Taming Your Demon (Sealing Series Part I)

Remember, You with Me

"Pssst! Kid!" A deep voice called to the blond boy lying face down in a foot of water. Bubbles quietly floated to the surface of the stagnate pool as the sleeping boy slowly drowned himself. "Kid! Wake Up!"

Abruptly pulled from sleep, Naruto opened his eyes, choking as he inhaled water into his lungs. He thrashed about before hoisting himself up and out of the pool, gagging and coughing out all of the foul liquid from his chest. He pounded his fist against his sternum and croaked out the last bit. Shaking the wet blond hair from his eyes, he mumbled, "Where am I?"

Kurama's head slid forward into the dim light that illuminated the chamber outside of the seal. He smiled his sharp toothed and wily grin before reaching through the open gate and taping Naruto on the forehead with one single long claw. Naruto's head fell backwards and he felt himself dragged into the black fog of long forgotten memories...

A five year old Hinata knelt in the snow, cold and crying. Her tears were freezing into tiny icicles as they slid from her eyes down her cheeks. Her green scarf was ripped to shreds from being tugged in so many different directions. She was too scared to look up. She was afraid those bullies would come back to yank her hair again and tease her about her white eyes.

She was only allowed to venture outside the Hyuga compound with her father or an escort. And that had only happened once or twice. This was the first time she had ever been out alone, and so far, the adventure was nothing but one traumatic event after another.

She sensed the presence of someone standing over her. Then a small grubby hand appeared in front of her face. She looked up into the black and blue swollen eyes of the blond boy who had saved her. Blood ran from his broken nose dripping down the front of his worn cotton shirt. There was a hole at the tail and he wasn't even wearing a jacket though it was freezing outside. The bright red wool scarf that he had been wearing to protect his neck was ripped to shreds and hung from a nearby tree, just high enough so that the boy could not reach it.

"You ok kid?" The boy asked, wiping the blood from his nose with the back of his sleeve.

"Y-yes." Hinata answered timidly. She reached up and took the offered hand. "Th-thank you."

The boy pulled her up and said, "No prob. Where you livin' anyway? I'll walk you home and make sure you get there safe."

The blond boy scowled over his shoulder at the place where the gang of bullies had disappeared. "These parts are rough for weirdos like us. You with your white eyes and me with my... well ya know. Stick with me though, kid. You'll be alright."

Hinata was not quite sure what the boy was talking about. But he had not let go of her hand yet, and he was already pulling her in the direction where she pointed when he asked where she lived.

"By the way, what's your name, kid?"

"Hinata... Hinata Hyuga."

The blond boy stopped and smiled a bright, wide, and toothy smile down at her. The smile warmed Hinata's heart and stopped her tears. It was the most beautiful smile that Hinata had ever seen. He stuck out his chest and shoved a thumb into it. "I'm Naruto Uzumaki! Future Hokage!"

Naruto's head fell back and again he dropped into the black fog of another memory...

A twelve year old Hinata Hyuga folded her legs closer into her chest as she waited on the steps of the ninja academy. She pushed her short bobbed black hair back from her face and rested her chin on her knees, as she silently watched all of the other students jovially pass by, laughing and talking excitedly among themselves about their new forehead protectors, the teams that they would soon be joining, and the delicious mystery of their prospective jonin team leader.