-Naruto!" She cried out.

He nuzzled her stomach gently, he was ready now, he raised his head Hinata releasing it. She could sense it was coming she saw him looking at her, both eyes blue. She nodded, and his stance relaxed, eyes instantly darkening as he let himself go a little more. She then gasped as she felt the tip of his cock poke at her entrance. He pushed in, the pointed tip sinking in easily due to it's shape, difficulties began emerging when it came for the rest of his length though. He pushed in and Hinata braced herself. She wanted it. Her body and her mind wanted Naruto, and she couldn't explain it.

Naruto himself was struggling even more, his baser instincts wanted to just grab her and ram into her, and they were winning; his hands were shaking and his legs wobbling, his eyes seeming to flash between red and purple. Instincts and reason battled it out ever harder, but ground was being lost and he jerked his hips - Hinata giving a gasp as she felt his dick slide in, bulging out from her lower belly, the outline displayed on her skin, showing just how much of Naruto's girth was inside of her. She looked and saw it and almost couldn't believe it, but she reached down with twitching hands to rub the bulge slowly.

Naruto gave a rumbling purr his human side once again appearing.

He went over to the cave wall his dick raised so that Hinata was elevated. He turned, pressing his back against the cave wall so he didn't fall over backwards before he reached down to grasp Hinata's thighs. With her back against him, he lifted the flexible girls legs up until her thighs were pressed against her body, making a tight V shape. Naruto's large hands could actually hold her with no difficulty, and Hinata was raised enough to turn to look at him.

The two locked eyes, both panting. Naruto's face, human but incredibly feral looking, giving them both the oppurtunity to lean in and kiss with a soft heat. She put a hand to his cheek rubbing it they broke their kiss.

"You ready?" He asked.

A nod answered him and he lower her down his shaft, inch after inch burrowing up into her slightly loosened up hole. The sensation of her walls squeezing him as he did this almost drove him over the edge, but he restrained himself and focused on keeping his grip on her tight but not too tight.

"Ah, ah ah ah!" She whimpered as he used her body like a sheathe, lifting her up and down with increasing speed. It was painful but the pain was dying down replaced by a new feeling. A tingling joy that grew larger with each thrust, a joy that made her open her mouth. Gasping with pleasure, leaning back to allow more of the huge cock inside of her. She looked at Naruto and leaned into him, doing her best to twist her upper body so she could wrap her arms around his neck before she lifted them up and began stroking his ears again. He gave a particularly hard thrust, making her gasp. She bit her lip as she felt the cock sink in even deeper, bulge growing more pronounces. She looked at him as she felt his tongue lick her breasts.

"We are one... like... like lovers." She panted her voice cracking slightly. Naruto was silent as he stopped licking. "That's the... mmnh... best way to put it isn't it?" She panted and scratched his ears. Naruto had to stop himself from scratching his ears with his foot, as that would have caused all kinds of balance problems. "I hate monsters... all of them but you, you're different." Naruto nudged her, listening as he held himself back enough that his hard thrusts turned to gentle strokes, letting her talk. "You are kind, strong, brave, a bit foolish, loyal and a better person than most humans. I'll say it again... I love you Naruto, do you love me?" Hinata asked.

"Yessssss..." Naruto said in a hiss, face scrunching as he jerked his hips hard upward, and Hinata cried out as she climaxed. She was given a chance to relax as the two resumed their love-making. Naruto thrusting harder now and Hinata getting him to let go of her legs so she could actually stand on his thighs and push herself down onto him, getting more of the monstrous shaft into her. Naruto's balls jumped up with each upward thrust, slapping Hinata's lower belly roughly.

Hinata's body was adjusting to his sizable form rather quickly, the intense pain from earlier completely gone, now replaced by a joyful love at his immense size. Naruto could feel her insides squeezing him tightly like a vice. He gave several yips, his feet thumping the ground as he felt her constrict then relax, almost massaging him.

He growled as his dick began to throb painfully and his balls began to swell, ready to shoot. He lowered his head, panting hotly, Hinata could feel it and felt his dick bulge even greater. She grabbed his head and kissed him heatedly. "Do it... Cum in me, and keep cumming! I want it all in me!" She demanded lustfully.

She pushed down, feeling her vagina stretch. He growled then roared and pushed forward suddenly. Hinata cried out I surprised when she fell, and ended up twisting around to land on her back.

Naruto slammed his cock right back into her with an almost frantic urgency, causing her back to arch and her eyes to roll in their sockets. Naruto grunted deeply as he experienced his first real orgasm. Hinata clawed at the ground, her back arched harder as she felt cum flow into her womb like a tidal wave, her belly bulging outwards very suddenly, nearly touching her chin as gallons of sperm flooded in. Hinata experience a first of her own as she was hit by a multiple orgasm, at least three climaxes at once, in the time it took for her womb to bloat so big that it touched Naruto's own stomach.

Naruto wanted to keep cumming inside of her, but he felt her belly touch his stomach and he grabbed her arms and grunted as he slowly pulled out then his cock, the angry red length still spewing cum so thick it was nearly jelly onto the cave floor, dirt and semen mixing as Hinata gave shuddering gasps. Naruto groaned as his cock kept spewing, his balls visibly deflating as they released who knew how many years' worth of pent up semen.

Hinata could feel it surrounding her in addition to Naruto's hot breathe as he panted hard. She looked up to see him staring at her. Then he grunted as he felt his cock sputter weakly. She barely felt the 'small' spurt, which was at least a cup's worth of his seed, land on her enormous belly, but it signified the end of his unforgettable orgasm.

Naruto was exhausted. He had run hundreds of miles and even scaled a mountain once, but he'd never felt as tired as he did now.

Even as tired as he was though he knew Hinata wouldn't want to sleep in a literal lake of his cum, so he gently lifted his dazed lover up and carried them over to dry ground. He barely managed to curl around her, his tail snaking up to cover her, before he passed out. Hinata followed soon after, her body catching up with the rest of her.

-Morning-

Slitted red eyes snapped open and nostrils flared. An intoxicating scent was everywhere, and Naruto's senses were going haywire. His cock had long since vacated it's pouch, and was as erect as it had ever been. Despite the massive draining the night before his balls were more than up to the task of seeding his woman again, not once, but a dozen or more times if need be.

Not even checking if she was awake Naruto sat up in a crouch. Hinata's body was caught by the waist before being lowered to the ground, but the woman was woken up by the slightly rough handling and looked around blearily. "Naruto?" She mumbled as she looked up at the rusty blur, lifting an arm to rub at her eyes to sharpen her vision.

She got a low growl in reply, and felt a great heat appear on her belly. She looked down and blinked owlishly. "THAT was inside me last night?" She asked incredulously.

She hadn't gotten a good look, but Naruto's cock was, first and foremost, utterly enormous. It was shaped like a dog's, starting with a pointed tip with a fairly large hole for delivering semen that widened to a more human shaped shaft, complete with blue and red veins that visibly throbbed. The shaft lead into a knob of flesh a few inches up from the base of his length, which was roughly half again as thick as the rest of his shaft. She was almost terrified that it was a knot, known for swelling to lock into the male's breeding partner. She silently hoped it was another part of him that was strangely human, and wouldn't expand. Otherwise she was going to get torn apart rather quickly.

She also decided she would have definitely remembered something like that being inserted into her body. Her answer came a second later when Naruto's heavily accented voice growled, "No. Not all of it."

He held a finger horizontally over his length, and Hinata was both concerned and impressed with herself to see she had taken as much as she had; his finger settled a little more than two inches above the ball on his length.

Her world flipped as she was rolled onto her belly, followed immediately by Naruto's strong hands grasping her lower and upper belly and hoisting her onto her hands and knees. She looked over her shoulder behind her, only to see Naruto's belly, the monster having already mounted her.

Her eyes widened as she saw his hips line up before pulling back. "Naruto wai-CAU!" She cried out inarticulately, spittle flying from her open mouth, as Naruto slammed forward, burying an unknown length of his cock into her tight snatch.

Wind nearly knocked out of her, Hinata found her hands and knees being driven into the dirt as hard, savage thrusts accompanied the first. She could feel the massive knot hammering at her labia and she could do little but moan wantonly as she was ruthlessly fucked.

She wasn't just being fucked though, she was being dominated. His weight pressed down on her, keeping her low, his massive girth sawed in and out of her pussy with reckless abandon, lubricated by her own gushing orifice, and she was being given zero say in what they were currently doing. She, who could slay armies without a scratch, the last survivor of the prestigious Hyuuga clan, the most successful alchemy boosted Huntress on this side of the entire continent, was being fucked like a horny breeding bitch in some run down puppy mill. And how did she feel about that...?

She reached forward and grabbed his wrists, absently noticing he'd changed to his four legged form, and began screaming, "YES! Fuck me like a bitch you filthy monster!" and then proceeded to cum hard enough that the only thing keeping her upright was the fact that her knees were actually buried several inches deep into the ground by this point.

She actually felt pretty damn good about it, to be honest. Like a switch being flipped all poise and dignity was gone, she wasn't a famous Huntress anymore with unique eyes that instantly told everyone who she was, for now she was nothing more than a woman getting her needs quite thoroughly satisfied.

This continued for several intense minutes before Hinata noticed Naruto's thrusts getting erratic. Next she felt the muscles of his forearms shift, returning to more humanoid claws once more before she was forced to let go as he reached back to wrap both his hands around her midsection.

From an outsiders perspective Naruto looked almost ridiculous, supported solely by his back legs and the forehead of his now canine face that ended up arched around enough that he was able to actually look back at Hinata's face, which only spurred him on as he saw the completely fucked silly look on it.

Hinata did not have an outsiders perspective, she was directly beneath this behemoth. Having experienced more orgasms than she could count, she wasn't really in any kind of shape, nor had the needed motivation, to care why he switched his grip. She simply pressed her hands back into the perfectly matching indentations of her hands on the ground she'd vacated earlier and tried her best not to drool on herself or get knocked out by her own wildly swinging breasts.

Her balance was thrown off as Naruto's hands pushed her forwards and his hips pulled back. The next two and a half seconds seemed to pass in slow motion as Naruto viciously yanked her backward and jerked his hips forward to meet her. Hair flying forward and mostly obscuring her vision, Hinata could swear she could actually count every single vein on Naruto's massive cock as it was slowly and yet very suddenly inserted back into her before time sped back up and she was instantly filled to a level she thought was impossible, even for Naruto.

Mouth opening in a silent scream of ecstasy, a thick spray of spit was ejected from her mouth as tears poured from her eyes. The tears weren't from pain, or even from crying at all, she was simply _so full_she was leaking out of every opening she had. Her pussy was included, and a massive spray of her pussy juiced painting Naruto's heavy balls that blocked every drop.

Upon later reflection she would thank her alchemic enhancements that removed her ability to produce waste - instead using every single bit of nutrition from everything she ate and destroying the rest with potent stomach acid - otherwise she would have likely made an incredibly embarrassing mess.

That issue didn't even register right now as Hinata's mind completely blanked. There was a little pain, Naruto's hips slamming into her ass hard enough to bury his entire length into her had rattled her pelvis and turned her legs completely numb, the now completely useless appendages flopping almost comically behind her as Naruto's hips pressed her forward enough to fall on her breasts and belly - a belly that was once more swelling with the thick, jelly-like semen it had already been painted in once before.

Naruto himself was completely focused on the single goal of seeding the bitch below him with as much of his potent cum as he could produce, and with a loud howl he let loose.

The proceeding flood was almost paltry compared the the one he'd released he previous evening, but that wasn't saying much considering his 'normal' output was still more than a hundred human men combined could release. Not to mention it was still mating season, and his balls were in overdrive as they produced super fertile seed at a staggering rate.

When Hinata regained control of herself it was long after Naruto had stopped cumming, because she couldn't feel even a trickle of cum being funneled into her from the length of meat that was still inside her. She was also sucking on Naruto's long tongue, her face being next to his, and her hands were blindly caressing his muzzle and neck.

She tried to breath, but only managed to inhale a little before Naruto's body being on top of hers turned from 'slightly erotic' to 'a serious issue'. "Gerroff!" She snapped as best as she could.

Mouth being less than six inches away from one of his sensitive ears, Naruto's eyes snapped open and he hopped up onto all fours as he quickly deduced he was crushing Hinata.

Hinata's earlier worries proved to be groundless as the knot near the base of Naruto's cock hadn't expanded and locked them together like she'd feared. That didn't stop it from making an incredibly erotic, wet popping sound as it was yanked out of her gaping pussy though.

Hinata stood up on shaky, tingling legs and turned to look at him. She was about to open her mouth, when a rush of light headedness hit her and she stumbled back a step.

Naruto's mating instincts snapped back into place as he saw his bitch moving further away from him, and out of his dwelling, when he still had plenty of cum that wasn't filling her pussy and producing strong kits with. A growl building in the back of his throat he reached forward and grabbed her around the middle.

The dizziness faded and Hinata's vision snapped back into focus to see, with his human face again, Naruto's blazing feral red eyes glaring into her own lavender orbs. "You are not leaving this cave until I'm satisfied!" He snarled loudly, emphasizing his statement with a firm grip around her middle.

In another world Hinata Hyuuga might have been a wallflower, in another she might have had enough courage to stand up to a bitch with a messiah complex for the love of her life, but THIS Hinata had faced down and slaughtered dozens, perhaps even hundreds of monsters in her life, and she wasn't about to be intimidated by the... man she loved because he was a little crazy in the midst of a mating frenzy.

That declaration made, she reached down and grabbed his knot, fingers squeezing hard enough to sink into the firm flesh. She delighted in seeing him hunch forward, jaw slackening and pupils dilating, before she snarled right back, "No, we are not leaving this cave until I am satisfied!"

She followed this up by slamming a palm into the spiral of yellow fur on his belly, sending him stumbling back. Naruto landed on his ass, back against the cave wall, slightly dazed.

Hinata strode forward confidently, setting a foot on either side of Naruto's waist before she used her muscled body to drop herself down as hard as she could. She instantly sank all the way down his shaft, passed the knot without even slowing, and hit his balls so hard her ass deformed and jiggled wildly against them. Feeling this wasn't enough, she reached back and grabbed two full handfuls of his balls and squeezed.

Naruto howled again, loud enough to shake the entire cave.

Not in pain. Oh definitely not, even with her strength Hinata would need to slug one of his testicles as hard as she could full stop to even hurt him; he was incredibly durable. No, he was howling in glee.

Mindless instincts finally faded as this woman on top of him earned her spot at his side so effectively even his subconscious accepted it. She wasn't just some breeding bitch, she was his equal, she was his mate.

When he lowered his head his eyes were a deep crystal blue, and an almost goofy but completely genuine smile of happiness was on his face.

And then she squeezed his girth as hard as she could and the smile was replaced by a cross eyed look of rapture as he came again, just as hard as before.

Hinata smirked through her own orgasm as she could feel his balls vibrating beneath her ass, sending a solid stream of semen up into her. She quirked an eyebrow as her belly once more began to bloat. It was a good thing she was incredibly turned on by all this cum, because it seemed like this was going to be a common occurrence.

They both eventually came down from their high, Hinata speaking first. "Naruto... that was-" He silenced her with a kiss. He broke it and she sighed, "Yeah..."

He tilted his head slightly. "Can you love a monster?" He asked her.

"You... are not a monster..." He chuckled at that but let her continue, "In body maybe but not mind you are a... good living being, better than a human." Hinata said solidly.

Naruto was silent then he nuzzled her again. "You... can you... will you, be my mate?" Naruto asked, causing Hinata's face was red.

"I-I y-you..." She paused then raised her head again, "If you take after a fox in your view on partners then... Are you asking me to be your... your wife?" She felt her heart thumping.

"In human vernacular, yes." Naruto answered.

"...I..." She inhaled deeply, thinking. "Yes," She said Naruto smiled his body rumbling he nuzzled against her head.

"Tired?" He asked softly.

"You woke me up several hours too early and proceeded to fuck my brains out. Yes." She said flatly.

Naruto winced. He had been pretty rough on her...

His thoughts were cut off as Hinata leaned forward and kissed him. "If you try and apologize for what you do I'm going to be pissed. It was easily the best experience of my life."

Naruto smiled warmly and leaned down to kiss her forehead before he slid down the cave wall and onto the floor so he was on his back, still quite firmly sheathed within her as she lay atop him. "Good night, my sunny place." He murmured and Hinata blushed again, she could hear his rumbling inhales of his sleep. It wasn't long before she was asleep herself, his fur and rumbling breath rocking her to sleep.

The second time sleeping together was more successful, both were in complete harmony with each other. Naruto's wounds had healed miraculously through methods neither was quite sure of. Hinata however got something extra out of that intense session that she would discover later on, the next day even. Tonight her body slowly but surely drained itself of it's excessive load of monster cum; made even slower as Naruto occasionally grunted and blasted her insides with a new helping in his sleep, milked both by Hinata's pussy as it reacted to her dreams, and as a reaction to his own lewd dreams.

-Morning-

Naruto was the first to awaken, an inner clock waking him more than the beginning chorus of birds outside. He raised his head blinking blearily then he yawned and shook his head, smacking his lips quietly. He looked down_,_ only to notice he'd turned over and curled around Hin_-his mate,_ he corrected himself with an almost giddy rush of happiness, in his standard sleeping circle. The beautiful Huntress had deflated overnight, and her belly was back to it's trim cut.

He smirked as he had an idea. He shifted both his own and her body. Gently, with extreme subtlety making sure she stayed asleep.

She stirred and he froze, but she mumbled weakly and was asleep again. He got into position - his cock was already poking out, readying for his plan. He shifted and when he felt his tip touch her vulva he used his tail to push her down.

Hinata awoke oddly, she had felt her living blanket shifting and had nearly woken up, but remembered where she was and who she was sleeping with and quickly went back to sleep. The dream came back to her, ravaged for hours by this hung humanoid Naruto. It made her wet and hot she could feel her juices dripping as a heat approached her... wait. Hinata was awakened when she felt Naruto's cock slide inside of her. She cried out and orgasmed on the spot.

"Morning love!" Naruto said mischievously, Hinata just huffed slightly.

"Morniiinnnnnggg!" She screeched as Naruto pushed and even twisted his hips slightly. Hinata gasped at the sudden prickles of pleasure that assaulted her. "If this didn't feel mind blowing I would be so angry with you." She hissed.

"'Best experience of your life' sounds pretty hard to top, but I'm going to try." Naruto grinned.

"Damn right." Hinata switched gears seamlessly as she purred sexily, "Also try not to cum in me, I wanna find that other monster today." She was ready to push herself up when Naruto suddenly grabbed her hips and forced her back down. "I'm not nearly satisfied." He growled, less demanding and more affectionate now as he raised his pelvis up off the ground about a foot.

_'Oh boy...'_Were her last thought before Naruto started thrusting up into her with quick, powerful thrusts. Shockingly his massive balls didn't slow him down as all. In fact, due to how fast and hard he was jumping his hips up into her his scrotum was slapping her ass with every stroke. His dick slid in and out easily while Hinata braced herself, keening with each thrust as she felt his furry balls spanking her. Naruto huffed loudly, every thrust of his monstrous shaft sending jolts of pleasure through his body.

He growled and shifted his footing, angling his dick, and Hinata cried out as his veiny prick raked against her walls even harder. She could hear his dick sliding in and out with wet slimy slurps as she felt his pre-cum lubricate and fill her. Naruto's muscles and furred chest stimulated her breasts, and she cried out as she felt yet another orgasm assault her. Naruto grunted, panting hotly, he could feel it building up in him again. It wasn't as large as their first night, but then again he had unloaded several years' worth of cum.

Hinata felt his halting thrust and knew that he was going to cum. She moved, trying her best to not aggravate his cock and get off, hopefully avoiding turning into a balloon. However her movements had done the opposite she heard Naruto growling and then he shifted his back legs. He thrust upward, his cock bulging as he came, his roar overtaking Hinata's as she felt him flood her insides. She felt her womb expand again and she cried out, unable to stop the flow as she felt her belly expand for nearly a minute before his hips finally lowered her down.

She sighed and looked at her belly; she looked close to 7 months pregnant. Which was small compared to looking like she'd swallowed a cow whole.

"Haaaa, not so bad was it?" He asked her with a satisfied huff.

"So that first time that I looked like some kind of fetish balloon was a one time thing?" She asked him.

"Probably. I shot a near lifetime's worth of cum then. This time we're on the tail end of mating season and I've already been drained recently. I could shoot like that again, but I doubt you'd wait that long. So either magic or a potions would be needed to recreate it." Naruto explained.

'I'll keep that in mind.' Hinata noted slyly. She then was aware of his dick sliding out of her. Her question of what he was doing was answered when she was face to face with the tip of his monster schlong. "Y-you can't be serious!" She glared at him he smiled slightly. "No way, I can't swallow that! I'll snap my jaw!" She said peevishly.

He quickly backpedaled and used another approach. "Not the whole thing, but can you clean it off?" He pleaded.

She giggled as he put on a puppy dog face. 'He's so cute...' She had to turn him down though, and her face became serious. "I'll think about doing it later. Right now we need to find that monster before it recovers more."

Naruto sighed sadly and accepted that the sexy time was over for now. "Don't worry, I got his scent. He can run all he wants, we'll find him." Naruto said, "Let's go kill him... but first, we need to get you cleaned up. I can barely smell you under all of the me." Naruto smirked widely, deeply satisfied with this as he nuzzled her affectionately, a gesture she returned after rolling her eyes at his comment and tone.

-In the village-

For the two days that Hinata was gone the villagers had sleepless nights as the sounds of howling and shouting had filled the air. It had an unfortunate effect of making them even more fearful than ever. They had bombarded the mayor to hire another Hunter, but the mayor assured them Hinata was doing her job. However the next night the villagers in secret sent a messenger for a replacement Hunter. They have yet to receive a reply.

-The forest an hour later-

Hinata stood with Naruto, figure lean once more, her armor back on with sword and lantern in hand. Naruto himself had his ears pushed to the back of his head, growling slightly. They stood before a tangled path of wood and thorns. This was the home of the other monster. Naruto called the beast Saberblitz, a name he would make sure would be buried in the village. He looked at Hinata. When she had been getting her armor on she was quiet the whole time. He knew that she had a fury that could rival the angriest of monsters.

Hinata was - on the surface - calm, but below she was furious. There were multiple reasons for this. The villagers with their idiocy, impatience and cowardly nature made her blood boil, her general hatred for monsters, and finally her love for Naruto, who was framed and hurt by this pathetic weaker monster. All gave her strength and conviction. Her muscles were bulging and she felt power surge through her. She would kill this monster and show the villagers the true killer of their livestock. She would make sure that they apologized to Naruto, hell she would have them worship him! She felt his wet nose on her cheek and she turned, he looked at her and she saw the steely anger there but also the humble shine in his eyes.

She sighed and knew what he was saying, he did not wish for recognition... all he wished for was for their nightmare to end. Truly if he was a human he'd be a patron saint. She rubbed his head gently then turned back to their target's home. She held up the lamp then she threw it at the branches and thorns, the oil splashing and catching alight quickly.

The bushes caught alight, their thin dried up forms unable to fend off the water, but the thorns had water to resist for a few seconds before quickly going up in flames, making a crackling sound as they did. Hinata watched as it burned, planning on smoking the bastard out.

They stood for a full two minutes, watching it burn away before they heard the screeching roar of the Saberblitz. Naruto tensed, and then he turned his gaze up as the monster leaped out from above, spinning as it came down. Naruto jumped back, Hinata following his movements. The two looked at their prey, both now understanding its abilities, strengths, and weaknesses.

Naruto crouched, watching the monster closely as it circled him, while Hinata grasped her blade with both hands and held it in front of her confidently. The monster gazed at her, assessing her. To it she was a minor threat that could be ignored, the biggest threat was the other monster; it's strength and size could seriously cause harm. But it had it's speed and this fox-like beast didn't have that. The fox monster was crouching... waiting... why?

Pain seared up it's back leg as Hinata chopped into it, it roared and kicked at her, and she was hit in the stomach. Her armor distributed the blow enough that she slid back with just a small bruise beneath. She put a hand to her stomach but grinned as it turned to her.

Naruto leaped forward and tackled it, the two rolling on the ground. The Saberblitz tried to push Naruto off, but he pushed back, slamming it to the ground. The Saberbltiz howled and bit Naruto's arm, a saber tooth sinking into his forearm and coming out the other end.

Naruto snarled and held up his arm, despite the pain as gravity and the other beast's weight caused the would to get worse. Hinata took her queue and reacted, she jumped in, sword held high, and gave a battle cry as she swung down. Her sword connected with the tooth, sparks flying as the two clashed.

The monster hissed and tried to move when Naruto's other hand grabbed it's neck, holding it still. Hinata's muscles bulged and she pressed down harder. The Sabertooth flipped out, flailing wildly, or at least tried to as Naruto's grip was absolute. It sensed the danger, but it was too late; Hinata sliced off its tooth.

It howled in pain, and Naruto's tail wrapped around Hinata and he jumped back to avoid it's deadly claws that lashed out at both of them. He released his mate and the two watched as it flailed and swung wildly, roaring and snarling as it's claws gouged the earth. It was just a tooth, but it seemed like a major part of the monster's balance. It got up, only to stumble to the side where it's tooth was missing.

"This... this is a disgrace!" Naruto snarled as he advanced on the monster. Hinata looked at Naruto, her grip tightening. "You, who nearly bested me before now hobbles about like a cripple!" Naruto gave a harsh snarl. The monster slashed it's claws at him, but Naruto easily ducked and dove forward to snap his jaws tightly around the arm, black blood splashing his face working into his nostril and tongue. He felt a sudden urge to sink his teeth in and bite it's arm and eat it's flesh, he wanted to savor it and taste more till there was nothing left and his bite tightened. It howled and went to slash with it's free hand only for Hinata to intercept and slice claw clean off.

It roared as it's new stump became a fountain of blood. Naruto grabbed it's arm and jerked his head, pulling up as his arms pushing down, breaking the arm in one smooth tug. He released it and jumped back, licking his teeth of the black blood. The Saberblitz now whimpered weakly as it tried to move but Hinata kicked it's head, jerking the beast back and dazing it. She then stood on it's chest and held up her blade. Her muscles bulged as she slammed her sword down with a crack, tip first, and impaled the monster straight through the brain thrust down, and her sword impaled it's brain. She twisted the blade, the spike halfway up the sword's length turning the grey matter into mush, damaging the brain critically before she pulled her sword free... and then stabbed him two more times in the heart just to be sure. She had heard rumors of monsters with powerful regeneration capabilities able to regenerate brain tissue. She pulled her blade out, slick with blood and brain matter. She never saw Naruto's rather hungry look as he stared at the body of the dead monster.

An urge was inside him one that he was having a rather hard time resisting. He could resist eating meat, he could resist his wild animal instincts, and he could even resist the urge to copulate vigorously with his mate as she looked like a warrior goddess standing atop their kill, but what he was trying to resist overrode all of that.

His mouth watered, to the point that he was drooling onto the forest floor even, and he began stalking closer to the corpse. He wanted to eat it, needed to consume it's flesh. He moved forward slowly like a tiger stalking it's prey wary that it could probably still be alive he gave a low growl, his eyes glazing over, and his head morphing into the fox like head.

"Naruto?" He paused then blinked Hinata's voice ringing in his head, snapping him back to reason amazingly. He quietly swallowed his saliva and turned to her to find her staring at him, looking concerned. "Are you alright?" Her gaze was a slightly suspicious.

"Y-Yeah. Let's... just get the body into the village to show the people." Naruto said quickly.

Hinata could not help but feel a sense of worry in her gut for Naruto, she didn't know why though. Naruto walked to the body and grabbed it. He then began to pull while Hinata slotted her sword and turned to the burnt home of the Saberblitz, nothing more than a pile of ash now. She then looked around at the dark forest. This forest would flourish again, teeming with life and hope. She looked at Naruto as he dragged the still bleeding body away.

'He saved two worlds in one blow... he's too good, as far as the heart is concerned at least, for this world. Well we'll see what happens now.' She walked after Naruto following him quietly.

-The Village-

The villagers grumbled as they stood near the entrance to the village the mayor glaring angrily at them. They had been working as they normally did when the mayor suddenly called the adults to assemble at the gates. They reluctantly heeded his call "You know why I have called you here... how dare you! I cannot believe that you would try to make money for another Hunter!" He shouted at them they lowered their heads, too angry to speak till one did, standing forward and as tall as he could on a bum leg.

"You fool the Huntress is dead and soon we'll lose our lives! We need another Hunter to finish what she obviously couldn't!" The villager shouted.

The old man put a hand to his nose and pinched it angrily. "I understand that none of you have seen the horrors of war nor the fields of battle but even so you cannot underestimate that Huntress... she's far more powerful than all of you combined and has more courage than you as well! She will come back with the monsters corpse in tow." The mayor was cold and calm as he said this leaving a chill in the air.

Suddenly they heard shouting and turned to see one of the children running forward. He panted, bent over catching his breath as the adults stood wondering what he was doing interrupting them. "Th-The huntress is back and she... oh just come out and see!" He ran back to the where the forest opened up, the adults followed him muttering quietly.

What they saw next made them gape. Hinata was standing her sword buried tip first in the ground, one hand resting on it lazily, a foot on the body of the dead monster, a rather cool smile on her lips. Behind her was Naruto his body poised like a guard dog as he watched the villagers quietly. Hinata then walked forward her gaze on the villagers as they nervously pointed their pitchforks at Naruto.

"Put those away, do you want to kill your savior?" She shouted.

"W-what!? Savior? That's probably the beast that's been eating our cattle and it sits there plotting to eat us!" A farmer shouted.

"As good as cattle would be I'm not going to endanger your livelihood just because I want some good quality meat. Besides, boar is just as good, goes well with some rabbits." The villagers were silent as Naruto mused out loud. Bodies thudded to the ground as a good 68 percent of the villagers assembled there fainted. Those that hadn't went to grab them as they fell.

"I-It speaks!" One said aghast.

"Of course I do... you don't think that all monsters are mindless brutes? No, the beast that was hunting your cattle tried to frame me and he almost succeeded now he's dead before you. That is not the behavior of an unthinking beast." Naruto explained. The villagers were silent.

"Whether you like it or not you were saved by Naruto, a monster." Hinata claimed with a small satisfied look.

Naruto looked at her. "I don't care if they know who saved, them if anything you did more than me. They should just be grateful that the beast is gone." He said fervently.

"You see?" Hinata said throwing a hand out to Naruto, "That is purity of heart! He wants no glory, no praise, all he cared for was your safety and livelihood!" She shouted to the crowd.

There was mumbling then the mayor walked into view. He looked at Hinata, smiling, then he saw Naruto and his smile faded. "What is the meaning of this?" He demanded, and the villagers instantly jumped on this opportunity.

"That crazy witch said the monster saved us!"

"It probably hypnotized her!"

Hinata's hand raised up to her sword hilt but Naruto gave a growl that both stopped her and silenced them. The mayor observed Naruto, who had now lowered his head, his hands crossing to lie on. He then walked to Naruto, and the villagers held their breath anticipating the deadly bite as the man neared the beast. Naruto watched him silently. The old man stopped before Naruto and observed him carefully. Naruto's eyes never left the mayor, watching him closely, even shifting his head for a better view.

Then the old man walked in front of him, scrutinizing his face. "Is there something on my face?" Naruto asked, causing the old man to flinch in surprise before he cleared his throat.

"You're quite a specimen, it's clear you are powerful. You could have torn through this village as if it were paper yet you chose not to." The old man then looked at Hinata, "You trust it?" He asked her.

"I trust _him_with my life." Hinata said steely.

"I see..." The mayor turned to his people. "What are you fools doing? Prepare a feast! Today is a joyous day for we have been rid of our scourge and can farm in peace!" He shouted.

Naruto smiled at and got to his feet. Turning, he headed back to the forest. The villagers didn't pay him any mind though, just as he liked it, they were excited they were free from the monster that had been posed to destroy their lives.

Most of them were, at least.

One of Naruto's long ears twitches as it caught a whistling in the air. His tail jerk and there was a loud snap as an arrow was intercepted and broken mid-flight. A frowning Naruto and a rapidly becoming furious Hinata turned to find a group of around twenty of the villagers with decent quality weapons looking at Naruto with terrified hatred in their eyes. Naruto shook his head then turned Hinata however had just about enough. She reached for her sleeve where her throwing daggers were and raised her arm when Naruto spun around jumping her. He pushed her down growling as he did. The villagers backed off surprised by the sudden move.

"Get off!"

He growled at her more threateningly.

"Leave them alone... they have had enough grief already they need no more." He snarled.

"B-But-!"

"I will protect them from any threat! Even if it is you!" Naruto growled, it was this statement that finally opened the villagers eyes to the guardian they had. He then raised himself off of her and turned to walk to the forest.

"W-Wait!" He paused and turned his head just enough to see a villager standing forward then they turned their head and nodded. Naruto turned his body to watch as they all bowed down to him. On the outside he was utterly indifferent, but inside he felt a flutter inside his heart. "Accept our deepest apologies! We... we were wrong!" Naruto bowed his head.

"It matters not what matters is that you are happy." Naruto said.

"Then it would please us if you came to feast with us!" A villager said raising their head to gaze at Naruto.

"Well..." Naruto looked at Hinata who was sitting down looking peeved. "Yeah I think I will." He said and the villagers cried out and set off to make preparations.

-About an hour later-

Hinata was grumpy, she had to admit Naruto's single-minded goal of protecting these people was impressive but it angered her that he would fight her if she should ever threaten their lives. Especially since she had done it for him.

Now she sat at a lone rock watching as children surrounded Naruto, pulling his fur, his ears, grabbing his hands, stroking his head, swing from his tail, and jump on then off him. He seemed to be taking it well but Hinata had a feeling that Naruto was somehow scared of them.

"Mind if I take a seat?" She looked to see the old medicine woman. Hinata scooted over the woman sat down sighing as she did. "I really am getting old." The woman said, to which Hinata was silent. "Do not be angry at him, he was doing what he believed to be right, just like you believe defending him is right."

Hinata shifted at that. "Are you saying that I'm wrong?"

The old woman chuckled. "In the world there is no real right or wrong, only what you believe to be just and unjust. You must keep your belief's true to heart if you wish to honor them. Do not forget that he wished for you to claim credit for the kill, not him." The old woman said, once more causing Hinata to go silent.

'She's right,'_She admitted, _'Naruto is only doing what he believes to be right. For him the safety and happiness of these people is what he believes to be right and he will protect that happiness, because for him it is the right thing to do.' It was during this reflection that she got another glimpse into Naruto's hidden purity. Again it astonished her that such a large and powerful monster had such a kind and loving heart. It made her jealous somewhat.

Hinata then stood up, "Thank you for the words." she said.

"Anytime my dear." The woman said.

"What is your name?" Hinata asked, slightly curious of this old insightful woman.

"My name is of no importance. It's something that has no real significance other than it belonged to a past life."

Hinata stared at her then bowed respectfully. "Goodbye." She said before she raised herself and walked over to Naruto.

The mayor joined to the old woman. "You're really content with staying in the shadows eh, Tsunade?" He asked.

"I'm just an old woman now mayor, nothing more nothing less. What's behind me is just that; behind me. Nobody needs to know of Tsunade of the old wars." Tsunade said, "I better get going before someone offers me some sake." She said and she got up and headed back to her hut.

Hinata stood in front of Naruto as a kid dangled from his ear while the other's ran around and on him playing tag. "You look like you're having fun." Hinata said.

"I uh... don't know what to do with kids." He said uncomfortably.

"You scared?" She teased.

"Kinda..." Hinata blinked the answer taking her by surprise. "More nervous than scared really I...I've never dealt with children before."

She smiled at that and the completely open way he'd said it.

"Few people even parents know how really deal with kids properly." Hinata comforted him as she walked closer. "Listen, earlier on when we were taking the body in I'd been thinking." She sat down and laid her head on his furry arm. "Do you... want to come with me?" She asked.

Naruto was silent as the kid finally let go of his ear and went to the others who were now playing 'duck, duck, goose.'

"You mean hunt monsters with you?" He asked.

"I... yes." She admitted, immediately feeling him shift his shoulders in a very similar gesture to the one she'd made earlier with the medicine woman.

"Well, can't you just stay with me?" Naruto asked quietly.

"Can't... I have a obligation I must fulfill." Hinata said.

Naruto sat there silently.

"Is it an important one?" He asked.

"Yes, very much so, I'd give my life to fulfill it."

Naruto considered those words.

'An obligation that she'd give her life to fulfill... This is probably fate at work.' Naruto looked at her, 'An obligation...' He lowered his head and nuzzled her affectionately. She scratched the top of his head in response. "Sure thing." He answered, bringing a smile to her face before she kissed his cheek.

"We'll leave in the morning." She said.

-The Next Day-

Hinata grabbed the hefty bag of money from the mayor. She now wore a large robe that hid her tattered armor from view and her hood was drawn up. "Thank you for your service, Miss Hinata. If you ever you wish to visit, please do so."

Hinata bowed. "Thank you, maybe we'll come back one day."

"'We?'" The old man asked curiously.

Hinata walked to the door and opened it to reveal Naruto's form lying down in front of the door. He raised his head curiously when she opened it. "Hey Hinata, you ready?" He asked.

"Ah, I see. I wish you two the best in your travels!" The old man said.

Naruto bowed his head and got to his feet. Hinata walked out the door to walk beside him.

"So then where are we going?" Naruto asked.

"Back to the outpost. It'll be a four day trip, two if we can get a ride." She answered.

"You up for one?" Naruto said with a mischievous grin as he shifted down to all fours, one shoulder lowered for her to climb on.

She paused as dozens of blurred trees whizzed past in her mind's eye. She shook her head and began walking again, pace faster than before, studiously ignoring her companion's amused laughter.

And thus incredible journey of the Huntress and the Monster began.

---